HoustonChronicle.com - Group offers scholarships, parodies affirmative action: "Matthew Maddox, an A&M senior from Tomball who is chairman of the campus YCT organization, said the Texas scholarships are open to all students.

'We certainly hope to get applicants who are not white,' Maddox said. 'I know for a fact that not all minorities agree with affirmative action policies.'

Applicants must submit an essay of 1,500 words or less describing 'how you or a family member have overcome institutionalized discrimination and/or the stigma imposed by policies giving preference to particular racial or ethnic groups in college admissions, employment and other competitive arenas.'

The essays will be partially evaluated on 'the applicant's narrative of how he or she has worked to overcome the adversity created by such preferences.'

Cedrick Bates, a black junior from Houston, said the scholarship will only perpetuate the image of the campus as being inhospitable to minorities. "