Who 'deserves' the HOPE Scholarship and Zell Miller Award

In last weekend's Atlanta Journal-Constitution online, a story was published regarding the HOPE Scholarship here in Georgia (Link to story), specifically about the 'full' scholarship called the Zell Miller Award.  This scholarship is awarded to students who perform at the top of their class.  According to the story, :


'Zell Miller scholars must graduate high school as the valedictorian or salutatorian, or with at least a 3.7 grade-point average and a 1200 on the SAT’s math and reading sections. While in college they must maintain a 3.3 GPA.'

To say the least, these students are the highest academic achievers in our state school systems.  The article goes on to question the legitimacy of the scholarship, due to the fact that the authors of the story believe that too many of the recipients are from affluent areas of Metro Atlanta.  Rather than debate the presented facts (which I believe are debatable... read the article and you may agree), I would rather debate the bigger story, which is, Why does it matter where the kids are from? 

The last time I checked, there were no guarantees that any parent, no matter how rich, was required to provide a college education for their children.  The education is for the student, NOT the parent.  So, are we to assume that just because a student's father or mother is successful, a student is entitled to their money and assets and therefore not worthy of a scholarship?  Just because a student's parents make a good living does not mean that this student is guaranteed success, let alone tuition payments.  It baffles me that we have become a culture that just inherently believes that all parents should pay for their children's educations... ever heard of student loans?  Or earning a scholarship? 

The AJC has a clear agenda in attempting to manipulate us, the people, into believing that the rich are getting richer, when the reality is that the students who work hard and earn their good grades are getting richer by getting the opportunity to graduate from college with zero to little debt... that sounds like capitalism at its finest to me.