Stormzy's Substantial and Significant Scholarship

'We urge the authorities to tell the fucking truth, first and foremost. We urge them to do something. We urge the fucking government to be held accountable for the fuckery, and we ain't gonna stop until we get what we deserve.'- Michael 'Stormzy' Omari, responding to the Grenfell Tower fire on stage at Glastonbury, 24 June 2017

Celebrities are known to put their earnings towards funding youths in their adventures into the terrifying realms of tertiary education. Alec Baldwin, for example, provides a scholarship to prospective students at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University who have an excellent academic record, yet require significant financial attend to attend college. Earlier this month, basketball star LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers opened the 'I Promise' School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Under-privileged kids will receive numerous perks including free uniforms, free food and guaranteed tuition for all graduates to the University of Akron. These are just two prominent examples to come out of the United States.

Over here in the UK, we have some very strange scholarships. The Vegetarian Charity will happily provide funding to the young vegetarians and vegans out there. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrew's are more than willing to provide youthful golfers with a handicap of +1 (+2 for women) some cash in their academic studies. At the moment, the most recent scholarship is perhaps the most surprising, for it comes from Michael 'Stormzy' Omari. Would you have thought that 'Wicked Skengman' of Croydon would be the champion of British education?

Just make sure you don't confuse him with Romelu Lukaku, though 

On 16 August, Stormzy announced that he will pay for two black UK students to attend the University of Cambridge. The recipients will receive funding for up to four years of undergraduate study, and students attending from 2018-2019 will receive up to £18,000. Stormzy set up the scholarship due to evidence that black Britons are 'under represented at leading universities'. The Financial Times, in June of this year, released an article on how no Cambridge University colleges had accepted any black students between 2012-2016. This prompted the institution to call for the 'support of schools and parents' to boost the number of black students enrolling at Cambridge. 'Big Mike' also said that 'if funding is one of the barriers, then we can work towards breaking that barrier down'. Talented rapper and a social hero- give the man a knighthood already!

Sir Stormzy- has a good ring to it

Stormzy is no stranger to standing up for those in need. When not repping or telling rudeboys to shut up, he has spoken of his admiration for Labour leader Jeremy 'The Chairman' Corbyn. In an interview with The Guardian back in May 2016, Stormzy loved seeing a picture of Corbyn protesting against the Apartheid regime in South Africa, praising his 'energy' and how 'he gets what the ethnic minorities are going through and the homeless and the working class'. At awards ceremonies, the man from Croydon has voiced his opposition to Prime Minister Theresa May, calling her a 'paigon' (urban slang for a backstabber) as he received the award for Solo Artist of the Year at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2017. The Chairman presented him with the award as well, making the moment that much more special.

Michael would not allow himself to stay silent for too long, however. In response to the Grenfell Tower fire of June 2017, in which 72 residents died, Stormzy freestyled at the Brit Awards in February 2018, prompting 10 Downing Street to release a response defending the Prime Minister. He asked the PM 'where's the money for Grenfell... you should do some jail time, you should pay some damages, we should burn your house down and see if you can manage this'. Talk about seizing the moment. In that Guardian interview as well, he called Zac Goldsmith, who stood for the Conservative party against Labour's Sadiq Khan in the London mayoral election of 2016, ' a fucking arsehole'. Man has a way with words.

It is clear to see that he is an activist, and a staunch opponent to May's government as Brexit drags Britain down into the abyss of almost certain doom. He is using his money to solve a problem that needs to be addressed, as no one should be put off going into higher education due to incredibly high tuition fees. The country is alienating itself as the Brexit situation carries on, and having the next generation being phased out of exploring academic opportunities will make the situation worse. The nation needs to sustain itself in the future; leaving the intelligent yet cash-strapped youths out in the cold is just a recipe for disaster.

Please, just go away

Stormzy established this scholarship to help boost the number of minority students attending the major British universities. In 2017, Cambridge only accepted 58 black students onto their undergraduate courses. Between 2015-2017, eight of the 29 colleges at Oxford University admitted two or fewer black students. These figures are shocking, and are made worse by a clear attainment gap between white and BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) students. Whilst there has been an almost 50% increase in BME undergraduates from British universities between 2007-2016, only 53% of black students achieved a 2:1 compared to 78% of white students. Making ends meet economically and working towards a degree is a hard life to lead, and it is sadly one that many BME students have to endure. For that reason, they fall behind on their studies or drop out altogether.

Across the entirety of the Russell Group universities (the 24 'most elite' universities in the country), the average number of black students enrolled in these institutions sits at just under 4% according to statistics published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency in May 2018. The UK average is at 8%, with London Metropolitan, the University of East London and the University of West London having the largest proportion of black undergraduates in the country. More than a third of all freshers were black, compared to the less than 1% proportion at Queen's University Belfast (a Russell Group university). The stats don't lie; things need to change.

Prestige can't halt progress

Stormzy has taken it upon himself to deal with the issue, solidifying himself as a champion of progression in society. Publicly supporting Corbyn, in a similar vein to other grime artists such as JME and AJ Tracey, mobilised the youth to go out and vote. He is having a positive impact, yet the Stormzy Scholarship has still been deemed to be racist. The scholarship is exclusive to prospective black students, meaning that white kids are apparently left to fend for themselves. Complaints revolve around the argument about what kind of reaction there would be if there was an exclusive scholarship for white students. This is apparently something that has never happened before, and shows that these critics have not done their research. In March 2017, for example, Oxford launched a summer school for white working class boys from deprived neighbourhoods as they are 'less likely than anyone else in Britain to go to university'. That's a direct quote from Theresa May's first speech as Prime Minister on 13 July 2016.

It is, quite honestly, moronic to call it racist. The statistics used in this post show the diversity problem within UK universities, and having Stormzy set up a scholarship set up to help increase BME student numbers at universities is progressive. There is no notion of racism at all in the Stormzy Scholarship, and is simply a move to tackle discrimination. Admittedly, universities are doing more to boost attendance from the working class demographic. Cambridge already has a bursary scheme in place, in which students with household incomes below £42,620 can get financial aid for their studies. These are, however, mainly used by those from white working class families. Last year, Exeter began a programme to boost 'aspirations' for BME students through methods such as improving subject knowledge and familiarising students and their families with both the city and the West Country in general. In York, outreach initiatives, including a summer school for secondary school students, have been put in motion to 'engage more BME school pupils to participate in our programmes'. Moves are being made, but far more needs to be done.

Second best university in Devon...

In a report put forward by the Russell Group from February 2016, it stated that 'real progress' had been made as the number of black students accepted into Russell Group universities had increased by 62% from 1690 in 2010 to 2740 in 2015. It's an increase, no denying that, but it can't be defined as 'real progress'. A 62% increase is an admirable figure, but that's basically the same as going home to your Mum and proudly announcing you sold the cow at the market for a bag of magic beans. It seems like an accomplishment, but in reality it is a bitter defeat. A grime artist from Croydon has set the example to these 24 'elite' universities, reaching into his own earnings and providing the opportunity for two black students to study at Cambridge University. Now that's something to be proud of.

He knows he has done good

This will hopefully provide some incentive for the Russell Group, and all other British universities for that matter, to make more of an effort in not just increasing BME student participation, but making sure they finish their course with no worries over fees. It is heartbreaking for intelligent individuals putting off their education due to financial constraints, especially in a nation deemed to be one with strong economic foundations. Indeed, for people to be offended over the apparent racial implications of the Stormzy Scholarship is embarrassing. No one is being phased out, and scrapping the initiative altogether will actually just worsen the problem. At the end of the day, we should applaud Michael 'Stormzy' Omari and the wise use of his hard earned grime money. To all those in denial that there is a discrimination problem in British universities, or who are adamant that white privilege is under threat, then there is only one thing left to say. To quote the man himself, 'shut up'.

Ben G 😁 xo