Scholarship named for Eastern student
Kentucky Fairness Alliance names $2,500 scholarship after student
Jenna Mink
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Some students are happy with their name on their license plate. And, for some, having a star named after your significant other is the ultimate romantic gesture.
But Jason Johnson has his name branded on a scholarship. And he hasn't even graduated college yet.
"It was really exciting to have a scholarship named after me," he said. The Kentucky Fairness Alliance, a group that advocates equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, named an annual scholarship after Johnson this summer.
Johnson was expelled from University of the Cumberlands last year for being gay. The alliance named the scholarship for Johnson because he handled the situation with poise, he said.
"It reaffirmed that me standing up for who I am brought a lot of things out," he said, "but it brought a lot of good in."
But Johnson is not the first in his family to have a scholarship named for him. When Johnson's mother went back to college to get her nursing degree, she started a scholarship for nursing majors who are struggling financially.
And, like his mother, Johnson's good deeds also resulted in his name on a scholarship. Another reason KFA christened their scholarship with Johnson's name was to honor his work for the equal rights movement.
Johnson works for the KFA and he does everything from issuing action alerts to stuffing mail, he said. And Johnson even traveled to the same university that kicked him out last April. On March 28, he went to the University of the Cumberlands with Soulforce, a group of college students who hold demonstrations for equal rights and antidiscrimination.
"It was intense," Johnson said. "There was an atmosphere of fear."
When Johnson and the group arrived, about 50 policemen met them at Cumberland's campus, he said.
"We were a little worried for our safety," he said.
Officials told the group it could not stand on the sidewalk and demonstrate, but it could walk the campus streets. And that is what Soulforce did, he said.
But Jason Johnson has his name branded on a scholarship. And he hasn't even graduated college yet.
"It was really exciting to have a scholarship named after me," he said. The Kentucky Fairness Alliance, a group that advocates equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, named an annual scholarship after Johnson this summer.
Johnson was expelled from University of the Cumberlands last year for being gay. The alliance named the scholarship for Johnson because he handled the situation with poise, he said.
"It reaffirmed that me standing up for who I am brought a lot of things out," he said, "but it brought a lot of good in."
But Johnson is not the first in his family to have a scholarship named for him. When Johnson's mother went back to college to get her nursing degree, she started a scholarship for nursing majors who are struggling financially.
And, like his mother, Johnson's good deeds also resulted in his name on a scholarship. Another reason KFA christened their scholarship with Johnson's name was to honor his work for the equal rights movement.
Johnson works for the KFA and he does everything from issuing action alerts to stuffing mail, he said. And Johnson even traveled to the same university that kicked him out last April. On March 28, he went to the University of the Cumberlands with Soulforce, a group of college students who hold demonstrations for equal rights and antidiscrimination.
"It was intense," Johnson said. "There was an atmosphere of fear."
When Johnson and the group arrived, about 50 policemen met them at Cumberland's campus, he said.
"We were a little worried for our safety," he said.
Officials told the group it could not stand on the sidewalk and demonstrate, but it could walk the campus streets. And that is what Soulforce did, he said.
Be the first to comment on this story