Editing Rhodes Scholarship (section)

==Controversies==

=== Exclusion of women ===
The Rhodes Scholarship was originally, as per the language used in Rhodes's will, open only to "male students." That stipulation did not change until 1977. Rhodes developed his scholarships partly through conversation with [[William Thomas Stead]], editor of ''[[The Pall Mall Gazette]]'' and confidant of Rhodes, and at one time an executor of the Will who was stricken from the role when he objected to Rhodes's ill-fated effort to seize the [[Transvaal Colony|Transvaal]]. Shortly after Rhodes's death, Stead implied in a published article about the Will that he suggested that Rhodes open the scholarships to women, but Rhodes refused. Nothing more is said on the matter.<ref>William Thomas Stead, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=h2ZPAQAAMAAJ&dq=mr.+rhodes%27s+will+and+its+genesis+stead&pg=PA609 Mr. Rhodes's Will and Its Genesis]", p. 479, ''The Review of Reviews'' 25, pp. 471–82</ref>

After his death, the will was under the control of the Board of Trustees of the Rhodes Trust. In 1916, however, the trustees introduced a bill into the House of Commons that, catering to popular British sentiment during the [[World War I|War]], "revoked and annulled" the scholarships for Germans.<ref>[[Angela Stent]], "The Women's Bid for a Rhodes", ''Change'', Vol. 6, No. 5 (June 1974), pp 13.16.</ref> Since then, legal control over the will has resided with Parliament.

In 1970, the trustees established the Rhodes Visiting Fellowships. Unlike the regular scholarship, a Visiting Fellow was expected to have a doctorate or comparable degree, and to use the two-year funded study to engage in independent research. Only 33 Visiting Fellowships were awarded.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rhodes Visiting Fellowships for Women, 'A Civilising Mission' |url=http://www.otago.ac.nz/library/exhibitions/rhodes_scholars/rhodes_women.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107085514/https://www.otago.ac.nz/library/exhibitions/rhodes_scholars/rhodes_women.html |archive-date=Nov 7, 2023 |website=New Zealanders & the Rhodes Scholarship 1904- 2004, University of Otago Library}}</ref>

In 1975, Parliament passed the [[Sex Discrimination Act 1975|Sex Discrimination Act of 1975]] that banned discrimination based on sex, including in education.  The trustees then applied to the Secretary of State for Education to admit women into the scholarship, and in 1976 the request was granted.<ref>Philip Ziegler, ''Legacy: Cecil Rhodes, the Rhodes Trust and Rhodes Scholarships'', 2008, Yale University Press, p. 221.</ref> In 1977, women were finally admitted to the full scholarship.

Before Parliament passed the 1975 Act, some universities protested against the exclusion of women by nominating female candidates, who were later disqualified at the state level of the American competition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1973/10/6/harvard-endorses-3-women-for-male-restricted/|title=Harvard Endorses 3 Women For Male-Restricted Rhodes {{!}} News |website=The Harvard Crimson |first1=Fran |last1=Schumer |date=October 6, 1973 |access-date=2016-09-01}}</ref> In 1977, the first year women were eligible, 24 women (out of 72 total scholars) were selected worldwide, with 13 women and 19 men selected from the United States.<ref name="WomenScholars">{{cite web |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121210090918/http://therhodesproject.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/second-class-citizens-how-women-became-rhodes-scholars/ |archive-date=10 December 2012 |url=http://therhodesproject.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/second-class-citizens-how-women-became-rhodes-scholars/ |title=Second-class citizens: How women became Rhodes Scholars |date=29 January 2010 |website=The Rhodes Project |first1=Ann |last1=Olivarius }}</ref> Since then, the average female share of the scholarship in the United States has been around 35 percent.<ref name="WomenScholars" />

In 2007, the Association of American Rhodes Scholars published a retrospective on the first 30 years of female recipients, many of whom individually recounted personal experiences as well as professional accomplishments.<ref>{{cite web |title=30 Years of Rhodes Women |url=https://www.americanrhodes.org/assets/attachments/347.pdf |website=The Association of American Rhodes Scholars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208213258/https://www.americanrhodes.org/assets/attachments/347.pdf |archive-date= Dec 8, 2023}}</ref>

In his 2008 book ''Legacy: Cecil Rhodes, the Rhodes Trust and Rhodes Scholarship'' published by [[Yale University Press]], biographer and historian [[Philip Ziegler]] writes that "The advent of women does not seem notably to have affected the balance of Scholars among the various professions, though it has reduced the incidence of worldly success." Although it is true that female recipients have not become heads of state yet, they have succeeded in many other ways as described in the Rhodes Project.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rhodesproject.com/ |title=The Rhodes Project |website=rhodesproject.com |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240105125950/https://rhodesproject.com/ |archive-date= Jan 5, 2024 }}</ref>

In [[South Africa]], the will of Cecil Rhodes expressly allocated scholarships to four all-male private schools. In 1992, one of the four schools partnered with an all-girls school in order to allow female applicants. In 2012, the three remaining schools followed suit to allow women to apply.<ref name="rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/news/south-african-schools-scholarships|title=New partnerships for South African schools' Rhodes Scholarships |date=May 3, 2012 |website=The Rhodes Scholarships |access-date=2016-09-01|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123172624/http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/news/south-african-schools-scholarships|archive-date=23 November 2016}}</ref> Four of the nine scholarships allocated to South Africa are presently open only to students and alumni of these schools and partner schools.<ref name="rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk"/>

=== Exclusion of Black Africans ===
Beginning in 1970, scholars began protesting against the fact that all Rhodes Scholars from southern Africa were white, with 120 Oxford dons and 80 of the 145 Rhodes Scholars in residence at the time signing a petition calling for non-white scholars to be elected in 1971.<ref name="Schaeper">Schaeper, Thomas and Kathleen Schaeper. ''Rhodes Scholars: Oxford, and the Creation of an American Elite'', 2010. Berghahn Books: New York</ref>{{rp|238}} The case of South Africa was especially difficult to resolve, because in his will establishing the scholarships, unlike for other constituencies, Rhodes specifically allocated four scholarships to alumni of four white-only private secondary schools. According to Schaeper and Schaeper,<ref name="Schaeper" />{{rp|236–237}} the issue became "explosive" in the 1970s and 1980s as scholars argued that the scholarship be changed while the trustees argued they were powerless to change the will. Despite such protests, only in 1991 with the rise of the [[African National Congress]] did black South Africans begin to win the scholarships.<ref name="Schaeper" />{{rp|240}}

Out of five thousand Rhodes Scholarships awarded between 1903 and 1990, about nine hundred went to students from Africa.<ref>Anthony Kirk‐Greene, "Doubly elite: African Rhodes Scholars, 1960–90." ''Immigrants & Minorities'' 12.3 (1993): 220-235.</ref>

=== Criticism of Rhodes as colonialist ===
{{see also|Rhodes Must Fall|Cecil Rhodes#Political views}}

Public criticism of the scholarship has also focused on Cecil Rhodes's [[white supremacist]] views. For example, in 1966, regional committees in interviews asked a white American candidate to assure them he would not publicly belittle the scholarship after he referred to its founding on "blood money".<ref name="Schaeper" />{{rp|238}} In 2015, a South African Rhodes Scholar, [[Ntokozo Qwabe]], began a campaign to address Rhodes's [[Cecil Rhodes#Political views|controversial historical and political legacy]], with a focus on Qwabe's own views which included such statements as "dismantling the open glorification of colonial genocide in educational and other public spaces – which makes it easy for British people to believe that these genocides were 'not that bad' – and props up the continuing structural legacies of British colonialism, neocolonialism, and ongoing imperialism".<ref name="cherwell.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cherwell.org/2015/12/23/oxford-rhodes-scholar-attacked-for-quothypocrisyquot/|title=Oxford Rhodes scholar attacked for "hypocrisy"|last=Foxton|first=Hannah|date=2015-12-23|website=Cherwell.org|access-date=2016-09-01}}</ref> 

Among other things, the campaign called for the removal of a statue of Rhodes from Oriel College and changes to Oxford's curriculum.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/18/oxford-uni-must-decolonise-its-campus-and-curriculum-say-students|title=Oxford Uni must decolonise its campus and curriculum, say students|last=Rhoden-Paul|first=André|date=2015-06-18|newspaper=The Guardian|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2016-09-01}}</ref> While the college agreed to review the placement of the statue, the Chancellor of the university, Lord Patten, was critical of the accuracy of Qwabe's statements and warned against "pandering to contemporary views."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/12094277/Cecil-Rhodes-Oxford-University-students-must-confront-views-they-find-objectionable-says-new-head.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/12094277/Cecil-Rhodes-Oxford-University-students-must-confront-views-they-find-objectionable-says-new-head.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Cecil Rhodes: Lord Patten warns against 'pandering to contemporary views' over statue row|access-date=2016-09-01|date=2016-01-13|last1=Espinoza|first1=Javier}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

A group of Rhodes Scholars also created the group Redress Rhodes whose mission was to "attain a more critical, honest, and inclusive reflection of the legacy of Cecil John Rhodes" and to "make reparative justice a more central theme for Rhodes Scholars." Their demands include, among other things, shifting the Rhodes Scholarships awarded exclusively to previously all-white South African schools (rather than the at-large national pool), dedicating a "space at Rhodes House for the critical engagement with Cecil Rhodes's legacy, as well as imperial history", and ending a ceremonial toast Rhodes Scholars make to the founder.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/redress-rhodes|title=Redress Rhodes|website=The Rhodes Scholarships|access-date=2016-09-01|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923213857/http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/redress-rhodes|archive-date=23 September 2016}}</ref> While the group does not have a position on the removal of the statue, its co-founder has called for the scholarship to be renamed as it is "the ultimate form of veneration and colonial apologism; it's a large part of why many continue to understand Rhodes as a benevolent founder and benefactor."<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/12/cecil-rhodes-scholars-reject-hypocrisy-claims-amid-row-over-oriel-college-statue|title=Oxford scholars reject hypocrisy claims amid row over Cecil Rhodes statue|last=Khomami|first=Nadia|date=2016-01-13|newspaper=The Guardian|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2016-09-01}}</ref>

Public criticism has also focused on the alleged hypocrisy of applying for and accepting the Rhodes Scholarship while criticizing it, with University of Cambridge academic [[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]], writing in ''[[The Times Literary Supplement]]'', arguing that Scholars "[could not] have your cake and eat it here: I mean you can't whitewash Rhodes out of history, but go on using his cash."<ref name="cherwell.org"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/12062808/Rhodes-scholar-branded-hypocrite-for-leading-campaign-to-have-Rhodes-statue-removed-criticised-by-Mary-Beard.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/12062808/Rhodes-scholar-branded-hypocrite-for-leading-campaign-to-have-Rhodes-statue-removed-criticised-by-Mary-Beard.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Rhodes scholar branded hypocrite for leading campaign to have Rhodes's statue removed criticised by Mary Beard|access-date=2016-09-01|date=2015-12-21|last1=Espinoza|first1=Javier}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Reacting to this criticism, Qwabe replied that "all that [Rhodes] looted must absolutely be returned immediately. I'm no beneficiary of Rhodes. I'm a beneficiary of the resources and labor of my people which Rhodes pillaged and slaved."<ref name="theguardian.com"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/12060780/Oxford-student-who-wants-Rhodes-statue-down-branded-hypocrite-for-taking-money-from-trust.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/12060780/Oxford-student-who-wants-Rhodes-statue-down-branded-hypocrite-for-taking-money-from-trust.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Oxford student who wants Rhodes statue down branded 'hypocrite' for taking money from trust|access-date=2016-09-01|date=2015-12-21|last1=Espinoza|first1=Javier}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 

A group of 198 Rhodes Scholars of various years later signed a statement supporting Qwabe and arguing that there was "no hypocrisy in being a recipient of a Rhodes scholarship and being publicly critical of Cecil Rhodes and his legacy—a legacy that continues to alienate, silence, exclude and dehumanize in unacceptable ways. There is no clause that binds us to find 'the good' in Rhodes's character, nor to sanitize the imperialist, colonial agenda he propagated."<ref name="theguardian.com"/>

=== Criticism over recipients not entering public service ===
The tendency of a growing number of Rhodes Scholars to enter business or private law, as opposed to public service for which the scholarship was intended, has been a source of frequent criticism and "occasional embarrassment."<ref>Schaeper, Thomas and Kathleen Schaeper. "Rhodes Scholars: Oxford, and the Creation of an American Elite", 2010. Berghahn Books: New York, pp. 300-302.</ref> Writing in 2009, the Secretary of the Rhodes Trust criticised the trend of Rhodes Scholars to pursue careers in finance and business, noting that "more than twice as many [now] went into business in just one year than did in the entire 1970s", attributing it to "grotesque" remuneration offered by such occupations.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/20/AR2009112003374.html|title=Losing Rhodes scholars to Wall Street's siren call|last=Gerson|first=Elliot|date=2009-11-21|newspaper=The Washington Post|issn=0190-8286|access-date=2016-09-01}}</ref> At least a half dozen 1990s Rhodes Scholars became partners at [[Goldman Sachs]] and, since the 1980s, [[McKinsey & Company|McKinsey]] has had numerous Rhodes Scholars as partners. Similarly, of Rhodes Scholars who became attorneys, about one-third serve as staff attorneys for private corporations, while another third remain in private practice or academic posts.<ref>Schaeper, Thomas and Kathleen Schaeper. "Rhodes Scholars: Oxford, and the Creation of an American Elite", 2010. Berghahn Books: New York, p. 302.</ref>

According to Schaeper and Schaeper, "From 1904 to the present, the program's critics have had two main themes: first, that too many scholars were content with comfortable, safe jobs in academe, in law, and in business; second, that too few had careers in government or other fields where public service was the number-one goal."<ref>Schaeper, Thomas and Kathleen Schaeper. "Rhodes Scholars: Oxford, and the Creation of an American Elite", 2010. Berghahn Books: New York, p. 280.</ref> [[Andrew Sullivan]] wrote in 1988 that "of the 1,900 or so living American scholars…about 250 fill middle-rank administrative and professorial positions in middle-rank state colleges and universities…[while] another 260...have ended up as lawyers."<ref>Schaeper, Thomas and Kathleen Schaeper. "Rhodes Scholars: Oxford, and the Creation of an American Elite," 2010. Berghahn Books: New York, p. 282.</ref>

=== Quality of post-graduate education at Oxford ===
In 2007, an [[op-ed]] in ''[[The Harvard Crimson]]'' by two American Rhodes Scholars caused an "international row over Oxford's status as a top university" when they criticised the university's post-graduate education as "outdated" and "frustrating" in comparison to their education in the United States, specifically pointing to the perceived low quality of instruction and an insufficient scholarship stipend for living expenses.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uninspired scholars attack university |url=http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/1234879.Uninspired_scholars_attack_university/ |website=The Oxford Times|date=6 March 2007 }}</ref><ref name="DellMylavarapBlues">{{cite news |last1=Dell |first1=Melissa |last2=Mylavarap |first2=Swati |date=25 February 2007 |title=Oxford Blues |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]] |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/2/25/oxford-blues-to-all-juniors-out/ |access-date=7 June 2019}}</ref> They also criticised the Rhodes application process itself, arguing that potential applicants should not apply unless they are "ready to study and live in Oxford."<ref name="DellMylavarapBlues"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/3/16/the-rhodes-and-harvard-opportunity-not/|title=The Rhodes and Harvard: Opportunity, Not Obligation - Opinion - The Harvard Crimson|website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref>

The original op-ed spurred responses on both sides of the Atlantic.<ref>{{cite magazine | first=Elizabeth | last=Green | title=Harvard Rhodes Winners are Whiners, say Yale kids | magazine=U.S. News & World Report  | date=9 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | first=Elizabeth | last=Green | title=Rhodes Scholars Say Oxford's Overrated | magazine=U.S. News & World Report  | date=28 February 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Christine | last=Finn | title=Rhodes scholars give Oxford D-minus | newspaper=The Sunday Times  | date=4 March 2007}}</ref><ref name="DellMylavarapBlues" /> Other students criticised the authors for their tone of "ingratitude and entitlement," while ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' noted that it fueled the rivalry between the [[University of Cambridge]], [[Harvard University]], and the [[University of Oxford]] and existing concerns about the quality of British graduate education. In response, the Rhodes Trust released two statements, one to ''The Sunday Times'' saying that "the criticisms…are unrepresentative of the vast majority of Americans" studying at Oxford, and another as a reply to the original op-ed arguing that "false expectations", particularly for those uncertain about their degree choice, and going to Oxford for the "wrong reasons", could contribute to dissatisfaction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/3/2/oxford-is-about-transitions-and-not/|title=Oxford Is About Transitions And Not For Everyone - Opinion |website=The Harvard Crimson |date=March 2, 2007 |first1=Elliot F. |last1=Gerson }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Gerson |first=Elliot |date=11 March 2007 |title=Oxford Popularity - Letter |newspaper=The Sunday Times}}</ref>