A Rhodes Scholar is a holder of a Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The scholarships are awarded by the Rhodes Trust, endowed by the will of the imperialist statesman Cecil Rhodes and founded in 1902, and originally open to scholars from the British Empire, the United States and Germany. Scholars are eligible to study any postgraduate degree at Oxford (excluding MBA). Since the foundation of the trust, more than 7,000 Rhodes Scholars have attended Oxford.
"Cecil Rhodes directed that the selection of scholars should be based on academic ability; sporting activity; qualities of personal rectitude, strength and compassion; and sense of the public good."[1]
Over time, the award has been increasingly given to liberal recipients lacking achievement in either sport or academics. For example, scholarship recipient Bill Clinton had no known sporting achievement and refused to release his suspect academic record either. He took the scholarship money for attending Oxford but could not earn a degree there.
In 2002, a Rhodes scholarship was awarded to Chesa Boudin, best known for being the child of Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert, who were members of the international terrorist group, the Weather Underground. Boudin and Gilbert are currently serving long sentences in prison for their part in the murder of two police officers and a guard "as the result of a robbery of a Brinks armored car in New York at the late, unradical date of 1981."[2] Chesa expressed support for the views of his parents, "My parents were all dedicated to fighting U.S. imperialism around the world. I'm dedicated to the same thing."[2]
Categories: [Universities]