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Page 8 The Skanner November 22, 2017 News 10 African Americans Named Rhodes Scholars By Gene Johnson Associated Press T he latest group of U.S. Rhodes schol- ars includes 10 Af- rican Americans — the most ever in a single Rhodes class — as well as a transgender man and four students from colleges that had never had received the honor before. The Rhodes Trust on Sunday announced the 32 men and women chosen for post-grad- uate studies at Oxford University in England. Among them: the fi rst black woman to lead the Corps of Cadets at West Point; a wrestler at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who’s helping develop a pros- thetic knee for use in the developing world; and a Portland man who has studied gaps in his home- town’s “sanctuary city” policy protecting immi- grants in the country il- legally from deportation. “This year’s selections — independently elected by 16 committees around the country meeting si- multaneously — refl ects the rich diversity of America,” Elliot F. Ger- son, American secretary of the Rhodes Trust, said in a news release an- nouncing the winners Sunday. “They plan to study a wide range of fi elds across the social scienc- es, biological and medi- cal sciences, physical sci- ences and mathematics, and the humanities.” The scholarships, con- sidered by many to be the most prestigious avail- able to American stu- dents, cover all expenses for two or three years of study starting next Octo- ber. In some cases, the scholarships may allow funding for four years. The winners came from a group of 866 applicants “ the fi rst black woman to serve as fi rst captain of the 4,400-member Corps of Cadets at the U.S. Mil- itary Academy — the highest position in the cadet chain of command at West Point. Askew, a senior, is majoring in international history, focused her undergrad- uate thesis on the use of rape as a tool of genocide and plans to study evi- dence-based social inter- vention at Oxford. Her mother told report- ers over the summer: “That leadership is some- This year’s selections — independently elected by 16 committees around the country meeting simulta- neously — refl ects the rich diversity of America who were endorsed by 299 colleges and univer- sities. Four of the institu- tions had winners for the fi rst time: Hunter College at the City University of New York; Temple Uni- versity in Philadelphia; the University of Alaska in Anchorage; and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The 10 African Amer- icans in the class in- clude Simone Askew, of Fairfax, Virginia, who made headlines in Au- gust when she became thing I’ve seen through- out her life — wanting to be fi rst, wanting to be the best, wanting to win, in sports, in academics, in every aspect of her life. ... And to serve others, as well.” Several of the winners have devoted eff orts to racial, social and eco- nomic justice. Harvard College senior Tania N. Fabo, of Saugus, Massachusetts, created and codirected the fi rst Black Health Matters Conference at the univer- AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW, FILE The newly named group, which includes the highest number of African Americans ever in a single class, also includes a trangender man In this Aug. 14 fi le photo, Cadet Simone Askew, of Fairfax, Va., who has been selected fi rst captain of the U.S. Military Academy Corps of Cadets for the upcoming academic year, answers questions during a news conference, in West Point, NY. Askew earned another prestigious honor Nov. 19, when she was one of 32 Americans awarded Rhodes scholarships to study at Oxford University in England. sity. An immigrant who was born in Germany to Cameroonian parents, she plans to research on- cology at Oxford. “I’m still kind of in shock,” Fabo said Sunday. “When they told me on Saturday I didn’t really fully believe it.” Samantha M. Mack, the fi rst winner from the University of Alaska Anchorage, is an Aleut woman who was born in a remote village before her parents brought her to Anchorage for better educational opportuni- ties. She studies political theory from an indige- nous and feminist per- spective. Thamara V. Jean, of Brooklyn, New York, completed her senior thesis at Hunter College of the City University of A career you can be proud of. Being a carpenter isn’t just a job. It’s a way of life. We’re devoted to strengthening the lives of our members with steady work, wealth and personal growth. We take a stand for our members and all workers. We work together to lead the building industry in safety, training and compensation. We create rich lives for our members and partners. To learn more about becoming a union carpenter, go to NWCarpenters.org. PORTLAND: 1636 East Burnside, Portland, OR 97214 | 503.261.1862 HEADQUARTERS: 25120 Pacifi c Hwy S, #200, Kent, WA 98032 | 253.954.8800 More than 20,000 members in the Pacifi c Northwest. New York on the Black Lives Matter movement. Jean is a child of Haitian immigrants, according to Debbie Raskin, a spokes- woman for Hunter Col- lege. Yale graduate and Port- lander JaVaughn T. “J.T.” Flowers (see sidebar), who graduated this year from Yale University with a degree in political science, was also named among the scholars. “He’s just an outstand- ing candidate for the Rhodes,” Rep. Earl Blu- menauer, Flowers’ cur- rent supervisor, said Sunday. “He’s a very quick study, very good with people, an incisive listen- er who is able to translate that back to people who contact him and to the staff in our offi ce. We’re excited for him, and we’re excited for what he’s going to do when he’s back.” Calvin Runnels, of Ba- ton Rouge, Louisiana, is the second self-identi- fi ed transgender Rhodes scholar from the U.S., fol- lowing Pema McLaugh- lin, who was named a winner last year. A senior at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he has organized rallies in solidarity with the im- migrant community and led eff orts to increase the number of gender-neu- tral bathrooms on cam- pus. Runnels will study bio- chemistry at Oxford. His research investigates the origin of the ribosome, which could provide in- sight into the origins of life, the Rhodes Trust said. Matthew Chun, of Ar- lington, Virginia, the captain of MIT’s wres- tling team, researches the impact of intellectual property law on innova- tion and has worked as a patent technology spe- cialist. He leads a team design- Portland Man Among Current Class of Rhodes Scholars JaVaughn T. “JT” Flowers, 24, Portland, learned this week he had received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in England. Flowers grew up in Northeast Portland and is a graduate of Yale University and Lincoln High School. At Yale he founded an organization called A Leg Even to off er social support to low-income Yale students. Last year, Flowers won a Truman Scholarship to support graduate school studies for students preparing for careers in government or public service. Flowers’ Yale thesis is on gaps in Portland’s sanctuary city policy for undocumented immigrants. Last summer Flowers moved back to Portland to work in Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s local fi eld offi ce. ing the fi rst prosthetic knee for use in the devel- oping world. He plans to study juris- prudence at Oxford. Also selected was an international group of scholars representing 64 diff erent countries. About 100 scholars will be selected worldwide this year. The scholarships are worth about $68,000 per year, according to the Rhodes Trust. The fi rst class of Amer- ican Rhodes Scholars en- tered Oxford in 1904. Associated Press writer Crystal Hill in Boston con- tributed to this report.
