Rhodes Scholarship – The Concordian

SACKVILLE, N.B. (CUP) — The Rhodes Trust recently announced that yet another Mount Allison University student has been awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. These scholarships were created in 1902 from the estate of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes. According to the Rhodes Trust website, Rhodes’ vision in founding the scholarship was to develop outstanding leaders who would be motivated to fight “the world’s fight,” to “esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim” and to promote international understanding and peace.

These aims are well and fine, but Rhodes’ idea of international understanding and peace was contingent on the rule of the British Empire, which Rhodes envisioned ruling the African continent “from Cape to Cairo.” The Rhodes Trust uses words to distract applicants from reading deeper into what the scholarship is about; however, I have to wonder about those who accept the financial support of a man who made his money in the worst of ways.

Rhodes made his millions in the diamond mines of southern Africa founding De Beers, a diamond company that has been a target of numerous legal accusations of anti-trust. Rhodes was also prominently involved in the Jameson Raid, an event that led to the outbreak of the Second Boer War. This war pitted Great Britain against the Netherlands for imperial control over southern Africa and resulted in collateral deaths of tens of thousands of native Africans.

Ninety-four Oxford University fellows deplored the decision to allow Rhodes on campus to accept an honorary degree. The opposition stemmed primarily from Rhodes’ involvement in the Jameson Raid and his circumvention of law in southern Africa. After the raid, Rhodes’ brother was tried and convicted of murder. His execution was commuted to a 15-year sentence before Rhodes spent £30 million (approximately £2.7 billion in 2012) in order to have him released.

Rhodes was obsessed with personal gain and expanding the wealth of De Beers. Even at the outset of the Second Boer War, Rhodes attempted to persuade military officials to protect his mining interests, rather than Britain’s military interests. Accounts of Rhodes during the time of war expose his fleeting concern for the lives of others and shed light on his perception of others who were not as “civilized” as the British.

Are the achievements of Rhodes scholars overshadowed by the atrocities Rhodes committed during his lifetime? Are the students receiving scholarships concerned that the $100,000 they receive from the Rhodes Trust comes from the imperial exploitation and war-mongering Rhodes took part in?

I know I would be concerned. If I claimed to care about corporate social responsibility, I would not be able to bring myself to accept the money. Being nothing more that a “C” student, however, I don’t have to create an excuse to deal with the ethical dilemma of being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. What excuse does the current class of Rhodes scholars have?

A great athlete and an even better scholar. Concordia wrestler Michael Noonan, 24, was awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University next fall where he will be studying zoology as a graduate student.

Wrestler Michael Noonan balances time between training, competing and studying to accomplish his goals. Photo by Concordia University

Noonan recently sat down for a conversation with The Concordian to talk about the upcoming season, his future and some of the stereotypes surrounding athletes.

What was the first thing you did when you found out you won the scholarship?

I screamed, I was pretty excited. I was in the car with a bunch of friends so we all cheered and I went home right away and told my parents and they were pretty ecstatic.

What are you most looking forward to at Oxford?

Obviously the education will be great, but just living on campus at one of the best universities in the world will be amazing. It will be a different country, more European, and I’m just excited for the whole lifestyle of being on campus and in a new country.

So what will you be working on primarily when you go to Oxford?

I’m going to be working within the zoology department on the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. It’s a research crew that does research on endangered species.

Do you have a thesis or anything specific in mind yet that you want to achieve?

I have a thesis in mind but it still has to get accepted. But I would like to work on studying fish passage at dams.

Has it been a challenge to balance school and athletics?

Yeah, for sure. We train twice a day, once during the day and once at night so that doesn’t leave much time in between for classes and homework. I actually had to take a reduced course load and finish university a year later to fit it all in.

Some athletes struggle academically, what advice would you give them?

There’s certain times when you can focus on your sports and your social life and there’s also times when you really need to sit down and focus on your academics. Exam period for example is a time when you really need to set your priorities on school.

Have you ever had to deal with the perception or stereotype that athletes are just “dumb jocks?”

Yeah I have. Even the guys on the team, we don’t talk about school or grades or anything so this really surprised a lot of them. It’s definitely a stereotype that’s out there, but once I start to talk to people they sort of realize it’s not that true.

Do you think it is a fair stereotype, whether or not it applies to you?

Definitely not. Some of the most intelligent people I know are athletes. One guy from our team is actually at Brown University writing a textbook now. We have engineers and a lot of very smart people on our team.

Do you think it will be more difficult to focus on wrestling this year knowing what lies ahead?

Yes, I think it will be because in the past you had this huge future ahead of you whereas now I’m limited to just this one year before my career here is over, so it’s going to be tough. On top of that I recently had ACL surgery so dealing with that on top of it will be difficult.

What are some of you goals for the season?

Well, first things first is to get back into the season. Because of the surgery I need to push myself hard to compete again. Then I really want to win nationals.

Because it’s your last year do you think this season will have maybe a sense of urgency that wasn’t there in the past?

Not urgency, but it is very different. I look at it with more of a sense of calm and knowing. When you’re young you kind of have this fear of all the guys being older than you. Now, though, I’m sitting here near the end and I’ve sort of seen it all. I’ve seen things come and go and I think that I can deal with whatever happens better than a lot of other people can.