Mr. Young (“Scheduling unfair to paying students,” Nov. 13), I would like to point out to you that the possible reason you have been receiving the run-around from members of the administration is because you are poorly informed.

There are a total of 27,823 students at Iowa State University, and 4,034 of these students are business students. Out of those same 27,823 students only 1,943 of those students are students of color. Now if we say that approximately one-fourth of these students are business students that would mean there are 486 (more than the real number) students of color in the college of business.

Now if we also assume that all 486 of these students get what you so eloquently termed a “full-ride minority scholarship” and that all 486 of them are also trying to take the same 200-level classes, I highly doubt that these 486 students could close off every session of a class you are trying to take. It should also be noted that there are only about 200 to 250 students a year who receive these “full-ride minority scholarships,” a scholarship that actually only pays for a student’s tuition.

Now I can assure you that many of these students would not be in college if they did not receive this assistance, let alone pay out-of-state tuition. You may be asking what I mean by out-of-state tuition. Well, let’s look at a few more numbers. The state of Iowa is 94 percent white, yet Iowa State University is only 84 percent white. Now in a school of 27,823 I doubt the 100 students of color a year from out of state who receive a tuition scholarship and are allowed to register early can make such a drastic impact.

Although I am one of the students who is assisted from these tuition scholarships, I would like to point out that in the four semesters I have been at Iowa State University I have amassed 95.5 credits. So if you would like to register before everyone else, why don’t you work a little bit harder and take more than the minimum requirement of credits? Or maybe next semester you can complain how others, such as students with disabilities, get preferential treatment in class registration and how they are the ones keeping you out of classes.

Jason Smolka

Senior

Electrical engineering