At some colleges, including the University of Maine, students are protesting preferential treatment of honors students, claiming discrimination.

A recent article in Time discussed the unfairness of merit-based scholarships at some universities.

Apparently discrimination now applies not just to the usual categories – race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation – but to such things as intelligence and effort.

Since when did good ol’ discrimination become such a dirty word? It used to be an insult to call someone indiscriminate.

Unpopular as it is to admit, discrimination is often a good thing.

If there were no discrimination, any person who felt like it, regardless of intelligence, education or experience, would be allowed to conduct complex brain surgery.

Our society should value attributes like brains and hard work.

Since the ’60s, an attitude has begun to prevail that nothing should get in the way of a person’s dreams.

Parents tell their children, “believe in yourself and you can do anything,” setting them up for a lot of disappointment later in life.

Imagine a world free from discrimination.

Six-year-olds would fly 747s, mentally challenged people would teach at universities, and training would be optional for those who want to perform root canals on unsuspecting patients.

Students who are born with natural intelligence, study throughout high school and end up with good grades and high test scores should be rewarded.

Giving honors students the first choice of classes and dorms isn’t bigotry; it’s compensation.

The same with merit-based scholarships.

While it is also a good idea to give need-based scholarships to those who can’t attend college without them, we shouldn’t refuse to reward students who deserve scholarships just because they may not need them.

Even discrimination based on those no-no categories of race, religion and gender makes sense sometimes, such as casting a Hispanic women to play the part of Maria in “West Side Story,” or picking white people to play skinheads in a movie like “American History X.”

However, I have to say I did an excellent job playing the part of Martin Luther King Jr. in my sixth grade production of “Rosa Parks.”

People shouldn’t discriminate when it comes to traits that have no baring on a job or college program.

But not rewarding people for studying and working hard is just un-American.

Jocelyn Marcus is a junior in English from Ames. She is managing editor of the Daily. She will consider any personal requests to reprise her luminous performance as MLK.