“I can’t say that I approve of what you’re doing, but I can say that I love you and care about you … and I don’t want this situation to come between us.”

These are a few words from Hallmark Cards, Inc., the infamous card company we see and hear of often. However, the company has let the “situation” of ethnicity get in the way of what it truly stands for.

Recently, a friend of mine picked up a Hallmark internship/scholarship application for this summer. The application was more of a packet consisting of about 30 pages. Besides usual information, the application asked for many writing and art samples to fill its pages.

As she learned more about the application, she got more excited.

The internship consisted of an awards program that offered a $2,000 scholarship for your senior year and a paid, 12-week summer internship at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Mo. for each candidate accepted. Airfare is also included in the deal.

A company official said it accepts up to 25 interns. That is $50,000 in scholarship money coming from Hallmark. Big company, great internship, good money. What more could you want?

Most importantly, the internship/scholarship is based on pure merit and does not consider financial need.

My friend was all set to apply for this. After all, she met all the qualifications — be a junior, a full-time student, have at least a 3.0 GPA, be a U.S. citizen — except one. That one qualification, which was listed at the very end, was to qualify as a legal minority.

Hallmark doesn’t define a legal minority, but it does define a multicultural student as one of the following: Native American Indian/Alaskan Native, Black/African American, Mexican American/Chicano, Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander, Puerto Rican, Latin American/South American/Central American.

My friend is not considered as one of these racial/ethnic categories.

However, Hallmark requested the applicant explain his multicultural background if he isn’t considered in a racial/ethnic category, as defined by the company.

Nowhere in the application did it say “minority.”

My friend called Hallmark and asked if being female is considered a minority. The official, who would not identify herself, said no.

“This is a multicultural scholarship,” the official said many times to which my friend replied, “So if this is a multicultural scholarship, then why doesn’t it include internships for white people from Iowa?”

The official said the scholarship requirements change every year, but declined to get into specifics. Nevertheless, it was still a multicultural application to her, not a minority scholarship.

The point is this: If Hallmark is concerned about bringing in a diverse group of interns to work, then it should be open to everyone, not exclude a specific group.

Multiculturalism is not about being a minority. It is about allowing the entire melting pot of students to apply. Webster defines multiculturalism as “the practice of giving equal emphasis to the needs and contributions of all cultural groups.”

These cultural groups include the “white people from Iowa,” the foreign exchange student from England and the white minority from South Africa.

When a big-name company with a lot of money seeks for multicultural candidates, excluding the majority isn’t the way to do it.

Hallmark should not use the term “multicultural,” especially in such a hidden manner. Although changing the term to “minority” doesn’t change anything for everyone who wants to apply, it is clear from the application that Hallmark wants diversity in its candidates.

But achieving diversity through one’s racial/ethnic background is not everything.

Hallmark says it bases its selections on pure merit, and it should stick to that. One’s work comes from ideas, and ideas come from experiences. This is what being diverse — being multicultural — is all about.

So to Hallmark Cards, Inc. I say, “I can’t say I approve of what you’re doing, and I can’t say I love you.”

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Shuva Rahim is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Davenport.