Do I care that a convicted felon is attending law school?
Nope.
Do I care that he's doing it on a 100% free ride?
Damned right I do.
Former bank robber in 2nd year at UW law school
He was convicted of robbing banks in Nebraska, but the University of Washington took a chance and admitted Shon Hopwood to law school, and the Gates Scholarship Program is paying for his education.
Seattle Times higher education reporter
When classes started at the University of Washington on Monday, Shon Hopwood could have been mistaken for just another law-school student — scouting out the location of his first class in Gates Hall, shouldering a heavy backpack of legal texts.
But Hopwood is no ordinary law student.
The 37-year-old father of two served 10 years in federal prison for robbing five banks in the late 1990s. While in prison, he became such an adept jailhouse lawyer that two of his petitions were reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"People that knew me before prison — they shake their heads," said Hopwood, now in his second year of law school. "They shake their heads over me writing."
That's another thing about Hopwood: This summer, his memoir, "Law Man," written with co-writer Dennis Burke, was published by Crown Publishing.
More:"There are so many things about him that are amazing and interesting," said Michele Storms, assistant dean for public-service law at the UW.
I'm sure he's fodder for the kische upper class provost types who view the UW as their own, 24/7 cocktail party circuit, run out of control fiscally because they are not held accountable for the waste of our money that is so blatantly obvious a blind man could see it in a minute.
There are thousands of students out there who worked harder... on much less... who didn't fricking rob five banks who's nose is pressed against the window looking in but who aren't illegal enough, out of state enough, or felon enough to get a free ride to go to UW Law.
As the UW continues with their unbridled 20% per year tuition cost increases... I'll be thinking about this the same way I think about the massive waste of money the stadium rebuild represents when a state of the art facility, publicly owned, is available just down the street.
3 comments:
Kelly from what I read from the article.
"Storms is director of the Gates Public Service Law Program, which has awarded Hopwood a full-ride scholarship — one of five awarded each year to incoming law students who commit to at least five years in a public-service law practice after graduating.
The $33 million program was created in 2005 to honor Bill Gates Sr., the lawyer and UW regent, by his son, Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and his wife, Melinda."
So for whatever reason, was this a state sponsored act OR was it a private scholarship, with its own private requirements and he won one of 5 seats?
He didn't earn his way as a public subsidy case as much as you rail against?..... -- Jeremy
Nope, he actually IS "a public subsidy case."
Exclusive of the costs of his 10 years as our guest, tuition, allegedly, pays but a percentage of the actual costs.
Guess who's paying the rest?
We are. And how much IS the rest?
Well, for the whole school, it's $212 million. I can't find a break out for the Law School... but you get the gist. And that this guy gets any kind of scholarship that doesn't pay 100% of the cost is my beef... if Gates or anyone else wants to pick up the ENTIRE tab, then I'm fine with that. It's his money.
But if the taxpayer is on the hook for dime?
Then not so much.
Perhaps the Gates PSL program does pay enough to UW to cover the entirety of the 5 extra students in the school/program?
Though it's a little funny that while usually this guy wouldn't even qualify, now he will be _required_ to work in public service.
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