#NoTech4ICE Counter-Scholarship
2020 No Tech for ICE Scholarship Winner: Adriana
“I was more disgusted than anything.” These are the words of first-generation Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) major, and #NoTech4ICE counter-scholarship winner Adriana in response to discovering that Palantir, one of CMU’s main recruiters in tech, sells technology to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The #NoTech4ICE counter-scholarship offers $7000 to an underrepresented student in STEM so they need not rely on Palantir scholarships. This year, among over twenty applicants, Adriana stood out to the CMU Against ICE team: the committee recognized her heart, her skill, and her passion to help not just herself but her present and future community.
With the financial stability of the scholarship, Adriana says she’s in a better place to promote the Black Lives Matter movement, to pursue education after undergrad, and to one day start her own company to expose people in underrepresented communities to tech.
“It’s important, especially in tech, to recognize that we can use the knowledge we have to help a lot of people, but also that it can be used to hurt a lot of people. Palantir is just one example.”
Scholarship Fundraiser
Students at Carnegie Mellon were invited in February to apply to Palantir's “Future Scholarship” and its “Women in Technology Scholarship” — scholarships by the company to “celebrate and support” women and underrepresented students “who are beginning careers in technology.”
We know that we desperately need more representation in Silicon Valley, but representation is meaningless if it comes at the expense of our communities. We will not play a role in enabling anti-immigrant abuses.
We’re asking you to donate to our group, CMU Against ICE, to raise $7,000 to ensure that one of us doesn’t have to take Palantir’s money this year. Banding together against a multi-billion dollar corporation is the only chance we have to fight back against tech’s support for ICE.
Read more on VICE: "College Students Create Scholarship to Protest Palantir"
Application
DEADLINE EXTENDED: Applications due May 20, 2020 11:59pm!
We’re fundraising for $7,000 to give to a student at CMU who is from a background underrepresented in tech, so that they won't need to associate with a company like Palantir.
This scholarship is prioritizing under-represented students in STEM at CMU, with an emphasis on financial need, especially in the light of COVID-19.
"Under-represented" and "STEM" are defined broadly. We strongly encourage Black, Latinx, indigenous, and other underrepresented racial/ethnic students to apply. We note that while some Asian ethnicities are heavily represented in STEM, others are underrepresented. We invite applicants to self-identify how they are underrepresented in their STEM field.
Applications will be evaluated on academic merit, financial need, and scholarship fit by a small committee community members and student peers. This money is an assistance/award; it is not a stipend, internship, or job offer. The award will be paid directly to the winning student.