I want to lean into this debate on scholarship stacking a little more and push back on a few of the opinions expressed in the “Our View” column regarding the matter. First, I would like to admit I am “guilty” of stacking scholarships, and I do get a check from The University of Alabama each semester for the excess amount on my student account. These various scholarships, both through the University and from external sources, allow me, in essence, to be paid to go to school. And yes, this was a huge draw in coming to the University, yet I can honestly say I do not feel like “just a number.”

Let me say I completely agree that offering excessive amounts of scholarship money to prospective students simply to bring our numbers (test scores, GPAs, number of National Merit Scholars, etc.) up is a terrible way to go about recruiting. While many people believe this is the best way to increase the prestige of a university, I believe it’s not who you have, but rather what you do with them, or what they do once they are here. We could get every National Merit Scholar in the country, but if all they do is sit in their rooms for four years, get their degrees and leave, is that really increasing the prestige, or better yet, the “growth in quality” of the University? I hope the answer is fairly obvious.

That being said, I feel scholarship stacking is helping the University more than people believe. The majority of students I know with stacked scholarships are doing more than pocketing the cash and sprucing up their apartments. These students are making an impact on campus and in the Tuscaloosa community. Most have passions and ideas to better this university for all students. Numerous student initiatives started in the past few years were created, or are aided, by students that have stacked scholarships. This ranges from mentoring and literacy improvement programs to a microfinance initiative that supports members of the local community. In addition to the creation of new programs, other students I know with stacked scholarships are leaders around campus in various organizations that are looking to make the University a better place. If this is not the “growth in quality” this university needs, then I’m not sure what is.

Not to say that students who are not stacking scholarships are slacking on campus or in the community, but I feel if you put a limit on the amount of scholarship a student can receive, whether it be from the University or not, would decrease the overall quality of the college. You would still get high-caliber students, but not as many, and these students would still impact campus, but maybe not as much.

One thing you must ask is, “What is the purpose of scholarships?” There are both need-based and merit-based scholarships, and I definitely believe someone who is already stacking to the point of getting a refund check should not be awarded a need-based scholarship. On the other hand, merit-based scholarships (most of the time) are completely independent of other scholarships. How can you say it’s fair to reduce a tuition scholarship for a student who is awarded an external scholarship for going above and beyond the normal college student? Maybe you believe that all merit-based scholarships should have a need-based component, and if you do, that’s great, but that is not the current state of things. Can we honestly penalize students that work hard enough to legitimately be awarded numerous scholarships? My answer is no, and I would hate to deter potential students from applying here because of that reason alone.

Zack Morris is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering.