After a long score of Tommy Hilfiger posts I truly hope this is just a simple misprint or misunderstanding. Marty Harrigan was a fine person and helped many students throughout his life. And Marty was also the Principal of Southside High School in the 70’s. I know folks, people have a right to spend their hard earned money any way they want . But can anyone point out something good about honoring a man who worked on both sides of the river and helped literally thousands of Elmira kids without prejudice of where they lived by offering Scholarships to E.F.A. grads only ? Maybe I read too much into things ( my perogative ) but I’m finding this (no pun intended ) ” One sided giving ” hard to swallow anymore. But reading the article I get a little confused about the way it is written and can’t help but wonder if I am reading it correctly. If so I apoligize immediately, but the following leads me to believe that these scholarships are for E.F.A. grads only.
“The William Manning in Memory of Marty Harrigan Foundation was established to offer scholarship opportunities for STUDENTS FROM ELMIRA FREE ACADEMY who attend Dartmouth College, Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, or Syracuse University, Harrigan’s alma mater.”
Now with that said the article goes on to state the following and this is where the confusion comes into play……….
“THE SCHOLARSHIPS WILL BE GRANTED TO ELMIRA RESIDENTS based on character, need and academic achievement. Students can apply at the three colleges, and the institutions will be reimbursed for scholarships they award. The size of the scholarships and number of students that receive them each year will be determined by the colleges.”
Now, with all due respect and the understanding that this individual can do anything he wants with his money, and at great risk of being called anything but ” late to lunch ” I must ask, ” Which is it ? E.F.A. grads or ALL Elmira residents ? ” If it is E.F.A. grads only I honestly feel that this is kind of a slap in the face to both the students of Southside High and Marty Harrigan himself. Marty left a legacy to the entire Public School system of Elmira New York and worked at both schools throughout his career. And it is my humble opinion that William Manning should have taken that into consideration when this scholarship fund was established. By wording it the way it is he has left out an entire segment of Elmira’s kids who work hard to succeed regardless of what school they attend. Also I would like to point out that Marty was active throughout the Community and left no stone unturned with his generosity and volunteerism…. See below….
Volunteer efforts, recognition
Marty Harrigan was active in volunteer work throughout the community for much of his life. Among his positions:
So with this said I can only Honor Marty Harrigan as a true Elmiran who was loved by all who knew him and respected him , myself included. I hope this is simply a misunderstanding of the terms of this scholarship by the Star-Gazette and not , yet another , exclusion of the Southside students who are just as deserving of this award as E.F.A. If not I can only say that I am disappointed because of the lack of ” Diversity ” that exists amongst those who give back to their Community. And before you start jumping I’ll say it again, ” Its his money and he can do with it as he pleases. ” Just like its my opinion that he is wrong in the way he’s doing it !
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You are correct, Herb. This article was a bit confusing.
I read the story twice and it still isn’t clear to me exactly how these scholarships are going to be awarded. It sounds as though the money will go to the colleges to be awarded to Elmira students who are accepted into those colleges. It isn’t made crystal clear if the student must be a graduate of EFA or can be a graduate of any Elmira HS.
I guess we’ll never know if a graduate from ANY Elmira HS will be eligible but it would seem at this point perhaps that might be the case.
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Some states (such as Georgia) have a program where all public high school students who graduate with a certain GPA can get a scholarship to a public college in that state (if they are accepted!). This is funded by lottery money. I’d like to see New York do that someday.
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Yikes! Smooth, that would first require the state to actually use the lottery money for education, wouldn’t it?
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Yes it would. The NY Lottery says that they give money to education (let’s be generous and agree that they do) but they do it in a very invisible way. The Georgia program is very visible. The trick in Georgia is getting admitted, because obviously there are a lot of graduates who are applying for a limited number of slots, moreso since funding is not an obstacle.
Of course, in the case of the Elmira scholarship being discussed here, this program would not help … since two of the schools are out-of-state, and the other is private.
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Who cares…the giver is an EFA grad so let him set whatever parameters he wants…I’m sure right now you’re scheming to find a way to hustle your offspring through the EFA turnstiles to grab some of that dough…eh, Billy? Or are you just playing the ethno-race card and establishing their street cred as Hispanics to grab some taxpayer dough down the line…jes’ wondrin’…
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I agree Smooth, it is quite invisible. And unfortunately, none of the money goes to private schools (That I know if…)
The competition on Georgia, probably produces better candidates for the slots to fill, thats a good thing.
Asif, LOL. Such hostility. But, no. When my kids were first born, I had set up 529’s for each of them. Then I funded them religiously to the max, and luckily, the funds have actually done rather well, with a lifetime average of 14%. So, my kids have enough to go to the school of their choice, but if on application, I can play the Hispanic race card, I will whip it out, hope that doesn’t bother you too much. Hell, I might pull out the Black card and if it is available at the time, the White card. Textbooks aren’t getting any cheaper.
But do tell, is your child’s 529 fully funded? If not, why not? Something better to do with your money? LOL.
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” Public School ” I choose so that all the schools in the PUBLIC school system can get equal scholarship monies. And Si Hablo Billito, some of my best friends are of the Hispanic genre. Most of them drive Chevy’s though………
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