PWC Diversity Leadership Scholarship, Internship, Conference Deadline Dec. 31

Financial services giant PriceWaterhouseCoopers has announced a December 31, 2006 deadline for applications to its annual PWC eXceed scholarships, a comprehensive program offering opportunities for Native American, African American, and Hispanic American college students to explore careers at PWC through internships and participation in an annual Diversity Business Leadership Conference, along with a $3,000 support stipend. Applications are accepted from Freshmen or Sophomores with a 3.2 or higher GPA, and an interest in Accounting, Management Information Systems, and/or Computer Science.

Also of Interest: It's that season for students to apply for next year's internships. Most deadlines are coming up by early December. Visit IMDiversity's seasonal Internships & Co-ops special page with categorized internships listings.

New Analysis Shows Black Youth Voting Picking Up

A new Lake-Goeas Poll analysis, published in PDF format at Civicyouth.org, shows that youth voter turnout increased in 2006 for the second election in row, with turnout by young African Americans increasing. (Direct URL for PDF: http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/PR_06.pdf.)

Broken down, the analysis data suggest that young African Americans provided "Key Democratic support" in the November election, which shifted the balance of power in Congress to the Democrats' favor. In other findings, young African Americans were 12 and 19 points more likely to say they were “almost certain” to vote than either young whites or young Hispanics, respectively.

Analysis of preliminary exit poll and survey figures also suggest that "Thirteen percent of young voters (ages 18-29) self-identified as Black, compared to 10% of the overall voting population.

The analyses were published by CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, with Young Voter Strategies, a project of the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University, with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The release uses estimated figures, based on analysis of early November exit polling data, and adjustments are expected to be made on an ongoing basis at least throughout the year. Nonetheless, the general trend indicating a continued increase in young voter particpation is a positive sign that eligible youth voters, including college students, are strengthening their collective political clout.

THE BLACK COLLEGIAN will continue to follow and report on developments as new information is released.

Updates: 2006-2007 Career and Networking Events Listing

Newly posted on THE BLACK COLLEGIAN: Select events nationwide of interest to African-American students and young professionals, including career fairs, professional organization conferences, more.

Coming up soon:

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) has announced that it will hold its Region 1,2, and 3 Conference on the theme “Global Problem - Local Solutions” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 30 - December 3, 2006.


The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has announced that it will hold the NAACP Annual Leadership 500 Summit in Destin, Florida, December 7 – 10, 2006.

Affirmative Action Ban Passes in Michigan

University of Michigan vows to seek legal remedies; drop in Black, Latino and Native American enrollment expected to follow.

Report by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, IMDiversity Asian American Village Acting Editor, in Ann Arbor.

CNN Projects Win for Deval Patrick for MA Governor

Shortly before 9 PM Eastern, CNN projected that Deval Patrick had defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey in the race to replace Gov. Mitt Romney. If the results are verified, it will make Mr. Patrick Massachusett's first African American governor.

Video: Anti-Affirmative Action leader takes it where he can get it - even the Klan

Ward Connerly, the so-called “racial privacy” movement guru who successfully led the Proposition 209 effort in California, has now publicly announced, accepted, embraced the Ku Klan Klan’s support for the measure.

Even this: “God bless them,” said Connerly of these kindred spirits, in a controversial video broadcast circulating on YouTube.com.

At issue is a proposal on Michigan's ballot that would ban affirmative action in both university admissions decisions and the awarding of state business contracts.

As reported by the Associated Press, Connerly defended his remark after the controversial video began circulating widely, saying he accepts support for banning affirmative action "wherever he finds it".

Connerly, a one-time Regent of the University of California, was a main leader of the Prop 209 effort, which barred California public universities and other institutions from considering race or gender in admissions and hiring. According to the AP, the ballot initiative is blamed for plummeting numbers of Black, Hispanic and Native American students in the year following its passage.