An LGBT organizer
was among 32 men and women from across the United
States who have been selected as Rhodes Scholars for 2008,
the scholarship trust announced Sunday.
The scholars were
selected from 764 applicants endorsed by 294 colleges
and universities. The scholarships, the oldest of the
international study awards available to American
students, provide two or three years of study. The
students will enter Oxford University in England next
October.
This year's
winners include Brett T. Masters of Charlotte, Mich., a
senior at Princeton where he majors in comparative
literature. Masters was a finalist for the national
Dante prize of the Dante Society of America and has
won prizes in the humanities and in writing.
He writes for the
Daily Princetonian, was an organizer of the
Gay Family Rights Project, and tutors with two local
groups. At Oxford he plans to focus on medieval studies.
Rhodes
Scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of British
philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. Winners are selected on the
basis of high academic achievement, personal
integrity, leadership potential, and physical vigor,
among other attributes.
The American
students will join an international group of scholars
selected from 13 other jurisdictions around the world.
Approximately 85 scholars are selected each year.
The value of the
Rhodes Scholarship varies depending on the field of
study. The total value averages about $45,000 per year.
With the
elections announced Sunday, 3,142 Americans have won Rhodes
Scholarships, representing 307 colleges and
universities. (AP)