Transfers By Lucy Thurber

In your opinion, was the “right” student awarded the scholarship? Why or why not?
Transfers is an interesting play that pits two characters against each other. Clarence and
Cristofer are forced to compete for a scholarship. In the end, Clarence ends up winning the
scholarship at the expense of Cristopher. Evidently, the scholarship did go to the right person.
Cristofer is a star in his own right, having participated in wrestling competitions. This is seen as
David indicates, “He’s a scholar athlete-he’s a wrestler” (p.4). On the other hand, Clarence is
gay, and this is depicted in his own admission regarding his sexuality.
In defining who needs to be accepted for the scholarship, one factor weighs heavily in
one’s academic grades. Geoffrey indicates this when he says, “At the end of the day, these
scholarships are based on academic merit” (p.46). Cristofer has good grades and is also a
sportsperson, and Geoffrey acknowledges this “Cristofer Rodriguez has good SATS. Excellent
math scores and along with wrestling we can feel confident that he will be able to function here”
p.46. Based on this criterion, Cristofer was more qualified than Clarence. Clarence did not have a
perfect score with a score of 950. “Clarence got a 950 on his SATs. He didn’t
even break 1,000. He is trying to transfer from a community college which frankly just isn’t
competitive” (p.47). College scholarships are founded on academic performance. As a result, the
candidate that gets a better score deserves the scholarship. While in an ideal situation, all
deserving candidates should get the scholarship, funds are limited, and a set criterion has to be
used.