NationStates Jolt Archive

Here's a fun topic for some discussion. I was listening to the radio on the radio this morning on the way to work. As usual, the DJs were yakking instead of playing music. As I was about to switch over to XM, I caught a couple of hints about the topic.

Okay, I heard the word "virgin" and it piqued my interest.

So I listened a while.

They had a guy on the phone that was offering college scholarships to any girl that could prove she was a virgin. By prove, he meant that she had an intact hymen. To keep the scholarship, the girl had to submit to a physical exam at regular intervals to prove that she was still a virgin.

These guys had two phone lines. One with this character and one with listener call-ins. Of course the callers were all worked up over how unfair this was. "Could a girl be raped and still get the scholarship?", one caller asked. The answer was a emphatic "No" from the fellow on the other line. "Could a girl get married, have sex with her husband, and still get the scholarship?" another caller asked. Again, "No" was the reply.

The guy had two rules and no exceptions for running his program. First is "Look but don't touch" and the second was "You break it, you buy it".

Okay, I can't find any mention of a guy named Elliott and a scholarship for virgins, but it is entertaining. Now, google did return a lot of hits for a similar program in Uganda, so maybe it isn't so far-fetched as all that.

I think that a scholarship foundation should be able to establish and enforce any rules they want to have. After all, it's their money.

. . .An intact hymen is not proof of virginity. Lots of women lose their virginity without breaking the hymen, and lots of women break their hymen without having sex (playing soccer and riding bikes, for instance, are fairly notorious).

Really, this is just a retarded idea for a scholarship. What is the point of virginity for virginity's sake?

I believe I heard Jay Leno said this was for some country in Africa...

Here's a fun topic for some discussion. I was listening to the radio on the radio this morning on the way to work. As usual, the DJs were yakking instead of playing music. As I was about to switch over to XM, I caught a couple of hints about the topic.

Okay, I heard the word "virgin" and it piqued my interest.

So I listened a while.

They had a guy on the phone that was offering college scholarships to any girl that could prove she was a virgin. By prove, he meant that she had an intact hymen. To keep the scholarship, the girl had to submit to a physical exam at regular intervals to prove that she was still a virgin.

These guys had two phone lines. One with this character and one with listener call-ins. Of course the callers were all worked up over how unfair this was. "Could a girl be raped and still get the scholarship?", one caller asked. The answer was a emphatic "No" from the fellow on the other line. "Could a girl get married, have sex with her husband, and still get the scholarship?" another caller asked. Again, "No" was the reply.

The guy had two rules and no exceptions for running his program. First is "Look but don't touch" and the second was "You break it, you buy it".

Okay, I can't find any mention of a guy named Elliott and a scholarship for virgins, but it is entertaining. Now, google did return a lot of hits for a similar program in Uganda, so maybe it isn't so far-fetched as all that.

I think that a scholarship foundation should be able to establish and enforce any rules they want to have. After all, it's their money.
Sure, they should be able to do it. I find it a bit silly though. One's hymen can be broken without one having sex, if I have heard correctly.

Sure, they should be able to do it. I find it a bit silly though. One's hymen can be broken without one having sex, if I have heard correctly.
Absolutely. Physical evidence isn't reliable, but this guy was only looking for a one-way proof.

Those poor virgins, all of five of them!

1) welcome to a week ago, it was in yahoo news

2) You can't find any info because it is a program in some random AFRICAN nation that the currently ruling loon has put in place to try and encourage chastity in women

Hymens can not only be broken by doing practically anything, they can also be reconstructed. Its very popular in the Middle East, apparently.

And this whole scholarship thing is bloody stupid.

As others have pointed out, an intact hymen does not a virgin make. It's extremely common to rip said membrane long before engaging in any form of intercourse (I did!), and nowadays there's even such a thing as "hymen reconstuction surgery" for people who want to recreate their "virginity." So it's an extremely ineffective method of determination in both directions.

Of course, even beyond that, it's an idiotic thing to give scholarships for, and refusing them to rape victims is pretty sick, but if it's his money, I suppose he can do whatever he wants with it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050720/od_afp/ugandaeducationvirginsoffbeat_050720121210;_ylt=Ahj41QFD8cR95f9fclAuXVegOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBH NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

there ya go. now that we realize this is in uganda, we can stop the random whinery

Ihatevacations']http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050720/od_afp/ugandaeducationvirginsoffbeat_050720121210;_ylt=Ahj41QFD8cR95f9fclAuXVegOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBH NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

there ya go. now that we realize this is in uganda, we can stop the random whinery
No ones listens to me. :(

I think that a scholarship foundation should be able to establish and enforce any rules they want to have. After all, it's their money.
That’s the only thing here that really matters.

That’s the only thing here that really matters.
ACTUALLY, the only thing that REALLY matters HERE is the fact it is in UGANDA. They could'nt legally do this in the US, if you people couldn't somehow get that throguh your head. You can have some crazy ass scholarship requirements, but I doub't hymen intactness is one of them

Ihatevacations']1) welcome to a week ago, it was in yahoo news

2) You can't find any info because it is a program in some random AFRICAN nation that the currently ruling loon has put in place to try and encourage chastity in women
Obviously this was just a gag by the radio station. I'm sure someone read about the program in Uganda and thought it would make entertaining radio. It did, for the same reasons this makes entertaining reading. The audience was unanimously opposed to the scholarship conditions, but listening to them vent at this stooge on the radio was hilarious.

But I'm curious. Why would conditions such as these be illegal in the U.S? Private foundations should be able to spend their scholarship money any way they see fit. If they can't, it's just another example of government overstepping their bounds.

No ones listens to me. :(
Technically no one can on here, so don't feel too bad. Megh.

As others have pointed out, an intact hymen does not a virgin make. It's extremely common to rip said membrane long before engaging in any form of intercourse (I did!), and nowadays there's even such a thing as "hymen reconstuction surgery" for people who want to recreate their "virginity." So it's an extremely ineffective method of determination in both directions.

Of course, even beyond that, it's an idiotic thing to give scholarships for, and refusing them to rape victims is pretty sick, but if it's his money, I suppose he can do whatever he wants with it.

Some women are actually born without a hymen.

Ihatevacations']ACTUALLY, the only thing that REALLY matters HERE is the fact it is in UGANDA. They could'nt legally do this in the US, if you people couldn't somehow get that throguh your head. You can have some crazy ass scholarship requirements, but I doub't hymen intactness is one of them
But why should it be illegal? It’s their money.
But I'm curious. Why would conditions such as these be illegal in the U.S? Private foundations should be able to spend their scholarship money any way they see fit. If they can't, it's just another example of government overstepping their bounds.
Exactly.

The point of this program is to help try and lower the rates of AIDS amongst women, by encouraging them to abstain from sex. In a country that is suffering so badly because of the disease, I think it's actually a somewhat good idea. There are downfalls, of course, but the principle behind it is good. Not only could it help AIDS rates, but it can help improve the education level of the poor, which will help the country.

As abhorrent as I find the idea, the scholarship granters have the right to spend their money on whatever they like.

Some women are actually born without a hymen. I think the things are kind of repulsive anyway. Not women, hymens… not that I've seen one, but the word "membrane" itself is… *shudder*.

Well if it's in Uganda it's a good idea, if it's in the US it's… odd. The rape victims thing is unfair, though.

This is just weird....