I didn't think that I would ever turn away the prospect of a $64,000 scholarship—but here we are.

The University of Melbourne recently announced a "transformative" new scholarship for Arts students studying History, Philosophy, Classics, English and other specified disciplines. I was shocked by how generous it was, offering a $32,000 per annum stipend, a $6,500 grant for studying abroad, attendance at an international summer school, additional financial support for Honours or postgraduate study and more.

As an Arts student at the University of Melbourne, majoring in English, I'm exactly the kind of student who would be eligible and benefit greatly from the scholarship if I was awarded it: my initial reaction to the announcement was one of excitement, and I had planned to apply once applications opened later this year.

But as I looked into the details of the scholarship and its donor, I became increasingly concerned. And when the scholarship failed to gain the approval of the university's Academic Board a few weeks ago, leading to uncertainty about whether it will be implemented, I was relieved.

This scholarship, if it is implemented, will be funded by a $35 million donation from the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, an institution known for its links to the Liberal Party and allegations (which the centre has denied) that it seeks to promote the superiority of the West.

Founded in 2017 by the late healthcare magnate Paul Ramsay, it was initially chaired by John Howard and Tony Abbott remains on its board. In a 2018 article published in Quadrant Magazine, Abbott claimed to have given Ramsay the idea for the centre and its scholarships. Adding that when he began speaking to Ramsay about the project in 2011, "every element of the curriculum was supposed to be pervaded by Asian, indigenous and sustainability perspectives. Almost entirely absent from the contemporary educational mindset was any sense that cultures might not all be equal." 

He proceeded to explain that "the key to understanding the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation is that it’s not merely about Western civilisation but in favour of it." Abbott's comments emphatically endorse the superiority of the West and his desire to place Western civilisation at the centre of humanities education, taking precedence over all other cultures and aspects of the discipline.

Although the centre has distanced itself from these comments, Abbott's remaining on the board, and his suggestions throughout the article that these were the convictions that inspired its founding, imply that a belief in Western superiority lies at the heart of the Ramsay Centre.

As Australia battles an increasing insurgence of monocultural and racist ideology, I find the existence of the Ramsay Centre deeply disturbing. Beneath its veneer of philanthropy and academia, it promotes the same white supremacist rhetoric spewed by Pauline Hanson and the far-right.

On the surface, simply donating money to the University of Melbourne doesn't seem to equip the centre with power over the university. However, the university indicated that a Ramsay Centre representative would be on the scholarship's selection panel alongside three academics. As a person of colour, I wonder whether, with a Ramsay representative having a say in who should receive it, my race would have impacted my chance of receiving the scholarship.

I'm glad that the Academic Board is considering rejecting this scholarship; it would be a decision that places principles over money, which is not easy to do in an era where the funding of the humanities is more fraught than ever. However, the University is still pushing for the scholarship to be instated, which may trigger a revote from the board. 

If the scholarship comes to fruition, I've decided that I won't apply for it. I refuse to take money from an institution which is pushing a racist, regressive agenda. The Ramsay Centre undermines the importance of non-white perspectives in academia, suggesting that the study of the West should be elevated above other disciplines which have long been overlooked by universities around the world. 

But even more disturbingly, it is concealing itself by funnelling its agenda through Australian universities. 

It has already succeeded in establishing a "Bachelor of Western Civilisation" course at the University of Queensland, the University of Wollongong and the Australian Catholic University. And it has made repeated attempts to gain even more control by not simply establishing new courses, but determining how they are run. The Australian National University walked away from a deal with the centre in 2018, while it was chaired by John Howard, due to the centre's demands for oversight of the curriculum, reading lists and lecturer selection. This would have seriously undermined the university's academic integrity and allowed the centre unprecedented power over a prestigious, powerful and important institution.

I ask the University of Melbourne to reject this scholarship, and for universities around Australia to cut ties with the centre. We cannot allow it to assert itself into our academic institutions, destroying their integrity while pushing its own dangerous and disturbing ideologies.

The humanities need funding. We don't need the Ramsay Centre.