New York City's Borough of Manhattan Community College advertised two new scholarships, one of which was the Ho Chi Minh Scholarship Fund, carrying a stipend of $250. The scholarship's mandate was "honoring and promoting the legacy of the Vietnamese freedom fighter" and "promoting awareness about global history and struggle of People of non-white color."

The other was the Assata Shakur Scholarship Fund, named after the woman whose "slave name" was Joanne Chesimard. In 1973, Shakur/Chesimard was a member of the reconstituted Black Panther Party when she was wounded in a robbery and shoot-out on the New Jersey Turnpike that left a state trooper dead. The scholarship application says that Shakur was convicted on "flimsy charges in 1977"; she later escaped and fled to Cuba. This scholarship's mandate was meant to "honor her life," encourage students to "take Ethnic Studies classes" such as Haitian and Puerto Rican Studies, and "create awareness around the struggles of People of non-white Color."

Following a barrage of telephone calls and telegrams protesting the scholarships, the New York Times reported that the scholarships were to be renamed. College officials did not say whether the eligibility requirement of a 2.0 grade point average would be raised.

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