Chicago-based game Cards Against Humanity is using funds from the sales of its Science expansion pack to send a woman studying science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) to college for free.
It's called the Science Ambassador Scholarship. The ultimate goal is to help increase the number of women in STEM by financially supporting one woman studying in a male-dominated field, who can then become a role model and vocal advocate for increasing diversity in STEM.
"It would have been very inspiring if, growing up, we could have seen more women in hard sciences with a platform and an audience, like a TV show or web series," said Jenn Bane, community manager at Cards Against Humanity, over email. "Our goal is to put a spotlight on women who are passionate about science."
So, why is a card game (and one that calls itself "the party game for horrible people" no less) looking to fund women in STEM?
Bane said when they released the Science expansion pack, they wanted the proceeds to benefit a science-related nonprofit, but were having problems finding an organization that felt right. "But then we realized the answer was right in front of us," said Bane.
"Everyone at Cards Against Humanity was fortunate enough to receive a college education, and with our backgrounds in science and tech, we've seen this glaring issue firsthand. STEM desperately needs diversity," she added.
College and high school students are eligible to apply. Applicants are required to upload a three minute video explaining a scientific topic they're passionate about. Videos will be reviewed by the scholarship's 60-woman advisory board, made up of women with higher degrees and work professionally in STEM fields. The deadline is December 11, 2016.
We want to raise visibility of women in science
“We’re accepting video applications because we want to raise visibility of women in science," said board member Veronica Berns, postdoctoral fellow in chemical education at Northwestern University, in a release. "Production value isn’t a factor in these videos. We’re looking for passionate, creative students who can break down a complicated scientific topic.”
This is the second year that Cards Against Humanity has offered a scholarship to a woman studying STEM--last year, Sona Dadhania, now a freshman at University of Pennsylvania studying materials science and engineering, won the scholarship. Bane says in the future, hopefully as soon as next year, they'll expand the scholarship program to multiple recipients.
The expansion pack has raised $970,000 to date.
