A 18-year-old student from Tennessee has raised more than $30,000 for college this month after saying her parents cut her off financially for dating a black student, she claims.
Allie Dowdle took to GoFundMe to seek a new source of financial support, posting an initial goal of $10,000. She alleged in her plea for support, titled "Say No to Racism," that her parents rejected her boyfriend, Michael Swift, "strictly because of race."
Her story has resonated with so many people that she managed to exceed her goal in a single day, raising $15,000 on last Thursday alone.
RELATED: The 30 most expensive colleges to live near
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The 30 most expensive colleges to live near
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The 30 most expensive colleges to live near
30. University of Michigan
Metro area: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Median rent near campus: $1,964
Market-rate rent: $1,793
Percent above market: 9%
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28. (TIE) Clemson University
Metro area: Greenville, South Carolina
Median rent near campus: $1,288
Market-rate rent: $1,158
Percent above market: 11%
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28. (TIE) University of Wisconsin at Madison
Metro area: Madison, Wisconsin
Median rent near campus: $1,794
Market-rate rent: $1,611
Percent above market: 11%
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27. University of Central Florida
Metro area: Orlando, Florida
Median rent near campus: $1,552
Market-rate rent: $1,385
Percent above market: 12%
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26. Pennsylvania State University
Metro area: State College, Pennsylvania
Median rent near campus: $1,473
Market-rate rent: $1,289
Percent above market: 14%
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25. Georgetown University
Metro area: Washington, D.C.
Median rent near campus: $2,335
Market-rate rent: $2,033
Percent above market: 15%
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24. Eastern Florida State College
Metro area: Melbourne, Florida
Median rent near campus: $1,519
Market-rate rent: $1,310
Percent above market: 16%
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22. (TIE) University of Colorado at Boulder
Metro area: Boulder, Colorado
Median rent near campus: $2,489
Market-rate rent: $2,122
Percent above market: 17%
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22. (TIE) Georgia State University
Metro area: Atlanta, Georgia
Median rent near campus: $1,530
Market-rate rent: $1,304
Percent above market: 17%
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20. (TIE) University of Pittsburgh
Metro area: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Median rent near campus: $1,328
Market-rate rent: $1,115
Percent above market: 19%
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20. (TIE) Cleveland State University
Metro area: Cleveland, Ohio
Median rent near campus: $1,473
Market-rate rent: $1,235
Percent above market: 19%
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19. Virginia Tech
Metro area: Blacksburg, Virginia
Median rent near campus: $1,462
Market-rate rent: $1,191
Percent above market: 22%
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18. University of Texas at Austin
Metro area: Austin, Texas
Median rent near campus: $2,037
Market-rate rent: $1,653
Percent above market: 23%
Photo credit: Getty
15. (TIE) Ohio State University
Metro area: Columbus, Ohio
Median rent near campus: $1,635
Market-rate rent: $1,321
Percent above market: 24%
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15. (TIE) Florida Atlantic University
Metro area: Palm Beach, Florida
Median rent near campus: $2,477
Market-rate rent: $2,000
Percent above market: 24%
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15. (TIE) Cornell University
Metro area: Ithaca, New York
Median rent near campus: $2,082
Market-rate rent: $1,675
Percent above market: 24%
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14. University of Massachusetts Center at Springfield
Metro area: Springfield, Massachusetts
Median rent near campus: $2,013
Market-rate rent: $1,596
Percent above market: 26%
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13. Santa Fe College
Metro area: Gainesville, Florida
Median rent near campus: $1,510
Market-rate rent: $1,173
Percent above market: 29%
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12. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metro area: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Median rent near campus: $1,739
Market-rate rent: $1,329
Percent above market: 31%
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10. (TIE) New York University
Metro area: New York, New York
Median rent near campus: $2,881
Market-rate rent: $2,139
Percent above market: 34%
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10. (TIE) Portland State University
Metro area: Portland, Oregon
Median rent near campus: $2,327
Market-rate rent: $1,724
Percent above market: 34%
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9. Michigan State University
Metro area: Lansing, Michigan
Median rent near campus: $1,282
Market-rate rent: $948
Percent above market: 35%
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8. University of Washington
Metro area: Seattle, Washington
Median rent near campus: $2,786
Market-rate rent: $2,044
Percent above market: 36%
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7. University of Texas at Dallas
Metro area: Dallas, Texas
Median rent near campus: $2,058
Market-rate rent: $1,476
Percent above market: 39%
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6. University of Utah
Metro area: Salt Lake City, Utah
Median rent near campus: $2,043
Market-rate rent: $1,443
Percent above market: 41%
Photo credit: Getty
3. (TIE) University of California at Berkeley
Metro area: Oakland, California
Median rent near campus: $4,070
Market-rate rent: $2,822
Percent above market: 44%
Photo credit: Getty
3. (TIE) Harvard University
Metro area: Boston, Massachusetts
Median rent near campus: $3,287
Market-rate rent: $2,276
Percent above market: 44%
Photo credit: Getty
3. (TIE) University of Miami
Metro area: Miami, Florida
Median rent near campus: $2,818
Market-rate rent: $1,916
Percent above market: 44%
Photo credit: Getty
2. Stanford University
Metro area: San Jose, California
Median rent near campus: $5,705
Market-rate rent: $3,499
Percent above market: 63%
Photo credit: Getty
1. University of California at Los Angeles
Metro area: Los Angeles, California
Median rent near campus: $4,343
Market-rate rent: $2,409
Percent above market: 80%
Photo credit: Getty
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In addition to denying Dowdle funding for her college education, she claims that her parents also confiscated her personal savings, car, and cell phone, which she says has made it harder for her to get a job and earn money.
"My parents also got involved with my school in [an] attempt to get me removed from the organizations I've been a part of, like Coexist and Facing History and Ourselves, clubs that essentially encourage [valuing] and treating people equally," Dowdle writes.
Her boyfriend of one year also took to his Twitter account on Thursday to post a link to Dowdle's fundraiser.
"It was never about race," her father, Bill Dowdle, told the NY Daily News. Though his daughter seeing a black man is not his "preference" given issues involving interracial couples in the South, he concedes that it is not his place to vet his daughter's dating choices as she is 18.
Her father says he and Dowdle's mother would accept whoever their daughter chooses to date.
His concludes that the decision to cut off Dowdle's funds were due to her being spoiled and "it became obvious that she needed to go out in the world and grow up."
