<p>Do any of you have nagging thoughts about the drawbacks of being identified as a racial minority? It really wasn't until college admissions loomed closer (son is a rising senior) that we, as a family, have to tackle this. Coming from a multi-racial church and neighborhood (mostly white, black, Mexican, Phillipino, and Chinese/Korean), we have just been somewhat oblivious to issues of race and how others perceive "minorities". It's not that racial identity hasn't always been in the back of our minds (as a refresher, my oldest son is 1/2 Puerto Rican, 1/2 White and we, his parents are white and he is dark skinned, PR being a mix of African, Native American, and Spain Spanish) but now I see there's so much to think about.</p>
<p>It's clear that there is a certain backlash from people who are not ethnic minorities, feeling it's unfair for any group to have a perceived advantage in admissions and I have to say I can see that side of it.</p>
<p>Also, when my son did get the email from MIT and I asked them a question, the email that came back was from "minoritystudents@mit". So is that how my son will have to be perceived and identified forevermore in college, as (fill in the blank college) minority student? What if he wants to just be perceived as himself? What if he wants to be how he's always been, integrated with everyone, whatever the ethnicity? What if he just wants to be know as the amazing physics/math/music student who's funny, creative and an excellent chess and baseball player? Must he be known as the excellent <em>minority</em> math/physics/music student, etc. etc.?</p>
<p>Truth is, when he does interviews, there's no escaping that he's not white and he never has asked to escape who he is. He's very comfortable with it but it does seem to bring a lot of baggage as it relates to college admissions.</p>
<p>I guess I'm wondering how "minorities" fair at selective colleges in terms of being singled out or being made to feel different or even "less than" or are your kids able to integrate with everyone? I saw some self-selected segregation on Penn's campus when we visited but not really at Princeton. I haven't been to other campuses besides the local ones so I don't know how it is out there.</p>
<p>I hope what I'm asking makes sense.</p>
<p>sbj- Your post brings up a lot of good questions about the way social identities circulate in society. Of course these are not contained on college campuses. Assumptions and evalutions about ethnic groups are part of social interaction. But I do think on campuses these matters are magnified, in part because colleges have been at the forefront of discussions about civil rights and opposing all kinds of discrimination. It’s important to consider that these concerns do not spring up suddenly but are part of historical processes. It’s all very complicated, but I’ll just offer a few observations. First of all, on college campuses you have an academic investment in various fields of study, including African American, Latino Studies, Asian Am, etc. These fields emphasize the study – both in historical and contemporary social terms – of the way ethnic identities emerge and are used by various people, political groups, media, etc. At the same time, you have a call to diversify the student body on many college campuses, and thus you have student affairs also working on campus toward making colleges more attractive and comfortable for students from various backgrounds. </p>
<p>If I may offer my own experiences as a Latino in higher education over many years… you can have an influence on how much ethnic identity is part of your life simply by making it (or not) a part of your life. If you apply for scholarships, join groups, identify yourself as such, then it always has the potential to come up in discussions or in the way people view you. Of course, some people are always going to make assumptions and view us in particular ways – all I’m saying is that the more you insert yourself in this discussion, the more likely it will be to come up in your experience. Those who don’t want Latino identity to be an important part their lives always have the option not to respond to invitations, emails, etc. and not emphasize that part of their lives.</p>
<p>Another point to consider is that the experience of being an ethnic minority varies tremendously across different campuses. For example, LAtinos may be considered a minority in terms of national profile, but at certain universities (e.g. FIU in Miami) Latinos are not a numerical minority. Same thing goes for other groups at different universities. Asian American do not stand out on some campuses in California, but they may at universities in other parts of the country. In terms of selective colleges, a lot of these are trying to increase representation of historically under-enrolled groups and they may be likely to emphasize the numbers applying, admitted, enrolling, etc. They are competing for the best students and they want to show that they can be attractive to Latino students.</p>
<p>Just a few thoughts. A lot more can be said about this topic.</p>
<p>copterguy,</p>
<p>Thank-you for sharing your perspective. Since I’m relatively new to CC, I don’t know backgrounds to many posters on the forum. I hadn’t realized that you’ve been in higher education for many years. You definitely have a unique perspective from within, as a part of the “system” and outside of it as a parent. It is complex issue and thus, I was wondering if others have grappled with this issue. If anyone’s been in higher education, they’ve probably already established what it is that they think about what it means to be a “minority” but we haven’t explored it much.</p>
<p>As you say, it depends on where you are as to what group(s) of people are considered minority and how they are treated. My son is doing his research on the campus of SDSU which has a 27% Hispanic population. He looks like a lot of students but he does stand out to his physics prof because of his age and accomplishments. But, it’s not like it really matters what his ethnicity is there since he’s only working in the physics department and isn’t involved in activites on campus.</p>
<p>Once he goes off somewhere full time, it will be interesting to see what happens in terms of how much or how little he’ll insert himself in the discussion. Being that he’s pretty apolitical, I would guess he’ll try to avoid controversial associations and will try to be as he’s always been, very integrated and mainstream while keeping his uniqueness. As you say, it seems to depend on the school. </p>
<p>Since he is applying to two visitation programs, the one at MIT and one at Harvey Mudd, that are geared towards minorities and lower socio-economic students, it will be interesting to hear his opinion if he does end up participating. He’s definitely not used to events exclusively for minorities or Hispanics. It could be revelatory for him.</p>