<p>As the title says, I'm part Portuguese (one-fourth). I firmly believe that I have the right to mark the Hispanic box without guilt, but I'm worried that admissions officers would simply think that I'm playing the URM card if I specify "Portuguese" when asked to elaborate on my Hispanic heritage. As you may know, there is raging debate on whether Portuguese should be classified Hispanic or not.
[url=<a href="http://www.portuguesefoundation.org/hispanic.htm%5DHere%5B/url">http://www.portuguesefoundation.org/hispanic.htm]Here[/url</a>] is some evidence of that. It's all really confusing... when Portuguese immigrants came to the US in the early 1900s, they weren't classified as white. Now, they are, yet the classification is still arbitrary and controversial. Also, all these forms (except the US Census) imply that people from Hispania share a race. They don't because race is a physical categorization (based on skin color mainly) and these people come in white, brown, black. What they share are cultural/ethnic similarities, not race.</p>
<p>I think it's absurd that I'm actually hesitating to own up to the influences I've had by virtue of having ancestors from the Iberian Peninsula (by way of Brazil?), all because of the worry that college admissions officers might think I'm trying to get a leg up in admissions. What do you guys think? Should I just mark "white" (as the general classification for Portuguese, since my other non-Portuguese ethnicity is non-white)? How about marking "other" and putting down "Portuguese." How about putting white-Hispanic (I have a Hispanic last name though and look more Hispanic than white)?</p>
<p>Gargoyle, I may be wrong, but last time I checked, Hispanic means Latin and South American, not European. I don't think a person of Spanish or Portuguese origin qualifies as an URM. I could be wrong, but you better check before you fill the forms.</p>
<p>Think about it: hispanic is supposed to give a little boost to the people from central/south america because they tend to be less educated and more likely to be poor.</p>
<p>Are the Portuguese anything like this?</p>
<p>If I was from Spain or Portugal I'd mark white, since both are European countries that don't have the same problems that central/south american countries do.</p>
<p>You say you firmly believe you should mark hispanic, is that because you honestly feel you have been disadvantaged due to your ethnicity, or is it because you want to get ahead in college admissions?</p>
<p>In general, you would not be considenred Hispanic because "Hispanic" has come to only refer to those who have a relatively close biohistorical relationship to the living inhabitants of modern day Spain. However, as you probably know, at one point in history, the Portuguese empire merged with the Spanish empire. That more or less resulted in former Portuguese people becoming "naturalized" Spaniards aka Hispanics. Since it's pretty tough to reject the citizenship of one's former ancestors, I encourage you to use "history" to your advantage and mark "Hispanic."</p>
<p>P.S. don't believe for a second that Spaniards aren't Hispanics. That's where the term comes from. "Hispania" = part of Iberian peninsula KNOWN TO THE ROMANS. Hispania's people were the first Hispanics.</p>
<p>My grandparents , one is from Isreal and the other from Spain , they both migrated to the Dominican Republic to start a major business together. I consider myself Dominican because that is the culture in which I have embraced. My parents were both born in Spain and came over to the States as adults . My mother lived all her childhood in American schools in the Dominican Republic. My mother considers herself a Dominican , which she is. I think that one should check the culture in which one is more accustomed to , in my opinion.</p>
<p>this is the most ridiculous post i've ever seen. hispanic DOES refer to latin and south america. all this nonsense about when the spanish and portuguese empires merged hundreds of years ago is completely irrelevant. you are not at the same disadvantage as immigrants from mexico, nicaragua, el salvador, etc. whose parents are struggling on minimum wage...and you're not even from a latin american country. so if you really feel like you need to play the race/diversity card in order for you to be accepted to the college of your choice, i would say put 'portuguese' next to the 'other' box. my parents (white) are from south africa, but i think admissions officers would be pretty appalled if i checked the 'african-american' box.</p>
<p>Are Brazilians considered Hispanic? Sometimes. Are people with ancestry going right to Spain considered Hispanic? Sometimes. Is this whole system hosed up? Yes. Send an anonymous email (using a hotmail.com account with the name john smith or whatever) to each admissions office. You will be amazed at the range of answers you will get. I'm a white American, my wife is from Spain, so our kids are...??</p>
<p>So wait, are you seriously trying to claim 1/4 of you as ALL of you or can you check multiple boxes? Check as many boxes as you want if you can. And if it is only one box uhhh yes you have the "right" to misrepresent yourself.</p>
<p>I see that this has become another of those "ugh!" threads.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, here is an accepted contemporary [based in historical] understanding;</p>
<p>Hispanic is an American English term essentially created by the U.S. government (Commerce Department, I believe) to be a definition for persons with ancestral or cultural heritage derived from Spain and/or the Spanish speaking countries of South America, the Caribbean Sea as well as from the nation of Mexico. The U.S. government, in a precident, just threw them all together for statistical considerations. Curiously, this includes aboriginal Americans in Central and South America who may speak only their ancestral language. Anyone who has toured the remote villages in the Cancun region (and elsewhere) know that many "Indio" communities speak little Spanish, yet they are Mexican, etc. and thus Hispanic. Ah, the vagaries of U.S. attitudes. In countries like Argentina, with a large Italian-heritage population, more than a few folks distinguish themselves as "European, i.e. white" and become quite peeved when Americans characterize them as non-white.</p>
<p>The classical definition of a "Latin" person included persons with ancestry from the peninsulas of southern Europe; Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece. Clearly, the contemporary meaning of Latin (at least in the Western Hemisphere) also includes peoples from any nation south of the United States.</p>
<p>Thus, Portugese and Brazilians, while Latin, are not Hispanic.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The classical definition of a "Latin" person included persons with ancestry from the peninsulas of southern Europe; Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece.<<</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>I don't know what classical dictionary you are using, but mine defines it as someone from countries where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, which would include Spain, Portugal, Italy, (and France, BTW), but not Greece. Greeks are Helenic rather than Latin.</p>
<p>But to the OP's question, I think the answer is pretty clearly no. For someone who is 1/4 Portuguese to check Hispanic on a college application would be using a historical/linguistic technicality to try to gain access to a benefit that was intended for others.</p>
<p>I didn't create the terms in contemporary use. In some cases the U.S. Government did (a la Hispanic) and in other cases particular groups use said descriptions without regard to their academic origin.</p>
<p>I think it's ridiculous to check 'Hispanic' if you're Portuguese, and also pretty ridiculous to check 'Hispanic' if you're Spanish for that matter. However, if you're a white Mexican or a white Argentine, etc., you are perfectly entitled to check that box.</p>