Part Portuguese: Do I have the right to mark Hispanic?

College Search & Selection
21

<p>yeah
technically portugese was once considered hispanic...and i thinlk it still is.</p>

<p>I myself am a quarter portugese so i would never mark hispanic, but my mother is half so if she marked it in highschool it would make sense.</p>

<p>My mother has light skin, but has sort of an olive complexion (like that of latin americans)</p>

<p>anyway
my grandpa, and his 8 siblings(most who are dead) would definitely have been classified under hispanic.</p>

<p>Dark skin, olive complexion, dark black hair.</p>

22

<p>Once again, Ugh!!!</p>

<p>Some of the responses in this thread are [unintentionally] offensive. "Hispanic" does not refer to one's racial characteristics, such as complexion. So it doesn't matter if your great-grandfather's cousin once removed had the stereotypical "olive" complexion. By the way, aren't fresh olives GREEN in color? I've never seen a green human being.</p>

<p>And no, the Portugese are not included in the definition of Hispanic. Iberian, yes, Hispanic no.</p>

23

<p>yeah
k were not hispanic
but
many really do look like they are hispanic.</p>

<p>LIke my grandpa...and my mom does too.</p>

<p>I on the other hand dont at all cept for having dark eyes, but im like onlya quarter portugese which is why i dont look like it.</p>

<p>and
couldnt he just mark other, caused portugese isnt caucasian</p>

24

<p>What are the odds the OP marks "Hispanic" anyway?</p>

<p>"However, as you probably know, at one point in history, the Portuguese empire merged with the Spanish empire."</p>

<p>If your defense of why you are a URM begins with "at one point in history," you probably aren't a URM.</p>

25

<p>The school will look at more than box. Being Hispanic is no big deal at many schools. They are looking for certain small subgroups like inner-city poor ones.</p>

26

<p>My friend recently discovered that he was 1/16 american indian so he decided to check that under ethnicity. Hilarious.</p>

27

<p>It is an insult to your Portuguese heritage to call yourself Hispanic. I say that, because Portugal and Spain (as you probably know) are two different countries with two different cultures.</p>

28

<p>
[quote]
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.

[/quote]
sorry, you're out of touch on this one. Take a black kid growing up in a pricy neighborhood, dad is a doctor or lawyer. Does he check "white" because he's had more advantages in life than most people. No, he does not.</p>

29

<p>No but most schools will consider the other factors too. They know your family income, address, high school etc.</p>

30

<p>Read the Wikipedia definition:</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>You should NOT check off Hispanic on the application.</p>

31

<p>Portuguese don't speak spanish- the majority at least- nor do they reside in Latin America, so I don't think you'd be considered Hispanic or Latino.</p>

32

<p>OP, what is you other 3/4? You've alluded to the fact that you aren't "white" without saying what you are.</p>

33

<p>
[quote]
Read the Wikipedia definition:</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>You should NOT check off Hispanic on the application.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Actually, the Wikipedia article explicitly includes Spain as Hispanic.</p>

34

<p>Actually Lake Washington is correct. The terms were orginally defined by the Department of Commerce for data collection purposes. Now OMB sets the standards. You can find the most recent defintions here:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/1997standards.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/1997standards.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>And please, quoting Wikipedia as a source?</p>

35

<p>"It is an insult to your Portuguese heritage to call yourself Hispanic. I say that, because Portugal and Spain (as you probably know) are two different countries with two different cultures."</p>

<p>The interpretation of insult is subjective.</p>

36

<p>does being a native hawaiian/pacific islander benifit in any way? i know being asian is a big disadvantage and other minoirity races other htan asian are all benifits</p>