<p>my friend's parents immigrated from South Africa, and she thinks this entitles her to check the African American box. I disagree, saying that though 4 generations of her family are south african, her ancestors are dutch, making her white, not african american. who is right?</p>
<p>The category is african american/ black. She is not black. She is not african american in the sense of the term that the common app is using. They are using african american as a euphemism for black. This question comes up every now and then, stirs up some debate, and always frustrates me, because its so obvious. grr. :)
edit: In fact, the descendant of white south africans should truly feel a little guilt in checking the black box given the racial history of the country. I doubt she'd be saying she was black in South Africa during apartheid...</p>
<p>I'd check it. It's a huge advantage and she is an African American -- probably much more connected to Africa than most American Blacks.</p>
<p>If I were her, I'd check it. Affirmative action is retarded anyway. :P</p>
<p>She is African American by definition. She is not black by definition.
The box says African American, which she is.
Therefore, she should check the box.</p>
<p>That's the logic you gotta go by. If College X allows supplementary material, but says nothing about page limits, you can send in all the stuff you want. :) As a researcher, I value explicitness and precision!</p>
<p>The check box on the common application explicitly says: African American, Black
I would find it very unethical to check it, especially because when people do this for personal gain it distorts the numbers that admissions offices release of the numbers of their students of color. Prospective African Americans will have a skewed perspective of the school's racial make up, which, despite what many 'color blind' ccers will say, is a bad thing. I want to get into college just as much as anyone else, but resorting to the sneaky and underhanded methods that are being largely condoned here is simply too much. Its disgusting.</p>
<p>I agree with Film... the importance people place on getting into these schools is absolutely absurd. Getting a fat package in the mail will only be a defining moment in a very sad life.</p>
<p>There are plenty of threads discussing this. Just look in the archieves.</p>
<p>Your friend is welcome to check "African American" if she either wants to look like a liar or an idiot.</p>
<p>She is an American of African descent. If they want to know if an applicant is black, thy should just ask outright. I think she has every right to check to box.</p>
<p>they say african american/black...that doesn't mean and/or...if they wanted to differentiate they would ahve seperate boxes. I'd say, you technically could check it and justify it, but the person obviosuly knows they're askign if they're black, so it's very dishonest</p>
<p>CALL the school. It's the only way to know for sure.</p>
<p>If the form says "African-American/Black" she should definitely not check it.</p>
<p>Gimme a break. "African-American" definitely means black, and that is all it means. The term should not be taken literally. After all, there are a lot of blacks in South and Central America. What with South Africa's history of apartheid, a white from South America trying to pass themselves off as a black so that they can steal one of the affirmative-action slots from a "deserving" black applicant would be lucky to survive once somebody found out.</p>
<p>Of course, we should also consider that at many colleges, affirmative action does not "officially" exist. I still think it is unethical to check the box even though I am against affirmative action.</p>
<p>It would be completely unethical to check the box.</p>
<p>You are not an African-American for purposes of the question.</p>
<p>Racial/ethnic definitions used by the Federal Government for data collection purposes, and adopted by the colleges, were issued by the US Office of Management and Budget in 1977 and revised in 1997. They are as follows:</p>
<p>Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics </p>
<ol>
<li>Categories and Definitions</li>
</ol>
<p>The minimum categories for data on race and ethnicity for Federal statistics, program administrative reporting, and civil rights compliance reporting are defined as follows:</p>
<p>-- American Indian or Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.</p>
<p>-- Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.</p>
<p>-- *Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. * Terms such as "Haitian" or "Negro" can be used in addition to "Black or African American."</p>
<p>-- Hispanic or Latino. A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The term, "Spanish origin," can be used in addition to "Hispanic or Latino."</p>
<p>-- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.</p>
<p>-- *White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. *</p>
<p>These are the definitions that colleges generally use when collecting racial/ethnic data since it is being done, in part, for reporting purposes to the US Government.</p>
<p>THis issue was discussed at length at: </p>