<p>For reference, Sephardic (sometimes spelled Sfardic) Jews are those who can trace their ancestry back to Spain, Northern Africa, or Italy. I'm a mix of Sfardic and Ashkenazi (Eastern European Jewish), but I have no idea of the exact fractions, percentages, decimals, or summation notation regarding my blood, nor do I know how pure the bloodline is from Spain, since that part of the family also lived in Italy/Austria for a few generations. So, would it be honest, in the spirit of good fun, and all other jolly good indicators of fair play to mark down Hispanic on a college application?</p>
<p>Its spelled "Sephardic."</p>
<p>And no, no it would not be fair play to mark "hispanic" in this case.</p>
<p>Hm. Was almost positive of that spelling. Maybe that's the spelling in some other language and it got mixed up in my head.</p>
<p>Edit: Just checked. That is an alternate English spelling.</p>
<p>Also, coming from Spain doesn't make you Hispanic, I believe (or at least, my cousins are Spanish and they certainly don't consider themselves Hispanic). It's when you come from a Central/South American country that you're Hispanic.</p>
<p>So Mexicans are . . . ?</p>
<p>Mexico is in central America, so Mexicans are hispanic. Spain, however, is not in central or south America.</p>
<p>Hispanic definition: Persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.</p>
<p>Its a bit more complex than that.</p>
<p>And regardless of the definition, you still do not apply. Even if Spanish applied (and it doesn't), you are many many many generations removed from Spain (your family hasn't live there since at least 1492). </p>
<p>Also, if its an alternative spelling, its a very uncommon one. Just check google, there are about 800 hits for the word "sfardic," as opposed to over 1,000,000 for "sephardic."</p>
<p>Sorry, I accidentally included Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba into the category of Central America in my earlier post because of the manner in which I've studied those nations in my Spanish class. I didn't mean to offend anyone from those three nations X-D.</p>
<p>However, my point still stands. Sephardic/sfardic Jews come from Spain, Northern Africa, and the Middle East and are therefore NOT Hispanic.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>Also, coming from Spain doesn't make you Hispanic, I believe (or at least, my cousins are Spanish and they certainly don't consider themselves Hispanic).<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>You and your cousins are incorrect. Coming from Spain does make you Hispanic. Let's check the dictionary to find out what Hispanic means:</p>
<p>American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source
His·pan·ic (hĭ-spān'ĭk) Pronunciation Key </p>
<p>adj.<br>
1. Of or relating to Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America.
2. Of or relating to a Spanish-speaking people or culture.
n.<br>
1. A Spanish-speaking person.
2. A U.S. citizen or resident of Latin-American or Spanish descent.</p>
<p>Alright, you know how all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares? Well, Spanish is to Hispanic as square is to rectangle. Hispanic, while frequently used to mean "latin American" actually means "Spanish-speaking or of Spanish descent". All Spanish people are Hispanic, but not all Hispanic people are Spanish. </p>
<p>If I mean Spanish-speaking people from the Spanish-speaking parts of the Americas, I usually say "Latino", as it excludes Spaniards.</p>
<p>just call the damn school and ask them</p>
<p>My family is from Ireland and we are all the black haired Irish ( think Tom Jones), spanish armada influence from hundreds of years ago, does that make us hispanic??? See how ridiculous it is???</p>
<p>There are several definitions of Hispanic:</p>
<p>Census says:</p>
<p>Hispanics or Latinos are those people who classified themselves in one of the specific Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino categories listed on the Census 2000 questionnaire -"Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano," "Puerto Rican", or "Cuban"-as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." Persons who indicated that they are "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino" include those whose origins are from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Dominican Republic or people identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, Hispanic, Hispano, Latino, and so on.</p>
<p>Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States.</p>
<p>College Board defines Hispanic as:</p>
<p>A person of Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish cultures or origins. For purposes of this program, this does not include persons from Brazil or Portuguese culture/origin, or persons from the Philippines. Hispanic is an ethnic category not a racial category and Hispanics may be of any race.</p>
<p>Merriam-Webster on-line defines Hispanic as:</p>
<p>: of, relating to, or being a person of Latin American descent living in the United States; especially : one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin</p>
<p>Although Hispanic literally (i.e. word origin) means originating in the Iberian peninsula, it's most common usage in terms of college admission is closer to the Merriam-Webster definition. King Juan Carlos of Spain would probably not be considered Hispanic if he were applying to college in the U.S.</p>
<p>When colleges seek to recruit URM's, they mean just that. Sephardic Jews are certainly not underrepresented in any way in the world of good colleges. Trying to be "fun" in the admissions process is not a good idea. I think the way to answer a question honestly is to answer it according to its real meaning.</p>
<p>Why is it, then, that white South Africans can get all the benefits of saying they're African? What's wrong with gaming a corrupt system?</p>
<p>spideygirl,</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sephardic Jews are certainly not underrepresented in any way in the world of good colleges.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You sure about that? I think a lot of Ashkenazic Jews have earned their spots at top schools. The number of Ashkenazic Jews in our country far exceeds the number of Sephardic Jews. It is the former group who were by and large the victims of anti-Semitism in the Ivy Leagues decades ago, not the latter group.</p>
<p>Sephardic Jews typically have names that don't "sound Jewish." Hershlag is a Ashkenazic name, but Costa is a Sephardic one.</p>
<p>SaveD,</p>
<p>
[quote]
Why is it, then, that white South Africans can get all the benefits of saying they're African? What's wrong with gaming a corrupt system?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>They could say that they are African, and hell, they wouldn't be lying, but based on my experience, they probably would not choose to do so in the United States.</p>
<p>One of my co-workers is South African, and when another co-worker joked that he could be considered African, he immediately laughed and said, "No, no - I am White."</p>
<p>They'd identify with Afrikaner but probably not African.</p>
<p>If you want my opinion, there's nothing wrong with gaming a corrupt system. The system uses definitions to determine which groups get preferences and which groups get quota'd - oops, I mean "represented proportionally." Why not use their terminology to help you?</p>
<p>Also, fabrizio, colleges don't know you're Jewish when you apply to them. Thus, how can there be an anti-Semitic bias in the Ivy Leagues? Nowhere on the application does it ask for your religion. Unless you put down something religion-related in your ECs or mention it in an essay, they have no clue if you're Jewish.</p>
<p>That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm sufficiently Spanish that my mother's maiden name is Iberian, which may just be a very lucky coindicence of 500 years of the name being passed down through a thin line of paternity, though I doubt it. My appearance is often cited as Hispanic, so it must also be sufficiently present in my genes. Why not go for it?</p>