my grandmother was north african, algerian… would it be completely morally wrong to say african american on applications? or maybe i could say spanish, a few times i have been mistaken for hispanic… what do most arabs say? i know they are suppose to say caucasian. financially i definatly need any support, a full scholarship would be nice. affirmative action blows… arabs are probably now the most discriminated group in america. my friend who is worse academically than me got a full scholarship, i got only a grand.
<p>Here is the US Census bureau's definition of black/African American:
"
Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian." <a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68176.htm%5B/url%5D">http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68176.htm</a></p>
<p>Thus, should you call yourself "African American," Spanish or Hispanic that would not be accurate according to the definitions that are used in this country. Should you obtain a scholarship because of that, the college could revoke the scholarship, make you pay it back, charge you with fraud and withdraw your admission or your college degree if you had graduated by the time the fraud was discovered.</p>
<p>There actually are some places in this country that have scholarships and other programs for Arabs. Some Michigan colleges and scholarship programs do this, particularly in the Detroit area, where there is a large Arab population, and they are considered underrepresented minorities.</p>
<p>You should say you are what you most identify with (culturally). Anything else would be unethical.</p>
<p>definetly say african</p>
<p>If you cannot state that you are black/african american it is not going to give you much of a boost. Ask your self if this information is going tobe consistent with the information that is going to be on your high school records.</p>
<p>Either way (saying black or African) will give you a leg up in the admissions process.</p>
<p>but to get a scholarship... my spanish friend got a full scholarship and i had better sats, and similiar grades</p>
<p>i think that if u don't have a cultural affiliation with african american then it would be immoral because u would just be taking away an african american kid's scholarship</p>
<p>thank you Purplechick, if you have not been African-American until you wanted to get this scholarship, then why now. Race is not something you can embrace sometimes and at discard other times.</p>
<p>well i mean you don't have to embrace anything. If your heritage connects you to Africa, might as well answer the question correctly and say African.</p>
<p>Well this is a tricky one, I think a lot of people find themselves in a similar situation every year. I think, if you have documentation of your grandfather's origins...go for it.</p>
<p>You can engage in all sorts sophistry to rationalize calling yourself African American. We all can - since the human species originated in Africa. But unless you are black you are basically kidding yourself and attempting to deceive the scholarship people.</p>
<p>Consider Charlize Theron. She is from South Africa. Would she be considered African American?</p>
<p>VeraVictoria,</p>
<p>According to the UScensus Arabs are considered Caucasian--not even Asia, even if they are from continental Asia; that is, a racial code rather than a geographical one.
These racial classifications are all bogus and demeaning, IMHO. The universities use the same criteria.</p>
<p>Do what you like; but I think that the question of race is immoral (and unscientific) in any case. In fact, what should be thought about is cultural/geographic/economic identification. A black/american will be "blacker" if they are from Bangladesh than half of the African countries. Color does not a race make.
Until american institutional behavior changes and addresses the real causes of discrimination and, or, injustice to those it has harmed or suppressed, either currently or in the past, I see no need to go along with the con.
Do you feel discriminated against because of your ethnic heritage or skin color? If so, act accordingly; if not, do the right thing based on the truth of your circumstances, not an immoral racial classification.</p>
<p>"Consider Charlize Theron. She is from South Africa. Would she be considered African American?"</p>
<p>With all due respect, this is a very cavalier comparison. </p>
<p>The Berber People of North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and more) have a history and culture that goes back into the pre-history of Africa, thousands of years. Their skin is not "black."
Their language is thousands of years old and has its roots in Africa--not England, or Europe.
If You are a Berber, you are not black and you most certainly are an Africannot a white movie star living the high-life.
To compare Charlize Theron to North Africans is absurd. </p>
<p>This is one of the problems with race (skin color) and the history of colonialism (they come from the same source: colonialism=race).</p>
<p>Black, non-Hispanic - A person with origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (but not of Hispanic origin)</p>
<p>White, non-Hispanic - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North African, or the Middle East (but not of Hispanic origin).</p>
<p>VeraVictoria, You would not be African American but White. </p>
<p>I find it sad that your first post on the CC is to inquire as to how and whether or not you would be able tp perpetrate a scam or get over and are looking for people to validate your reasons for doing so. But hey, its on you. Thank goodness you are still young with many life lessons still in front of you.</p>
<p>
[quote]
i know they are suppose to say caucasian. financially i definatly need any support, a full scholarship would be nice.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In the end I leave you with these 2 thoughts</p>
<p>There is no right way to do something that you know is wrong.</p>
<p>Character is who you are when no one is watching.</p>
<p>If it's a merit based scholarship then nothing you put down race wise will matter. Secondly, if it's need based, then putting your race down will be just as futile. </p>
<p>Finally, America is a melting pot. There is no American race with exception to the native Americans. Therefore, in respect to the whole white south african being African American look at it like this, if an English family lived in China for five generations would that make them Chinese? No. The same thing goes in Africa. Most of South Africa was colonized by Brits, with exception to the Afrikanners (in the south) or Berbers (in the north). Therefore, when trying to figure out what race to put down, go by the country of your family's origins not present ( or convenient) geographical origins.</p>
<p>JHUway -</p>
<p>Who said anything about Berbers? Certainly not the OP. She said "Algerian" and then asked what do most Arabs say. Modern Algeria is about 80% Arab and 20% Berber. Arabs and Berbers are not the same thing. Berbers were the original inhabitants, going back thousands of years. The Arabs didn't start to move in until the 8th century.</p>
<p>As for Charlize Theron, the comparison is not as inappropriate as you think. White Europeans have lived in South Africa for about four centuries - basically the same length of time they have lived in North America. So it is as legitimate to call Charlize an "African" as it is to call George Bush an American. But of course it is not legitimate to call her an "African American" for US college purposes, because she is not black - which was my point to the OP.</p>
<p>african is not a race... it's a state of mind... i'm english/irish and i put african on my application...i believe therefore i am...</p>
<p>do the uc's consider los angeles whites minorities?</p>
<p>CC<em>Is</em>Prison, you win the award for most inane post.</p>
<p>this is a strange thread..i mean..my grandmother is african amerian, my grandfather is caucasian..my mother is bi-racial, however my father is caucasian..i put caucasian on my application, just like I do everything else..</p>
<p>most of us have financial issues when it comes to college, I feel like using being dishonest about your ethnicity in order to obtain F.A. is one of the craziest things I have ever heard..</p>