Should my kids check the "Hispanic" box?

Parents Forum
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<p>But is that unique? Don’t most of us feel some connection with our grandparents? Don’t most of us appreciate our ancestral culture? That’s not a hispanic thing. Lots of peoples’ relatives came to this country poor and alone, not speaking English, lucky to find any work. Sometimes even the applicants themselves. We all appreciate our ancestors, how they suffered in their native countries, and how much they toiled to earn a better life. Yes, and also how they were victims of discrimination. We don’t all have a “box”, but we all feel that connection. I agree with post #155"</p>

<p>Hispanics don’t have a “box” just because of a connection. I hear a lot of that Hispanic “connection” crap at my school. They only feel that connection when it comes in handy but they aren’t part of any Latino Advocacy groups or clubs like LULAC, they don’t celebrate their heritage or even speak the language. So I don’t think a mere connection is why Hispanics get their own little “box”. It’s not only the ancestors of hispanics that have faced racism. It happens a lot, even today through hate crimes and violence. I feel like thats why colleges feel obligated to help out the Hispanics more than anyone else. It is what it is.</p>

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I concur…</p>

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<p>I’m surprised you wrote this even though you authored post #151 in this thread. If I didn’t see the names, I would’ve thought they came from two different people.</p>

<p>As with any racial preference, the actual beneficiaries diverge wildly from the intended beneficiaries. When you’re talking about hate crimes and violence against Hispanics, you’re talking about crimes against people who look like [Jessica</a> Colotl](<a href=“http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/26846183/detail.html]Jessica”>http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/26846183/detail.html). You are not talking about hate crimes and violence against people who look like [Pedro</a> Pablo Kuczynski](<a href=“http://www.ppk.pe/]Pedro”>http://www.ppk.pe/).</p>

<p>Hispanic isn’t a racial classification. It’s nothing but an extremely broad categorizer. How else can Colotl, Kuczynski, Dayron Robles, and Alberto Fujimori all be in the same group? I can’t believe any college was ever really that stupid to buy into preferences for Hispanics in the first place, yet here we are.</p>

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<p>collegexbound:
It sounds like you want to have a litmus test to determine if a person is hispanic enough to count. Just because someone is interested in sports and not “advocacy”, she would not be hispanic? How exactly does one “celebrate” a culture? Pinatas for birthdays? Cooking food with Grandma/Abuela? Who gets to judge? It sounds dangerously like a color line to me.</p>

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<p>I think the point the poster at top was making wasn’t that it was uniquely Hispanic to have a connection to one’s grandmother, but that one could feel a connection to one’s grandmother even if one didn’t speak the same language / eat the same food / look physically like that person (as in the case of a person with white skin who doesn’t speak a word of Spanish who might have had a dark-skinned Hispanic grandmother).</p>

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<p>Thank you pizza girl and twomules!</p>

<p>People are making their own rules and their own determination as to who is Hispanic. That is totally fine on a personal level. Except here we are talking about a specific “box” and therefore a specific a set of “rules.” The “box” that the OP and I am referring to is the one that is on the PSAT, the SAT and the Common Application.</p>

<p>The designation of “Hispanic” is clearly stated. To check this particular “box”, criteria has been established. According to College Board:</p>

<p>"What is the NHRP’s definition of Hispanic/Latino?
To qualify for this program, you must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category, and you may be of any race. For purposes of the NHRP, you must be from a family whose ancestors came from at least one of these countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay or Venezuela. "</p>

<p>There is no mention of proficiency in language or being subject to descrimination or being of a particular economic class.</p>

<p>You may disagree…or not. But that is personal opinion and is ultimately irrelevant to College Board. They have made the determination and it is clearly stated.</p>

<p>On the Common Application, they are even more clear in showing the distinction between ethnicity and race. You can check a box for both Hispanic and White/Black, etc.</p>

<p>Interestingly, the OP’s children probably do not meet the criteria as stated by College Board.</p>

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<p>I DONT agree with the system. I never changed my opinion about that. I think it’s stupid. I stated that the reason why colleges feel obligated to help hispanics versus everyone else is PROBABLY because racism against hispanics is more common. I’m talking about the brutal murder of Eduardo Ramirez which happens more often than people think. I live in one of the most racist counties in GA; where I have seen Hispanics get spit at and bullied. </p>

<p>I don’t agree with what colleges do, I believe you deserve admission based on your accomplishments not on your race or ethnicity. But what can we do to change it? Nothing. People try to take advantage of the stupidity of colleges and it just annoys me.</p>

<p>twomules, I played varsity lax for three years and still had time for Hispanic advocacy. If someone was “connected” then they would make time. I’m just saying if you claim to have a connection then show it! If you just want to be enough for College Board’s standards then whatever. Don’t claim to be something else to prove your point. My question is WHY you want to be recognized as Hispanic for College Board and colleges but not for other things? </p>

<p>My best friend is 1/2 Hispanic. Both her parents are college educated and upper middle class. They both never wanted to speak spanish to her. But she learned by herself and attended a spanish church to become more fluent. She asked me to speak to her only in spanish so she can get better. I call that a connection. </p>

<p>But that’s just my opinion, we all view things differently.</p>

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<p>My beef is that you are trying to decide what counts as “connected”. Why should someone who is introverted be compelled to engage in advocacy in order to prove her connectedness? I think the biggest advocacy she did was showing up year after year as the only minority student in her AP classes. She represented for 13 years in this town. Whether or not she meets someone else’s criteria for how fluent her Spanish is, how often we make tamales, who in the family communicates in Spangish is nobody’s business. My husband’s income does not negate our family’s culture or require its validation. The pressure to always have to represent is one that the majority culture does not need to engage in. Please don’t add to that pressure from inside the group.</p>

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<p>If this is your central argument, on what grounds should a Hispanic living in Miami, attending a school where the vast majority of kids are Hispanic, get a URM preference?</p>

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<p>You don’t seem to get that my D is not saying she is Hispanic for College Board or for college admissions. Nor is she saying that she is only Hispanic. She is not portraying herself falsely.</p>

<p>My MIL happened to marry someone who didn’t speak Spanish, so my husband grew up hearing Spanish spoken by his mother, grandmother, grandfather and uncles…not between his two parents. Of course, that means that there was a dilution of Hispanic language and culture.</p>

<p>But does that mean that you would rather have my husband and daughter forsake their heritage all together and not claim it as their own at all? Because it is not “pure” enough for your standards? Listen to what you are really saying. The undertones of purity are disturbing.</p>

<p>Since my husband and D are white, are they less Hispanic? Are people currently living in Argentina not counted as Hispanic in your book because the country is 80% white?</p>

<p>And, yes, my D (and husband) did chose to study Spanish in school. Are they as fluent as native-speakers? Of course not.</p>

<p>Will your children be? In a generation will you and your family no longer by Hispanic because they are American born and English speaking?</p>

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<p>When did I EVER speak about color of skin? There are black, white, brown and asian Hispanics. It is not an issue whatsoever. There is no “purity”. Hispanics are all mixed and I think it’s beautiful. I have seen people who are 100% white check off the Hispanic box because they spoke the language fluently and were raised in a spanish neighborhood. To be honest, I see nothing wrong with that. It upsets me though, that your daughter will get an advantage over other Hispanics who were actually fluent and connected to their culture but who had to face language and cultural barriers. The system is extremely flawed but it was MEANT for Hispanics like that. It wasn’t meant to be taken advantage of by people who have absolutely know connection to their culture or has faced any barriers associated with it.</p>

<p>twomules, I just don’t understand how you can be CONNECTED to something without showing it at all? I am one of ONLY two Hispanics in my school. I don’t feel that just showing up to school is enough for me. I also don’t understand why income is brought up again. Does your husbands income prevent your daughter from learning spanish? You can be proud of your culture and be connected to it no matter what your socioeconomic class is.</p>

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<p>Excellent counterpoint. I have mentioned some statistics in the massive “Race & College Admissions 8” thread that in Miami-Dade County, 62.5% of the residents are “Hispanic,” but only 2.9% are non-white Hispanic. I met many Hispanics from Miami at my alma mater, and these were not the kind of people who would hear anti-Hispanic ethnic slurs. You could not tell they were Hispanic unless they told you.</p>

<p>What’s more, at 59.6% of the county’s population, any openly anti-Hispanic person is going to get quickly shamed, beat down, or both.</p>

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<p>My main criticism of preferences for Hispanics, specifically, is how dishonest the policy is. At least with racial preferences for blacks, the unintended beneficiaries are still “black” (i.e. first- and second-generation Americans of various Caribbean and African ancestries). With preferences for Hispanics, you mostly end up getting Hispanics of near unbroken European ancestry! They look white because they are white.</p>

<p>So we see that in reality, we are giving nonacademic hooks to whites who happen to have some ancestry from some Spanish-speaking country. The stupidity of this baffles me. As I wrote above, at least with racial preferences for blacks, you get blacks. With Hispanic preferences, you get whites and call it “diversity.”</p>

<p>So what does that mean? White Hispanics contribute to “diversity” but non-Hispanic whites don’t? Kindly allow me to throw up in my toilet.</p>

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<p>“, I just don’t understand how you can be CONNECTED to something without showing it at all? I am one of ONLY two Hispanics in my school. I don’t feel that just showing up to school is enough for me. I also don’t understand why income is brought up again. Does your husbands income prevent your daughter from learning spanish? You can be proud of your culture and be connected to it no matter what your socioeconomic class is.”</p>

<p>If there were a box to check off that one’s ancestor came through Ellis Island, and the criteria was that at least one grandparent did, I’d qualify (and could prove it), as I have a grandfather born in Poland who came here as a young man. Do I have to speak Polish, eat pierogis etc for that to be a part of my heritage that I feel a connection to? For that matter, does it matter that I saw my grandfather only a few times and for a number of reasons, he wasn’t an active part of my life?</p>

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<p>I come across a lot of Asians who were born and raised in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and many other Latin American countries. Mos of them only speak Portuguese or Spanish, and fluent in English , probably haven’t been back to their mother country at all. Would they be considered Hispanic?</p>

<p>If our kids were to apply to colleges in another country, and they had a racial box to be checked off on the application, what would our kids check off if it’s more of a cultural rather than racial thing?</p>

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<p>So your basic criteria is that to be Hispanic you need to speak Spanish fluently and live in a Spanish neighborhood. You need to noticealby fit a stereotype of Hispanic so that you can be easily spotted by idiots who are prejudiced?</p>

<p>Ok–so I ask again, will your children not be Hispanic because they might not be as fluent in Spanish as you and they might not chose to live in a Spanish neighborhood?</p>

<p>Are you saying that if a Puerto Rican family moves a few blocks downtown from their former home in Spanish Harlem they are now less Hispanic?</p>

<p>If they chose to speak English at home to their children are their children no longer Hispanic?</p>

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<p>If you really have to ask about it and even be concerned about a relative’s statement that

then you really shouldn’t be checking the box. Do they even know Spanish?</p>

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<p>It’s not just a box you check off! You get an immense amount of opportunities in scholarships and admissions. It’s different from checking off a box that says your Polish. </p>

<p>This little “box” was made to give Hispanics an equal playing field. It’s not about having a great grandmother who was Hispanic. Ask yourself this, WHY does your daughter deserve an unfair advantage in admissions and scholarships over the rest of the white kids (who also happen to be equal)? And what will your daughter write about when she applies to these Hispanic scholarships and they ask her how her hispanic heritage has changed her life or when she has to interview for a Hispanic scholarship and they ask her how being Hispanic has changed her life? Because I’ve had to do the above and I want to see someone who has no connection to their culture answer those questions.</p>

<p>The system was MADE for people who have BARRIERS as Hispanics to give them a chance to go to college of their dreams despite the setbacks working against them. She will get an advantage over an equally qualified student who is white & I don’t see that as fair. </p>

<p>I have answered before, if I teach my children spanish and about our culture but they refuse to be considered Hispanic in public, then no I personally would not consider them Hispanic. They might have a Hispanic ancestry and features but they aren’t Hispanic on the inside and I wouldn’t check ANY box for them. But like I said, it’s my PERSONAL OPINION!</p>

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<p>^^^If that’s the case, why not just look at every applicant’s social economic background. Why bring race into it?</p>

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<p>YK, I’m personally more cynical than this. It really doesn’t matter to me if the system was “made” for those who had barriers as Hispanics despite setbacks. If the question being asked was “Are you Hispanic,” the definition was “as defined as having at least 1 grandparent,” and my kids could honestly answer that, then I would have them check the box and move on with their lives. I see no need not to play any cards you’ve been dealt, whether they are racial, religious, social connections, legacy, intelligence, wealth, etc., and I say more power to those people who play those cards wisely.</p>

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<p>Can we hear from some people who technically qualify to check the box, but don’t do so because they live a middle or upperclass existance and/or have a superior academic record and therefore don’t need/deserve the advantage? Or maybe they feel that it is morally wrong?</p>

<p>I wonder when and how the system of ethnic advantage got started in the first place? Maybe that would shed some light on how it has gone so awry.</p>

<p>Finally, does it not seem like a step backwards from the appeal for people to be judged “…not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”?</p>