<p>Actually, purplechick, I do understand; and I still hate that term.</p>
<p>What you are talking about, purplechick, is cultural citizenship. Affirmative action however uses political citizenship and rightfully so because it's much too difficult to define "culture." What is the Latino culture? Is it simply speaking the language with the proper accent? What does one have to do to belong in the Latino culture? What is the definition of "acting white?"</p>
<p>wow - lot of posts...where to start...</p>
<p>alright, how about my view of affirmative action? i despise the affirmative action system. i feel like it's wrong, and it denies kids who work hard their entire high school careers of opportunities that other kids, who work half as hard may receive, simply because there exists a drop of black or native-american blood running through their veins. this happened to numerous kids in my school, who all were white/jewish, all had great SAT scores (1550+), all were great athletes, etc. etc., yet were rejected from all ivy league schools, while a black kid with SATs at 1350 went 8/8. i don't know, but i feel that's wrong. this kid wasn't poor or anything; he happened to be an african prince of some obscure tribe, and that got him into schools he didn't deserve to be accepted into. </p>
<p>if you ask me, i feel the affirmative action system should be based on socioeconomic status. they should ask for your family's income, proof of this, and base their decision on that, and only that. however, kids are taking up spots in ivy league schools, and the percentage of them that are actually success stories, rising from poverty to acheive academic excellence is very, very low.</p>
<p>even though i hate the system, if i have a way to use it, is it so wrong if i do so, even if it's just to bring myself to the same advantage level as the other kids who are doing the same thing? if i fit into "hispanic", and that's a legitimate category on the application, why shouldn't i go ahead and give myself every possible, legal advantage? i totally agree with norcalguy's "if you have a legitimate opportunity, go for it" philosophy. and frankly purplechick, you seem hostile toward people who "abuse the system", but I think you're looking at it all wrong. it's not that the system is being abused, it's the way the system was built, and the truth is, it allows people who are in my position to do what i'm considering legally and without guilt. i mean, my grandparents lived in spain until they were 21, spain was a fascist country then, they had their houses burned down in the spanish civil war....according to you, the fact that they lived in europe rather than south or central america makes them uneligible for the same benefits you agree? they speak the same language, and according to the system, that's the only basis of classification.</p>
<p>But, really, are there many admitted into universities and colleges through affirmative action? Are there so many that they 'take spots' away from 'qualified' prospective students? Is the amount of these admits-through-AA substantial? Consider those admitted through legacy, as well.</p>
<p>The latino culture is made up of mini cultures (mexican, el salvadorean, guatemalan, colombian, puerto rican, etc) which all are very similar in beliefs. </p>
<p>A major part of latino culture like in any other culture is being proud of ones heritage. We show that we havent forgotten our culture in many ways. Whether it is dancing salsa or simply marching in a Cesar Chavez parade, a true latino demonstrates their pride. </p>
<p>In order for one to truly understand the Latino culture they need to carry on the latino traditions such as abuelita telling stories of her country, making tamales, and all those other latino things. Latino culture is more of a feeling and respect to ones ancestors and the struggles that they went through.</p>
<p>A latino would be acting white if they were ignorant about their culture.</p>
<p>it's impossible to know stats correlating with AA because no college, absolutely no college will tell you how many blacks, hispanics, and native americans they admitted. ever.</p>
<p>Therefore you associate whiteness with ignorance? You claim that any Latino who does not act "Latino" is white. Doesn't that simply polarize such race relations since you are refusing to acknowledge a middle ground or perhaps the fact that there is no concrete definition of culture. Isn't it possible that many of these Latinos whom you claim have been "white-washed" are simply forming a unique Latino American culture. It's not so much that they reject the Latino culture as it is that they are embracing American (or what you call "white") ideals.</p>
<p>actually, they do..."Princeton Reveiw's Best 357 Colleges" tell you the exact percent per school...</p>
<p>norcalguy u are not latino so u have nothing to add
what u have to say is from a non-latino perspective.</p>
<p>no, they tell you how many attend, not how many were accepted, big big big difference. I own that book, I know.</p>
<p>o i c, celebrian25, good point...anyways, i take back post 54</p>
<p>there's a difference between what culture you identify with, and then your actual ethnicity/race. what if there are instances where a family adopts a child of different ethnicity?</p>
<p>parents may not pass on their culture to you, or if you are biracial, your culture is a mix of several things. it's up to you to embrace your culture or denounce it, or change it a little.</p>
<p>affirmative action doesn't differentiate "culture" and "ethnicity" per se, but if you really let your culture flow and speak for itself in essays, that will help you.</p>
<p>also, i go to a predominantly white private school. there are a couple latin american students. but from seeing the results of college decisions, it didn't really help them much, maybe because the college can see what high school they came from and that the high school wasn't disadvantaged?</p>
<p>but socioeconomic affirmative action is the way to go. if someone is underpriveleged and simply didn't have the opportunity, how can you blame them? wealth is not racist, anybody of any race can be wealthy, just as anybody of any race can be poor and disadvantaged.</p>
<p>have any of you every read "a hope in the unseen" by ron suskind?</p>
<p>i totally agree w/ u awakened dream
colleges are not that dumb
they know which kids would bring the reaal diversity</p>
<p>purplechick you are not openminded...norcal makes good points, I don't always agree with him, but he makes good points. don't assume he has no idea what you're talking about simply because he isn't latino</p>
<p>he wants me to explain latino culture. no matter how hard i try he would simply not get it</p>
<p>purplechick...you totally agree with awakened dream? when he said socioeconomic affirmative action was better than the current ethnicity form of affirmative action? either you didn't understand his post or you are contradicting yourself</p>
<p>by the way, i'm a girl...lol</p>
<p>o lol, sorry</p>
<p>everybody just go ahead and say you are hispanic although u might be as white as u can get cuz your great, great, great grand daddy is mexican or other latino. you might use it but take in account that u might be making a fool of yourself when you are invited to a latino school coalition</p>
<p>well latinos and other urm's aren't required to join those coalition groups...</p>