Thoughts on putting down Hispanic when from Spain?

[Anonymous]

My wife is from Spain. When kids were applying to schools, I emailed UVA admissions & asked them if Spain qualified as Hispanic. Their response was a definite yes.

I don’t think it helped much. Only one acceptance was a bit of a surprise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife is from Spain. When kids were applying to schools, I emailed UVA admissions & asked them if Spain qualified as Hispanic. Their response was a definite yes.

I don’t think it helped much. Only one acceptance was a bit of a surprise.

Lolz

[Anonymous]

….(continued from above) What seemed particularly unfair about the whole thing was that an hour west of my wife’s hometown in Spain is the Portuguese border. I’ve lived in Portugal, & it’s considerably less prosperous than Spain, & their language is very similar to Spanish. But they apparently aren’t supposed to qualify as Hispanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not that complicated. Why do you care?

Because my child asked me for her applications.

NP. What exactly has she asked for the common app?

I’m skeptical you aren’t a troll, but we were in this situation in the last few years and if you can relay the exact precise question(s) your daughter is apparently confused about from the common app, I will give more precise recommendations.

Common App, Demographics section:

Are you Hispanic or Latino/a/x?

Yes

No
Clear answer

Regardless of your answer to the prior question, please indicate how you identify yourself. (You may select one or more)

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

This was the question.

[Anonymous]

I think the history of Hispanic goes back to the Nixon administration- it was an effort to introduce a catch all that included Mexican Americans but didn’t excluded Cubans and Puerto Ricans. Someone figured out Spanish language ancestry could tie them all together and voila. European Spaniards lucked into this category which has evolved to confer victim status on all it subsumes.

Oh my fellow Americans, when will we be done with this identity politics stupidity? We will never get anywhere until we do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the history of Hispanic goes back to the Nixon administration- it was an effort to introduce a catch all that included Mexican Americans but didn’t excluded Cubans and Puerto Ricans. Someone figured out Spanish language ancestry could tie them all together and voila. European Spaniards lucked into this category which has evolved to confer victim status on all it subsumes.

Oh my fellow Americans, when will we be done with this identity politics stupidity? We will never get anywhere until we do.

^ apologies for inadvertently culturally appropriating French in a discussion of Spanish speakers

[Anonymous]

Ok but think of the impact such a decision has on your kid. I had a Slac classmate who wound up at Yale law a year after I showed up - but was unusual for our Slac to send anyone to a T3 law school and certainly not a B student (which I knew him to be -same major at a small college). I was standing with him next to his student mail box. He was throwing stuff in the trash. Mecha stuff. He explained “they think I’m Mexican - or Latino”. I said “you are?” Because I had known him for years and he was whiter than l was. Granted he had a Hispanic last name but He was rich Castilian. And he was adrift at law school, felt the imposter syndrome and went with an in-house corporate position (no clerkship, no BigLaw) and dropped out of sight. So before you do this think of how your children might feel about this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People from Spain are European. This just highlights the absurdity of the system.

This. American racial categories are so f*cked up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok but think of the impact such a decision has on your kid. I had a Slac classmate who wound up at Yale law a year after I showed up - but was unusual for our Slac to send anyone to a T3 law school and certainly not a B student (which I knew him to be -same major at a small college). I was standing with him next to his student mail box. He was throwing stuff in the trash. Mecha stuff. He explained “they think I’m Mexican - or Latino”. I said “you are?” Because I had known him for years and he was whiter than l was. Granted he had a Hispanic last name but He was rich Castilian. And he was adrift at law school, felt the imposter syndrome and went with an in-house corporate position (no clerkship, no BigLaw) and dropped out of sight. So before you do this think of how your children might feel about this

So sad how he ended up at YALE LAW….

I went to a top 3 law school and I am sure have “fallen out of sight” but I have a terrific work-life balance, work half time, and otherwise prioritized my family. Not everyone who goes to a top law school craves fame. I never wanted that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not that complicated. Why do you care?

Because my child asked me for her applications.

NP. What exactly has she asked for the common app?

I’m skeptical you aren’t a troll, but we were in this situation in the last few years and if you can relay the exact precise question(s) your daughter is apparently confused about from the common app, I will give more precise recommendations.

Common App, Demographics section:

Are you Hispanic or Latino/a/x?

Yes

No
Clear answer

Regardless of your answer to the prior question, please indicate how you identify yourself. (You may select one or more)

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Hispanic is yes.

I don’t know what your race is, but be honest about that too.

Basically, be truthful.

[Anonymous]

The schools' AOs will not be able to see those answers on the Common App any longer. The schools still need to collect that info for compliance reasons.

I'm Latino and frankly, I like the new rule even though I'm what most people would call a SJW. Now, in order for your kid to get any boost from their ethnicity or race, they have to explain how it impacts on who they are and what they have to offer to the school in terms of diversity.

[Anonymous]

Why would you not? Serious question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:….(continued from above) What seemed particularly unfair about the whole thing was that an hour west of my wife’s hometown in Spain is the Portuguese border. I’ve lived in Portugal, & it’s considerably less prosperous than Spain, & their language is very similar to Spanish. But they apparently aren’t supposed to qualify as Hispanic.

Yeah, and Sicily was run by the Spaniards for hundreds of years, and again has generally been less prosperous than Spain. It's not at all. It would be more rational to ask if your ancestry was indigenous, as that would track better with the Latinos who are actually disadvantaged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the history of Hispanic goes back to the Nixon administration- it was an effort to introduce a catch all that included Mexican Americans but didn’t excluded Cubans and Puerto Ricans. Someone figured out Spanish language ancestry could tie them all together and voila. European Spaniards lucked into this category which has evolved to confer victim status on all it subsumes.

Oh my fellow Americans, when will we be done with this identity politics stupidity? We will never get anywhere until we do.

I dunno. Most white people didn’t seem to think it was “stupidity” when all the “identity politics “ was tilted firmly in their favor. Perhaps when we’ve created a country with equal opportunities for everyone? Maybe that will be a good time to be done with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, its fine.

Hispanic refers to someone whose ancestry is Spanish speaking.

Spanish is a language or citizenship

Latino is an ethnicity that refers to a person whose origins are in Latin America.

You're the fist one - Hispanic.

So Brazilians aren't hispanic then?