At what point is URM status finally determined?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:op, please think this through. If your kids have no real cultural affiliation to a tribe, this could backfire badly. What is going to happen when they show up and are invited to join a cultural group and other people realize what they have done? Also, if the admissions committee figures out your game, it may very well hurt your chances of admission. And if they think you are lying, word might get around to other schools.

If you have no real connection to a tribe, please don't do this. It is offensive and will be seen as such if it is ever revealed.

This is a silly scare tactic. Students are inundated with club opportunities. If invited and not comfortable, don't join No one is going to "check you out" like a Gestapo agent confirming ethnicity.

Look, claiming ON PAPER to be an ethnicity that the OP's child has no real connection to is definitely setting the child up for potential problems. The fact is, people who find out about this are going to see it for exactly what it is: appropriating the status of an extremely disadvantaged group for your own benefit. When and if that comes out, it could be very bad, and the risks outweigh whatever boost she'll get in admissions. I also think it is likely that the admissions officer would figure it out and ding her for being dishonest.

This all assumes that OP has no real connection to a tribe. If you do have a real connection and it is part of your and YOUR CHILD'S identity, then go ahead and put it down. But if you just have one great grandparent you think was Cherokee? Don't.

Stop. You are embarrassing yourself. The question is ethnicity, not tribal membership. If you're "just being honest" you'd say you want an admissions advantage. Fine. Please don't insult the rest of us by preventing it's otherwise.

I really don't get what you're saying. My point is that if you have no real cultural connection to Native American culture, you shouldn't "check the box" just to get an admissions advantage, which is what OP is proposing to do. I suppose you could technically claim to be ethnically Native American if you were 1/32 or 1/16, but it would not warrant trying to claim URM for admissions purposes. Conversely there are cases where somebody could be ethnically Native American but not an enrolled member, in which case claiming URM would be fair. But trying to use your supposedly Cherokee great-great grandmother as your golden ticket is probably going to backfire these days (besides being distasteful and a horrible example of ethics to give to your child).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who has sat on faculty hiring committees, I think Elizabeth Warren is not being truthful when she says she never benefitted from checking the American Indian box.

I could check that box but I don't. I have always identified as white and have not faced the discrimination that historically plagued Indians where I come from. I personally don't think it's right to game the system like this, and that's what you're proposing. If your kid has always identified as white, never faced discrimination, and does not have a family history of the social ills that trouble many families with Indian ancestry, I think you're subverting the purpose of affirmative action.

That is very noble. But it would be like choosing not to collect on a winning lottery ticket.

+1 but the noble act, harms the school by depriving them of a student that would count toward diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who has sat on faculty hiring committees, I think Elizabeth Warren is not being truthful when she says she never benefitted from checking the American Indian box.

I could check that box but I don't. I have always identified as white and have not faced the discrimination that historically plagued Indians where I come from. I personally don't think it's right to game the system like this, and that's what you're proposing. If your kid has always identified as white, never faced discrimination, and does not have a family history of the social ills that trouble many families with Indian ancestry, I think you're subverting the purpose of affirmative action.

Totally agree. I can only imagine how NAs feel about this. I would be supremely annoyed if people were claiming 1/8 or 1/16th of African blood in order to check the "AA/Black" box if they were raised and identify as another race otherwise. I remember as a young teen, there was a guy who was aware of my granddad's NA ancestry (registered) who urged me to apply for a CDIB card so that I could qualify for scholarships later. *smh*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who has sat on faculty hiring committees, I think Elizabeth Warren is not being truthful when she says she never benefitted from checking the American Indian box.

I could check that box but I don't. I have always identified as white and have not faced the discrimination that historically plagued Indians where I come from. I personally don't think it's right to game the system like this, and that's what you're proposing. If your kid has always identified as white, never faced discrimination, and does not have a family history of the social ills that trouble many families with Indian ancestry, I think you're subverting the purpose of affirmative action.

Totally agree. I can only imagine how NAs feel about this. I would be supremely annoyed if people were claiming 1/8 or 1/16th of African blood in order to check the "AA/Black" box if they were raised and identify as another race otherwise. I remember as a young teen, there was a guy who was aware of my granddad's NA ancestry (registered) who urged me to apply for a CDIB card so that I could qualify for scholarships later. *smh*

You must be special indeed. The OP said her children had NA heritage (and you wonder how OTHER Native Americans "feel about this?"). Not only that, you judge someone for honestly identifying the NA heritage of her children, evidently presuming You know what colleges REALLY want. Judge not lest you be judged.

To top it off, you drag out old Jim Crow era "blood tests" --- you are a perfect example of why all legal racial discrimination should end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who has sat on faculty hiring committees, I think Elizabeth Warren is not being truthful when she says she never benefitted from checking the American Indian box.

I could check that box but I don't. I have always identified as white and have not faced the discrimination that historically plagued Indians where I come from. I personally don't think it's right to game the system like this, and that's what you're proposing. If your kid has always identified as white, never faced discrimination, and does not have a family history of the social ills that trouble many families with Indian ancestry, I think you're subverting the purpose of affirmative action.

Totally agree. I can only imagine how NAs feel about this. I would be supremely annoyed if people were claiming 1/8 or 1/16th of African blood in order to check the "AA/Black" box if they were raised and identify as another race otherwise. I remember as a young teen, there was a guy who was aware of my granddad's NA ancestry (registered) who urged me to apply for a CDIB card so that I could qualify for scholarships later. *smh*

You must be special indeed. The OP said her children had NA heritage (and you wonder how OTHER Native Americans "feel about this?"). Not only that, you judge someone for honestly identifying the NA heritage of her children, evidently presuming You know what colleges REALLY want. Judge not lest you be judged.

To top it off, you drag out old Jim Crow era "blood tests" --- you are a perfect example of why all legal racial discrimination should end.

Take a breath honey. OP also said that the kids had never in their lives checked the NA box. One reasonable conclusion is that OP wants to have them do it now for college admissions advantage. That seems to be the debate here: some think it's fine, so think it's the only "honest" thing to do. Others, like pp here, are left shaking her head.

[Anonymous]

"One reasonable conclusion is that OP wants to have them do it now for college admissions advantage."

Well, yeah . . . no s$%t!

There is a long history of people obscuring their race, religion, ethnicity or sexual preference for various reason. I have no problem with encouraging people to be honest - even if they have been closeted in the past.

There are real damaging stereotypes associated with Native Americans:
http://blog.nrcprograms.org/drunken-indians/

https://www.facebook.com/notes/red-road-warriors-walking-this-sacred-path/reconnecting-with-your-american-indian-heritage/426930237345063