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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So here's another one for DCUM along the same lines:

I married into a Catalan family. My wife grew up in California as an American but my MIL grew up in Spain until her parents fled with her and she came to the US as a refugee. MIL's parents were part of the anti-Fascist resistance until they fled Spain. They arrived in the US in poverty, but now the family is doing okay financially. The family history is violent (relatives killed by the Fascists among other awful things) and you can still see the impact on the family. (My MIL will not speak of that time; we know she saw people killed in front of her when she was young.)

My DD does not speak Catalan very well at all but is immersed in Catalan culture from the extended family and identifies as Catalan in addition to American (but not as Spanish although she has Spanish citizenship). DD is white (blonde hair, blue eyes).

Two years ago DD felt strongly about putting Hispanic down on the HS enrollment form because she feels her Catalan heritage is a strong part of her identity (which it is) and she qualifies as per the 1/4 definition. She plans on talking about her relationship with her grandmother in her college essays.

What do you think, DCUM? [/quote]

I empathize with your situation and feel sorry for the pain and suffering of your MIL.

But...  I'm sure her daughter (your wife) got the necessary breaks in life to "make" it.  I think it needs to stop there.

I also don't get why something that happened in another country matters to us here?  If there is a box to check for your situation, what about all the Poles and Romanians that were occupied by Fascist Germany and suffered?  Do we give them "discounts" too?  I don't think so...  What about the Jews?  We probably took care of them in the early years after the Holocaust (I don't know).  They are now actually discriminated against in college admissions.

If the made-up law/rules allow you to check a box and claim benefits, go for it, but remember that Europeans were the oppressors in the American story.  It's their rape and pillage that even created the Hispanic "race".

Quoting a pp from 03/07/2018 23:50, "It is meant for oppressed Hispanic, not the oppressors of the oppressed Hispanic."

[/quote]

OP here.   I don't think it should matter whether or not your ancestors suffered or not.  The question on the application asks if there is Hispanic ethnicity.  It does not ask if you are rich or poor, or if you had SAT prep or not, or if Spanish is spoken in the household.  It is a yes or no question about ethnicity, period.  Is this right?  Not necessarily.  But I'll be damned if I am going to let DS walk away from an opportunity that is legitimate under the current system.  He is 25% Hispanic and will identify as such.

We live in a wealthy neighborhood and have a few neighbors with Hispanic ethnicity.  The live in huge fancy houses and drive expensive luxury cars.  Their kids go to private schools.  They are just as likely to be checking this box as well.  Why should they have the advantage and not DS?  Do you see what is happening?

Until something is done about the racist questions on these applications, these situations will continue.

[/quote]

I imagine that, at highly competitive schools, there is a hierarchy of Hispanic preferences. One would hope that wealthy white Spanish origins would be at the bottom.[/quote]

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