Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:that said, i would check black if i were you - race is self reported and self identified. No one can tell you what race you are or not except yourself.

Therefore, I recommend everyone say they are black.

Except when getting approached by the police.

race can be fluid, just like gender.

If the universities are too stupid to check it out or define it better ...

My worry is the universities are in on this scam.
The U's would rather have assurance that the student can pay the balance (affluent/educated parents) and are likely to graduate (affluent/educated parents)
I think U's look the other way. They are happy to check-off their own box claiming diversity.

The Ivy bound "National Hispanic Scholar" from our HS didn't speak spanish, born in the US of professionals w/advanced degrees (one of whom had hispanic heritage). IMHO this was not the profile of a student this program was set-up to help.

Anonymous wrote:(1) Does your child speak Spanish?
(2) Did your daughter have a quinceanera?
(3) Do you have chotskies of the Virgin Mary sitting on doilies on furniture in your house?
(4) Do you regularly cook Hispanic food because it reminds you of home? Not because you want to try a new recipe
(5) Would your child be embarrassed in 30 or 40 years when he/she is running for president and it turns out he/she ticked the Hispanic box?

I think number five should be your guide, but the others are useful too.

You have GOT to be kidding me. I am half Colombian and none of these, except 5, apply to me. Does that mean I'm somehow less "half-Hispanic" than someone for whom all apply?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My children are one quarter white European, one quarter from one Asian country and one half from another Asian country.

We speak the European language.
I check White and Asian boxes.

You can in all correctness check Hispanic and the other ethnicity (ies) your child has.

I disagree completely. Not for you but for the 1/ Chilean.
Unlike Hispanic, Asians are actually PENALIZED in the college application process. They are over-represented in the college bound population. If you check Asian and white all the time, then you identify as Asian and white.

I would ask Chilean mom, what have you checked for the last 17 years? What does your partner check for his race? My sense is that Hispanic is all of a sudden a lottery ticket for parents of in all senses white American kids when it comes to the college application process.

18:46 again. You can't hide the truth, PP.
If the child has a hispanic ascendant, then he has a hispanic ascendant, period.
I am well aware of the unfair standards expected of Asians in this country and the advantages Hispanics and Blacks enjoy in the college application.
But being proud of your heritage and telling the truth is always the right thing to do.

You're assuming a lot with that last sentence. Op is just recognizing/ accepting/ honoring at the time of college application the Chilean grandfather bloodline. Prior to that, she was proud of the all American white person.

You're assuming too!

Anonymous wrote:What have you put the past 17 years? If Hispanic, put that. If white, put that. If biracial or something else, put that.

If you haven't ever put Hispanic before...that seems like gaming the system and would make me uncomfortable. But I guess you "can" do it...just depends on your conscious.

There is no gaming the system, because there's no benefit to being Latino in higher Ed. If you can write an essay about the hardship that you endured as an upper middle class kid growing up in Bethesda, then you might have a shot at a merit scholarship.

No joke.... my DH's friend's DD is going to Duke (in a medical graduate program) on a full scholarship b/c her grandmother is from Paraguay. She (student) has a German last name and has lived in the US or Canada her whole life. The only reason she got the scholarship is b/c she claimed "hispanic."

DH's nephews both attended a large, well-known state university for FREE b/c their father is of mexican heritage (although he lived in the US his whole life). Their mother (my SIL) is blonde and blue eyed northern european/midwestern decent. The only reason they "speak Spanish" is b/c they took Spanish in college and did the semester in Spain. F-R-E-E four years tuition. Their father (the one of mexican descent) has a PhD in physical therapy and drives a Lexus. They have never wanted for anything.

So, I guess you can claim it. If the universities are too stupid to check it out or define it better, then you might as well take it.

Anonymous wrote:(1) Does your child speak Spanish?
(2) Did your daughter have a quinceanera?
(3) Do you have chotskies of the Virgin Mary sitting on doilies on furniture in your house?
(4) Do you regularly cook Hispanic food because it reminds you of home? Not because you want to try a new recipe
(5) Would your child be embarrassed in 30 or 40 years when he/she is running for president and it turns out he/she ticked the Hispanic box?

I think number five should be your guide, but the others are useful too.

I am a gringa from the Southwest, and I would answer yes to three of these five questions. (Actually, I'd answer yes to 4 of them...because number 5 is phrased so that a "yes" answer means you should not check the box.)

Anonymous wrote:(1) Does your child speak Spanish?
(2) Did your daughter have a quinceanera?
(3) Do you have chotskies of the Virgin Mary sitting on doilies on furniture in your house?
(4) Do you regularly cook Hispanic food because it reminds you of home? Not because you want to try a new recipe
(5) Would your child be embarrassed in 30 or 40 years when he/she is running for president and it turns out he/she ticked the Hispanic box?

I think number five should be your guide, but the others are useful too.

Wow all but 5 are crazy stereotypes.

Guess what? I was born in South America and spent most of my childhood there. I came to the U.S. with my parents when I was 12 . I would check no to all but number 5.

What have you put the past 17 years? If Hispanic, put that. If white, put that. If biracial or something else, put that.

If you haven't ever put Hispanic before...that seems like gaming the system and would make me uncomfortable. But I guess you "can" do it...just depends on your conscious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My children are one quarter white European, one quarter from one Asian country and one half from another Asian country.

We speak the European language.
I check White and Asian boxes.

You can in all correctness check Hispanic and the other ethnicity (ies) your child has.

I disagree completely. Not for you but for the 1/ Chilean.
Unlike Hispanic, Asians are actually PENALIZED in the college application process. They are over-represented in the college bound population. If you check Asian and white all the time, then you identify as Asian and white.

I would ask Chilean mom, what have you checked for the last 17 years? What does your partner check for his race? My sense is that Hispanic is all of a sudden a lottery ticket for parents of in all senses white American kids when it comes to the college application process.

18:46 again. You can't hide the truth, PP.
If the child has a hispanic ascendant, then he has a hispanic ascendant, period.
I am well aware of the unfair standards expected of Asians in this country and the advantages Hispanics and Blacks enjoy in the college application.
But being proud of your heritage and telling the truth is always the right thing to do.

You're assuming a lot with that last sentence. Op is just recognizing/ accepting/ honoring at the time of college application the Chilean grandfather bloodline. Prior to that, she was proud of the all American white person.

I am Mexican-American and Puerto Rican. I have put Hispanic down all my life. I have people look at me and assume I am the first in my family to go to college. People approach me in stores because they think I work there. People also think I am my children's nanny. I get stupid comments and out racist ones. I have white-ish skin, but I don't look completely white.

If you have to ask this question, the answer is NO!

Anonymous wrote:if you want to work the system - check hispanic.

if you want to be honest, check white.

Exactly. And OP well knows this (as do others who take advantage of this situation).

Anonymous wrote:that said, i would check black if i were you - race is self reported and self identified. No one can tell you what race you are or not except yourself.

Therefore, I recommend everyone say they are black.

Except when getting approached by the police.

Anonymous wrote:that said, i would check black if i were you - race is self reported and self identified. No one can tell you what race you are or not except yourself.

Therefore, I recommend everyone say they are black.

Thank you Rachel Dolezal.