https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6hbQ3Zs1v8&feature=share

Hispanic and Latino are not interchangeable terms

Incidentally, many organizations, including (I think) the US Census, ask about Hispanic and Latino separately.

So, I work at Census and creating population estimates for minorities and people of Hispanic-origin is one of the things I do. So I have been reading this with interest.

Currently, Census considers race and ethnicity separately. Hispanic/Latino (they are essentially interchangeable for us) is an ethnicity. A person of Hispanic origin, for Census purposes, can be of any race. All of these categories are self selected, there is no "criteria" that has to be met in order to check any box. People can also (generally) check as many categories as they feel apply to them. These multiple selections have become increasingly common as our nation becomes more diverse.

Increasingly, our own research and that of others shows that the concept of race is fluid, despite the joke by a PP above, and many people don't make a distinction between race and ethnicity. The bureau is looking to make changes in how this question is asked in the 2020 Census. (I am not involved in this but there is a LOT if testing going on to validate how the question is asked.) Many other organizations use the Census categories, so it will be interesting to see what the changes are and how it plays out.

Anonymous wrote:[youtube]

Anonymous wrote:They need to stop asking these questions . They are trying to categorize people by nose and lip width , hair curl , skin color and eye roundness. It's disgusting.

Yes.

Very hiltler ish.

?!

No, that would be the case if applications asked the shape of your eyes or the width of your nose. That would be appalling. This is about applications asking you to self-identify your ethnic and cultural heritage in order to make sure they don't only admit upper class white kids, like they used to.

Anonymous wrote:Why don't they just go away with race on college applications and switch to SES brackets?

+1.

Problem is, that would favor poor whites and poor Asians instead of wealthy blacks.

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

if you want to be honest, check white.

When the system itself is dishonest, words like "honest" mean nothing.

What is dishonest is to talk about race in 2016.

[youtube]

Anonymous wrote:They need to stop asking these questions . They are trying to categorize people by nose and lip width , hair curl , skin color and eye roundness. It's disgusting.

Yes.

Very hiltler ish.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can beat that. My grandfather is from Spain. I can legitimately check the Hispanic box. And I do!

People from Spain are NOT Hispanic. You have been filling that box falsely.

That's not true. The term 'Hispanic' became common in the US in the 1907s. In 1976 the US government defined Hispanic in such a way that it included people whose grandparents were born in Spain (and Portugal), for the purposes of the cenus. That was the first time that 'Hispanic' was an option for the census. It referred originally to people who traced their ancestry to a Spanish speaking country generally. There's actually a lot of people who don't like the term Hispanic because of its Eurocentrism (and what about Brazilians?), but I don't think there's much question that the term both historically and now includes people whose grandparents are from Spain.

With regards to college, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund explicitly defines 'Hispanic' as including people whose "ancestry" is from Spain. (link). NCLR, which is one of the biggest Latino and Hispanic advocacy organizations, talks about it here. They follow the US Census definition, which would include the PP. Incidentally, many organizations, including (I think) the US Census, ask about Hispanic and Latino separately.

You can argue whether all these scholarships and admissions recognition should only be for Latinos, but I don't think it's correct to tell PP that she's been incorrectly checking the Hispanic box.

They need to stop asking these questions . They are trying to categorize people by nose and lip width , hair curl , skin color and eye roundness. It's disgusting.

Anonymous wrote:If you are still reading, here is a criterion: years ago at my college, everyone who checked particular boxes and was admitted was put on a list for invitations to particular affinity groups. For example, a friend of mine checked white and Native American because of distant Native ancestry. When she arrived on campus she was approached by the very small Native American community and asked if she wanted to join their affinity group/club. She was not interested because it really wasn't part of her identity. If your child would probably have nothing to do with the Hispanic club or whatever it might be called, then it's probably not her identity.

That's probably a good litmus test. I'm the white PP with the half Arab son. He would very much like to join Arabic language or middle eastern groups. On the other hand, I grew up with a girl whose dad is Mexican American, and he grew up in a Texas community right on the border where nobody spoke English. He married a white woman from North Carolina, and my friend doesn't feel any connection to Latino culture at all. She doesn't check hispanic on anything, and never has. Even though she have a Spanish last name.

Why don't they just go away with race on college applications and switch to SES brackets?

My ex is from Mexico and I am white. My DD will check the box for Hispanic and white because that is what she is. She has an Hispanic last name and has some darker features but I doubt you would guess she had Hispanic blood just by looking at her. I don't know if I would do the same if she had one Hispanic grandparent though and both parents were white.

If you are still reading, here is a criterion: years ago at my college, everyone who checked particular boxes and was admitted was put on a list for invitations to particular affinity groups. For example, a friend of mine checked white and Native American because of distant Native ancestry. When she arrived on campus she was approached by the very small Native American community and asked if she wanted to join their affinity group/club. She was not interested because it really wasn't part of her identity. If your child would probably have nothing to do with the Hispanic club or whatever it might be called, then it's probably not her identity.

Just put down what you feel you are. If you have some Hispanic heritage that's important to you, and you consider yourself Hispanic, do it. Don't do it to game the system. Just do it because you think it's the most accurate representation of who you are. And let the chips fall where they may.

In our case, dd is really resisting checking Hispanic on the college application. Father is from Argentina but totally assimilated and has a very light accent. She speaks fluent Spanish (bilingual school) and spends a month each summer in Argentina. I don't think it's even a stretch, in her case, to claim Hispanic heritage. In some sense, the application process is a game, and while you shouldn't cheat, you should play smart.

Anonymous wrote: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.

The abuse of the "Hispanic" label can be pretty egregious, although I don't know how often it happens. I was in school with a girl on a full scholarship for Hispanics, although she was from Spain. She actually thought she was Hispanic. I worked with another woman who was hired for the job because she was Hispanic, but she was Italian. Again, she actually thought she was Hispanic. They need to start writing "central and south america" or something similar on applications in order to weed out the people too dumb to know that they are not Hispanic.