(no subject)
Sometimes I wonder if one's race is becoming more important than ever in the United States, instead of less important.
Earlier today, I logged onto OCC's student network to check the start date of my next class, and got one of OCC's survey pages. These show up occasionally, usually asking why you're taking classes at OCC and what your educational goals are. However, this particular questionnaire was asking whether I am a Latino, or a non-Latino, and of what race. Thing is, one can't skip these questions and move on to one's student records. These sort of questions both annoy and confuse me, I assume I got these questions because I have a last name that is Spanish in its' origin. As far as I understand it, the definition of "Latino" is something like "a person of any race who is of Hispanic heritage". In this case, I sort of am a Latina, and I'm sort of not. I have some percentage of Spanish blood, from an ancestor who came to America from Spain around the time of the Civil War (I refer to the USA's Civil War), but the lion's share of my heritage would be defined as WASP, with a possibility of Native American genetic influence. I was not raised with any particular ethnic traditions, though sometimes I wish I was. I'm not Mexican, nor am I Puerto Rican, Cuban, or any other Latin-American region. I don't speak Spanish. However, I can speak fluent Midwestern.
I understand why OCC would want this information, the college might even receive funding if a certain percentage of the student population is Latino, but I still get peeved that race and cultural classification is still such a big deal. I could have screwed with the system and answered with something other than "Non-Latino, white", but that would have been dishonest.
I am what I am. Isn't that enough?
Heh, and even amongst other "whites", I'm pretty damn white. Areas of my body that have not frequently seen the sun practically glow. My brother's the same, but on him it's even more startling, because he's got dark hair and eyes, but an ivory complexion.
In other news, Rammstein has announced their 2009 tour dates! http://www.rammstein.com/Tour.html
No United States dates yet (can't blame them if they don't want to tour in the US), but one can hope! I'm not much for gambling, but I'm going to buy a ticket for the next mega millions drawing, as it would be so cool to travel to Europe and see my favorite sextet in concert.
Earlier today, I logged onto OCC's student network to check the start date of my next class, and got one of OCC's survey pages. These show up occasionally, usually asking why you're taking classes at OCC and what your educational goals are. However, this particular questionnaire was asking whether I am a Latino, or a non-Latino, and of what race. Thing is, one can't skip these questions and move on to one's student records. These sort of questions both annoy and confuse me, I assume I got these questions because I have a last name that is Spanish in its' origin. As far as I understand it, the definition of "Latino" is something like "a person of any race who is of Hispanic heritage". In this case, I sort of am a Latina, and I'm sort of not. I have some percentage of Spanish blood, from an ancestor who came to America from Spain around the time of the Civil War (I refer to the USA's Civil War), but the lion's share of my heritage would be defined as WASP, with a possibility of Native American genetic influence. I was not raised with any particular ethnic traditions, though sometimes I wish I was. I'm not Mexican, nor am I Puerto Rican, Cuban, or any other Latin-American region. I don't speak Spanish. However, I can speak fluent Midwestern.
I understand why OCC would want this information, the college might even receive funding if a certain percentage of the student population is Latino, but I still get peeved that race and cultural classification is still such a big deal. I could have screwed with the system and answered with something other than "Non-Latino, white", but that would have been dishonest.
I am what I am. Isn't that enough?
Heh, and even amongst other "whites", I'm pretty damn white. Areas of my body that have not frequently seen the sun practically glow. My brother's the same, but on him it's even more startling, because he's got dark hair and eyes, but an ivory complexion.
In other news, Rammstein has announced their 2009 tour dates! http://www.rammstein.com/Tour.html
No United States dates yet (can't blame them if they don't want to tour in the US), but one can hope! I'm not much for gambling, but I'm going to buy a ticket for the next mega millions drawing, as it would be so cool to travel to Europe and see my favorite sextet in concert.