According to a “2002 National Survey of Latinos” by the Pew Charitable Trusts, Hispanics view themselves — admissions officers, sit up and take note! — diverse.
According to a summary of the report in the Washington Post today,
Hispanics or Latinos in the United States tend not to see themselves as part of a single ethnic group but rather as part of a wildly diverse population, representing many different countries of origin and disparate political, cultural and social views, a new survey has found.
Well, not completely diverse. The survey did discover a couple of uniform attitudes. One of them:
Hispanics from the various Spanish-speaking countries do share a range of attitudes and experiences that distinguish them from people whose cultures are non-Hispanic, such as a reluctance to box themselves into one of the five racial categories identified by the U.S. Census….
Another:
Perhaps the single most unifying attitude among all the Hispanic groups surveyed is the overwhelming belief that learning English is essential to success in this country. Contrary to those who believe that “English only” laws are essential in preventing isolated pockets of Spanish-speaking communities from forming, those in Spanish-speaking communities say that learning English is absolutely essential — a view, the survey found, that is reflected in how quickly the children of immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries assimilate into the dominant culture.
So, Hispanics are united in two central beliefs: 1) they are ethnically diverse with different attitudes and values and do not fit neatly into U.S. Census racial boxes; and 2) learning English is of crucial importance.
Has a university admissions staff done its duty by diversity, then, if its Hispanic admittees comprise only Mexicans, or Cubans and Puerto Ricans, or …?
