This is not a joke ... be careful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[filialuna]

Wow!!! 

  I am very shocked about so many things.  First off, I thank this guy for giving us this information.  He didn't have to, but because he did it's made all think a little bit more about ourselves and aspects that we show online that we wouldnt otherwise.
  Secondly, it seems there is a heated debate going on his AA status. What I know about bigtex is that he was very encouraging me to me in the past when I felt discouraged about applying to certain reach schools.  I know he offerred me kind words when I needed them, but I don't know anything about his AA status.  If he did misuse intentionally, or unintentionally, I'm sure he'll have to deal with the hardships of that down the line.  But that has nothing to do with me, my opinion is he is a nice person, and I don't think he deserves negative judgements by his peers.
  Which leads me to my next point, I feel that everyone on this board is a peer.  There are so many people going through teh same situations as me, and offering me at times priceless advice and direction.  I find this as a type of support group, and because of that I do feel a bit violated to know law schools are looking at this. 

[TDPookie1]

Umm...how is Tex "less" white? Does having a hispanic father make him less white? I have a Korean brother..does that make me less white? What if I had a black uncle? Less white? Your ethnicity is not a function of your perception...I could grow up adopted by a black family but I would still be white. Should AA apply in that case?

He's still caucasian, regardless of his family.

thirdly, he's not as white as you, assuming you grew up in a white family.  his old LSN profile said that he clearly explained his situation in an addendum and let schools decide how to handle it, and he did just that (assuming that he's telling the truth, which i am perfectly fine assuming).

see previous comments re race vs. culture.  korean and black are races.  hispanic is a culture.

[twarga]

I am 1/8 Chippewa/Ojibway but just put white because I am not a member of the tribe and did not grow up on the reservation. I am not going to take the spot of a true Native American just so I can take advantage of the situation and so some school can fill their diversity quota.

I'm 1/8 Chickasaw (poor Oklahoma cotton farmers, remember?), but like you, would never have the nerve to put that on an application.  I look like the Irish side anyway...  

[GO_PTO]

Merriam Webster's definition of hispanic:  

of, relating to, or being a person of Latin American descent living in the U.S.; especially : one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin.

did you miss that word... I made it easier for you to catch

[veedonfleece]

Merriam Webster's definition of hispanic: 

while youve got Merriam spread eagle, look up "gunner"

i hope Tex takes your spot at Harvard

[LordofLight]

I really don't care about BigTex's AA status. I like him. What freaks me out is law schools spying, gathering information, and then going behind applicants' backs to either confirm information, or worse, to disparage an appicant before finding the full story.

I was pretty lightheartd about this board. I basically came on here to female dog about UW and to be obnoxious. I would not have thought law school admissions "professionals" would be lurking and gathering.

The whole entire law school admissions process can be summed up thusly: bull.

[filialuna]

Bummer for tex. He didn't even have to disclose the white or hispanic thing, did he? Isn't that optional? If he really wanted to get some advantage for his "diversity" he could have refrained from disclosing race and just submitted that race addendum. Right?

I'm amazed that so many people here didn't expect adcoms to snoop around, though. I think I've posted at least a half dozen warnings about this (granted, I don't leave my posts up for very long... for this precise reason), and had admissions reps at the three Law School Forums I attended (DC, NYC, and LA) reply with a shoulder shrug that they most definitely read this board. Why wouldn't they? It's an amazing resource. I've met some truly amazing and inspiring people on here... but I've also met some who are equally frightening. And, come on, there's no expectation of privacy. Same thing goes for a google search. I wouldn't even be upset with a law school they if it did a quick background check using intelius or some similar service. The application fees are certainly high enough to cover stuff like that... and it doesn't take but a minute or two to complete.

None of this excuses the actions of tex's particular school... but was it totally unforeseeable? I don't know. I think tex made a mistake, too. Hopefully he's learned from it... and hopefully he can still get the ABA to let him practice law some day.

interesting! i refused to disclose my SS nr to law schools, but not for that reason, (mostly because I keep reading articles about the hundred things that could go wrong if you do).  i wonder if that made it a little more difficult for them to track me? (probably not :p)

[twarga]

Merriam Webster's definition of hispanic:  

of, relating to, or being a person of Latin American descent living in the U.S.; especially : one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin.

did you miss that word... I made it easier for you to catch

The relating to means relating to the noun the adjective is describing, like "This is a hispanic neighborhood."  It doesn't mean relating to like "I can relate, dude. Let's all be hispanic."

[hunterhogan]

(This is somewhat redundant now, but I think still adds to the information presented thus far.)

It is important for the debaters here to understand that Hispanic is not considered a race. The official position of the federal government (which regulates the schools) can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/ombdir15.html

It says,

The revised standards will have five minimum categories for data on race: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. There will be two categories for data on ethnicity: "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino."

As someone pointed out before: Asian is considered race, while Hispanic is considered ethnicity. It is logically possible to be both Asian and Hispanic. That is why many applications say "White, not of Hispanic origin" instead of just "White".

It will be impossible to determine if one thinks that BigTex should be considered Hispanic while one is making confused analogies concerning Asian Americans or any other race.

[LordofLight]

AA is based on what then? I am now hispanic because I feel it me bones. I ate a burrito, I basked in the culture..I can say Porque viene Usted a los Estados Unitos? Por quanto tiempo quedarse?

They aren't just races, otherwise there would be no difference, other than melanin content.

Umm...how is Tex "less" white? Does having a hispanic father make him less white? I have a Korean brother..does that make me less white? What if I had a black uncle? Less white? Your ethnicity is not a function of your perception...I could grow up adopted by a black family but I would still be white. Should AA apply in that case?

He's still caucasian, regardless of his family.

thirdly, he's not as white as you, assuming you grew up in a white family.  his old LSN profile said that he clearly explained his situation in an addendum and let schools decide how to handle it, and he did just that (assuming that he's telling the truth, which i am perfectly fine assuming).

see previous comments re race vs. culture.  korean and black are races.  hispanic is a culture.