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5
Monday, February 6, 2000
8A
Multiracial students struggle to identify heritage at University
By Kami Bremyer
"I always check white and black because I don't consider myself either," said Lightfoot, Olathe junior, whose father is African American and mother is Caucasian.
Special to the Kansas
Lightfoot is one of a number of multiracial students at the University who never have been given the option to identify themselves. A federally funded institution, KU is required to solicit information from incoming students about their ethnic heritage.
The government gives students five options: African American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Caucasian.
When Kama Lightfoot filled out her application for admission to the University of Kansas, the form requested she identify her ethnic background by checking one box.
And then there is the "other" box.
And then there is the "other" box.
The "other" is a catch-all box for students who forgot to check a box,
didn't choose to check a box, or whose racial heritage doesn't correspond with federal designations.
She couldn't do it.
"It's important to understand who you are and to be allowed to identify yourself by your mixed cultural heritage, and to be known as such." Herod said.
But even though some multiracial students are going against the system and trying to identify themselves, they are not being recorded as such. Alan Cerveny, director of admissions and scholarships, said that if a multiracial student whose ethnic background was Caucasian and another ethnic group checked more than one box, the system would record that person as a member of the respective minority group.
So, according to University records, where does Herod fall? Cerveny said that students who marked two multicultural boxes were contacted and asked what designation they preferred.
Federal paperwork is only a small part of how multiracial students identify themselves. For some multiracial students, developing a sense of who they are can be difficult, said Pam Botts, assistant director of Counseling and Psychological Services.
And as for Lightfoot? According to KU records, Kama is a key African American, not Caucasian and African American.
Botts said that students who are not a part of mainstream culture could become confused when trying to relate to both the cultural norm and their ethnic cultures simultaneously.
"Students sometimes feel like they should skate between one or two."
students sometimes feel like they should choose between one parent's heritage and culture or the others," Botts said. "The process
1998 University of Kansas Demographic Report
Nonresident Alien: 1,446
African American: 738
American Indian: 243
Asian: 770
Hispanic: 594
Caucasian: 20,284
Unknown: 1,080
1990 U.S. Census Data
African American: 3.7 million
American Indian, Eskimo and
Aleut: 391,518
Asian and Pacific Islander: 1.7 mil-
lion
Caucasian: 39.1 million
Other race: 2.2 million
of adopting a culture and possibly rejecting another can be extremely hard to do."
Mike Sweate, Chicago junior. said he once was caught between his two cultures
"I think at one point in time in your life you get very confused as to who you really are because it feels like you are not fully accepted by either side of the family," said Sweate, whose father is African American and mother is Caucasian of French-Canadian decent. "You spend a lot of time thinking and listening to what other people have to say and what other people believe or what other people think you should be or act like."
"I did feel pressure due to the fact that they didn't understand my position of being confused," Herod said. "They didn't have the same frame of reference because they were basically within one culture."
Multiracial students who are trying to identify themselves sometimes find their work even harder because of the government's slow action to reform ethnic reporting.
On federal forms, without a multiracial category or the option to check more than one box, some students will go unidentified.
The U.S. Census Bureau is trying to change the lack of representation of some races. In the 2000 Census, for the first time, those surveyed will be allowed to check all boxes that apply to their ethnic heritage.
For the reporting of ethnic breakdown at the University to change, the federal government will have to modify guidelines. In the meantime, the University is installing a new system that will have the capability to record more complex information about students' ethnic heritage, Cerveny said.
"We have a student information system that we are installing so that if the Feds come up with new guidelines, I think we will have the technical capabilities of being able to reflect percentages," he said.
Although the government has yet to decide how multiracial students will be identified, Sweate doesn't need anyone to tell him who he is.
Date of Birth
Social Security No.
Date of Graduation
Major
E-mail
State
ZIP
Telephone ( )
State
ZIP
Telephone ( )
contact you about your application?
Race/Ethnicity (check one):
Hispanic
Asian or Pacific Islander
Native American (American Indian) or Alaskan Native
White (not of Hispanic origin)
Black (not of Hispanic origin)
Gender:
Male
Female
of Citizenship
Relationship
Telepho