Editor’s Note

“Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices – just recognize them.”   – Edward R. Murrow

Looks can be deceiving. I am half Caucasian, half Hispanic, but I look 100 percent Caucasian. I may be a full-blooded American, but I definitely connect to my Latin heritage. I am Colombian from my mother’s side. That part of my family tree is descended from Spaniards, so that side of the family looks “white.”

The hardest part of filling out my college applications was not writing the essays. It was figuring out which box to check: “White” or “Hispanic.” At that time, the directions read “check one.” Which would I choose? My choice would dictate scholarship opportunities and could influence whether or not I was accepted to my first choice. My identity lies in the fact that I think of myself as both “White” and “Hispanic.” Ultimately I choose the “White” box because I thought if I were interviewed, I didn’t want the interviewer to think I lied because my skin color is white. I was 17 years old. I would not make the same decision today. Forced to pigeonhole myself into one category or another, I would leave all boxes unchecked.

Luckily times have changed. Today’s application includes “Multiracial” as an option along with 10 other boxes, including “Other.” Students are no longer forced to choose one culture over another. As America continues to become much more of a melting pot, judging someone by the color of their skin will become more complex, which will hopefully make racism that much more difficult to perpetuate. While I don’t believe prejudices will ever go away, I think the more realistic view is to learn to recognize your prejudices, live with them and learn to overcome them. With each generation, positive changes occur giving me hope that one day, perhaps in my lifetime, there will no longer be a need for racial identification. In a society where we can learn to respect differences, personal growth is unlimited.

Michelle Maynard
Editor