UNCA students and faculty reflect on Latino identity

By Alex Benavides
Journalism Student

Juan Snchez-Martinez, a UNC Asheville professor who holds a Ph.D in hispanic

studies/migration and ethnic relations, came to the U.S. only a year and a half ago.

I just know that I was born in a place that was surrounded by lakes and mountains. Now I am
conscious of the color of my skin, said Snchez-Martinez. I know that people think about race
when they look at me.

He said he describes himself as from the Andes, a large South American mountain range, rather
than a certain race or nationality.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the census only offers Hispanic as a choice for ethnicity;
however, one of every three Hispanic people identified themselves as some other race in
response to their race on the 2010 census.

Some wrote in Latino, Mexican, or other national origins and ethnicities, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau.

Its a racialized country, Snchez-Martinez said. Its a really complex topic.

When the Pew Research Center surveyed Latinos to see if they considered being Hispanic to be
part of their racial background, they said about about two-thirds agreed, at least in part.

Michelle Bettencourt, UNCA associate professor of Spanish, said many Latin Americans don't
identify solely by the color of their skin.

The Latino-Hispanic identity thing is really only an issue in the United States, she said.

Bettencourt said the way Americans think about race -- in terms of black or white -- does not
seem valid, especially for Latinos.

They dont want to be categorized like that. Its too diverse of a group to be categorized as
Hispanic or Latino. it doesnt make sense, she said.

Snchez-Martinez said labels such as race depend on who uses the term and for what purpose.
For one person its okay to be called Hispanic, yet for another, no, its a completely offensive
word. It came from the U.S. government, Bettencourt said.

Snchez-Martinez said when he hears the word Spanish to describe someone, he thinks of
someone from Spain, not someone like himself.

When youre talking about the identity of others, youre really talking about your own, he said.

Since leaving his birthplace, he said he thinks more about the mixed ethnic makeup of his
people.

There are afro. There are indigenous people. And there others -- they are the majority. Its really
hard to track those things, he said.

Latino-Americans struggle to balance identities

Liz Torres, a junior at UNCA, said even the concepts of race and ethnicity can be confusing.

Torres said she identifies as both black and Latino, specifically Puerto Rican.

And thats such a stigma, too, because on the island we dont talk about race, she said. Youre
all light-skinned or dark-skinned but when it comes to your identity youre all Puerto Rican.

Race and ethnicity both play an important role in shaping our identity and our view of ourselves
as people, Torres said.

She said she sometimes feels pulled between two identities or two cultures.

It sometimes almost feels like you have to choose a community, she said. Its not hard to
figure out, but its weird I guess to figure out how to be both at the same time.

Torres said she has to understand that shes both part of the African-American experience and
the Latino experience.

I dont know if (Hispanic) should be a race, but I think if were not going to make it a race we
need to educate more about what race is, she said.
She said she serves as president for HOLA, a student organization that helps connect UNCA to
the Latino community in Western North Carolina.

I feel like race and racism are such, like, taboo words, almost, she said. Its not racist in any
way to talk about what race is.

She said a misconception rises where some people think race means black or white, even though
so many people exist in every shade in between.

Torres said even among her own family she has nephews with very fair skin but cousins with
very dark skin, and many other family members in a variety of shades.

Whenever you try to make a group exlusive, youre not thinking about everyone else who isnt
like that, she said. I just think its something that need to be talked about.

Last year the U.S. Census Bureau said Hispanics constituted almost a staggering 18 percent,
making them the largest ethnic or racial minority in the country.

Latinos new to America, new to the system

I know just from friends who have issues with those boxes, that theyre highly offended about
having to check boxes, Bettencourt said.

According to Bettencourt, Latin Americans can look very different with respect to skin color,
ranging from having very fair skin to having very dark skin. She said the history of indigenous
people, Africans and Europeans mixing created this diversity.

Theres not that skin tone that sort of defines you. Its more about where youre from, she said.

Although it can be helpful for the government to track population trends and other demographics
over time, it confronts many people with the complex question of how they choose to identify
themselves, Bettencourt said.

According to the US Census Bureau, they will work to revise their approach on collecting racial
and ethnic data. They say their current system seems problematic for many groups of people,
including Latinos and Hispanics.
Megan Underhill, UNCA assistant professor of Sociology, said a lot of Hispanic-Americans
began advocating for Hispanic to be identified as a race, not an ethnicity, on the 2020 US
Census.

Race is a master status, meaning that its one of the first things that people see about
somebody, she said. Whereas ethnicity, for lots of Americans, but not all, its more optional.
You can determine whether or not you want to tell people Italian, or whatever else.

Underhill said Hispanic people feel as though their ethnicity becomes racialized when others see
them and identify them as Hispanic, making their ethnicity not optional.

Maybe its because I come from the white perspective, that its easier for me to just say white,
Bettencourt said. Theres not a question. Theres no question in my family heritage.

She said her husband has a harder time with checking those boxes.

My husband hates it. He comes from Spain, Bettencourt said. He doesnt like it. He doesnt
check those boxes. Im not white. Im not black. Im other. And he gets tired of other.

She said none of the choices truly speak to his identity.

People come here from other countries and they just want to be known by where they come
from, she said. I have found that in Spain that their identity, their sense of identity, is different.
Theyre not quite as open.

Bettencourt said demographic boxes make the country focus on race too much.

Even my son is like, Im brown. My skin is brown, especially in the summer. So what am I?
Other, she said.

Bettencourt said she does not tell him what to pick -- she lets him decide.

Whatever he feels. And as he grows up hell maybe change. Or not. I dont know right now.
Hes just really a mixture, she said. Identity is extremely complex and personal.

UNCA brings more Latinos to campus

UNCA admissions counselors hold all applicants to the same standards of admissions, regardless
of race or ethnicity, said Marcus Roberson.
Roberson said he works with the admissions office to recruit students from Western North
Carolina to attend UNCA.

We try to keep an even playing field for everyone, he said.

While admissions counselors do not directly strategize to recruit students from diverse cultural
backgrounds, Roberson said the office utilizes groups like Advancement Via Individual
Determination and Juntos.

He said AVID and Juntos coordinators generally gear their programs toward minority students.

Something that we do consider when were looking for admissions offer are things like
first-generation college students, he said. That will play an impact on one candidate versus
another.

According to UNCA, last fall the campus saw a 242 percent increase of Hispanic students over
the past 10 years.

While Torres said the campus as a whole does not seem diverse, the problem lessens.

Its getting better, she said.

Patricia McClellan said UNCA looks significantly more diverse than when she first came to
campus over 30 years ago, but the administration acknowledges it remains a problem they strive
to fix.

We did not have very many African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians as students, she said.
There was very little diversity on campus for race and ethnicity.

McClellan said she acts as assistant provost for academic administration as well as temporary
director of the admissions office.

Affirmative action is usually used from an employment standpoint, she said. What we use is a
holistic approach to admissions.

McClellan said she looks for students who aspire to do well academically in addition to looking
for students who can bring some type of diversity to campus.
We do not have any scholarships that are specific to race or ethnicity, but we do take that into
account as one factor amongst many factors, trying to look for reasons to admit students, she
said.

The UNCA board of trustees recently approved a strategic plan that included diversity as a major
component and core value of the school, according to McClellan.

I like to get students that are from areas where we dont ordinarily get students, she said. It
has been a shift in the diversity of the students racially and ethnically. It has gone up since when
I first started here, but it is still not where it needs to be.

Bettencourt, who first came to teach in 1999, said she also sees much more cultural diversity
now than in the past.

Im involved in a couple of efforts on campus and in the community to get more Latino students
and their families to look as high ed as an option, she said. Just because I think thats a
perspective that we can all benefit from.
Last fall around 5 percent of UNCA students self-identified as Hispanic. Photo by Alex
Benavides.

The US Census Bureau said they want to revise their wording on questions about race and
ethnicity, which includes forming experimental questions like the one above. Screenshot by Alex
Benavides.