A Guide to College Admissions and Success for Hispanics

Hispanic students make up the fastest growing demographic group in Idaho’s education system, according to a report prepared by the University of Idaho in partnership with the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs. They have very high aspirations for continuing education beyond high school but face challenges in terms of achievement and understanding what’s involved in applying for college.

How can we help these deserving students fulfill their postsecondary aspirations?

The October report is the second in a series of “Idaho at a Glance” policy briefs on Hispanics and education in Idaho. The first report was issued in 2011 and summarized the growing Hispanic student population, achievements in K-12, and the educational attainment of Idaho’s Hispanic students.

Geared and tailored for this audience, my new book will include specific guidance on Choosing a College → Explore Your Interests → Visit the Campus → Applying to College → Getting Ready as a Senior → Cost & Financial Aid → College Life → Success Stories → ;

Margie Gonzalez, the commission’s executive director, added the commission is committed to providing the most updated data on Idaho’s Hispanic community in order to raise public awareness of the major issues facing the state’s communities.

“Education continues to be our top priority, and we are thrilled to partner with the University of Idaho in releasing ‘Hispanics and Education II,’” Gonzalez said.

Hispanic enrollment growth is outpacing non-Hispanic growth in Idaho’s public schools, colleges and universities. From 2000 to 2011 there was a 75 percent increase in enrollment of Hispanic students in K-12 schools, compared to an increase of 8 percent in non-Hispanic student enrollment. Hispanic student enrollment in four-year universities increased 118 percent, while non-Hispanic student enrollment increased 9 percent. Hispanic students make up 16 percent of K-12 public school enrollment and 6.5 percent of enrollment at Idaho’s public universities.

However, one barrier to higher education is the rising cost of tuition across the nation. According to the new report, almost all parents in Idaho, Hispanic and non-Hispanic alike, include grants and scholarships as part of their plan to pay for college — 96 percent and 88 percent, respectively. Unfortunately, state-funded, need-based aid in Idaho is very low: in 2008, only $63 was spent per undergraduate student, compared to $611 nationally. Most data in the new report come from the University of Idaho’s Micron STEM Education Research Initiative, a five-year study of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in Idaho (www.uidaho.edu/research/stem/micronstemed). This report highlights results of surveys of seventh-and 10th-grade students and their parents as well as a general statewide survey.

“Providing rigorous STEM education is a key strategy for increasing access to good paying jobs for Idaho’s students, Hispanic and non-Hispanic alike,” according to Melinda Hamilton, director of the university’s STEM initiatives. By 2018, 90 percent of STEM jobs will require at least some postsecondary education. Annual wages for Idaho’s STEM occupations were roughly twice as high as for all other occupations in 2011.

Because STEM occupations tend to have good benefits and opportunities for career growth, supporting students in subjects that prepare them for these occupations is important. Findings presented in the new report show that in seventh-grade, Hispanic students tend to have attitudes about math and science that are similar to those of their non-Hispanic peers.

However, by 10th grade, Hispanic students are less likely to say they like math and science, less comfortable asking questions in class, and less likely to feel they can get extra help in math or science outside of class time or at home. At the same time, Hispanic parents of 10th-graders are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic parents to say they wish they had more time to be involved in their child’s education — 48 percent of Hispanic parents versus 19 percent of non-Hispanic parents. However, Hispanic parents are much more likely than non-Hispanic parents to say they lack the knowledge to help with math and science homework — 51 percent versus 26 percent for math, and 44 percent versus 13 percent for science. Understanding the influence of social, cultural and familial factors is key as researchers and educators around the state work to strengthen STEM learning and literacy. In turn, the research and data summarized in this report provide current, factual information about Idaho’s unique population and priorities.

“Our policy briefs on Hispanics and education are intended to inform policy discussions and program development on a wide range of topics with implications for this growing part of Idaho’s population,” said Priscilla Salant, one of the report’s co-authors and director of the university’s Office of Community Partnerships.

This publication and others on topics such as rural education, broadband access and Hispanic health are available at www.uidaho.edu/IdahoataGlance.

The Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs is a non-partisan state agency that provides services to the Hispanic community and serves as a liaison between the community and government entities. Working toward economic, educational, and social equality, the Commission identifies and monitors programs and legislation, and researches problems and issues facing Idaho's Hispanic community. The Commission identifies solutions and provides recommendations to the governor, legislature, and other organizations concerning issues facing the State's Hispanic population.

Here is the link to the original press release: http://www.uidaho.edu/newsevents/item?name=ui-report-details-idahos-hispanic-students-attitudes-and-experiences

Dr. Darron Smith: "Regarding the recent LDS declaration disavowing its racist past, let me point you to a most intriguing piece."

Post by Darron Smith.

Why No Apology for the Priesthood Ban?

rationalfaiths.com

SOURCE: http://rationalfaiths.com/apology-priesthood-ban/

EXCERPT:
Is this why the essay buries in footnote 13 its one example of a Church leader writing that the belief was “quite general” among Mormons that “the Negro race has been cursed for taking a neutral position in that great contest”?  Is this why this lone instance cites to personal correspondence by Joseph Fielding Smith (pointedly designated as “Apostle”) in which he mentions the “fence-sitting” teaching, but hastens to add it “is not the official position of the Church [and is] merely the opinion of men”?  Is this why the one example comes from an obscure and unpublished piece of personal correspondence rather than more easily accessed and published sources such as Joseph Fielding Smith’s “The Way to Perfection,” “Doctrines of Salvation,”¹ or “Answers to Gospel Questions”?²

One can only imagine the degree of document winnowing Church historians engaged in to find this one cited example from the 1907 personal correspondence of “Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith.”  More germane and more accessible would be the 1949 First Presidency Statement in which the teaching that blacks are not allowed the Priesthood is described not as a policy but a doctrine: “It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the priesthood at the present time.”

In addition to inheriting the curse of Cain, misbehavior of blacks in premortality is put forth as a rationale for the ban in the 1949 First Presidency Statement:  “[F]ailure of the right to enjoy in mortality the blessings of the priesthood is a handicap which spirits are willing to assume in order that they might come to earth.   Under this principle there is no injustice whatsoever involved in this deprivation as to the holding of the priesthood by the Negroes.”

A Contrversial Look at Bioethics and Egg Donation

The infertility industry in the United States has grown to a multi-billion dollar business. What is its main commodity? Human eggs. Young women all over the world are solicited by ads—via college campus bulletin boards, social media, online classifieds—offering up to $100,000 for their “donated” eggs, to “help make someone’s dream come true.” But who is this egg donor? Is she treated justly? What are the short- and long-term risks to her health? The answers to these questions will disturb you . . .

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RE1VV8?tag=info0a371-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B008RE1VV8&adid=00PRARV7P7TWTFE5S671

Produced by The Center for Bioethics and Culture (Lines That Divide, 2009), Eggsploitation spotlights the booming business of human eggs told through the tragic and revealing stories of real women who became involved and whose lives have been changed forever.

Eggsploitation makes a powerful, provocative and, ultimately, modest proposal: women who consider donating eggs have a right to complete information on the risks involved. Lured by promises of sometimes desperately needed money and a chance to help another woman, vulnerable young women face unknown dangers to their health in an unregulated industry. Eggsploitation is a compelling call for oversight and research so that egg donors can be truly informed before giving consent.

     Patricia Ireland, President of NOW (National Organization for Women) 1991-2001, author of What Women Want

It is a scandal that the infertility industry has gone so many years without collecting adequate safety data on the risks of multiple egg extraction. This makes informed consent impossible for the thousands of young women now undergoing so-called ‘egg donation’ procedures. Every young woman considering ‘egg donation’ as a way to generate income for school tuition or other critical expenditures should see this film first. And policy makers need to insist that we finally conduct the research that should have been done years ago.

     Judy Norsigian, Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves

I've been a women's rights advocate since 1963, but this film was an eye-opener for me because I knew nothing about the multi- billion dollar egg donation industry, the physical risks to young women that accompany egg donation, and the need for research in this area.

I hope this film gets the wide distribution it deserves because the information in it is vital for young women in the US and abroad, their significant others, their families, and their societies.

     Sonia Pressman Fuentes, Lawyer, Author, Public Speaker, Feminist Activist;
     Cofounder of NOW (National Organization for Women); First Woman Attorney,
     Office of the General Counsel, EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

This powerful, important and informative documentary gives viewers true insight into the egg donation industry and helps us to better understand the desperate need for regulation and oversight. All prospective egg donors (and recipients) as well as all practitioners and agency employees in the egg donation industry should be required to watch this film!

     Wendy Kramer, Director and Co-Founder, Donor Sibling Registry

Eggsploitation is a powerful and compelling film on the extreme risks and disregard shown to women . . . a must see for all egg donors and fertility patients. The infertility industry's practice of reproductive endocriminology is a "dirty little secret" and should be secret no more.

     Lynne Millican, Founder, LupronVictimsHub.com

What fertility clinics and egg donation agencies may not tell you. This film should be seen by any woman considering becoming—or using—an egg donor so that she can better understand the medical risks involved.

     Diane Allen, Infertility Network, Canada

Eggsploitation is a compelling and revealing documentary that gives the viewer an up-close look at the flipside of the infertility industry. You will meet women whose lives were changed forever after undergoing the procedure for egg donation. Their disturbing and heart wrenching stories tell a cautionary tale to all women who are considering egg donation for the purpose of in-vitro fertilization or embryonic stem cell research. A must see film for researchers, physicians, professors, college students and feminists.

     Kelly Vincent-Brunacini, President, Feminists Choosing Life New York

One blogger says
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/ellenpainterdollar/2012/01/eggsploitations-bad-science/

Eggsploitation’s overall message is that the combination of infertile patients desperate for viable eggs and young women desperate for money leads to an exploitative system in which no one is looking out for egg donors’ well-being. It argues that donors, who must go through the same medical procedures as IVF patients do (daily hormone injections and surgical retrieval of eggs), are participating in a potentially risky procedure without truly informed consent.

I have no argument with this message. I have written often about how the lack of oversight of the fertility industry, combined with market pressures, seriously compromise the ability of those involved (both patients and donors) to make thoughtful, deliberate, and informed decisions about the medical, emotional, financial, and ethical dimensions of reproductive technology.

My complaint with this film is not with its message, but with its method. It relies almost solely on anecdote to illustrate the possible risks of egg donation, focusing on the admittedly compelling stories of egg donors who had serious medical complications after donation.

I love anecdote. I put a lot of stock in people’s stories of dealing with infertility, genetic disorders, troubling prenatal diagnoses, etc. So my problem with Eggsploitation is not that it puts stories front and center. (In fact, one of the things I struggle to understand is why several of this filmmaker’s colleagues and supporters have been so vocal in criticizing my “narrative,” or story-based approach to reproductive ethics, while also praising a film that is almost all story. Go figure.)

My problem with the film is that it uses several egg donors’ stories as a scare tactic to imply that fertility drugs cause serious illnesses, including potentially fatal cancers, without providing data to back up those claims.
Fertility drugs may indeed cause serious illnesses, including cancers, as I discussed in Thursday’s post. But research is ongoing, and likely not occurring at the pace it should be given the growth of fertility medicine; one of the film’s arguments is that clinicians are so focused on getting people pregnant that they are not adequately concerned with women’s health, which is a reasonable argument.