IMPACTOFSOCIALATTITUDESONLATINOS1

Introduction
IntheUnitedStatesthereisanunyieldingemphasisonthenotionthateducationisthekeyto
successthateducationcanalleviatethepoverty,oppression,andeveryothershortcomingimpinging
oneslife.InAmericahighereducationisseenasagatewaytoafruitfulcareerandarealmof
opportunitiesandfortunatelyforseveral*WhiteAmericansthisconceptionbecomesareality.However,
manyminorities,specificallyLatinos,neitherhavethisluxurynorprivilege.Althoughitistruethatnow
therearemoreresourcesandopportunitiesforLatinos,suchasprogramsthatencourageandaidinthe
completionofhighschool,thesamesocialbarriers,attitudes,andprejudicesstandinthewayofLatinos
actuallyattendingtheuniversity.ThisplacestheyoungLatinocommunityinadirestraitsbecausenot
enoughisbeingdonetocombatthoseinjuriousimpedimentsthatarekeepingthemfromevenapplyingto
theuniversity.Socialattitudes,whethertheyaregoodorbad,canhaveasignificantinfluenceonpeoples
behaviors/actionsandbecausesocietysbeliefsaboutLatinosandattainingahighereducationareoften
infamouslyinauspiciousitiscriticaltoaddresstheproblemsothatwemaydismantlethestigmabehind
it,bringawarenesstoit,andmostimportantlypushthisdiscouragedminorityforward.InthisessayIwill
bediscussingthemanywaysinwhichsocialattitudes,specificallynegativestereotypesandprejudices,in
thePortland/MultnomahCountyareaareaffectingLatinoschancesatreceivingahighereducation.
TooMuchAttentiontoHighSchoolEducationandNotEnoughonHigherEducation
Tobegin,oneofthewaysthatsocialattitudesareaffectingLatinoschancesatreceivingahigher
educationisthetenaciousanddisproportionateemphasisoneducationalsuccessinhighschooland
completionrates.WhenitcomestoLatinosandeducationthemainfocusisandalwayshastypicallybeen
onhighschooleducationwhereasuniversityleveleducationisnotnearlyacknowledgedasmuchasit
shouldbe.Duetothisoversight,asMcGlynn(2015)highlights,manyLatinosareleftuninformedabout
theendlessopportunities,suchasasuccessfulfuturecareerandastableincome,thatcouldpotentially
arisefromreceivingahighereducation.InsteadmanyLatinohighschoolstudentsarebombardedwith


IMPACTOFSOCIALATTITUDESONLATINOS2

highschooldropoutrateswhichcreatesanunpropitiousenvironment.Asaresultthisgeneratesintense
fearandpressureforLatinostudentstofocussolelyongraduatinghighschoolsothattheywontbe
anotherstatistic.Thesestudentsaresofixatedongraduatinghighschooltheyarecompletelyobliviousto
thegreatservicethatcollegecouldbefortheminthenearfuture,amassivefaultoftheschool
administratorsandcounselors(McGlynn,2015).McGlynn(2015)callsattentiontothefactthatLatino
highschooldropoutrateshavedecreasedbyhalfdownto13%whichisundoubtedlyanoteworthy
mentionbutnonethelessatroublesomesituation.Itisataxingsituationbecausealthoughthereisa
massivemovementandeffortbeingdoneinthePortland/MultnomahCountyareatoensureLatinohigh
schoolgraduation,hardlyanyinformationontwoyearcollegesorafouryearuniversitiesisgivento
them.Welltheyarebigkidsnow,whycanttheysimplytakeinitiativeandresearchtheopportunities
forthemselves?Whycanttheyaskforthemselves?Toaddressthefirstquestionthatmanycriticspose,
muchresearchforcollegeisfoundonlineandnearlyallcollegeapplicationsarecompletedonlineaswell.
Furthermore,manyLatinostudents,whocomefromlowerincome,povertystrickenfamilies,donothave
thesameaccesstosameinformationwhichistypicallyfoundontheinternet.ManyLatinostudentsand
theirfamiliescanbarelyaffordacomputermuchlessexpensiveinternetservicethustheyareplacedata
disadvantage.Latinostudentsdoaskforhelpbecausetheyareawareofthestatisticspiledhighagainst
themandareconsequentlyembarrassedbywhatthecounselorsmaythink.Withsomuchemphasison
onlyhighschool,itgivesLatinostudents,whoarealreadyseverelyoppressed,afalseimpressionthat
becausetheycanbarelyscrapethroughhighschoolthereisnowaythattheycouldeversucceedinor
evengetacceptedtoacollegesincetheoptiontoattendtheuniversityisseldomlydiscussed.Latinosface
asignificantamountofprejudiceandarebombardedwithbelittlingstereotypes,suchasallLatinosare
lazy,uneducated,andstupid,whichsimplyaddstotheirpreexistingencumbrances.Theauthorthus
assertsthatamajorreasonwhyuniversityoptionsarerarelydiscussedisduetothosesocialattitudes
revolvingLatinosandhighereducation.


IMPACTOFSOCIALATTITUDESONLATINOS3

DamagingCulturalAssumptions
AnotherwaythatsocialattitudesarehinderingLatinoschancesatreceivingahighereducation
arethedamagingculturalassumptionsthattheyconstantlyencounter.DrakeandMooney(2009)point
outthattheminoritystatusbarriersthatyoungLatinosundergohavebeenbothconsiderablyand
negativelyinfluencingtheiracademicachievement.Theyhighlightthattheirminoritystatusbarriers
shouldneitherbetakenlightlynorshouldtheybeignoredbecausetheycontributelargelytotheiroverall
identityinsociety.TheseminoritystatusbarriersentailanabundanceofobstructionsthatLatinosmust
endureonadailybasis.Asanexampletheymustfacepoverty,discrimination,marginalization,poor
health,lowereducation,andalowsocioeconomicstatus.Thisinformationisdisclosedtoandeasily
accessibletothepublicwhichinactualitydoesmoreharmthangoodfortheLatinocommunityinthe
Portland/Multnomaharea.ThisdataisharshlymanipulatedinawaytomakeitappearasifLatinos
cannotescapefromtheirhardshipsandifthereisanescapeitismadeclearthatthatisaminimumwage
joborharshexploitationonthefield,notacollegeeducation.DrakeandMooney(2009)mentionthat
thereisaplethoraofculturalassumptionspinnedtowardLatinosthatdiscouragethemfromtryingtoface
theseobstacles.IntodayssocietymanyAmericanshavecondemnedLatinosaslazy,uneducated,gang
bangers,andslumdwellers(Drakeetal.,2009).Tomakemattersmoresevere,youngLatinosare
hyperawareofthewaysinwhichtheyarebarbarouslyportrayedandthusconsequentlyfallpreytothe
stereotypethreat.AsDrakeandMooney(2009)pointout,thestereotypethreatisasituational
predicamentinwhichpeopleare/feelthemselvestobeatriskofconfirmingnegativestereotypesabout
theirsocialgroupandoftentimestheyconformtoitasaresult.TheauthorsshowhowyoungLatinosare
almostroutinelyforcedtofitintothisstereotypeandaretrappedwiththenotionthathighereducationis
animpossiblegoalbecausetheyareinadequateanddoomedtoalifefilledwithpoverty(Drakeetal.,
2009).Tofurthersubstantiatetheirpointtheyprovidethereaderwithstartlingdatawhichrevealsthat
only12%ofLatinoshaveattainedabachelorsdegree(Drakeetal.,2009).Furthermore,Drakeand


IMPACTOFSOCIALATTITUDESONLATINOS4

Mooney(2009)explainhowtherestrictedopportunitystructurehasbeenunderexplored.Insimplerterms,
theauthorsdiscusshowmanyLatinosareoblivioustotheopportunitiestheyactuallyhavetopursuea
highereducation.ManyLatinosdonothaveaccesstothisinformationduetothesituationandeconomic
factors,suchasnotbeingabletoaffordinternetservices,andschoolsnotdoinganadequatejobof
informingthesestudentswhoprofoundlydependontheireducatorstoinformthemdespiteitbeinga
largepartoftheir[theeducators]jobsanyway.Inaddition,becauseofthehyperawarenessoftheir
disadvantagedsituation,they[Latinostudents]havebeenleadto
falsely
believethattheycantmove
forwardcausingthemtostopatonlyahighschoolleveleducationoraGEDequivalent.Drakeand
Mooney(2009)clearlydemonstratehowtheseculturalassumptions,thathavebeentackedontoLatinos
andengravedintotheirminds,arepreventingthemfromevenwantingtochaseacollegeleveleducation
becausetheseprejudiceshavesoheavilyimpairedtheiracademicachievementandaspirations.Inmany
waysthesestereotypesexcourageLatinostoremainintheirhopeless,povertystrickenconditionsand
foldevenfurtherintheirminoritystatusbarriers,unmoved.Theseculturalassumptionsarecreatedby
White,AmericansocietyandyetLatinosarerelentlesslyblamedfortheirquandaries.Thecultural
assumptionsthatcontinuetoplagueLatinosonlyencouragethemtostayuneducatedandthustheyremain
disillusionedwiththebeliefthatthereisnowayoutoftheirsituation.
DiscouragingStatisticsAboutLatinosinOregon
Next,anotherwayinwhichsocialattitudesinthePortland/Multnomahcountyareaareaffecting
Latinoschancesatreceivingahighereducationarethestatisticsthatareconstantlyreleased,
exaggerated,andpublicizedaboutLatinosandhighereducationinOregonUniversities.Theauthor
beginsby
notingthatalthoughminorityenrollmenthasjustbarelyincreasedatOregon'ssevencolleges
anduniversitiesoverthepastdecade,itisnotasfastasthestate'sgeneral/highschoolpopulationswhich
isincrediblydispiriting(Anonymous,2009).MinorityenrollmentatOregonuniversitiesandcollegesis
evidentlystilllowandtheauthor(2009)pointsoutthatthisispartiallyduetoOregonslonghistoryof


IMPACTOFSOCIALATTITUDESONLATINOS5

socialprejudicesandracismtowardLatinos.TheLatinocommunityinthePortland/Multnomahcounty
areahashistoricallyandcontinuallybeendamagedwiththediscouragingandoppressiveattitudesof
Whitesociety.Thestatisticsmentionedabove(minorityenrollmentbarelyincreasing)areplasterednot
onlyinthemediabutspecificallyinthefacesofyoungLatinos.Butdoesthefrequentreleaseofsuchdata
reallybenefittheLatinocommunity?Theauthor(2009)highlightsthatthisinformationisseldomlyifnot
everreleasedinamannerthatisintendedtohelpLatinosprosperandbreakfreefromtheirpredicaments,
suchasbarelybeingabletopaytherentandlackofaccesstopublictransportation.Firstandforemost,
theaudiencetowhomthisinformationisreleasedisasignificantfactortoconsider.Themediaalready
hasunfavorableconceptionsaboutLatinos,suchastheyarealllazy,uneducated,andincapableof
succeeding,andwhentheyaregiventhosestatistics,specificallyregardingLatinosandhighereducation,
itonlysolidifiestheirpreexistingbeliefsandcorrespondinglycausesthemtotrulybelieveLatino
stereotypes.OnemightthinkthatthesestatisticsmightencourageyoungLatinostobreakthecycleand
quicklypursueahighereducation,butastheauthorpointsout,thecontraryistrue(Anonymous,2009).
ThefactsarepresentedtotheprejudicedpublicandarereceivedwithanItoldyousoattitude.The
publicreliesontheirculturalassumptionsofLatinos,whichareamajorityofthetimeincorrect,tojustify
thedismalstatisticsthatrarelyeverconsidersthecountlesssituationalandeconomicfactorsthatthis
marginalizedgroupconstantlyhasandcontinuestoface.Duetothemannerinwhichthefactsare
presented,suchasstatisticsbeingreleasedtothepublic,itseemslikeLatinosandhighereducationarea
lostcausethisendangeredgroupismadefeelevenmorehopelessandevenisolatedfromapotential
successfullife.Perhapsthebiggestreasonwhytheconstantreleaseofthesestatisticsissodamagingand
problematicisbecausetheseyoungLatinosarenotofferedanyacademicinterpretationsandwhatcould
beusefulandhelpfulinformationusedfortheirbenefitturnsouttobeuselessanddiscouraging.Theyare
notprovidedwithanadditionalinformationandmostimportantlytheyarenotgivenanoptionsor
suggestionsonwhattheycouldpossiblydotoescapethisdauntingsituationsettingthemfurtherbackand


IMPACTOFSOCIALATTITUDESONLATINOS6

thuspreventingthemforprogressing.Theyarentgivenanyanalysisorpossiblesolutionstotheproblem,
theyarejustsimplytoldthattheyaretheproblemwhichisdamagingnothelpful.Thisnotonlyhelps
festersocietysprejudicesbutthesevulnerable,youngLatinosareledtobelievethem.Theauthorpoints
outhowOregonshistoryofracismcanbeseenthroughthisbecauseWhiteAmericansinsocietyhave
constantlykepttheminoritygroups,especiallyLatinos,fromrisingupfromthepovertyandtheoverall
minoritystatusbarrier.ThestatisticsalsoexposetheimportanceofdiversityandrevealOregonsdire
needformorediversityintheclassroom(2009).Inafinalnote,theauthoraddressesdiversityasawayto
combattheracismintheclassroom.Thelackofdiversitycouldbeyetanotherfacetcontributingtothe
shortageofLatinostudentspursuinghighereducation.IfLatinosseethatthereareotherminorities
receivinganeducation,likeadominoeffect,theymaybecomemotivatedtoattendtheuniversityaswell.
Lastly,iftheyaregivenhelpfuladvicealongsidethedisappointingstatisticstheymaybemotivatedto
changetheirunfortunatesituations.
LackofOpportunitiesandLackofRepresentation
Furthermore,afinalwaythatsocialattitudesinPortlandareaffectingLatinoschancesat
receivingahighereducationisduetothelackofopportunitiesandlackofrepresentation.
Representation
iscriticalforthesevulnerable,discouragedLatinohighschoolstudents.IfLatinostudentsseethattheir
Latinopeersareaimingforahighereducationtheymayfeelmorepersuadedtopursueonetheywillnot
feelasisolated,alone,orembarrassedforselectingthatopportunity(MacDonaldetal.,2009).However,
inthePortland/MultnomahCountyareathereisadisappointedlyhighlackofrepresentationofLatino
studentsgoingtocollegebecauseitissomethingthatisnotasemphasisedasmuchasitshouldbeand
needstobe.Becausethereisnorepresentation,Latinostudents,whoarealreadyarguablysomewhat
disillusionedwithwhatoptionstheyhavefortheirfuture,areleadtobelievethatthathighschoolisthe
endoftheiracademiccareerswhichisasignificantfallacyintheLatinocommunity.
SeldomareLatinos
inhighschoolpresentedwithopportunitiesforacollegeleveleducationandmuchlessaretheyinway


IMPACTOFSOCIALATTITUDESONLATINOS7

representedascandidatesworthyofahighereducation.Iftheyareconstantlypersecutedbytheseharsh
statistics,suchasLatinohighschoolstudentsoftenstruggletocompletehighschool,whywouldthey
believethatcollegeisevenapossibility(MacDonaldetal.,2009)?Latinostudentsarerelentlessly
remindedthattheycanbarelysurviveandmanagehighschoolsowhywouldtheyevenconsiderahigher
educationiftheyarediscouragedinnearlyeverysense?Theauthors(2009)presentthesequestionsso
thatthereaderscancomprehendjustoneofthewaysinwhichsociety'sprejudicesonLatinosandtheir
educationingeneralisgravelyaffectingtheirchancesatgettingthehighereducationtheyrightfully
deserve.MacDonaldandClark(2008)beginbyassertingthatbecauseLatinosareviewedaslazyby
societytheyaredisadvantagedwithalackofopportunitiesthatcouldpotentiallyhelpthemreachthe
university.Theynotethatthisinpartduetoadministratorspreconceivednotionsandfears.These
administratorsareawareofthestatisticsandtheyheavilytakethemoutofcontexttoservetheirargument
andinessenceinterpretthesituationasso:sinceallLatinosarelazyandcanbarelyfinishhighschool
theywontneedtobealertedwiththeseopportunitiesforacollegeeducation.Theadministratorsalso
fearwastingtheirtimeandmoney,althoughitisregardlessalargepartoftheirjob,tofundanyprograms
thatcouldaidLatinosbecausetheyareterriblyconvincedthatLatinoswouldntneed,use,orwantthem
anyway.Latinosareoftenpawnedassocialandpoliticaldiscussionsandyetnotmuchisdonetoactually
changetheirsituationandbecauseoftheirsocioeconomicsituationstheyareunfairlyuninformedofany
chancestheymayhavetobreaktheharmingcyclethatcontinuallypushesthembackwards.Theauthors
alsonotethathistorically,socially,andpoliticallyLatinostendtoberepresentedinanegativemanner,
theyareneverrepresentedasintelligentoreveneducated(MacDonaldetal.,2008).Duetothisracistand
unsettlingfact,MacDonaldandClarksuggestthatthelackofopportunitiesandrepresentationcanbe
combatedbyavarietyofways.Tobegin,theyassertthatthebeststartingpointtodismantlethese
problemsisbydiscussingtheissuestobringawarenesstothemanyLatinosareleftinthedarkandtothe
ignorantpublicwhoskewthedatatomoldtotheirpreexistingbeliefs.Lastly,MacDonaldandClark


IMPACTOFSOCIALATTITUDESONLATINOS8

(2009)arguethatthesedisadvantagesthatLatinosfaceandthenegativesocialemotionsthatsocietyhas
canbedefeatedbyestablishingvisibilityandlegitimacy,selfdetermination,selfscrutiny,emulation,and,
autonomy.Latinosarenotlazy,theyaresimply,andquiteunfairly,uninformed.Therealityisthatsociety
islazybecausetheyrefusetoopentheirmindsandstepoutoftheirconstrictingboundariestoconsider
thesituationalfactorsstackedagainstLatinosandreanalyzethedata.Insimplerterms,makinga
differencegoesbothways.
Conclusions
Throughthesourcesprovidedthereadercanidentifythevarietyofwaysthatsocialattitudesin
thePortland/MultnomahCountyareaareaffectingLatinoschancesatreceivingahighereducation.One
methodthatisquiteevidentistheexaggeratedemphasisonhighschoolcompletion.Thisisdamaging,
misleading,andcausesLatinostobelievethatcollegeisnotanattainablegoal.Thedamagingcultural
assumptions,suchasthestereotypethreat,arehinderingLatinosfromwantingtopursueauniversitylevel
educationduetoextremestressandfearthattheywillfitintothosenegativestereotypes.Theprejudice
andracismagainstLatinosinOregon,thediscouragingstatistics,andthelackofopportunitiesand
representationareanotherwaythattheirchancesarebeingnegativelyimpacted.Itisabsolutelyessential
thatLatinosfromthePortland/MultnomahCountyareaareawareofthesesocialhindrancesaffecting
theircommunitysothattheycanbegintorealizethattheyindeedcanpursueahighereducationoncethe
barriersandcountlessoppositionsareaddressed.Theyneedtoknowthattheycanandshouldaskforhelp
sothattheycantakeadvantageofthesehiddenopportunities.Furthermore,itisessentialthatsociety,
specificallyacademicadministrators,arecognizantofLatinostudentsdelicatesituationsinorderto
encourageLatinostudentstoactuallyspeakoutandsothattheycanapproachtheseLatinostudents
themselvesandfullyinformthestudentsabouttheuniversityasanoptionforafterhighschool.Itis
withoutadoubtthatthesocialattitudescreateacumbersomesituationbutifinitiativeistakenbyboth
parties,adifferencecanandwillbemadeforLatinostudentsinthePortland/MultnomahCountyarea.