Kim C: language has nothing at all to do with it. "Hispanic," as defined by the Feds, means a person with ancestors originating in Spain or one of the Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas. A Hispanic can self-certify as such, even if he or she doesn't speak a word of Spanish.

My understanding of this, and I may well be wrong, is that a small group of mid-level Federal employees came up with this definition sometime in the late 60s or early 70s. My assumption is that none of them were of Portuguese descent. Catalans are Hispanics. In fact, to take it to its extreme, a Basque is Hispanic. On the other hand, a person from Nicaragua whose ancestry is 100% Indian is Hispanic. I'm not entirely sure how a Sephardic Jew, whose ancestors were kicked out of Spain in 1492, would be counted. Is any of this fair? Does it make any logical sense? No, but this is how it works.

Susu: your experience had nothing to do with AA. That is what's generally referred to as "preferential placement," and is somewhere between improper and illegal, depending upon the circumstances.