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Baruch Interview
Here's what a 1.5 generation Dominican student at Baruch had to say when we asked him questions about how being Dominican affects his life in and out of school.
The student we interviewed is a part of the Dominican Student organization "ASEDOM" at Baruch which has been around since at least 1997. The purpose of the organization is to unite all latino students on campus, not solely for Dominican students, "We want to make the students here aware of their heritage, culture, and things of that nature."
When asked what he thought the main differences were between DR and American culture he said the main difference was that the DR culture is "third worldish" while America is way more industrialized.
When asked how he identifies himself, he quickly responded- Dominican.
He also said that even though he did not grow up in a Dominican community he still interacted with mostly Dominicans. He described himself as a "homebody" where he would go to school, come home, study and not really spend time on the streets. The leisure time he spent was mainly dedicated to sports so he didn't think it made a difference to him growing up outside of a Dominican community.
When asked about his own opportunities compared to his parents, he thinks his mother helped him a lot in giving him opportunities she didn't have and in the same way he would like to make sure his children have access to opportunities he didn't have. "We keep building up"
When asked about what challenges he thinks Dominicans face as opposed to other immigrant groups he said that the first generation comes and just focuses on setting up their children for opportunities they don't have.
When asked about trends in choosing majors he said since we're in Baruch business is the main major chosen, and he feels that Baruch is very accomodating to the Latino student body, but he feels that the student leaders need to step up to further advance their position in the school. He feels that CUNY is great because they are responsible for the highest Latino graduation rate, and there is virtually no bias here. "There is a general feel of acceptance in the CUNY system."
When asked about school choice he said financial issues play a role in why there aren't more Dominican students in more elite colleges. "When it comes to tuition, Baruch was the smartest choice for me."
As far as languages are concerned he said his first language was spanish but his dominant language is english. With regards to his mother he said she is dominiant in both spanish and english. He also said he would like his children to know spanish to maintain the Dominican culture and tradition.
With regards to connection to DR, he said he used to go back every summer but once he got past junior high he could not afford to spend his entire summers in the DR because of internships, jobs, and summer classes. However he still maintains communication with people back in the DR
His career aspirations are to be a psychologist and to open up his own practice somewhere down the line. He mentions here how Dominican parents tend to push their kids towards business because of the financial rewards. He wants to be able to tell his kids that they can be scientists, astronauts, etc... he doens't want to have the same "tunnel vision" and only stress one path.
