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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why do the new minority students on campus make Rodriguez uneasy?
(a) They dress funny.
(b) They celebrate the cultural heritage that he has rejected.
(c) They try to speak to him in Spanish.
(d) They act like revolutionaries and promote violence.

2. What does Rodriguez think about his ability to succeed with women?
(a) He can only flirt with dark-skinned women.
(b) He will succeed because he has such a beautiful "tan."
(c) He will attract a lot of women because he is "exotic."
(d) He will fail because his skin color makes him ugly.

3. When Rodriguez applies for teaching jobs, what happens?
(a) He does not get any job offers.
(b) He gets one or two offers from out-of-state schools.
(c) He gets lots of good job offers.
(d) He is told the schools will not hire a minority candidate.

4. What does Rodriguez think skin color says about financial status?
(a) Light-skinned people need to work less and get outside more.
(b) Dark-skinned people are poor.
(c) Dark-skinned people are rich.
(d) Light-skinned people are poor.

5. Based on her behavior, who does Rodriguez's mother consider part of the "gringos"?
(a) Her grandchildren.
(b) Her next door neighbors.
(c) Her children.
(d) Her children's friends and spouses.

6. Why does Rodriguez use the label "minority student"?
(a) To get sympathy from professors.
(b) To get scholarships.
(c) To prove that Hispanics can succeed in school.
(d) To announce that he is proud of his ethnicity.

7. According to Rodriguez, what do minority students need to succeed in college?
(a) A support system of other minority students.
(b) Supportive professors and family members.
(c) Basic skills and an educational background that prepares them for college.
(d) Extra tutoring.

8. What do the Hispanic college students ask Rodriguez to do?
(a) To lead a protest.
(b) To give a speech to their student group.
(c) To teach a course in minority literature.
(d) To write them recommendations for graduate school.

9. What is the main reason for Rodriguez's success?
(a) The support of his parents.
(b) His "minority student" status.
(c) His great teachers at Stanford.
(d) His hard work and good educational background.

10. Why does Rodriguez's mother call him "Mr. Secrets"?
(a) Because he hides things from his family.
(b) Because he does not talk to his family.
(c) Because he likes to surprise them.
(d) Because he lies to his family.

11. What new academic field do these minority college students ask for?
(a) Ethnography.
(b) Ethnic studies.
(c) Anthropology.
(d) Third world studies.

12. What term does Rodriguez's mother ask him to explain?
(a) Psychiatry.
(b) Bilingual education.
(c) Affirmative action.
(d) LSD.

13. When he is a child, what do people say about Rodriguez's complexion?
(a) They tell him he is handsome.
(b) They tease him.
(c) They tell him to see a doctor to get help.
(d) They joke with him about how light his skin is.

14. What example does Rodriguez offer of how affirmative action can have negative consequences?
(a) Students who were helped by affirmative action, but then did not help their fellow minorities.
(b) Students who flunked out of college.
(c) His own experience as a minority who struggled in college.
(d) Students he knew in graduate school who had never written a paper.

15. In Complexion, Chapter 3, what does Rodriguez realize about education?
(a) It is a waste of time.
(b) It gives people a voice.
(c) It changes how people look at the world.
(d) It provides better job options.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Rodriguez teach in the 1960s and 1970s?

2. What does Rodriguez finally decide about affirmative action?

3. Where does Rodriguez go for his fellowship?

4. How do Rodriguez's friends affect his religious practices?

5. According to Rodriguez, who does affirmative action help?

(see the answer keys)

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