Why are recs absolutely necessary at some schools, while not expected at others?

[Titchou]

In Cajun culture, the questions are 1) can you make a roux - because that's the basis of a lot of their cooking, 2) can you speak French - because many older relatives don't speak English, and 3) who's your daddy - because the Cajun area is so small and there are so few Cajun surnames that this gives the questioner a sense of where you are from, where your people are and where they are buried because the Cajuns didn't stray far from home once they settled an area. They would have been too discriminated against and probaly didn't speak enough English to get by in another culture.