Affirmative action bake sale

An affirmative action bake sale is a controversial technique used by student groups to illustrate their criticism of affirmative action policies, especially as they relate to college and graduate school admissions. The goal of the technique is to "bring the issue of affirmative action down to everyday terms," according to one bake sale student leader.[1] (http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?ID=22913)

The bake sales sell cookies at different prices depending on the customer's race and sex, imitating the racial and sexual preference practices of affirmative action. A typical pricing structure would be along the lines of $1.00 for White and Asian males, $.75 for White and Asian females, and $.50 for Latino, Black, and Native American males and $.25 for females. The bake sales are not supportive of this kind of preferential treatment; rather, they argue this preferential pricing is analogous to preferential treatment created by affirmative action policies.

These bake sales have been organized at many schools across the U.S., sometimes annually, including University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, Columbia University, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, Indiana University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and University of Washington. Participating students have been from varied racial background.

Contents

1 Asians not counted as minorities 2 Controversy & criticism 1 Related articles 2 External references

Asians not counted as minorities

Asians are generally not included in the minority-discount category in bake-sales because they don't benefit from affirmative action policies. For example, some schools have had restrictions on the high proportion of Asian students admitted, in favour of lower scoring students of other racial groups.1 African-american Dr. Walter E. Williams, distinguished professor of economics at George Mason University further elaborates that:

"A minority group is not a minority if, as a group, it is successful. Asian median family is $55,525, the highest of any other racial group in America. More than 44 percent of Asians age 25 and over have bachelor degrees; the rate for all other Americans was 26 percent. Other indicators of group success would include low crime rate and high family stability."[2] (http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/03/bakesale.html)

(See model minority)

Controversy & criticism

The bake sales have been controversial, drawing crowds of students, sometimes facing opposition or restriction from campus administrations, often being accused of racism, and sometimes even being attacked.[3] (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/12/24/affirmative.bake.sale.ap/) An administrator at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Kristen McManus, titled a letter to the press dealing with a bake sale at the university "Racist Practice at UNCC.” In response, in some cases administrators have been accused of censorship, and inappropriately advocating a political position.[4] (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/12/24/affirmative.bake.sale.ap/)

Responding to an affirmative action bake sale being attacked at the University of Washington, the school's Board of Regents President Jerry Grinstein represented the opinion of many opponents of these events when he described "the statements [...] in putting on a bake sale about affirmative action were tasteless, divisive and hurtful to many members of the university community."[5] (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/12/24/affirmative.bake.sale.ap/) The student leader of a bake sale at UCLA described this issue of divisiveness, saying "we wanted to show how affirmative action is racial division, not racial reconciliation."[6] (http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?ID=22913)

Dr. Walter E. Williams has responded to critics of these bake sales, writing:

"Why be offended by a money version of racial preferences? After all, it's identical in principle to admission practices sanctioned by university communities across America. In fact, that's what the University of Michigan case before the U.S. Supreme Court [2003] is all about – treating people differently by race."

Williams argues critics are taking a situational stand instead of a principled stand on racial preferences, writing that such a stand point effectively holds that "whether racial preferences are wrong or right depends upon whom it's practiced against."

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The movement increased in activity after a June 2003 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court that universities could use race as a factor in admissions. These bake sales are supportive of legislation that would bar public universities from collecting or storing racial information, including from applicants for admission.

Related articles

• Affirmative action
• Model minority - A minority group that’s highly successful despite a history of discrimination (e.g. Asian Americans)
• Political correctness
• Race and intelligence

External references

• Affirmative Action Bake Sale (http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/03/bakesale.html) article by Dr. Walter E. Williams (March 2003)