Posted on 05/22/2003 11:29:01 PM PDT by rffan34
Several Bruin Republicans parodied affirmative action by selling Oreos, Twinkies and crackers for race-based prices on Bruin Walk on Wednesday, but they never meant it to end in chaos.
The "Affirmative Action Bake Sale, Reloaded," was a follow-up to a February sale put on by the same students, this time with emphasis on offensive stereotypes applied to minorities who oppose affirmative action.
Although the sale was obscured by a cement mixer for much of the morning, by early afternoon the table was surrounded by students – some of them approving, many of them angry.
The debate grew heated as Bruin Walk filled at lunchtime, and ended abruptly as an angry student grabbed boxes of Oreos and crackers, spilled them on the ground, and tore down the banner cursing what he called "white privilege."
"The debate turned into a debacle," said David Witzling, a third-year political science student who was at the sale.
The event was meant to be a parody that would incite discussion, but it was not meant to be offensive, said Jonathan Cayton, one of the Bruin Republicans who organized the sale.
But many people were offended.
Nashaua Neao, a third-year political science and African American studies student, found the affirmative action bake sale "blatantly offensive and ignorant" and said the comparison of people to Oreos and Twinkies perpetuates racism.
"I just think it's sad to know that they think of us as people who got in here just for our race," said Ana Fernandez, a third-year political science student.
"We got the same grades and the same SAT scores, and they think that because I'm Latina I got an easier break," Fernandez said.
However, some students appreciated the Bruin Republicans' attempt to catalyze debate.
"Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, these individuals should be applauded for debating these issues," said Paul Marian, a first-year history and political science student.
And some found it amusing.
"Frankly, I think it's cute," said Chris Bailey, a fourth-year political science student.
"The minute you can laugh at all these labels, it's all good," Bailey said.
Until most of the sale's organizers withdrew after the angry student's outburst, they thought it was going well.
"We had people who supported affirmative action and people who opposed it come up and engage us, but it was ruined by a person's choice to resort to vandalism to prove his point," Cayton said.
Cayton also said the Twinkies and Oreos were sold to expose the social stigmas that are often attached to minorities who oppose affirmative action. He said some minorities might not bring up the issue for fear of being labeled as a Twinkie, or an Oreo, both derogatory names for a non-white person who acts in a manner traditionally associated with whites.
The sale's organizers were furious at its violent interruption.
"It's unacceptable and ridiculous that people would almost get into a physical confrontation rather than an intellectual debate," said Jon English, a first-year political science student.
Many students also found the outburst inappropriate. Organizers were angry with the crowd for not condemning the man's violent behavior, but many saw it as the inevitable outcome of what they saw as the sale's inflammatory nature.
Neao saw the disruption of the sale as the natural effect of taking an offensive approach to a social issue.
"It just proves that you shouldn't have heated debates with offensive signs. ... The minute you start doing ignorant things, something like this happens," he said.
Many other students felt that the debate was important, but that the affirmative action bake sale was an inappropriate way to approach it.
"We want to (debate) this in a formal setting where we can be diplomatic about it," said Kristie Hernandez, a third-year comparative literature student.
BTW, did you read the article in post #29? It's an account of the first bake sale that the UCLA pubbies held, and it was extra clever (the bake sale mentioned in the original article was actually the second bake sale).
WRONG!
Many, many of you got lower grades and vastly lower SAT scores and were still admitted to UCLA and Berkeley while better qualified, non-minority students were turned away.
Affirmative Action lives on under the guise of "obstacles the student had to overcome" which rewards the student's application with something like 12-20 points.
A perfect SAT score or four years of a varsity sport nets the student ONE point!
"Business Week" has a cover story saying over 60% of college students are now girls.
Where are those boys who should be in college but have been displaced by girls?
Pathetic.
It was never about "equality" or "50/50." It was always about turning the educational system over to lesbian socialists.
They follow orders better than anyone.
Don't take the glossy brochure and the like from the collges seriously. My daughter, graduating from high school next month, got the same thing in bales. She was also solicited by at least a hundred to two hundred colleges. Most of which she wouldn't even think of considering. The fact is, if you have a bright child with good grades, test scores and some sports or extra curriculars, there are only about 350 colleges and universities that are on the radar screen. Of those, you will self-eliminate all but 50 or so pretty quickly. Then you'll compare your daughter's interests and profile with the schools strengths and profiles and come up with a short list of maybe 15-20 that you'll be looking at fairly seriously by junior year, perhaps visiting most of them, but at least spending real time on their web sites and with their viewbooks. By senior year, you'll have a list of 5-10 that she'll apply to, and you may find one or two unexpected possiblities that come up in unusual ways.
Chances are [unless your daughter has an "ivy only" mentality and doesn't have the qualifications (i.e. not only the grades and scores, but a serious sport or legacy status)] she'll be accepted at at least 2-3 on her list and have a choice of colleges at which she will be very happy.
Yeah...right!!!! They fill the positions of Admissions Officers, Human Resource Managers, etc.
They make full use of what they have learned.
"I just think it's sad to know that they think of us as people who got in here just for our race," said Ana Fernandez, a third-year political science student.
This is one of the reasons why conservatives have opposed preferences! This is exactly what preferences HAS to lead to.
I'm not familiar with UCLA's system but if they follow the same quota system as Michigan, I'm guessing Ms. Fernandez "ethnicity" counted more than here SAT score.
I'm a college student and my tuition is going up 10% primarily due to Affirmative Action. They want to "diversify" the student population. I call it socialism.
Tell me more . . . these days are coming up pretty quickly, and I have been out of the loop since I attended college - which was back in the dark ages (1973-1977).
I went to Princeton, but I have been wondering whether to even consider applying her. She has the grades (honor roll and low to mid 90s in her first year at the best prep school in Atlanta) and the extracurriculars (music, athletics, BSA Venturer), but the school has gotten so selective (and disgustingly liberal - vide Peter Singer -) not to mention outrageously expensive, that I wonder if it's worth it. It was only the second or third year that they admitted women when I got in, and they were heavily recruiting women from the South. I think they may have even mistakenly believed I was black (because my third choice was Clark College in Massachusetts where my aunt was the registrar, and there is also a Clark College in Atlanta that is one of the "traditionally black schools". One in the eye for them if they did!)
Anyhow, do you have any suggestions? If she decides to go pre-vet (she is toying with that idea at present), it's the University of Georgia all the way. Otherwise, we're looking at small but top-drawer, liberal arts schools. Preferably conservative, although my daughter is a very strong-minded libertarian-leaning conservative and a whole university full of liberals could not change her mind one iota (she argues with her more liberal teachers now.) Davidson is on the radar, as is Rhodes College.
I'm sure the college advisory phalanx at her school will have lots of helpful advice as the time draws near -- they were certainly full of it when I came along!
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