UC Berkeley College Republicans are hosting a co-called "Diversity Bake Sale" that’s set to include baked goods priced according to the buyer’s race. A Facebook event page created by the College Republican explains the bake sale is in response to California Senate Bill 185, which would allow University of California and Cal State schools to consider race, gender and economic background when making admission decisions.
"The pricing structure of the baked goods is meant to be satirical, while urging students to think more critically about the implications of this policy," the Facebook event page that was modified after complaints now reads.
From the original post:
Most students feel that their voices aren’t heard in the baked goods distribution process controversy. They also believe that our UCs and CSUs need to be more diverse. YOU have the OPPORTUNITY to increase DIVERSITY and student VOICES by buying some PASTRIES and helping redistribute wealth for SOCIAL JUSTICE through BAKED GOODS on Sproul Plaza (9/27/11).
Berkeley College Republicans will be SELLING BAKED GOODS from 10 AM – 2PM across from the Affirmative Action Phonebank on Upper Sproul, and just like the CA Senate Bills 185 and 387 the phonebank supports, we will be considering RACE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, NATIONAL/GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN and other relevant factors to ensure the EQUITABLE distribution of BAKED GOODS to our DIVERSE! student body.
To ensure the fairest distribution, and make sure that there are a DIVERSE population of RACES of students getting BCR’s delicious baked goods, the pricing structure will be as follows:
White/Caucasian: $2.00 Asian/Asian American: $1.50 Latino/Hispanic: $1.00 Black/ African American: $0.75 Native American: $0.25 $0.25 OFF FOR ALL WOMEN!Hope to see you all there! If you don’t come, you’re a racist!
The Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) unanimously passed a bill at an emergency meeting held Sunday to promote "respectful ASUC student organization conduct," according to The Daily Californian. The bill "condemns the use of discrimination whether it is in satire or in seriousness by any student group."
The bakesale is scheduled to take place Tuesday, September 27 from 10am to 2pm at UC Berkeley’ Sproul Plaza. It’s an unclear whether the College Republican group — which received $3,791.11 from the ASUC this fiscal year — will face any punitive measures in the coming ASUC Senate meetings.
In 1996, 54 percent of California voters approved Proposition 209, a ballot measure that effectively ended affirmative action in the state. In the years that followed, many of California’s state and UC schools saw a drop in the enrollment of blacks and Latinos. In 2006, UCLA saw its African-American enrollment drop to its lowest level in more than 30 years–UCLA’s 10,000+ incoming freshman class only included 96 black students.
The diversity bakesales are nothing new. They’ve been held across the United States and at other UC campuses before. Slate.com even has a timeline of the history of these stunts. In 2003, UCLA held its own diversity bakesale that sparked outcry from state and national leaders.