Posted on 03/25/2005 9:37:10 AM PST by KidGlock
Offended students find GOP bake sale tasteless
Friday, March 25, 2005
By Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood and Barton Deiters
The Grand Rapids Press
ALLENDALE --A white guy could buy a cupcake for $2 from the College Republicans' bake sale this week at Grand Valley State University. But prices dropped dramatically for other customers, based on race and gender.
The student group was willing to let the sweet treats go for 75 cents to blacks and white women, while it charged Asians and Hispanics 50 cents. The price for American Indians? Just a nickel.
The point, said organizer Kyle Rausch, was to challenge affirmative action policies that give preference to women and minorities.
If the goal was to draw attention rather than sell cupcakes, it worked. Rausch and his group sold only one cupcake and now could face disciplinary action for the stunt.
"The idea was to bring controversy," Rausch said, adding: "We were not in any way trying to mock affirmative action. If people walked by and were offended, that was not our intention."
So far, four students have filed complaints with GVSU's Student Life Office, and a misconduct review process is under way. Several people denounced the sale during a Student Senate meeting Thursday in Grand Rapids.
The university's student code states "Every aspect of University life should be free from discrimination ..."
If a nine-member review board of staff and students determines the College Republicans crossed the line, the group could be suspended and lose university funding and the privilege to meet on campus. It received $1,625 in university funds this year.
"You can have a discussion and bring awareness, but you can't go out and discriminate to make that happen," said Bob Stoll, director of Student Life. "They had poor judgment."
Several black students have demanded an apology, but Rausch said he doesn't intend to offer one, and that he'd do it the same way if he had it to do over again.
"It's nice that it can stimulate discussion," he said.
Similar sales have occurred on college campuses throughout the country, with administrators' responses ranging from eye-rolling disregard to official censure.
Student Kim Pierson said the issue is not affirmative action, but the fact that the College Republicans "crossed a bold line" that subjected students to blatant discrimination.
The Republicans had university permission to set up a table and sell baked goods as a group fund-raiser in the Kirkhof Center on the Allendale campus Monday. However, Stoll said the university did not approve the way the students went about the sale.
"To do something this offensive is not appropriate," Stoll said.
Ashley Chaney, a Grand Rapids junior and editor of Stand UP!, a campus newsletter serving black students, said the bake sale was offensive.
"If you're against affirmative action, that's fine, but you need to be respectful of other people," Chaney said.
Rausch said the sale was a form of free speech.
"It's an academic forum, and the university is going to try to stifle that," Rausch said. "If it's OK to get a cheaper education from a taxpayer subsidy, why isn't it OK to get cheaper food?"
This is not the first time the College Republicans have sparked a campus controversy. Last year, the group sponsored a campus talk by rocker Ted Nugent that offended some people.
Greg Paulsen, executive director of the College Democrats, said Rausch's actions were a cheap stunt that does nothing to foster debate.
"This is not leadership. It's attention-getting," Paulsen said,
Grand Valley administrators have made efforts to boost minority recruitment, but say they do not give admission preference based on race. All students must be academically qualified.
"Race is never a deciding factor," said Jodi Chycinski, GVSU's director of admissions.
"If a nine-member review board of staff and students determines the College Republicans crossed the line, the group could be suspended and lose university funding and the privilege to meet on campus. It received $1,625 in university funds this year."
I think these Bake Sales are a brilliant idea.
Would it drive the point home more effectively if people had to pass an 'intelligence test' of some sort, in order to be 'rewarded' with a cupcake?
Are racial quotas really about money when it comes to getting into college? Isn't Affirmative Action's main goal to selectively lower the standards for certain races?
(Just asking. I really don't know a whole lot about the situation.)
I am confused about this. Why are they offended they are getting a cheaper cup cake? I would love that. How is this OFFENSIVE?
I read something that woman and blacks pay more for a car than white males. Maybe because we are not afraid to negotiate? They were OFFENDED that they were paying more.
I think these Bake Sales are a brilliant idea.
What would make them even better is if the organizers made sure that multiple ethnicities were represented as the sellers.
(This would really p.o. the libs.)
That way, it would clearly be a freedom of speech issue rather than a discriminatory one.
At the Univ. of North Texas, The Young Conservatives did an immigration event. People in orange t-shirts that had something like..../I'm an illegal immigrant' printed on them would go off on campus.
Other students could go get a button that said they were taking part in the program to track them down....
Kinda like a border patrol.
If they caught one of the people wearing the orange t-shirts....they could bring them back to the table and get a free candy bar.
It made the papers.
THE PROBLEM IS---the chairperson of the Denton County GOP, who has not been that good (Lincoln Day Dinner-biggest fund raiser- was an example of that this year), seems to want to distant the Denton GOP from the Young Conservatives.
She'll back the Young Republicans, many of which are in the Young Conservatives, but she seems to run from the Young Conservatives.
She is weak.
The smart minorities and women should have bought their cupcakes at the discount, and then pocketed a tidy profit by reselling them to hungry white guys at price below the original sellers "white guys price". White guys may not have been eager to buy from the "racist" vendors, but would have rushed to show their support for minorities and women (and for lower priced cupcakes) by supporting the fledgling women- and minority-owned businesses.
That's how it works in the real world. I have worked as a sub-contractor for minority owned business that could get set aside government work that I as a white male could not. The black owner had no idea how to do the job, so he just sub'ed it out to me. We were both happy and both made some money, but we also both knew that it was farce.
Well of course they were offended!!!
The women and minorities should have gotten FREE cupcakes and Whitey should have been paying a c-note. Duh!?
I have looked and cannot find the "unless you offend a liberal" exception anywhere in the First Amendment.
That's strange. I can't find that one in there either. My copy of the Constitution is also missing the "right to an abortion" and "right to sodomy" clauses. It must be defective.
"Hey you guys there's no thinking here, this is a college."
Following the interview, the GVSU president invited reporters to view the crucifix in a jar of urine display in the art building.
Shouldn't the white males be the ones complaining? Everyone else pays less.
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