Republican students at the University of California, Berkley planned a satirical bake sale to protest potential legislation about adding race and gender to admissions standards. The items sold in the bake sale were based on a sliding scale that would be determined by the buyer’s race, gender, and ethnicity. For example: whites: $2.00, Asian: $1.50, etc.
The club’s members were met with slander and debate from other student groups. However, they remained silent and sold out of baked goods by the early afternoon.
The club’s intention to host a peaceful protest was veiled in a bake sale. This is OK because it was an exercise of their freedom. As free men and women of America, the students exercised their rights to freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of speech. However, in recent years the evolution of terrorism and anti-social behavior legislations have granted police a wide fist to control the actions of protesters.
One might argue that the bake sale was an inconsiderate act in protesting an issue, but the club’s desired audiences were legislators, such as Democrat Governor Jerry Brown, Senators, such as Democrat Ed Hernandez, and the Associated Students of The University of California Eshleman Hall, Berkley. I argue that the act was not anti–social, rather it was pro–social, a behavior that helps society. After all, we are all entitled to an opinion.
The Senate Bill 185 by Senator Ed Hernandez would allow California’s public universities to use race as a factor in the admissions process, but it would not allow preference for any racial groups. Senator Ed Hernandez responded to the bake sale with disappointment. He said the bake sale was a perfect example of why he introduced the bill in the first place.
“[I am] profoundly disappointed that a group of young, smart people, who are attending one of the greatest universities in the country, not only dreamt up this bake sale but have elected to go through with it despite the fact that numerous members of their campus community are deeply offended by the idea,” he said. “[the bake sale is] a perfect example of why I introduced this bill in the first place. If campuses were as diverse as they should be, we’d see much more tolerance exhibited at the UC than we currently do.”
Unfortunately, the negligence is with Senator Hernandez. The patronizing response hides a graver message. The Senator is intentionally putting down a group of youngsters for exercising their rights. Used as a double–edged sword, the senator promotes his bill by prosecuting the club’s satirical bake sale.
