On virtually every campus where conservative students have put on affirmative action bake sales (selling goodies at different prices to people of different races in order to highlight the unfairness of racial preference policies), those sales have been denounced as “divisive,” hurtful, insensitive, and even racist.
It’s hard to deny, however, that insofar as the intent of their sponsors has been to provoke discussion about the fairness (or unfairness) of racial preferences, they clearly work. Students get engaged; they discuss. Nearly six months ago, for example, DePaul University closed down an affirmative action bake sale and launched an investigation of its sponsors for “harrassment.”
DePaul backed down after the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education intervened, but its inclination to silence this discussion was not unusual among university administrations. And yet, students are still discussing, which was the original intent. As The DePaulia reports:
If one recalls the DePaul Conservative Alliance’s (DCA) controversial affirmative action bake sale during the winter quarter, it is evident that political affiliation has become the catalyst for action rather than the choices of individuals. The resulting onslaught of facebook messages, Internet forums and SAC discussions from the bake sale constituted a whole new definition for what it means to be a Liberal or Conservative….
I wonder how many DePaul classes have had such a strong educational impact.
