Earlier this week on the Berkeley campus of the University of California (UC), a Republican student group organized a bake sale that elicited cries of anger and heated debate before the event. The group asked students to pay different prices for the baked goods, depending on their race and/or gender. A white male would have to pay $2 for a pastry, while an Asian American female would have to pay $1.25 (that is, with her 25-cent discount for being female).
The bake sale was created to voice opposition to Senate Bill 185 that would allow public universities in California to consider race, gender, and ethnicity in their admissions process.
The Republican student group that organized the bake sale stated that its 10-member board of directors includes Asians and a Latino, and that more than half are females, making the point that the group is not composed of only white male students. The group also said that they think it’s appropriate for admissions officers, when making admissions decisions, to consider factors such as whether students are of low-income status or whether they face challenging circumstances, but that admission based on race is going too far.
About 90 percent of Berkeley’s undergraduates are California residents. The student body is about 42% Asian American, 31 percent white, 12 percent Latino, 4 percent Black, and less than 1 percent American Indian. By comparison, the state of California is 57.6 percent white, 37.63 percent Latino, 13 percent Asian, 6.3 percent Black, and 1 percent American Indian.
That is, Latinos, Blacks, and to a lesser extent, American Indians and whites, are underrepresented on Berkeley’s campus. Asian Americans are overrepresented.
The bake sale was a bit ill-conceived, though it’s good for students to make their voices heard and to be brave in voicing their opinions. However, a bit of the group’s intended message got lost in the controversy and insensitivity surrounding the pricing of the baked goods.
It’s tough for us to weigh in on this debate because it is possible that taking race and ethnicity into consideration in the admissions process could decrease the number of Asian Americans at the UC campuses, given that Asian Americans are overrepresented.
At the same time, there is a proportionately smaller number of Latinos and Blacks in the UC system, and we believe it’s due to the fact that, generally, these students come from low-income communities and do not have equal opportunity or the same access to quality education that would prepare them for college. Perhaps it’s the right thing to do, to create a more level playing field.
You may wonder, “What will happen to the Asian American students?”
Well, they will bounce back. It’s hard to imagine an all-star, high achieving student with amazing test scores being done in by one rejection letter. Rather, there’s probably a bevy of other universities ready to scoop these students up. (end)