UB's College Republicans staged a bake sale Monday in the Student Union to call attention to what they say are the inequities of affirmative action.
The bake sale drew vehement protests from a number of student groups that said the event smacked of racism.
Organizers based prices for the baked goods on a customer's race and gender. For instance, a bag of cookies would cost an Asian male $1.50, but the same bag would cost a black female only $.40. At a second table, all of the cookies were $1 for everyone.
"The reason we used such a controversial method is so we'll get people's attention," said Matthew Pelkey, president of the College Republicans. "We want to get people motivated."
In response to the event, students threw confetti in protest, donned T-shirts with pro-affirmative action messages and started passionate shouting matches that broke out on the Union seal.
"Racist Cookies are Poison," "Diversity not Divisiveness," and "Since When do you Spell Republican with a KKK?" were some of the messages worn on the shirts of UB's Feminist Action Group, an organization who camped out in protest directly across from the bake sale.
"(The bake sale) is causing more problems than it solves because it incites hate and violence," said Tara Viceconte, a junior women's studies major. "I feel like this is obviously and blatantly racist. There are more programs still that are pro-white affirmative action than there are for pro-black."
The afternoon reached its flash point when SUNY SA Delegate and EOPSA advisor Dennis Febo noticed the College Republicans' only black member, Jay Ballentine, speaking out against affirmative action.
Febo was upset that Ballentine, who grew up less than a mile from Febo in New York City, would be an activist against a program that has helped many get into UB.
"You know what those tables say to me?" shouted Febo across the Union. "They say to me that I shouldn't be here because I had help to get in here."
Ballentine responded by telling Febo that everyone has a choice, and more people should chose to work hard and get into a good school.
"I don't want my kids to get into a school and then have people say they only got in because they're black," said Ballentine, a sophomore history major.
Instead of affirmative action, Ballentine envisions a system of "universal action," a colorblind system where everyone has the same opportunities and the only determinant for financial aid is based on economic status.
"I view myself as a leader, and I knew I was going to take a lot of flak for this," said Ballentine.
Pelkey said making money was not the purpose of the sale. About an hour before the end of the sale the organizers had yet to break even.
He said the demonstration showed that the famous court case Brown v. Board of Education was correct - in the sense that separate would never be equal.
"Anytime you base something on race, you're going to create cleavages in society," said Pelkey. "You shouldn't even have the race question on an application."
According to Pelkey, the College Republicans notified University Police to be on-call in case a situation erupted out of control. Officers never had to be called, however.
While many people came out to demonstrate against the bake sale, one group that decided not to show up was the College Democrats.
President of the College Democrats Justin Martin said his organization heard about the bake sale but decided to avoid it.
"It is in our best interest to stay out of something like this," said Martin. "We didn't want to be on their level. They made a fool of themselves today."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
