Chaos over cupcakes

Cupcakes. Who doesn't love cupcakes...? Berkeley students apparently. 

     Recently, a bill was passed by the California State legislature and currently sits on Governor Jerry Brown's desk. The now infamous bill, SB 185, would allow the UC and CSU systems to consider race and other factors in college admission decisions. The problem is that the bill is in defiance of Proposition 209. Approved in 1996, the proposition established that the state of California prohibits public institutions from considering race, sex or ethnicity in their decision making process. With the way the bill is currently written, universities could accept an applicant on the factor of race alone. The language of the bill is vague and confusing. It would “authorize the University of California and the California State University to consider race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin, along with other relevant factors, in undergraduate and graduate admissions.” Yet it does not define how the factors are considered and weighed and what are "relevant factors?" Talk about ambiguity. 

     There are more fundamental components in the arena of higher education. I would argue that socioeconomic status is more relevant than one's inherent genetics. The bill never mentions that. Those who are outraged and call the college republicans racist should observe that in between the lines of the bill, the legislature is essentially  determining socioeconomic status based on what you look like. 

     This is what the Berkeley college republican are protesting. You cannot assume how much money a person has based on what they look like. Just because you are white, does not mean you have millions of dollars and a trust fund and just because you are Latino, does not mean you are working 5 jobs to support yourself. There are many white people in the United States living below a normal standard of living and many Latino families living extravagant lifestyles. It is not fair to say that the color of your skin determines your personal financial situations. We all have our own struggles and hardships and are dealt a different hand. We are constantly challenged to rise above the hardships and push ourselves to be the best we can be, in the circumstances we are put in. When an individual applies to a university, that is what they must be judged upon; what they did, with the resources they had, with the circumstances surrounding them. 

     The irritating part is that the Berkeley college republicans were just demonstrating their first amendment rights. They felt that the state legislature was out of line and were voicing their disapproval. What bothers me the most was how much backlash they got and are still getting. Some form of protest or demonstrations happen every day in the US. We have the right to say where ever and whenever we want that we feel that the government is not acting in our best interests. What this has showed is how much political correctness still reigns in our society. Frankly, the college republicans were the conservative minority in a liberal majority and that just doesn't fly these days. They are now the ignorant, racist, closed minded individuals on campus because they simply spoke up and voiced their opinion. They are now receiving numerous hate mail and threats. They wanted to awaken the minds of other students. We as students get so into our studies, friends and social life, we forget what is going on in the world around us.

I applaud the Berkeley college republicans, and their brave efforts to awaken the community.