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09/25/2003 Archived Entry: "SMU SHUTS DOWN AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COOKIE SALE"

SMU SHUTS DOWN AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COOKIE SALE

Officials at SMU shut down a cookie sale yesterday in which cookies were offered for sale at different prices, depending on the the buyer's race or gender.

"This was not an issue about free speech," Tim Moore, director of the SMU student center, said in a story for Thursday's edition of The Dallas Morning News. "It was really an issue where we had a hostile environment being created."

David C. Rushing, 23, a law student and chairman of Young Conservatives of Texas at SMU and for the state, said the event didn't get out of hand. At most, a dozen students gathered around the table of cookies and Rice Krispies treats, he said.

Members of the conservative group said they meant no offense and were only trying to protest the use of race or gender as a factor in college admissions. "We copied what's been done at multiple campuses around the country to illustrate our opinion of affirmative action and how we think it's unfair," he said.

A sign said white males had to pay $1 for a cookie. The price was 75 cents for white women, 50 cents for Hispanics and 25 cents for blacks. The group sold three cookies during its protest, raising $1.50.

A 19-year-old sophomore, called the group's price list offensive.

"My reaction was disgust because of the ignorance of some SMU students," said Houston, who is black. "They were arguing that affirmative action was solely based on race. It's not based on race. It's based on bringing a diverse community to a certain organization."

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled universities could use race as a factor in admissions under limited conditions. In Texas, universities had been banned from using race as a factor under a 1996 decision by a lower court.

If you want to read this whole funny, crazy story, you can find it right here. Those conservative Texans have a whole other way of selling cookies.