I’m definitely late to the punch on this one, but BCR’s bake sale a few weeks ago caused quite the controversy on the Berkeley campus.
Personally, I was very proud to see the college republicans make a stand for something they believe in, even though their opinion was among the minority on campus. I was also very proud to see those in opposition with BCR making lively debate around their bakesale table on Sproul. However, I was not, in any way, proud of all the hateful things that were said to and about the students who organized and supported this event.
As a student at UC Berkeley, I was incredibly disappointed by the oppression of BCR on our campus. I can agree with the sentiment that the way BCR framed their bake sale on Facebook could have been mildly offensive. However, it was completely blown out or proportion and attacks made towards BCR, such as the group being composed of entirely “white, privileged, and wealthy racists” were completely ignorant.
On another note, the most tasteless and offensive thing I saw all day was that two caucasian girls had dressed up as “American Indians” in construction paper headwear in order to get a free cupcake for being female and American Indian. I saw them walk past me on campus while I was observing the bake sale and then later saw an article about them and the stunt they pulled. Ridiculous.
Girls dressed as "Native Americans" to get their free baked goods.
At 12:00PM, several hundered students dressed in black silently marched onto Upper Sproul and laid down in the middle of the plaza. In regards to this group, who called themselves the “Affirmation,” here is a very imploring quote from the Daily Cal:
Compared to other events currently occurring, there is not much to report from the ASUC phone bank.
“It’s quiet here because of all the spectacle over there,” said Nolan Pack, sustainability coordinator in the ASUC Office of the External Affairs Vice President. ”We’re being serious about making a difference while they’re over there using a cheap gimmick to get attention.”
The Affirmation
Perhaps my favorite quite from the entire event:
“We didn’t set up closer to (the Berkeley College Republicans) because this wasn’t about confrontation,” said Damaris Olaechea, who gave away cupcakes. “It is a forum for many voices, not a screaming match.”
What do you think?
