Affirmative Action bake sale sparks controversy

[The One and Only...]

Libertarians at William and Mary College in Virginia have cooked up a controversy. Or rather, baked up a controversy.

An Affirmative Action Bake Sale conducted by the libertarian group Sons of Liberty was shut down by the administration on November 8.

Sons of Liberty members hosted the event in the University Center lobby, selling cookies and brownies at different prices for different racial and ethnic groups. For example, whites paid more than blacks or Hispanics.

Administration officials showed up at 3:00 pm, and told the libertarians they were in violation of the school's anti-discrimination policies. The group was ordered to sell the baked goods for the same price for everyone. Rather than comply, they closed up shop.

"The whole point was to show how affirmative action itself was racist," Sons of Liberty cofounder William Coggin told the student newspaper, the Dog Street Journal. "The point of the stand was obvious."

Another Sons of Liberty cofounder, Pat Reilly, said he was surprised by the hubbub.

"I didn't think anyone would be offended by the price of a cookie," he said. "The point of the bake sale was just to raise awareness. It was not to offend anybody."

The bake sale put the "college community up in arms," according to the Dog Street Journal. The Student Assembly Senate even passed a resolution condemning the libertarians.

The College of William and Mary is located in Williamsburg. About 7,500 students attend the school.