Bake sale shutdown draws fire

Southern Methodist University is drawing fire from conservative students for closing down a student bake sale intended to protest affirmative action.

The Young Conservatives of Texas sponsored the sale, which charged prices based on the customer's race or gender. White males paid $1 for a cookie, white woman 75 cents, Hispanics 50 cents, and blacks a quarter.

SMU officials closed the sale Tuesday after 45 minutes because they were concerned about shouting and students crowding the table. A black student also filed a discrimination complaint saying the sale was offensive.

I've seen reports of similar bale sales being held elsewhere. I think they are a WONDERFUL tactic and illustrate on a visceral, kick-in-the-gut sense exactly why discrimination on the basis of race is wrong. The typical reaction to that is also illustrative; young, idealistic left-leaning college students feel threatened and make absurd claims in trying to shut down the event; sometimes they grow sufficiently unruly as to require police intervention. It's not a pretty sight and it's not a polite tactic, but it will make anyone with even a shred of intellectual honesty reconsider their position, and expose as hypocrites those who no longer care about the integrity of their positions.