fighterflea

What do students think has motivated the Conservative Club to hold its affirmative action bake sales? Is this in response to the Posse Program or what? Are there students who would prefer a monochromatic campus?

Do white male students in the Conservative Club realize that women are outperforming men in U.S. high schools these days? Any concern that white males might need affirmative action to keep a gender balance at Bucknell? Thoughts?

BucknellBubbly

Wow... This is kind of absurd.

I may not agree with pretty much everything the Conservatives Club says or does, but there is no way you can interpret their actions as wanting a monochromatic campus. I think their bake sales may have--quite unintentionally--caused minority students to feel... well, like the minority. And they are; Bucknell can't really argue that fact.

However, the president of BUCC was my RA this past year; SHE was quite intelligent and I am sure that SHE knows just how well girls are doing academically.

The point of the BUCC's bake sale/protest was to raise awareness of what they perceive as the inherent racism of affirmative action. They did not mention the Posse program, which grants aid to students from public high schools in underperforming urban areas who have the academic and other skills to become successful Bucknellians. These students are black, white, asian, and hispanic. The Posse program does not look at race, merely the high school the students attended, as well as their socioeconomic status.

Sadly, our campus right now is far more monochromatic than many students would like it, but I haven't yet encountered a fellow Bucknellian who seeks less diversity on campus.

fighterflea

I'm aware of the diversity of students in the Posse Program. Many are and some perhaps not aware that Bucknell and many other schools have tried to promote diversity with varying success for more than a generation.

This is the first time that I've been aware of student pushback since, if I understand correctly, the concern about affirmative is related not just in the abstract but to admissions practices on campus. Do I have that right?

My question relates to timing and why this is coming up now.

BucknellBubbly

The students, as far as I understand, were protesting affirmative action as an institution in general, one that they feel strengthens rather than ameliorates racial divisions. In their newspaper they mentioned the fact that other schools' conservatives organizations were holding similar bake sales. Their bake sale was timed to provide publicity/debate for one of their speakers; I didn't get a chance to go but I believe she was a black woman talking about how black people needed to "get off the plantation" (her words) and how the government programs intended to help were not helping.

You can read back issues of their newspaper, The Counterweight, if you'd like. They're online at bucknellconservatives.org; the latest issue (with the girl writing on the blackboard) has the most about this particular topic. I will warn you that some of their articles cross over into sarcasm/parody, so you have to take some of their articles with a grain of salt. However, the ones about the bake sale and Star Parker I believe were straightforward.

bucknell12

For those who don't know, here's the Bucknellien article explaining what happened (BUCC donut sale rejected by administration || The Bucknellian || Bucknell University) and here's the report from the WSJ (Bucknell and the ‘Affirmative-Action Bakesale’ - Law Blog - WSJ)
I knew several of the students involved in the bake sale, and though I don't necessarily agree with them, the bake sale seemed to me like something they knew would get shut down, and just hoped to get attention or raise awareness about the issue they had a strong opinion on. (Several student organizations sell or promote things in the LC during the lunch rush, and they all have to have a "sales and solicitation" form approved. From what my classmates and friends who were involved told me, they had indicated on the form that everyone would pay $2 or something.)

No one has suggested or believed that the bake sale was meant to make any statements about posse.

Whatever your beliefs about affirmative action and it's potential role in admissions, the resulting conversations I had with liberals and conservatives about the issue were thought provoking and respectful. You aren't going to agree politically with everyone at your college, but being able to discuss the issues with your peers is important.

So did was the administration "out to get" BUCC? Was the club purposely doing something they knew would get shut down for shock value (and then turning it into a free speech issue)? Clearly the incident between BUCC and the deans was a mess. But I'm proud of how students here handled it between ourselves after the fact, and NO ONE that I know would suggest that minorities don't belong or are not welcome here.

SeattleBU

i'm a minority student at bucknell, and i've never really understood what the big deal was about the bucc and the 'stand against an intimidating climate'... what? maybe i'm completely oblivious, but i don't find their actions to be that controversial unless we actually do live in a giant hole and have never at least watched south park.

as for a more monochromatic campus, this is pretty bogus. if anything i feel like a lot of the more urban minority students keep to themselves. i've spoken to one that suspects hostility on campus because of his race, while i'm skeptical of this since i've seen peers facebook pictures from their high school and many seem to have had more racially diverse interaction than even i've ever had.

PS the former president of the BUCC was really sweet and intelligent. she was one of the few seniors i befriended.

fighterflea

For the cost of a college education, no student of any background can afford to stick with students of the same background. The entire college is yours to make use of from the observatory to the mods, from the health unit to the security office. Students that 'hole up' deny themselves the entire campus and the people who populate it.

The wisest students get this early on in their careers at Bucknell. It's true now, been true always.