As a native Texan, I’m both hopeful for the future of my currently thoroughly red state and, alas, consistently reminded of its deep, ornery redness.  Hopeful that, as NPR reports, if Texas isn’t on the path toward blue statehood, then a bit of purpling could, possibly, happen here.  And then, some folks hold a bake sale to try to make a point.  From the Texas Tribune:

The campus branch of the Young Conservatives of Texas hosted the bake sale — in which prices varied depending on the buyer’s race and gender — to draw attention to affirmative action, which the event’s organizers said “demeans minorities on our campus by placing labels of race and gender on their accomplishments.”

The group’s actions were called out by both protests by their fellow students and a statement from UT Austin administration.

What’s particularly troubling to me is the equivalency the YCT (perhaps inadvertently) makes by comparing college admission to buying a cookie.   And the comparison between them fails, regardless.  The application for UT Austin involves considerable effort on top of years of academic and extra-curricular preparation in high school.  And then, there are no guarantees for admission.  Want to buy a cookie instead?  Walk right up, no preparation needed.

That said, if you can draw a parallel, in the scope of your own life, between the potentially far-reaching effects of attending a flagship state university with a one-off decision between chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, the you’ve probably got a lot more privilege going for you than you realize….

One can hope that spending time in the blue enclave that is Austin will give these students some perspective.