Bake sale reloaded

Across numerous college campuses, students have held bake sales to ostensibly demonstrate the unfairness of affirmative action. To demonstrate the alleged inequality of treatment under affirmative action, some variation of the following occurs: white males are charged $1 for a cookie; white females pay 75 cents for the same cookie; Latinos pay 50 cents, and African Americans pay 25 cents. The sale is put forth as an analogy, albeit an intentionally faulty one, for how affirmative works. With the price of the cookie representing entrance exam scores (SAT, MCAT, LSAT, etc), the sale is meant to point out that whites males have to score higher than others in order to gain places in college and graduate and professional schools.\nThe affirmative action bake sale oversimplifies affirmative action into a fallacious sound bite -- those who choose not to think critically have a simple, though flawed, analysis of affirmative action. Proponents of affirmative action are justifiably outraged with this blatant propaganda -- they show up at the sale angry, the bake sale sponsors are on the defensive, and there is indeed more heat than light.\nInstead of showing up angry at the bake sales sponsored by the opponents of affirmative action, I am suggesting that proponents have their own bake sale. They may take the high road and have an affirmative bake sale that simply reflects the way affirmative action really works. Everyone would pay the same amount for the cookies although they may pay with different combinations of coins. The point being that under affirmative action, there are diverse ways that individual may be deemed qualified just as there are diverse ways that one may combine coins to get a dollar. Alas, this cookie sale would be too civil and sane to attract media attention. Thus, another option would be to hold a provocative propagandistic color-blind bake sale.\nThe "color-blind bake sale" would look something like this: all groups would be eligible to buy cookies, yet depending on their gender, race and their qualifications, quotas would be set.\nThe major list of qualifications would be the following: standardized test score, grade point average, athletic prowess, overcoming life challenges, emotional intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, legacy status, donor status, community service, letters of recommendation, geographic location and veteran status.\nEvery white male who scores high on one of the 12 criteria would be given a free cookie. One half of all white females who score high on four of the criteria would be eligible to buy a cookie. One fourth of all Asian males who score high on any five of the criteria would be eligible to buy a cookie. One fifth of all Asian women who score high on any six of the criteria would be eligible to buy a cookie. One eighth of all Latinos who score high on any eight of the criteria would be eligible to buy a cookie. One ninth of all Latinas who score high on nine of the criteria would be eligible to buy a cookie. One tenth of all Native American males and African American males who score high on ten criteria would be eligible to buy a cookie. One twelfth of Native American and African American females who score high on 11 of the criteria would be able to buy a cookie. The only concession to diversity would be the Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Jose Feliciano and Helen Keller look-a-likes who will bake the cookies on site (no pun intended).\nOpponents are having their say -- I challenge proponents to seize the day by either rational or rhetorical means. The Michigan cases were mere battles -- the war for the support of the American public, and more importantly the United States Supreme Court, rages on.