The UNM College Republicans sold "quota cookies" Tuesday at an affirmative action bake sale outside Zimmerman Library, with prices varying according to ethnicity.
Cookies were 25 cents for Hispanics, American Indians and blacks; $1 for Caucasian or Asian females; and $1.50 for Caucasian or Asian males.
Sarah Hunt, chairwoman for the College Republicans, said the purpose of the event was two-fold.
"We're selling quota cookies pro-rated based on race to reflect the government's affirmative action policy," she said. "What we're trying to do is spark community debate on this issue and get UNM talking about it."
Paul Delgado, a junior studying mathematics, bought a cookie for a quarter and said he had mixed emotions on the subject.
"Affirmative action is about trying to get minorities into places where there is a dominant white population," Delgado said. "I feel that it is necessary at times, but in theory it really is another form of discrimination."
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Chris Weller, a junior studying business, agreed with Delgado and said that the bake sale was a unique way to attract attention to the issue.
"I don't find it offensive and I'm generally on the left," she said. "I think it is hilarious."
Hunt said people that the bake sale would upset are people that needed to join the debate.
"If people are offended by this, then they should be offended by affirmative action," she said. "It's not racism per se. What they're trying to do is say, 'We didn't treat people right for a long time.' On the other hand, discriminating against someone else doesn't make up for that. We support the individual work of people, regardless of their race. That's the point we're trying to make. We feel that affirmative action is two wrongs trying to make a right. It's reverse discrimination against people that aren't ethnic minorities."
In 1971, the U.S. Department of Labor mandated the development of affirmative action programs, highlighting the need for minorities in the workforce.
