Published 2011-10-04T18:22:00Z”/>

Molly Rose Livingston

Factors such as gender, ethnicity and household income may be weighed when someone applies for college if a controversial bill gets passed by the governor.

The bill, authored by Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, applies to both the University of California and California State University systems.

Senate Bill 185 will authorize colleges to consider “race, gender, ethnicity and national origin, along with other relevant factors, in undergraduate and graduate admissions.”

The bill has seen both opposition and support from college students in California.

A UC Berkeley republican group held a bake sale last week to protest the bill, selling cupcakes at different prices depending on the buyer’s race.

The price of a baked good was $2 for Caucasians, $1.50 for Asians, $1 for Latinos, 75 cents for African Americans and 25 cents for Native Americans, according to the event’s Facebook page. Women received a 25 cent discount.

Ryan Fedrizzi, president of the Chico State Republicans, said the UC Berkeley bake sale protest was met with further protests from opposing sides.

“There were people from all over the political spectrum there,” he said.

Fedrizzi, a biochemistry major, thinks the bill is too vague because it does not dictate exactly how universities will use race or gender information.

“The language of the bill leaves room for abuse,” he said.

Ariel Aizenstadt, a senior communications major, thinks admission to college shouldn’t be based on where people are from.

“If you’re qualified then you’re qualified,” Aizenstadt said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from.”

Others feel the bill is a good thing for college campuses if it will increase diversity.

Jorge Manzanares, a junior business administration major, works in the admissions office and thinks diversity is needed on campus.

“With campus tours, when families come there will only be one Hispanic family or African American family,” he said. “If this actually brings diversity among qualified students I think it will be good, other than that I see no point in it.”

Hernandez, author of the bill, said he was proud of the bill in a recent press release.

“This bill will help restore equal opportunity in California’s higher education system by strengthening outreach efforts to qualified minority students,” he said.

The bill intends to remedy downfalls of Proposition 209, which when passed in 1996, stated that the state could not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any individual based on their “race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin,” Hernandez said in a press release.

In the years following the passing of Proposition 209, there was a drop in the number of African American, Native American and Latino students attending California’s public universities.

Tim Valderrama, aide for Hernandez and a Chico State alumnus, thinks Proposition 209 has a number of, perhaps, unintended consequences.

“My boss feels that minority students in this state are not getting a fair shake,” Valderrama said.

SB185 is intended to level the playing field, Valderrama said.

“This will give admissions officials another tool to help bring more diversity into campus,” he said.

The bill currently sits on the governor’s desk, where it will either be signed or vetoed by Sunday.

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<strong>Molly Rose Livingston can be reached at</strong>

<em>[email protected]</em>