UF students held an unconventional bake sale on Wednesday, one that attempted to point out the flaws of socialism.
Members of UF’s Young Americans for Freedom offered passersby on Turlington Plaza two Krispy Kreme doughnuts or three chocolate chip cookies for a dollar — with a catch. After paying, students would receive only one of their promised treats. The rest were given away to poke holes in socialist ideals said Daniel Weldon, founder of the organization.
Socialism is the economic and political theory that relies on the government to distribute resources.
“It’s to make fun of the redistribution of wealth,” said Weldon, a 20-year-old UF political science sophomore.
Weldon said his organization is nonprofit and nonpartisan with conservative ideals.
Sarah Long, 18, a member of the organization, said Americans should be helped by their neighbors instead of the government.
“We want to be able to give back, but I don’t think we should do that at the expense of taking it from somebody else,” the UF political science freshman said.
Morgan Robinson, the vice president of the nonpartisan student organization Democracy Matters at UF, said the government must help eliminate the gap between the extremely rich and extremely poor.
“I think it’s important that the government does exist — first and foremost — to serve the people; a lot of that is to close the gap,” said the 20-year-old UF international studies sophomore. “The middle class is disappearing.”
Contact Molly Vossler at mvossler@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @molly_vossler
Members of UF’s Young Americans for Freedom pose in front of a sign advertising their socialist bake sale on Turlington Plaza on Wednesday. Members of the student organization sold cookies and doughnuts, giving some away, to point out the issues with socialism.
