Eye on the bottom line

A conservative student group at Southern Methodist University engaged in some innovative political expression yesterday, CNN reports.

Southern Methodist University shut down a bake sale Wednesday in which cookies were offered for sale at different prices, depending on the buyer's race or gender. ... A sign said white males had to pay $1 for a cookie. The price was 75 cents for white women, 50 cents for Hispanics and 25 cents for blacks. Members of the conservative group said they meant no offense and were only trying to protest the use of race or gender as a factor in college admissions.

Unsurprisingly, some people found it offensive, and the University shut down the sale on safety grounds. I'll go on the record as opining that the group wasn't guilty of anything more than moderately bad taste, but that's not why I'm posting. I wanted to draw attention to the important detail CNN included in their coverage:

The group sold three cookies during its protest, raising $1.50.

But I wonder whether it was:

• Three hispanics;
• A white woman, a hispanic, and a black; or
• A white man and two blacks.

These are the details that sloppy reporting omits.