Mich. to eye affirmative action ban

An effort to ban affirmative action in universities and government offices across Michigan took a step forward this month, when a statewide group filed petitions to put the measure before the state’s voters.

The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative has started a two-year campaign to put a referendum on the 2006 ballot. If passed, the measure would amend the state’s constitution and prohibit the use of racial and gender preferences in college admissions.

Jennifer Gratz, the initiative’s executive director, was one of the plaintiffs in lawsuits filed against the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor over its affirmative action policies.

Gratz filed the lawsuit against UM in 1997, when she said she was denied admission in favor of minority candidates with similar qualifications.

In the case, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor upheld the decision that race can be one of the factors considered for admission.

“Frankly, I read Justice O’Connor’s decision, and it made no sense to me,” said Tim O’Brien, campaign manager for the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative. “It was a fundamental violation of the entire concept of equality before the law.”

This is the group’s second attempt to put the measure on the ballot. It wanted a statewide vote in 2004, but an Ingham County Circuit Court judge ruled its petition invalid.

The judge said the campaign’s petition did not clearly state that it would change the Michigan constitution’s anti-discrimination and equal protection provisions.

Despite the two-year setback, the initiative has garnered 508,202 signatures so far, even though state law requires only 317,000. The group is waiting for the signatures to be validated.

O’Brien said the biggest challenge in the new campaign will be facing the public after the first ruling by the Ingham County court.

“We knew that (the) ruling was wrong,” he said. “The public perception was one of our biggest problems, that there was something wrong with our form of petition.”

The new petition already has received some backlash from one university official.

“I believe that this proposal, despite its name, does not further the cause of civil rights in Michigan,” said Mary Sue Coleman, UM president, in a prepared statement. “It is about closing the door to higher education for many of our citizens.”

But O’Brien said he is confident the signatures will be validated and is ready to kick off the official campaign.

Steve Farmer, UNC director of admissions, said that while the outcome in Michigan will have no immediate effect on UNC’s policies, his office always takes a look at challenges to admissions practices. “I think there is always room for improvement,” he said.

UNC considers race, along with academic records, socio-economic status and extracurricular activities, during the admissions process.

O’Brien said he is confident about the road ahead. “People who are getting an advantage are not going to be happy about giving it up. Perhaps even in a decade or so, it will be in the archives, an idea of the past.”

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.