Michigan Admissions Law Faces Court Case

Three UC Berkeley students and alumni are joining a lawsuit filed Wednesday supporting affirmative action in Michigan following a proposition passed Tuesday eliminating its use in the state’s public schools.

Proposal 2 passed in Michigan with 58 percent approval, eliminating many considerations of race and gender in a manner similar to California’s Proposition 209, which passed in 1996.

“When it comes to race relations specifically, standards of basic integrity and honesty are thrown out the window,” said Luke Massie, national co-chair of BAMN.

The lawsuit lists more than 40 plaintiffs, including BAMN, Michigan high school students, college students in both Michigan and California, and workers’ unions in Michigan.

Students from UC Berkeley are named as plaintiffs because of their intention to apply to a public graduate school in Michigan, said Josie Hyman, a UC Berkeley alumna named in the lawsuit.

Hyman said she is a plaintiff because consideration will not be given to race or gender in the admissions process, adding to the discrimination felt by minority students when applying to and attending a university.

“For minority students on these campuses without affirmative action, it’s a degrading experience and that cannot be a reality for any more students,” she said. “That's why what we’re doing is so significant.”

The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which promoted the proposal, could not be reached for comment.

The complaint has been filed against Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and other state public colleges, universities, community colleges and school districts.

“These institutions of higher education draw people from all over the world,” Massie said. “Prohibiting affirmative action in Michigan means that people all over this country are subjected to discrimination that comes into play.”

Like Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, who opposes Proposition 209, Michigan State University’s President Mary Sue Coleman has publicly denounced the proposal. Coleman said during a speech that she is looking for legal alternatives to avoid adopting the initiative, which will be invoked in 45 days from its passing.

“I believe there are serious questions as to whether this initiative is lawful, particularly as it pertains to higher education,” Coleman said during a speech on campus.

BAMN also filed a lawsuit against Proposal 2 in August because of what it described as deliberate attempts to misinform voters, but the proposal was not removed from the ballot, said Donna Stern, BAMN’s east coast and midwest coordinator.

Dimitri Garcia, an ASUC senator who plans to be added as a plaintiff to the lawsuit, said the case against the proposal will be stronger than previous attempts because California can be used as an example of the negative effects of eliminating affirmative action.

Stern said that although the case is much stronger in Michigan due to concerns of voter fraud, she hopes to eventually file a suit in California against Proposition 209.

“The key to overturning this is building a new civil rights movement,” Stern said. “Civil rights were not won at the ballot box and they won’t be lost at the ballot box.”

Tags: