U. Michigan's Affirmative Action Gains
Internal Support U. Michigan's Affirmative Action Gains
Internal Support
By CANDICE CHOI
DiversityInc.com
Nov. 10, 2000
Affirmative action at the University of Michigan (UM) has garnered renewed support with the re-election of two Democrats to the school's Board of Regents. Rebecca McGowan and Larry Deitch said they will continue to support the university's affirmative-action policies. Currently, there are two class-action lawsuits challenging the university's race-based admissions policy.
The suits were filed by two white applicants who were turned down from the school in 1997. The re-election of McGowan and Deitch reinforces formidable support already backing the university. General Motors and 20 Fortune 500 companies have filed briefs supporting the university's admissions policies. "By and large, our campus community is very supportive of our policies," said Julie Peterson, university spokesperson.
Peterson said the Michigan Student assembly and faculty senate have also expressed support for the university in the lawsuit. "We believe that what we're doing is legal and constitutional," she said. Abolishing affirmative action at UM would prevent the school from attracting minority students, she said. "It would be a real blow to the campus," Peterson said. Evidence for this can be found in California, where minority enrollment took a nose-dive at the University of Berkeley following the legislation of Proposition 209, which banned affirmative action.
Wendy Anderson, a Republican who was defeated in the board election and who heads a consulting firm, said she will continue to attend the board's meetings despite her loss. "Affirmative action is like putting a Band-Aid over the problem," Anderson said. "What we're saying is public education has obviously failed the minority population.
We need to develop a pool of resources beyond affirmative action." As an alternative, Anderson proposed the implementation of charter schools in Flint and Dearborn, where the University of Michigan has satellite schools. Charter schools would pinpoint the source of the problem whereas affirmative action leads to the admission of students who need extensive coaching and tutoring, she said. "It creates a separate remedial institution within the school," Anderson said.
The idea that affirmative action ushers in unqualified students is flat out wrong, however, Peterson said. Peterson said the school only admits students who have a strong chance of succeeding. "All the students we admit are qualified," she said. The first trial against UM is slated to begin in December, according to the university.
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