The affirmative action spotlight shone on the University of
Michigan again last week when Ward Connerly announced the launch of
an initiative that would counter the effects of the recent Supreme
Court ruling in that state.
As about 200 attendees ““ a quarter of which were
protesters ““ looked on, Connerly, a University of California
regent and chairman of the American Civil Rights Coalition, said he
will push for an initiative that would ban the use of race, gender
or ethnicity in Michigan’s admissions, hiring and contracting
policies.
The measure is termed the Michigan Civil Rights Act and slated
to appear on the November 2004 ballot.
The announcement comes a few weeks after the Court upheld the
consideration of race in Michigan’s admission policies.
Connerly said the initiative would be modeled in part after
California’s Proposition 209, a measure co-authored by
Connerly that prohibited the consideration of race in
California’s hiring and admission policies ““ including
the UC ““ beginning in 1998.
Connerly spoke on the steps of Michigan’s graduate library
Tuesday, expressing confidence in his supporters’
abilities.
“We will develop a cadre of supporters who can carry our
message of equal treatment for all and preferences for none
throughout the state of Michigan,” Connerly said.
According to the Michigan constitution, for the measure to
appear on the ballot, the campaigners must obtain 317,757 valid
signatures in support of the initiative ““ a task that seems
feasible to many supporters.
“There is a tremendous amount of support (for the
initiative) in Michigan,” said Diane Schachterle, an ACRC
spokeswoman, adding that many of the state’s residents had
thanked the coalition for coming to Michigan.
But the measure’s supporters will face the obstacle of
affirmative action proponents who say they will make every effort
to make sure it doesn’t get on the ballot.
“(Connerly) made a great mistake in coming to Michigan
“¦ We are prepared to take this on,” said Tanya Troy, a
resident of Detroit and a national organizer for the
pro-affirmative action coalition By Any Means Necessary.
Troy said the coalition ““ with support from students,
churches and other members of the community ““ plans on
starting a boycott campaign to refuse services from any
organization or business that gives money to the initiative
campaign. She added that the group has already started a petition
drive to collect signatures against the measure.
Troy said her confidence also comes from the fact that some
heads of the state’s Republican Party have voiced their
opposition against the initiative, calling it a
“divisive” measure.
Agnes Aleobua, a student activist at the university, said the
public needs to be informed so it will not be deceived by the
initiative’s language. Connerly had said affirmative action
policies are in violation of civil rights.
“That’s what he did in California, to lie about what
it really was; we need to get out as much information as possible
… because it is deceptive,” Aleobua said.
Some UCLA students will also strategize on how to combat the
initiative when the United States Students Association meets the
weekend of June 26, said Matt Kaczmarek, a USSA board member and
the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s external
vice president.
Still, recent polls in Michigan show that many residents oppose
affirmative action.
Connerly supported a similar initiative in Michigan four years
ago, but failed to get it on the November 2000 ballot.
But the difference now is the Court’s ruling, which is
prompting more affirmative action opponents to make their voices
heard, Schachterle said.