April 22, 2014
Michigan’s Affirmative Action Ban Upheld by The Supreme Court
A Michigan voter initiative that banned racial preferences in admissions to the state’s public universities was upheld by The Supreme Court, it was reported by The NY Times.
Proposal 2, was in reference to Grutter v. Bollinger, a 2003 Supreme Court decision that upheld the use of race as one of many factors in law school admissions to make sure there was educational diversity.
The eight judges that were nominated by Democratic presidents were in the majority as the seven judges who voted in dissent were all nominated by Republican presidents. Proving, once again, the bi-partisan mindset in government today.
“A student seeking to have her family’s alumni connections considered in her application to one of Michigan’s esteemed public universities could do one of four things to have the school adopt a legacy-conscious admissions policy: she could lobby the admissions committee, she could petition the leadership of the university, she could seek to influence the school’s governing board, or, as a measure of last resort, she could initiate a statewide campaign to alter the state’s Constitution,†Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. wrote for the majority.
“The same cannot be said,†Judge Cole added, “for a black student seeking the adoption of a constitutionally permissible race-conscious admissions policy. That student could do only one thing to effect change: she could attempt to amend the Michigan Constitution – a lengthy, expensive and arduous process – to repeal the consequences of Proposal 2.â€