Letters to the Editor

Could I make just a  small point concerning the editorial (“Minority Intervention Doesn’t Change the Facts”) in the issue of September 8, 1999? The anonymous author of this editorial attributes to the Center for Individual Rights, which is sponsoring the two lawsuits against the University, the view that “merit and merit alone should entitle one to admission at a first-rate University.” In fact, this is not CIR’s view, nor has this position been advocated in any legal document filed by the plaintiffs in either lawsuit. CIR’s position has consistently been that admissions on a non-merit basis are entirely permissible provided that the non-merit basis is not racial. This position is much more difficult to defend than the one that you describe, and your use of the easier position might therefore be misunderstood as an attempt to sow confusion.

Bruce W. Frier
Professor, U-M Law School