. . . Winter 2003 Friends of U-M Line up at the Supreme Court By Laurel Thomas Gnagey
A mid-February snow storm forced President Mary Sue Coleman to cancel her trip to Washington DC, but it didn't prevent her from previewing affirmative action briefs to be filed with the US Supreme Court. "A great deal hangs in the balance right here, right now," President Mary Sue Coleman said by teleconference from Crisler Arena Feb. 17, as she detailed the University's brief two days before it was to be filed with the Supreme Court. Coleman told members of the American Council on Education that the University's written statement, and those from several friends of U-M, could represent the largest number of briefs filed on a single issue in the history of the high court. While much of the U-M brief focuses on the benefits of diversity, Coleman said it also addressed misconceptions created, in part, by President George W. Bush's characterization of the Michigan's policies as quotas. Coleman said the University's admissions policies conform with the Bakke case (1978), which does not allow for quotas or set asides. Coleman went on to explain why other types of programs do not work. In particular, she criticized percent plans used in California, Texas and Florida, which cull the top students from each high school to be guaranteed admission. Such plans, she said, rely on segregation within schools. "We dare notwe must notcreate public policy that works only if our country's school systems remain segregated," she said. Coleman told the audience, "We will be joined by over 300 organizations filing more than 60 amicus briefs in support of the University. I want to give you a sense of who they are: They represent universities, faculty and more than 13,900 law students across the country; over 63 Fortune 500 corporations; the AFL-CIO, the UAW and the NEA (National Education Association); the American Bar Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges; dozens of civil rights and religious organizations; 23 states, many members of Congress and more than two dozen high-ranking military and civilian defense officials." Representatives of those organizations highlighted key messages in their briefs. The participants and their remarks included: · Charles M. Vest, president, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and former U-M provost"I want to assure the court that America's private universities fully share the interests of Michigan in this case. The diverse workforce and future leadership in science and engineering will be essential to our nation's future economic strength." Stanford University, DuPont Corp., IBM, the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering also signed the brief. · Kenneth C. Frazier, senior vice president and general counsel, Merck & Co. Inc."From a pragmatic business perspective, diversity has tremendous value as the source of a competitive advantage for American businesses. Simply put: diversity creates stronger companies." · Cecilia Munoz, vice president for the Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation, National Council of La Raza, and U-M alumna"The year that I graduated, 1984, the incoming freshman class of nearly 4,000 students had 20 Latino students, which is roughly one half of one percent of the total population of that class. I'm very happy and proud that in the years since I was there, the University succeeded in increasing the diversity of its student body. Today, 8 percent of the student population is African American and nearly 5 percent is Latino. And the University is a different place as a result. The richness of the student experience and the educational experience has changed dramatically." · Adm. Dennis C. Blair, senior fellow, Institute for Defense Analyses, and former commander in chief, US Pacific Command"In our officer corps, which is drawn from undergraduate institutions, we do not have the proportion of minorities commensurate to those in the enlisted ranks. We are missing talented people who could be serving their country." Blair represents a brief filed on behalf of 29 top ranking military leaders, including: Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, retired four-star and commander of the Allied Forces for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; William Cohen, the 20th secretary of defense; Adm. William J. Crowe, retired four-star and the 11th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Robert "Bud" McFarlane, retired Marine Corps officer and former national security advisor under Ronald Reagan; and William J. Perry, 19th secretary of defense. · Law student David Fauvre, Georgetown University"Our brief, filed on behalf of 13,922 law students, asserts that not only is affirmative action constitutional but [a] diverse student body exposes all law students to an open, robust and creative exchange of ideas." Fauvre represents 139 accredited law schools from 41 states and the District of Columbia. · David Ward, president of the American Council on Education (ACE)"It is the leadership of our country that is put at risk because it is the 25 or 35 most competitive academic institutions that, in effect, are most profoundly affected by the plaintiff's case." ACE represents 1,800 member institutions and is considered the major coordinating body for higher education in the United States. Its brief was cosigned by 54 national higher education associations. For more information on organizations filing on behalf of the University, visit http://www.umich.edu/~urel/admissions/statements /#support. The full texts can be found at http://www.umich.edu/~urel/admissions/legal/amicus.html. |
