One more day of action

Students protest two lawsuits

In a show of support for the University's affirmative action policies, hundreds of students took part in a second National Day of Action yesterday.

More than 70 colleges and universities in 25 states also recognized the day of action, taking the lead from the University's initial efforts in February.

"It has a more national character," said LSA first-year student Shaba Andrich, a member of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action by Any Means Necessary. "It's up to us to lead the way - we need to provide guidance to the rest of the country on what it takes to defend affirmative action."

EMILY NATHAN/Daily TOP: Detroit NAACP Director John Johnson speaks outside Angell Hall yesterday.

BOTTOM: Cass Technical High School seniors Roxanna Brooks and Erica Dowdell, along with BAMN member Lisa Resch, attend the National Day of Action yesterday at the Horace Rackham School of Graduate Studies. The first day of action was organized in response to two lawsuits filed this past semester that challenge the University's College of Literature, Science and the Arts and Law Schools' use of race as a factor in the schools' admissions policies.

"It was (the day of action on) February 24 that made this possible," said Shanta Driver, the main coordinator of the recent student intervention in the lawsuits against the Law School. Driver said this is "the broadest National Day of Action in over a decade."

More than 200 people attended a rally on the steps of Angell Hall, which featured individuals who spoke in support of affirmative action, including John Johnson, the executive director of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, sociology and Afroamerican studies Prof. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and numerous University students.

Johnson said "the eyes of the nation are on the University of Michigan," as well as the state in general, because of the recent lawsuits.

"Affirmative action, contrary to what the media wants people to believe, is not about exclusion and preferences, but about inclusion and equal opportunity," Johnson said.

Activities held on other college campuses ranged in size from a small rally at Cornell University to larger marches and sit-ins. To demonstrate the impact of Prop. 209 in California, Yale University planned to hold a rally in which 40 percent of the students of color painted their faces white.

More than 300 people attended a day of action speakout at New York University. Sabrina Comizzoli, a law third-year student at NYU, said that although the university had planned a day of action before they heard about the University of Michigan's plans, the University provided them with support and inspiration.

"It gave us a lot of support in that it had been successful," Comizzoli said. "We thought, 'Wow, it would be great to do a similar thing at schools everywhere.'"

After the Angell Hall rally, University students marched to the Modern Languages Building and then to the Michigan Union.

Organizers said the day was organized to begin building a national movement in defense of affirmative action.

"It's a real development," said Caroline Wong, a BAMN member. "We've taken the first steps in building a national movement."

Wong said the success of the day should not be measured by the numbers of people that took part in the day's activities, but by "the qualitative development" of the movement.

But some students said they did not support the day of action. Jeff Schroeder, a law student at Wayne State University, passed out fliers during the rally denouncing the National Day of Action.

"It's all the same protest. It's the same slogan, the same people," he said. "People who are opposed to affirmative action are not going to come here and be shrieked at by these demagogues."

The day of action on the University's campus was organized by United for Affirmative Action and sponsored by campus groups, including the Black Student Union, Alianza and Academics for Affirmative Action and Social Justice.

February's day of action featured a rally, sit-ins and teach-ins. Event organizers encouraged students to skip classes in support of affirmative action.

After the success of the first day of action, a mass e-mail was sent to schools across the nation early in March, asking schools to participate in a second National Day of Action.

"I do support the day of action because it's very important for all of the races to come together not only on this day, but everyday," said LSA sophomore Shawta Polk.

About 60 people attended a BAMN mass meeting in the Union Ballroom following the rally. Those who attended the meeting discussed the lawsuit intervention and the recently released figures showing the drop in minority admissions in the University of California at Berkeley. Attendees passed a proposal to create a Defend Affirmative Action Coordinating Committee.

04-02-98