Group motions to enter 'U' lawsuit

In an effort to protect the interests of its members in the lawsuit challenging the University's admissions policies, a coalition that includes high school students and several independent organizations filed a motion to intervene and act as defendants in the case in Detroit Federal Court yesterday.

If the intervention is permitted by Judge Patrick Duggan, members of the coalition - Citizens for Affirmative Action's Preservation - will become the third party in the lawsuit and be given the same rights as the plaintiffs and the University.

"We have a direct and significant interest in preserving an admissions policy that broadens access to the University, including the University's authority to consider how a student's racial background has affected his or her experiences," CAAP spokesperson Godfrey Dillard said in a written statement.

The coalition is comprised of 17 Detroit-area students, their parents, local attorneys, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

To gain full status as defendants in the lawsuit, CAAP must prove that it holds a legitimate, but distinct interest in the case against the University.

"The University's interests in furthering a diverse student body ... differs from African American and Latino students' more focused interest in preserving their access to an education at the University," states the coalition's motion to intervene.

Patricia Mendoza, a representative of the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, said that the University's ties to its alumni and the state make its interest in the lawsuit distinct from the CAAP's interests.

If the University is forced to terminate its affirmative action practices, members of the coalition said the effects would be detrimental to minority applicants.

"I just want everybody (who is a) minority to be able to get an education" said Rueben Martinez, a junior at Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Mich.

The students - most of whom attend high school in either Detroit or Ann Arbor - said they were not reluctant to join the coalition because they want to protect the rights of minority students applying to the University in the future.

"My ability to learn and to share my knowledge and experience at the University of Michigan is more complex than just a score on a grid. The University recognizes that," said Cass Technical High School sophomore Ebony Patterson, the principle student in the case. The case's "outcome will shape our future."

CAAP's efforts come nearly four months after the lawsuit was filed by the Center for Individual Rights, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, on behalf of Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher. The two plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit claim they were unfairly denied admission to the University, while less-qualified minority students were accepted.

Secretary and Vice President for University Relations Walter Harrison said the University cannot predict whether the motion will be accepted.

"There is a lot at stake and it's just terrific that this group realizes that and wants to get involved," Harrison said.

Terry Pell, CIR senior legal counsel, said CAAP may have a difficult time intervening in the lawsuit.

William Allen, dean of the James Madison College at Michigan State University, said that although he cannot predict how the judge will rule, the coalition is unlikely to succeed in its efforts to intervene in the lawsuits.

"My guess is they don't have much of a leg to stand on," said Allen, who is the former chair of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

The local attorneys who have joined the coalition are providing their services pro bono and the national, non-profit organizations will be paying all legal fees.

Dillard said CAAP also intends to file a motion for intervention in the second lawsuit, which was filed against the Law School's admission policies.

The group will announce these plans very shortly, Dillard said.

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