Threatening diversity

Alliance of Connerly and Jaye is dangerous

On the University campus, the word diversity is used quite frequently and the concept is incredibly valuable. Yet current efforts are placing that precious privilege at risk. The most recent progress in the battle to ban affirmative action at the University and in the entire state is another reminder we are faced with more than just idle threats.

Ward Connerly, a former regent for the University of California system, was a key player in banning the use of affirmative action in his state. Connerly already has a substantial track record when it comes to defeating the use of preferences in college admissions, through Prop. 209. No longer a part of the school system in California, he has since set his sights on repeating his success in Michigan. Along with state Sen. David Jaye (R-Macomb), another strong opponent of preferential admissions, Connerly may attempt to have a proposition similar to California's on the ballot by the next election.

These events cannot be met with nonchalance by students. Look no further than California - where underrepresented minority enrollment in the University of California system has dropped by 9.5 percent since the passage of Prop. 209. It becomes clear that the diversity we value so highly is at risk. While it may not be immediately apparent, we learn as much simply by being in the presence of students with varying backgrounds than we do in the classrooms. Maintaining this precious mix of students is crucial to everyone's learning experience, especially since not everyone finishes high school having been provided the same educational opportunities. "Color blind" admissions processes rely on factors that are determined as much by income and location as by ability. The present social climate calls for a college admissions policy that favors those who are at a disadvantage.

California has fallen victim to the politics of people who, regardless of their motives, are fighting to create homogenous student bodies and deny college students the right to a campus that reflects the diversity of our nation. It is these same people who have marked Michigan as their next target. Connerly and Jaye have both the knowledge and the capacity to spearhead a powerful campaign to end affirmative action in the state.

Faced with this distressing fact, students at the University need to recognize its gravity and take an assertive role in opposing Connerly's and Jaye's efforts. Students must begin to realize exactly how the campus would be effected by a ban on affirmative action in Michigan. Those who take diversity for granted might consider what the University would be like if it became homogenous in terms of ethnicity. The variety of issues, viewpoints and windows into the lifestyles of different communities would disappear. The quality of education outside the classroom would diminish. Students would not be admitted because certain criteria, specifically test scores, are not up to par - which may often be a result of opportunity.

It is yet to be seen what will occur as a result of the anti-affirmative action efforts here in Michigan. Regardless of the final outcome, however, it is imperative that students recognize these efforts as a serious threat to our community. It is an attempt to take something the community can't afford to give up.

02-03-99