Today is a National Day of Action to Defend Affirmative Action. Dozens of campuses across the country, including the University of Michigan, will be holding events on this day to defend affirmative action and to educate our campuses and the country on the importance and necessity of affirmative action programs. On this day, we are asking that you teach your classes on affirmative action or a related issue.
The advent of affirmative action programs meant an opening up of the doors of higher education and of elite professions to black and other minority young people and to women of all races. The outcome of the fight over the future of affirmative action will determine whether we continue to make progress in combating inequality in society, or whether the country as a whole takes a step back toward greater segregation and inequality. With the loss of affirmative action in California and in Texas, it has become clear that the absence of affirmative action means the resegregation of higher education and the shutting out of talented black and other minority students.
The University of California at Berkeley admitted drastically fewer minorities in 1998, the year the state first implemented its ban on affirmative action.
Black, Latino and Native American freshman enrollment dropped by 65 percent, 58 percent and 61 percent respectively from fall '97 to fall '98. Eight hundred black and Latino students with 4.0 GPAs were denied admission to Berkeley.
Without affirmative action, the UC San Diego School of Medicine did not admit a single black applicant last year.
After affirmative action was overturned in Texas, the number of black students admitted to UT Law School dropped from 65 to 11. Only four black students enrolled in a class of 400.
As University students and professors, we cannot stand idly by while this question is decided. Too often the University is an "ivory tower" where classroom discussion has little relationship to what is happening in the outside world. Please take advantage of the National Day of Action today as an opportunity to bridge this gap. Students must be given a chance to reflect on this important issue and to determine where they stand in this historic fight.
If necessary, we would be happy to provide general background materials on affirmative action. Please e-mail us at daap@umich.edu and let us know what you are planning for the day. Other events planned include a march and rally at noon on the Diag and several teach-ins and forums presented by professors and student organizations. Full itineraries are available.
- This viewpoint was written by
MSA Rackham Rep. Jessica Curtin.
She can be reached over e-mail at jcurtin@umich.edu.
02-24-99
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