Forum addresses affirmative action in higher education

In light of the current debate surrounding affirmative action and the use of race in admissions, last night's forum titled, "Affirmative Action and Education" featured Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Twp.) and two University professors.

Smith, the first woman to rise to leadership in the state House Appropriations Committee, discussed the proposal by Sen. David Jaye (R-Macomb) that would end race-based preferences in hiring and education in Michigan. The proposal could appear on the Michigan ballot in November of 2000.

"My legislation would allow Michigan voters to prohibit preferential treatment for or against people based on race, ethnicity, national origin or gender for college, jobs or business contracts," Jaye said yesterday in a telephone interview. "Minority preferences are unfair, evil and un-American."

Smith said ending affirmative action would end opportunities and access for minorities and women to gain entry to the middle class, and contested the fact that a stigma is placed on minorities because of it.

"I have no stigma," Smith said. "I'm as skilled at what I do as the next person. Any woman or minority would tell you that you have to be twice as good and twice as fast to get a job.

"I don't think there is racial preference out there," she said. "It's affirmative action."

But Jaye said preferences based on "group affiliation" are racist, insulting and cheat students because they "undermine academic integrity."

"How dare the University of Michigan give college scholarships and teaching assistance based on the color of the skin rather than individual merit, academic achievement and publishing success?" Jaye asked.

Sumi Cho, an associate law prof. at DePaul University in Chicago, spoke about the intersection of race and gender, focusing on "white women's ambivalence to affirmative action."

"Why would white women vote against their own self-interests in California and Washington ... despite the oft-repeated fact that they are the largest beneficiaries of affirmative action?" Cho asked.

The answer, she said, lies in the concept of family. Cho referred to a poll in which many white women said they feared affirmative action would hurt employment opportunities for their male relatives. This relates to the historical disruption of black, Asian, Chicano and Latina/o families in the United States, Cho said.

Gail Nomura, an Asian American studies professor, further expounded on the history of discrimination against Asian Pacific Americans.

"There are many misconceptions that perpetuate the myth of Asian Americans as model minorities," Nomura said, adding that the affirmative action issue "compels us to move beyond the black and white paradigm."

Nomura related past discriminatory laws that were used to exclude and prohibit Asian Americans from U.S. society, including the areas of immigration, citizenship and bilingual education. Today, she said, Asian Americans are used as examples of high achievers, but are still considered foreign and alien.

"You spit on us, kick us, and suddenly we come up smiling as the model minority," Nomura said. "There are many ways people can manipulate the system."

Law second-year student Jodi Masley said she agreed with the note Cho ended on, in which she emphasized citizen participation to educate others about affirmative action.

"It's a battle that will be in part in the court, but is being fought simultaneously in the court of public opinion," Masley said. "And if a spirit of equality, of opportunity, is to prevail, then it's a fight that has to be waged by building a movement in the streets."

02-25-99