Proposal to form an Affirmative Action Task Force
December 2000
Given the historic importance of the two affirmative action lawsuits against the University of Michigan and the Assembly's standing position in defense of affirmative action and integration, MSA should move to form an Affirmative Action Task Force. The issue is important enough and the tasks are numerous enough that a Task Force is required.
PURPOSE
The two lawsuits against our school are widely seen as likely to set national legal precedent for affirmative action in higher education. As they make their way to the US Supreme Court, the Affirmative Action Task Force would be charged with a set of responsibilities to involve the students whose lives and education will be most directly and profoundly affected-students at the University of Michigan.
The Affirmative Action Task Force would be responsible for
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Educating students about affirmative action
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Keeping the campus informed about the progress of the two legal cases
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Mobilizing students to attend the court proceedings
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Doing everything possible to ensure student access to the proceedings
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Coordinating the efforts of student groups at U of M to defend affirmative action and integration
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Coordinating the efforts of students with the efforts of U of M academic departments and administration
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Contacting other Universities to get their student governments and student bodies involved in these cases
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Acting on resolutions passed by the Michigan Student Assembly that deal primarily with the defense of affirmative action
The Chair of the AATF will be responsible for regular reports to the Assembly on the legal proceedings in both _Gratz v. Bollinger_ and _Grutter v. Bollinger_. In addition to these reports, the AATF will make available to the Assembly copies of relevant legal documents from each side of these history-making cases.
TIMELINE
The timeframe of the AATF would be tied to the development of the federal lawsuits and their respective appeals through 6th Circuit Court in Cincinnati, Ohio and their likely appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Co-chairs elected by consent: Jessica Curtin, Diego Bernal, Amer Zahr