September 21, 1999
Resolution to Support the October 21st
Day of Action in Defense of
Integration and Affirmative Action
Whereas, the two law suits faced by the University of Michigan undergraduate and Law Schools have made our campus a center of the struggle over the future of affirmative action and integration in US society.
Whereas, students, and especially U of M students, have a crucial role to play in the defense of affirmative action and integration.
Whereas, where affirmative action has been eliminated, the result has been a drastic decline in the numbers of black, Latino, and other minority students admitted to elite universities. (Stats)
Whereas, the attack on integration in society has been expanded to include an attack on integration in K- 12 education. Desegregation orders in primary and secondary education are under attack and have been dismantled in several cities around the country resulting in a return of these schools to segregated status.
Whereas, the fundamental basis of the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision–that "separate can never be equal"–remains true today.
Whereas, the successful intervention of 41 students and 3 U of M organizations into the lawsuit against the U of M Law School means that these students will now be codefendants alongside the University of Michigan administration in the defense of affirmative action. This gives U of M students and other students a direct voice in the courtroom as well as increased responsibility and direct opportunity to defend the affirmative action polices of U of M.
Whereas, October 21, 1999 has been designated as a National Day of
Action in Defense of Integration and Affirmative Action.
Therefore be it resolved, the Michigan Student Assembly of the University of Michigan supports and will help build for and spread the word about the October 21, 1999 National Day of Action in Defense of Integration and Affirmative Action.
Therefore be it resolved, the Michigan Student Assembly calls on other students, universities, and student governments across the country to join the October 21, 1999 National Day of Action.
Passed — 19 for, 8 against, 5 abstaining.