Hail to the Victors--the Uni-di-versity of Michigan

“I have a dream that one day a man will be judged on the content of his character, and not on the color of his skin.”

Martin Luther King, Jr., an African-American civil rights leader from the 1960’s (not to be confused with the German leader of the Protestant Reformation of the 1500’s) shared that dream of a color-blind America in 1963.

This past Tuesday, Michigan voters codified that dream by voting overwhelmingly to pass proposition 2, the Michigan Civil Rights initiative, by a 58%-42% margin. This ballot initiative stated:

“The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.”

In other words, if you are applying to the University of Michigan, your application will not be treated as less worthy than a minority candidate’s application even if your ACT score was 30 and the minority’s was 22. Race or ethnic background is not to be considered a criterion.

Despite the clear statement from voters on an election day that obviously favored the more liberal candidates for governor and senator, the president of the University of Michigan, Mary Sue Coleman, refused to accept the results and vowed to fight in court or in any other as yet unnamed ways she can think of. UM prides itself on being a place of “diversity.” In fact, at this campus rally in protest of Proposition 2, Coleman used the term “diversity” 21 times. Even with affirmative action (the preferential treatment of minority applications in order to create a “diverse” student body), the percentage of African-Americans decreased this school year from 7.5% to 6.4%.

I’d also like to share an e-mail I got from the chancellor of UM-Flint, where I’m enrolled in a Masters’ Program. Juan Mestas writes, “TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY: The message by President Mary Sue Coleman reiterates the University of Michigan's firm commitment to diversity in the aftermath of the approval of Proposal 2. Her words convey the position of the university as a whole, including the Flint campus. For moral and educational reasons, I support President Coleman's statement wholeheartedly. Juan E. Mestas, Chancellor"

A number of questions come to mind. First of all, does it seem like a liberal trait to refuse to accept the results of elections when they don’t like them, and try to circumvent the democratic process by means of the courts? After Tuesday, even Republicans defeated in close Senate races graciously conceded defeat, unlike Al Gore and John Kerry who to this day continue to question the legitimacy of the Bush presidency and allege funny business with voting machines, etc. You’d think the college president would get the message, but it is really a mark of arrogant elitism to say “I know better and I don’t care what you voters have decided.”

Secondly, I wonder if the term “diversity” that is so prized by liberal college presidents includes conservatives, since it is no secret that the vast majority of college professors are liberal, and conservative speakers are the ones assaulted when they appear on campus.

But most importantly, I’m wondering if the effect of affirmative action—to try to help the disadvantaged people of color and to overcome years of discrimination in a sort of compensatory way—has been to actually increase racism. When the white majority student looks around the lecture hall, does he assume that the black kid is either there on a sports scholarship or is only there because of affirmative action? I don’t think that many students at our school are overtly racist, but sometimes a comment here and there about “Detroit” and “welfare” may be code words. We’re not a particularly diverse community, but do we value the diversity we do have, or is there some bigotry? Feel free to share anecdotes, or even personal experiences (anonymously if you prefer).