Court finalizing action ballot language

A ban on affirmative action will be on the Michigan ballot this
November if the Board of State Canvassers has its way.

The State Court of Appeals has until Jan. 20 to approve the
finalized language – proposed by State Elections Director Chris Thomas
– for the ballot.

The court has failed to certify petitions to place the ban on the
ballot on two other occasions, according to a Jan. 7 article
published in The Detroit News.

If the proposal goes through, voters will decide whether or not to
eradicate affirmative action in public institutions.

The ban would affect the racial, socioeconomic and gender climate at
CMU, said Affirmative Action Officer Phyllis Powell.

“With (the ban, we’ll see) a drastic reduction in the number of
minorities in the school systems,” she said.

Powell also said CMU currently needs to recruit minorities and women
in order to promote a globally diverse campus.

“We try to bring people of diverse backgrounds to campus so you’re
learning about as much as you can about others, their cultures, their
beliefs,” she said. “We want our students to be successful when they
leave us.”

Powell said an end to affirmative action also would lead to a
decline in faculty of color.

“There will be no opportunity for us to use affirmative action
diversity to provide models and mentors for students of color. The
simple process of posting will be disadvantageous to all people,” she
said.

In its current phrasing, the ban is likely to pass, said James Hill,
director of the Honors Program and political science professor.

However, Hill said the ban would be detrimental to Michigan.

“On the surface, it appears to be a reasonable proposal,” he said.
“It’s not clear that its logical outcome would be dismantling a lot of
affirmative action programs. I think we’d probably take a step backward
in our efforts to diversify the CMU campus.”