MCRI debate heats up as forum nears
Michigan Civil Rights Initiative supporters have spoken.
And affirmative action advocates have answered.
There will be a second rally — supported by Students Against the MCRI — to take place next Tuesday, a day before “You Decide: The Future of Affirmative Action in Michigan,” a debate on the hotly-contested MCRI, also known as Proposal 2. The rally will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside the Bovee University Center.
Detroit sophomore Jerell Erves, a spokesperson for Students Against the MCRI, said the rally is being organized “to convey the spirit and the truth behind this matter; to build awareness and to expose this initiative that is founded on deceit.”
“I believe all 20,000 students should attend this rally because it addresses the heart of what this country is about, and that is about humanity,” Erves said. “It is about the needs of many people in this country; the needs of humanity, equal resources and rights.”
The debate will take place Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium.
Tuesday’s rally comes in response to a pro-MCRI rally — titled “Affirmative Action is Racist” — that will take place from 5 to 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, before the debate, outside Warriner Hall.
“... I strongly support Proposal 2 because I believe everyone should have an equal playing field,” said Topinabee sophomore Dennis Lennox II.
Lennox is organizing the rally, which is to support Proposal 2 and put an end to racist programs like affirmative action, he said.
The MCRI is “a proposal to amend the state constitution to ban Affirmative Action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes,” according to michigancivilrights.org.
Voting yes on Proposal 2 would end affirmative action in admissions policies, such as those in use at the University of Michigan. Voting no on Proposal 2 would maintain the state’s current policy on affirmative action.
“People should expect to be educated about Proposal 2 and hear firsthand from scholars about how affirmative action has influenced their lives and made America a better place to live in,” said Detroit sophomore Michael Ware, a Student Government Association senator.
More information on Proposal 2 from groups favoring it is available at michigancivilrights.org. Information on the proposal from groups opposing it is available at oneunitedmichigan.org.
