8- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 12, 2000
LAWSUIT
Continued from Page 1.
Hamacher, who attends Michigan State Um-
versity, said his high school grade point aver-
age of about 3.4 and American College Test
score of 28 would be enough for the University
to admit an underrepresented minority student.
Gratz said that she too was qualified for
admissions, with a high school GPA of 3.77 and
ACT score of 25. Gratz plans to graduate from
the University's Dearborn campus this spring.
The University responded to the complaint by
saying it "uses race as a factor in admissions, as
part of a broad array of qualifications and charac-
teristics of which racial or ethnic origin is but a
single, though important, element."
Less than two months later, the Law School
was challenged with a nearly identical suit.
CIR contested the school's race-based admis-
sions on behalf of Grutter, who was denied
admissions for the 1997 academic year.
This suit names Bollinger, Law School Dean
Jeffrey Lehman, the University Board of
Regents and the Law School as defendants.
Grutter claims "race was one of the predomi-
nant factors" for admissions, while the Universi-
ty has reiterated that it uses race as a "broad
array" of many factors.
The lawsuits progressed with the ground-
breaking decision in Agust 1999 that allowed
intervenors to join the cres.
The intervenors for b~h cases consist of 58
diverse students from vious ethnic groups.
While many are Universit.undergraduates and
Law students, some are in igh school and oth-
ers are undergraduates in (ifornia and Texas.
The high school and out-oftate students plan
to apply to the University.
"The intervention was injortant for many
reasons," Barry said. "First )f 111, it caused the
trial to be delayed. Second, i alowed new, sig-
nificant parties into the casewlich I think add
much to the discussion on afnative action."
As it stands, the undergrauate pre-trial is
scheduled for September 13, with the official
trial commencing soon afterwards. The Law
School trial is scheduled to begin next January.
University students and faculty members have
shown extremes in opinions of the admissions
policies. Organized groups range from Defend
Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary to
the recently organized VOICE - Anti-Affirma-
tive Action.
Today Bollinger is scheduled to receive a
petition organized by numerous groups includ-
ing BAMN. The groups collected about 8,000
signatures during the past three months with a
petition demanding "the U of M administration
reverse the drop in minority enrollment at U of
M."
The University's lawsuits have attracte$
nationwide attention. Last spring, the Rev. Jesse
Jackson travelled to campus to discuss the bene-
fits of affirmative action during a lecture in Hill
Auditorium. Former University of California
Regent Ward Connerly, a key spokesman for leg-
islation that eliminated affirmative action prac-
tices in the state's public institutions, has
expressed the need for a race-blind system at the
University.
In a survey representing 87 percent of the stuo
dent body conducted by The Michigan Daily a
year ago, 51 percent of respondents said they
opposed the use of race in admissions.
f
fMri Y
Y .-
:1 . 111:..A:i
Sofas .................. from $149
Dressers................ from $99
End Tables..............from $29
Furniture Rental Packages .. from $99
New & Used Mattress Sets
Ann Arbor
~, 6L 4801 Washtenaw Road
Washte I (734) 434-5050
y,, i
E I
inStorag
I I
eAII Units Indoors
*Temperature Cont-olled
*Close to Campus '
Special Student
Rates and
Free Lock witI
this Coupon
Call For a Reservation Now!.
f I
1251 Rosewood
Ann Arbor
663-0690
I Ii
~dK,
N
Hours
Mon, Thur 9am - 8pm
Tues, Wed, Fri 9am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Lil L---'J
4ww.I FURNITURE
I~E~ IRENTALS
www~gibe.com 1-800-FOR-RENT'
Present this coupon and receive
$25 off
any purchase of $250 or more.
Liemtone per customer. Vld only at Globe Fwnitwu ehnab.
02000 Globe BusinesResources, Inc AllRghs Reserved.
r
5MALL
M4OVES
WE SPECIALIZE IN SMALL MOVES
WORLDWIDE MOVING
SYSTEMS
i
eLocal, Long distance - International
*No minimum weight restrictions
*One piece of furniture to a house full
*Professional packing & crating
eShort and long term storage
*Fully-insured
CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE
1-800-949-6683
C wruinn ~.Ann iA ~rnr
r