3
Tuesday
Aril 1, 2003
02003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 122
One-hundred-twelve years of editorildfreedom
TODAY.
Light rain
showers dur-
ing the day
and continu-
ing into the
evening.
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Tomorrow.
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www.michigandaily.com
U.S. troops
fight final
50 miles to
Baghdad
The Associated Press
LET THE GAVEL DROP
P1iztffs discuss goals
in brbzg their cases
before Supreme Court
American forces battled Iraqi
defenders in fierce street fighting 50
miles south of Baghdad yesterday,
pointing toward a drive on the capital.
Army guards shot seven Iraqi women
and children to death when their van
refused orders to stop at a checkpoint,
officials said.
U.S. troops and tanks encountered
rocket-propelled grenades and small
arms fire in a dawn raid against
Republican Guard defenders of
Hindiyah, a key city astride the
Euphrates River. Other units fought to
isolate Najaf to the south and prevent
attacks on U.S. supply lines.
"There are maneuvers going (on) to
try to destroy those divisions that stand
in our way" of Baghdad, Maj. Gen.
Stanley McChrystal said at the Penta-
gon. He added that more than 3,000
precision-guided bombs have been
dropped on Iraq in the past few days,
out of 8,000 in the entire war.
In the northern part of Iraq, com-
manders said an assault on a com-
pound controlled by an Islamic Iraqi
group turned up lists of names of sus-
pected militants living in the United
states.
And heavy bombing was reported
during the day, from areas near the
northern oil fields to downtown Bagh-
dad to Republican Guard defensive
positions south of the city. Bombing
south of the capital, probably against
Republican Guard positions, resumed
at daylight today.
On the 13th day of Operation Iraqi
Freedom, British officials claimed that
8,000 Iraqis have been taken prisoner
so far.
But a defiant Iraqi foreign minister
said invading forces face the choice
between death or surrender. "Every day
that passes the United States and
Britain are sinking deeper in the mud
of defeat," said Naji Sabri.
Iraqi television aired footage of
President Saddam Hussein and his
sons Odai and Qusai, but there was no
way of determining when the video
was shot. Gen. Peter Pace, vice chair-
man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said
on PBS that U.S. intelligence sources
have been unable to confirm that Sad-
dam survived the March 19 strike on a
bunker where he was believed to be
staying but said, "That doesn't mean
he's dead."
For his part, President Bush warned
that Saddam "may try to bring terror to
our shores." The United States is acting
to prevent such threats, he said as he
issued his latest forecast of victory.
"Day by day we are moving closer to
Baghdad. Day by day we are moving
closer to victory," Bush said during a
trip to Philadelphia.
Officials said the civilians were
killed when Army guards opened fire
at a checkpoint near Najaf, the same
general area where four soldiers from
the same unit were killed in a weekend
car bombing. This time, officials said
Army guards fired warning shots at the
vehicle carrying 13 people, then fired
into its engine, but neither action
stopped the van. Two other civilians
were injured and four unharmed in the
incident, which the military is investi-
gating.
"In light of recent terrorist attacks by
the Iraqi regime, the soldiers exercised
considerable restraint to avoid the
unnecessary loss of life," said a state-
ment from U.S. Central Command.
The official casualty count for
Americans stood at 44 dead, seven cap-
See WAR, Page 2
By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
Barbara Gruffer, left, Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, who are suing the University over Its race-conscious admissions
policies, speak to reporters at the conclusion of a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington yesterday.
Colem an leads 'U'thirough
lawsuits on race, sanctions
WASHINGTON - Six years ago,
Barbara Grutter was looking over a
letter of rejection from the Law
School. Today, she will look over nine
Supreme Court justices as they hear
her lawyers argue that she was denied
admission because of an illegal sys-
tem of racial preference.
The hearing today is the result of a
lawsuit she filed to challenge the
school's use of race in its admissions
policies.
"We all feel very much a sense of
'We need to be,
here, and it's time .* SSIONS
for us to be here,"'
Grutter said at a°
press conference
yesterday with Jen-
nifer Gratz and'
Patrick Hamacher,
the two plaintiffs
suing the College of Literature, Sci-
ence and the Arts for its race-con-
scious admissions policies.
All three applicants said they were
feeling a wide range of emotions in
the hours preceding the start. of the
oral arguments that the court will hear
at 10 a.m. today. They added that these
cases are more about discrimination
by the University on the basis of their
skin color than the methods or actual
policies of the Law School or LSA.
"We are taught in our schools and
in our homes and in our churches that
you should never judge another per-
son based on her skin color," Gratz
said at the conference, which was
organized by the Center for Individual
Rights, the law firm representing the
plaintiffs.
"Patrick, Barbara and I are asking
only that everyone be judged accord-
ing to the same standard, regardless
of race. That's what the Constitution
requires, and that's what we'll ask
the Supreme Court to reaffirm
tomorrow."
Hamacher said his 3.3 grade point
average, a score of 28 on the ACT and
numerous extracurricular activities
merited acceptance into the Universi-
ty. "Like Jennifer Gratz, and many
hundreds of other white and Asian
applicants, I wasn't treated fairly by
the University of Michigan because
they explicitly considered our race to
be a negative factor," Hamacher said.
Although they said the University's
policies discriminated against them,
all three applicants said they want to
pursue graduate-level education and
would still consider attending the Uni-
versity. Grutter, a 49-year-old mother
of two and health care information
technology consultant in Michigan,
said she plans to reapply to the Law
School if the court requires it to use a
race-neutral policy.
"I have not relinquished the desire
to combine the practice of law with
health care information system man-
agement," she said.
Hamacher, a 24-year-old accountant
from Flint, said he hopes to apply to the
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
if the court rules in his favor. Gratz,
who is 25 years old and a software
trainer in Oceanside, Calif., said she
would consider attending a University
graduate school but may choose a
school closer to her current home.
CIR President Terence Pell also
spoke at the conference, saying he
believes the University has "operated
blatantly segregated, two-track admis-
sions systems designed to boost the
number of minorities."
Although he refused to predict the
court's ruling, which is expected to be
announced in June, Pell said he con-
siders a clear, sweeping ban on race-
conscious admissions policies a
victory.
If the court upholds both policies,
"there will be no end to (the Uni-
versity's) type of racial engineer-
ing," Pell said. But minority
enrollment at schools like the Uni-
See PLAINTIFFS, Page 8
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON - When the Cen-
ter for Individual Rights filed its first
lawsuit against the University in
October 1997 attacking its race-con-
scious admissions policies, Mary Sue
Coleman was leading the University
of Iowa.
Now president of the University of
Michigan, Coleman will watch today
as University lawyers defend the law-
suits she inherited from her predeces-
sor, Lee Bollinger. The last eight
months spent defending the cases Grut-
ter v Bollinger and Gratz v Bollinger
have been an exhilarating experience,
Coleman said in an iterview with The
Michigan Daily yesterday.
"These are important cases for all
higher education and for society ... his-
tory is being made" she said. "These
cases have certainly deepened my com-
mitment, just sort of realizing up close
how important they are to our country."
Coleman said she does not see her-
self as inheriting the problems of a
previous administration. During last
year's presidential search, the Univer-
sity Board of Regents was very honest
with her about the challenges of the
lawsuits, she said.
"They're problems, but they're
opportunities too," she said. "We're
really changing the conversation about
what all this means and what diversity
means. "
Another issue handed down to
Coleman was the NCAA investigation
into the Michigan basketball program
and the Ed Martin scandal. Coincideq-
tally, the University athletic depart-
ment fired Michigan basketball coach
See COLEMAN, Page 8
Students support policies
by wearing gags, rallying
By Carmen Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
table," African-American studies Prof. Nesha
Haniff said at the rally. "We are still waging the
same struggle 30 years later."
Law School student Diego Bernal said the ben-
efits of diversity are real.
President "Bush said on TV that the Univer-
After a day of silence to support the Universi-
ty's race-conscious admissions policies, students
of color came out in full force at a rally before
boarding buses bound for Washington.
Other activists like
Michigan Welfare Rights "Bush said
Organization Chair Maureen ,T
Taylor and Democratic the Univers
National Committee mem- O. . o
ber Debbie Dingell urged p go
students to travel to Wash- look aroun
ington to voice their opin-
ions on the landmark case really goin
that will be heard today by Afrimative
the U.S. Supreme Court.
Student speakers represent- Only a stitch
ing minority communities
and professors addressed dif- L
ferent issues surrounding
affirmative action. But every speaker reminded
the crowd on the Diag of their role in affecting
history.
"You students need to go to D.C. so that the
nine justices who have so much influence see that
affirmative action is only the crumbs on the
sity's policies go
on TV that
sity's
too far, but
d, is this
gtoo far?
action is
h on a gash."
- Diego Bernal
Law School student
too far, but look around, is
this really going too far?"
Bernal said. "Affirmative
action is only a stitch on a
gash."
LSA senior Monique Luse
said she has been waiting for
the University lawsuits to be
heard since she was a fresh-
man three years ago. She
urged the crowd to stay as
politically active as she has.
"Don't be a one-day
activist, fight every single day
because it's fulfilling," Luse
said. "If we lose we have to
fight harder, but eventually we will win because
we are making it here. I'm graduating this year
- it's not been easy to be in a place that tells you
this place wasn't built for you, but we are gradu-
ating."
See RALLY, Page 7
ALYSA WOOD/Daily
LSA sophomore Max Sussman displays a T-shirt in support of the University's race-conscious admissions
policies while students rally on the Diag yesterday.
Lawsuits could conclude history of litigation on race
By Soojung Chang,
Victoria Edwards
and Andrew McCormack
Daily Staff Reporters
The two admissions cases that begin oral
arguments today in the U.S. Supreme Court,
Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger, rep-
resent the culmination of a long history of court
litigation that has attempted to define the legal
role of race in society.
Homer Plessy -jailed in 1892 for refusing to
move to a black railroad car - sued the state of
Louisiana in 1896, claiming that the policy of
separate cars violated the 13th and 14th amend-
ments. The court decided against him in the
infamous "separate but equal" ruling, establish-
ing the precedent that races could be divided
socially and administratively but still be treated
the same.
Plessy v. Ferguson established a policy of de
jure - or legally mandated - segregation that
persisted until the court reevaluated the issue in
1954, after Linda Brown was barred from
attending a white elementary school.
The court struck down de jure segregation in
Brown v. Board of Education, determining that it
is inherently unequal and therefore unconstitu-
tional. Thurgood Marshall, V o would later
become the first black Supreme Court justice,
argued on Brown's behalf.
Racial segregation was deemed unconstitu-
tional, but the debate over methods of integra-
tion was far from over. The University of Cali-
fornia at Davis began using a racial quota
system in its medical school admissions in 1969,
reserving 16 of 100 seats in each class for
minorities. The policy was in no small part
sparked by President Lyndon Johnson's signing
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which contained
the first mention of "affirmative action."
In 1978, Allen Bakke, a white applicant,
claimed he was not admitted to Davis because of
the racial quotas it used. Bakke claimed that
because he was rejected - although his MCAT
scores and grade point average were higher than
those of admitted minority applicants - he had
become an object of discrimination.
In a close decision, four of the nine justices
ruled in favor of Bakke and four against. Jus-
tice Lewis Powell broke the tie in favor of
Bakke. In his decision, however, he said that
race was a valid factor in admissions as long as
it served a "compelling government interest."
Racial quotas, being inflexible, did not serve
this interest and were therefore unconstitution-
al, Powell said. He added that any system using
racial preference is "inherently suspect," and
must be reviewed carefully.
The University of Michigan began consider-
ing race in its admissions even before the Bakke
ruling, but its legal battle to defend the policies
began in 1997 with a challenge from the Center
See HISTORY, Page 7
I ~ W~r
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