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. HH59 tO~ 1 Tomorrow. 56 r ?"" 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 ,