Wednesday Ap1 , 2003 @2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 123 One-hundred-twelve years of editoralfreedom Weather TODAY: Partly cloudy in the morning, with skies Hh6 clearing by ~~43 afternoon. Tomorrow: 44. www.michigandailycom 11, 1" 11 1,1111111111111in g Jill t o Supreme Court justices fire tough questions at lawyers By Jeremy Berkowitz and Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporters WASHINGTON - The most important affirmative action case in a generation went before the Supreme Court yesterday, giving lawyers on both sides their last.chance to sway undecided justices. Thousands of vocal supporters sur- rounded the court's perimeter, hold- ing signs, beating drums and voicing their concern for preserving integra- tion in education. The hundreds of spectators who crowded into the historic courtroom, which is no bigger than a medium- sized lecture hall, were insulated from the protests. They watched the nine Supreme Court justices fire a barrage of questions at attorneys representing the University and the rejected appli- cants who sued it. Instead of providing each side with the opportunity to reiterate its basic legal arguments, the justices instead targeted specific details of the cases. They asked fast-paced questions chal- lenging the importance of diversity in society and education, the University's goal of enrolling a critical mass of minorities through race-conscious admissions policies and the validity of race-blind alternative programs. Attorneys from the Center for Indi- vidual Rights - the law firm repre- senting the plaintiffs - argued that minorities meeting certain minimal qualifications are automatically accepted into the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. "These systems featured separate admissions guidelines for different races, protected or reserved seats in the class for select minorities," CIR lead attorney Kirk Kolbo said. See HEARINGS, Page 9 Hoping to sway court, students convene in D.C. by the busload N University students join thousands of other demonstrators in capital By Andrew Kaplan and Emily Kraack Daily Staff Reporters WASHINGTON -- There is a junc- ture oh Interstate 495 where roads from New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Virginia converge, funneling motorists into the heart of Washington. By the time dawn broke over the Maryland foothills yesterday morning, this high- way was alive with caravans of buses leading student activists from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and New York to rally in front of the Supreme Court.. While the Supreme Court justices picked apart the University's admissions system, University students joined with several thousand activists in support of the race-conscious policies. Many pro- testers said they thought their actions will convince the justices to rule in favor of the policies this summer. "They'll be watching this, their chil- dren will watch this," said Education senior Agnes Aleobua, a member of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary. "They're human. They'll be affected by it." Law School student Tracy Thomas rode to Washington on one of six buses carrying University members of Stu- dents Supporting Affirmative Action. She said the demonstrations build public support for diversity. "Just the march and people showing how they feel about affirmative action - it has an impact on public opinion, See RALLIES, Page 7 Kennedy calls LSA policy a quota system By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter Students demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court, where justices heard arguments yesterday in the lawsuits challenging the University's race-conscious admissions policies. Justices question application o e in Lw oo case By Jeremy Berkowitz Daily Staff Reporter WASHINGTON - The differ- ence between a critical mass and a quota was one of many issues on which justices grilled lawyers dur- ing the Grutter v. Bollinger argu- ments yesterday before the Supreme Court. Filed in December 1997 by the Center for Individual Rights, the lawsuit attacks the Law School's policies, which call for the race of its applicants to be taken into account. CIR attorney Kirk Kolbo split the plaintiffs' allotted 30 minutes of 0 See inside for more covers beginning of the end of the adn Awaiting a .speaking time with U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olsen, who spoke on behalf of President Bush. Mau- reen Mahoney argued on behalf of the University.. Both sides addressed the 1978 Regents of the University of Califor- nia v. Bakke decision - in which Justice Lewis Powell said race could be used as one of many factors in college admissions - regarding the issues of precedent and quotas. Jus- tices asked CIR lawyers their stance on the merits of the Bakke decision. "Do you agree with the articulated proposal of Justice Powell in the Bakke case of using race as a plus gesof I U.S factor as he saw the use of it? Do you disagree with that approach?" Justice Sandra Day O'Connor asked. She was a protege of Powell's during her early years on the court and has since modeled her ability to look at lawsuits on a case-by-case basis after Powell.; Using "every test that Justice Pow- ell applied in that opinion, the Law School program here fails. It's a stereotype," Olsen replied, adding that diversity has multiple meanings. "It means both a means to get experi- ence and a diversity of experience. It also means, I think what the Law See LAW SCHOOL, Page 9 WASHINGTON - Unlike most other Supreme Court justices, who focused on questioning the details of each side's legal standpoint during yesterday's oral argu- ments, Justice Anthony Kennedy actually voiced his views on the University's use of race in the LSA admis- sions policy. Kennedy is considered by many legal experts to be a moderate vote, but his statements suggest that Kennedy may vote to overturn one or both of the University's policies, while upholding the use of race as an admis sions factor in general. "I have to say that in looking at your program, it looks to me like this is just a disguised quota," Kennedy said after University lawyer John Payton fin- ished clarifying the University's definition of a critical mass in its admissions policies. The University defines a critical mass as having enough minorities so that a few individuals are not con- sidered representatives for their race. But Kennedy later asked a hypothetical question which indicates that he may still uphold the 1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke ruling, which banned racial quotas but permitted the use of race as one of many admissions factors. "Suppose the court were to say that the 20-point sys- tem and the Law School system looked just too much See LSA CASE, Page 9 forces encircle Baghdad s lng 71 i Page 5 Colleges across the nation contem- plate alternatives to race-conscious ' admissions. I ~ Demonstrators line the National Mall in Washington. 0 Members of Con- gress encourage protesters to keep fighting. Coalition raid rescues American POW from Iraqi captivity The Associated Press In a breakthrough in the push toward Baghdad, army ground forces battled past Republican Guard units near the strategic city of Karbala and thousands of coalition troops crossed a bridge over the Tigris River. An American POW was rescued in Iraq. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared that the "circle is closing around Baghdad," American soldiers engaged Saddam Hussein's toughest troops for the first time out- side Karbala, 50 miles south of the capital. By this morning, U.S. forces had And in a daring raid that triggered jubilation in one West Virginian town, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, a 19-year- old supply clerk, was freed after nine days in Iraqi hands. Military officials said she was rescued from an Iraqi hospital but gave no details of the operation or her condition. In Lynch's hometown of Pales- tine, W. Va., fire trucks blared horns in celebration and well-wishers crowded into the family home. "You would not believe the joys, cries, bawling, hugging, screaming, carrying on," said Pam Nicolais, a cousin. "You just have to be here." The developments unfolded as huge explosions rocked Baghdad, Saddam Hussein's ,at of power and site of repeated bombing in the two weeks of the war. Plumes of white smoke rose from the southern since the war began. The attack on forces near Karbala marked the first major ground bat- tle against Saddam's Republican Guard, and capped a day of aggres- sive American and British military actions. Marines staged a nighttime raid on Nasiriyah, a column of amphibi- ous assault vehicles rolling into town under a moonless sky - and finding Iraqis had abandoned a huge, walled police compound. In Basra, a city of 1.3 million, warplanes dropped 500-pound and 1,000-pound laser-guided bombs on an Iraqi intelligence complex in an effort to dislodge die-hard defend- ers who have kept British forces at bay for days. "What you're seeing today on the battlefield in Iraq is a continuation of