46F 4 lilt toan4,3at IV (h,104 C4 j{ is .'4 4d 3.1 Ann Arbor, Michigan Wednesday, October 16,2013 AFFRIMATIVE ACTION -E michigandaily.com LEFT: Protestors gather outside of the Lincoln Memorial in preparation to march to the U.S. Supreme Court with the organization By Any Means Necessary in support of affirmative action Tuesday. RIGHT: Western Michigan University sophomore Tabrian Joe, a BAMN organizer, gathers outside of the Lincoln Memorial before marching to across the National Mall to the U.S. Supreme Court Building. Students take State's Prop 2 hits ourt to Washington t e h BAMN leads march on National Mall toward court By TAYLOR WIZNER AND K.C. WASSMAN Daily News Editors WASHINGTON, D.C. - When a bell sounds in the U.S. Supreme Court it signifies the a moment of ceremonial impor- tance: The justices each put on their robes, shake hands with one another and take their hon- orary seats. As the bell rang at 1 p.m. Tuesday, it also stood for the culmination of hours, months and years of people waiting on the sidelines to hear the court's See WASHINGTON, Page 5A U.S. justices hear oral arguments on ballot initiative By TAYLOR WIZNER AND K.C. WASSMAN Daily News Editors WASHINGTON, D.C. - Affirmative action in Michi- gan has once again taken center stage in the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court heard oral arguments Tuesday -for Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirnmative Action, which questions the legality of a 2006 amendment - commonly known as Proposal 2 - to the Michigan State Constitution that bans race-based prefer- ences in college admission process. The court must weigh whether or not a state ban on race- or sex-based admis- sions is in violation of the 14th amendment's equal protec- tion cause. The case brings up questions of unfair burden put upon minority communi- ties, who would have to take to courts to change admission policy instead of that institu- tion's governing body. The case came to the U.S. Supreme Court after the state appealed the Sixth Cir- cuit Court's decision, which struck down equal protection concerns, based on precedent set in Washington v. Seattle School District No. 1. In that 1981 case, the Court found a statewide initiative for a neighborhood-school policy put an unconstitutional bur- den on racial minorities by reordering the decision-mak- ing process. In order for the court to overturn the Sixth Circuit Court's ruling, five of the eight participating justices - Justice Elena Kagan having recused herself from this case - would have to rule against the lower court's decision. If the justices are split in a 4-4 vote, the ruling is auto- matically deferred to the lower court's verdict. John Bursch, the state's solicitor general, represented Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who appealed the Sixth Circuit Court's deci- sion to the court. In his allot- ted thirty minutes of time, Bursch argued that it is up to, each state to determine whether or not they would like race-based admissions. During his opening state- ments, Bursch noted it's unclear whether or not diver- sity has declined at the Uni- versity in the wake of Proposal 2. He said the 2010 change in the mandate for reporting race, which allowed students See ADMISSIONS, Page 3A FACILITIES Coleman outines need for lab space Pres. says upcoming renovations will provide better biology areas By JENNIFER CALFAS Daily StaffReporter Though its home in North Hall will likely be razed, the University's ROTC program will live on. At the monthly meeting of the University's Board of Regents on Friday, the regents will consider a project to renovate space in several buildings to accommodate the relo- cation the University's Army, Navy and Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps offices from North Hall. Once the .project is approved, another request will be made to demolish North Hall to make way See COLEMAN, Page SA ADMINISTRATION Endowment report, construction projects on agenda for regents AUSTENHUFFoRD/Daly Michele Norris host of the NPR show "All Things Considered" and founder of the Race Card Project delivers the University's 2012 MLK Day Convocation address. Norris will be University's 2013 Winter Commencement speaker. Form--er NPR host to speak at Winter Commencem-ent Thursday meeting to take place on Flint campus By SAM GRINGLAS Daily StaffReporter At its monthly meeting on Friday, the University's Board of Regents will consider a number of construction and renovation proposals - nmostly moving along pre-approved plans. Meeting at the Flint campus, the governing body will also officially receive its 2013 endowment report, which measures the performance of the University's massive nearly $7.5-billion portfolio. REGENTS TO APPROVE SCHEMATIC DESIGNS FOR THE EARL V. MOORE BUILDING RENOVATION Though the regents approved $23,270,000 for the Earl V. Moore Building's renovation lastNovember, the board will vote Friday to approve the project's schematic design and slight budget increase. The Moore Building, the North Campus facility that houses a portion of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, will receive upgrades and expan- sions to classroom spaces as well as infrastructure updates. The revised budget - which now totals more than $24 mil- lion- will allow for 4,600 addi- tional square feet of mechanical space that was not included in the initial estimate. The renovations to the facil- ity will include changes to both the first and second floor's north wing. These changes will increase the number and size of practice rooms and will relo- cate offices originally moved for practice room expansion. The larger part of the proj- edt, a 34,000-square-foot build- ing addition named the Brehm Pavilion, will include three classrooms, a large lecture hall, piano labs, a jazz and percus- sion suite, a rehearsal hall,lobby and space reserved for, future expansion. The schematic designs also call for updates to the build- ing's fire detection and alarm systems. See ENDOWMENT, Page SA Norris helped bring Race Card Project to campus By PETER SHAHIN Daily News Editor Michele Norris, a renowned journalist, will be the 2013 Winter Commencement speaker and receive an honor- ary Doctor of Humane Letters at the commencement ceremo- ny, the University announced early Monday. Five other dis- tinguished individuals hailing from a variety of fields will also receive honorary degrees from the University. Norris is best known for being a former host of All Things Considered, National' Public Radio's flagship radio show. She was the organiza- tion's first Black female anchor. During her time as anchor, Norris regularly interviewed leading statesmen, academics and scientists, cultural icons and professionals from around the world. She currently heads the Race Card Project, a nation- wide initiative that gathers perspectives on race and aims to foster dialogue on the sub- ject. The University teamed up See NPR, Page 3A ets risky search abroad s with unrest? Michigan's not-so-hap ending in Happy Valley. WEATHER HI:57 GOT A NEWS TIP? TOMORROW Lo: 40 Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandailycom'and let us know. NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Planning Commission discusses zoning MICHIGANDAILY.COM/ INDEX NEWS ,....... ..2A SUDOKU....................33 A Vol, CXXIV,No. t 1 OPINION. ..........4A STATEMENT.................1C 20t3The Michigan Daily ARTS ....... 6A SPORTSWEDNESDAY....1B michigondoily.com AR S.............. I