The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
was th
ADMISSIONS Seattle
From Page 1A Afte
initial
baum,
enrolling in a state University to NAAC
check multiple boxes to denote Libert
their race, contrasted with the favor
previous system in which the did no
students were only allowed to examp
select one box. This change, Bur- nation
sch argued, makes it more diffi- impro'
cult to determine diversity. Ros
Bursch argued that it's the School
University's job to find ways to change
achieve diversity through race- of app
neutral means. Bursch noted harder
that Texas employs a top 10 per- use rae
cent program, in which state- other
funded schools admit the top ficult
students from every school. He partici
said this program, which the activit
University does not employ, has cations
helped increase minority perfor- Man
mance at socioeconomically dis- ing Ch
advantaged high schools. and Ju
He said the Court added scru- questio
tiny to the minority admissions the ch
by allowing race-based prefer- cess i
ences, but limiting the extent to prefer
which they can be employed.' and ho
"It cannot be unconstitutional "Th
for the people to choose not to has not
use (race preferences) anymore, minati
to accept this Court's invita- cess it
tion in Grutter, to move past the can ai
discussion about race and into not cr
a race-neutral future," Bursch unequ
said. actual
Grutter refers to Grutter v. throug
Bollinger, a landmark case -in baum
2003 in which the legality of the Rose
affirmative action admissions ing tha
policies of the University's Law cation
School were upheld. an 'or
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was into a
the first justice to speak, cen- proces
tering her questions around the Rober
possibility that the amendment wheth
intends to segregate schools. ' factor
Bursch said this was not an "Yo
effort to segregate, and it's point
a university's prerogative to Equal
achieve diversity with race-neu- take r
tral practices. He said institu- erts sa
tions can do that by eliminating the St
preference for legacy students lightn
or focusing more on applicants' Rose
socioeconomic diversity. noting
"The question is whether the off th
people of Michigan have the Protec
choice through the democratic the cot
process to accept this Court's Fisher
invitation in Grutter to try race- that P
neutral means," Bursch said. the pot
Bursch argued that as the sity ad
court is in a "post-Seattle Afte
world," in which court deci- his tim
sions involving race should have chair
the goal of improving diversity sary -
in the future and not trying to affirm
change past behaviors. court 1
"There's a difference between Court'
favoring diversity as an abstract the
concept on campus, whichGrut- back t
ter clearly allows, and remedy- protec
ing past discrimination, which whiten
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 5A
ce point of the bussing in
e," Bursch said.
r Bursch concluded his
argument, Mark Rosen-
an attorney for the
P and American Civil
ies Union who argued in
of the plaintiffs, said he
t believe Seattle was an
le of absolving discrimi-
practices but an effort to
ve diversity.
enbaum, who is a Law
I lecturer, argued that the
e in the political process
lying to a university is
for students who cannot
ce to their benefit just like
students may have a dif-
time because they didn't
ipate in extracurricular
ies or hold other qualifi-
s. ,
ny of the justices, includ-
ief Justice John Roberts
'ustice Anthony Kennedy
oned Rosenbaum about
ange in the political pro-
a deciding what qualities
ences should be given to,
)w it affects students.
e political process itself
't become outcome deter-
ive; that the political pro-
self be a place where we
ir these discussions, but
eate it in a separate and
al way to make the - to
ly make the decision itself
gh the process," Rosen-
said.
enbaum continued, argu-
at putting a racial classifi-
in the constitution makes
dinary political process'
n 'extraordinary political
s,' to which Chief Justice
ts countered, questioning
er or not race should be a
first place.
u could say that the whole
of something like the
Protection Clause is to
ace off the table," Rob-
id. "Is it unreasonable for
ate to say, 'Look, race is a
ing rod.'"
enbaum concluded by
that race is not entirely
e table under the Equal
tion Clause as shown by
urt's ruling last term on
v. Texas and reiterating
roposal 2 racially divides
litical process of univer-
missions.
er Rosenbaum exhausted
ne, Shanta Driver, national
of By Any Means Neces-
- a coalition that supports
ative action -, asked the
to uphold the Sixth Circuit
s decision and to return
Fourteenth Amendment
o its "original purpose to
t minority rights against a
majority."
Justice Antonin Scalia imme-
diately questioned Driver's inter-
pretation of the amendment and
asked her to provide an example
of a case of the current court that
confirms her view that the four-
teenth amendment only protects
minorities, which Driver could
not.
Justice Stephen Breyer also
entered the discussion, giving
Driver hypothetical situations
about employment based on pref-
erences and asking her where the
line is drawn in regards to pref-
erential treatment for jobs and
admissions.
In response, Driver said she
believes the Seattle ruling pro-
vides the line and that the court
should uphold the precedent-set
in that case.
Justice Samuel Alito ques-
tioned Driver about when exact-
ly the problem with Proposal 2
becomes an issue in the admis-
sions-decision process. After
back-and-forth between the two,
Sotomayor stepped in to provide
her opinion, which Driver said
summed up the point she was
attempting to make.
"I thought the line was a very
simple one, which is if the nor-
mal academic decision-making
is in the dean, the faculty, at
whatever level, as long as the
normal right to control is being
exercised then that person could
change the decision," Sotomayor
said. "It's when the process has
changed specifically and only for
race, as a constitutional amend-
ment here was intended to do,
that the political doctrine is vio-
lated."
Driver's final moments in
front of the Court centered on
whether or not affirmative-
action programs are beneficial to
a minority group specifically, or
to the University as a whole, as
ruled in Grutter.
This discussion stemmed from
the earlier points made by Bur-
sch about minorities benefiting
from Prop 2. Driver combated
this in her final moments by say-
ing 90 percent of Black voters in
Michigan voted against the pro-
posal and that whether or not
affirmative action is beneficial is
for a different case; specifically
the already resolved Grutter.
The oral arguments concluded
with a four-minute rebuttal from
Bursch, which emphasized that-
Seattle is not a direct parallel to
this case.
Lawyers involved in the case
posit that the deciding vote will
likely come from Kennedy, who
questioned specific arguments
from both sides but said he had
trouble distinguishing between
the ruling on the Seattle case and
the debate over Proposal 2.
WASHINGTON
From Page 1A
take on Shuette v. Coalition
to Defend Affirmative Action,
which questions the legality of a
2006 amendment to Michigan's
constitution - commonly known
as Proposal 2 - that bans race-
or sex-based admissions policies
at the states' public colleges and
universities.
After the arguments conclud-
ed, University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said in a statement
that the University values diver-
sity but is firm in its admission
practices.
"The University of Michigan
places a high value on achieving
a richly diverse student body,"
Fitzgerald said. "It is a corner-
stone of our academic character
and excellence.
Proposal 2 has made-admit-
ting a diverse student body more
challenging. And, as we indicat-
ed in our brief, we do not believe
that one can assess the impact
of Proposal 2 by looking at the
experiences of other institutions
in other states operating under
other laws."
Lawyers arguing on behalf
of the coalition, including Mark
Rosenbaum, attorney for the
NAACP and the American Civil
Liberties Union and Shanta
Driver, chair of the Coalition to
Defend Affirmative Action, said
they thought the oral arguments
went well, citing some of Justice
Anthony Kennedy's statements
as particularly encouraging.
"We wanted to see if there
was any responsiveness from
any of the other five justices to
our argument, and I think we
achieved that goal." Driver said
in an interview after the oral
arguments. "I think where we
saw the openness was on Judge
Kennedy, but none of the justices
seemed that comfortable with
(Michigan Attorney General Bill
Schuette's) argument."
Michael Steinberglegal direc-
tor of the ACLU of Michigan, also
said he thought the arguments
went well for the Coalition.
"Given the questions that were
asked, we're very optimistic that
the court is going to do the right
thing," Steinberg said. "They
seem to understand that a sepa-
rate, unequal system for students
of color to lobby for programs
that will help them is unfair and
unconstitutional."
Schuette, the petitioner in the
case, said in a merit brief pre-
sented to court that past prece-
dent and the Constitution should
uphold their argument.
"The people of Michigan con-
cluded that not having affirma-
tive action in higher education
was the best policy for the state,"
Schuette wrote. "Nothing in the
Constitution bars the people
of Michigan from making that
choice."
In an op-ed to the Washington
Times Schuette elaborated on
his position saying that the real
problem with underrepresented
minorities in colleges lies within
our public schools.
"This legal challenge against
Michigan's constitution misses
the point. The problem that
needs to be solved is this: too
many minority students are
trapped in failing public schools.
The system is failing them,"
Schuette wrote. "Graduation
rates are far toolow; illiteracy far
too high. This is where drastic
change and reform are needed."
Before, during and after the
oral arguments, protesters from
the By Any Means Necessary, a
national organization that advo-
cates for affirmative action, held
a rally that started at the Lincoln
Memorial. The group marched
from there to the Court's steps,
rallyingsupporters of race-based
admission policies. As people
exited the Court after oral argu-
ments, members of the rally
shouted "Detroit, what do we
want? Affirmative Action. When
do we want it? Now."
Among the faces in the audi-
ence listeningto the chants were
Education senior Ariam Abra-
ham and University alum Laura
Washington. Both said they
drove from Michigan on Monday
to hear the case and support the
affirmative-action ideals iterated
by BAMN.
Abrahamsaid that, as a minor-
ity student at the University, she
has seen changes Oin the envi-
ronment on campus during her
undergraduate years. She came
to the court to show support
and act as a face for the people
who will be directly affected by
whether or not affirmative action
is reinstated in the state.
"For me, I just understand the
role that affirmative action plays
at the University and the role not
having it plays at the University,"
Abraham said.
Abraham and Washington
listened to the plaintiffs' argu-
ments and said it seemed like the
lawyers spelled out their argu-
ments well.
"I definitely think that the jus-
tices had their biases. It's hard to
tell when you're swaying them,
and when they're combatting
you constructively-or when they
are doing it with malintent,"
Abraham said. "It was difficult
for me to distinguish between
the two so I'm not sure what to
expect."
Washington, a 2012 gradu-
ate, said she was interested in
comments several of the jus-
tices made that might show how
they're swaying on the case.
"There was a lot of back-
and-forth for Sotomayor, who
was standing up for affirmative
action, it was very noticeable
that she was in support of it,"
Washington said. "Kennedy was
asked a lot of questions, which
was interesting. Based on my
research of the case, I wasn't
sure if he was going to be a swing
vote or not. But it seemed like
that could be a likelihood."
A group of students from
Michigan high schools also trav-
eled to Washington, D.C. to dem-
onstrate and march with BAMN.
Markeith Jones, a student at
Lutheran Northwest High
School in Macomb, Mich., said
he organized the trip because he
felt strongly about affirmative
action.
"I took it offensively that they
would try to block minorities
from going to these different
Michigan colleges. I took it per-
sonally," Jones said.
Jones, who is considering
applying to the University, said
he is unsure if he would want to
go to a school that would have a
less diverse student body.
Amnesty: Hundreds killed in
Nigerian military detention
Freed detainees
testify to cruel
treatment, lack of
medical care
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Hun-
* dreds of people are dying in mili-
tary detention from shootings,
suffocation or starvation as Nige-
ria's security forces crack down
on an Islamic uprising in the
northeast, Amnesty International
said Tuesday.
More than 950 people died in
military custody in the first six
months of this year, according
to "credible information" from a
senior Nigerian army officer, the
rights group said.
The Associated Press reported
in August that hundreds of peo-
ple detained by security forces
in northern Nigeria have disap-
peared. The new Amnesty Inter-
national report may help explain
what happened to all those peo-
ple- a horrifying result for their
loved ones who are still searching
for the missing.
Military and government offi-
cials did not immediately respond
to phone calls and emails request-
ing their comments.
If the number of deaths in
military custody cited by the
Amnesty International is accu-
rate, that means Nigeria's mili-
tary has killed more civilians
than the extremists did during
the first half of 2013.
Amnesty International
called for an urgent investiga-
tion.
Detainees "were reportedly
shot in the leg during interroga-
tions, provided no medical care
and left to bleed to death," the
London-based human rights
group said in the report, which
includes testimony from freed
detainees.
The AP reported three months
after President Goodluck Jona-
than declared a state of emer-
gency in the northeastern states
of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe on
May 14 that hundreds of people
were being rounded up in night
raids. The state of emergency
gives a Joint Task Force of sol-
diers, police, intelligence and cus-
toms and immigration officials
the right to detain people and
move them from place to place, as
well as the right to search without
warrants.
Distraught relatives, human
rights organizations and jour-
nalists have asked the army, the
police, intelligence services and
government officials where the
arrested people are, but have
received no answers, the AP
reported.
Amnesty International says
dozens of bodies are being deliv-
ered by soldiers to the mortu-
aries of the main hospitals in
Maiduguri and Damaturu, capi-
tals of Borno and Yobe states.
Human rights activist Shehu
Sani of the northern-based
Civil Rights Congress of Nige-
ria told AP in August that he
believes thousands had been
detained.
Amnesty International said
those killed were detained as
suspected members or associ-
ates of Boko Haram, an armed
Islamic extremist group that has
claimed responsibility for attacks
that have killed hundreds of Mus-
lim and Christian civilians this
year in their mission to overturn
democracy and force Nigeria -
Africa's most populous nation
which is almost equally divided
between the predominantly Mus-
lim north and mainly Christian
south - to become an Islamic
state.
Boko Haram itself routinely
commits human rights abuses,
gunning down schoolchildren,
health workers, government
officials, Christian pastors and
moderate Muslim clerics. In
2009, security forces bombed and
destroyed the Boko Haram head-
quarters in Maiduguri. The sect's
leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was
killed in police custody.
Amnesty International said
most of the deaths it documented
at the hands of security forces
took place at the Presidential
Lodge guardroom and a deten-
tion center in Damaturu, and at
Giwa Military Barracks in Mai-
duguri.
"The details of what happens
behind locked doors in these
shadowy detention facilities must
be exposed, and those responsible
for any human rights violations
brought to book," said Amnesty
International's deputy AfricaI
director, LucyFreeman.
Amnesty International quoted
a second senior army officer as
saying: "Hundreds have been
killed in detention either by
shooting them or by suffocation.
People are crammed into one cell.
There are times when people are
brought out on a daily basis and
killed."
ENDOWMENT
From Page 1A
The project will provide 38
construction jobs and is slated for
completion by fall 2015.
REGENTS TO CONSIDER
CONSTRUCTION OF
TRANSPORTATION
RESEARCH SITE
Pendingthe regents' approval,
the University will move for-
ward on plans to construct a
mobility transformation facility
- a testing ground for automated
and connected vehicles.
The College of Engineering
and the University of Michi-
gan Transportation Research
Institute have proposed the
project in conjunction with the
Michigan Department of Trans-
portation. As part of the col-
laboration, MDOT has provided
grant money to fund part of the
$6.5-mijlion project, the rest
made up by University sources.
The University's Trans-
portation Research" Institute
announced the establishment of
the Michigan Mobility Transfor-
mation Center during a three-
day symposium last May.
The center seeks to implement
new technologies into vehicles
in order to make advancements
in vehicle efficiency and safety.
At a site located off of Huron
Parkway between Plymouth and
Hubbard roads, the University
will construct simulated urban
streets, roads and ramps to
mimic real driving conditions.
To complete the facility, site
modifications will include road
construction, storm water man-
agement and electrical infra-
structure.
In a communication to the
regents, Timothy Slottow, Uni-
versity executive vice president
and chief financial officer, said
design plans are scheduled to
begin immediately with the firm
Mannik & Smith Group.
UNIVERSITY TO AWARD
PROJECT BIDS FOR
MUNGER GRADUATE
RESIDENCE, PENDING
FRIDAY APPROVAL
While demolition has begun
at the site of the planned Munger
Graduate Residence, the regents
will green-light University
administrators to seek construc-
tion bids and award contracts.
The projected is expected
to cost $185 million, funded by .
University Housing resources
and a $100-million gift from
Charles Munger. The Univer-
sity announced Munger's dona-
tion last April and approved the
building's schematic designs last
month. According to the sche-
matic designs, Munger Graduate
Residence will provide housing
for 630 students in seven-bed-
room apartments.
The project is expected to be
completedby the summer of2015.
ATHLETIC CAMPUS TO
OFFICIALLY BE RENAMED
THE STEPHEN M. ROSS
ATHLETIC CAMPUS
Following another record-
breaking private-donation, this
time a $200-million donation
from real-estate mogul Stephen
Ross, the regents will vote to
rename the University's athletic
campus the "Stephen M. Ross
Athletic Campus."
Last month, Ross directed his
$200-million gift to be divided
equally between his namesake
School of Business and the Ath-
letic Department. His donations
to the University have totaled
$313 million - including a $100
million gift that prompted the
University to rename the Busi-
ness School in his honor.
In a communication to the
regents, Slottow and Athletic
Director Dave Brandon said the
name change is "in recognition
of his exceptional gene-sity in
providing the finest facilities to
University of Michigan student-
athletes."
The Stephen M. Ross Athletic
Campus will include Univer-
sity property adjacent to athletic
facilities south of Hoover Street,
between State a'nd Main streets.
Also on the Athletic Campus,
the regents will vote on brand-
ing the Softball Center in honor
of University alum Donald R.
Shepherd, whose donations to
the University have totaled $25
million.
Shepherd has previously sup-
ported the Women's Gymnastics
Training Center, the Michigan
Marching Band and scholarships
Buyy one sandwich get one FREE!
Limit One offer per customer with coupon.
Cannot be combined with any other offer.
Valid at Barry Bage/s Ann Arbor locat/on ONLY
BAGELS
Barry Bagels
Westgate Shopping center
2E1 Jackson Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734) 662-2435 www.barrybagels.com
L ~Expires: Goober 22, 2013
1
A
r