NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Monday, May 10, 2004 - 3
Connerly speaks at
Kalamazoo College
support of initiative
Members of the Washtenaw Coalition for Compassionate Care walked to Ann Arbor City Hall last Thursday to deliver
a petition containing more than 7,000 signatures in support of the legal use of medicinal marijuana.
Med iCzal mar fiana su oters
deliv)er sl:grnatures to c7t clerk
By Cecilly Tan
For the Daily
In a forum sponsored by the
Kalamazoo College Republicans
last Thursday, University of Cali-
fornia Regent Ward Connerly told a
crowd of about 400 people that a
vote to ban racial preferences will
get on the ballot by 2006, if not by
fall of thio year.
"Thisit not 1964. We're not talk-
ing about black people being
denied access to institutions. Black
people have access. They may have
to go out and earn it, just like
whites, and Asians, and Latinos and
Native Americans have to earn it,
but the opportunity is there," said
Connerly, according to the Kalama-
zoo Public Radio website.
Connerly spoke to support plac-
ing the Michigan Civil Rights Ini-
tiative on the November ballot. If
passed, the proposal would elimi-
nate "race, sex, color, ethnicity or
national origin" in public education
and employment.
MCRI supporters must gather
317,757 petition signatures by July
6 to get the proposal on the ballot
this November.
Because it would not allow pub-
lic universities to collect informa-
tion on gender or race, the
initiative would effectively reverse
the Supreme Court decision in
Grutter v. Bollinger that allowed
the University to use race as a fac-
tor in its law school's admissions
'This is not 1964.
We're not talking
about black people
being denied access
to institutions'
- Ward Connerly
University of California Regent
process.
The petition has undergone legal
scrutiny because MCRI opponents
say the form's vague language does
not articulate exactly how the pro-
posal will change the constitution.
The Michigan Court of Appeals
will be hearing arguments and
making a ruling on the petition
form's validity later this month.
Chetly Zarko, a member of
MCRI's steering committee,
expressed complete agreement with
Connerly's speech.
While Zarko° stated that the
direction and plans of the drive
would be based on the outcome of
the appeal, he said MCRI is still
aiming to make it on the ballot this
year and would definitely succeed
in 2006.
Regardless of the outcome of the
case pending at the Court of
Appeals, signatures for the peti-
tions will still be collected this
See CONNERLY, Page 8
MARIJUANA
Continued from Page 1
said Ream, citing the recent pass-
ing of the medical marijuana ini-
tiative in Burlington, Vt. as an
example for Ann Arbor to follow.
But Ream added that getting the
initiative on the ballot would be
an uphill battle.
He claimed the fight for med-
ical marijuana reform was dealt a
blow three years ago when a city
clerk gave the Washtenaw County
Libertarians the wrong deadline
to turn in their petitions.
On a larger scale, the initiative
faces opposition from those who
fear the drug may become too
accessible to minors and those
using it for non-medicinal pur-
40 poses.
The Bush administration also
opposes the decriminalization of
marijuana for medical use.
Rackham student Evan Samuel
said he opposes the initiative
because it may cause dependency
on the drug.
"People have other prescrip-
tions available to them that do the
same things. They use marijuana
for things like stomachaches
because they've been using it for
years and it has become a crutch
for them," Samuel said.
Despite former setbacks and
opposition, supporters such as
Tim Beck - a member of the
Detroit Coalition for Compassion-
ate Care - attended the march.
"I know Ann Arbor, and I think
this is going to pass overwhelm-
ingly. This is merely a culture
war," said Beck.
Beck also helped put the med-
ical marijuana initiative on the
ballot in Detroit - an issue the
city will vote on this August.
Ann Arbor resident Madeleine
Borthwick came out to listen to
Ream, Beck and others speak
before the petition was turned in.
Borthwick, who awaits gallblad-
der surgery and suffers from
severe pain, sleeplessness and
nausea, takes marijuana medici-
nally and said she prefers it to
other medicines.
"Between marijuana and acid
reducer, I have to admit the mari-
juana just works better," said
Borthwick, who is eager for the
initiative to pass in Ann Arbor.
"We would be able to smoke
(marijuana) in our apartments
without worrying about the cops
or neighbors finding out. We
would have the right to do what
we want to do in the privacy of
our own home," she added.
Borthwick said she would
continue to use marijuana med-
icinally, risking fines and court
dates.
"I'll stop smoking marijuana
when they pull the sheet up over
my head," she said.
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