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Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 21:24:36 -0400 (EDT)
To: improvetheworld &AElig umich.edu
From: Nate Clark <ntclark &AElig eecs.umich.edu>
Subject: MCRI
Status: O


Those of you in Michigan, what do you think about the Michigan Civil 
Rights Initiative, to be voted on in 4 weeks?

The ballot language says it will "Ban public institutions from using 
affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or 
individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national 
origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes."

In principal, I agree with it, that the color of someone's skin should not 
give anyone special treatment. I strongly believe that people from worse 
socio-economic situations SHOULD get preferential treatment, though, and I 
recognize that they are, more often than not, non-caucasian.

Is it conscionable to remove what I believe to be unjust forms of 
affirmative action, without immediately having another form in place?

I keep thinking about a friend of mine from Argentina. Both of his parents 
are plastic surgeons who make more money than I will ever see. He got to 
go to UMich for free because he's hispanic. This is wrong, and the MCRI 
would end this type of thing.

But without other forms of affirmative action, it seems like the MCRI 
would do more harm than good.

~Nate