UB Students Speak Out on Threat to Affirmative Action

Nekema Hunte, a junior undecided major, is concerned with the level of racial diversity at UB.

Hunte, who is the program and research coordinator for UB's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said UB has "a long way to go."

"Nothing big happened here for Black History Month, until we started some programs," she said, as she sat behind an NAACP table in the Student Union on Monday.

While remaining focused on progress in terms of racial equality, Hunte said she now must be concerned with regression as well. A lawsuit filed against the University of Michigan, which will undergo review by the U.S. Supreme Court, has presented a challenge to how affirmative action policies are used in college admissions.

Specifically, the lawsuit challenges how much weight universities or employers give to race when considering applicants.

"On one end of the spectrum, the Court could decide that all considerations of race in admissions is barred by the 14th Amendment," said Lee Albert, a professor at the UB School of Law.

The amendment states that all Americans have equal rights in the pursuit of life, liberty or property.

"On the other end, the Court may decide the opposite," Albert said. "They would say the consideration of race is acceptable in all hiring and admissions decisions."

However, Albert does not believe the Supreme Court will rule in either direction. "The decision will probably be somewhere in the middle," he said. "I do think the court will make some affirmative statements that diversity is important in a multicultural, pluralistic society."

Loyce Stewart, director of UB's Office of Equity, Diversity and Affirmative Action Administration, said no one at UB should worry about the outcome of the Michigan case.

"At UB, we never use race as a qualification," Stewart said. "We have to make sure we spread our net far and wide, but we have no quota system in admissions for students or hiring of employees.

"Everyone at UB is here because they are qualified."

Stewart said criticisms about the University of Michigan are unwarranted because Michigan's admissions policies do not mandate admitting students solely on the basis of race.

Critics of Michigan's affirmative action policy, however, claim the university does give too much weight to race when considering applicants and that qualified, white students can be denied admission in favor of minorities needed to fulfill a racial quota.

"At their core, the Michigan policies amount to a quota system that unfairly rewards or penalizes prospective students, based solely on their race," stated President George W. Bush in a press statement Jan. 14.

According to James Campbell, a political science professor at UB who serves as an academic advisor to the president's administration, Bush does not have an issue with diversity in universities and workplaces, but rather "quota systems" used by universities and employers.

"The original idea of affirmative action was to make sure that all decisions, in regards to hiring or admissions, are thoroughly advertised, and that all minority groups are aware of the openings," Campbell said.

"(Affirmative action) grew to be more of a preferential system, where race would be taken into consideration along with qualifications," Campbell said.

Although Anders Gunnersen, a sophomore undecided major, said he is in favor of giving people equal opportunities, he does not think it should be mandated through quotas and laws.

"I don't think (affirmative action) is that fair," Gunnersen said. "If you work hard, you should succeed.

"I'm all about equal opportunity. But it comes down to who works hard and who is the most qualified."

Hunte said she hopes affirmative action remains the same when the Supreme Court renders its decision later this year.

"I wish that years later, affirmative action will still be here," said Hunte. "Affirmative action is a doorway for people to get an education."