UA takes stand to support race policy

The Undergraduate Assembly recently passed a proposal supporting affirmative action, as well as an endorsement of the Ivy Council's and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly's pro-affirmative action efforts and resistance to the possible curtailing of minority programs if the Supreme Court rules against the University of Michigan. A march is scheduled in Washington, D.C., on April 1, when the Supreme Court will hear two cases -- Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger -- involving Michigan's use of race as a factor in its admissions policy at both the undergraduate level and the university's law school. So in a second proposal, the UA plans to petition Penn administrators to supply the "necessary resources" to fund additional transportation to the march, as the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life is already supplying four buses for those interested with tickets costing $4 each. The decision was a unanimous one, according to UA Vice Chairman Ethan Kay, who added that "even in so far as I fully support affirmative action, I wish, ironically, that more diversity of thought had emerged from the debate.... There's brilliant research that goes both ways." The Sunday UA meeting, which is open to the public, was the fullest it has been all semester, with groups in attendance ranging from the minorities resource centers to the College Democrats. UA representative and Wharton freshman Sean Walker and Kay presented the proposal and claimed that the Michigan case and its consequences are of interest to the current and future students at Penn. "This case would directly be changing the way that Penn looks at applicants," Walker said. He added that because Penn has already signed an amicus curiae -- or friend of the court -- brief in support of affirmative action, sending students to the march would "help Penn to publicly uphold its own beliefs." Penn College Democrats President Rich Eisenberg, a College sophomore, said that his group is urging all students to attend the march to exercise their rights, whether or not they are in line with the University's stance. In response to the recent dabbling of the UA in political issues, Walker said that the proposal "affects the undergraduate population so much that the UA as an elected body has to deal with this issue." Eisenberg said that the UA's proposal is "an important step for the student body to represent the people who will most be affected by the decision." Among the meeting's attendees was College sophomore Carlos Rivera-Anaya, the United Minority Council's admissions co-chairman. Rivera-Anaya called for students to educate themselves about affirmative action and the benefits of a diverse campus. "As long as we can get a dialogue on this campus," Rivera-Anaya said, "I think so many myths about affirmative action can be diffused and so much can be learned from it." Engineering senior and Asian Pacific Student Coalition Chairwoman Julia Lee said that before her organization takes a stance on the issue, it is also planning to educate its members by holding a discussion on March 25 to discuss both sides of the affirmative action debate and how it specifically affects Asian students. Lee said that personally, she feels that this issue "is pertinent, and it is going to affect the future of students on campus and nationally." The UMC and other coalitions already have lists of students eager to demonstrate in Washington and have planned a teach-in on affirmative action in Philadelphia's Town Hall. The groups that have already declared their support for affirmative action said they are pleased with the UA's proposal, but Rivera-Anaya said that "the ultimate victory will be in winning this case."