Fairness, equality, and justice for all!
Should the government pick out winners and losers based on characteristics like race?
Prof. Gail Heriot
Law professor; Member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
“History will remember this moment. Don’t be the one who voted YES on ACA5, because it was the easy thing to do. Think about the consequences.”
Follow Prof. Heriot on Twitter @GailHeriot
Michelle Steel: Proposition 16 will bring discrimination in the name of equality
Michelle Steel, Orange County Board of Supervisors
Over two decades ago, California set a clear standard by passing a constitutional amendment that put the state on a path to towards true equality.
Proposition 209, passed by voters in 1996, adopted language from the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prohibit the state from discriminating against or giving preference to any individual or group on the basis race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the areas of public employment, public contracts and public education admissions.
The Californians who voted to pass Prop. 209 knew that discrimination, though long entrenched in our society, is against the fundamental values of American culture. Prop. 209 applied to California the essence of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a nation where individuals would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
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What we cannot and should not do, in our ultimate quest for equality, is to reinstate racial discrimination. Particularly when we’ve seen that a policy of non-discrimination is actually lifting up Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans.
Eliminating Prop. 209 will divide us further along racial lines. It will reverse decades of merit-based advancement for all and promote unequal treatment based on race in California. This division is exactly what we seek to eliminate in the United States.
Daily Cal: Prop. 16 should not be passed, race should not be a factor in admissions
Needless to say, the color of a person’s skin by itself does not, and should not, affect their academic abilities in any way. Liberal or conservative, this statement is a common ground for humanity. However, this statement is in conflict with the UC system’s endorsement. – Saagar Sanghavi