Affirmative action: What you need to know
Q. What is the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative?
A. Nebraska’s branch of the American Civil Rights Initiative, a group that wants to end race- and gender-based affirmative action in public admissions and hiring decisions. The group has been successful in California, Washington and Michigan.
The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative hopes to put an affirmative-action ban before voters in November. Right now, it is collecting petition signatures to get the issue on the ballot. The goal: 115,000 by July 4.
Signing means you support putting the measure to end race- and gender-based affirmative action on the November ballot.
Q. Would the initiative end all forms of affirmative action?
A. No. Affirmative action for certain economic and geographic groups would still be permitted. The University of Nebraska, for example, could give scholarships based on income and could recruit students from specific parts of the state.
Q. How would an affirmative action ban affect NU?
A. That isn’t clear. Certainly, the university would have to re-evaluate certain recruiting events, like Native American College Day, leadership conferences for promising black and Hispanic students and scholarship programs geared toward racial minorities. NU leaders say all of those efforts are in jeopardy.
The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative says diversity scholarships should be reformulated to be based on income and that NU could still host recruitment events focusing on minorities if the events were open to all students.
Some NU leaders fear there could be intangible effects, too, like a perception to out-of-state recruits that Nebraska isn’t supportive of diversity.
Q. Are students in danger of losing their scholarships?
A. It’s unlikely a student already promised a scholarship would lose it. Future students would be most affected.
Q. Are peoples’ jobs in danger?
A. No. Those whose jobs focus on multicultural education may see their duties shift, but their jobs would not be eliminated.
Q. Where does NU stand on the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative?
A. President J.B. Milliken, UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman, the NU Board of Regents and others oppose it. A student coalition, Students United for Nebraska, also has formed to fight the initiative.
Others at UNL, including some professors, support it.
Q. How would other state institutions be affected by an affirmative action ban?
A. All public institutions — fire departments, police departments, the Nebraska State College System and more — would have to follow the same law: No hiring decisions based on race or gender.
Most of those institutions have yet to weigh in on the debate. Gov. Dave Heineman also has not taken a stance.
Q. What about private businesses and colleges, like Nebraska Wesleyan University and Doane College?
A. Private institutions that do not depend on tax dollars could continue to make whatever admissions decisions they wish. The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative applies only to public institutions.
— Melissa Lee
A. Nebraska’s branch of the American Civil Rights Initiative, a group that wants to end race- and gender-based affirmative action in public admissions and hiring decisions. The group has been successful in California, Washington and Michigan.
The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative hopes to put an affirmative-action ban before voters in November. Right now, it is collecting petition signatures to get the issue on the ballot. The goal: 115,000 by July 4.
Signing means you support putting the measure to end race- and gender-based affirmative action on the November ballot.
Q. Would the initiative end all forms of affirmative action?
A. No. Affirmative action for certain economic and geographic groups would still be permitted. The University of Nebraska, for example, could give scholarships based on income and could recruit students from specific parts of the state.
Q. How would an affirmative action ban affect NU?
A. That isn’t clear. Certainly, the university would have to re-evaluate certain recruiting events, like Native American College Day, leadership conferences for promising black and Hispanic students and scholarship programs geared toward racial minorities. NU leaders say all of those efforts are in jeopardy.
The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative says diversity scholarships should be reformulated to be based on income and that NU could still host recruitment events focusing on minorities if the events were open to all students.
Some NU leaders fear there could be intangible effects, too, like a perception to out-of-state recruits that Nebraska isn’t supportive of diversity.
Q. Are students in danger of losing their scholarships?
A. It’s unlikely a student already promised a scholarship would lose it. Future students would be most affected.
Q. Are peoples’ jobs in danger?
A. No. Those whose jobs focus on multicultural education may see their duties shift, but their jobs would not be eliminated.
Q. Where does NU stand on the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative?
A. President J.B. Milliken, UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman, the NU Board of Regents and others oppose it. A student coalition, Students United for Nebraska, also has formed to fight the initiative.
Others at UNL, including some professors, support it.
Q. How would other state institutions be affected by an affirmative action ban?
A. All public institutions — fire departments, police departments, the Nebraska State College System and more — would have to follow the same law: No hiring decisions based on race or gender.
Most of those institutions have yet to weigh in on the debate. Gov. Dave Heineman also has not taken a stance.
Q. What about private businesses and colleges, like Nebraska Wesleyan University and Doane College?
A. Private institutions that do not depend on tax dollars could continue to make whatever admissions decisions they wish. The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative applies only to public institutions.
— Melissa Lee
Copyright © 2002-2008 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.