Bill To Ban Affirmative Action Pulled Off Table
This story was written by Evan Cotten, Daily Nebraskan
In late January, a proposed constitutional amendment provided the common ground a handful of students needed to unite.
The proposal, known as LR233CA, sought to ban the use of affirmative action programs in public education, public employment and public contracting.
But on Wednesday, Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial, the Nebraska legislator who proposed the amendment, filed to withdraw the proposal two days before it was scheduled for a public hearing.
This proposed amendment caused quite a stir among some student groups at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, resulting in the birth of a new organization on campus.
Students United for Nebraska, or SUN, held a press conference to oppose the bill Monday morning in the Nebraska Union. SUN was formed in late January by the combination of student activist groups on campus geared towards equality and civil liberties. SUN includes members from the Afrikan People's Union, the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, the Mexican American Student Association and Nebraskans for Peace, along with other student groups.
The press conference featured three SUN officers voicing their concerns on the bill in regards to the University and our state as a whole. Students voiced their opinions and objections in front of a crowd made up mostly of students and members of activists organizations from around the area.
"We will fight to remain an inclusive and accepting campus," said Nic Swiercek, a history graduate student and the vice president of SUN.
Despite the withdrawal of the proposed amendment, the debate on the issue will continue as a California organization called Super Tuesday for Equal Rights is trying to get the issue before voters by gathering 115,000 petition signatures by July 4.
Former University of California Regent Ward Connerly will be speaking on behalf of the bill at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Nebraska Union.
Connerly has led, and won three other initiatives in California in 1996, Washington in 1998 and most recently Michigan in 2006. He is currently supporting bills in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri and Oklahoma as well as here in Nebraska.
SUN members and others fighting the legislation doubt the integrity behind the bill. They said Connerly's use of the Georgia Corporation, a National Ballot Access firm, doesn't help his image.
"The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative is attempting to buy its way on to the (November) ballot with the Georgia Corporation and out-of-state funding," Swiercek said.
"This was our first step," said Whittney LeBruce, SUN president and a senior music education major.
"We are proud to speak out against what we feel is an injustice. We want to put out a good image and hope that through publicity and word of mouth, we can achieve a common goal."
© 2008 Daily Nebraskan via U-WIRE