Ward Connerly Dealt A Loss in Colorado; Nebraska reviews new law

Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Robin Chen Delos, Diverse and Nate Jenkins,
Associated Press
Nov 10, 2008, 06:56

Colorado voters narrowly rejected banning affirmative action at public colleges and universities. The measure would have made it illegal for state government to consider race, ethnicity or gender in education, hiring or contracting decisions.

Just over 50 percent of voters opposed the measure, while 49.4 voted for it, according to local media reports. Election officials just Friday finished counting ballots from Tuesday’s vote.

Young people were a key factor in the campaign to convince voters against approving the ballot measure, pushed through by California businessman Ward Connerly, who backed a similar measure that passed last week in Nebraska.

“Young people turned out in record numbers against this measure, especially on college and university campuses,” said Carmen Berkley, president of the United States Student Association, a group that organized against the initiative. The measure was defeated by a two-to-one margin in areas with large student populations, according to the association.

A wide coalition of labor, education, religious, business and media organizations opposed the ban. “We’re all very excited. I think we’ve proven here in Colorado that Ward Connerly can be defeated and when voters know the truth about his initiative they’ll knock it down," says Jessie Ulibarri, economic justice program director for Colorado Progressive Coalition, a group that opposed the measure.

Connerly’s affirmative action bans have passed previous years in California, Washington and Michigan. Nebraska passed a law prohibiting race and gender from being taken into consideration in state hiring and promotion.

Nebraska’s educational institutions, cities and counties are beginning to scour their programs to see if they violate a ban on race- and gender-based affirmative action approved last week by voters.

At Southeast Community College in Nebraska, Jose J. Soto may have to change his title: vice president of affirmative action. [Full story: http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_11935.shtml]