University of Arizona Chief Worried About End of Affirmative Action

The Latin American Herald Tribune
By Maria Leon
TUCSON, Arizona
Caracas, Saturday, November 6,2010

The president of the University of Arizona, Robert Shelton, said in an interview with Efe that he is concerned about the effects a newly approved state law will have that puts an end to affirmative action programs.Last Tuesday close to 60 percent of Arizona voters approved Proposition 107 that ends programs favoring women and minority groups in state-funded universities and community colleges.“Proposition 107 is a symbol of the big changes universities face at this time of difficult politics in the state,” Shelton, whose institution had expected the approval and worked to deal with its impact, told Efe. He said that his institution will comply with the new statute, but added that he feels “frustrated” by the false ideas surrounding it.

Full Story: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=376015&CategoryId=12395

Arizona's negative on affirmative action

guardian.co.uk
Tamara Winfrey Harris
guardian.co.uk
Friday 5 November 2010 17.00 GMT

On Tuesday, Arizona voters were given the chance to vote on Proposition 107, which prohibits "the state from giving preferential treatment to or discriminating against any person or group on the basis of race, sex, colour, ethnicity or national origin". The measure passed with 59% of the vote, effectively banning affirmative action in the state.
Proposition 107 supporters, including Republican representative Steve Montenegro, who sponsored the measure to amend the Arizona constitution, have invoked civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr's dream that "little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character" and twisted that into a plea for "colour-blindness" rather than equality. Affirmative action, which began in the United States in 1965, is a policy designed to mitigate historic and present discrimination and institutional racism and sexism.
A 1996 essay in the Journal for Social Issues noted that in a society where whiteness remains the baseline and the preference – consciously or subconsciously – people of colour are at a disadvantage:

Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/nov/05/arizona-affirmative-action

Arizona Bans Affirmative Action

San Fernando Valley Sun
Wednesday, 03 November 2010

Based on information drawn from the Arizona Daily Star

Voters in Arizona on Tuesday approved Proposition 107 banning the consideration of race, ethnicity or gender by units of state government, including public colleges and universities. With 2,075 of 2,239 precincts reporting as of early Wednesday morning, the measure had just under 60 percent support in unofficial state results.
Arizona joins California, Michigan, Nebraska and Washington State in imposing such bans. Only Colorado rejected a similar ban in a statewide vote. In the states of California and Michigan, the bans led to sharp drops in the admission and enrollment of black and Latino students at flagship universities, although those institutions have made progress since the initial votes in diversifying their student bodies through race-neutral methods. In those states, however, undergraduate admission to the state universities is highly competitive.

Full Story: http://www.sanfernandosun.com/sanfernsun/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5962&Itemid=2

Perspectives: Affirmative Action May be Needed — for Men

Diverse Issues in Higher Education


by Shirley J. Wilcher , November 1, 2010



When the Arizona Republic announced its support for the anti-affirmative action Proposition 107 last week, it declared in its opinion editorial headline: “Affirmative Action is No Longer Needed.” On Election Day, voters in Arizona will vote on Proposition 107, the so-called Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, which will amend Article II of the state constitution. The language of the initiative reads, in part:

“This state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.”

This is a creature of Ward Connerly, the former University of California Regent who spearheaded Proposition 209 that ended affirmative action in that state. Similar anti-affirmative action initiatives were passed in Washington State, Michigan and Nebraska.





Full Story: http://diverseeducation.com/article/14342/

Anxious About Tuesday

Inside Higher Ed
October 29, 2010
Higher education officials in some states are on tenterhooks about next week’s midterm elections, when voters will decide whether to infuse some much-needed cash into colleges and universities -- or, in some cases, to make it harder for states to do so.
Several of the 160 ballot initiatives to be voted on nationwide will affect colleges and universities. The public has generally backed spending on higher education in recent elections, approving ballot measures that funded bonds for colleges and maintained income taxes. Similar measures this year in states such as Alaska, Colorado and Massachusetts could maintain or cut current state funding, or give colleges a boost they say is crucial.
But heavy anti-tax campaigning and the anticipated record turnout of voters who characterize themselves as conservatives -- including a mobilized, anti-tax Tea Party -- have some college officials concerned that the climate for such measures is far from ideal.
Among other ballot measures with implications for higher education, one in Arizona -- where educators are still reeling from the controversial immigration law – could (after other failed attempts) make the state the fifth to ban affirmative action in college admissions and employment (more on that below).

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/10/29/referendums

ASA voices opposition to Prop 107

statepress.com
By Cale Ottens October 27, 2010 at 10:30 pm

Student leaders from the Arizona Students’ Association have banded together to resist a measure on Tuesday’s ballot that will put a ban on state affirmative action programs.
ASA, a lobbying group representing students from ASU, NAU and UA, hosted a press conference Wednesday in Tempe’s Memorial Union to voice their opposition to Proposition 107.
The Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, or Proposition 107, is intended to stop racial discrimination in Arizona.
The proposed amendment would put a stop to affirmative action programs within the state.

Full Story: http://www.statepress.com/2010/10/27/asa-voices-opposition-to-prop-107/

Affirmative action no longer needed

The Arizona Republic
Oct. 26, 2010 12:00 AM

Affirmative action wasn't meant to be a perpetual-motion machine. The policy served an important purpose, making up for missing opportunities in education and the workplace. But over time, the drawbacks have come to outweigh the advantages.
Voters should pull the plug. They should approve Proposition 107, which would amend the Arizona Constitution to ban affirmative-action programs in public employment, public education or public contracting.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2010/10/26/20101026tue2-26.html#ixzz13bRjQZQM

Prop 107 on Affirmative Action Goes to Voters Nov. 2

myFoxPhoenix.com
Updated: Wednesday, 06 Oct 2010, 10:48 PM MDT
Published : Wednesday, 06 Oct 2010, 7:50 PM MDT

PHOENIX - Should the state of Arizona get rid of its affirmative action programs? That's what the backers of Proposition 107 want, and it's turning into an intense and emotional battle which voters will decide on Election Day.
Proposition 107 calls for no more preferences for minorities and women in public employment, contracting, and education.

Full Story: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/elections/affirmative-action-goes-to-voters-10-6-2010

Arizona voters to decide on affirmative action ban

ABC15
Posted: 09/26/2010
Associated Press

PHOENIX - Arizona voters will decide in November whether to ban state and local governments from discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, ethnicity and sex. The state constitutional amendment doesn't use the term "affirmative action," but there is no disputing that is what Proposition 107 is aimed at eliminating. Such programs generally give preferences to minorities. The referendum was sent to the Nov. 2 ballot by a vote of the Legislature in 2009 after supporters failed to gather enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot in 2008.

Full Story: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/state/arizona-voters-to-decide-on-affirmative-action-ban

Panel denounces anti-affirmative action initiative

Statepress.com
By Matt Hendley
August 31, 2010 at 11:01 pm

A panel of community leaders assembled Tuesday night to criticize a ballot proposition that would end affirmative action programs in Arizona.
The forum, which took place at the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus, was hosted by the ASU National Pan-Hellenic Council, an organization of historically African-American fraternities and sororities.
The measure to be featured on the November ballot states that Arizona “shall not grant preferential treatment to or discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.”
Panelist Michael Wong, the vice president of policy for the Undergraduate Student Government, said if Proposition 107 were to pass, it would reinforce inequality at ASU.

Full Story: http://www.statepress.com/2010/08/31/panel-denounces-anti-affirmative-action-initiative/