A petition has begun to put an initiative on the ballot to eliminate race as a usable factor in admitting students. This would prevent the admissions board from practicing affirmative action. The Dean of the law school is opposed to this and thinks that the law school's actions are supported by the Supreme Court's decision that the University of Michigan could use diversity in the classroom to justify affirmative action in admissions.
Here is my problem with the Dean using that case as support for the ASU policy: it doesn't benefit the school if the students are intolerant of each other. At least four times this semester I have overheard conversations mocking my religion, calling me a fool because of my beliefs, and lampooning that which I feel is sacred.
In the Michigan case the Court did not require any factual findings to support the claim that diversity is a benefit that was sufficient to support racial classification. It was simply assumed that the benefits to the class would outweigh the harm to students that would be denied admittance to the school.
That lack of factual support is more apparent at ASU. The school admits people from different background, we get together at school, and then I get mocked behind my back (the acoustics in the law school force you to hear around corners and across rooms, it is usually annoying).
If the Dean thinks that diversity is so valuable, maybe she should balance it with tolerance.
Levi
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