Missouri State U Seeks to ‘Promote Ethnic Diversity’
Michael Nietzel, president of Missouri State University, released his annual campus report for 2008, and one of his proposals is to “promote ethnic diversity” on campus. (Source)
Ethnic diversity is not an unworthy goal, but when efforts to increase diversity involve discriminating against one ethnic group in favor of another (and lowering standards for one group and not others) is most unworthy, not to mention against the law.
It’s unfortunate that the Missouri Civil Rights Initiative (MoCRI) had to suspend in May its campaign to add anti-preferences language to the November ballot. MoCRI collected over 170,000 signatures from Missouri voters in fewer than four months, but time ran out. The process was delayed by a legal challenge over ballot language and other obstacles. After the court decision, only 113 days remained to collect signatures.
MoCRI director Tim Asher said that with “the May 4th deadline looming, our only options were to abandon the effort, begin at once, or wait for the court of appeals to render a decision.”
The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which was delayed by legal challenges, finally passed with 58 percent of the vote in 2006. Let’s hope we’ll say the same about MoCRI one day.
