Georgetown University Student Association Representatives Steve Glickman (CAS ‘02) and Luis Torres (CAS ‘05) proposed a resolution Tuesday night calling for the University to write a friend of the court brief to the Supreme Court in the University of Michigan affirmative action case. After modifications to the original wording of the proposal, the resolution passed overwhelmingly.
Last year, the University of Michigan’s Law School had two lawsuits brought against it concerning the use of race in its admissions policy. As it was originally proposed, the resolution recommended “that Georgetown University submit a friend of the court brief in defense of the principles of affirmative action in the case involving the University of Michigan if and when appropriate if that case is appealed to and heard by the Supreme Court or if and when a similar case reaches that judicial level.”
If the case were to reach the Supreme Court, Reps. Glickman and Torres argued that Georgetown should write a brief in defense of the University of Michigan’s admissions policy.
“It didn’t matter how far ahead of time we passed the resolution because it could be repassed each year, and it would act as a way to frame conversation about affirmative action,” Glickman said.
Representatives eventually passed the resolution after altering the wording of the first clause.
The resolution also included a second clause calling for the creation of a student-administrative group to begin looking into further actions the University can take to promote diversity and affirmative action in its programs and admission.
Glickman and Torres proposed a similar resolution last semester, but GUSA President Ryan DuBose (CAS ‘02) vetoed it. Although DuBose said that he “unequivocally” supports a diverse student body at Georgetown, he encouraged the representatives to do more research and student surveys before passing the resolution.
