Oct. 14, 1997
- Paul Wong
- CIR lead counsel Kirk Kolbo speaks to reporters following the summary judgment hearing for the undergraduate case last November while University Deputy General Counsel Liz Barry looks on at left<br><br>FILE PHOTO
The Center for Individual Rights, the law firm that filed the precedent-setting Hopwood affirmative action case in Texas, filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the University”s admissions policies against the University”s College of Literature, Science and Arts. University President Lee Bollinger and former President James Duderstadt are also named as defendants in the case.
Jennifer Gratz, who was rejected from the University in 1995, and Patrick Hamacher, an unsuccessful 1996 applicant, are named as the two plaintiffs in the suit, which was filed in Detroit federal court today. The lawsuit claims that because the two are white, they were treated “less favorably in considering their applications for admission to the LSA college.
“Race should never be a factor,” Hamacher said in an interview with The Michigan Daily.
Hamacher contacted the office of state Rep. Deborah Whyman (R-Canton) after he read a newspaper article about the University”s affirmative action programs. Whyman, along with three other state representatives, referred him and hundreds of other students interested in filing a lawsuit to CIR.
He said he was upset that minorities with lower qualifications gained acceptance to the University. With a GPA slightly under 3.4 and an ACT score of 28, Hamacher claims he was qualified for admission to the University.