Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI), or Proposal 2 (Michigan 06-2) was passed into Michigan Constitutional law by a 58% to 42% margin on November 7, 2006. The constitutional amendment outlawed preferential treatment by the state based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.
(1) The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and any other public college or university, community college, or school district 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.
The Appelete Court struck down Proposition 2 as unconstitutional, because it of the political-process doctrine which would place an unequal burden on a student that wanted preferential treatment based upon race (the only option would be a state constitution amendment) as opposed to a the multiple ways of getting other factors considered for university admissions (lobby the admissions committee, petition the leadership of the university, influence the governing board, etc.). The dissenting opinions note though:
As the United States Supreme Court has observed, “[i]t would be paradoxical to conclude that by adopting the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the voters of the State thereby had violated it.” Crawford v. Bd. of Educ., 458 U.S. 527, 535 (1982)
The Supreme Court heard arguments in court in October.
Is it necessary to allow universities to discriminate based upon race in order to ensure equal protection under the 14th Amendment?