Posted to RooseveltInstitution.Org/Blog on Thu, 26 Apr 2007 20:20 PST
In November of 2006, the state of Michigan voted and passed, with a 58% majority, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or Proposal 2. Passage
of this proposal amended Article 1 Section 26 of the State Constitution
to include language forbidding “preferential treatment,” in addition to
discrimination, based on race, gender, color, ethnicity, or national
origin in public employment, education or contracting arrangements. In
the dialogue that has followed Prop2’s passage, much attention has been
given to the ramifications for minority races, females, and students
from underprivileged backgrounds. Little
consideration has been given, however, to the question of ‘national
origin,’ or more specifically, access to education for American
immigrants. This oversight is regrettable; to
omit immigrants from the dialogue on education access is to deny
millions of Americans the resources for success.
Considered
in light of American attitudes, it’s clear why education access for
non-nationals might fall to the way side; America is no longer the
welcoming refuge it once was. Instead of jobs,
homes and apple pie, prospective citizens are offered a bureaucratic
run-around, an indefinite stay in a detention facility, or a warm
reception from armed civilian minutemen guarding the southern border. In the last several decades, Americans have exhibited an aversion to immigration, both legal and otherwise. American nationalism remains grounded in the idea that privileges for others occur at the expense of American opportunities. Such sentiments are the underpinning of Proposal 2.
The
regents and administrators at the University of Michigan, Michigan
State University and Wayne State University have worked diligently to
bolster access to higher education while restructuring admissions
processes in light of Proposal 2’s passage. In
line with these efforts, the University of Michigan is taking steps to
open the dialogue on immigration and access to higher education. With regards to Proposal 2 and national origin, the University asserts
“U-M works to build a learning community that is broadly diverse, and
that includes welcoming students, staff and faculty from all across the
globe. These international scholars contribute to our vibrant
intellectual community.”
To continue this open dialogue, The National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good at the University of Michigan has announced a national working conference entitled Challenges and Opportunities; Conversations about Immigration and Higher Education. The
three day conference aims at engaging educators, community leaders,
state higher education officers, legislators, students, researchers,
educational administrators, policy makers and others in a ground
breaking discussion on immigration and education access. Furthermore,
the conference promises to develop an agenda and a course of action to
encourage access to education for immigrants.
While the conference boasts some distinguished participants-- John Quinones of ABC Primetime News and Charles Reed, the Chancellor of California State University, have confirmed participation-- the Director of the National Forum, Dr. John C. Burkhardt, remains committed to including a student voice. To this end, he has extended an open invitation to the students of the Roosevelt Institution.
Having
acknowledged the American fear that privilege and opportunity is a
zero-sum game, it follows that American students would reject increased
access to higher education for immigrants in fear that opportunities
for immigrants will limit admissions or funding for citizens. To do so, however, would prove more costly to American students.
The value of education rests in exposure; to new ideas, to new challenges, and to new people. Education
is meaningful because it demands that the student step outside their
comfort zone and their egocentricity and learn to function as a member
of a greater, and diverse, society. To
this end, colleges and universities in Michigan have been committed to
building diverse communities where creative and dynamic energies can
collide. This vision is only realized, however, when those energies are different. Such differences include race, gender, sex, religion, political thought, and also national understandings. A complete and meaningful education demands the inclusion of all peoples. The exclusion of any perspective is a discriminatory act which breeds biased understandings.
In a November 8 address
to the University of Michigan community, President Mary Sue Coleman
affirmed the need for diversity in education, saying “Diversity makes
us strong, and it is too critical to our mission, too critical to our
excellence, and too critical to our future to simply abandon. This
applies to our state as much as our University. Michigan’s public
universities and our public bodies must be more determined than ever to
provide opportunities for women and minorities, who make up the
majority of our citizenry.”
Let
us not forget that immigrants are significant members of our citizenry
and contributors to our society and must also be offered access and
opportunities.
Permanent link: http://rooseveltinstitution.org/blog/post/128/for_your_consideration_a_new_dialogue_on_higher_ed_access_and_immigration_policy