Contact: Elena Moreno, 315-8849 or 577-3959 Media Contact: Laurie Mellas-Ramirez, 277-5915
Feb. 7, 2003 LAW STUDENTS ASSEMBLE PANEL ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Students from the University of New Mexico School of Law have prepared a panel presentation on affirmative action in admissions set for Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. at the law school, 1117 Stanford NE. The event is free and open to the public. The students formed the Admissions Policy Project to inform the public about Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, current United States Supreme Court cases challenging affirmative action in admissions. "New Mexico is a state with much at stake because so much of our public policy revolves around minority participation in higher education" said Elena Moreno, second year law student. Featured presenters include current and former litigants of high profile cases involving affirmative action. Panelist Charlotte Johnson is assistant dean at the University of Michigan. The school is the named defendant in the two cases pending before the Supreme Court, scheduled to be heard April 1. The University's position is that affirmative action is necessary to maintain a diverse educational environment to promote a marketplace of ideas as articulated in the 1978 Supreme Court Case, Regents of California v. Bakke. Panelist Shanta Driver represents the student interveners who have been admitted into the Grutter and Gratz cases. The students argue that affirmative action is grounded in integration as upheld in the 1954 landmark case Brown v. Board of Education. David Rogers, J.D., was co-plaintiff in the Hopwood v. Texas case that ended race preferences in Texas college admissions. The position of the plaintiffs is that race preference schemes are unconstitutional because it violates the standard of equal protection mandating that all citizens be treated equally. Panelists also include chair of the UNM School of Law admissions committee. The event begins with a short presentation by each panelist followed by questions and comments from the audience. "The panel will be of interest to those wanting to educate themselves about the affirmative action debate or are considering applying to the law school," Moreno said. Students will provide regional foods during and after the presentation. Sponsors include UNM School of Law, American Civil Rights Union, Hispanic Round Table, Hispanic Bar Association, Black Bar Association, UNM Graduate Professional Student Association, Mexican American Law Student Association, Native American Law Student Association, and UNM Chicano Programs. Donations to support the project can be sent to the UNM Law School Dean's Fund, 1117 Stanford NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1431. Please write "Admissions Policy Project" on the memo line. For more information, contact Elena Moreno at 315-8849 or via email at morenoel@law.unm.edu. ###

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