Washington - Rallying in front of the Supreme Court building, about 220 MSU students joined thousands of fellow college students, professors and activists Tuesday morning to show their support for the University of Michigan's admissions policies.
The Supreme Court began hearing two cases charging U-M with discrimination because it takes race and ethnicity into account in its admissions. The court's decision is expected to be announced this summer.
Standing in a tightly packed crowd on the southwest corner of First Street and Maryland Avenue, a shivering Elizabeth Stevens said she hoped the sheer numbers protesting would make an impression on the court.
"We wouldn't even be in school if it wasn't for affirmative action," the advertising freshman said. "It's not so much diversified as a chance for everyone to get an education."
Busloads of people joined Stevens on the sidewalk, braving a cold, light rain to listen to activists, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King III, speak outside the courthouse.
"I'm here for my son and for all the young folks in my family," Detroit resident Anthony Thompson Sr. said.
Thompson said some people are confused by how U-M's admissions policy works.
"It's more than just about race," he said. "Race is just one way you determine if people should be given preference points."
Opponents of the policy were present in Washington, too.
Virginia Beach, Va., resident Tad McDowell said affirmative action wasn't necessary and admissions should be based on ability, not skin color.
He also said he'd rather visit a doctor who was qualified for his job than one who got his title because of "some law."
But McDowell is disturbed by people who characterize opponents of affirmative action as racists.
"Everyone that walks past us thinks we're racist," he said. "But we're not."
U-M's admissions process works on a 150-point "selection index," taking into account factors such as attendance at a predominately minority high school, residency and whether relatives attended the university.
Inside the building, Supreme Court justices aggressively questioned lawyers, focusing on likely consequences of discrimination and educational opportunity.
"I have to say that in looking at your program it looks to me like this is just a disguised quota," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy told a university lawyer.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who with Kennedy is considered a crucial swing vote on the issue, asked skeptical questions of the white applicants' lawyer.
"You say (race) can't be a factor at all. Is that it - is that your position, that it cannot be one of many factors?" O'Connor asked lawyer Kirk Kolbo.
Told yes, O'Connor replied that the constitutional argument isn't so simple.
"You're speaking in absolutes and it isn't quite that," she said. "I think we have given recognition to the use of race in a variety of settings."
Justice Clarence Thomas, the court's only black member, broke his customary silence during oral arguments to question the premise that race-conscious admissions policies furthered a broader social goal of racial understanding and harmony.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, was in the courtroom when the justices heard oral arguments.
"I thought the attorneys for the University of Michigan made a compelling case that diversity in education, providing that it doesn't include quotas, benefits all students as they prepare to live in a diverse society," Levin said in a Tuesday afternoon statement. "I hope that the Supreme Court will uphold the University of Michigan's admissions policies."
Outside, the Rev. Wendell Anthony, head of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, shouted "No Justice!" loudly into a microphone, to which the crowd responded by shouting "No Peace!"
The Rev. Al Sharpton said a major argument against affirmative action today is that minorities no longer need special treatment. But if that's the case, he said minorities should no longer receive special "distreatment" including racism and segregation.
Leaning against a metal gate, 8-year-old Khadijah Muhammad from Norristown, Penn., listened as Sharpton compared the military and higher education.
"I feel like I'm supporting something that you can fight without using weapons - discrimination and stopping the war," she said. "It's killing a lot of people and people are losing their homes and lives."
Muhammad said she wanted to attend Florida State University one day.
"I like Florida," Muhammad said. "I like its sunny weather, the beaches."
MSU hospitality business sophomore Don Lyons also participated in the march, which he said was an important undertaking - not just for him.
"I'm marching for my family, for my future kids, for my people," he said. "We have to have equal and fair opportunities for education."
After a three-hour rally at the Supreme Court, supporters of the policy marched across the capital to the Lincoln Memorial. Holding down a tiny corner along the way, four protesters of U-M's admission policy waved signs proclaiming "Affirmative action breeds incompetence."
Passing the White House during their march, demonstrators stopped for a full ten minutes to chant protests against President George W. Bush, who opposes U-M's admissions policy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Melissa Sanchez can be reached at sanche96@msu.edu.
