The MSU College Republicans unanimously passed a resolution supporting the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative on Wednesday night.
The passage comes during the same week Ward Connerly, chairman of the Sacramento-based American Civil Rights Initiative, will visit East Lansing.
The event is Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Marriott at University Place, 300 M.A.C. Ave.
The initiative is a proposal to amend Michigan's constitution to prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin by Michigan universities, the state and all other state entities.
The amendment was introduced in July by the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative campaign in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of affirmative action admission policies in the University of Michigan's law school.
The group must collect more than 317,000 signatures from registered Michigan voters by July 6 to add a constitutional amendment banning such practices to the fall ballot.
"Our party stands for the principal of individual equality," said College Republicans Chairman Matt Thome. "We believe that everyone should be treated equally in college admissions."
Thome said groups around the state have been endorsing the proposal for the last couple of months, adding that he believed the affirmative actions programs are a form of reverse discrimination.
But Culturas de las Razas Unidas President Erik Saenz said although the group has not issued an official position on the initiative, there are many members who oppose it.
"This initiative is definitely counterproductive," the interdisciplinary studies in social science and history junior said, calling the proposal a "step back."
Tim O'Brien, campaign manager for Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, said the group has seen a large amount of support from Michigan residents, especially among young people.
"They're the ones who hear, 'You don't get this job because you're not the right color,'" he said. "I think, perhaps, that younger people have a very strong sense of justice, of fairness."
The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action & Integration And Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, has filed a lawsuit against the petitions that favor the initiative.
"I think for the campus Republicans to sign on to this initiative, it's completely outrageous and dangerous," said BAMN national spokesperson and national co-chair Shanta Driver.
But some students say affirmative action policies have the potential to be misused.
"People who are underprivileged should have a chance, but you shouldn't choose someone who is grossly unqualified," said no-preference freshman Jake Hannon of affirmative action.
