About 35 students marched from the Brody Complex to the steps of Hubbard Hall in protest of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI, on Friday.
The group of students call themselves S.T.E.P.S. (Students Taking an Effective Political Stance). They came together after theater freshman Princess Souvenir and a group of friends decided they needed to take action against the MCRI.
The MCRI is a ballot initiative this November and, if passed, will end government and university programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, sex, color, ethnicity and national origin.
Members of S.T.E.P.S. believe that if the MCRI passes, many public programs will be affected.
"After hearing about the MCRI and all of the things that would be taken away if it were to pass, I just knew that something had to be done," Souvenir said. "There are still so many people that don't know what it is."
But equal opportunity doesn't benefit job applicants, said Kyle Bristow, chairperson for MSU's Young Americans for Freedom.
"It really isn't equal opportunity when you look at a person's skin color for employment," he said.
Young Americans for Freedom is a conservative, nonpartisan group that is in favor of the MCRI.
"Admitting less-qualified applicants is unfair to the person denied because of race and the person accepted because of race," Bristow said.
Students chose to march to promote awareness about the initiative, Souvenir said.
The group let their friends and campus organizations know about their idea through residence hall Black Caucus meetings and Facebook.com.
Emily Mixter, a political science sophomore, participated in the march because she said it would be a good way to get students to think about the initiative.
Katie Morykwas, a family community services freshman, said the MCRI should be opposed because affirmative action is important.
"Affirmative action gives some people an equal opportunity to get into universities, and I think that is a chance that they might not have had without affirmative action," Morykwas said.
Some students who would not be directly affected by the MCRI also took part in the march. Interdisciplinary humanities freshman Joel Reinstein was one of the few white males that marched with the group.
"It was kind of empowering," Reinstein said. "It's important because I feel that it's important to have diversity at our school."
Staff writer Kristen Daum contributed to this report.
