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Affirmative action debate / Griffin chair term extended / Peace panel exhibition Griffin forum draws large crowds for affirmative action debate
Griffin forum panelists debate the merits of affirmative action programs. From left to right are Reginald Turner, an attorney with Clark Hill PLC; Jennifer Gratz, director of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative; and William B. Allen, a professor of political science at Michigan State University. A crowd of more than 400 people filled CMU’s Park Library Auditorium and two additional screening rooms on March 29 to hear panelists debate one of the most contentious statewide ballot initiatives in recent history: a proposal to amend the state constitution to end affirmative action programs. The Griffin Policy Forum, “Affirmative Action/Racial Preferences: Should They Be Banned?,” brought together four panelists who made a case for and against what will be Proposal 06-2 on the Nov. 7 general election ballot. “Feelings on this issue are running high, and nearly everyone has an opinion on it,” said Bill Ballenger, CMU’s Robert P. and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government, who organized the forum. “The big question is how and why did this issue get on the ballot, and why do polls show there is such support for it?” The panelists were William B. Allen, a professor of political science at Michigan State University and a former member and chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission; Jennifer Gratz, director of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative and a plaintiff in a 1997 lawsuit brought against the University of Michigan in federal court; Kary Moss, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union; and Reginald Turner, a member of the State Board of Education and an attorney with the firm Clark Hill PLC. Gratz and Allen support the ballot initiative, while Moss and Turner oppose it. Ballenger served as the moderator. The proposal asks Michigan voters whether they want to “amend the state constitution to ban Affirmative Action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes.” CMU’s Griffin program seeks to build interest and increase engagement in politics among young adults, faculty and the general public.
Ballenger, the editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, has accepted CMU’s offer to serve one additional year as the Robert P. and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government. “I am delighted that Bill has agreed to extend his term as chair,” said E. Gary Shapiro, dean of the college. “He has been a tremendous positive influence on our students and has helped us to increase enrollment in the Griffin seminars. As chairman, Ballenger teaches two political science seminars and organizes two public forums each year. He also invites prominent business and political leaders to speak in his classes and travels with his students to the Capitol each semester to meet with elected officials. Ballenger began his term in the fall of 2003. He is a former state representative, state senator, director of the State Department of Licensing and Regulation and a former state racing commissioner. He also served as deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in President Gerald R. Ford’s administration.
'The A-Bomb and Humanity' Panels depict human suffering of war
In an effort to promote peace and tolerance, photographs and artwork with Japanese and English captions detailing the atomic bombings at the end of World War II were displayed in CMU’s Charles V. Park Library for seven weeks last winter. The images are part of a 40-panel collection titled “The A-Bomb and Humanity” that were presented to CMU president Michael Rao in Japan last year. They came from the Iwate Consumers Cooperative, which sends members to Mount Pleasant each summer to take courses at CMU’s English Language Institute. “Peace continues to be an important element to be achieved among humans; we share the goal of achieving peace and civil discourse throughout the world,” said university outreach liaison Monica Rao. “As difficult as the images are, they are important reminders of the destruction.” The panels were produced by Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors dedicated to the elimination of nuclear weapons and prevention of a nuclear war.
“Atomic Bomb Orphans,” showing children eating snow, appears in the 40-panel exhibit “The A-Bomb and Humanity.”
A bright flash And explosion at the same time I could not see an inch ahead Is it smoke or dust? It all happened in a moment Hiroshima was engulfed in a sea of flames Those who got burns were fleeting here and there, crying in pain “Help!” With screams, a wave of people come rushing toward me. CHSBS faculty host ‘peace night’ CHSBS faculty members hosted two presentations in conjunction with the peace panels display in an event billed “CMU Peace Night: History and Literature of Japan.” History faculty member Randall Doyle gave a lecture titled “The Road to Hiroshima: The Unending Debate in America and Japan.” “I think it’s important that students understand the dangers of modern warfare, especially the use of nuclear weapons,” said Doyle. “What are the lessons we can learn from Hiroshima?” English faculty members Susan Stan, Susan C. Griffith and Janice Hartwick-Dressel presented “Ain’t Gonna Study War No More: Children’s Books that Promote Peace.” They discussed children’s books that invite children to think about peace, justice and the world community. “These books help promote peace and understanding in several ways beyond showing the horrors of war,” said Stan. “They also look at the roots of war, including cultural misunderstanding.”
Janice Hartwick-Dressel, Susan C. Griffith and Susan Stan display books that promote peace and understanding during the peace night reception at CMU. |
Political
science students can look forward to another year under the
leadership of media-savvy political pundit Bill Ballenger.
More than 60 years after Hiroshima
and Nagasaki were destroyed by atomic bombs, the images and
accounts of the events are no less painful.
