Over the last few years, even as the U.S. Supreme Court was considering the constitutionality of race-conscious policies in postsecondary admissions in "Fisher v. University of Texas" (2016), a new wave of attacks in the conservative agenda to dismantle affirmative action (as the policy is more commonly called) emerged. First, in 2014…

What explains the rise of race-conscious affirmative action policies in undergraduate admissions? The dominant theory posits that adoption of such policies was precipitated by urban and campus unrest in the North during the late 1960s. Based on primary research in a sample of 17 selective schools, we find limited support for the dominant theory.…

In this article, Michele Moses and Lauren Saenz explore a growing trend in education policymaking--the ballot initiative. Specifically, the authors question whether information presented to voters is sufficiently substantive to permit educated decisionmaking about influential policies. Their study, a content analysis of print news media related to…

Opponents of higher education affirmative action programs are gearing up to launch their largest attack in recent years. The planned assault comes in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that severely limited the use of race in K-12 integration plans. It was Ward Connerly, the chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute, a…

Presented in this article is an overview of the Allan Bakke case. Implications are made for the effects the court's decision will have on the future of affirmative action and on the potential civil rights achievements of minority groups, particularly Asian Americans. (EB)

In this monograph, the Federal equal employment opportunity law (the legislation and litigation on the seniority conflict) and the nature of seniority rights in the public sector are examined. The concept of affirmative action is discussed with reference to legislation and national policy and the interrelationship of affirmative action to layoffs…

A supporter of affirmative action in California sees attackers as mean-spirited and practicing wedge politics. He stresses its legality and opposes a proposed California Civil Rights initiative. An opponent criticizes affirmative action, noting practical difficulties in application and its opposition to American values of fairness. He defends the…

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints series challenge readers to question their own opinions and assumptions. By reading carefully balanced views, readers confront new ideas on the topic of interest. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited job discrimination based on age, race, religion, gender, or national origin, provided the groundwork for…

This statement presents the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' position on higher education percentage plans. The One Florida Plan bans the consideration of race and gender in university admissions, guaranteeing state university admissions to high school seniors in the top 20 percent of their class, regardless of test scores. Texas' Ten Percent Plan…

Proposition 209 is a statewide constitutional amendment initiative in California, which, if passed in November 1996, will eliminate all statewide affirmative action programs. It is argued that, contrary to its title, this amendment is an extreme and unnecessary measure that will actually undermine further advances in civil rights. There are…

Describes the campaign for tenure for an Asian Pacific American university professor, D. Nakanishi, within a historical context. Includes discussions of Asian Americans' and Pacific Americans' experience of discrimination since the 1900s, civil rights struggles in the 1970s and 1980s, and the history and development of the "Amerasia…

An Asian Pacific American professor, D. T. Nakanishi, describes his decision to fight the University of California Los Angeles' initial denial of tenure, including the legal and tactical considerations involved, his sense of generational duty, the case's importance for other Asian Americans, and the personal pain and suffering involved. (JB)

This book tells the story of the California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), which became Proposition 209. This initiative promised to end the use of race and gender preferences in state employment, contracting, and education. The complex motivations and maneuvers of the people, organizations, and political parties involved in the effort to end…

A newsletter on issues pertaining to women's rights on campuses and in employment is presented. Developments and issues include the following: initiation of intercollegiate athletic championships for women in nine sports; a charge of unequal pay for women coaches; university cases of alleged sex discrimination in athletic programs; reference to…

Reviews details of the campaign for tenure for an Asian Pacific American University of California Los Angeles professor, D. Nakanishi. Describes key issues, three rallies, the students' role, the importance of a unified effort, and the movement's effect on other issues and campuses. (JB)