Justice organizations call on U of M Law School to uphold diversity policies
The University of Michigan | Susan J. Demas
A group of justice-focused civil rights groups have called on the University of Michigan to maintain commitments to diversity and inclusion as students pursue their careers.
The Legal Defense Fund, or LDF, announced it sent the university's administration a letter Tuesday, alongside the National Women's Law Center, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Latino Justice, in an effort to push back against federal pressures to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies.
The push comes in response to emails LDF says in a news release students at the University of Michigan's law school received recently from a conservative group asserting the university unfairly expresses preferences for certain students under DEI policies, amid Trump's executive order to withhold federal funding for organizations and programs with DEI policies.
Late last month U of M announced it would be closing its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with university officials saying that the school would pivot their efforts to 'core responsibilities'.
According to LDF, students are already seeing the consequences of divestment into diversity with a mass email that was sent out to students at the law school from conservative group Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences or FASORP.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The group is represented by prominent conservative attorneys Jonathan Mitchell, regarded as the legal mind behind anti-abortion heartbeat laws and Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff.
According to LDF, the letter that was sent to students in the law school on March 31 alleged that the Michigan Law Review, the university's law journal, shows discriminatory preference towards women, students of color and LGBTQ+ students, with the implication that students of those demographics are not deserving of being published by the journal.
'We strongly condemn these threats as an unjust attack on students' abilities and an attempt to perpetuate harmful stereotypes and discrimination,' LDF said in a news release. 'No student should be told that their identity makes them undeserving of their accomplishments. We hope the University of Michigan Law School will further affirm its commitment to diversity, equal opportunity, and excellence, ensuring that the hard work and talents of students from all backgrounds are valued and respected.'
FASORP and the University of Michigan did not respond to requests for comment from Michigan Advance.
FASORP has raised legal challenges towards other higher education institutions including a similar case to U of M's with New York University's law journal and Northwestern University, alleging that the university's law school discriminates against white men seeking faculty positions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
27 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Senate Republicans seek support for Trump's big bill in overnight session
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is slogging through an overnight session that has dragged into Tuesday, with Republican leaders buying time as they search for ways to secure support for President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts while fending off proposed amendments, mostly from Democrats trying to defeat the package. An endgame was not immediately in sight. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota is working for a last-minute agreement between those in his party worried the bill's reductions to Medicaid will leave millions without care and his most conservative flank, which wants even steeper cuts to hold down deficits ballooning with the tax cuts. Thune declared at one point they were in the 'homestretch' as he dashed through the halls at the Capitol, only to backtrack a short time later, suggesting any progress was "elusive.' At the same time House Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled more potential problems ahead, warning the Senate package could run into trouble when it is sent back to the House for a final round of voting, as skeptical lawmakers are being called back to Washington ahead of Trump's Fourth of July deadline. 'I have prevailed upon my Senate colleagues to please, please, please keep it as close to the House product as possible,' said Johnson, the Louisiana Republican. House Republicans had already passed their version last month. It's a pivotal moment for the Republicans, who have control of Congress and are racing to wrap up work with just days to go before Trump's holiday deadline Friday. The 940-page 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' as it's formally titled, has consumed Congress as its shared priority with the president. In a midnight social media post urging them on, Trump called the bill 'perhaps the greatest and most important of its kind.' Vice President JD Vance summed up his own series of posts, simply imploring senators to 'Pass the bill.' The GOP leaders have no room to spare, with narrow majorities in both chambers. Thune can lose no more than three Republican senators, and already two — Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who warns people will lose access to Medicaid health care, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who opposes raising the debt limit — have indicated opposition. Tillis abruptly announced over the weekend he would not seek reelection after Trump threatened to campaign against him. Attention quickly turned to key senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who have also raised concerns about health care cuts, but also a loose coalition of four conservative GOP senators pushing for even steeper reductions. And on social media, billionaire Elon Musk was again lashing out at Republicans as 'the PORKY PIG PARTY!!' for including a provision that would raise the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion, which is needed to allow continued borrowing to pay the bills. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said his side was working to show 'how awful this is.' 'Republicans are in shambles because they know the bill is so unpopular,' Schumer said as he walked the halls. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. The CBO said the package would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade. Senators to watch Few Republicans appear fully satisfied as the final package emerges, in either the House or Senate. Tillis said it is a betrayal of the president's promises not to kick people off health care, especially if rural hospitals close. Collins had proposed bolstering the $25 billion proposed rural hospital fund to $50 billion, but her amendment failed. And Murkowski was trying to secure provisions to spare people in her state from some health care and food stamp cuts while also working to beef up federal reimbursements to Alaska's hospitals. They have not said how they would vote for the final package. 'Radio silence,' Murkowski said when asked. At the same time, conservative Senate Republicans proposing steeper health care cuts, including Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, filed into Thune's office for a near-midnight meeting. The Senate has spent some 18 hours churning through more than two dozen amendments in what is called a vote-a-rama, a typically laborious process that went on longer than usual as negotiations happen on and off the chamber floor. The White House legislative team also was at the Capitol. A few of the amendments — to strike parts of the bill that would limit Medicaid funds to rural hospitals or shift the costs of food stamp benefits to the states — were winning support from a few Republicans, though almost none were passing. Sen. Mike Crapo, the GOP chairman of the Finance Committee, dismissed the dire predictions of health care cuts as Democrats trafficking in what he called the 'politics of fear.' What's in the big bill All told, the Senate bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, according to the latest CBO analysis, making permanent Trump's 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips. The Senate package would roll back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits, which Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide. It would impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements on able-bodied people, including some parents and older Americans, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states. Additionally, the bill would provide a $350 billion infusion for border and national security, including for deportations, some of it paid for with new fees charged to immigrants. Democrats fighting all day and night Unable to stop the march toward passage, the Democrats as the minority party in Congress are using the tools at their disposal to delay and drag out the process. Democrats forced a full reading of the text, which took 16 hours, and they have a stream of amendments. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, raised particular concern at the start of debate late Sunday about the accounting method being used by the Republicans, which says the tax breaks from Trump's first term are now 'current policy' and the cost of extending them should not be counted toward deficits. She said that kind of 'magic math' won't fly with Americans trying to balance their own household books. ___
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wall Street Journal Warns Donald Trump May Have Just Sabotaged His Own Presidency
The Wall Street Journal thinks one Donald Trump move may have just put 'his presidency at risk.' 'A common feature of Donald Trump's two terms as President is that he can't stand political prosperity. When events are going in his direction, he has an uncanny habit of handing his opponents a sword,' the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper's conservative editorial board wrote on Sunday. Trump's attacks on Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — over the senator's criticism of the president's so-called Big, Beautiful Bill, which is currently being debated in the Senate — are the 'latest example' of that self-sabotage, said the newspaper, which has taken Trump to task on multiplefronts since his return to office. Tillis announced Sunday he wouldn't stand for reelection in 2026, saying it was 'not a hard choice' to decide whether to spend 'another six years navigating the political theater and partisan gridlock in Washington' or with his family. His seat 'is another pickup opportunity for Democrats next year,' noted the Journal. And 'GOP legislative reforms will have no chance if Democrats take the House in 2026,' the board concluded. 'And if they also take the Senate, forget about confirming another Supreme Court nominee. The Trump Presidency will be dead in the water.' Read the full analysis here. Trump Melts Down Over CNN's Abby Phillip. Her Polite Clapback Goes Viral. Trump Family Member Reportedly 'Seriously Considering' Run For Senate Trump's Self-Congratulatory Rant On Fox News Gets Roasted In Real Time Mary Trump Gives 'Miserable' Don Jr. A Brutal Lesson On The Only Thing He's Accomplished
Boston Globe
34 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Senate Republicans seek support for Trump's big bill in overnight session
Advertisement At the same time House Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled more potential problems ahead, warning the Senate package could run into trouble when it is sent back to the House for a final round of voting, as skeptical lawmakers are being called back to Washington ahead of Trump's Fourth of July deadline. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I have prevailed upon my Senate colleagues to please, please, please keep it as close to the House product as possible,' said Johnson, the Louisiana Republican. House Republicans had already passed their version last month. It's a pivotal moment for the Republicans, who have control of Congress and are racing to wrap up work with just days to go before Trump's holiday deadline Friday. The 940-page 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' as it's formally titled, has consumed Congress as its shared priority with the president. Advertisement In a midnight social media post urging them on, Trump called the bill 'perhaps the greatest and most important of its kind.' Vice President JD Vance summed up his own series of posts, simply imploring senators to 'Pass the bill.' The GOP leaders have no room to spare, with narrow majorities in both chambers. Thune can lose no more than three Republican senators, and already two — Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who warns people will lose access to Medicaid health care, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who opposes raising the debt limit — have indicated opposition. Tillis abruptly announced over the weekend he would not seek reelection after Trump threatened to campaign against him. Attention quickly turned to key senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who have also raised concerns about health care cuts, but also a loose coalition of four conservative GOP senators pushing for even steeper reductions. And on social media, billionaire Elon Musk was again lashing out at Republicans as 'the PORKY PIG PARTY!!' for including a provision that would raise the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion, which is needed to allow continued borrowing to pay the bills. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said his side was working to show 'how awful this is.' 'Republicans are in shambles because they know the bill is so unpopular,' Schumer said as he walked the halls. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. The CBO said the package would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade. Advertisement Senators to watch Few Republicans appear fully satisfied as the final package emerges, in either the House or Senate. Tillis said it is a betrayal of the president's promises not to kick people off health care, especially if rural hospitals close. Collins had proposed bolstering the $25 billion proposed rural hospital fund to $50 billion, but her amendment failed. And Murkowski was trying to secure provisions to spare people in her state from some health care and food stamp cuts while also working to beef up federal reimbursements to Alaska's hospitals. They have not said how they would vote for the final package. 'Radio silence,' Murkowski said when asked. At the same time, conservative Senate Republicans proposing steeper health care cuts, including Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, filed into Thune's office for a near-midnight meeting. The Senate has spent some 18 hours churning through more than two dozen amendments in what is called a vote-a-rama, a typically laborious process that went on longer than usual as negotiations happen on and off the chamber floor. The White House legislative team also was at the Capitol. A few of the amendments — to strike parts of the bill that would limit Medicaid funds to rural hospitals or shift the costs of food stamp benefits to the states — were winning support from a few Republicans, though almost none were passing. Sen. Mike Crapo, the GOP chairman of the Finance Committee, dismissed the dire predictions of health care cuts as Democrats trafficking in what he called the 'politics of fear.' Advertisement What's in the big bill All told, the Senate bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, according to the latest CBO analysis, making permanent Trump's 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips. The Senate package would roll back billions of dollars in green energy tax credits, which Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide. It would impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements on able-bodied people, including some parents and older Americans, making sign-up eligibility more stringent and changing federal reimbursements to states. Additionally, the bill would provide a $350 billion infusion for border and national security, including for deportations, some of it paid for with new fees charged to immigrants. Democrats fighting all day and night Unable to stop the march toward passage, the Democrats as the minority party in Congress are using the tools at their disposal to delay and drag out the process. Democrats forced a full reading of the text, which took 16 hours, and they have a stream of amendments. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, raised particular concern at the start of debate late Sunday about the accounting method being used by the Republicans, which says the tax breaks from Trump's first term are now 'current policy' and the cost of extending them should not be counted toward deficits. She said that kind of 'magic math' won't fly with Americans trying to balance their own household books. Associated Press writers Ali Swenson, Fatima Hussein, Michelle L. Price, Kevin Freking, Matt Brown, Seung Min Kim and Chris Megerian contributed to this report. Advertisement
