LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad will introduce legislation to expand fairness in college admission standards across Michigan by barring consideration of an applicant’s legacy relationships.
“The Supreme Court sent a clear message this summer when it struck down affirmative action practices in college admissions for violating equal rights protected by the 14th Amendment, highlighting the need to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to pursue higher education based on achievement and merit,” said Runestad, R-White Lake.
“However, for far too long we have also permitted an unfair, two-tiered system, in which Michigan universities favor candidates with parents who hold alumni status and often advanced financial standing over those of the general population of Michigan students, even though those children may often have a diminished academic standing. This system of privilege also favors the children of university employees over often more talented, hardworking, and middle-class students. My legislation will level the playing field, ensuring that no student gets a thumb on the scale.”
Runestad’s Senate Joint Resolution D would amend Article VIII of the state constitution to specify that Michigan’s colleges and universities “shall not establish or apply any student admission standard under which preference is given to an applicant on the basis of the applicant’s familial relationship to any alumni of the institution or any past or present officers, agents, or employees of the institution.”
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