Some Creighton students are making one last-ditch effort to change minds on the only initiative on Nebraska’s ballot this election.
At 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 3, Creighton NAACP will be sponsoring a 10-minute gathering at the fountain in front of St. John’s Church.
“We’ll be holding hands in solidarity and having a short prayer service,” said Analise Harris, president of CU NAACP.
Harris, an Arts & Sciences junior, said she will lead the “15 minutes of fellowship” in hope of people hearing her out one last time.
Initiative Measure 424 is written with some tricky wording, she said. It is a constitutional ammendment to end preferential treatment based on race, gender or ethnicity in state higher education or government contracts.
It essentially is a bill to end affirmative action in the state of Nebraska.
“I’m scared about the language used in the initiative,” she said. “I’m really scared. That’s why we need this last effort because people need to know what’s in jeopardy.
“We have to place value on different cultures and perspectives,” she said. “It comes down to embracing differences.”
Maurice Brewer, Business junior and political action chair of Creighton NAACP, said he was worried about the wording of the initiative and is spending time before the election making sure people know how they vote.
He said he will attend the gathering Monday to show solidarity with other students for affirmative action. Because the wording is confusing, he isn’t sure his peers know what they will be voting for.
Brewer, along with other members of the organization met on the mall on Wednesday to hand out information on the initiative, along with part of the speech in which the Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J., university president, took a stand for affirmative action.
“Affirmative action is remedial, it is not discriminatory,” Schlegel said in his speech at the NAACP Freedom Fund banquet. “It is a reminder that not all Americans have benefited from the economic and social opportunities of this great country.”
Schlegel also noted in his speech that affirmative action does not promote any single person at the cost of another, and he took a stand against the initiative.
“It is disheartening that Nebraska is now considering a reversal of this modest effort to address a failure in our history,” he said.
Lee Reiff, Arts & Sciences sophomore and member of College Republicans, said he is voting for Initiative 424. He said he understands why affirmative action was established, but he consideres it outdated today.
“In current times, giving a leg up to some does nothing but hurt others,” Reiff said. “Diversity, whether in race or gender, should never take priority over skill or ability.”
Danielle Nantkes, field director of Nebraskans United, said the organizations that are against the initiative span the political spectrum and the entire state.
“When all Nebraskans are allowed to succeed, all Nebraskans benefit,” Nantkes said.
She said the most important aspect of this initiative is its effects on higher education.
“If groups are underrepresented on the college level, you won’t get a diversity of opinions at the institution or in the workplace,” she said.
She said she supported Creighton students getting the word out before the election.
Similar amendments have passed in other states: California in 1996, Washington State in 1998 and Michigan in 2006. Nebraska and Colorado are the two with initiatives to end affirmative action on this fall’s ballot.
The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative, an organization supporting the amendment, said current affirmative action is outdated on its Web site. Although no one from the group was available for comment, it was stated on its site that economic factors should solely be taken into account instead of race or gender.