PRINCETON, NJ (November 3, 2010)—Yesterday Arizonans approved a ballot initiative that prohibits racial preferences in the state’s public institutions, including public colleges and universities. The Arizona Civil Rights Initiative (AzCRI), known as Proposition 107, passed with 60% of the vote.
The National Association of Scholars (NAS) counts the passage of Proposition 107 as a significant victory in the fight for merit-based higher education.
“Once again,” noted Stephen H. Balch, chairman of the NAS, “the American people have demonstrated they understand that basic fairness and good education require individuals to be treated as individuals rather than as the representatives of artificially defined identity groups. Higher education in Arizona will be strengthened through the restoration of this principle.”
Earlier this year, NAS submitted an official argument in favor of Prop. 107 which all Arizona citizens received.
The argument called on voters to reaffirm the “basic ideal” that all men are created equal, pointing out that “It is as students that our young men and women come to full knowledge of America’s heritage of rights and freedoms. By making higher education a color- and gender-coded experience, this comprehension is undermined.”
Proposition 107 is the latest among similar initiatives which have already been approved in California, Washington, Michigan, and Nebraska.
The National Association of Scholars advocates for higher education reform. To learn more about NAS, visit www.nas.org.
