Current Events
News
SOURCE: The Daily Tar Heel
12.01.06
ASG Readies to Rally Court
Some Concerned About Desegregation
By Eric Johnson, Senior Writer
With loose coordination and a lot of last-minute planning, student leaders across the UNC-system are putting together a delegation of protestors for a Monday rally on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Several bus loads of students, mostly from the system's historically black colleges, plan to take part in a series of rallies as justices hear arguments in a pair of cases concerning desegregation in public schools.
"These cases are dealing with racial diversity, with racially segregated schools," said Keisha Robinson, student body president at Fayetteville State University.
In two consolidated cases from Seattle, Wash., and Jefferson County, Ky., the high court will consider whether public schools can constitutionally use race as a key factor in student assignment.
Districts across the country use race-based assignment plans to create integrated schools, and civil rights advocates are concerned the court might strike down those efforts.
"I just think it's very important for us to show that this is something we will unite on," Robinson said. "It's important for us to remain involved in matters like these."
Largely at the insistence of Robinson and delegates from other historically black colleges, the UNC-system Association of Student Governments is seeking a role in financing and organizing participation in the protest.
The association was caught off-guard when the issue was raised during a meeting in Fayetteville earlier this month. Since then, the association's leaders have been scrambling to coordinate a response.
"This is something that I didn't necessarily know too much about before she brought it up," said Stephen Moore, ASG vice president for government relations.
"She had sent an e-mail to the Council of Student Body Presidents, asking them if they were interested, and nobody responded. Due to that, we thought it wasn't an issue we needed to be concerned with."
Some presidents have questioned whether the association should be focusing on a politically fraught national debate, but ASG President Derek Pantiel is sticking by his pledge to let campuses drive the agenda.
"Our job is to make sure that student concerns are heard," Pantiel said. "If students feel like this is an issue, ASG is here to help."
FSU and Elizabeth City State University have organized their own buses to take students to Washington, D.C., for Monday's event, which is sponsored by the NAACP and a host of other political action groups.
The ASG originally was hoping to provide buses to take students from other campuses, but lukewarm interest and high costs have forced a scaling back of that plan.
The group offered to reimburse campuses sending their own delegations, but it remains unclear if there will be participation outside of the system's historically black colleges.
Regardless of the turnout, ASG leaders expect to spend no more than $5,000 on the event.
"It all depends how many students can travel," Pantiel said, noting that many students will be studying for exams next week.
