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.
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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.
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Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump aides want Texas to redraw its congressional maps to boost the GOP. What would that mean?
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The Hill
33 minutes ago
- The Hill
ICE raids accelerate, protests spread
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Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far'
Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far' Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, says he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president (Kevin Dietsch) (Kevin Dietsch/GETTY IMAGESvia AFP) Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, said Wednesday he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president, after the pair's public falling-out last week. "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," Musk wrote on his social media platform X, in a message that was received favorably by the White House. Musk's expression of regret came just days after Trump threatened the tech billionaire with "serious consequences" if he sought to punish Republicans who vote for a controversial spending bill. Their blistering break-up -- largely carried out on social media before a riveted public since Thursday last week -- was ignited by Musk's harsh criticism of Trump's so-called "big, beautiful" spending bill, which is currently before Congress. ADVERTISEMENT Some lawmakers who were against the bill had called on Musk -- one of the Republican Party's biggest financial backers in last year's presidential election -- to fund primary challenges against Republicans who voted for the legislation. "He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," Trump, who also branded Musk "disrespectful," told NBC News on Saturday, without specifying what those consequences would be. Trump also said he had "no" desire to repair his relationship with the South African-born Tesla and SpaceX chief, and that he has "no intention of speaking to him." But after Musk's expression of regret, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump was "appreciative," adding that "no efforts" had been made on a threat by Trump to end some of Musk's government contracts. "The president acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning, and he is appreciative of it," Leavitt said. ADVERTISEMENT According to the New York Times, Musk's message followed a phone call to Trump late on Monday night. Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susan Wiles had also been working with Musk on how to broker a truce with Trump, the report said. - 'Wish him well' - In his post on Wednesday, Musk did not specify which of his criticisms of Trump had gone "too far." The former allies had seemed to have cut ties amicably about two weeks ago, with Trump giving Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But their relationship cracked within days, with Musk describing the spending bill as an "abomination" that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office. Trump hit back at Musk's comments in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington stunned. ADVERTISEMENT Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that cutting billions of dollars in subsidies and contracts to Musk's companies would be the "easiest way" to save the US government money. US media have put the value of the contracts at $18 billion. With real political and economic risks to their falling out, both already appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, with Trump telling reporters "I just wish him well," and Musk responding on X: "Likewise." Trump had spoken to NBC on Saturday after Musk deleted one of the explosive allegations he had made during their fallout, linking the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking. bur-arp/aha
