1. Affirmative action explained:

• Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group "in areas of employment, education, and business". The concept of affirmative action was introduced in the early 1960s as a way to combat racial discrimination in the hiring process, and in 1967, the concept was expanded to include gender.
• The term "affirmative action" was first used in the U.S. when President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925 on 6 March 1961; it was used to promote actions that achieve non-discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 which required government employers to take "affirmative action" to "hire without regard to race, religion and national origin." In 1967, gender was added to the anti-discrimination list.
• Affirmative action is intended to promote the opportunities of defined minority groups within a society to give them access equal to that of the privileged majority population.
• It is often instituted in government and educational settings to ensure that certain designated "minority groups" within a society are included "in all programs."
• The stated justification for affirmative action by its proponents is that it helps to compensate for past discrimination, persecution or exploitation by the ruling class of a culture, and to address existing discrimination.
• The implementation of affirmative action, especially in the U.S., is considered by its proponents to be justified by the belief that there is a disproportionate number of any minority group in any university, business, etc. (from wikipedia)

A decision on this case "Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action" is expected to be made by June 2014. What aspect of affirmative action will the U.S. Supreme Court decide on in this case?

2. a) What is Prop 2?
b) Why/when did Michigan voters pass Prop 2?

3. List the other states that currently have similar laws that ban the use of racial preferences.

4. Why do supporters of the policy of affirmative action oppose Prop 2?

5. A ban on affirmative action has cut minority enrollment in universities by one-third. How do people who oppose the policy of affirmative action suggest minority enrollment can be increased?

6. Which makes more sense to you: the arguments for or against affirmative action?  Explain your answer.

7. Many news outlets refer to conservative or liberal judges on the Supreme Court. To be more specific: There are two types of judges: activist and constructionist (also called constitutionalist). Liberals generally support the nomination of activist judges and conservatives generally support the nomination of constructionist judges.
–Judicial activism is “the act of replacing an impartial interpretation of existing law with the judge’s personal feelings about what the law should be” (wikipedia.org)
–A constitutionalist “refers to those who advocate strict adherence to the intentions of the framers of the U.S. Constitution” (wikipedia.org)
a) Which types of judges would make the best decisions for our country: activist or constitutionalist judges? Explain your answer.
b) Ask a parent the same question.