UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law: Coalition for Diversity Press Conference
December 5, 2001, 9:15 a.m., UC Berkeley Admissions Office, Sproul Hall

BHWA Contacts:
Racheal Turner: 415-948-5265   rturner@boalthall.berkeley.edu   
Jennifer Stroffe: 510-418-0164   jstroffe@boalthall.berkeley.edu

BOALT HALL WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS "THE CINCINNATI 11" AND THEIR EFFORTS TO ENSURE DIVERSITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Berkeley Law Students to Participate in Landmark Court of Appeals Action

Berkeley, CA - Students rally outside of UC Berkeley's admissions office to show their support for a team of 11 law students traveling to Cincinnati today to witness the affirmative action case being heard by the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Grutter v. Bollinger was initially brought by white University of Michigan law students who claimed that the race-based admissions program at Michigan was unconstitutional. The lower court ruled that diversity was not a compelling governmental interest sufficient to justify an affirmative action admissions policy and struck down the program. Now on appeal, Grutter will be heard by the full 6th Circuit in Cincinnati on Thursday, December 6, 2001 and is likely to be heard by the US Supreme Court in a subsequent appeal.

The Boalt Hall Women's Association (BHWA) has come forward to applaud the efforts of their classmates and to emphasize the importance of the issue. "Having a largely monolithic student body is detrimental to students, the people of California, and the legal profession," explains Racheal Turner, President of BHWA. "The lack of diversity at top law schools in this country means that the legal profession will lack important ideas, perspectives, and approaches."

Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley's School of Law, is a perfect example of the magnitude of this problem. "The majority of the women at Boalt are white and the majority of our members are white," declares Ms. Turner. "We have been trying to increase the diversity of our membership and have been confronted with the unfortunate reality that there are not enough women of color at Boalt."

"Sex discrimination presents an inherent obstacle for women in the admissions process," asserts Jennifer Stroffe, Vice President of BHWA. "To require women of color to surmount racial barriers in addition is simply intolerable."

"By supporting affirmative action admissions programs, we send a clear message that we will not be satisfied with measures that primarily benefit white women," states Ms. Turner. "Part of BHWA's mission is to further the advancement of women in the legal profession - that means ALL women."

Last year Boalt students traveled to Michigan for the opening arguments in Grutter in the trial court. This year the 11 Boalt students traveling to Cincinnati will participate in a rally and march ending at the 6th Circuit courthouse. They will also meet with law students from around the country to formulate national strategies for defending the place of students of color in higher education.