BOULDER, Colo.
University of Colorado freshman Darian Salehy loves college life so far — except for one thing.
“It’s all White people,” Salehy mused on the Boulder campus lawn recently, looking at fellow students headed to class.
Salehy, of Iranian descent, fears that the state’s flagship university, currently about 9 percent non-White, might become less diverse if Colorado passes a ballot measure banning government consideration of race or gender in university admissions, contracts and state spending.
The measure is similar to ones approved by voters in California, Michigan and Washington state, as well as one on the Nebraska ballot this year. It’s part of a state-by-state push by former California regent Ward Connerly, who tried but failed to get the question on ballots in Arizona and Oklahoma this year.
Affirmative action isn’t dominating national political headlines — or even getting a lot of talk in Colorado, where it’s just one of 14 ballot measures facing voters and has been overshadowed by the presidential race and financial crisis.
The Colorado Board of Regents has not taken a position on the amendment, though Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter opposes it, saying it would undercut state education efforts. In Nebraska, the State College Board of Trustees and the University of Nebraska both oppose it.
