By Arthur Bridgeforth Jr.

About 500 students from Wayne State, the University of Michigan and the Detroit Public Schools braved frigid temperatures as they gathered at a rally supporting affirmative action on Gullen Mall last week.

Students made short speeches, sang and also tried to motivate the crowd, particularly the Detroit high school students that came on campus. Ernest Coverson, a regional youth field director for the NAACP, made such an appeal to those students that their visit to Wayne State wasn't about hanging out on campus or going to McDonald's in the Student Center Building.

"It's time for you to step up and take your place in the struggle," Coverson said.

The rally, which was sponsored by Wayne State's NAACP College chapter, is in response to President George W. Bush's decision to fight U-M's affirmative action-based admissions policy in the U.S. Supreme Court. U-M gives points to applicants who are minorities, as part its admissions scoring process. Points are also assigned for residency, special talents as well as test scores and grades. Two lawsuits that challenge U-M's policy will go before the Supreme Court starting April 1.

Several other student leaders from Wayne State and U-M implored to the crowd to take the issue of affirmative action serious and join a march on Washington D.C. planned for April 1, when the Supreme Court hears the two cases.

"This is not about being on a level playing field," said Teri Russiello, U-M student and member of the NAACP. "It's about being on the same team."

Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP Detroit Chapter, was the keynote speaker at the rally. Anthony criticized Bush for slamming affirmative action when he himself, gained admission through an affirmative action-like program. Bush, a C-average student, gained admissions to Yale and Harvard thanks to the legacy consideration offered to the children of alumni of the Ivy League schools. Bush's father George H.W. Bush attended both Yale and Harvard.

Anthony, an alumnus of Wayne State, held his alma mater out as a premier urban institution and a role model for diversity. He added that affirmative action is necessary to help redress past discrimination and eventually create an equitable society.

"If a man starts out in a race more than 300 years behind, it will take more than 30 years to catch up," Anthony said.