The long battle over the University of Michigan’s affirmative action policy seems to have come to an end.

The University of Michigan was forced to suspend its policy for undergraduate admissions after Michigan voters amended their state constitution by referendum during the November elections.

The amendment bans the state from “discriminat(ing) against, or grant(ing) preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting,” according to the text of the amendment, commonly known as Proposal 2.

The University of Michigan will comply with the law, according to a letter sent by President Mary Sue Coleman and Provost Teresa A. Sullivan posted on their Web site.

The University of Michigan’s admissions process for the 2007-08 academic year was halted from Jan. 3-10, but resumed because Sullivan feared additional delays could cause their university to lose applicants, or make it harder to enroll the students already admitted, according to a statement issued by her office.

University President B. Joseph White received his doctorate from the University of Michigan and also served as interim president, dean of the business school and faculty member during his time there.

In a phone interview with a reporter from The Daily Illini, White said one of his primary concerns during his term as interim president at the University of Michigan was to preserve Michigan’s freedom and right to make admissions decisions.

He said preserving affirmative action was a part of that freedom.

White recently visited the University of Michigan and said it is clear that the administration there is concerned about ensuring they still reach out to a wide variety of potential students, but they are not yet sure how they can go about it.

White said other state systems that have been forced to adapt to similar situations have also struggled with the challenge of maintaining fairness while abiding by the law.

As for the University, White said he feels good about its admissions processes.

“I’ve looked very carefully at them and I think we do a very good job in ensuring that everybody who is admitted has the ability to succeed at the University of Illinois,” he said.

White said that the counties of Illinois are well represented thanks to the University’s efforts to reach out to urban and rural schools whose students may not initially consider the University as an option for college.

By Any Means Necessary, a national organization that has pledged to defend affirmative action among other causes, fought to keep the referendum off the Michigan ballot.

Donna Stern, national coordinator for the organization said they were successful in 2004, but a federal judge refused to remove the referendum from the ballot in 2006.

Stern said the federal judge ruled that the methods by which the referendum became eligible to be on the ballot were fraudulent, but they did not violate the civil rights voting act.

By Any Means Necessary plans to continue its fight against Proposal 2 and has already filed a suit claiming it is unconstitutional and violates the equal protection clause, Stern said.

“We plan to take this to the Supreme Court,” she said. “We are very confident that one way or another we’re going to overturn these bans. Black and Latino students not going to accept second class citizenship.”