U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has challenged the University of Michigan to get more black students as she received an honorary degree from the school. Asked Monday about what public universities will look like in the decades ahead, Sotomayor said they're going to "look a lot like" the University of Michigan but more diverse - a remark that drew applause. She says the number of black students at the Ann Arbor school is a "real problem."
Sotomayor says the U.S. can't "reach equality in a larger society" without equality in education. She made her comments during a forum with German Justice Susanne Baer.
The percentage of black undergraduate students at the University of Michigan has been pretty steady at less than 5 percent since 2012.
WGVU reached out to the University of Michigan. Officials said in a prepared statement that "the university is dedicated to becoming more diverse, equitable and inclusive, and we agree that attracting more black students is imperative to accomplishing that goal."
