Students say they want to be more involved in next year’s regent selection process following University of Minnesota Regent Steve Sviggum’s comments questioning the impacts of the Morris campus’s diversity, which students believe do not reflect the student body’s values.

Sviggum announced his resignation as vice chair of the Board of Regents on Oct. 25 following his suggestion during the October board meeting that diversity may be to blame for dropping enrollment at the University’s Morris campus. In response, some students have called for change in University leadership.

“The notion of too much diversity is ridiculous,” said Grace Brunfelt, secretary of the University’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. “A lot of what we strive for is the exact opposite.”

While Sviggum will continue to serve on the board until his term ends this spring, it was announced Nov. 4 he would not seek another term.

Micah Kafka, a third-year student at the University of Minnesota-Morris, said they think Sviggum’s decision to not return to the board could be a good step for the University. Kafka said they think the University “should put more of an effort into connecting with the student body” and hopes the next vice chair is more in touch with student values.

“I hope his position goes to somebody who will use it to do right by the University, its students and the community at large rather than use it as a platform for their friends’ racial discomfort,” Kafka said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

However, students like Kafka and Carter Yost, who is the Undergraduate Student Government’s (USG) government and legislative affairs director, also said they saw Sviggum’s resignation from the board’s vice chair position as “saving face,” and they hope he resigns before his term ends in the spring.

“He still holds a position of power, he still sits in that seat and he still has influence on the Board of Regents,” Yost said.

Students want to be more involved in the next regent elections

The board is made up of 12 regents who each serve a six-year term. This spring, the state Legislature will fill four board seats following the Regent Candidate Advisory Council’s (RCAC) recommendations.

The RCAC consists of 24 members, half of whom are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the others by the Senate Subcommittee on Committees of the Committee on Rules and Administration. The House and Senate each must appoint a student enrolled at the University to be on the committee.

Yost said after the controversy with Sviggum, he hopes students become more active in the process to replace him.

“When we aren’t in the room, we don’t know what gets said, so students have to be in the room,” Yost said.

While students do not currently vote on board membership, Yost said USG is looking for ways for students to be able to advocate for better representation on the board.

“Just because we don’t get a vote, doesn’t mean we don’t have a voice,” Yost said. “Students ought to be so loud and involved in this process that it’s just difficult to ignore.”

A progressive student body wants progressive leadership

Yost and Kafka both said Sviggum’s diversity statement shows the Board of Regents should put more effort into connecting with the students they represent. While not every regent is flawed, the perspectives between students and regents have not been lining up, Yost said.

“The University and its leadership ought to share a fundamental and steadfast commitment to representing and serving and fighting for students from every background,” Yost said. “The members are not in touch with the perspectives of most of the students on any of our campuses.”

Brunfelt said Sviggum’s comments signaled deeper-rooted racism in University leadership rather than one individual with “racist views.”

Brunfelt said she thinks the University has a progressive student body but is not progressive in leadership, and she is frustrated by the power the board has to make decisions on students’ behalf.

Kafka, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation, said the idea of Morris’ diversity leading to decreased student enrollment is a “white-focused perspective.” They said the Native American student population is as important to campus life as the white student population.

“What he is saying is that too much diversity is making [the Morris campus] less marketable to middle-class white kids,” Kafka said. “And that’s only a portion of the marketing audience.”