MORRIS, Minn. – The students came to Room 5 of the humanities building Thursday to discuss literature in their senior seminar. But first, they reflected on the furor over University of Minnesota Regent Steve Sviggum's remarks questioning whether declining enrollment at this campus is because the school is "too diverse."
Dylan Young, president of the Morris Campus Student Association, told his classmates he hopes Sviggum realizes he was wrong when he visits this fall.
He worries that people will scapegoat "diversity" as college enrollment falls nationally and classes become more racially mixed. "What if people see these two lines going up and down and they think there's a correlation?" Young, 21, shook his head. "It's dangerous."
His professor, Becca Gercken, agreed.
"Especially because for so many historically underrepresented people, a college education is their way upwards," she said to her students.
In an open letter last week, Morris faculty members and staffers blasted Sviggum for "inaccurately faulting students of color" for enrollment issues, and assured students of color that "we care about your wellbeing as well as your irreplaceable contributions to this community."
This campus of 1,068 students has grappled in recent days with the question posed by the vice chair of the board overseeing the University of Minnesota system — comments that strike many as offensive and bewildering, especially given the close-knit nature of the school and its unique relationship with Native American students.
At an Oct. 13 Board of Regents meeting, Sviggum asked, "Is it possible that we've become too diverse?" He said he received letters from two friends that their children "didn't feel comfortable" going to school there. The Morris student body is 54 % white.