LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A university regent sparked controversy when he suggested Jewish students should "get in line" when seeking protection from anti-discrimination policies because other ethnic groups had suffered more.
Regent Donald McMichael made the comments June 7, at the end of a long board meeting that included an anti-discrimination policy that was amended to include protection for "...shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, or citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity."
"But yet, we have a small group of people, because they were set upon in World War II, have the notion that they can set themselves up in a higher position than anyone else in the United States," McMichael said.
"I feel very badly and thought that the Hamas massacre was atrocious," he added. "But the United States has been massacring Indians and Blacks for a lot longer. So if you really want to have a discrimination, anti-discrimination, setting for this I would agree to it. But the way things are going, we're setting aside a group that is above all other groups."
McMichael added: "So these things that we are trying to settle on right now because some Jewish students are frightful to come to campus, get in line. There's others who have been here a lot longer and have been treated more poorly."
WATCH: Donald McMichael's remarks during board meeting
UNLV has seen some protests in the wake of the war on Gaza, but not to the same degree that other schools.
The anti-discrimination policy was debated by members of the public extensively before it was ultimately adopted by a 7-6 vote by regents. That vote came after the board rejected a resolution condemning antisemitism, modeled after one that came before the U.S. Senate.
Following the meeting, regents board Chair Amy Carvalho and Vice Chair Jeffrey Downs issued a statement that condemned McMichael's remarks, but did not mention him by name.
"We acknowledge that during the discussion surrounding the policy proposal, comments were made downplaying the concerns of our Jewish community members," the statement reads in part. "We want to make it abundantly clear that the Board of Regents takes the concerns of Jewish students, staff and faculty, and community members very seriously. Discrimination and bias in any form are antithetical to the values of inclusion and respect that we uphold."
McMichael did not return a call seeking comment.
But a coalition of groups — comprising Jewish Nevada, the Anti-Defamation League, the Israeli American Council and the UNLV Jewish Faculty and Staff Group — issued a joint statement.
"We strongly condemn Regent McMichael's recent remarks, which were deeply troubling and completely unacceptable," the statement reads. "He suggested that Jewish students who are experiencing antisemitism should 'take a ticket and get in line' and that 'some people are trying to put themselves above all others in society.' These comments isolate Jewish students from the greater (higher education) community. Antisemitism has no place in our society and it is imperative that those in positions of authority uphold values of inclusion and equity."
McMichael will be leaving the board of regents at the end of the year, not because of the controversy, but because he lost his bid for re-election. He placed fourth in a five-person race in his District 4 seat in the June 11 primary election, with front-runners Tonia Holmes-Sutton and Aaron Bautista advancing to the Nov. 5 runoff.
This isn't the first time the regents have faced controversy over comments made during board meetings. In March, Regent Patrick Boylan faced calls to resign after he made comments regarding transgender people in sports.
Boylan remains on the board.
