Though Gov. Bobby Jindal appointed a minority member to serve on the Board of Regents on Wednesday, the group that challenged the Board’s makeup says one man is not enough.
A lawsuit was filed against Jindal and the Board on Feb. 14 by former Congressman Cleo Fields on behalf of seven Southern University students stating the Board’s membership was unconstitutional.
The students said the formerly all-white Board was not representative of the state’s population.
And it still isn’t, said plaintiff Venese Morgan, a political science and Arabic senior at Southern University in Baton Rouge.
“One minority appointed to the Board is not representative of the state of Louisiana,” she said.
Morgan said more minority members need to be appointed to the administrative board to represent the state’s minority demographic, which she said is about 37 percent.
Jindal appointed Albert Sam II, an African-American surgeon in Baton Rouge, to the Board on Wednesday following the resignation of Board member Roland Toups on March 7.
If approved by the Senate, Sam will be the only racial minority member of the 15 representatives.
Regents spokeswoman Meg Casper said Sam will seek approval during the legislative session and will serve on the Board until that occurs.
“Having Sam is a step closer to where we want to be, but it’s not the end,” Morgan said.
The injunction against the Board was denied on Feb. 24, but the students filed an appeal on the case, according to plaintiff Dadrius Lanus, a political science and history junior at SUBR.
Morgan said the hearing is scheduled for some time in April, as there is “still a case to be heard.”
“I believe if we had not filed, they would not have appointed Sam,” she said. “I’m glad the state is starting to see where we are coming from.”
Morgan said it’s important to remember the lawsuit is about equality, not about the potential merger between the University of New Orleans and Southern University-New Orleans.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with the merger, but it has everything to do with the individuals that sit on the Board, and they have something to do with the merger,” she said.
The results of the merger study were announced Monday, and the Board’s recommendation on the matter will be disclosed today in a special meeting.
 
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Contact Sydni Dunn at [email protected]