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The University of Arizona's president took a DNA test, and it turns out he's 100 percent apologetic about past remarks.
Robert Robbins has apologized after he told a group of Native American students he had taken a DNA test similar to the one taken by Elizabeth Warren, reports Arizona Central.
Indigenous students from the organization Voices of Indigenous Concerns in Education (VOICE) demanded an apology from Robbins after he made comments about his heritage that the students found offensive. The group wrote an open letter calling out the president's actions.
In the letter, they describe how Robbins unexpectedly attended a Native Students Outreach, Access and Resiliency (SOAR) class where he said he had taken a DNA test "to prove his Cherokee ancestry" and wanted to take a second test after the first one returned negative, citing his "very high cheekbones."
VOICE shared the letter on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
Twelve days after the incident, two Native students attended Robbins's office hours to explain how those comments had offended the students. At that meeting Robbins apologized, however, his office did not respond to follow-ups from the students requesting to schedule a time when Robbins could apologize to the class, as the president had expressed to the students his desire to do so. UA did publish an official apology from Robbins following the Facebook post from VOICE.
The letter noted that UA is a land-grant institution on ancestral grounds of Native tribes. It called for Robbins to apologize to the SOAR class in person, stronger collaboration between the university and its community, the creation of a new position on the president's leadership team that would reflect interests and voices of the tribal communities, the president to include more diverse individuals on his leadership team,and Robbins's support for the growth and sustainability of Native programs on campus.
