Friday, Aug. 31, 2001 | 11:17 a.m.
Community College of Southern Nevada administrator Mike Meyer resigned from his post Thursday after admitting to college officials that he uttered a racial slur that was heard by the wife of Assemblyman Wendell Williams.
Meyer told the Las Vegas Sun Thursday night that he was profusely sorry for the remark, felt embarrassed by it, and had tendered his resignation through an attorney at 5 p.m. that day. The 58-year-old Meyer, who was interim college president from March through June, was associate vice president of athletics and development when he resigned.
But Williams, D-Las Vegas, said this morning that Meyer's resignation is not enough to heal the harm caused by his remark. Williams said the racist remark was not an isolated incident, but part of a larger institutional problem that could form the basis of a discrimination lawsuit to be filed on behalf of his wife.
"I said something that was wrong, and I apologize for it," Meyer said. "I used the 'N' word, and I don't know why I said it. That's the first time I have ever said that word. It just came out.
"This is embarrassing. I called and apologized to Mr. Williams. I asked if I could apologize to his wife, and he was cordial, but he said 'no.' I made a big mistake and didn't want to embarrass the college so I decided to resign. I worked very hard to start athletics and I worked hard as interim president, but I let these people down so I didn't think I should be there."
CCSN lobbyist John Cummings said Meyer made the offensive remark to him on Aug. 17 outside their adjacent offices on the West Charleston campus as Zelda Williams was within earshot of Cummings' office. Zelda Williams, who is black, is the 39-year-old wife of Williams, chairman of the Assembly Education Committee.
Cummings, who became friends with Wendell Williams as a legislative lobbyist, said he promised to meet with the lawmaker's wife because she wanted to take classes this fall and was seeking guidance. She was waiting in Cumming's office for their 9:30 a.m. appointment to begin while he spoke next door with Meyer. The men's conversation eventually moved into the hallway.
Cummings said Meyer wanted to discuss an educational program involving Foothill High School in Henderson, but Cummings said he had the appointment with Zelda Williams.
"He said, 'Don't worry, niggers are always late,' " Cummings quoted Meyer as saying.
Meyer said that after he made the remark, "I looked around the corner, and there was a black lady sitting in Mr. Cummings' office."
"I said to myself I hoped the lady never heard me," Meyer said. "I was hoping the lady never heard me because no one could be that stupid."
Meyer said he took paid leave beginning Wednesday "to think things over" and came to the realization that he would not have had much support at the college had he chosen to fight for his job.
He said he was confronted about the remark on Tuesday by Regents Tom Weisner and Steve Sisolak after the Board of Regents met on the CCSN campus in closed session to discuss the future of UNLV President Carol Harter. In addition to apologizing to the regents and to CCSN President Ron Remington, Meyer said he also apologized to his secretary, who is black but was not present when the remark was made.
"I wouldn't feel right going back to work in that atmosphere," Meyer said. "So I did what was right for the school and resigned, but no one put pressure on me to do it."
Williams agreed with Meyer's resignation and noted that many minorities probably would feel uncomfortable learning in an atmosphere tainted by discrimination.
"CCSN is a public institution," Williams said. "My wife enrolled there to get an education to further her career. She's one notch up from entry-level. And for a guy who was president six months ago of the third largest community college in the nation -- this kind of discrimination prevents people from seeking an education. It throws everything into question."
CCSN just paid for a full-page ad in the Las Vegas Sentinel Voice, the local black newspaper, Williams said. College administrators also have held meetings recently to plan new ways of attracting minority students.
"But this type of incident hinders this type of recruitment. In fact, it hinders all recruitment," Williams said. "It will be difficult for the college to regain the confidence of the community."
Williams said his wife does not want to speak to the press.
Zelda Williams still has not decided whether she will attend classes because of the discomfort caused by the incident, he said.
The lawmaker said that his wife, fearful of how he would react because of his reaction to other recent racist remarks made by high-ranking officials, never told him about the remark. Instead, Williams said he learned about it Monday from college sources.
"My wife is devastated. She doesn't want to go to college now because she doesn't know if it will be safe for her to do so."
Remington, who has been president of CCSN about three weeks, could not comment on Williams' statement that CCSN suffers from institutional discrimination.
"We will want to have a campus with a very open environment," he said. "(Minority students) are wanted here and they are exactly what a community college is about. We want to embrace the entire community. We have zero tolerance for any racial or sexual bias."
Remington declined to say whether he asked Meyer to resign, but commended Meyer for coming forward voluntarily and for the work he has done for the sports community. There will be no investigation into the matter if Meyer submits a written resignation today, Remington said.
"Mike is taking some annual leave this week. He has about 25 days of accrued leave that he has earned."
Sisolak defended Meyer.
"There was a racial slur, but it was not directed at anyone," Sisolak said. "From the side of Mike Meyer I know it's totally out of character. It was said. It was a mistake. It's my understanding he apologized."
"I want to make it clear that this is not a free speech issue," Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Gary Peck said. "He was not expressing a serious opinion about anyone or anything. He was merely uttering an offensive joke, and he was doing it within earshot of other people.
"It certainly raises questions about the culture that exists at that institution. If Mr. Meyer felt comfortable to say that in front of other people, that's very disturbing. This evidence of extremely poor judgment and insensitivity makes it clear he is not well suited for the position he occupies."
Meyer said he has no idea what he will do for work.
"You work hard for 30 years and then slip up and make one mistake," he said. "You ask for forgiveness but don't see that it will be accepted. I have some strong friends in town. Most of them advised that I stay (at CCSN), but I still think it was in the best interest of myself and the college that I leave."
Meyer, who had been at CCSN for about 3 1/2 years, became head of the Las Vegas Boys and Girls Club in 1969. The organization grew from a staff of three to 140 and saw its annual budget climb from $15,000 to $3 million during his 30-year tenure.
He made the news last year as part of the ethics probe of Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald. Both men were board members of the nonprofit Youth Charities, which helps needy kids, but Meyer was never implicated in any wrongdoing.
AT CCSN, Meyer made his mark by helping to establish baseball, soccer and basketball teams for the college. But he received a vote of no confidence from college faculty members when he was up for consideration in March as interim president. Some regents opposed Meyer for that position because he did not possess a graduate degree but the state board voted 6-5 to give him the interim job.
He subsequently returned to his vice presidential post when Remington was hired as the new president. Remington took over on July 1.
archive
