The Bishop of the Samoan ward in Provo is half Samoan and Half Tongan and is in graduate school at BYU as well as being employed there. So I believe he loves the hire.
I believe a lot of Polynesians loved the hire, including Samoans. But when Kalani started bringing only Tongans to the staff, that's when the questions started coming up. I've even heard that Russell was a token hire (I don't believe that).