DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Emory students are voting on their confidence in the university’s president, Gregory Fenves, and his response to pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
The Student Government Association is holding the referendum for undergraduate students through Tuesday.
This comes as Fenves announced that next Monday’s commencement ceremonies will not take place on campus but at Gas South Arena in Duluth. He cited safety concerns after recent protests for the move.
Protests began at Emory on April 25.
That’s when protesters, condemning Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, set up tents on the quad. Fenves called in police, with campus officers and state troopers responding.
Police arrested 28 people, including students and professors, for trespassing. Officers used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd, and they even tackled some of the demonstrators.
“I don’t believe bringing police on campus was the best move to take at a time like this,” said Finn Reilly, who’s graduating from Emory’s Oxford College next week. “I can’t trust our president to have students’ best interest at heart on campus when it comes to safety.”
Peter Nicholas also plans to vote in the referendum.
“I think he’s a pretty amazing president for our school,” he said. “I know he’s made some mistakes in this issue, but overall I think he’s really helped Emory become a better school. I don’t think it makes sense to try to vote him out.”
Last week, about 75 percent of the Arts and Sciences faculty voted “no confidence” in the president’s ability to do the job. The votes by faculty and students are non-binding; only the Board of Trustees has the authority to remove the university president.
Fenves sent a letter to the Emory community Monday, saying next week’s commencement will take place off campus. “Please know that this decision was not taken lightly,” he wrote. “It was made in close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisors and other agencies – each of which advised against holding Commencement events on our campus. I know that this news will be deeply disappointing to many of you.”
Izzy Munson, who’s graduating Monday, called the change of location “heartbreaking.” She began her education at Emory during the pandemic.
“I’m just really sad,” she said. “The pandemic uprooted our entire senior year of high school. We didn’t have a graduation for that, and then the freshman year was completely online. So I feel like our run-through of the college experience has been kind of bumpy.”