Multiple members of the Emory University Senate’s Committee for Open Expression have found that student organizers “deliberately misled” the Division of Campus Life as a strategy during a student-led protest against the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. The members called Campus Life’s decision to transfer control to the Emory Police Department (EPD) and end the protest “warranted.”
This is among the committee’s findings, which are currently under Senate review, after an investigation into the final hours of the “Stop Cop City” protest. Faculty and Emory Stop Cop City members have argued that Emory violated the Respect for Open Expression Policy when EPD called the Atlanta Police Department (APD) for assistance, told students to leave or face arrest and terminated the protest around 1:20 a.m. on April 25, 2023.
The committee also investigated the University’s response to former Emory School of Medicine Assistant Professor Abeer AbouYabis, whom Emory ceased to employ after she shared a social media post that the University deemed “antisemitic.” The committee found that the University “likely” violated AbouYabis’ open expression rights when she was terminated.
Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Physics Ilya Nemenman, who chairs the committee, shared the findings with the Senate during the Feb. 27 meeting and is now waiting for the body’s review.
“We did our job,” Nemenman said. “They can accept our recommendations, they can accept some of them or reject all of them. I don’t know, but that’s in their court now.”
Professor of Pediatrics and University Senate President Nikita Gupta said the Senate is still in the early stages of the review process, but she plans to move “as quickly as possible” and hopes to reach a decision by the end of the spring semester.
“Situations are not always black and white, but clarity is needed,” Gupta said. “Whatever will come out of the Senate recommendations, I'm hoping it will be clear and point towards a clear direction.”
Stop Cop City protest
The investigation comes after Associate Professor of Philosophy Dilek Huseyinzadegan, Associate Professor of Religion Sara McClintock and Associate Professor of Comparative Literature Sean Meighoo filed a complaint with the Committee for Open Expression in September 2023 alleging that Dean of Campus Life Enku Gelaye and the committee violated the open expression policy while responding to the protest.
Among the alleged violations was that Gelaye transferred her authority over the protest to EPD without “emergency” factors that would warrant that action, such as “imminent” harm, as stipulated in the policy. EPD then terminated the protest, another alleged infraction under the policy.
The committee was unable to reach a unanimous decision about the legitimacy of either action, but multiple committee members found that allowing the protest to continue overnight would have been a “substantial safety risk.” If problems could have reasonably arisen at the protest quicker than the Division of Campus Life or EPD could respond, the event could have posed an “imminent” threat, according to the report.
Additionally, some members found that the student protestors misled the Division of Campus Life by allegedly failing to notify the University that they planned to stay on the Quadrangle overnight in tents, although this “may have been the plan all along,” according to the report. Additionally, the Quad was reserved that evening for Commencement preparation.
The committee said that this alleged deception caused a “breach of trust” and “misplanning” that prevented the Division of Campus Life and EPD from properly providing security for an overnight protest. Although the committee unanimously agreed that termination was an “over-response,” several committee members found that the student organizers’ alleged deception — combined with violence at larger “Stop Cop City” events off Emory’s campus — justified Campus Life’s decision to transfer its authority to EPD and terminate the protest.
“From what we learned, they did their best to accommodate the students, the protest, up until the moment when they decided that the protest should end,” Nemenman said.
Student Government Association (SGA) Vice President-elect Pranay Mamileti (25B) attended the Feb. 27 Senate meeting. Although he said student organizers could have done better when communicating with administration, Mamileti believes calling APD was “entirely disproportionate.”
In the complaint, the three faculty members also alleged that Nemenman was not contacted before EPD told students to leave the Quad or face arrest and the protest was terminated, which the open expression policy requires. However, the committee found that the Division of Campus Life fulfilled its obligations by making multiple attempts to contact Nemenman, who was asleep in Pittsburgh.
The committee found that the protest was forcibly terminated, meaning the open expression policy requires Gelaye to publish a statement explaining the circumstances that led to the end of the protest. However, Gelaye has not done so, leading the committee to conclude she did not adequately fulfill her responsibilities, according to the report.
To address these issues, the committee recommended that the Senate request a statement from the Division of Campus Life and organize a community forum to discuss the protest. When The Emory Wheel sent Gelaye a request for comment, Vice President of University Communications Laura Diamond responded.
“We are appreciative of the committee’s work and will continue to support the principles outlined in the Open Expression Policy,” Diamond wrote.
The committee also suggested that rapid response to protests — including the need for an immediate response from the chair — be removed from its responsibilities, allowing committee members to focus on resolving conflicts in the long term. Additionally, the committee recommended that the Senate educate the community on the open expression policy and clarify how the University should respond to planned versus impromptu events.
SGA President Khegan Meyers (24B), who sits on the Senate, said students’ confusion surrounding the open expression policy is no fault of their own, noting that the policy is “complex” and uses “confusing” terminology that needs to be revised.
AbouYabis’ departure
AbouYabis was initially placed on administrative leave in October 2023 after sharing a social media post the University found to be “antisemitic.”
“They got walls / we got gliders Glory to all resistance fighters,” AbouYabis wrote in the post. “Palestine is our demand No peace on stolen land / Not another nickel not another dollar / We will pay For israel slaughter / Not another nickel not another dime / We will pay for israel crimes.”
Interim School of Medicine Dean Carlos del Rio, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Ravi Thadhani and Emory Healthcare CEO Joon Leecondemned the post as being “rooted in bias and hate.” Emory no longer employed AbouYabis by Nov. 9, 2023.
However, the committee found that the School of Medicine likely violated AbouYabis’ rights to open expression by “firing” her. The group reported that her termination would only be permissible if she could no longer fulfill her duties, noting that speech that is not “on-the-job” and regards public interest has stronger protection under the First Amendment. According to the report, the medical school and Emory Healthcare never provided evidence that AbouYabis could no longer work.
“Even such evidence exists, Dr. AbouYabis’s expression should still enjoy some degree of protection if the only reason her expression became known on the job was because of media reporting on it and linking her private profile to her professional profile, rather than because of her own action,” the committee reported.
The committee added that AbouYabis’ account had no clear association with Emory but was still held to the standards of the Emory Healthcare Social Media Policy, which prohibits employees from posting about patients in any way that violates Emory Healthcare’s policies against discrimination, harassment or hostility. However, with Emory Healthcare amassing over six million patient visits annually, the report said that this policy — which the committee finds “overly restrictive” — effectively bars employees from negatively discussing most individuals and groups in Atlanta.
In response, the committee recommended that the Senate independently investigate these possible violations and request that del Rio explain how the open expression policy was followed within Emory Healthcare. Additionally, the committee reported that Emory Healthcare’s policy needs to be revised to better align with the open expression policy, which should also be edited to promote cooperation between Emory community members and administration during investigations.
An Emory Students for Justice in Palestine member, who attended the Senate meeting on Feb. 27 and requested to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said AbouYabis’ termination was “jarring” and made some members of the Emory community scared to advocate for their beliefs.
“I hope that the injustice that was dealt to Dr. AbouYabis and her silencing will be corrected by the University somehow and that they can begin rebuilding trust with the Arab and Muslim and Palestinian communities,” the member said.
Next steps
In addition to the committee’s pending recommendations to the Senate, Nemenman noted that the Emory community must recognize that rhetoric surrounding open expression on college campuses is very “inflamed” and do what they can to reduce that tension. Gupta said the Senate is planning to send a survey to the Emory community to gather feedback on the current policy.
“Everybody's voice should be heard,” Gupta said. “What goes in final recommendations for policy change will be decided by the committee, but I want to collect data to see, assess the sentiment and feelings of everybody on campus.”
Although the committee’s reports are still pending approval, the Senate members have agreed that the open expression policy needs to be reviewed and updated, which will begin as a separate process, Gupta said. Mamileti expressed concern that students have not been educated on how to avoid situations like the spring protest termination.
“They have a responsibility to Emory students and the larger Emory community to explain what they’re looking for to prevent situations like this occurring,” Mamileti said. “Otherwise, it opens a very dangerous door to suppressing open expression on this campus in the long term.”
Nemenman explained that this is exactly what the Committee for Open Expression hopes to do. Rather than looking to assign blame, Nemenman said the group is dedicated to mediating the situation and forging a path that allows the University to avoid similar difficulties in the future.
“In all of these cases, these were what I fundamentally believe good people with good intentions making decisions under pressure,” Nemenman said.
News Editor Spencer Friedland (26C) and Asst. News Editor Lauren Yee (25Ox) contributed reporting.
