Emory University’s Student Government Association (SGA) unanimously voted just after midnight today to send a referendum to students to vote on their confidence in University President Gregory Fenves.
SGA expects to hold voting on the referendum through The Hub but has not finalized when they will open the ballot because SGA and the Student Involvement, Leadership and Transitions (SILT) office still need to discuss the feasibility of a referendum, SILT Interim Director Carson Banks said.
“We would want to make sure that you all are doing this in a way that is going to ensure that the results are accurate and obviously that the process is done correctly,” Banks told SGA members during the meeting.
Additionally, the SILT member who typically runs elections had to take unexpected leave, which may cause delays in organizing the referendum, according to Banks.
SGA Vice President Pranay Mamileti (26C) told The Emory Wheel that the group passed the resolution with the intent of meeting with SILT “as soon as possible” to figure out the details. He added that SGA is currently planning to hold this vote using the same infrastructure created for the Student Activity Fee referendum in March, but SGA will look at other options if that plan is not feasible.
The resolution will include options for confidence or no confidence in Fenves, as well as an option to abstain from selecting either choice. The resolution also states that SGA’s vote to send a referendum to students does not reflect SGA’s level of confidence in Fenves.
Oxford College Student Government Association (OxSGA) President Kenan Bajraktarevic (25Ox) said OxSGA did not vote to hold a separate referendum because he believes having the whole undergraduate student body vote together will be more effective.
During the SGA meeting, Mamileti said that while the student referendum is not binding, he believes it would be difficult for the Board of Trustees to keep Fenves in his role in the event of a “no confidence” vote, as multiple school faculties and student organizations have already expressed that they lack confidence in the president.
Yesterday evening, the Emory Student Nurses Association (ESNA) passed a resolution to assert that they do not have confidence in Fenves. The resolution states that ESNA is “deeply appalled” by the use of “excessive force” during the pro-Palestine encampment on April 25 and demands redress.
“President Fenves was unable to prioritize or protect the safety, health and well-being of members of the Emory community and failed to have the proper safeguards in place to protect said members from external law enforcement agencies,” the resolution reads.
This came soon after OxSGA held an emergency meeting yesterday morning and unanimously passed a resolution calling for the removal of Fenves as University president. In the resolution, OxSGA also called for a university-wide referendum to gauge “confidence” in Fenves’ leadership.
Bajraktarevic added that discussion in a University Senate executive branch meeting with Fenves yesterday morning influenced OxSGA’s decision to pass the resolution.
“Fenves defended his actions and stated that he would repeat his actions if a similar situation occurred,” the resolution reads.
On April 25, OxSGA sent an anonymous response form to students to communicate their “concerns, thoughts or experiences” related to the protest that day and subsequent arrests.
“There were many students who expressed severe discontent with the present administration and the actions taken on that day,” Bajraktarevic said.
Additionally, Oxford faculty members voted “no confidence” in Fenves yesterday evening, with over 90% in favor of the resolution, Oxford Assistant Professor of Economics Daniel Ludwinski wrote in an email to The Emory Wheel. This comes after an April 26 meeting where the Emory College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS) Senate decided to send an electronic ballot out to faculty to vote on their confidence in Fenves.
Associate Teaching Professor and College Senate President Bree Ettinger wrote in an email to the Wheel that she will announce the results of the ECAS faculty referendum after the vote closes on May 3 at 3 p.m.
Although Fenves is facing growing opposition from the Emory community, the Board of Trustees will ultimately decide whether or not to remove him from his role.
“Typically, what has happened at every other university where the President has come under fire, has been for them to resign,” said former SGA President Khegan Meyers (24B). “That is what happened with Claudine Gay. Typically those conversations happen by the Board of Trustees or some member of the Board who puts a significant amount of pressure on the president to just resign because of contractual issues.”
