All undergraduate students will be able to vote on their confidence in Emory University President Gregory Fenves from May 6 at noon to May 7 at 3 p.m. In an emergency meeting on April 30, the Student Government Association (SGA) unanimously approved the resolution to have a vote. SGA finalized the referendum voting dates on May 2. The ballot will be accessible to students through the Hub.
The referendum comes after the Emory Student Nurses Association, College Council, Oxford College Student Government Association and Oxford faculty voted that they do not have confidence in Fenves. The recent opposition of Fenves stems from the groups’ disapproval of Emory’s handling of an April 25 protest in which Georgia State Police, the Atlanta Police Department and the Emory Police Department removed pro-Palestinian protestors from the Quadrangle and arrested 28 people.
SGA Elections Board Chair Ananya Singh (22Ox, 25C) said SGA worked with the Student Involvement, Leadership and Transitions (SILT) office to create the ballot. Singh added that there was initial difficulty because SILT typically has months to prepare for such elections.
“It’s [a] more time-sensitive matter, and that’s been the main issue,” Singh said. “It took some time to figure out if we would be able to use our normal method of elections, which is through the Hub.”
Former Elections Board Chair Luxe Langmade (22Ox, 24C) currently serves as an advisor to Singh and Elections Board Vice Chair Elizabeth Brubaker (24Ox). Though she transitioned out of her role earlier this semester, Langmade said that she is assisting the pair because of the “unprecedented nature of this referendum.” According to Landmade, Singh and Brubaker are dedicated to “upholding an impartial election.”
Of the many schools that have garnered national attention for their pro-Palestinian protests on campus such as Columbia University (N.Y.), the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Austin, Emory appears to be the first to have its undergraduate student body vote on confidence in their university president due to the protests.
