Former College Council Vice President of Budgets Mira Gurock (26B) wrote to College Council legislators on Sept. 11 appealing College Council President Jannat Khan’s (25C) decision to fire her for leaking Emory Students for Justice in Palestine’s (ESJP) budget, which included an ESJP member’s name and plans to host a memorial on the Emory University Quadrangle on Oct. 7. The ESJP member, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, said that the leak creates privacy concerns.
Gurock expressed regret in her appeal letter.
“Let me be clear that it was never my intention to hurt or endanger any member of this council or this community,” Gurock wrote.
Additionally, a group of Emory students, alumni and organizations wrote a letter to College Council asking for Gurock not to be reinstated. ESJP, Emory Stop Cop City, Latinx Student Organization, Black Student Alliance and Students for Socialism were among the groups that signed the letter.
“The explicit sharing of private information about clubs and students can incite violence on campus, and jeopardize student safety,” the letter reads.
Gurock claimed in her letter to the legislators that Student Government Association (SGA) Vice President Pranay Mamileti (26B) told her to appeal.
“Based on the information you and they [College Council Executives] have shared, they had no right to fire you,” Gurock wrote in the letter, quoting a text Mamileti previously sent her. “In that sense, you have every right to and should appeal the termination.”
In a separate letter to College Council legislators, Mamileti confirmed that he sent Gurock that text, but alleged that he did so without knowing the full extent of the situation. He explained that Gurock initially told him she did not send ESJP’s budget to anyone who was not a current Emory student.
Mamileti added that, 10 minutes before he texted Gurock, she sent him an email revealing that she had actually sent the budget to an Emory alumni. However, he claimed that he did not see the notification or the email until after he sent the text.
“I sent the quoted text to her under the impression that ESJP budget and personal information was never sent to a non-student, and especially not to any Political Action Committee,” Mamileti wrote.
Gurock appealed her termination based on grounds that she was not offered due process or a hearing, which she said the SGA Constitution requires.
Article II, Section 1, Clauses H, I and J outline students’ rights to equal protection, fair and equal treatment, a hearing for any student charged with any governmental rule violations and the right to have a hearing before their peers when charged with policy or rule violations. Despite this, College Council’s Constitution states that any individual can be removed from office at the president’s discretion.
College Council’s legislature discussed the appeal at a meeting on Wednesday evening. College Council Legislator Sohan Bellam (26C), SGA Attorney General Berkeley Borkert (23Ox, 26C) and SGA Deputy Attorney General Sahana Ashley (26C) introduced a resolution defining an appeal process, noting that it is similar to SGA’s process for appealing impeachments. College Council, which previously did not have an established procedure to handle termination appeals, passed the resolution unanimously.
Over 70 people attended the meeting. Some students wore keffiyehs, which are traditional Middle Eastern headdresses, to show solidarity with Gaza.
Bellam asked legislators to vote for a recess until next Wednesday to give College Council time to iron out a procedure for the appeals process for all parties involved.
“We need time for people to think through their decisions, and I feel like it would not be in the best interest of either party or College Council as an institution to hold a vote on this tonight,” Bellam said.
After some debate, the legislators voted to go into recess until next Wednesday.
“It’s really important that we take a look at our process in which we conduct this appeal to make sure it’s deliberative, inclusive, upholds the commitments of due process and the right to a fair hearing in the SGA Constitution and our other constitutional and University obligations,” Bellam told The Emory Wheel.
The former treasurer of ESJP, whose name Gurock leaked, said that while they understand College Council needs time to create a formal procedure, they were disappointed the hearing did not happen today.
“It’s very frustrating as someone who is directly impacted and wants this to be figured out as soon as possible,” the ESJP member said.
