Emory University President Gregory Fenves emailed the Emory community around 10 a.m. this morning to follow up on his previous communication about yesterday’s protests on campus. He wrote that yesterday morning’s encampment was “quickly cleared by law enforcement and a number of arrests were made.” However, Fenves wrote that protestors then “assembled peacefully” on the Quadrangle in the afternoon, with open expression observers and Emory Police Department officers on site.
“I am saddened by what took place at Emory yesterday,” Fenves wrote. “To watch these highly organized, outside protestors arrive on campus in vans, construct an encampment, and overtake the Quad just days after it was vandalized with hateful and threatening messages was deeply disturbing.”
Fenves wrote that videos of yesterday’s protests were “shocking.” Videos of law enforcement officers detaining protestors, including Emory students and faculty members, have circulated social media.
“The fact that members of our community were arrested upsets me even more and is something I take very seriously,” Fenves wrote.
According to a University-wide email from Emory Vice President for Public Safety Cheryl Elliott, law enforcement officers arrested 28 protestors, 20 of whom are Emory community members.
Fenves said that Emory is working “to assist detained community members and expedite their release.”
The president then briefly addressed the ongoing response to the war in Gaza at universities nationwide and the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, colloquially known as “Cop City.”
“Yesterday’s events echo similar incidents that have taken place at universities nationwide,” Fenves wrote. “I understand that the ongoing effects of the war in Israel and Gaza, including the humanitarian crisis engulfing the Palestinian people and the hostage crisis involving Israeli civilians, continue to stir painful emotions. At the same time, the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center engenders fierce debate across our city.”
Fenves wrote that the University is committed to working with the Emory community so they can express themselves and peacefully protest. He encouraged community members to express their “views and beliefs without diminishing the experiences and accomplishments of others.”
Earlier this morning at around 8 a.m., Emory School of Medicine students began setting up a first-aid station on the Quad. Klevi Golloshi (24M) and Rebecca Hong (24M) said that they decided to put together the station after seeing what happened at yesterday’s protest.
“We saw yesterday that lots of folks got hurt when the police responded to the peaceful protests, and so we just want to be here and provide aid in case that happens again,” Hong said.
Golloshi said that they hope to be on the Quad to be a source of help for students. The first-aid station, they said, can help protestors in case irritant gas is used again. Hong said that all the supplies the group has received have been through donations from faculty.
“We're just seeing a huge amount of support right now from medical students, because we're trained to help people and we've also been trained to think about issues like police brutality and what that means for our community at whole,” Hong said.
Golloshi said that seeing the police response to protestors yesterday was “bewildering” and “atrocious.”
The first student out on the Quad this morning was Naeman Mahmood (22Ox, 24C), who said he was up early in “solidarity” with the individuals who protested yesterday and are protesting today.
Mahmood said he was on the Quad yesterday at 9:30 a.m. but left as police officers began to detain students.
“When I came back … they were shooting rubber bullets, I got tear-gassed,” Mahmood said. “Those military grade responses aren't necessary for student activists or student protests, especially because the majority of students who were arrested were Emory students.”
Mahmood said that while he understands Fenves’ job is “very difficult,” he thinks that “this is a terrible look for Emory University.”
