College Council presidential candidate Neha Murthy. Photo courtesy of Neha Murthy.
From her passionate fight for the inclusivity of non-music majors in the Emory Music department to her desire to facilitate greater celebrations of religion in Emory’s new interfaith center, Neha Murthy (24C) is the right choice for College Council (CC) president. The Editorial Board proudly endorses Neha Murthy for this position. Emory College students should feel at ease with her as their next president because of her profound involvement in CC, serving this past year as vice president.
Murthy’s struggles for communication and transparency with student government when founding Swara, a club dedicated to Indian classical music, initially motivated her to get involved. Though she’s risen through the ranks at CC, she hasn’t forgotten her roots and continues to advocate for students across Emory’s campuses and pre-professional tracks. Murthy’s plan to improve CC’s transparency and accountability by directly speaking with students at every Wonderful Wednesday is a refreshing change from the ambiguity typical of Emory student government.
While acknowledging the contributions of past diversity initiatives, Murthy keeps her eye on the future. As co-vice president of Emory’s Hindu Students Association, Murthy knows how to hold respectful, productive conversations on sensitive topics like religion and intercultural conflicts. She intends to use this skill to further the creation of Emory’s developing Interfaith Center, a place she envisions will become a forum for conversations for students of any background.
Another key pillar of Murthy’s platform is sustainability. While the Emory community has made significant strides toward improving sustainability on campus through events like the weekly farmers market, Murthy intends to go even further. Murthy wants to develop a partnership with the Office of Sustainability Initiatives to start a booth providing sustainable CC merchandise at the farmers’ market, bridging divisions between CC and the wider Emory student body.
Additionally, Murthy will not be constricted by her role as CC president; she seeks to use her connections to leaders of other student organizations, such as Plastic Free Emory, to widen the scope of her sustainability initiatives. We trust that her communication skills will apply beyond her interfaith dialogue initiative — they will allow her to collaborate meaningfully with other campus leaders.
Contrary to Murthy’s well-established policies, we believe Daniel Nadel’s (25C) platform and experience does not have the same potential for meaningful change. While Nadel expresses a genuine vested interest in collaboration with leaders of other campus organizations, we believe Murthy would be able to better leverage such connections given her approachability and extensive background in fostering dialogue between distinct groups.
It’s clear that improving the larger Emory community isn’t just an act for Murthy — it is a passion that she will continue to expand upon as CC president. In her campaign platform, Murthy makes sure to include the Oxford campus, a detail not all candidates remembered. We were impressed by her consideration of the needs of Oxford and transfer students — she seeks to implement mentorship programs for students who are transitioning into the Emory community to ensure no one is left on the fringes.
Across all of her different endeavors — fostering interfaith dialogue, working with leaders of various organizations and connecting the Atlanta and Oxford campuses — Murthy seeks to bring people together. As such, she is uniquely well-equipped to foster a stronger sense of community in the College, a skill that will provide the foundation for changes to come if she serves as CC president.
Assistant Opinion Editor Ellie Fivas (24Ox) serves as Oxford-Atlanta Liaison for the Oxford and Emory Student Government Associations. She recused herself and was not involved in writing or editing this editorial. Editorial Board members with conflicts of interest with candidates recused themselves from the relevant endorsements.
Executive Editor Sophia Ling (24C) recused herself from editing this editorial due to a conflict of interest.
The above editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s Editorial Board and Opinion Editor Sophia Peyser. The Editorial Board is composed of Isabelle Bellott-McGrath, Rachel Broun, Evelyn Cho, Ellie Fivas, Marc Goedemans, Aayam Kc, Elyn Lee, Saanvi Nayar, Shruti Nemala, Nushrat Nur and Sara Perez.
The Editorial Board is the official voice of the Emory Wheel and is editorially separate from the Wheel's board of editors.
