Emory undergraduates vote ‘censorship’ of university president

Undergraduate students at Emory University voted overwhelmingly this week to express “distrust” of school President Gregory Fenves, the Student Government Association election committee announced Wednesday evening. .

The vote followed the university administration’s violent crackdown on an encampment of pro-Palestinian student activists on the Emory Quad on April 25, when Atlanta Police and State Patrol officers Georgia State used Tasers and chemical agents on protesters and arrested 28 people, including 17 Emory students and three faculty members.

Students voted 73.5% in favor of the resolution of censure against Fenves, while 24.8% of the 3,401 voters expressed confidence in him. According to an email from Ananya Singh, chair of the Student Government Association election board, 3,401 undergraduate students voted, for a turnout of 41.9 percent out of 8,102 eligible voters.

The undergraduate student vote followed a similar vote of no confidence by Emory College faculty last week, which also won by a three-to-one margin. Of 477 voting teachers, 358 expressed no confidence in Fenves. The resolutions are not binding, as only Emory’s board of trustees can fire the president.

An Emory spokesperson noted in an emailed statement that a minority of undergraduates — 31 percent — voted in favor of the motion.

“While we take the concerns expressed by members of our community seriously, members of the Emory community share a wide range of views that are not reflected in the motion adopted by SGA,” the statement said.

Students and faculty staged protests following the Aug. 25 police raid, prompting university leaders to adjust their graduation plans.

Citing “safety and security” concerns, Fenves announced May 6 that Emory would move its commencement ceremonies, scheduled for May 10-13, to Gas South Arena and the Convention Center in Gwinnett County.