Emory University undergraduates this week voted by a wide margin to express “no confidence” in the school’s president, Gregory Fenves, the Student Government Association’s election board announced Wednesday evening.
The vote follows the university administration’s violent crackdown on a pro-Palestine student activist encampment on Emory’s quad on April 25, when Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol officers used tasers and chemical agents on protesters and arrested 28 people, including 17 Emory students and three faculty members.
The undergraduates voted 73.5% in favor of the ‘no confidence’ resolution against Fenves, while 24.8% of the 3,401 voters expressed confidence in him. There were 3,401 undergraduates voting, for a turnout rate of 41.9% of 8,102 eligible voters, according to an email from Ananya Singh, the Student Government Association’s election board chair.
The undergraduates’ vote followed a similar ‘no confidence’ vote by Emory College faculty last week, which also prevailed by a three-to-one margin. Out of 477 faculty members voting, 358 expressed no confidence in Fenves. The resolutions are non-binding, as only Emory’s board of trustees can fire the president.
An Emory spokesperson pointed out in an emailed statement that a minority of the undergraduate student body — 31% — voted in favor of the motion.
“While we take any concerns expressed by members of our community seriously, Emory community members are sharing a wide range of perspectives that are not reflected in the motion passed by SGA,” the statement read.
Students and faculty held protests in the wake of the Aug. 25 police raid, prompting university leadership to adjust graduation plans.
Citing “safety and security” concerns, Fenves announced May 6 that Emory would move its commencement ceremonies, scheduled for May 10 through May 13, to the Gas South Arena and Convention Center in Gwinnett County.