INDEX
Emory Events Calendar, Page 2
Arts & Entertainment, Page 9
Crossword Puzzle, Page 8
Staff Editorial, Page 6
Police Record, Page 2
On Fire, Page 11
THE EMORY WHEEL Since 1919
The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University
Volume 94, Issue 47
www.emorywheel.com
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Every Tuesday and Friday DEPARTMENT CHANGES
THINKING PAWSITIVELY
College Faculty Grievance Claims Bylaw Violations Committee Denies Faculty Three Out of Four Requests By Jordan Friedman Executive Editor Additional Reporting by Editor-in-Chief Arianna Skibell
Jessica Labib/Staff
C
ollege freshman Clarke Harned enjoys the first-ever Puppy Palooza, a puppy petting zoo hosted by the Student Programming Council (SPC) and Pawsitive Outreach yesterday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Asbury Circle. Atlanta adoption organizations brought the dogs to campus. Sponsors included PAWS Atlanta, Canine Assistants, Pets for Vets Georgia and DeKalb County Animal Control.
ACADEMICS
New Interdisciplinary Health Major Proposed By Lydia O’Neil Staff Writer The College Curriculum Committee approved in March a new major in Human Health, which could join Emory’s list of majors by fall 2013 if approved by the Board of Trustees and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). This program — the brainchild of Center for the Study of Student Health (CSHH) Director and Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Anthropology Michelle Lampl — consists of faculty members who are as interdisciplinary as the study itself. The major would require a total of 41 credit hours fulfilled by three foundational health courses, a medical or health ethics course, a quantitative methods course, several electives, a senior project and two courses in each of the major’s three sections: descriptive analysis, mecha-
nistic understanding and translational applications. Senior Lecturer of Religion Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, Associate Professor of Economics David Frisvold, English Professor Laura Otis and Women’s Studies Professor Rosemarie Garland-Thompson are among the 100-plus scholars, scientists and leaders from Emory’s College and professional schools, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other governmental and non-governmental agencies who will instruct health students. Lampl, who initiated the major in 2007, calls it “the first of its kind.” The major, she said, can benefit students “seeking careers not only in health, medicine and the traditionally-related fields, but humanities, arts, theology, business, economics and law,” as well as “emerging positions we have yet to realize are out there.” After helping to launch the Global
ADMISSIONS
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Health and Predictive Health minors in 2010 and 2011, respectively, Lampl saw the creation of a Human Health major as “the next logical step,” she said. With no peer university model to work from, more than 35 college faculty members began meeting repeatedly to develop the major starting in early fall 2012. Just a year later, it will likely be offered as an official area of study after undergoing review by the Board of Trustees, College Dean Robin Forman said. “Nothing is even close to what we’re doing, as far as health studies,” Forman said of other universities’ advancements. “It’s what’s distinctive about Emory — our ability to create these new programs.” According to Forman, who has been traveling throughout the U.S. to speak to newly-admitted high school seniors, there is “student excitement”
among future undergraduates about the Human Health major. Lampl said she has already received more than 50 inquires from students at Emory. However, students may not be the only ones enthused. “A great deal of faculty members are interested in participating in this,” anthropology professor Peter Brown said of the program, which draws from a multitude of departments, including neuroscience and behavioral biology, economics, French and Italian, sociology and environmental science, among others. Brown has been running the Global Health minor — the college’s most popular minor, he said — for the past seven years and is currently teaching Introduction to Global Health, which would serve as one of the new major’s three foundational courses.
See NEW, Page 4
A group of 18 faculty members filed a grievance to the College’s Grievance Committee earlier this month, claiming that the process that led to the department changes announced last semester violated faculty bylaws and governance principles. The Grievance Committee has since ruled that it does not see reason to take further action on the issue. All of those who signed the grievance are part of departments or programs affected by the cuts. The 13-page grievance, obtained by the Wheel last week and dated April 4, is the first document to specifically detail all of these alleged violations. The document reveals numerous claims about the elimination of departments and programs in the College as well as the decision to suspend admissions to several programs in the Laney Graduate School. The grievance — citing Emory bylaws, minutes from Faculty Governance Committee (GovCom) and faculty meetings, letters sent to administrators and governing principles — asks the Grievance Committee to recommend that the University void the cuts and “affirm the primacy of the Bylaws.” The document illustrates concerns about a lack of transparency in the department changes process, particularly a limited amount of faculty involvement and issues surrounding the activities of the College Financial Advisory Committee (CFAC). CFAC is a subcommittee of the Faculty Governance Committee (GovCom) and was responsible for helping College Dean Robin Forman evaluate departments in the multi-year process that culminated in the cuts. All members of CFAC resigned from the
SEE ONLINE For access to the full documents, visit emorywheel.com.
FACULTY CRITICISMS Sept. 14, 2012 Emory announces department changes.
Oct. 30, 2012 Emory AAUP releases statement on cuts.
Jan. 23, 2013 Faculty vote for committee to review cuts.
April 4, 2013 Eighteen College faculty submit grievance.
April 14, 2013 Grievance committee issues response to grievants. committee last month. However, in an April 14 response to the grievance signed by Sheila Cavanagh, a professor of English and the chair of the College Grievance Committee, the Grievance Committee wrote that it “does not have any recommendations to make at this time.” In addition to Cavanagh, the College Grievance Committee consists of three faculty representatives each from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and math. In the two-page Grievance Committee response — also obtained by the Wheel last week — Cavanagh wrote that the Grievance Committee does not hold the responsibility of hearing grievances pertaining to the
See DOCUMENT, Page 4
EVENT
Admissions SGA Appoints Justice, Office Sends Chairs to 47th Legislature Unintended Emails By Rupsha Basu Staff Writer
By Dustin Slade Asst. News Editor Savannah Jones, a high school senior from Chicago, received an email on the afternoon of April 5 from the Emory Office of Undergraduate Admission congratulating her on her acceptance to the College and inviting her to an admitted students event as part of the Choose Emory campaign. Jones immediately called her mom to express how excited she was that she had been admitted to her top choice school. However, upon checking OPUS, she noticed her status on the waitlist had not changed. Jones was one of approximately 350 wait-listed students who wrongly received the invitation to accepted student events. The Emory Office of Undergraduate Admissions accidentally sent out multiple emails that
See ERROR, Page 3
The 47th legislature of the Student Government Association (SGA) unanimously appointed committee chairs, a new executive member and a new associate justice to the Constitutional Council yesterday. College sophomore David Bailey was appointed as associate vice president for alumni relations. The position is a two-year appointment — during the first year Bailey will assist the current vice president for alumni relations and assume the position himself during the second year. College junior Shaunesse Jacobs was appointed chair of the SGA student life committee. The committee addresses issues of community life, academic life, admissions and financial aid, according to the bill. Levi Lyman-Barner, an Oxford sophomore who will attend Emory this fall, was appointed chair of the SGA governance committee. The committee reviews legislation pertaining appointments, organizational structure, governing documents, impeachments and apportionment evaluation, according to the bill. College senior Winston Hanks was appointed as chair of the SGA Campus Services Committee. He will
NEWS GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE RESPONDS TO FACULTY CLAIMS ... PAGE 4
be in charge of overseeing campus planning, information technology, parking and transportation, sustainability and food services, according to the bill. Finally, College senior Daniel Lemaitre was appointed associate justice for the Constitution Council. Justices decide questions of constitutionality and oversee hearings. In this case, the council needed three justices to hear a case, but they only had two, which is why SGA needed to appoint another justice. The Office of Sustainability gave a presentation to the legislature about its long-term goals and ways in which Emory can be efficient to achieve them. Currently, the office manages energy and water conservation, waste reduction and green buildings and space. Some of the office’s long-term goals include reducing total consumption by 25 per cent by 2015 from 2005 levels, which is achievable, according to the Office of Sustainability’s Programs Coordinator Emily Cumbie-Drake. Emory has not been as successful in reducing waste. The goal is to divert 65 percent of overall waste
See EMORY, Page 5
OP-EDS ANALYZING THE CAUSES OF THE
BOSTON ...
BOMBINGS IN PAGE 6
Liqi Shu/Staff
TEDxEmory held their 2013 conference on Saturday with multiple speakers including CNN reporter Josh Levs and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California Carlos Moreno.
TEDxEmory Hosts 13 Speakers By Rupsha Basu Staff Writer Emory hosted 13 speakers who discussed a variety of topics related to the sciences, humanities and arts at TEDxEmory’s Saturday event in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center
Auditorium. The event, which was founded and began in 2010, is one of the largest of its kind in North America. This year it drew around 600 spectators. This year’s conference invited a number of professionals from multiple disciplines including David Wolpe,
named Newsweek’s most influential rabbi in the nation in 2012, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court Carlos Moreno and Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines Director Henrik Christensen.
See SPEAKERS, Page 3
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