INDEX
Emory Events Calendar, Page 2
Staff Editorial, Page 6
Police Record, Page 2
Crossword Puzzle, Page 8
Arts & Entertainment, Page 9
On Fire, Page 11
THE EMORY WHEEL Since 1919
The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University
Volume 95, Issue 8
www.emorywheel.com
Tuesday, September 24, 2013 HOSPITAL
Every Tuesday and Friday
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROVERSY
State Investigates Hospital Incident Body Removed Without Consent By Rupsha Basu Asst. News Editor The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office is investigating a situation in which a body was released from Emory University Hospital without proper consent. The body was then embalmed at a funeral home without the family’s permission. The body of Leon Anderton, 68, was released to Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Homes, according to WSB-TV, a local Atlanta news station. Anderton died of cancer on Sept. 8, the news station reported Thursday. Gregory Levett, who declined to comment on the matter to the Wheel, told WSB-TV that he had received verbal permission to remove the body and complete the embalming. Emory Hospital, however, said the home did not receive the proper consent to take the body. “Emory University Hospital has established procedures for a smooth transition from hospital to funeral home,” Emory University Hospital said in a statement to the Wheel. “While we acted in good faith and with all good intentions on behalf of the Anderton family, these procedures were not followed to the letter in this situation.” Both CEO of Emory University Hospital Robert Bachman and Associate Vice President for Health Science Communications Vincent Dollard declined to comment further. The Office of the Secretary of State of Georgia Brian Kemp is currently conducting the open investigation on the matter, wrote Kemp’s Communications Coordinator Cody
See ANDERTON’S, Page 5
Faculty, University Dispute Lecture-Track Position Cuts Documents Reveal Allegations About Bylaw Violations, Policy Changes By Jordan Friedman Executive Editor and Dustin Slade Asst. News Editor Three lecture-track faculty members are disputing the University’s termination of their contracts resulting from the department changes announced last fall. The faculty claim bylaw violations and unjustified employment policy revisions in several appeals and other documents obtained by the Wheel. In a Sept. 16 letter to the College Governance Committee (GovComm), a group of 10 faculty claim that a two-paragraph policy provision was secretly added, without a faculty vote,
to the document that governs lecture-track faculty employment. They say the change takes the decision of whether to renew the faculty members’ employment out of the hands of that person’s department or program and gives it to the College. But those responsible for the revision say it was added to clarify already existing practices and did not require a faculty vote. They say the decision to implement the policy provision change occurred in 2011 before the announcement of the cuts — though it did not become a part of the official “Appointment and Review of Lecture-Track Faculty” (ARLTF) document until last summer and was not changed online until
after the cuts were announced. “With all of these documents, we try to wait until we have a series of such changes and then update them periodically,” Michael Elliott, senior associate dean of faculty, told the Wheel. The policy at the heart of the controversy, available online in the ARLTF document, reads: “The department or program will be asked by the College early in the fall of the reappointment year whether the position should continue to be supported. If the answer is affirmative, and if the College plans to continue supporting the position, the review of the faculty member proceeds over the academic year, concluding by or near April 1.”
The three lecture-track faculty members, along with seven petitioners, said in their statement to GovComm that the phrase “and if the College plans to continue supporting the position” was not in the ARLTF document at the time the lecturetrack faculty signed their employment contracts in 2010, nor when the department changes were decided on, according to the statement to GovComm. The Lecture Track Faculty Promotion Committee, a “standing committee” of GovComm, cited that phrase in its rejection of an appeal that the lecture-track faculty filed in the spring over their position cuts. GovComm cited that same provision
SEE INSIDE A timeline of events surrounding the lecture-track faculty controversy.
SEE ONLINE All documents mentioned in this story are available on our website, www.emorywheel.com as a reason for preventing the appeal from going to the full College faculty vote at the next faculty meeting. The three lecture-track faculty who will be losing their jobs include David Armstrong and Sheila Tefft,
See DOCUMENTS, Page 4
EVENT
Simon Delivers Lectures on Songwriting, Decline of Art By Rupsha Basu Asst. News Editor and Stephen Fowler Contributing Writer Musician Paul Simon gave three of his four lectures for the 2013 Richard Ellmann Lectures in Modern Literature reflecting on his career and growth as a songwriter Sunday and Monday. The lectures were held in Glenn Memorial Auditorium. Simon has had a career that has spanned five decades, received 12 Grammy Awards — including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 — as well as other honors and completed philanthropic work in health care for urban areas in the United States. The Ellmann Lectures began in 1988 as a tribute to the renowned biographer Richard Ellmann. Joseph Skibell, the Lectures director and professor of Creative Writing and English, and the selected guest members comprise the committee and choose the Ellmann lecturer. The 2013 committee’s guest members were Jeremy Dauber, professor of Yiddish literature at Columbia University; Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky;
James Crissman/ Editor
Singer and songwriter Paul Simon (left) spoke with former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins (right) during the Richard Ellmann Lectures in Modern Literature yesterday in Glenn Memorial Auditorium. and Andy Teirstein, associate arts professor at New York University. The committee aims to find a lecturer who “has enough gravitas as a writer” and the Ellmann series “gives the writer a chance to make a major statement,” according to Skibell.
“[Simon’s] work is completely braided into the social context of [the past] 50 years,” he said.
The Writer’s Conundrum Simon’s first lecture explored what
he refers to as the “writer’s conundrum,” the reason for which he has only written a few songs in the last three years. This conundrum became a theme of the afternoon as Simon relayed different anecdotes from a career that has lasted almost 50 years.
“An internal voice often interrupts the flow of music and words,” Simon said, explaining that a component of his conundrum is that he imposes high standards on his own
See ELLMANN, Page 5
EVENT
FEATURE
‘Swoop’s Week’ Kicks Off at Asbury By Nicholas Sommariva News Editor
Agustín Esposito/Contributor
Agustín Esposito is a part of Argentina’s new wave of electronic music producers and DJs. EDM has seen a rise in the area over the past few years.
EDM Booms in Buenos Aires By Sergio Dhillón Contributing Writer This is an exciting time for electronic music at Emory, in Atlanta and all over the world. Danny Avila, an 18-year-old electronic music DJ from Madrid, Spain will perform at Swoop’s Week this Friday. Avila won Vicious Magazine’s “Best Newcomer DJ Award” at the age of 16 and, since then, has been making a big name for himself in the world of electronic music. He has worked and performed with big
names in the industry such as Tiësto and performed at electronic music festivals all over Europe, such as the legendary Pacha in Ibiza and the Creamfields music festival in Liverpool. He already has confirmed performances in several Asian cities for this fall, incluing a performance at the AsiaWorld-Expo
See EDM, Page 9
Asbury Circle was alive with enthusiastic students yesterday afternoon as the Student Programming Council (SPC) kicked off this year’s inaugural Swoop’s Week, formerly known as Homecoming Week. During the event at Asbury Circle, SPC brought in free burgers from BurgerFi and chicken wings from D.B.A. Barbecue, as well as a food truck. Other attractions included a fire artist who tossed flaming batons and a dunk tank. This year’s theme is “Swoop’s Week: Let the Good Times Roll!” named for Emory’s official mascot and intended to promote school athletics and spirit. SPC President and Goizueta Business School senior Raghvi Anand said Swoop’s Week is off to a great start. “SPC’s focus is to provide topnotch programming for the entire student body, and we hope to foster school spirit through our events,” she said. College seniors Ashley London and Chris Alfonso served as this year’s Swoop’s Week co-chairs. Alfonso said he and London had been planning Swoop’s Week since the beginning of the summer and brought the rest of SPC on board in
NEWS CANDLER SCHOOL
OP-EDS REMOVING
A&E
CREATES FIVE NEW DEGREE
HOMOPHOBIA FROM YOUR
REVIEW: HIGHLIGHTS AND LOW
PROGRAMS
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MOMENTS
MUSIC MIDTOWN ...
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Michael Fier/Contributor
Students gathered at Asbury Circle yesterday for the Swoop’s Week kick-off. Stilt-walkers and fire dancers preformed before the crowd. July. Alfonso said that as Emory’s official mascot, it was time that Swoop had a week dedicated to him. “Even though we don’t have football, we want to encourage people to go to sports games and promote athletics at Emory,” Alfonso said. “Even if sports attendance increases a little, in five years the stands might be full.”
See WEEK, Page 5
UPCOMING EVENTS Tuesday: Angry Eagles Wednesday: Wonderful Wednesday Thursday: David Koechner Friday: Swoop’s Ball Saturday: Dispatch Concert
SPORTS MEN’S TENNIS
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