Since 1919
The Emory Wheel Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper
By Ashley Zhu Politics Desk When Julian Currents (22G) came out during their Ph.D. program at Emory University, they said they didn’t encounter many negative social experiences associated with the process: they had been largely absent from campus life due to the pandemic. By the time COVID-19 protocols were loosened, they were already at a point in their program where they didn’t need to spend much time on campus. However, when Currents changed their name last year, it took about six months to remove their dead name from all of their Emory accounts and receive a secondary email address, although their primary email address still included their dead name. Currents finally got their primary email address changed during May, but the process wasn’t easy: they could not do it themselves, and it was a multi-step procedure with many people involved that included "reporting an incident" to Identity and Access Management. Additionally, they said that the only reason they were able to facilitate the name change was because they are becoming a faculty member at Emory. “I’m in this gray zone between having graduated but still being a student in the system,” Currents said. “They only changed my name because I’m going to be a faculty member and continue on.” Currents felt that it was “very gross” that only faculty can change their information, and adult graduate students are not able to control how they are registered in the system. “All students are adults at Emory, legally, which is another thing that sort of blows my mind about all of this,” Currents added. Emory recently announced that
preferred and chosen name policy and the trans-inclusive healthcare plan. Emory also allows people to use the restroom that they are the most comfortable in. “The trans experience is not monolithic,” Bruce-Steele said. “Each student brings different backgrounds and experiences — as do students from different racial and ethnic groups — when evaluating the inclusiveness of our campus community.” A ‘symbolic’ change
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students will be able to designate their pronouns on Online Pathway to University Students (OPUS), the University’s official student information platform. Modifications made to the Student Name and Pronoun Policy in June now permit students to make changes in OPUS. “Current students talk about gender differently and identify differently than students from even a few years ago,” Director of LGBT Life Danielle Bruce-Steele said in an email to the Wheel. “Emory’s policies reflect this shift among students and the associated changes in language.” As a trans woman, Aqua Chen (24C) said that she appreciates some of Emory’s resources. For instance, Emory Student Health covers a lot of her transition-related medication, including hormones and procedures. She also said that the Emory community is pretty accepting as a
whole. Chen added that her professors’ ability to now be able to see her pronouns will be a convenient addition to her academic experience. “Last school year, I remember a lot of instances where I’ve had to awkwardly explain that I’m not a guy, and that I don’t want to be referred to as the name I registered as or he/him pronouns,” Chen said. Emory PRIDE Secretary Advik Bharadwaj (25C) also added that the OPUS pronouns addition helps trans, non-binary and gender nonconforming people be more included anywhere, from the workplace to classrooms and society in general. “It helps people feel more included if you’re sharing your pronouns, because being referred to as how you want to be referred to is fundamental,” Bharadwaj said. According to Bharadwaj, Emory
PRIDE is always trying to listen to and factor in student opinions on how they can feel more included. He noted that while the University is doing a great job supporting queer students, Emory could still make improvements. The University also launched the Student Characteristics Project this month. As a part of the project, students will have the choice to disclose characteristics including gender identity, sexual orientation, first-generation status, military affiliation, religious/spiritual identity and ethnicity in OPUS. Institutional research and design support will use the data collected through the Student Characteristics Project to “look for opportunities to improve the student experience.” Bruce-Steele said that Emory is clearly a higher education pacesetter on transgender and gender inclusion, giving credit to policies like the
Although Emory has received praise for its inclusivity efforts, some students have critiqued the faults in its policies. Students have to scroll past their dead name and their gender marker — which is actually a sex marker because the options are male and female, Currents added — before being able to update other preferences such as pronouns, military affiliation and ethnicity. “I logged into OPUS to check out what this looks like in practice,” Currents said. “It feels obvious that trans people weren’t really centered when constructing it this way.” For some students, changing their pronouns is not as simple as a small change on OPUS. Currents expressed concern about how a student might deal with having a name change on their diploma if they have unsupportive parents. “I wonder how much of this will be kept safe from potentially abusive family members,” Currents said. The Student Name and Pronoun Policy states that students can choose to have either their “legal name” or “designated name” on their diploma. The policy warns students that
See TRANSGENDER, Page 2
The aftershock of Roe’s downfall By MAtthew ChupACk And MAdi Olivier Executive Editor and News Editor Note: This article explores some key administrative changes affecting Emory University, but not all. Positions also undergoing transitions include, but are not limited to, CEO of Emory Healthcare, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs and Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
CourteSy of emory univerSity
de Festival in 2016.
Three out of four of Emory University’s undergraduate schools — Emory College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS), Oxford College and Goizueta Business School — will have new deans this year. The 2022-23 academic year is met with numerous administrative transitions, from changes in undergraduate
A&E
and graduate deans to adjustments in the Office of the Provost. Key positions affected include the ECAS Dean, Oxford College Dean, Goizueta Business School Dean, Rollins School of Public Health Dean, Vice President of Communications and Marketing, Associate Vice Provost and Director of the Carlos Museum. New Rollins School of Public Health Dean Dani Fallin said she understands students may feel anxious at the slew of changes. “You have to actively combat against just the uncertainty and anxiety that can come from change,” Fallin said. New Goizueta Dean Gareth James said the turnover is not unusual. He previously worked at the University of Southern California, where he saw leadership turnover on a regular basis. “The average tenure for a dean at
FROM BENCHES TO ART ON CAMPUS
See ADMIN, Page 3
By MAtthew ChupACk And MAdi Olivier Executive Editor and News Editor When asked for her opinion on the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Sara Redd, a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University’s Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE), let out a deep sigh. “It’s almost hard to put into words how devastating this decision is, and how devastating it is going to be,” Redd said. Georgia’s controversial heartbeat bill went into effect less than a month later on July 21, banning abortions once a doctor can detect “embryonic or fetal cardiac activity” in the womb six weeks into the pregnancy. The six-week abortion ban permits abortions past six weeks if the pregnant person’s life is at risk or if a medical
BACH: THE BEST FREE PUBLIC
"Art doesn't have to mean a $17 ticket to the High Museum; it can be found on your 15 minute run to class." PAGE 6
PHoto CourteSy of CHloe yang (22C)
After Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, protesters gathered at the Georgia State Capitol Building.
condition makes the fetus unviable. The law also includes exceptions for abortions 20 weeks into the pregnancy or less if the pregnancy was a result of rape and incest, and if the pregnant person reported the incident to the police. The approval of the heartbeat bill gave way to an expansive personhood provision in Georgia. The state’s
EMORY LIFE
department of revenue announced on Aug. 1 that fetuses now have “full legal recognition” as living people, meaning that if a fetus has a “detectable human heartbeat,” their parents can count them as dependents on taxes in the amount of $3,000 each. In addition to tax breaks, Georgia’s
See HOW, Page 3
THE LOWDOWN ON SPICIEST BITES ON A COLLEGE BUDGET
ATLANTA'S
"In a desperate attempt to get a break from the DCT's taco obsession, I've compiled a list of my favorite restaurants in the city so far.” PAGE 11
— Sophia Ling (Executive Editor)