Oxford to close historic Dooley’s Tavern
By SpenceR fRiedland and JacoB MuScolino Managing Editor & Contrubuting Writer
During the first Emory University Senate meeting of the academic year on Sept. 24, Emory School of Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics Nitika Gupta resigned from her role as Senate past president. Gupta said she found her goals to be “misaligned” with Senate President George Shepherd and President-elect Noëlle McAfee’s goals due to disagreement surrounding Gupta’s process of creating an open expression subcommittee.
“I have encountered disrespect as a faculty colleague and a lack of professionalism from George Shepherd and Noëlle McAfee,” Gupta wrote in her resignation letter.
In her resignation letter, which she read at the meeting, Gupta wrote that Shepherd and McAfee gave her a memorandum compelling her to dissolve the ad hoc subcommittee that she established during her presidency to revise the Respect for Open Expression Policy.
Shepherd sent the memorandum to Gupta and former Staff Council Past President Dawn Francis-Chewning, who served with Gupta as co-chair of the ad hoc subcommittee, on July 3. In the memorandum, which Shepherd sent on behalf of McAfee and Committee for Open Expression Chair Ilya Nemenman, he explained that they believe Gupta did not follow Senate rules when forming the ad hoc subcommittee because the executive
By anya agaRkaR Contributing Writer
Once the center of student life at Oxford College, Dooley’s Tavern now lies largely dormant, only open to the public a couple of days a year.
The 100-year-old weathered building houses Oxford’s history, its walls covered in layers of graffiti and names scrawled in spray paint by students leaving their mark on campus.
However, the building is set to be permanently closed in the near future. Oxford College Dean Badia Ahad announced the “difficult” decision earlier this month, leaving some in the Oxford community, like Amelia Persons (25Ox), president of Dooley’s Dolls, Oxford’s only social club, feeling “heartbrok[en]” and “saddened.”
Dooley’s Tavern was built in 1913 as a dining hall connected to the back of Haygood Hall. It was the only part
of the residential hall that was left unscathed by a campus fire in the ’80s, and later construction of a new dining hall rendered the tTavern’s original purpose useless. According to Ahad’s email, it has deteriorated significantly throughout the years. She added that after decades of prioritizing other facilities on campus, the costs needed to renovate the tavern were too high to justify keeping it open.
“This was a difficult decision,” Ahad wrote in an email to The Emory Wheel. “I recognize the significance of campus traditions and am committed to preserving the spirit of Dooley’s Tavern in a new space that our community will enjoy for many years to come.”
In the past, students filled the tavern for “tavern parties” where students could smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol inside, before Georgia
raised the legal drinking age to 21, according to Former Oxford College Dean of Campus Life Joseph Moon. He added that over the years, the building fell into disrepair and sporadic student interest caused the tavern to lie unused for most of the semester. Recently, students have only been able to go inside a few times a year, mostly for special events.
Despite this, many students feel that Dooley’s Tavern remains emblematic of Oxford’s campus and culture. Micah Lee (25Ox) told the Wheel that despite its limited usage by students today, the space played a large role in Oxford’s history.
“It feels like a piece of Oxford is being lost,” Lee said.
Moon, who has been at Oxford College for 35 years, recalls having
See STUDENTS, Page 2
Emory community reflects on importance of voting as election looms
By hilaRy BaRkey Science & Technology Desk
With the 2024 election just 40 days away, Emory University students have the opportunity to impact the outcome of the presidential election in Georgia. U.S. President Joe Biden won Georgia, one of less than a dozen decisive battleground states, by only 11,779 votes in 2020.
This November will be the first time many Emory undergraduate students are eligible to vote in a presidential election, but according to Executive Board Member at Large for the Young Democrats of Emory Pranay Mamileti (26B), student enthusiasm about showing up to the polls is varied.
“Some students are very excited to vote for the first time and are very excited to be a part of these campaigns, but other students voice very valid concerns about feeling like it doesn't really matter,” Mamileti said. “On certain issues, there isn't too much daylight between one candidate or another in how they will enforce any sort of policies or what they’ll do to change them.”
Associate Professor of Religion Florian Pohl echoed hearing a similar sentiment among his students regarding the presidential election.
“I talked to a lot of students who seem to be rather detached from the process, and detached not so much in
See EMORY, Page 3
Reports detail police narrative from April 25 protests
By Jack RutheRfoRd News Editor
The Emory Wheel obtained incident and arrest reports from the three police agencies that responded to protests on April 25 on the Emory University Quadrangle and at the Candler School of Theology: the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Atlanta Police Department (APD) and the Emory Police Department (EPD). The reports shed new light on how police responded to the demonstrations.
The incident reports contain summaries of each unit’s response in addition to officers’ personal descriptions and justifications of actions taken during the protests. In the reports, officers are named only by their position, badge number and last name. The Wheel has arranged the information from the reports in chronological order as they reportedly occurred on April 25.
Before arrests
According to one of the EPD sup -
plemental case reports, a groundskeeper called EPD around 7:42 a.m. and said people in masks were beginning to take down yellow tape barricades around the Quad in place for Commencement and setting up tents.
EPD’s report shows the department responded to the encampment soon after.
“Around 0917 hours, the Deputy Chief of Emory University attempted to make contact with the subjects,” the supplemental report states. “He gave loud verbal commands that the group had ten (10) minutes to leave the area. During this time the group began to bang on plastic buckets and chant ‘Cops off the lawn.’”
According to the supplemental report, EPD’s deputy chief made three more attempts to order the protesters off the Quad. Wheel reporters witnessed EPD make multiple attempts to move demonstrators off the Quad before arrests were made.
“Due to the individuals’ actions and refusal to confirm their connection to Emory, officers with the Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol were called to
provide further assistance,” an EPD report states.
However, Noëlle McAfee, philosophy department chair and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, said that some people who were on the Quad had just come in and had not heard the order to disperse. McAfee was among the protesters arrested on April 25.
“A lot of people who had come out to the Quad, including me, had been out there for maybe five minutes,” McAfee said. “At least one or two of the people who were arrested had simply come out of the building right at the moment that it was all happening.”
The EPD report also claims that social media accounts unaffiliated with the University called for “nonEmory community members” and “pedestrians in the area” to join them in a protest and occupation of the Quadrangle.
However, the president of Emory Students for Justice in Palestine (ESJP), who was also on the Quad during the arrests, said that Emoryaffiliated groups posted the “pub -
lic call” on social media referenced in the EPD report. The president requested to remain anonymous out of fear of being doxxed.
“First of all, Emory Stop Cop City posted it,” the ESJP president said. “[ESJP] posted it. Emory [Students for Socialism] probably posted it. It was definitely Emory-affiliated accounts calling for Emory students to join us.”
The EPD report states the department issued an alert through the Emory Emergency Notification System advising community members to keep clear of the Quad area around 9:23 a.m.
Ending the encampment
Reports from the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) and the Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD) — both of which are DPS agencies — as well as reports from APD note that officers responded to the encampment around 9:00 a.m. The GSP report shows EPD and APD called the agency for assistance around 9:02 a.m. After assembling on the Quad, offi-
cers from all agencies began arrests. Officers received an order to begin arrests at approximately 10:30 a.m., according to the MCCD report. The report does not specify who gave the order. EPD later processed all arrests.
“EPD issued multiple verbal warnings at different intervals advising individuals in the encampment that they were trespassing on private property and instructing them to leave,” EPD’s report states. “When those requests were ignored, Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol officers assisted Emory Police Department with dispersing the crowd and taking individuals into custody for criminal trespass.”
McAfee said that she had heard that some protesters were arrested while trying to disperse.
“I’ve heard anecdotally … that some were running away, trying to disperse, and then the police attacked them and dragged them down,” McAfee said. “So this other claim that people would not disperse, even after the GSP arrived, I don’t see how
See DOCUMENTS, Page 4
Saba FaiSal/Contributing illuStrator
University Senate forming new subcommittee following open expression concerns
By
The Emory University Senate Executive Committee is forming a new subcommittee, the Open Expression Subcommittee, to review and potentially revise the current Respect for Open Expression Policy. Plans to amend the policy have been in talks since Dec. 2023, but the spring semester’s on-campus proPalestinian protests emphasized the need for change, according to Student Government Association (SGA) Ranking Member Sohan Bellam (26C). More recently, Fenves codified an addendum to the open expression policy that prohibits encampments on Emory property, among other restrictions.
University Senate President-Elect
Noëlle McAfee said the subcommittee, which is still being formed, will include all members of the Senate’s Executive Committee and the three most recent chairs of the current Open Expression Committee. Additionally, Emory College of Arts and Sciences Senate President-Elect
Clifton Crais, Emory University Law School Associate Dean of Students and Academic Programs John Acevado and an alumni representative from the University Senate will also sit on the subcommittee.
McAfee and Crais alleged that the University’s administration violated the open expression policy on April 25 when the administration called law enforcement to respond to the encampment on the Quadrangle. McAfee added that the administration's actions on April 25 exposed the weakness of the policy.
“The last thing to do is to terminate a protest,” McAfee said. “You don't terminate a protest if it's not violating any of the rules, and it wasn't violating rules. They terminated the protest, so this has been a mess.”
McAfee added that the administration’s decision to issue the new addendum the day before classes started created a “further mess.”
Bellam also said that the protests in the spring made the need for a new policy clear. As a member of both SGA and the new subcommittee, Bellam hopes to bring student voices to the discussion.
According to Crais, revision of the current policy is necessary as it is “excessively technical” and “hard to understand.”
“For the general person – who is not a lawyer, is not a PhD in politi-
cal science or a specialist in issues around protest – it's simply a lot to manage,” Crais said. “It’s just too cumbersome.”
McAfee said that a revised policy should not allow for unlimited free speech, instead suggesting a “content-neutral” standard that allows most speech, even when abhorrent, but has clear restrictions.
“Free speech is not unlimited,” McAfee said, referencing the First Amendment’s restrictions on some speech.
Crais expressed hopes that future revisions to the policy will push students to engage in disagreement and debate in the name of the pursuit of knowledge, so long as demonstrators avoid threatening property or people.
In addition, Crais said he has noticed a new anxiety among his
students regarding their ability to freely express themselves on campus and hopes a revision can reverse this worry.
“There is considerable anxiety from students, about what they can do and what they can't do, and more seriously, that they may be punished for things that look like they are permissible,” Crais said.
McAfee confirmed that the new subcommittee will begin meeting in the coming weeks and predict a 60-day period to review the current policies. If the reviewing period concludes that the policy needs revisions, the University Senate will then vote.
— Contact Jacob Muscolino at jacob.muscolino@emory.edu and Shanti Rodriguez-Pedraza at shanti.rodriguez-pedraza@ emory.edu
Students, community members mourn the loss of Dooley's Tavern
Continued from Page 1
floors, used furniture. They really feel like going to a lake house or someplace like that, which is very, very informal and definitely nothing like it on the Atlanta campus.”
The space also carries historical significance for many current and former students at Oxford. Dooley’s Dolls, Oxford’s oldest and only social
club, has called the tavern home for nearly 70 years.
“Every member of Dolls is given a dolls-specific name,” Persons said.
“One of the highlights of graduating from Oxford and being a Dolls member is that you get to write your Dolls name on the walls of the tavern.”
The inside of the building is lined with rows and rows of names, some
of which have been there for years, Persons said. Joined by the names of students are those of faculty members, such as Lilian Long (for whom Oxford’s dining hall, Lil’s, is named after) and memorials for Dolls who have passed away, according to Persons.
“Past Dolls were texting me and being like, ‘Is there any way I can
come back and carve my name out of the wall?’ That’s how much [the tavern] means to these members,” Persons said.
“It’s sad to see the tavern go, especially because it was home to so much history, and so many events that we never got to experience.”
— Dooley's Dolls President Amelia Persons (25Ox)
Oxford Student Government Association (OxSGA) President Kenan Bajraktarevic (25Ox) said that in the past, students have largely used the tavern as a “third space,” a term used to refer to a location separate from both home and work or classes. Bajraktarevic noted that the lack of such spaces at Oxford is detrimental to the student body.
“I personally was really excited when I got into the presidency to get Dooley’s Tavern back,” Bajraktarevic said. “I was hoping that the opening of Dooley’s Tavern could be just one of many ways we try to not only
make campus fun, but also target the issues we've had with mental health.”
Bajraktarevic noted that Oxford’s small, isolated community can make it difficult for students to find a place to rest outside of classwork and extracurriculars. He said that replacements for the tavern would try to provide a location for rest away from academic worries. Suggestions from other OxSGA members varied, from adding more pool tables inside residence halls to repurposing Phi Gamma Hall to be a social space during the nighttime.
“Students can always share their own ideas,” Bajraktarevic said, adding that an OxSGA Town Hall meeting will be held on Oct. 2 from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. in the Greer Forum for students to give their input.
“We would essentially be discussing, ‘What do you guys think of this idea? What do you guys want?’” Bajraktarevic said.
Though ideas for an alternate space are being thought of, saying goodbye to the tavern won’t be easy for much of the student body.
“It’s sad to see the tavern go, especially because it was home to so much history, and so many events that we never got to experience,” Persons said.
— Contact Anya Agarkar at
JacoB MuScolino and Shanti RodRiguez-pedRaza
Contributing Writers
a pril l awyer/Senior Sta FF illuStrator
K atie bartlett/Former oxFord CampuS deSK
The interior of Dooley's Tavern hosts the names of the members of the Dooley's Dolls club.
Ad hoc committee dissolved amid Senate discussion on open expression
Continued from Page 1
committee allegedly did not vote on the establishment.
A report from Francis-Chewning and Gupta states that the Senate approved the ad hoc subcommittee during an executive committee meeting on March 24.
McAfee disputed this claim, stating that the executive committee did not keep any minutes. She added that Shepherd, who was on the executive committee at the time, does not remember the ad hoc subcommittee’s formation. However, the March 24 Senate meeting minutes state that the ad hoc subcommittee “will be formed along with a panel of advisors who will provide subject matter expertise” and that “all changes will be brought to the senate for approval.”
The minutes do not say if the Senate’s executive committee voted on the subcommittee. Since the ad hoc
subcommittee was under the executive committee, McAfee said only the executive committee needed to vote on its formation, not the entire Senate.
Shepherd did not respond to The Emory Wheel’s request for comment by press time.
In addition to disputes over the legitimacy of the subcommittee, Shepherd criticized Gupta and Francis-Chewning for not revealing who was on the ad hoc subcommittee and for failing to include proponents of open expression on the subcommittee.
Gupta and Francis-Chewning wrote that they did not want to share the identities of people on the subcommittee with the Senate to “prevent distractions and maintain privacy.”
McAfee condemned the alleged “secretive” nature of the subcommittee.
“I’m sure [Gupta] felt like she was doing the right thing, and that the out-
come would have been perhaps better than what ended up with [University President Gregory] Fenves unilaterally creating these rules,” McAfee said. “But I don’t think that’s worth the price of having a secret committee.”
Additionally, Shepherd suggested Gupta and Francis-Chewning would be potentially misrepresenting community views on open expression by not disclosing the membership of the ad hoc subcommittee. Shepherd wrote that Emory College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate PresidentElect Clifton Crais would be in strong support of open expression and should be added to the subcommittee. Gupta and Francis-Chewning responded that they offered Crais a position as an advisor to the ad hoc subcommittee.
Gupta and Francis-Chewning claimed the decision to not include certain Emory staff, students and faculty who are associated with free
expression was to “avoid conflict of interest.”
Shepherd and McAfee also expressed concern that administration members were on the subcommittee, as Francis believed they would attempt to “constrain” the group’s focus. Gupta and Francis-Chewning instead advocated for a “360 view” within the subcommittee to promote “honest conversations and optimal results.”
Gupta and Francis-Chewning asked Guyberson Pierre (25C) to join the ad hoc subcommittee, emailing him that he was chosen on April 19. However, Pierre said he had “no idea” how he was selected for the subcommittee. In the email asking Pierre to join the subcommittee, Gupta and Francis-Chewing wrote that they wanted to present an updated policy to the Senate in September or October of this year, noting that this timeline
was “ambitious.”
To keep information private, Pierre said he was advised to keep his work confidential.
“We were sort of encouraged to not overly share details, or share much detail about the nature of our work,” Pierre said.
Pierre said the subcommittee met multiple times over the summer and that at the time the subcommittee was dissolved, it was only a month or two away from completing its work and delivering recommendations on the open expression policy to the Senate.
Pierre said it was a “surprise” and “disheartening” to the subcommittee for McAfee and Shepherd to stop its work.
— Contact Spencer Friedland at spencer.friedland@emory.edu and Jacob Muscolino at jacob.muscolino@emory.edu
Emory Votes Initiative, OxVotes seek to register Emory students
Continued from Page 1
the way that they don't care about the process, but especially when it was the Trump-Biden presidential election, did not feel that that was a choice for them that they wanted to make,” Pohl said. In the 2020 election, voter turnout among 18 to 24-year-olds was the lowest of all age groups — only 44.7% of young adults voted in the southern United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Emory Votes Initiative (EVI), a nonpartisan organization focused on increasing voter literacy, has organized events at both the Oxford and Atlanta campuses to increase knowledge about the election process and help people register to vote. These initiatives include tabling at Wonderful Wednesdays at the Atlanta campus and Take a Break Tuesday at Oxford.
Ryan Wang (25Ox), a student intern at the Oxford Votes Initiative (OxVotes), emphasized the importance of EVI.
“Georgia has its history when it comes to voting, and it’s not been true that in every election that everyone has been able to exercise the right to vote,” Wang said. “It's really important both to educate people on why it’s important that we exercise our right to vote and also to make sure that everybody understands that there are resources available for if you’re trying to get registered to vote.”
Associate Professor of Political Science Andra Gillespie underlined concerns about changes to the Georgia State Election Board, especially in relation to the “concern” surrounding
certification of the 2024 presidential election. She specifically talked about Senate Bill 202 (S.B. 202), a bill altering rules around voting, the power of Georgia’s secretary of state and the composition of the State Election Board.
“Right after S.B. 202 was put into place, people were worried about the things that are actually very public facing and would affect citizens directly,”
Gillespie said.
S.B. 202 limits the number of absentee ballot dropboxes in Georgia and the hours they can be used, bans outside groups from providing food
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and water to those waiting in line to vote, requires increased forms of identification for absentee ballots and bans mobile voting units for early voting barring a “declared disaster,” among other changes.
According to Gillespie, certain portions of the bill are thought to be targeted against Black voters. She mentioned that the restrictions on weekend voting are believed to limit the efficacy of Souls to the Polls, a tradition where predominantly Black churches bus congregation members to polling locations.
“If we look at voting rates by race … you can see that there is a spike in the number of Black people who show up to vote on weekends, and so most people like to regularly attribute that to activities like Souls to the Polls,” Gillespie said.
Gillespie said that other changes, such as a provision stating that Georgia will provide more voting machines in locations with long voting lines in an attempt to decrease wait times, are positive but not what most people focused on.
Additionally, the Georgia State Election Board approved a measure on Sept. 20 that forces all counties in Georgia to hand-count ballots in addition to machine tabulation, which is how Georgia has counted votes in the past. This measure, approved less than two months before the election, may result in delays in declaring and certi-
fying the results of Georgia’s election.
Considering the restrictions on voting, Gillespie underlined the importance of voters collecting proper identification needed for voting and meeting voting deadlines.
Voting at Emory
At Emory, EVI and OxVotes have been assisting students with voter registration.
In collaboration with Oxford’s Student Government Association, OxVotes will be organizing shuttles to take students to early voting locations in Newton County and other counties in the metro Atlanta area, according to Megan Hulgan, Oxford assistant director of Student Involvement, Leadership and Transitions. OxVotes has recently sent out an interest form about shuttles to polling locations. Additionally, OxVotes will be organizing a March to the Polls event on Election Day to bring people to vote in groups.
Though Emory is holding classes on Election Day, the Young Democrats of Emory have been trying to get “Election Day relief,” according to Mamileti. Emory staff are allowed to take four hours off for the purpose of voting, and the Young Democrats of Emory have encouraged faculty to provide asynchronous classes or cancel class on Election Day to make it easier for students to vote.
Wang, Pohl, Gillespie and Mamileti all stressed the importance of showing up to vote on or before Election Day.
“I have no doubts about there being a significant amount of Emory voters turning out this election,” Mamileti said. “I think that if we keep it up on our end and keep registering students to vote, then there’s nothing to say that we won’t make a big impact during this election and potentially swing it.”
EVI co-Executive Student Director Angel Sosa (26C) said that registering to vote online may take a few weeks to process, so people registering to vote should give themselves a “buffer.”
“Voting truly is one of the, if not the, most powerful tool to have your voice heard in government,” Sosa said.
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 7. Registration can be done online for those with a Georgia driver’s license or through a paper document found at the Georgia government’s website. Newton County requires registration to be sent in through the mail or be done in person at a local governmental office, but DeKalb County allows registration to be emailed as well. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 25 and can be done here. Visit the EVI website or the Georgia government’s website for more information about voting requirements and deadlines.
- Contact Hilary Barkey at hilary.barkey@emory.edu
JaCK ruther Ford/newS editor
Members of the Emory Votes Initiative help a student register to vote in Georgia at the Emory Farmers Market on Sept. 24.
Documents detail tasing, use of pepperball ammunition, confrontation at Candler
Continued from Page 1
that can be backed up.”
According to the GSP and MCCD reports, during the Quad arrests, GSP and MCCD officers deployed rounds of LIVE-X PepperBall irritant ammunition in front of the crowd on the ground. GSP Sergeant First Class McAdams stated in the GSP report that he used PepperBalls in an attempt to disperse the crowd from the encampment.
PepperBall ammunition works by having pressurized air propel a thin plastic ball containing a concentration of PAVA pepper powder at hard surfaces, and the ball bursts and disperses the irritant pepper powder, according to the manufacturer’s website.
“After several combative subjects were arrested by numerous officers from the mixture of law enforcement agencies that were present, an attempt was made to move the crowd out of the area,” McAdams wrote in the GSP report. “During this attempt, the crowd became combative, once again. In an attempt to gain compliance with the large crowd and to divert their movement, I deployed approximately 10 rounds of Live X munition on the ground in front of the hostile crowd. … This cloud of PAVA was effective and accomplished the goal of gaining compliance with the crowd. No injuries were reported during this PepperBall deployment.”
ESJP’s president disputed the claim that there were no injuries.
“Many people got hit on their legs and stuff,” the ESJP president said. “A lot of people got bruises and everything, and that’s why it’s so crazy to me that they were like, ‘There were no injuries reported from the PepperBalling.’ … I saw students, their entire face was red, crying.”
MCCD Officer Truitt and MCCD Sergeant Hilley both reported that they were told the group on the Quad were not students at Emory. From the MCCD report, it is not clear who told them this. Hilley stated he was advised that there were “45-50 nonstudent protesters” on the Quad.
“Apparently they arrived at 0745 hours and set up an encampment that included tables, chairs and tents among other miscellaneous items in the grassy area,” Truitt wrote in the MCCD report “They also fake bloodied bodies wrapped in blankets all over the lawn. We later found out that these people were non-students and did not have permission to be on the campus.”
The Wheel has previously reported that 20 of the 28 people arrested on April 25 were Emory community members.
During the initial arrests, MCCD officers subdued and tased a protester while he was on the ground. MCCD officer narratives in the report claim the protester was non-compliant with arrest leading up to the tasing.
“As we began to surround the crowd, I approached a tall Black male with a cloth wrap around his head and black mask on,” Truitt wrote in the MCCD report. “He also had on green shorts and a red shirt with a brown backpack. He appeared to be leading a portion of the group as many were following him to a corner of the encampment where bystanders were watching.”
According to Truitt, the protester was initially compliant until the crowd around him began chanting to let him go. Truitt said that the protester then began resisting arrest by attempting to pull his hands away as
Truitt tried to zip-tie them together. Wheel reporters observed protesters begin chanting to let him go but cannot confirm if the protester being arrested had become noncompliant.
“The situation was tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving knowing this man was taller than me along with supporters surrounding me,” Truitt wrote. “I decided to act swiftly by using wrapping my arms around him and using my body weight to guide him to the ground in the grass. We then struggled in the grass as I tried to get him to turn over to his stomach for me to gain control of his wrists and effect the arrest.”
Truitt wrote that after the protester was on the ground, Hilley and McAdams came over to assist in the arrest. Both Truitt and Hilley stated in the MCCD report that they advised the protester multiple times to stop resisting. Both officers said they tried pressure point tactics to gain compliance but were unsuccessful.
“Due to the violator continuing to struggle with us and attempt to pull away, I then moved on to the next option that was available to affect the arrest,” Hilley wrote. “I pulled out my taser 7 and placed it on the rear side of the violator’s right shoulder. I advised him several times that I was going to tase him if he did not comply. … I then gave a three second countdown and warned the violator that he was going to be tased. I then activated the Taser 7 and performed a drive stun. This had no effect on the violator, and he continued to resist after a full five second cycle.”
Truitt wrote in the report that he applied three more taser warning and stun cycles to the protester’s right shoulder, right abdomen and right thigh before the officers were able to handcuff him. In total, DPS tased the protester four times.
After the arrests
After the crowd had dispersed from the Quad, law enforcement agencies disassembled the encampment. Police officers pushed the crowd back down toward the Callaway Memorial Center before cordoning off the Quad.
Officers then began processing detainees in the parking lot next to the Administration Building. At that point, a crowd began to form around the area up against the police line.
“I stood by as we formed a line to keep people off the Quad while they cleaned up the trash and tents,” Truitt wrote in the MCCD report. “At that point a large crowd formed by the command post and was starting to chant and yell at officers as they tried to book suspects. Once, they were able to leave out of the area with the transport vans, all state units were ordered to leave the campus and return to headquarters.”
As protesters were being detained, Associate Professor of Philosophy Dilek Huseyinzadegan spoke to a Wheel reporter, saying that Emory community members had “begged” University administration not to bring police to campus for that day’s protest.
Associate Professor of Religion Ellen Gough also told the Wheel on April 25 that one of her students told her about the protest. Police later arrested that student, Gough said. She added that the University’s behavior was “inappropriate and unacceptable.”
“There were about … 35 peaceful protesters drinking coffee, eating snacks, chanting on the lawn,” Gough said. “They were absolutely non-violent. This is an institution of learning and dialogue. That’s exactly what they were participating in.”
According to the EPD report, officers made additional arrests after people intentionally crossed the police line surrounding the area where arrestees were being processed.
“Individuals intentionally crossed the line and refused to return to the other side of the caution tape, thereby attempting to interfere with the police to include interfering with the transport of the arrestees, creating unsafe conditions for both officers and the arrestees,” the EPD report states.
ESJP’s president said that the crowd pushed some protesters, causing them to fall across the line and
get arrested. All arrestees were then transported to the DeKalb County Jail, according to EPD’s report.
Confrontation at Candler
Protesters gathered on the Quad at about 5:30 p.m. after most police officers had vacated the area. According to another GSP report, roughly 300 protesters were present by 6:00 p.m., when the group moved from the Quad to Candler and attempted to access the building while GSP and EPD officers stood in front of the door. A group of protesters had been sitting inside the building in view of the glass front windows. Protesters inside the building demanded divestment, dropped charges and an apology from the then-dean of Candler, Jan Love.
The GSP report states that both EPD and GSP officers were pinned to the glass at Candler. Wheel reporters witnessed protesters pinning EPD to the glass but cannot confirm if they also pinned GSP officers.
According to GSP Sergeant First Class Moremen, EPD requested a GSP return response to campus around 6:00 p.m. GSP Sergeant Youngblood said in the report that members of the GSP Crime Suppression Unit (CSU) were a part of the response.
“Upon arrival, Emory University was actively requesting assistance with a mixed group of students and agitators,” Moremen wrote in the GSP report. “The group remained stationary on the commons until approximately 2030. They moved from the commons to the large glass-front library. Members of GSP and Emory PD became trapped and cornered by a progressively aggressive group displaying outward aggression to law enforcement (LEO) for the inability to access campus buildings. Emory PD formally requested that no access be allowed to the protest for fear of destruction.”
GSP Trooper First Class Tennant stated in the report that he was advised via radio that the protesters had pinned down EPD officers near the Candler building, before being
told by GSP Corporal Gonzalez to “step it up.” Youngblood said that law enforcement began to give orders to back away from officers and the front of the building.
“The demonstrators refused to follow our commands and became more agitated and appeared to become more violent,” Youngblood wrote in the GSP report.
Moremen said that after the group was told not to enter Candler, they showed “extreme aggression.”
“Large groups attempted to pin law enforcement with homemade wood signs and began throwing full bottles of water haphazardly at LEO,” Moremen wrote in the GSP report. “Members of CSU mobilized to the library to assist the LEOs who were pinned with no access to escape. Some members of CSU were equipped with Pepper Ball launchers and others with flex cuffs. Approximately 15-20 rounds of pepper balls were deployed into the ground approximately 5 feet in front of the aggressive agitators.” Youngblood stated in the report that the PepperBall deployment was successful, and that afterward they “gained some ground” and the demonstrators returned to the Quad.
After the group moved back to the Quad, Moremen said that a “large showing of manpower” from law enforcement disbanded the protesters for the night.
ESJP’s president said that the Candler protest got a “little rowdy.”
The Wheel’s previous reporting states that after protesters returned to the Quad around 8:32 p.m., they linked arms to form a circle as approximately 50 officers lined the Quad. Protesters then began to set up another encampment with a few tents and sleeping mattresses in the center of the Quad, but protest leaders eventually told the crowd to leave peacefully, and demonstrators then cleaned up the encampment and left the Quad around 8:56 p.m.
Read the online version of this article to view the full reports.
— Contact Jack Rutherford at jack.rutherford@emory.edu
JaCK ruther Ford/newS editor
Clockwise from top: Emory Police Department officers order pro-Palestine protesters to leave the Emory University Quadrangle on April 25. Police detain demonstrators during the April 25 encampment. EPD officers prevent protesters from entering the Candler School of Theology. EPD officers process arrested individuals next to the Administration Building.
The Emory Wheel Opinion
EDITORIAL
‘Stop the count!’ Reforms threaten election integrity
With more than one month until Election Day, the battle for Georgia’s electoral votes is well underway. On Sept. 20, the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) enacted a rule requiring that all ballots be hand-counted this November. Republican lawmakers pushed for the new rule despite opposition from the Republican secretary of state and attorney general who feel that the new rule could cause confusion on election night.
Considering former President Donald Trump’s attempted subversion of the 2020 election in Georgia, the implementation of these new regulations signals that we must be prepared to combat another threat to democracy in our state this year.
Voters
Additionally, recent SEB rules give local county officials more power to challenge election results as fraudulent. One allows individual members of county governments to demand an examination of all election-related documentation before the certification of results, and the other introduces new pre-election certification requirements that are not outlined in Georgia law.
For example, the rule requires that all disputed votes — in which electoral officials question the legality of the voter casting the ballot — be computed and certified justly according to rules enumerated by a local board of repre-
sentatives. The bureaucratic hurdles that these policies would create are not only inefficient but also would place power over the democratic process, and thus the ability to corrupt it, into the hands of a small minority of local officials — something that goes against the very notion of democratic elections.
The brief argues that this authority in the hands of elected officials amounts to “inviting extralegal discretion into the process.” It goes on to claim that, taken together, these rules “threaten to disenfranchise Georgia voters by transforming the certification of county election results from a ministerial accounting function into a discretionary political act.”
Voters should not be surprised if — and when — the new SEB rules are used to attempt to subvert the democratic process this November.
Moreover, the shift in SEB protocol is just the latest manifestation of challenges to electoral integrity in Georgia.
In May, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also signed legislation tightening voting restrictions, which, among other things, lists a change of primary residence or a nonresidential address as probable cause for completely disqualifying voters from the rolls. While this may seem innocuous, this change has far-reaching implications for housinginsecure populations and any Georgia residents with homes in other states, including college students.
In 2020, Georgia’s presidential election outcome was decided by a margin of 12,670 votes — a count smaller than the student population of Emory University. Although it’s easy to feel discouraged by the tide of antidemocratic forces targeting voters in our state, we can’t allow apathy to distract
us from the fact that our votes still can and will matter.
As such, at a time when state officials are keen to look for politicized reasons to disqualify voters, it is imperative that students preemptively confirm their registration to avoid any complications on Election Day. Thankfully, you can confirm your registration status through the Georgia My Voter Page and register to vote if you have not already done so with ease. Campus organizations like Emory Votes Initiative (EVI), which tables weekly during Wonderful Wednesday, exist for that very purpose. At the EVI booth, students can take five minutes to fill out a form with their personal information, scan their identification and email their registration form to the Dekalb County voter registration office before the Oct. 7 deadline.
In November, it very possibly could
be 12, 670 or so Emory student votes that counter election disturbance at the hands of Trump or corrupt public officials.
No Georgia voter can forget that after the last election, Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to dispute the state’s electoral count, which had swung in favor of President Joe Biden.
“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes,” he said, pleading with Raffensperger to interfere with the vote-counting process. “The current margin is only 11,779. Brad, I think you agree with that, right?” Trump said during the call.
In 2020, Georgia’s presidential election outcome was decided by a margin of 12,670 votes — a count smaller than the student population of Emory University.
Raffensperger, luckily, did not comply with Trump’s call to artificially “find” votes, and Biden won Georgia precisely because voters did not allow themselves to be intimidated by the attempted suppression of democracy.
As Trump has since maintained the fallacious claim that he won in Georgia, we can expect him to try everything in his power to twist the election process in his favor this year. Don’t be surprised when the integrity of Georgia’s electoral process is threatened, and again Trump supporters call to “stop the count!”
Instead, make sure you are properly equipped to fight for it.
Everyone’s in your sheets
Saanvi Nayar
Sex, in its many forms, is experienced universally in some way or another, yet it remains the most sensational facet of the primordial and modern human experience alike. Everyone in a college bubble exists one degree apart: Sex is never between two people, and, despite how terrible this sounds, we all relish in it. I have always known about sex. Without stigma or shock, it existed in my head as a fundamental, mechanical process, just like the leaves turning red at the end of September. I covertly watched “Orange is the New Black” as a 9-year-old, deleting and remaking my Netflix account so my parents would never know. In the show, sex was a tool of manipulation, freedom, pain, happiness and other things I couldn’t quite articulate as a child. All I knew was that sex was powerful beyond being a means of reproduction, and somehow, people around the world were all in on it.
Sex is never between two people, and, despite how terrible this sounds, we all relish in it.
Anya Neeze, former sex columnist for The Cornell Daily Sun’s “Sex on Thursday” wrote, “We need to read about sex to feel something. To think about our place in the world. It is the reason for all storytelling.” The sex column is sweeping in influence, delight, perturbance and mystique. I believe any form of communication showcasing nuances related to intimacy, love and desire is emblematic of the cultural phenomena that is the sex column. It encompasses both the technical definition and more radical incantations – from this very introductory essay to instances of political slander. This very belief operates on the notion that sex can refer to the physical act itself, as well as everything but it. Here are a couple of major reasons why I’m writing a sex column. One: The Emory Wheel has never had one. Two: It is a presidential election year. Being a registered voter in Georgia makes me incredibly invested in reproductive politics, and I really am sick of consuming watered
down liberalism disguised as journalism. Three: I have always been drawn to literature, classes and conversations on sex. As a 9-year-old, I felt like I had discovered something mystical and untapped, and as a 20-year-old, I believe an understanding of the erotic bestows liberty, power and tangible mechanisms for thinking about how we move through the world. I could go on, but for now, I will invoke reason number four, which is what I call the pendulum problem. This phenomenon was conceived in December 2023 on a New England liberal arts campus. Two of my best friends, Ana and Nick — pseudonyms for the sake of this article — had FaceTimed me, giddy with news (as all good stories begin). Ana was excited about Jay, someone Nick had come to know through a friend of a friend. Jay was tall and attractive, studying a STEM discipline, and could maintain relatively witty banter — you can’t really ask for more of a straight man. And yet, before he had even officially asked Ana out, Nick had revealed, with a bit of guilt and a characteristically wide smile, that somewhere along his 19 years of living, Jay had mysteriously lost a testicle. Take a second. Gasp. Giggle. Breathe in deeply. Exhale. Enter the pendulum problem: the parasocial relationship between you and your peers’ sexual and romantic exploits, and therefore, the underlying foundation of gossip, sexiling, sloppy seconds and every other proximal practice college students hold near and dear. After texting Ana for a follow-up, she reported the cause of the lost testicle as “surgically removed for an unknown or forgotten reason.” Nick knew this sordid fact from a friend who had been hooking up with Jay previously.
Quickly, and unbeknownst to Jay, the missing testicle became a source of humorous contention amongst us.
Ana and Jay went on one date. Ana liked him — a lot. They texted constantly during their separation. It was the type of back and forth that makes your mom ask you why you’re smiling at your phone. And yet, as the return to school grew closer, conversations about Jay would boil down to the same inquiry: To address the pendulum problem, or not? We wondered how the conversation would come up, what expression Ana would have to feign upon the reveal and, most scandalously, if it would change anything sexually.
Spoiler alert: Ana and Jay never
did anything below the belt. While that decision was due to a lack of genuine connection after returning back from break, the pendulum problem became a philosophy for me, applied to all college-related sexual and romantic endeavors, whether it involves two testicles or just one. Whether it’s a kinky preference or a story from an ex, you will come to know a salacious, private detail about a potential hookup before knowing their favorite color (Ana never came to know Jay’s).
Everyone is connected, and everything is erotic.
Iconic filmmaker Nora Ephron once said, “everything is copy,” relaying that whatever happens to an artist is fair game for material. As a writer, I have always been the most intrigued by personal narratives.
Narratives like the pendulum problem offer both sensation and thematic relatability. In this column, while I plan to use my various interests as vehicles for inflection, I seek to heavily rely upon the stories and insights of those around me — with permission. Constantly, people show me that engaging in sex is not half as fun as sharing about it. While I am apprehensive about including stories from my friends at Emory, maybe you’ll find some recognition, solace or humor in the folds of these pieces.
A brilliant friend of mine asked this past weekend why we can be so vulnerable in academic spaces but are frowned upon when we bring up anecdotes related to romance and relationships.
Audre Lorde, author and activist, asserted “[the erotic] has been made into the confused, the trivial, the psychotic, the plasticized sensation … For the erotic is not a question only of what we do; it is a question of how acutely and fully we can feel in the doing.”
I want to question, critique and stretch your understanding of sex. I want to invoke the erotic in opposition to this trivial, plasticized sensation, and I think there is no better space to do so than a college newspaper.
Everyone is connected, and everything is erotic. Emory simply exists as a case study.
Saanvi Nayar (26C) is from Marlboro, N.J.
Legislators, stop co-opting school shootings
Noble Garcia
Content Warning: This article contains references to school shootings and gun violence.
Politicians won’t let children die peacefully in the United States. They keep them alive, not through memory or vigil, but through the talking points they espouse every day.
Four people. two teachers and two students, were shot and killed at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Sept. 5. Nine more victims were injured. In this country, when a child or an educator enters their school, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Apalachee is only 40 minutes from Emory University’s Atlanta campus, and gun violence does not care about travel times. On Sept. 19, a shooting occurred at Emory Point. I was in the midst of editing this article when I heard the news, and my immediate thought was the irony of its timing. The coincidence of my writing and this shooting is not an act of providence.
Gun violence is a rot, one that spreads through America at an unstoppable rate.
Do not believe that this rot will not seep through your state, your campus or even the walls of your home.
I called a friend at the University of North Georgia following the news of the Apalachee shooting. This friend knows a boy who was at Apalachee during the shooting. As we spoke, what stuck out to me was not the sadness in his voice but the exhaustion. Thoughts and prayers are the most tired words in this nation. Yet, our politicians have not stopped repeating that phrase, as if thoughts and prayers are a stronger shield than legislation.
We continuously let these same government officials co-opt violent events to promote themselves for re-election, just to let countless gun control bills die in committee. Laws that could save lives keep dying in Congress. Either through our own mass protests or through elected officials, we must push back against the needless violence that pervades Americans’ daily lives.
I have a cardboard sign sitting on my dorm room desk. I picked it up off a playground when I was 11 years old, thinking it was simply interesting trash. Today, it is my reminder that our representatives would rather collaborate with death than fight against it.
The words read: “Since Columbine, 61 Mass Murders by Guns. Laws Congress Passed for GUN CONTROL: ZERO.”
I don’t blame the politicians for these legislative coffins, as they are trying their best within a flawed bureaucracy. Yet I hate how every legislator, administrator or in-between will shamelessly take casualties like those at Apalachee and use them for their own gain — or worse, their own apathy. In the words of Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who represents our 10th Congressional District, “Occasionally, bad things, tragedy happens, and no matter what, in six minutes, we lost four people.”
It’s disgusting that we have allowed officials like Collins, who claim lawmakers cannot prevent such tragedies, into office. I won’t stand for an America built on indifference to suffering, and neither should you.Regardless of party, our politicians maintain these warzones on school grounds. Consider our 2o24 presidential candidates, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, who condemn gun violence but extend no solutions.
Among both Democrats and Republicans, empty rhetoric and platitudes run rampant. They will not disturb our gun control status quo if doing so risks their livelihoods, even if legislation could save the lives of others. The truth is that, if elected, neither presidential candidate would do anything substantial for children’s safety or gun control as president. Both are too preoccupied with winning enough electoral votes to secure the job. Progress will continue to stagnate, Congress will resume its cycle of endless compromise and with every day that passes, we will all grow a little more indifferent to the decaying system of democracy we call the American Dream.
I refuse to fall victim to this vicious cycle in which I must accept that my loved ones could die just so that a politician can win an election. This generation needs to make our voices heard, and not just with the vote the government allows us. Take to the streets, participate in upcoming walkouts, run for open elected positions whether they’re in Georgia, your hometown or any other place in this country. Generation Z, like every generation before us, can create change in this country. Our future is not bleak. It is brighter than it has ever been.
If you or someone you know is struggling in the aftermath of gun violence, you can reach Emory’s Counseling and Psychological Services at (404) 727-7450 or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Disaster Distress hotline 24/7 at +1 (800) 985-5990.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the numbers represented in that sign have only grown. Since Columbine, there have been 417 school shootings. Comparatively, Congress has only passed one gun control law in the past 30 years. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, enacted on June 25, 2022, expanded background checks for those under the age of 21 purchasing firearms and increased funding for mental health services, school security and state red flag laws, which work to take guns away from dangerous people. The law also banned unmarried abusers from purchasing guns.That’s it. These few changes in background checks and mental health are the massive achievements President Joe Biden touted as “something consequential.” The rest of the laws are buried in the hellscape of congressional committees. Our bureaucracy eats legislation up like candy. A bill like H.R.8, which would have required background checks for “firearm transfers between private parties,” was killed in the Senate. Dig deeper, if you’d like: H.R.9253 proposed national research for the prevention of gun violence. Rejected. It doesn’t matter if it is S.4706, H.R.8828, H.R.6754, S.3407 or any other act that could end up saving lives. These bills are referred to endless committee graveyards, where nothing ever gets done under the illusion of compromise and bipartisan cooperation.
Va.
Noble Garcia (28C) is from Haymarket,
Tradwives ofer superfcial solutions to systemic issues
Eliana Liporace
The concept of the “tradwife”— short for traditional wife — has recently emerged as a social media sensation, going viral for its promised returns to traditional gender roles amid the backdrop of modern feminism’s ongoing struggle for equality. Influencers like Hannah Neeleman and Estee Williams have captivated millions with content that idealizes homemaking, all framed within a vision of a simpler, pastoral ideal of domesticity. While tradwives tout their role as women devoted primarily to their homes and husbands, this movement isn’t just about homemaking. It’s about promoting an ideology championed by traditionalists who believe a woman’s worth is tied to her submission to her husband, her so-called natural role.
In their meticulously curated videos, tradwives glide through minimalist homes, narrating their days with a calm that belies the regimentation of their routines. While this lifestyle may not single-handedly reverse feminist progress, the rise of these influencers risks confusing young women still solidifying their own female identities by creating a false dichotomy between women who adhere to traditional roles and those who champion modern feminist ideals.
To avoid the crippling adversarial nature of feminism versus tradwife values, modern feminism must reimagine itself for this new generation, embracing reforms that address women’s diverse needs without retreating to outdated norms.
At its core, feminism is about challenging oppressive structures that limit women’s autonomy and potential. It’s about advocating for a world in which women are free to define their own lives and identities, unshackled by restrictive societal norms. The tradwife movement, by contrast, glorifies a return to roles that feminism has historically critiqued for their inherent limitations and constraints. By romanticizing domestic submission, tradwives inadvertently support a vision of
femininity that contradicts empow erment and self-determination.
The feminist movement is not merely about individual choice — it is about confronting and rejecting the limitations imposed by an allencompassing patriarchal society.
All women must recognize that while traditional roles may ofer comfort to some, they should not be celebrated as the norm, especially when they exclude realities of so many.
The narrative perpetuated by influencers like Neeleman and Williams is dangerously simplistic. It overlooks the structural pressures and historical context that dictate these roles. Women who choose to embrace traditional domesticity are often celebrated for their “choice,” but this celebration can obscure the systemic forces — such as economic pressures, lack of support for working families and entrenched gender norms — that continue to shape
these decisions. While tradwives often frame their lifestyles as a true calling, these decisions are rarely made in a vacuum.
Neeleman, for instance, was a Juilliard School (N.Y.)-trained dancer with dreams of a professional ballet career. However, after meeting her husband, Daniel, during her final year at Juilliard, she decided to leave behind her career aspirations and start a family. They married shortly thereafter, and she shifted her focus to domestic life, eventually moving to a 328-acre ranch in Utah where she now raises eight children and runs the popular social media brand “Ballerina Farm.”
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Neeleman said she “knew that when [she] started to have kids [her] life would start to look different,” which reflects broader social and economic pressures that push women to prioritize domestic roles over personal aspirations.
The tradwife movement is a result of these shortcomings, presenting an alternative that appeals to those who feel alienated by modern feminist discourse. But this movement offers only superficial solutions to deepseatedissues. For example, the burden of care, a concept that sociologist
Arlie Hochschild termed the “second shift,” disproportionately falls on women in managing demanding careers alongside household responsibilities. The allure of a simpler, more natural life, as depicted by Neeleman and Williams, is seductive to women precisely because it taps into frustrations with the modern world’s demands.
It’s about advocating for a world in which women are free to defne their own lives and identities, unshackled by restrictive norms.
Yet, these frustrations stem from systemic problems that feminism, at its best, seeks to address — not by retreating into the past, but by pushing forward for greater equality and support for all women.To retreat into tradwifery, with its promise of an escape from modern stress, is to overlook capitalism’s role in reinforcing traditional family structures. Many women do not have the eco -
nomic privilege to embrace stay-athome lifestyles.
Tradwives, thus, inadvertently support a system reliant on women’s unpaid labor.
By framing traditional roles as viable alternatives to feminist progress, the tradwife movement implicitly suggests that women must choose between domesticity or aligning with contemporary feminist ideals. This narrative undermines the female solidarity essential for meaningful progress. Feminism is about recognizing and valuing the diverse experiences and choices of women rather than pitting one set of choices against another.
Modern feminists must rise to the challenge by acknowledging feminism’s flaws and becoming more inclusive and adaptable to the diverse experiences of women today. wThis includes recognizing the challenges faced by working-class women who do not have the luxury of opting out of work to focus solely on domestic life. Feminism should be about expanding possibilities, not limiting them, but this current opposition moves away from this ideal.
All women must recognize that while traditional roles may offer comfort to some, they should not be celebrated as the norm, especially when they exclude the realities of so many.
Rather than retreating into nostalgic visions of domesticity, feminism should confront the root causes of gender inequality: economic disparity, inadequate support for caregiving and entrenched gender norms. By addressing these issues, feminism can remain a powerful force for change, uniting women across different backgrounds and ensuring that progress is made on all fronts.
It is time for feminism to reimagine its goals and strategies, focusing on the broader structural changes needed to achieve true equality. Only by confronting these challenges head-on can we ensure that feminism remains relevant and effective in addressing the complex realities facing women today.
Eliana Liporace (27C) is from Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Choose compassion: A call for ESJP to cancel event on Oct. 7
Our Emory University is united by shared values of trust and empathy.
As members of this institution, we believe in the fundamental rights of students to expression, assembly and protest, which the University’s Respect for Open Expression Policy safeguards.
However, rights come with responsibilities, and protected actions — like protests — can still be morally reprehensible. In the coming days, we must prioritize compassion and allow our fellow students the space to mourn and heal in peace.
On Oct. 7, 2023, more Jews were killed than on any other day since the Holocaust. Jewish students at Emory have lost relatives, friends and mentors. The grief is still fresh. The wounds are still raw.
Many Jewish students hope to gath-
er on the first anniversary to honor those who were lost and to remind us of the 97 hostages Hamas still holds. This is not a political event but a communal act of grief — a moment of remembrance for lives cut short and futures stolen.
We must consider the message it would send to our campus community if we fail to allow one another the space to mourn in peace.
Recently, it has come to light that Emory Students for Justice in Palestine (ESJP) plans to hold a flagraising event on Oct. 7 coinciding with the Jewish student group joint memorial. This ESJP event has the sole listed
purpose of focusing on the deaths of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas War.
At best, such an event would portray to Jewish students that their grief and their losses are considered illegitimate as compared to those suffered by Palestinians.
At worst, it would illustrate a condonation of the Oct. 7 attacks.
We must consider the message it would send to our campus community if we fail to allow one another the space to mourn in peace.
Mourning allows us to process loss and find a way forward. Both Islam and Judaism have profound mourning traditions designed to create supportive environments for the bereaved. These traditions encourage processing and acceptance, and they must be remembered in times of utmost pressure and grief.
It is in this spirit of empathy and understanding that I respectfully request that the leaders of ESJP can-
cel their event tentatively scheduled for Oct. 7. This is not an attempt to silence or minimize the suffering of Palestinians, who continue to endure terrible hardships as a result of the ongoing conflict.
Instead, it is an appeal to allow Jewish students to have the peace of mind to mourn and remember their loved ones on the one-year anniversary of that fateful day.
Instead, it is an appeal to allow Jewish students to have the peace of mind to mourn and remember their loved ones on the one-year anniversary of that fateful day. Additionally, I encourage Emory’s
administration to invite the Parents Circle-Families Forum to campus. This organization, founded by Palestinian and Israeli families who have lost loved ones to the conflict, promotes reconciliation as the key to lasting peace.
Its work represents the kind of collective healing and mutual respect that our campus needs to move forward. I hope that Jewish and Muslim student groups will play a key role in bringing this event to life.
Ultimately, this is a moral choice. Students must choose to resist the impulse to exercise their rights to the fullest in favor of creating space for collective grief.
I ask that you, the leaders of ESJP, help our campus take one step closer to the healing and dialogue that are necessary if we are to be the generation to break the cycle of violence.
Noah Stifleman (27C) is from Englewood, N.J.
Noah Stifeman
HA-TIEN NGUYEN/SENIOR STAFF ILLUSTRATOR
The Emory Wheel Arts Life&
FEATURE
Sociology ‘Hits Different’ in Oxford course on Taylor Swift
By Catherine Goodman Arts & Life editor
During a night out with friends, Oxford College Assistant Professor of Sociology Devon Goss found herself amid a political and sociological gossip session. While ranting about TikTok trends and online discourse, the group fell head-first into a hot topic — “Is Taylor Swift really a feminist?”
After that night and additional conversations regarding the global superstar’s authenticity, intersectional feminism and potentially performative LGBTQ+ allyship, Goss decided to dive deeper and open the floor to Oxford students in the first-year discovery course, “Sociology: Taylor’s Version.”
“I thought it would be really fun to have a space in our class where we could have these conversations and talk about what sociology is able to provide in these conversations that are around these subjects that maybe our students were already thinking about,”
“Whatever you think about Taylor Swift’s music, she’s very good at being a celebrity,”
— Izzy Irby (26Ox)
Goss said.
Throughout the course, Goss hopes to draw tangible connections between different academic theories and the star’s long and, at times, tumultuous career. According to Goss, this is not a course on Swift as an individual — instead, the class focuses on examining music, celebrity and pop culture. Using a combination of scholarly sources and contemporary work from The New York Times and Rolling Stone, the class examines the many facets of stardom, sexuality and parasocial relationships.
But how does one even begin to discuss Swift without sinking into the depths of social media hearsay and public opinion? How does one navigate everything from her debut in 2006 to her modern megastardom while bat-
PROFILE
tling the various perceptions of her persona?
“Instead of just tackling Taylor Swift as this insurmountable phenomenon — because she is, obviously — looking at different elements of that is really helpful,” Goss said. “So one week we’re just talking about fandom, like, ‘What does it mean to be a fan of somebody? What kind of community does that create?’”
Much of the class deals with conceptualizing power and status among the rich and famous. Jade Feng (26Ox) chose this course to begin her sociology major. Although not a “Swiftie,” Feng wants to learn how “celebrity affects society.”
“It’s not only about Taylor Swift,” Feng said. “In South Korea, the K-pop singers also have this celebrity… I was hoping this course could use Taylor Swift as a general and separate level to help me examine the broader things.”
Izzy Irby (26Ox), another student in the course, is likewise not a self-proclaimed fan. However, she recognizes Swift’s mass appeal and the value of examining the longevity of her career, pointing to Swift’s use of “Easter eggs” and her record-breaking Eras Tour as evidence of her unique marketing approach.
“Whatever you think about Taylor Swift’s music, she’s very good at being a celebrity,” Irby said.
Poet Mads Gordon fghts
By Sophia peySer e ditor - in -C hief
While most Emory University students exist in Atlanta, Mads Gordon (24C) has truly lived here.
They’ve dabbled in the city’s arts community, advocated for local issues, explored beyond Druid Hills and drawn local media coverage for their poems-on-the-spot project and PEACHFUZZ literary journal.
A recent Emory alum, Gordon hails from Thomasville, Ga., a town of 19,000 that sits about 13 miles north of the Florida-Georgia border. Their poetry drips with the Southern gothic, transporting readers from the gridlocked city to a land of horses, porch swings and devout Christianity.
Gordon’s upbringing in South Georgia plays an autobiographical role in their poetry, with much of their writing taking place in a pasture — “a patch of grass that’s your own, that’s still and quiet,” they said. Inspired by a childhood spent trekking down a dirt road to their grandmother’s house and running around in the forest with their broth-
However, after Emory University shared information about the course on Facebook, many users took to the comment section to share their thoughts on studying Swift.
“Well I think we just learned the reason for Emory’s continued fall in the rankings,” one user wrote. Another user asked, “Is this satire or has society reached a new low?”
Many of the commenters expressed concern with the course’s applicability to professional life, whether that be establishing a foundation for future careers or just basic adulting skills. For Goss, these comments are not poor reflections of the class, but instead indicators of how society’s view on college has changed.
“I’m not surprised,” Goss said. “It just shows how what our ideas about college are, and that if there’s a time to investigate something like this it would be at college, and the fact that sometimes people don’t even see that as a space to do so, tells me about how we’ve moved away from from a liberal arts tradition of inquiry and investigation to more of a professional career training sort of pathway.”
Students like Feng and Irby echo Goss’ sentiments, recognizing the utility of exploring sociology through the megastar. Irby also elaborated on the nature of discovery seminar courses as classes built around niche portions
GinnA nebriG/C
of a larger topic.
“It’s a discovery seminar, so it’s supposed to be fun,” Irby said. “But also it is a really interesting thing to think about, and business wise, what are the ups and downs of a career? How would one mimic that?”
While fun and lighthearted, this course is no walk in the park. Contrary to popular belief on Facebook, students in the class are not slacking off.
“I was definitely surprised because we’d have to read, I don’t know, 80 to 100 pages a week for the first couple weeks while we were still doing the intro to the music industry in general, the sociology of the music industry,” Irby said. “Now it’s starting to calm down a little bit because we are getting into the actual Taylor Swift.”
Whether Swift is your top artist of the decade or the impetus for you changing the radio station in the car, we know “All Too Well” (2012) that Swift is powerful, influential and here to stay. Through this course, Oxford students are encouraged to look beyond the phone screen, past the preppy beats and between the lines of Swift’s solemn lyrics to define what celebrity is, how these individuals exist within our society and how to apply sociological theory to the little things.
– Contact Catherine Goodman at catherine.goodman@emory.edu
CAMPUS
Oxford College hosts inaugural Ideas Festival
By Lauren yee and riChard Zhu news editor & ContributinG writer
Emory University students, faculty, alumni and community members experienced a weekend of festivities at Oxford College’s inaugural Ideas Festival, a free event organized by the Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement. Throughout Sept. 20 to 22, over 40 notable speakers and performers addressed attendees on topics such as history, science, literature, cinematography and music.
Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement Founding Director and Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology Kenneth Carter (87Ox, 89C) emphasized the festival’s connection with the greater community.
“We know that faculty are really good at talking to each other about their scholarship, but we’re trying to inspire faculty all over to be able to communicate the things that they do in an accessible, interesting way to the public to inspire the next generation of scholars,” Carter said.
Grammy Award-winning music producer Jermaine Dupri gave the keynote address on Friday evening, accompanied by Sing for Science podcast host Matt Whyte and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop Studies and Digital Media Joycelyn Wilson.
University President Gregory Fenves, Oxford College Dean Badia Ahad and Carter each gave opening remarks introducing the festival and See EMORY, Page 10
the power with a typewriter, Nokia phone and hammer
er, Gordon’s poetry evokes a time and place miles away from Atlanta, where everybody knows each other.
“The neighbor boy spit in / my eye last June. Where / old lady grows calla lilies / in white domes for Easter / and funerals,” Gordon wrote in the poem “Guilty Pleasure.”
Themes of land and nature appear throughout Gordon’s oeuvre and bleed into their life outside of poetry.
An advocate for the Stop Cop City movement, a love of the outdoors drove Gordon to oppose the con-
“The job of the poet is to witness and then to report back with complete truths.”
— Mads Gordon (24C)
struction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, commonly known as
“Cop City.”
“A big part of being involved in that movement was feeling really heartbroken that there was this one patch of old land, land that actually hadn’t been destroyed yet and hadn’t been paved over, and then knowing that that was gonna be f***** up,” Gordon said.
Advocacy and poetry go handin-hand for Gordon, who said their political awareness stems from their “working-class” upbringing where social justice issues were close to home.
Poetry is, for Gordon, a vehicle for telling the world about injustices.
“The job of the poet is to witness and then to report back with complete truths,” Gordon said.
This led them to join a pro-Palestinian encampment on the Quadrangle last April, which the Emory Police Department, Atlanta Police Department (APD) and Georgia State Patrol quickly shut down.
Law enforcement arrested 28 people — Gordon was one of them.
“I’m not a revolutionary,” Gordon said.
See WRITER, Page 10
ontributinG iLLustr Ator
Mads Gordon writes “poems on the spot” with a typewriter.
8 songs to enter, embrace, enjoy autumn
By Catherine Goodman A rts & L ife e ditor
Listen while reading
Sept. 22 was the first official day of fall. While the sun didn’t immediately dim and the leaves didn’t spontaneously transform from bright green to deep maroon, that doesn’t mean we can’t welcome the new season with open arms and ears.
The sounds of fall — the whistling of tree branches, the clinking of cardigan buttons and the churning of coffee grinders pumping pumpkin spice lattes – are all around us. But there is more to fall than new thrifted sweaters and apple cider.
With fall comes transformation — both the good and the bad. As summer officially fades and school officially revs up, autumn can take many forms.
For many, the colder weather is a welcome reprieve. But for some, the slowly decaying vegetation and rapidly approaching midterms mean anxiety. To embrace this turning of time, I present eight songs to complement any fall frame of mind.
1. “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones (2002)
The first guitar riff of “Don’t Know Why” (2002) by Norah Jones is as crisp as the first breath of autumn air. Breathing in and breathing out, this song echoes the energy and anticipation of the new season. “I waited ‘til I saw the sun / I don’t know why I didn’t come,” she sings. Jones’ seductive, smooth voice drips like honey from a wooden
Summer
By CLement Lee and aLex GerSon
MAnAGinG editor & Arts & Life editor
It might officially be autumn, but Brat Summer is still an enigma to many. Charli xcx released her sixth studio album “BRAT” (2024) on June 7. It eventually spiraled into a pop culture phenomenon for people from all ages and backgrounds, garnering worldwide popularity through TikTok. Urban Dictionary defines Brat Summer as an “unapologetic party or ‘messy’ girl aesthetic.” However, it seems like a lot of people simply do not understand what Brat really is.
So, to clear up the confusion, we are
spoon, reflecting the slow descent from summertime’s chaos to the fall’s comfort.
Just like slipping on a new sweater, “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones blankets the listener in soft harmonies, serving as the perfect transition track to enter fall.
2. “Graceland Too” by Phoebe Bridgers (2020)
“Graceland Too” (2020) by Phoebe Bridgers epitomizes the tranquility and transformation of autumn. Through narrative songwriting, Bridgers illustrates the non-linear process of healing.
But just as the seasons inevitably change, brightness invades and all things pass. While the leaves change color and begin their descent toward the ground, we are reminded that the only way out is through the colder days, the longer nights and the sadder songs. As Bridgers sings, “Said she knows she lived through it to get to this moment,” there is always light at the end of the tunnel and regrowth after decay.
3. “Augusta” by Gracie Abrams (2021)
“Augusta” (2021) by Gracie Abrams reflects on the restlessness and confusion felt by someone on the precipice of change. “Feel like maybe I might go to Boston / Cut my hair in the way that I’ve wanted,” she sings. Abrams’ adolescent voice adds to the palpable sense of insecurity throughout the song, a feeling that drives the young singer to seek solace in peculiar places — both literal and figurative — such as the East Coast city or her fantasies of a future mature self.
“Heard a poem about mid-October / How the leaves in the fall feel like closure,” she sings. Throughout “Augusta,” Abrams’ search for certainty mirrors the inevitable discomfort that comes with metamorphosis, amplified by the changing of the seasons and the passage of time.
4. “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles (2017)
Harry Styles’ self-titled debut solo album, is the perfect fall album. The soft-rock record highlights Styles’ powerful voice and his candid lyri cism. With drum-lines, acoustic riffs and raw vocals, this album is the perfect accompaniment for a walk amongst the transitioning trees.
“Just stop your crying, it’s a sign of the times,” he sings, advocating for acceptance instead of resistance to change. In its warmth and introspec tion, “Sign of the Times” captures the essence of autumn, inviting listeners to embrace the uncertain.
5. “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac (1975)
As with many of the songs in this collection, “Landslide” (1975) begins with a smooth guitar riff, easing the listener into the track.
“Landslide” is simultaneously a forehead kiss and a punch to the gut, equal parts comforting and crisis-inducing as the track explores the passage of time and the inevitably of growing old. “But time makes you bolder / Even children get older / And I’m gettin’ older too,” Stevie Nicks sings. Although “Landslide” is my go-to track for any day and any weather, its commentary on change makes this track especially applicable to the ephemeral fall season.
6. “There She Goes” by The La’s (1988)
Although my perception of “There She Goes” by The La’s (1989) is undoubtedly influenced by the opening scene of “Gilmore Girls” (2001), in which the energetic track plays behind a landscape view of a chilly northeastern town, the standalone song still screams fall.
Unlike the rest of this collection, “There She Goes” begins with an electric guitar riff, echoing the
refreshing and exciting sentiments of a new season. The refrain, “There she goes / there she goes again” reflects the feeling of autumn’s eventual descent into winter, the season slipping away with every breath.
7. “Juna” by Clairo (2024) Clairo’s most recent album, “Charm” (2024), is fall at its finest. It’s refreshing, reflective and raw. In her bedroom-pop style, Clairo’s music is both abstract and approachable.
Although not a single, “Juna” (2024) is a standout track from the album.
Lyrically, “Juna” explores the infatuation stage of a relationship — “(You make me wanna) Go dancing / (You make me wanna) Try on feminine,” she sings. The positivity and giddiness of “Juna” reflects the feeling of walking outside on the first day of Atlanta fall and realizing you could, if you really wanted to, wear a sweater to school.
8. “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” (2021) “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” (2021) is the ultimate fall song. One second into this masterpiece, the listener is transported to November, to the taste of chai-tea lattes and snickerdoodle cookies and the nostalgia of the “Red (Taylor’s Version)” (2021) era.
The entire crux of the “Red” era — the discarded scarf — is the perfect metaphor for fall, where the beauty and innocence of the season are ever-fleeting, with each day facing decay.
“Autumn leaves fallin’ down like pieces into place / And I can picture it after all these days,” Swift sings, further emphasizing the fall feels present throughout this track.
– Contact Catherine Goodman at catherine.goodman@emory.edu
2024 events: To Brat or not to Brat
going back to the basics, defining the Brat phenomenon by explaining what pop culture events this summer were Brat and which were not.
Biden’s presidential debate performance
Verdict: The wrong kind of Brat
U.S. President Joe Biden took the stage in the first presidential debate on June 27 against former President Donald Trump. What transpired was nothing short of an American tragedy, with Biden struggling to coherently debate his opponent, foreshadowing the end to Biden’s bid for reelection. While the performance effectively ended his decades-long political
career, Biden did, to his credit, embody the fourth track on “BRAT:” “I might say something stupid” (2024).
– Alex Gerson
2024 Paris Olympics
Verdict: Brat
The 2024 Paris Olympics had the bravado and pizzazz to make it quintessentially cool. As the first summer Olympics since the isolated 2020 Tokyo Games, which had many COVID-19 restrictions, Paris athletes performed in front of full crowds. However, the aspect that struck me most from the Olympics was the opening ceremony.
Unlike other opening ceremonies hosted in indoor arenas, athletes represented their countries on Seine River cruise boats.
There were some non-Brat mishaps during the Games, such as Team Canada using drones to spy on their opponents, Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn’s set and the less-thanperfect water quality of the Seine. But ultimately, amid the Paris rain and singer Celine Dion’s powerful rendition of Édith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’amour” (1949), the world was introduced to a possibility of unity and belonging. During the official competition, Team USA stepped up to the challenge and put forward Brat performances, earning 126 total medals.
I recall sprinter Quincy Hall digging deep and mustering enough willpower to get first in the 400 meter race. Bobby Fink’s and Katie Ledecky’s dominant performances in the individual 1500 meter freestyle race in swimming also stand out.
The event venues were also breathtaking. The two that remain imprinted in my mind are the beach volleyball court below the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides in the background of archery, triathlon and marathon events. If I could watch the 2024 Olympics again in its entirety, I would.
– Clement Lee
Oasis’ reunion
Verdict: Brat for people who don’t like Charli xcx
When you look at the venn diagram of people who like Charli xcx and people who like Oasis, there’s probably just one person that belongs in both camps, and that person is me.
Oasis’ reunion shows are shaping up to be a cultural moment in their own right, and for that, the band’s reunion is Brat. However, I just can’t imagine that a ton of Charli xcx fans were logging on to their computers for a chance to see the Gallagher brothers’ reunion when the news of their upcoming concerts broke in August.
– Alex Gerson
You might think that five diss tracks aimed at one of the biggest artists in the world — including a No. 1 song on the Billboard Top 100 calling said artist a pedophile — would be enough. But Kendrick Lamar hates Drake too much to not take a victory lap and dance on the grave of his opponent after a decisive win in the biggest rap beef of this century.
Lamar, joined by countless other rappers such as Tyler, the Creator, Roddy Ricch and Dr. Dre, took the stage on June 19 to both celebrate the rap community and cement himself as the biggest rapper in the world. Just watch Dr. Dre introduce Lamar’s diss track on Drake, “Not Like Us” (2024), and you’ll know that K.Dot is the next in line to be etched in stone among the greatest rappers of all time.
If you ask me, there’s nothing more Brat than taking one last shot at your opponent, even after you’ve decisively won the war.
– Alex Gerson
– Contact Clement Lee at clement.lee@emory.edu and Alex Gerson at alex.gerson@emory.edu
Kendrick Lamar dances on Drake’s grave at “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” concert Verdict: Brat
CAMPUS
Emory celebrates creative minds at Ideas Fest
Continued from Page 8
the new Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement.
“Its mission [is] to bring together a diversity of scholars, artists and writers to discuss some of the most pressing and complex issues of our time, at a time when we need more and better models of civil discourse, free expression of ideas and constructive dialogue,” Ahad said. “This event perfectly captures the spirit of education and collaboration that we so value here at Oxford and Emory.”
Dupri began his address by playing his song “Welcome to Atlanta” (2001), followed by a discussion with Whyte and Wilson about Atlanta’s role as a cornerstone of hip-hop history.
He described Atlanta as “Vegas in the South” when he wrote the song.
“I don’t think people that lived in Atlanta knew how valuable Atlanta was to culture,” Dupri said.
The hip-hop culture flourished around the same time Atlanta elected its first Black mayor Maynard Jackson in 1973, Wilson observed. She noted that as a cultural anthropologist, she investigates questions about the political influence of hiphop in the Atlanta community.
Wilson also highlighted the increasing prevalence of hip-hop in higher education, citing hip-hop archives at Harvard University (Mass.) and Georgia Tech.
“There are institution that are preserving hip-hop, not in just the archive space, but in the curriculum and instructional space, and that is getting us to that generation that you’re talking about, and teaching
PROFILE
them about the culture that they’re already impacted by,” Wilson said.
At the end of the discussion, Dupri announced a unique opportunity for two Emory undergraduate students to intern for him. He said he wanted to give students a chance to “fulfill their dream.”
Additionally, Dupri urged Emory students to be open to meeting new people and learning from one another, which he said was the ultimate goal of the Ideas Festival.
“You’re never too old and too young to learn,” Dupri said. “You’re never too smart to learn.”
The presentations throughout Saturday and Sunday exemplified
Dupri’s ideas of openness. Presenters went above and beyond their topic, challenging the audience to engage with unexpected ideas.
Famous Southern chef and James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Virginia Willis delved deeper into the need for challenge and failure while demonstrating a biscuit recipe.
She discussed her earliest memories of family and food, which helped her maintain her passion for cooking despite all the obstacles.
“Some of my earliest memories are honestly making biscuits with my grandmother,” Willis said.
“There’s a picture of me at 3-years-
old on a chair making this exact same biscuit, and so food and memory are just so interlinked.”
Oxford Assistant Professor of English Sarah Higinbotham and Common Good Atlanta Board member Shanard Linsey led a discussion about the role of education in prison reform. The presenters showcased the stories of unique individuals and the role education had in creating a judgment-free zone in prison classrooms.
“What we hope for today’s conversation is that you might see college a little differently and you might see friendships like Shanard’s and mine a little bit differently, born not out of similar backgrounds necessarily, but
Writer talks Southern Identity, art in Atlanta, April arrest
Continued from Page 8
“I purely went out there from the viewpoint of the overarching desire for the Palestinian people to have liberation and self-determination.”
Gordon lost their smartphone in the arrest but held on to a copy of “The Wild Iris” (1992), a poetry collection by Louise Glück that touches on spirituality, the natural world and humanity.
In the hot transport van, they fanned another detainee with the book. In jail, they read it out loud to others.
“You can always go back to the Word of God in tough times and return to it,” Gordon said. “Poetry is doing the same thing for me.”
“I stilled & shook like / rigormortis til all the angels heard & / took pity & then they carried me home,”
— Poetry by Mads Gordon
Gordon, who’s dealt with incarceration in their family, said the American penal system is geared to strip people of their humanity and their autonomy.
They credited their ability to sit and read and write a poem in their head as a way to maintain autonomy. Gordon’s view of poetry as a profes-
sion is all-encompassing — for a poet, poetry is a sustaining life force.
Poetry is almost a religion for Gordon: it’s their guide for moving through the world.
Gordon, who majored in religion and English and creative writing, was raised Southern Baptist.
When they moved away from religion, poetry filled the gap.
Their interest in religion, specifically the creation story and what it means to be fallen from God, is present throughout their oeuvre.
“I stilled & shook like / rigormortis til all the angels heard & / took pity & then they carried me home,” they wrote in “Purgatory.”
Gordon also formed a congregation of sorts, running a poetry group called the Atlanta School of Poets and starting an Atlanta-based literary journal called PEACHFUZZ alongside their friend and collaborator Sophia Tone.
Gordon and Tone spent the summer on the Atlanta Beltline, busking poems for tips, until APD officers shut down their operation.
“APD hates freethinkers,” Gordon said.
They told the police that they weren’t technically selling the poems, instead just working for tips.
The officers didn’t care and told Gordon they needed a permit.
““It was very bad,” Gordon said.
“I was being an ass, quite honestly. I was like, ‘Sorry, we’re f****** terrorists on our typewriters.’”
They didn’t stop writing, though. Instead, Gordon and Tone relocated their poems-on-the-spot project to Findley Plaza in Little Five Points, in front of Southern Star Tattoo.
Armed with a hammer and a white Nokia phone, Gordon cranked out poems on a typewriter.
“I was being an ass, quite honestly. I was like, ‘Sorry, we’re f****** terrorists on our typewriters.”
— Mads Gordon (24C)
They encountered businesspeople, high schoolers and a flasher who exposed himself while reciting Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” (1871) — the good, bad and ugly of Atlanta.
They lived off-campus as an upperclassman, exploring Cabbagetown and East Atlanta Village, building a community through the Atlanta hardcore scene and collectives like the Lake Claire Community Land Trust.
“Emory is… not the whole world, and it’s not the biggest, most important part of my life at all, right now,” Gordon said about experiencing the city outside of the University. “In the grand scheme of things, there’s a lot going on that’s way more interesting, and that I am more interesting than what I’m doing at Emory.”
– Contact Sophia Peyser at sophia.peyser@emory.edu
out of deep respect for each other and a lot of excitement for the way that these programs can change people’s minds,” Higinbotham said.
Author-illustrator Mike Lowery turned his lecture into an interactive discussion and walked among the seats.
During his presentation, Lowery handed out sketchbooks to the audience, asking attendees to compile a list of things they liked. From there, he discussed his process, connecting the different “likes” of the audience into a reasonable plot for a children’s novel.
“My hope would be that people would see you can make your own stories,” Lowery said. “You can come up with your own concepts. It’s all about putting together these pieces.”
At each presentation, Emory students, faculty, and local members engaged meaningfully with the ideas posed by the speakers. Students such as Tyler McNulty (26Ox) expressed gratitude for how informative the event was.
“It’s such a cool idea — the bringing together ideas and important speeches for people who have these different ideas that you would never even consider or think about,” McNulty said.
Although just the pilot year, the Ideas Festival left its mark on the Oxford community, closing the gap between greater Atlanta and the Emory community, and leaving people to ponder the new ideas that they heard.
– Contact Lauren Yee at lauren.yee@emory.edu and Richard Zhu at richard.zhu@emory.edu
CROSSWORD
Mini Crossword
By ethan aLtShuL ContributinG Crossword CreAtor
Atlanta in line for NWSL expansion
So if people weren’t convinced to watch NWSL matches for the talent, Triple Espresso and many other large personalities of the league could easily win them over.
While there hasn’t been a confirmed proposed bid for an NWSL expansion into Atlanta for 2026, it appears to be only a matter of time.
Atlanta United FC owner Arthur M. Blank Sports & Entertainment expressed their interest through a written statement, hinting that they may want to add an NWSL to their “portfolio.” Additionally, ESPN conducted interviews with NWSL general managers, and when asked about which city to expand to, four out of the 14 said Atlanta. This was the most popular answer, with Miami receiving three votes for second place.
An ATL-based team isn’t a farfetched idea. Atlanta has historically embraced soccer, even before the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was built.
In 2017, the United boasted an average game attendance of 46,482, more than double the average MLS game attendance of 21,327. The team’s popularity was certainly assisted by a 2018 MLS Cup win in only the program’s second year, followed by a 2019 U.S. Open Cup and a 2019 Campeones Cup. Despite success stagnating on the field, United’s fan base remains ever-loyal to its team
Atlanta is also the future home of the U.S. Soccer Federation headquarters, a move expected to be completed in 2026. This $200 million investment boasts 200,000 square feet of training areas and more than a dozen outdoor fields, a significant nod to Atlanta’s support of soccer. With Atlanta providing top-tier training resources and a newly constructed stadium–not to mention access to a major airport– the city should be next in line for an NWSL team.
— Contact Jenna Daly at jenna.daly@emory.edu
Swimmers raise money for cancer research
Lahmann’s backstroke group when he was on the Emory swim team. The two grew close during difficult early morning practices, so de Groot was excited to come out of retirement and swim alongside Lahmann again for Swim Across America.
As the son of a neural oncologist, de Groot grew up familiar with cancer. However, Swim Across America did not offer an event in his hometown, Houston, until six years ago when de Groot’s father helped kickstart an open water swim in the city.
De Groot participated in the event all four years he was on the team, but the Eagles did not attend the swim at Lake Lanier until his final season. He described the open water event as “really spectacular.”
“Right before the race started … they had people come down to the lake and place flowers in the pool as a moment of silence for loved ones who have been affected, which is really special,” de Groot said. “It was really a big community event, not only for us as a team, but everybody there taking
a moment of silence and really finding what we’re all there to swim for.”
Participating in Swim Across America is not only limited to swimmers. Freshman diver Jacqueline St. Clair, one of the leading Emory stu-
“It was really a big community event, not only for us as a team, but everybody there taking a moment of silence and really fnding what we’re all there to swim for.”
— Jeffrey de Groot (23B)
dents in fundraising this year, said she reached out to the parents of the kids she coaches for swim, dive and skiing back home for help with fundraising.
St. Clair did not swim on Saturday but still showed up to support her
teammates. She joked she was happy to stay on land and did not know if she would be able to complete the three mile-swim.
“It’s my first thing I could do in college that was able to help other people,” St. Clair said. “It was such an easy thing for me to do, just send out the link and write a little message, and it raised a bit of money and it’s hopefully going to help them.”
Lahmann plans on continuing the fundraising efforts. The position as captain for Swim Across America is not something that he takes lightly. Lahmann is giving his all to help those who are in the position that he was in a decade ago.
“The year I retire from swimming is also the 10 year anniversary that I was declared cancer-free,” Lahmann said. “Being elected as the leader of this team really means a lot to me. I’m really doing the best I can ... to represent Emory at Swim Across America in the best way that I can.”
— Contact Sasha
Continued from Back Page
Continued from Back Page
Sa Sha Mela Mud/SportS Feature de Sk
Crowds gather at Lake Lanier for the annual Swim Across America fundraiser, which raises money for cancer research.
Sports The Emory Wheel
Volleyball team maintains stellar season record with weekend sweep
By MaDeline Shapiro Managing Editor
The Emory University volleyball team won all three games last weekend at the Vikings Classic in Mount Berry, Ga. to improve their season record to 11-1. Over the three matches, the team only dropped two sets and extended their winning streak to seven games.
The Eagles faced Covenant College (Ga.) first on Sept. 20. The team built momentum in the first set, winning 25-10. Covenant took the second set 25-21, but the Eagles came back in the third and fourth sets, winning both to claim a 3-1 win. Junior outside hitter Kate LaRocco led the Eagles with 12 kills against Covenant, and senior middle hitter Madison Cail had 10 kills and six blocks.
Later that night, the Eagles beat Berry College (Ga.) 3-1. The Eagles took the first set once again with a score of 25-12 but dropped the second set 25-15. The third set was close, but six points from LaRocco and junior middle hitter Sophie Zerrouki sealed a 25-23 win. The Eagles cemented the victory with a 23-17 fourth-set win.
While the team posted dominant wins on Sept. 20, LaRocco said the team is looking to improve on consistency throughout matches after dropping the second sets against both Covenant and Berry.
“We didn’t want to have too many expectations of them being too good or too easy but we went in thinking that we were going to win,” LaRocco said. “Won the first set, and in our
second sets, we tended to get down and we lost them. But then in the sets after we pushed through and we’re able to play over our mistakes.”
On Sept. 21, the Eagles faced
Centre College (Ky.) in their final game of the Vikings Classic. Emory swept all three sets to win 3-0 and remain undefeated throughout the weekend. Senior outside hitter
Jessica Majka had 11 kills in the game, and Cail had 10 kills. As a whole, the team had a .442 hitting percentage during the matchup.
The volleyball team is current-
ly ranked No. 7 in the country. Cail attributed the team’s success to strong leadership and coaching that focuses on behind-the-scenes aspects of the game, like scouting. Cail also said that the team’s strong bonds improves the team’s overall play.
“When you see us playing, I could describe it as synergy,” Cail said. “All of the jokes and all the fun that we have traveling, hanging out, really transfers onto the court.”
The team will face its first University Athletic Association (UAA) competition in New York against Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) on Sept. 28. LaRocco said she is excited for the upcoming UAA matchups.
“We definitely want to go in with a good mindset thinking that we’re gonna win but not being too overconfident in ourselves knowing that every team we play is gonna be very good competition,” LaRocco said.
Cail echoed LaRocco’s sentiments of relishing the UAA competition, noting that the next few weeks will be pivotal for the team’s national ranking.
“We just love getting to play these teams because they’re so similar academically,” Cail said. “We’re all going through rigorous coursework at the same time as being a part of really successful teams. So that combination obviously helps us respect our competition a lot and relate to them, and it’s always really fun to compete against them.”
— Contact Madeline Shapiro at madeline.shapiro@emory.edu
Swim and dive continues cancer fght Why NWSL should expand to Atlanta
By SaSha MelaMuD Sports Feature Desk
The Emory University swimming and diving team returned to Lake Lanier to participate in Swim Across America, an event that raises funds for childhood cancer research, on Sept. 21. The team has raised $37,580 so far, but for senior swimmer Nolan Lahmann, the fundraiser is about more than the money.
At 2-years-old, Lahmann was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia, having to undergo three years of chemotherapy. In 2015, he was finally deemed cancer-free. Eight years later, he watched as Will Kerscher (24C, 25B) led the team to raising $77,000 to win the College Cup, a friendly year-long competition where collegiate swim teams participating in Swim Across America try to raise the most funds.
So, when the heads of Swim Across America asked Lahmann if he wanted to be captain this year, he immediately said yes.
The event had an even larger turnout this year with over 650 people signed up for the open water swim. The Eagles have participated in Swim Across America with indoor swims at the Woodruff Physical Education Center since 2013, but this marks the second time the team has traveled to the open water event.
As a driving force for the team, Lahmann said he wants to share his story to help with fundraising. At first, he said he was uncomfortable talking about his experience with
cancer but reminded himself that the ultimate goal of Swim Across America is to help other people’s cancer journeys end in triumph too.
“This is one story, let’s create more,” Lahmann said. “It’s something … a lot bigger than myself and doing this for the betterment of cancer research, for the betterment of other childhood cancer patients, and even cancer patients in general, it’s for them.”
After sharing his story to Kerscher and Swim Across America last year,
Lahmann was invited to attend a pre-event dinner. There, he met former Olympians and a bone cancer survivor who was in the midst of chemotherapy due to a disease recurrence.
“Meeting all those people, including that cancer patient, was pretty eye-opening that not everybody is as fortunate as me and [cancer] can come back at any time,” Lahmann said.
Jeffrey de Groot (23B) swam in
By Jenna Daly Senior Staff Writer
In the last five years, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has exponentially grown in all directions: revenue, coverage and number of franchises. With the U.S. Women’s National Team’s win against Brazil in the Olympics to take home gold, there is certainly more expected growth.
The NWSL made significant progress in 2023, with viewership up 48% from 2022. This surge came concurrent with a 71% rise in U.S. viewership of the 2023 Women’s World Cup final. Major channels are legitimizing women’s soccer in the U.S. Most notably last year, CBS, Amazon and Scripps agreed to a four-year deal worth $240 million. This streaming access and primetime coverage guarantees better accessibility for NWSL fans to watch their favorite athletes.
It is widely demonstrated that women’s sports captivate more eyes when they’re given a chance through primetime matches and advertisements by broadcasters. For example, ABC broadcasted the WNBA AllStar game in 2023 for the first time and smashed the event’s viewership records. For the NWSL, the new TV deal has remarkable implications for its long-term success.
As interest in women’s soccer has skyrocketed, the NWSL is trying to meet the demand with multiple
expansion teams. In five years, four teams have popped up out West, with a team in Boston and an undecided city to join them in 2026. Since their formation in 2019, Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC have seen their valuations catapult from $2 million each to $250 million and $120 million, respectively.
At the core of this growth, remains the league’s important point of parity: European teams and their competitiveness. In stark contrast to the NWSL, there are international powerhouses in women’s soccer, leading to few competitive games on their respective league calendars. The NWSL has been extremely forward-thinking while expanding, creating high thresholds– such as fastly increasing expansion fees– for new teams to meet. This protects the league’s competitiveness and separates it from other leagues globally. Multiple NWSL general managers pointed at talent spread across the 14 teams with one saying, “In this league, anyone can win on any single day.”
There’s no denying the level of talent within the NWSL, highlighted by brilliant performances during the 2024 Paris Olympics from attackers Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson. “Triple Espresso,” as they like to be called, also displayed their goofiness off the pitch through social media and interviews.
NWSL
natal Ie Sandlow/VISual edI tor
Senior middle hitter Madison Cail jumps for a hit against Greensboro College (N.C.) on Sept. 2, 2023.
Sa Sha Mela Mud/SportS Feature de Sk An organizer holds a check at the Swim Across America event at Lake Lanier on Sept. 21.