The Emory Wheel
INDEX
Emory Events Calendar, Page 2
Police Record, Page 2
Student Life, Page 9
Crossword Puzzle, Page 8
Staff Editorial, Page 6
Sports, Page 11
Since 1919
The Independent Student Newspaper of Emory University www.emorywheel.com
Friday, April 3, 2015
BALANCING ACT
ADMISSIONS
Univ. Sees Unprecedented App. Numbers
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Hagar Elsayed/Photo Editor
mory’s Arab Cultural Association (ACA) hosted it’s first annual Al-Mahrajan event underneath the terraces of the Dobbs University Center (DUC) on Thursday afternoon. The event featured free food, music and a flaming sword belly dancing performance.
ADMINISTRATION
Emory To Offer Aid To Undoc. Students
The University will provide private, need-based aid to undocumented students, starting with the Class of 2019, University President James W. Wagner announced at a Tuesday meeting with the student advocacy group for undocumented students Freedom at Emory University. “As a private institution, Emory will use private, non-governmental resources to offer university scholarship support to these qualified students, beginning with the class entering this fall,” Wagner wrote in a statement to the Wheel. Emory students who are in need of financial aid and are exempt from deportation according to the 2012 federal immigration policy Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) will receive private aid, according to Wagner.
The DACA policy allows undocumented immigrants who were under age 31 on June 15, 2012, who came to the U.S. before their 16th birthdays or have a high school or higher education, among other qualifications, to remain in the country for two years, after which they may apply for DACA renewal. Wagner’s announcement followed meetings between the Freedom at Emory members and administrators for the past three months as part of the student group’s campaign to help students without U.S. citizenship afford an Emory education. Although the final details about funding and feasibility have yet to be clarified, Freedom at Emory members have lauded the decision. Freedom at Emory Co-Founder and College senior Andy Kim, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said the group was “extremely excited” to hear Wagner’s proposal.
Emory accepted more than 4,000 students into Emory University’s Class of 2019 on Tuesday. This year’s applications saw a more than 15 percent increase from last year, but the University accepted roughly the same number of students, according to Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Enrollment and Dean of Admission John Latting. This year, 20,519 students applied to the College, while last year, the College received 17,818 applications, according to data released by the Office of Admissions. For the past four years, until this year, application numbers remained in the 17,000s, according to data from the Office of Admissions. The number of admitted students only increased by one — 4,796 students were accepted this year and 4,795 were accepted last year. Latting said that he predicts the enrollment numbers at the College to be about the same as last year’s
enrollment of 1,365 students. The acceptance rate fell from 27 percent last year to 23 percent this year, he said. Oxford College also saw an increase in applications. It received 9,736 applications and admitted 3,715 students — a 38 percent acceptance rate, according to data from the Office of Admissions. Last year, Oxford received 7,409 applications. Latting said there are two reasons for the increase in application numbers. First, Emory’s general operations have increasingly been spotlighted in the news. “It’s everything from some sports thing to medical research,” Latting said. “Emory’s really been in the news a lot in the last year and for good things, and that has raised the profile of the University.” The second reason, Latting said, is the Admissions Office’s recruitment efforts. “We try to be the very best sounding board that we can be for the University,” Latting said.
ADMINISTRATION
Winship Head Leaves For Univ. Pres Position
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Hagar Elsayed/Photo Editor
rothers of Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) rolled a colorful, gigantic beach ball around campus and encouraged students to sign the ball to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. The fraternity receives a pledged donation for each signature on the ball. The initiative, “Get On the Ball,” is ZBT’s annual signature fundraising event.
AWARDS
Faculty, Staff Win Emory’s Awards of Distinction
Emory University recognized 12 employees with the annual Award of Distinction for their dedication to their work during a March 24 dinner reception with University President James W. Wagner. “The people are ... the motivating factor that make it all happen,” said Stacy Heilman, research program director at the University’s
NEWS Farmers Market
Earth Day Festival come to campus ... PAGE 3 and
See EMORY, Page 4
See UNDOCUMENTED, Page 5
By Luke White Staff Writer
Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta as well as one of the awardees. “Nothing I do, I do by myself ... We’re here to make a difference.” This year’s pool of 12 recipients — each of whom will received $1,000 — have come from campus divisions such as the Emory Police, Library & Information Technology Services, Oxford College and Campus Life. For the first time, former awardees were eligible for another award.
He noted that while the Admissions Office certainly wants the applicant pool to grow, increasing the size of the applicant pool each year is not a goal “in and of itself.” “We don’t try to recruit students just to get them to apply,” Latting said. “Instead, we figure out what kind of students we’d like to have in our applicant pool, and we target those students.” Although the Admissions Office continues to reach out to students by meeting with school counselors, visiting high schools and providing tours for prospective and accepted students, Latting said that the Office’s use of technology and information to spread the word about Emory is changing the most. Latting noted that the “relatively new” communications team within the Office of Admissions has been utilizing email campaigns and social media to reach out to students. However, Latting said the Admissions Office is not the only
“I’m really proud to go to a school that’s stepping up and supporting a group of people that [have] historically and systematically been oppressed,” Kim said. He also noted the importance of such a policy in the state of Georgia, where undocumented students are not only ineligible for federal aid, but also cannot apply to schools within the state’s University System and cannot pay in-state tuition, which is generally lower than that of a private school like Emory. A University System of Georgia Policy, which the Board of Regents implemented in 2011, states that a person who is not lawfully present in the United States is barred from admission at colleges within the Georgia System, including the state’s top five public schools. In the same year, the Board also implement-
HAVING A BALL
By Kristi Yu Contributing Writer
43
Every Tuesday and Friday
By Annie McGrew News Editor
By Lydia O’Neal News Editor
Volume 96, Issue
Emory’s Human Resources (HR) Department selected the awardees from a large pool of faculty, staff and supervisors who received endorsements from the employees’ division heads, according to the HR website. After all nominations were filed on March 6, HR carefully reviewed each candidate for their eligibility and sent each nomination to the Award Selection Committee members, who the vice president of HR selected. The Committee, which also includes
OP-EDS The dilemma
over the religious freedom restoration act
... PAGE 7
former award recipients, evaluates the nominations and selects 10 to 15 nominees that fit their criteria. The criteria includes employees who have contributed to the themes in Emory’s strategic plan, committed to the public good and advanced multicultural understanding. Like Heilman, other recipients expressed gratitude for their team. “Faculty are the key to any suc-
See RECIPIENTS, Page 3
STUDENT LIFE
College senior recognized for philanthropy ... PAGE 9
Fadlo R. Khuri — deputy director of Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute, professor and chairman of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology and executive associate dean of research at Emory Medical School — will begin as the 16th president of American University in Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon this September, the AUB Board of Trustees announced on March 19. The Board selected Khuri to replace current President Peter Dorman, effective Sept. 1, 2015. “[I have] an opportunity to champion a liberal education and help build the next phase of a major research University ... that has a tremendous impact in the Middle East and in the world,” Khuri said. “It will be challenging, but I’m excited.” Khuri, who has been at Emory for 13 years, is considered a leading researcher and physician in the field of lung and aerodigestive medical oncology. Prior to joining Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute in 2003, Khuri worked at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center from 1995 to 2002. He has served as a member of the AUB Board of Trustees since 2014. In his new role as a university president, Khuri said he will have to put his cancer research on hold in order to handle the unique demands of the position. However, he does not intend to quit working altogether in
SPORTS Tennis
victorious in fourth straight outing
...
Page 11
the field that he loves. “I’m hopeful to at least keep some role in the area to help [AUB] do its own cancer research,” Khuri said. “It’s very hard for a university president to be able to engage in clinical or laboratory research, so I’m going to have to satisfy myself by continuing to do some teaching and scaled-back patient care.” Khuri’s main area of research at Emory involves developing innovative approaches to the prevention and treatment of lung, head and neck cancers, with a particular emphasis on tobacco-related cancer treatment. He is the co-head of the $12.5 million Head and Neck Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE), which aims to discover new methods of combatting head and neck cancer. During his time at Emory, Khuri won numerous awards for his leadership and research, including the American Association for Cancer Research’s (AARC) Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Memorial Award, which is given annually to a medical investigator under 50 years old who is making promising strides in the field of cancer research. In 2014, Khuri’s peers selected him as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Additionally, he has published over 120 articles in top peerreviewed medical journals, and he serves on the editorial boards of seven of those journals.
See KHURI, Page 5
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