2.27.15

Page 1

The Emory Wheel

INDEX

Emory Events Calendar, Page 2

Police Record, Page 2

Endorsements, Page 7

Crossword Puzzle, Page 8

Student Life, Page 9

Sports, Page 11

Since 1919

Volume 96, Issue

www.emorywheel.com

Friday, February 27, 2015 INCLEMENT WEATHER

Emory Closes Wed. Due To “Inclement Weather” By Annie McGrew Asst. News Editor

The University closed for all of Wednesday, Feb. 25 and until 11 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26 due to “anticipated severe weather conditions,” according to all-Emory emails from Associate Vice President of Communications and Executive Director of Media Relations Nancy Seideman. Emory was one of six universities that closed in the Atlanta area on Wednesday, and the City of Atlanta also shut down, according to an online Weather Channel report. According to an article in Decaturish, the City Schools of Decatur, Fulton and DeKalb Counties and the Atlanta Public Schools also closed on Wednesday. On Thursday, City Schools of Decatur, DeKalb and Fulton counties were also closed due to the forcasted weather, according to another Decaturish article. According to Seideman’s email, the announcement of the University

closure on Wednesday applied only to the University. Seideman noted that Emory Healthcare (EHC) employees should refer to the EHC intranet and emails from EHC for information regarding operation. On Wednesday morning, EHC tweeted that all EHC hospitals would be running as per usual. In a Facebook and Twitter post on Wednesday, Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair announced that although the University was closed, Campus Life would be working to take care of students. The Dobbs Market in the Dobbs University Center (DUC) was open on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Clairmont Campus Student Activity and Academic Center (SAAC) operated under normal hours, but the SAAC dining area closed early at 7 p.m. Nair also announced that the

Every Tuesday and Friday

BIAS INCIDENT

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Students Will Vote on Changes to Constitution By Rupsha Basu News Editor

staff met with ESJP members on Monday morning “to discuss the incident [and] provide them with support, as well as outline options and next steps for their open expression display and bias incident reporting processes.” A spokeswoman for the EPD declined to comment on the investigation. College sophomore and ESJP President Jonathan Hussung, College senior Kolia Kroeger, College junior Dina Masri and two other members who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, assembled the standing display from around

Emory students will participate in a referendum to vote on two amendments to the Student Government Association (SGA) Constitution during the election period, which takes place starting tonight at 8 p.m. and continues until Monday, March 2 at 8 p.m. The student body was notified about the referendum in an all-student email on behalf of SGA. The email contained the text of the amendment that will appear on the election ballot as well as links to the full texts of both bills that proposed the amendments. The first amendment proposes a measure of public scrutiny — or the widespread distribution of information to students and the hosting of a public forum — on all matters that the bill describes as “Issues of Significance.” These issues are defined in the amendment as: amendments to the Constitution, changes to bylaws, codes or governing documents concerning the collection or distribution of fees (including the Student Activity Fee) and changes to the manner in which offices are chosen and changes to the number of divisional councils. The bill was proposed by Elections Board Chair and College junior Reuben Lack. At this past Monday’s SGA meeting, the Legislature unanimously passed the bill with no dissent, meeting the minimum requirement to pass an amendment to the Constitution, which is two-thirds of

See PERPETRATORS, Page 5

See ELECTIONS, Page 3

Melissa DeFrank/Staff

Emory Students for Justice in Palestine constructed a wall referring to Israel as an apartheid state on Sunday. In response to the wall, Jewish student group Hillel erected their own Truth Wall on Tuesday on McDonough Field.

Israel Apartheid Wall Vandalized Spotlight: How Does Emory See SEX, Page 4

Decide to Cancel School? By Annie McGrew Asst. News Editor

Ever wonder how the University decides to close because of the weather? Chief of Staff and director of Customer Relations and Support for Campus Services Karen Salisbury delineates the process. According to Salisbury, the decision makers are a group of executive and senior leadership members who meet and consider the options of

“delayed opening, early release or closing the University.” Salisbury added that the meeting to discuss the decision is typically arranged by Senior Administrator for the Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) Sam Shartar, and includes Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Claire Sterk, Executive Vice President of Business

See NO, Page 4

By Lydia O’Neal Asst. News Editor

At least one perpetrator tore down and ripped apart a display constructed by Emory Students for Justice in Palestine (ESJP) on the Dobbs University Center (DUC) Terraces on Sunday night and Monday morning, according to ESJP members. The display, a wall that referred to Israel as an apartheid state, meant to raise awareness of Israel’s oppression of Palestinian people. Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair sent an all-Emory students email on Tuesday afternoon detailing the bias incident. “The destruction of the display

runs counter to our community’s commitment to debate and dialogue,” Nair wrote in the email. “Emory University unequivocally affirms that our community members have the right to open expression without interference.” The Emory Police Department (EPD) is currently investigating the incident, and the Bias Incident Response Team and Open Expression Committee​“became aware of the incident and responded immediately” after a member of ESJP submitted a Bias Incident Report on Monday, according to Matthew Garrett, the interim senior director of the Division of Campus Life. Garrett added that Campus Life

EMORY ARTS SHOWCASE

GREEK LIFE

Delta Tau Delta Gains Many New Members

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

CC, SGA Candidates Face Off in Wheel Debates By Lydia O’Neal Asst. News Editor

By Lydia O’Neal Asst. News Editor A new chapter of Delta Tau Delta (DTD), the newest fraternity colony in the Interfraternity Council (IFC), has amassed 64 members and hopes to have its own house next year, according to members of the fraternity. DTD plans to hold its first meeting next week. Comparatively, DTD has gained larger amounts of members more quickly than other new fraternities at Emory. By late November 2012 following its fall revamp that year, Chi Phi’s colony consisted of 26 members. (Editor’s Note: Student Life Editor Stephen Fowler is a founding member of DTD.) The fraternity’s international headquarters suspended Emory’s chapter of DTD in 2008 due to a “steady decrease in membership, failure to submit paperwork for Emory’s Greek Life Advancement Program and the chapter’s low chance of becoming nationally accredited,” according to a 2008 article in the Wheel. IFC member organizations voted on Sept. 22, 2014 to approve the fra-

See NEW, Page 4

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Melissa DeFrank/Staff

ollege senior Phil Winkle gave the audience a taste of his poetry at the Emory Arts Showcase, an annual event that occurred on Friday, Feb. 20. The event featured performing and visual artists, such as hip-hop dance group Adrenaline and a cappella group No Strings Attached.

PANEL

University Panelists Discuss Disability Rights By Annie McGrew Asst. News Editor

A panel of university professors, including Emory Distinguished Professor Salman Rushdie, discussed the human rights of those with disabilities at a panel on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 24). Rushdie, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Stony Brook University Eva Kittay and Emory English Professors Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and Benjamin Reiss comprised the panel, titled

Elections 2015

endorsements starting on Page

“Disability Rights as Human Rights.” More than 100 faculty and students attended the panel, held in White Hall. The planning for this event has been ongoing since early fall in order to occur during the week-long visit of Kittay, according to GarlandThomson. However, when she and colleague Reiss realized that Kittay’s stay would compete with Rushdie’s final visit as University Distinguished Professor at Emory, they recognized the opportunity for “expanded dialogue.”

OP-EDS Students

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ESJP Wall, PAGE 6 vandalism ... respond to

The discussion centered around human rights and how disability figures into that equation, drawing on Kittay, Garland-Thomson and Reiss’s experiences in disability studies and Rushdie’s experience as an advocate for human rights and as a novelist. This event was co-sponsored by Emory’s New Leaders/New Thinkers Fund, the Hightower Fund, the Center for Ethics, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality

See DEFINING, Page 3

STUDENT LIFE Sex Week educates the Emory community ... PAGE 9

Presidential and vice presidential Student Government Association (SGA) and College Council (CC) candidates discussed their visions for their respective governing bodies at the annual Wheel Debates in White Hall on Tuesday night. SGA and CC elections open Friday, Feb. 26, and close Monday, March 2. Throughout the event, members of the audience of around 30 students could also tweet questions with the hashtag #wheeldebates. CC Vice President CC vice presidential candidate and College junior Sheena Desai was the first candidate to answer questions from Editor-in-Chief elect Dustin Slade. Desai is running unopposed. Desai previously served as freshman legislator and vice president of Student Affairs, and said in her opening statement that, if elected, she would work to “bridge collaboration between organizations on campus that wouldn’t necessarily collaborate.” Desai said that she believed the biggest issue faced by CC is legislators’ tendencies to lose sight of their own initiatives. “A lot of times, it’s hard to keep everyone engaged,” Desai said, adding that the Council’s budget often occupies much of the legislators’ attention. “The biggest challenge has been focusing on those smaller

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women’s tennis team

projects.” In her closing statement Desai said that it had been her primary goal for the year to come was “to keep you guys well-connected to the administration.” CC President Next, CC presidential candidates College junior Goldy TenreiroBraschi and College junior Alyssa Weinstein took a seat on the stage. When asked what she thought was the biggest issue on campus, Weinstein, who serves as CC vice president and was previously sophomore legislator, cited students’ tendencies to remain within their own particular club without branching out. Students deeply involved in cultural groups and organizations “don’t often go outside the bounds of those groups” she said. Tenreiro-Braschi, who previously served as CC’s vice president ofProgramming, said she thought the biggest problem on campus was “a lack of community and diversity.” “Sometimes we get super involved in our own organizations, so there’s sometimes not an opportunity to get involved with other clubs,” TenreiroBraschi said. She added, citing the Indian Cultural Exchange as an example of a club that stays within its own cultural boundaries, “just because you’re [of] a certain ethnicity, like [those involved in] ICE, doesn’t mean that at the end of the

See ZOBERMAN, Page 4

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