Feb. 1, 2017

Page 1

Since 1919

Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper

The Emory Wheel

SGA

IMMIGRATION

SGA SPLITS INTO TWO BRANCHES University-wide Referendum Passes in Landslide By eMily Sullivan Associate Editor

The Student Government Association (SGA) will split into two autonomous graduate and undergraduate branches following the passage of a University-wide referendum by a vote of 3,773 to 364 Tuesday night. Legislators will now serve on either the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA) or the Graduate Student Government Association (GSGA), each of which will function independent of the other. USGA will act as the primary governing body for undergraduates, and GSGA for graduate students. A Joint Governance Committee (JGC) composed of executive members of both branches will meet regularly to address University-wide issues. GSGA will collect and monitor its own graduate student activity fee, according to the referendum website. The bill to split SGA was proposed and passed by SGA last semester to address concerns about the lack of equitable graduate student representation. The SGA Restructure and Transition Plan, created in anticipation of the bill’s passage, projects that its six phases — which include the amendment of previous governing documents and a review of all organizations holding University-wide status — will be completed by April. About 7,800 undergraduate stu-

dents and 6,900 graduate students had the opportunity to vote online between Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. on the “Bill to Create an Equitable Student Government Structure.” The number of undergraduate versus graduate students who voted in the referendum is not available because the voting system does not break down voters by division, Emory University Elections Board Chair and Goizueta Business School senior James Cahill wrote in an email to the Wheel. GSGA President and Goizueta Business School graduate student Jared Greenbaum called the passage of the referendum “a historic moment for Emory.” Greenbaum said that the breakdown of the vote — 91.2 percent for and 8.8 percent against the bill — “shows the importance of this vote.” SGA President and College senior Max Zoberman agreed, stating that the voter turnout itself — 4,137 total student voters — reveals the significance of this referendum. “This is the highest turnout of any election in Emory’s history,” Zoberman said. “I’ve never seen numbers like this, ever.” The referendum attracted 69 more voters than the Fall 2014 referendum in which students voted against an increased per-semester Student Activity Fee (SAF), according to a Dec. 8, 2014 Wheel article.

See HiStoRiC, Page 4

Matthew haMMond/Staff

College seniors Dennis Kamara (Top) and Harpreet Singh (BoTToM) sign demonstration organizer and College freshman Ruhika Prasad’s bed sheet.

By hannah e. conway Associate Editor About 70 Emory affiliates gathered in Asbury Circle in a demonstration against President Donald J. Trump’s policies two days after his executive order on immigration. Some at the Sunday protest shared personal stories about the past and present effects of the United States’ immigration system on their lives and their families. They also marked a bed sheet with phrases calling for resistance to the order and compassion for those affected. Trump’s executive order prevented all refugees from entering the United States for 120 days and prohibits Syrian refugees from entering

the U.S. indefinitely. Signed Friday afternoon, the order also bars all citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. A federal judge issued a nationwide stay that blocked parts of Trump’s order Saturday, preventing the deportation of some individuals detained at airports. College freshmen Luisa Kim and Ruhika Prasad organized Emory’s demonstration by creating a Facebook event after Kim read an article Saturday night about Trump’s executive order. “Having a platform where people can share whatever they’re thinking is

“I feel devastated,” Emory University School of Medicine Cardiology Fellow Heval Mohamed Kelli said when asked about his reaction to President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on immigration. “I would’ve never been able to do today what I did 15 years ago.”

See DEmonStRatoRS, Page 2

See EmoRy, Page 5

CLIMATE

RUN THE ROW

By Michelle lou News Editor

Gabrielle daviS/Staff

Fraternity pledges prepare to run down Eagle Row to their respective houses in Emory’s “Run the Row” tradition. Current fraternity members wait on the lawns of their houses, ready to officially welcome the new members into greek Life at Emory.

NEWS Emory Alumnus

EMORY LIFE

AdvisEs Trump on EThics lAw, communiTy Q BBQ ExcEEds rulEs ... PAGE 2 ExpEcTATions ... PAGE 6

By hannah e. conway Associate Editor

A&E

‘violAmAniA’ showcAsEs violA’s poTEnTiAl in pErformAncE ... PAGE 10

A climate change and public health conference initiated by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and several non-governmental organizations will replace the cancelled Centers for Disease and Control Prevention’s (CDC) Climate and Health Summit, according to a Jan. 26 American Public Health Association (APHA) press release. Organizers began planning the new Climate and Health Meeting last week — less than a month before its Feb. 16 start, and will keep the conference to a single day, according to Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute Ashish Jha. The CDC’s Climate and Health Summit had been scheduled to take three days. Taking place at the Carter Center, the new conference will feature panels and speakers, including some who were scheduled for the cancelled event.

EDITORIALS ThE

Following President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, the CDC alerted attendees that the conference was cancelled, according to The Washington Post. “[The CDC] cancelled [the Climate and Health Summit] out of fear of retribution from the Trump administration,” Jha said. Trump publicly denied that climate change is real on several occasions, and announced plans to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency last year. Minutes after Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, the topic of climate change was almost entirely eradicated from the White House website. “Today we face a challenging political climate, but climate shouldn’t be a political issue,” Gore said in a Jan. 26 press release. The CDC did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

See goRE, Page 4

SPORTS mEn’s

BAskETBAll swEEps dAngEr of Trump ATTAcking ompETiTion ... c ThE mEdiA ... Back Page PAGE 12


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