Emory’s only independent student newspaper www.emorywheel.com
Cover and Back illustration: Ivana Chen
Magazine designed by Meiya Weeks
An Inside Look at the Politics and Companies That Make up Emory’s Board of Trustees
Spencer Friedland, Jack Rutherford and Jacob Muscolino Resistance Continues Despite Emory's Violence
Lola McGuire and Carly Aikens
13 Amid Chaos, Emory Students Find Community
Catherine Goodman
19A Look Into the Costs of Being a 3 Season Athlete
Madeline Shapiro and Will Peck
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
By Madi Olivier and Sophia Peyser
Since we assumed the role of co-editors-inchief in March, we have witnessed disorder at Emory University first-hand — through the lens of cameras, scribbled in reporter’s notebooks and articulated through open letters and in chalkings on Asbury Circle. This edition of The Hub, The Emory Wheel’s annual magazine, explores disorder and rebuilding during an intense year at Emory.
In April, only a month into our tenure, we watched as law enforcement arrested protestors on the Emory Quadrangle, sparking a wave of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests and deepening an already-contentious divide on campus. Today, the Emory community is still reckoning with the consequences of April 25, exposing disorder in the University systems meant to resolve disagreements and foster healthy discourse. In this issue’s opinion article, writers dive into this systemic flaw, discussing how student protestors are rebuilding after their foundation of trust with the University cracked beneath them.
Seven months after the April protests, we stayed in the newsroom until the sun rose to cover the highly-anticipated 2024 presidential election. In the following days, we watched Harris-Walz signs disappear from front lawns and felt the silence hanging over campus as the majority of the Emory community mourned the results. Amid the stillness, some celebrated Trump’s victory.
An earlier article revealed faculty and staff overwhelmingly donated to Democratic candidates. In this issue, a news article investigates how
the Board of Trustees members’ donations compared to this liberal trend. While their direct political donations also revealed a Democratic lean, the final location of several donations exposed an ideological dissonance at the University.
However, disorder at Emory extends far beyond political debates. It reaches the track at the George W. Woodruff Physical Education Center and permeates the tight athletic communities that practice, study and dine together. Through discussions with several former track and field and cross country athletes, this issue’s sports piece uncovered another form of disorder at Emory: athletes leaving the team after struggling to balance Division I expectations at a Division III school.
Here at the Wheel, we’re well aware of the pervasiveness of disorder on campus. However, we would be remiss to suggest the story ends there — to cope with the chaos, students have branched into new avenues. This issue’s arts and life article reveals the ways students have come together to form organic communities on the basketball court, in the Music Den, on the Emory Student Center couches and around the kitchen table in an upperclassman’s apartment.
Both at Emory and beyond, 2024 will go down in the history books. We have used journalism to make sense of the unrelenting changes, emotional moments and social movements that have defined the college experience during this contentious time. By telling these stories of breaking down and building up, we aim to help community members see through the disorder.
We hope you enjoy this year’s issue of The Hub. ◊
A L ook I ns I de the B o A rd of t rustees
SEC Filings Reveal Board of Trustees Members Political Affiliations Show Break With Faculty, Students
By Spencer Friedland, Jack Rutherford and Jacob Muscolino
To most students at Emory University, the 36 members of the Board of Trustees remain unknown — the average student could not name more than a few of the members, must less say they have met them. But these individuals make up the most powerful deliberative body at the University, and the decisions they make behind closed doors reverberate throughout campus for years.
Several members are powerful in the business world, sitting in the C-suite for companies such as Bacardi Limited, Aflac and Goldman Sachs. Others are United Methodist Church bishops and leaders of Atlanta-based corporations.
Their status as trustees gives them some of the greatest influence on campus, sparking questions about the sometimes-controversial companies that pay them and where, exactly, that money goes once it leaves their wallets.
The Emory Wheel contacted all trustees for comment, but was directed to Assistant Vice President of University Communications Laura Diamond.
“Any questions about donations made by corporations or other organizations should be directed to those groups and not to individuals who may have an affiliation with them,” Diamond wrote.
Personal Donations
The The Wheel looked into Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, revealing a notable difference in the political affiliations of those who lead the University and those who work under them. A Wheel poll showed 83% of respondents planned to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election and Emory employees donated 53 times more to Democrats than Republicans since 2023.
Meanwhile,
mem - bers of the Board of Trustees donated over 2.62 times more to Republicans than Democrats during that time period.
of political donations, seven (19.44%) give only to Democrats and 18 (50%) give to both major parties or give to political action committees (PACs) that donate to both. None of the trustees solely donated to Republican candidates or PACs, but overall, donations to republicans surpassed democratic donations.
Of the $1.79 million in total personal political donations ever made by the current trustees, $1.36 million went to Republican candidates and organizations, $325,264 to Democratic candidates and organizations, and $99,533 to PACs that are unaffiliated with either party, according to FEC filings.
Trustee and BlackRock Managing Director Rick Rieder (83B) led trustee donations to Republicans, totaling $496,551 in personal contributions.
Another frequent donor, trustee Facundo Bacardi (96L), chairman of the board of Bacardi Limited, has given over $160,900 personally to Republican candidates, including former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.) and former Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Conversely, Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Emory trustee and partner at Lawrence & Bundy LLC, donated the largest amount to Democrats, totaling $71,661.
Elijah Brawner (26T), a self-proclaimed socialist, said he was “utterly unsurprised” by these findings. Brawner explained that he believes more conservative leadership has deeply affected campus life.
Of the 36 current trustees, 11 (30.56%) have no record
“We can see a particular hegemonic consensus on campus, which is, until April, it was acceptable to have all kinds of political discussion, but no one was challenging the institution as such,” Brawner said. “Then after April, we saw a rapid reorientation of the University — increased surveil - lance and so on — in order to prevent there from being a direct challenge to the institution again. This is a fundamentally conservative mindset, even if it’s being done by registered Democrats.”
In a statement to the Wheel, Emory College Republicans Treasurer Rafael Escoto (27C) applaud - ed “the
diversity of perspectives on the Board of Trustees” for showcasing more conservative economic views, especially in the context of a largely liberal university.
”Supporting Republican candidates or PACs, as some trustees have, often aligns with a focus on fiscal responsibility, free enterprise and economic growth — principles that resonate deeply with many in the business world,” Escoto wrote. ”This diversity of thought ultimately strengthens Emory’s ability to navigate complex challenges in higher education.”
During the 2024 election cycle, Emory trustees donated $147,808 to political causes, with $93,674 going to Republicans, $35,741 to Democrats and $18,394 to unaffiliated or third-party PACs and candidates.
CEO and Chair of BL Harbert International LCC Billy Harbert (09B), the newest elected member of the board, has donated $12,200 to Democratic candidates and PACs since 2020 but had previously donated to Republicans from 2000 to 2020.
College Republicans President Si Kai Feng (28C) shared Escoto’s sentiment on the importance of diversity. Over their lifetimes, trustees donated 3.5 times more to Republicans than Democrats.
“It’s good that we have a more diverse Board of Trustees than we have faculty because obviously, a 3.5 times lean towards the Republicans isn’t great, but a 53 times lean towards the Democrats is probably worse,” Feng said.
Donations to Jan. 6 Supporters
Using Insurrection Index, a database that tracks personal and PAC donations to politicians and organizations associated with the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, the Wheel found that several trustees donated to PACs that sent money to politicians who attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Board member William Rogers Jr. is the chairman and CEO of Truist Financial Corporation, which controls Truist’s PAC. Since Jan. 6, 2021, the PAC has donated $134,000 to various individu als involved in the insurrection, either by opposing the certifica tion of the 2020 election or spreading misinformation.
Since the insurrection, Truist has donated $25,000 to Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), $15,000 to Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), $2,500 to Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and $2,000 to Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), all of whom voted against certi fying the 2020 election and claimed aspects of the election were fraudulent.
[politicians who claimed the 2020 election was stolen] and the everyday people that listened to those politicians and went to the actual insurrection,” Feng said. “People need to understand that a lot of the people that have been arrested as a result of Jan. 6 are just everyday people that listened to their leaders and found themselves in a very unfortunate situation. It’s not right to, in my opinion, demonize those people.”
When a PAC receives donations, the organization decides how to distribute the funds, often doing so based on company values and policy interests. In Truist’s statement of political engagement, the company wrote that it supports organizations and policies that “promote a robust financial services industry and a vibrant, growing economy.”
Rogers is not the only board member whose money went to representatives who supported President-elect Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. Trustee Cynthia Sanborn (87C), the former executive vice president and chief operating officer of Norfolk Southern Corporation, donated $10,208 to the Norfolk Southern Corporation Good Government Fund PAC between 2021 and 2023. The company supports candidates who champion “legislative and regulatory issues important to Norfolk Southern,” according to the company’s website.
Insurrection Index states that Norfolk Southern, a railroad company, has donated a total of $324,500 to 51 political candidates on the database’s list of “insurrectionists,” including Donalds and Loudermilk. After Jan. 6, 2021, the company donat ed $65,000 to the “insurrectionists.” The company also gave $314,500 to Republicans and $262,500 to Democrats during the 2024 election cycle.
Sanborn has also given to campaigns of Democrats and Republicans alike, including former Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and former Gov. Jeb Bush.
Between 2019 and 2020, Rogers personally donated $8,320 to the Truist Financial Corporation Federal PAC but did not donate to the PAC after 2020. During the 2024 election cycle, Truist’s
In the same vein as Rogers and Sanborn, Trustee Andrew Evans
Evans has also donated to the campaigns of former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and current Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
Escoto noted these donations do not necessarily translate to endorsements of right-wing extremism but rather commitment
“It’s important to distinguish these donations as expressions of personal political beliefs rather than endorsements of extremism or any single candidate’s actions,” Escoto wrote.
Six trustees have donated to Perdue’s campaigns. The former senator drew national attention for embracing claims of elec -
tion fraud in Georgia during the 2020 election and joined a lawsuit claiming Fulton County counted counterfeit ballots. Among the board, the two largest donors to Perdue’s campaigns were former General Electric Company Vice Chairman John Rice, who gave $20,900, and Rieder, who donated $7,800. From 2014 to 2020, trustees donated a total of $45,700 directly to Perdue.
Brawner also discussed the importance of transparency on the Board of Trustees. He recommended the University become more accessible to United Methodist Church clergy, helping Emory connect more with its roots and introducing more diverse perspectives to the board.
“You hate to think of a university as a business, but in our society, structured as it is, sometimes you have to,” Brawner said. “One begins to wonder who the customer is. Is it parents of students? Is it students? Is it alumni? Is it our research
partners?”
Brawner added that he is concerned about the diversity of the board, as well as its transparency toward the Emory community.
Board of Trustees’ Company Controversies
Due to the high-profile nature of many trustees’ companies, some have been entangled in public scandals, lawsuits and political controversies.
A trustee that may be familiar to Emory students is Facundo Bacardi, Chairman of the board of Bacardi Limited, which distills Grey Goose and Bombay Sapphire gin. The Bacardi company has come under fire for political controversies in the past.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, many companies stopped doing business with Russia, but Bacardi Limited did not.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Bacardi saw its profits from Russia rise
THE NUMBERS
by over 300%, from 1.5 billion rubles in profit in 2021 to 4.7 billion rubles in profit in 2022.
In 2023, the Ukrainian government labeled Bacardi Limited a war sponsor for the business it conducted in Russia.
Since 2022, Bacardi has slowed down its business in Russia and stopped importing some of its American brands to the country. However, Bacardi has continued to sell many of its Italian products in Russia.
Trustees have also been implicated in domestic controversies. Rogers, for one, has overseen Truist pay over $12 million in fines this year alone.
Students may recognize the Truist name for its association with the Atlanta Braves’ ballpark, but may not know about the company’s recent legal troubles. Truist was fined over $9 million in October for approving disbursements of payments to lead poisoning victims near Herculaneum, Mo. despite the disbursements not being
in the victims’ best interests, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. The poisoning took place around 2011, according to court filings, before Truist was created. Truist was formed after Suntrust Bank, which Rogers was the CEO of, merged with Branch Banking and Trust Company in 2015.
Additionally, in August, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Truist $3 million for using widespread unapproved communication methods. The CFTC is an independent agency of the U.S. government that regulates derivative markets. Truist self-reported its failure to keep proper records, and because of its transparency, received a lessened fine.
“In responding to an industry-wide and consequential problem, Truist set itself apart from the more than 20 other registrants the CFTC brought actions against for use of unapproved communications methods,” Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley said in a press release. “How? Truist made the decision to self-report to the Division of Enforcement it had serious recordkeeping and supervisory failures. It is the only registrant to do so.”
Invesco, an investment management company where Trustee Allison Dukes (06B) serves as senior managing director and chief financial officer, has also made headlines. On Nov. 8, Invesco agreed to pay a $17.5 million penalty after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) found the company made misleading claims about its products’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration. ESG integration helps companies make investment decisions that also consider non-financial factors, such as pollution and labor practices.
“Invesco saw commercial value in claiming that a high percentage of companywide assets were ESG integrated,” SEC Division of Enforcement Acting Director Sanjay Wadhwa said in a press release. “Companies should be straightforward with their clients and investors rather than seeking to capitalize on investing trends and buzzwords.”
753 miles from Invesco’s headquarters in Atlanta, a Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio caused damage to the surrounding environment, including a chemical spill, soil contamination and other health and safety risks. Trustee Cynthia Sanborn retired from her role as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Norfolk Southern at
the end of 2022, just two months before the derailment.
In May, Norfolk Southern settled with the U.S. Department of Justice for over $310 million after U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order to hold Norfolk Southern accountable. A $600
“You hate to think of a university as a business, but in our society, structured as it is, sometimes you have to.”
— Elijah Brawner, 26T
million class-action settlement, which has been delayed, aims to provide residents with funds to cover healthcare costs for future ailments.
Also in the railroad business, Trustee Rosa Tarbutton Sumter (89C) is the director of the Atlanta-based Sandersville Railroad Company, which has faced scrutiny after the Georgia Public Service Commission unanimously approved Sandersville Railroad’s proposed auxiliary rail track in Sparta, Ga. The project would cut through the 82.2% Black community and could force residents to sell their land. Sparta landowner Blaine Smith told the Institute for Justice that Spartans will stay “determined to keep fighting against this attempt to take our ancestral land from us.”
Locals have argued the track lacks sufficient public benefit.
“Building a rail spur that will only be used by a few private companies, and not the public at large, is not a public use,” said Bill Maurer, managing attorney of the Washington state office of the Institute for Justice.
Sandersville Railroad’s website states that the track would spark economic growth in Hancock County, Ga., where Sparta is located, because the track would connect
farmers and producers of raw materials around Sparta to major railroads.
Trustees overseeing major corporations are not the only ones who have found themselves tangled up in controversy. Trustee William McAlilly (81T) is a retired bishop who previously oversaw United Methodist churches in west Tennessee, middle Tennessee and western Kentucky. After the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2015, the United Methodist Church suspended pastor Pamela Hawkins for three months after conducting a samesex marriage ceremony. McAlilly, who oversaw Hawkins’ church, told the media that the situation was not easy.
“At the end of the day, we feel like this resolution, while it is not perfect, it does offer some measure of accountability,” McAlilly said. “It does offer some measure of healing.”
The University Senate’s Interaction with the Board of Trustees
When students, faculty and staff stated that they had no confidence in the leadership of University President Gregory Fenves after police officers arrested 28 pro-Palestinian protesters on April 25, they looked to see how the administration would respond next.
Soon after, University Senate President George Shepherd sent a report from deliberative bodies around campus to the Board of Trustees, expressing disappointment with the administration’s response on April 25.
Shepherd said the board acknowledged that they had received the report but took no further steps. According to Shepherd, this was the only time that the senate has had contact with the board under his tenure as president, which began in May.
Former University Senate President and Music Theory Teaching Professor Kristin Wendland said that when she served in the senate, she felt like former Board of Trustees Chair John Morgan took her concerns seriously.
Shepherd said the senate more or less serves as an advisory board for the University president. Despite the senate’s current role within the University, Shepherd admitted that not everyone is content with the status quo.
“Some people have criticized that model, saying that there could be more direct contact between the senate and the Board of Trustees, but that's not what's happened so far,” Shepherd said. ◊
students
When the Institution Chains Students to the Ground, They Turn to Each Other in Solidarity
By Lola McGuire and Carly Aikens
In the eyes of many of its students and faculty, Emory University’s legacy is defined by an amalgamation of oppressive measures taken toward on-campus protests. The University continually contradicts its own mission of “apply[ing] knowledge in the service of humanity” by smothering its students’ attempts to embody that pledge through peaceful protest. Administrators themselves have weaponized harmful rhetoric to spur violence on campus, notably arrests, limiting Emory’s sham of open expression. The University is eroding its own values, revealing itself to not be a site of productive discourse, but one of hostile censorship. Its silence demonstrates the reckoning of values that protests bring in their wake.
On April 25, students watched as Emory Police Department (EPD), Atlanta Police Department (APD) and Georgia State Patrol officers dragged their friends, peers and mentors through the grass on the University Quadrangle without a shred of compassion. We watched as a hypermilitarized police force shoved down and forced out community members for a simple act of resistance: opening their mouths and advocating for Palestinian liberation. We watched as our perception of Emory as an isolated, protected center for intellectual pursuit fell apart. Still, student protestors continue to hold on to the foundations of collective organization that Emory has tried to rip from our hands by arranging memorials on the Quad, planning mutual aid drives and leading teach-ins about Emory’s complicity in violence. We must take the ground with us, caking dirt on our skin because the spirit of protest does not leave — it simply moves.
The dirt remains under students’ fingernails, lingering from April 25 and the days following, as we grasp hands in solidarity. Without sweeping demonstrations and national media attention, it may seem as though student-led protests have ebbed
this semester. However, pro-Palestinian protests are still raging against institutional hostility and toward collective strength in Atlanta and around the world. We wage progress against pushback and have grown increasingly aware of the prolific violence around us, yet we find hope through the possibility of change. Emory will not stop choosing its own reputation at the cost of students’ interests — that much is clear. However, students will never be beaten into submission, and those of us who bear witness to Emory’s suppression of free expression will not allow ourselves the privilege of giving up.
April After April, Emory Refuses to Stand Up For Justice
This was not the first time Emory suppressed free speech. April 25 represents a dark spot in the University’s history. Year after year, students face risk of arrests and violence on their own campus. On April 25, 2023 — exactly one year before the pro-Palestinian encampment — APD and EPD responded to protests on Emory’s campus against Cop City, an 85-acre police training facility currently under construction in the Weelaunee Forest. On the same day in 2011, four Emory students were arrested for protesting unfair working conditions by Sodexo, the food company Emory was contracted with.
Time and time again, Emory students have fought for justice and dignity, and April after April, Emory has called the police on students in attempts to scare, divide and paralyze activism on campus. The brutalizing of students and faculty in April of this year is no different from years past. But each time we return to the Quad proves that the administration has failed. While it is terrifying to stand up for what is moral in the face of arrest or physical violence, that danger should serve as a reminder that student activism has nearly
always been on the right side of history. Emory administrative officials’ actions reveal an ugly truth: They are vastly against student expression and advocacy for those whom the world maltreats. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Georgia chapter filed a complaint against Emory on April 5 for fostering a “hostile” and “anti-Palestinian environment,” which they claimed violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Later that month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil rights launched an investigation into the complaint.
In a meeting with Students for Justice in Palestine (ESJP) members, Goizueta Business School Senior Associate Dean Andrea Hershatter said that students were associating themselves with “terrorism” when they shouted “Free Palestine,” according to the complaint. Hershatter, representing Emory and its administration, disgracefully implied that when students advocate for Palestinian rights, they are terrorists themselves. She, herself, is invoking xenophobic rhetoric and weapon -
Emory will not stop choosing its own reputation at the costs of students' interests—that much is clear.
izing it against students.
University President Gregory Fenves has also made statements that many students and faculty members viewed as Islamophobic for ignoring that Palestinians have been dying in horrifying numbers
under Israel’s occupation since the onset of the ethnic cleansing in Gaza. In communications, Fenves called protest slogans “antisemitic” and the protestors themselves “largely not affiliated with Emory.” Both these inaccurate statements demonstrate Fenves’ lack of support for all students and highlight the institutional bias that runs rampant at Emory. According to his own messaging, he deems any criticism of the State of Israel antisemitic and any pro-Palestinian students as mere outsiders to the institution as a whole.
The University’s response to the April protests has outraged faculty, staff and students alike. As evidenced by no confidence votes by faculty and
changes that have happened [at Emory] … [took place] because social movements on campus held the University to the promise of academia. These spaces can be places that reflect hopes for achieving equality, equity, democracy and representation.”
Emory as a Lesson in Southern Institutional Violence
If Fenves cannot offer support to students fighting for justice, then he cannot be trusted to lead our institution into the future.
students, one sentiment rings true: If Fenves cannot offer support to students fighting for justice, then he cannot be trusted to lead our institution into the future.
“I know so well how central student protest movements have been to the history of higher education, generally, in the United States and also to the particular history at Emory,” said Katherine Rosenblatt, who serves as a Jay and Leslie Cohen assistant professor of religion and Jewish studies. “Many of the
To understand how the Free Palestine and Stop Cop City movements can retain longevity on campus, look beyond Emory to a wider history of protests in Atlanta. Georgia’s rich history of civil rights activism should be used as energy to further defend the fight for justice. The reason students can stand so loudly today is because of the brave souls who have come before us — especially those in the South who have fought against extreme hardship and violence. The Civil Right Movement is just one example of the importance of resisting violent institutions and finding ways to fight in the most turbulent times.
Georgia’s history of violence during the Civil Rights Movement has defined the way protests occur in Atlanta and at Emory. Students take inspiration from the demonstrations of the past, learning to be creative in their organizing against oppression and violence.
The histories of the city and the University are intrinsically connected, but regardless of this interrelation, there still remains a gap in the experi -
ences of people living at Emory versus those living in Atlanta. People who live outside the relative safety of Emory have faced the brunt of the institutional armament of Atlanta’s police force. APD is known for their unabashed displays of violence toward the communities they claim to serve. Not only does the APD have a larger budget allocated toward policing than cities of a similar size in the United States, but it also scores worse than 71% of cities of a similar size with regard to police and racial violence.
This violence APD officers released on students on April 25 is deeply ingrained in the department itself: Under the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) — the same organization students were protesting against— trains the APD in militarization strategies. Former APD Chief Rodney Bryant stated that learning from the IDF, which is also known as the Israel Occupying Forces, through GILEE was “inimitable” and provided a “training of a lifetime.” However, public safety for citizens cannot be balanced through admiration for an oppressive and genocidal regime. As Emory Students for Socialism (SFS) organizer Zachary Hammond (23Ox, 25C) said, “The language of defense [from IDF] is very disingenuous … people living under occupation have a right to resist and retaliate.”
The same is true for APD — citizens of Atlanta cannot be expected to thrive in the city without protection from the police.
As a Southern, private university, Emory prides itself on the legacy of Southern activism while avoiding the growing pains and discomfort that often accompanies the fight for substantial progress. Instead, the University prioritizes its
own comfort and does not encourage protests on campus with the knowledge that demonstrations are historically the morally correct thing to do.
“It is important to recognize that [Emory] students hold … a very privileged position,” said student organizer and protestor Akshay Padala (26C). Emory is often criticized as a “bubble,” and Padala’s point highlights the divide that both the University and many of its community members perpetuate. While Atlanta’s population is nearly 50% Black, that fact is not reflected in Emory’s own Black student population, which hovers at around 13% per class.
Student activists become stronger when they view themselves in the larger context of the community surrounding them. Fenves’ statement implying that there were “outside agitators” fueling the protests on campus was not true — and he even later admitted that the claims were “not fully accurate.” Ameer Alnasser (25Ox) believes that institutions use rhetoric like “outside agitator” to divide and scare organizers on college campuses. If a protestor is an “outside agitator,” their words suddenly “don’t have meaning anymore,” Alnasser explained.
Emory activists, students, faculty and staff must not feed into this divisive rhetoric. We must rely on and welcome community members when protesting and turn toward Atlanta when our local institutions fail. Struggles against police brutality and imperialism are never focused on one geographical location, but rather, are all-encompassing.
The Interconnected Struggle For Liberation
While the fall semester hasn’t seen any encampments or arrests, the fight for liberation is still alive in student activist groups. In the past two
years, three student groups have become salient voices for the student body: Emory Stop Cop City (ESCC), ESJP and SFS. ESCC began in 2022 in response to the building of Cop City. ESJP grew active in the wake of Oct. 7, 2023, with an influx of student representation following the attention shed on Palestine. This spring, these groups stood in solidarity during the pro-Palestinian protests.
This unity is a demonstration of identity politics on campus, showing that, for these groups, liberation is connected across all spectrums of identity. The struggle for Palestinian liberation is connected with the struggle against police brutality because imperialist principles of violence and oppression perpetuate both of them.
No identity can exist in isolation from another, especially in the context of protest for progression. For ESCC activists, the politics of protecting the livelihood of Black Atlanta residents and Muscogee Creek people cannot be separated from the GILEE program, which has allowed for the over-policing of those same communities.
For SFS members, the very tenets of socialism call them to consider everyone’s oppression as their own and to push toward a place of equity. Fannie Lou Hamer, a Black activist during the Civil Rights Movement, once stated that “nobody’s free till everybody’s free,” which takes a certain degree of accountability to reckon with. When the University evades accountability and victimizes police officers in full tactical gear, it is up to the students to get up, get involved and hold our own.
While Injustices Continue, Student Activism Will Move, But It Won’t End
For some people at Emory, April’s protests were only a
moment in time, but for others, they marked time stopping and weighing heavy on their souls. In fact, some arrestees of the April 25 protest are still plagued with charges of criminal trespass and other misdemeanor crimes. Fading headlines and feigned returns to normalcy do not eliminate the hardship faced by these community members.
During an October interview with The Emory Wheel, Fenves refused to clearly state his stance on whether or not the charges that protestors face should be dropped, choosing to pin it on the DeKalb County solicitor general instead. Fenves, along with other complicit Emory administrators, should be ashamed. Emory cannot claim to be a place where open and free dialogue is allowed if students are having to fight the justice system on their own. The administration refuses to publicly advocate for its students and, as a result, protests on campus have been quieter compared to last year.
Students have been forced to turn outward to groups like the Party for Socialism and Liberation in Atlanta, where the Emory administration will not have such a controlling hand in their every move. Clearly, due to unemotional policies and apathetic University statements, not every Emory community member has the privilege or freedom of protesting without genuine fear for their safety. As Padala said, “It’s hard to convince students at a university that police brutality is a real issue because we don’t really face it very much.” Except for, of course, when students’ supposed mentors decide to call the police on them for fighting injustice.
While the protests over the last two years have served as a point of radicalization for members of Emory’s student
body, we cannot sit in the theory of change without action. We cannot simply say we want change without assuming an active role in affecting it and encouraging those around us to get involved as well. Students should not mobilize without understanding that Emory is not at the center of the world.
Silence and Inaction Glare Through Institutional Shadows and Chains
The quieting of action on campus should not be confused for inaction, but rather a response to the trauma some students faced. While students were sitting in a jail cell with the burning of pepper bullets in their eyes or standing fearstricken on the Quad in the face of a wall of police officers, the University administration remained largely silent about its shortcomings. Students are supposed to feel like the University is protecting them, but the opposite is true.
The Student Government Association has done little this semester to support its peers or solicit feedback on the increasing rigidity of the University’s Respect for Open Expression Policy.
wanted to show that, despite 73.5% of student voters and 75.05% of Emory College of Arts and Sciences faculty voters stating they had no confidence in his ability to serve as president last spring, he is still the authoritarian ruler. Together, the administration, specifically Fenves, is crippling students and aims to run this institution into a place parallel to a militant state by using police force to crack down on dissenters.
Thankfully, the Senate’s Committee for Open Expression finished its review of the addendum to the open expression policy, which stated that the amendment placed “undue burdens on the expressive rights of community members.” Of course, this is absolutely true — Fenves’ actions have demonstrated a desire to prohibit controversial protests on the campus altogether.
“So that was the decision
Some arrestees of the April 25 protest are still plagued with charges of criminal trespass and other misdemeanor crimes.
On Aug. 27, Fenves implemented an addendum to the open expression policy without input or review by the University Senate.
Fenves insinuated that the University Senate was too inefficient to effectively make adjustments, despite the fact that the Senate is usually consulted when the policy is changed. This was an obvious power grab by Fenves — he
I made, and I don't want to repeat it, and I hope we don’t repeat it at Emory,” Fenves said when the Wheel asked him if he would call the police again on students constructing an encampment. He demonstrated no remorse for the actions of the police at his command or for the danger students were put in. Any member of the administra -
tion, any direct subordinate of Fenves or any tenured professor who has not loudly voiced their shame for the president does not stand for the sanctity of student success, expression or protection.
“We stand with our students, and we do so publicly,” Rosenblatt said. “We support them in their right to protests, even if the content of the protests is contested.”
Students have prevailed so far because of their own ability to pick themselves and their friends up off the ground after Emory knocks them down. The University claims its values are “justice, advocacy, and academic excellence.”
Yet, justice for all has been stomped into the dirt, administrators only permit advocacy in measures within their comfort zones, and academic excellence is trapped in a vacuum, undermining the practice of academics in the real world. The prohibitions on free speech place restrictions on productive academic dialogue and discourse.
Rising Up On Shaky Ground
Fenves has claimed that the protests impeded learning at Emory. Rosenblatt, along with other professors, has shared an opposing perspective that professors’ engagement in discourse about on-campus protest does not have to inhibit learning. What impacts professors’ ability to do their jobs is the fear of retaliation that inhibits classrooms from being a space where people can learn new ideas.
“Standing publicly and staking a claim in particular conversations will impact my ability to do my job in the classroom,” Rosenblatt said. According to Rosenblatt, faculty should play a key role in protesting and protecting students across the political spectrum — yet, the institution doesn’t appear to feel similarly. For many professors, like Rosenblatt, protest can act as an impetus for new and necessary conversations.
Students should not shoulder the burden of building a campus where their
voices are uplifted, protected and encouraged alone.
However, that is where the burden now rests, and it is a grim reality that we, as students, must wake up and face every day. Our power to make change seems to be diminishing by the second, especially in the face of President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House. Fighting for true open expression is hard, messy and slow, but it is also worthwhile, rewarding and beautiful. The fight must be fought. We cannot passively allow the structures of exclusion and repression to continue to dominate our world.
We will not stand idly, allowing the administration to continually direct violence at us. Students must see the truth and power of resistance. If our university cannot make good on its promises to serve humanity, then the burden becomes solely ours: It is the time to use the knowledge we have gained and refuse passivity in our story. ◊
Amid Chaos, Emory Students Find Community
By Catherine Goodman
For Emory University has a total enrollment of 8,332 underte students. These individuals represent over 60 nations, stretching across the globe and back again. With over 480 student clubs, art organizations and sports teams, Emory invites students of all interests to seek connection and companionship. However, navigating the dynamics of such a diverse community in times of political frustration and polarization can present challenges.
Tensions on campus regarding Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestine escalated throughout the 2023-24 academic year. This friction culminated on April 25, when law enforcement arrested
20 members of the Emory community during an “encampment for Gaza” on the Quadrangle.
The protest’s effects linger today, reflected in politically charged sidewalk chalkings and ongoing debates about the limits of open expression on campus.
But even in the face of tension at Emory, students are reconnecting and rebuilding bridges across ideological divides. They are looking past the administration and finding organic communities — in the gym, on the couches in the Emory Student Center, in the secluded Music Den and the apartments of welcoming upperclassmen.
A lly Hom/Former P Hoto editor
WoodPEC: Pickup Basketball
On the fourth floor of the George W. Woodruff Physical Education Center (WoodPEC), energetic Emory students claim the basketball courts under the ambivalent gaze of StairMaster warriors and general gym passersby. Running full-court games, shooting around or challenging others to one-on-one matches, many come to decompress, exercise and socialize. The rules are simple — just wait your turn and be ready to play.
Marc Margolis (25C), a senior from Maryland, has been playing pick-up basketball since he first stepped on campus as a student four years ago. Whether seeking peaceful moments alone or competitive play with friends, Margolis has spent many hours on the court. At his most active, Margolis played four to five times a week.
As a veteran pick-up player, Margolis is familiar with court etiquette and the other frequent players.“All the strangers are kind of friends,” Margolis said. “We all recognize each other.”
Because of basketball, the familiar faces
stantial friends or his roommates — have become members of Margolis’ prized community. Running the court, “free-flowing” and engaging in this activity for four years played a key role in Margolis’ college career, relieving stress and introducing him to new people.
To Margolis, the pick-up scene is “everything.”
“Even if you don’t make friends, you’ll still find the community here because all people are looking to do is play games,” Margolis said. “If they make friends, great, if they don’t, it’s fine either way.”
Like Margolis, Will Yang (25C) has been playing pick-up at Emory since his freshman year. However, unlike Margolis, Yang is doing more than exercising on the court: He is bridging cultural divides. As a student from China, basketball helps him make connections with students he might otherwise miss.
“You get close to the U.S. culture because basketball is a U.S. thing,” Yang said.
Although Yang often comes with Chinese teammates and friends, basketball’s competitive nature facilitates connection with
members even on opposing teams. Of his favorite Emory basketball memories, “beating all of the Americans” stands out.
Dustin Miao (26B) said he met one of his best friends playing basketball “the first day.” He pointed to his friend as a testament to the companionship made possible by this space.
“It’s a good community because you see the same people every time because Emory is a smaller school,” Miao said. “But that means that it’s more fun to play with people sometimes because you have team chemistry with some people. … Some of these guys I’ve played with for two years now.”
But the benefits of playing pick-up extend past the actual mechanics of the sport. In this space, students can just “escape from everything,” according to Miao.
“You go to class for however many hours … and then you go play basketball,” Miao said. “[It’s] kind of just a way to get your mind off everything and enjoy the moment. When I’m playing pick-up basketball, I’m always just living in the moment.”
Emory Student Center: Gaming
For students who prefer a different rhythm, the Emory Student Center (ESC) offers another casual community: video gaming. Nestled in the ESC adjacent to Kaldi’s Coffee, a blue semicircular couch faces three large flat-screen televisions. During the day and night, this area invites students to connect over shared victories, friendly rivalries and the immersive worlds of video games like FIFA and Fortnite. Just as the Music Den brings musicians together, the gaming space creates its own unique community, blending camaraderie with competition.
At 1 p.m. on a Wednesday, the long blue couch supported students erupting with laughter, yelps and anguished exclamations. Playing a heated game of Super Smash Bros., members of the Emory swimming and diving team participated in an alternate form of adrenaline seeking. Zachary Spicer (28C), Caitlin Crysel (28C) and Ryley Yoo (28C) held tight to white controllers while their teammates watched the showdown. The group said they utilize
the ESC gaming equipment almost every day.
While aiding in forming bonds among the athletes, the gaming consoles have also helped establish bonds between the upperclassmen swimmers and their younger teammates. Stumbling upon the three first-years, senior swimmer Liyang Sun (25C) reflected on this medium of connec -
tion. Although he admitted to mocking his comrades' gaming skills, he acknowledged how gaming helped him form relationships with the freshmen.“It’s been great,” Sun said. “I know them through this game, more or less.”
Beyond facilitating friendship among the swimming and diving teams, the student center consoles help these athletes connect with the greater Emory community. Located on the first floor of the student center, surrounded by the coffee shop, pool table and copious seating, the site sees a lot of foot traffic. While many passersby avoid the screens at all costs, secluded and protected by noise-canceling headphones, some students aren’t afraid to sit down and ask to join.
“It’s also nice because it’s an open space, so people can just come in and say hi,” Crysel said.
Sitting next to Crysel, Yoo remarked on the people they’ve met while gaming.
“We actually get random homies,” Yoo added.
Catherine G oodman/a rtS & liFe editor
h annah Xu/Sta FF PhotoGra Pher
Although not as easily accessed, the Music Den, located on the basement level of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, also facilitates connection.
The Den, which is open to reservations 24 hours a day but can be accessed without booking, provides Emory students free access to instruments, amps, microphones and more. As the large space supplies access to equipment, it also encourages student musicians to play together. Fitted with a drum set, piano and tan leather couch, the Den fosters creativity and camaraderie among student musicians.
According to Emory Musician’s Network (EMN) President Zoe Stephens (25C), the Music Den originally set up shop in the Media, Literature, and Arts Outreach theme house on Eagle Row in fall 2021, but ultimately landed in the basement of the Schwartz Center after a stint in the Harland Cinema. Following extensive discussions with Emory Arts administrators and a personal tour of the new space for University President Gregory Fenves led by Stephens, the EMN officially secured the space for musicians on campus in spring 2023.
On a rainy Tuesday afternoon, the Music Den was reserved under “Banding it Up.” Behind the padlocked door of Schwartz 106, four members of a currently unnamed band straggled in, one after the next.
Noble Garcia (28C) arrived first, plopping down behind the navy blue drum set. Trey Longnecker (28C) arrived soon after, unloading a white electric guitar and plugging it into the amp.
Longnecker, a junior transfer from Deep Springs College (Calif.), hasn’t spent much time on campus — but he’s spent plenty of time in the Music Den. As a member of two student bands, Longnecker is rarely without musical company.
“It’s very nice to have somewhere where a band can practice, because a band is obviously a perfect example, they’re a good com -
Music Den: Jams
munity,” Longnecker said. “It’s just very nice to come here and play with people.”
This ensemble includes Garcia, Longnecker, Kaelyn Barrera (28C) and Andrew Li (25C). The group connected via EMN, meeting each other as musicians first, strangers second. While Garcia, Longnecker and Barrera have been rehearsing together since mid-October, Li is a recent addition to the band. He gave a brief hello to his bandmates while connecting his bass to an amp.
“It’s really cool to have that experience of walking in and introducing yourself with music instead of words,” Li said. “It’s a pretty unique thing to have here.”According to Li, the Music Den is an “essential” part of campus and one of the only spaces that cultivates community among artists at Emory.
“This is a pretty good space for connecting people,” Li said. “I just wish there [were] more spaces like this on campus, because it’s just one room that everyone tries to book.”
Like the fourth floor of the WoodPEC, the Music Den is a revolving door of strangers, friends and collaborators who come together to lose themselves in an activity they cherish. Playing alternative-rock covers of “Say it Ain’t So” (1994) by Weezer and “All Apologies” (1993) by Nirvana, each member of the Tuesday night ensemble shed their skin, leaving the stress of the day at the door.
“It’s just fun to make music with other people,” Barrera said. “You feel in tune with each other when you’re playing. It’s a cool feeling.”
EMN Vice President Ryan Taffe (27C) feels the same way. For Taffe, the Music Den is a vital site for creativity, collaboration and connection. During his freshman year at Emory, the Den played an “instrumental role” in Taffe social and artistic endeavors.
“I was able to meet people and jam with people in this space and really form community through that, which wouldn’t have been possible without the space,” Taffe said.
CourteSy oF emory JamS
CourteSy oF emory JamS
Catherine G oodman/a rtS & liFe editor
Student Apartments: Olam Chesed
From the WoodPEC’s basketball courts to the music-filled confines of the Schwartz Center and the gaming consoles of the ESC, Emory’s campus offers unique spaces for students to connect, relax and recharge. But when campus spaces falter, and chartered organizations fail to meet the needs of unsatisfied students, where do they find such a community? For some students, the answer is found in shared spiritual practices around the kitchen table.
In the weeks preceding the April 25 protest, Avery Rosen (25C) and other Jewish Emory students struggled with the limited avenues for spiritual practice on campus. Some students said they disagreed with some of the popular political views among the University’s chartered organizations, such as Chabad at Emory and Emory Hillel, pushing them to seek something new.
“We didn’t really feel like we had a good, safe place to be on campus, this faith that we felt like we belonged in and that aligned with our values,” Rosen said. “It was a hard semester for everyone, and it was even harder not having a spiritual space, or even religious space, to pray and mourn and just be in community.”
Growing out of whispers and a group chat, the student group eventually held a Ma’ariv, a nightly prayer service, on May 1 at the Cannon Chapel underpass. Over 40 students and professors attended.
Several Muslim students participated in the service, with two approaching Rosen afterward to point out the shared values between their faiths. At their first Jewish prayer service, the Muslim students discovered that the English translations of the Jewish prayers were similar to their own, she recalled.
“People are looking for a community where they can be their whole selves without feeling like they have to compromise part of that to engage with a lot of these people,” Charytan said.
Returning for the fall semester, students including Rosen, Charytan and Sophie Reiss (25C) invested more energy in establishing the group, including finalizing the name, Olam Chesed, which means “a world of loving kindness” in Hebrew.
By hosting Shabbat dinners at their apartments, ritual sin castings in Lullwater Preserve and interfaith conversations, the group hopes to foster an inclusive community for Jewish students and beyond.
The group can be found on Instagram and joined via GroupMe. According to Rosen, Olam Chesed is not a chartered organization, and the founders’ reluctance to pursue University approval stems from past experiences with Emoryled Jewish groups. The members of Olam Chesed explained that they believed the organizations were not catering to student’s needs — something they hope to accomplish within their own group.
While Charytan acknowledged the benefit of receiving funding from Emory, the group’s current focus is not formal recognition. Instead, they’re dedicated to establishing and maintaining a community.
In doing so, the group takes an unconventional route and finds an intimate way to build connections with its members.
“We’re inviting people into our own homes,” Rosen said. “We’re creating community through that.”
“From that moment, we were like, ‘This is a space that we want to keep up and cultivate,’” Rosen said.
Tamir Charytan (26C) echoed Rosen’s sentiments, reflecting on his own grievances with the current spiritual opportunities for Jewish students.
Charytan cited “homophobia,” political differences and general accessibility concerns as influential factors in his decision to forsake chartered organizations.
Across campus, and even beyond it, Emory students seek ways to create meaningful connections amid ideological divides, academic pressures and cultural differences. Whether through the shared rhythm of a pick-up game, the harmony of a jam session or the warmth of a Shabbat dinner, Emory students are redefining what it means to belong — not by waiting for institutional support, but by building bridges on their own terms. These organic communities are a testament to the diversity of the Emory community and demonstrate how connection often flourishes in unexpected places. ◊
The Costs of Being a 3 Season Athlete
By Madeline Shapiro and Will Peck
During her sophomore year of college, former cross country and track and field runner
Sarah Keane (25N) suffered a stress fracture in her shin. When Keane went to see a doctor for her injury, they sat her down and told her the fracture was a result of chronic stress and fatigue, both physically and mentally.
Keane said the team physician and athletic trainer made her feel like the injury was her fault — because she was not eating enough, sleeping enough or resting enough. In the summer before her junior year, Keane committed to following the trainer’s advice and hopefully reaching her full potential as a runner.
But as Keane entered the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in fall 2023, her anxiety rose. The challenges of waking up at 5 a.m. to train by herself before heading to nursing clinicals at 6 a.m. — and the fact that she wasn’t seeing linear progress in her running — caught up to her. When she realized her main reason for staying on the cross country and track teams was to complete all four years at the expense of her health, Keane decided to quit at the end of the semester.
“It was also hard because I had been doing this sport for so long,” Keane said. “After being injured so badly, it was a very hard mindset adjustment of, ‘How could doing something that I love so much hurt me so badly?’”
Keane is not alone. Several current students reported leaving the team after facing similar pressures, reminiscent of a trend that initially afflicted the track and field team four years ago.
A ‘Restricting and Isolating’ College Experience
For many student-athletes at Emory University, competing on a team comes with daily sacrifices. By making sports their second priority after academics, athletes said they often miss out on opportunities to be part of other communities on campus. For athletes who compete in sports all year, like those who run for the cross country team in the fall and the track and field team in the spring, fatigue and stress can build up and pose significant challenges.
Like Keane, Evan Woska (25B) left the cross country and track and field teams during his junior year because of several injuries, including stress reactions and a labrum tear in his hip. Although Woska
was clear that he enjoyed being on the team and still has good relationships with his coaches, he recalled guidelines about what athletes could do off the track.
Early in his college experience, Woska joined several organizations at the Goizueta Business School. Although Woska said his coaches did not stop him from joining clubs, they preferred that their athletes avoided commitments at Emory that could negatively impact their performance at meets, including Greek life.
“If you're running at Emory, it's all you're essentially allowed to do,” Woska said. “The idea of doing anything other than running that would impact your sleep schedule was very frowned upon. … But, ultimately, they also want what’s best for
“How could doing something that I love so much hurt me so badly?”
— Sarah Keane, former Emory cross country and track and field athlete
you career-wise. They’re not going to stop you.”
Morgan Gallivan (26C) entered college seeking a healthy balance of these extracurricular activities, academics and athletics after the Emory coaches recruited her for the track and field team as a middle-distance runner. However, this quickly became impossible for Gallivan, as her coaches told her that she also had to compete in cross country — a sport she had no prior experience with.
During her first semester of college, Gallivan watched her roommate, who was only on the track and field team, branch out and make friends. But as a member of the cross country team, Gallivan had to dedicate her entire fall semester to running, which prevented her from exploring college in all the ways she had hoped. To Gallivan, only being friends with people within the team’s bubble was “restricting and isolating.”
When Gallivan voiced her concerns to
her coaches about competing on the cross country team, she said it felt like she was shut down. Her coaches gave her an ultimatum: run cross country or forfeit her spot on the track team, according to Gallivan.
Unable to fully trust her coaches, Gallivan said she was anxious and walked “on eggshells” to avoid being kicked off the team. However, she officially left the team in the middle of her freshman year on Jan. 24, 2023 — her birthday.
“It just got to the point where I was unhealthy in multiple areas of my life that it felt like I needed to change something and give my body a break from the stress,” Gallivan said.
Assistant Vice President of University Communications Laura Diamond wrote in an email to The Emory Wheel that the University encourages student athletes to “engage in a variety of programs, student organizations and experiences that contribute to a well-rounded college life.”
Similarly, before Gallivan joined the team, she said Emory athletes and coaches told her she could maintain a healthy balance of academics and athletics while also seeking new experiences in college. But for Gallivan, learning a new sport while also adjusting to life at a new school made this unachievable.
Gallivan said she wished her former coaches had outlined their expectations more clearly to her before she came to Emory.
“There’s something that gets mixed up along the way of what you're expected to do and what you actually have to do, and that … catches people by surprise,” Gallivan said. “It makes people really miserable.”
Runners Lose Spot on Team After Going Abroad
Other cross country athletes have also faced unclear guidelines about participating in study abroad programs. Prior to going abroad in the spring semester of his junior year, former cross country and track and field athlete David Evans (25C) said he communicated his plans to head coach Linh Nguyen the year before. While he knew his spot was not guaranteed when he returned, Evans said Nguyen did not respond to his messages about how to keep up with his training while he was abroad, and he had to ask his teammates for workouts.
After months without communication, Evans said the coaches sent him an email
offering him the chance to try out for the team again when he returned to Atlanta. Evans took the opportunity but was ultimately left off the team.
“I was under the impression that if I was clearly out of shape, I wouldn't be welcome back on to the team, but I really didn't think that was the case,” Evans said. “When I got an email back, there was no explanation or anything and we just weren’t welcome back on.”
Michelle Mittaz (25C), also a former cross country and track and field athlete, had a nearly identical experience when she went abroad during her junior year. Mittaz said she was frustrated by the lack of communication from her coaches while she was abroad and the way she was treated when she returned.
“I had been trying to reach out and this email was very impersonal,” Mittaz said, referencing the message offering a try out. “It's not like I was like a recruit or something. I would hope that these coaches knew me and had seen my growth over two and a half years on the team.”
Diamond wrote that while students have the option to study abroad, intern or pursue other off-campus opportunities, they must maintain the required level of perfor -
mance for their team.
“Our athletic program is committed to excellence in competition and taking time away may be more feasible in some sports than others,” Diamond wrote. “Some varsity sports are seasonal, while others are year-round. We encourage student-athletes to continue training during their time away, and coaches are often available to provide recommended training plans.”
Director of Athletics Keiko PriceCarter forwarded the Wheel’s interview request to Diamond. The track and field coaches — including Nguyen, associate head coach Derek Nelson, assistant coach Jordan Anunike and former assistant coach Christopher Marco — did not reply to the Wheel’s requests for comment by press time.
The Weight of Division I Expectations at a Division III School
After transferring from North Carolina State University her sophomore year, junior diver Ren Watt (26B) said athletes’ academic motivations have been a meaningful change from her DI experience. She explained that watching teammates and other Emory student-athletes put a lot of
effort into academics and athletics has been “very inspirational.”
“Here, no one has a scholarship,” Watt said. “Everyone shows high commitment to the sport and it's not like we're given excessive glitz and glamor of team apparel and getting free sports tickets to large football and basketball games. People do it because they love it and it's a lifestyle … we all grew up being active and want to continue it.”
However, some athletes have reported that their coaches’ expectations have blurred the line between DI and DIII, bringing an intensity that makes it difficult for athletes to continue the sport they love.
Five of the 13 head coaches at Emory — including Nguyen — have previously coached at Division I institutions, bringing their top-level experience to athletics programs that strive for excellence. Many other coaches were All-American athletes during their own collegiate careers. With these high athletic standards comes national success across Emory athletics.
So far in the 2024-25 academic year, both the men’s and women’s golf teams and the men’s soccer team claimed University Athletic Association titles, women’s soc -
CourteSy oF dan mCCauley
cer reached the NCAA Final Four and the women’s cross country team finished seventh at nationals — tying the program’s best-ever finish.
Some student-athletes view these standards as a positive aspect of competing at Emory, Woska said, explaining that Division I standards push athletes to reach their full potential. However, Woska, who left the team due to injury and not the stress of the team, spoke highly of a DIII approach that allows athletes to pursue other extracurriculars in college.
“If a coach adopts a DIII mentality, it basically means that they don't care about the team's success, so it's give and take,” Woska said. “From my perspective as an athlete, I wanted more of the DIII mindset because I love running, but I love other things too, and I didn't think it was fair.”
Gallivan said she was glad that the track coaches expected their athletes to be committed to the program, but she believes that high expectations should also exist with more flexibility for athletes to make time for other extracurricular commitments.
“We have so many other extracurriculars that are not athletics that I was excited to do in college because in high school I did all sports,” Gallivan said. “But then it felt like that was taken away when I got here, when I realized, ‘Oh, they really just want me to focus on the team.’ … They just didn't really care about our well-being as much as they cared about how good of an athlete I could be.”
Keane said that many cross country and track and field athletes make the sport their second priority after academics. For Keane, it became incredibly challenging to balance her commitments to the cross country and track teams with academics, community service, working a job and having a social life. She said that her athletic commitment prevented her from being a “whole person.”
“If you want to have a perfect GPA, you'll stay in the library all the time,” Keane said. “If you want to be the best runner, you'll do everything you can to be the best runner, and then you lose other parts of your life that will help balance that out.”
Mittaz said that while she understands the coaches’ livelihoods are dependent on their teams’ success, she believes some coaches may not recognize that many athletes come to DIII schools to take advantage of more than just athletic opportunities.
“There's a reason why most athletes
here are committing to Division III and not a Division I school, and it's because we're really motivated with athletics, but also really motivated with academics and extracurriculars and being well-rounded,” Mittaz said. “Sometimes I felt like that was maybe the disconnect.”
These issues, Gallivan said, have cost the cross country and track and field
“No other team has that many athletes that drop out, so there's something in their program that isn't lining up.”
— Morgan Gallivan, former Emory cross country athlete
teams several athletes over the years. In February 2020, The Emory Wheel reported that 38 track and field team members left the team within the previous year. This came shortly after Nguyen’s arrival in 2018.
In June 2019, Nguyen set 45 new rules regulating team and individual behavior during the season. Many former athletes told the Wheel in 2020 that they left the teams because of the strict policies, which prohibited them from playing intramural sports or wearing non-Emory colors during practices.
"In cross country, retention rates are so low, and that should be a greater concern looking at DIII athletics, especially Emory, because no other team has a problem this big," Gallivan said. "No other team has that many athletes that drop out, so there's something that in their program that isn't lining up."
However, Nguyen told the Wheel in 2020 that he believed the new rules were not “unreasonable” and intended to improve the program that was previously lacking commitment from its athletes.
“It was a pretty clear pattern of people not coming to practice [or] meets and leaving meets and practice early,” Nguyen told
the Wheel in 2020. “I think the team overall felt that those values were important [and required] a great commitment.”
Finding a Better Balance Between Academics, Athletics, College Life
While Keane was injured during her sophomore year, she spent time with peers who were not athletes and saw the way they lived. Their lifestyle, Keane said, “looked like freedom.” Since leaving the cross country and track and field teams, Keane has invested more time in nursing school and joined the ultimate frisbee club, which she described as a “refreshing” new athletic community. For Keane, opportunities for growth have been numerous since leaving the teams.
“There's been … a lot of things that I've done to learn about myself as a person and grow as an individual that I couldn't do when I was going to bed worried about the next workout that I had the next morning,” Keane said.
Woska said he has also had more time to dedicate to other pursuits, like building a real estate company and golfing, but he does not regret the sacrifices he made to compete in college.
“Being on the men's cross country and track teams at Emory is probably the best decision I ever made,” Woska said. “There's obviously trade-offs with that, but it's such a good group.”
Keane and Gallivan said teams could remedy the social isolation that some athletes experience by helping them connect with the broader Emory community. Keane suggested requiring freshmen on the cross country and track teams to complete firstyear orientation. Keane was unable to attend orientation because of a training camp, but athletes were able to this year, so she hopes this becomes a standard policy. Gallivan noted that by encouraging student-athletes to branch out socially, their overall well-being at Emory could be improved.
“I felt like I had to connect with my team and do everything team-wise, which is so important,” Gallivan said. “But I also think there's something so important about having a support group that's greater than just your team.” ◊
Visual & Web Editor Natalie Sandlow (25C) is a former member of the cross country and track and field teams. She had no role in writing or editing this article.
