Emory protests: Faculty holding no-confidence vote against president after arrests
ATLANTA - Emory University's faculty members are set to hold a vote on a motion of no confidence against the university president after the school's response to recent pro-Palestine protests.
The faculty senate for the school's College of Arts and Science voted on Friday to let all faculty vote on whether they have confidence in how President Gregory Fenves is running the university.
The vote, which is being done online, is set to be completed by the middle of the week.
It comes days after police arrested dozens of people, including 20 Emory students and staff members following a pro-Palestine protest in the school's quadrangle.
Police officers arrest a protester as pro-Palestinian students demonstrate at Emory University on April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (Photo by ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
Emory officials said the protesters who had set up an encampment were trespassing on private property and refused to leave, leading the school to ask the Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol for assistance.
MORE: Emory University president 'devastated' by arrests of students, staff on campus
The officers used Tasers and pepper balls to bring the crowd under control. Several people were placed in handcuffs and loaded into vans.
Video circulated widely on social media shows two women who identified themselves as professors being detained, with one of them slammed to the ground by one officer as a second officer then pushes her chest and face onto a concrete sidewalk.
Originally, the school claimed that the group were activists who were not connected with Emory, with a spokesperson claiming that the protesters were "attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals." Fenves backtracked from that claim on Monday, saying it "was not fully accurate."
"My goal was to remove a growing encampment, as allowing such an encampment would have been highly disruptive, affecting everything from classes and exams to our ability to hold Commencement," Fenves wrote in a statement to the school.
He said that Emory is reviewing how it uses external law enforcement agencies in the wake of the arrests.
Since the protests, Emory student workers sent a letter to university leadership demanding the school apologize, drop charges against the protesters, and make Fenves resign.
If the no-confidence vote passes, the decision on whether Fenves should be removed would move to the Emory University Board of Trustees.
Emory Police shares update on Sunday campus vandalism
On Sunday, six individuals were accused of criminally trespassing on the campus of Emory University and committing acts of vandalism. FOX 5 Atlanta reported on the incident.
The Emory Police Department was able to confirm that none of the suspects were university students.
Emory police arrested 35-year-old Derek Zika from Stateville, North Carolina. Zika is a convicted felon who crossed state lines to enter the campus.
Derek Zika
Police said he was carrying knives and pepper spray when he was apprehended.
Zika has been charged with criminal trespass, obstructing a law enforcement officer, possession of a weapon in a school safety zone, criminal trespass and crossing state lines with weapons, intoxicants or drugs. He was taken to the Dekalb County Jail.
Police also obtained a warrant to search Zika's car Monday evening, in which they said they found an axe, a hatchet and two knives in a bag with survival gear.
"We understand that this information comes at a sensitive time. It is our responsibility to communicate the facts that impact community safety as they become available," Emory Police Chief Burt Buchtinec said in a statement issued to the community.
Buchtinec said the following safety measures have been taken:
- More lighting, additional cameras monitored 24/7 added covering key campus locations
- Increased officer patrols
- Limited building entry to individuals with card access
"We know that potential adverse impacts to Emory Commencement are a shared concern for many members of our community," the chief continued. "We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2024 at Commencement and will share details of any necessary changes in future communications."
Pro-Palestine protests, arrests at colleges across America
Emory University's protest was just one of numerous student protests over the Israel-Hamas war that have popped up on campuses following last week’s arrest of more than demonstrators at Columbia University.
The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself.
Protests on many campuses have been orchestrated by coalitions of student groups. The groups largely act independently, though students say they’re inspired by peers at other universities.
Universities across the U.S. are grappling with how to clear out encampments as commencement ceremonies approach, with some continuing negotiations and others turning to force and ultimatums that have resulted in clashes with police. Dozens of people were arrested Monday during protests at the University of Georgia and other universities in Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Early Tuesday morning, dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York, barricading the entrances of Hamilton Hall and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window.
FOX 5 Kim Leoffler and the Associated Press contributed to this report.