Emory University faculty group to discuss concerns about protest response
The faculty senate for Emory College of Arts and Sciences will be asked this afternoon to consider a motion condemning President Gregory L. Fenves and calling for his removal, along with his top administrators.
Clifton Crais, a history professor, called the police crackdown on students and faculty “perhaps the most violent incident of police conduct” on a U.S. campus in reaction to the nationwide protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Crais, an at-large faculty senator, said the conditions of Thursday’s protest did not merit summoning the police and also violated a freedom of expression policy.
He plans to introduce one motion to condemn what happened and censure Fenves and another seeking a vote of no confidence.
Should that second motion pass, the question would then be put to the entire faculty in an electronic vote next week.
Faculty approval would “communicate very clearly to the administration ... that they have no support of the faculty and have lost any confidence that they are the stewards of our university,” Crais said. “A no-confidence (vote) basically directs that they be replaced.”
The professor added that the university board of trustees would have the ultimate say over the matter. He also said the incident has harmed Emory’s reputation.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
