Emory University declared on Monday it will not hold its 2024 commencement ceremony on the university’s campus, instead relocating all events to the Gas South District in Duluth, Georgia amid the anti-Israel protests at the school.
University President Gregory Fenves confirmed the move in a Monday announcement to the university’s website, confirming Emory would hold its commencement despite protests, but nonetheless acknowledging “concerns about safety and security” prompted a total relocation of all commencement events.
Instead of the university campus, Fenves wrote, “Commencement activities to the Gas South District in Duluth, Georgia, an indoor complex that includes the Gas South Arena and the Gas South Convention Center.” The move is about 45 minutes from the Emory Clairmont Campus in Decatur.
Fenves wrote, “this decision was not taken lightly,” and followed “close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisors, and other agencies – each of which advised against holding Commencement events on our campuses.”
The decision came after Fenves and university officials called police on April 25 to disperse the anti-Israel encampment and protest site that formed on the Emory campus. Though the encampment was successfully dispersed, intermittent protests have reportedly continued at the institution.
Fenves’ decision to involve police prompted a no confidence vote from faculty, who condemned his decision to call law enforcement and Fenves’ original statements indicating the majority of protesters were unaffiliated with the school. Multiple students and at least two professors were among those arrested.
The no confidence vote finished Friday, and according to 11 Alive received the support of just the Emory University College of Arts and Science.
Emory noted in a statement, the outlet reported, that the College of Arts and Science is “one of the university’s nine schools” and no confidence “votes are non-binding.”
“While we take any concerns expressed by members of our community seriously, there are a wide range of perspectives being shared within the Emory community,” the university stated.
While Fenves previously acknowledged his original claims about the majority of protesters having no affiliation with the protests were inaccurate, the Stop Cop City protest group targeted by Georgia state prosecutors confirmed activists associated with the group participated in the encampment.
Emory is currently the subject of a federal investigation after the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter filed a complaint with Georgia’s chapter of the Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) alleging discrimination against Muslim students following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Pennsylvania Daily Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Emory College Campus” by Emory College.
