The Emory Wheel

To our readers, As The Emory Wheel enters its 107th year of publication, it brings us great pride and pleasure to announce that the paper has begun the process of transitioning from a registered student organization to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The new entity, The Wheel Publishing Company, appointed its inaugural Board of Directors on March 26. The State of Georgia issued the company its Certificate of Incorporation on March 31. Since its first edition in 1919, the Wheel has been an independent student-run publication, funded by self-generated revenue. When Emory University cut its journalism program in 2012, we adopted a unique dual mission: serving as Emory’s paper of record and functioning as a training ground for future reporters. Each year, we employ over 100 journalists and business staff, providing an educational experience that is not available anywhere else on campus. Incorporation as a nonprofit will help us continue to produce our award-winning journalism and train the next generation of leaders in the field. Read the full letter from Editors-in-Chief Jack Rutherford and Lauren Yee at the link in our bio.

Emory University community members traveled to Gas South Arena to celebrate the Class of 2026 at the 181st Commencement ceremony on May 11. The ceremony honored graduates of the Emory College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS), the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Goizueta Business School. Interim University President Leah Ward Sears (80L) began the event by welcoming the audience and congratulating the Class of 2026 on their achievements. Sears then introduced Dean of Religious Life and University Chaplain Rev. Gregory McGonigle, who encouraged graduates to give back to their communities. Click the link in our bio to read the full story. Story by Irene John. Photos by Sage Buchris.

Emory University’s Class of 2026 filed into the Emory Student Center (ESC) multipurpose rooms on May 7, abuzz with excitement in anticipation of “Victorious” (2010-13) actress Elizabeth Gillies’ keynote address. Class Day Crossover is an annual celebration for graduating students from the Emory College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS), Goizueta Business School, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Emory School of Medicine’s Medical Imaging Program. The program began with a senior reception at the Dobbs Common Table, followed by senior awards, the keynote address, the senior class’s final Coke toast and a candlelight procession from the ESC to the Quadrangle. Click the link in our bio to read the full story. Story by Lauren Yee, Sage Buchris and Saba Faisal. Photo by Sage Buchris.

Canvas, the online learning platform used for coursework across Emory University, has been unavailable nationwide since early afternoon, according to its website. Users attempting to access the site reported seeing a black page displaying a message from the hacking group “ShinyHunters,” which claimed responsibility for a cyberattack targeting Instructure, the developer of Canvas. ShinyHunters is a cyber extortion group known for targeting major companies. In March, they hacked into Infinite Campus, a K–12 student information system, and in April, they accessed internal data from McGraw-Hill, a popular textbook publisher. The message warned that ShinyHunters would allegedly release data connected to affected schools if Instructure did not respond by the end of the day on May 12. The criminal group also included a link to a list of affected institutions and an email address for negotiations. Click the link in our bio to read the full story. Story by Irene John. Photo by Jack Sutton.

After nearly seven months as Oxford College’s interim dean, Molly McGehee will take the post of permanent dean of Oxford College on July 1, according to an Emory News Center release. McGehee previously served as Oxford’s senior associate dean for academic affairs before assuming the role of interim dean on Nov. 1, 2025. She joined the Oxford faculty in 2014 as an associate professor of English and American Studies. In 2024, Emory University awarded McGehee the Exemplary Teacher of the Year Award, the university’s highest faculty honor. Click the link in our bio to read the full story. Story by Jack Rutherford. Photo Courtesy of Emory University.

A black piece of paper with a green camera outline greets students at the entrance of various buildings across Emory University’s campus: “You are being tracked.” The piece of paper is a flyer, part of the DeFlock Emory Coalition’s efforts to demand Emory’s removal of Flock Safety cameras across campus. The coalition is made up of student and faculty members and consists of campus groups such as EmoryUnite!, Emory National Lawyers Guild, Emory Students for Justice in Palestine, Emory’s chapter of American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Sunrise Emory and Emory Students for Socialism (SFS). For the past months, University community members have protested the presence of Flock Safety cameras on campus. Flock Safety is a security and technology company that partners with local, state and federal governments to provide artificial intelligence (AI)-powered services such as automated license plate readers (LPR). Click the link in our bio or pick up a print copy on campus to read the full story. Story by Siya Kumar and Jacob Muscolino. Illustration by Sasha Emmerich.

Emory University Student Government Association (SGA) Vice President of Student Experience Michael Krayyem (26C) presented a resolution to the University Senate on April 21 calling for Emory to explain its use of Flock Safety’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR). The University Senate passed the resolution, calling on the University administration to ensure no ALPR data is shared with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and to explain its decision to install Flock cameras on campus. Click the link in our bio to read the full story. Story by Jack Rutherford and Lauren Yee. Photo by Jack Sutton.

Emory University Senate Past-President and Professor of Philosophy Noëlle McAfee, Professor of English Emil’ Keme and Professor of Economics Caroline Fohlin filed a lawsuit against Emory University on April 23, alleging the University violated its free speech policies, among other claims, when ending the encampment on April 25, 2024. The encampment on the Quadrangle was part of a wave of national pro-Palestinian protests in 2024. During the first day of protests, the Atlanta Police Department, Georgia State Patrol and Emory Police Department arrested 28 people, including 20 Emory community members on the Quad. According to the complaint, filed in DeKalb County State Court, police arrested McAfee, Keme and Fohlin on the Quad during the April 25, 2024, protests. After witnessing police “violently assaulting” their students, the professors spoke up and were then arrested by police, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit also claims that Emory was aware that the criminal charges “lacked merit” and refused to correct their actions. Read more at the link in our bio. Story by Jack Rutherford and Siya Kumar.

Emory University School of Law expelled the student responsible for a series of threatening emails and social media posts. Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Badia Ahad and Emory Law Dean and Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law Richard Freer announced in an email sent to the Emory community on April 23 that the University had conducted a formal internal review process before dismissing the student. The emails, which the student sent to a faculty member, included racial slurs and threats of violence targeting Black and transgender individuals and women. In a previous email sent on April 19, Ahad and Freer denounced the student’s messages as “harassment, threats, and bullying,” but said that the individual posed no immediate physical threat. Read more at the link in our bio. Story by Irene John. Photo by Emerson Farrar.

In the first legislative session of the 60th Emory University Student Government Association (SGA) on April 20, the SGA legislature voted to confirm 29 nominees for executive branch positions. Following a debate over the nomination of Derek Fusco (26Ox, 28C) for the role of vice president of finance and a loss of quorum, SGA members called for an emergency session since it was the last legislative session of the academic year. The emergency session will take place on April 24 at 4 p.m. via Zoom. Click the link in our bio to read the full story. Story by Tori Mooney. Photo Courtesy of Student Government Association.

Following escalating tensions between the United States and Iran over the past few months, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio terminated the legal status of former Emory University School of Medicine employee Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani for her connection to a former top Iranian government official in early April. Ardeshir-Larijani, who was an assistant professor in the department of hematology and medical oncology at the medical school, is the daughter of a former senior Iranian government official Ali Larijani. Larijani served as Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s defense council. An Israeli airstrike killed Larijani on March 17. The U.S. terminated the visas of both Ardeshir-Larijani and her husband, Dr. Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, and barred the couple from future entry, according to a press release by the U.S. Department of State. Click the link in our bio to read the full story. Story by Eileen Zhu. Photo by Jack Sutton.

As students at Emory University School of Law enter finals season, a series of threatening emails from a law school student has heightened security concerns on campus. The messages, sent from the student to a professor, include racial slurs and threats of violence against minorities, transgender people and women. In an email to the Emory community on April 19, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Badia Ahad and Emory Law Dean and Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law Richard Freer said the University condemned the individual’s language, which they described as “hateful” and “vile.” Click the link in our bio to read the full story. Story by Irene John. Photo by Emerson Farrar.