Ridwan Khan

Apr 27, 2024

President Gregory Fenves, Emory Communications Staff, and University Administration

201 Dowman Dr

Atlanta, GA 30322

Mr. Fenves and Administrative Staff,

I am an Emory alumni (Oxford 2004, Emory 2007), and am writing this open letter to you regarding the events of April 25, 2024 on the Emory campus. When I studied at Emory, the campus quad was a place that students could enjoy and (most importantly) feel safe. I have fond memories of grabbing lunch with friends, meeting classmates, or just rushing from one class to another.

However, by calling the police on innocent students and faculty and allowing 28 of them to be arrested, you have shattered the safety I once felt, not only for the college’s current students, but also for future students for decades to come. Protest participants begged for your help while you were comfortably safe in your office. One professor, Emil’ Keme, described the violence you brought to campus as “a war zone.” Make no mistake, you caused our safe campus to become this war zone.

You have also shown university faculty how untrustworthy you are. No one on Emory’s campus is safe while you are in charge.

After you brought police violence to our campus, you and your comms team then claimed that the protestors were outside agitators. I must ask you what you were thinking, because police records after the arrests clearly indicate that those arrested on campus were students and professors, the true heart of a college community. You and your comms team not only lied, you thought we were so stupid that we would accept your untrue statements. You must think very little of the education we received at Emory itself, if you think we would accept your team’s cock-and-bull story.

Emory comms claimed that “these individuals are not members of our community. They are activist attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals. Emory does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on campus.” After their arrests, arrested protesters were all found to be students or faculty.

With your actions, you have also given succor to our society’s worst members. Take this example, in which “Representative” Mike Collins lauds the violence of your actions. Perhaps you learned this from your time at UT Austin, but we write to inform you that your violence and lies should not stand at Emory. Governor Brian Kemp called the protests “terrorism and extremism.” Were I in your shoes, I would feel ashamed that Collins was praising my actions and that Kemp was calling my students and faculty terrorists, but I see no evidence that you are able to self-reflect in that way.

Not sure what y’all are doing up north, but we don’t give them time to encamp. Tazers set to stun! - Representative Mike Collins cheering on violence on students and faculty protesting peacefully at Emory.

Finally, let me mention the fact that these students and faculty were bravely protesting on behalf of an oppressed people currently facing genocide. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by U.S. weapons. Women have been raped, children killed in their arms. Children, like six year-old Hind Rajab, have been left to suffer and die. Mounting evidence clearly implicates the Israeli “Defense” Force in killing civilians and burying them in mass graves. Every university in Gaza has been destroyed. These students and faculty had every right to protest the killings being done in their name and with their money. I also recall my time as a student when your administration was all too eager to invite and protect anti-Muslim figures under the guise of “free speech,” and easily dismissed concerns by Muslim students living in a post-9/11 United States. Your actions included not only welcoming speakers that spoke disparagingly about Muslims but allowing The Emory Wheel to run advertisements for bigoted speakers. Between my own experiences and your actions this year, it’s clear to me you have an agenda that (at best) disregards students who are Muslim, Arab, or from the Global South.

The university promotes values including inclusiveness and intellectual curiosity. This incident has shown how little you actually embody those ideals. You are not up to the position you have found yourself in.

Let me be completely clear: you are not fit to administer the Emory campus. Whatever your thought process was for these actions, you have shown how poor your judgment is. You should not be in charge of the safety and well-being of students or professors on any campus. Your actions clearly and conclusively illustrate how you do not value their safety. I know you are facing calls from students, alumni, and faculty to step down, and I urge you to take their advice. I also hope the faculty no-confidence vote helps remove you from your position. If you somehow remain president I promise that I will campaign to see you removed or resign, no matter how long it takes.

Ridwan Khan