Emory student government association tells students to 'Vote for DEI'
Only 17.6 percent of eligible undergraduates participated in the referendum, which was actively promoted by the Student Government Association.
Emory University students voted 89.3 percent in favor of restoring DEI programs that the university discontinued in September following federal mandates.
Emory University students recently voted in overwhelming support of restoring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at the Atlanta, Georgia institution—though just 17.6 percent of eligible undergraduates participated in the referendum.
Before the vote, Emory’s Student Government Association (SGA) actively promoted the pro-DEI referendum. An Oct. 16 Instagram post urged students to “SPEAK UP & VOTE FOR DEI AND STUDENT PROTECTION,” encouraging student organizations to repost the flyer and rally their members to vote.
Of the 1,428 students who cast ballots between Oct. 20 and Oct. 23, a striking 89.3 percent—or 1,275 students—voted in favor of Resolution 59s101, which called on Emory to reinstate DEI programs that the university discontinued in September. Only 135 students (9.5 percent) voted against the measure, while 16 abstained, according to The Emory Wheel.
The resolution demands that Emory “restore and protect diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and initiatives campuswide” and preserve existing course offerings and core curriculum requirements that advance “equity and multi-cultural understanding.”
It further calls on university leadership to “codify DEI principles into university policy.”
Students also voted with similar support for a second resolution asking the university to adopt a policy preventing Emory employees from sharing personal information about students with federal agencies.
The referendum follows Interim President Leah Ward Sears’s September announcement that Emory would discontinue DEI offices and programs in response to federal mandates.
In September, Campus Reform reported that Sears told the university community that “federal laws and mandates have been implemented that require higher education institutions to alter fundamentally or even close offices and programs focused on DEI.”
The university’s decision came after President Donald Trump’s Jan. 21 executive order, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which mandated the closure of DEI offices across federal agencies and contractors, including universities.
Campus Reform has previously reported about the Department of Education’s Feb. 14 notice warning universities receiving federal funding that they could lose their money if they do not remove DEI programs.
“Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism,’” the letter stated.
Emory joins a growing list of institutions navigating the nationwide rollback of DEI initiatives. Schools including the University of Southern California, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Notre Dame have removed references to DEI online, while states such as Ohio and Arizona have taken steps to completely eliminate DEI from publicly-funded universities.
Campus Reform has contacted Emory University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
