Emory University announced Monday that it would move its commencement to Gas South Arena and Convention in Gwinnett County following weeks of pro-Palestinian and Stop Cop City protests.
The decision to relocate Emory’s graduation ceremonies 25 miles north of campus was made in consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisors, and other agencies who “advised against holding Commencement events on our campuses” according to the university.
“Safety and security require us to adjust the plans,” said Emory President Gregory L. Fenves in a letter posted on the school’s website.
It is the first time in recent memory that Emory has held commencement somewhere other than the quad.
Bachelor’s degree candidates and their ticketed guests will attend commencement on May 13. Graduates of the Goizueta Business School, Rollins School of Public Health, School of Medicine, School of Law, and other programs will be recognized on May 10.
Emory said attendees may not “interfere unreasonably with the event or cause substantial disruption.” Apparel with explicit wording, stickers, pepper spray, large bags, and backpacks, are prohibited.
Emory was beginning to prepare the quadrangle for commencement when protests began on April 25, which led to clashes with the Atlanta Police Department, Georgia State Patrol, and campus police. Twenty-eight arrests of mostly students and faculty members were made that day.
A majority of faculty in Emory University’s College of Arts & Sciences passed a no-confidence vote against Fenves on Friday and, in an unprecedented move, undergraduate students are also voting this week.
Just off campus, two arrests were made on April 2 when Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers visited Chabad at Emory and protesters clashed with Jewish students. Antisemitic flyers were found on May 3 in Druid Hills, just blocks from Emory.
Georgia State University reported last week that at six graduation ceremonies, only a handful of students attempted to carry flags or keffiyeh – a black and white scarf that has become a pro-Palestinian symbol worn by protesters – across the stage. Items were removed during the students’ time on stage and given back after.
Protests against the Israel-Hamas War have roiled college campuses across the country for weeks, leading Columbia University in New York to cancel its regular large-scale commencement in favor of smaller, “school-based celebrations.”
