The University Senate released the results from a Dec. 2 vote on a resolution that demands Interim University President Leah Ward Sears (80L) and the Board of Trustees prohibit Emory University employees from voluntarily providing certain sensitive information to federal or out-of-state authorities.
Of the 39 University Senate members who voted, 33 voted in favor of the resolution, 3 voted against and 3 abstained. The University Senate is a body composed of representatives from Emory students, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff who advocate to Emory administration on behalf of the community. The body can recommend policy changes to the University president and the Board of Trustees, but does not have the power to enact resolutions unilaterally.
If Sears implements the resolution, Emory employees would be banned from voluntarily sharing information relating to involvement in “expressive activities,” immigration status and sex and gender identity with federal or out-of-state authorities.
Firstly, employees would not be allowed to voluntarily share information that could be used to impose legal penalties on a student, faculty or staff member who has participated in activities protected by Emory’s Open Expression Policy or the First Amendment.
Additionally, Emory community members would be banned from providing information that could help identify or apprehend a student, faculty or staff member for “immigration detention, removal or deportation proceedings.” This could also include information that may be used to prosecute a community member for immigration-related offenses based on their participation in activities protected by the First Amendment, according to the resolution.
The resolution stated that this includes a ban on sharing information that the federal government could use to terminate or reduce grant funding.
Lastly, Emory employees would not be permitted to share information that could be used to help investigate the sex or gender of an Emory student, faculty or staff member.
Emory Student Government Association (SGA) student leaders, including SGA Elections Board Chair Elizabeth Brubaker (24Ox, 26C), SGA President Tyler Martinez (26C), SGA Executive Vice President Zoe Grotjan (24Ox, 26B), SGA Vice President of Student Experience Michael Krayyem (26C), SGA Second-Year Legislator Asmaa Ali (28C), Oxford Student Government Association (OxSGA) President Jack Steffen (26Ox) and OxSGA Voting Representative Lucianna Marquez (26Ox) sponsored the resolution.
Campus uncertainty, Emory’s discontinuation of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives in September 2025, the lack of University response to the results of an October 2025 Emory SGA referendum and national political pressures on universities influenced the University Senate’s decision to pass the resolution, according to the resolution.
“Emory is currently experiencing a period of leadership transition under Interim President Sears, making it essential that University leadership demonstrate steadfast commitment to student rights, transparency, and academic integrity,” the resolution reads.
In October 2025, 1,428 (17.6%) of Emory’s 8,102 eligible undergraduate students voted in an SGA referendum related to this resolution, which proposed a similar policy to prevent University employees from sharing sensitive information with the federal government. Of the voting students, 1,275 (89.3%) urged the University to adopt this policy. The University Senate’s resolution emphasized that the Emory administration has not formally addressed the outcome of this student referendum vote.
According to the resolution, the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and the Georgia National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have endorsed this policy.
The University Senate demanded that Sears implement this new policy by the end of the academic year. The University did not provide a comment on this resolution by press time.
Ellie Fivas (she/her) (26C) is from Cleveland, Tenn., and is majoring in political science and history on the pre-law track. When she is not working for the Wheel, she works in prison education, leads a human rights club and works at the Emory Writing Center. In her free time, you can find her reading trashy romances and The New York Times, basking on the Quadrangle and doing crossword puzzles.
