The Emory Wheel Since 1919
Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper
Volume 107, Issue 6
Printed every other Wednesday
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
More students predicted to seek accommodations in spring 2026 Sasha Emmerich/Image Editor
By Malk El-Abtah Social Editor As the number of college students receiving accommodations rises nationwide, testing accommodations have become an increasingly central part of academic life at Emory University. The increase in accommodations at the University mirrors a larger nationwide trend across other elite institutions. Department of Accessibility Services (DAS) Director and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Officer Rashad Morgan wrote in an email to The Emory Wheel that more than 1,200 Emory students used testing accommodations, including extended time and low-distraction environments, during the 2024-25 academic year, representing approximately 7.91% of the student body. Additionally, during the 2024-25 academic year, DAS registered 1,865 students for accommodations across all nine Emory schools. Morgan wrote that DAS expects that number to exceed 1,900 by the end of spring 2026. Students seeking accommodations
must register with DAS by submitting a Student Registration Form and documentation describing the history of their disability and its impact on their learning, classroom engagement and other university-related activities. After a DAS staff member reviews these applications, an accommodation specialist meets with students to discuss their experiences and determine appropriate support. Morgan discussed how the University bases accommodations on specific student needs. “All accommodations are individualized to address each student’s documented barriers and may vary from student to student,” Morgan wrote. For some students, like Avery McAdams (28C), the process of obtaining accommodations begins before they arrive on campus. “I had to have a meeting with someone at Emory to go over my report and then to see what type of accommodations that I would want, the need and that would help me the best,” McAdams said. Abigail Cushman (28C) began using testing accommodations in her junior year of high school, which gave her
a foundation for navigating Emory’s system. “Coming into college, it was kind of just a matter of transferring that information from my high school to college,” Cushman said. After approval, students are required to take additional steps to ensure that faculty are implementing accommodations in each class. This includes sending an accommodationsn accommodations report to new classes at the start of every semester, according to McAdams. “At first it was a little bit hard to navigate, but after you get the hang of it, it actually gets really easy,” McAdams said. “Some teachers have some things where you have to go and talk to them and tell them more about your accommodations, so that it’s more tailored to that specific class.” Cushman noted that for some students, access remains a key issue in navigating the accommodations process. "It’s definitely frustrating for a lot of people that, for example, can’t afford to get a professional,” Cushman said. Reflecting on her experience in high school, Cushman said that stu-
SGA releases second financial report, discusses funding cuts By Tori Mooney SGA Desk During its March 30 legislative session, the 59th Emory University Student Government Association (SGA) addressed funding cuts, budgeting and financial accounts in preparation for the 2026-27 academic year. SGA Vice President of Finance Grant Lichtman (26B) delivered his second financial report on the organization’s 2025-26 spending and revenue, and SGA members discussed the impact of University-level funding cuts, including to the printing stipend and to Belonging and Community Justice (BCJ) initiatives. Lichtman delivered his first financial report in November 2025,
which publicized the balances of SGA’s accounts for the first time in recent years. According to the SGA Constitution, the organization’s papers are public record. SGA’s Contingency Account funds University-wide programs and events through a SGA supplemental funding process or with SGA legislative approval. SGA carries the funds from the Contingency Account from one administration to the next. In the spring 2026 semester, the account received $562,940.59 in revenue from the Student Activity Fee (SAF), a mandatory, semesterly fee that all Emory students pay to support SGA and student groups. The report states that SGA expects to distribute slightly more SAF fund-
ing than it collects this year, but is prepared for these costs, in part because of the money available in SGA’s longterm financial accounts and because SGA reclaims student organizations’ unspent SAF fees yearly. According to the March 30 report, the Contingency Account had a current balance of $456,309.12. SGA’s major spring 2026 initiatives include funding for SGA Friday events, spring break shuttles, the Health Access Machine and monthly rounds of supplemental funding to clubs. SGA also passed the 2026-27 budget for Executive Agencies (EAs) during the March 30 legislative session. Emory’s EAs include the
See LICHTMAN, Page 3
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dents must have a greater sense of responsibility and independence when advocating for their accommodations in college.
“I had the letter, I had the report, but I still didn’t get the accommodation where I could go and take a test in a separate space because they just said that’s not how their class operated.”
“When you’re coming to college, you have to do it a lot more for yourself,” Cushman said. “You have to do the research and be like, ‘Okay, [these are] the steps to get it.’” McAdams said that challenges persist even after DAS approves accommodations, as they can vary across classes and professors. “I had the accommodations,” McAdams said. “I had the letter, I had the report, but I still didn’t get the
accommodation where I could go and take a test in a separate space because they just said that’s not how their class operated.” Beyond logistical challenges, McAdams pointed out that accommodations are often misunderstood, with some students viewing them as an unfair advantage. “Sometimes when I tell people that I have accommodations, they’re like, ‘It’s so unfair that you get extra time,’” McAdams said. “I don’t think saying it’s unfair is necessarily true, but more just leveling out the playing fields instead of giving people an advantage.” For McAdams, receiving accommodations has reshaped her sense of belonging on campus, giving her more assurance in her abilities. “It gives me more confidence that I fit in, because maybe I’m not stupid and I’m not like I don’t belong here,” McAdams said. “I just needed some sort of accommodations, and now that I have it, it makes me feel like I can actually do it.”
— Contact Malk El-Abtah at malk.elabtah@emory.edu
Emory students face travel chaos at Atlanta airport amid DHS shutdown By Lucy Benjamin Politics Desk Long security lines and flight disruptions at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport turned a federal political funding fight into a national travel problem as a partial shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) beginning on Feb. 14 left Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff unpaid. More than 400 TSA officers have resigned during the shutdown, and Hartsfield-Jackson is among the airports hardest hit by TSA staffing shortages. The partial government shutdown,
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specifically affecting DHS, is driven by a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Congress over immigration policy and funding. Professor of Political Science Jeffrey Staton shared that Democrats in Congress opposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practices backed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Democrats are refusing to approve funding until Republicans negotiate specific DHS policies, including agents removing their face masks, using body cameras and following the same use-of-force rules as local
See PROFESSORS, Page 3
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