The Emory Wheel Since 1919
Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper
Volume 106, Issue 6
Printed every other Wednesday
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Protestors gather outside CDC following recent round of firings By Siya Kumar and Jacob Muscolino
News Editors
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) departments emailed 2,400 employees on the morning of April 1 to terminate their employment. A CDC employee who has worked for the organization since 2004 said some employees were only notified of their termination when they arrived at work, when key cards of laid off employees were deactivated. The employee requested anonymity over concerns about maintaining employment. Public Broadcasting Service reported that some employees arrived at work to find their badges did not work. Community members, employees, friends and family of CDC staff gathered in front of the CDC building on Clifton Road NE on the afternoon of April 1. The protest began at about 3:30 p.m. and reached about 150 protestors at its peak, with protestors hoisting signs that proclaimed “Save the CDC” and “CDC cuts cost lives” for over three hours. That same morning, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the firing of these 2,400 CDC employees. This follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s February announcement to cut 10% of the CDC’s workforce.
Ellie Fivas/Editor-in-Chief
Community members gather outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Headquarters on April 1 to protest U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s firings of 2,400 CDC employees early that morning. Emory University and the CDC share a close partnership in conducting infectious disease and prevention research for various public health initiatives. The CDC has given the University $180 million in research funding over the past 10 years. A second CDC employee who requested anonymity to protect her employment mentioned their initial reactions to the layoffs when she arrived at work that morning.
“It’s just like it’s not even real,” the employee said. “I feel like I’m just in this horrible nightmare.” Assistant Professor of Biology Chris Rodgers said he was concerned about the future of scientific research at the CDC and Emory. “Everybody who works in science or cares about science should be very concerned,” Rodgers said. “There’s people who have already had their grants cut for important work, includ-
ing at Emory.” Lauren Owens (14PH), a CDC employee in the Division of Overdose Prevention, warned layoffs in programs, such as for pregnancy monitoring and smoking prevention, have the potential to cause deaths across the country. “It’s just devastating because we know that these programs, it’s like a spider web or like a big safety net,” Owens said. “Any one part might not
be the only thing that’s holding up the country, but together, we ensure the safety and health of the nation.” Moreover, Owens expressed her concerns that the layoffs would have ripple effects on the local job market because she knows many former CDC employees who live in DeKalb County. “It’s really, really awful to now know that people, they’ve been offered two months of administrative leave, but come June 2, this will be people who don’t know how to pay their rent, don’t know how to get their groceries, don’t know where their health insurance is coming from,” Owens said. The announcements employees received came from HHS and not the CDC, according to Owens. She added that her center director claimed to disagree with the decision to lay off employees. A third CDC employee, who requested anonymity to protect their employment, said that these firings represent a larger encroachment on the public health field. The employee said these changes in the CDC have brought morale to a low. “As a whole, the public health field really feels on attack right now,” the employee said. “A lot of the partnerships and a lot of the grants that come through HHS will also have an impact on how health departments do their work, on how NGOs do their work.”
See COMMUNITY, Page 3
SGA adjourns early due to committee controversy Emory community reflects on impact of By Aarush Kumar SGA Desk The 59th Student Government Association (SGA) confirmed the new Vice President of Finance, Grant Lichtman (26B), and the Assistant Vice President of Finance, Kennedy Nieves (25Ox), at the inaugural meeting on April 2. Following the confirmation, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Sophia Rubinstein (26C) requested to reconsider Bill 59SL01, which did not include former Assistant Vice President of Finance Jessica Malvin (24Ox, 26B). SGA Executive Vice President Zoe Grotjan (24Ox, 26B) said that Lichtman and Nieves were “more than capable” of making needed changes in the Finance Committee. Though the bill initially passed without motions for Q-and-A or debate, First Year Council Director Maahi Sethi (27C) later questioned SGA President Tyler Martinez (26C) and Grotjan about their decision to not include Malvin in the finance committee. Sethi said Grotjan was not responsive when she reached out to her beforehand about the decisionmaking process for selecting the vice president or assistant vice president of finance. Grotjan denied these claims, writing that she decided not to include “external” opinions in the decision-making process. Martinez wrote in an email to The
Emory Wheel that Sethi did not previously mention concerns about his and Grotjan’s selection for vice president and assistant vice president of finance prior to Monday’s meeting, and Martinez and Grotjan felt “completely blindsided” by Sethi’s remarks. Grotjan wrote to the Wheel that she and Martinez made their decisions based on applications and direct interviews. “If these specific concerns were brought up prior to the meeting I would have provided the bias training, interview materials, explained our process, and given insight into Tyler and I’s decisions—all of which would have easily clarified the issues presented in the meeting,” Grotjan wrote. Martinez clarified that Malvin was “not left off of the Finance Committee” and that Martinez and Grotjan invited Malvin to apply for an executive cabinet position. He wrote that he and Grotjan selected Lichtman and Nieves for the vice president and assistant vice president roles “after careful consideration.” Martinez said some students reported “not so great experiences” with the previous Finance Committee. He said he wanted to make sure that club treasurers would have their needs met and have a vice president of finance treasurers could confide in. “As President of the Belonging
and Community Council, I have engaged in numerous difficult conversations with organizational leaders who expressed concerns to our treasurer, Executive Vice President, and me regarding the handling of their financial matters by the VP and AVP of Finance of the 58th SGA,” Martinez wrote. “Many felt their concerns were not addressed with the care and equity they deserved.” Grotjan said that they made the decision based on the interview process the pair conducted rather than relying on a candidate’s prior experience. “When we were interviewing we had quite a few people really come up to us and express some concerns,” Grotjan said. “I do believe Jess is more than qualified, but I also believe that Grant is also qualified.” Grotjan said that the interview process was extensive and that she would be willing to share notes from the interviews. She also added that many student treasurers reported concerns about finance code changes. “If club treasurers and club presidents are coming up to us saying that they don’t feel comfortable with finance code changes or they don’t feel comfortable coming up to present their case for getting supplemental funding, it’s kind of a big issue,” Grotjan said. Malvin said she felt “surprised” to hear of these complaints, espe-
See MARTINEZ, Page 2
NEWS College Council Starts EDITORIAL Fight For Emory's New Networking Initiative ... Freedom Of Speech ... PAGE 2 PAGE 5 P P
Trump cuts on internship opportunities By Siya Kumar News Editor
U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive actions are rippling outward from Washington down to Atlanta, where Emory students, faculty and community members are feeling the federal government’s budget cuts firsthand. On Jan. 20, Trump issued an executive order pausing all foreign aid and halting the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) operations for 90 days. USAID is an independent federal agency whose mission was to provide support to countries across the world. Following the executive order, his administration announced plans to cut 90% of the agency’s international aid contracts. By March 28, the administration informed Congress that it would eliminate most of the remaining jobs at USAID and shut down the agency. The federal government terminated Shruti Nemala (26B) who said she was surprised to learn she was being terminated from an internship at USAID due to funding cuts. “I was originally told that I was not going to be affected by the cuts because I was technically hired before Trump was elected,” Nemala said. “Then when I was doing my orientation, meeting with my managers … I’ve been doing my security
A&L
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clearance, which took me around six months to get, and then just randomly I got an email saying that I was actually being terminated.” Nemala said that the government’s uncertain future has impacted her career plans. “Originally, I was thinking of doing something more on the intersection of business and government, and that that is probably not something I’m going to explore as much, just because I don’t think there’s a lot of opportunities for it,” Nemala said. Throughout the country, many students experienced disruptions in internships and job opportunities due to Trump policy changes. Delaney Arnold (26Ox) said the decreasing number of internship opportunities in her home state of New Jersey following the recent budget cuts complicated her summer plans. Arnold, an aspiring human health major, said the cuts are wiping away public health opportunities previously offered in her hometown. “There’s several programs, including county programs, that typically have internships in public health and they’re just completely not offering them for this year,” Arnold said. On March 27, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to lay off 10,000 workers, including about 2,400 staff members at the Centers for
See STUDENTS, Page 2
SPORTS Emory Club Frisbee Brings The Juice ... Back Page