The Emory Wheel Since 1919
Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper
Volume 107, Issue 5
Printed every other Wednesday
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
SGA plans to raise Student Activity Fee, cites funding cuts Tracing SGA election B T M there’s at least some things that are $550,000 from the SAF in the Spring controversies through the years SGA Desk going to change about their funding 2026 semester. Including the Spring y
By Irene John
to vote no confidence for SGA president and stated that her gap year was “involuntary” since she had to take a year off to confirm her legal emancipation from her abusive family. In her original post, Ortiz claimed that she would appeal her case to the Elections Board, but later chose to drop out of the race. The other SGA presidential candidates, Ranjan Kesavan (24C), Eleanor Liu (21Ox, 23B) and Alyssa Stegall (21Ox, 23C), remained in the race, but no candidate secured a majority, leading to a runoff election between Liu and Stegall. No confidence won the runoff, receiving 656 votes (51.37%) and beating the runner-up candidate Stegall, who garnered 621 (48.62%) votes. With no candidate winning a majority, the SGA lLegislature decided to invoke the line of succession in an emergency meeting rather than hold another election. Stegall’s running mate, Noah Marchuck (24C), who won the SGA vice presidential election on March 25, 2022, ultimately assumed the position of president. SGA formally swore Marchuck in on April 18, 2022. Emma Friese (24C) and Sruti Kumar (20Ox, 22C), who worked together on Ortiz’s campaign, submitted a formal complaint to SGA’s Constitutional Council about a lack of official procedure when “no confidence” wins an election cycle. The council heard the case before ultimately concluding that
and Eileen Zhu
News Editors
This article contains references to sexual assault. Emory University’s Student Government Association (SGA) plans to hold a special election for SGA president after the Elections Board disqualified presidential candidate Vlad Senenko (27C) for failing to submit campaign expenditure receipts after a majority of students voted for him. Senenko’s disqualification left the SGA presidential race with no available candidates to take the office. Voting for the special election starts on March 23, and the Elections Board will release results on March 24. Over the past four years, SGA elections have featured many controversies, including disqualified candidates and alleged election fraud. The Emory Wheel has compiled a timeline of these incidents and their impact on election results.
2022
Three days before the 2022 election cycle concluded, the Elections Board disqualified presidential candidate Elisabet Ortiz (24C) because she took a gap year while running for office. In a March 19, 2022 Instagram post, Ortiz claimed the Elections Board based their decision on “discriminatory policies.” Ortiz called on the student body
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Emory University’s Student Government Association (SGA) Vice President of Finance Grant Lichtman (26B) confirmed in an interview with The Emory Wheel that SGA plans to increase the Student Activity Fee (SAF). The potential SAF increase would go into effect for the 202728 academic year. The SAF is currently $133 per semester as per the Finance Code. In March 2024, students voted to increase the SAF from $116 to $133 for the 2025-26 academic year and approved a measure to schedule yearly SAF increases based on the Consumer Price Index, a federal measure of national inflation. According to SGA’s Finance Code, the SAF helps fund SGA, “all various SGA establishments” and “all student groups.” The SAF also helps fund Student Programming Council (SPC), Belonging and Community Council, Club Sports, TableTalk, Emory Entrepreneurship & Venture Management, Media Council and Outdoor Emory. Lichtman cited federal and University-wide funding cuts in prompting the decision to increase the SAF. “We know that going into next year,
and what events they fund, especially the amount of funding that they provide for programs,” Lichtman said. In October 2025, SPC announced that there would be no Homecoming concert due to changes in funding. SPC has hosted a Homecoming concert every fall since 2021. Lichtman said the SAF increase will allow SGA to cover
Sasha Emmerich/Image Editor
expenses for programs the University previously funded. For instance, SGA passed a bill on Jan. 26 to fund the 2026 Mosaic Graduation Ceremony. Belonging and Community Justice (BCJ) in Campus Life funded the inaugural event in 2025, but according to SGA President Tyler Martinez (26C), BCJ is no longer able to do so due to funding changes. A November 2025 Financial Report stated that SGA is expected to receive
2026 SAF, the SGA Contingency Account had $546.349.70 as of November 2025. The Contingency Account funds University-wide programs and events. SGA also adds the unspent SAF funds to the account at the end of the year. SGA is currently conducting benchmarking research to decide how much to increase the SAF, according to Lichtman. He explained this process involves researching the SAFs at Emory’s peer institutions, discussing new changes with Campus Life and collecting input from students and members of the administration. “We’re also meeting with some students on campus and some other members of the administration so that we can all come together and figure out what students want to be funded by Campus Life and what they wouldn’t want going forward,” Lichtman said. For the SAF to increase, SGA must pass a bill and submit it to a student referendum, according to Lichtman. If the referendum does not pass, Lichtman said responsibility would fall to future student administrations to decide how to handle the funding shortage. “A good amount of the actual increase in the SAF that we want to make is more long-term,” Lichtman said. “We can probably still support a lot of programs next year, but beyond
See LICHTMAN, Page 3
Emory awards 2026 Bobby Jones Scholarship to four seniors By Katherine Mombo Contributing Writer
degree seeking study at Emory. As part of the application process, students submitted a resume, two essays and three letters of recommendation. The scholarship committee, composed of Emory administrators, alumni and Bobby Jones trustees, made their decisions based on applicants’ “academic excellence, exemplary character and integrity.” For Grand, Jones’ legacy in athletics and law mirrored his own path, ultimately inspiring him to apply. “The skills that soccer nurtured in me, and the balance that it grounded in my Emory experience was certainly a leading contributor to my decision to apply,” Grand said. As the captain of Emory’s men’s soccer team, Grand led the team to two consecutive University Athletic Association championships. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy next fall, which will mark the program’s inaugural year at the University of St Andrews. “It provides a massive opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and explore new things,” Grand said. Grand has also completed internships with the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the Atlanta mayor’s office of International and Immigrant Affairs and is currently writing a philosophy honors thesis examining the moral and national responsibilities of U.S. foreign aid. “Learning about public policy in
This article contains references to sexual assault. From picking up caps and gowns to figuring out their post-graduation plans, seniors nationwide are preparing for graduation. At Emory University, the Robert T. Jones, Jr. Scholarship provides four seniors with the opportunity to spend one year abroad to either take courses without seeking a degree or pursue a master’s degree at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. This year, the University awarded Asmita Lehther (24Ox, 26C), Yurok Song (26C), Claire Burkhardt (26C) and Josh Grand (26C) this prestigious scholarship from a pool of 36 applicants. Emory and the University of St Andrews established the scholarship in 1976 to honor Robert “Bobby” Jones (29L), a world-renowned golfer who attended Emory’s School of Law. Jones often expressed affection for the city of St. Andrews, Scotland, which awarded him the Freedom of the City in 1958. The scholarship, open to all graduating seniors at Emory, covers the full tuition and living stipend for one year of study at the University of St Andrews. Four students from the University of St Andrews are also selected to pursue a master’s degree or a year of non-
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the U.K. presents an awesome opportunity to gain a new perspective,” Grand said. “Being able to apply those lessons to how we view policy in the United States will be refreshing.” Lehther also plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy with a focus on health policy. During her sophomore year of college, Lehther learned about Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), an organization that provides health services to community members in need. Lehter cited ASHA as her inspiration to further understand how policy can improve healthcare accessibility. “I’ve always seen medicine, wellbeing and the law as being very connected, especially when it comes to the social determinants of health,” Lehther said. Lehther, who is the president of Emory’s Sexual Assault Peer Advocate (SAPA) group, led a Student Government Association initiative requiring all SGA members to receive SAPA training. She intends to continue this mission abroad by working with sexual assault survivor advocacy groups in Scotland. “While I’m also doing a master’s program, my hope is that I’ll be able to be not only a more full person, but also a more full advocate,” Lehther said. “I want to be someone who can speak to anyone, understand more about the world, and I think the best way to do that is by traveling and by
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learning.” At the University of St Andrews, Song hopes to pursue a master’s degree in mathematical biology, also known as biophysics. Mathematical biology is a rare field of study for graduate-level programs, so for Song, this opportunity is a “lucky match.” Song said the scholarship’s application process offered him an opportunity to reflect on his Emory experience as a senior. “It's very helpful to oftentimes reflect back, especially your senior year, … not just for the Bobby Jones Scholarship, but as you approach your graduation,” Song said. Song is the division chief of operations for Emory Emergency Medical Service (EEMS), and he spends “40 to 60 hours a week” attending to responsibilities, including answering 911 calls and responding to medical emergencies on campus. He described his EEMS experience as fundamental in teaching him to turn complex situations into structured questions. Burkhardt plans to earn a master’s degree in Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asian Security Studies at the University of St Andrews, furthering her interest in international relations. At Emory, Burkhardt was named a Fox Center Undergraduate Humanities Honors Fellow, where she is currently working on an honors thesis and a microhistory on Ahmed al-Sharaa, the president of Syria.
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Burkhardt stated that writing her thesis inspired her to apply to graduate programs where she could participate in similar research. “I figured that if I loved doing my thesis so much, I should consider seeing if I can do this in grad school as well,” Burkhardt said. At the University of St Andrews, Burkhardt hopes to explore more extracurriculars, including participating in Race2, an annual charity hitchhike in different European locations. “Part of the joy of studying abroad and doing new things is that you don’t always know what you’ll get out of them,” Burkhardt said. “But, I am looking forward to the opportunity to be in a new place, keep studying subjects that I’ve invested in from different perspectives and being able to build relationships with cool people.” If you or someone you know experienced sexual assault, you can access Emory’s Department of Title IX at 404-727-0541 and the Office of Respect’s hotline 24/7 at (404) 727-1514. You can reach the Atlanta Grady Rape Crisis Center crisis hotline 24/7 at (404) 616-4861 and the Decatur Day League Sexual Assault Care and Prevention crisis hotline 24/7 at (404) 377-1428.
— Contact Katherine Mombo at katherine.mombo@emory.edu
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