The Emory Wheel Since 1919
Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper
Volume 106, Issue 13
Andre Dickens wins second term as Atlanta mayor
Jack Rutherford/Managing Editor
Atlantans came to Emory University's 1599 Clifton Rd. polling station to vote in local elections on Nov. 4.
By Jack Rutherford Managing Editor Voters re-elected Andre Dickens as the mayor of Atlanta on Nov. 4 with 87,351 votes (85%), with 99% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press. He defeated Eddie Meredith (6.1%), Kalema Jackson (5.1%) and Helmut Domagalski (3.8%). Dickens was first elected to the position after former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms declined to run for a second term in 2021. He won in a runoff race against Felicia Moore, with Dickens taking 63.4% of the vote compared to Moore’s 36.6%. Dickens’ campaign focused on “expanding opportunities, equity, and prosperity for all residents.” In a second term, he hopes to create initiatives to improve public safety and community support while bolstering his signature Atlanta Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, designed to allocate city resources to underserved neighborhoods.
Printed every other Wednesday
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
During his first term, Dickens attempted to repair the strained relationship between city and state officials. Since the beginning of Dickens’ first term in office, Atlanta’s overall crime rates have decreased by 9%. Still, housing prices have increased drastically, and water main breaks in the last year exposed some of the city’s weak infrastructure. In a close race, Atlanta Councilmember Marci Overstreet (51%) defeated Center for Civic Innovation Founder and Executive Director Rohit Malhotra (49%) for the Atlanta City Council presidency by a margin of 2,772 votes. Overstreet has represented District 11, containing portions of Southwest Atlanta, since 2018. During her tenure as a councilmember, Overstreet introduced legislation to alleviate food insecurity and advocated for affordable housing developments.
— Contact Jack Rutherford at jack.rutherford@emory.edu
Emory students discuss Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, victory By Dia Chaudhury
and James Schechner
Contributing Writers
The Associated Press called Zohran Mamdani’s victory at 9:35 p.m. on Nov. 4, officiating the win of New York City’s first Muslim mayor and youngest in over a century. New Yorkers will feel the effects of his future policies over the next four years — and the impact of his campaign is already evident. Over 1,000 Emory University students call the state of New York home, and many of them live in New York City. Emory students shared their hopes for Mamdani’s term in charge of America’s most populous city. Mamdani had secured 50.4% of New York’s tallied vote, as of 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 5. Public policy and history major Piper Domsch (28C), a New York City resident, said she was “really excited” about Mamdani ahead of Election Day. She hoped the Democratic Socialist’s affordability-focused policies would make living in New York easier after college. “I really want to move back to New York when I graduate,” Domsch said. “Coming off of a first post-grad salary, I don’t see how that would really be possible in the way that New York is right now.” Mamdani announced his New York City mayoral election bid in October 2024. His biggest opponents for New York City’s highest office included Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and former New York Governor and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo. On Nov. 3, U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Cuomo for the role and criticized Mamdani for not being “capable” of running New York. Former Mayor of New York City and Bloomberg L.P. co-founder Michael
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Bingjiefu He
Voters elected Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani to serve as the next mayor of New York City on Nov. 4. Bloomberg also publicly announced Mamdani’s campaign. his support for Cuomo and donated “Time and time again, we’ve seen $8 million to a super PAC backing the establishment not really provide him. Bloomberg said Cuomo comes that many promising figures or even with the “toughness” and “experi- promising policy descriptions, and ence” to take on the mayoral posi- he’s done both at the same time,” tion. Critics of Mamdani, including Alnasser said. “It has been really Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.), have exciting. argued his plans to raise taxes to Alnasser highlighted Mamdani’s fund some of his programs could campaign strategy, describing his exacerbate New York’s affordabil- direct approach as “interesting” and ity crisis. Despite her public criti- comparing Mamdani’s fame to that cisms, Hochul endorsed Mamdani in of a celebrity. September. Tashfia Noor (24Ox, 26C), a native Mamdani’s platform focused on New Yorker who met Mamdani at a affordability, including proposals Bengali center in Jamaica, Queens, such as fare-free transportation, rent said the mayor-elect has an impresfreezes for apartments, city-owned sive ability to connect with young grocery stores and free childcare. His people. platform also includes an increased “I was just really excited to see minimum wage and a tax reform someone that’s aligned with my plan. The mayor-elect said he will views and the younger generation, increase New York City’s corporate and someone that also motivated the tax rate and presented a plan to tax younger generation to go out and the wealthiest 1% of the city’s popula- vote, which is something that I had tion an additional 2% flat tax on top never seen before in a mayoral canof their income tax. didate for New York City,” Noor said. Ameer Alnasser (25Ox, 27C), who Noor said she especially looks foris a political science major from New See NEW, Page 3 York, mentioned his anticipation for
'Disgusting' grafitti sparks discourse within Oxford community By Irene John
and Kimble Schiller
Oxford News Chair & OxSGA Desk
Content Warning: This article contains references to hateful language and slur use. Students discovered graffiti across Oxford College’s Hearn Nature Trail on Oct. 27. The vandalism consisted of “KKK” written in white paint on trees and monuments, the letters “FU” in the Serenity Circle along the nature trail and the defacement of former Oxford Professor of Religion Hoyt Oliver’s (54Ox, 56C) memorial. On Oct. 28, the Emory Police Department said they were investigating the incident and working to identify the individuals responsible for the vandalism. However, days after the event, the incident continues to raise concerns among Oxford students. Adam Ruhde (26Ox) was among the first to report the vandalism. He walked the nature trail twice on Oct. 27, once at 12:45 p.m. and then around 5 p.m. Ruhde noted he saw no graffiti during his earlier walk.
Ruhde emphasized that he thought this act of vandalism was despicable. “Someone went out there with the courage and the audacity to do that in broad daylight, and that’s just disgusting,” Ruhde said. Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Badia Ahad, who was serving as Oxford dean until Nov. 1, and Senior Associate Dean of Campus Life Darleny Cepin condemned the original vandalism in a campus-wide email on Oct. 28, calling the markings “hateful” and not reflective of our community. In their Oct. 28 statement, Ahad and Cepin also mentioned that the University removed the graffiti. However, reporters from The Emory Wheel confirmed that markings reading “KKK” remained as of Nov. 3. Oxford Student Government Association (OxSGA) Culture and Engagement Committee Chair Milin Kumar (26Ox) acknowledged Oxford’s historical role as a hospital for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, but said the context did not change much about the nature of the incident. The nature trail leads past a cemetery with the remains of
Confederate soldiers. “It doesn’t really affect me on how I view this incident, because this is just a hate crime,” Kumar said. “Either way, regardless of past historical context, it needs to be condemned, and this is a place for people to feel safe.” Oxford’s African Caribbean Student Union Treasurer Theogracia Alese (26Ox) framed this incident within the current political climate, noting it feels like the world is “regressing” from previous work against discrimination. “Systemic racism is still a big problem we need to combat with stuff like this coming to Oxford directly,” Alese said. “There definitely needs to be things done to combat everything going on because it’s definitely a very tense time.” During their Oct. 29 meeting, OxSGA passed a resolution denouncing hate speech on campus. OxSGA sent the resolution as an email to Oxford’s student body, in which they “unequivocally and wholeheartedly” condemned “this despicable and hateful act.” “Every student deserves to feel safe, valued, and supported at
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Emory,” the email read. “We commit to advocating for immediate and transparent action from the Emory Police Department, including a thorough investigation of the incident and proactive measures to prevent future acts.” Furthermore, the statement called on the University’s leadership to “commit to continuing support of our underrepresented and marginalized students, as well as remaining committed to advancing the work of the Twin Memorial Project, which seeks to address Emory’s involvement in enslavement.” The statement concluded by praising the efforts of campus facilities teams in cleaning up the graffiti and providing support resources, encouraging students to promote accountability and inclusivity in the community. OxSGA President Jack Steffen (26Ox) condemned the act and emphasized that the actions were “diametrically opposed” to Oxford’s values. “Hateful acts will never be tolerated in our community,” Steffen said. Steffen emphasized OxSGA’s role in supporting the Oxford community
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after the incident. “SGA is definitely taking a stand on this,” Steffen said. “We passed a resolution last night during our meeting, so we’ll be sending out a statement to the student body just offering support resources, explaining how things go from here as best we can.” If you or someone you know experienced hateful language or slur use, you can call the Emory Police Department at (404) 727-6111 or reach Emory’s Counseling and Psychological Services at (404) 7277450 or https://counseling.emory. edu/. You can reach the Atlanta Police Department at (404) 614-6544 and the Lines for Life Racial Equity Support Line from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. at (503) 575-3764. You can reach the Trevor Project’s LGBTQ crisis support services 24/7 by calling +1 (866) 488-7386, texting 678-678 or visiting https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/.
— Contact Irene John at irene.john@emory.edu and Kimble Schiller ar kimble.schiller@emory.edu
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