Since 1919
The Emory Wheel Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper
Volume 104, Issue 6
Printed every other wednesday
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Students resist construction of concrete path in Lullwater Anthony Ray Hinton to deliver
2023 Commencement address
By spencer FriedlAnd News Editor The Emory University Senate voted on Tuesday to send a request to University President Gregory Fenves for more transparency about the potential construction of a 10-foot wide cement path along South Fork Peachtree Creek. DeKalb County, the PATH Foundation and Emory University’s Office of Master Planning jointly proposed the path, which would cut through forest on the south bank. The vote passed by an 86% margin, according to University Senate President and Associate Professor of Anthropology Alicia DeNicola. The Senate request recommended that the administration engage in a “transparent and holistic decisionmaking process” that considers University values, policies and data, DeNicola said. This would include articulating the objectives that the University hopes to achieve through this project, as well as offering general alternatives and an assessment of trade-offs. During Tuesday’s meeting, Assistant Teaching Professor of Environmental Science Carolyn Keogh (07C), who chairs the Senate Committee on the Environment, proposed the idea that the University should consider branching off of an existing path under Clairmont Road and utilizing existing gravel to go through Lullwater, instead of building an entirely new path. “This is just one example of an alternative that could be explored
By MAtthew chupAck And MAdi Olivier Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor
A nnA SchwArtz/StAff PhotogrAPher
An road cuts through Lullwater. Members of the Emory community are protesting the construction of a new path. that would have significantly lower ecological trade-offs and that we would like to see this kind of consideration in the decisionmaking process for this project,” Keogh said. Additionally, the Student Government Association (SGA) unanimously voted 9-0 to support a resolution sponsored by Emory Ecological Society Vice President and Founder Nick Chang (24C) and Emory Bike Social President Alison Thieberg (25C) on March 26. The resolution, which stated that the path would cut through “irreplaceable old-growth forest,” recommended that the Path project leaders consult with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation
to ensure that the proposal accounts for “cultural and traditional ecological significance” of the land. Additionally, SGA requested that Emory’s Master Planning Office add a “Muscogee Traditional Ecological Knowledge holder, a student cyclist and a student ecologist” to the PATH Foundation’s stakeholder advisory task force. SGA also proposed that Emory adopt conservation efforts to protect forests from similar proposals in the future. The proposal also recommended that University leaders prioritize this PATH proposal and sustainable commute alternatives. The resolution also recommends
See LULLWATER'S, Page 4
Activist and writer Anthony Ray Hinton will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at Emory University’s 178th Commencement Ceremony on May 8. University President Gregroy Fenves announced the decision in a March 28 email to Emory students. Hinton is well-known for the 28 years he spent on Alabama’s death row after being wrongfully convicted of murder in 1998 on the basis that the revolver used in the murders, as well as a third uncharged crime, was taken from his mothers’ home. The Equal Justice Initiative took on his case, and in 2002, three top firearms examiners testified that the revolver could not be matched to the murders. However, state courts did not reexamine the case, leaving Hinton imprisoned for over 10 more years. “The courage Mr. Hinton showed on Death Row is almost impossible to comprehend,” Fenves wrote. “His freedom was taken from him, yet he found peace and forgiveness and has dedicated himself to spreading truth and light in the world.” The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately reversed the lower courts’ decisions in 2012 to grant Hinton a new trial. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences confirmed the findings that the bullets used in
the murders could not be tied to the revolver from Hinton’s mother's home, leading a judge to ultimately dismiss the charges. For the first time in 28 years, Hinton was a free man. As he walked out of the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Ala. in 2015, Hinton told his family that “the sun does shine,” according to the Equal Justice Initiative. Three years later, Hinton published his best-selling book about his experiences, “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row.” Shivani Kumar (23B) said she is glad Hinton’s story is receiving attention, as she believes the U.S. prison system is an “outrageous problem.” “Things aren't going to change if these stories aren't told,” Kumar said. “So the fact that Emory, an institution of so much prominence, has given the microphone to Mr. Hinton, it's a wonderful thing.” Hinton now works as an Equal Justice Initiative community educator, serving as “a tireless and powerful advocate for abolition of the death penalty.” He also works with LifeLines, a U.K. organization dedicated to supporting death row inmates in the United States with letter writing, which Anushree Jain (23B) said is inspiring. “It takes a lot of mental strength and mental willpower to actually get through times like that,” Jain said. “Seeing him take steps to … do prison
See HINTON, Page 4
AI minor to launch next fall, faculty spearhead Center of AI Learning By Ashley Zhu News Editor With course registration underway, students can officially begin enrolling in classes for the new artificial intelligence (AI) minor, which Emory University announced earlier this month. The program will educate students on how AI is used in various disciplines and its intersections with societal and ethical issues. Students can declare an AI minor starting Aug. 1. According to Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Computer Science Vaidy Sunderam, the AI minor will require seven classes, including Computer Science Fundamentals (CS 110), Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (CS 211), a computational
linguistics class, a machine learning applications class and an AI ethics class. The remaining two courses can be drawn from a variety of disciplines, including a future sociology course that examines how AI impacts society or a future psychology course that covers how the brain works compared to how computers mimic how the brain works. As one of the first curricular components of the AI.Humanity initiative — a plan aimed at bringing together the “full intellectual power of Emory University to shape the AI revolution” — the AI minor will embed AI-focused education into student learning, according to Rollins School of Public Health Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Lance Waller. The University also announced
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Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor Clifford Carrubba teaches a class for Emory's DataThink project. earlier this month that the Center for Artificial Intelligence Learning (CAIL) is supposed to open next fall. Waller added that CAIL’s location is still under discussion, but he hopes
that the center will be open for students at the start of fall semester. According to Waller, CAIL will provide a non-curricular component to the AI.Humanity initiative. One
opportunity will be workshops, which Waller said will provide short-term training and assist students in their transition to the formally structured AI minor curriculum. Waller added that CAIL also hopes to host undergraduate summer programs, but logistics such as food, housing and payment have not yet been decided. Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor Clifford Carrubba, who serves as the quantitative theory and methods (QTM) department chair, noted that if students take a basic programming class in the spring, the summer workshops will give students a chance to refresh their skills before taking a more advanced course in the AI curriculum the next fall.
See EMORY'S, Page 3
Cox Bridge March 30 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. NEWS NOROOZ
CELEBRATION SPREADS PERSIAN CULTURE ... PAGE 3
OPINION FINE DINING IS A&E 'AIR' CHRONICLES NIKE'S EMORY LIFE CLUB
ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE ...
PAGE 7
SUCCESS ...
PAGE 13
GYMNASTICS BUILDS SKILLS, CHARACTER ... PAGE 15
SPORTS FINDING A SAFE
SPACE IN EXERCISE FOR WOMEN ... PAGE 18