Someone wrote ‘Trump 2016’ on Emory’s campus in chalk. Some students said they no longer feel safe.
By Susan Svrluga March 24 at 6:00 AM


Chalk messages in support of Donald Trump at Emory University. (Photos courtesy of Amelia Sims)


Conservative students at Emory University are planning a free-speech event for next week, after an outcry on campus over messages supporting Donald Trump.

Students woke up Monday morning to find messages written in chalk all over campus, in support of Donald Trump. That afternoon, a group of 40 to 50 students protested. According to the student newspaper, the Emory Wheel, they shouted in the quad, “You are not listening! Come speak to us, we are in pain!” and then students moved into the administration building calling out, “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

Jim Wagner, the president of the university in Atlanta, met with the protesters and later sent an email to the campus community, explaining, in part, “During our conversation, they voiced their genuine concern and pain in the face of this perceived intimidation.

“After meeting with our students, I cannot dismiss their expression of feelings and concern as motivated only by political preference or over-sensitivity. Instead, the students with whom I spoke heard a message, not about political process or candidate choice, but instead about values regarding diversity and respect that clash with Emory’s own.”

The story spread quickly, as media such as Reason mocked, “At Emory University, Writing ‘Trump 2016′ on Sidewalk Is a Racist Microaggression …,” with references to students needing “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces” to protect them from presidential candidates’ names and slogans. For many, it was another sign of college students being so overly sensitive that even political campaigning could be seen as hate speech.

But some students noted that given Trump’s rhetoric, the messages were clearly meant to be divisive. And the slogans appeared weeks after Georgia held its primary election on March 1.



Student petition being shared on social media at Emory

Representatives of the Emory Latino Student Organization declined to comment Wednesday. But they posted a statement on their group Facebook page:
A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Amelia Sims, a senior from Memphis who is chair of the college Republicans at Emory, said she isn’t disagreeing that Trump has said insensitive things, and she believes people have the right to protest. “Those kinds of discussions are important to have on campus. But I think the response from President Wagner was just kind of embarrassing for the school — because it’s not his job to police who students on campus can and cannot support.”

She said the college Republicans — whose executive board supports one of Trump’s opponents, Ted Cruz — and another campus group, Young Americans for Liberty, plan to host a “free speech wall.”

“… Part of being in college is having experiences where you question your values, question what you believe. College is meant to be a time when you have diversity. Not just diversity of race but diversity of opinion, diversity of culture. It should not be that universities are just echo boxes, so people can’t encounter opinions they disagree with.”



A university spokeswoman sent a statement clarifying the policy violation: “Chalkings by students are allowed as a form of expression on the Emory campus but must be limited to certain areas and must not deface campus property — these chalkings did not follow guidelines — that’s the issue regarding violation of policy, not the content. ”





Here is Wagner’s message in full: