Noelle McAfee, chair of Emory University’s philosophy department, said she’s been concerned for the past year about Emory “clamping down on student dissent and spaces for expressing their ideas.” McAfee was detained after a Thursday protest and ticketed, but she was not booked into the DeKalb County jail.
She said the reaction to recent demonstrations by the university delegitimized and dismissed student voices, noting the characterization that protestors were outside actors and antisemitic.
“Calling in the Atlanta police is escalating things. Those are the true outside agitators,” she said.
On Thursday afternoon, she went to the quad to check on the demonstration. She said participants were chanting and the scene was calm until some conflict broke out. She approached the situation and started recording.
“I see a bunch of police tackle this young person,” she said. “This kid is on the ground in a fetal position, and these cops are just pummeling, pummeling, pummeling.”
Officers told her to step away, she said, but she refused because of the scene in front of her. Shortly after, she was handcuffed. Video of the arrest captured by another person has circulated widely online.
“I’m stepping up for the students’ free speech. I’m against the militarization of this campus. It’s heartbreaking,” she stated.
Several faculty members stopped McAfee, thanking her for her courage and standing up for students. Many checked on how she was doing as well.
Within Emory College of Arts and Sciences faculty, she said concerns with university president Greg Fenves’ leadership are widespread, citing the vote escalating from a censure to no confidence on Friday. She expressed that recent leadership has been a disservice to students.
“We’re in divisive times politically in the world, and what we have to do here is teach our students how to be citizens. And to just incite more division by saying, ‘Oh, you’re antisemites’ is just the opposite of what an educational institution should do,” she said.
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