Wheel Talk

For years, Emory graduate student housing has been nonexistent or lackluster, leaving students to settle for off-campus options. In 2019, 37.1 million households were “housing cost burdened,” spending 30% or more of their income on housing. Cities have a lack of affordable housing and the barriers to building more units proves difficult.

Over the past six months, Emory has introduced a plan to address the absence of graduate student housing. The new building would create 1,000 on-campus beds for graduate students. According to the university, it will cost an estimated $80 million of which Emory will borrow. However, the project has not come without opposition. Some Druid Hills residents have continued to voice their concerns on possible environmental, aesthetic and traffic impacts.

In this week’s episode of Wheel Talk, Associate Editor Claire Fenton breaks down the project and community opposition.

On Oct. 5, Emory hosted the Atlanta Mayoral Forum at Glenn Memorial Church. On the stage were 13 of the 14 mayoral candidates, a crowded field in the wake of mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ announcement that she will not seek reelection. The event was organized by the Fulton County League of Women Voters, the Urban League and the ACLU and was moderated by former WSB-TV Director of Editorials and Public Affairs Jocelyn Dorsey. News Reporter Kira Barich brings us the night’s greatest hits and analyzes the players involved in November’s election.

After years of advocacy from students, Emory University unveiled its first and only space dedicated to Asian students on campus on Sept. 8. In the first episode of Wheel Talk Season 2, we’re discussing identity spaces on Emory’s campus.

Assistant Multimedia Editor and Staff News Writer Ulia Ahn sat down with us to discuss the brand new Asian Student Center Space, and the uphill battle of student advocacy that birthed its creation. In addition, we discuss with administrators and students the $750,000 summer remodels of previously established affinity spaces and what that investment means to marginalized communities.

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Read the adjacent Wheel article to the episode here: https://emorywheel.com/emory-opens-first-asian-affinity-space/

Finals, 80 degree weather and a surge in last minute lunch plans to catch up with distant friends signify one thing — it’s the end of the semester. While COVID talk feels like the constant elephant in the room, today in the final episode of Wheel Talk for the school year, we’re taking a break from the pandemic coverage and focusing on some of the lighter topics that we haven’t had a chance to cover on the podcast.

This week, I’ll be joined by the assistant producers to discuss three stories. First, we’ll hear from news reporter Jareer Imran (24C) to discuss the controversial 2021 Student Government Association (SGA) election and Constitutional Council hearing. Afterward, Assistant Producers Catherine Aniezue (23C) and Carly Colen (23C) will discuss with Opinion Editor Sophia Ling (24C) her new column “Sophia’s Smorgasbord” and social justice within the culinary world. Finally, Assistant Producer and Senior Film Critic Eythen Anthony (23C) will break down two new exhibits at the High Museum of Art with Arts & Entertainment writer Robert Fuhriman (23C).

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The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought damage to many areas of our life, and sports is no exception. Stories of empty stadiums and athletes in quarantine painted an alarming image of the losses the sports world faced. Within our own Emory community, these losses have been felt with the cancellation of the 2020 spring and fall seasons. However, the story doesn’t end here. In December 2020 the University announced that practices would be resumed, bringing some hope for the return of sports as we once knew them.

We speak with Sports Editor Michael Mariam about the changes in Emory athletics over the past year, the recent outbreak and the future of sports normalcy. Coaches Mike Twardoski and Adrianna Baggetta tell us about the hardships without formal sports engagement last semester and how Emory athletes have remained optimistic despite uncertainties. With the return of official practices and local competitions, volleyball player Ro O’Dowd (22B) and soccer player Grace Reyer (24C) express what it means to be back playing with their teammates.

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On March 16, a 21-year-old white gunman killed eight people at three spas in the Atlanta area. Six of the victims were East Asian women, and at least four of those killed were of Korean descent. We speak to Emory community members about this tragedy and its heartbreaking impact.

Racially motivated attacks on the Asian community in the U.S., such as this one, have long been a part of this country’s history. Executive Editor Anjali Huynh (22C) discusses the events of the past few weeks, and how harmful narratives about Asian Americans perpetuate these instances of violence and discrimination. Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Activists at Emory Co-Chiefs of Staff Jane Wang (22C) and Stephanie Zhang (22C) describe their personal experience of navigating stereotypes as Asian American women.

In light of the shooting in Boulder, Colorado on March 22, Chief of Digital Operations Cailen Chinn (22C) grapples with her identity as an Asian American woman from Boulder living in Atlanta, reflecting on massacres in two places she calls home.

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Just over a year ago, the world of higher education was completely upended after the spread of a novel virus quickly turned into a pandemic. On March 11, 2020 at 9:12 p.m. Emory affiliates received an email from Interim Provost Jan Love titled “COVID-19 – Spring break extension and move to remote learning.” Effective immediately classes went remote and students packed their things up and went home.

But where were you when the email was sent? Whether on a remote island in the Bahamas, a Miami Heat game, or in your hometown the news was shocking. Editor-in-Chief Isaiah Poritz tells us the stories of Professor Anthony Martin, Dean of Emory College Michael Elliot and students Juanmartin Abreu-Melon (19Ox, 22C) and Sareena Sethi (20Ox, 22C) about where they were and what the email meant for them.

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Emory College admitted its first Black student 58 years ago, but its integration continues today. On Feb. 10, the Wheel published “1963,” an investigative project led by the Wheel’s Opinion section, exploring desegregation as an ongoing project and emphasizing the inequities that remain at Emory and the Wheel. We speak with Opinion Editors Brammhi Balarajan and Ben Thomas about the project and how the Wheel’s coverage played a role in desegregation. Opinion writer Alice Zheng discusses the legacy of Asian American activism at Emory and Editorial Board member Rachel Broun speaks about the history of Black student demands at Emory.

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Most students are wondering when they will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In this podcast, we break down the University’s emails, town halls and interviews to explain the vaccine rollout process and timeline. We speak with staff writer Madison Hopkins (23C) and Emory Life Editor Angela Tang (22C) and field questions from our listeners.

In this episode, we talk with news reporter Caelan Bailey and Asst. News Editor Matthew Chupack about a historic week in America. We listen to Virginia Brown’s (23C) experience in the Senate chamber when insurgents stormed the Capitol and Professor of Political Science Alan Abramowitz’s breakdown of how Georgia elected its first Black and Jewish Senators.

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