Judge Upholds Full Restoration of DACA
A D.C. federal judge upheld an order to the U.S. government to restore and continue accepting applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program after finding that the Trump administration has failed to provide adequate reason to end the program, according to court documents. The DACA program, which President Donald J. Trump’s administration rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017, deferred deportation and issued temporary education and work permits for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before their 16th birthday.
Separate lawsuits in California and New York resulted in judges ordering continuation of the program but did not require the government to accept new applications, according to the New York Times. Another lawsuit in Texas is expected to issue a ruling this week. Emory and 18 other universities filed an amicus brief on July 20 for the lawsuit in Texas supporting the continuation of DACA, arguing that students protected under DACA at their institutions are gifted and rescinding DACA harms other students, the universities and the country. — Richard Chess
Emory Files Amicus Brief in Harvard Diversity Lawsuit
Emory and 15 other universities filed an amicus brief on July 30 to support Harvard University (Mass.) in its lawsuit and defend the use of race as a factor in the admissions process. Students For Fair Admissions (SFFA) sued Harvard in 2014, alleging racial discrimination against Asian-Americans during the admissions process. In its complaint, SFFA alleged that Harvard and other top universities use a coordinated quota for Asian-American students and rate Asian-American applicants lower on personality traits.
The 16 universities said in the amicus brief that a ruling against Harvard in allowing race as a factor in admissions would hinder diversity. “Student body diversity is essential to achieving the educational mission” and enforcing a rule on how colleges evaluate candidates would be an “extraordinary intrusion,” the brief argued. In addition to Emory, the filers include the rest of the Ivy League and nine other private universities — Case Western Reserve University (Ohio), Duke University (N.C.), George Washington University (D.C.), Johns Hopkins University (Md.), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University (Calif.), Vanderbilt University (Tenn.) and Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.).
Princeton Review Ranks Emory No. 1 in Quality of Life
Princeton Review ranked Emory No. 1 in its 2019 quality of life survey. The study also ranked Emory No. 9 for dorms, No. 10 for student satisfaction, No. 11 for location, No. 12 for town-gown relations, No. 15 for beautiful campus, No. 19 for classroom experience No. 20 for science lab facilities and No. 20 for health services. For the quality of life survey, Princeton Review surveys students and factors “students’ assessments of their overall happiness; the beauty, safety and location of the campus; the comfort of dorms; the quality of the food; the ease of getting around campus and dealing with administrators; the friendliness of fellow students; the interaction of different student types; and the quality of the school’s relationship with the local community,” according to an Aug. 7 University press release. — Richard Chess
EUH Johns Creek Plans Major Expansion
Emory Johns Creek Hospital is planning a $61 million expansion to its facilities, according to a letter of intent filed with the state on July 19. The two-story, 84,000 square foot addition will include 21 inpatient acute care beds, 19 observation beds, non-clinical space and a two-chair inpatient dialysis room, according to the letter.
Eight Charged in Bangladesh Shooting
Bangladesh police charged eight militants for the July 2016 Dhaka cafe terrorist attack that left 22 people dead, two of whom were Emory students Abinta Kabir and Faraaz Hossain, according to Reuters. Bangladesh police also freed British suspect Hasnat Karim, who was detained since the attack, after being unable to find any links between him and the attack. The eight militants belong to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, a local jihadist group aligned with the Islamic State, according to Reuters. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in 2016 but Bangladesh denied the group and any other foreign group’s involvement.
CORRECTION (8/9/18 at 2:15 a.m.): The article previously stated that U.S. News & World Report conducted recent surveys on Emory. Princeton Review conducted the surveys.
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