Around Emory

Photos: Emory Gate Crossing + Coke Toast

August 27, 2025 Zinzi Sebunya

group of male and female students
Group of students holding an Emory sign.
Two female students waving flags.
Female student high-fiving the Emory Mascot.
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Group of students holding the Emory flag.
Students walking and smiling.
Male students walking and waving flags.
Group of students smiling.
Students walking and waving flags.
Three female students smiling with Coke bottles.
Female Dean taking a selfie with the crowd.
The student smiling holding Emory flags.
Students taking a selfie.
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Group of students on the Quad.
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With sunlight streaming down, Emory College of Arts and Science’s undergraduate Class of 2029 gathered to celebrate the start of their Emory experience at the fourth-annual Gate Crossing + Coke Toast.

Dressed in their finest Emory blue T-shirts, first-year students walked through the historic Haygood-Hopkins Gate together, with faculty, staff, fellow students and alumni sending them onto campus with cheers.

They made their way to the Quad, where Dean Barbara Krauthamer of Emory College of Arts and Sciences led them in a Coca-Cola Toast.

The toast honors Robert W. Woodruff, the legendary CEO and president of The Coca-Cola Company who provided Emory with record-breaking philanthropic gifts that helped transform the university into the powerhouse it is today. It also honors the promising future that awaits students as they begin their Emory journey.

Though one of Emory’s newest traditions, the Gate Crossing has already become a beloved part of the university experience.


Photos by Avery D. Spalding and Sarah Woods, Emory Photo/Video.

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