Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 27, 2025
April 27, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

News & Features



Visiting professor discusses the monsters of the Bible

On Monday, Esther Hamori, an associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary in New York, presented the 2019 Samuel Iwry Lecture on "The Biblical God and His Entourage of Monsters" for the Department of Near Eastern Studies. 



COURTESY OF FELICIA PETTERWAY
First-generation and limited-income students reflect on their experiences at Hopkins so far ahead of the FLI Network’s celebration of National First-Generation College Student Day on Friday, Nov. 8.

How is the University supporting FLI students?

“Unfortunately, I cannot say that during my time at Hopkins I have felt supported as a [First-Generation, Limited-Income (FLI)] student by the University as a whole. Over time, the University has started to recognize the struggles that FLI students face, but it has been a slow process to correct these issues.”



COURTESY OF PAVA LAPERE
The FastForward U Spark program is for early-stage student ventures.

FastForward U supports early stage student ventures

In September, FastForward U (FFU) selected 10 student groups for the Spark track of its accelerator program. In addition to funding, the program provides mentorship and programming for student entrepreneurs through weekly workshops held by local entrepreneurs. The Spark track is for groups which are in the early stages of their venture. 


COURTESY OF EUNICE NAMKOONG
Ibram X. Kendi discussed how language plays a large role in antiracism.

Ibram X. Kendi speaks at Baltimore Book Festival

The Baltimore Book Festival, an annual celebration of literary work in Maryland, took place on Nov. 1-10. Baltimoreans lined up at Inner Harbor to attend talks, book signings, bookseller tents and readings by various authors on a plethora of topics: from social justice activism, science fiction and romanticism to children’s classics.



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Zhang presented research on a plan for WWII-era Jewish resettlement in his home province in China.

Senior’s research sheds new light on Chinese plans for Jewish resettlement

Sheng Zhang, a senior majoring in international studies, presented his research on the Chinese government’s attempt to create a settlement for Jewish refugees during World Word II — specifically the Yunnan Plan — and the factors that led to its failure on Tuesday. Zhang is the 2019 recipient of the John Koren Award for Holocaust Research and Education, which is granted annually to an undergraduate student researching the Holocaust. 


COURTESY OF JULIA CHOE
Karen Fleming discussed the phenomenon of the leaky STEM pipeline.

Women Faculty Forum hosts event on gender equity

The Women Faculty Forum (WFF) at Homewood held Where We Stand, an event which included a series of presentations and small group discussions that explored the topics of gender equity and community, on Monday.


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Student organization leaders reacted to changes in SLI group policy.

SLI initiative will allow groups to track finances

Recently, the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement (SLI) announced a new financial module through which all allocation of funds will now be handled. In an email to student organization leaders on Oct. 22, SLI detailed several other changes to existing policies, including an organizational audit, new purchase request procedures as well as new trainings for student organization leaders.


COURTESY OF JAKE LEFKOVITZ
Baltimore Ceasefire 365 began in 2017 as a way to reduce gun violence.

Baltimore Ceasefire 365 hosts community tailgate to end gun homicide

As part of a Baltimore Ceasefire 365 initiative, three local community organizers — Charlene Rock-Foster, Nadean Paige and Dwayne Richardson — held an event on Saturday in the Belair-Edison neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore called the “West Meets East Ceasefire Tailgate.” The tailgate, hosted on Cliftmont Ave., sought to connect community members with helpful resources and generate a sense of community that both West Side and East Side residents could share in, the organizers said. 


COURTESY OF MELISSA HYNDS
SARU aims to raise awareness about sexual violence during Red Weeks.

SARU raises campus awareness about Red Weeks

Last week, the Sexual Assault Resource Unit (SARU), a student advocacy group, began putting up signage around campus to recognize the Red Zone. This period is defined as the weeks between Orientation and Halloween (or Thanksgiving), during which sexual violence is most likely to occur. Campuses nationwide are reclaiming these weeks as a time for activism against sexual violence.


COURTESY OF CHRIS H. PARK
Ross critiqued current American foreign policy, arguing against isolationism.

Former Ambassador Ross discusses Arab-Israeli peace

Former Ambassador Dennis Ross, an American diplomat who worked under five different presidential administrations, spoke about American foreign policy and the future of the Middle East in the Clipper Room of Shriver Hall on Wednesday. The event was sponsored by Hopkins Hillel, an organization for Jewish students on campus.




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The Board will seek to hold the new private police force accountable.

Who will serve on JHPD Accountability Board?

Daniel Ennis, the University’s senior vice president for finance and administration, and Robert Kasdin, Hopkins Medicine’s senior vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, announced on Thursday the opening of the application period for the University’s Police Accountability Board in an email to the community.


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The former Vice Provost of Institutional Equity left Hopkins last July.

University begins search to replace vice provost

The University announced that it has convened a search committee to select the next vice provost for institutional equity on Wednesday in an email to the community. This administrative position oversees the University’s discrimination and harassment resources, including disability services and sexual misconduct. 


CARE hosts animal rights activists at symposium

The student group Compassion, Awareness, and Responsible Eating for Farm Animals (CARE) hosted prominent animal rights activists Alka Chandna and Thomas Hartung as part of the Alternatives to Animal Testing Symposium in the Glass Pavilion last Thursday, Oct. 24. Chandna is vice president of laboratory investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Hartung is the director of the Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) and holder of the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Chair in Evidence-based Toxicology in the School of Public Health. 



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