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



Is surveillance changing with today’s technology?

The Johns Hopkins University Program in Racism, Immigration and Citizenship (RIC) hosted a two-day event called “Eyes on Surveillance: (In)security in Everyday Life” last weekend. This was the RIC’s Eighth Annual Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference and consisted of five panel discussions, followed by a roundtable discussion with speakers from the ACLU of Maryland, Black Lives Matter DC and Open the Government.


COURTESY OF YASMIN YOON

This event was hosted as part of the Alumni Weekend celebration.

Speakers promote civil discourse at Hopkins

The Forums on Race in America series hosted an event called Bridging Political Divides through Civil Discourse on Tuesday in Mason Hall. The event featured Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), and Vilma Martinez, civil rights activist and former ambassador to Argentina, in a talk about the current political landscape in the United States.



The PepsiCo contract ensures that 80 percent of beverages at Hopkins are made by Pepsi.

Students call for end to Hopkins-PepsiCo contract

Real Food Hopkins, a student organization promoting food justice and sustainability, launched the Pour Out Pepsi campaign on March 11. According to Real Food Co-Presidents Katie Smith and Grace Windheim, PepsiCo has a history of violating human rights, labor laws and sustainability regulations. The group aims to convince Hopkins Dining to end the exclusivity contract with PepsiCo. This contract requires that 80 percent of all beverages sold on campus — not just soft drinks — are manufactured by PepsiCo. 


The Rosenburg Exhibit analyzes the Nuremberg Trials and Nazi legacy.

Exhibit showcases failings of post-WWII Germany

The Rosenburg Exhibition made its second stop on its U.S. tour at Hopkins on Thursday, March 28. The exhibit highlighted historians’ findings on Germany’s post-World War II Ministry of Justice. Named “Rosenburg” after the Ministry’s first official residence, the display showcased the many former Nazi party members that served as judges, jurists and lawyers for the Nuremberg trials. The exhibit will be on display until May 1.


COURTESY OF RYAN HARVEY

Protestors rally against private police and ICE contracts at Alumni Weekend breakfast

Over Alumni Weekend, protestors demonstrated in the Glass Pavilion during the President and Deans’ Breakfast on Saturday to call for an end to the University’s contracts with ICE and for the University to halt its plans to create a private police force. The protestors were a part of a larger sit-in protest of approximately 75 students, members of the Baltimore community and faculty members that began on 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3 in Garland Hall. 



File Photo
The police bills passed in the Maryland State Legislature.

Private police bill clears final legislative hurdle

The Maryland General Assembly gave a bill that would allow the University to create its own private police force their final approval on Monday. Following this, University President Ronald J. Daniels and Dean of Medical Faculty Paul B. Rothman released a statement commenting on the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 793, titled the Community Safety and Strengthening Act. The Maryland House of Delegates voted 94-42 in favor of the bill, while the Senate voted 42-2 in favor. 


Eda Incekara/Photography Editor
Students staged a 24-hour sit-in in Garland Hall and marched on President Daniels' house.

Protestors rally against police force, ICE contracts

Over 200 members of the Hopkins and Baltimore community protested the creation of a Hopkins private police force, as well as the University’s contracts with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), on Wednesday in Wyman Park Dell. Shortly after the rally, demonstrators marched to University President Ronald J. Daniels’ house. They then continued on to Garland Hall, where members of Students Against Private Police (SAPP) and the Hopkins Coalition against ICE were holding a 24-hour sit-in that had begun earlier that afternoon.



Students bonded at the Lunchbox Moment over shared experiences regarding their cultures.

Lunchbox Moment showcases Asian American experiences

Students hosted the second “Lunchbox Moment” event on Monday night at the Charles Commons Salons. The event, whose title refers to the common experience of shame shared by Asian Americans when they bring cultural food to school, was organized by 10 Asian American students to create a space for both Asians and Asian Americans to discuss interracial dating, a racialized food system, navigating between Asian and Asian American identities, and inequaity within Asian American communities. 



European Horizons hosts talk on effects of Brexit

European Horizons, an organization that is part of an international, student-run think tank, hosted a discussion called “The Brexit Mess” on Thursday. The group, which started on campus in 2016, organizes discussions and brings in speakers with the aim of broadening student engagement with issues in Europe. The group attempted to sort through issues with Brexit and to reflect on Great Britain’s current status with regards to the European Union. 


SGA passes bill to fund Senior Week festivities

The Student Government Association (SGA) debated a request from Students Against Private Police (SAPP) about promoting a student protest at their weekly meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Charles Commons. They also discussed a bill to fund Senior Week and an amendment to the SGA Health Accommodations bill.


Stanford sociology professor discusses causes of income inequality

David Grusky, a professor of sociology at Stanford University, led a discussion about current research on socieoeconomic inequality in the U.S. and moderated a workshop on social policy and inequality on Thursday, March 28. Grusky also serves as the director of the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality.



COURTESY OF IDOIA DIZON
Eid Suleman gave attendees a firsthand account of his experiences.

Palestinian activist discusses life under military occupation

Eid Suleman, a Palestinian activist, discussed his experiences of life under Israeli occupation in Umm al-Khair, a city in Area C, the part of the West Bank that is under Israeli military and civil control. Suleman addressed the relationship between the Palestinian residents of Area C, the Israeli Civil Administration and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Suleman fights against home demolitions by conducting international speaking tours and creating multimedia artwork. J Street U, a student group advocating for a peaceful two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, hosted the event.


COURTESY OF STEPHANIE LEE
Boots Riley, the director of Sorry to Bother You, spoke at FAS.

Boots Riley connects U.S. capitalism to poverty

Filmmaker and activist Boots Riley spoke at the Foreign Affairs Symposium (FAS) in Shriver Hall on Tuesday. Riley, who directed the 2018 film Sorry to Bother You, discussed the intersectionality between poverty, capitalism and racism — stressing the importance of social justice.


COURTESY OF RACHEL JUIENG
Robert Kelleman, the founder of Baltimore History and Culture led the tour.

Walking tour participants explore history of slavery

Baltimore History and Culture and Underground Railroad Tours co-hosted a walking tour titled, “Slavery, The Underground Railroad and Emancipation in Baltimore,” on Saturday, March 30 at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park.


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