The opinions presented below are solely the views of the author and do not represent the views of The News-Letter. If you are a member of the Hopkins community looking to submit a piece or a letter to the editor, please email opinions@jhunewsletter.com.
Welcome back to another semester and, for many, welcome to Homewood. Though a hybrid semester isn’t the experience we would normally hope for, we are cautiously optimistic to be on campus for the first time since March.
On Tuesday, University President Ronald J. Daniels and Provost Sunil Kumar emailed the Hopkins community that swastika graffiti had been found in a dormitory elevator at the Peabody Institute. The University condemned this act of antisemitism, which has been officially labeled as a hate crime. It is being investigated by the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) and the federal government.
As faculty affiliated with the Jewish Studies Program at Hopkins, we are deeply troubled by reports that a Hopkins teaching assistant spoke of penalizing students in her class on the basis of their identity and background — even for displaying an image of a street sign in Tel Aviv.
With final exams, holidays and celebration right around the corner, something that unavoidably looms over all of us is COVID-19. Is it safe to travel and share meals? What will spring semester look like? Fortunately, recent news has been dominated by breakthroughs related to a vaccine for the virus.
This year has been life-changing for every one of us. From lost loved ones to financial hardships to missed opportunities, we can all agree that this was not what we imagined when Hopkins sent us home last March. However, with the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and Moderna and many others on the horizon, normal life seems to be within reach — if and only if we as a society decide to take this vaccine. For this and for many other reasons, Hopkins should mandate the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available for us to take it.
The news that the founder of your centuries-old research university has an unsavory past, while not surprising, does warrant some sober reflection and a plan to move forward. A name change will never fly. The immense legacy-building done over the past 250 years (and especially the newfound pandemic clout) will never be sacrificed for the sake of Black people.
Like all prestigious universities, Hopkins places a great degree of emphasis on academic integrity. The Undergraduate Academic Ethics Board oversees concerns of academic dishonesty, and the University uses the Respondus browser, which locks down the testing environment within a designated academic system like Blackboard.
The predictability of judicial proceedings based on precedent is the cornerstone of our common law system. Unfortunately, the closer this predictability aligns with ideological beliefs held by judges, the farther we stray from the foundational values of our country.
The polarization of the 2020 presidential election felt inescapable. The “ride or die” individuals in each party didn’t just differ in political beliefs but seemed to experience different realities. Hinting at this polarization, 56% of registered democrats stated their support for President-elect Joe Biden stemmed from their aversion to President Donald Trump.
Last week, The News-Letter published, deleted and retracted an article about a Hopkins faculty member’s presentation on COVID-19 data.
Two weeks ago, the University announced plans to demolish Charles Village rowhomes. Community members and civic organizations were frustrated that, instead of seeking community input, Hopkins left the buildings to sit vacant for years — allowing them to deteriorate to a nearly irreparable state.
You may have been surprised to see the University’s announcement regarding spring 2021 earlier this month. You were more than likely happy about it, but you were definitely still surprised. Something seemed a bit off.
We hate to beat a dead horse, but 2020 has been full of tragedy and crises. Perhaps the single thing that hasn’t gone horribly wrong this year is the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
On Tuesday, The News-Letter published an article in which seven students alleged that they had been drugged at parties held by Delta Phi (St. Elmo’s). While the fraternity denied the allegations, witnesses corroborated five of the students’ stories.
After almost two years of campaigning, followed by four long days of Americans anxiously calculating electoral vote totals, Former Vice President Joe Biden was finally declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Biden will assume the presidency as the candidate who received the most votes in history, and California Sen. Kamala Harris will be the first woman, the first Asian American and the first Black American to serve as vice president of the U.S.
As a new college student, it’s exhausting to encounter article after article with titles such as “The 10 worst college majors to choose if you want a high-paying job,” “The 15 most useless college degrees” and “The college majors that are worth it.”
This morning, former Vice President Joe Biden claimed victory over incumbent President Donald Trump. The win is historic — Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has shattered multiple glass ceilings — but our country didn’t miraculously transform overnight. Now that we can breathe a sigh of relief, it’s worth taking a closer look at the state of our democracy.
This week, University leadership announced plans to resume on-campus activities this spring. According to a broadcast email from University President Ronald J. Daniels, Provost Sunil Kumar and Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Mary Miller, students are allowed but not required to come back to campus for in-person classes and research, while the gym and library will reopen with adjusted, reduced occupancy.
We don’t know for sure what direction the country is headed. Despite the uncertainty regarding the presidential election, we do know that Hopkins has a (tentative) plan for this spring.
