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Writing about work culture at Hopkins is tricky. We acknowledge that we are extremely privileged to be able to attend college, surrounded by scholars who are the very best in their field and peers who are already accomplishing so much. We are grateful to pursue our higher education in Baltimore, at one of the nation’s top institutions. And yet, as finals approach, and Brody remains full, many of us are burnt out.
Last weekend I saw the Barnstormers’ production of Cabaret. It was the second week of the show’s run, so I had some background on the musical. It takes place in 1930s Berlin. There is a lot of sex. A Nazi is involved. It’s an interesting show, to say the least.
Earlier this week, Vice Provost for Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger sent out a survey to enrolled undergraduates as part of “continuing efforts to review and improve the Johns Hopkins experience.”
Since the University first announced its intent to create a private police force in March 2018, the Editorial Board has opposed the initiative. Now the bill – called the Community Safety and Strengthening Act – has passed in the Maryland General Assembly, and we maintain our opposition. We are disappointed that this bill is moving forward and we have the same concerns about a Hopkins police force that we have already expressed over the past year: a continuation of corrupt policing in Baltimore, potential racial profiling of students, the threat of armed guards on campus and further division between the Hopkins and Baltimore communities.
Last year, on a Friday afternoon during Alumni Weekend, I was crying on a couch in the Gatehouse (The News-Letter office). I had just gotten off of a very upsetting phone call, and the Gatehouse was a safe space for me. It was somewhere I could cry and overcome whatever was going in my life.
Nearly a week has passed, and the student sit-in at Garland Hall continues. Occasionally the protestors will walk out with their megaphone as students head to class, chanting, among other things, “No Justice, No Peace! No Private Police!” This past Friday, I encountered the group as they came to Levering Kitchens, hoping to garner support in their condemnation of the University.
The Maryland State General Assembly has passed a law allowing Hopkins to form its own armed private police force. This marks the first time that a private corporation in Maryland will have its own police department, authorized to use force and make arrests.
Each week, our editorial board takes time to look at the issues facing Baltimore and the Hopkins community and share our stance on the ones we find most pressing. This week, we’re looking inwards to examine how The News-Letter can be a more representative newspaper.
I am a graduate student; I am an elected student representative of the Bloomberg School of Public Health; and I am a member of the Student Advisory Committee for Security (SACS). I came to Baltimore for Hopkins, but this city and the people here have grown on me. I joined SACS because I believed that the administration had the best interests of both the Hopkins and Baltimore communities in mind, that they wanted what was best for everyone.
Earlier this month, federal prosecutors charged dozens of wealthy parents for bribing or cheating their children’s ways into universities across the nation. Three days after the news of this college admissions scandal — now known as Operation Varsity Blues — broke, Hopkins welcomed 2,309 new applicants to its Class of 2023 at an acceptance rate of 7.7 percent, the lowest rate in the last few years.
I first stepped into Swirnow Theater on Aug. 25, 2018, the day after I arrived at Hopkins. I hardly knew it then, but that space was to become my second home at a school that seems to care very little for the arts.
Student entrepreneurship is a key aspect of what makes a college experience special. Beyond the classes and specialized knowledge for the typical college grad careers, entrepreneurship allows us to pursue hobbies and interests that aren’t necessarily related to our studies and have commercial potential.
This past year, the Student Government Association (SGA) has had both triumphs and tribulations. SGA members have campaigned for years for a student center, and this month they realized that goal when the University announced that one will be built by 2024. SGA also hosted its inaugural Mental Health Summit to address the lack of mental health resources on campus. Beginning in the fall, around 2,000 undergraduates responded to an SGA-led referendum on campus issues. These are some of SGA’s successes from the past year.
Subtle Asian Traits might be the biggest social media phenomenon you’ve never heard of. When a joke Facebook group started by a few Chinese-Australian high schoolers exploded to 1.2 million members within a few months, some people were bound to be left behind.
Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution 183 (H.R. 183), the “anti-hate” resolution condemning discrimination toward a wide variety of “traditionally persecuted peoples,” by an overwhelming majority of 407-23.
Having unparalleled access to research opportunities is not the only unique part of attending Hopkins. We also have several campus traditions like watching fireworks at Lighting of the Quads each December and celebrating the arrival of warm weather at Spring Fair, the largest student-run festival in the country. These things set Hopkins apart from other schools and make our time here memorable. Yet, since as long as we have known, another unique thing comes to mind about Hopkins: our lack of an official student center. We may have dedicated “student union” spaces in Levering Hall or the LaB, but unlike many other colleges and universities, we don’t have a singular building packed with social spaces and resources.
This past year we’ve seen something that’s rarely seen in Hollywood: roles for Asian Americans (well, at least East Asian Americans). Movies like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Crazy Rich Asians have both featured Asian actors in both leading and supporting roles and made important steps in increasing Asian representation in Hollywood.
As someone who has been working on the student center initiative for over a year, I was disappointed by the way the announcement on Tuesday night was handled. While the University celebrated and announced that they had finally nailed down a donor, filling the Beach with food trucks and seesaws to win a large crowd for their thank you video, the lack of communication about what the student center entailed left students with pressing and important questions.
Some people might dismiss the importance of the Oscars, criticizing the Academy members for not only being predominantly white, but also superficial and elitist — for nominating films touted by critics and professionals rather than those that everyday people know and love. But despite the faults we may find in the Oscars, they still matter. The awards influence our own opinions on which films are worth seeing, on the films and filmmakers that we choose to support. They determine who we look up to and which stories are deemed culturally significant to our society at the time.
Sapere aude!” Immanuel Kant screams at me from his essay on enlightenment. “Have the courage to think for yourself.” I look up from my desk on D-Level and feel the bones in my neck crack. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sun, so I’m pretty sure you can use the fluorescent lights to see through my skin and into my vital organs.
