Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
November 22, 2025 November 22, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Voices

Hopkins is a diverse university where an incredible mix of cultures, academic interests and personalities coexist and thrive. Here is the section where you can publish your unique thoughts, ideas and perspectives on life at Hopkins and beyond.

COURTESY OF CECILIA VORFELD For Vorfeld, self-care can be as simple as taking a break outside with friends.

The self-care alphabet: an introduction (part I)

By CECILIA VORFELD | October 17, 2019

After writing my first piece for The News-Letter about self care, I heard so much positive feedback about it that I was inspired to write on self care again. I had just come back from a large group meeting at A Place To Talk Large, and we had explored the different objects, people, memories and places that are the most important to us in our lives. It really made me reflect on the things that make my life so great. I do love my life, and I think this love is due to my many ways for taking care of myself. I believe that you are capable of loving your life when you take good care of yourself.

EDA INCEKARA / PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Beaver weighs in on Netflix’s latest original movie Tall Girl, directed by Nzingha Stewart.

I watched all of Netflix’s Tall Girl and it was awful

By CLAIRE BEAVER | October 10, 2019

This week I watched Netflix’s newest original movie, Tall Girl. This movie starts with a guy starting to ask out our titular tall girl, Jodi (played by Ava Michelle), until she stands up. She is a tall, blonde model-type, which is obviously a fat “no” for little boys in high school. And she follows up with, “You know that really, really tall girl you go to school with?” Eye-roll.

COURTESY OF STEPHANIE LEE While it can cause problems, being impulsive plays a large role in how Lee experiences the world.

Be impulsive­­: You might learn something new about yourself

By STEPHANIE LEE | October 10, 2019

The bathtub itself took 30 minutes to clean and another 10 to fill. For a quick 20-minute dip, it resulted in quite a long series of catastrophes, including my almost dropping my laptop and my copy of Jonathan Spence’s The Search for Modern China into the disappointingly soapy water. It was stress-inducing rather than stress-relieving.

COURTESY OF GABI SWISTARA Swistara explains why she won’t take her brother’s love for granted.

Reflecting on my experiences as a younger sister

By GABI SWISTARA | October 10, 2019

This is for my older brother. It is a life-changing experience to be a little sister, and it was a surprisingly emotional moment for me to see him get married. I shut down. I got defensive to hide the feeling of losing my big brother. 

GAGE SKIDMORE CC BY-SA 2.0 Biden is often seen as the most electable Democratic candidate for 2020.

Electability is a concept I can’t support in 2020

By ALEX WALINSKAS | October 10, 2019

Over the past few months, I’ve heard a refrain from my peers when talking about Democratic hopefuls for President: “I like X candidate, but I should probably vote for Biden because he’s the most electable.” Voters in the Democratic Party (disclaimer: I’m one of them) like to throw around the word “electability,” but what exactly does this mean? As a young person excited about civic participation, I’ve taken a more critical look at the claim that former Vice President Joe Biden is our most electable — and only —  option. 

Chicken noodle soup is the perfect sick-day meal

By FRANK GUERRIERO | October 10, 2019

Last week, I was morbidly ill (read: I had a cold) and all I wanted was some soup. As my sinuses revolted against the benevolent patron who regularly treats them to ginger tea and essential oil diffusers, I writhed about in bed pining for nothing more than a steaming bowl of broth into which I could plunge my face and dissolve my affliction.

Courtesy of Addy Perlman Perlman talked to Professor Walters about his experience at Hopkins.

Learning about the legacy of women at Hopkins

By ADDY PERLMAN | October 3, 2019

Circumscribed by hundreds of books, Ronald Walters leans back in his chair and prepares to tell his story. From Stanford to Berkeley, where he received his PhD, Walters moved across the country to join the Hopkins staff in 1970, and he is currently a professor of history.

COURTESY OF KELVIN QIAN While abroad in China, Kelvin questions the nature of his dual heritage.

Figuring out both sides of ‘Chinese-American’

By KELVIN QIAN | September 26, 2019

“Do you feel more Chinese or American?” We were studying abroad in China, enjoying the best that Shanghai bar life has to offer, when one of my classmates asked me this. She asked the question to a fellow Chinese American student, who sat tall next to me. His answer? “American, through and through.”

COURTESY OF BONNIE JIN Jin says that our hard work matters more than the prestige of our schools.

The ways we perpetuate academic elitism

By BONNIE JIN | September 26, 2019

I. I sat as the youngest between seven cousins and countless relatives, eating our own version of a belated Thanksgiving. Between mouthfuls of dumplings and rice cakes, I saw my aunt’s eyes crinkling into a smile.

Why Urdu is still so important to my identity

By ZUBIA HASAN | September 19, 2019

I cannot understand Urdu literature. I cannot read Urdu poems. And I feel like a part of me has been taken from me. Urdu is the language of love, the language of the sufis, the language of the poets and now the language that has been snatched from me because of my colonized history. 

Talking money can help limited-income students

By SAMUEL FARRAR | September 19, 2019

As I begin the second year of this column, I think it is fair to say that I really have no problem discussing my limited-income status. It has always been strange to me that people discuss finances in hushed tones. It is seen as rude to ask about anything related to income or economic standing. But why? 

Remembering my grandmother’s food

By FRANK GUERRIERO | September 19, 2019

My grandma couldn’t cook. This may come as a shock to anyone who’s watched me prepare, order or eat a meal, since by most accounts I resemble a jaded nonna in those moments, but it’s true. Her kids and grandkids with especially generous palates may object (I can already hear the 30+ member family group chat clamoring in protest), but in my humble opinion, Patricia Guerriero was a decidedly lousy cook.

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