Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
September 14, 2025 September 14, 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.

What is the value of varsity sports?

By ZACHARY PAINE SABIN | February 12, 2015

Because of its city location, Hopkins has very limited field space and outdoor athletic facilities. The vast majority of the time, these facilities are being used by varsity athletes, a very select group of students at the school. As far as I know, these sports teams are not self-sustaining (i.e. money from the University’s general fund goes into them, rather than the teams funding themselves through revenue and donations). Since the money from the University is generated from tuition and donations intended for the entirety of the student body, is it ethical for these very limited facilities to be earmarked for athletes?

A guide to romance for the lonely and alone

By KATIE B | February 12, 2015

Valentine’s Day rapidly approaches, dropping our standards for Tinder rights — or rather, increasing the frequency of jokes about cheap chocolate and dates with fictional characters.

Following your bliss despite the baggage

By CAMILLE TAMBUNTING | February 5, 2015

Look at it in its purest form...Find what it is that you want to do and deconstruct that, until it’s so simple that it’s so easy. All the other stuff is just baggage. — Lucien Smith, New York City artist

The controversy behind American Sniper

By LOUIS ROSIN | February 5, 2015

American Sniper, Clint Eastwood’s brazen portrayal of Navy Seal Chris Kyle, sent off 2014 with a divisive bang. The film sparked controversy throughout the nation, polarizing the affronted left against the proud right. The former held that the film offended their liberal sensibilities through glorifying violence and brutality in a war that they found to be inherently unjust; the latter remained prideful of the film, praising Kyle’s valor and prodigious skill as a marksman.

Caught in a cinematic haze: how to be movie-obsessed

By LILLIAN KAIRIS | February 5, 2015

My amazing Intro to Cinema professor, Meredith Ward, always says that movies are better when watched together. There is something strangely magical about the shared cinematic experience as every laugh, every gasp, every tense, emotion-filled silence is amplified tenfold. It’s February, award show season, and as the pre-Oscar buzz fills cinephiles like myself with anticipation, the shared movie-going experience has wonderfully intoxicated this season.

Parks and Rec comes to a beautiful close

By Elizabeth Sherwood | February 5, 2015

One of my favorite shows, Parks and Recreation, is in its seventh and final season this year. The newest episodes started airing in January, and they are being broadcast two at a time, until the series finale on Feb. 24. While this means that the 13-episode season will be over incredibly quickly, at least this gives Parks one last chance to churn out major plots that will hopefully satisfy long-time fans like myself.

What is the price and value of beauty?

By KATIE B | January 29, 2015

Greek goddesses Hera and Athena offered the Trojan prince Paris power and glory, but he decided to give the golden apple with the inscription “for the most beautiful” to the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Why? She offered him the love of the prettiest woman in Greece, Helen. This, in turn, led to war, and the city of Troy famously went up in flames. Seems like too much ado about something so trivial: beauty.

RUSHing through your closet

By KATHARINE RUBERY | January 29, 2015

To begin, welcome back to Hopkins and welcome back to the sorority and Greek life takeover. Much to the chagrin of the unaffiliated portion of campus, all conversations will only focus on girl dates, rush rooms and possible future homes. From personal experience, I can wholeheartedly say that my room looks like my sorority exploded in it. There’s glitter, streamers and bows covering the floor. This can only mean one thing: Greek rush is upon us. To be precise, rush starts this Sunday, Feb. 1.

The ethics behind petty theft and loss

By ZACHARY PAINE SABIN | January 29, 2015

In this column I will attempt to answer ethical questions that you, the readers, email me. You can direct your questions to ethics@jhunewsletter.com. I am in no way an expert on ethics, but I enjoy thinking and talking about it, and I’ll do my best to answer your questions in a reasonable and straightforward manner.

A senior’s story: What comes next?

By CAMILLE TAMBUNTING | January 29, 2015

I went to one class, the library, then Barnes & Noble to purchase my very last textbook. Here I was, a senior with one semester left, buying a contemptibly overpriced book from the store that everyone learns their freshman year not to buy textbooks from. After four years, had I really learned nothing at all?

MSE, where are the women speakers?

By JULIA DEVARTI | December 4, 2014

Awhile ago I was talking to a friend of mine who was then on the board of the Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium (MSE) about why they bring in so few women as speakers. He — note here that he’s a man —  told me there weren’t as many women to invite to speak, which I promptly told him was a dumb excuse. There are plenty of successful women out there, even if there are more men available. Then he argued that women cost more to have at events, citing Hillary Clinton and Oprah, two speakers who obviously would cost a fortune. Anyway, shouldn’t we only pay a woman 77 percent of what we pay a man to speak? Just kidding.

The Barber of Seville: Bugs Bunny edition

By Elizabeth Sherwood | December 4, 2014

Over Thanksgiving break, I was extremely fortunate to be invited by a friend to the Metropolitan Opera. The production was Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), his most popular opera, which has many recognizable tunes. Besides the Viking lady with the horns and the long blonde braids, Figaro, the barber himself, is to me the most recognizable character in any opera. The Barber of Seville, however, was about Count Almaviva’s courtship of Rosina with the help of Figaro. Not only was it a comedy, but it was in Italian. I loved it.

Taylor Swift stuns Spotify users

By ALEX HUROWITZ | December 4, 2014

Love her or hate her, Taylor Swift can sell an album, with 1.287 million copies of her latest album 1989 sold in the first week of its release — in other words, two albums were sold every second of that week-long period. 1989 was also the first album to go platinum for 2014. (The only other album to sell one million units this year was the Frozen soundtrack, but that was released in 2013.) Besides that, Swift’s whole discography has gone platinum, with her last three releases, 2010’s Speak Now, 2012’s Red and 2014’s 1989, selling a million copies in their first respective weeks.

The importance of peaceful solitude

By LILLIAN KAIRIS | December 4, 2014

When I was younger, and teachers or summer camp instructors or various adults-trying-to-relate would ask me what my favorite animal was, I would say “the human being.” They would say that wasn’t what they’d meant.

From your closet to your Instagram

By KATHARINE RUBERY | November 20, 2014

Due to the technology advancements of the 21st century, fashion blogging and trend watching are as accessible to us as ever. Instagram, if you don’t already know, is an application that allows us to post filtered pictures that give insight to our experiences and lives. There are many different types of “Insta-bloggers.” Recently, however, the new trend is to document all glamorous adventures through pictures of daily outfits, café meals and beauty bags.

Fifty shades of grey areas

By JULIA DEVARTI | November 20, 2014

The newest trailer for the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey was released last week, and the Internet is all atwitter about it. The movie, scheduled to open on Valentine’s Day 2015, is based on the book of the same name by E. L. James., and boy oh boy, there is a lot to say about the story.

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