The session started with non-legislative business. President Stone Meng reported on a student's request for improved disability services. The student described that because because the Student Disability Services (SDS) shuttle ends at 5:30 p.m., and the Blue Jay Night Ride starts operating at 6 p.m, she and other students with disabilities must pay for an Uber. She stated that she had already reached out to the SDS but did not receive any response, so she decided to contact the SGA for help. The SGA kept this request for its future agenda.

Chair of Programming Tim Huang and President of the Senate Nasreen Naqvi moved on to discuss the planning for the Lighting of the Quads tabling event. The tabling event will happen on Wyman Quad on Dec. 5. Students participating will be able to get prizes.

The senate then spent five minutes discussing room for improvement for SGA meetings next semester. Senators provided feedback on the meeting structure and the onboarding process.

For the second reading, Senator Nayshawn Ferebee and Senator Cynthia Sanchez Hidalgo introduced the updated Affirmative Action Resolution. The resolution calls for action from the University to address the sharp decline in Black and Latino student enrollment in the Class of 2028. The senate motioned to vote. The resolution passed. The resolution will be sent to the student body soon.

The News-Letter: As Director of the Center for Language Education, what does your role entail?

Yuki Johnson: The Center for Language Education offers eight foreign languages which are often labeled as less commonly taught languages: Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Hindi, Russian, American Sign Language (ASL) and Sanskrit.

I oversee all the programs, which means that I oversee the faculty members who teach those languages. These are all language specialists. They are not teaching assistants (TAs); rather they're full-time, professional language faculty. Since we aren't a department, we don't have a graduate component and therefore we don't have TAs. This distinguishes us from [the Department of] Modern Languages and Literatures, which encompasses subjects such as philosophy and history, and all sorts of things that fall under that umbrella. We focus on language only.

N-L: What has been the most successful or your favorite project or objective that you've been a part of?

YJ: Originally, our offices were scattered all over - out in different buildings without any central location for the Center. Usually, departments have a place in Mergenthaler Hall or Gilman Hall, yet we didn't have any central office. In fact, we used to have a language lab which was on the fifth floor of Krieger Hall. It was a big space, but nobody was using it for almost six years.

We realized that the lab was no longer needed also because everybody has their own computer and access to any resource without inconveniencing themselves. Our solution was to change the language lab to individual offices so that everybody in the center had an office. We've become completely united. Everyone knows each other, people talk to each other; we have meetings, parties and overall have the opportunity to get to know each other better.

N-L: How did you find yourself in this director role?

YJ: I started to teach Japanese when I was 18 years old. At that time, I was in training to become a news anchor on a TV station. One day, a government official came and told us that they have a lot of Vietnamese refugees, yet they don't speak Japanese. Essentially, they needed somebody who can teach the language. I decided to be a brave volunteer and raised my hand which ignited my path as a part-time teaching volunteer.

It was so hard. My major at that time - on top of this job - was physics. But I was so intrigued and enticed in teaching my own language. I even found it more challenging than physics itself. Thereafter, I decided to become a linguist so that I could continue to teach language - specifically the two fields of linguistics and pedagogy combined.

I came to the U.S. to get my degree and soon a doctorate degree. When I finished my degree, there was a [director] position available at the University of Michigan (Michigan). Since then, I went on to various places to fix language programs: places like Michigan, Harvard University, the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and finally Hopkins. Here, we've gone on to organize and reform the language program since I got here in 2009.

N-L: You teach classes in the Japanese language and grammar. Tell me about your work as a professor.

YJ: I'm a linguist, so I teach grammar, linguistics and higher-level reading and linguistic courses. I teach first-year Japanese too, although just a grammar section.

It's interesting to teach freshmen, especially because not many professors teach freshmen. Most teach higher-level courses and let the TAs teach first years. I enjoy seeing the difference among freshman classes every year. This year, my students are from all over the world; it's all international students and only two people are native speakers of English.

N-L: What obstacles has the language program faced?

YJ: It is tough to keep attracting students because they can use artificial intelligence (AI) nowadays. And also, there are a lot of people who watch anime, for example, and are already familiar with the culture and the language. But when they come here to get formal instruction from us, it might present a difficulty. The enrollment has dropped drastically: for example, Chinese went from 200 to 100 students. I used to have at least 50 to 60 students in Japanese for first years, but now I have 28.

We had to let some of the programs go; for example, we had to let Swahili and Persian go because of the enrollment issue. But we added Sanskrit this year which has three students. Even though it's small, it's a much more manageable size. We used to have 100 students in 1st Year Arabic, but now we have 10 students. Managing that size is healthy and allows students to be more connected to each other.

The biggest challenge I have faced is the enrollment issue, but another issue has been finding good language faculty. It is not easy because theoretical linguistics, like Chomskyan linguistics is quite exhausted and changing and don't produce many linguists who focus on grammar. This is especially true in my field - Japanese linguistics.

N-L: What advice do you have for Hopkins students who want to get started in learning a new language or picking a language back up? What benefits does learning a new language have for young individuals?

YJ: Students should know that the academic level is quite high in terms of language learning at Hopkins. The most important thing that I have to tell them is: don't miss any classes. If you skip classes, you're behind, and it takes a long time to catch up. So that's my advice: don't miss any classes and just stick to the class.

If you find that a language is not serving you, it's not that you cannot do the language. You just may not be compatible with that particular language. For example, I'm not particularly compatible with Arabic at all. I can't learn Arabic, even though I'm a linguist. I can't pronounce any of the words. It's not that I'm dumb; sometimes it's not compatible. When you find that incompatibility, drop it immediately before you get hurt.

After you've finished taking the class, I would say at least keep communicating in the language with the help of technology. Use AI to develop your writing skills. You can write something and then ask ChatGPT to fix your writing. Keep working at it using any modality available to you.

It's really good for you to learn a language because it's also direct exposure to the culture. Right now, you're talking to a Japanese person who was raised in Japan - nothing is more authentic than that.

Under this updated model, students must complete 15 credits in five of the six defined areas: Writing and Communication, Science and Data, Culture and Aesthetics, Citizens & Society, and Ethics and Foundations. Moreover, students are required to complete six credits in the sixth FA Projects and Methods. This new set of graduation requirements is replacing the previous system of distribution requirements in which KSAS students had to complete nine credits of coursework for each of the Humanities (H), Social Sciences (S) and Natural Sciences/Quantitative/Engineering (N/Q/E) categories.

In an email to The News-Letter, Erin Rowe, vice dean for undergraduate education at KSAS, shared the motivation behind this change.

"In the new curriculum, [students] will develop capacities and skills that make [them] an expert in any field, one who is engaged and engaging, curious and reflective, able to communicate ideas clearly to different audiences," she wrote. "The Foundational Abilities provide the tools and skills business and industry leaders - as well as medical and other graduate programs - are looking for in recent graduates."

Rowe also highlighted the distinct difference between the new requirements and the core curriculum at other universities.

"The Foundational Abilities are not a core curriculum because core curricula generally require that students take specific courses. Instead, all courses contribute to the FAs. In this way, KSAS's curriculum provides a flexible framework unique to Hopkins rather than a core set of requirements," she wrote.

However, there is an increase in the number of credits students are required to take to satisfy the requirements of the new system, which amounts to a total of 81 credits compared to 27 in the previous one. Though courses usually have at least two tags and can double count towards major or minor requirements, they cannot double count across multiple FA areas, unless one of the areas is Writing and Communication or Projects and Methods.

Many first year students raised concerns that the FA system will reduce their course selection freedom and hinder their ability to graduate on time.

In an interview with The News-Letter, Justin Pokrant, a freshman planning to major in Molecular and Cellular Biology expressed his concerns over the restrictive nature of the FAs.

"I don't think [FA] provide a good balance without restricting. There's no flexibility," he said. "The way I see it is that passion is a prerequisite for good research, and good research relies on organic exploration, and the new system is one of inorganic exploration."

In an interview with The News-Letter, Annabelle Huang, a freshman planning to double major in Public Health Studies and Economics, discussed how the FA requirements are influencing her course planning.

"I find that my academic exploration is kind of limited with the large amount of requirements and credits that I already need to fulfill for my for both of my majors, and adding on these foundational abilities basically adds on a lot of stress, and it really makes sure that I have to plan out my four years accordingly," she added.

Rowe, however, stated that the university had considered the flexibility of course planning in the design of FA to ensure sufficient freedom for students to explore multiple areas of interest.

"KSAS engaged in several years of research into course loads, requirements, and major/minor patterns as it settled on the credit allotment for the Foundational Abilities," she wrote. "It was crucial to us that students be able to meet these requirements while pursuing any major and maintaining their time to degree. We have determined that it is possible to complete the FAs even with a double major, or double major + minor (or major + premed)."

To support first year students in navigating the new system, the University is utilizing Stellic - a degree audit software - to allow interactive course planning. While the system is already available for students enrolled prior to Fall 2024, the version including the FA is still in the works.

In an interview with The News-Letter, Jessie Martin, the associate dean for academic advising and support for KSAS, shared the current efforts of academic advisors to support students in the transition to the new FA system.

"Academic advisors are good at providing tips and tricks to help students meet certain requirements. For instance, Protein Engineering and Biochemistry Lab would be a writing intensive [course] with ethics and foundation and projects and methods FAs," she said. "We expect the 2024 degree audits to be fully available by February 2025. Current resources include the new course search in SIS that could help students filter specific courses based on FAs, and we always have advisors available to support students individually."

Additional concerns arise for students who wish to explore academic options across schools. One student raised concerns about the feasibility of pursuing degrees in two different academic schools.

"What I found out is that because all the business minor classes are offered through the Carey School of Business and not KSAS, they don't fulfill any of the foundational abilities. I would have to add 21 completely new, non-overlapping credits [for the minor]," Pokrant said.

While the FAs will only apply to KSAS students starting with first years in fall of 2024, the Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) has also been working on a FA system for consistency across the two Homewood schools. WSE is expected to roll out the implementation of foundational requirements in Fall 2025.

In an email to The News-Letter, Michael Falk, vice dean for undergraduate education at WSE, outlined the School's plan for implementing the FA system.

The six FAs for WSE differ from those of KSAS, both in areas of focus and credit requirement. WSE students will be expected to fulfill the requirements via coursework or Customized Academic Learning (CAL), the latter of which includes research for credit and independent study.

FA1 (Writing & Communication) requires three credits of writing and oral communication coursework, respectively. FA2 (Scientific & Quantitative Reasoning) entails 19-20 credits, while FA3 (Creative Expression) and FA4 (Engagement with Society) require a combined 12 credits, with oral communication from FA1 incorporating aspects of FA4. FA5 (Ethical Reflection) involves one to three credits in ethical reflection, which is already integrated into required major coursework, with additional reflection documented in ePortfolio. FA6 (Conceiving and Realizing Projects) requires the completion of two approved projects, documented in the student's ePortfolio, that are a part of their engineering coursework.

"The upshot of these changes is that students in most WSE majors will require the same number of credits to fulfill Foundational Abilities requirements as prior students did in the distribution requirement system, i.e., 18 credits," Falk wrote.

Riley Strait contributed reporting to this article.

The cameras provide continuous 24/7 monitoring with high video quality, including infrared and thermal technology for enhanced nighttime visibility. Additionally, the devices feature security lights for nighttime illumination and crime deterrence. The cameras are also equipped with artificial intelligence technology.

Many students have commented on the presence of these cameras on campus. In an interview with The News-Letter, freshman Karen Izaguirre relayed her experience with the cameras.

"They're everywhere," she said. "There's one inside the Freshman Quad that likes to flash into my dorm's window, which makes it a little hard to sleep at night."

Izaguirre then mentioned that her parents in Texas have also noticed the presence of security cameras around campus in the photos she had sent to them.

"[They would ask] if anything bad is happening around campus that causes us to have [the security towers]," she said.

One sentiment shared across many interviews conducted by The News-Letter regarding the implementation of the security cameras was the lack of transparency from the University.

Junior Shayna Faul commented to The News-Letter on the absence of information from the University regarding the rationale for the new installations.

"I don't think the school has officially released an actual statement about [the cameras], so I don't even know why they are there or what implications there would be," she stated.

Senior Skye Neulight shared their experiences contacting the University administration for more information on the new security cameras.

"My friends and I have tried calling public safety and submitting written requests for information through their website," they said. "We've only gotten very evasive responses or no responses at all. I've been hung up on twice. My email was never responded to… I think it's really concerning that nobody is giving us answers because every day, our biometric data is being collected."

A University spokesperson provided a statement in response to students' concerns regarding the use of their personal information.

"Maryland state law restricts the use of facial recognition technology," they said. "Johns Hopkins follows this law."

In the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Resources for Protests and Demonstrations webpage, the University stated that security cameras have been a part of their efforts to keep the community safe for years. They explained that video footage is stored with a target retention period of up to 31 days and will be reviewed by Public Safety, law enforcement or other university personnel as needed in the context of serious student conduct or policy violations. The footage will be automatically overwritten based on the university's storage capacity.

Freshman Student Government Association Senator Justin Pokrant discussed what he heard circulating on campus regarding the cameras in an interview with The News-Letter.

"I've heard rumors that maybe they're testing some AI face-tracking stuff on us," Pokrant offered. "Although I'm not going to believe every rumor I hear, if it's something of the sorts where they're conducting research on us, I feel like that's something that students would need to know."

While some students expressed concerns about the security cameras, others were indifferent or positive toward their implementation.

In an interview with The News-Letter, Sushrut Kumar, a master's student in Mechanical Engineering, stated that the cameras did not bother him.

"I think [the security cameras] are fine. I don't have any issue with them," he said.

Sophomore Drew Chico explained that the cameras help him feel more secure on campus in an email to The News-Letter.

"I don't mind them at all," he wrote. "They help me feel safe when I'm walking alone on campus in the pitch black dark. I think it's a reasonable response from the administration to install them to ensure the safety of JHU affiliates."

In an email to The News-Letter, the Hopkins Justice Collective (HJC) provided a statement detailing their perspectives and also questioned the use of the cameras in general. HJC argued that security cameras are currently placed in relatively low-risk areas around campus and thus do not meaningfully address crimes on campus.

Sophomore Emily Zurita-Ruiz expressed similar discontents with the addition of security cameras on campus in an email to The News-Letter.

"I think [the cameras] are annoying and unnecessary. I get the meaning behind them but it feels unnerving having a camera so obviously put in front of you," she wrote. "The new cameras haven't really made me feel any different about campus security since they really aren't in the spots I would expect a crime to happen."

HJC also suggested that the University's money should be redirected away from surveillance equipment that may not improve campus safety and toward other student and community needs.

"Hopkins perpetuates the belief that students experience legitimate safety concerns on and around campus because this fear-mongering is profitable for them: it helps to manufacture consent for armed police on campus that will gentrify neighboring communities, criminalize our unhoused neighbors, and suppress student protest," HJC wrote.

Neulight shared HJC's sentiments regarding the efficacy of security cameras and mentioned that the cost of campus security could be better invested in improving existing initiatives for student safety, such as by reducing student wait times for the Blue Jay Shuttle.

"While JHU claims to foster a culture of free expression, there is now not a single central quad without an AI surveillance tower - and these are places that historically are used to congregate students for political demonstrations at Hopkins," they added.

A University spokesperson also responded to concerns raised by some students about racial profiling by establishing that racial and ethnic profiling are prohibited at Hopkins. They stated that campus safety and security are dependent on respect for civil rights and liberties, and that the public safety and JHPD policies are designed to hold the security team accountable to this standard.

Neulight believes that the new security cameras are consistent with the University's policies toward national and community security.

"The surveillance cameras are just a visible manifestation of a broader and deeper investment that Hopkins has in the militarization of not only Baltimore but also in the border," they added. "[This is shown] through contracts with [Customs and Border Enforcement] and through weapons development with the Applied Physics Lab, which is constantly contracted with the Department of Defense and with investments in weapons manufacturers."

HJC echoed these concerns, and suggested that Hopkins is able to justify increased surveillance and policing toward the Baltimore community at large by framing the city as a constant threat. They argued this isolates the University from its neighboring community and reinforces gentrification and displacement.

Pokrant underscored what he believed to be the root of the criticism and confusion surrounding the University's implementation of the security cameras.

"I don't see why there was a need to add the cameras," Pokrant admitted. "Maybe I don't know something, and maybe that's the problem."

Lana Swindle and Samhi Boppana contributed reporting to this article.

The team began their work almost two years ago as an undergraduate design team in the biomedical engineering department and were unfamiliar with the field of fetal therapy.

"Our whole team knew nothing about fetal surgery at the beginning. It sounded like something out of a sci-fi book," Shirkin said in an interview with The News-letter.

Of the nearly 3.7 million babies born in the United States each year, 120,000 are born with a birth defect. Fetal surgery is the performance of life-saving interventions on a developing fetus while within the womb. To access the uterus and perform surgery, surgeons must begin by using an entry port system, which acts as a tunnel into the uterus to insert tools and repair the birth defect. Some conditions that are treated via fetal surgery include spina bifida, twin-twin transfusion syndrome, congenital diaphragmatic hernia and lower urinary tract obstruction.

The current tools for fetal therapy are not designed for the procedure, and surgeons generally use sheaths adopted from other endoscopic surgeries as a port system into the fetal environment.

"The current device [clinicians] use is a vascular sheath," Shirkin stated. "It looks and feels like a plastic straw."

These current port systems push beyond the uterine wall and can rupture the amniotic membrane, resulting in preterm birth. Complications can place a heavy financial burden on families due to unplanned emergency delivery and hospitalization.

"During fetal surgery, you're operating on the [uterine] environment and you're causing a disturbance to the uterus. And because you're doing that, you cause contractions. When the uterus contracts, it applies force to this 'plastic straw' and it can bend," Shirkin explained. "These devices are just not designed for the uterine environment at all…Our research that we're about to publish shows how these devices are just not optimal for [fetal surgery] procedures."

Shirkin and her team, including biomedical engineering Master's student Eric McAlexander and members Gloria Kalnitskaya, Ayeeshi Poosarla and Alice Yu, recognized the need for a specialized device designed for fetal therapy. Instead of forcing an access port that risks membrane damage, the team's designed a radially expandable entry point, starting at a minimal diameter (2 mm) and gently expanding to 4 mm. By embracing a design that is compatible with the natural elasticity of the uterine environment, the team hopes to mitigate the risk of membrane rupture and potentially reduce complications from fetal surgery.

Developing such a nuanced solution required more than engineering skills alone. The team engaged in extensive conversations with fetal surgeons, whose input was instrumental in shaping their design.

Consulting these experts also uncovered a major knowledge gap in fetal surgery research: very little is known about how the amniotic membrane stretches during pregnancy or why complications such as membrane rupture occur during fetal surgery. In addition to refining their solution concept, Shirkin and her team launched experimental studies to fill these gaps and enhance the understanding of the mechanism of membrane rupture and why preterm birth are induced by fetal surgery.

The team's efforts have not gone unnoticed. In October 2024, they were selected as the undergraduate runners-up, winning a $5,000 prize and a provisional patent, in the prestigious Collegiate Inventors Competition, which recognizes promising innovations with the potential to make a real-world impact. Alongside their clinical mentors, the team has benefited from guidance provided by experienced biomedical engineers Dr. Elizabeth Logsdon and Michelle Zwernemann.

Gauto-Kennedy felt compelled to explore research, since Hopkins is one of the top research institutions in America, and she wanted to exploit every facet of opportunity that the University offered, as well as gain unique hands-on experiences not offered in coursework.

"I don't look at research as something that needs to go on my resume, and I have to do it because others are partaking in it, and I have to do better than them," she said. "Researching is nice because it's so different from your classes and it's not for a grade so you're not super pressured. I feel like because [of classes], you're never really doing something hands-on unless you're in like intro chem lab and those are kind of boring-ish labs."

She also shared that she ended up at her lab in an unlikely fashion. Freshman are required to take a Freshman Year Seminar (FYS), which is a class specifically designed to build community between freshmen. Gauto-Kennedy's first-year seminar was taught by Michael Falk, Vice Dean of Undergraduate Education of the Whiting School of Engineering.

In a meeting with Falk, Gauto-Kennedy mentioned she had participated in research over the summer in high school and wanted to explore both aspects (chemistry and biology) of her ChemBE major. Coincidentally, after she talked with Falk about her interests, Falk met with Regina García-Méndez, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

A business card and cold email later, Gauto-Kennedy became an undergraduate researcher in the García-Méndez laboratory in January of last year. In the lab, she conducts research with solid-state electrolyte batteries and lithium-ion batteries and as the youngest person in the lab, is still learning and discovering more about solid state batteries.

The research team that Gauto-Kennedy works with is smaller than average, with 2 Ph.D. students, 1 post-doctoral researcher, 1 Master's student, and just 3 undergraduate students. She described that she enjoyed the close-knit nature of the team and finds value in being able to know each member of the team. The small-size also enables García-Méndez to get to know and meet with each member individually.

Currently, Gauto-Kennedy is working with a PhD student to target the most optimal conditions to make a substance called Argyrodite, which makes up the electrolyte part of the battery and is composed of Li₂S, LiCl, and P₂S. She described that Arygrodite has the potential to act as more environmental-friendly and efficient replacement for lithium batteries, and can hopefully be produced on a large scale in the near future.

García-Méndez's research team is currently synthesizing a batch of different Arygrodite powders, and then analyzing the sample using X-ray diffraction analysis and a software called HighScore. The lab use a mortar and pestle to mix all the powders together initially, and then puts the samples in a jar to be ball-milled, which moves the powder in a planetary motion for around 25 hours or more to mix all the precursor powders together.

Currently, there is a struggle to make the Argyrodite pure, as testing yields varying results. The goal is to have a level of purity above 90%, though 100% is not possible, so the goal is somewhere around 95%. The lab is currently yielding fluctuating numbers around 60-70%.

Gauto-Kennedy is currently experimenting with systematically varying the ratios of Li₂S, LiCl, and P₂S₅ to determine the optimal stoichiometry for achieving high-purity Argyrodite. Additionally, she is adjusting ball-milling times to ensure thorough mixing and reaction of precursors - right now, the time is 25 hours. There is a limit to how much the milling time can be reduced, because if it's not mixed for enough time, the reactants won't fully combine.

Gauto-Kennedy elaborated on her struggles with the Argyrodite production and shared that the software could be a leading issue for her research.

"It's a bunch of trial and error with these different conditions to make my sample more pure. But I don't even know if the analysis of purity is correct," she said. "We're trying to do another type of analysis called a Rietveld Analysis. I still have to do more research about it, but it's supposed to be more narrowed down and specific for what it's looking for, and hopefully it's less arbitrary than HighScore for the analysis. So when you run the [HighScore] software and [Rietvield] and you get two different results, which one do you take? That's what I don't know."

Walking through a day in her life, she shared that she is grateful for the opportunity the lab has brought her, and is currently utilizing the experience for course credit. She spends a varying amount of time in the laboratory per day but around 6 hours on average each week, and García-Méndez is open to Gauto-Kennedy going whenever she has the time whether between classes or after lunch just as long as she coordinates with her Principal Investigator, who shows her the ropes and monitors her progress.

"It's really flexible; I go to the lab on my own time," she stated. "And when I'm in the lab, which is in the basement of Maryland, I work with a PhD student, and he shows me everything -he shows me what I can do, if I should put powders together, if I should put something to run for analysis or if I should do an analysis."

Every week, Gauto-Kennedy meets with García-Méndez and discusses her progress in the lab and any questions she has. In addition, the full team meets every week to talk about their progress, usually with everyone reading one paper and one person presenting it. At the end of the semester, Gauto-Kennedy will present a cumulative paper of her research to García-Méndez and her team during one of these meetings.

She shared her growth from starting off knowing nothing about solid-state electrolytes batteries, including Argyrodite, to being immersed in the lab and presenting her findings.

"It's nice because I basically started out not knowing anything, and now I've learned so much. My PI shows me a lot and that's an experience I get outside of just doing classes," she said. "At the end of the month I'm going to put together a presentation to update the rest of the research team about what I've been doing in the lab [and] show all my graphs of the batches of our Argyrodite that I made that weren't pure versus what I tried doing to make it more pure. And hopefully by the end of the month, I'll get it, as pure as it can be."

Lastly, Gauto-Kennedy emphasized that the value of working in the lab is rooted in the opportunity to learn.

"I still don't know everything," she said. "In a research lab, especially now as a freshman or sophomore, it's really all about getting skills and experience."

In this revolving door of shifting relevancy and style biting, SahBabii has kept a steady popularity without changing himself completely. He is still trap's most interesting side character: an amphibian-voiced crooner with a fixation on various animals and an insatiable freakiness only matched by Kevin Gates. When he raps about both at the same time, you can only hope the animals are metaphorical. Among the many other so-called Young Thug "clones," SahBabii stands out by actually sharing what makes Thug interesting: an individualistic identity and style, and a natural ability to find rhythmic pockets of ear candy in stereotypical trap beats.

In a meritocratic world, SahBabii might be where Gunna is today, but the former has never seemed to care for fame or expectations. SahBabii's projects, such as Squidtastic and Barnacles, feature only his older brother T3, setting SahBabii apart from peers who rely on high-profile collaborations or a strong social media presence.

On his latest album Saaheem, he delivers the same qualities that make him exciting: it's deviantly sensual on "Mirror Picz" and slightly menacing on "Stay Away From Trouble." The songs are less interesting when they're too ordinary or repetitive like on "Anaconda Livin" or "On Film." As usual, the trap beats are never the main focus.

Vocally, however, Saaheem is pretty special, taking the expressions that make modern trap so addictive and channeling them in an enjoyably hectic way. For instance, the deep voice on "Viking" feels like the final form of the style Playboi Carti has been experimenting with recently. SahBabii switches between voices like he's selecting avatars in a fighter game, making it sound as if four different rappers are on a single track.

"All The Way," "Roll Wit Me" and "Waikiki" channel the hedonistic power of Young Thug's So Much Fun but with even more fun. The hook on "Kodak" is manic and unrestrained like Barter 6's best moments but with sparkling, 2020s-coded electronics that sound like a Destroy Lonely beat handled by a competent rapper. SahBabii confirms he still has a natural intuition for these styles, even if others have had more mainstream success with them.

The rapping on Saaheem runs on adrenalized momentum and feeling rather than a strict rhythmic meter. He often lets loose with freeform flows that tumble out with brazenly reckless energy. The best moments come when he leans into vocal hyperbole, like the deep-voiced antics on "Bi" or the nasally delivery on "Belt Boyz" - both of which are so playful they almost feel like parody.

Though the style is fun, Saaheem is more cutthroat and serious than his previous work, which makes sense as the man himself gets older. The watery, ambient casualness of Squidtastic and the unrelenting freakishness of Barnacles is dialed down. Like his previous album Do It For Demon - a grounded project dedicated to his late friend - he is more introspective. Tracks like "1095 Osborne St" and "Workin" feel like equally engaging parts of this creative world where the juvenile and mature coexist.

Saaheem tells us that SahBabii doesn't need to evolve drastically to remain relevant, because there's nothing groundbreaking or radically new here. His vocal style and consistency keep him interesting without needing to force a so-called "aura." His charisma and creativity go further - bending conventions to make space for his own expression.

I'll never forget the moment I saw "You're Admitted" flash across my screen. I was sitting criss-cross applesauce on my bedroom floor, working on an AP European History project when I received an email notification saying there was an update to my portal. I set my phone up to capture my reaction. I tried to tame my excitement by muttering, "Who cares if I get into Johns Hopkins," but inside, I craved the validation of an acceptance. As the screen lagged, my anxiety built and I covered my computer, shielding myself from the possibility of rejection. Finally, the page loaded, and there it was: a banner of acceptance. I laughed, clapped and immediately shared the news with my family.

I didn't know it then, but that acceptance would mark the beginning of a journey that challenged what I thought I knew about access and belonging. Hopkins wasn't my dream school; it was just one of the many schools that I simply decided to "shoot my shot at" like many other students, just hoping for acceptance letters and maybe even academic validation. This moment felt significant as I looked back to the culmination of years of hard work. Yet, as I began my journey here, I quickly realized that my place at this university - our place as underrepresented students - is not as secure as a simple acceptance.

Not once during my application process did I imagine that I was accepted because of my race, ethnicity or First-Generation, Limited-Income (FLI) status. In fact, I feared these aspects of my identity would hinder my chances. Identifying as FLI often felt like a scarlet letter rather than a badge of honor. I worried I would be overlooked because I didn't fit a certain mold or because my parents couldn't afford the education I dreamed of.

I worked tirelessly to bridge those gaps, crafting a high school experience that mirrored the resources I thought my peers might have. Throughout my entire life, I loved to dance. My family could never afford to put me in a dance company or a professional studio, but that did not stop me from going to YouTube every day and learning different ballet techniques, putting on dance videos to follow them along and watching tutorials for specific skills. I did paid research programs during my high school summers, and my parents worked out a payment plan with my school so I could finally be on a competitive dance team. They weren't the parents who could attend every competition - they were working so that I could make it to every single competition. I learned my work ethic and resilience from them.

This sense of striving didn't disappear when I arrived at Hopkins; it only intensified. I was grateful for the opportunity, but I was acutely aware of the effort it took to "fit" into this space. As I settled in, I met peers with similar backgrounds, each of us fighting to establish a sense of belonging. We didn't just work hard in our studies; we worked hard to navigate a system that wasn't built for us. Affirmative action, I came to realize, was never meant solely for students of African American descent, but it has come to represent a lifeline for many underrepresented students. For us, affirmative action isn't a free pass - it's assurance that we have a chance in a process often rigged against us.

From personal experience and working with the Baltimore community, I've learned that the unique experiences of Black and brown individuals in America often can't be separated from sociodemographic and socioeconomic realities. The struggles we face are woven into the fabric of our lives. It's challenging to conduct a truly "holistic review" without acknowledging the context that race and ethnicity provide. Our backgrounds don't define our potential, but they reveal the resilience it took to reach this point.

Many of us at Hopkins aspire to continue our education beyond undergrad, but the barriers we face did not end with our acceptances to the University. I have often felt a need to prove my intelligence in class before a sense of collaboration emerges with my peers who don't look like me. There have been campus events and socials where I felt anything but welcomed, and that feeling fades only in spaces carved out for Black students. In my freshman year, I remember making just a few genuine friends. The rest of my interactions felt stilted, as though I was trying to fit into the Hopkins mold, leaving little room for my authentic self. I held back from playing the music I grew up with, from dancing and speaking in ways that felt natural. I shrank parts of myself to blend in, hiding pieces that made me, me.

As underrepresented students, we see a campus that claims diversity as a value but struggles to uphold it in practice. When Black faculty and staff openly question the security of their roles, when programs like Johns Hopkins Underserved in the Medical Professions (JUMP) expand their mission to go beyond "underrepresented" students in medicine, we see that. When the turnover of Black staff feels alarmingly high and leaders of Black and African diaspora student groups worry about their clubs' future, we see that. When SGA delayed their statement addressing the drop in Black and brown students in the Class of 2028, we see that too. Each of these moments chips away at the foundation of the community we thought we could build here.

I feel a growing sense of loss, as though our "home" on this campus is slipping away. We're losing spaces where we can gather safely, losing each other and hope as the number of underrepresented students drops and our voices go unheard. I fear for the future - if the trend of fewer matriculated black and brown students continues, what will Hopkins look like for them? Will they have to navigate an even lonelier, more isolating path?

Kyarie Shelton is a senior from Indianapolis, Ind. studying Natural Sciences and Psychology.

In an email to The News-Letter, Managing Director of the SNF Agora Institute, Stephen Ruckman, explained the Institute's motivation for hosting the event.

"Universities are where so many have their first experience voting and engaging with our political system, and so offer a unique space for young people to develop and nurture their civic skills," he wrote. "Over the past year, universities have been scrutinized for how well or poorly they have created space for this development, and public perception of universities' societal value has become increasingly divided. We thought it would be important - given that context and given this consequential election year - to bring scholars and young people together to explore how universities can serve as sites for democratic enrichment."

The event opened with remarks from President Ronald J. Daniels, who highlighted the critical role of universities in fostering free expression and civil discourse.

"Our educational service and research mission is grounded in the freedom of expression and thought," he said. "As part of our obligation, we must equip students, staff and faculty, and all in our communities, with the skills and capacities to engage across lines of difference."

Daniels also underscored the challenges facing democracies today and urged collective action to sustain a tolerant exchange of ideas on university campuses.

"It will take all of us living in our democracies around the world to take up the project of repairing them," he said. "I look forward to working together and leveraging the role of the University to restore vibrant civil discourse."

Following his remarks, Bousdoukou moderated the panel discussion featuring John Tomasi, president of Heterodox Academy; John Holmwood, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Nottingham and co-founder of Campaign for the Public University; Irene Mulvey, professor emerita of mathematics at Fairfield University and the previous president of the American Association of University Professors; and Hahrie Han, director of the SNF Agora Institute.

The panel also included student speakers from various universities, such as Luke McDermott from the University of Nebraska, April Anthony from the University of Delaware, Faith Applegate from the University of Pennsylvania and Anna Oaks from the Columbia Journalism School.

The discussion first addressed the issue of recent protests on American university campuses. Tomasi critiqued what he perceived as inconsistent responses by universities, and drew attention to the fact that university presidents had made various statements on controversial political topics in the past but changed those views or remained silent following the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. He identified this approach as presidents committing to free speech on some topics but not on others. Mulvey added to this by reflecting on university administrations' historical responses to curtail student activism, such as bringing in riot police, during the Vietnam War era.

Adding an international perspective from the United Kingdom, Holmwood partially attributed recent developments surrounding campus protests to the politicization of U.S. universities.

"It was strange to see [presidents] engaging in direct political involvement, such as being called in front of Congress after advocating for free speech," he said. "The threat to free speech comes in part from politicians and how they utilize disruption on campus for political ends."

When asked about universities' role in supporting free expression and academic freedom, Han emphasized the importance of fostering environments of trust and open inquiry. Notably, however, student panelists like Oaks shared firsthand accounts of disrupted trust between students and administrations during the last academic year.

"When you have an administration calling in hundreds of police officers on their own and prioritizing the concerns of some students over others, there's a real rupture in that trust," Oaks stated.

Bousdoukou then introduced findings from a recent SNF Dialogues survey of 1,000 public and private university students, which revealed that 33-55% believed universities should do more to support free expression. Tomasi connected these findings to what he saw as an erosion of nuanced thinking in campus dialogue.

"We've seen a rise of shout-downs and de-platforming that's encouraged black-and-white thinking, often based on identity, instead of promoting a community of imperfect learners brought together to search for truth in a complicated world," he said.

Tomasi then raised concerns about the declining ideological diversity among faculty and its implications for intellectual inclusivity, to which Han added insights from a survey of Hopkins students. She noted that the survey found that students often felt more constrained by peer pressure than by faculty influence, and stressed the importance of teaching students to engage with diverse viewpoints.

"[Students] feel the most constricted in terms of their ability to openly share views," she said. "We try to think about how often people are invited into opportunities to really engage in and learn how to contest and deliberate different ideas."

Oaks and McDermott pointed to the lack of institution-wide discussions on challenging topics as exasperating this constriction, and McDermott specifically cautioned against engaging with viewpoints rooted in misinformation and misrepresentation.

Ruckman also provided his insights on promoting dialogue across ideological differences at Hopkins. He mentioned that the University is better situated than many of its peers in its openness to cross-partisan dialogue and debate, through programming and a diverse faculty that expose students to a range of ideas and belief systems. However, he noted, there remains room for improvement.

"But there is always more we can do, like offer more students the skills to engage on campus with opposing views and engage as citizens with their home communities," he wrote. "That's one reason our institute started the Minor in Civic Life - to give students a pathway for developing skills for democratic engagement that they can use in any career field."

The discussion concluded with a proposal for a student assembly to address University policies and administrative shortcomings. Tomasi expressed his support, stating thatmore voices allow for a wider representation of political views on campus, and Oaks emphasized the need for stronger student representation during campus crises.

Han concluded by reflecting on the broader role of universities' role in upholding democratic values and criticizing obstacles facing higher education such as faculty job insecurity and the student debt crisis.

"We train the next generation of professionals who call out corruption in government, so when you're undermining higher education, it's really a threat to democracy," she said.

Ruckman added that the public perception of American universities, especially their role in upholding democracy, has gradually declined.

"Since 2018, the percentage of people having low to no confidence in higher education has doubled - from 16% to 32% - and that shift has been even greater when broken down along political lines," he wrote. "We need to do more to demonstrate that universities are places where diverse thought and expression are welcomed and to make the case why universities are needed to tackle democracy's modern challenges - like rampant misinformation and the increasingly self-segregating political communities that reinforce it, and growing disillusionment with democracy as a form of government."

Lana Swindle contributed reporting to this article.

Premier League: Liverpool clears, Man City has surprise losses and Forest aims for European Competition

This English Premier League (EPL) season has brought a surprising shake-up in terms of standings; for one, Liverpool F.C. has had a strong start to the title race, holding five points over the second-ranked team, Manchester City F.C., while also resting at the top of the new UEFA Champions League (UCL) table. Pep Guardiola's Man City, on the other hand, had a difficult few weeks leading up to the international break, with losses to A.F.C Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. As the transfer window creeps closer, Man City will be looking to bolster up their ranks due to injuries to important players like Rodri, Jérémy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne.

Moreover, bitter London rivals Chelsea F.C. and Arsenal F.C. are currently tied with 19 points each and equal records of 5-4-2. The top five is rounded out with Nottingham Forest F.C., which has had an outstanding season so far, as players like Chris Wood and Murillo have shone. We're looking forward to seeing how the January transfer window plays out in the EPL as clubs start feeling the title pressure across domestic and international competition.

Keep an eye out for the following games once the EPL returns:

Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest on Nov. 23 at 10:00 a.m. EST.

This fixture will be an exciting game as the fourth and fifth-place teams in the EPL go head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium in London.

Liverpool vs. Manchester City on Dec. 1 at 11:00 a.m. EST.

This game at Anfield Stadium will be an exciting preview into the rest of the season, as Liverpool seek to reinforce their lead and Man City chases to close the gap. A star-studded lineup on both sides, watch out for Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Savinho facing off against the likes of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz.

Serie A: crowded at the top

The Italian League is perhaps the most exciting race this season, courtesy of the fact that only 2 points separate the first- and sixth-place teams. Napoli is currently first with 26 points, followed by four teams with 25 points (Atalanta, Fiorentina, Inter Milan and Lazio), with Juventus closing out the top six with 24 points. Nothing is guaranteed; to have six teams performing so well and a tight race for the Scudetto heading into December is quite exciting. The January transfer window also has the opportunity to shake things up a bit as certain clubs may seek to gather reinforcements for the next stage of the season.

Keep an eye out for the following games once Serie A returns:

The Derby del Sole (Napoli vs Roma) on Nov. 24 at 12:00 p.m. EST

Although Roma is currently 13th in the standings, this lineup has historically produced incredibly interesting clashes, and this one will surely not disappoint as Roma travels to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples.

Fiorentina vs. Inter Milan on Dec. 1 at 12:00 p.m. EST

The third-place team in the league will face defending champions Inter Milan in a clash that could seriously shake up the title fight for the Scudetto.

La Liga: Barcelona stumble but hold firm over Real Madrid

The Blaugrana have had an inspiring start to the season in both national and European competitions, holding a six-point lead over rivals Real Madrid after a thrilling 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. However, Hansi Flick's team fell 0-1 to Real Sociedad in their last game before the break, as starboy Lamine Yamal sat out with an injury and Robert Lewandowski saw his goal disallowed. Real Madrid will be seeking to capitalize on this and thin out Barcelona's lead as they return to competition in late November.

Elsewhere on the table, there are also some interesting stories. Girona F.C., last season's underdog story, sits in tenth with an equal number of losses and wins, partly due to a string of injuries that has swept through the club. CA Osasuna, on the other hand, are currently fifth in the table, well within Europa League Classification due to their invigorating initial third of the season.

Keep an eye out for the following game once La Liga returns:

The Derbi Vasco (Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Sociedad) on Nov. 24 at 3:00 p.m. EST

This game brings together the two most famous teams in the Basque Country. This year's lineup is intriguing as it brings together an Athletic Bilbao team that is defending a Copa del Rey title and has amazing players like brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams against a Real Sociedad team that recently beat league-leader Barcelona and boasts a strong first team with the likes of Martín Zubimendi and Takefusa Kubo.

Bundesliga: Bayern is back, Leverkusen is fourth and Dortmund faces injury crisis

Bavarian heavyweights Bayern Munich roared back with a vengeance this season after losing the Bundesliga for the first time in over a decade last season. A breath-taking goal by youngster Jamal Musiala helped them past FC St. Pauli.

Last season's champions - Bayer 04 Leverkusen - are now only at fourth. After losing their first domestic game in over a year, Xabi Alonso's men have had a good start to the season, although the team has dropped some crucial points in draws against VfL Bochum 1848, VfB Stuttgart, SV Werder Bremen and Holstein Kiel. Conversely, Borussia Dortmund, runners-up in last season's UCL, have had a difficult start to the season due to several high-profile injuries that thinned out manager Nuri Şahin's squad. It appears that, at the moment, this situation could ease up after the international break.

Keep an eye out for the following games once the Bundesliga returns:

Union Berlin vs. Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Nov. 30 at 9:30 a.m. EST

The fourth- and sixth-place teams in the Bundesliga will face off as Alonso's team seeks to climb in the championship rankings.

Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund on Nov. 30 at 12:30 p.m. EST

Der Klassiker's first iteration will also take place on matchday twelve as the Bavarians travel to Signal Iduna Park.

First there was Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), who partnered with Homewood United for Music (HUM) for their concert on Nov. 10. Then on Nov. 15, a second show was organized by Phi Kappa Psi (Phi Psi) and the Johns Hopkins Radio Club (WJHU). In the name of highlighting all of the performances on view and to create a bit of friendly competition, here are reviews of both events - a battle between each Battle of the Bands.

AEPi x HUM Battle of the Bands - Nov. 10

Inside the Glass Pavilion, there were 100 or so fold-out metal chairs lined up in front of the stage. At the door, everyone was asked whether or not they would like to vote at the end of the show. This was the concept behind the event: Nine bands would play - each one representing a different charity - and finally the audience would vote on the best performance to determine where the donation money would go.

Nine bands. When I saw the event flier, I could tell it was an ambitious lineup. As each group stepped on stage for sound checks, it occurred to me just how long it would take to coordinate and get through all of the performances - certainly longer than the two hours originally advertised. Still, everyone was excited for the show: You could hear it in the random whoops that came from the audience every couple of minutes.

The first band to take the stage was Eternal Moonlight with the 2000s rock classic "Dear Maria, Count Me In." It took a moment for AEPi's sound technician to adjust the volume levels so that lead singer Celina Chen's strong vocals could be belted without overpowering the instruments. Once they got into their groove, the band continued on to other hits, including Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower." With great emotion and little reserve, Eternal Moonlight set a solid tone for a night and ended on a glorious saxophone riff.

For the next performance, the air in the room totally changed. Introduced as a "returning favorite" and greeted by a wave of eager screams, Rope began with an iron grip on the audience and maintained it all the way through their set. Their sound was unexpected, steadily provocative and deeply interesting. Vocalist Warren Wang sent his chant-like lyrics into the microphone, where they traveled down and out through a distorted metallic filter. Like a piece of stainless steel, Rope's music was as refined as it was cold and unnerving.

Rope's set was composed entirely of originals, performed with jerky movements and an unshakeable strangeness. For one of their songs, Wang and another member of the band stepped offstage and began moving a trumpet case like it was a baby, or a ship on the ocean. Watching and hearing them made you feel weird, cotton-mouthed and dizzy. Yet for some reason, everyone leaned in - you could sense it. At one point, they even got the crowd moshing.

After Rope came Friends and Kafoona along with a totally different sound. They were colorful and warm, opening with a song that lead singer Kafoona Huang said he learned in South Africa. "The Click Song" was lovely and refreshing to listen to - the way a watermelon is always good in the summer. As they continued through their set, I could tell that the audience loved this band too, but with a new kind of affection. When Huang took off his jacket between songs, everyone jokingly hollered and cheered. When he announced he would play "Edge of Desire," someone shouted, "Oh my god, I love that one!"

The next group to perform was A Band in Theory. Dressed up in sweet sass and iconic outfits, they played some pop favorites like Chappell Roan's "Red Wine Supernova" and Billie Eilish's "LUNCH." After them came _Band, a larger group who delivered incredibly polished and jazzy C-pop songs that the audience could wave their phone flashlights to. When I looked behind me, I noticed a row of people who knew every lyric to every song and had been singing along with great spirit.

We were only halfway through the event at this point, and it had already gone on for two hours. Fortunately, the next group - Swiss Cow - was able to lift everyone's spirits with their lively and humor-edged rock numbers. Starting with blink-182's "All the Small Things" and ending with WALK THE MOON's "Shut Up and Dance," Swiss Cow was just playful and talented enough to invigorate the entire room. Memorably, someone started mooing.

Air was next, and they brought a low sultry sound to the stage that I was not expecting. Wearing all leather, the lead singer commanded attention and moved with an unwavering confidence. For their performance of Måneskin's "I Wanna Be Your Slave," two members of the band danced in an intense face-to-face position. As a band, they moved between what was sharp and smooth with such ease - it was all a little thrilling.

Following Air was The Hollow, who got the audience moving in their own right. Their vocalist sang with a steady rhythm and sense of fun, moving energetically from side to side while keeping her voice beautifully controlled. They played "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend as well as the immortal hit "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse.

Finally, it was time for the last performance of the night. Paralysis had to face the challenge created by the length of the event - it was almost 11 p.m. at this point and most people had left. Still, the band was able to garner enough enthusiasm to finish off the evening. Formed mostly by Peabody students, they had the advantage of technical skill, and so their covers were impressive and enjoyable listens.

Once the event was over, AEPi thanked the remaining audience for coming and quickly began packing up. It was too late in the night; no vote was cast to allocate the charity money.

Phi Psi x WJHU Battle of the Bands: Underground Sound - Nov. 16

I arrived early on Friday night in time to hear the scattered metallic whines of speakers unhappily placed too close to their instruments. For a moment, I listened as they echoed between the white brick walls of the Phi Psi basement. A few seconds later, the room briefly descended into darkness as the fluorescent bulbs overhead were shut, soon replaced by the warm string lights that crisscrossed the ceiling. I could already feel the room heating up as students filed in from the basement door and onto a wooden platform, just a few feet in front of where the bands were finishing tuning their guitars and adjusting the drum kit.

After a few final strums of the guitar, the first band Paralysis was ready to begin the show. Vocalist Cherry Nbo started off singing "Sk8er Boi," embodying Avril Lavigne's confident, monotone diction. Their ability to evoke the 2000s punk scene extended from their setlist to baggy jeans they donned on stage. The band followed with an excellently executed cover of Paramore's "Still Into You," getting the crowd to loosen their stiff stances and bob their heads.

Paralysis was quickly replaced with the solo artist for the night who went by Kayla. She sat down on a stool in front of the wide-eyed crowd and gave her guitar a quick tune before launching into her set. This included three original songs over chord progressions soft enough to relate to us her feelings of isolation, heartbreak and anger for a "Bitch Named Yemmi," though with a voice that captured the intimate attention of the entire room. In her final song, she declared sinister intentions towards "Yemmi's" dog with vocals as soothing as ever.

3 Iron-Road would soon take Kayla's place on stage after a brief intermission. Some people walked outside at this point, seizing upon the chance to wipe off some sweat and breathe in the crisp night air before returning to the muggy basement. Others searched for the water bottles placed on the fraternity's ping pong table in the adjacent room. But upon the first smacks of the drum by Claudio Silva, everyone returned to their places.

Soon, the basement room flooded with a slow rhythm of wavy dissonant chords plucked by 3 Iron-Road's guitarist. On Silva's cues of speedy tapping on every part of the drums - including the wooden rim - the guitar entered into a squealing, monotone riff while new ominous chord progressions were forged. To finish off the set, the drums were hit with great force in increasingly short beats until a final crash of the cymbals, when the bassist and guitarists began a duel of deep instrumental cries.

Next up was Cataclysmic: a metal band who sustained a heavy blanket of thorny sound. Their vocalist stormed from one end of the room to the other throughout their performance along with another dancer. The whole stage became noise and movement, and the crowd backed up to make room. Actually, this was the overall effect of their set: Most people were taken aback or else absorbed by the sheet of sound.

The golden child of the night was also its closer: Hopkins students' long-time favorite band - The Bohs. The group, which had been broken up for a while, temporarily reunited just for this event - which was incredibly exciting. With their easy charm and musical talent, The Bohs were always able to coax their audience into a having a great time. This performance was no different. They began with "Just A Girl" by No Doubt which - besides being a personal favorite - was also the perfect choice for an event raising donations for the Baltimore Abortion Fund. It was an anthem: Everyone danced and screamed along.

After a suave performance of "Red Wine Supernova," lead singer Faith McCarthy announced that more than $700 had been raised that night to support Baltimore's access to abortion. The crowd cheered. The band glowed red, then blue and green from the colored lighting, and something radiant filled the room. Finally, the Bohs ended with Kings of Leon's "Sex On Fire" to close the show. As people made their way out of Phi Psi's basement, they echoed this last song of the night: "Youuuuu, your sex is on fire."

Battle of the Bands versus Battle of the Bands

Side by side, these two shows each bring out each other's strengths and weaknesses.

On the one hand, AEPi and HUM's nine-band lineup made for a spectacular range of sound. Never before had I heard so many different kinds of live music in one night - from Friends and Kafoona's sunny melodies to Eternal Moonlight's hard-hitting rock, _Band's intimate vocals to Rope's fitful movements - the entire concert was incredibly diverse. By the end, I felt like I'd gotten a delicious cross-section of Hopkins and Peabody's student music production.

On the other hand, this meant that their event lasted for almost five hours, especially with long sound checks and reorganization in between sets. As a band which performed at both shows, Paralysis was able to offer a unique perspective. In an interview with The News-Letter, guitarist Roy Heng spoke on the success of the event.

"Well, it went a little long," he said. "The turnout was great - I wish more people could have stayed until the end, but it also went to 10 p.m., so. As far as logistics went, I think there just wasn't enough time for sound checks... But I was just excited to play, honestly."

By contrast, Phi Psi and WJHU's Underground Sound kept the entire event under a clean couple of hours, sustaining good mood and ambience throughout. The basement - though humid - kept everyone close to the music while the colorful lighting provided artistic atmosphere. This show was also able to raise an impressive amount of donations (ultimately $1018, according to WJHU organizer Willa Farrell), and it was known from the beginning that they would go to the Baltimore Abortion Fund, as opposed to AEPi's voting idea which - while creative - was not executed particularly clearly. Many of the bands did not announce what charity they represented, and a final vote was not cast after the event.

Above all, though, the musicians shone. It would be more than fair to declare them the winners here, as they took the stage with unabashed expression and obvious talent. Each time a band performed a new song, the excitement would rush back into the room - so collectively that you could actually feel it. I feel very lucky to have watched both shows, and I know I'll be looking forward to next year's Battle(s) of the Bands.

As soon as you entered the Ralph S. O'Connor Recreation Center (Rec Center) and passed through security, the tangible excitement could be felt through every student crowded around the stage. Groups of friends gathered - some dressed to impress, others sporting casual clothes, but all sharing the same anticipation. At 8 p.m. sharp, DJs warmed up the stage before the imminent Tiller, engaging with the Hopkins audience in classic Hopkins fashion: "If you're going to graduate school, put your hand up!" or "if you have a 4.0 GPA or higher, put your hand up!" (and to no one's surprise, basically half of the crowd put their hands up).

When DJ Flow took over, he kept the vibe alive, taking song requests from Hopkins students through Instagram direct messages, creating an intimate and personal experience. Although the DJs were fantastic in their own right, the palpable impatience for the main star of the day couldn't be ignored.

Finally, at 9 p.m., the DJs wrapped up, leaving the stage in darkness. A collective hush fell over the room as students turned their gaze to the stage, holding their breath. Five minutes passed, then 10. Just as the anticipation reached a peak and the wait felt endless, Tiller appeared in a burst of light and sound, igniting the room instantly. The crowd erupted, and phones shot up as smoke machines poured fog across the stage, creating a surreal, almost dreamlike atmosphere with Tiller's voice echoing through the speakers.

His smooth voice combined with the excellent R&B samples and the introspective, remorseful, yearning lyrics made its mark in the Rec Center. The soulful vibes resonated across the stage: the dark keys, sinister hi-hats and pain-stricken vocals reverberated through the crowd. Tiller made it a point to move along the edge of the stage, coming at times so near to the crowd that you could practically feel his presence. For those in the front row, it felt unreal - you could see every detail, from the print on his Fender graphic T-shirt to the emotion in his eyes as he delivered each line.

The visuals behind him on the big screen added to the experience, cycling through stunning graphics and animations that captured the essence of each song. Although some songs felt a little too slow at times, the exciting songs were interspersed in a way that would bring the buoyancy of the crowd back to ample levels. Personally, I am not a big Tiller fan: his songs are a little slow for my taste, but I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere and thrill that he brought on that Saturday night.

In an interview with The News-Letter, undergraduate student Camille Oteyza talked about her experience.

"I really enjoyed going with my friends; that was the best part," she said.

However, there were some complaints regarding the atmosphere: two other undergraduate students in the audience - Henry Bai and Harry Zhang - commented to The News-Letter about the similarities of the concert to a high school dance, with the setting of the concert being in the Rec Center and the lack of a dedicated and fanatical crowd.

Nevertheless, the songs could be appreciated - Bai said that he enjoyed "Whatever She Wants" most. It seemed that the majority of students at the concert were not particularly big Tiller fans and more so attracted to the opportunity and idea of the concert itself.

In the end, Tiller's show at Hopkins was a pretty great one, even if the vibe did give off a bit of a "high school dance" energy. Sure, the Rec Center setup wasn't exactly Coachella, and most of the crowd seemed more pumped about having a concert at all than being die-hard Tiller fans. But for $15, who's complaining? With Tiller's smooth R&B sounds filling the room and the crowd vibing along, the night had its fair share of enjoyable moments. Whether you came for the music, the friends or just an excuse to skip the library, Tiller gave everyone something to talk about. Maybe Tiller isn't everyone's vibe, but he brought the excitement, and excitement is just what Hopkins students need.

To help you hit the reset button, here are five simple ways I recharge after classes - no need for faraway trips or breaking the bank!

Watch your comfort show or movie

There's nothing quite like returning to your comfort zone after a long day. Rewatching classic sitcoms like The Office or Friends feels like a piece of home, especially for freshmen who suddenly find themselves far from everything familiar. There's something magical about curling up under a pile of blankets, surrounded by pillows and enjoying your favorite show.

If you're up for it, invite some friends over, even if you're planning to watch something emotional. After all, the only thing better than laughing together is crying together! My personal favorite is Grey's Anatomy (and no, not because I'm pre-med). It's just the perfect mental escape - letting me disappear into another world and forget about the day's stress.

Go for a run or walk to clear your head

Whether you're taking a brisk walk around campus, hitting the weights at the Rec Center or going for a 3-mile run, exercise is a great way to clear your mind. It might sound counterintuitive, especially when you're already drained after a long day of classes, but trust me, being active is a game-changer. Those feel-good endorphins can make you feel like you can take on anything. Even a short workout can shift your perspective and boost your mood.

If you need a mental break as much as a physical one, exercising outdoors can be particularly refreshing. The fresh air, rustling leaves and rhythmic sound of your footsteps can transform your outlook, leaving you feeling more centered and capable.

Get creative with art or crafts

Tap into your creative side! Even if the best you can draw is stick figures, creating something with your hands can shift your focus from academic stress. There are countless ways to explore art: pick up a brush pen for lettering or try your hand at graphic design with Adobe InDesign. The goal isn't perfection - it's expression. Sometimes, the process itself is more relaxing than the finished product.

Looking to take it further? Join a creative club! You'll meet like-minded people and discover new ways to unwind. (A little birdie told me The News-Letter is looking for contributors; just saying!) The best part? You don't need to be a pro: just showing up and giving yourself permission to create without pressure can help you relax and recharge.

Eat something good or cook with friends

Whether it's a steaming bowl of ramen (a classic college staple), a sandwich made from whatever you can scrounge up (yes, ketchup and potatoes can work), or a luxurious treat via UberEats, nothing hits the spot like food. Sometimes, it's not even about what you eat, but the simple act of slowing down to savor something delicious.

Short on time? Try making quick dishes like pasta with pesto or microwavable mug cakes. Meal prepping on weekends can save you the stress of cooking after classes. And, if you're up for it, gather your roommates or friends for a cooking session! It not only brings everyone closer but also means you don't have to handle all the dishes solo.

Journal for mindfulness

Journaling for mindfulness is hands-down one of the best ways to calm a mind that's swirling with worries. When everything feels insurmountable, there's something incredibly soothing about grabbing a notebook, climbing into bed and just writing it all out. Vent about how your regrade request is still stuck in limbo, how your professor dared to assign another 10-page paper or even how your hoodie getting snagged on the door handle was really the final straw.

What's great about journaling is that it's entirely yours. If you want to end the day on a positive note, jot down three things you're thankful for. But if you need to let off steam, it's the perfect place to vent your deepest frustrations (just be sure to tuck your journal away safely if you're really letting loose). Whether you use it to reflect, unwind or gain clarity, journaling is a comforting way to reset and breathe.

The exhaustion brought on by day after day of hustling can only be countered by prioritizing yourself. Whether you go for a run, lose yourself in something creative, jot down your thoughts, binge-watch your favorite show or cook up something tasty with friends, taking time for self-care is essential. Burnout is a destructive force, so remember to find what works best for you and don't be afraid to reach out for help if you need it!

To everyone and everything that I have ever loved,

"Love" is one of the most - if not the most - elusive emotions for a person to experience. Whether you're an artist or a scholar, defining "love" is a nearly impossible task. Perhaps due to its abstractness or broad definition, conveying this emotion is an intricate skill that takes years to perfect.

Think of Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan by Ilya Repin and how the depiction of familial passions comes to a climax with the depictions of grief in loss. Consider one of my favorite poets T. S. Eliot and how "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" expresses the complexities of unrequited romantic sexual frustration. Both forms of artistry depict different forms of love exceptionally, but required years of skill to perfect.

Even scholars like Albert Camus dictate that "A love which cannot be faced with reality is not a real love," defining love through a lens of existential authenticity. Camus suggests that love must confront the raw truths of human existence to hold genuine meaning. These varied depictions, whether through art, poetry or philosophy, demonstrate that love transcends simplistic definitions. Its elusiveness lies in its duality: love is both deeply personal and universally resonant.

So now that it is "cuffing season," it leaves young college students like me to wonder: What is my definition of "love" and how can I cope with it?

Undeniably, I miss my family. After every phone call to my parents, I get filled with the urge to fly back home. The place my home holds in my heart is irreplaceable; longing for my favorite places is at the forefront of my mind as finals approach. I miss my best friends and crave my town's local library. Then again, when I went back home and got briefly separated from my life at Hopkins, I found myself craving the castle-like atmosphere of the MSE Library Annex. I was shocked to find that I missed the bustle of the cityscape when I took the JHMI to the medical campus and lamented the loss of my Amazon mattress topper as I slept in my bed at home.

Above all, I found myself craving the hugs from my college friends. To be able to love "home" is to find your definition of "home." Having my heart torn between two worlds is confusing, but I must learn that love is the byproduct of living experiences. My ventures in Baltimore and Pensacola will lead me to love both halves of home.

For me, learning is its own kind of love - one that fills life with passion and purpose. Each time I open a book, engage with a new idea or ask a question, I feel a connection spark. As a lover of the humanities at a predominantly STEM-focused school, I expect to hear jokes about my balancing act between writing and chemistry. Knowledge isn't a companion in the conventional sense, but it's something that grows alongside me, shaping me and allowing me to shape it in return.

In learning, there's an endless opportunity to be more: more curious, more aware and more engaged with the world and its wonders. To be in love with learning is to commit to the pursuit of truth and the beauty of never-ending questions, even when they lead to uncertainty. And just as with any love, it requires patience, acceptance and the willingness to evolve. I am still learning, and for that, I am endlessly grateful.

As a teenager, I often thought that romantic love was anything but what the poets say. How can love be soft like light when it causes me such anguish when I lose it? How can it be as gentle as a summer breeze when it leaves me feeling as raw as a wound? If love is supposed to complete us, why does it often leave us feeling so empty? Why do I love to give so much of myself?

Now that I'm growing older, I realize that romantic love does not begin with the desire for companionship, but a mutual devotion and friendship for one another. To accomplish this, I must concede that there are many things that I need to learn about loving, starting with loving myself. Though I often struggle with coming to terms with the fact that I will never be "perfect," I can still work to improve the person I am by finding what makes me happy.

So to everyone and everything I have ever loved: Thank you for being part of my journey, imperfect as it may be. I know that love, in all its forms - whether for people, places or ideas - will always challenge me to give more than I feel I have and to forgive myself when I fall short. If I were perfect, I'd be able to give my entire heart to those I love, but my imperfections are part of the beauty of learning to love and to love well.

Every day, I discover more about who I am through what and how I love. With each step, I come closer to understanding that love isn't about filling an empty space but about expanding my capacity for kindness, patience and acceptance. Learning to appreciate these small discoveries, to be gentle with myself when I stumble and to embrace love as an evolving journey instead of a destination is how I've started to feel whole again.

Kaylee Nguyen is a freshman from Pensacola, Fla. studying Molecular & Cellular Biology and Writing Seminars.

From time to time, I noticed that some of my acquaintances had reposted the same post, which featured the caricature of a person pointing to themselves and had the caption, "Guess who will still be your friend no matter who you vote for. Know why? Because that's called being an adult."

I agree that different political views don't necessarily mark the end of a friendship; however, losing friends due to conflicting opinions is acceptable and possible.

Some friendships that sour due to politics stem from rushing into them. Instead of getting to know someone and then calling them a friend, we decide to call them a friend first and get disappointed as we get to know them better. According to research studies, even forming a casual friendship takes at least 40 hours of time spent together, while it might take more than 200 hours to become good friends, emphasizing the length of time it takes to genuinely bond with someone.

Coming back to politics, despite my extensive socialization experience from New Student Orientation back in freshman year and the number of "What major are you?" questions I've answered since coming here (you can call me an expert), not a single person I've met asked me about my political stance.

I'm not suggesting that they should have. I'm glad that the presidential candidate I would vote for is not what people are most curious about, but it is indisputable that the lack of political dialogue at the beginning of friendships might cause troubles in the future and change the trajectory of a friendship forever - we should accept this. In the case there are conflicts impossible to resolve, people should come to the realization that they don't have to suffer through a friendship because not doing so would make them less of an adult or upset those that got cut off.

Friendships are two-sided, and they must bring mutual happiness and joy. Upsettingly, politics can ruin that, and I personally hate that it is one of the many factors that create divisiveness within communities (even in families). However, if you can't change the game, play it. Be selfish; don't sacrifice your peace if there are problems you can't get past. If it really bothers you that your best friend turned out to be pro-gun or anti-abortion or pro-immigration, evaluate if that friendship brings you more misery than it does joy. Don't feel bad for prioritizing yourself and cutting them off.

Similarly, if you lose a friend, try to understand that it is equally hard on their side. Friendship breakups are heartbreaking, yet there might be times where we feel the need to prioritize our values over people for long-term happiness.

College is an era of discovery and this also applies to friendships. Over the years, thanks to the acquaintances we come across and sometimes make friends (or enemies) with, we understand our expectations from relationships better. Maybe many of us didn't even recognize politics as a major deal breaker before the election season, and this is part of the learning experience.

There might be some who can tolerate such differences better, and maybe such people used to be more prevalent in the past when the policy agendas of Democrats and Republicans had more in common than they do today. Especially now that one party's agenda features limited access to abortion and campaigns that target the LGBTQIA+ community, it is understandable that many people are less tolerant to the opposing viewpoint. At this stage, disagreements in policy turn into a desperate attempt by disadvantaged groups to protect their rights.

While we should hope and strive for a future where politics do not divide us, we should come to terms with the harsh reality that politics matter, and focus on friendships that give us what we wish for. If differences of opinion are not a reason for you to lose a friend, then keep going, but accept that it might not be as easy for others and that they don't owe you their friendship.

Buse Koldas is a sophomore from Istanbul, Turkey majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She is the Voices Editor for The News-Letter.

How many times has the group chat exploded with texts as the news of the latest loss of our civil liberties hits the headlines?

It was this same feeling-the powerless, how-could-it-possibly-get-any-worse feeling-that we experienced in the aftermath of George Floyd's killing and in the wake of the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings that murdered six Asian women.

"What happens now?" we wondered, with dread. But we also asked ourselves: "What can we do?"

Through chance meetings and conversations with friends, the three of us realized that as a group, we had the chance to create something new. We formed a coalition to advocate for a stronger, more coherent university response to the social crises we faced.

Alongside other students and faculty, we sought to create an activism-oriented academic program that enables students to study the connections, solidarities, and dissonances among geographical and cultural areas of study - issues that are at the root of the inequality and exploitation our communities face. By teaching students how to critically evaluate the world around us and understand the underlying systems in place, we can help prepare the next generation of activists in all sectors, from healthcare to policymaking to grassroots organizing.

This university response comes in the form of a new, socially driven course of study that is fully launching next semester. It's called Critical Diaspora Studies (CDS), the newest undergraduate major at Hopkins.

Housed in the Chloe Center for the Critical Study of Racism, Immigration, and Colonialism, Critical Diaspora Studies is a program in which community-engaged learning is a required and integral part of the curriculum. Already, students taking CDS pilot courses have produced original research on the history of Chinese immigrants in Baltimore and the military-industrial complex in the Maryland, Virginia, and DC area.Fast forward four years from its inception in 2021, and students will officially be able to declare CDS as a major this spring. Its four focal areas of study are:

• Migration and Borders
• Global Indigeneities
• Empires, Wars, and Carceralities
• Solidarities, Social Movements, and Citizenship.

This spring, CDS will launch four new courses, and at least 16 additional cross-listed classes. These include Humanities Research Lab: The Black Panther Party and the Politics of Decolonization, Insurgent Interdisciplines: Critical Diaspora Studies in Historical Context, and Methods in Critical Diaspora Studies.

In the days following the election, Instagram stories have been full of calls to action. "Get organized!" "Get active!"

But what does this mean? How do we start? We hope you will join us - in CDS classes, in our working group, and in our fight for collective liberation - as we continue to learn and contribute to organizations both on and off campus. Feel free also to reach out by email (hopkins.cds@gmail.com) or DM our Instagram (@cdsjhu) to get in touch with us.

CDS was built on the idea that learning about the crises of our day is only the first step. Many of our classes, like Freedom Education: Embodied Speculative History of Maryland Schools for African Americans in the 1800s offered this spring, will work directly with community-based organizations in Baltimore. CDS foregrounds learning, both critically in the classroom and experientially in the community - we can learn from Baltimore partners to make meaningful change.

Launching this new major is a key step toward a more justice-oriented curriculum at Hopkins. In the face of attacks on higher education and especially on diversity-based programming that the incoming presidential administration is promising, we call on Hopkins to redouble its commitments to inclusivity. We need more, not less, educational programming that focuses on racism, immigration, and colonialism. To mount the full complement of promised CDS courses, we need more tenure-track faculty who research Asian diasporas, global migrations and borders, Indigenous peoples of the Americas and beyond, and, as the headlines remind us, Gaza.

We are tired of feeling devastated and powerless. That's why we, as students - not as professors or administrators - created CDS. It's a grassroots project with a bottom-up vision of empowerment. Even in these post-election times, we remain convinced that neither government nor administrative forces can monopolize political and social power. Collective power is up to us to build - but only if we resist the pull of the Hopkins bubble, engage in critical scholarship, and put it toward a practice of reparation, justice and liberation.

Natalie Wang '24, Joyce Wang '22, and Kobi Khong '23 are Hopkins alumni who helped launch the Critical Diaspora Studies undergraduate major at Hopkins.

Am I talking about Picasso's 1907 Les Demoiselles d'Avignon or about Elon Musk's relatively new Cybertruck? If you weren't sure either, maybe you've already made the connection that the Cybertruck is our modern version of cubist artwork. We've moved away from the canvas and oil paints and ventured into the world of stainless steel and armor glass.

Analogous to the Metropolitan Museum's description of Picasso's painting as "stylization and distortion" of the traditional art concepts, we saw Musk looking for shock-factor and dramatic differentiation as he entered the truck manufacturing space. Both Picasso and Tesla's chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, embraced geometry and stark two-dimensionality - reducing the desire for volume, curvature and conventional aerodynamics. The result is a shared appreciation for rigidity and intensity that challenges established aesthetics.

These two groundbreaking designs are one of the first of their kind, making them not only easily recognizable, but the benchmark that future variations and developments will compare back to and past versions look towards. Much like Paul Cézanne's landscapes are commonly known as precursors of Picasso's figures, early electric pickups like the Rivian R1T (released a year before the Cybertruck) precede von Holzhausen's design.

The paragon piece of a new artistic movement is often more memorable to the layman's eye than the progression towards it. To Cézanne and Rivian's dismay, when I say "cubism" you'll say Picasso, and I'll say Franz von Holzhausen. The latter drew inspiration from pop-culture, think "Blade Runner 2049" and the submarine car from "The Spy Who Loved Me" (a classic James Bond film). This was the same trend we saw in the years leading up to 1907, though "pop-culture" looked different and so did cultural context. Picasso's figures' faces are modeled after African masks and their nude bodies allude to expanding prostitution across Europe.

Naturally, the two creators, separated by approximately a century, did not entirely neglect their predecessors' ways, continuing to incorporate best-practices in the fields of oil painting and automotive design. Just as you learned in your middle school years, triangles remain the standard of stability and the separation of complementary colors persists as a tool of contrast.

In the Cybertruck's design process, we've seen a myriad of variants, ranging from a Tesla-ified Ford-F150, to a smoother curved contour design, and the path from curvature to angles and rigidity is wholly evident. It serves as a clear parallel to Picasso's transformative piece, where figures of three-dimensions and realistic volume are taken from curvature to primarily straight lines.

Yet, a contradiction in this analogy ensues: Picasso takes the three-dimensional and transfers it to a two-dimensional surface, choosing to omit the illusion of depth, whereas von Holzhaussen takes the three-dimensional vehicle and, by means of flattening its features, renders it to appear two-dimensional from almost all angles. While Picasso's method is comprehensible, the latter's isn't - it looks surreal.

Many would argue that this surreal nature is merely a factor of automotive design, falling short to the greater concerns of horsepower, precision steering, and enhanced braking systems. Yet, we would be dishonest if we said we didn't care about the aesthetics, myself included. At the end of the day, it's the first aspect we truly grasp at first glance. When we're driving, we clock the cars on either side of us, knowing exactly which is the new muscle car of the year and which is the fully electric vehicle simply based on its exterior design.

Considering the latter point, maybe the Cybertruck is not anything extraordinary, simply a dramatization of the evolving aesthetic design of electric vehicles. I would agree except for one factor: The public's reaction was quick, emotional, and intense, matching that of twentieth century Parisians in regard to cubist artwork in a largely unprecedented way. We can see that Tesla's twist just hit differently than the others. Having reached a plateau in what met our eyes on the road, we needed an artistic renaissance to spark intrigue and conversation. Cybertruck did exactly that.

As we move forward, we can question whether the Cybertruck's style will catch on and influence other manufacturer's designs of the future, maybe even creating "surrealist" models we can select on the drop down menus, just as Picasso's paintings influenced artists like Salvador Dali (arguably the most well known European Surrealist). Electric vehicles of Audi, Lexus, Volkswagen and Lucid have caught on to the "cubist" wave, with thin full bumper head and tail lights, while other makes are shaping their cars' contours with sharper angles, aiming for that "edgy futuristic" look. However, a move into true surrealist car design is going to take an engineer's mind and an artist's intuition. Let's see if Tesla has what it takes to become the Picasso-turned-Dali of the American highway.

Lana Milman is a junior from Baltimore, Md. majoring in Neuroscience and French.

Women's cross country: NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Champions

The women's cross country team clinched their 16th consecutive NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship this weekend, earning a guaranteed spot in the NCAA Championship. This title comes after the program's victory in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Mid Atlantic Championships, hosted on Nov. 8.

The Hopkins delegation - consisting of juniors Adriana Catalano, Aisling Callahan and Jamie Stelnik, graduate students Triya Roy, Emma Puetz and Phoebe White, and freshman Sydney Shock - had top-35 finishes, with five of our athletes earning top twelve finishes in the six-kilometer event. These fantastic performances helped lift Hopkins to first place on the team scoreboard, ahead of second-placed Carnegie Mellon University and third-placed Gettysburg College.

Shoutout to Puetz and Catalano for their third- and fourth-place finishes! Keep an eye out for our cross country athletes as they compete in the NCAA championships on Nov. 23.

Men's cross country: Second place in the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship

Our men's cross country athletes had a great weekend at the regional championship this weekend, finishing in second place as Junior Emmanuel Leblond conquered the individual title, becoming the second athlete in program history to achieve this! After a victory at the ECAC Division III Mid-Atlantic Championships, our Blue Jay athletes extended this success, as all seven Hopkins runners achieved top-35 finishes.

Congratulations to Leblond (first), graduate student Lucas Rackers (third), sophomore Kenny Wanlass (eighth), junior Rowan Cassidy (ninth), graduate student Sean Enright (19th), junior Connor Oiler (26th) and senior Andrew Myers (28th). Leblond, Rackers, Wanlass and Cassidy all received automatic qualifications for the NCAA championships. There is still an opportunity for our other runners through an NCAA process known as an at-large bid. You can read more about this process here on the NCAA official webpage!

Women's volleyball: W(3-0), W(3-0, Centennial Conference champions)

The women's volleyball team had a fantastic home game this Saturday, Nov.16 in a 3-0 conference semi-final shutout against Gettysburg College, with final set scores of 25-20, 25-15 and 25-21. Our athletes hit an impressive .387 and improved to 28-2 in the season to advance to the Championship title match for the eighth consecutive year. Shoutout to junior Simone Adam, senior Simrin Carlsen, sophomore Ivy Swafford and graduate student Jilienne Widener for their combined 48 kills!

The following day, on Nov. 17, the Jays played the Swarthmore College Phoenixes to decide the winner of the conference, and they beat the Phoenixes three sets to zero to claim an eighth consecutive Centennial Conference title! Our athletes had an incredible outing this Sunday, claiming the first set with a score of 25-18, with the final point being a kill by Carlsen. A stunning run during this first set allowed the Jays to flip the scoreboard from 4-6 to 9-6. Following from this, the second set saw the Jays extend their advantage with a 25-16 triumph, with a remarkable four points by service aces! The third and final set saw strong competition and memorable drives from both teams before Hopkins embarked on a powerful six-point run to wrap up the set 25-16.

Upcoming games

As we head into the final weeks of the fall semester, there are several exciting championship tournaments coming up for our fall and winter sports as well as some season openers for our spring sports!

As previously mentioned, our cross country athletes will head to the NCAA Championships this upcoming Saturday, Nov. 23!

In addition, as the basketball season gets underway, keep an eye out for our women's and men's basketball teams. The former will be playing two games this upcoming weekend: a game against Roanoke College at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 and followed the next day by a game against Randolph-Macon College at 4 p.m. Our men's basketball team will also play two games, traveling up to Grand Rapids, Miss. to take on John Carroll University and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23, respectively.