On Friday Feb. 28, the Hopkins Political Union hosted a debate between the Johns Hopkins College Republicans and the Hopkins Democrats, during which both student groups discussed the Trump administration's actions regarding immigration and the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman and Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) published a list of over $2.05 billion in National Science Foundation (NSF) grants that he claimed “promoted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or advanced neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda,” on Feb. 11.
On Friday, March 7, 2025, Stand Up for Science, a volunteer-based operation designed to protest perceived threats to scientific research and funding, gathered outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The demonstration, which drew approximately 2,000 participants — including Hopkins students, lab groups and over 30 speakers from academia, hospitals and government — highlighted concerns over frozen research grants, the dismissal of government scientists and rollbacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
On Jan. 21, 2025 the Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Benjamin Huffman announced a directive that universities, hospitals, and religious spaces are no longer protected from immigration law enforcement activities. This detective overturned a 2021 memorandum that stated schools, healthcare families, places of worship and social services establishments were protected spaces where immigration law enforcement operations should not be carried out.
On Feb. 20, the Baltimore City Department of Planning’s Urban Design and Architecture Advisory Panel (UDAAP) reviewed plans regarding the Alumni Memorial Residence (AMR) I residence hall renovations. During this meeting, the University presented schematic designs of the new student housing and dining facility to the UDAAP.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday, March 10, that the Trump administration had completed its six-week review of programs within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and will shutter 83% of the programs. The rest of the programs will be folded into the U.S. Department of State. The News-Letter spoke with several faculty and staff members at the School of Public Health whose work has been affected by the termination of USAID grants or reductions in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Andrew Thampoe is a senior completing a BS/MS in Chemistry in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. He is also the founder of the Organic Chemistry Initiative (OCI), an organization assisting Hopkins students who take organic chemistry courses in developing their understanding of the material in a cooperative environment. In an interview with The News-Letter, Thampoe described OCI’s history, its impact on the student body and personal meaning to him.
The holy month of Ramadan began on the evening of Feb. 28 for Muslims around the world. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar when Muslims around the world fast and focus on spiritual growth, abstaining from food and drink from the break of dawn to sunset. To gain insight into the experience of observing Ramadan on campus, The News-Letter interviewed Muslim students at Hopkins about their reflections and challenges during this holy month.
On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute and the Bloomberg Center hosted a discussion titled “What Venezuela’s Transition Means for Security and Democracy in the Hemisphere” at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue. At the event, Venezuelan president-elect Edmundo González Urrutia; Venezuelan political leader of the opposition María Corina Machado; and SNF Agora Dissident in Residence and former Venezuelan leader David Smolansky spoke about the country’s democratic struggles.
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Student Government Association (SGA) convened to receive updates from Student Health and Well-being, Admissions, and Information Technology Services. They also passed the Senior Memorabilia Bill, Copa América Bill, and the Junior Formal cooperative with HopTHON bill.
On Friday, Feb. 21 Hopkins at Home, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute, and the Alumni in Government, Academia, Law & Policy Community hosted “Executive Power: How Presidential Authority Reshapes Our Relationship with Democracy and Daily Life” as the first online event of a four-part series titled "First 100 Days: From Home to Abroad.” Each part seeks to examine a different facet of executive power during the first 100 days of President Donald J. Trump’s second term.
On Wednesday, Feb. 26, the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute (AGHI) and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute at Hopkins co-hosted an online panel discussion titled “Academic Freedom and the First Amendment.” The event is the first in the AGHI’s Conflict in the Middle East: Contexts and Ramifications series.
On Wednesday March 5, a federal judge issued a nationwide temporary injunction against the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) plan to reduce reimbursement for grant-related costs at universities and research institutions nationwide. The preliminary injunction supersedes a temporary restraining order that was issued on Feb. 10.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, the Student Government Association (SGA) Judiciary granted a Writ of Certiorari for a petition filed by former Senator Jackson Morris against SGA. In the petition, Morris called for the judiciary to consider whether current SGA practices constitute a violation of SGA’s constitution and the Bylaws of the Senate, specifically regarding the availability of SGA minutes, meetings and proceedings to the public.
On Tuesday, March 4, President Ronald J. Daniels sent out an email titled “Our bond at a moment of challenge,” addressing the University’s commitment to research and its response to recent executive orders affecting federal funding.
On Tuesday, Feb. 19 the East Asian Studies Department hosted an event titled “Comparative History Matters: Health Insurance, Medicine, and Ideology in China and Taiwan” as a part of their Spring 2025 Speaker Series.
On Feb. 21, 2025, the Black Student Union (BSU) hosted the “Legacy and Progress” event, showcasing an alumni panel and a museum exhibition with stories and photographs dating back to BSU’s founding in 1968. Held in the Gilman Atrium, the event’s museum exhibition featured old photographs of BSU throughout the decades, Black performance advertisements, protest signs and yearbooks.
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, the Johns Hopkins University Police Accountability Board hosted their second meeting of the spring semester to discuss policies and logistics of the Johns Hopkins Police Department (JHPD)
On Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, the Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs announced that the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism would visit ten universities, including Hopkins, to assess reports of antisemitic incidents and determine potential further action.
On Tuesday, Feb. 25 the Student Government Association (SGA) convened for their weekly meeting.
