Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 26, 2024

Opinion

The opinions presented below are solely the views of the author and do not represent the views of The News-Letter. If you are a member of the Hopkins community looking to submit a piece or a letter to the editor, please email opinions@jhunewsletter.com.



PRATEEK KATYAL / PEXELS LICENSE
Pollard suggests more people try giving social media a break.

Tap out and log off: Try deleting your social media

In the last days of 2022, I traveled back home after a difficult finals season to a schedule full of absolutely nothing on my calendar for a few weeks. For perhaps the first time since starting college, I was completely free from academic and work obligations. 


We need to expand our conception of eating disorders

Last week was the 39th annual Eating Disorders Awareness Week, a period devoted to sharing and reflecting upon lived experiences and eating disorder education. The week of awareness is one of many impactful initiatives spearheaded by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), representing a time to advocate for those affected by eating and body image disorders. It is also a time to invite additional people into the conversation.



FIBONACCI BLUE / CC BY 2.0
After a record-breaking number of shootings in January, the Editorial Board calls for a renewed fight for gun control.

Gun violence is a life-or-death issue. We need to act like it.

As soon as the holiday season came to a close, the grim reality of gun violence in America once again reared its head. We didn’t even have time to take down our Christmas trees before headlines were filled with tragedy after tragedy — this past January was the worst January on record for mass shootings, both in terms of frequency and the number of casualties. 


AMANDA MILLS / CC0 1.0 UNIVERSAL
Liu argues the tiger parenting style, common among Asian American parents, is flawed.

Tiger parents should change their stripes

As an Asian American student, I regularly hear my peers talk about the academic and career pressures they face at home and some of the resentment they feel toward how their parents raised them. I’ve come to think that the Asian parenting style has left us with more burdens than benefits, even though we did our best to fulfill our parents’ definition of success.


ROEE SHPERNIK / CC BY-SA 4.0
Raj cautions that the bird flu threat should be taken seriously.

The bird flu outbreak requires a solution

While the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, a new threat looms on the horizon: the avian influenza (more commonly known as bird flu) outbreak that is sweeping across the globe. In particular, the H5N1 strain of this virus is raising fears among scientists monitoring its spread. We must be proactive about the bird flu before this outbreak grows into a pandemic.


STEVEN SIMPSON / PHOTO EDITOR
Tan suggests that a college education is not the sole path to success.

College doesn’t have to be for everyone

Chances are you’ve been faced with the college question — “Will you or won’t you go to university?” — posed by (hopefully) well-intentioned guardians, mentors or friends. Otherwise, you might be like me, someone from a community where college was never seen as an option but as an imperative.



SHOURYA ARASHANAPALLI / DESIGN STAFF

TRU-UE is finally in the game. Will Hopkins play fair?

Teachers and Researchers United (TRU) — affiliated with United Electrical Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) — has achieved a historic milestone. Last week, after more than four years of organizing, Hopkins graduate students voted to unionize with a resounding 97% majority.


Is TikTok the new Times? Why we must choose reliable sources

As Editors-in-Chief of The Johns Hopkins News-Letter, one of our roles is to serve as the public face of the paper, which means we can often be found around campus delivering print papers, at tabling events or simply repping our News-Letter tote bags or crewnecks. It never fails to astound us when students ask, “We have a school newspaper?”


True crime is exploitative and harmful

True crime, a genre of media that tells the stories of real-life crimes committed by and against real people, has boomed in popularity in recent years. There are hundreds of true crime YouTube channels, podcasts and numerous Reddit threads, including r/truecrime and r/truecrimediscussion, for people to hear and discuss true crime stories. 


Be gone, bot: Don’t use AI to cheat your way through college.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing higher education, but as we integrate ChatGPT, a language model created by OpenAI, into our classrooms, we must also consider the ethical implications. Privacy, accountability, and the student-teacher dynamic are all at stake. It's crucial that we take responsibility for ensuring the responsible use of this powerful technology, before it's too late.


COURTESY OF ELVAR B. BJARKASON
PhD candidates Siddiqui and Brig-Ortiz encourage other Hopkins graduate students to vote in support of a union.

Our union is our power, and today we take it.

After years of struggling with the University and barely improving working conditions, almost 3,200 doctoral students at Hopkins are finally voting to form a graduate student worker union. This is the culmination of years of organizing for a living wage, protections for international students, fair grievance procedures and so much more that graduate workers need to lead a dignified life. 


YUSUKETAKEUCHI / CC BY 2.0
Tuschman argues free medical school is necessary due to the impending physician shortage and the benefits of diversity in medicine.

America needs free medical school

At a school like Hopkins, it can seem like half of the student body is pre-med. You can’t walk through Brody Atrium without hearing someone mention shadowing, clinical research or biochemistry. From the moment their undergraduate experience begins, pre-med students are stressing about getting into medical school. 


JOHN D’CRUZ / GRAPHICS EDITOR

Don’t let the winter blues get you down.

This week kicked off the start of the spring semester. Though we have new classes and new professors, it’s difficult to feel excited with Baltimore’s cold and gray winter weather hanging over campus. Our surroundings may be bleak, but it doesn’t mean our days should be, too.


SHOURYA ARASHANAPALLI / DESIGN STAFF

Get through finals, then get involved

We have come to the end of another semester at Hopkins. Fall 2022 was challenging, rewarding and in many ways the first “normal” semester since the University suspended in-person instruction in March 2020.



JINA LIM / CARTOONS EDITOR
Tuschman advises students considering study abroad to do thorough research before selecting a program. 

Manage your expectations for study abroad

Ever since The Cheetah Girls 2 premiered on Disney Channel in 2006, I’ve wanted to go to Spain. Granted, I was 4 years old. I don’t think I even grasped what countries were then. Yet, I knew I wanted to see the streets of Barcelona where the girl group sang “Strut.”


GAGE SKIDMORE / CC BY 3.0
Boppana predicts a 2024 presidential campaign by former President Donald Trump will hurt the Republican party, regardless of whether Trump is the Republican nominee or runs as a third-party candidate.

Trump running in 2024 is a problem for Republicans

On Nov. 15, former President Donald Trump announced from his Mar-a-Lago residence that he would be running for president for the third time. Trump cannot be allowed to escape the consequences of his presidency. He denied the results of the 2020 election and incited violence at the Capitol in January of 2021. 


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