Last Thursday, following decades of accusations from over 50 survivors of sexual assault and years of courtroom battles, a Pennsylvania jury finally found Bill Cosby guilty on three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault, which include sexually assaulting a woman he had drugged in 2004.
At the start of the semester, The News-Letter set to work on an in-depth feature about the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) and its handling of sexual assault and harassment cases. Over the past several months, eight survivors came forward to share their stories with our reporter. We would like to recognize those eight individuals who bravely shared their stories with The News-Letter.
As Hopkins students, it is easy to become enchanted by our elite education and the grandeur of the brick and marble buildings on campus. Yet it is important to remember the mistakes of the people who have led and worked for our University.
But when the University makes a decision — whether it is about covered grades, fossil fuel divestment or private police — it does not have to act on SGA input, let alone consult the SGA at all. The New Horizons ticket acknowledges this problem and their solution is to generate grassroots support among students and faculty. However, we urge them and the rest of us to think broader. If we want students to have a voice in what our University does, the current system must change.
Last Friday, Maryland state legislators announced that they are withdrawing their support for the bill that would have allowed the University to create a private police force. This announcement came as a victory for the many student and community organizers who have been working tirelessly over the past couple of weeks to defeat the bill.
The student group Advocates for Disability Awareness (ADA) released a series of demands on Monday calling for the University to address a series of deficiencies in the way Hopkins currently accommodates students with disabilities. These demands, which are addressed to senior administrators, including President Ronald J. Daniels, were made in the wake of the dismissal of Dr. Brent Mosser. Mosser was the former director of academic support and disability services and served as an important advocate for students with disabilities on campus.
Residential Advisors (RAs) are some of the first people we meet upon arriving at Hopkins. They shape our first year experience and ease us through the transition from high school to college. The responsibilities of an RA go beyond just the hours they spend on duty. The job is vital to the emotional wellbeing of students and the position can often be emotionally, physically and psychologically taxing on RAs themselves.
We understand that there are parents, students and community members who support this initiative. However, in just the past week, there has been enough skepticism about this proposal that we question why the school is asking, “What do we want this police force to look like?” when it should be asking, “Do we even want a police force?”
At a time when local publications across the nation are facing increasing financial pressures, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to these local outlets. We are in a city that is grappling with how it is telling its own story.
This past Monday, with no prior warning, Hopkins students received an email from University President Ronald J. Daniels and CEO of Hopkins Medicine Paul B. Rothman regarding a bill that is being introduced this week in the Maryland General Assembly.
Responding to pressure from students in 2016, the University began a thorough review of the status of mental health across all nine Hopkins schools. At that time, they formed the Task Force on Student Mental Health and Well-being which is comprised of 28 faculty, staff and students.
The Peer-led Team Learning Program (PILOT) is one of University’s most successful initiatives for fostering academic collaboration and creative learning. PILOT has become an important institution particularly for students in introductory math, science and engineering courses in which large class sizes can hinder our ability to learn.
Last spring, the University announced that Shriver Hall would be closed during the fall semester of 2017 to address safety concerns from old lighting and wiring systems. This construction was originally expected to be finished by the beginning of this semester.
We believe that the choice of rededicating the space to Harriet Tubman, a black woman who sacrificed so much for the freedom of others, is the right decision.
With categorical evidnece that sea levels are rising and that the average global temperature is increasing, we need to show strong commitments to combatting climate change, especially given our current presidential administration’s refusal to take climate change seriously.
In this week’s editorials, we would like to highlight two stories that we believe are not discussed on our campus as much as they should be. Both stories are grounded in historically rooted problems that carry very real implications today. Even though these stories may not always be in the headlines that we read, we hope that we can — at the very least — be aware of them and perhaps, do something about them. —The Editorial Board
Renowned investor Bill Miller recently donated $75 million to the University’s Department of Philosophy. Not only is this donation the largest gift to any Hopkins humanities department, but it is also the largest donation to any philosophy department in the country.
College campuses have long been hubs for student activism, and the Homewood campus is no exception. From protests against South African apartheid in the 1980s to demonstrations for contract workers’ rights in more recent years, Hopkins activists have been fighting for causes they believe in for decades.
Fifteen years ago, the University announced the creation of a Commission on Undergraduate Education (CUE). This Commission aimed to evaluate the Hopkins undergraduate experience and give recommendations on how to improve it.
Hopkins frequently boasts about its status as “America’s first research university.” It’s said every day by tour guides and splashed across promotional materials. People come away with the impression that finding research positions as an undergraduate is as easy as sending an email. That’s not always the case.
