On May 22, Hopkins conducted the University-wide Commencement ceremony to recognize the achievements of the Class of 2025 and celebrate the completion of their degree requirements. In interviews and responses to a survey conducted by The News-Letter, recent graduates commented on this year's ceremony.
On May 1, Teachers and Researchers United organized the May Day Picket protest at the Homewood and East Baltimore campuses. The protest demanded that Hopkins declare itself a sanctuary campus, end student surveillance, support the international community, fully fund all ongoing research and commit to academic freedom.
At around 5 a.m. on May 8, the Hopkins Justice Collective formed the Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya Liberated Zone on Keyser Quad. Members of Johns Hopkins Public Safety and the Johns Hopkins Police Department responded to the attempted encampment, dismantling tents and dispersing protesters.
On Monday, April 21 the University announced a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing intellectual diversity across its community and curriculum in partnership with center-right think tank the American Enterprise Institute.
On Wednesday, April 23, the Hopkins Postdoctoral Researchers Organizing Committee (Hopkins-PRO) filed a petition to form a union with United Auto Workers (UAW), representing 1,600 postdoctoral researchers.
On Monday, April 28, President Ronald J. Daniels announced in an email that 36 of the 37 previously terminated graduate student visas had been reactivated by the federal government. The following day, April 29, University administrators hosted a second virtual “Community Updates” briefing to elaborate on the reinstatements and discuss broader guidelines and resources for international students.
On Friday, April 11 the Hopkins Political Union held its second debate of the semester, tackling two of the most contested issues in American politics: health-care policy and abortion. There were two unresolved guiding questions: Should health care be left to the free market, and is abortion health care?
On April 25, 2025, a Hopkins spokesperson shared an update about the bus accident. In the update, the spokesperson described the nature of the accident and provided the University’s response to the crash.
On Aug. 24, 1867, Johns Hopkins University established its Board of Trustees, consisting of 12 members responsible for defining the University's mission and values. Today, the Board has expanded to 30 trustees and six ex officios. The Board now acts as the University’s chief governing body, responsible for academic, financial and policy actions of the University, including voting on tenure, setting tuition for academic programs, determining compensation for the president and supervising University investments.
On Monday April 7, The News-Letter interviewed Branville G. Bard, Jr., the chief of police for the Johns Hopkins Police Department (JHPD) and vice president for Public Safety. In an interview with The News-Letter, Bard explained that the pause was intended to give the University time to build the department deliberately; align with statewide, police reform legislation and expand the broader public safety structure, including behavioral health crisis response.
As of April 21, more than 1,500 students from several hundred colleges and universities, have had a sudden change in their F-1/J-1 visa status or Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) status. In many of these cases, the exact reasons for these changes in visa status remain unclear, and several universities have stated that they only discovered the changes by consulting the SEVIS database.
In his inaugural address, President Daniel Coit Gilman, the University’s first president, made a statement on what he expects out of the University’s students, stating, “Our simple aim is to make scholars strong, bright, useful, and true.” With such a promise came an extensive tradition of selective admission into the University.
Betsy M. Bryan is the Alexander Badawy Professor Emerita of Egyptian Art and Archaeology as well as the Museum Director and Curator of the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum. In an interview with The News-Letter, Bryan described her experiences in archeology and field work and reflected on the future goals of the museum.
The Student Government Association (SGA) convened on Tuesday, April 22, for its weekly meeting. This was their last general body meeting (GBM) of the school year.
On Saturday, April 19, 2025, at 5:19 p.m, the JHMI bus crashed into buildings on the corner of 25th and North Charles Street. At least nine people, including the driver and several passengers, were hospitalized.
On April 18, the Leadership, Engagement and Experiential Development (LEED) office at Hopkins announced that The Beaches and Toosii will be performing at the 2025 Spring Fair Concert.
On Tuesday, April 15, the Student Government Association (SGA) convened for their weekly meeting. They discussed the renovation of Shaffer and Remsen Halls with members of the administration before moving on to committee voting procedures and agenda-making with the new Executive Board, who were elected last week.
On Thursday April 10, the Hopkins Lecture Series hosted an event titled “An Evening in Virtual Conversation with Margaret Atwood” in collaboration with the Aronson Program for International Studies and the International Studies Leadership Council. This event was part of their 2025 spring series to facilitate discussion on topics of domestic and international significance.
On April 15, University administration hosted a virtual Community Updates conversation titled “Immigration and student visas.” The event was a conversation between Interim Vice President and General Counsel Tiffany Wright, Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of the Johns Hopkins Police Department Branville Brown, and Associate Vice Provost of of International Student and Scholar Services Jim Brailer.
Two tickets, consisting of three and two candidates, respectively, are running in the 2025–2026 Student Government Association (SGA) Executive Board elections. The SGA Executive Board debate was held Tuesday, April 1, and voting will be open on April 8.
