News & Features

Rally for Immigrants’ Lives tackles JHU-ICE

By JAMES SCHARF
January 31, 2019

Members of the Hopkins community gathered on Wednesday to listen to a panel about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its contracts with the University. The four panelists included an expert on migration, an organizer for CASA de Maryland, ...

Students Against Private Police organized one of the largest campus protests just days after the University announced its intent to create a campus police force on March 8, 2018.

Eight questions with Students Against Private Police

By TRISHA PARAYIL | February 7, 2019

Within hours of the University announcing its plan to create a private police force last March, several student activist groups organized to form Students Against Private Police (SAPP). Within days, SAPP had organized one of the largest protests on campus and marched to President Ronald J. Daniels’ house. By the end of the month, SAPP had lobbied legislators in Annapolis and circulated a petition which garnered over 2,300 signatures. This semester, they continue to coordinate efforts against the formation of a police force. 

How do city residents view campus policing?

By MEAGAN PEOPLES | February 7, 2019

Last spring members of the Maryland General Assembly refused to support a bill that would allow Hopkins to create a private police force. Lawmakers called on University officials to conduct an interim study and engage in more substantial community outreach if they wanted to reintroduce a bill in the future.

FILE PHOTO Charles Village, one of the neighborhoods bordering Homewood Campus, would be impacted by the proposed police force.
Another Believer / CC-BY-SA-3.0 The Newseum will remain open through 2019, after which it will relocate.

University to buy the Newseum building in D.C.

By DIVA PAREKH and JAE CHOI | January 31, 2019

The University announced its $372.5 million purchase of the Newseum building in Washington, D.C. on Friday.  The Newseum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., is a museum dedicated to raising awareness about free speech and journalistic freedom. It is managed by the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the First Amendment.

Baltimore City hosts third annual Women’s March

By RUDY MALCOM and JAE CHOI | January 31, 2019

Hundreds of Baltimore residents and Hopkins students gathered at City Hall on Jan. 19 for the third annual Women’s March. Speakers highlighted women’s recent political gains, protested the Trump administration’s policies and outlined various challenges women in Baltimore face, before leading demonstrators through War Memorial Plaza. 

COURTESY OF RUDY MALCOM Speakers from various backgrounds discussed women’s rights at the March.
COURTESY OF JAKE LEFKOVITZ Governors Sununu, Hogan and Wolf discussed bipartisanship at Monday’s talk.

Three governors discuss bipartisanship in the U.S.

By JAKE LEFKOVITZ | January 31, 2019

Governors Chris Sununu (R-N.H.), Tom Wolf (D-Pa.) and Larry Hogan (R-Md.) discussed bipartisanship in an era of division on Monday at the Parkway Theater. PBS Managing Editor Judy Woodruff presented the talk, titled “Divided Nation, United States.” The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute sponsored the event. 

University solicits feedback on draft of new personal relationships policy

By EMILY MCDONALD and KATY WILNER | March 18, 2019

Vice Provost Sunil Kumar informed the Hopkins community on an email sent on Friday, Dec. 14 that the University is drafting a policy regarding personal relationships, particularly between students and professors. The Draft Personal Relationships Policy defines personal relationships as dating, romantic, and sexual relationships. The University is currently soliciting feedback on the draft.

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PUBLIC DOMAIN

University releases new compensation plan for RAs

By MEAGAN PEOPLES | December 18, 2018

The Office of Residential Life and the Office of Student Financial Services announced a new compensation plan for Residential Advisors (RA) in response to concerns that RAs are not paid equitably. The plan, which was announced on Thursday, will take effect in the 2019-2020 school year. RAs will be considered student employees and receive a yearly $5,100 stipend. In addition, their housing will now be considered non-taxable income, and therefore it will not affect financial aid.

OIE blocks 18 reports of sexual misconduct

By DIVA PAREKH | January 31, 2019

The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) announced on Wednesday that an issue with its website had mistakenly blocked it from receiving 18 reports of sexual misconduct, which took place between January 2016 and October 2018.  

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Students protest the University’s mishandling of sexual violence cases

By MORGAN OME and DIVA PAREKH | June 7, 2019

Around 100 students, faculty and community members gathered outside of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (MSE) on Thursday to demand that the University reform how the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) handles cases of sexual violence. Demonstrators also called on administrators to take action against Anthropology Professor Juan Obarrio, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a visiting graduate student in May. 

Activists gathered on the steps of MSE Library where they shared their experiences reporting sexual misconduct and assault to the Office of Institutional Equity.

Activist explores the history of Black Lives Matter

By WILLIAM EDMONDS | December 6, 2018

Activist and historian Barbara Ransby discussed her upcoming book, Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the Twenty-First Century, which examines the future of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, on Wednesday at Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse.

Many community members attended Barbara Ransby’s talk at Red Emma’s coffeeshop
COURTESY OF ANNA GORDON Founder of Baltimore Ceasefire, Erricka Bridgeford was one of the five panelists who spoke.

Panel criticizes the use of policing in addressing crime

By ANNA GORDON | December 6, 2018

Five panelists discussed ways to help end violence in Baltimore this Wednesday in the final event of the University-led discussion series on policing. The event aimed to approach the issue of crime in Baltimore from a public health perspective and to focus on the University’s relationship with the city.

COURTESY OF NEHA SANGANA Crews discussed the socioeconomic factors behind kidney disease.

Dr. Deidra Crews discusses class, race and kidney disease

By NEHA SANGANA | December 6, 2018

The School of Medicine hosted Dr. Deidra Crews, recipient of the President’s Frontier Award, who discussed her research on kidney disease on Monday. Crews is an associate professor of Medicine and serves as the associate vice chair for Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine.

Journalists investigate high infant mortality

By MEAGAN PEOPLES | December 6, 2018

A year long investigation by the Tampa Bay Times found that one in 10 patients died at the All Children’s Hospital’s Heart Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. last year, which was taken over by the Hopkins Hospital six years earlier. 

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. (74).png

Daniels contemplates the future of Hopkins

By DIVA PAREKH | December 8, 2018

In an interview with The News-Letter on Monday, University President Ronald J. Daniels shared his perspective on a variety of issues, including the ongoing discussion about the University’s proposed private police force and resources for low-income students in light of Michael Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion donation. He also discussed graduate students’ concerns about their working conditions, the state of mental health at Hopkins and how he decides when to publicly take a stance on national issues.