Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 28, 2026 April 28, 2026 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

News & Features

An investigation into the University's controversial real estate holdings

By CATHY WANG | April 19, 2024

Historically, Hopkins has maintained a complex relationship with owning land and property in Baltimore. Behind the University’s impressive track record of properties are decades of redlining, gentrification and forced displacement. Baltimore has an enduring history of structural racism, uneven economic development, and displacement and disinvestment in Black neighborhoods — Hopkins has played a central role in all of the above practices.

COURTESY OF SAMUEL KOYFMAN Koyfman’s passions for trading, music and languages have shaped his college journey. 

Humans of Hopkins: Samuel Koyfman

By CATHY WANG | April 11, 2024

Samuel Koyfman is a senior studying Applied Math & Statistics and Computer Science. In an interview with The News-Letter, Koyfman described his interest in quantitative trading, music and languages, as well as his experience working as a Quantitative Trading Strategist on the One Delta Trading Strats team.

COURTESY OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS The building is used as a convening space for Johns Hopkins Club members, but it will be repurposed temporarily as a study space next year.

Johns Hopkins Club: Past and Present

By LANA SWINDLE | April 10, 2024

The Johns Hopkins Club building, located behind Gilman Hall near Decker Garden, was founded in 1899. It was originally created to foster a more engaged social environment and tighter community for Johns Hopkins Club members, which include Hopkins faculty, alumni and graduate students.

COURTESY OF LEO QI Students gathered to hear speeches from members of Epidemic Proportions during its 20th anniversary celebration.

Epidemic Proportions celebrates 20th anniversary with launch party

By NICK DAUM | April 10, 2024

Epidemic Proportions, the University’s undergraduate public health journal, hosted their 20th anniversary celebration this Friday, April 5. The journal has highlighted student engagement and undergraduate voices in public health for the past two decades. The organization was founded in 2004 to give students a chance to share their experiences with public health through articles, including opinion pieces, editorials and features.

COURTESY OF PFEIFFER PARTNERS The Hopkins Club and Hodson Hall will serve as the main alternative study spaces when renovations begin at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library.

Dean of MSE provides updates on renovation project

By LEO QI | April 9, 2024

On Wednesday, March 27, Sheridan Dean of University Libraries, Archives, and Museums Elisabeth M. Long hosted a virtual town hall discussion on the current status of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (MSE) renovation project, providing notable updates on the planning process.

COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN MENDOZA The organizers highlighted Posner’s dedication to research and stressed that his legacy should be carried on through the fellowship.

Push to rename Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in honor of Ethan Posner

By AIMEE CHO | April 9, 2024

On March 8, sophomore Biophysics student Ethan Posner passed away from a brief illness. In his freshman year, Posner was selected as a recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, a three-year undergraduate research funding program that provides up to $10,000. Some students, faculty and community members are pushing to rename the fellowship to the Ethan Posner Fellowship in honor of him. They are collecting the names and testimonies of people in support of the cause through an online form.

FILE PHOTO The Institute for Planetary Health will work on issues pertaining to the Earth’s well-being, including pollution and climate change. 

Hopkins announces Institute for Planetary Health

By AIMEE CHO | April 7, 2024

On April 3, Tuesday, the University introduced the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health (JHIPH) in a University-wide broadcast. The institute is one of the cross-university initiatives that Hopkins has been pursuing as part of the Ten for One Strategic Plan.

COURTESY OF JANVI MADHANI Members of the TRU-UE bargaining committee after signing the tentative agreement. 

TRU-UE reaches tentative bargaining agreement with the University

By SHIRLENE JOHN | April 5, 2024

The graduate student union, Teachers and Researchers United (TRU-UE), and the University reached a tentative bargaining agreement on Friday, March 29. After almost a year of negotiations, this tentative agreement covers several important articles, including raising the minimum stipend to $47,000 this July, with an additional one-time signing bonus of $1,000 upon ratification.

COURTESY OF MAYA BRITTO Panelists offered three different approaches to understanding and interpreting the issue of sportswashing.

FAS panel sheds light on global issue of sportswashing

By MAYA BRITTO | April 3, 2024

On Wednesday, March 27, panelists Dave Zirin, Rob Koehler and Doug Bandow discussed the global implications of sportswashing during the latest installment of the Spring 2024 Foreign Affair Symposium (FAS) series, Kaleidoscope: Embracing the Global Mosaic.

STEVEN SIMPSON / PHOTO EDITOR Despite the policy change, the University expressed that it does not question the value of the COVID-19 vaccine and remains an advocate for its significance. 

University lifts COVID-19 vaccine requirement

By CATHY WANG | April 2, 2024

Effective Thursday, March 28, the University will no longer require at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for all faculty, staff and students. Instead, the COVID-19 vaccine will be strongly encouraged, while the seasonal flu vaccine remains mandatory.

GAGE SKIDMORE / CC BY-SA 3.0 Graduating students expressed mixed responses about the commencement speaker announcement. 

University announces Mitt Romney as commencement speaker

By AIMEE CHO | March 29, 2024

On Wednesday, March 27, the University announced that Mitt Romney, a U.S. Senator from Utah, will give the commencement speech for the Class of 2024 on May 23. Romney was sworn in as a senator for Utah in 2019. Previously, he served as the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. Romney has run for the Republican presidential nomination twice and was selected as the presidential nominee in 2012. 

COURTESY OF SHERELLA CUPID Imran highlighted the "ground up" nature of the CDS initiative, which encourages students to be actively engaged in their studies.

New Chloe Center pushes for Critical Diaspora Studies Major

By AIMEE CHO | March 29, 2024

The new Chloe Center for the Critical Study of Racism, Immigration, and Colonialism is a research center that officially launched this semester. The center emerged from the Program in Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship (RIC) founded in 2006 and is currently directed by Professor Stuart Schrader. With this expansion, the Chloe Center plans to continue programs from the RIC, such as open roundtables and the Graduate Student Symposiums, in addition to expanding and bringing more people into its orbit.

Hopkins community mourns the loss of Shani Tahir Mott

By YANA MULANI | March 28, 2024

The University is mourning the loss of Shani Tahir Mott, who passed away Tuesday, March 12 from cancer, four days before her 48th birthday. She joined the Hopkins faculty in 2008 and was a lecturer in the Center for Africana Studies and the Department of History.

COURTESY OF MAYA BRITTO Although Ochoa was initially rejected from NASA’s astronaut selection, she continued to pursue her dream and became the first Latina woman to go to space in 1993.

Latina engineer and astronaut Ellen Ochoa inspires Hopkins students

By MAYA BRITTO | March 25, 2024

On Thursday, March 14, Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina woman to go to space, was invited as the second speaker of the Spring 2024 Foreign Affair Symposium (FAS) series, Kaleidoscope: Embracing the Global Mosaic. This event was hosted by the HOP, and was sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the Chloe Center and the Maryland Space Grant Consortium (MDSGC). 

ARUSA MALIK / DESIGN & LAYOUT EDITOR The elected 2024–2025 SGA Executive Board representatives discussed their goals for the upcoming academic year.

2024–2025 SGA election results are announced

By AIMEE CHO | March 15, 2024

The results for the 2024–2025 Student Government Association (SGA) Executive Board and class council elections were released on Wednesday, March 13. The Committee on Student Elections (CSE) reported that a total of 1,032 students voted, a number much lower than last year’s turnout of 1,453 students.

COURTESY OF SHIRLENE JOHN

New South Asian Studies minor proposed by SGA senators

By CATHY WANG | March 14, 2024

Two Class of 2026 senators in the Student Government Association (SGA), Srigouri Oruganty and Shruti Tyagi, are spearheading an initiative to establish a South Asian Studies minor. The minor is expected to consist of 14-20 credits, with core courses in history, geopolitics, sociology and theology. While the minor is currently in the early planning stage, the senators hope this program will provide interdisciplinary and individualized electives.

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