The 2023 HoptoberFest began on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at Keyser Quad with an event-filled kickoff. Following the kickoff, a variety of other events were hosted throughout the weekend, including a Show Day on Oct. 12, Friday Frights on Oct. 13, and a concert on Oct. 14.
Representatives from the Office of Sustainability and the Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Engineering Institute gathered with interested students on Oct. 13 to discuss the recently published Climate Action and Sustainability draft.
The Milton S. Eisenhower (MSE) Symposium welcomed John Sullivan on Wednesday, Oct. 11, as the first guest of the ”Navigating Tomorrow” 2023 speakers series. Sullivan served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2019 to 2022. The event was co-hosted by the Aronson Center for International Studies, The Hop and the Johns Hopkins University Henry Kissinger Center for Global Affairs.
In response to heightening conflicts in the Middle East, the Office of Interdisciplinary Initiatives hosted a Johns Hopkins Briefing on developments in Gaza on Wednesday, Oct. 11. The speakers discussed policy and humanitarian responses in the region.
The Student Government Association (SGA) convened for their weekly general body meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 10 to discuss the draft of the Climate Action and Sustainability Plan, the Major Fair, the Executive Liaison Program and the Cross-Campus Relations Initiative. SGA also presented and voted on various bills and confirmed a new treasurer for the Sophomore Class Programming Council.
Milton S. Eisenhower (MSE) Library is slated for a complete renovation beginning in summer 2024. As the University’s principal research library since 1964, MSE has only had minor updates over the years. The MSE Modernization Project, which will encompass the approximately 182,000-square-foot library, will have an estimated cost of $100 million and is expected to take two and a half years.
Hopkins Hillel and the Jewish Students Association collaborated to organize “Stand with Israel and the Jewish Community” on Oct. 10. The event was held in response to the series of conflicts between Israel and Islamist militant group Hamas that have occurred in the past week.
The Aronson Center Speaker Series ended on Friday, Oct. 6 with Jennifer Luff, a professor from the Department of Political Science. Luff spoke on her past experiences and areas of study and introduced two new courses that she will begin teaching next semester.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute is introducing two new programs of study to Hopkins through the Center for Economy and Society (CES): a minor in Civic Life and a major in Moral and Political Economy (MPE).
President Ronald J. Daniels announced the new Johns Hopkins University School of Government and Policy (SGP) in a University-wide broadcast on Oct. 6. The school will be the first new academic division at Hopkins since 2007.
The Student Government Association (SGA) held its weekly general body meeting on Oct. 3 and voted on the Attendance Bylaws Amendment Bill, JHU Haunted House Funding Bill, Phi Delta Theta Crab Fest Funding Bill 2.0 and Student Perspective Interview Initiative Bill.
The Economic Policy Issues Colloquium (E.P.I.C.) held an event titled “From Burning Harbors to Basement Backups: Urban Pollution and Local Economic Development in Baltimore” on Sept. 29.
The Program in Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies (LACLxS) hosted “The 50th Anniversary of Chile’s Military Coup” on Sept. 28. The event featured Peter Kornbluh, a senior analyst at the National Security Archive, Katherine Hite, a professor of political science on the Frederick Ferris Thompson Chair at Vassar College and Consuelo Amat, an assistant professor of political science at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute.
The Aronson Center for International Studies kicked off its fall Aronson Center Speaker Series on Sept. 22 featuring new faculty member Glory Liu. During the event, Liu spoke about her academic background as well as her position as assistant director for the newly created Center for Economy and Society (CES).
The Student Government Association (SGA) held its weekly general body meeting on Sept. 26 to inform Hopkins Dining of significant dining issues and discuss possible improvements. The meeting also included the approval of a bill to fund the upcoming Muslim Student Association (MSA) Barbecue (BBQ), a mental health resources discussion and the approval of a bill to fund tabling for the Sustainability Plan.
The University mourns the loss of Pava LaPere, co-founder and CEO of EcoMap Technologies and a 2019 graduate of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. LaPere made her home in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore after moving from Tucson, Arizona. A vigil was held in the neighborhood Wednesday night.
Teachers and Researchers United (TRU-UE) and the West Coalition co-hosted a panel titled “Policing Higher Ed in Baltimore: From JHPD [Johns Hopkins Police Department] to Cop City'' on Sept. 20. The panel featured a TRU-UE member, professors from Goucher College and the University of Baltimore, undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Maryland and Tawanda Jones, leader of the West Coalition.
Hopkins students found over a dozen books wrapped in newspaper sitting on a small table at the Breezeway, waiting to be picked up by prospective readers on Sept. 11. Each came with a sticky note and a description, which ranged from “best-selling thriller” to “cozy summer romance.”
The Student Government Association (SGA) held its weekly general body meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19 to swear in and acclimate the new freshmen senators for their posts. SGA also voted on the Chair of Programming Bylaws Update Bill and the Sophomore Class Council Tabling Funding Bill.
PILOT, the academic support program offered to students to work on problem sets in groups, will be introducing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to a number of sessions in mid-October. This development follows a number of announcements on Hopkins’s goal to find a place for AI in education.
