The University’s current freshman class is the most diverse class in University history, with 14% of students identifying as African American or Black and 17% identifying as Hispanic or Latinx. However, many students, such as junior Laura Rodriguez, have expressed that they still do not feel welcome at Hopkins. Rodriguez explained that life for Black and Latinx students is inherently different.
In an email to the student body on Thursday, Vice Provost for Research Denis Wirtz announced that current density restrictions in laboratories will be relaxed starting on April 1. According to his email, lab spaces will now operate under the same capacity limits as classrooms.
The Committee on Student Elections (CSE) hosted the debate for the Student Government Association (SGA) Executive Board elections on Thursday. The four candidates on the SMART ticket and one independent candidate, Karen He, answered questions submitted by students and attendees. According to CSE Chair Ananta Srivastava, around 17 students not part of SGA attended the debate.
The Student Government Association (SGA) discussed a resolution to provide more funding to the PILOT program during its weekly meeting on Tuesday, March 23.
The candidates for the 2021-22 Student Government Association (SGA) Executive Board include a single ticket, SMART, and one independent candidate, Karen He. For the second year, the executive board election will coincide with SGA class council elections. Voting will begin after the candidate debate on Thursday and end on Sunday.
The Foreign Affairs Symposium (FAS) hosted the rapper Fatimah Warner, best known as Noname, on March 18 to discuss her social activism and music. The event, the third of the symposium’s “Where Do We Go From Here?” speaker series, was hosted by FAS Co-Directors Ryan Ebrahimy and Margaret Hanson and moderated by Associate Professor of History Sasha Turner.
Hopkins accepted 1,652 additional members to the Class of 2025 from an applicant pool of 33,236 students on March 19 in the regular decision cycle (RD). They join 824 students who were admitted through the two rounds of early decision. Over 3,400 students were offered a spot on the waitlist.
The Student Government Association (SGA) discussed the University’s proposals for new avenues for communication during its weekly meeting on Tuesday, March 16.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Asian Americans have been subject to physical and verbal attacks. The recent rise in hate crimes has raised further alarm in Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) communities nationwide. On Tuesday, eight people, six of whom were Asian, were shot in spas near Atlanta.
Teachers and Researchers United (TRU), an unofficial graduate student union, held a socially distanced protest in the form of a satirical awards show on March 10 at the Beach to mark the one-year anniversary of the University’s COVID-19 shutdown. At the protest, called the “Covies,” TRU accused the University’s leadership of failing to protect and support graduate students.
Last week, some students and staff on the Homewood Campus who tested on Monday, March 8 were incorrectly notified that they had tested positive for COVID-19.
Mayor Brandon Scott announced Wednesday that Baltimore will relax capacity restrictions for businesses. This decision comes just days after Scott resisted Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s decision to lift statewide capacity limits at restaurants and opening large indoor and outdoor venues for 50% capacity.
The Jewish Students Association of Peabody (JSAP) held an event titled “Confronting Antisemitism: Holocaust Education” on March 10. At the event, Northwestern University senior Charlotte Masters spoke about being the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor.
Last week, some Hopkins undergraduates began volunteering at M&T Bank Stadium, one of three mass vaccination sites in Baltimore, to offer non-clinical support services through the Vaccine Volunteer Project.
The Student Government Association discussed mid-semester course evaluations and guidelines for the Student Activities Commission at its weekly meeting on Tuesday, March 9.
Mayor Brandon Scott announced that Baltimore City’s existing COVID-19 restrictions will remain in place, despite Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s plans to begin reopening the state. Scott’s executive order went into effect at 6 a.m. on March 12, seven hours before Hogan’s did.
As part of the second phase of its reopening plan, Hopkins opened several on-campus spaces to be used for small in-person gatherings and study spaces in early February. Despite initial delays due to a COVID-19 spike and snowstorms, the Milton S. Eisenhower (MSE) Library, Brody Learning Center, Hutzler Reading Room (HUT), large tent in the Freshman Quad and smaller temporary outdoor structures around campus have opened with limited hours.
Senior Nihaal Rahman was one of 18 students to be named a Luce Scholar last month. Founded in 1974, the prestigious scholarship is awarded annually by the Henry Luce Foundation to provide students with professional training to elevate their understanding of Asia. Each scholar is assigned to work with an organization somewhere in Asia based on their interests. This year’s program will last from August 2021 to July 2022.
In January, the University’s Inheritance Baltimore project received a $4.4 million grant from the Just Futures Initiative of the Mellon Foundation. The initiative was created to tackle social equity issues in light of the racial injustice protests that took place in 2020.
Following a rise in xenophobia against Asian Americans at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a recent string of high-profile attacks in the past few months that raised greater awareness of violence against the Asian American community.
