The Student Government Association (SGA) held its first meeting of the school year on Sept. 1 via Zoom. Before the meeting, SGA discussed feedback from students, including mishandled belongings that were stored by the University over the summer, as well as coronavirus (COVID-19) testing capacity.
On September 1, Governor Larry Hogan announced that Maryland will enter stage three of the state’s Roadmap to Recovery Plan beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. Local leaders, however, are left to determine whether to move forward with lifting restrictions.
When students Franz Osilia, Megan Rutkai and Zach Wheeler founded the Hopkins Podcast on Foreign Affairs (POFA), they had no experience in podcasting. Today, POFA has released over 40 episodes, covering geopolitical trends and crises from every continent.
Assistant Dean for Academic Advising Jessie Martin sent reminders to the student body regarding grading policy and online learning resources for the fall semester in an email on August 28.
By the time University announced its decision on August 6 to conduct the fall semester fully online, many students had already signed their leases and made plans to return to campus. While some scrambled to sublet their apartments and cancel their travel arrangements, others decided to return to Baltimore despite the University urging students to stay home.
Vice Provost for Student Affairs Alanna Shanahan and Vice Provost for Student Health and Well-Being Kevin Shollenberger announced in an email on August 26 that they will be distributing Wellness Kits to students residing in Charles Village. The Wellness Kits will be available at the Barnes & Noble on St. Paul Street from August 31 to Sept. 4 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Almost two months ago, University President Ronald J. Daniels announced that a rope fashioned into a noose was found in a construction site of a Whiting School of Engineering lab at the Stieff Silver building on July 2.
In an email to undergraduate students and their families on August 23, University leaders disclosed that a small cluster of students living in off-campus housing in Charles Village had tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) after returning to Baltimore.
Last March, as the University shut down due to coronavirus (COVID-19), many students left campus housing with most of their belongings still in their dorms. To temporarily house healthcare workers responding to the pandemic, the University announced that it hired outside “professional movers” to pack student belongings in select dorms.
Following the University’s announcement on August 6 that all undergraduate fall classes will be held online, many students once again have had to modify their plans. With flights booked in advances and leases already signed, students who had decided to Baltimore are scrambling to make adjustments.
Katrina Caldwell began her role as the new chief diversity officer (CDO) and vice provost for diversity and inclusion on July 1. Caldwell hopes to embrace the diverse perspectives at Hopkins to foster a more inclusive environment.
Title IX is a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in universities that receive federal funds. The Department of Education (DOE) issued changes to Title IX regulations three months ago, giving more rights to accused students in sexual harassment and assault cases.
The Coalition Against Policing by Hopkins (CAPH), consisting of about a dozen student and community groups, marched in East Baltimore on August 15 to demand the termination of the University’s plans to implement a private police force.
A gas explosion on the 4200 block of Labyrinth Road, Northwest Baltimore, left two people dead and at least seven injured on Monday, August 10. The Baltimore City Fire Department called the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) at 9:54 a.m. to respond to the scene of the explosion.
Dean of the Peabody Institute Fred Bronstein announced the conservatory’s transition to complete online instruction for the upcoming fall semester on July 31. This announcement back tracked on a June statement planning for hybrid fall instruction.
Every country is battling the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in a different way, each at varying stages of protecting its citizens and eliminating the virus. With international students accounting for approximately 19 percent of the University’s student body, The News-Letter reached out to a few of them to hear about their journeys home during the pandemic and the current state of COVID-19 in their countries. From scrambling to book flights home, to weighing their options for the fall semester, international students have had to make many hard decisions in the past few months.
Baltimore City Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced that restaurants can resume indoor dining at 25 percent capacity beginning on Friday, August 7. This follows Young’s previous orders from July 24 to suspend all indoor dining services after a recent spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Maryland.
University President Ronald J. Daniels announced in an email to the Hopkins community that all undergraduate classes will be offered online for the entire fall semester. Ongoing on-campus research will resume in accordance to Phase 1 guidelines. Additionally, the University will also reduce tuition by ten percent, and most incoming freshman will not be able to live on campus.
“Today, we feel forgotten. Everyone believes we still won. The class of 2024 didn’t win. After calls and emails, we’re met with another unyielding reality: we can’t come to campus.” These are the words of an open letter circulating among international students of the class of 2024 asking for Hopkins to advocate for them.
The International Studies Leadership Council (ISLC) hosted the second event in its Summer Series on Race, “Racial Divides in Baltimore,” on July 16. Thiru Vignarajah, the former deputy attorney general of Maryland and candidate in Baltimore’s recent mayoral election, spoke at the event. Vignarajah, a Baltimore native, discussed policing, education, public transportation reform and marijuana legalization as ways to mitigate the impact of systemic racism in Baltimore City.
