The opinions presented below are solely the views of the author and do not represent the views of The News-Letter. If you are a member of the Hopkins community looking to submit a piece or a letter to the editor, please email opinions@jhunewsletter.com.
It goes without saying that Donald Trump caused the Capitol Hill riot that took place on Jan. 6, 2021. It doesn’t take a law degree to recognize (unlike Trump’s defense team) that an impeachment trial is not a criminal trial, and the standard for conviction is much lower.
Last July, the University launched several initiatives following the nationwide protests that took place after the deaths of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others. To address the University’s own role in structural racism, Hopkins created the Committee to Establish Principles on Naming, given the lives and legacies of many of our buildings’ namesakes.
Commencement is now officially confirmed to be online. Although there is a possibility that the modality will change, it seems unlikely given the current severity of COVID-19. The virus has taken away many of our college experiences, but the one I’ll miss the most is being able to walk on stage at graduation in front of my friends, parents and professors.
Barely a week after the semester began, the University detected a spike in COVID-19 cases on Homewood Campus. The cluster was connected to a large party hosted off campus by the North Charles Social Club (WAWA), as well as other smaller events.
For years, members of the Teachers and Researchers United (TRU), a graduate student organization, have called on the University to recognize them as an official union. Since the start of the pandemic, the need for this has become increasingly clear. Over the past 11 months, the University has failed to adequately support its graduate students, despite their crucial role in our institution’s functioning.
Yesterday the University announced that a cluster of students tested positive for COVID-19 in relation to off-campus social gatherings. Until this point, there were relatively few cases among undergraduates. The day after some students had their first day of in-person classes in nearly a year, they were forced back online.
“Where were the genetics PhD students? Or the molecular biology PhD students? And the clinical residents and fellows? They all should have been there.”
Welcome back to another semester and, for many, welcome to Homewood. Though a hybrid semester isn’t the experience we would normally hope for, we are cautiously optimistic to be on campus for the first time since March.
On Tuesday, University President Ronald J. Daniels and Provost Sunil Kumar emailed the Hopkins community that swastika graffiti had been found in a dormitory elevator at the Peabody Institute. The University condemned this act of antisemitism, which has been officially labeled as a hate crime. It is being investigated by the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) and the federal government.
As faculty affiliated with the Jewish Studies Program at Hopkins, we are deeply troubled by reports that a Hopkins teaching assistant spoke of penalizing students in her class on the basis of their identity and background — even for displaying an image of a street sign in Tel Aviv.
With final exams, holidays and celebration right around the corner, something that unavoidably looms over all of us is COVID-19. Is it safe to travel and share meals? What will spring semester look like? Fortunately, recent news has been dominated by breakthroughs related to a vaccine for the virus.
This year has been life-changing for every one of us. From lost loved ones to financial hardships to missed opportunities, we can all agree that this was not what we imagined when Hopkins sent us home last March. However, with the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and Moderna and many others on the horizon, normal life seems to be within reach — if and only if we as a society decide to take this vaccine. For this and for many other reasons, Hopkins should mandate the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available for us to take it.
The news that the founder of your centuries-old research university has an unsavory past, while not surprising, does warrant some sober reflection and a plan to move forward. A name change will never fly. The immense legacy-building done over the past 250 years (and especially the newfound pandemic clout) will never be sacrificed for the sake of Black people.
Like all prestigious universities, Hopkins places a great degree of emphasis on academic integrity. The Undergraduate Academic Ethics Board oversees concerns of academic dishonesty, and the University uses the Respondus browser, which locks down the testing environment within a designated academic system like Blackboard.
The predictability of judicial proceedings based on precedent is the cornerstone of our common law system. Unfortunately, the closer this predictability aligns with ideological beliefs held by judges, the farther we stray from the foundational values of our country.
The polarization of the 2020 presidential election felt inescapable. The “ride or die” individuals in each party didn’t just differ in political beliefs but seemed to experience different realities. Hinting at this polarization, 56% of registered democrats stated their support for President-elect Joe Biden stemmed from their aversion to President Donald Trump.
Last week, The News-Letter published, deleted and retracted an article about a Hopkins faculty member’s presentation on COVID-19 data.
Two weeks ago, the University announced plans to demolish Charles Village rowhomes. Community members and civic organizations were frustrated that, instead of seeking community input, Hopkins left the buildings to sit vacant for years — allowing them to deteriorate to a nearly irreparable state.
You may have been surprised to see the University’s announcement regarding spring 2021 earlier this month. You were more than likely happy about it, but you were definitely still surprised. Something seemed a bit off.
