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.
This morning, former Vice President Joe Biden claimed victory over incumbent President Donald Trump. The win is historic — Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has shattered multiple glass ceilings — but our country didn’t miraculously transform overnight. Now that we can breathe a sigh of relief, it’s worth taking a closer look at the state of our democracy.
This week, University leadership announced plans to resume on-campus activities this spring. According to a broadcast email from University President Ronald J. Daniels, Provost Sunil Kumar and Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Mary Miller, students are allowed but not required to come back to campus for in-person classes and research, while the gym and library will reopen with adjusted, reduced occupancy.
We don’t know for sure what direction the country is headed. Despite the uncertainty regarding the presidential election, we do know that Hopkins has a (tentative) plan for this spring.
At the end of her life, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” Less than six weeks later, Amy Coney Barrett — a hardcore conservative with only three years of judicial experience — has filled Ginsburg’s seat on the highest court in the United States.
If you’ve been online recently, there has been much discussion on the left surrounding the efficacy of voting for Joe Biden. But here is the simple truth: The future of progressivism is, in no small part, hinged on defeating Donald Trump. Now, I will be clear: Voting for Joe Biden is neither the alpha nor the omega. We should be protesting under Trump; we should be protesting under Biden.
While I appreciate and encourage your interest in safety issues around campus, I find your editorial to be based on unfounded conjecture, insulting to victims and belittling of the trauma that they have experienced.
Election Day is less than a week away. The stakes couldn’t be higher. As Democratic nominee Joe Biden has repeatedly said this year, the very character of our nation is on the ballot.
Happiness is a relatively abstract feeling. Jussi Suikkanen, a scholar of philosophy and ethics, defines happiness as “the state we are in when we feel contentment, satisfaction, euphoria and the like.” With happiness, one is so content with their status quo that they no longer feel any need to change or move toward a different state.
From the California wildfires to the Breonna Taylor verdict to a deadly pandemic that has killed over 220,000 Americans, the response to every tragic, horrible and devastating thing that has happened this year has been “vote.” Why?
Former Vice President Joe Biden is not my hero. Following the 10th Democratic primary debate, I publicly shared that I would support any of the other Democratic candidates on stage (barring Bloomberg) over him. I spent Super Tuesday holding signs for Bernie, which included getting spit on and yelled slurs by Biden supporters heading home from Boston's Financial Center. When Biden became the presumptive nominee, my first reaction was that if this were any other country, the Democratic Party — whose candidate did not represent my ideals — would not be my party. But this morning, I still voted for Biden.
Last week, the University issued a public safety advisory reporting an uptick in carjackings in the Northern Police District, which includes Homewood Campus. In the report, Campus Safety and Security advised students to be aware of their surroundings, and if they are the victim of a carjacking they should surrender any requested property and report the crime as soon as possible.
If you’re a U.S. citizen reading this article and plan to vote in this election, vote for former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris. If you’re reading this article and plan not to vote, let’s talk.
The recent California wildfire shook the nation as flames redden the sky; record-breaking tropical storms have damaged countless properties and impacted the lives of thousands; temperatures have steadily risen. There is no doubt climate change is wreaking increasing amounts of havoc on the world every day despite denial and conspiracy theories.
Hopkins celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, marking the third time that the University has recognized the holiday. The Office of Multicultural Affairs and Indigenous Students at Hopkins (ISH) led the celebrations, including a virtual pow wow. ISH shared dances by Indigenous peoples from all over the Americas on social media.
This upcoming election is already extremely important, but as a native-born Venezuelan, exercising my right to vote as a naturalized U.S. citizen really means a lot to me.
Last month I discussed how some nightmares of tech-noir films are becoming reality. As an advocate for artificial intelligence (AI), my last intention is to stoke unreasonable fear over new technologies. Unfortunately, I feel I have to sound the alarm again.
There are 26 days until the presidential election. Voter registration deadlines have already passed in 10 states, and the stakes have never been higher — American voters are being asked to choose who will implement the nation’s long-term response to COVID-19.
I couldn’t shake the feeling of utmost distress as I scrolled through photos of “Trump 2020” flags waving in front of my early voting location, the Fairfax County Government Center in Virginia. Trump supporters had gathered only 100 feet away from the building and were chanting “four more years” as voters made their way into the polling center.
Presidential debates are a valued political tradition dating back to 1960, when Senator John F. Kennedy debated Vice President Richard Nixon. When most traditions seem to be fading away, and political campaigning is turning into a series of Zoom fundraisers, holding a debate in a somewhat usual manner was a chance for the American people to feel like their country and its political institutions were still functioning. It was a chance to feel normal.
This week, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. The report further shows that Trump did not pay federal income taxes at all for 10 out of 15 years since 2000. In Tuesday’s presidential debate, Trump called the story fake news, claiming that he had actually paid “millions of dollars” in taxes.
