Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
September 18, 2026 September 18, 2026 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Opinion

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.

GAGE SKIDMORE/CC BY-SA 2.0 Santoro urges Biden to support progressive policies during his presidential campaign.

Dear Joe Biden, earn my vote

By LAIS SANTORO | April 16, 2020

Dear Joe,  Congratulations! You did it. Bernie is out, and you must be overjoyed to be in the position you’re in. The path to victory is clearer than ever, and it’ll be you and Trump (most likely) in November. Great. 

In quarantine, doing less is doing more

By CHINAT YU | April 14, 2020

You’re sitting in front of your screen staring at YouTube. It is 3 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, a school day, or so you used to think. The images on the screen start to merge into a blur, and you cannot help but wonder how long it has been since quarantine started. Two weeks? Three weeks? You can’t be sure.

Political pragmatism no longer makes sense

By XANDI EGGINTON | April 14, 2020

Senator Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign for presidency on Wednesday, April 8, just under a week ago. Although the news seemed like it was bound to come eventually, the senator’s announcement still felt both sudden and monumental.

FILE PHOTO Chanda suggests that Hopkins change aspects of its academic culture to reduce student anxiety.

How Hopkins should help reduce academic anxiety

By VEDA CHANDA | April 10, 2020

With the current coronavirus shutdown, ongoing development initiatives of our Hopkins community have been considerably challenged. Despite these hardships, it is important that we don’t forget the vibrant campus we once enjoyed and the progress that still needs to be made to build an even stronger community at Hopkins. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN Polkampally feels that India’s lockdown is well-intentioned, but will cause millions to suffer.

The negative effects of India's necessary lockdown

By SRINIDHI POLKAMPALLY | April 9, 2020

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sanctioned a 21-day lockdown on March 24. He told the nation’s citizens that as a preventive measure to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), they were not to leave their homes. The true brevity of the lockdown is difficult to quantify.

SENIOR AIRMAN CHRISTOPHER GROSS/PUBLIC DOMAIN Malcom argues that homophobia, not science, has governed laws around queer men donating blood.

As COVID-19 reduces blood supply, we must put science over homophobia

By RUDY MALCOM | April 9, 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has decimated the nation’s blood supply. Amid the closures of schools, churches and other organizations, thousands of blood drives nationwide are being canceled at an unprecedented rate. In addition, social distancing guidelines and shelter-in-place orders have kept people away from blood donation centers. Yet individuals battling life-threatening conditions still depend on a stable blood supply. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN Lynch warns that we must not grant leaders such as Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte too much power.

Governments shouldn't misuse COVID-19 responses for authoritarian purposes

By ERIC LYNCH | April 8, 2020

In the age of widespread internet usage, many Americans debate whether they should forfeit their privacy in the name of public safety and counterterrorism. But in the newfound period of the coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine, Americans are struggling with the question of how much freedom they should forfeit in the name of public health.

KIT/CC by SA-2.0 Covington argues that the senior class suffers from mandatory S/U, and urges Hopkins to change their policy.

Mandatory S/U grading is unfair to senior class

By BRIAN COVINGTON | April 2, 2020

Hopkins announced that all spring semester classes must be graded as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory (S/U) on March 27. I’ve been hurt by the mandatory S/U policy. So have many-to-most other seniors. I would like the policy to include an exception for students graduating in May.

Why we need to listen to other people's opinions

By PHILLIP YOON | March 28, 2020

I’ve had the following experience many times, both at and away from Hopkins. If I say that I am a Democrat, or if I voice my opinions toward a democratic ideology, I sometimes get a weird look, a look of suspicion and disgust.

TREVOR BEXON/CC BY 2.0 Azmi argues that Sanders offers much-needed change to American politics. 

Why Bernie Sanders' campaign means so much to so many

By LUBNA AZMI | March 27, 2020

Hope.  For millions of people, both Americans and not, Bernie Sanders’ “Not Me, Us” movement has given hope that change is possible. The passion people have carried for that hope has been marked as aggressive, naïve and disorderly. 

Hopkins must continue to pay its employees during COVID-19 shutdown

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | March 26, 2020

Hopkins is one of the most powerful institutions in Baltimore. It is the city’s largest employer: over 17,000 of its 37,000 employees are Baltimore residents. As a world-renowned university with an endowment of over $4 billion, Hopkins has the means and the responsibility of creating a more equitable economy for our city’s residents. 

THE PUBLIC EDITOR: The guiding stars in a complicated conversation: fact, opinion and trust

By JACOB TOOK | March 12, 2020

Readers have recently seen some of the paper’s first coverage of the protests in Hong Kong, a clash between demonstrators and state forces over China’s executive authority in the city. Though these protests having been happening since last June, they didn’t reach Homewood Campus until Joshua Wong and Nathan Law, two activist leaders of the Hong Kong movement, spoke at Shriver Hall on an invitation from the Foreign Affairs Symposium (FAS).

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