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.
Lady Liberty’s torch is dimming. Republicans insist that she is fatigued and her fire has been quenched by the caravan of migrants exploiting her generosity. They may seek to close the United States to asylum seekers but conservative politicians are opening up our borders to a century-old European ideology ready to invade our democratic union: fascism.
In the past decade, private equity investors have spent over $1 trillion in acquiring health care entities — ranging from hospitals and nursing homes to private physician practices. While it may be spun that these firms are infusing much-needed capital into struggling hospitals, the reality is that these investments are detrimental to patient care and are emblematic of the ills of the American health care system, not the cure.
On Feb. 10, President Ronald J. Daniels announced that Hopkins joined several universities and higher education groups in a federal lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in response to the NIH limiting indirect research costs to 15% of grant funding. Indirect costs are a percentage of grant money that is paid by the NIH to the institution conducting research (ie. Hopkins) for facilities, equipment, administrative support and IT infrastructure costs. As of 2023, Hopkins had negotiated an indirect cost rate of over 60% and such a dramatic reduction would have undoubtedly stalled the clinical trials and research at the University.
Today, the APL’s “mission areas” are still arms-racing, reflecting the US military’s paranoia of losing its absolute hegemony in science and technology. The APL supplies artificial intelligence, autonomous missile systems, warfare information technology, and robotics, exemplifying their dedication to perfecting high-tech warfare performed at a distance.
Over 200 million Americans are covered by private health insurance, yet one in seven claims for treatment are denied. The widespread pattern of denied claims has fueled growing frustration with private insurers, leading many in the public to view UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance company in the U.S., as a villainous entity.
More than any other university in the country, Hopkins will be significantly affected by the pause on federal grants and the disruption to the NIH. Hopkins receives the most funding from the NIH of all universities in the nation, exceeding $800 million in 2023, causing research efforts to be acutely affected by the pause in grant funding.
As young girls, we are taught that we can do anything that a man can do. We are strong, powerful forces of nature, so to speak. We are shown inspirational images from 20th-century women’s rights movements and taught about women’s pivotal accomplishments throughout history. The idea was that we, as a society, would only continue to move forward. As Kamala Harris would say throughout her campaign, “We are not going back.” In the battle between someone who has worked in all three branches of government versus someone who was found guilty on 34 felony counts, committed acts of sexual assault and has an overall disdain for minority groups, I thought the U.S. would make the correct choice. I had hoped.
Foundational Abilities, rather than liberating the mind to its fullest potential as a liberal arts education should, are restricting the pursuit of study at the University. Due to the limited overlap between major courses and distribution requirements, only a small portion of the 81 credits of the FAs can be fulfilled with one’s major; the FAs have become the bulk of a students’ education at Hopkins.
It’s a random Wednesday in the middle of the semester, and you’ve just woken up to an alarm you set almost a month ago. You furiously type in your login information and pull up time.gov on a separate window. Some of your friends are even using two or three different devices just in case one decides to self-destruct at the eleventh hour or leaving their house to find a “place with better wifi.” You have a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and a (hopefully untouched) Plan D. It is a free-for-all; it is a bloodbath. To Hopkins students, it probably sounds like I’m describing that fateful day known as class registration. But I am, in fact, describing something else entirely: the arena of concert ticket online sales.
I, like many, was outraged and disappointed by the results of this election. But I don’t find it politically expedient to blame voters for what we perceive to be bad choices. Rather, we must examine the failures of the campaign and learn the right lessons.
Donald Trump is going to be president again. In our endorsement a couple weeks ago, we endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, but now we must all come to terms with the looming Trump administration.
From time to time, I noticed that some of my acquaintances had reposted the same post, which featured the caricature of a person pointing to themselves and had the caption, “Guess who will still be your friend no matter who you vote for. Know why? Because that’s called being an adult.”
In the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, even the shock, fear, anger, and fatigue has taken on a horror-like, deja vu quality. It’s the same queasiness we felt after the 2016 presidential election, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and reversed affirmative action in 2023, and every time we open our social media to see images of the latest harrowing example of colonial violence.
Sharp angles. Bare sides. Flat features. Only lines. Am I talking about Picasso’s 1907 Les Demoiselles d’Avignon or about Elon Musk’s relatively new Cybertruck? If you weren’t sure either, maybe you’ve already made the connection that the Cybertruck is our modern version of cubist artwork. We’ve moved away from the canvas and oil paints and ventured into the world of stainless steel and armor glass.
Last Saturday, the best pollster in the country, Ann Selzer, showed Kamala Harris ahead by the three points in deep-red Iowa, a state Donald Trump beat Joe Biden by eight points. Ann Selzer is one of the two best pollsters (along with The New York Times/Siena College) according to polling guru Nate Silver.
With the abrogation of immigration policies aimed at deterrence, prevention, and removal—coupled with executive actions that retroactively extended mass parole and temporary protective status to hundreds of thousands of otherwise inadmissible migrants—there first came a border crisis. In its wake came a national crisis, defined by burgeoning crime, financial burden, and threats to national security.
In response to “The News-Letter’s 2024 Presidential Endorsement” published October 10, 2024:
October is National Arts and Humanities Month, and perhaps it is ironic that in a month designed to celebrate music, literature and philosophy, we are reflecting on just how neglected these pursuits are on college campuses like Hopkins.
With an Interdisciplinary Studies major, one does not need to complete multiple majors in order to gain expertise in a specific field or prepare for a career path. Instead of a triple major, one could pursue a singular major in a precise area of interest.
Athletics and athletes have for too long been undervalued at our school despite their intangible contribution to university life and reputation. It's time athletics became a central part of the Hopkins brand. Your move, Hopkins.
