Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
November 27, 2025 November 27, 2025 | 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.

NAOKI TAKANO / CC BY-NC 2.0  Boppana argues that the trend of private equity acquiring health care centers has led to negative outcomes for patients and the health care system.  

Private equity will not save our health care system

By SAMHI BOPPANA | February 19, 2025

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. 

RUI DO ROSARIO / DESIGN & LAYOUT EDITOR The Editorial Board applauds the University and President Daniels for joining a federal lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health following cuts to research funding, and argues that Hopkins must continue to take proactive action to oppose the Trump administration’s policies that restrict the University’s work. 

Trump’s made his move. Your turn, Hopkins.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | February 19, 2025

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. 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE / PUBLIC DOMAIN Momeni argues that Mangione’s alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, although morally unjustifiable, reveals systemic issues with healthcare industry. 

Luigi Mangione is an alleged murderer, but his cause had validity

By ARMAN MOMENI | February 5, 2025

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. 

GAGE SKIDMORE / CC-BY-SA 2.0

Trump is holding the middle finger to Hopkins scientists and students

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | February 2, 2025

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. 

MICHAEL VADON / CC-BY-SA 4.0 Opris reflects on the devastation women feel at the outcome of the 2024 election.

Square one: Women in Trump's America... again

By GIULIANA OPRIS | December 9, 2024

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.

The Foundational Abilities should be restructured

By ARMAN MOMENI | December 6, 2024

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. 

COURTESY OF AYDEN MIN With ever-increasing concert ticket prices and the current political climate on the brain, Min questions if these signs are pointing to the beginning of the end of music culture. 

We have to revive music culture — now more than ever

By AYDEN MIN | December 5, 2024

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. 

THE WHITE HOUSE / PUBLIC DOMAIN Hsu opines about where the Harris campaign went wrong. 

Blame game: lessons from the 2024 election

By MAX HSU | November 21, 2024

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.

JIYUN GUO / DESIGN & LAYOUT EDITOR Koldas discusses the impact of political polarization on interpersonal relationships.

It is okay to lose friends due to politics

By BUSE KOLDAS | November 19, 2024

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.” 

The new Critical Diaspora Studies major empowers students to take political action

By NATALIE WANG , JOYCE WANG and KOBI KHONG | November 19, 2024

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. 

PHILLIP PESSAR / CC-BY-SA 2.0 Milman comments on the renaissance of cubism present in the Tesla Cybertruck’s design.

2D cars: The Cybertruck is today’s cubist artwork

By LANA MILMAN | November 19, 2024

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. 

COURTESY OF NEIL MAHTO Mahto predicts the results of the 2024 presidential election between former President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Predicting the 2024 electoral map

By NEIL MAHTO | November 5, 2024

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. 

CBP PHOTOGRAPHY / PUBLIC DOMAIN Swaminathan argues that there is a migrant crisis that financially burdens cities, threatens U.S. national security and impacts victims of migrant crime. 

The migrant crisis is about real people

By ANEESH SWAMINATHAN | November 5, 2024

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.

JIYUN GUO / DESIGN & LAYOUT EDITOR

Your STEM degree alone is useless

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | October 31, 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. 

The News-Letter's 2024 Presidential Endorsement

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | October 10, 2024

More than any previous election, this one is a test of American democracy, and one that we must answer by voting for Vice President Kamala Harris — the candidate who values political institutions, promotes American interests domestically and abroad, and who will responsibly wield the power of the Presidency. 

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