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.
As the winter season approaches and people increasingly opt to stay indoors, flu season has made its presence known on campus. With friends, fellow students, and even professors falling ill, it seems that everyone has been feeling under the weather. In a normal year, this might not be a cause for particular alarm. In a new normal year, however, this is concerning.
The ways that nature and mankind operate on both an individual and interactive level are vastly different, and it’s easy to wonder if they’re simply supposed to be separate. Like many great mysteries of the universe, however, that may be another question that exists without an answer.
This semester feels like a never-ending marathon. With midterm season upon us, students must constantly juggle exams, papers, applications and extracurriculars. To add to this stress, there are no formal breaks this semester in the 11 weeks between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.
“Are you premed?” is the most common and frequent question I am asked after mentioning that I attend Hopkins or am majoring in Neuroscience. I have become accustomed to the blank, confused stares that I receive as I coolly respond with “Actually, no.”
When it comes to technology and education, our preexisting negligence has been aggravated due to the onset of COVID-19. Students are reliant on their devices more than themselves and acquaint their identities in the grades they are compelled to work after. The precarious handling under the educational system drives students into an abyss of burnout and hollowed dignity.
I’m a graduate student in the Engineering for Professionals (EP) program, and I’m disabled. I wrote earlier this summer summarizing my experiences with this department. I’d like to talk about a particularly bad math class that I took in spring 2019.
Changes to vaccine guidelines is just one of the recent announcements increasing students’ anxieties due to the lack of communication from the University, leaving many still wanting more transparency from the Hopkins administration.
Once again, Hopkins is tied for ninth place in the U.S. News and World Report’s “Best National Universities” category. While we are grateful to attend a University that affords us so many incredible resources, one very basic resource doesn’t live up to this standard: transportation.
After a year and a half of logging onto Zoom meetings, most of us had our first in-person class last week. With students lounging on the Beach, studying at Brody and indulging in the grilled cheese at the FFC, it’s clear: we have achieved some sense of pre-Pandemic normalcy.
It truly was another unprecedented summer. As vaccines became more readily available and COVID-19 cases in Baltimore declined this past June, Hopkins relaxed its indoor mask mandate and weekly testing policies. Many students felt optimistic that the fall would represent as close a return to normal as possible.
During my time as a graduate student in the Engineering for Professionals (EP) program, I’ve had nine Hopkins professors. Only two have provided the disability accommodations the University promised. The kinder ones treat accommodations like a courtesy they’re free to ignore.
The Biden administration has taken the initiative to roll back cruel Trump-era policies, expedite the processing of migrants and make material conditions of the undocumented population more bearable. Nonetheless, the overwhelming approach laid out by the White House still endorses law and order deterrence: The proposed budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increased for the fiscal year 2022 and a strategy to discourage immigration from the source is being pursued.
The U.S Supreme Court recently decided to hear and review its first case on an individual’s right to bear arms since 2010. The litigation challenges a New York state law that requires residents to prove “proper cause” in order to obtain a pistol or a concealed carry permit.
Article One of the U.S. Constitution establishes the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House is based on population size while the Senate ensures equal representation for each state. The hierarchy is said to have been designed to “cool House legislation just as a saucer was used to cool hot tea.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new recommendations for the use of masks and other precautions in regard to vaccinated people on Tuesday, April 27. The new guidelines suggest that fully vaccinated individuals can safely choose to not wear a mask or socially distance when outdoors, as long as they are not in crowded areas.
As we emerge from the isolated gloom of winter into the bright spring days, there is hope in the air. The weather is finally warm, trees are blooming and the COVID-19 vaccine is available to everyone 16 and over. The February cluster of student cases is a distant memory, and it’s finally time to hug our friends again.
Under the pseudonym Zhang, a master’s student at Hopkins recounted the mishandling of her sexual assault case by the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) to The News-Letter. Unfortunately, OIE has failed yet another complainant in its Title IX procedures.
When I committed to Hopkins, countless people from my high school asked if I wanted to become a doctor. While a significant percentage of our student body is pre-med, not all of us hope to attend medical school one day.
The 10th anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi accident, where an unexpected earthquake generated a tsunami that destroyed the nuclear power plant’s backup generators, fell on March 11. The loss of power and consequent failure of the cooling system resulted in the elevation of residual heat. In an attempt to cool things down, seawater was continuously pumped to the reactor, but ultimately the core still partially melted down. Since then, the disposal of this radioactive seawater has presented a challenge.
Today, we celebrate the 51st annual Earth Day. Since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, the U.S. has made some progress in the fight against climate change. The country rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement in one of Biden’s first executive orders. With the new administration’s recently unveiled $2 trillion infrastructure plan promoting cleaner energy sources and racial equity, there is reason to be optimistic.
