Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
September 3, 2025 September 3, 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.

Be gone, bot: Don’t use AI to cheat your way through college.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | February 2, 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing higher education, but as we integrate ChatGPT, a language model created by OpenAI, into our classrooms, we must also consider the ethical implications. Privacy, accountability, and the student-teacher dynamic are all at stake. It's crucial that we take responsibility for ensuring the responsible use of this powerful technology, before it's too late.

COURTESY OF ELVAR B. BJARKASON PhD candidates Siddiqui and Brig-Ortiz encourage other Hopkins graduate students to vote in support of a union.

Our union is our power, and today we take it.

By ALI SIDDIQUI and KRISTIN BRIG-ORTIZ | January 31, 2023

After years of struggling with the University and barely improving working conditions, almost 3,200 doctoral students at Hopkins are finally voting to form a graduate student worker union. This is the culmination of years of organizing for a living wage, protections for international students, fair grievance procedures and so much more that graduate workers need to lead a dignified life. 

YUSUKETAKEUCHI / CC BY 2.0 Tuschman argues free medical school is necessary due to the impending physician shortage and the benefits of diversity in medicine.

America needs free medical school

By ABIGAIL TUSCHMAN | January 30, 2023

At a school like Hopkins, it can seem like half of the student body is pre-med. You can’t walk through Brody Atrium without hearing someone mention shadowing, clinical research or biochemistry. From the moment their undergraduate experience begins, pre-med students are stressing about getting into medical school. 

JOHN D’CRUZ / GRAPHICS EDITOR

Don’t let the winter blues get you down.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | January 26, 2023

This week kicked off the start of the spring semester. Though we have new classes and new professors, it’s difficult to feel excited with Baltimore’s cold and gray winter weather hanging over campus. Our surroundings may be bleak, but it doesn’t mean our days should be, too.

SHOURYA ARASHANAPALLI / DESIGN STAFF

Get through finals, then get involved

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | December 8, 2022

We have come to the end of another semester at Hopkins. Fall 2022 was challenging, rewarding and in many ways the first “normal” semester since the University suspended in-person instruction in March 2020.

JINA LIM / CARTOONS EDITOR Tuschman advises students considering study abroad to do thorough research before selecting a program. 

Manage your expectations for study abroad

By ABIGAIL TUSCHMAN | December 7, 2022

Ever since The Cheetah Girls 2 premiered on Disney Channel in 2006, I’ve wanted to go to Spain. Granted, I was 4 years old. I don’t think I even grasped what countries were then. Yet, I knew I wanted to see the streets of Barcelona where the girl group sang “Strut.”

GAGE SKIDMORE / CC BY 3.0 Boppana predicts a 2024 presidential campaign by former President Donald Trump will hurt the Republican party, regardless of whether Trump is the Republican nominee or runs as a third-party candidate.

Trump running in 2024 is a problem for Republicans

By SAMHI BOPPANA | December 6, 2022

On Nov. 15, former President Donald Trump announced from his Mar-a-Lago residence that he would be running for president for the third time. Trump cannot be allowed to escape the consequences of his presidency. He denied the results of the 2020 election and incited violence at the Capitol in January of 2021. 

Hopkins, put your money where your mouth is and divest.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | December 1, 2022

If you didn’t know the United Nations’ Convention on Climate Change was happening last month, we don’t blame you. Representatives from almost 200 countries attended the summit, known as COP27, to advance global climate action. Despite its importance, conversations on campus about the conference were slim to none.

Letter to the Editor 11/16/22

By MATTHEW MOSS | November 19, 2022

In response to “Hopkins Dining union hosts forum to discuss negotiations with the University” published November 15, 2022:  As a leader in food service operations for over 25 years, I’ve seen a lot. I’ve been all over the country working in universities, convention centers, hospitals, restaurants and even at a couple of Olympics. Last September, I came to JHU tasked with leading the transition of bringing our Homewood and Peabody dining operations in-house, and I can honestly say that it’s some of the most meaningful work that I’ve ever done. 

BRAZIL MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS / CC BY 2.0 Lunia explains why Musk’s acquisition of Twitter is good news for the social media platform.

Elon Musk is what Twitter needs

By VARDHMAN LUNIA | November 19, 2022

Among other things, one of the main problems with Twitter has been too much censorship on the platform. While the censorship may have been undertaken by the company in order to curb hate speech and misinformation, the problem was this: the rules around what to censor and what not to censor were drawn up by a bunch of Twitter employees.

The News-Letter is taking a break. You should, too.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | November 17, 2022

This week, our cozy Monday night staff meeting in the Gatehouse looked a little different. While it is usually a time for everyone to catch up and converse on the couches, crowded around the space heater, we instead found ourselves speaking primarily to a Zoom audience with only a few in-person attendees. 

GPA PHOTO ARCHIVE / CC BY 2.0 Boppana reflects on the 2022 midterm election results.

What the midterms mean for America

By SAMHI BOPPANA | November 17, 2022

On Nov. 8, the U.S. held its midterm elections, the first cycle since President Joe Biden’s win in 2020. Although the results from several House and Senate races are yet to be determined, we now have a much clearer picture of the political landscape and what matters to voters. 

PUBLIC EDITOR: The merits and pitfalls of returning to print

By ANJU FELIX | November 3, 2022

If you’re reading this, you probably already know The News-Letter is back in print! For many Hopkins students, this is the first time they are seen a physical edition of their school’s newspaper. It’s also the first time many of The News-Letter’s staff have produced a newspaper or seen their work in ink, myself included. 

COURTESY OF MOLLY GREEN With the recent crimes near campus, we encourage everyone to take advantage of the University’s safety resources. 

In light of recent crimes around campus, prioritize safety.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | November 3, 2022

Over the past few weeks, the Hopkins community has received multiple emergency alerts about crimes occurring around Baltimore campuses, including two abductions or attempted abductions near the Homewood Campus. The University responded to this uptick in serious violent crimes in a message to affiliates on Oct. 29. 

MICHAEL STOKES / CC BY 2.0 Heng claims that President Joe Biden should remain Democrats’ top pick for the 2024 presidential election. 

Biden is Democrats’ best bet for the 2024 election

By ALISHA HENG | November 3, 2022

With midterms quickly approaching, we are reminded once again of the impending 2024 election. President Joe Biden still hasn’t formally decided whether he will be running for a second term. This raises the million-dollar question: should he run again? 

Voter apathy is spooky. Go to the polls.

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | October 27, 2022

As midterm elections near, it seems that many young voters have become disillusioned with the political sphere. For many of us, it’s been a while since we were our 18-year-old selves, all registered and geared up to vote.

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