Letter to the Editor 11/15/2021
By SARU Executive Board | November 17, 2021In response to “Students react in wake of alleged intentional drugging at Sigma Phi Epsilon” published on November 10, 2021:
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.
In response to “Students react in wake of alleged intentional drugging at Sigma Phi Epsilon” published on November 10, 2021:
Since the onset of the pandemic, the University has continued to prioritize its own financial health over the needs of the people it exists to support.
On Monday, the University informed students of a reported intentional drugging incident at a Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity party over the weekend. The News-Letter stands in support of the victim.
Since the passage of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill earlier this year, millions of American families have received monthly direct payments from the federal government based on the number of children they have.
If you take the University’s word for it, Hopkins is a beacon of inclusivity. Alongside stunning views of campus, pictures meant to exemplify diversity feature prominently in the University’s promotional materials. This image is too rosy. The environment surrounding disability on campus exemplifies this inconsistency.
In theory, college is a time and place for us to discover ourselves, establish connections and learn more about what excites us. The experience, however, comes with a steep price tag.
Journalism has long been classified as a utility that provides information and facts to the public. However, with the advent of 24/7 news and the internet, the focus now seems to be on virality and maintaining constant attention from viewers. This causes much of the news to be sensationalized so that readers will click on, skim through and possibly share the story.
Hopkins often feels distant from the city it calls home. Community engagement efforts are largely concentrated in the areas surrounding the Homewood and East Baltimore campuses. Firmly entrenched in the Hopkins Bubble, we rarely stray far from the University.
There is nothing wrong with a woman wanting casual sex. There is nothing wrong with a woman wanting something more than casual sex. The game itself is what’s wrong.
In mid-September, The Wall Street Journal published leaked internal documents from Facebook regarding the harmful effects Instagram has on teenage girls. According to the internal report, the app increases the prevalence of body image issues and suicidal thoughts among teenagers.
Last week, the family of Henrietta Lacks filed a lawsuit against biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific. Seventy years ago, Lacks sought treatment for cervical cancer at Hopkins Hospital, where doctors harvested her cells without her knowledge. Following her death, her immortal cells, known as the HeLa cell line, would revolutionize modern medicine.
It has been a mere six weeks on campus and already I have lost track of the number of times I have heard some excuse to skip a meal: too much schoolwork, too stressed to eat, holding off until a later event.
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.