Voices

Hopkins is a diverse university where an incredible mix of cultures, academic interests and personalities coexist and thrive. Here is the section where you can publish your unique thoughts, ideas and perspectives on life at Hopkins and beyond.

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Grappling with what it means to be an activist

By GILLIAN LELCHUK and JACOB TOOK | April 30, 2018

As a queer person, I feel like I have an obligation to be an activist, but I’ve struggled with what that means for me. Is this column activism? Is writing a short story with a queer protagonist activism? Is educating my cisgender heterosexual peers about LGBTQ issues activism?

The history behind the superhero movie genre

By ARIELLA SHUA | April 26, 2018

I’ve always had a vague interest in comic books but could never get into the superhero genre at all — until I began watching the movies that is. But superhero movies have been around for a while, and they’ve never been as popular as they are now. What caused the change?

Appreciating the beauty of natural phenomena

By BESSIE LIU | April 26, 2018

I’ve always loved both science and writing. During my senior year of high school, as I wrote my college essays, I tried to find a way to weave the two together into a feasible future for myself: to explain why I love poems that overflow with biological imagery; to try to articulate the parallels I saw in the processes of biology and creating literature. And then when I read the book The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas, I felt like all my efforts were put to shame. 

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Taking the time to press pause and reflect this spring

By MORGAN OME | April 30, 2018

I’m grateful that junior year is coming to a close, thankful to be out of the mindset that every week is hell week and every day is a poor day. There is no sugarcoating reality: It’s grueling to be a college student, no matter how much you love your major or how much you enjoy studying. 

My ranking of the top three Marvel Cinematic Universe movies

By CATHERINE PALMER | April 18, 2018

In honor of the seemingly next-level crossover event, Avengers: Infinity War, coming out next week, I’ve decided to reflect back on the preceding installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Launched in 2008 with the release of the game-changing Iron Man, the MCU currently includes 17 other films, the most recent being the 10th highest-grossing film of all time, Black Panther.

GAGE SKIDMORE/CC BY-SA 2.0 Chadwick Boseman starred in the most recent Marvel film, Black Panther.
FILE PHOTO Grinsfelder argues that the way the engineering department is structured allows for students to cheat.

If you don’t want cheating, redesign your classes

By WILLA GRINSFELDER | April 18, 2018

Cheating has been on my mind a lot, lately. Classes have gotten harder; the material has gotten more theoretical; and the amount of time to do work hasn’t increased. In one class there was an email at the beginning of the year saying the instructor caught some students copying homework assignment answers from online, and since then I’ve seen my peers do the same. To some extent, I get it.

Why I have a hard time saying no to my friends

By AMELIA ISAACS | April 18, 2018

The delightfully terrible rom-com 27 Dresses begins with Katherine Heigl’s character Jane acting as a bridesmaid in two of her friends’ weddings simultaneously, rushing between the two, changing dresses, accessories etc. in a cab en route to each venue. 

  LUKEFORD.NET/ CC BY-SA 2.5  Katherine Heigl plays a woman who can’t say no in the movie 27 dresses.
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My work towards being a happier, healthier me

By ALIZAY JALISI | April 23, 2018

I feel fragile, but ready to go,” she said. As a rule of group therapy, all patients being discharged share how they feel and their plans for continued healing beyond the program. I looked at her, then at the other hopeful faces sitting at the table beside me. 

My ongoing struggle with my survivors guilt

By Zubia Hasan | April 18, 2018

It’s 2 a.m. and my chest closes. Suddenly, I’m drowning in a sea. I can’t swim. I can’t breathe. I’m in physical pain that won’t stop. Pain that has no tangible symptoms but can only be described as a mental cage of thoughts that drive in over and over again with an unparalleled intensity.

How Adam Rippon became a source of inspiration for me

By KATHERINE LOGAN | April 11, 2018

Recently, I’d been feeling paralyzed. Anxiety and indecision clouded my thoughts in a way they never had before. Maybe it’s partly due to the fact that I’m only a couple of months away from entering a new decade, or maybe it’s that I’ve never been someone that thrives in times of uncertainty. 

DAVID W. CARMICHAEL/CC BY-SA 3.0 Rippon is an American figure skater and represented the US during the 2018 winter olympics.

Mukherjee explorations of the history of cancer

By BESSIE LIU | April 11, 2018

I read the majority of the book The Emperor of All Maladies on flights between Baltimore and SoCal during Thanksgiving and winter break, and I still haven’t actually finished the entire thing yet. But as far as I can tell, you would have difficulty finding a narrative that blends the journey of science and humanity as comprehensively and eloquently as this one does. 

Answers to all your questions about apps

By ARIELLA SHUA | April 11, 2018

During much of the end of fall semester, I couldn’t wait until this time of year. Being inside constantly due to the cold, I was spending way more time on my phone than I wanted to, because anything on there — even just refreshing the same four apps over and over again — was better than walking outside.

PUBLIC DOMAIN Ma enjoys eating carbs so much she can even eat pasta and bread plain.

My struggle filled relationship with carbohydrates

By SUDGIE MA | April 11, 2018

Carbs are my life. I could eat just carbs for every meal for the rest of my life and be happy. I didn’t even know that eating too many carbs was supposedly unhealthy for you until I was talking about dieting with one of my high school friends, who said that she was trying to cut out as many carbs as possible in her meals. 

A ranking of top four best episodes of Queer Eye

By GILLIAN LELCHUK and JACOB TOOK | April 12, 2018

Since it came out two months ago, Queer Eye has become a cultural sensation for the LGBTQ community (again). We love that gay shit. We watched every episode, and we have thoughts. The premise is simple: five gay men invade a Georgia man’s life for a week to renovate his home, give him a makeover and show him how to take care of himself. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN Schafer worries that entering college too early means growing up too fast.

The problems with being a college drop in

By CARMEN SCHAFER | April 12, 2018

Despite attending a high school with an on-time graduation rate of 95 percent, one of my best friends dropped out of high school after our sophomore year. While it would usually be inappropriate to divulge someone’s personal reasons for not completing their primary education to complete strangers, I think she would be comfortable with me sharing her story, so here it goes:

  PUBLIC DOMAIN Malcom no longer defines his self-worth in terms of his haircut.

Why I no longer think I’m only as good as my last haircut

By RUDY MALCOM | April 5, 2018

I walked up the staircase to my house’s front door, schlepping my suitcase behind me. It was overstuffed with more clothing than I could possibly need for spring break. I suspected that in a mere five minutes, my mom would hint that my hair was too long. After all, for a couple of weeks, many friends at Hopkins had been giving me the same advice.