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.

Why are we still talking about my virginity?

By SARAH Y. KIM
February 13, 2018

It is nice, I suppose, to be told that as women, we don’t need men to kick ass. It would be nicer, though, if we women had the luxury of exploring our sexuality without feeling that our power would be somehow diminished.

PUBLIC DOMAIN Kim argues that women, unlike men, face social pressure to remain virgins.

I might love ice cream just a little too much

By SUDGIE MA | February 14, 2018

The question of what my favorite flavor is ought to excite me because I love ice cream, but instead it frustrates me. Every time I’m asked this question, I need at least a good 10 seconds before answering. It’s one of the most seemingly innocent questions you could ask to get to know someone better, but it unleashes a flurry of madness in my mind. 

COURTESY OF HBO Despite what some may think, the gratuitous sex in GoT serves a purpose.

A Song of Sex and Power: Portrayals of Sex in Game of Thrones

By ALYSSA WOODEN | February 14, 2018

The Emmy-winning HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones (GoT) is famous for a lot of things, like its elaborate sets and costumes, its eagerness to kill off main characters, and of course its innumerable graphic sex scenes. Many have criticized the show for being overly pornographic or displaying excessive sexual violence. 

Little known facts about the Olympics

By ARIELLA SHUA | February 8, 2018

With the Super Bowl over (and me feeling like the only person on campus upset about the Pats losing), it may feel like time to forget about the lovely distraction that sports provide from more pressing issues. Fortunately, that isn’t the case this year. The 2018 Olympic Winter Games, hosted in PyeongChang, South Korea, begin in only a few days. 

Commercials were the real winner of the superbowl

By AMELIA ISAACS | February 8, 2018

I can think of three reasons why people not from America might want to watch the Super Bowl. First is an actual like for American football and a desire to watch the game. In my humble opinion, that’s the least compelling reason to watch, but what do I know?

Go ahead, go greek, but stop going on Greekrank

By CARMEN SCHAFER | February 13, 2018

At Hopkins, people are not defined socially by their Greek affiliation.” That’s what prospective students are told when they are just getting to know Hopkins. However, for freshmen drunk off an entire semester of Greekrank and hearsay — and not actual information from real-life sorority members — the opposite is true. 

My adventure outside the Hopkins bubble

By RUDY MALCOM | February 8, 2018

Many students at Hopkins, myself most definitely included, regard a snowstorm as the perfect photo op. Flocks of snowflakes descend from the sky and blanket the architecture, trees and fields of the Homewood campus in an aesthetically pleasing manner, masking our lost hopes and dreams with a fluffy white veneer. They fashion the contents of our Hopkins bubble into an idyllic backdrop.

The treks and trials of making it to La Cuchara

By SUDGIE MA | February 5, 2018

Baltimore Restaurant Week really couldn’t have come at a better time for most Hopkins students, since it was smack in the middle of Intersession. Classes during this time only had pass/fail grades and generally involved either light workloads or none at all. Most importantly, they were actually fun to take.

How Runaways is changing LGBTQ representation

By CATHERINE PALMER | February 5, 2018

Marvel’s Runaways, a Hulu original series, centers on a group of teens with emotional issues, superpowers, serial killers for parents and a genetically engineered, telepathic pet dinosaur. It pretty adeptly checks the boxes for as many genres as possible, aside from musical theater (although the soundtrack is lit).

It’s time for female comics to take center stage

By MORGAN OME | February 5, 2018

If you are a woman, how do you navigate a male-dominated industry? That was the question on my mind when I decided to take the stand-up comedy class last year during Intersession. I was interested in seeing whether I could make people laugh, and testing that out in front of 800 people seemed like a good idea.

COURTESY OF MORGAN OME Ome enjoyed performing in the 2017 Intersession stand-up comedy show.
FILE PHOTO Grinsfelder argues that STEM majors’ schedules don’t allow for a well rounded education.

Engineers need to learn about the humanities

By WILLA GRINSFELDER | February 5, 2018

Hopkins is failing its mission statement and failing us as students. The University claims that cultivating “the capacity for life-long learning,” is the core of their mission and, in the words of Daniel Coit Gilman, that the goal of the school is making students “strong, bright, useful and true.” With the current required curricula in engineering majors, creating such students would be nearly impossible.