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.
Greek goddesses Hera and Athena offered the Trojan prince Paris power and glory, but he decided to give the golden apple with the inscription “for the most beautiful” to the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Why? She offered him the love of the prettiest woman in Greece, Helen. This, in turn, led to war, and the city of Troy famously went up in flames. Seems like too much ado about something so trivial: beauty.
To begin, welcome back to Hopkins and welcome back to the sorority and Greek life takeover. Much to the chagrin of the unaffiliated portion of campus, all conversations will only focus on girl dates, rush rooms and possible future homes. From personal experience, I can wholeheartedly say that my room looks like my sorority exploded in it. There’s glitter, streamers and bows covering the floor. This can only mean one thing: Greek rush is upon us. To be precise, rush starts this Sunday, Feb. 1.
In this column I will attempt to answer ethical questions that you, the readers, email me. You can direct your questions to ethics@jhunewsletter.com. I am in no way an expert on ethics, but I enjoy thinking and talking about it, and I’ll do my best to answer your questions in a reasonable and straightforward manner.
I went to one class, the library, then Barnes & Noble to purchase my very last textbook. Here I was, a senior with one semester left, buying a contemptibly overpriced book from the store that everyone learns their freshman year not to buy textbooks from. After four years, had I really learned nothing at all?
Awhile ago I was talking to a friend of mine who was then on the board of the Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium (MSE) about why they bring in so few women as speakers. He — note here that he’s a man — told me there weren’t as many women to invite to speak, which I promptly told him was a dumb excuse. There are plenty of successful women out there, even if there are more men available. Then he argued that women cost more to have at events, citing Hillary Clinton and Oprah, two speakers who obviously would cost a fortune. Anyway, shouldn’t we only pay a woman 77 percent of what we pay a man to speak? Just kidding.
I have a friend who is not diagnosed with any mental disorders, but routinely takes Adderall to help him study. Is this unethical?
Over Thanksgiving break, I was extremely fortunate to be invited by a friend to the Metropolitan Opera. The production was Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), his most popular opera, which has many recognizable tunes. Besides the Viking lady with the horns and the long blonde braids, Figaro, the barber himself, is to me the most recognizable character in any opera. The Barber of Seville, however, was about Count Almaviva’s courtship of Rosina with the help of Figaro. Not only was it a comedy, but it was in Italian. I loved it.
Love her or hate her, Taylor Swift can sell an album, with 1.287 million copies of her latest album 1989 sold in the first week of its release — in other words, two albums were sold every second of that week-long period. 1989 was also the first album to go platinum for 2014. (The only other album to sell one million units this year was the Frozen soundtrack, but that was released in 2013.) Besides that, Swift’s whole discography has gone platinum, with her last three releases, 2010’s Speak Now, 2012’s Red and 2014’s 1989, selling a million copies in their first respective weeks.
When I was younger, and teachers or summer camp instructors or various adults-trying-to-relate would ask me what my favorite animal was, I would say “the human being.” They would say that wasn’t what they’d meant.
Due to the technology advancements of the 21st century, fashion blogging and trend watching are as accessible to us as ever. Instagram, if you don’t already know, is an application that allows us to post filtered pictures that give insight to our experiences and lives. There are many different types of “Insta-bloggers.” Recently, however, the new trend is to document all glamorous adventures through pictures of daily outfits, café meals and beauty bags.
The newest trailer for the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey was released last week, and the Internet is all atwitter about it. The movie, scheduled to open on Valentine’s Day 2015, is based on the book of the same name by E. L. James., and boy oh boy, there is a lot to say about the story.
Do you need to get out of Charles Village? Are you in need of a new brunch place? Is your sanity begging you to treat yo’self to a good weekend meal? You’ve come to the right people and the right place.
In many ways, University President Ronald J. Daniels brings back monarchy to campus. We like to post statuses about seeing him dancing the twist or talking to the ghost of Johnny Hopkins — alright, alright, these rumors may be slightly exaggerated. We send Snapchats when he disregards his royal bloodline to dine with students, and we often assign to him the burden of responsibility for all University decisions.
The conclusion of my first semester here at Hopkins is approaching, and I’m feeling a little nostalgic for my initial arrival. I showed up at Hopkins with bright eyes and excitement for the classes that I’d chosen, for my future, for my major in Writing Seminars and my minor in mathematics.
All of the exciting features and applications found on phones have turned our mobile devices into another limb we all unconsciously use and look at when we’re bored. So, when my cell phone stopped charging, it messed up my routine.
It’s been a turbulent few weeks at Hopkins. Parties being shut down, sexual assaults and even the death of a student. These problems present challenging questions. I’m here to offer my (hopefully solicited) opinions on these issues, and whatever else the readers of The News-Letter choose to ask me about.
This past week, I have had celebrities’ books on the brain. Some of my favorite people in show biz have recently released books and done book signings.
This past Saturday night, Run the Jewels, the inspired collaborative duo of hip hop oldheads Killer Mike and El-P, kicked off the nationwide tour for their sophomore effort. Following opening acts by Queens rapper Despot and hip hop group Rat King, the veteran emcee’s took the stage at Washington, D.C’s 9:30 Club and — literally — made the building shake.
I remember when I was in high school, and “Keep Calm and Carry On” became a thing. Like, a plastered-on-your-wall, written-on-your-sweaters, embroidered-on-your-pincushions level THING. One moment my peers were stressed and angsty, and the next they were placated, professing that everything will be okay. Keep calm and carry on, Lily. I really didn’t get it.
While I usually use this column to ramble about something related to music, I decided this time to talk about the new policies the administration has put in place concerning events that students groups organize. With the controversial moratorium on Greek life-related events taking the spotlight, these new, relatively unnoticed policies affect all student groups, not just fraternities and sororities.
