If you're looking for an action-packed, high-budget adventure, then Hong Kong martial arts veteran Yuen Woo-ping's adaptation of the hit manhua Blades of the Guardians (Biao Ren) is sure to excite. Despite the movie's former lead actress, Nashi, becoming embroiled in an internet scandal resulting in her removal from the movie, the Guardians' star-studded cast is full of talent that is sure to more than make up for the last minute finalizations. For any fan of action movies, from Western epics to vintage Hong Kong martial arts classics, Blades of the Guardians is sure to make the must-watch list this week.

Even if you're ruthlessly single, the cozy romance of Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter is sure to warm your heart. Although the prospect of a perfectionist, ruthlessly organized cat shelter manager and an egotistical, potentially evil wizard-landlord falling in love admittedly sounds slightly outlandish, Heather Fawcett manages to paint such vivid characters that you just can't resist falling in love with them - even the cats!

Ever since Baby Keem made a splash in the rap scene with his debut album, The Melodic Blue, fans have been wanting for more of the braggadocious rapper's hard-hitting verses for nearly five years. This Friday, the wait comes to an end with a tracklist featuring rap legends like Keem's cousin Kendrick Lamar and West Coast pioneer Too $hort. Be sure to tune in to the long-awaited return of one of rap's most entertaining acts!

If you're looking for even more art this week, consider these additional recommendations:

To watch...

• Blades of the Guardians, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping - Feb. 17
• Scare Out, directed by Yimou Zhang - Feb. 17
• How to Make a Killing, directed by John Patton Ford - Feb. 20
• Psycho Killer, directed by Gavin Polone - Feb. 20
• The Dreadful, directed by Natasha Kermani - Feb. 20

To read...

• Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter, written by Heather Fawcett - Feb. 17
• Time for a Change, written by Questlove - Feb. 17
• When I Kill You, written by B.A. Paris - Feb. 17
• Where the Wildflowers Grow, written by Terah Shelton Harris - Feb. 17
• As I Grow, written by Elle Rivers - Feb. 20

To listen...

• Ca$ino, by Baby Keem - Feb. 20
• DISCOMBOBULATED, by Hen Ogledd - Feb. 20
• luck… or something, by Hilary Duff - Feb. 20
• Deface the Currency, by the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - Feb. 20
• No Lube So Rude, by Peaches - Feb. 20

Live events...

• Carl Phillips: Turnbull Lecture - Feb. 18 from 6-7 p.m. at Gilman Hall 50
  • This event is free.
• The Great Escape! A Broadway Journey - Feb. 20-21 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Baltimore Theatre Project
  • This event is $10 for students and $25 dollars for the general public.
• Shriver Hall Concert Series: Angela Hewitt, Piano - Feb. 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Shriver Hall
  • Hopkins students receive two complimentary tickets each.

Nanjing, China. I thought I would eventually write this. It's just too emotional for me. It's hard to put into words, which is funny, because you're also where my words began.

To me, you're not real. You're fantastical, idealized, sunshine and flowers, glitter-covered. After leaving you when I was ten, I almost forgot about you. Or maybe I didn't forget. You just became too big for me to remember all at once. As I grew older, I started collecting memories of you in pieces and putting them together. Two brown sofas in the lobby of the apartment, the bamboo stalks in the neighborhood, the alleyways, roads, lanes I used to walk on holding my grandparents' hands. Sometimes it feels futile, to search for memories that weren't recorded as photos, to rediscover my childhood obsessions, to remember every street and vendor and sounds I woke up to everyday. I guess these come with being born in 2006. Remember the few photos I have of myself, all from my mother's digi cam?

I almost hope you stay as a beautiful memory in my head. I don't want reality to take over, whether it's your new development, my old school's new teachers, the possibility of new residents taking over my old home. Oh right, my old home is a museum now. A museum of my childhood. A museum of evidence of my first writing, first report card, first sticker I earned in school, first coloring book, first secret box that hides all the letters from my classmates when I left. They read those letters out loud to me at a farewell party. It felt ethereal and it still does. As if I didn't leave a city… I left an entire universe where people knew everything about me. We were practically a big family of 36.

I know you kept moving without me. You don't pause for anyone. You don't reserve yourself out of kindness. And yet, last summer, you let me back in for just two days.

You're not the same anymore. Two days isn't enough time to meet a city again. Two days is barely enough time to get used to the blazing heat that I never remembered existing. The Deji Plaza that used to be a once-a-year family gathering spot during holidays, dazzled in a way that almost felt aggressive. It was filled with celebrities, luxury goods, high-tech equipment. Multiple, multi-million-dollar bathrooms. Bathrooms. Can you imagine that? But those new things don't mean anything to me. I turned away and searched for the street food that still spoke in my mother's dialect. The skewers, roasted duck stands, wonton shops. I went looking for the sweetness I remembered. I indulged in the flavors - they never changed.

I replay a scene in my head: As I came out of the station, skyscrapers, electric buses, shopping malls, all came into view. I can hear the rushing footsteps and the aggressive honking of car horns. The familiar smell of cigarettes weaved around the streets. It's a metropolis after all. Instead of going in the direction of the crowd to the center of the city, I turned into a small alleyway. Concrete walls of dilapidated bungalows were covered with graffiti and relocation notices. I wonder how many generations lived there before modernization decided these kinds of houses cannot exist anymore.

There's a soup dumpling restaurant. There's freshly made soy milk. There's a laoban who knew I lived in the area. "I've been at the restaurant for thirty years," he tells me. As I finished the last sip of warm soy milk, I felt something inside me soften. Maybe it was the authentic taste or the laoban's smile, but for the first time in a long while, I felt a strange sense of peace and joy in this simple moment.

Summer in Nanjing feels so different. The willow trees flutter with the wind and make rustling sounds, like the long hair of a young girl. The elders sit on wooden benches and chat about their grandchildren's mischievous behavior, waving a meticulously crafted bamboo fan. Where are middle-aged people? Probably at work. It isn't easy to care for the old and young in the family anywhere in the world. I know that my mother also had a difficult time balancing work and life before immigrating. My heart clenched. Maybe I've never appreciated her enough. I want to know what her life was like back then, in this quiet little neighborhood amidst the city hustles. Maybe part of my longing for you is also a longing to understand her, to know her before she resigned the job she loved to face immigration paperwork and American routines.

Nanjing, you hold the versions of my family and me that I can't fully access anymore. You hold the child I was. You hold the woman my mother was. You hold my grandparents in the exact shape of their everyday lives. I'm afraid to return for real. I'm afraid of discovering that the places I worship are gone. Or worse - still there, but different enough to make me feel like I'm the one who's been replaced.

But I'm also writing to say: I love you anyway. I love you as a city and as an idea that never left my mind. I love you as a place that raised parts of me I didn't know how to name or feel. I love you for the way you make me crave simple human connections and the way you remind me that peace can exist in small moments. I want to try to love you in your changes, and love myself in mine.

Here is my letter of cluttered thoughts about you, finally. Nanjing, thank you for being my first home, even if I spent years trying to convince myself you were only a dream.

Linda Huang is a sophomore from Rockville, Md. majoring in Biomedical Engineering. Her column celebrates growth and emotions that define young adulthood, inviting readers to live authentically.

12. France

These jerseys remind me of what happens when I try to design a shirt for a club. A random font gets chosen that looks close enough to something that's close enough to good. Then they threw on the lines to fill up some extra space. What about a fancy Eiffel Tower? Or if they still want to keep it simple, just the word France without the simple lines that somehow make something simple something heinous.

11. Czechia

I think the color block is what's sending me. It was a brilliant idea, yet the execution was poor. The back of the red home jersey works, but the white one confuses me. Something about the little pop of yellow in the really large crest when there are already so many colors.

10. Italy

The sleeves feel like an afterthought by someone trying to spice up artwork, but looking at the piece without their glasses on. To be fair, they look super sick on the dark blue home jersey, but when the little squares are in white atop the light blue sleeves of the away jersey, they dominate in a harsh way.

9. Latvia

Thorn: the corners. Rose: the maroon and the coat of arms. Bud: the cool geometric lines at the bottom and the font.

8. Denmark

Denmark, were you trying to design what Finland created? Maybe it's the bright red accented only by plain white and black. Maybe it's the weird zig zags through the middle stripe, or the blue lion in the center that they decided to make cherry red. Designers, if you're reading this, can you make the middle stripe wider so the lion doesn't seem so out of place?

7. USA

For the first time since 2014, the NHL Player's Association came to an agreement with the league to address past issues and allow players to compete. The New York Rangers can now go compete in the world's biggest stage, but did they take too much of the team with them? That being said, the diagonal letters are a nice change to the typical template.

6. Sweden

This design is the Swedish Tre Konor, or three crowns, and it continues to be a timeless success. I fear the bright yellow is just a little startling. I would add a white outline to the stripes and the crowns, then maybe my eyes wouldn't be as jarred by the transitions.

5. Germany

The black jersey made me rate this so highly. Black, gold, red, black, gold again but this time with a fancy pattern radiating off of the neckline. The crest popping out in the center is a fearsome addition, yet I wonder if the colors in the gold jersey's crest should have been reversed.

4. Switzerland

This is a seamless canvas, if a little boring. Everyone knows Switzerland from their iconic flag. These jerseys took that simplicity and ran with it, skating miles to add the black outline to the shield where the cross sits and the double stripe across the center.

3. Canada

Rating this jersey so high may be a hot take, but the maple leaf dominating is a statement in the best possible way. Especially on the black jersey, where the leaf is outlined in red, am I adamant that no writing of "Canada" was needed. But the corners.

2. Slovakia

While the color scheme is very similar to many other teams, the design sets these jerseys apart. They got the color block correct, mostly due to the mountains shaded into the dark blue base color. Additionally, the coat of arms matches the progression of elements on the blue jersey but doesn't feel like a forced copy. I do wonder what this would have looked like if the mountains were to continue into the red stripe.

1. Finland

Wow. On first glance, it's a light blue band atop a darker blue background, but the shades mesh perfectly. Upon further inspection, the epic gold lion is hoisting his sword while facing a combination of triangles, different in color or texture. The design is seamless, attracts the eye into the dark blue night and reflects the gaze off the glimmering lion.

Moore's appointment has faced backlash from the Hopkins community. Students have demonstrated, circulated petitions and emailed the institute's director, Hahrie Han, to call for the immediate revocation of his fellowship. As University administration remains unresponsive to criticism, The News-Letter wishes to echo the concerns of the student body. Johnnie Moore's appointment as a Visiting Fellow and the SNF Agora's refusal to engage with student concerns are antithetical to the democratic values that the institution purports to uphold.

The GHF, which closed in December 2025, was under scrutiny from the international community due to its lack of transparency about its funding sources and its close association with the Israeli government. Prior to the start of the GHF's operations in late May 2025, aid distribution sites in Gaza were run by the United Nations (U.N.). However, these U.N.-backed sites faced allegations from the Israeli government that Hamas was diverting large amounts of its aid, ultimately resulting in its replacement by the GHF. According to the U.N., over 859 people were killed near GHF distribution sites as of August 2025. Over the course of its operations, food distributions were managed by private, anonymous entities and were located in areas that required recipients to travel long distances to reach, rendering them vulnerable to gunfire and attack.

As the leader of a foundation that has faced widespread condemnation from humanitarian organizations, Moore does not uphold the mission of SNF Agora or the University as a whole. As chairman of the GHF, he is directly associated with the deaths of hundreds of civilians. These accusations raise important questions about his commitment to impartiality in the distribution of humanitarian aid and, thus, his commitment to democratic values.

SNF Agora has also demonstrated a limited adherence to its own commitment to civic engagement by ignoring student concerns. While administrators repeatedly emphasized their commitment to dialogue, they declined to answer substantive questions that students raised about Moore's appointment as a Visiting Fellow.

While Han attended a Student Government Association (SGA) meeting on Nov. 11 to discuss concerns about the matter, she refused to comment on the specifics of Moore's appointment. During the meeting, she explained that she hadn't responded to over 50 student emails advocating against Moore's presence on campus, as they had gotten lost in her spam folder. Furthermore, in an interview with The News-Letter, junior Eli Lesher shared that he emailed Han six times in mid-November to schedule a meeting. According to Lesher, after he elaborated on his concerns and raised a question during the SGA session, however, Han canceled the meeting and did not respond to further emails.

The institute's lack of response to criticism subverts its commitment to civic engagement. For an administrator tasked with facilitating dialogue, allowing dozens of emails from concerned students to slip through the cracks suggests a deeper issue of neglect and irresponsibility and institutional carelessness, all of which undermine SNF Agora's commitment to dialogue. These incidents also raise larger questions about the institute's openness to constructive criticism. It currently does not provide a reliable avenue through which the student body can raise concerns about its operations. Implementing a student advisory board, which used to exist before the pandemic, as Han mentioned in the SGA meeting,would be a significant step in addressing this problem.

A fellowship appointment at Hopkins carries significant institutional weight. SNF Agora fellows are not only endorsed as voices that are aligned with the institute's mission, they also represent the University publicly. Due to this visibility and legitimacy attributed to Visiting Fellows, appointments to the fellowship demand clear, substantive criteria. Without ethical standards, the fellowship risks becoming detached from the values that it is meant to uphold.

Political involvement alone should not disqualify someone from the fellowship. As students have emphasized, political affiliations do not delegitimize a candidate, but rather the ethics of their actions. Moore's humanitarian crimes are not in accordance with SNF Agora's commitment to democracy, both because they violate a core ethical standard and because they demonstrate a clear lack of neutrality in aid distribution, which is contradictory to values of democracy.

The absence of ethical standards has real consequences. Without clear expectations for fellows, students are left without a framework to understand or challenge appointments that appear to contradict the institute's mission. Establishing transparent, mission-aligned criteria would not only strengthen the legitimacy of fellowship appointments but also reaffirm SNF Agora's stated commitment to dialogue, accountability and civic engagement.

One example of molecular computing is known as DNA computing, which uses DNA to perform calculations in lieu of electronics. In some instances, computing with DNA is more effective than traditional electronics because it is a form of parallel computing, in which many calculations (chemical reactions) are simultaneously carried out. Since being first demonstrated in 1994, DNA computing, and more broadly, the biochemical computing field, has expanded rapidly.

Though the field of molecular computing is still relatively nascent, it has garnered much interest from researchers in biology, chemistry and computer science. In 2024, Hopkins hosted a global conference on DNA computing and molecular programming, which drew in hundreds of scientists from around the world.

Rebecca Schulman is a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Hopkins who is currently working on developing new materials that both contain and process information. Her interest in the field began during her undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she studied computer science. After working in Silicon Valley for a couple of years on natural language processing, she decided to move into the bioengineering field and worked on building information-processing materials in her graduate school and postdoctoral research.

"In grad school, I studied this process called algorithmic self-assembly, which sounds kind of esoteric," Schulman said in an interview with The News-Letter. "The basic idea was that in biochemistry, often times there's a competition between multiple molecules to interact with a growing structure. If there's something about those molecules that leads you to choose one over the other, that could be viewed as a form of information processing."

Specifically, Schulman focused on studying this process in DNA, which helped expand the applications of DNA computing technology.

"I worked on weaving DNA into little bricks that could crystallize into sheets and studied how information was transferred as these sheets formed," Schulman recalled. "And I showed that you could grow sheets that would contain some kind of code, like a binary number, and it could copy that code as a crystal grew. We were also able to do computing, where these sheets could not just copy a number, but count."

Though Schulman worked on limited use cases of DNA algorithmic self-assembly in graduate school, she believed that this technology was not just limited to simple operations. This idea has led to her current research, which focuses on expanding this molecular computing concept to create biologically relevant materials. Namely, Schulman's group is working on building molecules and materials that can make decisions, sense their environments, perform actions and talk to each other to be able to solve problems.

Schulman highlighted the potential applications of the technology medical in cancer cell detection, drug delivery, and tissue and organ growth.

"Theoretically, we could harness this simple idea to make biological materials… that could look at a couple of molecules and decide whether a particular cell is a cancer cell," Schulman stated. "This would be better than what we can do now. A little bit of logic that molecules could possess could be really useful for us as a technology."

Last November, Schulman won a National Science Foundation (NSF) Trailblazer Engineering Impact Award for a proposal seeking to harness molecular computing to more efficiently grow organs in vitro. The organ of choice that Schulman decided on was the kidney, the organ with the highest transplant demand worldwide. In the United States, over 80% of patients on the waitlist for a lifesaving organ transplantation need a kidney. However, less than 20% of people waiting for a kidney receive one each year.

"The goal of this proposal was to pick a really big challenge that was also a national need, and try to propose an unusual way to get around roadblocks in the field," Schulman said. "The problem of growing organs or tissues in the lab is a long-standing challenge. Our vision was that molecular programming would allow us to much more carefully create the cues that cells see as they grow in utero."

The materials that Schulman seeks to create would be able to secrete biological materials at specific time points in the protocol, mimicking the developmental signals that organs experience during their formations.

"We've been working on transcribing RNA in a specific location, controlling how it spreads, and then using that precise spread to control where other molecules, like drugs, are released," Schulman stated. "The other thing we wanted to think about was how to figure out how to release cues in a way that adapts to a growing tissue. We've been working on trying to build molecular processes that transcribe RNA in response to proteins made by a tissue, which would allow us to control release in this way.… We're hoping to provide the tools for complex organoid engineering to happen."

Bowen's group recently wrapped up a study exploring the psychological differences between long-distance and close-distance relationships. One aspect he examined was the misconception that long-distance relationships are automatically doomed and are not as happy as compared to close-distance relationships. However, Bowen found out that relationships did lose intimacy and satisfaction after a transition from long-distance into close-distance, even though the idea of being close-distance was desirable for most long-distance partners.

Bowen began to investigate the psychological mechanisms behind these seemingly contradictory observations. He ended up converging on a phenomenon called "psychological distance," where people tended to treat long-distance relationships in more abstract terms, while close-distance relationships were thought to be more concrete.

"If you're far away, you can get on Zoom or FaceTime with them and talk, but it's not the same as having the physical contact and true co-presence," Bowen said. "So we're interested in understanding the long distance itself as a psychological feature of these relationships, and seeing if that helps explain this two-pronged idea that you can manage a long-distance relationship pretty successfully at a distance, but when you shift to proximity, that introduces new challenges."

The ideas Bowen studies fall under the general concept of relationship cognition, which are the mental processes that individuals use to think about and maintain their relationships. Ultimately, he seeks to find shared psychological explanations that account for the relative success of long-distance relationships and the challenges that arise when transitioning to close-distance relationships.

As Valentine's Day is one of the most popular holidays dedicated to celebrating romantic relationships, social psychologists have conducted a significant amount of research on the effects of and attitudes towards Valentine's Day.

"People have done some interesting things in terms of understanding how consequential experiences on Valentine's Day are to different partners," Bowen explained. "There are some partners who put a lot of stake into the day, and if it goes well, it really strengthens the relationship, at least in the short term. And for the same people putting a lot of stake in it, if it goes poorly or doesn't meet their expectations, it can bepretty harmful in the short run."

Gift giving, a central activity of Valentine's Day, has also been the subject of extensive research by psychologists.

"Receiving gifts seems on the surface like it would be the more preferable experience for some, but for other partners, the gift-giving is what's really invigorating for them," Bowen said. "Part of the explanation for that is the idea that knowing what the partner will like - giving them a gift - is a reflection that you understand and value them."

Bowen emphasized the importance of keeping up with the ever-dynamic landscape of relationships, with social media being a growing and relevant space and tool for research regarding attraction. There are three traditional categories for studying online processes. The first is called translational, which takes an analog tool like a survey, and makes it digital. The second is called phenomenological methods, which takes a phenomenon that has transformed drastically online, an example being cyberbullying. The third category, which social media can be used for, is labelled as novel methods. Bowen described using the features of Instagram as a method to examine momentary experiences of attraction.

"You could present people with photos at a lab. You could ask them to respond really quickly to certain stimuli. You could ask them to express their opinions and try and get at that information rapidly, almost like a snap judgment. But swiping behavior in the context of Tinder and certain other dating apps is already a data source that's capturing this brevity of exposure. It's offering clues based on what's presented in those images, in terms of what is driving people's choices to swipe one way or the other. Taking the design of such tools and recognizing different data produced outside of people's conscious awareness offer compelling insights," Bowen said.

Bowen listed a few characteristics present in Instagram that help create conditions to examine attraction, such as whether a person is following the participant, whether the participant is following the person, both or neither. With these alterations, an image of the Instagram profile can be created, and the participant's reaction to these conditions can be measured.

Lastly, Bowen offered his overarching thoughts about the nature of human relationships.

"The thing that I often come back to is how the breadth and the flexibility of our psychology as human beings is largely where it has been for hundreds and hundreds of years… Grounding in that can be helpful. Even if we are expressing ourselves in new spaces and in new ways [like social media], those fundamental components are still there, as part of the nature of being a person. I think it sometimes can just be helpful to remind ourselves of that, [which is] very simple but also endlessly dynamic. Both from the perspective of studying it and living it, I think that's a nice thing to anchor into."

To watch...

Saffron Hallett: Eternity (2025), directed by David Freyne

Do you know where you would like to spend eternity? Imagine if you had the chance to pick your paradise after death. What would it look like, and who would you want to spend it with?

These are the questions that Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) must grapple with as she finds herself at the Junction, a place between the living world and the afterlife. On the one hand, she could spend her eternity with her first husband, Luke (Callum Turner), who died during a war and has waited for her here for 67 years. On the other hand, she could spend eternity with her second husband Larry (Miles Teller), with whom she has been married to for 65 years and has children with. She only has one week to decide, and whichever eternity she chooses, she will be forced to stay in forever.

Watch as Larry and Luke fight for their wife with the help of their Afterlife Coordinators, Anna (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) and Ryan (John Early), respectively, in this surreal, '70s convention center-style atmosphere. Director David Freyne takes his audience on a heartwarming and emotional journey that lets us reflect on our lives and the relationships we make along the way. Who would you spend your eternity with?

Grace Oh: Be Melodramatic (2019), directed by Lee Byeong-heon and Kim Hye-young

Be Melodramatic is a meta love letter to Korean dramas, where the main characters include a drama writer, a marketing team leader of a drama production company and a documentary director. Distinguished by the witty and thoughtful dialogue, the writers and directors of Be Melodramatic are not afraid to make fun of the self-referenced genre's cliches or the characteristics of typical weekday Korean drama, even directly addressing the looming presence of product placement. Many shades of love are portrayed, such as the simmering, latent love present in the aftermath of a seven-year relationship, the steadiness of friendships that spill over from college to adult life and the grief that persists after the death of a partner.

The show's strength is plainly stated by one of the protagonists in Episode 5 as she prepares to convince higher-ups at a network company to pick up her drama, which works as the in-universe version of Be Melodramatic: It's character-driven, relying on the viewers' empathy and curiosity for the ensemble cast to get them to continue watching episode after episode. And when the writers and directors trust the audience to care for and love the characters as they do, gracing their minor characters with the same empathy their main counterparts get, how can the stories be anything short of romantic?

River Phan: The Beast (2023), directed by Bertrand Bonello

Incel ideology is a response to an identity conceived from an incongruence between oneself and one's desires within the libidinal economy, or rudimentarily, a state without sexual (or, sometimes, romantic) love. This ideology has been compounded and reified into vitriol and violence by Western postmodernity's specific tactics of alienation, such as work-driven isolation to maximize productivity and technological substitutes for human companionship or comfort. This imposition onto the individual is central to Bertrand Bonello's The Beast (2023). Based on the Henry James novella, The Beast in the Jungle, which tracks a fatalistic fear of impending doom materializing into inescapable loneliness, The Beast uses its non-linear, genre-crossing form to ask what happens to love in the aftermath of catastrophe.

Part period drama and part sci-fi dystopia, The Beast follows Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) and Louis (George MacKay) through their past and present lives in 1910, 2014 and 2044. Its 2014 set piece could be categorized as a horror-thriller since Louis, in this iteration, is an incel stalking Gabrielle. Beyond its experimental structure through disjointed editing and uneven sound design, this section is dreadfully eerie because it conveys the crux of a certain type of solitude, one that creates incel culture and other reactionary mindsets: Maybe, love is not enough, and fear - of failure or the unknown or being known - is going to prevail in its place. The Beast offers no exhaustive solace, but its picture of love as a mild palliative is precisely and perversely human.

Shreya Tiwari: Jab We Met (2007), directed by Imtiaz Ali

I never quite connected fully with English-speaking rom-coms that have been released recently; I find that there's something missing when characters just say "I love you" instead of speaking in poetry the way a Bollywood actor confesses to his one true love mid-movie. But most Bollywood movies are over-the-top and soap-opera-esque - younger-me saw them as a caricature of love as opposed to the real thing. However, there's one movie which I've rewatched countless times, that has defined exactly how I see love.

Jab We Met is the story of Geet (Kareena Kapoor Khan), a vivacious, slightly immature girl who runs into heartbroken and burnt-out Aditya (Shahid Kapoor) on her train. A series of unfortunate events eventually leads to the two missing their train, and the two connect along a journey to her hometown of Bhatinda. The story becomes one where both characters heal each other - Geet's infectious joy and her self-confidence inspire Aditya, and later, he returns to help Geet find herself after heartbreak. It's not the basic "I can fix him" or "I can fix her" plot; it's two imperfect people learning from each other. There are so many scenes where their affection for one another shows up in glances and subtleties compared to other rom-coms, where I often feel like lovey-dovey scenes are shoved down my throat. The effect is heightened by the amazing songs that accompany these scenes, where lyricism shows the hundreds of details the two characters notice about each other as they fall in love.

It's rare that a romance movie leaves me without nausea. But a love like Geet and Aditya's, with its stupid silly moments and its commitment to constantly making each other better people, is enough to melt the heart of this "disillusioned-with-romance" viewer.

Steve Wang: In the Mood for Love (2000), directed by Wong Kar Wai

Tony Leung's Mr. Chen and Maggie Cheung's Mrs. Chan play characters that would, in any other movie, be relegated to the background - reduced into mere collateral of an unfortunate, melodramatic betrayal. There should be yelling and fighting and screaming in the drama, but instead of such an explicit, aggressive approach to love, the characters of In the Mood for Love choose to bury their feelings behind mountainous facades of role-playing and "platonic" silences.

Mr. Chen never pleads for Mrs. Chan to follow him - never seems to allow himself to ask for the world he wants to live in. The love that ties the two characters doesn't bring them together. It instead tears at their organs and splits the world into two halves: the half he is on and the half she is on. They didn't even ever really fall in love: Chen was never in love. He was always in love.

Just like the black pitch sitting in an empty hall in Queensland, Chen's heart seemed not to move at all, until suddenly, when nobody noticed, it fell right out of his chest and filled the gutters of the rainy alleyway outside his window.

Even though it's not the most upbeat movie to watch while snuggled up in your loved one's arms, it's still an incredibly important one to watch. Its poetic nature leaves so much room for self-exploration and personal interpretation that you will inevitably (re)discover some part of yourself when you watch it. The plot is purposefully muddy, so don't ChatGPT or Google the ending. Struggle with it, let it live with you and eventually, you will see yourself in the reflection.

Shuwen Zheng: 500 Days of Summer (2019), directed by Marc Webb

As Valentine's Day fast approaches, it is the perfect time to revisit some iconic romance films. Directed by Marc Webb, 500 Days of Summer (2009) is one such film that has slowly transitioned from cult classic to wide acceptance within the public consciousness. The film reverses the stereotypical "boy meets girl" tale to explore the realities of love. While Tom starts out as a naive romantic who believes in "true love" and Summer is much more cynical about the existence of such a concept, their united exploration of what love means for them pushes the film forward.

As the rise of social media has reset people's expectations and perceptions of love, often leading to commitment and attachment issues, many resonated with Tom's hopelessly romantic yet failed pursuit of Summer. However, those quick to assign blame for why the relationship didn't work are missing the bigger picture. At the end of the film, in an ironic reversal, Summer has taken Tom's stance of true love while Tom has given up on the notion of finding love. The switching of perspectives indicates there is nothing inherently wrong with either approach to love, and there is no one at blame. The ultimate solace that the audience should find in Tom's journey from first sight to heartbreak across these 500 days is that sometimes people are just not meant to be, and there is nothing to be sad about over that. People love different people differently at different stages of their life: There is no one or "correct" way to approach love.

To read...

Estelle Chen: So Many Constellations, by Paul Celan

Love, like all of my favorite things, makes strange what had been familiar. Naturally, Paul Celan - who twisted and turned, bent and molded German into strange new formations - wrote one of my favorite love poems, So Many Constellations. The poem rambles through paradox: The speaker and their lover both "knew" and "did not know," "were there, after all, and not there." Things are not in their proper place; it seems like they are in no place at all.

The translation by Michael Hamburger treats us to a spectacularly paradoxical promise: "at times when / only the void stood between us we got / all the way to each other." Love is a void; desire is lack (thank you, Lacan), but that is not all that they are. Between the poem's speaker and their lover is a special kind of emptiness: a lack that's unbearably full, a void that is also a bridge.

How are any of these paradoxes possible? Love's rationale is nonsensical: It flips everything on its head to ultimately transcend the mess it's made so that there's no longer a mess at all. Love does not negate rationality or proper places. Rather, it moves us beyond the distinction between rational and irrational, order and mess. Love brings us to the site of constant movement, a place that is no place, where it's possible to cross even - and especially - the most impossible voids.

Austin Moon: The Clod and the Pebble, by William Blake

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I was drawn toward William Blake's love poem The Clod and the Pebble. Structured in two parallel halves, the poem asks a question about the purpose of love and what it demands of us. Through the personified voices of the clod and the pebble, Blake presents two clashing visions: one selfless and open, the other self-preserving and binding in its relationships.

What makes the poem so powerful is how clearly these positions mirror one another. Flipped, the poem retains its meaning when read backward. Each side gives itself fully to the other in its own way. Blake does not tell us which vision is correct. Instead, he allows the reader to choose, or to recognize themselves shifting between the two. At different moments in my own life, I can see how I side more with the pebble, and at other times with the clod, however ridiculous it may sound.

The personification is just distinct enough to make each voice feel alive without turning the poem into an allegory that feels distant or abstract. Poetry allows us to stay present long enough for that recognition to matter. I believe that is what makes this poem, and poetry as a medium, worth returning to.

If you have a spare moment, take a second to breeze through Blake's poem in full and ask yourself, on this day of love and reflection: Are you the Clod or the Pebble?

To listen...

Riley Strait: "Maps," covered by Lola Kirke and Willow Avalon

When I first heard "Maps" on my Discover Weekly, I thought I was doing something. I thought, "They don't love you like I love you," in which I am the I, and the you is "Maps." I thought I was being underground, if only a little. A TikTok virgin, I had no idea the song I was listening to was only a cover by Lola Kirke and Willow Avalon, not the original by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The harder realization was that I was enjoying a song becoming popularized by an unflattering remix with, I'm sorry to say, a stupid dance.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" is a good song, too. The lyrics live a new life, however, when sung by Lola Kirke and Willow Avalon. With the gentle yet aching plea of a country voice, Kirke breathes fresh urgency into the chorus's plea: "Wait, they don't love you like I love you." Backed by instrumentals that can't help but conjure crops of corn, sorghum, wheat or what-have-you, Kirke and Avalon's "Maps" is a sincere, bittersweet call to save a love going south - and to reclaim music from distasteful dance trends.

In an interview with The News-Letter, Kotov discussed his fencing career and his love for the sport in addition to his experience studying engineering. Prior to fencing at the University, Kotov was part of the Salt City Swords Fencing Club in Salt Lake City and the Phoenix Fencing Academy in Arizona. Kotov originally swam competitively, and stumbled upon fencing through his friend.

"I came into fencing by accident. I used to swim for a long time and got bored of that - it was a little too repetitive and too cold for me. [I] had a friend who did fencing and just tried it out one day with him... It was really cool, and I've stuck with it since then. [I've been fencing] nearing 10 years now," Kotov said.

Kotov highlighted the mental aspect of fencing as being continuously thrilling even after years of competing; during every bout, he has to adapt and strategize in new situations with a new opponent, engaging in mental games and trying different tactics to score points. In a nod to his major, Kotov compared the overall process to the concept of building.

"Every time you step up to the strip, it's a novel experience. You have to adapt to it. I think that's one of the things that makes [the sport] really cool," he said. "However long you've been doing it for, it never really gets boring, it's something new every time, you really have to think about it. Even once you've really mastered the physical aspects of it, there's so much more to it," Kotov explained. "As you participate more and more, you understand more of the mental games, the tactical side... [you] see how different actions play together."

In order to train on the mental aspect of the sport, which Kotov admitted to be more difficult in some ways than the physical aspect, he studies videos of higher level fencing. One example includes observing bouts at the Olympics. Another method of improvement Kotov credited was through participating in many tournaments.

"Even before Hopkins tournaments, [I went to tournaments] all the time: national events and did a couple of even international events. It's scary at first because these are big events, there's a lot of people, it's a lot of pressure. But after a while, you get used to that, you learn to think under pressure."

After fencing individually for years, Kotov welcomed the opportunity to attend team events with the Men's Fencing team. He spoke about enjoying the collegiate structure of shorter matches where he faced more opponents and the company and cheers of his teammates.

Outside of the fencing team, Kotov is the treasurer and founding member of Blue Jay Flight Club, a club for aviation enthusiasts. His motivation for forming the club was to create a community for people interested in the field of commercial aviation and the airline industry.

Kotov also discussed his experience studying mechanical engineering, a major that he described to be extremely structured but that still provides flexibility to students. He expressed his excitement for Senior Design, the major's capstone project that functions similarly to an apprenticeship by getting hands-on experience in the industry.

"It's a really exciting opportunity to put everything that you've learned over the three years to apply it to a real world project, working with a corporate, company sponsor or government sponsor," Kotov said.

After graduation, he plans to pursue his interest in the commercial aviation and airline industry while he continues fencing.

"Fencing is really a lifelong sport," Kotov said. "I do hope to keep fencing in some form or another past Hopkins."

This year, the formal was themed "Four Seasons," offering an exploration of various teas that represent each of the yearly changes. From hints of floral to woody notes, the formal was a unique peek into the delicacy of brewed beverages!

The ceremony primarily focused on Chinese tea - from jasmine to oolong - and took place at the George Peabody Library at the University's Peabody Institute campus in Mount Vernon. As expected, the venue itself was stunning and, combined with calming music, provided a peaceful environment to delight in the tasting. With old books lining the walls and a grand hallway that allowed for an old-timey feel, participants were transported back in time to feel like royalty.

During check-ins, the formal began with chrysanthemum tea and crab roe-flavored sunflower seeds. The tea was light and a pale yellow; its taste was flowery and subtly sweet. The sunflower seeds complemented the beverage warmly, offering a crunch to accompany the softness. Further, the drink left a refreshing, almost honey-like aftertaste that eased guests into the experience. While participants mingled and socialized, the organizers began to set up the tasting room.

Although I am a boba addict, I've had very little experience outside of the occasional Starbucks chai and Kung Fu Tea milk tea. Fortunately for me, each serving opened with an in-depth explanation from the group's brewer about the origin, description and traditions of the beverage.

Our brewer, Katalin Maji, was the prime example of expertise and passion. Poised and knowledgeable, Maji offered a thoughtful and engaging guide through each tasting. While my friends and I peppered our brewer with an endless number of questions, she was patient and kind, answering all of our questions while delivering fun facts about each kind of drink. Through this, even the most unique teas felt accessible and familiar.

Every drink was a loose-leaf tea, carefully prepared using traditional brewing methods. This attention to craft allowed for each tea's unique flavor profile to fully develop. Further, the level of detail given to each pour represented the care the Tea Club and its members deliver in their mission.

To begin, the spring season was represented with raw pu-erh. Summer then followed with green tea, autumn with oolong and finally winter with old white tea. My personal favorites were the dark teas. With citrusy and more bitter tastes, my tongue felt "spiked," and I adored the fruity aftertaste. These teas felt bold and comforting, perfect for the winter season that they were meant to represent.

During the intermission period of the Tea Formal, light snacks were offered as palate cleansers in addition to the drinks. The provided menu consisted of flower cores, mung bean pastries, rice cakes and green tea eggrolls. The green tea eggrolls were to die for, as they struck the perfect balance between savory and sweet.

The Tea Formal offered a rare opportunity to dress up, slow down and savor every sip during a busy semester.

To enjoy other sipping specials, find the Tea Club's events on its Instagram, with further information available through its Linktree. Additionally, the club has a comprehensive list of Baltimore restaurant recommendations for those interested in edibles aside from tea.

The discussion began with a review of the the recent student government retreat, to which they sent delegates. Student Body President Vishnu Dontu then discussed the executive board's plans to update the SGA website regarding the Jackson Morris judiciary case. Another plan was discussed regarding a survey assessing the availability of menstrual products on campus. A new Mentorship Program was also introduced, where senators with less than a year of experience will have the opportunity to receive guidance from senators with over a year of experience. Executive Programming Chair Tyler Turner then reminded attendees about the organization's Valentines Day event, Looking for a JayFriend, on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7pm in the Glass Pavilion.

Following these announcements, a closed session commenced.

When members of the public were re-admitted, a delegate from the Muslim Students Association requested funding for an iftar banquet to celebrate the month of Ramadan. SGA members proposed that the MSA borrow decorations, and the issue was sent to the finance committee. Turner then proposed an event during which 500 Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches would be made available to students. He clarified that this is a way to respond to perceived student interest in Chick-fil-A; previously, the administration has denied student calls for an on-campus Chick-fil-A in accordance with their commitment to limiting food contracts to small franchise organizations. Members voiced concerns about feasibility and a lack of vegetarian options. The issue was moved to the finance committee.

Senator Sean Durkis-Dervogne then proposed the Office Hours Act, which would require the executive board to schedule office hours (or delegate that duty to the senators) during which case-work services would be provided. The act was approved by the organization.The Action Items Amendment was then proposed by Senator Jazzlyn Fernandez. The amendment, which was approved, makes deadlines essential for action items included in proposed bills.

Before the meeting adjourned, Chair Amy Xu proposed the RSO Finance Workshops Funding Bill through which the finance committee to hold informational workshops with senators in order to reduce the number of inquiries sent to the committee. The bill was approved.

Mukherjee attributed the significance of his time completing medical school at Dartmouth to his burgeoning interest in the broader field of public health.

"While I was at Dartmouth, I was mentored by a former U.S. Surgeon General, which really instilled in me an interest in public health and in thinking about things that are a little atypical for someone who is a surgeon to be interested in, but it was cool to have his influence."

In 2007, Mukherjee was at the Hopkins School of Public Health as a Sommer Scholar - a scholarship meant for those with the potential to join a global network of leaders in the field. He developed a specific interest in neurosurgery after one of his family members developed a brain tumor and was bolstered by mentors such as Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojasa. This spurred a residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center amongst various other initiatives, including working as a fellow at the University of Pittsburgh.

Around seven years ago, Mukherjee was recruited by Hopkins as a faculty member, where he became involved with the Peace Education Program: a virtual course dedicated to improving participant wellness across domains, including inner strength, self awareness and clarity. He reflected on his involvement during the interview with The News-Letter.

"When it comes to the Peace Education Program, during the height of the pandemic, I think people felt really isolated and alone," he said. "In surgery at Hopkins, it's a relatively small group of people. And because of that, I thought it would be appropriate and nice... to try to do something to have people feel a bit more connected to each other."

As a free, online and thus widely accessible program with a proven track record, its success with students and staff at Hopkins encouraged Mukherjee to take it across Baltimore. Using grants, he implemented it in community centers, working with various projects which included bringing the program's benefits to recently incarcerated women.

A typical session with the Peace Education Program spans 10 weeks, with one hour each week. Within this hour, time is dedicated to short lectures, interviews and audio-visual elements sharing insights into the process and philosophy of finding peace. The remaining time is used to encourage self-reflection: for writing, journaling or, ultimately, to spend time to think and share.

"I think having that hour or 45 minutes, or whatever it is, every week, was a respite [for a lot of people] from all of the craziness that they have to go through in their day-to-day life... I would say for our team at Hopkins, and even for a lot of the community work, it's inadvertently sort of built a trust in unity amongst folks," he said.

Despite the program's current success, Mukherjee touched on the challenges he went through at the beginning. He recognized that relatively few surgeons initiate projects similar to the Peace Education Program, where services are provided to disadvantaged groups at no charge. He even recalled the first time he brought up the idea to his department, where it was met with skepticism, and described the importance of carrying humanistic beliefs as a surgeon.

"To be a neurosurgeon requires dedication, focus and precision, but in the moment that you're doing the surgery, it actually doesn't require a lot of humanism," he said. "The bit that is related to humanism is when there is a weight in the move that you make in a critical moment. Even though we don't think of surgeons as necessarily humanistic, it's a hidden part of the job. If you're not a human being first, you are not a good surgeon."

He then touched on the time constraints of taking up such an initiative as a surgeon, while making sure that the schedule would work for the target audience. Although it was difficult to find a time where he could bring people from different ages to the same place, he was able to succeed with several readjustments.

When asked about the what kept him going despite all the obstacles that came up along the way, Mukherjee mentioned the importance of positive feedback he received in the workshops, especially those that came from participants.

"There were many sweet people that said, 'I never thought of my life in that way. I had never thought that I had as much value as I do, that I matter as much as I do,'" he said. "It points [people] to [themselves] in how important it is to be centered, focused and get out as much as we can get out of every day, to feel peace within ourselves."

Mukherjee discussed the importance of having versatile mentors who take their expertise in science farther than research, especially for those who are interested in pursuing medicine.

"It's easy to figure out what kind of research someone does, but it's much harder to figure out who is involved in social justice or the humanities," he explained. "Ideally, if you can find a mentor or advisor you can emulate and actually connect with, that's the best way to figure out a path for yourself. If you develop a relationship like that, you can engage in meaningful work outside of the norm."

According to Mukherjee, this is an important step in reflecting and figuring out what one wants to do when striving to find meaning in life, and deciding whether the profession they're planning to seek is conducive to that. To him, this was helping people enjoy their life, which pushed him to find a universal way to bring people joy, a seemingly impossible task.

"I never figured out a way to bring people universal happiness. There are more than eight billion people; it's a little crazy," he said. "But I figured, if I could help people have a foundation of health and wellness, then they can pursue their joy and their happiness."

Therefore, it was no surprise when the original film transformed into a collective franchise. In 2022, the release of Avatar: The Way of Water reaffirmed the cultural relevance and cinematic ambition of the original story. Although the first two films had undeniable flaws, such as an overreliance on familiar tropes and a narrative reminiscent of a "White Messiah fable," they still succeeded in centering an effective anti-colonial message in a stunning world. Unfortunately, in 2025, Avatar: Fire and Ash has given me clarity into the consumerist agenda that undermines the series's foundational critique of exploitation.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third installment of the series and is a direct continuation of the previous film. The narrative revolves around former Marine Jake Sully, who is now fully embedded within the Na'vi society as a leader and symbol of resistance. After the violent displacement of his family into an unfamiliar culture and the escalating invasion of Pandora, Jake is forced to manage the long-term consequences of resistance.

On a technical level, Cameron seems to have extensive knowledge of what it takes for a movie to be a classic. From Titanic to The Terminator, Cameron has a particular talent for crafting stories that have timeless emotional resonance. Avatar: Fire and Ash delivers characters that are undoubtedly compelling. It is impossible to deny that audiences felt moved by character deaths and the subsequent hurdles they face, such as how Jake's Na'vi partner, Neytiri, struggles to accept their adopted human son, Spider, and cope with her crippling grief. The way the film handles these losses transforms painful moments into turning points that redefine the Sully family dichotomies amongst themselves and the world around them.

Furthermore, two key moments stand out in the film. The first is the suicide attempt of Jake's son, Lo'ak. As the audience watches his self-imposed isolation at the edge of the Metkayina clan's territory and his struggles with overwhelming guilt and anger, his pain becomes an expression of how war and colonization can fracture the strongest of bonds. Through Lo'ak, we see his sadness and feel the weight of his grief and the unyielding burden of expectations.

The second occurs when Jake faces his most difficult choice yet: whether to let Spider live as part of the Sully family or to kill him. This tense moment in the forest, with Neytiri recognizing the destructive nature of her hatred and Jake summoning the strength to lower his blade and accept Spider as his own, underscores the film's central themes of family and forgiveness.

Unfortunately, the characters of Quaritch (Jake's former mentor who is now in an Avatar body) and Varang (the leader of the Ash Na'vi Mangkwan clan) fell flat. Although Quaritch's slow transformation into Jake's foil - as he becomes accustomed to Na'vi culture by aligning himself with Varang - seems initially complex, his arc ultimately lacks depth and motivation. His choice to wander between the Na'vi and human worlds by supporting human expansion while partaking in Mangkwan clan cultural practices (such as donning battle paint) leaves him feeling passive or idle, like a plot device rather than an exploration of redemption or a compelling antagonist.

Avatar: Fire and Ash's central theme of faith is embodied in the Na'vi's connection to Eywa, the spiritual force that sustains life on Pandora. Eywa, as a concept of faith, is one of the aspects of the film that I genuinely loved. The idea of an interconnected spiritual presence adds a richness to the narrative. However, the film's commentary on religion as an allegorical construct is not always entirely accurate. Within the universe of Pandora, Eywa is a real being rather than a matter of blind faith. This certainty thus limits the exploration of doubt and moral struggle that comes with traditional religious commentaries.

Although the Avatar franchise continues to captivate with its immersive world-building, it would be less than honest to ignore the inherent hypocrisy that comes with the creation and continuation of overt advertisements that contrast with the central message of anti-colonial resistance and environmental preservation. As a Disney-owned property, Avatar exists within the machinery of a mega-corporation that profits from the commodification of the narratives that it claims to condemn. The film's marketing apparatus transforms its characters and cultures into consumable products, rendering the audience complicit in the system that the narrative frames as destructive.

For example, the series's extensive merchandising, like theme-park attractions and brand tie-ins, repackage struggles into entertainment commodities. Although I must admit that I do enjoy immersing myself in the world of Pandora, I can't help but have a slight distaste in my mouth for partaking in the kind of consumerism that the film critiques (which can be seen in the slaughter of the Tulkun for their biological resources).

This contradiction is especially unsettling given that the film has such a powerful depiction of exploitation within its fictional world. The Na'vi are subjected to oppression with their livelihoods dismantled by human industrialist production. However, they are also simultaneously presented to the audience in a manner that mirrors the dynamics of consumption that the story condemns. In a way, there is an uneasy sensation of dehumanizing resistance for the sake of a spectacle.

Still, to dismiss Avatar: Fire and Ash - and by extension the franchise as a whole - would be to overlook Cameron's artistic passion. Visually, the film remains stunning. Cameron's command of scale and environmental detail allows for Pandora to erupt in a world of its own. The environment breathes, and the graphics are absolutely exquisite, reminding viewers of how Avatar had become a cultural landmark in the first place.

ICE is the federal agency responsible for enforcing U.S. immigration laws, including detention, deportation and interior enforcement operations. In 2025, at least 32 people died in ICE custody - the highest number of ICE-related deaths in years - as detention populations and enforcement actions surged amid the Trump administration's expanded interior immigration operations.

In 2026, at least eight have passed in custody. Among these individuals, 37-year-old Minneapolis residents and US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good have become focal points of national outrage and protest. These incidents have sparked nationwide demonstrations, including the coordinated "National Shutdown" protest.

One Hopkins student from Minnesota, using the alias Olivia, expressed deep concern over the escalation of ICE-related violence and the growing risks faced by protesters and immigrant communities in an email to The News-Letter.

"I personally never felt as exposed to it in real life, but I think what's going on right now is completely different. I know a lot of people personally, like my family friends and school friends at the University of Minnesota [who are] being affected by it," she wrote. "I think Minnesota often has peaceful protests, but I have been starting to see lots of friends going there and getting teargassed just for being there and voicing their opinions. It's scary that the people I personally know, like family and friends, are not completely safe even [though] they have a legal status here."

In the Baltimore area, community activists and immigrant rights groups have mobilized in response to both the national outrage and an increased local ICE presence, organizing protests aimed at protecting immigrant residents and calling on city officials to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The Baltimore protest against ICE lasted for several hours, with participants marching in frigid weather. Outside the Baltimore ICE field office at 31 Hopkins Plaza, protesters were seen shouting at police officers various chants, such as "Quit your job!"

Aside from the deaths of Pretti and Good, other incidents involving alleged misconduct and excessive use of force have further intensified public scrutiny. For instance, on Jan. 20, ICE had detained a 5-year-old boy, Liam Ramos, on his way home from school in Minnesota. After transporting the boy and his father to a Texas detention center, uproar erupted across the United States, prompting condemnation from advocacy groups alongside elected officials.

On Monday, Feb. 2, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced that Howard County had revoked a building permit for a private detention facility that was proposed in Elkridge. According to authorities, this permit was intended for use by ICE. After the initial announcement of construction, emergency legislation was issued to ban permits for privately owned detention centers.

Although county officials have listened to community concerns, the heightened visibility of ICE in the area has continued to affect residents' sense of safety, particularly among students and immigrant communities.

For instance, sophomore Nutnicha Go described a heightened sense of fear and uncertainty felt by students and residents in an email to The News-Letter.

"I think that having ICE around campus or even around the city of Baltimore has just put everyone on edge, because we never know how they would act. People are scared to walk the streets safely, especially with their constant presence just known, and having people disappearing from the streets is just terrifying," Go wrote.

Student organizations at Hopkins have also voiced opposition to ICE activity in Baltimore and expressed solidarity with immigrant communities. Some groups have released statements condemning federal immigration enforcement practices and urging both city and University leadership to take stronger action.

In an email to The News-Letter, the Johns Hopkins College Democrats reaffirmed their support for due process protections and criticized recent ICE raids as well as detention conditions in the city.

"In the wake of recent ICE raids and further threats to community safety, we at Johns Hopkins College Democrats are reaffirming our stance that all people deserve the right to due process under the law regardless of immigration status," they wrote. "We wholly condemn the inhumane conditions experienced by those held in the George H. Fallon ICE detention facility and the increasing number of violent ICE raids in the city of Baltimore."

Moreover, the group expressed support for state and local officials who have pushed back against expanded ICE activity and called on the University to take a more active role in protecting undocumented students.

"Our organization strongly supports Governor Wes Moore's resistance to cooperate with the federal administration's expansion of ICE and recent efforts made by Democratic lawmakers to enforce restrictions on ICE in Baltimore, such as the Maryland Senate's initial approval of SB0001, which would prevent law enforcement from wearing facial coverings while on duty," they wrote. "As students at Johns Hopkins, we urge University leadership to advocate for protections for undocumented individuals and provide safe reporting channels, accessible information on student rights, and further support to undocumented students on campus to preserve the safety of our community."

The aforementioned SB0001 is entitled "Public Safety - Law Enforcement Officers - Prohibition on Face Coverings." This bill aims to require the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission to develop a model policy that prohibits the use of a face covering in the performance of duty. ICE agents have notoriously worn facial coverings during enforcement operations, a practice that has been criticized for reducing accountability and increasing fear.

Hopkins students have echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the personal and emotional toll of increased ICE activity on families and communities. In an email to The-News-Letter, sophomore Ember Gray shared her concerns about the impact of ICE's presence on vulnerable communities and her own family.

"I think their presence is incredibly harmful to the community; they fearmonger and intimidate vulnerable parts of the community. They're essentially bullies that have been given guns. It's had a big impact on my family," Gray wrote. "My sister is visibly a person of color and is often mistaken for being Mexican. I've had a lot of concern for her safety, especially as their presence is becoming more and more violent and prevalent. I shouldn't have to worry about her being kidnapped or shot by wannabe cops."

Further, Gray criticized ICE as an extension of federal policies that she believes undermine civil liberties and public safety.

"I think that ICE's role is very much a progression of the administration's aggressive divisiveness and hateful motivations, but that they go against not only the state's law enforcement and current ideals, but the Constitution and the ideals which this country was founded on," she wrote.

Gray's concerns reflect broader criticism from students and advocacy groups who argue that ICE's presence on or near college campuses creates fear among undocumented and international students. These concerns have prompted calls for clearer communication from the University and additional protections for affected members of the Hopkins community. In an email to The News-Letter, the University responded to student concerns and outlined its current stance on federal immigration enforcement.

"We understand and share the deep concern that members of our community have expressed regarding recent federal immigration actions and policies," a spokesperson wrote. "As we have throughout the past year, the university is closely monitoring changes in U.S. immigration and border policies, and we are sharing updates with our international community through the Office of International Services."

On Feb. 3, the Student Government Association proposed the SGA Resolution regarding ICE as a part of their nonlegislative business. In the resolution, SGA outlined its condemnation of recent immigrant enforcement actions, affirmed its commitment to due process and called on University leadership to reaffirm protections for undocumented and international students. In an email to The News-Letter, the SGA issued an official statement on their stance.

"Supporting the student experience in partnership with University Leadership is the SGA's highest priority, and we will carry this forward through thoughtful and intentional engagement with students," they wrote.

Despite administrative statements, some students expressed that the University's response to the presence of ICE did little to ease the fear felt across campus, particularly among international students. Several students have agreed that they were seeking clearer guidance and more concrete protections from the University's administration.

An anonymous student going by the pseudonym Peter echoed similar fears in an interview with The News-Letter, describing his growing sense of anxiety amid the increased presence of immigration enforcement.

"I think [that] the increased presence of ICE in cities like Baltimore leads to a sort of fear within our international community of students here [...] I don't know anyone personally who may have been personally affected by the presence of ICE, but just [the] idea that it could be you," he said. "[I] have that fear that it could be me getting shot just because I'm sitting here protesting in response to the government attacking its own citizens."

Moreover, Peter criticized what he described as a shift in ICE's mission away from public safety and toward political enforcement.

"I think [that] within this current administration, ICE's goal is to be more of a thug-like presence and to execute the political orders of the Commander in Chief rather than their initial intended purpose," he said. "Now, instead, we're just snatching people off the streets, and it's like the KGB. So I think it differs in that way and that this is more of a political organization, whereas the local and state law enforcement officials are working really more within the letter of the law."

For frequently asked questions on University immigration policy information, Hopkins affiliates can access the "Immigration Policy Information & Frequently Asked Questions" tab on the Office of International Services Website. Further, additional guidance on questions regarding public safety and the Johns Hopkins Police Department (JHPD) can be found on the "Guidance in Response to Questions about Federal Immigration Enforcement" section on the public safety website. Finally, shared updates regarding federal immigration actions are accessible under the "Recent Federal Immigration Actions" tab on the Office of International Services website.

Catherine Chan, Josh Eckstein, Honora Muratori and River Phan also contributed to the reporting of this article. The JHU College Republicans and Hopkins Justice Collective did not respond to requests for comment.

Letters Without Limits, founded by students at Hopkins and Brown University, connects volunteers with palliative care and hospice patients to co-create "Legacy Letters." These letters capture memories, values and lessons that patients wish to share, preserving stories that might otherwise be lost. By honoring these voices and preserving legacies, Letters Without Limits hopes to affirm the central role of humanism in medicine, reminding us that every patient is more than their illness and that their voices deserve to be heard. As you read these powerful Legacy Letters, we invite you to pause, reflect and recognize the beauty in every life.

Interviewer's Note

It was truly a pleasure talking to Mrs. Snowden. She was so open and honest in our conversations, and it really takes a lot of courage to be able to do that. She's been through a lot in her life, but that has not stopped her for a second from trying to be the most positive person she can and trying to share her love with others.

The Foundation: Family Values That Last Forever

My story begins with love, the kind of love that shapes everything that comes after. I was blessed to be raised by a loving mother and father who taught us the most important values of life. They showed us that God comes first, then family, and that we always had to look out for each other, no matter what was going on around us. They didn't just tell us these things. They lived them every single day.

My father came from a very poor background, but he showed us how we were his whole world. His work, he was a longshoreman loading and unloading ships, was how he took care of us and put us in a better situation than he had. That was his first priority. People might say we were poor in material things, but poor isn't about what you don't have. Poor is when you don't have values in life and don't know how to love other people. We had so much love in our family that we didn't even know if we were poor, because we had everything we needed. We had food, we had clothing and we had each other. That was all we needed.

Learning Through Loss and the Price of War

We were four children, three girls and one boy. My brother was eight years older than me, and after high school, he went to fight in the Vietnam War. When he came back, he was one of those ones. The war changed him. Eventually, the pain became too much for him, and he took his own life by jumping in front of a train. He was in his thirties, and I was in my twenties when we lost him.

This tragedy taught me something profound about the importance of family. We were raised knowing that we needed each other, that looking out for each other was the most important thing. Even in our grief, we all held each other up. That lesson has carried me through my biggest challenges since.

Finding Strength in Faith

I was brought up in church, but you don't really know God until you find Him for yourself. I found Him in my thirties, during one of the hardest times in my life. I was going through a divorce and really needed something to lean on, someone to trust. When I turned to God, He made things happen that I knew only came from Him and nobody else.

The most amazing example was my daughter's education. She's now a chemist at a university, teaching for 15 years. When she wanted to go to college, I wasn't making that kind of money to send her for four years. But God made a way. He kept opening doors for me that I never thought could open. He put the right people in the right places, and things just started happening. As a single mother trying to raise two kids by myself, I know it wasn't anything I did alone. He made a way for me to do it.

The Heart of Motherhood

Being a mother has been the most important role of my life, and now being a grandmother comes close second. My grandson was my world. He still is, though he's 23 now and a man. I wanted them to live in a better world, to see better things than what's going on now.

I think I accomplished something as a mother because God made a way for me where I couldn't make a way for myself. My children appreciate what I did for them. My oldest daughter makes sure I have everything I need, especially now during these challenging health years. That means everything to me.

Lessons

After high school, I worked as a data entry clerk for 14 years, but eventually got tired of sitting behind a desk. I became a licensed daycare provider in my home for a couple of years when my daughter needed me close. But the work that truly fulfilled me was being a caregiver for elderly people for over 20 years.

In that job, people showed me respect and accepted me almost like a family member. It was very fulfilling and rewarding work. I felt appreciated, and I learned something important: you can fall in love with people who aren't your family. Like my current caregiver, she came into my life last year and is like a daughter to me now. She has a good heart and is a sweet person. We met just last August, but I fell in love with her and her family, and I've learned a lot from her while she's learned from me.

Surviving the Hard Times

Five years ago, I developed spinal stenosis and had to have surgery on my back, three surgeries in one year. I needed both knees replaced again. I had my first knee replacements in my forties, and after 20 something years, they both went bad. The second time around, the right one didn't take as well, and combined with diabetes and other complications, it's been a long road.

But through all of this, my whole family has stood beside me. A lot of people say you'll find out who really loves you when you get sick. They might love you for a little while, but they're going to get tired of you after a while. But my family has always been there, making sure I had everything I needed those whole five years. That has meant the world to me, because I see a lot of people don't have that.

When I look at the news today, it breaks my heart. I hate how people treat each other. I just wish the world would become a better place. I know I don't have that much more time here, but I want to leave something better for my daughter and my grandson.

I've learned that anything is possible if you believe in it. There have been many times when things seemed impossible, but they happened anyway. That's what has brought me this far.

My Message to You

I've learned that family comes first, that love makes you rich no matter what your bank account says, and that God opens doors when we need them most.

Don't try to do everything alone. Trust in something bigger than yourself, whether that's God, family or the good in people. And when someone lets you down, don't hold it in. Find people you can talk to, find ways to release that pain, because it's too hurtful to carry alone.

Most importantly, love people. Show them the same respect and kindness you want to receive. The world needs more of that right now.

Take time to think about what really matters. It's not the material things. It's the love you give and receive, and the values you live by. That's what makes a life worth living.

With love, Audrey Snowden

Letters Without Limits is a student-led initiative founded at Johns Hopkins and Brown University that partners with palliative care and hospice patients to create "Legacy Letters," autobiographical narratives capturing memories, values and lessons patients wish to share. Their primary goal is to spread these stories so that every patient's voice is heard. Follow them on Instagram @letterswithoutlimits and read more Legacy Letters on their website.

The News-Letter: Tell us more about yourself. How did you get started in cooking or the restaurant world?

Flavia Carrasco: I came to the United States about ten years ago with the dream of building a better future for my family. Cooking has always been part of my life - it represents home, culture and love. After working several jobs during my first years here, I was finally able to open my first Peruvian restaurant in Baltimore, which I ran for five years. Although I had to close it due to challenging circumstances, that experience gave me strength, resilience and the motivation to start. When I discovered Monument Market, I immediately felt inspired by the community and the diversity of people who pass through every day. Being close to institutions like Hopkins and surrounded by workers, students and families made me realize this was the perfect place to restart with a new concept - one focused on approachable, homemade food that introduces Peruvian flavors to a broader American audience.

N-L: What does the name "Ta' Que Rico" mean?

FC: "Ta' Que Rico" comes from a popular Peruvian expression used when food tastes especially good. It reflects joy, satisfaction and that moment when a meal truly makes you smile.

N-L: How is running a stall in a market different from a traditional restaurant?

FC: Operating in a market is very dynamic and fast-paced. It requires efficiency, organization and flexibility. At the same time, it allows for a closer connection with customers. People are curious, ask questions and enjoy learning about the food, which creates a very personal and rewarding experience.

N-L: Have you ever changed the way you prepare your dishes?

FC: Yes. Over time, I've adapted some recipes to better fit the American palate while keeping the essence of Peruvian flavors. I've also focused more on oven-baked techniques to offer lighter and healthier options without losing flavor.

N-L: How would you define your cuisine or cooking philosophy?

FC: Our cooking philosophy is centered on homemade food prepared with love. We focus on simple, nourishing meals that blend Peruvian flavors with American influences, always prioritizing quality and care in every dish. The way food is prepared matters deeply to me. We prioritize oven-baked techniques and fresh ingredients, aiming to offer meals that feel comforting but also lighter and balanced.

N-L: Who is your typical customer?

FC: Our typical customers are people who live or work in Baltimore, including many professionals connected to Johns Hopkins - such as hospital staff, students and workers who are looking for comforting, homemade food during busy days. We truly enjoy serving this community and providing meals that feel nourishing, satisfying and made with care.

N-L: How has Ta' Que Rico evolved since opening, and what's next?

FC: Ta' Que Rico has evolved by listening to our customers and learning every day. We've adjusted our menu, improved our operations and grown more confident in our identity as a family-owned business rooted in the community. Our dream is to continue growing the brand and, one day, open a larger location in Baltimore. We hope to keep sharing our food, culture and flavors with even more people.

N-L: What part of this work brings you the most joy?

FC: What brings me the most joy is knowing that our food supports people through their day-especially those who work long, demanding hours, like healthcare workers. Being able to serve comforting, homemade meals that help people feel cared for is incredibly fulfilling.

N-L: What advice or lessons would you share about your journey?

FC: My advice is to never give up. Every challenge teaches you something. With perseverance, faith and hard work, it's always possible to rebuild and keep moving forward.