Final Presentation..
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Week One…
“University resumes indoor dining citing low campus COVID-19 numbers”
Johns Hopkins University is on the mend when it comes to getting better after COVID-19. The University in Baltimore has just recently had their students move back to campus and resume classes, much like many other schools around this time of year.
The restrictions were much like other colleges and businesses; masks required whenever one is not actively eating, social distancing measures were being taken, and certain places were just shut down. Now that the virus is fading from our circle of concern, Johns Hopkins among many other places are lightening their mandates and building closures. For Johns Hopkins University, the dining halls are back open to fifty-percent capacity and other mandates in general are disappearing out of view.
The school has a population of 6,000-7,000, give or take a couple hundred. Upon arrival the students were asked to get tested for COVID, only 68 came back positive, which is a huge step in the right direction for this University and others.
There was also a note about mental health playing a role in diminishing these restrictions. It is no secret that the pandemic put a mental burden on most people, specifically students in college who were not able to socialize like you are supposed to. The slowing of mandates is helping this situation get better.
“Physics department to expand faculty, research with $50 million alum donation”
Johns Hopkins University has an extensive connection of alumni, some of which have done great things in their fields of research or there endeavors in life. One of the most generous donors from the past couple of decades has been William H. “Bill” Miller III. Miller has made a few sizeable donations to the University, such as his donation of $75 million to the Philosophy Department back in 2018.
Miller’s most recent donation of $50 million was given to the Department of Physics & Astronomy to assist with hiring new faculty over the next few years and to really solidify the University’s Physics Department with the rapidly changing model of this field. The donation allows the school to regain total focus of the four main fields of modern physics: condensed matter physics, astronomy and astrophysics, high-energy particle physics and plasma physics.
Research is a part of all schools to a certain extent, but for Johns Hopkins, it is hugely important. With this donation and the previous from alumni like these, the school is able to enhance their research methods and abilities. This ultimately helps the school achieve their goal of learning new information, adapting to the times, and changing the world for the better.
-Colby
Week Two…
“University holds first hybrid SIF”
https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2022/02/university-holds-first-hybrid-sif
The University has recently had their first hybrid Student Involvement Fair since the start of the pandemic, and it was a success! Hosted by the Leadership Involvement & Experiential Development team (LEED), there were over 150 different groups with booths who signed up and shared who they were at the fair.
Though this was still a hybrid fair, there were lots of students who turned out in person to exercise their areas of interest. Some students in person noted that the fair was a big improvement compared to recent years online. Others were extra precautious about the recently lifted COVID restrictions, and said in interviews that they were not actually certain that the fair should have returned to in-person yet. Regardless of these thoughts, people seemed to be very excited about the fair, so naturally it went well.
The fair was supposed to resume last fall as an in-person event, but was postponed due to the construction of the new recreation center on campus. It was not mentioned, but I would imagine that this new building added a little extra something to the fair itself.
“COVID-19 restrictions loosened for residence halls, events”
I chose this next article simply because it reflects the current state of our school, even though it may not be exactly the same. COVID mandates are being lifted all across Johns Hopkins University’s campus, specifically in the residence halls and at sporting events. Residents of the campus are now allowed to have guests from other parts of the campus (other residence halls, etc.) into their rooms. The same precautions still stand even though this rule has changed; mask mandates have not changed, nor has capacity nor social distancing guidelines.
Regarding sporting events, the spectator capacity has been brought up to fifty percent. Though this mandate is still far behind compared to most other places, the University insists that this is the best thing for them to do. People are certainly excited about these new allowances, but the cases show how the restrictions could be lifted even further.
In other news, rapid tests will be available for all affiliates of the University (staff, students and faculty). This will aid the University in its quest to find out exactly how many cases they could have at a certain time, and how they can further return to normal times.
-Colby
Week Three…
“SARU hosts Lexie Bean at its annual Night Out event”
https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2022/02/saru-hosts-lexie-bean-at-its-annual-night-out-event
This was one of the three different articles that the student newspaper of Johns Hopkins University came out with this week. Sexual Assault Resource Unit, known as SARU on the university’s campus, held an event with novelist Lexie Bean this week at a local café. This was a read-aloud book gathering, something that you do not see too much of nowadays. Her breakout novel, The Ship We Built, about the struggles of ten year-old trans boy Rowan, was read the evening of the event. The book is written through letters from Rowan talking about his problems, which were related to sexual assault and being on the outskirts of the social scene.
Those who attended this reading could have been anyone, though it is likely that the attendees could have been victims of the same type of things that Rowan was and that listening to this reading helped them cope. The other probable thing is that people thought this author did a great job with her book and wanted to gain a new perspective, one that they may have been missing.
All in all, this event was a big success, and those who came learned a lot about the things they were curious about.
“SGA discusses Office of Sustainability updates and questions for President Daniels”
I would like to start off by saying that this feature story was written better than almost every single other story coming from a newspaper. The reason for this is because it was not necessarily a story, rather it listed facts in sub sections and kept everything very neat and clear. I get lost in a lot of stories, but when the facts and phenomena that occurred are laid out neat, it becomes much easier to understand.
Onto the article. The author basically provided an update about what the upcoming meetings on campus are for, and what the students and faculty hope to accomplish in these meetings. It was mentioned that there is a new funding bill being written, so as to allow more money to be diverted into trivia prizes and support for other games. That section was not very detailed, which is good because it did not need to be.
In the other two central parts of this article, the author mentioned the upcoming meeting between students, President Daniels, and the Provost Sunil Kumar. This reunion, which happens every year, allows the different members of the university time to discuss how to improve the campus overall. In the past, these meetings have allowed for new organizations to be created, problems to be solved, and many other bonuses. Finally, it was mentioned that there is a climate change meeting that will happen in the coming weeks to make sure that the school is keeping up with their emissions agreement.
-Colby
Week Four…
“University welcomes 821 students to the Class of 2026 during Early Decision rounds“
This feature story was one of the shortest that I have read from the Johns Hopkins Newsletter. The story highlighted the recently accepted students that applied with early decision. Out of the three thousand potential students that applied, only eight-hundred and twenty-one of them got the acceptance message. About five-hundred of these prospects were accepted in December while the remaining three-hundred or so, were accepted as of February 11.
With regards to the interviewees of the story, I thought that it could have been done more effectively, with potentially different people. The quotes were substance packed and well-worded, but they seemed bland nonetheless. Like, I know that a high-school girl is going to be unimaginably nervous about applying to her dream school, we did not need that. What I do not understand, however, are the workings of the university when it comes to early accepted students. What do these students get for applying early? What happens if they do not get in? Could they still apply like a normal student would?
This student newspaper makes it seem like Johns Hopkins is the best college. There is a strong sense of pride that comes with each of these stories and it is becoming easier to see each new article that is put out.
“Hopkins community mourns the loss of Marisol Luchetti”
https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2022/02/hopkins-community-mourns-the-loss-of-marisol-luchetti
The first thing that I noticed about this article is that there is not a thumbnail photograph next to the title of the story on the Newsletter’s main page. I believe this is because the family wants privacy and because the university is respecting that. Otherwise, there would be a picture of the student as the thumbnail, I would guess.
The short story is about Marisol Luchetti, a senior undergraduate student studying Biophysics and Spanish in the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences. The text indicates that she was a great student and had a bright future ahead of her.
The school’s administration issued an email to the campus about the occurrence, and added information on where to receive counseling if you desire help.
The article did not mention anything surrounding how she passed away. Other than this information, there is really not much else.
Week Five…
“SGA discusses Rare Disease Day Panel and confirmations”
https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2022/02/sga-discusses-rare-disease-day-panel-and-confirmations
The Student Government Association of Johns Hopkins had their weekly meeting on February 22nd where they discussed their plans for National Rare Disease Day, the panel of students that they will be hosting, and the new members in the Woman and Gender Minorities Caucus (WGMC), and the Communications and Marketing Commission (CMC).
The event that the school is hosting welcomes the general public to come listen and ask questions to students who go to the University who also have rare diseases. The volunteer speakers will appear on a panel in front of an audience where they get the chance to share their stories and answer questions from the crowd about their conditions. Members of the panel have all different types of disorders, which could have existed from birth, or one that could have come up at a later time. This should be an enriching discussion for all of those who attend.
On another note, there were inductees into both of the organizations that were mentioned in the first paragraph. This part of the story was very concise, bulleted in fact, which was helpful because there really was not much else to say about the new members in short.
“Tony Fernandes emphasizes the importance of international trade at Foreign Affairs Symposium”
This article was about the recent Foreign Affairs Symposium (FAS) that was held on February 28th. This event was the second show out of the six in the series, the rest of which will happen soon this year. This discussion was hosted by Tony Fernandes, a career foreign service officer who is able to provide a unique perspective on the recent world changes because of the pandemic. The talk covered components of the virus’ complications by outlining what the individual, and even an organization could do to help better the global system of trade.
In short, Fernandes mentioned a variety of topics, but the main takeaway that was talked about in the article is that countries need to work together, especially those that are close geographically. Now, this is an obvious fact if anything is to workout, a team must work together to accomplish things.
Students are learning a lot of different things in their studies. It is important for these students to apply what they are learning to the real world, which this series of events is helping out with. Students who were interviewed for this article indicated that having events like this really aid in their learning of the world. That is a very general statement, but it hits close to home for the students and other members of the university who attended.
Week Six…
“Ukrainian and Russian affiliates react to Russian invasion of Ukraine“
The ongoing Russian attack on Ukraine has been in the headlines of almost every news network since it began. The effect on the people in Ukraine and those who are affiliated with the country in some way has been devastating in a lot of cases. The writers for Johns Hopkins’ newspaper dive into their community’s own connections with the war by talking with several students and faculty who are of Ukrainian descent, and others who have connections to the country and its people.
First, there were a couple of older students and faculty members interviewed. The information about the fight that these individuals were providing is definitely considered hard news. They talked about the misconceptions of their country, the people, what the motives of both of those are, and more. An interviewee mentioned that in Eastern Ukraine, men ages eighteen to sixty had to stay back and fight to help stop Putin’s attack. This makes sense for their situation, but it is a devastating detail of the reality that their country is living right now.
Members of Johns Hopkins University have started funds and programs to help support Ukraine through this fight. Students have donated sums of money to the country in hopes of providing some level of relief for the people involved. The effort is staying strong.
“University leaders launch the second Roadmap on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”
This story updates the Johns Hopkins community on the newest version of the Roadmap for equality. The University, like almost all organizations that exist today, is trying to keep up with the rapidly changing social atmosphere in our country and on the planet. The plan that is mentioned in this article outlines exactly how the university plans to further develop their commitment to including and considering everyone under the same scope. The reason that there is a new version of this plan is because of the ever-changing world we live in. When new ideas and values are presented, it is best to align your workings with them, so as to stay in tune with the time.
A detail that I found particularly thought-provoking from this piece was the fact that incoming freshmen are becoming more and more diverse each year. This makes logical sense, do not get me wrong on that, but it is crazy to me that a school newspaper like this one would mention a trend like that. It made me question what was meant by “diverse” altogether. Did it mean ethnically, fundamentally, or something else?
The main message that I gathered from reading this was that the university is doing its very best to stay in tune with social change and to be open to all new versions of whoever may want to come to their school. Every school I have researched has had plans of this sort on the front page of their websites. It is marketing, it is selling something to you.
Week Seven…
“Foreign Affairs Symposium invites journalist Dexter Filkins to speak on Afghanistan“
The headline of this article explains the main points that were outlined in the text, while giving a small hook at the end. Dexter Filkins, the speaker of this event, is a journalist for the New York Times who has been corresponding from the Middle East for the New York Times for the majority of his career. His work has been important to a lot of individuals’ understanding of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The talk, which was the third of six for the series of lectures in this circuit, was mainly surrounding the United States leaving Afghanistan this past year or two. Filkins was biased during his speech, as one of the students who attended mentioned this in a quote towards the end of the piece. He bashed the peace summits between the U.S., Afghanistan, and other countries during the Trump presidency when he mentioned the ridiculousness of women walking around in bikinis while men from the Taliban were walking around in full headscarves, of course among others.
Apparently, this guy was not the best person to speak at this event overall. Though the information that he presented was accurate and timely, he included a weighted bias that barricaded at least one student’s absorption of the material. Not a great article, not a bad one.
“SGA meets to discuss the sophomore garden party and Committee of Student Organizations“
This was a very short article that mainly talked about the sophomore garden party that is being organized by the Student Government Association (SGA). Along with other events, the sophomore garden party is an event that does not come around very often, only annually in fact. This party is a great chance for students in the sophomore class to meet other people in their school (students, faculty, etcetera).
The other events that were talked about were the Freshman Senator Confirmation, (self-evident), the Speaker Event Report, which is something that I still have yet to understand. The final one is the CSO presentation which is an organizational plan for recognizing things that have recently gone unrecognized (in general).
Week Eight…
“University announces Samantha Power as 2022 commencement speaker“
For this year’s graduation at Johns Hopkins University, the school has selected a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, to give the commencement speech. Currently, Power is in charge of people in over one-hundred countries that help with issues like food, security, women’s empowerment, education, etcetera. She was chosen as a speaker because of her accolades and experience at the top of the hierarchy of communication.
There are many students that are thrilled to have Powers come and deliver the commencement address for their graduation. Those who were interviewed for the newspaper article said that they feel Powers can offer a lot to the class and the information that she will share will help the graduates make informed decisions as they head out into the world. Others do not like Powers because of the opinions outlined in the article, which I will not be including. Basically, there are a mix of upset, happy, and ambivalent people who will be listening to the commencement address delivered by someone controversial. This sounds like every commencement address.
“SGA endorses permanent SNAP eligibility expansion at weekly meeting“
To begin, the headline of this article had me confused, mainly because I do not go to this school and therefore do not know what all of their abbreviated organizations are. Another thing before getting past the headline is that it makes it seem like it is for a very narrow audience, but we will see about that.
In short summary, the article talked about the bylaw amendments made to the Student Government Association. These amendments were made to protect the current members for impeachment and to clarify what the previously passed laws had said with new situations that have arisen. Also, the SGA will help boost funding for the SNAP endorsement which offers supplemental nutrition to college students. All in all, there was a lot of talk about funding and amendments to laws in this article, so it was not that entertaining of a read.
Week Nine…
“20.3% of eligible voters participate in SGA election”
https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2022/03/20-3-of-eligible-voters-participate-in-sga-election
This article was one that stood out from the school’s list of feature stories. Personally, I am into numbers, so any quantity or statistic that is included in a piece of writing would naturally stand out to me. Other than the headline, the article did a great job retaining my focus on the subject at hand, which was the undergraduate student government election. Over one thousand students showed up to vote for this election, which is a high number considering the entire student population is around five thousand.
There were only a a few different positions that were available, three of which were uncontested. The only position that had competition was the title of executive president, which of course was filled after the voting took place. All in all, this article is very informative of a major event happening on the Johns Hopkins University campus and it was intelligent to have something like this covered by two people.
“Panelists discuss universal voting at SNF Agora event”
https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2022/04/panelists-discuss-universal-voting-at-snf-agora-event
SNF, which stands for Stavros Niarchos Foundation, hosted a conversation with two authors to discuss their book that is coming out called 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting. The entire discussion that was held was about the concepts in the book, not necessarily about the book itself. The book dives into universal voting by offering an argument from the side against universal voting: if you allow only certain people to vote, it relies on those people alone to make the big decisions, not like everyone else if they were included.
This piece and the book that is discussed within it made compelling arguments about how we can change our current voting infrastructure to have the ability to include everyone’s point of view. The variety of opinions that exist in this article, in the order that they are presented, provide the reader a fluent explanation of what happened at the event and what to take away from it.
Week 10…
“Class of 2022 holds Met Gala event with limited capacity”
As tradition, the graduating class this year has recently had a Met Gala event to celebrate their transition away from college. As normal dances go, there was food, music, drinks, and of course, dancing. Weirdly, the organizers of the event indicated to guests that they should eat prior to coming to the venue because they would not be serving meals. Students reacted to this mainly with confusion, which is understandable considering most dances serve food. The event was restricted to part of the senior class, due to lingering COVID-19 restrictions, and this too confused and angered a great deal of the community.
All in all, the attendees felt that the event was alright, but it could have gone much better. Students did not hold to much remorse with the school because they understood that we are still in strange times, even though they may seem as if they are coming to an end.
“SGA discusses committee reorganization and event reports”
To start this summary, I would like to note on how I almost always cover one of the undergraduate student government meetings for each week of this blog project. The meetings give a great perspective on in the inner workings of the school, and often there is something that I find personally compelling.
Onto the actual summary. On April 5th, the SGA hosted their weekly meeting and had lots brought to the table during their discussion. A main takeaway from the meeting was the committee reorganization bill. This bill, proposed by freshman and senior senators, would require all senators on the council to be on either the finance committee or the Community on Student Organizations. This was controversial, and tabled for the time-being. Next was a report on the formal event, which did not coincide with how students felt in the previous article. Not that they didn’t report well on this, but it is definitely contradictory.
In other, and less important news, the SGA put out an election survey to the student body of the university asking if they think that election day should be a holiday. The results of this survey are yet to be released. Great meeting this week team!
