2012: Hopkins Arts & Sciences Freshman Blog

An Ode to Garland Hall

Posted by Lauren B.

Garland Hall is, without a doubt, the ugliest building on campus, and as of this week, it's now my favorite.

Flashback to the first week of school: Orientation -- we were assigned Student Advisers (sophomores, juniors and seniors who volunteer to help new students with anything they might need). I looked up my name on a long list of freshmen, and next to my name was written Garland Hall. When I asked how to get there, and how on earth to find it among the many other brick buildings here, I was told to, "look for the ugly one."

Sure enough, Garland is the only ugly building on this campus. Luckily, that made it easy to find, and while countless other freshmen wandered, looking at this and this,

I was here.

Now back to the present: I'm currently facing the all too inevitable middle of freshman year freakout. Maybe the other freshmen aren't freaking out (particularly those lucky ones who've figured out their major, which p.s. I have not), but it feels pretty inevitable to me.

Number One Problem: Though I may or may not have tricked you all on this blog into thinking I'm a Writing Sems girl, it turns out I am entirely undecided, though hopefully I can resolve this at least in part by 10 am tomorrow, when I have a meeting with my ever-helpful Academic Adviser. This will not be the first time I've run into her office babbling about majors, and I believe our fall counseling meeting went something like this,
Her: So how's pre-med going?
Me: I QUIT.

I'm quite optimistic about this one though, I may have narrowed the choices down a bit (more on this soon).

Number Two Problem: Jobs. And internships? And why are none of these paid? And why is the economy so bad? Ugh. There are a myriad of other problems to deal with, but luckily, due to the wonders of Garland Hall (and the free, better than Starbucks coffee they have in the Career Center) these don't seem to be too much of an issue.

So why is Garland Hall just so wonderful?

It's just this old, stocky building on the prettiest new quad on campus, but when you walk inside you'll see. There's a huge list of every possible thing you might need on campus. Career Center? check. Financial Aid Services? check. Student Employment? check. Need a new J-Card? (like I did a few weeks ago, ugh) go to Garland!

But really, beyond the JCards and free coffee, Garland really lets you take advantage of all the things Hopkins has to offer. And not the usual things, but those really interesting, underutilized, little known things about a school. Like the fact that the Career Center has peer counselors, and a packet nearly the size of the dictionary on how to write the best resume you can, and an online database of Hopkins alums across the world for you to call about jobs, majors, or to stop in and have a meal with if you just happen to be in Senegal or Shanghai one afternoon.

I had no idea that all these things were available to students here, and I think the best students here have really been doing their research in Garland. It wasn't until this week that I found out Hopkins will sponsor your unpaid internship (that's what I'm trying to do!) or that Hopkins undergrads have done everything from research on sexual trafficking in India to teaching in a Nepalese orphanage to cancer research right here in Baltimore. It's really exciting to realize that these people are the same ones you sit next to in class and have marathon FFC sessions with; it makes these things seem so much more attainable. 

Now, what has Garland done for me?

Well, I've written a resume that doesn't look like a kindergarteners. I'll hopefully be figuring out my major soon. I've gotten a new JCard (phew).I've found a summer internship--I'll be going to London to work for a small consulting firm that helps women re-enter the workforce after having children (and I'm SO excited about this!). I've (almost) found a job for the school year.

It's looking pretty great, and my freshman year crisis is nearly resolved! So when you visit, or hopefully when you come to Hopkins, make sure to stop by Garland!

-Lauren

What is Public Health, anyway?

Posted by: Dominique D.

So, if you've read my other blogs, you know that I am a Public Health Studies Major...and it's probably one of those terms that sounds like you might know what it means, but upon further pondering you realize you don't know, at least not fully. At least, that's how it was for me, even after I decided it would be my major. Odd but probably not too uncommon.

So since I think my Intro to Public Health class has some awesome and very useful information, I'll talk about it a bit and hopefully those of you who feel you who don't want to be a 'hard science' (bio, chem, neuroscience, etc) major, or on the opposite side, a full out humanities/social sciences major, can see what it's all about.

And I also recommend checking out Jessica K.'s blog from last year about Public Health vs Medicine, entitled  "From Laughing to Applauding" about how different yet connected these two fields are. 

On the first day of class, we learned that public health was about preventing and controlling disease, as well as promoting health and improving the quality of life in a population. At first glance, this seems like "duhhhhh"  but in actuality public health is not guaranteed in every country to every citizen. What kinds of countries? Um, take the U.S. for instance. Nowhere in our Constitution is health explicitly guaranteed for every citizen, whereas countries like South Africa and Japan have public health parameters listed in their constitutions. No wonder the U.S. is ranked 37 out of 50 on a list of healthcare for industrialized countries.     

Not to mention, not as much attention is paid to public health as it is with let's say, medicine. Why?

For one, it is hard to measure the achievements of public health right way. For instance, when research is done for a new drug, and it is tested in a study and found to be useful, it gets recognition beyond belief and a ton of coverage. But with public health, measuring prevention is kind of hard, especially because no one thinks about a disease or a problem if it's not present. 

All of the abstinence/safe sex campaigns, campaigns to end smoking, alcoholism, wearing helmets, drinking milk and eating vegetables, anti-violence campaigns...these are all public health strategies to prevent diseases and to promote health among people...and I feel we take them for granted sometimes because we expect to be healthy and we expect to have clean water and food that is inspected and the right to be treated at a hospital when we need emergency care.

 

Have you ever thought about what life would be like if we could not expect these things? Hmm, let that one simmer.

Only 1% of national spending on healthcare is spent on public health resources. For those of you who love politics, you are in luck, because public health is SO SO embedded into politics...after all, nothing can be done without the government right? One of the controversies has to do with the question of government intervention in the lives of individuals for the sake of the population. Like, is it fair to smokers for the government to limit smoking almost everywhere? What about when governmental industries put money making over the health of the population? This is why tobacco industries have fought public health campaigns for so long. Maybe you've seen "Beef-It's what's for dinner" slogan. But have you ever seen one of those for broccoli or spinach? Hmm....

For those of you who kinda like math, namely statistics, there is a ton of that within the field of public health since so much time is spent collecting and analyzing data from populations, assessing sickness and health, and mortality rates.

For those who like science, public health does utilize the biomedical sciences for research and prevention of disease--for example, vaccines are a good way to see how public health and medicine are connected. Vaccines are a preventative strategy that helps prevent disease in populations, but are developed within the biomedical lab. Also, environmental sciences are also soooooooo important because the environment indeed has an effect on health [think air, water pollution, lack of fresh food....]. Social sciences are needed because people's behavior surely affects their health, because while things like the environment and genetics impact health, so do things like stress and mental and emotional health.

Last class, we talked about obesity as an epidemic [did you know 70% of Americans are overweight, and 1/3 of Americans are obese??] We had to think of some biological, social, cultural, clinical, and political reasons as to why this may be. This field is one that is broad, relevant and far-reaching...and I hope my entry gave you some insight! =]

Pics courtesy of Google!

I See You, You're Walking Cross the Campus

Posted by Saznin M.

I run the risk of sounding like a massive creeper, but I’m staring out of my window at a tour group standing outside of the FFC right now.  The tour guide is giving a little spiel about campus food, dining dollars, J-cash, etc. The parents are paying rapt attention (a few enthusiastic mothers are actually taking notes) while the kids are blithely observing their surroundings. In a few moments, the tour guide will usher them in front of my building and begin a whole new speech on the advantages of living in the AMR’s  (who needs air conditioning when you have such a rich social atmosphere?)

Yup, those were the days. I remember visiting college campuses towards the end of my senior year. Honestly, I couldn’t have cared less about college at that point. The admissions process had stressed me out so much that by the time it was over, all I wanted was to suffer (aka enjoy) a crippling case of senioritis and savor my last semester as a high school student. My only main concerns were... well, I didn't really have any. College acceptance letters hadn’t even come out yet, but I was already pretty sure of where I’d end up. I was convinced that I would be headed to the University of Virginia in the fall, being pretty sure of the fact that Hopkins would never accept me. Even if it did, it was honestly my very last choice.

Funny how things change. I now have one and a half semesters as a college student under my belt. Among other things, here’s what I’ve observed:

1.    There’s more free time for a reason. It’s called work.

2.    Waking up for a 9 AM class is a herculean feat when your parents aren’t here to kick your lazy butt out of bed.

3.    Having the choice to skip class doesn’t mean you should take advantage of it.

4.    Homework gets done exponentially faster when you’re in an area devoid of wireless Internet, and thereby Facebook.

5.    Alone time is necessary for sanity, but so are friends.

6.    Free university transportation is a godsend.

7.    Leaving things till the last minute is a deathtrap, resulting in nervous breakdowns and extreme fatigue.

8.    You might not always get praised and rewarded for hard work, but that's life.

9.    College is your first step into the real world. It's necessary to learn how to do things on your own.

The list will get perpetually longer of course. I'll add to it as I make my way through the murky waters of college life. But for right now, my friend and I were thinking of quietly joining that tour group, just for kicks...

Field Trips Still Make Me Happy

Posted by Wafa K

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was going on a museum visit with my Museums and Controversy class to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (which opened it’s doors in November of 2008 after a two-year period during which it was closed for renovation). I actually went a bit earlier than our class was scheduled to meet and spent a few hours looking at other exhibits (I highly recommend the Within These Walls exhibit which traces the history of a house in Boston from the mid-1760s to 1945, with the actual house there). I also got to eat lunch with a spectacular view of the monument!

We visited the exhibit that was headed by Dr. Arthur Molella, our professor, entitled Science in American Life that traces the intertwining of scientific discoveries, endeavors and accomplishments and their corresponding societal impacts and opinions.

The entrance to the museum actually contains Johns Hopkins University’s own Ira Remsen’s actual lab, and a wax figure of Remsen along with his student Constantin Fahlberg, with an audio with a fabricated conversation the men are having about “pure” versus “applied” science. The exhibit actually was opened in 1994, and was met with heavy criticism from many groups, especially the American Chemical Society that funded the exhibit but who accused the curators of putting an “anti-science” spin on the various parts of the exhibit.

During our visit, Dr. Molella led us around and told us about the different part of the exhibit that has roused certain strong emotions and demands for them to be changed. We also discussed what we found displeasing about the exhibit, in our personal opinions, as well as if the attacks on the exhibit had any footing. It is interesting to note that, in most of the articles that we read critiquing the exhibit before we visited, the authors had not actually visited the museum, and we basing their entire analysis and argument on hearsay. 

It was a pretty splendid trip, and a unique experience to have a curator at the Smithsonian Institute take you on a tour and encourage you to criticize the exhibit that he helped created – the learning and improvement process is continuous, which is just as it should be.

I'll leave you with some pictures of some of my favorite architecture in DC.

All the best!

 

 

 

    

All pictures (exluding Ira Remsen and entrance to Science in American Life courtesy of google.com) from my camera!

The Best Decision I Almost Didn't Make

Posted by Lauren B.

So I came to Hopkins sure of (give or take) two things
1.    I was going to be a Public Health and Writing Sems double major
2.    I was for sure, 110% NOT going to join a sorority.
Well as you know, one of those went out the window a while ago, and I’m incredibly pleased to say that the second went this week. I’m so happy to say I’m now a part of PHI MU!

                                            

Now for all the SAAB-ers reading this...

I’m so sorry, because throughout all of fall semester I insisted ad nauseum that I would never, ever, in a million years, at gunpoint, etc, join a sorority. I was quite obnoxious about it, in fact, and was not clever enough to admit that I'd made an error in judgment.

I was so sure that sororities weren't for me for a bunch of reasons, but most importantly because

I went to an all girl’s school, and not only that, but one that really was a sorority. 

My class of 50 girls was really close, and our years there revolved around food and love and themed dances (minus all the schoolwork and stuff, I’m sure my parents wouldn’t be pleased to hear me omit that).

My class at graduation(the hottest day of the entire year).

So I never said this one, because it's just mean, and I didn't realize I thought this,but I thought that all sororities were like Legally Blonde, with glitter and pink and squealing and all sorts of crazy things that I didn't think I could put up with.

Now I'll be the first to admit I LOVE Reese Witherspoon (she’s just so cool), but I have no desire to be the Legally Blonde version of her. Elle Woods? No thanks.

Everyone’s argument was, “Don’t you want sisters?!” No. I have one, and she’s great (Hi, Suzi!)

I overlooked the fact that though I do have a sister, she is unfortunately quite far away while I'm at school and doesn't always like to be bothered with the silly little things that happen every day at Hopkins.

I overlooked the fact that Hopkins is very different in terms of Greek life. It's not what I thought it would be. It’s not a huge state school, where your sorority determines your social standing and social life (or lack thereof), and rushing isn’t an awful, demanding, lengthy process where you're forced to do all sorts of ridiculous things. By the way--between 1/4 and 1/3 of the student population here is involved in Greek life in some way, and the fraternities and sororities have a higher GPA than the Hopkins average, are involved in all sorts of things across campus. 

For those who know me well, this picture makes sense. Of course I went out in onesie pajamas (from J.Crew no less). For those who don't know me, I'm sorry but there's no way this will ever make sense. Regardless, though, I was so excited to find this sign outside my door!

My friends also decided to rush....

I'm so excited to be a part of Phi Mu! Feel free to ask me any questions about rushing or Greek life on campus, or anything else!

Also, Anne Mumford wrote a great guest blog about her experience with the rush process, and it's really really detailed so that's a good reference as well. http://hopkins.typepad.com/guest/2007/12/my-path-to-kapp.html

And here are the Hopkins websites about Greek Life http://web.jhu.edu/studentprograms/greek_life/and http://webapps.jhu.edu/hsa/greek/)

-Lauren

One of those "these are my classes" posts...

Posted by: Dominique D.

Heh, sorry I couldn't come up with a better title, but this really is just one of those entries that say what my classes for this semester are. Hey, you might as well know! :P

SO, as of right now, I am still a Public Health Studies Natural Sciences major. I think I may drop the Africana Studies major...again. We shall see, I have 3 more years :P

Chem 2: Yep, chemistry again. Not crazy about it, but it is required for pre med students [if you can comfortably AP out of this course, well, just think about it. It may help you in the long run...]. We have Dr. Poland this semester, who is one of the most amazing professors here. I heard this all last year, while I was applying, and before I got this class. And now that I have him, I can see it's true. I am hoping I won't resent chem as much this semester, hehe.

Chem Lab 2: ....yea. They say this is one of those weeding out classes, and I agree. I know a bunch of people who are no longer premed because of this class. It's one thing to not want to be premed any more because that is your career ambition in the long run... [check out JHU_Lauren's entry : ch-ch-ch-changes] But to still want to be a doctor but quit because of a class is kinda discouraging. Only the strong survive I guess. Anyway, the class can get a bit annoying but is very doable. And this semester my lab partner is one of my bestest buds here, so it's cool.

Calc 2: Required [again, if you can AP out of Calc...think about it!!] That's all I can say about it. hehe.

Intro to Public Health: Ok ok, people think it's stupid of me to take this class because I already know that I am a PH major. I figured it couldn't hurt! And I was right, it doesn't. I am already learning alot of things that I will need to know for my future Public Health Core Classes. Plus, it's not that hard of a class. =] And the book is so interesting! 

Intro to Social Psych: Basically, every single upperclassman I talked to about this course had nothing  bad to say about it, at all. And I had AP Psych last year and REALLY enjoyed it, so I figured I'd take this one and take it now. It was so popular the professor had to add 100 spots or something crazy like that. It's about how people influence each others behaviors, to put it kind of simply.  

Think about this picture...it's a part of social psych!   

       

 

Invitation to Anthropology: It meets weekly so I only had 2 classes and I don't have much to say about it yet except that the info is cool. The reading we had for this week was about child prostitution in Thailand and about Vietnam and the role government plays in prenatal screening [if you don't know about Agent Orange...Google it! :P ] The workload doesn't seem too bad either.

I overloaded on credits because I made Dean's List last semester...and I am still a bit worried about this load but hopefully I can handle it well enough. I learned a lot last semester about my study habits so I hope to improve this semester and to do just as well academically with a fraction of the stress.

I am also working this semester with the Baltimore City Public School System, and today I signed up to be on the American Red Cross Blood Services Committee for JHU--namely the Publicity section to help spread the word about blood drives and volunteer opps. Hopefully I can do some more without going crazy.

Later days! ^_^

From the BSO to the Black Keys

Posted by Saznin M.

Well, it’s back to the grind… Second semester is finally under way, and even though it’s only the second week, I’m already really tired. Such is the life of a college student. But instead of pulling the whole “woe is me” act, I’m determined to up the fun factor a few more notches and make the most of my last half of freshman year. To blow off some steam, I took advantage of my relatively low workload this past week and attended not just one, but two concerts. The first was a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the second was a Black Keys show at Rams Head Live. What can I say, my music taste is about as random as my classes this semester (History of Africa and… Statistical Analysis?)

One of the great things about being in college: student discounts. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra offers students any five concerts for just $40, which beats the $25 for each concert I’d have to pay otherwise. Really, how could a closet classical nerd like me pass up such a sweet deal to see a world-renowned orchestra? Not to out-geek myself, but I’ve already picked out which five concerts I’ll be attending before the end of the school year… yikes. The Tchaikovsky concert was nothing short of amazing.
 
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's conductor, Marin Alsop

As for the Black Keys concert, where do I even begin? Well for starters , I wasn’t even a big fan before the show.  In fact, I don’t think I had even heard of them. My best  friend had bought herself a ticket in December, and fearing for her life had she gone alone, I offered to go with her. Even though the show  was sold out, we magically made it up to the very front row.  Needless to say, it was one of the most memorable nights I’ve had in a while. I am now obsessed with this band and am shamelessly plugging them on this blog to get more people to listen to their stuff (do it!) At the end of the concert, I managed to nab one of the broken drumsticks that Patrick Carney, the drummer, threw off stage. Couldn’t ask for a better concert souvenir, and it was free, which any dead broke college student out there can appreciate.

A picture of the band taken by yours truly from the front row!

So there you have it! Just two of the MANY cultural opportunities brought to you by the great city of Baltimore. As for this weekend, I’m thinking of a trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art and perhaps a performance of Nightwatch by the JHU Barnstormers.  So much to do, so little time.

Days Go By

Posted by Wafa K.

After an entire semester at Hopkins, I have finally purchased an alarm clock. Actually, my father bought it for me, but the point still stands. I figured out that I am one of those people who needs their alarm clock put on the opposite site of the room so that I am forced to climb down from my lofted bed to turn it off, and by the time I climb down it doesn’t seem like such the obvious choice to climb back up and hibernate for a few more minutes.

My academics have been going well, which is as expected considering it is only two weeks into the second semester, and I am absolutely fascinated by (most of!) the classes that I’m taking. Most people, especially those that have finished or are finishing their college experience, will note that these four years have as much to do with personal growth as with academic achievement. The latter may be integral to personal growth, but it also may be a proactive process, as I am discovering. I have a friend at Hopkins who is so in-tune with existence it is intimidating, and while it may be beyond infuriating to be reminded of my inadequacies in that aspect, it is also refreshing to be reminded of how one can improve themselves. And so, I am trying. More on this later, as it progresses.

I found out that I would be having my first field trip in college next Thursday for my Museums and Controversy class. My professor, Dr. Molella, is a curator with the Smithsonian Institute and was one of the creators of the Science in American Life exhibit at the National Museum of American History, and so our class of 15 gets to go down to Washington DC. Dr. Molella will be giving us a personalized tour, which will be amazing because not only did he put the exhibit together, but also he has had to deal with all the controversy and feedback from the public. That class, and the fact that my younger sister has become a photography fiend, has peaked my interest in photography and photographers, especially ones considered controversial by the general public. Some of my favorites at the moment include John Coplans, Erwin Olaf, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, and Anton Giulio Bragaglia.

And I’d like to offer my congratulations to the Regular Decision seniors who have finished applying for college at this point. Good luck, try to stay calm and trust the process.

All the best!

PS. Thanks to Keith Urban's song for the title of this blog and google.com for the photographs.