The Commonwealth Times; October 5, 2022

SARAH HAGEN

Contributing Writer

ANDREW KERLEY Contributing Writer JACK GLAGOLA Contributing Writer

A journalist listed VCU as one of 37 colleges to purchase and use Social Sentinel, a service he said was used for monitoring student protests.

VCU Police admitted to using the tool, according to university spokesperson Corey Byers. University police entered into a contract with Social Sentinel in November 2015 and ended it in August 2017. It paid $9,999 its first year and $15,000 its second year, but did not use it again once VCU Police discontinued their service in 2017.

“VCU Police only used Social Sentinel to find publicly accessible information related to potential threats to security, public safety, harm, self-harm or acts of violence that were posted on publicly accessible accounts, which were on Internet-based, social media platforms,” Byers stated in an email.

VCU Police did not use Social Sentinel to monitor student protests, only to monitor “public social media feeds for threats in and around VCU,” Byers stated. The university did not use any information that wasn’t readily and publicly accessible to anybody on the internet, so it is within student privacy laws for VCU Police to use this tech, according to Byers.

Social Sentinel, which had its name changed to Direct earlier this year, is a service that Navigate360 offers, a technology company that provides various safety services. Its original purpose is to allow its users to scan information on the internet, using artificial intelligence to seek out harmful content or possible violence before it has the chance to escalate, according to their website.

Arijit Sen, a computational journalist for the Dallas Morning News, was the first to expose the practice of universities using the

It led me down this rabbit hole of, ‘if UNC is using Social Sentinel to surveil protests, I bet a bunch of other colleges are as well.’”

Arijit Sen, journalist

technology to surveil student protests in an article published on Sept. 20. He mentioned VCU in a twitter thread about the article the next day.

Sen said he first discovered the service while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus. Protests had broken out over a statue on campus depicting the confederate soldier Silent Sam.

“There were a lot of protests over the statue going on in 2017 and 2018,” Sen said. “There was a very large police response, so I wanted to know what was going on behind the scenes, what the police and administrators were saying.”

Sen filed a public records request with UNC Police but was denied, he said. There were a lot of record requests by others, be-

Journalist names

VCU as one of 37 colleges to virtually monitor students

cause of the topic, Sen said. Using UNC’s open portal, he requested the information previously requested by others. He received thousands of pages of legal documents months later, and within them, records of UNC using Social Sentinel.

“It led me down this rabbit hole of, ‘if UNC is using Social Sentinel to surveil protests, I bet a bunch of other colleges are as well,’” Sen said.

Sen said he continued to accumulate data via public record requests until 2022.

“Navigate360 is very opaque about how the service works,” Sen said. “They have machine learning models that scan social media, websites and potentially emails for a language of harm, which I think is just a list of keywords like, ‘shoot,’ ‘bomb’ or ‘kill.’ They find tweets that have those words and send them to college police departments. This is the general theory behind it.”

Navigate360 states Social Sentinel is only used to cover violent riots “upon their client’s request” but is not used to monitor peaceful protests, according to its website. Only one school investigated by Sen directly stated to him that they were using it for such purposes.

A marketer working with Navigate360 touted the service to a UNC administrator as a way of mitigating the impacts of “disruptive demonstrations & protests,” according to the Dallas Morning News.

There was no informed consent with students at these universities to use this Social Sentinel, Sen said.

“When you sign up for Facebook, for example, there’s a terms of service, though most people don’t read it. Right? The students are not signing a terms of service with Navigate360, the school is,” Sen said. “When schools bought the service, they either did not say anything at all, or, in a

couple of cases, journalists heard about it.”

Many college police departments have been using taxpayer dollars to pay for Social Sentinel’s services to monitor what students say, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“The Fourth Amendment has considered things like spying. That is clearly an invasion of privacy,” Sen said. “Looking at one person’s tweet is not an invasion of privacy, but when you start to aggregate millions of people’s tweets that might be a potential concern. You can track superhuman levels of tweets and use them for purposes like tracking activist networks.”

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects people’s right to privacy and protects them from unreasonable intrusions by the government.

“It is chilling to think that universities might have a power imbalance between them and their students,” Sen said. “Even though a lot of schools have canceled their usage of the service, if they were willing to do this once, I would not be surprised if they were willing to do it again.”

List of colleges that have used Social Sentinel

- Arizona State University

- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

- Shasta College

- University of California, Los Angeles

- University of Connecticut

- Gulf Coast State College

- Florida State University

- Florida Atlantic University

- Palm Beach State College

- Indian River State College

- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

- Miami Dade College

- Broward College

- Kennesaw State University

- Anne Arundel Community College

- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

- Jackson College

- Oakland University

- Grand Rapids Community College

- Michigan State University

- Wake Forest University

- North Carolina State University

- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

- Duke University

- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

- University of North Carolina at Asheville

- East Carolina University

- Oregon State University

- University of Oregon

- University of North Texas

- North Central Texas College Texas State University

- Collin College

- University of Texas at Dallas

- University of Virginia

- Virginia Commonwealth University

- Virginia State University

VCU Police entered into a contract with Social Sentinel, a social scanning tool, in November 2015. Photo by Kaitlyn Fulmore

Stories of the week

national: U.S national debt surpasses $31 trillion for the first time. international: World's largest Pokémon collection could sell for more than $34,000.

Protesters gather at state capital against

Iranian government human rights violations

JACK GLAGOLA Contributing Writer

The forecast called for rain — but the weather did not stop Richmond’s Iranian community from coming out on Sunday and protesting human rights violations by the ruling regime of Iran.

Protesters stood under umbrellas in the colors of the Iranian flag; they held up the picture of Mahsa Amini, the young woman whose murder sparked the unrest; they waved the Lion and Sun flag of the previous regime that was deposed over four decades ago.

Protests in Iran started last month when Mahsa Amini was brutally killed by “morality police” because she was not wearing the proper hijab, according to Iran Focus, a nonprofit news site. Central to the protests underway in Iran and here are human rights, especially regarding the treatment of women.

Former VCU student Mahyar Zarei said the core of the issue is freedom of expression, and it is nobody’s choice but a woman’s whether or not she should wear a hijab.

“We are in the year 2022,” Zarei said. “In Iran we go on a different calendar —

Continued from front page

Communications law professor William Oglesby said students do not give up their free speech rights by being a student at a university.

“As for minors, courts have made it clear that while they maintain their First Amendment rights, they are more limited. Minors at the college level, however, have all the First Amendment rights that anybody else does,” Oglesby said.

The official VCU Student Email Standard states that the university uses “various

they say the year is 1401 — but we’re past that age of thinking that women are less than men. This is about basic human rights, and it’s kind of weird to say because you wouldn’t think we’d be at this point.”

Many of the protesters in attendance on Sunday, including Zarei, were in Washington, D.C. the day before with the same goal — to get government officials to hear the Iranian community’s voice.

“The rain’s nothing for us here,” Zarei said. “I’m exhausted from yesterday, but the people back home are doing this every day.”

The event in the nation’s capital included Iranian communities from the city proper and the surrounding suburbs in Maryland and Virginia, and numbered nearly ten thousand. They marched from Farragut Park all the way to the former Iranian Embassy.

“It was beautiful,” Zarei said. “I couldn’t see the front or back of the line.”

Virginia Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, who represents a swath of the Richmond area, made an appearance on Oct.2. She addressed the crowd and reiterated the importance of women’s rights and human rights across the world.

“The profound grief that the Iranian people are feeling translates across all peo-

ples, all languages, and all time,” Hashmi said. “Outrage against injustice is a universal language.”

The authoritarian government of Iran and its denial of fundamental rights afforded to all people, according to Hashmi.

“Democracy and theocracy are not compatible,” Hashmi said.

In her speech, Hashmi said the Iranian “morality police” that carried out the murder of Amini were acting contrary to their intended function.

“You cannot call yourself the ‘moral police’ when your morality requires you to harm, to oppress and to make a mockery of justice,” Hashmi said.

Dr. Iraj Mirshahi, an internal medicine doctor at St. Mary’s Hospital and the organizer of this protest, said he decided to have a rally in Richmond because he wants to make sure Virginia leadership remembers that Iranian Americans have a voice here.

“We want our fellow Americans to support us and our elected officials to understand where we are coming from,” Mirshahi said. “We want them to stop negotiating with them — we don’t think the regime is going to change.”

The outrage in Iran focused on Amini’s

SOCIAL SENTINEL

methods” to protect the security of its network and of its users’ accounts. Any data utilizing university-owned computer or network resources has the potential to be disclosed under the law or appropriate university business needs.

“It is important that students keep in mind that whatever they say online can be misinterpreted, like using particularly strong language or flaggable words” Oglesby said. “AI monitors do not have a sense of humor.”

Navigate360’s website states one in 20,000 scans are truly actionable, captioned with the question, “if you could prevent someone from harming themselves or others would you?”

“It’s so important that universities have policies and direction as to what they will do in cases of students in suicidal danger,” Oglesby said.

Suicide is the third leading clause of death for young people from ages 10 to 24, according to the Center for Disease Control

death and the treatment of women by the theocratic Iranian government, according to Mirshahi.

“They have gone beyond that. People are demanding more, because they’ve been oppressed for 43 years,” Mirshahi said. “They want a democratic, secular government now. This is about women’s rights, this is about all Iranian people’s rights.”

There is a disparity between the ruling class and the middle and working classes of Iran, Mirshahi said.

“Even with all the sanctions, the leaders are still enjoying a good life while the people of Iran become poorer and poorer,” Mirshashi said. “They’re sending their kids to Europe, to America, to Canada, to Australia, while Iranian kids are in the streets — they don’t have enough food to eat. The message is strong — we want to condemn what is happening in Iran. We want support from leaders here in the United States.”

Mirshahi said he was optimistic about the future of the protests.

“I think it’s a great start because right now, the people involved are the young people — people in their 20s and 30s who weren’t around when the Islamic Revolution happened 40 years ago,” Mirshahi said.

The Iranian people want to avoid conflict if possible, but will have to engage for the duration of this regime, according to Mirshahi.

“The Iranians are a peace-loving people,” Mirshahi said. “We want to live in tranquility with the rest of the world. But as long as that regime is there, that is not going to happen.”

and Prevention.

“People who are at risk of suicide will let it be known in one way or another, that they’re contemplating suicide,” Oglesby said. “We may not always recognize it at first, but they will often do that. If they carry it out, people will say, ‘why didn’t we hear these cries for help?’ That can happen so easily in college. It is a question of ‘how do you do that, and at the same time, protect their privacy rights?’”

A crowd gathers outside the state capitol building to protest human rights violations in Iran. Photo by Jack Glagola

University police respond TO PRESENCE OF GUN VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS

KATRINA LEE News Editor

Aggravated assaults with firearms have increased over the past year, according to data from the Richmond Police Department.

Business marketing student Victoria Adams said she feels like she doesn’t know what is going on in terms of crime on campus and it “stresses” her out.

“I’m a first year student here, and I’m from a smaller town and coming to Richmond,” Adams said. “I was kind of expecting to have a little bit of crime but like, I feel sometimes that like the VCU police, they don’t release enough information for me to feel like I can be more aware.”

Adams said she wished that VCU police gave more updates and details on crimes on and near campus, such as if they caught the subject or not.

Graphic design student Mimi Paul said she generally feels safe when they are on campus.

“I feel like the campus is pretty heavily policed in this area right by where all the dorms are and everything, but outside I wouldn’t feel safe,” Paul said.

We are also enhancing police patrols specifically in the Grace Street corridor and in Monroe Park. We are expanding officers’ deployment for party-related incidents and noise complaints and we’re actively in the process of hiring dispatchers and police recruits.”

Corey Byers VCU Police spokesperson

There was a shooting less than four blocks away from campus last month. RPD officers responded to the 200 block of South Laurel Street for a report of a shooting on Sept. 5, according to RPD in an email statement.

The university alert system notified stu dents nearly two hours after the event.

RPD officers located two male victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Both males were transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. As of Sept. 14, RPD could not provide any further information on the current state of inves tigation, according to RPD spokesperson Chelsea Taylor.

VCU police spokesperson Corey Byers stated in an email that VCU police are as sisting the RPD in the investigation. She also stated VCU police listens to the com munity by taking feedback from students,

family, staff and local residents, as well as issuing an annual safety survey.

“The VCU Police leadership team has actively listened to community concerns during the first few weeks of classes and is enhancing safety strategies for the academic year,” Byers stated. “The department’s top goals are to increase the visibility and deployment of officers, increase engagement with community members and to be relentless in our follow up on all incidents.”

To that end, VCU police has recently hired a dozen new officers and has expanded their units for more coverage in and around campus.

“We are also enhancing police patrols specifically in the Grace Street corridor and in Monroe Park,” Byers stated. “We are expanding officers’ deployment for party-related incidents and noise complaints and we’re actively in the process of hiring dispatchers and police recruits.”

VCU police will be focusing on the entire Grace Street corridor from Ryland to Belvidere Streets due to the number of students living there, according to Byers.

Yearly homicides involving firearms in the city were 50 as of Oct. 2, 2021 and 38 as of Oct. 2, 2022, according to the RPD website.

because that really helps you target where your interventions need to go because the gun violence analysis really highlights these are the key factors, key demographics, and answers a bunch of questions,” Hodge said.

RISC is planning to meet with several community leaders who take part in gun violence prevention to advocate for a problem analysis including VCU, according to Hodge.

Democrat congressman Donald McEachin of the 4th Congressional District gave $1 million in grant money to university leaders on April 14 for VCU’s new program titled RVA Gun Violence Prevention Framework, according to a previous report from The Commonwealth Times.

The framework is still in the process of receiving the funding, but is currently in the planning process of the framework, according to VCU Health program manager Rachelle Hunley.

The framework has different components including an intensive case management component, a shooting and homicide review commission, a credible messenger component, a prevention component and more aiming to curb gun violence in the

city, according to Hunley.

The intensive case management component of the framework works with Bridging the Gap, a program at VCU Health which provides community violence intervention, Hunley said.

“Any type of violence related injury, we start at the bedside. We have either a peer support so someone who’s experienced with violence or an intervention specialist, who’s essentially like a case manager, they start to work with the family,” Hunely said.

The plans for this framework began three years ago. The first stage of the process was to create a steering committee where community activists, individuals affected by gun violence, large organizations and grassroot providers took part in creating recommendations for the framework.

“Community voice was at the center of developing this framework,” Hunely said.

Hunely wanted to highlight that this framework will take time to implement and see results from the multiple components.

“Next steps for us is to continue to meet with our collaborative. We are hoping to put forth some more implementations and next steps to the public,” Hunley said.

doing Gun Violence Intervention

A shooting occurred near VCU’s campus off of Idlewood Avenue and Laurel Street, injuring two students. Photo by Alessandro Latour

VCU HEALTH HOSPITAL SYSTEM EXPERIENCES FINANCIAL DEFICIT

DIANA HO Contributing Writer

VCU Health is currently facing a margin loss of approximately 2% when factoring in interest and depreciation, according to Laura Rossacher, the director of public affairs for VCU Health.

The medical center still remains cash flow-positive and is profitable at an operating level, Rossacher stated in an email.

Medical centers like University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Mass General Brigham in Boston are experiencing stress on finances similar to VCU Health. UPMC lost 4% of its margin and Mass General Brigham lost approximately $200 million in recent months, according to Rossacher.

“Our preliminary unaudited operating revenue in FY22 [Fiscal year 2022] was $2.8 billion, a remarkable year-overyear increase of 9.5%,” Rossacher stated. “Unfortunately, our operating costs grew too.”

These numbers are not final, Rossacher stated. VCU Health is currently undergoing the annual financial audit for FY22 and will expect official, audited results to become available in the coming weeks.

Health systems are facing unprecedented financial conditions nationwide. Stacey Hughes, executive vice president for government relations and public policy for the American Hospital Association, provides an explanation for VCU Health and other health systems’ financial situations, Rossacher stated.

Hughes stated in her Fierce Health op-ed one-third of hospitals are operat-

ing in the red, while another one-third are barely breaking even prior to the pandemic. The shockwaves from COVID-19 have overwhelmed hospital staff, which has added additional stress since the labor shortage since 2019.

without compromising the outstanding care we provide,” Rossacher said.

VCU Health did not provide an additional statement to specify the initiatives that will reduce costs for hospitals.

“I wish they could give us more tangible points on what these changes are going to mean for us, like when you say 1% margin, I have no idea what that means. It’d be nice to know, like put it in our terms,” said VCU Health nurse Brit Gillespie.

Gillespie has worked in the neonatal intensive care unit since the start of the pandemic. VCU has not provided much transparency about hospitals experiencing deficits, she said.

“I’m also just so busy with my job as a nurse that I don’t look into that side of things, but we definitely feel the effects. And a lot of it is with staff retention and pay, with supplies too — especially the past year — like even worse since COVID,” Gillespie said.

Hospitals nationwide have been experiencing supply shortages due to the pandemic, according to the Food and Drug Administration website. Gillespie said she is scared if any of her patients could die due to the absence of staffing, supply or medication shortages.

Health are experiencing deficits or economic loss as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to economics professor Christopher Herrington.

“VCU Health is a vital part of the Richmond economy and community for many reasons. It employs thousands of people, serves hundreds of thousands of patients, and trains the next generation of healthcare professionals across numerous specialties,” Herrington said.

“So it is absolutely in everyone’s best interest that VCU Health remains fiscally sound and continues growing to serve the healthcare needs of this community.”

The pandemic was extremely taxing physically, mentally and emotionally; in the wake of the pandemic, employment in health care dropped drastically, and it has still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to Herrington.

The demand for nurses is projected to grow to 260,000 by 2025, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. This demand would be twice as large as any demand experienced in the U.S. since the mid-1960s.

“Our goal is to return to a 1% operating margin this fiscal year. To meet that goal, we have a range of operational initiatives underway to reduce costs and boost revenue

“I’m really scared for the future of patients. Like, who is going to safely take care of them? Because so many [nurses] have left and we barely have that many nurses that are familiar with the unit, and how things work, or have that much experience,” Gillespie said.

Gillespie said that keeping patients alive is a big responsibility. However, when nurses are not given the proper time or resources to make the difference in their patients’ lives, the profession can become tiresome, causing retention issues.

A lot of health systems including VCU

“As a result, hospitals and medical offices that were unable to meet staffing needs often turned to temporary, and much more expensive, solutions like travel nurses,” Herrington said. “Undoubtedly, this channel also contributed to the financial challenges that we’re now seeing with health systems like VCU Health.”

However, Herrington said this deficit is not cause for panic, as long as VCU Health does not continue to experience economic loss over the next couple of years.

“From my outside perspective, it seems that VCU Health is making significant investments, which are costly today but provide the foundation for serving more patients and generating greater revenue in the future,” Herrington said.

Our goal is to return to a 1% operating margin this fiscal year. To meet that goal, we have a range of operational initiatives underway to reduce costs and boost revenue without compromising the outstanding care we provide.”

Laura Rossacher director of public affairs for VCU Health.

VCU Health, located in downtown Richmond, is experiencing a financial deficit. Photo by Kaitlyn Fulmore

ment after facing Seton Hall University in a heartbreaking 70-67 loss. The Rams will return to the Siegel Center on Nov. 7 with 10 athletes from last season’s team out of their 14-player roster.

For VCU women’s basketball fans, here’s a list of games to look forward to this season, with a mix of non-conference and rivalry matches.

valry is one of the biggest rivalries across Virginia. The battle of who runs Richmond will be a great introduction to VCU’s Havoc. This game is a must - watch for VCU students.

Last season, the Rams fell to the Spiders on VCU’s Senior Day, 59-57, when Richmond sophomore Addie Budnik scored the game-winning layup with 1.1 seconds left in the game. This heartbreaker should be enough to motivate the Rams to come back and defeat the Spi ders this upcoming season.

2. VCU players celebrate during a win against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 16.

PARADISE JAM — VCU VS. MULTIPLE TEAMS: NOV.

24-26

The black and gold will be in this year’s Paradise Jam. The tournament is set to take place at the University of the Virgin Islands

VCU will face Seton Hall University, the University of Georgia and the University of Wisconsin. The Island Tournament champion is to be crowned after the final game, according to the tournament website. The holiday tournament should be exciting for the black and gold as they will face

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON FLY-

University of Dayton Flyers defeated the Rams in the A-10 Championship Semifinals, ending its NCAA tournament hopes. This revenge game should be a highly contested matchup, as the black and gold look

The black and gold was the only team that defeated the Flyers in the regular sea-

ATLANTIC 10 — VCU VS. SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY

The Rams will face the Saint Louis University Billikens in their A-10 conference opener. The black and gold lost 60-55 last season in the Siegel Center in their match against the Billikens. Hopefully, this new

VCU will open its season against the Lafayette College Leopards at the Siegel Center. This game should be a warmup for the Rams, as the Leopards lost 18 out of 30 games last season, according to

Don’t forget to claim free student tickets for home games at the Siegel Center. For further information and directions, visit vcuathletics.com for step-by-

When at the Stu, remember to bring the Havoc.

The Rams will open up their season with a home matchup against Lafayette College on Nov. 7. The game will be played at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. For ticket information, visit vcuathletics.com.

Horton as Rookie of the Week and Defensive Player

COLLEGE LEOPARDS: NOV.

ARRICK WILSON Sports Editor

1. VCU junior guard Sarah Te-Biasu looks to score during a game against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 16.

Photo by Kaitlyn Fulmore

Photo by Kaitlyn Fulmore

SPORTS’ PICK OF THE WEEK

ARRICK WILSON Sports Editor

In this week’s pick, we are going to the NFL. The game to watch is the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants in London at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 9.

Apart from the London Games series, this game will be one of three games at Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, according to the NFL.

My pick is the Packers for this

PRESS BOX

matchup against the Giants. The NFL 2022 Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers will be too much for the Giants. Rodgers has thrown 935 yards and six touchdowns so far this season, according to Pro Foot ball Reference.

After the departure of former AllPro wide receiver Davante Adams, many believed the Packers would be done, but they have proved they aren’t. The Packers have proved to many that they are still contenders for the NFL Super Bowl this season.

The Giants are overrated. They’ve only squeaked out wins against teams that weren’t good. When facing the Packers, the Gi ants will return to their regular

form — trash. Trust me, the Giants will not win this game. The Giants are pretenders, not contenders.

From someone who is not an insufferable Dallas Cowboys fan, I will be praying for the Packers to pull through.

GAME RESULTS SEPTEMBER 25

WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY - VS. OHIO WON 3-0

WOMEN’S SOCCER - VS. LA SALLE WON 1-0

SEPTEMBER 27

MEN’S SOCCER - VS. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL LOSS 1-0

GOLFHOWARD INVITATIONAL 4TH OUT OF 9

Mississippi welfare scandal shows ATHLETE FAVORITISM IN SPORTS MEDIA

KAITLYN FULMORE Contributing Writer

Something about winning a Super Bowl makes fans unwilling to see the flaws of their favorite athletes, coaches or teams. However, a NFL quarterback’s sins finally seem to be catching up with him.

Earlier this year, under former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, the former executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $70 million of welfare funds that were transferred to friends and family, rather than their intended purposes, according to CNN. Auditors state the funds had been transferred to retired quarterback Brett Favre, but evidence was not released until last month.

Favre’s involvement in the Mississippi welfare scandal blew up in the media after Mississippi Today released an article exposing his texts between the former governor’s close friend Nancy New on Sept. 13. New informed Favre how to get funds for his own personal interests.

The lawsuit against Favre and others involved in the embezzlement of Mississippi welfare funds was released on May 9, according to NPR. Coverage for the hallof-famer was minimal until text and email proof was brought forward. Sports media seemed to have waited as long as possible before covering Favre, and criticism from fans does not feel as harsh as it often does for non-white athlete counterparts.

Mississippi has the highest poverty rate

in America, and it’s one of the top states reliant on government assistance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. So why did Favre feel the need to take money from people who need it the most?

The retired quarterback, best known for his 15-year career with the Green Bay Packers, was a fan favorite and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, according to the NFL.

Favre’s lawyer Bud Holmes has denied Favre’s knowing involvement with the fraud scandal.

“He didn’t understand where the grants came from,” Holmes said, according to NBC. “He had no idea.”

The texts show otherwise. The Mississippi Today article reveals Favre’s involvement in funneling at least $5 million from Mississippi’s welfare program towards a new volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi — Favre’s alma mater and where his daughter played volleyball.

The texts between Favre and New show how Favre managed to funnel money from the welfare programs to the facility.

“If you were to pay me is there anyway the media can find out where it came from and how much?” Favre’s text to New states.

Neither Favre nor his legal representation has made a statement on the recent evidence.

Favre had arguably one of the most successful football careers, and at the time of him funneling the money, had an estimated net worth of $100 million, according to Sportskeeda.

No amount of touchdown passes, wins or superbowl rings can make up for Favre’s hypocrisy. Favre should be criminally prosecuted for his actions which helped contribute to grossly misallocated government funds.

Further investigation also revealed Favre’s own foundation, Favre4Hope, “donated” more than $130,000 to University of Southern Mississippi’s Athletic Foundation. Favre4Hope was created to support charities that served disabled children and breast cancer patients, according to their mission statement.

The NFL has yet to make any comments about Favre, or his status in the Hall of Fame.

Male athletes seem to get less hate when it comes to actual scandals, especially if their career was successful. Nostalgia for when the Packers used to actually win shouldn’t allow fans and writers to ignore Favre’s behavior.

In order for the NFL to actually begin enforcing more strict rules for misbehavior, fans need to stop supporting problematic athletes. No athlete should be put on a pedestal and be given immunity based on their stats.

However, Favre also demonstrates another problem in the NFL; the positive favoritism towards white athletes.

The problem goes just beyond the NFL, the players and the fans. Sports media needs to do their part in actively working on inclusivity and diversity when it comes to reporting teams, coaches and athletes.

Sports media struggles to fairly cover white and Black athletes, which could be attributed to the diversity problem seen in sports journalism. In 2021, 79.2% of sports editors were white, and 77.1% of both columnists and reporters were white, according to the Sports Media Racial and Gender Report Card: Associated Press Sports Editors. A lack of diversity within the media leads to bias within the reporting between white and Black athletes.

White privilege exists in all spaces of the U.S., but people tend to ignore that with the diversity that professional sports appear to have. Sports have close ties to American nationalism and exceptionalism, and these aspects have inherently racist roots.

Favre deserves to be punished, but fans and writers need to reflect on their own values and biases.

SEPTEMBER 30

WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY - VS. SAINT LOUIS WON 3-0

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL - VS. RHODE ISLAND WON 3-2

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY - AT PAUL SHORT RUN 31ST OUT OF 45

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY - AT PAUL SHORT RUN 40TH OUT OF 46

OCTOBER 1 OCTOBER 2

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL - VS. RHODE ISLAND WON 3-1

WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY - VS. LOUISVILLE LOSS 3-1

WOMEN’S SOCCER - AT RICHMOND WON 3-0

OCTOBER 4

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL - AT DAVIDSON LOSS 3-2

On this day

Richmond Folk Festival is back for its 18th Anniversary

PEGGY STANSBERY Contributing Writer

THE RICHMOND FOLK FESTIVAL returns for its 18th anniversary Oct. 7-9 with a diverse musical lineup and visitors from across the country, according to the festival’s website.

The festival aims to celebrate the roots, richness and variety of American culture through music, dance, traditional craft and food, according to the festival’s website.

The festival started in Richmond in 2005 as the National Folk Festival, according to the festival’s website. The festival developed into the Richmond Folk Festival in 2008 after the National Folk Festival finished their scheduled three year stay.

Stephen Lecky, the director of events at Venture Richmond, has managed the festival since its start, according to Lecky. This year there will be over 800 volunteers, 30 performing acts and over 50 food and craft vendors, Lecky said.

“The festival has grown over the years to be the largest free folk festival in the country,” Lecky said. “If the weather is nice we will have roughly 200k people over the weekend.”

The festival can cater to all in the local community since it’s free, according to Lecky.

“A lot of people might not have had the opportunity to attend a large-scale, world class event like this, and to do it in your own city for free is a great treat,” Lecky said.

People can expect to see, taste and hear new things and enjoy Richmond’s downtown riverfront at the festival, according to Lecky.

Similarly to Lecky, food vendor Ron Joseph has been a part of the Richmond Folk Festival since its start.

“It’s all about the music and the culture and it just gets better every year,” Jo-

seph said. “It’s just a great event.”

Joseph owned Strawberry Street Café in Richmond for 30 years until he sold it in 2018, he said. Since 2019, he has owned Strawberry Street Events, a concession and catering company.

“Every weekend is a different festival but I like this one because there’s no travel for us, it’s our home base. We get to listen to good music and the people of Venture treat their food vendors very well,” Joseph said.

Strawberry Street Events will be selling their Nashville Hot Concept this year

at the festival, according to Joseph. This includes: Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, Nashville hot chicken baskets, Memphis style pulled pork barbeque and other variations of chicken.

“They don’t just come from Richmond but they come from all over. They come for the music, the food, and the vendor shopping. It’s just a good event put on by good people,” Joseph said.

This will be art vendor Sophie Smith’s first year being a part of the Richmond Folk Festival. Smith graduated from VCU in 2019 and now runs her own business, Sophie Printmaking, as a linocut printmaker, according to Smith. Sophie Printmaking sells printed goods highlighting Richmond.

Smith said she has enjoyed attending the festival over the years and began wondering if she could create enough prints to be a part of it herself. Last year she took the leap and decided to apply. Now she will be selling her prints at this year’s folk festival.

The festival brings all communities together to celebrate and appreciate, Smith said.

“This event highlights all the different people we have in this wonderful city and surrounding it. Folk art and music is so important, and it’s so wonderful that we have this giant event to celebrate all of it,” Smith said.

‘Twilight’ by Stephanie Meyer was published.

Richmond promotes folk festival throughout the city. Photo by Chloe Hawkins

Sophie Smith prints artwork to sell. Photo courtesy of Sophie Smith

Student modeling troupe embraces diversity

NATALIE BARR Contributing Writer

Student organization Statement Modelz continues to be a place on campus representing students not always seen at VCU after announcing its new model class, Statement’s stylist Lauryn Lynch said.

The university has a diverse group of students with different cultural backgrounds composed of 13.4% Asian students, 18.3% of Black students and 9.5% of Hispanic and Latino students, according to VCU 20212022 student enrollment data.

Those students are not shown at the forefront of campus, Lynch said. Lynch, and the other founders of Statment Modelz, wanted to create an inclusive space for all students to show off their beauty and fashion, she said.

The troupe opened with all Black models to give back to Black students on campus by creating space for other Black students to “see themselves” through Statement, Lynch said.

“We have diversified a bit. We have people of Asian descent on our team and some people have Latino descent,” Lynch said. “It’s really a space in a predominately white institution to see other people like them wear cool things and be at the forefront of fashion on campus.”

The stylist said she has been with Statement since the troupe was

founded in February 2022. Four VCU students — Kayla Marie Lubin, Michael Ambrose, Thomas Olds and Lynch — founded the troupe after working together at a VCU fashion show, Lynch said.

Statement has a packed October. The group is hosting an event with Kicks Mania at the Richmond Raceway, a fashion show at a K-12 school in Richmond, its second annual pop-up event and a Halloween party, Lynch said.

“I’m so excited we have a busy month, but we’ll make it work,” Lynch said. “We definitely love going back to elementary school, middle or high school, and show them you can be more than what you see every day, and show the kids you can be like us.”

Lynch said her favorite moment from Statement was last year’s “Ghetto Visionary” photoshoot. It started out as a shoot to showcase Black hair. The leadership board decided to expand the shoot beyond hair and shifted to show off the Black experience, she said.

“We were like, ‘yeah, its ghetto,’ but not in a bad way, not in a way people make that word seem,” Lynch said. “You know that people have been using the term visionary a lot, and a lot of the things they view as visionary, we do all time … and we get called ghetto for it, so we’re gonna take this title and make it more than just a negative stereotype.”

had a modeling troupe, it was kind of a new concept to me, and I thought it would be cool to join one through my school,” Buchanan said.

The new modeling class consists of freshmen and sophomores who brought “a lot of energy,” Buchanan said. Buchanan now works with the new modeling class to give advice and tips to those new to the modeling scene, they said.

“I definitely tell other models to relax. It’s not as stressful as you think it is, and especially if you are stressed, it can be shown on your face,” Buchanan said. “I would say stay true to yourself and do what makes you feel comfortable.”

I definitely tell other models to relax. It’s not as stressful as you think it is, and especially if you are stressed, it can be shown on your face. I would say stay true to yourself and do what makes you feel comfortable.”

Keely Buchanan fashion merchandising student

Emmanuel Waller, returning model and senior psychology student, said he got into modeling in college after a photographer reached about a photoshoot, the photos were well received on his Instagram, he said. He was recognized by Statement, asked to audition and joined last year, he said.

“The rest was history,” Waller said. “I really thrived as a model since joining Statement.”

Waller said he hopes to be modeling in the future for e-commerce, and possibly runway shows. Statement allows him to be creative, but more importantly, it gives him a space to grow as a person without letting people define him or who he should be, Waller said.

“Me being an African American male, there’s certain stereotypes, the way society has looked at us, and I don’t put myself in that box because I’m not afraid of what people will think or say,” Waller said.

Keely Buchanan, returning Statement model and junior fashion merchandising student, said they looked up to their fashion marketing teacher, who was their mentor and encouraged them to pursue modeling.

“When I came to VCU and saw they

The troupe was still finding its footing last year when the photoshoot “Ghetto Visionary” gained attention, Buchanan said. “Ghetto Visionary” was the favorite shoot the model has done with Statement, they said.

“It was everywhere. Broccoli City posted it, Summer Walker posted, a magazine covered it. It really blew up,” Buchanan said. “It was pure creativity and fun.”

Buchanan said they’re excited to see where Statement goes this year since the troupe has experience working as a group with photographers and artists in the Richmond area.

Sophomore fashion merchandising student Suong Han is new to Statement Modelz this year. He was invited by Statement to come to a modeling workshop, he said. Except for occasional photos with his roommate, Han had no prior experience in modeling before trying out for Statement this year, he said.

“At first, I was like, ‘I’m not a model, what do I look like being here?’ But it was a really fun experience,” Han said.

Han said he worked with a few of the older models who offered advice and support for a shoot and felt nervous because he was the newest model there, he said.

“We’re working on a couple of shoots to surprise some people. I can’t really go into too much about it,” Han said. “But I think a lot of people did go out of their comfort zone to really get some good shots. I’m really excited for you guys to see all of it.”

Han said he is looking forward to gaining confidence in himself. To that end, he hopes Statement Modelz will support a culture on campus where students feel comfortable in their own fashion style and will show students they can become confident in themselves.

“I just feel that within VCU, when it comes to the fashion scene, groups like Statement, VCU Fits, Black in Fashion and Eco Fashion, those clubs really do contribute to this huge unit of just being comfortable in your own skin and being comfortable in your own fashion sense,” Han said.

Statement Modelz pose during 'Ghetto Visionary' photoshoot. Photo courtesy of Statement Modelz

Layla Lawal poses for the ‘Ghetto Visionary’ photoshoot. Photo courtesy of Statement Modelz

CHLOE HAWKINS Spectrum Editor

The change in months and weather indicate that it is officially autumn season. The mourning of bathing suits and flip flops starts, and the opening of the storage closets begins. It can be tempting to wear sweatpants and sweatshirts everyday, so here are a few fall fashion tips to (pumpkin) spice up outfits for this unpredictable season.

Big oversized “grandpa” sweaters are some of the coziest clothing items to have for the fall season. These can be easily thrifted, or just taken straight from grandpa’s closet — either way, they’re a cute and comfortable addition to any outfit.

An inexpensive but good quality pair of boots are easy to find at places such as Target or Ross, and a fall essential when paired with any clothing item. Boots are usually styled over leggings and jeans, but they can also be paired with skirts of any length for a more elegant fall look.

Adding basic staple pieces in your wardrobe will help elevate your style. A staple piece is clothing you can wear in almost any situation or environment such as tank tops, long-sleeve shirts and leggings. Once you have these monotone essentials, you’ll be able to build onto them making the best fall outfit.

The fall weather calls for thick and long bottoms, such as the basic sweatpants or jeans. Deciding to incorporate a funkier option, such as corduroy pants, can improve your outfit. My favorite color options are mustard yellow, dark green, and red, but the options are endless.

Layering is one of the most important parts of fall fashion. Integrating tights into your fall attire will add an essential extra layer and give more options to be creative. Buy tights that you know will last after the first use — I hate when I have the perfect outfit pictured in my head, and then the tights rip, ruining my idea. There are many choices to explore such as different colors, textures and patterns.

Incorporating accessories into your wardrobe will keep you warm and cozy while also enhancing your everyday fits. These include items such as scarfs, ear muffs and leg warmers, which are becoming more popular as clothing from the early 2000s is going through the current fashion cycle.

Illustration by Killian Goodale-Porter

BeReal proves social media authenticity is impossible, and that’s okay

KOFI MFRAMA Contributing Writer

To understand Generation Z’s relationship with social media is to understand living under an intangible force that permeates every facet of our lives.

From the inception of social media, users have been struggling to find out how much is too much to share online. In fear of cyberbullying, stalking or online embarrassment, users protected their personal information from early sites like Facebook, MySpace and Tumblr. But the prize of possible virality and internet notoriety has enticed us to share more and more of ourselves.

Take Youtuber Emma Chamberlain’s early vlogs in 2017; she took us with her as she made cupcakes, pulled all-nighters and performed everyday tasks in entertaining ways. While this oversharing was branded as authentic, I don’t find anything raw about filming every aspect of your life with the intent of producing content that will be consumed by millions.

Now, with the new social media app BeReal, we have yet another way of milking content out of the mundane moments in our lives, all in the name of authenticity.

BeReal is a social platform where “everyday at a different time everyone is notified simultaneously to capture and share a photo in 2 minutes,” according to its website. Its slogan “Your Friends for Real” would have you believe this app finally allows users to see what their friends are up to at a given moment. It’s a supposed departure from the contrivedness of Instagram and Facebook, which has made it extremely popular.

However, its misuse is commonplace. Folks are taking BeReals hours after the original notification, staging BeReals with their friends and having strangers take the BeReal for them as they pose for the camera.

The app’s intended purpose — to authentically capture what users are doing in the moment — has been forgotten as the app becomes yet another extension of performance on social media. It seems as though any attempt at authenticity online will always seem manufactured.

I am guilty of misusing the app myself. There was one instance in which the notification went out in the morning but I knew I was going out with a friend later, so I waited until then to take the BeReal. Why did I feel the need to perform on BeReal

the same way I would on Instagram or any other social media? Is BeReal just becoming another, more spontaneous Instagram?

It wasn’t until recently that influencers like Chamberlain propagated the idea of a casual Instagram by posting filterless, offguard photos. But as this trend grew, people began to stage informal photos to the point where having a casual Instagram was just as laborious as having a regular one.

Even though the BeReal is far removed from its original intention, its premise is still fun. I like the spontaneity of the notification and enjoy seeing what my friends are up to.

There is no way to be truly authentic online, and that’s okay. We should understand social media for what it is: a way to express ourselves and connect with others — even if those connections aren’t always authentic.

Learn about Latino culture, make an impact this Latinx Heritage Month

ISHAAN NANDWANI Opinions Editor

We can learn a lot from those from our own backgrounds and those who are different from us through immersion and service.

Knowledge is power, and cultural understanding is the key to a more unified world. This Latinx Heritage Month, it’s essential we take a step toward understanding one of the most prominent communities in the U.S.

Latinx Heritage Month, also known as Hispanic Heritage Month, takes place yearly in the U.S. from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The month was established to pay tribute to Hispanic and Latino Americans who have enriched American society.

Hispanics and Latinos make up 18.7% of the population in the U.S. and 7.1% of the population in Richmond, according to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Many are immigrants from nations across Mexico, Central and South America, and each of them carry rich and idiosyncratic traditions.

Latinos have had a lasting impact on our nation — from Puerto Rican composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, who often draws on his cultural background in his compositions, to Mexican American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, whose spirit of advocacy was informed by his

experience as a Chicano.

Unfortunately, Latinos in the U.S. have experienced hardships throughout American history and today face barriers in areas such as health care and education.

Now more than ever, it’s important to celebrate and uplift Latinos in our local community and across the nation, whether you identify as Latino or not. There are countless ways to get involved.

Recently, through my Hispanic Immigrants in the U.S. service learning course with professor Anita Nadal, I began volunteering with English-as-second-language students at George Wythe High School. Many of the students at George Wythe are immigrants from across Latin America who have migrated to the U.S. in the last few years.

Although I’m not from a Latin American

background myself, I’ve learned much through these interactions — as we converse in Spanish, they share their challenges with navigating the education system with limited English proficiency. Not only has this service experience been incredibly fulfilling, but it has also greatly expanded my understanding of the students’ cultural backgrounds and experiences.

While rewarding, you don’t have to participate in a full on service experience to make a difference. Barnes & Noble, the School of World Studies and the School of Sociology at VCU have donation boxes set up to collect toys and children books for the kids at Southwood Apartments, nicknamed “La Mancha.” La Mancha is home to a large number of Latino immigrants who would greatly benefit from these items.

VCU has an ongoing relationship with

La Mancha, having established a coat drive here last winter, and the residents are always grateful for these donations. If you have extra toys or books at home, I highly encourage you to drop them off at one of these on campus locations.

Additionally, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and the College of Humanities and Sciences are hosting several events throughout Latinx Heritage Month. Each of these events provides the opportunity to learn about a facet of Latino culture, whether through exposure to Latin American traditions or direct intercultural communication.

Highlights include Muevete Dance Nights on Thursdays at Monroe Park, with Latin-inspired dances like the Salsa and ChaCha; Cultural Conversations with Universidad de La Salle, which provides a space for discussions about topics like music with students from Mexico; and a presentation from immigration expert Victor Narro this Thursday, Oct. 6, which covers immigration rights and activism. A full catalog of events is available through OMSA.

Latinx Heritage Month is the perfect time to step out of your comfort zone. By participating in these activities, you will uplift Latinos in our local community while broadening your worldview.

Quote of the week

“We must learn about other cultures in order to understand, in order to love, and in order to preserve our common world heritage.”

— Yo-Yo Ma

Illustration by Nicole Hodge

Students in Hispanic Immigrants in the U.S. participate in a book drive for the ‘La Mancha’ community. Photo by Ishaan Nandwani

Bad Habits by Anthony Duong

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Katharine DeRosa derosakf@commonwealthtimes.org

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NEWS EDITOR Katrina Lee news@commonwealthtimes.org

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OPINIONS EDITOR Ishaan Nandwani opinions@commonwealthtimes.org

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STAFF WRITERS

Varsha Vasudevan, News Thailon Wilson, Sports Nicholas Barahona, Opinions

CREATIVE MEDIA MANAGER Mark Jeffries mjeffries@vcu.edu

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Too Cold by Vivian Trinh

Lunchtime by Hannah Smith

By Taylor Johnson

CHANGE THE WORLD

By Taylor Johnson ACROSS

ACROSS 1 Mont Blanc’s range 5 __ and pans 9 Urge 13 Vatican leaders 18 Cheer (for) 19 Estrada of “CHiPs” 20 Grand Canyon animal 21 Chests 22 Data collection in Germany? 25 Third-party account 26 Japanese robe 27 “Heat of the Moment” band 28 Step to the bar, for short? 29 Violin protector 30 Former White House press secretary Psaki 32 Boulder in the Czech Republic? 37 Smart 39 Biblical peak 41 Freebies from a party 42 “It’s WonderWater” drink brand 43 Census

1 Mont Blanc’s range 5 __ and pans 9 Urge 13 Vatican leaders 18 Cheer (for) 19 Estrada of “CHiPs” 20 Grand Canyon animal 21 Chests 22 Data collection in Germany? 25 Third-party account 26 Japanese robe 27 “Heat of the Moment” band 28 Step to the bar, for short? 29 Violin protector 30 Former White House press secretary Psaki 32 Boulder in the Czech Republic? 37 Smart 39 Biblical peak 41 Freebies from a party 42 “It’s WonderWater” drink brand 43 Census taker in India?

46 ESPN datum 48 Hectic hosp. areas 49 Egg: Prefix 50 Sets (down) 51 Declined 53 Desolate areas 55 Writes 57 Short diner orders 59 Eye layer 60 Farm herder 61 Start a golf hole 63 “More or less” 64 Ancestry in Taiwan? 66 Heats quickly 68 Pastoral poems 70 Garage sale caveat 71 Gems in Afghanistan?

75 Driveway surface 77 Pushpins, e.g. 81 Battery-powered rides 82 Place with nine circles, per Dante 83 Bank deposit 85 Cry of pain 86 Toyota subcompact discontinued in 2020 87 Beer named for a Dutch river 89 Rig behind a cab 91 Power hitter’s 46-Across 92 ProFlowers parent co.

DOWN 1 Pop-up path 2 “Check it out!” 3 “Do

DOWN 1 Pop-up path 2 “Check it out!” 3 “Do not cross” area marked with yellow tape 4 Handle 5 __ alla vodka 6 Sweet sandwich 7 Poetic contraction 8 Reggae kin 9 Mischief-makers 10 Dutch bulb 11 Nets 12 Chaps 13 Entourage

great Robertson nicknamed “The Big O”

d’Orsay works 30 Uses

lot 31 Sea eagle 33 “Shoot!” 34 Spanish cat 35 Aerobic

38 Flood

39 Catalog

40 A

45 Archenemy

54 “Amen

56 Japanese

58 Rises to the top 60 Prefix with gender 62 Least flush 65 Like certain monitor lizards 67 Ltr. addenda 69 Shoulder muscles, briefly 71 Unlocking device for a car 72 Nuisance remover, in law 73 Backyard seed holder 74 “Dang, baby!” 76 Shopping centers? 78 Solemn rituals 79 Brazilian muralist Eduardo 80 Sandwich cheese 84 “OMG! Stop talking!” 87 International lawyer Clooney 88 Let use for a while 90 Like some tiles 94 Poisonous reptiles 96 Card player’s call 97 Stared upon 100 Strong brews 104 Hofbrau mug 105 Prefix with gender 106 Room-sized computer unveiled in 1946 108 Canopy makeup 111 “Am only one?” 112 Workplace safety org. 113 Maryland athlete, for short 114 Gambling venue letters 115 Sportage automaker 116 “¿__ pasa?” 117 Cricket club 118 “Helpful hardware folks” company 119 Talking-__: stern lectures

Change

Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle

Los Angeles

Los Angeles Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

the

CHANGE THE WORLD

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