University student government lobbies at Virginia General Assembly

VARSHA VASUDEVAN Staff Writer

The VCU Student Government Association, or SGA, has been working towards going “a step further” to implement change through lobbying important legislation, according to SGA secretary of state Sydney Biondi.

SGA recently put on its “Annual Lobby Day” on Feb. 21. Leading up to the event, SGA votes on pieces of legislation to support and then lobby the chosen bills at the Virginia 2022 General Assembly Legislative session

Sydney Biondi said “Annual Lobby Day” is important because it allows SGA to try implementing concrete and specific change.

“I think it’s important to raise these issues to people that we’ve elected to office and say, ‘we’re the real people the laws you’re writing are impacting. These are the issues that are important to us.’” for any sort of learning opportunity,” Pidaparti said. “Student debt is such a huge problem, but we should not prevent our students from being able to have that resource.”

Biondi said any SGA member can write a resolution or a bill on any topic they are passionate about. The resolution will then be voted on by the body and is passed if SGA as a collective agrees on it. Once it is agreed on, the body “moves forward” with it, according to Biondi.

Biondi said the organization is a communications “liaison” between VCU administration and its students and works to amplify student voices and opinions.

“We’re really just here to represent student voices and get those voices up to administration, make sure all voices are heard and advocate for students on campus,” Biondi said.

SGA went into this year’s lobbying hoping to have “open conversations” with elected officials about issues they felt pertained to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Biondi stated.

“We recognized that most of the issues we were lobbying on weren’t going to be voted on this year; rather, we wanted to put feelers out there for future legislation,” Biondi stated.

Pidaparti said lobbying is a form of advocacy important to SGA and hopes the organization will continue advocating for VCU students as well as Richmonders.

“I’m really proud of us and SGA, because I think we’re aware of the space we take up in a city of predominantly Black and brown people,” Pidaparti said. “I think that, you know, what we’re doing is really good work.”

At the General Assembly session on Feb. 21, Del. Jeff Bourne of the 71st district introduced SGA on the House Floor.

Secretary of the interior Reena Pidaparti focuses on “internal campus matters,” and maintains relationships with academic facilities and departments and other colleges. She said the legislation SGA lobbied for was largely related to academic policies that have “really important implications” for VCU students.

Pidaparti said SGA lobbied for the Undergraduate Resolution 09 which supports Senate Bill 159. The bill protects low-income students from debt that they may incur during their time in university by not withholding transcripts from students with outstanding student debt.

“I think we all, as students, probably understand the importance of transcripts

“We [elected officials] have a responsibility to uplift and honor those young people in our communities that get engaged and stay engaged,” Bourne said.

Sydney Biondi stated lobbying at this year’s General Assembly legislative session was successful because SGA accomplished everything they were hoping to by speaking directly to elected officials.

“Everyone was kind and supportive and we had super productive conversations that make me hopeful for the future,” Biondi stated.

One of the bills SGA lobbied for is the undergraduate resolution that supports a bill transferring police funds to mental health organizations. Biondi said the measure is a good example of their holistic approach to lobbying.

“I think this stems from the fact that VCU PD [VCU police department] and RPD [Richmond police department] work together and we recognize how that impacts Richmond and VCU students,” Biondi said. “We recognized that we need more funds towards mental health, we needed more funds towards schools.”

Biondi said SGA prefers to operate independently from VCU in order to represent the larger Commonwealth of Virginia and community members that may be “upset and frustrated” at VCU.

“We recognize that we’re more than students and people in Richmond are more than people in Richmond, but we all, as a collective, have needs and wants,” Biondi said. “We want to advocate for everybody.”

ARRICK WILSON Sports Editor

IGHTS DIMMED IN THE “STU” AS cheers, cries and laughter filled the arena; two VCU seniors walked to the center of the court, met with applause and chants from the VCU fans. The wave of gold and black brightened the court as the game began.

It’s the last hurrah for seniors Vince Williams Jr. and KeShawn Curry, who were honored for their continuance with the program over the years. The VCU men’s basketball program defeated the George Mason Patriots 72-66 at the Stuart C. Siegel Center on Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Head coach Mike Rhoades said he was proud with the overall turnout of the game.

“Senior night — emotional. I thought we got off to a great start, then relaxed too much. And George Mason’s a good team, they got guys that made plays today,” Rhoades said. “It’s a typical game in the A-10, typical VCU, George Mason game, so I’m glad we came out on top.”

The Rams started the game by scoring 10 points while holding the Patriots to zero. The black and gold’s havoc defense translated to offense. However, the Patriots went on a 9-0 run, holding off the Rams from scoring for around two minutes. Both teams traded blows and made successful runs to compete in the half.

The half ended with the Rams on top, 39-34. Senior guard KeShawn Curry and freshman guard Jayden Nunn both lead the Rams with 11 points.

Graduate forward D’Shawn Schwartz led the Patriots with 14 points and sophomore forward Otis Frazier III chipped in six points for the Patriots at the half.

The Rams struggled during the start of the second half, allowing the Patriots back in the game, who took the lead with five minutes in the half. The black and gold pounced back into the game, creating a 16-0 run for four minutes, gaining the lead and cruising to the win.

Sophomore guard Adrian “Ace” Baldwin Jr. guided the Rams to victory, scoring 14 points in the second half. Baldwin said his teammates helped him gain momentum in the second half.

“First half, I wasn’t really making shots, so I was just trying to get my other teammates shots. I want to thank coach and my teammates for just trusting me, believing in

Stat of the week

Graduate guard Taya Robinson was named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team along with All-Defensive and All-Academic honors.

Sophomore guard Sarah Te-Biasu was also named to the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team.

me, put the ball in my hands,” Baldwin said. “I knew my number was gonna get called — just be ready at the time.”

Baldwin had a big night overall for the Rams, leading with 18 points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists. Sophomore forward Mikeal Brown-Jones also had a career-high with 15 points. The forward also gathered seven rebounds, along with freshman guard Jayden Nunn scoring 13 points.

Brown-Jones had another great performance coming off the bench for the Rams. He said he was focused on making an impact for his team.

“Staying ready, as much as I possibly can. I know that my time gone come eventually so I just rather be a great teammate to these guys. You know, do everything I can to win games,” Brown-Jones said.

Schwartz led the Patriots with 22 points and junior forward Josh Oduro also had 13 points and seven rebounds.

SENIOR FORWARD VINCE WILLIAMS JR.

Since making it to Broad Street, senior forward Vince Williams Jr. has become one of the Rams’ top scorers over the last two years. Williams was named third team All-Atlantic 10 conference in 2021, with a career-high of 10.6 points per game, the second highest on the team in 2021, according to VCU Athletics. Williams said he enjoyed his senior night and getting the win in the “Stu.”

“[I] just felt like I was back in high school all over again, to be honest. It was good all around. My teammates supported me and the coaches emphasized that we go out and get this win for the seniors tonight,” Williams said during an interview with VCU’s Ram Radio broadcast team.

One of Williams’ greatest performanc es was against longtime rival University of Richmond on Jan. 29, where the forward had a stat line of 22 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and a dagger three-pointer. For this performance, Williams was named the A-10 Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the games played from Jan. 24-30. Wil liams said he believes the team is getting into the groove of playing, winning seven out of the eight games in the month of February, according to VCU Athletics.

“I feel like we just all stick to gether, so I wouldn’t say we were peaking. I feel like we are finally figuring ourselves out as a team, just because now we can actually trust each other,” Williams said.

SENIOR GUARD KESHAWN CURRY

Senior guard KeShawn Curry came to VCU by way of Vir ginia’s Fork Union Military Academy. Curry boasted up a career-high of 28 points in a win against Rhode Island on Feb. 8. In a post-game confer ence, Curry said that even through adversity during his tenure as a Ram, he has enjoyed his last season.

“My career didn’t go how I wanted to. I was hurt a lot, lot of situations came up, but I’m enjoying my senior year,” Curry said. “This is favorite — my favorite year, playing with my guys, playing with my friends — this is probably my fa vorite year, having a lot of fun.”

Curry has had an immediate impact over the years, currently averaging 10.2 points, the third most for the program this season, according to VCU Athletics. Curry said looking forward to the postseason, the Rams are looking to win much as possible.

“We know late February you gotta win games. So we just in the mindset of finished the season, winning out in every game again,” Curry said. “Getting the most wins — to ensure that we will, grab a nice spot in A-10 tournament and possibly get to the dance [NCAA tournament].”

Both players could possibly stay one more year, like graduate forward Levi Stockard III. Stockard used another year of eligibility this season, granted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. The NCAA allowed an extra year of eligibility for all winter athletes in Division I sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to ESPN.

Both Williams and Curry have created a friendship that dates back to when they both committed to VCU just hours apart. Williams said his friendship with Curry has extended, leading them to stay together throughout the years.

“Basically when we got here to campus, we really clicked then. And after that, we just got to know each other more,” Williams said. “KeShawn committed right before me. So I think a couple of hours before me, but I think we got it done — so we really just stuck together.”

Head coach Mike Rhoades said the effect of Williams and Curry is seen, as the team has been successful this season.

“The impact on the success of our team this year, just tells you a lot about their