A spate of four killings in Hanover over a two-week period has left residents of the normally tranquil county saddened and shaken.
“It’s very disturbing,” said Jay T. “Tommy” Thompson, owner of the Mechanicsville Drug Store. “It’s kind of the talk of the town.”
On Jan. 21, a 16-year-old Atlee High School student was shot to death in what officers said was a drug deal-turned-robbery.
Over the weekend, a father and his 3-year-old twin daughters died after he apparently filled their Mechanicsville house with carbon monoxide from a car and slit his daughters’ throats.
Then, on Monday, police announced they were investigating the slaying of a Beaverdam woman inside her home. Police have arrested a boyfriend on charges of stealing her van.
Coming on the heels of the shooting death of a 17-year-old Lee-Davis High School student in December, it has been the deadliest stretch for Hanover since at least 1999.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Fairfax County police say vandals have done extensive damage to a mosque under construction in Chantilly.
Police received a report of destruction of property at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Mosque about 8:40 a.m. Monday. The Washington Post reports that the mosque’s firstfloor windows and glass were shattered by rocks. Damage was estimated at $60,000.
Police said there was no sign the building was entered. Several discarded liquor bottles were strewn around the grounds.
Brief by the Associated Press
MS-13
Authorities are investigating a link between a brutal stabbing in Richmond last month and the national street gang MS13.
Law enforcement authorities have arrested five suspects in the Jan. 14 abduction and stabbing of a 21-year-old man in South Richmond. Police said Tuesday that multiple suspects stabbed the victim as many as seven times, but he survived.
One of the suspects, Jose A. “Pantro” Bran, 28, of the 3400 block of Meadowdale Boulevard in Chesterfield County, is charged with gang participation. Court documents identify him as a participant in MS-13, a violent gang that originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s by immigrants fleeing El Salvador’s civil war.
The documents also say that Bran conspired to kill the stabbing victim for the benefit of MS-13, at the direction of the gang, or in association with MS-13.
A source familiar with the investigation said that authorities believe the violent attack is connected to recent activity in the Richmond area by an MS-13 clique known as Sailors Loco Salvatrucha Western, or SLSW. The group has ties to the Northern Virginia and Washington areas. Locally, authorities are aware of perhaps 10 members but are concerned to see they are committing crimes as a group, the source said.
Authorities urge residents to report any activity associated with the gang.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Eight months after a tornado laid waste to much of this city, Joplin is wrestling with an emotional question: Should the community market its devastated neighborhoods to tourists?
When the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau recently discussed offering guided bus tours and even a smartphone app, storm victims bristled, imagining that their shattered homes could be put on display for legions of curious sightseers.
But the bureau director says he wants to promote Joplin’s recovery to outsiders, insisting that the effort is “not about busted-up homes or destroyed cars or body parts.”
Signs of revival are slowly emerging from the ruins left by the May 22 tornado, which killed 161 people. Debris has been cleared, and The Home Depot and other stores have rebuilt. Hundreds of construction permits have also been issued.
So when a local television report raised the possibility that tourist buses could be allowed to crawl through neighborhoods leveled by one of the deadliest tornados in American history, people swiftly responded with angry calls and emails.
Bureau Director Patrick Tuttle said the proposal for disaster tours was only an idea, and it was rejected. It was merely a response to information requests from travelers, particularly those who passed through on Interstate 44 and stopped at a Missouri welcome center.
Brief by the Associated Press
U.S. intelligence officials acknowledged on Tuesday that the United States may release several Afghan Taliban prisoners from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an incentive to bring the Taliban to peace talks.
Meanwhile, Afghan officials said that a plan to give Afghanistan a form of legal custody over the men if they are released satisfied their earlier objection to sending the prisoners to a third country.
Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper told Congress on Tuesday that no decision had been made on whether to trade the five prisoners as part of nascent peace talks with the Taliban.
The prisoners proposed for transfer include some of the detainees brought to Guantanamo during the first days and weeks of the U.S. invasion that toppled the Taliban government in 2001. At least one has been accused in the massacre of thousands of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan, according to U.S. and other assessments, but none is accused of directly killing Americans.
Brief by the Associated Press
The nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates, creating a bitter rift linked to the abortion debate between two iconic organizations that have assisted millions of women.
The change will mean a cutoff of hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, mainly for breast exams.
Planned Parenthood says the move results from Komen bowing to pressure from anti-abortion activists.
Komen says the key reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation in Congress, a probe launched by a conservative Republican who was urged to act by anti-abortion groups.
Planned Parenthood said the Komen grants totaled roughly $680,000 last year and $580,000 the year before. They went to at least 19 of its affiliates for breast-cancer screening and other breast-health services.
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On the cover: 817 W. Broad St., P.O. Box 842010 Richmond, VA 23284-2010
Brief by the Associated Press
VCU SGA prepares to lobby General Assembly • 4 Brandcenter students win national competition • 4 Crime log • 5
Queen
Cammie Alston Theta Nu Xi sorority
Ashley Evans
National Pan-Hellenic Council
Olivia Francis Alpha Omicron Phi sorority
Hannah Norton Phi Mu sorority
Ha Phan Student Admissions Ambassadors
Taylor Brianna Price Alpha Gamma Delta sorority
Amanda Rogers
Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority
Mark Robinson Assistant News EditorOf the 13 candidates on the VCU homecoming court this year, all but two of them are associated with VCU Greek life.
One of those two, Demetrius “Demie-Lee” Carter, a senior broadcast journalism major, is sponsored by the Black Caucus. Carter said he thinks more Greek-affiliated students run for homecoming king and queen because of tradition, but does not think the contest unfairly favors them.
“I do think I am at a disadvantage because I am not Greek affiliated,” Carter said. “I do believe that being Greek gives you a great amount of votes due to the Greek community being very united. I just hope people vote base on my platform and not who I associate myself with.”
By rule, each student on homecoming court has to be sponsored by a VCU student organization or entity, but not necessarily a Greek one, said Christina Edwards, Homecoming chairwoman.
The process for choosing the homecoming king and queen naturally favors students with larger organizations backing them, Edwards said.
“(Greeks) have a bigger support base than someone running who’s from a smaller organization,” she said. “I think it’s more competitive on a Greek level… just knowing that you’re competing against other Greeks.”
The VCU homecoming king and queen are determined by a point system. Each court members’ participation or performance in the scheduled week of homecoming events, like the blood drive or the Residence Hall Step-Off, is awarded by points, which account for 70 percent of the weight. The student vote counts for the remaining 30 percent.
Members of the homecoming court are expected to promote the events to draw people out to support them. The student organization that sponsors them is supposed to help them accomplish this, Edwards said.
Edwards said she sent the homecoming court application to all 500 VCU student organizations through the List-
serv network, but received little interest from any non-Greek organizations.
“Some people just think it’s a Greek thing, but it’s not,” Edwards said. “People who aren’t Greek aren’t really accepting the opportunity given to them. They just think ‘Oh, it’s a Greek thing. I don’t want to run against Greeks.’ but it’s not.”
The Greek-affiliated student’s majority has not guaranteed victory in the past. Last year’s homecoming queen, Tania Bolden, was endorsed by the African Student Union, not a sorority.
Carter is hoping the trend of nonGreek affiliated success continues this year.
“I am not running for popularity,” he said. “I'm running because I want to show others that you don't need to be affiliated with any popular Greek organization to win.”
The 2011-2012 homecoming king and queen will be announced at halftime of the VCU Men’s Basketball Game against Northeastern this Saturday at the Siegel Center. CT
Stephanie Simpson Alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority
King
Alonza Bland, Jr. National Pan-Hellenic Council
Demetrius Lee Carter Black Caucus
Devin Andrew Pearson Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity
Tyler Torres Interfraternity Council
Steve Wistrom
Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity
As the General Assembly moves closer to passing a new state budget, VCU students and other college students across the state are letting lawmakers know what issues need to be addressed in the realm of higher education.
As part of the effort, VCU SGA will visit the state capitol Thursday to tell lawmakers what issues are important to VCU students during their Rams Day on the Hill event.
Student groups from Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech and William and Mary are also expected to attend.
VCU’s group of students will focus on telling legislators not to raise tuitions, asking for no discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation, increasing campus safety as well as increasing bike lanes and roads in Richmond.
According to SGA legislative issues and civic action chair Virag Patel, VCU will also be focusing on legislation that would grant money to VCU to help fund Cabell Library renovations.
“Our current library, it was made to only hold 15,000 students, (and) now we have over 30,000 students on campus,” Patel said. “(The) library hasn’t kept up the progress that VCU itself has made.”
Student groups aren’t the only ones asking the General Assembly to pay attention to state colleges and universities; state student-advocacy groups are also asking state lawmakers to invest in higher education.
Virginia21, a state student-advocacy group, will be holding their annual lobby day next Thursday, a week after VCU students’ unofficial lobbying day.
Tom Kramer, director at Virginia21, said the group has been focusing on their “What’s Your Number?” campaign, which is meant to raise aware-
Last Friday at 3:59 p.m., four VCU Brandcenter students poised themselves to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
The team of graduate advertising students won the title of “The World’s Most Innovative MBAs” and $20,000 at last week’s ninth annual Innovation Challenge.
The four-person team was first-year Brandcenter graduate students Jennifer Clinehens, Ryan Dowling, Katlyn Williams and Cody Pate. None of the team members are actually MBA students.
The team was awarded the lump sum to split evenly between them. In addition to reducing student loans and credit-card debt with their winnings, the team said they plan on throwing a small celebration at the Brandcenter in honor of all students who competed at the challenge. Two other VCU teams placed in their category at the challenge.
The win comes as a pleasant surprise to team leader Clinehens, who said she attributes the win to hard work and a good program.
“I think that’s just a testament to Brandcenter and VCU and this whole unique interdisciplinary program, and ... the value of hard work,” she said.
The team designed a solution that would increase efficiency and reduce costs for small businesses using cloud
platforms for sponsor AT&T Inc.
No major details of the project are released, as AT&T Inc. can use their idea commercially.
The team, called “Brandslam,” beat out 185 teams in the challenge, including teams from Yale, Standford, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.
“Not all the great thinkers are at just a handful of schools,” Clinehens said. “We’re everywhere.”
“It just goes to show that what the Brandcenter is teaching and what we’re learning and doing here can solve the exact same problems that MBAs are facing,” said Dowling, a creative technologist.
"This win serves to validate the Brandcenter’s focus on developing unexpected consumer insights and then using those insights to craft imaginative strategies that enhance the market power of brands. ... There is no better example of this approach at work than can be seen in the winning effort of our Innovation Challenge teams,” said Professor Don Just, faculty adviser to the Brandcenter teams who competed in the challenge.
But the team said even after winning the competition, there is still work to be done.
“You are only as good as the last thing you did,” Clinehens said. “It’s an honor, but we have to be realistic; we can’t skate by on this, we still have to work just as hard as everyone else." CT
ness about student debt.
“The idea is ... to have students talk to lawmakers about supporting our colleges in the upcoming state budget,” he said.
In Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposed budget, higher education was given $100 million to help keep tuition costs down, an issue that came to a head last spring at VCU when McDonnell proposed to withhold $17 million from the university after a 24 percent tuition increase.
“Colleges will be a huge winner in this budget, and students will be a huge winner in this budget, as long as the General Assembly passes it,” Kramer said.
Virginia21 plans to present a petition with 10,000 student signatures that shows support for the proposed budget Kramer said.
“The governor is making higher education a lot more important in the budget than he has in past years,” Kramer
said. “It’s come at the expense at many other state services, but ... if we want to have an educated workforce, we have to make these investments.”
According to Kramer, Virginia21 is also working on issues of campus safety, specifically on bills in the General Assembly that would allow guns on campus.
Currently, the group is focusing on House Bill 91, introduced by Republican delegate Bob Marshall of Manassas Kramer said.
The bill would allow full-time faculty members at public colleges and universities to carry a licensed, concealed weapon.
Kramer said Virginia21 opposes the bill and supports the current process, in which many schools’ Boards of Visitors decide on campus gun policies.
“Nobody in Richmond should be telling local ... colleges how to determine what’s safe and unsafe on (campuses),” he said. CT
Thursday, Jan. 26
Drug offense 400 block of West Broad Street – A male visitor was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school.
Alcohol violation 900 block of West Franklin Street – A male visitor was arrested for possession of an open container of alcohol.
Fraud offense At the corner of West Broad Street and Ryland Avenue – A female visitor was arrested for identity theft.
Friday, Jan. 27
Trespassing Club Xscape, 814 W. Grace St. – A male visitor was arrested for trespassing.
Drug offense At the corner of South Laurel and West Cary streets – A male visitor was arrested for possession of marijuana.
Saturday, Jan. 28
Disorderly conduct Laurel Street
Parking Deck, 805 W. Grace St. – A male visitor was arrested for urinating in public.
Alcohol violation/fraud offense
Gladding Residence Center, 711 W. Main St. – A female student was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol and forged ID to attempt to purchase alcohol.
Aggravated assault At the corner of South Cherry and West Cary streets – A male victim advised that he was assaulted by unknown person(s).
Alcohol violation Johnson Hall, 801 W. Franklin St. – A male student was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol.
Alcohol violation 922 Park Ave. – A male visitor was arrested for being drunk in public.
Vandalism of state property/alcohol violation 500 N. Harrison St. – A male visitor was arrested for vandalism. A male student was arrested for underage possession of alcohol.
Alcohol violation At the corner of West Broad and North Belvidere streets – A male visitor was arrested for possession of an open container of alcohol in public.
Sunday, Jan. 29
Disorderly conduct 7-Eleven, 1003 W. Grace St. – Two female visitors were arrested for disorderly conduct.
Alcohol violation 903 W. Catherine St. – A female student was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol.
Alcohol violation Brandt Hall, 710 W. Franklin St. – A female student was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol.
Burglary Metro Properties, 813 W. Broad St. – A male visitor and female student were arrested for attempted breaking and entering.
Fraud offense Croutons, Salads and Wraps, 805 W. Grace St. – A male employee advised that an unknown person(s) used counterfeit currency to obtain food.
Monday, Jan. 30
Theft from a motor vehicle 500 block of West Broad Street – A female victim advised that an unknown person(s) removed an item from an unsecured vehicle.
Compiled by VCU Police Reports
In this section:
Rob Brandenberg takes charge against William & Mary • 7 Special edition Brandenberg poster • 8 - 9
Smart sat in the middle, Rob Brandenberg to his left, and Troy Daniels and Juvonte Reddic hung off to his right. The third-year head coach of VCU was surrounded by a group of guys that, if you asked about them at the beginning of last year, would only be a question mark.
The Rams leading scorer and lone senior, Bradford Burgess, had just finished another poor shooting performance against William & Mary, and Smart sat at the post-game press conference sandwiched between two sophomores and a junior that, before this season, hadn’t really proved themselves.
But that’s just the way the days have been recently at VCU, where scoring could seemingly come from just about anybody at any moment. And Wednesday night at William & Mary was no different. The Rams (19-5, 10-2) had four players score in double-digits to boost a vastly diverse offense in a 87-78 win over the Tribe (4-20, 2-10).
“We have a lot of different guys that score,” Smart said. “Our (usual) leading
scorer was not in double-digits so that shows a lot of our depth.”
Depth has been the key for a young VCU team without a dominant leading scorer currently. Rob Brandenberg and Treveon Graham combined for 30 of the Rams’ 36 points off the bench. Brandenberg, who had missed 51 of his last 72 shots from the floor coming into Wednesday night’s game, was undoubtedly one of the main culprits in VCU’s treacherous shooting month of January. The sophomore guard shot 5-of-11 from the floor for 17 points at the Kaplan Arena, where he put up 22 just over a year ago.
“We’re all good scorers, and it’s just a confidence thing,” Brandenberg said. “Just stepping in every shot and believing you’re going to make it.”
The Rams shot 53 percent – their second best of the season – in a game where both team’s defenses seemed to take a night off. VCU has now shot above 40 percent in its last four games.
“To make shots you have to take them,” said junior guard Troy Daniels, who went 6-of-11 for 16 points. “And we’ve just got to step up and take them and make them.”
But perhaps VCU’s largest out-
put came from the 6-foot-9-inch, 235-pound Reddic who served as the team’s backbone with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting. The sophomore forward punished William & Mary with a career-high 28 points less than two weeks ago, and Wednesday night wasn’t much different.
“I think the last game playing against them boosted my confidence,” Reddic said, “and helped me play pretty good.”
VCU are now winners of eight straight heading into the meat of the conference season. Scoring is flowing in from all different angles, and the Rams are starting to roll. When asked if his team is ahead of schedule, Smart answered with a little bit of coach-speak.
“No, ’cause there is no schedule, we want to win every game,” he said. “If you told me we were going to be 19-5 at this point in the year and said, ‘Would you take that?’ I’m unrealistic; I want to win them all.” CT
VCU had four players score in doubledigits against William & Mary for the second time this season.
Photos by Chris Conway
Quinn Casteel Assistant Sports Editor
WILLIAMSBURG — Rob Brandenberg says he only does what’s going to help the team: Recently, helping the team has meant taking it upon himself to put points on the board.
The Ohio native continued his string of productive games on Wednesday against William & Mary, putting up 17 points in 27 minutes. He was most efficient driving into the paint with explosive moves and either kicking it out to a teammate or taking it to the hoop himself. He took only three threepointers, making one, and made 6-of-7 free throws.
“We want Rob attacking the basket,” said head coach Shaka Smart. “Over the past week, week and a half, we’ve got the new and improved Rob.”
VCU matched its season-high of 87 on Wednesday night, except this time it was the offense putting up all the points, not the defense, as was the case on Dec. 17 when the Rams put up 87 on UNC Wilmington thanks to 28 turnovers.
Wednesday night, VCU forced 13 turnovers but allowed the Tribe to pile up 78 points on 47 percent shooting. Offensively though, it was the Rams’ best shooting night of the season and a great deal of that credit belongs to Brandenberg. His quickness off the dribble, paired with his mentality of being a scorer and a defensive leader, has made him an invaluable threat for VCU, even when his jump shots are not falling.
“It’s just a confidence thing, stepping into every shot believing you’re going to make it,” Brandenberg said. “Coach (Smart) gives us the freedom to make plays off the dribble or catch and shoot, if it’s a good shot. It’s our responsibility to be ready to make a play when you get the ball.”
Brandenberg broke out of a monthlong slump against Towson a week earlier but has now scored 40 total points in his last three outings. With his explosive first step and ability to drive aggressively, he takes a great deal of pressure from VCU’s other weapons. Troy Daniels saw less attention from William & Mary defenders on the perimeter, and as a result knocked down four three-pointers.
Brandenberg took attention away from Juvonte Reddic as well, as Tribe big men were forced to come out and help on his drives. Reddic had a lot of one-on-one time with Tim Rusthoven in the paint and dominated the William & Mary forward for the second time this season, putting up 20 points.
For the second time in three games, it was Brandenberg who put the offense on his back, and it appears as though the cold streak is finally over. For him though, it’s the final score not the box score that he puts his stock into.
“It’s team first,” Brandenberg said. “Whatever happens with me, it happens, but I’ve just got to worry about what the team needs from me.” CT
-Shaka Smart
We want Rob attacking the basket.
In this section:
Students attend preview of new VCU arts center • 11 2012 Homecoming artist profiles • 12 CT Horoscopes for February: Bust my knees and call me shorty • 13
Susan and John Massey have been teaching at VCU for a collective total of more than 60 years, but their story together stretches far beyond the dance studio.
Susan Massey began teaching at VCU in 1976 but said she’s been teaching for about 52 years. While studying dance at the University of Utah, she started to work as a teacher in an afternoon dance class for children.
“I really wanted to perform,” Massey said. “I didn’t want to teach, but I got a lot of good experience going through school and teaching.”
Massey received her master’s degree in choreography from the University of Utah. She choreographed for a dance company in Utah before moving to Richmond.
“When I moved here, there wasn’t anywhere to perform, so I taught, and I just kept on teaching,” Massey said. “I always wanted to be a dancer, so it was not really deciding ‘oh, I think I’m going to teach dance.’ You just work into something like that.”
Massey said she simply called thendirector and current improvisation teacher at VCU, Frances Wessells, and asked if she needed a teacher for a ballet class at VCU. Wessells hired her without an interview.
“She asked what I needed, and I said that I’d like to have a piano, and (Wessells) said ‘Okay, I’ll find you a piano’ and she did. By the next class it was stolen,” Massey said of her first week teaching at VCU.
Massey is currently an adjunct faculty member at VCU and teaches full time at Richmond Ballet. In the past 36 years, she has taught every level of ballet and a course in dance history. This year though, she is teaching only non-major
dance classes at VCU, including Introduction to Ballet Technique I and II.
Junior theater major Emily Marsh took Massey’s Introduction to Ballet Technique I class last semester.
“She’s strict enough to keep people in line, and then at the same time, she really made ballet fun,” Marsh said. “She would always say little things, like in a changement, you’re supposed to point your feet, so her way of reminding us was to say, ‘You’ve got to be little bullets.’”
“I find that I enjoy teaching very much,” Massey said. “Today’s college-age students seem open to learning the art form and are eager to apply themselves.”
At the Richmond Ballet, Massey teaches all levels, from 10 and 12 year olds to adults. She also performs in Richmond Ballet productions as the grandmother in “The Nutcracker,” Giselle’s mother in “Giselle” and the queen in “Swan Lake.”
“I have the good fortune of performing those roles,” Massey said.
Susan Massey’s husband John Massey received his bachelor’s degree in drama in 1972 from VCU and has been teaching at VCU since 1980.
“I was helping the lady who was already teaching the class, and then she had to give it up, so it just fell into my lap (in 1983),” Massey said.
Prior to his teaching career, Massey was working toward becoming a stage dancer.
“I went to New York, and, of course, usually when you go to a place like New York you have to do everything else,” Massey said. “You have to work in a restaurant and do this, that and the other to earn a living.”
Massey was then given the opportunity to attend an Arthur Murray training class where he learned about ballroom dance. He then taught ballroom occasionally
Yesterday afternoon, listeners had to optimize all available seat, floor, wall and even aisle space in the presentation room of Bowe Street where Joseph Seipel, Dean of the School of the Arts, gave his preview presentation on VCUart’s soon-to-be-built Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA).
A free institute, the ICA will house a spectrum of performing, visual and design arts and more. Besides offering a space for scholarly lectures and classes, the ICA is expected to play home to various interdisciplinary collaborations between artists ranging from citywide to international, as well as collaborations between those in the medical, engineering, social work and other fields.
VCUarts has recruited famous architect Steven Holl as the architect for this monumental project. In 2012, Holl was awarded a Gold Medal, the highest honor, by the American Institute of Architects and has been the hand behind the construction of many innovative buildings created around the world.
The institute will be located at the intersection of Broad and Belvidere streets and will be the first building seen when exiting the expressway. With hundreds of passing cars per day, the
location is the most traveled section of Broad Street.
Holl, who was conscious of pedestrian traffic when formulating the design plans, wants the building to look very urban. There will be no walls around the perimeter of the building, which is meant to be accessible to all city residents. One projection screen of the second floor will actually face out toward the public and could display anything from films to photos from the institute.
“One of the things I find really interesting about (Holl’s) work,” Seipel shared of the building and its multiple entrances, “is it looks completely different in the round. There really isn’t a front or back to this building.”
The ICA itself will consist of three floors plus basement space with 37,000 total square feet of interior space. The institute will offer 9,800 square feet of space between four gallery spaces, a café, bookstore, forum area, classrooms and a sculpture garden. Additionally the building will house a 257-seat theater and performance art space, acoustically sound and with sprung floor for dancers.
Of the four galleries, the highest will feature 37 feet, floor to ceiling, of installation space, with a 17 to 18 foot average in the other three. The walls and floors of the gallery spaces, completely plain in comparison to the exterior design of the
rest of the building, will be constructed from concrete to allow the easy installation of artwork of all forms. Holl, according to Seipel, refers to the potential building as “an instrument to be played.”
“You really could be in a Chelsea gallery (of New York City),” Seipel said.
While the institute will most likely primary focus on professional contemporary work – mostly themed shows, Seipel said – there will be the opportunity for students to exhibit their work. Much of what is displayed at the ICA is expected to be “edgy” and “challenging” work, perhaps not the kind of thing you’d see in the VMFA. And the Anderson Gallery isn’t going anywhere – this is just one more opportunity for students to display their work.
While all funds for the project are private contributions, and therefore having no effect on VCU tuitions or accepting state funds, Seipel suggested that VCU students show their enthusiasm for the project and its completion by donating towards its construction, be it 50 cents or 500 dollars.
A 32-million-dollar project, VCUarts is still approximately 19 million dollars away from beginning the construction of the building. While there is no official opening date set because of this reason, Seipel expects the doors to open sometime in the fall of 2015. CT
until 1980, when he started teaching ballroom dance full time at VCU.
“What I think I like most about (ballroom dance) is that, besides just moving with another person as one, ballroom people, people dancing together, they’re not angry with each other,” Susan Massey said. “They wouldn’t be dancing together. It’s a happy kind of thing to do.”
John Massey has never competed as a ballroom dancer but does encourage his students to aim for competitions.
“I just want them to set their sights high, and then, they may not become competitors, but they will certainly be better dancers,” he said.
Susan and John Massey met through working in the VCU dance department. John Massey taught in the evenings, and Susan Massey taught in the mornings, so they passed by each other every day at the door of the dance offices.
John Massey also pursued Susan to practice a dance with him.
“He kept after me, so I said, ‘all right, I have an hour on Tuesday,’” Susan Massey said. “That hour just flew by. He walked me to my car because he was such a nice man, such a gentleman, and said, ‘Well, it’s too bad you’re so busy,’ and I said, ‘Oh, well I have all day tomorrow.’”
“We just started dancing closer and closer together,” John Massey said.
“And then we were married,” Susan Massey said, completing his sentence. CT
VCU’s 2012 Homecoming is just a few days away, and students are pumped for the annual concert. VCU has been known to grab great performers in past years like Drake, J. Cole, and Wale, and this year is no different.
Growing up in Compton, Calif., rapper/songwriter Kendrick Lamar was exposed to hip hop at a very early age. In 2003, his first mixtape, “Youngest Head N---In Charge,” kickstarted his career, and he was soon signed to Top Dawg Entertainment. Since then, he has worked with many acclaimed artists including Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Drake and Wiz Khalifa. In 2010, Lamar toured with legendary hip hop artist Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on “The Independent Grind” tour. He was most recently featured on XXL Magazine’s 2011 Freshman Cover which annually acknowledges upand-coming hip hop artists. Kendrick Lamar’s music combines the often rough vernacular of rap music and the softer sound of R&B to create a rare kind of sound that can be compared with both The Isley Brothers and Tupac.
Outasight, also known as Richard Andrew, is mostly known for his 2011 hit single “Tonight is the Night” which has been used in the most recent Pepsi campaign. He has described his music as “eclectic,” drawing from several genres of music like hip hop, soul and rock. Outasight was formerly known as just “Outsight” and performed as an independent singer and rapper in New York at several different open-mic nights. He is quoted as saying, “If there was any sort of opportunity, I’d jump on it.” His desire for success was achieved when PepsiCo, a company who had hired musicians such as Britney Spears and Michael Jackson, utilized his music.
“I love the song ‘Tonight is the Night.’ It just makes me want to get up and dance,” said VCU student Anna Branch.
The headlining act for VCU’s 2012 homecoming is rapper Big Sean, who in 2011 became one of the most popular artists in the U.S. In 2007, he released a mixtape titled “Finally Famous,” which got him noticed by music industry big shots. However, it was his first album with the same exact title that helped him attain popularity with the American public. His single “Marvin & Chardonnay” was an upbeat hip hop song featuring Kanye West, and its sound was incomparable with anything that was playing on the radio at the time. It was Big Sean’s song “Dance (A$$),” that won over not only every club in the United States, but every radio station and iPod kept the song on repeat.
The song became 2011’s “twerkin” anthem, and females across the nation were “shakin’ that ass” as Big Sean so wonderfully instructs in his song.
Tia Smith, a freshman at VCU who had previously attended one of his concerts described the experience as “hype as s---” and thinks that he is a great choice for the Homecoming concert at the Siegel Center. CT
april 20 – May 20
Jan. 20 – Feb. 18
Your well-intentioned but poorly-thought-out comment on your African-American friend’s hair texture this month leads to the road to hell’s long-awaited completion.
Feb. 19 – March 20
When called out for blatantly lying through your teeth at work this month, assure them that you really do know anything at all about the topic you teach and really will get back to that.
March 21 – april 19
It turns out you really are a psychopath, but your mother’s heartbreak and mental collapse at hearing this news don’t bother you all that much, fortunately.
The recurring nightmare makes a comeback this month: You’re sitting in a crowded lecture hall taking an exam when you realize, to your horror, you’re completely unlovable.
May 21 – June 20
Your beloved Nibbles is attacked and devoured by the family cat this month. But cheer up: Grandma Nibbles lived a good life.
June 21 – July 22 Saturn ascendant in the constellation Cancer invites you to portend your own damn future this month.
July 23 – aug. 22
One day you’ll look back on all this and laughand then weep, later, in private.
aug. 23 – Sept. 22
The cosmos understands you have a troubled past, but it would like to point out how it exploded once, as in it blew up. You don’t see the cosmos whining and crying and putting on some huge production.
Sep. 23 – Oct. 22
You’ll spend most evenings crying yourself to sleep this month, much to the resentment of insomniacs across the nation.
Oct. 23 – nOv. 21
Remember: If a Supreme Being or other higher power had meant for you to accept people different from yourself, it would have given you the mental capacity to do so.
nOv. 22 – Dec. 21
Continue to woo the love of your life’s affections by promising them a permanent moon base by the end of your second term.
Dec. 22 – Jan. 19
Fears of dying alone will prove unfounded this month when 23 ravenous piranhas keep you company for those last agonizing minutes.
In
Katherine Johnson Columnist
According to a new study by Britain’ s University of Worchester, there is “an association between the increasingly popular use of Web-enabled cell phones and a rise in stress levels.”
Surprise, surprise.
People are connected to others more than ever these days through socialnetworking sites and texting. There’s an overwhelming urge and social pressure to stay updated and in touch.
Having constant reliable access to others puts an unique pressure on us. While ordinary cellphones posed a similar stress problem, the addition of Facebook, Twitter and Internet access to our phones has multiplied that stress and brought it to new heights.
By feeling the pressure to quickly respond to messages or update our social media pages, we’re letting our phones take our attention away from other tasks at hand that are usually more important. This could range from priority tasks like homework and driving, to menial tasks like shopping and walking. In fact, 23 percent of the respondents “had tripped or fallen while texting.”
All of us have heard numerous anecdotes of accidents caused by drivers who were too preoccupied with their phone to give the road attention. Even as pedestrians here in Richmond, we must be alert to drivers and should walk with our heads up to avoid walking into traffic. While pedestrians have the right of way, they must also look out for themselves and their safety and not rely on the drivers.
In 2008, there were 1,000 incidents that resulted in emergency room visits by pedestrians involved in texting accidents. Although this information is now four years old, there has surely been an increase in accidents since our reliance on technology grows every year.
College students may be the worst offenders of all and can only improve by addressing the problem. Young adults shouldn’t feel stress in waiting for a response from a friend or replying as fast as they can.
The best way to lessen the stress of your phone is by taking baby steps. If you’re in the middle of a conversation but know you won’t be able to reply quickly, just tell the other person
you’ll get back to them when you can, or just don’t text them back. Easy, basic, common-sense solutions to our smartphone-stress problem are rapidly available; only regular practice and dedication withhold their implementation.
Most severely, however, is the fact that we’re letting our face-to-face interactions with people suffer from our over-reliance on cell phones.
As a society, we’re more socially awkward now than ever since we
can just shoot off a text or post on someone’s wall instead of actually talking. People also keep their phones out when they’re not even using it in order to stay entertained or look like they’re busy to avoid others.
When it comes time for an interview or simply making small talk, too many of us don’t know what to do. It’s important to be tech savvy in every job setting, but being a good communicator and speaker is also critical.
As hard as it may seem, the best
option may be to put the phone down, at least for a little while. This seemingly 24-hour access to others has negatively impacted us to feel like we must respond immediately to keep up to date.
We shouldn’t make our digital lives a priority and shift our attention when working on other things just because we can’t respond on the spot, which we see in class when students are on the phone.
It’s important to take time away from the phone and enjoy what we’re doing in the moment. CT
this section: How smartphones are dumbing us down • 14 Twitter’s censorship policy not a step backwards • 15
Twitter’s reputation as a free-speech haven has been tainted, in the view of some, by the announcement of its new censorship policy.
Grounded in its ability to help citizens speak out and organize if needed, many activists and young leaders feel betrayed by the network they once praised. They now fear this policy could potentially undermine and silence the voices that need to be heard most.
Twitter announced that it would begin to censor tweets in efforts to expand its company from 100 million to 1 billion users. Chiefly to abide by the laws of different countries, Twitter plans to block any content deemed illegal. Content will, however, still be available in cyberspace, thus able to be viewed everywhere else.
Because Twitter has become a social force, many worry that this policy could destroy the service’s freedom-
of-expression philosophy and perhaps more importantly, its capability to start impromptu social movements. But their decision to censor tweets is a subtle step forward, rather than the backwards move most think it is.
Contrary to what most think, Twitter is doing the best – better than any other social network thus far – it can under the circumstances it has. As a company who wants to expand into foreign territory, Twitter has to respect the laws of each country it enters. What most fail to realize is that freedom of expression varies by country, as well as the delicacy of negotiation involved. By the same token, Twitter isn’t doing anything new. Internet companies have always removed content that is illegal in one country or another. For example, Facebook removes content that is deemed illegal in certain countries, including the U.S. However, they do not always explain why or for what reason. The only new thing Twitter is doing is retracting content only in those countries where it is
illegal, and if the authorities there make a valid request.
Although this could possibly weaken the usefulness of Twitter in more authoritarian countries, Twitter does keep the content available on the Internet. According to the New York Times, users can manually set their location or choose “worldwide” to circumvent the blocking system entirely. For instance, a user in Syria could change their locational setting to “worldwide” and view tweets from around the world. The fears that censorship will silence potential revolts or revolutions are overblown.
Twitter is still the same at heart. The new policy still leaves room for the freedom-of-expression ideology most fell in love with from the beginning. Activists and young leaders alike shouldn’t feel betrayed by Twitter –but instead grateful – that they were notified of the new changes and that Twitter honors the laws and conduct of their particular country.
By expanding itself into more conservative countries – countries that can rightly be called oppressive – Twitter is building a foundation for which citizens are now oppressed and unable to express free speech. Democracy can be a slippery slope, and by establishing itself in these countries, perhaps Twitter can help freedom of speech win out. CT
Opinions expressed are those of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Commonwealth Times or Virginia Commonwealth University. Unsigned editorials represent the institutional opinion of The CT.
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COMIC | “Trying too hard” by Andy Kay
