On
Virginia’s execution team is engaging in the unlicensed practice of medicine, pharmacy and anesthesiology, claims an unusual challenge to lethal injection filed Tuesday.
The complaint, filed in Richmond Circuit Court, names the director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, the unnamed execution team leader (the identity of team members are confidential) and other prison officials as defendants.
The defendants are not authorized under state law to request, dispense, distribute, give and/or obtain or intravenously administer as a general anesthetic controlled prescription substances to condemned inmates, alleges the complaint.
Virginia has conducted 79 lethal injections since it became an option to the electric chair in 1995. The state’s lethal injection procedures have withstood a number of legal challenges over the years.
Meghan Shapiro, an Alexandria lawyer, and a colleague filed the complaint. She said they do not represent a death row inmate and are entitled under state law to file a challenge against any person engaged in the unauthorized practice of any profession.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Governor urges colleges to hold tuition hikes under 3 percent
As the state's colleges and universities prepare to set tuition rates, Gov. Bob McDonnell has written school presidents and board members urging them to keep increases below 3 percent.
In a two-page letter Friday, McDonnell urged public schools to tie tuition increases “for the fall semester and beyond” to the Consumer Price Index. That rate for the past 12 months was 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustments.
McDonnell noted in his letter that the General Assembly approved a two-year budget that provides more than $230 million in new funding for higher education “with the clear understanding” that in-state rates would be held down.
So far only the University of Virginia has set rates for the next academic year. U.Va.'s board increased in-state tuition and mandatory fees by 3.7 percent, which was the lowest increase since 2001-02.
Virginia Commonwealth University's board was scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss rates for next year, but the meeting was postponed because of the assembly's delay in adopting the state budget, said Rector Thomas G. Snead. The board is scheduled to meet May 10 to review options and vote the next day.
Snead and VCU President Michael Rao said they were grateful for the additional state funding but couldn't say whether the university could abide by the governor's request.
“He's absolutely right,” Rao said of the governor's call to control costs to reduce the amount of student borrowing.
But VCU needs to add faculty, Rao said, and because the school enrolls primarily in-state students the university can't “lean on out-of-state revenue” to supplement its budget.
VCU increased tuition and mandatory fees by 7.9 percent for the current year, which was far below the 24 percent spike the year before that drew a public rebuke from McDonnell.
Statewide, increases for tuition and mandatory instructional fees averaged 9.7 percent for the current academic year as public schools sought to make up shortfalls resulting from five consecutive years of state budget cuts. The increases averaged 7.9 percent when all mandatory fees, such charges for athletics, health services and student activities, are included.
Tuition rates are set by boards of visitors for the 15 public four-year institutions and by the State Board for Community Colleges for the 23 two-year colleges.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the agency that enforces the nation's job discrimination laws has ruled that transgender people are protected from bias in the workplace.
The decision late last week from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said that a refusal to hire or otherwise discriminate on the basis of gender identity is by definition sex discrimination under federal law.
While some federal courts have reached the same conclusion in recent years, employment law experts say the EEOC decision is groundbreaking because it sets a national standard of enforcement that offers employers clear guidance on the issue.
The case involved a California woman who claimed she was denied a contractor job with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after the contractor learned she had undergone a procedure to change her gender from a man to a woman.
Brief by the Associated Press
Federal officials unsealed a new federal indictment Tuesday against Mexico's most-wanted drug boss Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as “El Chapo,” leader of the Sinaloa cartel and one of the world's richest men.
The 14-count indictment was returned April 11, but federal officials announced it Tuesday in El Paso. The 28-page indictment names Guzman and “co-leader of the cartel” Ismael Zambada Garcia, along with 22 other men. It alleges they were involved in the operations and management of the cartel, which they say has moved thousands of kilograms of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S. and used the profits to wage war against their rivals and the Mexican government.
The indictment targets the infrastructure of the Sinaloa Cartel, officials said. Although Guzman and Zambada have been indicted elsewhere in the U.S., this indictment focuses on their operations in the El Paso area, Ciudad Juarez and the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
If convicted, the defendants face sentences of up to life in a federal prison.
Brief by the Associated Press
Drug maker Novartis is taking legal action in Britain to make state-run hospitals use an eye drug that costs about 700 pounds ($1,130) per shot instead of a cheaper one that costs 60 pounds ($97).
In a statement, Novartis said it was calling for a judicial review “as a last resort” because it believed patient safety was being potentially compromised.
According to the U.K.'s health watchdog, Novartis' Lucentis is the only drug recommended to treat the eye problem macular degeneration in the country's state-run National Health Service hospitals.
However, several NHS hospitals have been prescribing the much cheaper Avastin, a cancer drug made by Genentech Inc., a subsidiary of Roche, for the same problem even though it has not been officially approved.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last year showed Avastin worked just as well as Lucentis for treating the eye disorder.
Most U.K. doctors only prescribe drugs approved by the health watchdog, but have the discretion to use other treatments if they believe they are warranted.
Brief by the Associated Press
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Students at a Richmond elementary school learned about the value of hard work Monday from a trio of Virginia leaders, including VCU men's basketball coach Shaka Smart.
Gov. Bob McDonnell and former Navy SEAL John McGuire joined Smart to tell fifth-graders at Overby-Sheppard Elementary School that there is no easy path to success.
“One of you might be the next governor in 20 years; one of you might be the next president. ... It’s all up to you,” McDonnell said.
The governor said members of VCU’s men’s basketball team, which has made national headlines for its success on the court, illustrated the need for personal commitment and dedication.
“Nobody handed them their dreams. ... They had to work hard every day. They had to work in the classroom. They had to work countless hours in the gym,” McDonnell said.
“There’s no easy way to success. There’s no shortcuts.”
Smart echoed the governor’s message.
“I think that what you want to do is … admire people that have the qualities that are going to lead you to be successful,” he said.
“Hard work, teamwork – people that go about doing things the right way.”
After hearing such words of inspiration, the fifth-graders participated in team-building exercises. They got help from instructors from McGuire’s physical fitness company, SEAL Team Physical Training Inc., as well as from VCU basketball players.
Demonstrating the importance of working together, the students carried their fellow classmates in short relaystyle races and used their combined strength to pull the SEAL Team PT Hummer.
Zakarie Mello, one of the students, said that meeting the governor was a “great opportunity.” She also enjoyed the outside activities.
“It was fun; we got active today,” Mello said.
Amanda Fuhrman, a fifth-grade science and language arts teacher, summed up the day’s events: “I hope they learn they can do anything they put their minds to.” CT
Walking into Cabell Library, it might be easy to miss the posters featuring four zombified workers – The Working Dead, as they've come to call themselves.
But by 10 p.m., The Working Dead have come alive.
Since Cabell Library began operating on a 24-hour, five-day a week schedule, four employees at Cabell have overseen the late-night and early morning shifts.
KJ Ricasata, who is planning on returning to VCU this fall, works from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. during the week. He works with VCU alum Noel Aguado, who works from 10:30 p.m. until 7 a.m. Topher HanceGeorge works from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Malcolm Sharp works from 1:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Each of the employees are featured in artwork inspired by the television series, “The Walking Dead” and created by Cabell Library's building manager, Dave Morrison.
Morrison first drew the four on the whiteboard that greets library visitors. The library has since turned it into a poster to use as a way of advertising their new extended hours.
Other colleges want in on Morrison's artwork too: Penn State has asked to use Morrison's artwork to also advertise their 24-hour library service.
Ricasata has been working with VCU Libraries for six years while Aguado just began working for the library when the 24/5 schedule was adopted in March.
Both Aguado and Ricasata said the hardest part of the job is not falling asleep, but it's not as hard as some might think.
“You kind of take it day by day,” Ricasata said. “Some days you just feel like your insides are liquefying, like a breakdown on the atomic level, but it's not that bad.”
In the first week of switching to the new schedule, a VCU Libraries press
“Between 4 (a.m.) and 7 (a.m.) is pretty much the witching hour where everything is slow and sleepy,” Ricasata said.
considered operating as a completely 24hour, seven-days-a-week library.
ARL libraries typically operate on such a schedule and while nothing has been finalized for a 24/7 schedule, Cabell has been steadily increasing their operating hours since the beginning of last semester when they extended weekday hours to 2 a.m.
release said more than 2,000 students visited the library.
From what Ricasata can tell, the number of students coming in to the library overnight is only increasing.
Both Ricasata and Aguado said they have observed a lull in activity around 4 a.m., two hours later than they've noticed in the past.
Although it wouldn't do anything to help Ricasata and Aguado's sleep schedules, both overnight workers can see the value of Cabell's switch to 24 hours.
“I think it's in high demand,” Aguado said.
As part of a goal to become a member in the national Association for Research Libraries, Cabell Library has tentatively
“If we had the resources for (a 24-hour, seven-daya-week schedule), I'm all for it,” Ricasata said. “I know we're trying to stay competitive with other libraries in Virginia. I think 24/5 is a good start for now (and) I think we'll garner a lot of info from this first test run and see where we go from there.”
Aguado agreed with Ricasata, but had one additional idea:
“Just don't make me work weekends.” CT
According to the annual Safety and Fire Report, larceny is the No. 1 crime by a large margin.
Last Thursday, VCU students refused to let another one occur at VCU by chasing a thief down in the act.
Students in the Eugene P. and Lois E. Trani Center for Life Sciences building chased and captured an alleged thief with outstanding warrants who, according to Mike Porter, VCU public relations specialist, is also a suspect in several other campus larcenies.
The suspect, 33-year-old Kevin M. Wheeler, was charged with larceny, trespassing and possession of a syringe.
At around 2 p.m., a student called police while witnessing a homeless man rummage through a purse in the Center for Life Sciences. Other students chased him out of the building when Wheeler allegedly dumped his syringe into a trash can.
As seen in a video recorded by VCU journalism students Zachary Holden and Nicolas Nightingale via an iPad used for a social-media class, the students surrounded the suspect and waited for police to arrive.
Coincidentally, Holden and Nightingale were working on a story about daytime crime when the students and Wheeler ran by them. Upon seeing the event, Holden and Nightingale pulled out their class-provided iPads and
filmed the action as it took place.
“I was walking, when two gentlemen brushed right past me, screaming, ‘Stop that guy, stop that guy,” VCU student Yash Barot told Holden and Nightingale in one of their iPad interviews.
Speaking with CBS6, Nightingale said the timing worked out well for his story.
“It was a moment of luck, doing a story on daytime crime,” Nightingale told CBS6.
Holden and Nightingale were standing outside the Cary Street Gym when they said students run by shouting “thief.”
The two students are in Mass Communications 491: Social Media Journalism. The course works with WTVR
CBS 6 in Richmond to give students a chance to work with new technologies, such as the iPad, which – according to professor Marcus Messner – “are changing media.
“Students already understand that an iPad is a cool device, but I wanted to show them how to adapt the journalism skills they’ve learned from other classes for social and mobile media using iPads,” said Messner in a VCU press release regarding the course. CT
To see more work performed by the “iPadjournos” visit http://wtvr.com/tag/ ipadjournos.
“
Some days you just feel like your insides are liquefying, like a breakdown on the atomic level, but it's not that bad.”
Thursday, April 19
Drug offense 1400 block of West Marshall Street – A male student was arrested for possession of marijuana.
Grand larceny Rhoads Hall, 710 W. Franklin St.- A female student and two male students advised that an unknown person(s) removed items from an unsecured location.
Petit larceny Cary Street Gym, 101 S. Linden St. – A male student advised that an unknown person(s) removed items from a location.
Threaten bodily harm 1333 W. Broad St. – A female victim advised that an unknown person threatened her.
Trespassing/drug offense/petit larceny Life Sciences Building, 1000 W. Cary St. – A male visitor was arrested for trespassing, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and petit larceny.
Friday, April 20
Aggravated assault 100 block of South Cherry Street – A male victim advised that an unknown person assaulted him.
Alcohol violation At the corner of West Cary and South Linden streets –A female visitor was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Disorderly conduct 300 block of West Franklin Street – A male visitor was arrested for soliciting in the median.
Disorderly conduct ABC Store, 1217 W. Broad St. – A male visitor was arrested for soliciting within 20 feet of an ABC Establishment.
Drug offense 600 block of North Lombardy Street – A male visitor was arrested for possession of a Schedule III substance.
Drug offense 1005 Grove Ave. – Two female students were arrested for possession of marijuana.
Saturday, April 21
Burglary Brandt Hall, 710 W. Franklin St. – A female student advised that an unknown person(s) removed items from an unsecured location
Drug offense 600 block of West Main Street – A female visitor and a juvenile visitor were arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana
Grand larceny Cary Street Field, 1001 W. Cary St. – A male student advised that an unknown person(s) removed an item from a secured location.
Sunday, April 22
Alcohol violation At the corner of West Cary and South Pine streets – A male visitor was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Drug offense 2111 Maplewood Ave. – A male student was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana.
Theft from motor vehicle 900 block of Cumberland Street – A victim advised that an unknown person(s) removed items from an unsecured vehicle.
Theft from motor vehicle 600 W. Grace St. – A victim advised that an unknown person(s) removed items from a vehicle.
Monday, April 23
Theft from motor vehicle 1100 W. Grace St. – A victim advised that an unknown person(s) removed items from a secured location.
Jim Swing Sports Editor
After six years at the helm, VCU Director of Athletics Norwood Teague announced Monday afternoon he is leaving the Rams organization for the same title at the University of Minnesota.
Teague was hired by VCU in July of 2006 after having worked in athletic departments at the University of Virginia, Arizona State and the University of North Carolina. He was rumored over the weekend to be the sole finalist in Minnesota’s search for a new athletic director, and the hire was made official Monday.
Pending approval by the university’s Board of Regents, Teague will start the job July 1.
“Saying its difficult to leave VCU is an understatement for me personally. The past six years have been a special
experience for me,” Teague said in a release. “I cannot thank the VCU community adequately. There are so many people that I owe my gratitude. It's an amazing place that will continue to ascend. I will deeply miss the VCU family but know our paths will cross often.”
Their paths will most certainly cross in November when both VCU and Minnesota men’s basketball programs take part in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament held in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Teague will replace current Minnesota athletic director Joe Maturi, who is set to retire on June 30. In his introductory press conference at Minnesota, Teague said one of the major influences in his decision to leave VCU was his desire to be at a school with a football program. For years the question of whether or not to build a foundation for football at VCU has lingered around the school’s higher ups.
During his tenure with the organization, Teague wasn’t able to bring football to VCU, but he did leave a lasting impression.
“VCU athletics have excelled during Norwood’s tenure, raising our stature as a national public research university,” VCU President Michael Rao said in the release. “The VCU community and fans across the country revel in winning on and off the playing fields. As a university, we are particularly proud of the academic success of our student-athletes.”
Since being hired at VCU in 2006 by then-President Eugene Trani, Ph.D., Teague has made his mark on multiple areas of the school’s athletic department.
One of his most significant accomplishments came when he hired men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart, a booming young star that has led the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances in his three years at the school.
Teague hired Smart after the departure of head coach Anthony Grant, who left VCU in 2009 for the same position at Alabama.
Grant slipped away, but Teague somehow managed to keep Smart even after the 35-year-old led his team to the NCAA’s Final Four in 2011 and Round of 32 a year later.
�Norwood Teague had a profound effect on my life and career. He took an interest in me as a young assistant coach, gave me a phenomenal opportunity at VCU and wholeheartedly supported us every step of the way over the past three years,� Smart said in the release. �He demonstrated an uncommon loyalty and genuine care for me as a coach and as a person. Norwood is a terrific communicator who has a fantastic way with people. He will find great success at Minnesota.� CT
For anyone questioning Norwood Teague’s character and his decision to leave VCU for the athletic director position at Minnesota, just stop now.
In six years with VCU, Teague did more for the school’s sports programs than many AD’s will do in a decade or two and was liked – if not loved – by most everyone around the university. Among other accomplishments, he uncovered a transcendent basketball coach in Shaka Smart and
found a way to keep him around even when he started getting multi-million dollar offers from high-major schools.
He hired a men’s soccer coach, in Dave Giffard, who has once again instilled a winning mentality in the program. The same goes for the women’s team, where Teague made an unorthodox but highly successful hire in Tim and Tiffany Sahaydak, who have made strides as a husband-and-wife head-coaching tandem. Even niche sports like tennis and golf sustained their dominance in the CAA throughout Teague’s tenure.
On top of everything on the field, VCU athletes are graduating at a higher rate than ever before with an average GPA of 3.0.
Teague has also played a major role in bringing VCU’s name recognition and revenues to an all-time high.
In other words, all the good things that Smart and the basketball team have been credited for, in regards to improving the university’s image the past couple years, can ultimately be traced back to Teague.
And for that, he should be applauded, not resented for taking a better job. And yes, let’s face it: Minnesota is a better job as an athletic director than VCU, and not just because of the pay raise.
As AD of the Golden Gophers, Teague gets to take the reins of a Big Ten football program in major need of a facelift but with very good potential. He is admittedly a football guy, which for the past six years of his life has been a void for him. Instead, he had to focus his attention on basketball, and all he did was help take VCU to a level that no one thought it had the capacity to reach.
But now, he enters an athletic director’s dream as he tries to rebuild the formerlystrong football program at Minnesota. He also inherits a high-quality basketball program, which has made the NCAA Tournament two of the past three seasons under head coach Tubby Smith.
For Teague, the decision to make the move to Minnesota was a logical one, and he’s not exactly crippling the athletic department at VCU by doing so. He leaves the school with perhaps its brightest sports outlook in history, highlighted of course by the men’s basketball team.
The cynic’s perspective in all this is that Teague bailed on VCU’s athletic program, the basketball team and more specifically Smart, because Smart turned down a Big Ten job with Illinois just a few weeks ago to stay with the Rams. Cynics would argue that Teague should have matched Smart’s loyalty and stayed along for the ride.
However, the more optimistic and frankly more rational view is that Teague’s position as an athletic director is not the same as Smart’s as a head coach.
Different people, different jobs.
As coach, Smart’s work at VCU is just getting started; if he leaves, the wheels come off. If Teague leaves, everything is OK because his job was to lay the groundwork, not coach basketball or any other sport. Yes, he had plenty of other duties as well, but for the most part he’s done his job, and it was time for him to move on to other things.
That said, for all of you that are feeling cynical, circle Thanksgiving Weekend, Nov. 22-24 on your calendars. VCU and Minnesota are both in the eightteam field for the 2012 Battle 4 Atlantis preseason men’s basketball tournament in the Bahamas and have three guaranteed games each. Should the two teams square off, it’s going to be an awkward but highly motivational affair; one that Smart, his players and whoever VCU brings in as the new AD will want to put on their résumés. CT
Staff reports
A year after falling just short in the Colonial Athletic Association title game, the VCU women's soccer team has released its 2012 season schedule.
Sunday, Aug. 12 RICHMOND, 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 17 HIGH POINT, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 19 at Longwood, 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 24 vs. Akron at Tennessee, 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 26 at Tennessee, 3 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 2 VILLANOVA, 1 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 7 at American, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 9 PITTSBURGH, 1 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 14 UMBC, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 21 at William & Mary, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 23 at Old Dominion, 1 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 28 HOFSTRA, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 30 NORTHEASTERN, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 4 TOWSON, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 7 at George Mason, 2 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 12 at Georgia State, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 14 at UNC Wilmington, 2 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 19 DREXEL, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 21 DELAWARE, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 24 at James Madison, 7 p.m.
In this section:
VCU unveils design for the $32-million Institute for Contemporary Art • 11 VCU's Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’ s Studies’ art opening focuses on the war on women • 12
VCU Opera’s spring production of the operas, “The Old Maid and the Thief” and “Amelia goes to the Ball” premieres this Friday.
Both operas were written by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who is best known for his opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and for founding the Spoleto Festival. The Spoleto Festival is the world’s largest performing arts festival, located in Charleston, S.C. every spring.
The first opera, “The Old Maid and the Thief,” was originally commissioned by NBC and premiered on the radio in 1939 before being adapted for the stage. It is credited with being the first opera ever composed specifically for radio.
“The Old Man and the Thief” follows an elderly woman and her maid as they help a young traveler they have taken into their house, despite their questions about his past.
“Its based in the ’40s during the depression. It’s primarily about Mrs. Todd being an old spinster,” said Abigail Stinnett, a senior vocal performance major who plays Mrs. Todd. “She’s lonely and this man comes into her life. She’ll basically do anything to keep him in her life.”
“‘The Old Maid and the Thief’ has shorter scenes that sometimes reuse the same material,” said Daniel Myssyk, director of orchestral studies and conductor. “It’s rhythm is quick, and the music is closely connected to the words. It is mainly declamatory.”
The second one-act opera, “Amelia Goes to the Ball,” is Menotti’s first successful opera buffa as a composer. An opera buffa is a short opera, generally composed of lighter music and a limited number of singers.
“‘Amelia Goes to the Ball’ forms more of a continuum. There is a flow to it that makes it unified in terms of texture and color,” Myssyk said.
“Amelia Goes to the Ball” is a farce based around the life an Italian socialite as she overcomes an eager lover and a jealous husband in order to attend the first ball of the season.
“You see this whole drama unfold between the lover and the husband quarreling,” said Kelsey Snyder, a junior vocal performance major. “You have to go to the show to see if she goes to the ball or not.”
“These two single-act operas are essentially comical in nature,” Myssyk said. “I doubt that anyone could take anything in them seriously. They are organized very differently, both structurally and musically.”
Last year’s spring opera placed second in a National Opera Association competition. The competition includes the orchestra, the singers, the costumers and the technicians.
“I think we have a really good chance of winning first place this year. We just have to work really hard,” Stinnett said. CT
Both operas premiere Friday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 29 at 4 p.m. at The Singleton Performing Arts Center in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for VCU faculty and seniors and $8 for VCU students.
Nick Bonadies Spectrum Editor
After several months of sneak peeks of the design for their $32-million Institute for Contemporary Art, VCU and the world-famous Steven Holl Architects unveiled the building’s final design this past Wednesday.
The 38,000-square-foot building will contain multiple multi-use programming spaces for the presentation of visual art, theater, music, dance, film and other mediums for students as well as public audiences. The design also includes a 247-seat auditorium, outdoor plazas, a sculpture garden, classrooms, a café and administrative offices.
The ICA’s multi-faceted and pointedly “open” design, including a first-story cafe by a sculpture garden, will allow the building to also function as a gathering place for students and the public.
“We have designed the building to be a flexible, forward-looking instrument that can illuminate the transformative possibilities of contemporary art,” said architect Steven Holl in an official statement. “Like many contemporary artists working today, the ICA’s design does not draw distinctions between the visual and performing arts. The fluidity of the design allows for experimentation, and will encourage new ways to display and present art that will capitalize on the ingenuity and creativity apparent throughout the VCU campus.”
The design also emphasized many environmentally-friendly elements, the architect said, “in advancement of VCU’s commitment to science, technology and environmental responsibility.” Geothermal wells will provide heating
and cooling energy; green roofs will absorb storm water and maximize insulation; and specially-designed glass walls will wick out heat in the summer and harness it in the winter.
The ICA will take a spot currently inhabited by Parking Lot QQ on Broad and Belvidere streets, one of the most heavily traversed entrances to the VCU area. VCU Board of Visitors member Stuart C. Siegel said in an official statement that the building will form a “gateway to the university from the east.”
Internationally renowned architect Steven Holl, declared “America’s Best
Architect” by Time Magazine, was slated to design a major new contemporary art and cultural center on the VCU campus last summer.
Holl, whom VCU School of the Arts dean Joseph H. Seipel called “one of the most inspired and significant architects of our time” in a press release, was chosen by the VCU board of visitors out of a staggering 64 initial proposals.
The university said it hopes to open the ICA by 2015 and to break ground for construction by 2013. CT
Alex Trihias
Contributing Writer
This past Monday, VCU’s Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies held an art opening at the Crenshaw House on Franklin Street to display art that portrayed a resistance to “institutionalized systems of violence and oppression.”
The first level of the Crenshaw House was filled with VCU students, faculty and others in the VCU community who contributed their writing and artwork to the cause. The artwork ranged from the representational to the purely abstract, with photographs portraying the fight against the war on women, as well as self-portraits. A quilt displaying the words “you deserve better” greeted visitors at the door.
Melody Milleker, an art education student at VCU, was among the many artists who participated in the event. Milleker described her artwork as “an ink illustration of hare skeletons trapped in swirls of pink lines and sand,” entitled “No Man's Land.”
“The piece I made for the opening has a lot more to deal with my struggles trying to find myself as a woman in a society that sends so many mixed signals about what I should be and do,” Milleker said. “My artwork for me is very cathartic, and I feel that my best work comes from my worst experiences.”
Some of the writers took the liberty to put up pictures of tattoos they had gotten on their bodies. These writers
then told the story of what the tattoo means to them and why they got it. The artists who participated in the show came from a variety of different artistic backgrounds, but they all came together for the same message.
The writers also came from different backgrounds, displaying poetry, short stories and letters. The majority of the writing was displayed in a large room where the artists, writers, department majors, faculty and visitors sat to mingle with each other. The poetry ranged from inspirational to sad to happy with different different forms of poetry. The short stories spoke of various personal experiences, such as tattoos or a person who helped the writer in the past.
The letters were written to several different recipients, including past lovers, parents and inanimate objects. One particularly interesting letter was addressed to a bird that laid its nest on a wreath on someone’s door. Another letter was addressed to the writer’s mother, thanking her for all she has done.
There was also a table of shirts, patches, underwear and other articles being sold with a graphic of a uterus. The proceeds from these items go to “the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project to help low income people pay for abortions, abortion care, counseling, transportation to clinics and childcare during procedures,” according to the company’s Tumblr page. CT
Dear Rachel,
My boyfriend really wants me to move in with him but I hate sleeping in the same bed with someone. What should I do?
Amanda, 21
I can’t even bear the thought of bunk beds, so I certainly feel your pain! There’s nothing like sharing. It’s literally one of the worst things I can think of next to getting chased by a bear or being named Candi. Even worse than that he’s asking you to share a bed because that’s where you’re most vulnerable and, at least in the heat of the summertime, exposed.
This is truly a conflicting position to be in as he’s your boyfriend and you probably care about not hurting his feelings. If you didn’t care, that’d make things so much easier, but unfortunately you’re a good person and that means you’ll have to work on rectifying this situation. At least you have me to help you or you’d be seriously hopeless. I keep imagining what you’d do without my help and all I’m envisioning is a panic attack.
Here are some ways you can avoid sharing your bed and your feelings with your boyfriend:
• Don’t move in with him and bring a note from your doctor citing, “I am allergic to sharing” as your reason.
• Customize and buy a Japanese blow-up doll that can take your place in bed after he’s fallen asleep. He’ll never know you went to sleep on the couch in the basement!
• Adopt at least 12 cats and let them take over the bed.
• Once he’s tucked in bed, tell him the floor is lava, and it’s too late for you to reach the bed. Go sleep in another room.
• Let him share your bed for one night but act like you have incredibly violent nightmares. Keep a sword next to your bed and one night come dangerously close to slicing off his pinky toe. He might even break up with you! Bye-bye sharing!
• Two words: body cast. This way you can sleep next to him without suffering from cuddling or Vajazzling or whatever it is that people do when they share.
• Tell him you’ll buy him an Xbox instead.
I know that this is going to be a difficult issue to tackle as you’re so used to sleeping alone, but with these tips, it can be done. This way, you’ll be able to retain your happy and clearly functional romantic relationship. You guys can make it through this! Don’t let sharing Yoko your relationship.
Good luck!
Rachel
In this section:
VDOT searching for funds in all the wrong places • 14 Graduation: moving on and growing up • 15
Last Thursday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that VDOT is planning on charging E-ZPass users a $1-a-month administration fee. This would be assessed separately from tolls and is for the significant operating costs to run the E-ZPass system. The costs are expected to grow, with expansion likely to occur: Several toll-funded roads are scheduled to open this year and it will soon be easier to buy an E-ZPass. Though it is not set in stone, VDOT hopes to begin assessing the fee in July.
While the proposed fee, however, makes no sense and should be strongly reconsidered, it is indicative of far more serious problems. The proposed fee would affect E-ZPass users across the state.
Though Richmond doesn’t have as many toll roads as the tidewater
region or Northern Virginia, many Richmonders rely on toll roads to get to work every day. E-ZPass makes passing through these tolls easier and faster. The tolls are already considerably expensive, and an additional fee makes no sense, particularly after comments from the Transportation Department revealed that the planned expansion could be covered by existing revenues.
Furthermore, the E-ZPass system was originally put into place to save Virginia money, in the form of fewer tollbooth operators, while making life easier for commuters. E-ZPass users have bought into the vision, as least tangentially, and would now be punished for doing so. If the cost savings have not been realized, while unfortunate, they should not be reconciled through the citizens of Virginia. Citizens should not be punished for buying into a system that was proposed by the state.
Proponents for the fee will point out
that $12 a year is actually bearable by most standards, a true and fair point. Furthermore, the tolls Virginia citizens bear are small compared to those tolls enforced by the states in the Northeast. This is also undoubtedly true.
However, both points are irrelevant. Yes, Northeasterners pay more and no, $12 a year isn’t insurmountable. But it’s the principle of the fee – it would be charging those drivers who’ve done nothing but bought into a state-offered system. It’s punishing a good deed, particularly considering the costs could already be covered.
Regardless, the proposed fee is indicative of more serious problems. Considering the proposal to sell the naming rights to streets that I wrote about a few weeks ago and now this, it seems that VDOT is a little hard up for revenue.
Transportation is a sector that just simply can’t get enough funding. Drivers
around Richmond know this all too well. But our crumbling infrastructure must not lose investment, as this very infrastructure is vital to drawing businesses in and keeping residents happy. Though I know there are many causes demanding funds and attention, from education to healthcare, Virginia has to find a way to make sure the VDOT budget reaches and stays at a high level.
The proposed fee to charge E-ZPass users $1 is inane and ridiculous. It should be reconsidered immediately. Though many drivers would likely plunk down the cash for the sake of convenience of E-ZPass, it is bad policy. VDOT should immediately reconsider its proposal. At the same time, however, our state government has to take a hard look at VDOT’s funding to ensure it’s getting all it needs. CT
Kimberley Glascoe Columnist
As graduation inches closer, so do anxiety, excitement and those pesky little butterflies. Like most May graduates, I cannot wait to walk across the stage when my name is called, toss my cap into the air and turn the page to the next chapter of my life.
When I think about VCU and what it has given me over the past four years, my feelings are a raw concoction of bittersweet appreciation.
I come from a small town northwest of Richmond. When we got off of I-95 on move-in day, pulled up to Rhoads Hall and saw the endless amounts of students, parents and carts, I wanted nothing more than to turn my dad’s gray Dodge Ram around and head for the hills.
I hated it. I’ve never been one to like too much change, and I was cultureshocked.
But as the days went on, I warmed up to the city and began to love and appreciate the urban atmosphere and odd niches. Through living communities and the vast number of student organizations on campus, it’s possible to make an amazing number of friends. If it wasn’t for the friends I made, my new life in Richmond would’ve been much harder.
The No. 1 thing VCU has taught me is that change is a necessary evil.
I wouldn’t have been able to grow into the person I am today if it wasn’t for the accepting, non-judgmental environment. If VCU didn’t have such
a plethora of diversity, it wouldn’t be as great of a school as it is.
I learned to spread my wings here, and being here made me feel like it was OK to always be me, no matter what. That simple freedom led to an extraordinary personal growth, one shared not only by me, but by each and every graduate to walk upon that stage.
Even if you feel as if college didn’t expand you academically in the manner you wished, just by value and virtue of being here, it personally taught you something. We came to VCU with unanswered questions, hoping to find ourselves, and some leave with more answers than we ever expected. College is a joy ride, so try to hold on and enjoy it while it lasts.
On May 12, I won’t be troubled with thoughts of an unfriendly job market, the cost of my student loans or whether I could have done better. The only thing I will be focused on is not tripping and falling when I hear my name. We should take life lessons a day at a time. Don't rush to be grown, and don't pretend to have all the answers.
I will leave VCU as a class of 2012 graduate feeling whole, unburdened by the realm of academia and unbroken by workloads. I received more than enough of my share of a full college experience and the knowledge that I needed to help me succeed in my future endeavors was just a bonus.
If I got another chance to do it all over again, I would. Although the transition and journey were frightful, being a VCU Ram was the best decision for me. CT
