The Commonwealth Times; February 20, 2019

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VOL. 60, NO. 21 FEBRUARY 20, 2019

BACK ON TOP Rams lead A-10 off the strength of freshman depth Story on page 6

Story on page 3

NEWS Monroe Park 2

SPORTS Men’s Basketball 5

SPECTRUM ICA Exhibits 9

OPINIONS 21 Savage 13

2 The Commonwealth Times

Stories of the week

national: Law enforcement sources told CNN that Chicago Police believe “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate an assault on him last month. international: Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched a project to build the first nuclear research reactor in the kingdom, according to the country’s press agency.

Monroe Park’s renovation, which was completed last fall, began in 2016. Before the project, people experiencing homelessness typically gathered in the park. Photo by Jon Mirador

Richmond homeless community still reeling after Monroe Park renovation

HANNAH EASON Contributing Writer For some, Sunday mornings at Abner Clay Park in Jackson Ward start with a plate of beans, rice and pasta courtesy of Food Not Bombs, a nationwide collection of groups that serves food to people experiencing homelessness, including those in Richmond.

Abner Clay Park has been a space for the service since Monroe Park closed for renovations in November 2016. Before closing, Monroe Park was a common gathering place for the Richmonders experiencing homelessness. The 22-month renovation, which began in late 2016, has left the population without that space.

It was all intentional, said Arthur Kay, a volunteer with Food Not Bombs. Kay said the Monroe Park Conservancy — the nonprofit created to facilitate the renovation of Richmond’s oldest park — has tried to relocate people experiencing homelessness away from VCU. “The people that we serve themselves said that they didn’t feel welcome [at Monroe Park],” Kay said. “You don’t have to swim against the current in that situation, so we got pushed here.”

Kay is the founder of Arbor Earth Foundation, a nonprofit that gives tax-deductible donations to Food Not Bombs.

“It’s kind of like what’s happening across a lot of cities in this country — they’re just trying to marginalize the homeless population so that they’re not bringing down property values,” Kay said. “I would say that the renovation project was a missed opportunity to bring more people into the fold and have more of those transects between different populations.”

In September last year, the park reopened to the public, ending a nearly four-year process that began in 2014, when the Richmond

City Council approved the renovation. Half of the $6 million project was funded by the city, while the Conservancy paid the other half with donations from the public.

While Monroe Park was originally an area for churches and organizations to gather and serve food, services are now limited to designated time slots.

“They intentionally tried to get rid of people there — not just homeless but poor people and poor families,” said Darek

Jones, a volunteer with Food Not Bombs.

“Nobody hangs out there anymore, no one serves there anymore.”

W.B. Braxton, who was eating a meal provided by Food Not Bombs on Sunday, said many things need to be done to assist Richmond’s populations in need, including the installation of portable toilets in Abner Clay and Monroe Park.

Several Jackson Ward residents experienced issues connected to food distribution

Monroe Park, built in 1851, is the oldest park in Richmond. Photo by Jon Mirador

for people experiencing homelessness Abner Clay Park, according to ABC8-WRIC. The May 2017 article said the neighborhood surrounding the park has had problems with trash after the events, defecation in the park and graffiti on nearby buildings.

A year-round homeless shelter was a common request among homeless people at Abner Clay Park. The city currently only has a cold-weather shelter — the Conrad Center on Oliver Hill Way opens when temperatures fall below 40 degrees.

“We need a year-round shelter because homelessness does not take a holiday and homelessness is not a seasonal problem,” Braxton said.

Alice Massie, president of the Monroe Park Conservancy, said the Conservancy made efforts to guide people experiencing homelessness to services before Monroe Park closed, including outreach to the VCU community and organizations that serve food.

Massie said there were often multiple reports of food poisoning from the food distribution at Monroe Park on Monday mornings because of a lack of regulation of nonprofit food servicers. The Monroe Park Conservancy’s solution was to schedule time slots for serving food, only on Saturday and Sundays. Servicers do not need a permit, nor do they have to pay a fee.

There has been some controversy over the amount of benches in Monroe Park following the renovations. Massie said that the Conservancy plans to buy more benches in the future. “[Monroe Park] is a green living room for any law-abiding person,” Massie said.

“So it doesn’t really matter how you are or what you are doing as long as it’s legal.”

Wed. February 20, 2019 3 FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Politicians used to resign in shame. Now, they just ride it out.

FADEL ALLASSAN News Editor

Many on social media recalled learning a watered-down version of slavery and black history. Photo by Erin Edgerton

Northam indentured servant comment sparks education conversation EMMA NORTH Contributing Writer Embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who is already engulfed in a race-related scandal, did nothing to quell his detractors last week when he called the first Africans to arrive to North American shores indentured servants on national television.

The incident subsequently ignited a conversation about what students are taught about slavery in their textbooks. Many people on social media said they remember an education that characterized slavery as indentured servitude or other watered-down classifications.

Northam intended to use the interview with Gayle King on CBS’s “Face the Nation” to subdue the furor over the discovery of a racist photo on his 1984 yearbook page earlier this month. But he began the session by mentioning that 2019 is the 400-year anniversary of Africans being brought to Virginia against their will. The governor said these Africans arrived as indentured servants, before King interrupted, saying “also known as slavery,” and Northam agreed.

Many took to social media to denounce the governor for this label.

“Obviously, @GovernorVA hasn’t learned anything, so let me help: Servants agreed (emphasis on agreed) to work for 4-7 years in exchange for transportation to the colonies,” tweeted Vox Media host Shermichael Singleton. “Slaves were brought to America against their will, which means they were forced.”

Northam then gave a statement to CBS saying a historian had advised him that the term “indentured servant” was more historically accurate.

“The fact is, I’m still learning and committed to getting it right,” Northam said.

Jeffery Wilson, chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at VCU’s School of Education, said Northam could bounce back from the statement.

“It’s interesting how it takes an incident for a person to really reflect and understand,” Wilson said. “This is a teachable moment for everybody.”

Slave laws were not enacted in Virginia until 1661, according to the Library of Congress.

The first black Africans in Virginia arrived in 1619, when there were no slave laws in place.

According to Encyclopedia Virginia, the first 20 or so Africans arrived at Point Comfort and those that were brought to Jamestown were likely sold into slavery.

According to the Library of Virginia, the Standards of Learning “led to the publication of a new generation of textbooks that included more social and cultural history and enhanced treatment of economic and demographic history, women, African Americans, and Indians.”

But textbooks published after World War II painted Virginia in a more positive

light, according to the Library of Virginia.

Virginia issued three textbooks that gave made the Confederacy appear favorable and left out parts of the state’s socially and culturally transgressive history.

“When you know something, and that’s all you’ve been exposed to, that’s how it becomes generational and how kids pick up on it,” Wilson said.

One of the three state-commissioned textbooks from this period was, “Virginia: History, Government, Geography.”

One of the book’s reviewers on Amazon, identified as Carol Watkins, wrote, “I was right! My eighth-grade textbook really was as racist as I had remembered.”

Wilson said that it can be difficult to educate on diversity because of previously formed stereotypes and these stereotypes can lead a cycle of oppression. “We all stereotype, it’s about being able to talk about it and own up to it,” Wilson said.

Virginia textbooks are given a rating of either adequate, limited, or no evidence in multiple categories addressing specific curriculum standards. Most Virginia history textbooks have received adequate ratings in all categories by the Virginia Department of Education, with the exception of the McGraw Hill textbook, “Virginia Social Studies: Virginia Studies,” which was rated as “limited” under the “Materials present content in an accurate and unbiased manner” criteria.

Wilson said there is still room for improvements on how race and diversity is dealt with in education.

The state history curriculum under the Standards of Learning says that Portuguese sailors captured African men and women from what is present-day Angola and that it is unknown if the captured Africans were considered slaves or servants once they arrived to Virginia in 1619.

“Diversity still is one of those things where there is some caution,” Wilson said. “The defense mechanism goes up when you’re responding and even teaching.”

Project 1619 is an initiative to honor the first Africans to arrive in British controlled North America. The website states the Africans were treated as indentured servants but without a written contract. Without these contracts their freedom was at the mercy of their plantation owner which meant most them had to work close to 20 years before they were freed.

Wilson said he thinks most of today’s K-12 students are willing to question the information they’re given and not take anything at face value.

“This generation is kind of unique, unlike past generations they are not as conformist, they will challenge things,” Wilson said. “This generation, you couldn’t sell them that the Civil War was about states rights and not about slavery.”

The name Al Franken is etched on a tombstone somewhere in the imaginary graveyard of big-name figures whose political careers have been slain by scandal.

The former Minnesota senator, who acquiesced to calls for his resignation after revelations of his sexual misconduct surfaced in 2017, may be feeling increasingly isolated in this domain. In another world, it’s possible that he would have been joined by the triad of Virginia’s controversy-ridden executives.

But Gov. Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax have yet to resign amid their respective troubles — the former two are battling questions about their racial sensitivity following revelations that they wore blackface in the 1980s; the latter faces allegations of sexual assault from years ago.

The three might have taken a page from the playbook of President Donald Trump, who has been virtually up to his neck in controversy since entering the political arena in 2015. The prospect of his presidency would have seemed unthinkable during a campaign in which the businessman called Mexicans rapists; said John McCain wasn’t a war hero because he was captured; and bragged about sexually assaulting women in a leaked video.

Trump’s rise to the highest office in the nation was perhaps the most high-profile testament to a norm that is becoming increasingly outdated in politics: resignation in shame. Meanwhile, it appears the new convention is to ride out a scandal until the next outrage blows it out of the news cycle.

It’s nothing the state hasn’t seen before. In fact, recent reports suggest the apparent ‘Teflon Don’ of Virginia politics, former delegate Joe Morrissey, is considering a return to the arena. Morrissey famously served a portion of his last session in the House of Delegates from jail after he was indicted for his sexual involvement with the then-17year-old secretary at his law firm he later married.

What Morrissey understood like Trump after him — and what Northam, Herring and Fairfax are coming to understand now — is that the power of shame, once a prevailing restraint and castigator on bad actors, has been undercut in today’s politics.

There are likely a number of factors that contribute to this, but a paper on media coverage from the University of Hamburg is pretty telling on the subject. Researchers wanted to see if varying levels of media scrutiny made politicians more likely to resign from office. Using data collected from the scandals of German politicians, the analysis found that resignations were more likely in cases with more intense media scrutiny.

If this study is to be believed, then today’s rapid media cycle could have a profound effect on the durability of politicians in the face of scandal. On television news and online, stories with

what some would consider massive implications don’t often have prolonged shelf life. Virginia’s scandals are an example of this — national news media largely moved on from wall-to-wall coverage of the issue less than two weeks after Northam first made headlines Feb. 1. This is despite the fact that major developments surrounding the topic streamed in as late as Feb. 8, when a second person came forward accusing Fairfax of sexual assault.

One could argue that the recent inattentiveness to the issue on the major cable networks is understandable, though. In the time since Feb. 8, a network like CNN has had to update the public on a number of developments in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a shooting in Aurora, Illinois, and the president’s declaration of a national emergency to help fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, among other stories.

The rise in polarization could also have an effect on politicians staying in office. George Packer, a staff writer for The New Yorker, compared today’s political allegiances to tribes.

“Tribes demand loyalty, and in return they confer the security of belonging. They’re badges of identity, not of thought,” Packer writes. “In a way, they make thinking unnecessary, because they do it for you, and may punish you if you try to do it for yourself. To get along without a tribe makes you a fool. To give an inch to the other tribe makes you a sucker.”

In this regard, supporting a politician is similar to supporting a sports team. Think of a member of a political party as a Red Sox fan, for example. In this analogy, a politician facing a major scandal is like the Red Sox getting walloped in the playoffs by a much-lesser team. In both of these instances, neither the Red Sox nor the politician are likely to keep their base of support. No one said it better than Donald Trump.

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” the eventual president said in 2016.

Northam learned this lesson this week when a Washington Post and Schar School poll showed as many people back him to stay in office as those who want him to resign. Fifty-eight percent of black Virginians, who overwhelmingly supported the governor during the campaign, still stand behind him.

“I have thought about resigning, but I’ve also thought about what Virginia needs right now. And I really think that I’m in a position where I can take Virginia to the next level,” Northam told CBS’s Gayle King last weekend. “Virginia also needs someone who is strong, who has empathy, who has courage and who has a moral compass. And that’s why I’m not going anywhere.”

The former state senator likely analyzed the political field around him. If he did, then he may have realized that not going anywhere is the right move for him politically.

4 The Commonwealth Times

Alumni journalists Mechelle Hankerson and Sarah King are focused, even amid Virginia’s news whirlwind FADEL ALLASSAN News Editor Few journalists have a grasp and understanding of Virginia like Mechelle Hankerson and Sarah King — two former Commonwealth Times executive editors.

Hankerson was born and raised in Virginia Beach, and spent the majority of her life in the state. She graduated from VCU’s Robertson School in 2013, after studying mass communications. She worked at The Raleigh News & Observer, in North Carolina, and The Virginian-Pilot. In 2018, she returned to Richmond to cover state politics for The Virginia Mercury.

King, a political science major who graduated in 2016, hails from Alexandria. She works at Richmond Magazine, where she covers local and state affairs.

In an interview with their former paper, Hankerson and King talked about the recent scandals in Virginia, covering the state’s political scene and staying focused on policy issues when the news cycle gets hectic.

How did your workload change after Feb. 1, when Gov. Ralph Northam’s scandal first broke? hankerson: The amount of work I was focused on after Feb. 1 didn’t change much.

So much of this broke over weekends, and there was such an influx of interest from national media, it felt like it would better serve our readers to stay focused on the dayto-day stuff happening.

There’s a distinct difference between politics and policy. Sometimes, it’s hard to distill which politics affect which policies and I think we’re still in that phase with Northam. The scandal is absolutely changing the questions we ask but it hasn’t become front-and-center for me as a reporter.

king: Being the only staff reporter for the magazine, my day-to-day workload was relatively unaffected after putting together my story about Big League Politics’ ties to the failed Roy Moore Senate campaign on a breaking news deadline.

Particularly after it became apparent that Northam would not be resigning immediately, the news cycle seemed to take a deep breath, and things seemed to significantly quell — in reality, and on Twitter — by the weekend.

Is there any news you felt got overshadowed by the developments over the last couple weeks? hankerson: Absolutely. Virginia was working on a massive tax policy change that affects how much money people get in their pockets.

They made some changes that haven’t been made in 30 years. That’s huge and has a tangible difference in people’s lives — not to say the controversies don’t.

Aside from that, Virginia is working through possible redistricting reform, which hasn’t been completed despite years of most politicians saying it needs to get done. king: Yeah, lots of less sexy stories like tax reform; energy policy; or the simple fact that EBT card allowances are still affected by the government shutdown, and cardholders have not received stipends since mid-January and won’t receive more benefits for at least two more weeks.

What was it like having reporters come from all over the country? hankerson: It was interesting to see their workflow and ways of approaching lawmakers. It was always interesting to watch temporary transplants try to quickly digest and explain Virginia’s history, too.

As far as [Lt. Gov. Justin] Fairfax, I don’t think we should expect anyone to be above any behavior. That’s how a lot of things go unchecked or undiscovered — we think someone would never do that when in reality, anybody can do anything.

Mechelle Hankerson, left, and Sarah King.

Photo courtesy of Sarah King king: Frenzied. I felt like for the first time I had a better understanding of the “biased mainstream media” perspective that took shape around the 2016 election. Especially after Northam’s now-infamous Saturday press conference, a lot of the media narrative began to sound like an echo chamber across the nationally syndicated networks, in my view.

But there’s so much institutional knowledge and Virginia-specific history that beat reporters in Richmond, particularly those working the Capitol, know because they live and work here and interact with legislators and politicos on a regular basis.

I’m also pretty sure I’m in the background of some CNN clip ...

Are you surprised that these events took place in Virginia given that the state’s politics have a reputation for being typically scandal-free? hankerson: No. Virginia, as most reporters have pointed out, has a complicated racial history. That doesn’t excuse any behaviors, but it’s not surprising that these things happened and elected officials genuinely didn’t know it was wrong.

king: I think everyone was surprised …

Although, personally some elements of the timing and rapid-fire succession of events is a little curious. At the same time, I think it would be naive to neglect the fact that much of the state’s GOP “establishment” grew up at the same time and, in some cases, the same places as Northam.

What do you find different from what you expected having covered the state in college through Capital News Service and The CT? hankerson: So much of what happens at the state level can seem boring on the surface, but that’s usually the most important information people need.

I used to be drawn to the most exciting topics but now I try to find some of the more boring topics because that’s almost always something important in there. king: I can not think of a better paradigm to describe covering state government than “it’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” Covering the [General Assembly] is different from other types of reporting, in my view, because so much relies on relationships and sources who trust you enough to share the right, relevant, info and insights on a given topic or issue.

This is why in some ways, I think, the flurry of revelations earlier this month leveled the playing field among local, state and national reporters, because it seemed like everyone — left or right of center, legislators, staff, pundits and journalists alike — were all trying to navigate the situation minute by minute, hour by hour.

Justice RVA doesn’t take a holiday, protesters march to Capitol CAITLIN MORRIS ROSEMARIE O’CONNOR Capital News Service Banks and schools might have been closed Monday, but about 50 political activists descended on Bank Street and went to work protesting against Gov. Ralph Northam and other elected officials.

The “March of Reckoning,” organized by Justice RVA, began in Monroe Park and ended in a showdown at the Capitol.

Protesters gathered to rally against Northam, as well as the state’s Democratic leadership of Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring, along with Republican Sen. Tommy Norment Jr. of James City County.

Northam came under fire earlier this month when media published a photo from his page in his 1984 medical college yearbook, which featured a man in blackface standing next to another in a Ku Klux Klan hood.

Northam apologized and said he was indeed in the picture at first, then later backpedaled and said he was not. He then admitted he had “darkened” his skin to dress as Michael Jackson for a dance contest in 1984. After the initial controversy over Northam’s yearbook photo, Herring called for Northam’s resignation — then days later revealed he had worn blackface to a party in 1980.

The revelations led many across the state to dig deeper through college yearbooks, peering into the pasts of numerous government officials. It was found that Norment, the Senate majority leader, was an editor of Virginia Mil-

itary Institute’s yearbook when it published racist images and language.

Two women accused Fairfax of sexual assault in between news of two blackface revelations.

Protesters gathered Monday morning near Franklin Street while “Freedom” by Charles Mingus thundered through a portable speaker.

“Virginia’s on fire and the whole world is watching,” said Rebecca Keel, a Richmond organizer.

Police had a visible presence in the park during the march. A Monroe Park Conservancy volunteer stepped in and asked protesters to stop blocking bike paths.

Tension continued to grow as protesters marched through VCU’s campus and down Franklin Street toward the Capitol.

Marchers carried banners and signs while chanting, “No blackface, no pipeline, Northam must resign.” At times, the crowd moved against the flow of traffic and shut down multiple streets as the protesters crossed.

The group paused at the Dominion Energy building downtown to voice disdain for the company’s political influence on Northam and other lawmakers. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Northam has received nearly $200,000 in donations from the energy giant.

“Not only are governments supporting businesses that are completely harmful to the environment and exacerbating climate change, but it’s also the case of environmental racism,” said Vincent Mangano, a VCU freshman who participated in the march. “The people who are seeing these

Police blocked protesters from entering Capitol Grounds after they marched from VCU. Photo by Erin Edgerton effects are primarily poor people of color.”

Chants grew louder as the group descended on the Capitol, where Capitol Police closed and locked gates to the grounds. Protesters and members of the press were locked out, though protesters tried multiple gates before entering an hour-long standoff with police. After laying down signs and ending their chanting, protesters tried to enter the grounds as “citizens” but were still denied access. The Capitol is open to visitors seven days a week.

“We’re being denied access just as people,” Keel said. “We’re not in protest, we’ve made that abundantly clear. Actually, all the protesters have left; we’re being denied our right to come and enjoy the Capitol grounds. I’m feeling extremely disappointed in the Capitol Police.”

Police said they couldn’t allow anyone to enter without a valid permit from the Department of General Services, which

provides management for Capitol Square.

Demonstrators said it is illegal to be barred from a public place.

“I’m disappointed that this is where our tax dollars are going,” Keel said.

During the standoff at the closed gate, one protester slid under onto the grounds and laid down on her back facing the officers above her. She was not stopped from entering the grounds under the gate and proceeded to make it to the other side.

Some demonstrators said they received different answers from officers if they could enter the premises, leading to confusion.

Government officials and journalists who were inside gathered to watch the skirmish were heckled by protesters.

March organizers eventually disbanded after being denied entry.

“We’re going to sue you tomorrow,” Keel said to Capitol Police on their way out.

Wed. February 20, 2019 5

Stat of the week

Men’s Basketball is one of only three teams in the country to have led in the second half of every game this season.

HAVOC suffocates Rhode Island NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor

Men’s Basketball took down Rhode Island 76-42 Tuesday behind a strong defense, holding the opposition to shooting 23.5 percent from the field in the second half.

The victory extended VCU’s (20-6, 11-2 Atlantic 10) winning streak to a season-high seven games and gave them sole possession of first place in the A-10. The Black and Gold were tied atop the standings with Davidson entering the game, but the Wildcats fell to Dayton just before the Rhode Island-VCU tip-off.

Sophomore forward Marcus Santos-Silva said the team was not focusing on the result of Dayton-Davidson, but on beating Rhode Island.

“All I said at halftime was, ‘You win, and you’re in first place,’’ coach Mike Rhoades said. “That’s not our goal and we have a lot of things we want to accomplish, from how far we’ve come from last year to now I’m proud of them. But we’re not done.”

Rhode Island (12-13, 5-8 A-10) only converted four field goals in the second half, including one 3-pointer. The Black and Gold also forced 20 Rhode Island turnovers, scoring 21 points off the errors.

VCU’s No. 2 defense in the country from beyond the arc held Rhode Island to shooting 18.2 percent from three.

Redshirt-junior guard Marcus Evans logged 9 points and nine rebounds in the win in addition to four steals.

Rhoades said Evans’ defense on Fatts Russell was “huge” and that VCU did not guard Russell as well in the previous meeting this season that Rhode Island won.

“I thought Marcus Evans set the tone. I thought he had a great floor game, point guard game, today,” Rhoades said. “I thought he controlled the defensive side of the ball for our team with the pressure on the ball and the way he contained the ball.”

Russell finished with 1 point in the contest, going 0-for-7 from the field and making one free throw. He averaged 13.2 points for Rhode Island entering the game, and he dropped 19 in the first meeting with VCU this year. Evans said Russell is one of the quickest guards he has faced all season.

“With him [Russell] being smaller, you just try to make him shoot over you, try to make him finish in the lane and just try to

“We felt like last game we let them get too comfortable in the second half, so today we just focused on getting stops.”

VCU used an early first half 7-0 run spanning about three minutes to build a 6-point lead over Rhode Island. During the run, Rhode Island was held scoreless for just under 3 1/2 minutes.

Freshman forward Vince Williams was all over the court midway through the first half as he hit an open 3-pointer in the corner, logged a steal and drew a foul from Rhode Island in his first three minutes on the floor.

Williams nailed his second three of the night a few minutes later from the same spot on the court. The Black and Gold then held Rhode Island in the defensive end, and sophomore forward Corey Douglas put back a missed shot to extend VCU’s lead to nine.

The 5-0 sequence forced Rhode Island to call a timeout in hopes of quieting the raucous Siegel Center crowd.

VCU went on a four-minute 10-0 run late in the first half, extending the lead to 19.

The Black and Gold held Rhode Island off the scoreboard for almost seven minutes in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

“Once the shots stopped falling, I thought our defense took a little bit of a hit,” Rhode Island coach David Cox said. “Particularly toward the second half of the first half when they went on a little bit of a run.”

Rhode Island shot 35 percent from the field in the first half, including 1-for-5 from three. VCU shot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc.

Santos-Silva dominated the paint to open the second half, as he logged 6 points in the first six minutes of the second half.

The Black and Gold went on a 7-0 run early in the second half to push the lead to 25 — Santos-Silva had 4 of the 7 points.

VCU used a 9-0 run soon after the first second-half run to extend the lead to 31.

The run lasted about five minutes, and the Black and Gold held Rhode Island scoreless Sophomore Marcus Santos-Silva logged his fifth double-double of the season, recording for more than 5 1/2 minutes.

19 points and 12 rebounds. Photo by Erin Edgerton The Black and Gold finished the night shooting 50 percent from the field, includspeed the whole offense up,” Evans said.

Sophomore forward Marcus Santos-Sil- ing 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.

“Going into this game, I told myself I wasn’t va recorded his fifth double-double of the going to let him get comfortable. If he was season, tallying 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Rams will host George Washington Feb. going to have a high-scoring game, he was “We just focused on [not] letting them 23 at 2 p.m. going to have to hit tough shots.” get anything easy,” Santos-Silva said.

Rams rout Patriots for seventh straight win JARON NUTTER Contributing Writer

During the big third quarter, the Rams shot 72.7 percent from the field.

VCU held George Mason to shooting Women’s Basketball defeated George 21.4 percent from the field — the PatriMason 62-38 in Fairfax, extending the ots only made three baskets. Sophomore Rams’ winning streak to seven Feb. 17. guard Olga Petrova scored a career-high The game started off close as the Patri- 17 points and made five 3-pointers in the ots were within a single point of the Rams contest. Sophomore guard Taya Robinson when VCU used an 8-3 run to extend the added 11 points, eight rebounds, two aslead to six after the first quarter. The Rams sists and two steals. Junior center Danielle built up a 10-point lead by halftime after Hammond and sophomore forward Sydoutscoring George Mason 10-6 in the nei Archie scored 9 points apiece. second quarter.

The Rams shot a season-high 58.8 The Black and Gold pulled away with a percent from 3-point range and 49 per20-5 run in the third quarter. VCU never cent from the field. VCU’s defense held trailed, and the lead grew as large as 28.

George Mason to 24 percent from the

field and only 16.7 from three.

G e o r ge M a s on g u a rd Ni c o l e Cardaño-Hillary finished with a teamhigh 12 points and shot 10-for-12 from the free-throw line. Patriots forward Camarie Gatling scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds.

The Rams will take on Duquesne Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. in Pittsburgh.

Sophomore guard Olga Petrova nailed five 3-pointers in the win over George Mason. Photo by Erin Edgerton

6 The Commonwealth Times

Freshmen complete Rhoades’ ‘army’ NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor

M

ost teams in the ncaa do not give freshman players a lot of playing time, but Men’s Basketball uses the roster’s three freshmen as another piece of coach Mike Rhoades’ “army” on the bench.

This season, the Rams have used an average of about 12 players a game this season, rotating many pieces from the bench. They have used all 14 players in a game three times this season.

Freshman forward Vince Williams and freshman guards P.J. Byrd and KeShawn Curry have all impacted the game when stepping on the floor this season.

VINCE WILLIAMS

In the first half against Richmond Feb. 13, Williams drove toward the basket on the baseline and rose up, slamming the ball down with two hands. The dunk brought the Siegel Center crowd to its feet and the building was electric for the rest of the night.

“Vince just make plays that don’t show up on stat sheets and box scores,” redshirt-junior forward Issac Vann said after the game against Richmond.

Williams also had an open look at three from the right wing and drained it against the Spiders, in addition to recording two blocks.

“He’s such a talented player,” coach Mike Rhoades said. “And my job — and I know I have the support of his mom and dad — is just to light that fire under him every day and keep getting more out of him, because he’s got so much more in him.”

The Toledo, Ohio, native called himself an “all-around player” that can play defense, pass and score.

“I don’t really look to shoot the ball a lot,” Williams said. “I just like to get my teammates open, especially [De’Riante Jenkins], [Issac Vann] and [Marcus Evans], even Marcus Santos-Silva when he’s on the block … As they get the points, stuff opens up for me too. And just drive and get the opportunities when I have them.”

Williams has appeared in all 26 games for the Rams, averaging 14.7 minutes. In each appearance, he averages 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds.

Above: Freshman forward Vince Williams averages 4.9 points and 14.7 minutes. Photo by Erin Edgerton Right: Freshman guard KeShawn Curry has played in 13 games this season for the Rams. Photo by Jon Mirador P.J. BYRD Like Williams, Byrd has appeared in all 26 games for Men’s Basketball so far. He proves to be a key player off the bench for the Rams this season as he comes off the bench to give redshirt-junior guard Marcus Evans a rest each night. Byrd averages 9.1 minutes while accounting for an average of 1.3 points a game. “[Byrd] is electric, fast, quick, makes good decisions,” Williams said of the freshman point guard. “He’s a shooter too.”

Byrd logged a career-high 5 points on three different occasions this season. He also recorded a career-high 20 minutes against Fordham Jan. 5.

Rhoades said Byrd is “doing a better job off the ball screen” as he gains more experience this season.

Freshman guard P.J. Byrd has logged 28 assists this season for the Rams. Photo by Erin Edgerton

“Sometimes you have some tough games, which we all have playing that position as a freshman, but he’s continuing to getting better,” Rhoades said. “We’re really tough on him. We’re tough on our point guards around here and he’s coming along. He makes his teammates better … and he’s learning on the job.”

KESHAWN CURRY Curry has appeared in 13 of the 26 games this season for the Black and Gold, averaging 6.6 minutes. The guard is shooting 61 percent from the field.

“I’ve just been my biggest fan at all times,” Curry said. “Just keep myself motivated and that’s what’s going to keep me mentally strong. That’s what keeps my confidence the way it is.”

The Jacksonville, Florida, native impressed during the exhibition game against UVa-Wise Oct. 30, scoring a team-high 15 points in 15 minutes.

“He’s getting in the game and it’s an instant bucket,” Williams said. “He scores in less than 30 seconds and I’ll play 15 minutes and he got the same points as me so far.

He’s come in and about to do something amazing for the team.”

Left to right: Vince Williams, P.J. Byrd, KeShawn Curry. Photos courtesy of VCU Athletics

Wed. February 20, 2019 7

PRESS BOX

NASCAR’s new rule properly deals with cheaters BEN MALAKOFF Contributing Writer NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor NASCAR announced a new rule Feb. 4 for the 2019 season that will disqualify a driver from a race if they fail the post-race inspection at the track.

Prior to the rule’s introduction, drivers faced fines and teams risked suspension if they failed the inspection after the race. If drivers who failed won, they still kept the win and points accumulated f rom the finish.

Cars not in compliance with the rules threaten the spirit of racing, because drivers who follow the rules can lose to someone who broke them. NASCAR has struggled to catch drivers who broke rules in the past, but last season, the organization implemented lasers in the inspection process to remedy the problem.

Professional racer Martin Truex Jr. voiced his displeasure with the inspection process last season to autosport.com, saying, “I don’t know if they’re over-engineered as much as they are over-enforced rules. I get frustrated when on Wednesday [the day post-race penalties are announced], we get all these stories ‘this guy was illegal, that guy was illegal.’”

The biggest difference this season is that cheating drivers and crews will have their wins stripped away. If a car is found to be illegal, the second-place driver will be awarded the victory. A car can be illegal for many reasons, including tampered engines and different measures of rear spoilers.

NASCAR will enforce the new rule across all three national levels on its

Rams rough road opener

Senior infielder Zac Ching was 2-for-6 with a double and two RBI. Photo courtesy of VCU Athletics

Illustration by Karly Andersen

circuit — the Monster Energy Cup series, Xfinity series and the Gander Outdoors Truck series. Aside from disqualification from the race, teams will be given a lastplace finish and points to go along with it. Their stage points will also be stripped, and if it is a playoff race, the team will lose the playoff advancement that came from the victory.

The change in the rules will hopefully let fans know the winner before leaving the track, since inspections usually take days to find results. Fans can engage in the races more, because they know NASCAR’s transparency level when it comes to inspecting cars.

ADAM CHEEK Staff Writer

In 2010, driver Clint Bowyer won the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup at New Hampshire. Afterward, his car was found to have not met official NASCAR qualifications. The Chevrolet did not have proper body template specs.

If this happened in the 2019 season, Bowyer would not have earned points or the win in the first round of the NASCAR playoffs. Instead, Chesterfield native Denny Hamlin — who finished second — would have been awarded the win and everything that accompanies it.

The last driver who was stripped of a win for cheating dates back to Dale Jarrett in 1995. Now, the hysterical culture

the sixth to tally a win while eight players racked up hits.

Junior infielder Paul Witt put VCU on Baseball kicked off its season Feb. 15-17 at the board in the first inning, lining a single the Brittain Resorts Invitational in Conway, into center that allowed sophomore utility South Carolina. The Rams played Coastal player Hogan Brown to score.

Carolina, Campbell and Maryland, losing to Campbell answered right back, doubling the Chanticleers and Terrapins in close games. that number and scoring two in the bottom of the opening frame. A Campbell solo shot to left extended that advantage, but VCU MARYLAND loaded the bases in the top of the fourth to Maryland edged the Rams 5-3 as the threaten that lead.

Terrapins rallied to score two runs in the With the bases loaded, Taylor singled sixth inning Feb. 17. into left, driving in Schroeder to cut the Sophomore right-handed pitcher Justin deficit to one. Freshman right-handed Sorokowski started for the Black and Gold pitcher Evan Chenier struck out three and lasted three innings, giving up two runs during his time on the mound in relief, putbut striking out four. ting up two scoreless innings.

Senior infielder Zac Ching, junior Schroeder then singled in the fifth, drivoutfielder Alex Taylor and junior catcher ing in junior infielder Brett Norwood and Josh Simon all scored runs. Sophomore tying the game. After the Camels racked up right-handed pitcher and outfielder Jack three runs in the bottom of the inning, the Schroeder scored a run in the first inning Black and Gold answered with a five-run after he was hit by a pitch. sixth inning. Ching, Brown and sophomore Maryland answered with a run in the top catcher Hunter Vay all crossed the plate on of the third, but the Rams rallied back in the the Rams’ hits, while Witt and Taylor used latter half of the fourth with two runs. Simon Campbell’s two errors to score. scored on a wild pitch, while Taylor scored Campbell attempted to rally in the on a throwing error from a pickoff attempt. ninth, but a Rams double play put a stop The Terrapins rebounded with two runs to the threat before the Camels could gain of their own in the top of the sixth, tacking momentum. on another run in the top of the eighth to take a two-run lead. Maryland held on to COASTAL CAROLINA that lead, winning 5-3.

The Rams fell to No. 12 Coastal Carolina in the season opener 10-8 Feb. 15. VCU CAMPBELL took the lead early, but the Chanticleers The Rams edged out an 8-7 victory over came back to edge the Rams. the Camels Feb. 16, scoring five runs in The Rams took an early lead with a

of cheating in NASCAR will change for the better.

NASCAR’s decision was needed, but it will not change how people race. The winning car, second-place car and a randomly selected car were already inspected after a race prior to the rule. The only effect the rule will have is the implementation of penalties if a driver’s car doesn’t follow NASCAR specifications.

It’s one thing to talk about these rules, but when they are properly implemented, NASCAR will completely change. If a driver cheats, they do not deserve to win.

three-run burst in the top of the second inning as Brown scored Simon. Ching doubled to center to score Brown and Taylor, putting the Black and Gold up 3-0.

But Coastal Carolina countered with two runs in the bottom of the second, after Parker Chavers launched a two-run blast over the fence.

VCU extended its lead to 5-2 in the top of the fourth. Witt and junior outfielder Brandon Henson smacked singles to drive in Ching and Norwood. Coastal Carolina closed by a run in the bottom of the inning, bringing the Chanticleers within two.

The Chanticleers rebounded in the bottom of the sixth with a five-run frame, giving them an 8-5 advantage.

The Rams tried to answer with a home run by Henson in the top of the seventh, but the team’s first hit over the fence only brought them one run closer.

Zach Biermann then hit a two-run shot in the eighth to extend Coastal Carolina’s lead to four, and VCU tried to rally in the top of the ninth, scoring two but leaving a runner on base and falling short of tying.

Brown went 4-for-6 with two runs batted in and a run scored, while Witt and Ching combined for four hits and 3 RBIs. The bullpen, comprised of junior right-handed pitcher Connor Gillispie and senior right-handed pitchers Benjamin Dum and Curtis Bafus struck out 13 in relief.

The Rams are on the road Feb. 20 at North Carolina, with first pitch at 3 p.m.

8 The Commonwealth Times

Tennis triumphs in straight sets over weekend MEN Men

NILE MCNAIR Contributing Writer

Men’s Tennis rolled against Howard, sweeping the Bison in both doubles and singles Feb. 17.

“I think we played that match very seriously,” coach Anthony Rossi said. “We actually had good competition on some courts, even though we won on both singles and doubles.”

Freshman Stefan Petrovic and sophomore Timo Zgraggen kicked off the victories for VCU, with a 6-0 set win in the first doubles match.

The Rams won their other two doubles matches with scores of 6-4 and 6-1.

In all six of VCU’s singles matches, none went past two sets — the Rams won them all.

Junior Javier Amantegui had a standout performance, winning his singles match by shutting out his opponent in two straight sets. He won his singles with a final score of 6-0, 6-0.

In what was one of the best performances of the young season, VCU won comfortably with a final score of 7-0.

Men’s Tennis has a slight break in its upcoming schedule. The team doesn’t play for about two weeks.

“This is the only match we had in three weeks,” Rossi said. “So I think one of the things to work on is our focus and not give up free points during the match — and relax.”

Women’s Tennis won two matches in a row Feb. 16-17, extending its winning streak to four matches. Men’s Tennis was victorious Feb. 17, winning its second match in a row.

Women WOMEN HOWARD VCU battled Howard Feb. 17, defeating the Bison 7-0.

The duo of senior Anna Rasmussen and sophomore Melissa Ifidzhen won their doubles match with a final score of 6-0.

The other two Rams’ doubles matches had the same result, finishing 6-0.

Sophomore Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado continued her momentum from the past two weekends, securing a two-set victory in her singles match over Howard’s Yassmine Khiri.

Coach Paul Kostin said he knew the face-off against Howard would be the easier of the two matchups this weekend.

“You want to play as many matches as you can,” Kostin said. “I’ve known Howard’s coach for years, they’ve always been very competitive and I think my girls played good.”

The Rams are rolling this month as they are 4-0 in their February matches.

LIBERTY Tennis faced off against Liberty Feb. 16 in its first of two home matches of the weekend.

Once again, the Rams showed room for improvement in the doubles matches. Liberty won two out of the three doubles matches.

The duo of sophomores Exposito Diaz-Delgado and Kanako Yano secured VCU the only doubles match of the day, winning the set with a final score of 6-3.

However, the Rams bounced back in a major way once singles matches began. In six total singles matches, VCU only lost one.

Sophomore Marina Alcaide Bakkari had one of the most dominant singles matches that day. In two sets, she won her match, 6-2, 6-1.

Junior Noumea Witmus joined Alcaide Bakkari’s victory, winning her singles match in just two short sets.

The more matches the Rams played, the more wins they piled up. VCU’s winning streak moved to three after defeating Liberty 5-2 at home.

Left: Sophomore Marina Alcaide Bakkari won her singles match 6-1, 6-0 Feb. 17 against Howard. Above: Freshman Rayne Stable won his singles match Feb. 17 over Howard’s Cole Gittens 6-1, 6-1. Photos by Jon Mirador

Women’s Tennis will face off against Elon Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. and Temple Feb. 24 at 11 a.m.

Lacrosse falls short against UMBC ANDY RIDDLER Contributing Writer

Sophomore defender Destiny Colón played in 16 games last season and has appeared in both games this season.

Photo by Shayla Bailey

goals — but never caught up to UMBC. The Retrievers responded with three unanswered goals to put the game away.

Women’s Lacrosse came up short in a Senior attacker Molly Barcikowski Feb. 16 comeback effort against UMBC, and redshirt-senior midfielder Sky Hyatt falling 11-8. continued their strong starts to the seaThe Rams found themselves in a hole son — Barcikowski currently has six goals early, trailing by 5-0 with just under 13 and four assists and Hyatt has three goals minutes remaining in the first half. VCU and one assist. Barcikowski finished the fought its way back into the game with game with three assists and three forced three of the next four goals, heading into turnovers, while Hyatt tallied two goals halftime down 6-3. and an assist.

VCU was as close as 7-6 with less than “[Hyatt and Barcikowski] are two of 15 minutes to go — on the strength of our most prolific seniors,” said coach Jen junior attacker Jessica Del Rossi’s three O’Brien. “They are just so talented, and

they are used to making big-time plays …

They have answered for three years, and this year is no different.”

Senior midfielder Clare Murphy scored two goals — her first two of the season.

“I think it goes to show how the growth that we have had as a program and we’re really happy with the girls,” O’Brien said.

“They fought, they battled and they followed the scouting report for the last 40 minutes of the game.”

The Rams will play Feb. 27 when they host Longwood at 4 p.m.

Wed. February 20, 2019 9

On this day

In 2016, a collector bought four inches of John Lennon’s hair for $35,000 at an auction in Dallas.

Contemporary artists envision identity, purpose in new ICA galleries ANDREW RINGLE Spectrum Editor

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he institute for contemporary art opened a pair of exhibitions Saturday featuring artists Cauleen Smith, Irena Haiduk and Martine Syms, who address themes of identity, history and modernization.

In efforts to reimagine the gallery space, Smith uses film, video and sculpture in “Give It or Leave It.” Colorful film gels cover glass and filter sunlight into the colors of a rainbow.

“What you’re invited to contemplate while you sit in here for a while is the fact that the Earth is rotating around the sun,” Smith said. “And the gel-colored light lets you see that happen in a way that you can’t really be aware of unless there’s something marking the time, like a sundial.”

Two of Smith’s films explore African-American history and current events.

On the second floor of the ICA, Syms examines Western economies and industry in “Tableau Economique,” while Haiduk questions the me dia’s representation of black people in “Shame Space.”

Shoes and clothing can be purchased from Yugoexport, the full-fledged apparel business that operates out of “Tableau Economique.”

“What the shoe does is further this architecture of labor,” Haiduk said. “It’s a clock. When you put it on, you work.

When you put it off, you don’t work …

We really wanted to think about the right to leisure.”

In “Shame Space,” a phone number flashes on a screen between videos. Via text message, visitors can interact with the narrator who asks complex questions about body dysmorphia and the cultivation of joy.

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1. A 1966 photo shoot from Billy Ray inspires much of “Give It or Leave It.” Cauleen Smith used this image to depict an important moment in black history. Photo by Jon Mirador 2. The shadow of a banner falls to the floor of “Give It or Leave It,” continuing Cauleen Smith’s experimental use of light. Photo by Jon Mirador 3. Visitors can interact with “Shame Space” by text messaging an artificially intelligent narrator. The character asks complicated questions, voicing the thoughts of artist Martine Syms. Photo by Jon Mirador 4. Yugoexport is a full-fledged clothing business which operates out of the ICA in “Tableau Economique.” The image of the shoe represents the complex themes in Irena Haiduk’s gallery. Photo courtesy of Anna Shteynshleyger

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10 The Commonwealth Times

LANDON’S OUTLOOK

“Alita: Battle Angel” flies too close to the sun LANDON ROBERTS Contributing Writer Japanese manga and anime film adaptations are a big trend in Hollywood. But these Americanized adaptations have driven away fans of original manga and anime, while the final product remains too strange for American audiences.

The happy medium for this conundrum seemed to be “Alita: Battle Angel,” especially with names like James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez behind it. But the final product waters down Alita’s character into a basic run-of-the-mill tween romance film with poorly executed hard science fiction.

Five centuries in the future, Dr. Dyson Ido discovers an ancient piece of cyborg technology that he rebuilds into Alita. Following her reconstruction, Alita must adapt to a technologically advanced post-war society. She fights those who want her destroyed because of her knowledge of the past, the very thing that enables her to topple this new hierarchal society.

This plot may seem interesting enough, but its execution and problems with charac-

ter development lead to a drab, jumbled mess.

The antagonist Vector, played by Mahershala Ali, never proves menacing and remains a secondary character in favor of a romantic subplot. If the creators dedicated more time to his character, Ali could have turned in a memorable performance that took a stance against fascist rule. But the final product presents a flat one-note puppet, sprinkled throughout the plot for convenience’s sake.

Almost every character exhibits these flat characteristics, masking the original manga’s complexity. Ido and Alita start off with an interesting father-daughter dynamic, but by the second act, it’s abandoned with no explanation. If fleshed out, this dynamic would have been incredibly interesting.

This seems to be the running idea throughout the entire film — there are many interesting ideas, but none are given enough screen time or revisited later. The only thing the creators flesh out is the romance between Alita and Hugo.

This romance is the most uninspired cliche of “Battle Angel.” Intense action is followed by boring melodrama with no real connection to the plot itself. The only time the Alita-Hugo relationship matters

Illustration by Sammy Newman

is in the film’s forced and rushed final act that attempts — and fails — to pull on the heartstrings of audiences.

If these portions weren’t boring enough, Keean Johnson as Hugo makes scenes unbearable. Every line he delivers is so monotone and emotionless; it makes the more weighty scenes almost laughable.

The phenomenal computer-generated imagery in “Battle Angel” comes close to redeeming the scenes that fall flat. Bringing the film’s world to life, the visual effects that create Alita are uncanny, but help more than hurt her fish-out-of-water character,

though the CGI effects truly shine in the action scenes. While at times it seems like a glorified video game cutscene, the shot composition makes the action incredibly sleek and easy to follow.

The spectacle may be flashy, but the well-executed effects cannot distract from the glaring mess of a plot that never knows what it truly wants to be. “Alita: Battle Angel” intertwines an interesting future world with Japanese manga, but abandons it all for an Americanized love story that only appeals to younger audiences.

Step Afrika! connects students to the culture behind stepping IMAN MEKONEN Contributing Writer The sounds of feet pounding and hands clapping and striking the chest filled the air, accompanied by rhythmic chants. Performers presented upbeat, percussion-heavy songs under red and green lights to an audience in the Commonwealth Ballroom of the University Student Commons.

The Activities and Programming Board celebrated Black History Month with a Feb. 14 performance by Step Afrika! — a dance company based in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the dance style of stepping.

The event focused on the origins of stepping and the dance’s impact on African-American communities.

Stepping is a form of percussive dance in which the dancer utilizes the hands, feet and mouth as instruments to communicate and create music. This technique has been used cross-culturally to tell stories and celebrate culture.

“Not many people know about stepping as a form of art,” said Step Afrika! member Ta’Quez Whitted. “We want to share it with the audience and showcase the culture behind it.”

Founded in 1994, Step Afrika! is the first performing dance company dedicated to stepping.

Several African-American sororities and fraternities attended the Step Afrika! event; some performed as an introduction, showcasing different forms of stepping with chants and movement Members of Step Afrika! performed at the University Student Commons, introducing people to the styles. art of stepping. The percussive dance is used to tell stories and celebrate culture.

Stepping originated Photo by Raelyn Fines when African-American college students, who were barred from The discovery of the dance move necting the audience with the art form by joining many organizations in the early inspired many of the elements in the keeping them engaged with high energy,” 1900s, came together to uplift each other performances by Step Afrika! and Afri- Whitted said. academically and socially through dance. can-American fraternities.

The Step Afrika! event allowed VCU Many of the event’s dances were inHalfway through the event, they paid students to see the different ways stepping spired by the South African dance called tribute to the dance’s origin with a “Zulu can be performed while learning about “the gumboot.” The dance originated in Nation” skit, which included large drums African culture.

South Africa, where miners wore heavy with tribal symbols, traditional Afri“We wanted to bring this event to work boots and used them to create loud can garments and gumboots, the rubber VCU because of the significant culture sounds and communicate in the mines, shoes worn by performers, also known behind it,” said Ashley Sakyi, VCU where talking was prohibited. as Wellington boots. senior and live entertainment co-diStep Afrika! founder C. Brian WilIn the skit, members recreated life as rector. “For Black History Month, we liams visited South Africa with his fra- a South African miner, using the boots wanted to host this event to show ternity brothers and noticed a young for stepping and creating sounds to warn where stepping comes from because boy practicing what he learned to be the when a supervisor was coming. people might not know about the gumboot dance.

In another portion of the event, per- origins of it.” “[Williams] noticed that it was sim- formers communicated with the crowd in ilar to his version of stepping, and they a series of claps, asking the audience to To learn more about Step Afrika!, visit began to teach each other,” Whitted repeat the rhythms. stepafrika.org. said. “It was a cultural exchange of “As a full-time dancer, I want to make dancing styles.” sure I’m upholding the art of step by con-

Wed. February 20, 2019 11

Jazz students entertain Friday nights at local tapas bar

Books for Black History Month: Novels depict AfricanAmerican experience At the Black History Book discussion held Feb. 13 at the Office of Multicultural Affairs, many historical and inspirational titles were listed and discussed by attendees.

These books have shaped the thoughts of African-Americans over the years, and they hold a significant place in African-American history. Here are the highlights.

“INVISIBLE MAN”

BY RALPH ELLISON (1952) The narrator in Ellison’s novel begins his story by declaring himself to be an invisible man, and while he may not be invisible in the literal sense, his condition is derived from society’s choice not to see him. What follows is a reflection on the past by the unnamed narrator, the invisible man, who is now older and making his home in an underground room away from society.

Following the narrator back to his teenage years in Harlem, the reader sees how he has experienced this “invisibility.” After winning a scholarship for an all-black college, he’s expelled in his junior year, unable to return — the narrator bounces from one misfortune to the next.

He works at a paint factory and draws the ire of one of his bosses, who sets him up in an accident that leaves him hospitalized. Doctors, who concluded he was fit for experimentation, subjected him to shock therapy and other procedures.

Later, he finds himself at the helm of a pro-black social group called “the Brotherhood,” after a very public display of bravery and defiance, causing him to become an unconventional hero. But the experience is short-lived.

Conflicting forces threaten his stability, determination to expose “the Brotherhood” as an organization controlled by white people, and disillusionment with the organization altogether.

After moving around, unable to find his place, the invisible man adopts a new identity and sets off to undermine “the Brotherhood” on his own. He encounters challenges and ultimately finds himself at the center of a conflict, with the participants being roused by another character to kill him. He flees and goes into hiding.

As the story comes to an end, after years of solitude, the invisible man finds himself ready to show himself to the world.

“NATIVE SON”

BY RICHARD WRIGHT (1940) Set in 1930s Chicago, “Native Son” tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a young

The walls are not cluttered with sports bar memorabilia, the lights are dim and the music — more often than not — is live at Emilio’s tapas bar, where VCU jazz students treat Richmond nightlife to some genuine jazz every Friday.

The unassuming bar has hosted a jam session every Friday for about 30 years, and VCU jazz students have preceded those jam sessions for the last two.

The Feb. 15 entertainers were members of Grove Avenue, a six-piece featuring Mason Klein and Robert Williamson on trumpet; Richard Albright on guitar; Cassidy Wilson on drums; Thomas Levine on saxophone; and James Joyner on bass. The group played a number of beloved and familiar jazz standards, including Miles Davis’ immortal “So What” and the bossa nova classic “The Girl From Ipanema.”

VCU Director of Jazz Studies Antonio García has been working with Emilio’s to keep a constant rotation of jazz ensembles every week.

“We have this ‘school without walls’ scenario where the students learn here, they go out and try it and make their mistakes in public, and they fix it,” García said. “They learn how the business works and they learn how to master their nerves.”

The setlists do not typically feature the barn-burning complexity that VCU jazz

black man who could have ended up in jail for any number of reasons, including larceny or assault. His charge is different –– rape and murder. Thomas finds himself in a downward spiral after he murders a young white woman in a flash of hysteria.

The novel is divided into three books –– “Fear,” “Flight” and “Fate.” Each section deals with a different aspect of Bigger’s life. In “Fear,” Bigger’s fear of white people leads him to commit a crime. In “Flight,” he fails to save himself, heading to an inevitable conclusion. “Fate” shows us that Bigger has come to terms with the results of his actions. He understands the relationship between black and white people is more than just black and white.

The book highlights the experiences of people living in inner cities and how their self-perceived hopelessness can lead to even more problems. The 1930s were not kind to black people in America. The story of Bigger Thompson serves as a reminder of those who attempted to better their situations, only to encounter obstacles they weren’t equipped to handle.

concerts can showcase, but it’s certainly not easy listening, either.

“It is the dinner hour at Emilio’s, so they’re not interested in the most avant-garde thing we could throw together. It’s not mathy, thrash metal jazz,” García said. “It’s not entirely easy. The folks at Emilio’s are enthusiastic jazz listeners.”

But, García said, students do play crazier, more complex jazz charts — just later in the night.

The students echoed their director’s appreciation for the growth opportunity the sets at Emilio’s provide them.

“This is the perfect place to make mistakes, experiment and start finding our voice, especially in terms of improvisation,” said trumpeter Robert Williamson.

Matt Sthreshley, who has been booking performers at Emilio’s since 2008, says the venue hosts a myriad of performers.

“Friday nights are totally jazz, Saturday nights we have house music from a bunch of different DJs, Tuesdays we have salsa nights. Sometimes we do open-mic nights,” Sthreshley said. “There’s always foot traffic coming in, and they always want to hear music.”

Going forward, Grove Avenue wants to introduce more original charts to these weekly sets.

“As we grow as a group, we’re trying to move on to having people inside the band write charts,” Williamson said. “I think that will really define us as a group when we start performing our own compositions.”

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“BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME”

BY TA-NEHISI COATES (2015) This book-length letter from the author to his young son is reminiscent of “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin. It uses the same narrative structure to tell an autobiographical story.

Coates discusses the history of violence experienced by black people, as well as the residual aspects of that history that, he says, can be seen today, such as in the over-policing of young black people.

He discusses various themes with poetic wit and bleakness that emphasiz es the experiences he had growing up, as opposed to more positive depictions of the struggles of black people in America.

Through a shortened account of the events that have occurred in his life, Illustration by Steck Von Coates ponders the many nuances that come with being black in America. From the navigation of the very complex social setting of Baltimore –– continually living under the threat of violence or physical harm –– to interacting with his environment and living within it.

Coates’ stance on black freedom goes against the hope that Martin Luther King Jr. had for integration and the hope that Malcolm X had for nationalism. He argues that true freedom cannot be achieved while systems of oppression and white supremacy remain.

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12 The Commonwealth Times

Brick Productions Student videographers build dynamic roles in music industry

“That was our first video,” Haregot said.

“We filmed it, shot it all within a couple of weeks. And then it dropped, and we had as many people as we knew go check it out to see if they liked it or not.”

Their connection to Miller eventually led to more influential appointments, including working for one of Bastola’s favorite rap artists, Black Kray from Goth Money Records.

“Now, I have conversations with him [Black Kray],” Bastola said. “I talk to

THURS. 02/21 Faculty/Guest Artist Recital

Adjunct professor Tony Martucci, who teaches private lessons and ensembles at VCU, performs jazz drumming.

7 p.m., W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (922 Park Ave.) Free.

SAT. 2/23 Third Coast Percussion

Attend a performance by Third Coast Percussion, a Grammy-winning quartet of Chicago artists. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit arts.vcu. edu/music.

8 p.m., W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (922 Park Ave.) Prices vary, free for VCU Music students and faculty with reservations

THURS. 2/21 The Community Forum on Critical Issues in Black Richmond

VCU sophomores Aayam Bastola and Nahome Haregot didn’t have much experience when they started producing music videos in their freshman dorm rooms.

They’ve since worked with rap artist Trippie Redd, who has more than 6 million Instagram followers.

But according to Haregot, the pair didn’t have anything to do with the music industry before they created their own brand, Brick Productions.

“We were bums,” Bastola added. “We didn’t do anything. We just played video games and stuff.”

While they had the tools to make a video, they needed an opportunity to work for an artist. That’s when local producer and rapper Sunil Rajan — known professionally as Linus — reached out to them.

“He had a lot of connections with rappers,” Haregot said. “We didn’t have any.”

Rajan connected the pair with Virginia rap artist Samson Ace Miller, and they made plans to produce their first professional music video. They initially asked for just $60 in compensation, but the artist gave Sophomores Aayam Bastola, left, and Nahome Haregot started Brick Productions in them $90 and asked them to do a good job their freshman dorm rooms. This year, they’ve worked with rapper Trippie Redd, among with the footage. others. Photo by Jon Mirador

Nahome Haregot, student videographer

See something

Do something

ANDREW RINGLE Spectrum Editor

That’s how a lot of the connections are built. It takes a lot of rejections from these rappers.

One in a hundred will reply to you, and then it goes from there.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

him, I know him. It’s crazy. To me, he was one of my favorite rappers. I’d lose my shit the first few times I’d meet up with him, but after a while, I can talk to him like a peer.”

Bastola said the project with Black Kray made it easier to work with other celebrity artists, including Trippie Redd, who was featured in a video Brick Productions made for rapper Sunny2Point0. The video, titled “Man Down,” was uploaded to the WorldStar Hip Hop Youtube channel in January.

It has since received more than 600,000 views.

“Sunny saw the talent [Bastola] had with editing, and he asked him to come film for his show,” Haregot said. “That’s how a lot of the connections are built. It takes a lot of rejections from these rappers. One in a hundred will reply to you, and then it goes from there.”

Once they published “Man Down,” Trippie Redd invited Bastola to film two stops on his tour. At the show in Norfolk, Bastola connected with artists like Lil Duke and Lil Keed. Before the concert in Washington, D.C., however, Trippie Redd became sick with the flu.

“So I just kicked it with him there and we shot some videos with some other people from 1400,” Bastola said, referencing Trippie Redd’s musical group. “It was a good experience.”

Bastola and Haregot are both marketing majors, and they have nearly every class together. The pair agreed that college is important but said balancing schoolwork with Brick Productions can sometimes be difficult.

“Right now I’m trying my hardest to balance the two together. But I think it’s very doable,” Haregot said. “When I don’t want to work on school, [music videos] just take me away from it for a bit. Then I’ll have a creative drought and I’ll go work on school.”

Brick Productions may only be sophomores in the rap world, but they said they’ve produced over 25 videos for more than 10 different artists.

“There’s lots of long nights involved with it,” Bastola said. “But we love it. We do it out of love. We’re building this house brick by brick, and we’re always building.”

Brick Productions can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @brickprod.

A presentation titled “Awareness— Protection—Involvement” will feature theater, poetry, martial arts and audience engagement. Performers include local organizers Rob Gibsun, Jihad Abdulmumit and Rebecca Keel. This event is from The Community Forum, a seminar series focused on black history in the U.S. 7 p.m., Institute for Contemporary Art (601 W. Broad St.) Free.

SUN. 2/24 Viva La Vintage RVA Market

Richmond vendors will sell vintage clothing, accessories, art and more. A cash bar will offer a variety of drinks and there will be a raffle with two chances to win prizes. All ages are welcome.

1-5 p.m., Hofheimer Building (2818 W. Broad St.) Free.

Learn something

WED. 2/20 17th Annual Black History Month Lecture

VCU Libraries will host a series of lecLETTER TO THE EDITOR tures on the injustices faced by returning African-American soldiers. Speakers include Christy Coleman, Adriane LentzSmith, Kiara Boone and Jeffrey Blount.

Register at library.vcu.edu.

7-9 p.m., Room 303, James Branch Cabell Library (901 Park Ave.) Free, register online.

THURS. 2/21 Anthropology Day

Anthropology alumni Ashley McCuistion and Brenna Geraghty will speak and present 3D-printed replicas of artifacts, bones and fossils.

9 a.m.-noon, Commons Theater, University Student Commons (907 Floyd Ave.) Free.

WED. 9/13 Race and Christianity in Early Virginia

New York University history professor Rebecca Goetz will discuss Christianity and race in colonial Virginia. The lecture is part of the Humanities Research Center’s year-long series entitled “Virginia’s Past, Present, and Future.”

4-5:30 p.m., Room 303, James Branch Cabell Library (901 Park Ave.) Free.

Wed. February 20, 2019 13

Quote of the week

Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.

— Lyndon B. Johnson

ICE is locking up activists and now rappers Illustration by Adam Goodman

ALEXIA HOLLOWAY Contributing Writer 21 Savage has lived in Atlanta since the start of his career, which is why many fans — myself included — were shocked to learn he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month.

He moved to Atlanta from the United Kingdom when he was 7 years old and his visa expired as a child, in July 2006. Since then, he has had multiple run-ins with the law, including being expelled from high school for pulling a gun on another student. Regardless of this, 21 Savage did not seem to be on ICE’s radar until he spoke out about U.S. immigration reform.

Nowadays, we have to worry about mass incarceration and modern-day lynchings in the form of police brutality.”

Alexia Holloway, contributing writer Through multiple arrests, it was beyond me as to how 21 Savage slid through the cracks. Perhaps it’s because ICE has made itself a household name since President Donald Trump took office. Although former president Barack

Obama cracked down on immigration enforcement, immigration agencies have become increasingly aggressive in their tactics. According to Slate, one of these tactics includes ICE arresting and attempting to deport individuals who are guilty of misdemeanors, such as minor traffic violations. More infamously, ICE is the agency responsible for separating the children of immigrants from their parents and locking the children in custody in cages.

It is suspicious that when 21 Savage starts to donate his money to poor people in Atlanta and uses his platform to speak out against social issues, that he is picked up by a government agency out of nowhere, detained for 23 hours of the day.

21 Savage was released Feb. 13 after processing, following his Feb. 3 detainment. His case is still pending in Atlanta and could take years to resolve the deportation case, according to one of his attorneys. It is important to note his aggravated felony charge has been dropped. This means the status of his pending visa is the only leg his deportation charge can stand on.

ICE has developed a reputation for arresting and detaining visible activists.

Jean Montrevil, an immigration activist from New York, was recently deported to Haiti in January after co-founding the New Sanctuary Coalition, an immigrant advocacy group. Montrevil lived in the U.S. for more than three decades and was forced to leave behind his children.

The U.S. has a long and filthy history when it comes to the treatment of black people. During the civil rights era,

leaders were under the watchful eye of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI along with the Counterintelligence Program. Nowadays, we have to worry about mass incarceration and modern-day lynchings in the form of police brutality. Being detained for doubts over their immigration statuses is an issue that black Americans must also consider in today as well.

But what if an ICE agent randomly chooses a community activist or local musician who is making too much noise and says their paperwork is forged?”

Alexia Holloway, contributing writer We can keep our birth certificates and social security cards in a safe place if we ever need to prove our citizenship.

But what if an ICE agent randomly chooses a community activist or local musician who is making too much noise and says their paperwork is forged?

The story of the assassination of Black Panther member Fred Hampton seems like an old, distant tale. In similar fashion, Rakem Balogun woke up to armed FBI agents storming his apartment. After being dragged outside in the freezing cold, he was told that he

had been under FBI surveillance for a few years as he was being investigated for domestic terrorism. He was later incarcerated for five months. Balogun’s story serves as one of the first to show the government’s efforts to eradicate “black identity extremists.” These “extremists” pose a threat to the government because they advocate against police brutality and the mistreatment of blacks.

21 Savage’s arrest came days after releasing a music video for his song “a lot” where he raps, “Been through some things, but I couldn’t imagine, my kids stuck at the border.” By using his platform to speak out against systems of oppression, he became an ICE target.

In a statement to CNN, ICE attempted to call into question the character of 21 Savage with the following statement: “His whole public persona is false. He actually came to the U.S. from the U.K. as a teen and overstayed his visa.”

There was no mention of any crimes committed by 21 Savage, previously or now. This statement was used to get his fans and community to turn against him. I do not see this happening in the future, because the entire hip-hop community — including major names like Jay-Z, J. Cole and Metro Boomin — has rallied behind him.

Many people are calling into question the validity and credibility of ICE’s work. If this agency can take down a black man, who happens to be a celebrity, it is very possible for this to happen to everyday black people.

14 The Commonwealth Times

Recent blackface incidents unveil America’s ingrained racism IMANI THANIEL Contributing Writer Americans saw blackface for the first time at a minstrel show in New York in the 1830s. White performers covered their faces in shoe polish or burnt cork to mimic African slaves. The shows characterized slaves as lazy, stupid, criminal and hypersexual, among other offensive stereotypes.

After the Civil War, blackface performances only increased, establishing a stereotype that had long-lasting effects on a race of people who are much greater than the color of their skin. Ending blackface is a step toward solving other issues of racism because of how ingrained the practice is in history.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded in 1868. The Elks club, or “the burnt cork brotherhood,” as it was commonly referred to, was formed by minstrel performers. By the 1960s, presidents including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy supported the brotherhood. Because blackface was so widely accepted throughout all of the 20th and into the early 21st century, no one deemed it deplorable except those who were affected by it — black people.

Today, the blackface allegations against Gov. Ralph Northam bombard our social media timelines after his 1984 yearbook photo surfaced earlier this month. Even though he denies being either person in the photo, Northam did admit to wearing blackface in 1984 when he dressed up as Michael Jackson for a dance competition.

He said in an interview with CBS that he is “not the same person,” but that does not

excuse the fact that his indecent actions are just as racist now as they were 35 years ago.

It is socially and morally unacceptable for people to wear blackface because it was built from a prejudice and stereotype of African-American slaves and freedmen whose history should be preserved — not trampled over for white people’s entertainment.

Slavery should not be mocked. There is no joke in the inhumane treatment of the Africans who were brought to here against their will to be laborers for white men who called themselves leaders of a “free nation.”

Blackface was so widely accepted as a non-issue because it was dismissed.

No one has ever stood up to a government leader and said, “Blackface is wrong and it should be outlawed.” Easier said than done, but the offensiveness and ridicule behind blackface should make any person in leadership of this country want to outlaw it because it is — and always has been — hurtful, disrespectful and just wrong.

In 2017, there were three reported instances of blackface at Oklahoma State University. Four female students wore black masks on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and six days later, another woman took a picture wearing a mud mask with a

The continuous dehumanization and humiliation of black bodies contributes to the number of hate crimes in this country.

If it’s acceptable to mock us, it becomes acceptable to physically violate us.

Some people, like our current president and his political cabinet, would argue that there are issues much greater than blackface such as immigration, foreign trade and war. But if social injustices formed 100 years ago are still not addressed, we will never be “one nation under God,” and all Americans cannot live in liberty and justice.

Putting an end to blackface is a step toward solving Illustration by Steck Von other long-standing social issues in America. But caption that read, “When he says he only people must first recognize that blackface likes black girls.” is part of a long chain of black dehumanAt Brigham Young University, a young ization, which is rooted in an even deeper man wore blackface to a Halloween party, injustice of disenfranchising blacks socialwhile students from the University of North ly, politically and economically. Racism is Dakota put on black facial masks and cap- deeply ingrained in American culture, and tioned the photo, “Black Lives Matter.” it’s used for entertainment and profit.

Just a few weeks ago, Gucci was selling African-Americans are still living in the an obnoxious blackface sweater. lasting effects of racism through police bruThese are just a few of many incidents tality, inequality in the workplace and being — the FBI reported a 17 percent increase the face of Halloween costumes for fraterin hate crimes from 2016 to 2017. Out of nity parties. The meaning has never changed. more than 7,000 crimes reported, 2,013 Blackface has and always will be a form of were targeted at African-Americans. white supremacy and black inferiority.

‘Ghosting’ is socially acceptable — that doesn’t make it okay BRIANNA SCOTT Opinions Editor “Hey!” *silence* “Want to grab a bite at Elephant Thai?” *silence* “Are you free tonight?” *silence* “Read 2 p.m.” *silence* Oof. We have all been on the receiving or giving end of these messages. It isn’t a new phenomenon, but the advancement of technology, the creation of smartphones and social media have made it so easy to do. Ghosting.

Leaving any sort of relationship without an explanation and disappearing classifies as ghosting.

It happens in romantic, platonic and familial relationships.

Ghosting doesn’t just happen after an awkward date or two, it can happen after you have known someone for years.

I’ll go ahead and put myself on blast, I’ve been ghosted more than a dozen times. It doesn’t get easier to comprehend. I’ve come to accept it with a bitter laugh and curling up to watch “Gilmore Girls” while ordering McDonald’s on Uber Eats.

After being in the dating game since starting college, I expect most people are capable of ghosting without any remorse.

Most people seem to ghost because of how effortless it is.

But there’s psychology behind ghosting.

On the other hand, some people ghost because they do not want to deal with “drama,” as one guy I was talking to explained. The truth is, people don’t want to deal with confrontation and would rather avoid communication than be honest with someone. It costs nothing to tell someone how you truly feel.

If you avoid communication because you are nervous about conflict, it can lead to bad cycle of avoiding all types of communication, including at work or school.

Being ghosted can lead you to become untrusting, doubtful in relationships, obsessive and self-blaming.

Ghosting isn’t fun for any of the parties involved.

A recent study showed that perceptions about relationships can influence ghosting. These beliefs were destiny — that we all have a soulmate — and growth, that people change over time and broken relationships can be prevented from “hitting the rocks.”

Illustration by Lilly Cook Strong believers in destiny were nearly 40 percent likely to considPsychologist Dianne Grande cites er ghosting someone. Strong believers avoidance of confrontation, fear of emo- in growth were around 38 percent more tional intimacy, a narcissistic personality or likely to think it’s acceptable to ghost a fear of a violent reaction as potential rea- long-term partner. sons people ghost.

But people who ghost lack courage and Ghosting someone is acceptable when don’t think about their impact on other dealing with physically or emotionally people. These aren’t people we should waste abusive individuals or people who bring no our time on in hopes that they come crawlgood to your life. Sometimes, there is no ing back to us — which they will. other safe way out.

My close friend ghosted me after he told me he was dying from cancer. The toxicity of our destructive and unhealthy friendship and romantic feelings for each other could fill pages. I knew he was a ghoster; our entire friendship revolved around him popping in and out of my life for years. When he told me, I thought the ghosting might cease and we could talk without him leaving.

But he left with no explanation as to why he couldn’t just stay this one time. Again.

That pain left me breathless and feeling as though I didn’t matter. I felt like I would never matter to anyone if my friend who was dying could leave me like that.

Now, I can only hope his proxy never texts me the dreadful news that he’s gone, forever.

There is a pain that comes with being ghosted. The pain of rejection can surge through the human body at the same intensity of physical pain, reports a study from the National Academy of Sciences.

You can pop an ibuprofen to ease the suffering.

Being ghosted leaves you feeling powerless, vulnerable and questioning yourself when most of the time, you did nothing to warrant it.

I get it, feelings and emotions suck. But as humans, we have modes of communication that we should use.

I leave you all with a lyric from one of my favorite songs, “Lose One Friend” by Hotel Books, that could change your perspective on this heartbreaking phenomenon.

“It’s not about being there for me, it’s about respecting me enough to tell me why you’re not.”

Wed. February 20, 2019 15

THE CT STAFF EXECUTIVE EDITOR Georgia Geen geengr@commonwealthtimes.org

Knowing When To Say No by Rama Duwaji

MANAGING EDITOR Saffeya Ahmed ahmeds@commonwealthtimes.org NEWS EDITOR Fadel Allassan news@commonwealthtimes.org SPORTS EDITOR Noah Fleischman sports@commonwealthtimes.org SPECTRUM EDITOR Andrew Ringle spectrum@commonwealthtimes.org OPINIONS EDITOR Brianna Scott opinions@commonwealthtimes.org MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR Erin Edgerton photography@commonwealthtimes.org AUDIENCE EDITOR Alexandra Zernik zernikal@commonwealthtimes.org ILLUSTRATIONS EDITOR Steck Von illustrations@commonwealthtimes.org STAFF WRITERS Adam Cheek, Sports

Pizza Crust by Erin Joo

STAFF COLUMNISTS Shaun Jackson, Opinions jacksonsk@commonwealthtimes.org STAFF ILLUSTRATORS Sammy Newman Erin Joo Summer McClure

VCU STUDENT MEDIA CENTER DESIGN EDITOR Ryan Rich ryan@ryanrichdesign.com GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Mai-Phuong Bui Jeffrey Pohanka Andy Caress designers@vcustudentmedia.com ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Gabbi Bernardo Dana Cantor Miles S. Hicks advertising@vcustudentmedia.com (804) 828-6629 WEBMASTER Chrislin Hearn webmaster@vcustudentmedia.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Evan McGrady distribution@vcustudentmedia.com DIRECTOR Allison Bennett Dyche abdyche@vcu.edu (804) 827-1975 CREATIVE MEDIA MANAGER Mark Jeffries mjeffries@vcu.edu

Armchair Fishing by Max

BUSINESS MANAGER Jacob McFadden mcfaddenjc@vcu.edu ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER Drew Salsbury smc_assistant@vcustudentmedia.com

ABOUT THE CT The Commonwealth Times is the award-winning independent student newspaper at VCU, since 1969. The CT staff maintains all editorial and operations discretion. There is absolutely no prior review by the public, university or VCU Student Media Center administration or staff. The Executive Editor writes and manages the Operations Budget.

ADD YOUR VOICE The opinions pages of the CT are a forum open to the public. Contributions are welcome by email to Brianna Scott, by mail or in-person at 817 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23220. Opinions expressed are those of individual columnists and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Commonwealth Times.

Unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of The CT staff.

The Commonwealth Times strives for accuracy in gathering news. If you think we have made an error, please email the appropriate section editor.

Corrections will appear on the news pages and/or online. One CT per person. Additional copies can be purchased at the Student Media Center for $1 each.

16 The Commonwealth Times

For answers to this week’s puzzles, check commonwealthtimes.org/puzzles every Friday at noon.

Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle

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GETTING AHEAD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

L o s A n g e l e s Ti me s Sun d a y C ro s s w o rd P u z z l e

By Ed Sessa

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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Spring Break plans? Get out west with OAP! Lo s recsports.vcu.edu A n g e l e s Ti me s

GETTING AHEAD

Sunda y C ro s s w o rd P u z z l e Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Getting Ahead by Ed Hessa

AMENDMENT LITERARY AND ART JOURNAL

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1/15/19 Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9.

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Friday, March 15, 2019 at 6 PM – 8 PM @ MOB - Middle of Broad 205 E Broad St, Richmond, Virginia 23219

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Literary and Flash Art Event March 12, 2019 at 7 PM – 8:45 PM

VCU James Branch Cabell Library, Lecture Hall (room 303) Live reading of poetry and prose accompamied by art and performance.

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