The Commonwealth Times; March 27, 2019

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VOL. 60, NO. 25 MARCH 27, 2019

Board of Visitors approves Master Plan

Plan to guide VCU’s expansion

Blueprint sets out to unify Monroe Park, MCV campuses

University officials recommend no undergrad tuition increases, faculty pay raise Photo by Gessler Santos-Lopez FADEL ALLASSAN News Editor After reviewing a proposal that would freeze tuition rates for most students, the Board of Visitors last week approved a plan that will steer the university’s development for years to come.

On March 21, the board was presented with university officials’ recommendations

for no tuition increases for most undergraduate students in the upcoming academic year — the first time tuitions would freeze for a number of years. Under the proposal, students at MCV would see tuition increases. The BOV will vote on tuition and fees at its May 10 meeting.

Karol Kain Gray, senior vice president and chief financial officer for VCU, said the school proposed a freeze due to “generous

support” from the state. Gray credited a $6.8 million agreement between the university, Gov. Ralph Northam and the state legislature to offset tuition.

Then, in a unanimous vote the following day, the board approved the school’s first unified master plan — a comprehensive blueprint that will guide the university’s expansion. The plan has a number of objectives, including unifying the Monroe Park

and MCV campuses, improving safety and accessibility and delineating the campus.

The ONE VCU Master Plan is the product of more than 176 interviews, presentations and meetings, according to a university news release. More than 1,500 people participated in the process.

See MASTER PLAN on page 4

Women’s Basketball concludes historic season NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor Last season, Women’s Basketball went 7-22, finishing 11th in the Atlantic 10 standings. Over the summer, the players knew something needed to be different: the way they practice.

“We came into the summer [last year], and the overall theme was to get better and to be more competitive in our practices,” coach Beth O’Boyle said. “And I think that’s something our player’s mindset over the summer was very clear on those, and we were very consistent with it.”

Fast forward a year, and the Rams (2410, 13-3 A-10) practically flipped their record from a year ago and finished the regular season atop the A-10 standings, earning the regular season title for the first time in program history.

Freshman guard Kseniya Malashka was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team this season.

Photo by Erin Edgerton

NEWS Dorothy Height 3

SPORTS Men’s Basketball 5

SPECTRUM French Film Festival 9

See WOMEN’S BASKETBALL on page 5

OPINIONS Islamophobia 13

2 The Commonwealth Times

Stories of the week

national: The Trump administration told an appeals court Monday it no longer believes facets of the Affordable Care Act should withstand litigation. The move could lead to a judge striking down the entire law. international: Russian troops landed in Venezuela over the weekend as part of military cooperation with the forces of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Martin Agency CEO discusses becoming the company’s first female executive after sexual harassment scandals CELESTE CHANCE Contributing Writer FADEL ALLASSAN News Editor When Kristen Cavallo stepped into her role as CEO of the Martin Agency in 2017, the circumstances were far from ideal at the Richmond-based advertising agency.

Cavallo replaced former chief executive Matt Williams after he had been accused of sexual harassment. Meanwhile, the agency was dealing with questions about its environment, as multiple employees told the Richmond Times-Dispatch their complaints about harassment were ignored for years.

Cavallo’s path to the company’s top job was unconventional and unpredictable. Not only because she became the agency’s first female CEO following a sexual harassment scandal, but also because she never imagined herself there in the first place.

“I am a reluctant CEO. I never aspired to be a CEO. I never wanted to be a CEO, and I had never even interviewed to be a CEO before becoming one,” Cavallo said at a discussion at the Commons Theatre Monday.

“My aspiration was to be the Sheryl Sandberg to someone else’s Mark Zuckerberg.”

The event, titled Female Leadership in the Age of #MeToo was organized by the Robertson School as part of a speaker series.

It was moderated by advertising professor Jessica Collins.

Cavallo focused how society could

job market and that women can and should aspire for leadership positions.

Cavallo said that on top of the wage gap between men and women in the average workplace, women make up 5 percent of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. These are issues she decided to tackle as the head of the Martin Agency.

By changing policies to make it easier for female directors to bid to clients, Cavallo said she eliminated the company’s wage gap within two weeks.

“We have women now bidding on every single project,” Cavallo said. “The first project we did coming out of this was Geico, and we had a woman shoot six spots for it last year.”

Then, Cavallo set out to double the numKirsten Cavallo never imagined herself as a CEO. Now serving in that role, she thinks ber of women in the agency’s leadership pothat more women should. Photo by Shayla Bailey sitions. In addition to a female CEO, the company now has women serving as chief empower women to pursue leadership op- changing who is in power.” creative officer, chief financial officer and portunities in male dominated industries in “We need more boobs in the room,” and chief culture officer. the wake of the #MeToo movement.

“Maybe if you’d slept with the client, we’d “Don’t be afraid to be the case study,” CaThe #MeToo movement began in 2006 win” are some of the statements Cavallo vallo said. “Somebody has to be the case study to help women of color and from women said she has heard from men in her career. in order to pave the way for other people.” from lower-income communities who are “I look at that and go ‘ouch,’” said MiIf people at the office aren’t comfortable survivors of sexual violence. The movement chael Schamerhorn, a senior studying cre- with that, Cavallo said, then seek a comwent viral on social media in 2017 as wom- ative advertising who attended the event. pany with rich diversity. The CEO noted en shared their stories of sexual harassment Schamerhorn said he hopes his genera- that while being a trailblazer can someand assault with the hashtag “#MeToo” to tion will implement changes that will foster times come with additional pressure, people show how widespread incidents were. more female leadership. should use their circumstances as motivators.

Cavallo said she doesn’t want to be the Camila Ceballos, a junior advertising “I don’t have the luxury of failure. I think poster child for the movement, but wants to major, said “female leadership is happening most female leaders feel that way. Most mifocus on female empowerment more broadly. in the real world and is growing.” nority leaders feel that way,” Cavallo said. “I “#MeToo is about removing an abuse Ceballos said attending the talk made thrive under pressure, so it propels me.” of power,” Cavallo said. “Progress is about her more hopeful about her prospects in the

Drones are shaking up the job market. This class is preparing students for the new frontier.

HANNAH EASON Contributing Writer Gary Gillam’s drone fascination grew several Christmases ago, as he and his sons crashed their new toy drones into the walls of their living room.

The supervisor of the Robertson School’s Audio and Video Lab had years of experience in television production and had produced helicopter footage, but drones were astonishingly cheaper. An hour-long helicopter rental started at $600, but a drone was only $1,500 to purchase.

“Five years ago, there wasn’t a television station in the United States that thought about flying a toy camera up in the sky to get pictures,” Gillam said. “Now, every station is trying to figure out how to get a [drone] pilot in the door.”

When the Federal Aviation Administration started regulating drones, Gillam had already found a hobby in building and flying unmanned aerial vehicles. Gillam went to an FAA-approved testing site and passed a mandatory drone certification test on the first day it was offered, making him one of the first to do so.

“It’s the same amount of qualifications as a plane or helicopter pilot,” Gillam said.

“It can fall out of the sky and hurt someone just the same.”

This certificate gave him the formal qualifications he needed to teach students how to use drones in their professions.

“This technology is so new that it’s a brand new profession,” Gillam said.

Gillam and broadcast journalism professor Tim Bajkiewicz were co-professors of the special topics course called New Media Technology, offered in fall 2018. Gillam plans to teach the class again next spring.

“Drones are important not only in journalism but also in advertising, filmmaking and other areas of communication because they can give you a perspective that you can’t get on the ground,” said Jeff South, director of the Robertson School undergraduate studies and journalism professor, in a news release.

Gillam said drone operation skills are applicable in many professions, including criminal justice, farming and construction.

“Somebody in Hong Kong could see progress on a building project in Richmond,” Gillam said.

Senior Morgan Edwards took Gillam and Bajkiewicz’s class last semester as an elective.

“I didn’t realize how much you could actually do with a drone,” the photographer and print journalism major said.

VCU public relations classes have also adapted to the use of drones. Public relations

Gary Gillam, who teaches a class on operating drones, was one of the first people to receive a license to fly the unmanned objects. Photo by Gessler Santos-Lopez major Cedric Page learned about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in Visual Communication and Design for Public Relations.

“We have a great resource available through the mass communications department to allow us to check out cameras,” Page said. “It helps us bring a new perspective to the equipment provided to us.”

Page used a drone to take photos and designated each photo with a chapter in a book about Richmond. Each shot displayed

an aerial view of a popular street in Virginia’s capital.

The senior said the class, taught by professor Bonnie Hanger, used drone cameras when rain made it impossible to use a handheld camera.

Visual Communications and Design will be taught in four sections next semester, two by Hanger and one by instructor Alan Rhea Davis — one section’s instructor is undetermined.

Wed. March 27, 2019 3

Civil rights activist Dorothy Height celebrated in Southside ceremony

Health System approves emergency hospital in New Kent

The 17,000-square-foot emergency hospital will be the first in New Kent County.

Photo by Jon Mirador Richmond native Dorothy Height would have celebrated her 107th birthday March 24.

Photo by Shayla Bailey

ANYA SCZERZENIE Contributing Writer

MARY MCLEAN Contributing Writer

The VCU Health System Board of Directors approved plans last month to build an emergency center in New Kent County, Virginia.

The New Kent Emergency Center, which will be at Pocahontas Trail in Quinton, is set to open in 2020. It will be the county’s first emergency hospital.

The 17,000-square-foot center will have 24-hour emergency medicine physicians and nurses. It will also have laboratory testing and imaging services.

“New Kent County is a growing part of the Richmond metropolitan area but is currently underserved medically,” said Deborah Davis, VCU Health chief of strategic initiatives, in a news release.

“The time is right to develop the county’s first emergency center.”

Del. Christopher Peace, whose district will house the New Kent emergency center, said in a news release that in addition to improving health outcomes for New Kent residents, the center will provide economic opportunities to the community.

“Part of our redesign of the health care delivery model is looking for the right

A highway marker, adorned with the seal of Virginia, was unveiled in front of the Hull Street Library at a ceremony for Dorothy Height March 24.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient was born in Richmond’s Blackwell neighborhood in 1912 and lived there for four years. Sunday marked what would have been her 107th birthday.

Family members of the Richmond native, who was an activist during the civil rights movement, gathered to celebrate her life. The event started with a memorial service at the First Baptist Church of South Richmond. Then, the Huguenot High School JROTC drumline directed attendees from the church to the Hull Street Library around the corner, where the new marker stands.

Many women who attended wore the “crimson and cream” colors of the Delta Sigma Theta, the predominantly black sorority of which Height was the 10th president. Alongside the state highway marker, women from Delta Sigma Theta

unveiled a plaque their sorority dedicated to its former president.

Connie Cuffee, the current president of the sorority, said Height’s influence is felt to this day.

“We are living her legacy, and we want to make sure she is recognized for all of the good she did,” Cuffee said. “She was a pioneer for the rights of all human beings.”

The new highway marker is sentimental piece for people who were close to Height.

Many of her family members attended and had special seats at the reception.

Gov. Ralph Northam and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax attended the event. Northam’s governorship was enshrouded in scandal when he admitted to having worn blackface in a separate incident after a racist photo was discovered in his Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook in February. Northam, who has denied being pictured in the photo, was welcomed with applause from the crowd.

The new marker lists Height’s achievements in the span of her 98-year life, highlighting her work in the civil rights and women’s rights movements. She died in April 2010.

partners to create access to care where people need it most,” said Marsha Rappley, CEO of VCU Health System and senior vice president for health sciences, in a news release. “The New Kent Emergency Center gives us the opportunity to partner with the community in this way, extending access to leading emergency and trauma care close to home.”

The new hospital is the latest in a string of development projects by the health system. VCU Health Systems announced in February plans to build an 86bed, $350 million inpatient children’s unit in the main hospital downtown. Construction on that building will start this summer and is expected to end in 2022.

When that project was announced, VCU President Michael Rao touted it as benefiting the university’s strategic goal to be ranked among the top-20 in children’s health by 2022. Rao said he wanted it to be a destination for people across the state seeking quality care, as well as a landing spot for research and education-based opportunities.

Quinton is a small unincorporated community east of Henrico County and Richmond. New Kent has a population of about 20,000, according to the U.S. Census.

Sustainability and Housing team up to bring free store to campus EMMA NORTH Contributing Writer Every summer when moving, students clear out items they don’t want anymore from their houses or apartments, sometimes leaving them in the street or nearby alleyways.

VCU Residential Life & Housing has been doing cleanups for the last three years, collecting items from neighborhoods close to campus. Lisa Mathews-Ailsworth, an off-campus student services advisor, said Res Life collected an average of more than three tons of furniture and home goods each month last summer.

But there are still large amounts of furniture left behind to rot.

“I think a lot of the larger items are things students don’t accommodate for moving,” said Mathews-Ailsworth.

Mathews-Ailsworth and Erin Stanforth, the director of VCU Sustainability, are teaming up to create a free store for all the items students would otherwise leave behind. They said they hope the service will help clean up some Richmond streets.

“We know that stuff is out there,” Stanforth said. “We are still figuring out how to get it and how the store would work for students, faculty and staff.”

The project is still in the planning stages; Stanforth and Mathews-Ailsworth are

gathering input on how it should they fear that free on-campus sturun. They held three focus groups dent services are not used enough. to gauge the need for a free store They said that may be because of the and whether students would put services’ inconvenient locations and it to use. hours, which could present an acces“Personally, in terms of furniture sibility issue. and stuff, I would certainly use it,” The Ram Pantry is open Wednessaid student Aidan Kierans, who atday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 tended the group. “It’s hard to get p.m. while the RamBikes location, furniture that fits your needs in an between Belvidere and Broad streets, affordable way.” is several blocks from central campus Mathew-Ailsworth and Stanlocations like the Commons. forth said they want the store to “One of my hopes with this projprovide furniture, textbooks and ect is reducing some of the stigma by cleaning supplies. There are other combining all of these cool resources opportunities for free services on into one place,” Stanforth said. “That campus including RamBikes — doesn’t feel like a weird kind of offwhich offers free bike rentals — and the-beaten-path [program]. It feels Ram Pantry, which provides food to really accessible.” food-insecure students. Eventually, They hope to have some way for they said, they hope to combine the students to sell or donate their leftstore with those services. over furniture and home goods by the “We’re still in the fact-finding end of the semester. stages, to be honest,” Stanforth On-campus students currently said. “But the concept is to attempt VCU Sustainability aims to make the campus more ecohave the option to use the Goodwill to bring all of the free resources on friendly with initiatives like this garden at MCV. Photo donation bins in the lobby of every campus into one space.” courtesy of VCU Sustainability residence hall. Mathews-Ailsworth The store does not have a dessaid that last year Goodwill hauled ignated space yet. The pair said they hoped access, box truck access. It’s got to be safe,” 17,000 pounds of donations off campus to use the RamBikes building, but cannot Stanforth said. “There is so many pieces that for free. because of space issues. we have to know are there.”

“There has to be storage, there has to be Mathew-Ailsworth and Stanforth said

4 The Commonwealth Times MASTER PLAN

Board of Visitors approves expansion plan, considers tuition freeze Continued from front page

After receiving approval from the Board, the university will put its Master Plan to action.

Photo by Gessler Santos-Lopez

“Through a combination of targeted investments, renovations and enhancements, The plan looks to make it clearer to the master plan recommends exciting, inpeople when they’ve entered campus by novative and collaborative new spaces that enhancing the “overall sense of place and will continue to make VCU prominent naidentity.” It would have the Commons and tionally and connect us to each other and Temple Building demolished and replaced to the city of Richmond,” said Meredith by new spaces for “collaboration, events, Weiss, vice president for administration, in passive recreation and circulation.” a news release.

A student gallery across from the InstiThe process began in September of 2017 tute for Contemporary Arts is just one of the when the university hired Ayers Saint building projects named in the plan. Others Gross, a Baltimore-based architecture firm include new student housing, with the Facil- to manage the process. The firm has deities and Financial Services at 700 W. Grace veloped master plans for large universities St. making way for a new living area. including Texas A&M, Wake Forest and On MCV, the plan would consolidate Purdue. It also developed VCU Housing’s the outpatient clinics at VCU Health and master plan and the renovation of Gladmore than triple the amount of parking ding Residence Center, which was finished spaces. It would enlarge the green space at this summer.

East Cary and North 11th streets.

Mourners remember loved ones lost to addiction at vigil CHIP LAUTERBACH Contributing Writer Local recovery community organizations held a candlelight vigil March 22 for people who have died from drug overdoses and other addiction-related complications.

About 200 recovery advocates gathered in the chapel at the Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church for the vigil.

The event was coordinated by The Wellness Resource Center at VCU — also known as The Well — and local recovery organizations, including the McShin Foundation, The Healing Place and True Recovery RVA. “Through our experiences as people in recovery, we have lost so many at such a young age,” said Tom Bannard, program coordinator for The Well’s Rams in Recovery program. “And we have not had many spaces to grieve them.”

While research and data is still being collected for 2018, opioid deaths in Virginia have risen sharply over the past decade.

More than 1,200 deaths related to overdose were recorded in 2017, an almost 8 percent jump from the year before, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

“We partnered with about 20 other

organizations to plan this remembrance event, to honor those we have lost to addiction,” said Alden Gregory, director of development for the McShin Foundation. “There has been a lot of loss in the community and it hasn’t slowed down. And it is important that we take the time to show the impact that this has on the greater community.”

The vigil included several speakers, music and a moment of remembrance when participants stepped to the front of the service and spoke briefly about those they lost.

“I came here tonight because I wanted to support my brothers and sisters in this fight against the disease of addiction,” said Timothy Covington, a member of one of the local recovery centers. “I believe that we should hold events like this more often. Because a lot of people fall through the cracks because they just don’t know what’s going on, and that there are people who have walked in their shoes and can help them because they understand the pain they are going through.”

For more information on recovery resources, visit The Well at 815 S. Cathedral Place. The Well can be reached via email at thewell@ vcu.edu or by phone at 804-828-9355.

The number of overdose-related deaths increased 8 percent between 2016 and 2017.

Photo by Gessler Santos-Lopez

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

These days, college presidents and politicans are indistinguishable FADEL ALLASSAN News Editor

reformer mentality — parallel to the type of actor you would see in He raised the minipolitics. mum wage. He enacted Earlier this month, tuition-free college. He Ryan announced the even went on a run with university would raise constituents. its base wage for fullBut Jim Ryan isn’t vying time employees from for the Democratic nomina$12.75 to $15 an hour tion for the presidency, even in 2020. The $15 wage, though given those facts, he which has been enwould fit right in. Ryan is dorsed by most liberals already president … of the going for the presidency, University of Virginia. is more than double the Since returning to lead federal standard. his alma mater last year, the young lawAt his inauguration last August, Ryan yer’s actions and statements could see kicked off his term by announcing U.Va. him typecast as the progressive, egali- will waive tuition for in-state families who tarian university president of tomorrow. earn less than $80,000 a year starting this With promises equally befitting of a school year. In the future, students whose campaign rally and a Board of Visitors families who earn less than $30,000 will meeting, Ryan is an illustration of the be eligible for free room and board. vast influence of a school president with a “I see a community that opens wide the

door to opportunity for first-generation, low- and middle-income students,” Ryan said in his inauguration speech. “There is more work to be done in this space, but we might as well get started.”

U.Va.’s initiative is notable, but not isolated. Starting fall 2019, the University of Illinois will also be tuition-free for students whose families make less than $61,000. The University of Michigan has been giving students whose families make less than $65,000 the same benefit since spring 2018.

Compare that to Liberty University, the private Lynchburg evangelical school only an hour south of U.Va. on the U.S. Route 29. The university’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr., is an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump and conservative politics.

While university presidents hardly take overtly political stances, Liberty’s status as a private college allows Falwell to be more uninhibited in his political stances.

Through a particular lens, Falwell could

be viewed as a conservative counterpart to more liberal-leaning university presidents.

The Liberty president has urged his students to arm themselves and oversaw the construction of an on-campus gun range in 2018. It is likely Falwell would wear Niche’s ranking of Liberty as the most conservative college in America as a badge of honor.

Maybe this is all foreshadowing of a world in which academic administration is analogous to politics. In this world, university presidents double as policymakers, each with distinct agendas and competing visions.

But the phenomenon is likely the byproduct of universities’ growing footprints on the communities around them.

As these institutions weave their way into the lives of locals, the need for them to impose their social values on their neighbors, and vice-versa, may be greater than before.

Wed. March 27, 2019 5

Stat of the week

Redshirt-senior midfielder Sky Hyatt was named A-10 Lacrosse Player of the Week after tallying 14 goals in two games last week.

In year two, Rhoades and the Rams become one NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor

Over the summer, coach Mike Rhoades put his team on the track to get tougher and stronger for the season. Not only did the tough workouts make his players stronger, but it was the start of building a culture.

“When the lights aren’t on and it’s in the summer and there’s nobody around but the players and they’re doing all the work,” Rhoades said, “we built a culture based on work and making sure we’re taking care of each other.”

Culture was one of the biggest changes from last season, as the team became a “family.”

“The biggest thing was that our guys really gave in to the program,” Rhoades said.

“I’m not saying it in a negative way, but it was, ‘Get out of your own way, drop your personal agendas, be coachable, be about the team.’ And what that turned into was the guys did a great job at celebrating their teammates’ successes more than their own.”

The Rams used the “army” approach this season, playing an average of 12 players in each contest. No player averaged more than 28 minutes of playing time. Junior guard De’Riante Jenkins played an average of 28 minutes, followed by redshirt-junior forward Issac Vann at 27.5 minutes.

The deep bench allowed the Rams to cycle players in and out, keeping fresh legs on the court. This proved helpful when

redshirt-junior guard Marcus Evans went down with an injury in the Atlantic 10 quaterfinal loss to Rhode Island March 15.

Evans returned for the First Round of the NCAA Tournament against UCF, and his teammates celebrated his return the day before the game.

“When we knew he would be able to play, you could see the guys really excited for him,” Rhoades said after the loss to UCF. “And that says something about what everybody feels about [Evans] and each other.”

In the loss to UCF, junior guard Malik Crowfield stepped up in the second half to lead a late surge that closed the gap to 7.

Crowfield — who played 13 minutes — led the Rams with 11 points, including 3-for-4 from three.

“Seeing everyone, how the work pays off at their given time, you never know,” Jenkins said. “It was days when some dudes were down, and they just kept working.

And eventually they had that game where all their hard work paid off, and everyone was excited for them. We all just want to see each other succeed, no matter who it was.”

Each player on the Rams’ bench has stepped up this season, like Crowfield did against UCF. Freshman forward Vince Williams played in all 33 games this season, averaging 4.9 points a game off the bench. The Toledo, Ohio, native also made plays this season that don’t show up in the box score — he has a knack for drawing charges while on defense.

Junior guard De’Riante Jenkins averaged 11.3 points and 3.9 rebounds this season.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Canavos Junior guard Mike’l Simms brought perimeter shooting off the bench, attempting 106 threes this season for the Rams.

The Richmond native also played in all 33 games, including one start.

Next season, the Rams will return all five starters and only lose two players to grad-

uation: redshirt-senior forward Michael Gilmore and senior guard Xavier Jackson.

The Black and Gold will have a heavy veteran presence in the locker room and on the court next year with five seniors on the roster: Evans, Jenkins, Vann, Crowfield and Simms.

Women’s Basketball turnaround among best in NCAA NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor Last season, Women’s Basketball went 7-22, finishing 11th in the Atlantic 10 standings. Over the summer, the players knew something needed to be different: the way they practice.

“We came into the summer [last year], and the overall theme was to get better and to be more competitive in our practices,” coach Beth O’Boyle said. “And I think that’s something our player’s mindset over the summer was very clear on those, and we were very consistent with it.”

Fast forward a year later, and the Rams (24-10, 13-3 A-10) practically flipped their record from a year ago and finished the regular season atop the A-10 standings, earning the regular season title for the first time in program history.

The 17-win improvement was historic as it falls in the record book as the 14th-best turnaround in NCAA Women’s Basketball history.

“That we’ve got a top-20 change, I’m obviously proud of that,” O’Boyle, who was named A-10 Coach of the Year, said. “Even though we were experiencing that failure and we weren’t getting the results that we wanted, we held each other accountable for it and we went into our summer with that mindset to get better.”

The Rams also appeared in the A-10 championship game for the first time, ultimately falling to Fordham 62-47 March 10 in Pittsburgh.

Sophomore guard Olga Petrova led the Rams in 3-point shooting at 40.8 percent. Photo by Shayla Bailey A year ago, there were no seniors on the roster and five underclassmen started for the Rams. O’Boyle said the growth over the summer and throughout last year helped the Rams improve this season.

“They were in a whole bunch of games, even to the end with the playoff game at Saint [ Joseph’s] — it was a battle,” O’Boyle said. “And you just talk about all the experience that they got and you take that experience and you put it on the court

this year. That was great growth for us.”

The team also took more time studying the scouting report prior to each game this season, looking for ways to improve.

“I think the one thing that really stood out to us was how our players really wanted to be on top of the scouting report, and how much they bought into wanting to be the best defensive team in the country, saying ‘What do we need to do?’” O’Boyle said.

“They would take that information and real-

ly apply it to the next game. I think that was a great growth from last year to this year.”

The Rams played in the WNIT this March, but were eliminated by Virginia Tech in the second round. The Black and Gold earned a first-round win at home, knocking off Charlotte 65-52 March 21.

As the Rams look to next season, they will not lose any players to graduation and will have the opportunity to grow from the postseason experience this season.

6 The Commonwealth Times

Tech ends Women's Basketball WNIT run ANDY RIDDLER Contributing Writer Women’s Basketball’s dream season came to a close Sunday in Blacksburg, as the Rams lost to Virginia Tech 72-82 in the second round of the WNIT. Sophomore guard Tera Reed led VCU in scoring with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting and tried to keep up with Tech’s offense, tallying 11 first-half points for the Rams.

“I think Tera [Reed] really kick-started our offense,” said coach Beth O’Boyle.

“We talked about the ability of our guards to score on them … and Tera [Reed] can just score in a variety of ways.”

The Rams shot well in the first half — nearly 43 percent. But it was ultimately their defense that cost the game, as they allowed Virginia Tech a 63.6 shooting percentage in the second quarter.

VCU went into halftime trailing 41-30 following a Hokies offensive outburst in the second quarter when they connected on 80 percent of their 3-point attempts.

“I thought we had tremendous defense for the majority of the game,” O’Boyle said.

“And there was that couple of stretches in that second quarter when we weren’t as Sophomore guard Sydnei Archie logged 4 points in 16 minutes played against Virginia Tech. locked in as we had been.”

Photo by Shayla Bailey VCU showed signs of life in the third quar-

ter with two runs to close the gap to single digits. One run spanned about three minutes after the halfway mark, during which VCU went on a 9-5 run sparked by two 3-point shots from sophomore guard Olga Petrova.

“Olga is such a pure shooter,” O’Boyle said. “She came in and she hit those big couple of threes. It was really stretching them out.”

VCU also gained some momentum toward the end of the third quarter — the Rams ended on a 6-1 run sparked by sophomore guard Taya Robinson to head into the fourth quarter down 7. Robinson finished the game with 13 points and three rebounds.

“I thought we came back in the second half and really put the pressure on them,” O’Boyle said. “When we cut it to 7, I thought if we could get it to 2 or 4 that they would really start to feel it. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for us today.”

VCU never caught up; the Hokies stretched their lead to as many as 20 points in the final frame.

VCU’s season ends with 24 wins, just two short of the program record set in 2008-09, and a 17-win improvement over last season.

“Last year we learned a lot from our adversity and not doing well,” O’Boyle said.

PRESS BOX

NCAA Tournament bidding should be altered RYAN GRUBE Contributing Writer The month of March brings, arguably, the most exciting and intense sports tournament of the year. The NCAA Tournament, widely known as “March Madness,” presents fans with an annual display of clutch shots, thunderous dunks and nail-biting finishes.

But after the tournament concludes, we’re left wondering how the bubble teams would have fared if they were included in the field.

Each year, the tournament committee is tasked with selecting and seeding the 68team field, comprised of 32 automatic qualifier bids and 36 at-large bids. The task is often an unpleasant one, as committee members receive extensive criticism for leaving out certain at-large teams in favor of others.

The one thing the committee hasn’t been able to control are the automatic bids, which teams earn by winning their respective conference tournament. Every year, teams like Fairleigh Dickinson and Abilene Christian receive spots in the field as No. 15 or 16 seeds while potential atlarge teams such as Indiana or NC State are left to play in the NIT. These smaller schools certainly earn the right to play in the NCAA Tournament with the current format, but Indiana, NC State and other bubble teams are just as deserving. More importantly, they could put up a better fight against the top seeds.

While the committee didn’t make any notable mistakes when selecting this year’s field, the finalized bracket left analysts wondering if the format should be

Illustration by Lindsay Hart

changed to include notable bubble teams over smaller conference champions.

“The committee did a great job. [It] gave Belmont an opportunity, which is really important,” said Seth Greenberg, a college basketball analyst for ESPN, following the selection show March 17. “But [the committee] left out teams that had a lot of wins against the field — teams that can win games in the NCAA Tournament but just lost too many games.”

There’s little to no doubt that Indiana and NC State would have been more competitive than Fairleigh Dickinson and Abilene Christian in their first-round

games. The Longhorns won seven games over current tournament teams during the regular season, while the Hoosiers had five such wins. Fairleigh Dickinson and Abilene Christian were bounced by 38 points and 35 points, respectively, in the opening round.

Between the two schools, Fairleigh Dickinson and Abilene Christian faced just one team in the top 50 in NET rankings.

It’s a familiar story every year — most No. 15 and 16 seeds don’t face the necessary competition before postseason play to prepare them for powerhouse No. 1 seeds like Duke, Virginia, Gonzaga or North Carolina.

As a result, No. 15 seeds have won

just eight games in tournament history.

Meanwhile, UMBC became the first No. 16 seed to upset a No.1 seed when the Retrievers shocked Virginia in the first round of last year’s “Big Dance.”

Variation in schools and conferences is needed, but the tournament also needs better competition for the higher seeds.

If the NCAA made a change to incorporate the best 68 teams in the country in its field, it would make for more intriguing matchups for the top seeds. No. 1 and 2 seeds shouldn’t automatically be penciled into the second round; there should be some thought put into those games.

Wed. March 27, 2019 7

Redshirt-senior midfielder Sky Hyatt has scored 33 goals in nine games this season. Photo by Shayla Bailey

Lacrosse misses mark against Minutewomen ADAM CHEEK Staff Writer

kicked off a three-goal run that tied the game at four.

UMass then supplied an onslaught of Lacrosse fell to UMass 22-14 March 24, scores — seven goals in less than 10 minunable to overcome a sweeping first half. utes — to put the Rams down by seven.

The Minutewomen started with an as- Barcikowski managed to break the barrage sault — scoring 16 goals in the first half with her 19th goal of the season, but UMa— and the Rams only managed five. ss fought back and added five more before UMass’ first goal came 7 1/2 minutes halftime. in and another quickly followed just a The second half saw VCU outscore few minutes later. Senior midfielder So- UMass 9-6, but the gap wasn’t enough for fia Emond scored the Rams’ first goal, her the Rams to close in. The game ended with eighth of the season, with a free position an 8-point disparity. shot.

Senior midfielder Clare Murphy scored The Minutewomen added two more less than six minutes into the game’s latbefore VCU broke through. The Black and ter half, and the Black and Gold followed Gold’s senior attacker Molly Barcikowski up after UMass added another with two

of their own. VCU didn’t allow a streak of goals similar to the first half, as the Minutewomen only managed three in a row.

The Rams also added three in a row — two consecutive goals by redshirt-senior midfielder Sky Hyatt — right after that run, trying to close the gap. Both teams only managed one more after that, however, and VCU’s 22-14 fate was sealed.

Hyatt recorded six goals on the afternoon, a team-high for the Rams, while Barcikowski added three of her own. Five other Rams added a goal apiece, including junior attack Jessica Del Rossi.

Three players with one goal also contributed one assist each, including senior midfielders Emond and Murphy, as well as

sophomore attacker Anna Koniencki. The fifth Ram to record a goal, junior midfielder Keriann McTavish, also racked up three assists.

Hyatt’s eight shots were also a teamhigh, while Barcikowski and McTavish followed close behind with six and four, respectively. Six of Hyatt’s eight shots were on goal, as were all but one of Barcikowski’s.

Starting senior goalie Ria Peralta made six saves, for a .273 save percentage, while junior goalie Gillian Belfiore made two.

The Rams will take on Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia March 29 at 4:30 p.m.

Track and Field successful on senior day NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor Track and Field dominated at the Ram Invite March 22-23, winning six events, on senior day.

WOMEN’S Redshirt-freshman thrower Kayla Merkel won the javelin throw, logging 41.59 meters. Senior thrower Camora Sanders took the crown in discus after posting a 46.66-meter toss.

Freshman jumper Amari Jackson placed first in triple jump, logging 11.53 meters.

Redshirt-senior mid-distance runner Nichelle Scott won the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.98. Senior mid-distance runner Ashley Greenlee and senior hurdler Ann Sheehy posted times of 57.21 and 58.16, for third and fifth place, respectively.

The Rams’ 4-x-100 meter relay team of junior sprinter Kayla Smith, senior sprinter Taylor Watkins, junior hurdler Khoi Banks and senior sprinter Latrice Morris posted

a time of 47.06 for a second-place finish.

Morris finished third in the 100, logging a time of 11.99. Junior mid-distance runner Ashley Brown finished third in the 800 with a time of 2:17.03.

MEN’S Freshman hurdler JeVon Waller took first in the 200-meter with a time of 22.10.

Redshirt-senior sprinter Nicholas Buckingham finished fourth in the event at 22.58.

Redshirt-junior jumper Bashir Idris recorded a 15.13-meter leap in the triple jump to win the event.

Freshman thrower Jaekob Vollbrecht and sophomore thrower Ebenezer Belayneh both logged throws of 46.44 meters in discus for second and third place, respectively.

Vollbrecht finished fourth in the hammer throw with a toss of 44.21 meters.

Junior hurdler Ian Davis finished fourth in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.68.

Track and Field will compete at Richmond March 29-30 at the Fred Harvey Invitational.

Redshirt-senior mid-distance runner Nichelle Scott won the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.98. CT file photo

8 The Commonwealth Times

Rams complete three-game sweep over UMass BEN MALAKOFF Contributing Writer

Ching hit his fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth, bringing the score to 7-2.

Baseball continued its four-game winning streak, sweeping the three-game series March 22-24 over its first Atlantic 10 opponent of the season. UMass did not score more than two runs in any of the games played at The Diamond.

FRIDAY

The Rams defeated UMass 5-2 Friday, picking up their first conference win of the season.

The first run of the game came early for the Rams SUNDAY when Witt hit in Brown with a sacrifice groundout The Rams won their to shortstop. third conference game of UMass quickly respondthe season on Sunday 3-1, ed with two runs of its completing the three-game own in the top of the third, series sweep over UMass. bringing the score to 2-1.

Senior right-handed S ophomore c atcher pitcher Curtis Bafus started Hunter Vay drove in the for the Rams and pitched four tying run during the top of innings, allowing no runs in the fourth, bringing in Witt. the first two innings. He only The Rams took the lead on allowed one run throughout a UMass throwing error by his day on the mound. redshirt-sophomore catcher UMass scored the first Connor Smith, bringing in run of the game in the top Vay and making the score of the third inning when 3-2. This was the MinuteLogan Greene’s RBI hit in men’s only error of the day.

Luke Oliphant.

VCU’s defense was strong VCU found life in its offor the next eight innings, as fense when sophomore utilno runs were scored. Freshity player Hogan Brown hit Junior infielder Brett Norwood logged four hits and an RBI in the three-game series against UMass over the weekend. man right-handed pitchhome junior outfielder Alex Photo by Gessler Santos-Lopez er Evan Chenier earned Taylor with a sacrifice fly to his fourth win and junior right-center field, tying the game at one.

SATURDAY UMass made its only offensive push of right-handed pitcher Sam Ryan picked up Senior right-handed pitcher Jack Alkire the game in the top of the fourth with two his second save of the season. The VCU relief earned his third pitching win of the seaVCU won its second conference game runs — one from a single and the other from staff finished with 13 strikeouts. son after allowing just two hits in 3 1/3 of the season, beating UMass 7-2 at The a passed ball — bringing the score to 3-2.

Two more VCU runs came in on a wild innings pitched.

Diamond Saturday.

Junior infielder Paul Witt’s RBI cushioned pitch. UMass then had a comeback attempt Junior infielder Steven Carpenter Norwood quickly began the day hitting the Rams’ lead in the bottom of the fifth, that was quickly shut down on a double broke the tie in the top of the eighth in- an RBI, double-scoring Brown. Sophomore bringing home senior infielder Zac Ching. play involving Ching, Witt and Carpenter, ning with an RBI single up the middle of infielder Liam Hibbits’ single brought NorSenior right-handed pitcher Benjamin ending the game. the field, allowing junior infielder Brett wood home, giving VCU the 2-0 lead.

Dum earned his fourth win of the seaNorwood and junior infielder Andrew The bottom of the second was highlight- son after giving up no hits in four innings VCU will play a three-game series against Puglielli to score the go-ahead runs. ed by junior catcher Josh Simon’s first home pitched and three strikeouts. The bullpen conference opponent Davidson at home, run of the year, bringing the score to 3-0. added on another 10 strikeouts. starting March 29.

VCU allows comeback in loss to Blue Raiders NILE MCNAIR Contributing Writer

FRIDAY Men’s Tennis fell to Middle Tennessee State 4-3 — the contest came down to the final singles match March 22.

Starting with doubles action, Noren and Torre Martin dominated their match, 6-0.

The last of the three doubles matches determined which team won the series of doubles matches. Junior Javier Amantegui and Stable secured the win for VCU, entering singles matches with a 2-1 lead over Middle Tennessee.

In singles, Middle Tennessee quickly gained ground and tied up the contest at 3-3.

Singles victories from Chris Edge and Pavel Moti aided the Blue Raiders’ comeback.

With the tie, the singles matchup of the Rams’ Mobius and Middle Tennessee’s Tom Moonen decided which team walked away with victory.

After an intense three-set match, Moonen and Middle Tennessee claimed victory over the Rams, with a final score of 4-3.

“Disappointed, we just lost 4-3,” coach Anthony Rossi said after. “But we have to just get back to work tomorrow and try to do better on Sunday [against George Washington].”

SUNDAY Men’s Tennis defeated George Washington 6-1 Sunday afternoon in Foggy Bottom.

Starting off, VCU dominated the Colonials in doubles. Senior Arvid Noren and sophomore Inigo Torre Martin took care of business, winning their doubles match with a final score of 6-2.

Then, teammates senior Philip Mobius and junior Inaki Rivero Crespo did the same by winning their doubles match in a competitive 6-4 set.

Winning ways for the Rams continued moving into the six singles matches, as the Black and Gold took five.

Some notable performance came from the Rams’ sophomore Timo Zgraggen and freshman Rayane Stable.

Both made quick work of their opponents, finishing their singles matches in only two sets.

Stable won his match 6-2, 6-1. Meanwhile, Zgraggen won 6-3 in the first set and 6-2 in the second.

Senior Arvid Noren won both of his doubles matches with sophomore Inigo Torre Martin in the two matches over the weekend. Photo by Jon Mirador

Next, the Rams will face Virginia Tech March 27 at 2 p.m. for their final home game of the season.

Wed. March 27, 2019 9

On this day

In 1948, jazz singer Billie Holiday played in front of a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall, just 11 days after being released from prison.

French Film Festival returns to Richmond WALTER CHIDOZIE ANYANWU Contributing Writer The French Film Festival, an annual event showcasing recent French films presented by their creators, will open its doors to visitors from all over for its 27th installment beginning March 28.

The festival was created in 1993 by Peter Kirkpatrick and Françiose Ravaux-Kirkpatrick — professors of French and film studies at VCU and the University of Richmond, respectively. It was conceived out of a need to answer one The French Film Festival will return to the Byrd Theater March 28, led by French actor Thierry Lhermitte. question, Kirkpatrick said: Photo by Gessler Santos-Lopez “What could we create as an event that would attract more students to have a large amount of people watching a tival still remains the same — to create an the French language and culture?” film,” Kirkpatrick said. “And they can in- authentic film festival that offers an immer“We thought about it for a while. We teract with the talent who comes to present sive and distinctly French experience. were debating whether to do a literary fes- the film afterwards.”

“Every year we have a staff of French stutival, a political festival where politicians Since that fourth year, The Byrd has been dents, who are interns, that come as part of from France would come, or a music festival the home of the French Film Festival. It their degree back home … helping from ev… but that would have been too expensive,” was at this event in 1996 that Thierry Lher- ery possible angle to create this event,” KirkKirkpatrick said. “So we thought we’d test mitte, the beloved French actor and director, patrick said. “They are accompanied by stuit with a French film festival.” became the first guest to be physically pres- dents from the University of Richmond and The first event took place at VCU, pack- ent, paving the way for numerous French VCU that come from a host of programs.” ing auditoriums and outgrowing the avail- filmmakers and actors that would follow.

The festival presents a learning expeable space in the first year. The following Lhermitte –– the French equivalent of rience for those who have worked to put year, the festival sought out new spaces, George Clooney –– will lead the delegation it together and those who will attend the eventually renovating places like the old of filmmakers attending this year’s event. event this week.

Grace Street Theater –– which became The actor will also teach a masterclass at the “It’s still about the students,” Kirkpatrick home to the now-closed Hyperlink Cafe. Institute for Contemporary Art on March said. “Not only the students who buy passes, This space was used for the second and third 28 at 2:30 p.m. but the students who work with us.” festivals, until the numbers of attendees The festival’s reputation has grown over outgrew it. the years and is now the largest French For more information on the French Film FesFinally, for the fourth festival, they film festival outside France, Kirkpatrick tival, visit frenchfilmfestival.us. Student and moved to the Byrd Theater. said. The festival has partnered with many instructor passes are $65 and $115, respec“We went there because we know it had different organizations within the film in- tively. Individual tickets are $15 and can be 1,400 seats and that we needed them in or- dustry in France. purchased 30 minutes before showtimes, if der to create a true cinema event where you Kirkpatrick said the mission of the fes- available. The festival runs until March 31.

SATURDAY, MARCH 30

SUNDAY, MARCH 31

“Libre” (To the Four Winds) by Michel Toesca Presentation by and discussion with director Michel Toesca; 5 p.m. – 6:40 p.m.

First Short Film Series “Leur jeunesse” by David Roux “Sans gravité” by Charline Parisot “Obtus” by Alexandre Mehring “Charly est vivant” by Thomas Chansou “Le Scénariste” by François Paquay “KYNG (ROY) – Baptiste Olivetti, Ministre” by Julie Voisin, Alexandre Tacchino and Mathieu Simonet; 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Second Short Film Series “1 image out of 140,000” with Gérard Krawczyk “Ramdam” by Zangro “Bloom” by Emmanuel Fraisse Triptyque “Raconte…” by Robert Boublil “Le Roi des démons du vent” by Clémence Poésy “KYNG (ROY) – Paul Farge, Agriculteur” by Julie Voisin, Alexandre Tacchino and Mathieu Simonet; 8 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

“Rémi sans Famille” (Remi, Nobody’s Boy) by Antoine Blossier; 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

“Et mon coeur transparent” (And My See-through Heart) by David and Raphaël Vital-Durand Presentation by and discussion with actor Serge Riaboukine; 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 29 “En Mille morceaux” (A Thousand Pieces) by Véronique Mériadec Presentation by and discussion with director and coauthor Véronique Mériadec, co-author Gérald Massé, actor Serge Riaboukine and film editor Diane Logan; 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.

“Le procès contre Mandela et les autres” (The State Against Mandela and the Others) by Gilles Porte and Nicolas Champeaux Presentation by and discussion with director & cinematographer Gilles Porte and Nicolas Champeaux; 6:45 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

“Méprises” (Dissonance) by Bernard Declercq Presentation by and discussion with director & screenwriter Bernard Declercq and actress Moana Ferré; 9:15 p.m. – 11:15 p.m.

“Abdel et la Comtesse” (Abdel and the Countess)

by Isabelle Doval Presentation by and discussion with director Isabelle Doval, actors Charlotte de Turckheim and Mathieu Simonet and producers & screenwriters Amélie de Chassey and Pierre Kubel; 12:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.

“La finale” (In the Game) by Robin Sykes Presentation by and discussion with director Robin Sykes and the actor Thierry Lhermitte; 3:30 p.m. – 5:40 p.m.

“Tueurs” (Above the Law) by François Troukens Presentation by and discussion with director and screenwriter François Troukens; 5:40 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

“Collier rouge” (The Red Collar) by Jean Becker; 7:45 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

“Tout ce qu’il me reste de la révolution” (Whatever Happened to my Revolution) by Judith Davis Presentation by and discussion with music composer Boris Boublil; 9:45 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.

WED. 3/27 The Music of Steven Snowden

The VCU Percussion Studio will host a concert of composer Steven Snowden’s work, including percussion music, a new string quartet and interactive pieces.

7–8 p.m., W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (922 Park Ave.) Free.

THURS. 3/28 Created Equal Film Series: Hidden Figures

There will be a free screening of “Hidden Figures,” an award-winning film about three African-American women who worked for NASA in 1961. The museum’s screening series is done in partnership with the Richmond Peace Education Center.

6:30-8:30 p.m., Virginia Museum of History & Culture (428 N. Boulevard) Free.

SUN. 3/31 RVA’s 5th annual Cherry Blossom Festival

The Japanese Student Association will host a festival under the blooming cherry blossom trees on VCU’s campus. There will be traditional and modern Japanese festivities, performances, music, Japanese food, games and crafts.

1–5 p.m., University Student Commons (907 Floyd Ave.)

Do something

WED. 3/27 VCU Out of the Darkness Campus Walk

The Wellness Resource Center will host a campus walk to raise awareness about mental health and suicide. To create or join a walking team visit bit.ly/OOTDVCU19. Check-in begins at 9:30 a.m.

10 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Compass Plaza (900 Park Ave.) Free.

FRI. 3/29 Pop-Up Meditation Session

Chrysalis Institute will lead a pop-up meditation session, including meditation and contemplation of Dale Chihuly’s “Red Reeds.”

THEMuseum EDITOR 11:30 LETTER a.m.–noon,TO Virginia of Fine Arts (200 N. Boulevard) Free.

Cultural Crawl RVA

THURSDAY, MARCH 28

“A Dry White Season” by Euzhan Palcy Presentation by and discussion with cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn; 10 p.m. – 12:30 a.m.

See something

FRI. 3/30

Film schedule highlights

“Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “Fait d’hiver” by Robert Enrico Presentation by and discussion with director Jérôme Enrico and cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn; 7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS

“Les chatouilles” (Little Tickles) by Andréa Bescond and Éric Métayer; 12:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

“L’échange des Princesses” (The Royal Exchange)

by Marc Dugain Presentation by and discussion with cinematographer Gille Porte; 3:15 p.m. – 6 p.m.

“L’ordre des Médecins” (Breathe of Life) by David Roux Presentation by and discussion with director and screenwriter; 6:15 p.m. – 8 p.m.

“Collier rouge” (The Red Collar) by Jean Becker; 8:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.

This is only a selection of events. For more information, visit frenchfilmfestival.us/schedule.

There will be a bar crawl across downtown Richmond in support of local businesses and the street art surrounding them. Participants will get a complimentary souvenir cup. For more information, visit culturalcrawl.com.

2-10 p.m., citywide, prices vary.

Learn something

THURS. 3/28 Objects and Methods Lecture: Sara Kaaman

Graphic designer Sara Kaaman will speak at VCU. The talk will be followed by a workshop on the third floor of Pollak Building (325 N. Harrison St.) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 29. For more information, visit arts.vcu.edu/graphicdesign.

4:30 p.m., Grace Street Theater (934 W. Grace St.)

TUES. 4/2 A Tale of Two Cities: Richmond or RVA?

Valentine Director Bill Martin and Coffee With Strangers RVA’s Kelli Lemon will discuss the history and implications of the city’s two names, followed by presentations from Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Michael Paul Williams and VCU professor Kelly O’Keefe.

6–8 p.m., The Valentine (1015 E. Clay St.)

10 The Commonwealth Times

Topic tour connects black identity and art in ICA exhibition IMAN MEKONEN Contributing Writer

“Each time I discover more and leave feeling inspired and deeply Disco balls of various moved,” Richman said. sizes sit in the corner of a “Cauleen Smith’s exhibit is room. Two balls spin on a journey into the experia silver turntable and reence and communities of flect lights that bounce black women.” off the tall blue, silver and The exhibit includes orange-colored walls. The multiple mediums of art colors create a pattern of such as three-dimensional towers, trees and buildings sculptures, music from Althat resembles wallpaper. ice Coltrane and two-diThe sounds of birds vocalizmensional patterns on ing and loud thunderclaps the walls. fill the room. On the same “These different mediside of the room, a white ums and dimensions show wall displays eye-catching us that black identity is videos containing neon colnot a stereotyped or a rigors of blue, red and green. id identity,” Grantham The sculpture is titled said. “By connecting dif“Space Station: Two Rebecferent kinds of art, Cauca’s” and is located in the leen Smith demonstrates Reynolds Gallery of VCU’s that black identity is not Institute for Contemporary one dimensional. It’s multiArt. It’s part of the newest dimensional.” exhibition called “Give It or The tour of Smith’s exLeave It” by Cauleen Smith. hibit is part of the ICA’s On March 23, the museweekly topic tour program um offered tours of Smith’s In Cauleen Smith’s “Give It or Leave It,” black identity is explored with various mediums and narratives. Assistant that guides visitors through exhibit paired with a discus- professor Awendela Grantham led a tour of the ICA exhibit on March 23. Photo by Iman Mekonen different exhibitions, ension on black identity led by couraging discussion.

Awendela Grantham, an assistant professor “Cauleen Smith gives us an experience,” after the California Watts Riots in 1965, “The idea is that instead of having a vaof African-American studies.

Grantham said. “She’s not telling us that the largest rebellion of the civil rights era. riety of drop-in tours like other museums, Grantham chose the tour’s title, “Do We black identity is just one thing, she’s pulling The photo shows eight black men sitting we’re letting you know what the topic is in Know Who We Are Yet?” and said it reveals from different mediums and narratives to together near the Watts Towers. advance,” said Johanna Plummer, curator frustration with the struggle of validating try to bring more cohesion and coherence “This picture is so revealing of the black of education and engagement for the ICA. black identity. to this experience.” identity because this picture was never pub- “We’re identifying areas of interest to the “Many black people are searching for a Grantham said Smith’s exhibit shows lished,” Grantham said. “It doesn’t show general public and seeking out various folk lost history,” Grantham said. “Even though the black identity as revealing contrasting black people wanting to fight, it just shows to give those tours.” we as black people have created monuments, emotions of rebelling and resistance. a group of men wanting to be at peace, the great wonders of the world and many “I think when we polarize identity into wanting to get along with each other and The exhibit is on display at the Institute for inventions, we are still striving to achieve two spaces of being hostile or being passive, wanting to have a communal bonding time.” Contemporary Art until May 5. The topic equality as a people.” it doesn’t let you be who you are,” Grantham Isabelle Kinnard Richman, an assistant tours are held weekly. Highlight tours, which Grantham said images in media “mar said. “Often times black identity is some- professor of religious studies, attended the provide a general overview of the art, take black identity,” and artists like Smith chal- thing that is constructed from the outside.” event. Richman will give a topic tour of the place the first Saturday of each month. For lenge racist heritage in the U.S. while also Included in the exhibit was a black-and- same exhibit at the end of April and has more information, visit icavcu.org. showing the diversity of black identities. white photograph by Billy May, taken a year visited the exhibition three times.

Sleepwalking to a groove where past and present collide

Sleepwalkers are a Richmond-based band comprised of brothers Michael and Austin York, as well as Alex De Jong, Mike Bryant and Jacob Shank. They’re headlining at The Broadberry on May 31. Photo courtesy of Hank Archer

QUENTIN RICE Staff Writer

from [ John] Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie to punk rock and all the great ‘60s and ‘70s bands,” York said. “It might just be a compulsive thing to bring those sounds into the modern age, but you can’t help but have it sound slightly modern because of the gear we’re recording on.”

Sleepwalkers signed to Richmond-based Spacebomb Records in 2018 and are set to release their first album in five years with the record company later this year. On March 5, the band released a new single titled “Fault is Me” to announce the forthcoming record. The main guitar riff drips with distortion and other effects, and the heady vocal delivery is as catchy as ever.

Michael York said the band plans on adding even more elements from different musical worlds on their sophomore record.

“There’s a lot of Prince, there’s a lot of The Cars,” York said of the new record’s influences. “There’s some hip-hop-oriented stuff that’s more like ‘90s boom-bap, but we’re not actually rapping.”

The band aims for a summer release with accompanying tours before and after the album comes out. The next performance will be at the RPAA Parking Lot Party on April 27. Their next headlining gig will be May 31 at The Broadberry, and they are working on nailing down more East Coast dates before the release of the record.

In the abstract, a sonic marriage of The Cars, Thin Lizzy, Foster the People and Hippo Campus sounds strange at best. But Richmond’s very own Sleepwalkers has found a way to make it work.

Led by brothers Michael and Austin York as well as drummer and engineer Alex De Jong, Sleepwalkers have made quite a name for themselves, in Richmond and abroad. They have toured with the likes of The Lumineers and J. Roddy Walston & The Business; the band also just performed at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

“We do great in New York, LA, Seattle, Denver,” guitarist and vocalist Michael York said. “But I’m pretty biased. When we’re touring Richmond’s just the best.”

The band released their first full-length LP, “Greenwood Shade,” in 2014. It’s laidback, simple and groovy. It combines the goofy synthesizers of The Cars, the basic and addictive groove of Foster the People and, in a number of spots, some vocal harmonies that evoke a Hawaiian vibe.

“Cocaine” is probably the best cut from “Greenwood Shade.” The way the lo-fi vocals effortlessly glide over sweet syncopated guitar chords makes it difficult not to sway like the palm tree imagery it evokes.

Michael York said the band’s collision of old and new sounds is the result of the More information about performances and music they grew up with and their record- releases can be found at spacebombrecords. ing process. com/artists/sleepwalkers.

“Our parents were listening to everything

Wed. March 27, 2019 11

Student spurs online influence with social media brand ANDREW RINGLE Spectrum Editor

studied the page when he started The Clout Cloud’s account.

At the wooden desk in “ When we were first his small apartment bedlooking at our phones and room, sophomore Illias everything, and when you Anwar was checking his look at the explore page, phone again. His business there’s always three things page on Instagram finally that you always see,” Ansurpassed 15,000 followers. war said. “It’s always, like, Sitting across a wall full of people fighting, or drama posters, photographs and a or something that catches clipped picture of his dream somebody’s emotion. That’s car, he scrolled through the where business and psycholIllias Anwar. Photo by Gessler latest posts and discussed ogy go [hand] in hand.”

Santos-Lopez his goals for the future.

Anwar is now a business The Clout Cloud is an online entertain- student at VCU, but he studied fashion ment news platform, started by Anwar and merchandising his freshman year. He said his friend in 2017. In the past week, the he uses experience from both programs to group made more than 500,000 impressions inform the management of his brand. on Instagram and reached the scrolling The Clout Cloud sells merchandise dethumbs of 250,000 users. The account posts signed by We Grind Apparel, another Richviral news from the entertainment industry, mond start-up with which Anwar works and it’s operated by a team of interns work- closely. ing under Anwar’s direction.

Anwar said he wants The Clout Cloud “If it’s been viral, we’ve already covered to function like The Shade Room, an Init,” Anwar said, adding that his main goal stagram-based mass media company that is to get The Clout Cloud’s posts onto the The New York Times called “the TMZ of Instagram explore page. the Internet.”

The explore page operates on an algo“That’s kind of like for girls,” Anwar said rithm, curating posts for the individual user of The Shade Room. “But I kind of wantbased on their previous interactions with ed to make [The Clout Cloud] for guys the app. Making it onto the page can be a specifically.” big opportunity for small accounts to get And Anwar’s audience engagements reattention from other users. Anwar said he flect that motivation. According to his latest

Sophomore Illias Anwar started The Clout Cloud in 2017. Since then, the social media platform has gained over 15,000 followers. Photo by Gessler Santos-Lopez analytics, 91 percent of his audience is men.

Anwar said he has plans for his company to promote concerts for musicians and record labels, and he eventually wants to host larger events under the umbrella of The Clout Cloud.

“Our end goal is honestly to just try and throw our own festivals,” Anwar said.

“That’s looking at the bigger picture. As of right now, we’re just going to these artists and asking to promote for them.”

Audience analytics from The Clout Cloud’s Instagram profile showed that most of his followers live in New York, but

Anwar maintains a close connection with his brand and Richmond. The address for the University Student Commons is listed in the Instagram page’s bio.

“Richmond is so cultural and artistic, and everybody here is extremely well-driven,” Anwar said. “Everybody’s either a photographer, a SoundCloud rapper, or they’re an [Instagram] model. Everybody’s pursuing their dream, and I think it’s a good place to be.”

The Clout Cloud can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @thecloutcloud.

Old, but not forgotten: a look back on nostalgic video games JONAH SCHUHART Contributing Writer

relive almost every conflict in the saga from the perspective of the nameless soldiers that get cut down by space wizards like Darth Vader. And if players did well, they could become that space wizard.

This game may not sound very different from its modern successor, but it contained great single-player content in the form of “Galactic Conquest” and the “Rise of the Empire” campaign mode. More importantly, unlike the new one, it didn’t gouge your wallet with obscene loot box systems.

Nothing appeals to people more than things associated with the simpler and more enjoyable times of adolescence. So, in celebration of nostalgia, here’s a couple of my most nostalgic game series as a kid who grew up in the early 2000s.

Disclaimer: I’m refraining from including any series that have maintained relevance over time with new releases. That means the bulk of Nintendo franchises are off-limits. The same goes for “Call of Duty” and similar games.

“WII SPORTS” Illustration by Karly Andersen

“LEGO STAR WARS” In 2005, the world was graced with “Lego Star Wars,” one of the greatest family-friendly game series of all time. It was the first in a series of licensed games that retold classic movie franchises like “Indiana Jones” and “Batman.” They had no dialogue and relied on visual storytelling. What resulted were kooky, Saturday-morning-cartoon renditions of classic movies that had 9-year-old me hunched over with laughter.

Combine that “Tom and Jerry” style visual comedy with simple gameplay, a host of iconic characters and a myriad of collectibles in every level. The result is a classic game that anyone can pick up, play and immediately enjoy.

Nowadays, licensed Lego games are still released on a regular basis, spreading joy to children of all ages. They’ve added full dialogue to some newer releases though, so I’m not sure if they still carry that unique formula for slapstick cartoon humor.

“GUITAR HERO” In a world where rhythm games were dominated by Japanese arcade machines like “Dance Dance Revolution,” one game

series sought to rise up and overthrow the status quo. Enter “Guitar Hero,” a Western game that lets anyone live out the fantasy of being a rock ’n’ roll guitar god. Boasting a unique controller, the series hit the market like a meteor in 2005, becoming a sensation overnight. Everyone loved “Guitar Hero.”

It had a unique visual style with a sly sense of humor, an awesome collection of classic rock songs to play and a multiplayer mode perfect for parties.

Today, the “Guitar Hero” franchise isn’t doing so well. Those kinds of rhythm games fell off the radar years ago, and the failed experiment that was 2015’s “Guitar Hero Live” isn’t bringing them back anytime soon.

Luckily, an underground community has kept the hearth warm, creating and playing custom songs on the independently-made “Clone Hero” for the PC. “TONY HAWK’S” The “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” franchise is easily one of the greatest sports series of all time. It took one of the biggest athletes of the 20th century and added arcadey gameplay in creatively designed levels

stuffed with collectibles and missions that kept players hooked. It also helped that every game had a custom soundtrack with some of the greatest music of that era and a character creator that encouraged players to make ridiculous custom skaters. In those games, the player can do a double backflip 900 off a skyscraper to the tune of N.W.A.’s “Express Yourself ” while playing as a 7-foottall purple giant in his underwear. That’s a special kind of experience.

Unfortunately, the current state of “Tony Hawk’s” games is very similar to that of “Guitar Hero.” The franchise is basically dead, and its last release didn’t do it any favors. Again, a niche underground community is still shredding in “THUG Pro,” a modified version of “Tony Hawk’s Underground 2” for PC. “STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II” No, not the new one made by Electronic Arts. I like to pretend that game doesn’t exist. I’m talking about the original that came out in 2005. While games like “Lego Star Wars” let players relive the franchise in a new cartoon way, “Battlefront II” let players

The original Wii promised something new for gaming. It was the first time motion controls were used as the main control scheme for a console. “Wii Sports” was one of the launch titles that helped solidify the Wii’s success. It promised a new type of healthy gaming that promoted exercise and led to games like “Wii Fit” and “Wii Sports Resort.” In reality, all it took was some very casual wrist-flicks to play most of the game modes “Wii Sports.”

It was a real challenge to get pro status in all of the five separate game modes — especially in boxing, where the player could throw a haymaker that would flatten Mike Tyson, and the character still popped back up like a zombie rising from the grave and knocked the player’s eyes into the back of their skull.

The series has kind of worn itself out at this point. Despite the fact that a fitness game came out for the Nintendo Switch this year in the form of “Fitness Boxing,” I can’t see myself spending hours and hours flicking my wrist and flailing my arms in my living room, only to lose grip of my controller and hurl it through my parent’s television. Always wear the wrist strap.

12 The Commonwealth Times BRANDON’S ANGLE

‘Us’ is Jordan Peele’s piercing look into the American dream BRANDON SHILLINGFORD Contributing Writer “We’re Americans.”

Dialogue delivered with conviction and piercing intensity, while exuding an enormous amount of complexity and depth, could be considered the thesis for Jordan Peele’s newest film, “Us.” A film that asks, among many questions, what does it really mean to be an American?

After his 2017 Oscar-winning directorial debut, “Get Out,” the pressure is up, and the stakes are high for Jordan Peele.

“Get Out” is a revolutionary piece of contemporary horror that feeds into modern cultural anxieties and taboos to tap into our deepest and darkest fears. It was, and still remains, a paradigm-shifting film that reshaped the idea of what “horror” actually is and asked viewers to look inside themselves to find what is truly frightening.

In that idea alone, Peele’s highly anticipated follow-up, “Us,” dives deeper into that same issue: looking within one’s self to find the true source of terror.

“Us” tells the story of Adelaide and Gabe Wilson, and their children, Zora and Jason.

They’re an African-American family that decides to go on vacation to the Santa Cruz Beach for the summer. But the rest of the family doesn’t know that in 1986, Adelaide had a nightmarish encounter with what she believes to be her doppelgänger that left her mentally scared and dreading a return to Santa Cruz.

Her fears are confirmed when her double, “Red” returns with a family of identical doubles who call themselves “The Tethered”

Illustration by Julia Gilbert

of Gabe, Zora and Jason. What follows is a night during which the two families play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse that turns the Wilsons’ lives into a living hell.

“Us” is one of the strangest films I’ve seen in a long time. After watching the trailers, and looking at Peele’s previous work, I thought I had an idea of what the film was going to be like. But “Us” defies expectations not only for the movie, but the characters that inhabit its world.

“Us” shines by using allegory and symbolism to tell a story. If you try to analyze this movie from an entirely literal perspective, it will always seem complicated and convoluted. And that’s not to say it sometimes isn’t.

If you really wanted to, you could poke so many holes in the film’s plot. Peele tries so hard to weave the allegory and symbolism into every aspect of the film, but at times he reaches too far to connect the dots.

But he builds his characters’ motivations and history through brilliant metaphors in

women talk to each other.

Without spoiling anything or diving too far into my interpretation of the themes, Adelaide operates as a vessel for the audience to experience the American dream through the eyes of a black woman. The way Peele and Nyong’o pull this off is nothing short of masterful. Her performance is up there with the likes of Jack Nicholson in “The Shining.” It leaves you chilled to the bone and thinking about small nuances — like the way she walks and breathes — long after you leave the theater.

Technically, “Us” is superior to “Get Out” in almost every way — shot composition, cinematography and use of color. And as a sucker for great usage of color theory, I was mesmerized by the opening scene because of Peele’s implementation of the color red as a motif.

Michael Abel’s incredible score also adds a layer of unease as strings are methodically plucked in the background.

Peele managed to pull off a Herculean effort of cinematic excellence with “Us.” And while it isn’t perfect, it separates itself from other horror movies by asking tough questions and confronting the viewer. This is why I think “Us” and “Get Out” are so important. They dissect and challenge our traditional ideas of horror by turning them into something tangible and relatable.

“Us” is a bold and transcendent piece of filmmaking that solidifies Jordan Peele’s transformation from career funnyman to an iconic auteur of modern-day cinema.

an original and incredible way that I’ve never seen before. This is especially true for Adelaide’s character, played by the incredible Lupita Nyong’o.

From the opening scene of “Us,” the viewer is put in Adelaide’s shoes and forced to experience her trauma firsthand. This immediately creates a connection with her that twists and turns in unexpected ways as we learn more about her.

Nyong’o’s performance as Adelaide and Red is breathtaking. The way she communicates her thoughts and feelings with her eyes is truly mind-boggling. When the two families meet in the Wilsons’ living room, you recognize the other family members in the room, but you can’t help but be find yourself lost in Lupita’s eyes. She gives two entirely distinct performances, all while making them feel tied or, for lack of a better word, tethered, together. The scene is cut perfectly too — it’s composed almost Rating: 4.5/5 entirely of close-ups of Nyong’o as the two

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Wed. March 27, 2019 13

Quote of the week

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

— Alice Walker

I am a proud MuslimAmerican

Illustration by Steck Von

TAGWA SHAMMET Contributing Writer

the attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Her story embodied such heart, emotion and pain — I have never felt so much grief he year is 2013. the day is sept. 11. while reading something. It was powerful, I’m walking down the hallways of La- honest and unapologetically Muslim. To say nier Middle School in Fairfax, Virgin- her article brought me to tears would be a ia, with a smile so radiant, it would blind grave understatement. I was struggling to the sun. Nothing could ruin my mood. I’m breathe as Saffeya explained the forgiveness holding my “Happy Birthday” balloons on and peacefulness expressed by our brothers my way to see how much my friends out- and sisters in Islam. Thank you Saffeya, for did themselves with my perfectly decorated being our voice. locker. Nothing could ruin my mood. I’m thanking my friends who roam the halls, the random strangers hurrying to class and the staff members arriving to work for the vibrant birthday wishes. Nothing could ruin I’ve been afraid of the my mood. I get to my locker and am pleasantly greeted by the colorful kindness of my way people perceive friends. Nothing could ruin my mood. me for being Muslim.

“Did Bin Laden do it to honor you?”

I’m a black Muslim That did ruin my mood.

I whipped my head around to see a male woman. I didn’t choose student smirk at me, confidence gleaming to be black, but I’m in his eyes from the venom he just spat at proud to be it. I didn’t me. That boy said those words out of ignorance, hate and a lack of understanding. Not choose to be a woman, understanding that his words cut through but I’m proud to be it. I me like a knife. Not understanding that CHOOSE to be Muslim, his uneducated behavior stemmed from the hate his parents taught him. Not unand I’m proud to be it.” derstanding that just because I’m Muslim, Tagwa Shammet, doesn’t mean I lack emotion. contributing writer That day, I got a taste of the pure disrespect Muslims have to tolerate in this world.

On March 15, 50 Muslims were killed For as long as I can remember, I’ve been and 50 more injured in New Zealand in afraid of the way people perceive me for bea hate-filled terror attack at two mosques ing Muslim. I’m a black Muslim woman. I during Friday prayer. A 28-year-old white didn’t choose to be black, but I’m proud to Australian man shot up two mosques in an be it. I didn’t choose to be a woman, but I’m attack on the Muslim community. Yet an- proud to be it. I CHOOSE to be Muslim, other attack. Yet another disaster. Yet an- and I’m proud to be it. I’m fed up with these other heartbreak. extreme liberals and conservatives claiming Saffeya Ahmed, managing editor of The they are helping “liberate” me by telling me: Commonwealth Times, wrote a story on to renounce my religion, the hijab is a form

of oppression, Islam is misogynistic, my religion preaches violence.

Let me set the record straight right now: I CHOOSE to wear the hijab. The hijab empowers me. It lets me showcase my religion, while also allowing my beauty to shine from within. Islam has taught me to love being a woman, to see the strength that the woman wields — her braveness and necessity to society. My religion preaches peace, togetherness and admiration. I CHOOSE to be Muslim.

Western propaganda claims Islam is violent. I dare those buying into the Western influence to say that to the victims and their families in New Zealand, London and the thousands of other places where attacks on the Muslim community have taken place.

Stop condemning an entire religion for the mistakes of few. Don’t blame me for things I had absolutely no part of, that my family had no part of, that the real Muslim community had no part of.

When people like Dylann Roof, the shooter at a church in South Carolina, and Devin Patrick Kelly, another shooter in Texas, killed nine and 26 people, respectively, they were branded “lone wolves.” But when Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, the San Bernardino bombers, do the same, all Muslims are suddenly terrorists. Don’t twist my words: none of these people are innocent.

They deserve their punishments, and then some. However, Muslims are still being punished for the crimes of Farook, Tashfeen Malik and even Bin Laden.

The crimes perpetrated by these men repulse and devastate the Muslim community as much as the next person. It baffles me that some people actually believe Muslims sit back with no concern for these murders.

Let’s not forget Muslims were also victims of these attacks. Stop vilifying Muslims for the attacks of others.

Every day, I see Muslims disrespected and hated. The president tried to ban my entire religion from entering the U.S. when he signed an executive order banning nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries. It wasn’t some sort of elaborate scheme — he outright said he wanted to ban Muslims. And, the craziest thing was that thousands of Americans supported it.

These are Americans who know Muslims, live near Muslims, work with Muslims. Because in the end, Muslim-Americans are just as American as everyone else in this great country.

My parents pay taxes, same as yours. My siblings go to public school, same as yours.

I love my country, same as you.

Because in the end, Muslim Americans are just as American as everyone else in this great country.”

Tagwa Shammet, contributing writer I was born in this country. I was born on Sept. 11, 2000. No, Osama Bin Laden did not do it to honor me. No, I’m not a terrorist. No, I don’t hate my religion. No, I was not forced to wear my hijab. No, I’m not embarrassed of my religion.

I am an American. I am Muslim. I am a Muslim-American. And I’m proud of it.

14 The Commonwealth Times

‘Captain Marvel’ isn’t a win for everyone ALEXIA HOLLOWAY Contributing Writer

“Captain Marvel” has garnered a fair amount of criticism, along with some praise, since its release. One major critique I have yet to see is Carol Danvers’ treatment of her black best friend, Maria Rambeau.

Imagine your dead best friend coming to you and your child after you’ve assumed they’ve been deceased for six years. They ask you to help them fight an intergalactic battle that, quite literally, has nothing to do with you. You put your life in danger to help your best friend. Then, she vanishes.

This is how Carol treats Maria in “Captain Marvel.”

Marvel has a long history of using the black best friend trope in its movies. The black best friend, or the “token negro,” is a black character who has no purpose other than serving the white characters around them. They are written as one-dimensional characters that lack personality — as THE black character, instead of another character that happens to be black.

Tony Stark is always putting his black best friend, James Rhodes, referred to as Rhodey, in dangerous situations in the Iron Man trilogy. Because of this, Rhodey became partially paralyzed after the events of “Captain America: Civil War.” In “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Steve Rogers’ black friend, Sam Wilson, spends half the movie off screen, hunting down Steve’s old best friend, Bucky.

Writing black characters as token characters makes them easily replaceable. Rhodey and Sam could easily be interchanged between each other because of the roles

Illustration by Lindsay Hart

they play in their respective movies. But the same cannot be said for the white characters, Tony and Steve. They are made into two distinct individuals — not two spots to fill. Tony and Steve’s relevance and character strength are independent of Rhodey and Sam, but not the other way around.

written as intellectually lacking, poor and immoral people who need white guidance.

They are just normal people who care about those around them. Rhodey is a loyal, caring friend who tries to keep Tony grounded.

Sam had the chance to help a hero, Steve, and he took it. Maria sees it as her duty to help her long-time friend, Carol.

There is nothing wrong with this at the core. My main issue is the lack of balanced promotion. Black people have purpose, greater than just helping their friends beBlack people have fore disappearing into the background until purpose, greater than they are needed again.

Just because “Black Panther” exists does just helping their friends not mean that Marvel’s use and treatment before disappearing of black characters is not nuanced. One win into the background does not cancel out 10 losses.

Danai Gurira, from “Black Panther,” had until they are needed her name left off the “Avengers: Endgame” again.” poster. It was only added after severe backlash. Guirira’s character, Okoye, was very Alexia Holloway, visible on the poster, but her name was contributing writer not included. Marvel Studios admitted Marvel may not see a problem with giv- her name should have been on there origing their black characters mediocre sideline inally — but why wasn’t it? Marvel’s black roles. The black characters in Marvel are not characters truly receive no respect despite

“Black Panther” being Marvel’s first film to win an Oscar.

Marvel’s version of diversity is no different from the one we typically see in media.

The majority of their characters are white, with some black characters sprinkled in.

When the inclusivity and diversity conversation comes up, Marvel has characters to point to attempt to market itself as “progressive.” But this version of diversity is only aesthetic.

I love many Marvel movies. But the treatment of black characters frustrates me.

Black people do not live only to be their white counterparts’ assistants. They have lives and stories to tell. “Captain Marvel” was marketed to be as progressive and groundbreaking as “Black Panther” — but it treated its black characters the same way its predecessors had. I’m disappointed to see the film is only progressive within the framework of a white woman being a superhero. As Marvel moves forward, it’s imperative that producers recognize this issue and take genuine strides to do better for its black characters.

Ode To Self Care cat dander on everything I own, I think I might be allergic. What should I do?

Recommended listening while reading:

“FLOWERS” iyla

SHAUN JACKSON Staff Columnist I’m three months into owning a cat after deciding to get one for the longest time. I love her to death already, but she sheds everywhere. And after finding

fortable if you started flirting? If you don’t Dating is merely a courtship ritual. You have clear and positive answers to these don’t have to date, but if you’re bonding questions, then it’s probably a no. with a sexual partner, it is going to be Having a cat myself, this is probably If you do have a handle on the situation, difficult to keep things mutually platonic gonna hurt me as much to say as it will then it really just comes down to being without a lot of honest rules on how and be for you to hear, but your physical being respectful and not saying anything stupid. what you want from your dynamic. is screaming for you to re-home your pet. The goal is to merely hint at a little bit of Since you probably didn’t know you were romantic intent. Good luck! allergic before you decided to get a cat, you may want to consult with your phy- So if people have the right to support sician and see if there is something you homosexuality, by that logic people also can take for your newfound allergies. Also, have the right not to support it. Do you hypoallergenic breeds are a thing. Keep in agree or disagree? mind that, for your own health, you may just need to find her a new home.

For me, it depends on whether you’re talking about natural rights or legal rights.

As a male who identifies as a feminist, I would agree that people have the natuwho is also hella awkward, how should I ral right to their beliefs and can support go about flirting? whatever they want so long as they aren’t harming anyone. However, I do not agree First, read the room. I think many awk- that people have the legal right for their ward moments could be avoided if people belief-based actions to infringe on the lejust paid attention to their surroundings gal rights of others. before trying to spit game. Secondly, ask yourself: Is it an appropriate time and Is it possible to become good, close place for you to flirt? Do you have any in- friends with someone you’re having sex dication that advances might be welcome? with without properly “dating” them?

Is there anyone who might feel uncomIllustration by Alex Hwee

Wed. March 27, 2019 15

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

Maybe Not Quite by Erin Joo

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

VCU STUDENT MEDIA CENTER

I hope you have a great week by Ellie Erhart

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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.

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16 The Commonwealth Times

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

Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle POLLINATION

Sponsored by

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94 Skillful Pitcher Hershiser 43 Cole Porter’s “Well, Donkey sound Did You __?”

97 Dawn 44 deity Make over 99 Linguistic suffix__ 45 Mauna Citrus 47 suffix Suspect’s story100 101 Skillful 48 Copland ballet with Cole Porter’s “Well, 103 a hoedown 104 Did49 You __?”one’s word Gives 105 Make 50 over “It could happen” Mauna __ to use 106 51 Allow 107 Suspect’s 56 “Thestory Way We __” Copland ballet with 108 57 Guns a hoedown 60 Like, with “to” Gives word 61 one’s Dessert option 110 “It could 62 __happen” Park: Pirates’ 111 Allow to use field 112 “The Way We __” 4 113 Guns 117 Like, with “to” 118 Dessert option __ Park: Pirates’ 119 field

Sudoku

63 Part of XL: Abbr.

64 Site of Napoleon’s exile 65 Fish in the genus Hippocampus 68 Where __ Part XL: Abbr. Salt-__ 69ofHip-hop’s Site70of Walked-on Napoleon’s exile 71 Some punches Fish the genus 72inTake __ of: taste Hippocampus 73 Mongolian desert Where __ of “Charles in 76 Scott Hip-hop’s Salt-__ Charge” Walked-on 77 Etched: Abbr.

Some punches 78 Bk. read at Purim Take of: taste 80__ Tweaks Mongolian desertctr.

82 Research Scott “Charles 83 ofJFK, say in Charge” 85 Plan, with “out” Etched: Abbr.

86 Pancakes Bk. read at Purim served sometimes Tweaks with caviar Research ctr.Superman 87 What JFK, say first looked like?

Plan, 88 with Prior“out” to, in poems Pancakes 89 Grafton’s “__ for sometimes served Evidence” with 92caviar Sliced-off parts What 94 Superman “He that __ many first looked wordslike? shall be Prior to, in poemsEccl. abhorred”: Grafton’s “__ for 97 Coffee order: Abbr.

Evidence” 99 Fraternal org.

Sliced-off parts 100 Strange “He __ many 101that Preppy jackets words shall be 103 Abated abhorred”: Eccl.

104 Aside (from) Coffee order: Abbr.

105 Ceremonies Fraternal org.security 106 Govt.

Strange 107 Caught congers Preppy jackets 108 Judy of “Devious AbatedMaids” Aside 110 (from) Support for Ceremonies glasses Govt.

111 security Facet Caught congers 112 Israeli airline Judy “Devious 113ofMargin Maids” 117 Energy metaphor Support for 118 “Unbelievable” rock glasses band Facet 119 Celestial lion Israeli airline Margin Energy metaphor “Unbelievable” rock band Celestial lion

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Need a summer job? Learn to be a lifeguard LoAquatics! s A n g erecsports.vcu.edu l e s Ti me s with

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

Pollination by Jason Meuller

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By The Mepham 1 2 Group 3 4 Level DIFFICULTY LEVEL 2

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Complete the grid so each row, column, and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) containsSolution to Monday’s puzzle every digit, 1 to 9.

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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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3/27/19

Solution to Tuesday’s puzzle

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

For strategies Quickness RVA -Since 2010on how to solve Order Online Now! @ quicknessrva.com Sudoku, visit Sponsored by

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