The Commonwealth Times; January 29, 2020 by VCU Student Media Center

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VOL. 61, NO. 17 JANUARY 29, 2020

SPIDERS

SQUASHED Bones Hyland scores in double figures to lead Rams over Richmond NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor

R E S H M A N GUA R D B O N E S Hyland couldn’t miss from three in the first half, nailing 3-pointer after 3-pointer in the first 20 minutes. Hyland poured in 15 points and led the Rams over Richmond 87-68 Tuesday night at the Siegel Center. The Wilmington, Delaware, native drilled four 3-pointers in the half, including a game-tying three from near the logo to close the half. “As soon as it left his hands, I knew it was going in,” redshirt-senior guard Marcus Evans said. “He hit that shot on me a couple times in practice. It calmed things down going into the half.” Hyland’s 15 points, all in the first half, marked his fifth game in double figures this season. “Some guys just have the innate ability to play with a basketball in his hands,” Rhoades said. “He’s one of them.” That final three leveled the score and ended Richmond’s momentum heading into the break. “Good players make momentum plays,” coach Mike Rhoades said on Hyland’s three. “The best way to have momentum out into the second half is to take it into the locker room and to take it with you to end the half.” The Rams stormed out of the halftime break with momentum, outscoring Richmond 24-8 to start the final 20 minutes to take a 16-point lead.

“In halftime we talked about just getting to a fast start and doing what we did to start the game off,” senior guard De’Riante Jenkins said. The first half was a game of runs as both teams traded blows with each other. The Rams used a 6-0 run, sparked by a Jenkins fadeaway jumper from the left wing, to build an early 8-point lead for the black and gold.

VCU fans, that’s one of the best fans in the country. When they into it and we’re going, there’s no stopping us. … It feels like we’re unstoppable and unguardable.”

Just when the Rams and the Siegel Center crowd got comfortable with a double digit lead, the Spiders went on a 13-1 run and forced four Ram turnovers to pull within two. Richmond took a 3-point lead with less than a minute left in the first half, giving the Rams the last possession of the period. Then Hyland tied the game with his deep three. The raucous Siegel Center crowd fueled the Rams throughout the contest. It also played a factor in the Spiders’ two 10-second violations in the backcourt. “VCU fans, that’s one of the best fans in the country,” Hyland said. “When they into it and we’re going, there’s no stopping us. … It feels like we’re unstoppable and unguardable.”

The Rams shot 48% from the field on the night, including 47% from downtown. The black and gold’s perimeter defense limited Richmond to shooting 21% from three, only making three. “If they were going to make a bunch of threes, we were going to have a hard time because their offense is already efficient enough,” Rhoades said. “That was No. 1 on the list. We have to run them off the 3-point line.” The Rams travel to Kingston, Rhode Island, to play URI on Friday night at 7 p.m and will be televised on ESPN2.

Bones Hyland, freshman guard Richmond answered with a 7-0 run of its own to tie the contest at 13 until junior forward Corey Douglas ended it with a layup. Douglas tied his career-high with 11 points and added eight rebounds for VCU. The black and gold used a 13-1 run in just under four minutes, forcing a Richmond timeout, to take a 12-point lead. During the run, Hyland drilled three 3-pointers, including one from deep on Members of the men's basketball team celebrate during Tuesday's win over Richmond. the left wing. Photos by Jon Mirador

2 The Commonwealth Times

Stories of the week

national: A Harvard University professor and three other China nationals have been indicted on charges for allegedly lying to the U.S. government about their involvement with China’s government. international: Nearly 60 million people in Chinese cities have been affected by partial or full lockdowns as the country’s government responds to the coronavirus. Eighty-two people have died due to the virus that has now reached 13 places outside of mainland China.

Students have expressed concerns about the college-wide ceremony, which will graduate more than 1,200 students in two hours. CT file photo

HUMANITIES AND SCIENCES WILL ALLOCATE MONEY FOR 'CELEBRATIONS' IN PLACE OF DEPARTMENTAL GRADUATIONS EDUARDO ACEVEDO Contributing Writer

The “celebrations” will be held in the spaces previously reserved for the graduation ceremonies, Acevedo said, and the adHANNAH EASON dition of the college-wide ceremony means News Editor a higher price tag for the College of Humanities and Sciences. The College of Humanities and Sciences “We are still in early planning stages and will allocate the money for each school and are getting quotes for things like the AV sysdepartment to hold an event — such as an tem, etc,” Acevedo said. “However, since this award ceremony, special dinner or speaker is a decision that was followed by two years — in place of individual graduation ceremo- of discussions, we do have budget allocated nies, which were effectively replaced with for a college-level commencement ceremony. a college-wide ceremony, according to an This is an expense that was planned.” announcement last week. Interim Associate Dean for Finance and Administration Ed Acevedo outlined the event suggestions, which were submitted to department chairs, in an email to students Translation: “Sorry on Thursday. Acevedo said the discussion about your meaningless to change graduation started two years graduation, but here’s ago, prompted by variations in departmentlevel ceremonies. some money for a BBQ “A college-level commencement cerewith your friends!” mony allows us to offer consistency for our graduates,” Acevedo said, “and ensures that Christopher Rasnick, senior VCU we celebrate all our students in a way that student, public relations major is inspirational, uplifting and meaningful to all in attendance.” When senior Kelsey Ott saw an email In past years, money has been allocated for about graduation, she thought the message each unit of the college to cover the cost of contained details about her departmental cerspace, refreshments and speakers. This year, emony. The forensic science major said she that money will be used for school-level events, was “frustrated and devastated” to read that with extra funds available from the College of departmental ceremonies for the College of Humanities and Sciences if needed. Humanities and Sciences had been canceled. “What we did this year was that we didn’t Don Young, interim dean of the Colask for that money back,” Acevedo said in lege of Humanities and Sciences, notified an email. “Instead, we have told units that students by email on Jan. 22 that there they can use those funds to hold a celebra- would be no individual, department-level tory event for their department.” graduation ceremonies for the college,

which enrolled more than 14,000 students last year. Young described the announcement as “exciting” in his email and outlined how the ceremony will take place. Instead of departmental ceremonies, more than 1,200 graduates will attend an approximately two-hour ceremony for their diplomas. “It’s a coming of age and a reward for your years of hard work,” Ott said in an email. “This is a ceremony we all look forward to from our first day of college. This is a very important event to both me and my family. It’s been a long journey to get to where I am now.” Senior mass communications major Adam Cheek created a petition on the website change.org in an attempt to get the College of Humanities and Sciences to restore departmental graduations. Cheek is a staff writer for the sports section of The Commonwealth Times. More than 1,800 users have signed the petition, which states that VCU’s plans to merge the departments turn the ceremony “into something generic and less special.” Many students, alumni and parents added their reason for signing the petition, including Katelyn Eagle of Richmond. “After 4 or more years of stress and deadlines, we deserve to walk the stage,” Eagle wrote. “This is especially disrespectful to first-generation graduates and families.” Dorria Brown, the mother of a Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture student, said “people work hard for that honor.” “I myself did not graduate college due to finances,” Brown said. “I’m a single mom

and having my kids graduate college is a very proud moment for me.” Tatem Crenshaw, who graduated last spring after studying elementary education, said individual ceremonies would be more “intimate,” and a larger ceremony would be “rushed, crowded, and difficult to sit through.” “Students get closer with the people in their majors each semester,” Crenshaw said in a Facebook message. “And it’s nice to be able to celebrate your achievements with your peers who have been through the same courses.” Crenshaw said some of her older family members, like her grandparents, would have difficulties in longer ceremonies because of health issues. Recent graduate Nicole Delaware said students and VCU community members should have had an opportunity to give their opinion on the change. “I think it’s best to ask the students and their families how they feel about cutting out departmental changes before VCU decided to make such a huge decision,” Delaware said in an email. “We all deserve a say.” Delaware, who graduated in December with a public relations degree, said the department-level ceremony was important to her family, and a smaller crowd was easier for her immediate family to handle. A list of schools, departments, centers, institutes and programs under the College of Humanities and Sciences can be found on the college’s website.

Criminal justice student killed in car crash HANNAH EASON News Editor L eo Roc ha-M i r a nd a , 21, was killed in a car crash Friday morning after his vehicle hit a GRTC Pulse bus

Leo RochaMiranda

stop near Allison Street. The VCU student was a member of the university's Delta Chi chapter and joined the fraternity in the fall. He was part of the fall 2019 Beta Kappa class. A candlelit vigil was held for

the junior, who was a criminal justice major with a forensic science minor, on Sunday to celebrate his life and “legacy left behind.” 125 donors have raised more than $4,700 dollars for Rocha-Miranda’s family on a GoFundMe. The fundraiser was organized by Delta Chi’s chapter president Sean Lutz,

who said on the fundraiser’s page that Leo was a “selfless, stand-up guy.” “Leo never hesitated to help others and always encouraged people to be the best version of themselves,” Lutz wrote. Lutz did not respond to requests for further comment.

Wed. January 29, 2020 3

Kendra Cabler, right, said she wanted to use the Richmond branch to focus more on the “student lens” of SoGal. Photo by Raelyn Fines

With a focus on students, global women’s group chapter launches in Richmond

KATHARINE DEROSA Contributing Writer What started as an entrepreneurial women’s group at the University of Southern California has grown into an organization with more than 100,000 members in five continents. Richmond is home to the newest chapter, which focuses on VCU students. The Richmond chapter of SoGal is pioneered by Kendra Cabler, who received a doctorate in philosophy from VCU and is now the assistant director for access, inclusion

and community at the da Vinci center. “Being in Richmond these past few years, there’s been so many opportunities for conversations around entrepreneurship or innovation,” Cabler said. “I think students are often left out of that experience, which is a bit odd because we have lots of universities right here in the city.” A SoGal event centered around incorporating personal values into business ventures drew women with a variety of interests to the VCU da Vinci center on Friday, including electrical engineering major Nadajah Knight.

“I’m doing an entrepreneurship minor on top of my major, so I’m just hoping to meet other women who are interested in getting their ideas out there,” said Knight, who expects to graduate in 2023. SoGal’s nonprofit started its Richmond branch last semester. The group hopes to close the diversity gap in entrepreneurship and venture capital, according to its website. “I think if you can think about your values, you can be more confident in the decisions that you’re making,” said VCUarts professor Jennie Cook, who gave a speech

on combining personal values and business, and led activities on personal values at the event. Sierra Pollard, a student at the da Vinci center working toward a master’s degree in product innovation, attended the SoGal event in hopes of building a community. “I’m new to Richmond,” Pollard said. “I thought this would be a good way to meet other women who are motivated and determined to build a network.” Pollard said she joined SoGal last semester and was present at the group’s first event at the Institute for Contemporary Art in October. SoGal was co-founded by College of William & Mary alumni Pocket Sun and Elizabeth Galbut around the same time that Cabler attended the college in 2016. The community now spans five continents with more than 40 chapters. The group has two sectors: SoGal Foundation, a nonprofit platform for the empowerment of diverse entrepreneurs and investors, and SoGal Ventures, a venture capital firm. Cabler said she wanted to use the Richmond branch to focus more on “the student lens” of SoGal’s mission of diversity, equity and access. She said since starting the group, the membership has doubled to more than 10 people. “A lot of the chapters have more broad member bases. Certainly folks might be students, but I think the majority are fulltime entrepreneurs,” Cabler said. “So for us, I think it was an opportunity to think about ‘how do we create this community right here and right now as students are preparing to go out into the world?’” Cabler hopes to increase the role that students play in the organization. “Our hope is certainly that at some point it can function because of students,” she said. SoGal Richmond plans to hold monthly meetups on Fridays at 4 p.m. at locations Cabler said will be within walking distance of campus. The schedule of events can be found at the da Vinci Center website.

Discrimination study, VCU researcher analyze link between racism and weight gain in black women EDUARDO ACEVEDO Contributing Writer Chronic stress affects a person’s health in myriad ways, and one of the results can be weight gain. That’s why a VCU researcher is conducting a study to analyze how black women cope with stress caused by racial discrimination and how it affects eating habits and obesity. Her Squared is a study conducted by Kristal Brown, a graduate research assistant at VCU, who is attempting to understand how young black women experience racism and what their coping mechanisms are. “The goal of Her Squared is not to end racism, but to highlight the experiences black women are having, and to be able to teach them ways to cope in ways that are not passive,” Brown said. According to the study’s recruitment website, participants will be asked to attend a data collection session at the Center for Lifestyle Intervention & Research lab. There, they will measure the participants’ height, weight, blood pressure, waist and body composition. In the second part of the study, participants will use their cell phones to answer survey questions over a 14-day period about racism, eating behaviors and how they deal with these experiences.

According to the U.S. Office of Minority Health, 4 in 5 African American women are overweight or obese. Brown hopes this study will find new causes of weight gain and why it can be so hard for some black women to lose weight. “When we do seek out help, we just don’t do as well in weight loss programs,” Brown said. “Let’s start looking at some other factors that can be underlying, particularly stress and racism as a stressor.” Brown says that by examining racism as a stressor, they can help improve health outcomes and decrease health disparities in black women. According to a study by the Department of Psychology at Yale University, overweight women produce more cortisol hormone than overweight women with a lower waist-to-hip ratio, or WHR. They found that the women with higher WHR had “poorer coping skills and differences in mood reactivity.” The human body responds to stressors by releasing the “fight-or-flight ” hormone, cortisol. “What was once supposed to be a protective factor by your cortisol levels going up and your body going into fight or flight is no longer a protective factor,” Brown said.“It’s detrimental to your health.” Jessica Johnson, a freshman mass communications major, says she sees racism as

something she has to go through and can’t escape. She says she ignored the fact that racial discrimination still exists until she experienced it firsthand. “Racism sometimes makes you feel like you’re unlucky to be your color, to be you,” Johnson said. “Most times this person doesn’t know anything about you, from what you have been through or gone through to get to this point in your life.”

being black because it was the first time she had been exposed to so many people who didn’t look like her. “Constantly being overlooked and put in positions because of things out of your control can cause a lot of stress which can trigger eating disorders in anyone, let alone when those factors are stacked,” Lango said. For more information on Her Squared, visit the study’s website at hersquaredrva.com.

Let’s start looking at some other factors that can be underlying, particularly stress and racism as a stressor.” Kristal Brown, graduate research assistant As a Kenyan immigrant, Sally Lango faced discrimination that she says had to do more with nationality than race. Her fear of being the “the dumb African girl that doesn’t know anything” caused her to feel left out and left behind in conversations and activities as a kid. The political science major said she felt more self-conscious and vulnerable about

Kristal Brown, graduate research assistant at VCU. Photo by Jon Mirador

4 The Commonwealth Times

Virginia voters could soon choose more than one candidate on the ballot. Photo courtesy of Capital News Service

Subcommittee advances bill allowing voters to choose multiple candidates

MACY PRESSLEY Capital News Service

According to Hudson, after the votes are ranked, they are counted in a process similar to a traditional election. If one candiA bill allowing Virginia voters to date wins more than half of the first choice choose more than one candidate on votes, they win the election. If no candithe ballot narrowly advanced through date emerges as the majority winner in the subcommittee Monday. first round, the lowest ranked candidate is House Bill 1103, introduced by Del. Sal- eliminated and the losing candidate’s votes ly Hudson, D- Charlottesville, would open are transferred to the voters’ second choice. a pilot program for ranked-choice voting in The elimination process continues until a local elections, such as city council or school candidate earns more than half of the votes. board contests. Hudson said diverse groups of people “Rank choice voting is a small change want to run for office, but that can someto ballots that makes a big difference for times lead to overcrowding in elections and democracy,” Hudson said. “In a ranked- a winning candidate who does not have choice election, you don't just vote for one much support, but who was able to eke out candidate, you get to rank them from most a win. She thinks this bill is the answer to to least favorite.” that problem.

What you missed this week in the General Assembly HANNAH EASON News Editor

ANDREW RINGLE Managing Editor 7 NORTHAM-BACKED GUN BILLS MAKE THEIR WAY TO FULL HOUSE VOTE Seven out of eight gun bills proposed by Gov. Ralph Northam were passed by the House Committee on Public Safety on Friday. The measures, which will now be voted on by the full House of Delegates, included “universal” background checks, a one handgun purchase per month rule and a “red flag” rule that would allow law enforcement to temporarily seize firearms from someone deemed a threat. Delegates did not hear a proposal for an “assault weapons” ban, one of Northam’s top priorities.

would prevent a person from being fired or losing housing because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The state Senate also passed bills that would ban conversion therapy on children and require statewide protections for transgender students. SENATE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES BILL TO PROVIDE MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL BATHROOMS The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Friday that would make Virginia the fifth state to require that public schools provide free menstrual supplies in bathrooms. The proposal, Senate Bill 232, would let schools decide how to pay for installing the dispensers and providing supplies like pads and tampons. It will now go to the House for approval. GOT MILK? MAYBE YOU DON’T A bill that would prohibit plant-based milk alternatives from being labeled as milk is now up for discussion on the House of Delegates floor. House Bill 119, sponsored by Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, defines milk as the lacteal secretion of a “healthy hooved animal.” The bill’s supporters argue increasingly popular products such as soy and almond milk are capitalizing on the milk name while dairy farmers are left struggling.

DEMOCRATS ADVANCE BILLS EXPANDING LGBTQ PROTECTIONS

STUDENT JOURNALIST RIGHTS VOTE POSTPONED TO 2021 IN SENATE, AWAIT HOUSE VOTE

The General Assembly has advanced multiple bills seeking to expand protections for LGBTQ people. Last week, a House subcommittee voted in favor of a bill that

On Thursday, the Senate continued SB 80, which would give student journalists the right to exercise freedom of speech and the press in school-sponsored media, to

“It makes sure that we can have a leader who represents a broad swath of the community, no matter how many candidates run,” Hudson said. Ranked-choice voting is not new, at least 20 cities in the United States have adopted it. In 2018, Maine began using it for federal elections. Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, is the chief co-patron for the bill. “We have found that in other places where this is practiced, it leads to more positive campaigns,” Hope said. “It means that candidates are working, so if they can't be a voters’ first choice, they can be their second choice, and not the negative campaigning that we’ve seen lately.” Localities opt to use the voting method, and according to Hope, it would be up to them to fund it as well. “We’ve worked that out, the locality will bear the cost, not the state,” he said. While Hope does not believe rankedchoice voting will happen at a state level, he said Arlington residents are excited about this measure. “I know that there's also a bill floating around to do this statewide,” Hope said. “I thought if the rest of the state is not ready 2021. By continuing the bill, the General Assembly will not consider the measure until next year session. The bill was backed by Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax. In a 13-1 vote, all Senators in the Education and Health committee voted to continue the bill

for that, I know Arlington certainly is.” Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, is a Republican co-patron for HB 1103. He said he supports the legislation because it gives localities more freedom to govern. “I always believe that localities should have the option to run elections the way that they think are most efficient, and create the most involvement from the voters,” Davis said. “A lot of studies have shown that voters are more involved when there's more opportunity for the candidates, when there's a ranked election system.” “So if there are localities out there that would like to try it in Virginia, they should be allowed to give it a shot,” he added. Davis said that legislation had worked well in other districts and he signed on to encourage voter participation and make the electoral process better. “I think any way that we can run elections that provide more information, more access to voters in manners that get them more engaged, the better off our our democratic process is,” he said. HB 1103 reported out of subcommittee, 4-3. Delegates voting yes include: Kelly Convirs-Fowler, D-Virginia Beach; Mark Levine, D-Alexandria; Marcia Price, D-Newport News and Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax. Delegates voting no include: Dawn M. Adams, D- Richmond; Les Adams, R-Pittsylvania and Chris Runion, R-Augusta. The bill will now move to the House Committee on Privileges and Elections, which meets Friday. Another bill that deals with rankedchoice voting proposed an open primary for all state-wide elections. A single ballot would list all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, and the four most popular candidates would continue to the general election. The vote on HB 360 was continued to 2021, and will not be heard this year in the General Assembly.

except for Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, and chair of the subcommittee on Public Education. HB 36, the House’s equivalent to Marsden’s bill, was assigned to the Post-Secondary and Higher Ed subcommittee.

Timeline of Northam's gun control bills 2019 NOV. 5 MAY 31 12 people were killed and four people were injured in a Virginia Beach municipal building as a result of the deadliest mass shooting in the commonwealth in 2019. Officials believed that the shooter, DeWayne Craddock, bought the guns legally. JUNE 4 Northam announced he would call a special session of the General Assembly to address gun violence in Virginia. JULY 3 Northam announced a package of eight gun control bills. The proposed bills required background checks, banned assault weapons and allowed localities to enact firearm ordinances more strict than state law. JULY 9 The special session lasted 90 minutes. The then-Republican controlled General Assembly voted to adjourn and reconvene after the November 2019 election.

The General Assembly secured a Democratic trifecta, securing the governorship, House of Delegates and state Senate for the first time in more than 20 years. NOV. 18 Northam’s gun-control bills were filed and referred to the House Committee on Public Safety.

2020 JAN. 8 The 2020 General Assembly session began. JAN. 24 Seven out of eight of Northam’s proposed bills passed in the House Committee on Public Safety, all except for the bill banning assault weapons. JAN. 28 Several of the bills were read to the full House of Delegates for the first time.

Wed. January 29, 2020 5

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6 The Commonwealth Times

Stat of the week

Redshirt-senior guard Marcus Evans logged his 2,000th career point against Richmond Tuesday night.

Lionel Bacon sits on the bleachers at the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls with his three sons: Landon, 8, Leyton, 5 and Logan, 3. Photo by Megan Lee

Basketball alum draws from childhood hardships to guide youth with free practice clinics NOAH FLEISCHMAN Sports Editor His life changed forever because of three things: God, his mother and the gift of being able to play basketball. Thanks to those factors, Lionel Bacon was able to go to college. Growing up, Bacon was the youngest of 12 children — six brothers and five sisters — living in the projects of Louisville, Kentucky. Bacon, who played basketball at VCU from 1986-1990, said he was inspired by the way he grew up in Kentucky to help others in similar situations. For the past two decades, he’s made helping others into a career. “There were a lot of my friends who if only they had had someone to talk them through just life and experiences, things could have turned out very different for them,” Bacon said. “I enjoy being that person for other people.” After earning his bachelor’s degree, Bacon went straight to graduate school at VCU and earned a master’s degree in athletic administration. Then he worked for the YMCA for 20 years, helping others in Richmond as well as Cleveland and Houston. Bacon worked in the VCU Athletics department for three years after leaving the YMCA. He then returned to the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls to help others as the vice president for philanthropy. The Virginia Home for Boys and Girls is a nonprofit organization that helps children in crisis, providing transitional living services, specialized education and therapeutic resources.

“I’ve always enjoyed feeling like I was impacting somebody else’s life positively,” Bacon said. “Especially someone who might be in a similar situation or just needed help.” Bacon never let basketball go after his career in Richmond was over. He was asked to coach his son’s AAU basketball team, and he quickly realized that the practices were being held all over Richmond in different

Lionel Bacon runs free basketball clinics for children two days a week. Photo by Megan Lee

gyms — some in Chesterfield and others in Richmond. Then he thought of a solution to the issue: his workplace. Bacon realized he could use the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls’ gym to help not only the AAU team but any kid who wanted to excel at basketball. The gym, marked by painted white and blue walls, provides a way for children to train with others and improve their basketball skills individually. At first, it was just Bacon and his three sons training with him, but the program grew quickly. They invited their friends, who invited more friends, and soon afterward Bacon was running full practices for free with more kids than he envisioned. At any given practice, there are anywhere from 1530 kids, Bacon said. TJ Gwynn, who played basketball at VCU from 2006-2009, has helped Bacon run the clinics since May. Before helping with the practices, Gwynn took his son to them and watched from the bleachers. That’s when Bacon approached him and asked him to help out. Ever since, Gywnn has been a staple at the clinic assisting Bacon. Gwynn was impressed with Bacon and how he’s given back to the basketball community with the free clinics. “Everybody’s not built for that. It takes a really special human being to want to do the things that Lionel is doing,” Gwynn said. “You see how Lionel is working with the kids, but he’s not charging the kids. He’s just doing it out of the kindness of his heart.” The free clinics occur twice a week for kids who want to improve their basketball skills. Although the sessions are free, Bacon said the players owe him three things before

they can touch a basketball: a handshake for each coach, eye contact and telling them their full names. The clinics breed competition between every player, no matter the age. While they’re mainly for those between the ages of six and 12 years old, Bacon’s youngest son, Logan, who is 3 years old, participates in all of the drills as well. “Some of the drills, I try to make them fun, yet competitive at the same time with a little bit of pressure,” Bacon said. “It’s almost like a relay race, but they’ve got to get through cones because anybody can stand still and dribble a ball.” The drills have paid off, and Gywnn was impressed by the progress some of the kids have made from attending the clinics each week. He said he’s seen kids go from not being able to dribble two basketballs at the same time to crossing over two basketballs. Gwynn’s goal is to teach the kids to build relationships and friendships through the sport, which he said was the most important piece of the game for him. “I love the game of basketball, I guess it’s just hard for me to not teach the kids the right way of basketball,” Gwynn said. “From my eyes, that’s what I want to give to the kids. I want to touch a kid from the eyes of playing the right way.” During any drill at the clinics, Bacon’s smile is contagious, spreading throughout the gym and onto the faces of the children. High-fives are passed around throughout the workouts between him and the children. “I can get my sons in there anytime,” Bacon said. “But it’s helping so many other kids learn the game that changed my life.”

Wed. January 29, 2020 7

PRESS BOX

REMEMBERING

Kobe Bryant NILE MCNAIR Contributing Writer The world was shocked on Sunday as former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in California. The five-time NBA champion, 2008 MVP and 18-time all star was one of nine people who tragically died in the crash. Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, was also among the nine people who fell victim to this crash. Bryant spent two decades in the NBA, all with one team, the Los Angeles Lakers. As fans of the game of basketball, we saw his complete evolution. From a 17-year-old student at Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, he became one of the best and most influential athletes of all time. One thing that made Kobe Bryant so unique was that he was the first guard who came straight out of high school so successful. Previously, there were big men who came out of high school and were great — see the likes of Moses Malone and Kevin Garnett. But Kobe Bryant’s success in the NBA after coming from high school set the stage for those who came after him, like Tracy McGrady and Lebron James. It wasn’t until his fourth year in the league that Bryant became a household name. The tandem of Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal would take over the league and lead the Lakers to three straight NBA titles. However, when the pair split, the greatness of Kobe Bryant was put on full display, where his “Mamba Mentality” began. The “Mamba Mentality” is a term Kobe Bryant created to describe his level of focus and relentlessness toward preparation and competition. “The thing I respect the most about him, was how he honed his craft every year. … He worked more than everybody,” said VCU men’s basketball head coach Mike Rhoades. “He was so efficient and that’s why he was so good for so long, and lots of people respected that.”

Illustration by Ricardo Rodriguez

The thing I respect the most about him, was how he honed his craft every year. … He worked more than everybody. He was so efficient and that’s why he was so good for so long, and lots of people respected that.” Mike Rhoades, VCU basketball coach Once Bryant won two championships without O’Neal, it solidified his legacy and moved him into the realm of the greatest basketball players ever.

Even after winning that fifth title, Bryant said at the postgame press conference, “I’m just happy I got one more than Shaq.” But what makes the sudden death of Bryant that much sadder is at only the age of 41, he seemed poised to have a post-career parallel to his playing career. In only three years of retirement, Bryant had already won an Oscar for the animated short he wrote entitled “Dear Basketball,” a letter he wrote to the game of basketball when he retired. He started the Mamba Academy, a placed where he coached girls, including his daughter Gianna. Through the academy, Bryant became a major advocate for women’s basketball. When we had to finally come to grips with the fact that Bryant had passed away, it became evident how many people he touched in his 41 years of life. In the Pro Bowl, NFL players did Bryant’s signature fadeaway as a sack

celebration. Both the day of and the day after his death, NBA players were seen on the court in tears over the tragedy. There are petitions all across social media trying to change the NBA logo to a silhouette of Bryant. The NBA even postponed a Lakers and Clippers matchup scheduled for Tuesday. Bryant will forever be immortalized as a global icon. We’ve all yelled “Kobe” while shooting a paper ball into a trash can for a reason. We thank Bryant for all the great memories he bought us as fans, and pray for his family, along with all the other families involved in this tragedy. But the one thing we should grasp from this tragedy is to cherish life and our loved ones, and to live life to the fullest. This is just a reminder that tomorrow isn’t promised.

Left: The student section held signs to remember Kobe Bryant on Tuesday against Richmond. Right: A student holds up a Kobe Bryant jersey after the first 24 seconds of the game at the Siegel Center. Photos by Alessandro Latour

8 The Commonwealth Times

‘THIS IS OUR CITY’ Rams down Spiders 87-68 in front of sold-out raucous Siegel Center crowd

Senior guard De’Riante Jenkins logged 14 points and five rebounds against Richmond. Photo by Jon Mirador

Evans hits 2,000 career points in VCU’s win over Richmond RYAN GRUBE Staff Writer Before men’s basketball hit the road for the two-game trip in Philadelphia, redshirt-senior guard Marcus Evans needed just 12 points to reach 2,000 for his collegiate career at Rice and VCU. The Chesapeake native fell just 3 points short after a 5-point outing at Saint Joseph’s and a 4-point performance against La Salle. Evans said the shortcoming didn’t deter his focus, adding that winning is his main priority and his point total landmark was a distant second. “At the end of the day, I want to win. That’s all I care about,” Evans said. “If I didn’t get it until the end of the season, last game of the season, I truly don’t care. If we’re holding up a trophy, that’s all that matters to me.” On Tuesday night at the Siegel Center, Evans finally eclipsed the milestone. With about 16 and a half minutes to go in the first half, Evans received the ball at the top of the key. The senior hit Richmond guard Jacob Gilyard with a jab-step, rose up and hit the contested shot to arrive at 2,000 points, even. Gilyard fouled Evans in the act of shooting, so VCU’s third-leading scorer stepped to the line and made it 2,001. Evans described the ball going through the hoop as a relief, given his recent shooting struggles. He said converting on the 4-point play triggered a confidence boost.

“My teammates have been staying on me. It’s been a rough stretch,” Evans said. “2,000 — I’m blessed to be able to score that, but bigger than that, it just felt good to put a game together and a full team win.” Evans scored 1,350 of his points at Rice University with Mike Rhoades alongside as his coach. Rhoades, who is now VCU men’s basketball’s head coach, asked much more of Evans during their first two years at Rice. Evans hoisted up an average of 17.2 shots during the two seasons in Houston. Since arriving at VCU, Evans’ shot attempts have dipped by nearly four shots per game. The redshirt-senior guard has drawn some scrutiny from critics throughout the season, who say Evans is not the same player from a year ago when he was named as a First Team All A-10 selection. Rhoades put those thoughts to sleep, saying how proud he is of Evans’ perseverance and drive through numerous injuries and setbacks. “Through Achilles, a lot of other injuries, and everyone expects him to be perfect and score 20 and get eight assists and no turnovers, and press the whole game,” Rhoades said. “I don’t care what anyone else says, but to watch him and to see where he’s at right now and the type of teammate he’s been — I’ll take that any day of the week, plus the 2,000 points.” Evans finished Tuesday’s game with 9 points and three assists on 2-of-6 shooting. The Rams will be back on the road for a rematch with Rhode Island on Friday at 7 p.m. That game will be televised on ESPN2.

Redshirt-senior guard Marcus Evans eclipsed 2,000 career points on Tuesday at the Siegel Center. Evans yelled, “this is our city,” on the court. Photo by Jon Mirador

Wed. January 29, 2020 9

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On this day

In 1954, Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi.

Members of the Black Awakening Choir performed at the Martin Luther King Jr. legacy day event. Photo by Salvador Zaragoza

Legacy day celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s past, looks toward the future

AARON ROYCE Contributing Writer Sophomore Samaya Peyton said she learned more from the Activities Programming Board’s legacy day celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. than she has in school. “After the event, it meant more to me than what I thought,” Peyton said. “So coming to hear it now is more precious and sacred to me. Everything that was said makes me want to hold onto it more.” Students gathered in the Commonwealth ballroom to share their views and experiences, and to listen to speeches from guest speakers on Saturday when the Activities Programming Board hosted its annual Martin Luther King Jr. legacy day celebration. Speakers included visiting University of Richmond professor Corey D.B. Walker and pastor Rivers Taylor. Student poets and local speakers were invited to share experiences and tributes to King’s legacy in the ballroom of the University Student Commons. Peyton believes the celebration was important to VCU as a whole, especially as a comfortable space for students to connect with their cultural pasts and express themselves. “I feel like, as black students, we see and hear about problems but we never talk about them,” she said. “Being able to talk about them, open up and have a safe space where we can be ourselves is always

important. It’s important to continuously the works of King and others like him who The student lifestyle can make it difficult do things like this, and keep doing it as the paved the way for modern-day civil rights. to honor the past. Events like legacy day world goes on.” “It’s important to know your history or allow students to unite and reflect in a safe More than 200 students attended to have the opportunity to show appreciation,” environment. honor King and learn about the impact Brown said. “These kinds of events need to “I think so often, we get caught up with of his activism. be done more often. I don’t think a lot of the daily trials, and tests, and quizzes, and “For me, it’s just black excellence,” said people get the opportunity to show love to homework. Events like this center us, get us APB’s special events coordinator, senior the people who got them to where they are. back on track, and provide an opportunity Luke Porter. “He showed a way of doing This is an opportunity to encourage one to bring us together,” Porter said. things that was not common for the time. another and do our best in all that we do.” He also inspired others to do their best and change the mold, break barriers, and do great things.” The dream King had for an equal society is one that students who attended want to preserve. “King’s dream was to make the world a better place,” said sophomore Amaja Reed. “By us living and fulfilling our dreams, that’s making the world a better place.” Senior Destiny Brown performed a poem honoring her ancestors at the event. “It’s important to voice our opinions, appreciate how far we’ve come and give credit to everybody who’s gotten us here,” she said. Brown saw the legacy day as an important event Frankie James, a singer from the Black Awakening Choir, sang with the group as a part of the MLK for students to appreciate legacy day celebration. Photo by Salvador Zaragoza

12 The Commonwealth Times

Illustration by Jeffrey Black

Grammys 2020: Biggest night in music continues to overlook deserving artists IMAN MEKONEN Spectrum Editor The night of the Grammys is indisputably the biggest night in music. For musicians, it means potentially adding to their

vast collections of gold trophies or coming out of the long show with their first award. However, for music fans, it’s just another year of the Recording Academy neglecting to acknowledge the artists that deserve the golden gramophone.

The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs Presents:

UNAPOLOGETICALLY

BLACK A four part lecture series by Dr. Zoe Spencer

6 - 8 p.m. 6 - 8 p.m. 6 - 8 p.m. 6 - 8 p.m.

Academic Learning Commons (MCALC) Room 2107 1000 Floyd Avenue, Richmond, VA 23284

Monday, Feb. 03 Monday, Feb. 10 Monday, Feb. 17 Monday, Feb. 24

Hosted for the second year in a row by Alicia Keys, the 62nd Annual Grammys on Sunday brought many expected upsets rather than shocks. Although I love sitting in front of my TV and watching the Grammys for 3 1/2 hours every year, I can’t help but end the show each time feeling disappointed for the deserving artists that were overlooked. A few great takeaways from the night include long-awaited first award wins from Tyler, The Creator in the best rap album category for “Igor” and J. Cole for his feature on “A Lot” with 21 Savage. These specific award wins restore some hope in the Recording Academy’s decisions but don’t earn forgiveness from me or any of the artists nominated. “It sucks that whenever we, and I mean guys that look like me, do anything that’s genre-bending … they always put us in a rap or urban category,” said Tyler, the Creator in a backstage interview at the Grammys. “And I don’t like that ‘urban’ word — it’s just a politically correct way to say the N-word to me.” Tyler, The Creator’s words reinforce the long-standing battle between the Recording Academy and questions of racial and gender biases reflected by a lack of diversity in nominees and winners. “Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment, but another half of me is very grateful that the art that I made could be acknowledged on a level like this,” Tyler, The Creator said. Billie Eilish broke the record for the youngest person to ever take home awards in the four major categories of best new artist, record of the year, song of the year and album of the year. Eilish won five awards including best pop vocal performance at just 18 years old. Eilish is very much deserving of awards, but to win in categories against critically acclaimed artists of color, such

as Lizzo and Lil Nas X, allows the question of biases among the Recording Academy to return. To be fair, there isn’t a realistic outcome of winners in any category that will satisfy all audiences. But I would still like to see some people of color win in the biggest categories. Although the Recording Academy is supposedly made up of music professionals, I can’t trust that they will properly recognize both music and musicians — especially women and people of color. As mentioned in an article by the Daily Beast, only 10 black artists have won album of the year since the Grammys were established in 1959. The Recording Academy has expressed its intentions to diversify the awards in the past; they launched the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force in March of 2018. But if this year was any reflection of the Academy’s attempted efforts to diversify its nominees and winners, I don’t know what to say. Every year it seems like the awards show is pushing out the important awards to the off-air awards, which take place a few hours before the show. Before the main show aired, Anderson .Paak won two Grammys for best R&B album for “Ventura” and best R&B performance for “Come Home” along with Lizzo, who won best traditional R&B performance for “Jerome” and best urban contemporary album for “Cuz I Love You.” It makes me wonder why these important categories, called “urban” seemingly to imply that they include black artists, weren’t deemed important enough for the main show. None of the five Latin music categories were shown on TV either. I hope to see some improvement in the diversity of the nominees and winners chosen by the Recording Academy in the upcoming future — it’s long overdue.

Wed. January 29, 2020 13

UPCOMING EVENTS See something

WED. 1/29 “Knives Out” Screening

The Activities Programming Board will host a screening of the film “Knives Out,” directed by Rian Johnson. For more information, contact Ashli Phillips at phillipsar3@vcu.edu. 7:30 p.m., Commons Theater, University Student Commons (907 Floyd Ave.) Free.

TUES. 2/4 “I Am Not Your Negro” Screening

“Unraveling Connections” by Alexiana James and Kasey Grigsby was one of the many student-directed films shown at the screening on Friday. Photo by Marlena Artis

‘ROUGH CUT’

Dance and kinetic imaging departments collaborate on student film screening VAILA DEYOUNG Contributing Writer Flashes of color and swirling visuals glided across the screen of the Grace Street Theater along with hues of dark blue. The movements of the performer in this student film paired seamlessly with quick edits and a steady, meditative soundtrack. The film is titled “In the Dark of Night” by senior Angie Gan and was the first of the many films shown at a student film screening by VCU’s dance and kinetic imaging departments titled “Rough Cut.” This first annual event was created to give students an opportunity to share their talent for choreography, camerawork and editing through individual and collaborative dance projects and animation. During the opening statement, Kate Sicchio, director of the event and hybrid professor in both departments, described how “Rough Cut” came to fruition. “Upon my first visit to VCU, everyone really wanted to tell me about the screendance work that’s done here and how they do a screening of professional work every year,” Sicchio said. “And I was like

‘that’s great but what about the student work?’ and then when I got here and I saw all the amazing dance and camerawork that the students do, I said ‘we have to make this happen.’” Students, staff and other spectators gathered inside the theatre, excited to see the films all centered around dance. After Sicchio’s opening statement, the lights dimmed, and each film screened consecutively after the other, giving just enough time to absorb it, then prepare to view the next one. Each film had something different to offer. The topics varied from human connection and states of consciousness with melodic and fluid choreography, to fun, upbeat music-video-styled projects about money suddenly appearing in your bank account. “We had seen an increase in student filmmaking in the dance department over the last several years, due in part to our long running video choreography class and to increasingly accessible technology,” said associate chair and producer within the dance department Lea Marshall. “We wanted to produce an event that featured film on its own.”

A film still of “Arrival and Departure” by Taylor Collimore. Photo by Marlena Artis

Students Ava Blakeslee-Carter, Michael Shea and Chaunci Hannibal directed “tercet,” a film featuring three parts about differing emotions, meant to be viewed consecutively to form an abstract glimpse into human consciousness and the power of dance.

It’s exciting for us to connect and feature work from students from different departments within the School of the Arts .” Lea Marshall, associate chair and producer of the dance department “We opened submissions to students throughout the School of the Arts, and Dr. Sicchio convened a selection panel of students and faculty from both departments,” Marshall said. Many VCU dance students showed support by attending the event, and cheered on their fellow peers as each film was screened. Senior dance major Jenna Beardsley was in the video choreography class taught by Sicchio and picked up on little details watching the films another time around. Beardsley said the last video, “Love on Tap” by Phil Archer, was interesting because of the multimedia element and the editing techniques. “That one and the other fully animated ones were the most interesting to me because it’s not something that I see very often in my experience,” Beardsley said. Marshall said the dance department was honoring a deeper connection with kinetic imaging after the recent addition of hybrid faculty member Sicchio to both programs in 2018. “It’s exciting for us to connect and feature work from students from different departments within the School of the Arts,” Marshall said.

As a part of its Black History Month celebration of events, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs will host a screening of the James Baldwin documentary, “I Am Not Your Negro” by director Raoul Peck. This Oscar-nominated film explores Baldwin’s life and includes personal accounts of relationships with civil rights leaders. 6:30 - 9:30 p.m., Academic Learning Commons, Room 1100 (1000 Floyd Ave.) Free.

Do something

FRI. 1/31 State of the University

VCU President Michael Rao will give the State of the University Address in the lecture hall of Cabell Library. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m., and seating will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. To RSVP, fill out the google form or email univevents@vcu.edu. 11:00 a.m., Cabell Library Lecture Hall, Room 303 (901 Park Ave.) Free.

FRI. 1/31 “She Blooms in the Winter”

The Broad gallery will host an opening reception of “She Blooms in the Winter,” which celebrates the art of six local artists who identify as women. All of the pieces of art are inspired by flowers and the deeper meanings behind them. For more information, visit The Broad’s website. 6 - 8 p.m., The Broad (209 N Foushee St.) Free.

SUN. 2/2 Women’s Basketball vs. Duquesne

Women’s basketball will host the Duquesne University Dukes at the Siegel Center. For ticket information, visit the VCU Athletics website or contact Rebecca Piner at vcuathletics@vcu.edu.

Learn something

THURS. 1/30 VSU Chao House

VCU’s Vietnamese Student Association will host a Chao house to learn more about Vietnamese culture and celebrate the Vietnamese New Year with crafts, food and games. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page. 5 - 7 p.m., West Grace North, Room 1030J (830 W. Grace St.) Free.

FRI. 1/31

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Kazakhstan delegation to visit VCU

The Global Education Office will host a panel of members of the Open World Leadership Center delegation from Kazakhstan. The delegation will talk about their experiences in their position along with a session of questions and answers with the audience. For more information about the event, contact Elizabeth Hiett at eihiett@vcu.edu. 4:30 - 5:30 p.m., West Grace North, Room 1030J (830 W. Grace St.) Free.

Have suggestions for the events calendar? Email spectrum@commonwealthtimes.org.

14 The Commonwealth Times

Quote of the week

“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success. Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.” — KOBE BRYANT

STI TESTING IS A NECESSITY FOR STUDENTS

... not a commodity BRYCE RANDALL Contributing Writer The latest study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made it abundantly clear that STIs are on the rise in the United States, and college-aged students are the most at risk of contracting them. I am a firm believer that our university should make an effort to assist in STI prevention without charging for the service. As functioning young adults and VCU students, it is our responsibility to take accountability for ourselves and our well-being. It is important that we know the status of our sexual health to ensure both our own and our partner’s welfare. As such, anyone who is sexually active should make regular appointments for STI screenings. But we should not have to pay an extra $35 for a full-package STI screening test on top of the student health fee we are already paying in our cost of attendance. Many of us are operating on a budget. I work part-time, and the little bit of coin I can scrape up is supposed to be going toward groceries and other necessities. $35 is too large of a chunk out of my paycheck

for me to be spending it on an STI screening test, especially if I want to keep up with my health proactively by getting regular testing. If you want to take yourself down to a free clinic, you’re more than welcome to — but you won’t be seeing me there. More often than not, the wait time in these free clinics is extremely long. Additionally, as a fulltime student who happens to have a job, going off-campus to a free clinic is difficult to work into my schedule, and I am sure the same can be said for other students. It’s also just not something I should be obligated to do when I pay a health fee to this university. Fellow VCU students, we shouldn’t have to fumble around with our schedules trying to figure out when we have time to wait two hours in the lobby of a free clinic. Every semester, full-time students are automatically billed a $112 health fee, regardless of how many trips they will need to take to VCU Student Health Services. If you feel sick every day and need constant check-ups, you pay $112. If you’re like me and have never been ill enough to need to drag yourself into Health

Illustration by Karly Andersen

Services, you’re still paying $112. I am at the beginning of the second semester of my sophomore year at VCU, and I have made a grand total of one trip to Student Health Services since I started at VCU — and that was for an STI screening that I still had to pay for despite the hundreds of dollars I had paid for a health fee that has never benefited me. Free clinics and health centers around the Richmond area have managed to supply free STI testing, and it is unacceptable that a college that generates as much money as VCU — and whose president is the highest-paid state employee in the state — is charging extra money for screenings needed by sexually active students to take care of their health. As demonstrated by other colleges, a free STI screening program is possible. The University of Richmond’s Student Health Center offers its students free STI testing every other Thursday from 6-8 p.m. Admittedly, VCU has been known to

infrequently host free HIV testing on campus. Although the effort was made, this is still not enough. HIV is indeed one of the more potentially life-threatening STIs, however, it is also one of the least common. In 2018, only 37,832 people received an HIV diagnosis in the U.S. and six dependent areas while 1,758,668 chlamydia infections were reported to CDC in 50 states and the District of Columbia. While these free HIV testing sessions are still useful — as it is very important that students know their HIV status — it might be more useful if these events were hosted more frequently and tested for other STIs that are still rampant in the United States. I am not asking for free medication or treatment for the STIs students might be infected with — I am simply stating that if VCU students are paying $112 per semester for health services most don’t even fully utilize, the least VCU could do is cover STI screenings as part of the required health fee.

Tea Time with Tagwa

DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR TAGWA SHAMMET Opinions Editor Tea timers, what if I told you your hair could get you suspended and prevented from attending your senior prom and high school graduation ceremony? Wouldn’t be too pleased, would you? Yeah, neither would I. That’s exactly what’s happening to Texas teenager DeAndre Arnold, an 18-year-old black student in the Barbers Hill Independent School District. Due to his Trinidadian roots, Arnold prides himself in growing out his dreads. In the culture, men tend to grow their hair down to their hips. But the school district decided to give Arnold in-school suspension when he refused to cut off his dreads. In addition, they are threatening to prohibit him from attending his senior prom and graduation ceremony. Angry? Yes. Surprised? Not at all. This is just another form of systemic discrimination against black children. Arnold is not the first nor the last child in America to be punished for his hair. In 2018,

11-year-old Faith Fennidy was sent home on the first day of school in Louisiana for her box braids. A video went viral showing the sixth grader in tears as she packed her bag to leave. Whether it be dreadlocks, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, Afros or just natural hair, black people utilize these styles as a form of expression and to keep in touch with their roots. To many black people, these hairstyles are not just about protection and hairstyle preference, but a cultural identity. By taking away a person’s ability to showcase and celebrate their cultural identity, you are attacking their roots and everything they stand for. Hasn’t the American system done enough to snuff out black identity without taking away our hair? Why do you think black people get uncomfortable when you touch their hair? It is a form of disrespect. Hair holds more than the latest trend, it is historical. It’s not only black people who use hair as expression. We’ve all seen the meme that says a girl cuts her hair when she’s going through a tough time.

That stems from the idea of change and that to you and the rest of the Western control; cutting your hair in order to take world, they are not beautiful. Well, black back control in a time where you feel children are beautiful. Anyone who canhelpless. People — regardless of race and not see that is one with an ugly heart. gender — dye their hair all types of And that’s the tea. colors to announce how they are feeling and what makes them comfortable and happy. Yet, I don’t see the white girl with platinum silver hair getting suspended, nor do I think she deserves to be. I wonder what the difference between her and little Faith is. Hair discrimination is not only in schools, it is in the workplace and everywhere else. While states such as California and New York have outlawed hair discrimination, it is still very present everywhere else. Instead of telling students to stop expressing themselves with their hair, we should be taking prejudice and discrimination out of our system. The hate for natural hair and typical black hairstyles stems from European beauty standards. Stop trying to mold black children into a Western definition of beauty. All you’re doing is reminding black children Illustration by Karly Andersen

Wed. January 29, 2020â&#x20AC;&#x192;15

THE CT STAFF

Wonderball by Ky Williams

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Georgia Geen geengr@commonwealthtimes.org MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Ringle ringlea@commonwealthtimes.org NEWS EDITOR Hannah Eason news@commonwealthtimes.org SPORTS EDITOR Noah Fleischman sports@commonwealthtimes.org SPECTRUM EDITOR Iman Mekonen spectrum@commonwealthtimes.org OPINIONS EDITOR Tagwa Shammet opinions@commonwealthtimes.org PHOTO EDITOR Jon Mirador photography@commonwealthtimes.org AUDIENCE EDITOR Alexandra Zernik zernikal@commonwealthtimes.org ILLUSTRATIONS EDITOR Karly Andersen illustrations@commonwealthtimes.org STAFF WRITERS Adam Cheek, Sports Ryan Grube, Sports STAFF ILLUSTRATORS Erin Joo

Maybe Next Week by Erin Joo VCU STUDENT MEDIA CENTER DESIGN EDITOR Jeffrey Pohanka designers@vcustudentmedia.com GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Andy Caress Rey Carlson Kamryn Gillham designers@vcustudentmedia.com AD SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Harrison Powers advertising@vcustudentmedia.com (804) 828-6629 WEB MANAGER Chranjitpandian Murugapandi web@vcustudentmedia.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Evan McGrady distribution@vcustudentmedia.com DIRECTOR Allison Bennett Dyche abdyche@vcu.edu (804) 827-1975 CREATIVE MEDIA MANAGER Mark Jeffries mjeffries@vcu.edu

Emotions Are Weird by Ellie Erhart

SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Dominique Lee leeds3@vcu.edu (804) 827-1642 OFFICE MANAGER Owen Martin martinso@vcu.edu

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

ADD YOUR VOICE The opinions pages of the CT are a forum open to the public. Contributions are welcome by email to Tagwa Shammet, by mail or in-person at 817 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23220. Opinions expressed are those of individual columnists and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Commonwealth Times. Unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of The CT staff. The Commonwealth Times strives for accuracy in gathering news. If you think we have made an error, please email the appropriate section editor. Corrections will appear on the news pages and/or online. One CT per person. Additional copies can be purchased at the Student Media Center for $1 each.

16 The Commonwealth Times

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

Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle EM DASH