BEST SMALL, NON-DAILY —2017 Virginia Press Association awards The independent press of Virginia Commonwealth University
May 1, 2017 • Vol. 58, No. 27
NEWS RPD forum • 3 SPORTS Tennis wins A-10 • 5 SPECTRUM QRealigion • 9 OPINION Sign-off • 11
ILLUSTRATION BY JIAQI ZHOU
Richmond police host final public safety forum for April
MAURA MAZUROWSKI News Editor Richmond Police officers lined the entrance to St. John’s Church Thursday evening for the fourth and final town hall on increased crime rates and public safety. Officers quickly unfolded extras chairs as more than 100 people – including Mayor Levar Stoney – attended the session for the First Precinct with Police Chief Alfred Durham. “I’m lucky, I’m blessed,” Stoney said. “Because I’ve got the best police department in the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Forums for the Second, Third and Fourth precincts have also been held for the past two weeks. Such meet-
ings have become a tradition for Richmond police since Durham became RPD Chief in February 2015, and are part of sharing his vision for policing in the city. They also serve as a time for residents to share concerns about their communities. “These meetings are a reflection of our mission: we make Richmond a safer city through community policing and engagement,” Durham said. “The purpose of these town hall meetings is for the Department to get input from the general public. Our strategy depends on understanding what we can do better and communicating with the public how they can help in our mission.” At the department’s first community town hall forum, held at Southside Plaza Community Center on April 18, Durham revealed Richmond has seen 17
Spectrum
Alfred Durham Richmond Police Chief
–see “RPD,” page 3
VCU falls short in sixth straight A-10 Conference Championship RODNEY ROBINSON Contributing Writer Women’s tennis traveled south to the sunshine state to compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament at the USTA National Campus in Orlando,
SIONA PETEROUS Spectrum Editor On Saturday April 28, the New York Times published an article titled, In Mexico, ‘It’s Easy to Kill a Journalist. It discussed how Mexican journalists are often victim to extrajudicial murders by cartel enterprises and corrupt officials who want to silence opposition and prevent accountability and investigation. Though the Times’ piece on Mexico was specific in its focus, it does raise a larger question: is the threat journalists face unique to Mexico, or do journalists lack protection worldwide?
–see “JOURNALIST,” page 5 Spectrum
UMass The Rams came up short in their effort to capture their sixth straight A10 Conference Championship against UMass Sunday, as the Minute Women edged the Rams 4-2. Sophomores Janina Braun and Anna Russmusson picked up the early doubles point for the Rams, notching an early 6-3 doubles victory. Building on their semi-finals success, senior Darya Berezhnaya and sophomore Magda Aubets secured the doubles’ point for the Rams with a 6-4 victory. After tallying the doubles’ point, the Rams struggled in singles play, falling behind 2-1. Rasmusson continued her strong play in singles, as she edged UMass’ Ruth Crawford 6-4, 7-5. Rasmusson tallied the only singles point for the Rams, as UMass won two consecutive matches to secure the
DECLARATION
Fla last week. The first-seeded Rams fell short in the A-10 Conference Championship match to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Sunday.
A-10 Conference Championship. Braun was knotted 2-2 in the final set against Janja Kovacevic, but the match was halted after a tough loss on court four.
St. Louis The Rams cruised past Saint Louis University, as they looked to secure their sixth straight A-10 Conference Championship. The number one seeded Rams dominated in their matchup with Saint Louis, winning 4-1. Braun and Rasmussen fueled the Rams past St. Louis early, notching a 6-3 doubles’ victory. Berezhnaya and Aubets secured the doubles point for the Rams, winning 6-4. Rasmussen rallied past SLU’s Eleonore Tchakarova for the second time of the season, 6-2, 6-3. Braun stayed hot at the No. 1 singles position with a victory over Aspen Crvin 6-4, 6-3 for her seventh singles victory in a row..
–see “TENNIS,” page 5
PH OT O CO UR
TE SY OF VC
U AT HL ET ICS
The Institute for Contemporary Art is coming... PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ICA
We can’t do our job if we don’t know your expectations of your police department.”
Sports
Research indicates international pushback against the free press
ILLUSTRATION BY SKYE ALI
more violent crimes in 2017 compared to last year, and more than a dozen carjackings, compared to just three last year. Yet Durham assured the audience that “crime is not out of control.” Durham reiterated the same message Thursday evening to Richmond’s community members. He opened the forum by emphasizing his goal for transparency between the community and the police department. “We can’t do our job if we don’t know your expectations of your police department,” Durham said. “We are having some challenges this year, but the most important keys on how we’re going to resolve those issues are sitting right in this room.”
OCTOBER 2017
Men’s tennis captures
A-10 title page 5
story on page 8