Shaka Smart is demonstrative on the sidelines as VCU takes on Old Dominion Saturday night.
A VCU study of surgical scrubs treated to resist MRSA showed the specially treated garments were less likely than regular scrubs worn by health care workers to be contaminated with staph bacteria.
The small study enrolled 32 health care workers, who wore specially-treated scrubs for four weeks, switched back to regular scrubs, then repeated the four-week-on, four-week-off regimen for 16 weeks.
The researchers didn’t find any differences in the levels of MRSA on employees’ skins. But they did find differences in MRSA contamination of the clothing they wore. In particular, when they took swabs from the clothing, they found less MRSA on the study scrubs’ leg cargo pocket and abdominal pockets when compared to regular scrubs.
The research was funded by Vestex Technologies, a company that makes antimicrobial garments in addition to other products. The researchers noted that the results cannot be broadly generalized because the study was small and took place in a single hospital unit.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Buddy’s to remain open in the Fan
Buddy’s Place, a popular longtime watering hole in Richmond’s Fan District, will stay open for at least another three years.
The announcement was made Wednesday evening in a joint statement by Mike Dealto, co-owner of the establishment, and Charlie Diradour, who owns the Buddy’s building at Stuart Avenue and North Robinson Street.
Earlier this week, it was unclear what would happen to Buddy’s. The 10-year lease on the building was to expire at the end of this year, and Diradour said Sunday that he and one of Buddy’s owners had discussed giving the property a facelift for more than a year but could not reach an agreement.
Diradour had wanted to make upgrades to the building that has been in his family since the 1930s.
“We’re going to let the lease run its natural course and end at the end of December,” he said Sunday.
The 36-year-old restaurant has a loyal following. More than 3,000 people supported the “Save Buddy’s” Facebook page.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
The city of Richmond on Friday broke ground on a $134.6 million jail to replace its overcrowded, overheated facility that was built in the 1960s.
The Virginia Board of Corrections approved the city’s plans to build a 1,032-bed facility in December, and construction is set to begin this month next to the existing jail on Fairfield Way. The new Justice Center is scheduled to open in 2014.
“The day has come for us to stop talking about building a Justice Center,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “Today … construction is about to begin.”
Speaking at the formal groundbreaking attended by about 100 people, Jones said there are projects he would have preferred to take on as mayor rather than work for two years to get a new jail.
The Richmond City Jail was built for 880 people but currently houses about 1,300. At times, it has been a temporary home for as many as 1,500. And the state board was concerned that, with 1,032 beds, the replacement jail would quickly be at capacity.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Apple Inc. on Thursday launched its attempt to make the iPad a replacement for a satchel full of textbooks by starting to sell electronic versions of a handful of standard high school books.
The electronic textbooks, which include “Biology” and “Environmental Science” from Pearson and “Algebra 1” and “Chemistry” from McGraw-Hill, contain videos and other interactive elements.
Forrester Research said e-books accounted for only 2.8 percent of the $8 billion U.S. textbook market in 2010.
The textbooks will cost $15 or less, said Phil Schiller, Apple’s head of marketing. He unveiled the books at an event at New York’s Guggenheim Museum. Schools will be able to buy the books for students and issue redemption codes to them, he said.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
A quarter-century after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first prescription drugs based on the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, additional medicines derived from or inspired by the cannabis plant itself could soon be making their way to pharmacy shelves, according to drug companies, small biotech firms and university scientists.
A British company, GW Pharma, is in advanced clinical trials for the world’s first pharmaceutical developed from raw marijuana instead of synthetic equivalents- a mouth spray it hopes to market in the U.S. as a treatment for cancer pain. And it hopes to see FDA approval by the end of 2013.
Sativex contains marijuana’s two best known components –delta 9-THC and cannabidiol – and already has been approved in Canada, New Zealand and eight European countries for a different usage, relieving muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis.
FDA approval would represent an important milestone in the nation’s often uneasy relationship with marijuana, which 16 states and the District of Columbia already allow residents to use legally with doctors’ recommendations.
Brief by the Associated Press
Stone fortresses and watchtowers that centuries ago stood guard against marauding pirates loom above pristine waters threatened by a modern peril: fuel trapped within the capsized Costa Concordia luxury liner.
A half-million gallons (2,400 tons) of heavy fuel oil is in danger of leaking out and polluting some of the Mediterranean’s most unspoiled sea, where dolphins chase playfully after sailboats and fishermen’s catches are so prized that wholesalers come from across Italy to scoop up cod, lobster, scampi, swordfish and other delicacies.
Rough seas hindering divers’ search for bodies in the Concordia’s submerged section have also delayed the start of a pumping operation expected to last weeks to remove the fuel from the ship. Floating barriers aimed at containing any spillage now surround the vessel.
According to the Dutch salvage firm Smit, which has been contracted to remove the fuel, there are about a half million gallons (2,400 tons) of heavy fuel oil on board, as well as some 200 tons of diesel oil and smaller amounts of lubricants and other environmentally hazardous materials.
Brief by the Associated Press
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In this section:
IHOP Express implements ID checks • 4 VCU students petition for better course availability • 4 ASPiRE program begins orientation process • 5
Beginning when students return from spring break in March, Cabell Library will start operating on a 24-hour, fivedays-a-week schedule.
Associate university librarian for public services Dennis Clark said the change was in response to student demand.
“A lot of students have been very vocal in what kind of library services they’d like to see at VCU,” he said.
VCU’s Student Government Association identified the library’s hours as something they wanted to focus on over the summer during a leadership retreat.
“We heard it reiterated pretty frequently by students,” Kyle Gigliotti, SGA vice president, said. “To be honest,
I’m not sure if I thought it was really going to happen.”
After the library and SGA identified students’ desire for a library with more operating hours, the decision was brought to the university Provost, who was able to find funding for the project on a pilot-basis.
“The catalyst was the Board of Visitors report,” Gigliotti said. “We had brought up the idea that students wanted a 24-hour library, and one of the board members was surprised that we didn’t have that.”
Many other institutions in the state operate on 24-hour library schedules, Gigliotti said.
“VCU was kind of lacking in that regard.”
In addition to extended general hours, some library departments will
also adopt an extended schedule.
“We’re basically increasing the number of hours we are open by almost 30 percent,” Clark said.
Cabell will stay open on Fridays and Saturdays until 10 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. The Special Collections and Archives department will be open on Saturdays.
The library will also be looking to expand its staff to operate under the new schedule, Clark said
“Our current staff are already working their hours so we’re going to have to be doing some strategic hiring for the pilot program,” he said. The library will also be working closely with VCU Police to provide overnight security.
Cabell’s Starbucks will not adopt the new hours right away, but could possibly increase their operating hours as the pilot program progresses. According
to Gigliotti, the store needs to have a certain amount of revenue per hour to be open. The store will be monitoring Cabell traffic before implementing any new schedule.
Although a big change, Gigliotti said there are still improvements to be made with Cabell Library, specifically in looking to complete renovations.
VCU put forth a proposal as part of their Master Site Plan to renovate Cabell Library. The school is currently looking for funding for the future project.
“We’ve got the hours piece and the services piece, and we really want to see renovations,” Gigliotti said. “That’s not for a few years out, but I think that it really starts now.” CT
The extended hours initiative is backed by the VCU Student Government Association, which was funded by the university provost on a pilot basis beginning this semester.
After a fight that attracted the attention of six police cars on Jan. 20 in the IHOP Express at Laurel and Grace Place, Dining Services’ recent decision to check student IDs might make more sense to students.
In last Tuesday’s TelegRAM, VCU announced that the IHOP Express will be increasing security on Friday, Saturday and Sunday after 1 a.m, when they stop taking swipes.
VCU students will be asked to show their ID in order to access the dining facility. They are allowed to have a maximum of three guests.
“We aren’t trying to limit the students,” Assistant Director of Dining Services Dan McDonald said. “We just want them to feel comfortable.... That’s our primary concern.” Dining Sales and Services manager Tamara Highsmith said the policy change was prompted by increased traffic through the facility.
“Our security advised us (to implement the policy) because of the lines that formed and the crowd control issues that they had, in order for students to access the facility we made for them… It’s not because of an incident.”
Using student IDs to grant access to university buildings is not anything new.
“We found a precedent in the library,” Highsmith said. “(It’s) open to the public, but it’s okay to limit it at times to students only.” CT
A VCU student is circulating a petition that says the university should offer more classes for students instead of focusing on construction and expansion.
Brittiny Wolfe, a junior health sciences major at VCU, started the petition last Friday after hearing about new construction projects VCU has in the works. She posted the petition on Facebook and sent out mass emails to students in her current and previous courses.
In its first three days, 98 students signed the petition. After the first week, Wolfe has 140 signatures, 60 shy of her initial goal of 200.
Wolfe encouraged supporters of the petition to submit specific courses they had trouble enrolling in for spring 2012 so she could submit a list along with the petition to Reuben Rodriguez,
associate vice provost and dean of students at VCU.
So far, she has compiled a list of 35 classes across the sociology, mass communications, health, physical education and exercise science, psychology, social work and environmental science departments, respectively.
“Students now have to fight to get into their classes, and I feel like unless we as students collectively say, ‘Hey, you need to give this issue more attention. We deserve to graduate on time,’ then the issue is just going to get brushed aside,” Wolfe said.
Chief among Wolfe’s concerns is the likelihood that students who can’t get into their core courses during the fall or spring semesters might not graduate in four years. This possibility burdens students financially in the long run, Wolfe said.
“Even if there were classes offered at inconvenient times, if there was enough of them, then it would just be an individual student’s problem (if they
couldn’t enroll), but this isn’t just my problem or your problem. It’s affecting every single major here,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe said she thinks hiring faculty and staff is more important than continuing the expansion of the Monroe Park Campus, a point that she specifically states in the petition, which reads: “Students should be the first and foremost priority (for the university), not campus aesthetics.”
Rodriguez said the university is faced with the predicament of having enough classes for VCU’s increased enrollment so students can graduate on time. He said Wolfe’s petition will benefit the cause.
“It’s always helpful to have this kind of data so we can send it to the Provost’s office, and she can start working with the colleges and schools and faculty and deans to look at the problem so we can offer more class sections, and students can progress towards graduation,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said he is not sure if the
new prerequisite registration system that was implemented for Spring 2012 affected students’ ability to enroll in certain courses, but said the system’s goal was to ensure students are able to take courses within their major in the appropriate sequence.
Although Wolfe’s petition isn’t critical of the current registration system, she said amending the system to favor class ranking over credit standing would quell some students’ registration woes.
“I think VCU is doing a great job trying to distinguish itself,” Wolfe said, “but I really think this is an issue that needs tending to.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, VCU has a four-year graduation rate of 24 percent for the Fall 2002 cohort and 23 percent for the Fall 2004 cohort. CT
For more information about the petition, contact Brittiny Wolfe at Wolfebl@vcu.edu.
ASPiRE, the Academic Scholars Program in Real Environments, is the first of its kind at VCU and aims to provide a community-oriented and positive opportunity for sophomores.
Last Saturday, Jan. 21 at Harris Hall, a orientation program was held for accepted ASPiRE students to learn more and get acquainted with the program.
Students were chosen for the program through an application process that was completed during the fall of 2011, priority given to rising sophomores for the 2012-2013 school year. The first 148 sophomores selected to participate in the program will live, learn and volunteer together at the new residence hall beginning August 2012.
David Stephens, a freshman math and economics major became interested in the program because he was “excited about the service-learning opportunities,” he said.
“I heard the service learning is a great experience to do at some point during college,” he said. “That drew me in, I just wanted to enrich my educational experience any way I could and this was a good opportunity.”
The goal of the program is to link living and learning together in a foursemester experience that focuses on hands-on service learning, engagement in the community and creating positive change through co-curricular activities and coursework.
The academic component of ASPiRE requires an extra seven credit hours spread throughout the sophomore year.
ASPiRE’s first course, “Introduction to Community Change,” teaches students how to get involved with projects that bring community change and in the second semester work in teams to develop projects that address community needs.
According to the program’s website, the residential experience will serve to make the transition between the first and second year of college life simple and rewarding. It can also help students who are undecided about their major get exposed to a variety of academic programs and service opportunities as they explore options.
There are no additional tuition costs for the program, and those students selected will live in the new five-story West Grace Street South Residence hall.
The new residential hall will include 23 study lounges; 13 common lounges; 6,000 square feet of program classrooms; apartment style rooms with washers, dryers and kitchens; access to parking; 12-month living contracts; and single and double-room options, as well as state-of-the-art classrooms and faculty offices on the first floor.
The West Grace Street South residence hall was put forth in accordance with VCU’s 2004 Master Site plan, with construction beginning in early 2010.
The ASPiRE program is an effort to create academic benefits for the students as well as work with VCU’s Strategic Plan for the future. CT
Briante Weber and Darius Theus have a lot in common: They’re both point guards, they’re both from the 757 area code, and they were both recruited by Blaine Taylor and Old Dominion.
That being the case, it seems fitting that together they would pick apart Taylor’s defense when given the opportunity. The duo combined for 22 points and five steals on Saturday night as VCU extended its conference win streak to four with a 61-48 win over the rival Monarchs.
“I love when (Weber’s) out there on the court with me, and I think he probably feels the same way,” said Theus. “So the tempo is very much in control with both of us on the court.”
Theus had 15 points, most of which came by driving to the basket and getting layups or getting to the free throw line. For the second time all season, he went without an assist but still was effective facilitating the offense and creating shots for his teammates by driving and drawing extra defenders. He also went 6-of-7 at the free throw line and knocked down an open three pointer.
Weber on the other hand, did most of his work on defense. He had four steals in 22 minutes and pushed the ball out for breakaway and transition buckets for his teammates.
Although using two point guards can sometimes slow a team down offensively, Theus and Weber play with a synergy which only makes their teammates better.
“It feels good because I can play off the ball some, and (Weber) can run the point,” said Theus. “It’s just easier for both of us playing together. With me being more experienced, I can help him out on the court, and with his defensive energy he can pick up my defensive energy.”
Not only do Weber and Theus have playing styles that complement each other, they are extremely close off the court as well. Both being from the same area, Theus took Weber under his wing at the beginning of the season, and his mentorship has undoubtedly played a
role in Weber’s success as a freshman.
“Those guys love playing together,” said Shaka Smart. “They lift each other up. I think Briante’s confidence is infectious – it makes Darius even more aggressive and more confident. And I think Darius is able to keep Briante a little more disciplined and a little more sound than he would be without him.”
Smart said the point guard duo has clicked from day one of the offseason when they played pick-up with the team and some alumni. He said that they dominated together, even against past VCU point guard greats Eric Maynor and Joey Rodriguez.
As evidenced by Maynor and Rodriguez, VCU in recent years has become somewhat of a point guard factory. In just 20 games as the team’s starting point guard, Theus has shown that he has what it takes to be the next name on that list. And for Weber, the potential is limitless given his freakish athletic ability and the people he has to learn from.
The combination of Theus and Weber is a two-headed monster that has given Havoc a new, even quicker and more intelligent feel to it. And that’s a scary thought. CT
Bradford Burgess won’t graduate until May, but the VCU men’s basketball team is getting a pretty good feel for what life will be like when he’s gone.
Burgess, the Rams’ lone senior, has played a minuscule 42 minutes over the past two games due to foul trouble. Do the math, and that averages out to just barely over half of each game. Not very average for a team’s best player and only senior.
Burgess played just 23 minutes against William & Mary Thursday night and fouled out toward the end of regulation.
Saturday night against Old Dominion wasn’t much different with Burgess racking up three fouls by the early stages of the second half and recording just 19 minutes on the night. Still, the young VCU team torched its arch-adversary to the tune of a 61-48 win in front a sold out Stuart C. Siegel Center. You could say they’re learning to deal without their unquestioned leader.
“It says the young guys are growing up,” VCU head coach Shaka Smart said. “And they’re playing better and better, and they’re getting used to stepping up
and asserting themselves.”
The Rams beat the Monarchs with solid contributions off the bench and balanced scoring from a plethora of different guys.
Juniors Troy Daniels and Darius Theus posted double-digits and freshmen Briante Weber and Treveon Graham combined for 12 points. Sophomore guard Rob Brandenberg was able to channel in and break his horrific shooting slump with eight crucial points despite being removed from the starting lineup for the first time in seven games. Even walk-on junior David Hinton –who receives very limited playing time –came in for two minutes and gave ODU a taste of his own brand of havoc.
“It just means anybody can step up at any time,” Hinton said. “Coach tells us we need 13 people every game so whenever you’re number is called you’ve got to step up; if somebody’s down you’ve got to help them up.”
For parts of the second half, Burgess became an afterthought. Substitutions came and went but still he remained a cheerleader on the bench. Tell any Rams’ fan Burgess would score just two points in his last game against ODU at home and they’d probably roll their eyes. Tell them he’d rack up just five points in his last two outings and you’d be pointed towards the exits.
Reality can be harsh, but looking on the bright side of things the Rams are winners of two-straight when their leader has been a non-factor.
“He’s got the confidence in us to step up and for us to make plays also just like we have in him,” Theus said. “So we’re not worried about that at all.”
In the last two games, VCU has gotten 96 percent of its scoring from guys without the name Burgess on the back of their jerseys. Freshman Treveon Graham – a near spitting-image of Burgess on the court – stepped in and provided the aggressive factor with his eight points and seven rebounds.
“Brad’s still our best player. He just has been in foul trouble the last couple of games, and it’s hard to get into a rhythm when you’re not on the court for an extended period of time,” Smart said. “But I’m proud of the way Tre stepped in for him, and other guys stepped up and made plays.”
Burgess’ absence in the last two games has by no means been a good thing, but the Rams are winning without him on the floor. VCU’s young core is learning to overcome, adapt and win when he's confined to the bench. Perhaps it’s just a glimpse into what the future will be like when he’s gone. CT
Adam Stern Executive Editor
Shaka Smart does everything for a reason.
So as the final buzzer sounded Saturday night after VCU’s 61-48 win over Old Dominion, and Smart strolled down the sideline and cordially shook hands with ODU head coach Blaine Taylor, everything seemed business as usual between the two.
Yet when Smart sat down at his postgame press conference and formed his opening statement, it became clear that wasn't the case. Instead, it became clear that Smart – ever the motivator and never one to forget – had a bit of a bone to pick with Taylor.
Taylor had told a Commonwealth Times reporter at CAA Media Day before the season started that "the NCAA Tournament can make rock stars out of average people." The quotes stimulated a large amount of buzz among Ram fans who perceived the comments as thinly veiled shots at VCU, who famously rose to national acclaim last season when they made it to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Apparently, the story must have made its way to the head honcho of the program itself.
That's because Smart's opening statement at his press conference Saturday night went like this, "I don’t know if we were rockstars tonight or if we were average people, but I was really proud of the way we battled; great team win." No media members in the room picked
up on the line at the time – or if they did, they didn't follow up on it. But in retrospect, the comment was surely a rebuttal to Taylor's polarizing assertion.
The coaches' semantical sparring adds yet another notable story line to an already intriguing rivalry. And, it helps underscore one more time an undeniable characteristic of the head coach of VCU's program.
Smart does everything for a reason CT
The VCU women's basketball team (11-7, 4-3) fell to George Mason (9-9, 3-4) 71-58 at the Patriot Center Sunday afternoon.
Senior forward Courtney Hurt led the Rams with 17 points and five rebounds but turned the ball over seven times. Hurt is now just five points away from passing Kelly Hoover as the program's all-time leading scorer.
Taleia Moton led all scorers with 29 points for the Patriots and Amber Easter chipped in 20 points.
VCU turned the ball over 17 times to George Mason's 13. The Patriots outrebounded the Rams 20-18.
VCU went 23-for-53 from the floor while George Mason shot 31-for-57.
Andrea Barbour added 15 points and three rebounds for the Rams, who host Drexel Thursday. CT
Faculty grant winner to sponsor grad student • 11 Grad students display wearable art • 12 Album review: �subjective musical ball of spiritual experimentation” • 13
The melodic mixture of a Turkish jazz ensemble and a Canadian orchestra will take the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall stage at the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts this Tuesday.
Emre Kartari, a 2000 VCU graduate, moved to Ankara, Turkey in 2009 to start the first jazz-music program at Hacettepe University.
“Although Turkey hosted some of the biggest jazz festivals in Europe, they did not have any jazz education programs,” Kartari said.
To celebrate this breakthrough program, Kartari asked VCU professor Doug Richards to compose a piece. Richards started the jazz program at VCU in 1980 and headed it for 20 years.
Richards received a grant from the
VCU School of the Arts and composed the “Ben Seni Variations,” which utilizes a Turkish stringed instrument called the kanun, a symphony orchestra and a jazz octet.
“The idea of the piece was to fuse together the musical cultures of Turkey, Western European art music and jazz,” Richards said.
The Turkish folk song, “Ben Seni Sevdugumi” served as inspiration for the piece.
“Ben Seni Variations” was first performed in November 2010 in Ankara, Turkey. The jazz octet there consisted exclusively of VCU jazz faculty.
“Having my teachers (from VCU) in Turkey, performing a Turkish folk song through (Richards’) imagination, being on the same stage with them was a lifelong dream come true for me,” Kartari said. “After the performance, I couldn’t hold back my tears.”
This Tuesday at the Singleton Center, many members of the original jazz octet will be reuniting to play the American debut of “Ben Seni Variations,” which Richards will be conducting.
The VCU Symphonic Orchestra will join forces with Ensemble Appassionata.
The Ensemble Appassionata is the Montreal-based professional orchestra of Daniel Myssyk, the director of orchestral studies at VCU for more than four years.
The Ensemble Appassionata made its first appearance in America at the Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts this past Saturday, but Myssyk wanted to make the most of their visit.
“This is a very special project because it’s going to combine various forces, that is, a professional chamber orchestra playing side by side with the VCU symphony. … It’s a war horse,” Myssyk said. Combining orchestras is rarely done in the music world, he said.
Myssyk said he hopes that this event will inspire students.
“I heard from some kids that they had never played with a professional orchestra. … It should be a joyful moment, a very illuminating kind of moment,” Myssyk said.
Myssyk will be conducting both orchestras in Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony, the �New World.”
“Because of what I know of what inspired (Richards) and his work, I thought the most natural fit would be to program the Ninth Symphony by Dvorak,” Myssyk said. “It has to do a lot with his own personal American experience.” CT
The concert will be Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall in the Singleton Center. Tickets cost $15 for general admission and are free to VCU students with a valid ID.
Sonya Clark will give one fifth of her $50,000 unrestricted grant to a graduate stipend. The chosen graduate student will assist Clark in her studio.
A typical Friday afternoon in the studio for Sonya Clark was disrupted by a shock-inducing phone call and a pact of secrecy: She had been named a United States Artists Fellow but couldn’t tell anyone until the official announcement was made.
“I couldn’t believe it. It just wasn’t where my brain was at the time,” said Clark, chairwoman of the craft and material department for the VCU School of the Arts.
Clark was nominated for the award and submitted her body of work to the United States Artists Fellows Program for consideration before being named one of the 50 USA Fellows this past December.
Aside from recognition within the art community, USA Fellows receive an unrestricted grant of $50,000. This year, more than 300 nominees were considered across the disciplines of architecture and design, crafts, dance, literature, music, theater and visual arts.
In six years with VCUarts, Clark has received recognition on both the state and national level. She was awarded a Pollock-Krasner Award in 2006 upon arriving at VCU, a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship in each of the last two years and a Virginia Museum of
Fine Art Fellowship in 2011.
Joe Seipel, dean of the VCU School of the Arts, said Clark’s achievements bring visibility to VCUarts as a whole and could attract potential students who see her work online to apply to the School of the Arts.
“Everyone who sees Sonya’s success will not only understand the quality of her work and how important her career is, but by extension, understand the opportunities that rise because of her connection to VCU and the craft and material program,” Seipel said.
Although she appreciates the recent publicity, Clark is quick to recognize her colleagues at VCUarts as equally deserving of the attention.
“I have the privilege of working with some of the most talented and creative people I’ve ever worked with,” she said.
“I expect some of them will be receiving recognition any minute now; they deserve it.”
Clark said she plans to use the money from the unrestricted grant to benefit the greater Richmond arts community.
In an effort to maximize the money, Clark said she will also donate one fifth of it to a VCUarts graduate stipend. The university will then match that amount with a tuition remission, and a selected student will be chosen to receive the award and assist Clark in her studio for the year. CT
Sonya Clark, chairwoman of the craft and material department, was one of the 50 American artists honored by United States Artists as a 2011 fellow this past December.
From lace veils to pigskin brooches, nothing could be said to be “off” about the opening reception of “ON/OFF” this past Friday evening at the FAB VCUarts Gallery of the VCU Fine Arts Building.
The exhibition features the recent work of VCU craft and material studies graduate students and their exploration of body adornment through “wearable objects and sculptural forms.”
The work of April Dauscha, who is currently teaching this semester’s art foundation fiber class, is heavily influenced by the ideas and social customs of the 19th century, particularly the elaborate mourning rituals of the Victorian Era.
Dauscha’s piece “Penitence,” a veil constructed from black handmade teneriffe lace, draws inspiration from the Victorian custom of women wearing black veils for a predetermined amount of time, differing depending on the woman’s relation to the deceased, as an outward display of their inner grief.
For Dauscha, the piece acts as a type of physical manifestation of grief from her own life and perhaps, through its construction, as a type of catharsis. As an in-progress piece, she plans to continue adding more lace to the currently 250-foot veil which, from its mounted place on the wall, winds
its way through the moderately sized gallery space, ending in a coil around the space’s support beam.
Additionally, “Exposed: An Armory of Physical Longings,” a collection of wearable sculptural forms, draws inspiration from the complex Victorian corset, as well as “prototypes of the fashion industry … (and) soft armor from the middle ages,” according to Dauscha’s website.
The construction of each garment is left almost entirely exposed as a representation of what Dauscha describes as “a longing to fill the void.” These dress forms of muslin, boning and thread are meant to protect and speak for the wearer as a source of “strength and empowerment … because they speak of her desires and struggles,” Dauscha said. “They seek beauty in her burdens.”
Much of the work of first-year graduate student Bebhinn Jennings deals with loss, memory and more internal subject matter given visual form.
“We’re all dealing with the same time,” Jennings said of her fellow artists in the exhibition. “We’re all referencing each other.”
“It can be exhausting, alienating,” Jennings said of the creative process. “You put something up and it’s exciting, but (sometimes) there’s a lot of doubt to work through.”
Jennings’ works from the show, some as recent as the new year, were the
products of “experimenting with how to manipulate materials to show age and death,” she said. The result of her pieces “Enough” and “Release” were, she said, somewhat of a “happy accident.”
“Yeah, I take a torch and set them on fire,” Jennings said of the plethora of scorched plastic pearls winding from their sterling silver locket casings, each piece displayed on its own pedestal with an additional mounted to a light box on the wall.
“It’s almost like painting, essentially,” she explained because she is never quite certain how they will react to the process. “Some melt, some go up in flames … (I) don’t know what’s gonna happen.”
Besides being fascinated by the effect of the flames on each piece, Jennings is also interested in the history of the pearls before they came into her possession.
“All the pearls are found, reclaimed –they all had a life before me,” she said.
Jennings’ obscure brooches, mounted to a light box, feature the same pearls as her previously mentioned piece, but with one major addition: pig skin, washed and stretched into a wearable object.
“I wanted to see if you could rust dye (the guts) almost like a fabric,” she said of the unusual material.
“These pieces are a lot about the dichotomy,” said Shauna Kirkland, the final artist of the trio on display
in the ON/OFF exhibition, of both her “My Pretty Weapons” and “Power Suit 1-3” series
“My Pretty Weapons” consists of a collection of brass knuckles cast from shark teeth, a bobcat’s jaw and more equally aggressive “natural weapons.” The brass is mixed with glitter and painted with automobile paint of pinks and blues in order to achieve an irony at the “juxtaposition of the glossy (and) sparkly” with the vicious subjects, she said.
Kirkland’s empowerment of the wearer continues in her “Power Suit” series, which consists of three wearable handmade shoulder and head pieces constructed from various unrelated materials such as fox and mink fur, plonge leather, painted brass and cotton yarn.
These pieces, as was with Dauscha’s corsets, reference armor and war regalia, as well as seek to further the idea of juxtaposition of the unusually paired materials, some of which have been elevated from their original state via their incorporation into these wearable works of art. CT
“ON/OFF” will be on display from now until Feb. 9 in the FAB VCUarts Gallery located just inside the front doors of the Fine Arts Building at 1000 W. Broad Street. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
More photos continued on pg. 13
“Freermasonry” is the sixth album from Wold, a black metal/noise group from the great white North.
One of the colloquial criticisms of the noise genre as a form of music is that, because of its apparently amorphous structure, it must be prosaic and easily replicated. Wold would be one of the few exceptions where this replication could not be easily executed. It would be really hard to be this degree of incoherent and chaotic successfully.
I understand that this might be the point, though. It sounds as if they are trying to harness the power of chaos and put it into a subjective musical ball of spiritual experimentation. Noise music, if done correctly, should retain some essence of mystery, some noise of the unknown. Wold figured out a way to keep subtle melody, the blown-out tones of their electronics, blasted lyrical
conceit based on masonry chants and Biblical scriptures, all coalescing into weirdly seductive rhythms. But then, as comparable to the big bang, when these elements of understanding start to form, they are obliterated and all essence of familiarity slips from one's conscious mind.
At first “Freermasonry” can seem comparable to a holy man spilling the blood of your innocent ears as a sacrifice to the antichrist, but whether it is in fire or brimstone, the album breathes. Upon close scrutiny there is some beauty brewing in the underbelly of a seemingly brutal and devastating sermon, to which by the end you may believe in something grander than yourself. (It may or may not be in a divine power, however.)
There is an adventure in this album, and as in “The Lord of the Rings,” it ends with fat eagles grasping you from the clutches of a dizzying Mordor. CT
In this section:
I love VCU. What strikes me most is its diversity. Not the kind of diversity you can simplify into demographic numbers – though those are impressive – but the diversity of minds.
VCU has allowed me to meet individuals with new and exciting thoughts and ideas. I’ve been blown away by the people I’ve met here, but one over-arching question about the student body has always left me wondering: Are VCU students preparing for the next stage of their lives?
I’m not sure.
VCU is an incredibly diverse place. At any given time, we can go watch our peers become someone else on a stage, unmask themselves at a poetry reading, put their soul on show at a gallery. We are, as a university, filled with incredible and undeniable talent and potential.
The question is: What’s next? What’s next, after college? I fear that a lot of students don’t know that answer. As a generation, we’ve been sold the idea that a college diploma is a sure-fire way to a good job and happy life, but we’re quickly learning that it's not so simple. In the process, we’re racking up student debt that we’ll be paying off for years.
Many VCU students, and other students around the nation, are lacking any concept of an endgame: a plan of what they want to get out of college, not only personally, but also professionally. I know too many students who are counting on the ability to get a job after they graduate, diploma in hand, instead of finding a job now, instead of building up experiences in internships, saying “no” to challenges and opportunities to have a free Saturday night instead.
This is extremely disappointing, because there is no better place to study something with a job after college. For
instance, I am an accounting major, and have a full time job lined up for next fall, after graduation. But my major hasn’t determined my every collegiate action – because of the diversity and sheer size of VCU, I’ve been able to participate in non-accounting things in a casual manner. I don’t have to be an English major to enjoy reading and discussing the classics or a music major to appreciate orchestras.
We’ve all been sold the idea that
college is a place to discover and define ourselves, but not at the expense of our future. Too many of us are piling up student debt for the ability to party and live the “college life.” Many of us have incredible opportunities right in front of us, but don’t take it. It’s crippling both ourselves and our generation.
I beseech you to take a step back and consider your endgame. After you walk across that stage, and have that diploma in hand, where will you be? What are
VCU students doing themselves a disservice • 14 Students customize organization to satisfy wants • 15
you going to do? If you are relying on a job just opening for you, an uncle with a business, or your old retail gig, you aren’t preparing for the future. Instead, look at yourself, and what you want to do, and find a way to do it.
Every degree doesn’t need to end in a cubicle, but to be worth the tens of thousands of dollars we are paying, it does need to allow you a job and a future. Take those internships and those tougher classes, because those will pay
A completely undergraduate-produced staging of George Bernard Shaw’s “Arms and the Man” was put on at the end of last semester. Under the name of “The Society of Actors and Playwrights,” 10 undergraduate students saw
stagnation, especially within the collegiate society.
The Society of Actors and Playwrights, or SAP, is composed of mostly theater majors trying to create a new avenue for undergraduate students and playwrights to produce more original and student work. It saw that the organizations that already existed for stu-
off in the long run. The responsibility isn’t on the university, it’s on us as students. Sure, we can live for today, but we can’t forget about tomorrow. CT
In the case of SAP, the idea is more student plays. That is, however, only a single idea in the massive pool of student activity.
One of my idols, Brad Bird, wrote that “the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so” and that true risk for a commentator is defending the new.
That statement is being proven true. The fact that someone took the chance to create something for the world to see is more significant than my sitting at a desk and typing a schooled analysis of it. But what it doesn’t say is that, in order for the new organization to survive, it needs more than a critic’s defense, but a source of support – a champion to keep it thriving so it can find its potential.
While some new things aren’t made to last, how would we know if they were never given the resources to thrive? Hopefully, new organizations, like SAP, which set out to help enrich the arts community with more viewing and experience opportunities, can find their champion.
an opportunity in doing something for themselves. They handled the set, acting and directing and found a space to house the show.
These students embarked on something new with this project, going outside of the established institutes of SALT and TheatreVCU. What those 10 students did – creating a new organization to fit their desires – displayed a crucial trait of keeping society from
dent work could only produce so many plays in a semester, and they found a way to remedy that.
From the student organizations that petition for funding each semester to the independent gatherings of students that form for the sake of commitment and convenience, united passion brought together isolated individuals in order to unite and recognize a community they feel is being underserved.
Building a student organization out of a niche interest can be intimidating, especially if there are other organizations that serve a similar function. But if the requirements of that club or organization are too stringent, or you have unresolvable issues about the direction of said organization, don’t be afraid to gather four more friends and form your own. If you can’t join 'em, beat 'em. CT
Opinions expressed are those of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Commonwealth Times or Virginia Commonwealth University. Unsigned editorials represent the institutional opinion of The CT.
The opinion pages of The Commonwealth Times are a forum open to the public. Clear, concise and compelling contributions are welcome online at our Web site, by e-mail at opinion@commonwealthtimes. org, or by mail and in person at 817 W. Broad St., Richmond, Va. 23220-3806.
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