BEST SMALL, NON-DAILY —2017 Virginia Press Association The independent press of Virginia Commonwealth University
October 23, 2017 • Vol. 59, No. 9
NEWS Sam Kwarteng • 3
SPORTS Sanders signs • 6
SPECTRUM The Depot Market • 8
OPINIONS Walter Williams • 11
SPECTRUM Islam Awareness Week • 8
PHOTO BY ERIN EDGERTON
NEWS Student protests • 3
SPORTS Field hockey • 6
Obama makes a play for Virginian candidates HIBA AHMAD News Editor In his return to the political arena, former President Barack Obama highlighted the importance of voting for the entire Democratic ticket in this year’s gubernatorial election, at the Richmond Convention Center Oct. 19. “You’ve got really good candidates. You’ve got people who will
make you proud. You’ve got people in this race for the right reasons,” Obama said. “At a time when so many of us can be so cynical about government and public service to have somebody step up who you can trust and who just want to do right by the people of Virginia — that is worth something.” Obama hit the campaign trail to urge Virginians to vote for Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who is running as
the democratic candidate for governor of Virginia. The national focus on Virginia’s gubernatorial race comes as a result of Virginia’s position to set the tone for the 2018 midterm election. There, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for reelection along with over 30 seats in the Senate. Democrats are hoping key states like Virginia and New Jersey will
help swing the political pendulum back in the favor of their party since Republicans currently have a majority in Congress and the White House. Obama isn’t the only high profile politician who has openly endorsed Northam for governor. Former Vice President Joe Biden also campaigned for Northam in northern Virginia earlier this month. Northam had 5.8 percent lead
average of all polls on his opponent Ed Gillespie, the former Republican National Committee chair and Republican candidate in the race, according to Real Clear Politics. According to the Northam for Governor campaign, more than 6,000 people turned out for the rally — more than 15,000 people previously registered online. Attorney General Mark Herring, who is seeking re-election, and Jus-
tin Fairfax, who is running for lieutenant governor. Current Virginia Governor, Terry McAuliffe, and Richmond mayor, Levar Stoney, also took the stage to encourage votes to “keep Virginia blue.” Many speakers were quick to criticize Gillespie for his attack ads against Northam and his support from President Donald Trump. —continued on pg. 3
Volleyball maintains nation’s longest streak RODNEY ROBINSON Contributing Writer
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH HUMPHREYS
Volleyball (23-2) extended their winstreak to 20 games and remained perfect in A-10 play over the weekend with straight-sets victories over the University of Rhode island and Fordham College. The Rams continue to boast the longest active win streak in the country.
Rhode Island
Volleyball has not lost a match since falling to Notre Dame 1-3 on Sept. 1. The Rams have won 20 consecutive sets.
VCU cruised against Rhode Island in a straight-sets victory on Sunday. The Rams’ stout defense returned against conference foe
Rhode Island, holding them to a .080 hitting percentage. The Black and Gold forced Rhode Island into 21 errors, while only committing 14 themselves. VCU was tested in the second set, but they were able to hold off Rhode Island to narrowly win the set 25-23. VCU had a hitting percentage of .268. Senior outside hitter Alica Kandler led the way with nine kills on the day and a service ace. Sophomore opposite hitter Gina Tizzulo added eight kills, while junior middle blocker Tori Baldwin and junior opposite hitter Julia Adler recorded six kills while hitting better than .500. —continued on pg. 5
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CRIME LOG Monday, October 16 Shoplifting Barnes & Noble 1111 W. Broad St. Pending
Forum examines Black life in Richmond
Trespassing Cabell Library 901 Park Ave. Closed Trespassing Raising Canes 805 W. Grace St. Closed Larcency 929 W. Grace St. Pending Shoplifting/Alcohol Violation ABC 1217 W. Broad St. Closed Shoplifting 7-11 122 S. Belvidere St. Outside Agency Theft 715 W. Leigh St. Outside Agency Theft 1100 Grove Ave. Outside Agency Larceny Jackson Center 501 N. 2nd St. Pending Hit & Run Visitor’s Desk 550 N. 12th St. Pending PHOTO BY RAELYN FINES
Drug Violation ER N. 12 St. Pending
Tuesday, October 17 Drunkenness 5 S. Morris St. Closed
The Department of African American Studies teamed up with the Jericho Project to discuss political prisoners in the United States.
Hit and Run 901 W. Main St. Pending
SAFFEYA AHMED Contributing Writer
Destruction of Property 700 Norton St. Pending Sexual Assault B900 W. Franklin St. Pending Simple Assault 6 N. Laurel St. Outside Agency Fraud - Credit Card 810 W. Grace St. Outside Agency Simple Assault 1003 W. Grace St. Outside Agency Hit & Run 1246 Parkwood Ave. Outside Agency
Wednesday, October 18 Larceny 710 W. Franklin St. Pending Burglary (Residential) Ackell Residence Hall 1100 W. Broad St. Pending Tampering w/ Auto 200 S. Linden St. Outside Agency Simple Assault 422 W. Broad St. Outside Agency Public Urination 400 W. Broad St. Outside Agency Drunkenness 122 S. Belvidere St. Outside Agency
Download the VCU LiveSafe mobile phone app to report crimes anonymously. To contact the VCU PD: (804) 828-1196. For an on-campus emergency: (804) 828-1234. For an off-campus emergency: 911.
The Department of African American Studies, in collaboration with The Jericho Movement, hosted a ‘Black Richmond’ community forum about political prisoners Oct. 18. Adam Ewing, co-organizer of The Community Forum and a professor in the department of African American Studies, said the idea for the forum sprung up after hosting an event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther Party. Ewing said he and his co-organizer, Jihad Abdulmumit, wanted to create a space for the Richmond community to connect. “The idea is to draw on people’s actual experiences with dealing with these issues,” Ewing said. This month’s forum was facilitated by Abdulmumit, who serves as chairperson of the Jericho Movement. The Jericho Movement advocates for the recognition and release of political prisoners in the United States. There are currently hundreds of people incarcerated for their political views and the resulting actions in the U.S. Abdulmumit also works as a community case manager for a health clinic,
sity of supporting political prisoners, or at the very least, knowing about them. He talked about solution-based action steps and precautions to take to avoid getting incarcerated as a political prisoner.
and proposed potential solutions. Chelsea Gurley, a student who attended the forum, said certain actions are criminally associated with one race but not with others. The imprisonment of Black extremist and radicalized group members follows the rhetoric connecting Black lives to criminalization, the same rhetoric floating around the war on drugs, she said. Ewing, who specializes in the history of the African diaspora and This is one of the pan-Africanism, commented on the criminalization of Black action. most tangible “A reality of the struggle for connections with justice in the Black community is that every step of the way, it’s been our revolutionary criminalized,” Ewing said. “The criminal justice system, incarcerapast. I’m tion, jails and prisons have been a representing my device to to slow down the efforts of people to seek freedom in a varicomrades that hav ety of ways.” been imprisoned The criminalization of radicalized political organizations for decades, like the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army in the Jihad Abdulmumit, 1960s and ‘70s resulted in the mass incarceration of protesters The Jericho Project and active members. Since then, Ewing said, AmeriHe broke the audience down into can society has moved away from group demonstrations about politi- claiming any responsibility for the cal movements, security precautions incarcerated.
“We have worked very hard as a society to not see prisoners in any meaningful sense,” Ewing said. “We sort of throw away the key and consider prisoners as people that we don’t have to worry about because they’re behind bars. We’re so conditioned to think of prisoners as devalued people.” Abdulmumit said the elimination of all forms of struggle by institutions has created a society where the strife of political prisoners is pushed aside. “This is a quantum leap between four decades of media bombardment and materialism and distractions,” he said. Abdulmumit closed by reiterating the power of the current generation. He said strategic, critical thinkers are what we need. “We want to be in the position at the forefront of change,” Abdulmumit said. The Community Forum will host another meeting Nov. 15 about Black representation in film, facilitated by Enjoli Moon. Ewing and Abdulmumit organized the series to continue in the spring semester, with topics ranging from mental health to prisoner’s rights. The forums are free and open to the public.
Institute for Contemporary Art to open in late April NIA TARIQ Contributing Writer VCU announced the $41 million Institute for Contemporary Art is set to open April 21, six months later than the original designated date of October 2017. The 3-story, 41,000 square-foot building is located at the intersection of West Broad Street and North Belvidere Street. The ICA will work directly with the School of the Arts, the No. 1 public graduate school of art and design, according to University Public Affairs. Johanna Plummer, curator of Education and Engagement for the ICA, said student input will always be a foundational element of the ICA’s programs. “We’ve had student stakeholders involved in developing our mission and impact statements which will be our framework for measuring our success,” Plummer said. “Tours of the ICA will be led by student guides and we’re working with faculty to identify areas where our exhibitions can connect to curriculum.”
The institute is non-collecting, but will feature diverse exhibitions, screen films and host interdisciplinary programs for VCU students and faculty. The Markel Center will be free to the public when it opens. Carol Anne Baker Lajoie is the director of Development and interim director of External Affairs for the ICA. She said the student audience is critical for the ICA, which is why the ICA will have a membership program designed for student and alumni accessibility. “We can’t wait to share the ICA with students and future alumni,” Lajoie said. Allison Heerwagen, a sophomore graphic design major, is a member of the ICA Student Advisory Committee. She hopes it will not only be a space for artists, but for people who wouldn’t normally find themselves in an art museum. “As our understanding of diverse people and ideas shift, the art of the ICA should reflect the The ICA will open on April 21, 2018 — six months after the original opening date. new and improved way of thinking,” she said. “Contemporary art and future landscape.” interdisciplinary approach to cur- different media. has the unique power to instill The ICA’s inaugural exhibition rent social issues with pieces by The exhibit will remain open new ideas that shape our current will be called “Declaration,” an over 30 different artists through through Sept. 9, 2018.
PHOTO BY ERIN EDGERTON
Drug Violation 812 W. Franklin St. Closed
conducting HIV screenings and workshops in prisons. Wednesday’s forum focused on political incarceration. “This is one of the most tangible connections with our revolutionary and progressive past,” Abdulmumit said. “I’m representing my comrades that have been imprisoned for decades because we fought against racism and police violence in our communities.” He said it is essential to know about the freedom fighters and revolutionaries that have been incarcerated for decades in our country. Many political prisoners in the U.S. are currently incarcerated because of their involvement in the Black Liberation Movement in the 1960s and 70s. Abdulmumit was incarcerated for 23 years as a political prisoner for his involvement with the Black Panther Party. Abdulmumit began the forum with a moment of silence for those incarcerated and suffering. He focused the rest of the forum discussion on the situation of current political prisoners and the responsibility of this country’s citizens to fight for prisoners’ freedom and amnesty. “These are real bodies,” Abdulmumit said. “These are real people.” Abdulmumit stressed the neces-
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Monday, October 23, 2017
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—continued from pg. 1 “Ed Gillespie seeks to silence our voices,” Stoney said. “In 18 days we can tell them our voice matters more than the NRA. We can tell them our voice matters more than Donald Trump.” Political hard-hitters such as former President George W. Bush and Vice President Mike Pence hit the campaign trail for Gillespie. Trump also endorsed Gillespie through Twitter. “Ralph Northam, who is running for Governor of Virginia, is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie!” Trump tweeted. Though Gillespie has voiced his allegiance to the current administration, he’s kept his distance from directly pledging his support to Trump’s statements and policy changes including the repeal of DACA and the travel ban. Unity was a major theme during the rally with calls from both Obama and Northam to look past the divisive rhetoric stemming from Washington D.C. “We live in a diverse society, that
means that we need to be inclusive,” Northam said. “It shouldn’t matter what your sexual orientation is. It shouldn’t matter the color of your skin. It shouldn’t matter the country that you come from or the religion that you practice. In Virginia, we keep our lights on and our doors open.” Rodrigo Magana, director of communications for Rowdy Rams at VCU, said hearing Obama speak was symbolic for him because it was under his administration Magana received a permanent resident card. As a permanent resident, Magana cannot vote for another five years until he becomes a naturalized citizen, but still encourages his peers to get to the polls. “If you’re not voting, and not voting for people who are going to support social issues like immigration, which affects me directly, then you’re not following through with your civic duty,” Magana said. Registration for voting has closed, but the polls will be open Nov. 7 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find out where you are registered, visit one of the registration tables on campus or vote.org.
PHOTO BY ERIN EDGERTON
Thousands join Obama, Northam and democratic candidates ahead of Nov. 7 election
Former President Barack Obama encouraged the message of unity at Thursday night’s campaign rally.
Students explore legacy of human trafficking in Richmond on Untold Tour
VCU student’s assailant sentenced to 1 year in prison after last year’s murder
PHOTO COURTESY OF MAUREEN MOSLOW-BENWAY
FADEL ALLASSAN Contributing Writer A Richmond man was sentenced to a year in prison after killing VCU student Samuel Kwarteng in April. Emmanuel E. Jordan, 20, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in August and charged with the sentence last Monday, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Jordan shot and killed the Alexandria native outside a home on the 1200 block of West Moore Street in what prosecutors said was an accidental killing after a dispute over drugs. Jordan lived at the house where the incident occured.
Wilder School students went on an ‘Untold Tour’ of Richmond to learn about it’s history of slavery and human trafficking. SARAROSE MARTIN Staff Writer A professor is taking her students out of the classroom and into the historical underbelly of Richmond for a class in the Wilder School about contemporary human exploitation. To help her students understand how modern human trafficking has a relationship with the past, Maureen Moslow-Benway, professor in the Wilder School, took them on an ‘Untold Tour,’ of Richmond. The tour, which was founded by a longtime Richmond resident Free Egunfemi, is dedicated to filling in the missing pieces of Richmond’s ancestral history. On Sep. 7 at dusk, students walked through Richmond sites connected to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Egunfemi showed the students the paths slaves took when they arrived in Richmond between 1840 and 1862. They went to Libby Hill park, where Lumpkin’s Jail, a holding facility for slaves waiting to sold, used to be. The class also toured Richmond’s Ancestral African Burial Grounds.
“I founded Untold RVA because I wanted to make sure that the historical record was going to respect the positive things happening today and to create access points for these narratives to be retained in the language that is glorifying self-determination, resistance and intersectionality,” Egunfemi said. Daniela Castro, a senior studying homeland security and emergency management, said Egunfemi opened her eyes to the hidden histories of the city. One of the students’ tasks was to explain the ties between modern day slavery and the country’s history of enslavement. “It honestly broke my heart,” Castro said. “I knew Richmond had a ton of history but I didn’t know how close I was to it. I think human trafficking, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, etc. is modern slavery.” Moslow-Benway believes in experiential learning. Over the semester, she has taken her students to speak with a human trafficking survivor, a prostitute who had spent half of her life in jail and a leading expert in sex abuse. She also took them on tour of Monu-
ment Avenue in contrast with the Untold Tour.
I started by looking at the United State’s history with human trafficking, and slavery was the ultimate form of human trafficking, Maureen Moslow-Benway, Assistant Professor “I thought especially in light of all of the controversy going on with the monuments and slavery and the race issues in the U.S., was to tie that into the human traffick-
ing class,” Moslow-Benway said. “I started by looking at the United State’s history with human trafficking and slavery was the ultimate form of human trafficking.” Egunfemi developed her tour to fit the curriculum of MoslowBenway’s class as a part of Untold RVA COMMUNIVERSITY, a project that seeks to create a bridge between the university and subject matter experts. To pay for the trips, MoslowBenway received a Diversity and Inclusion grant from VCU. She said the trips have been powerful for herself, in addition to her students. “Definitely eye opening, an awareness of the legacy of human trafficking in Richmond. I think they learned, for example that pretty much the City of Richmond was built by slaves,” Moslow-Benway said. “I think the more you do the more it sticks with you. And I feel quite fortunate that I have the opportunity with this class to make it really hands on learning.”
Sam moved himself off of campus so he could focus on school. That’s why he’s graduating at 20-years-old, Micky Atakilt, VCU student Kwarteng and Jordan never met before when Kwarteng accompanied a friend, who the Richmond City Circuit Court identified only as “Ish,” to Jordan’s home to retrieve $500 which Jordan owed Ish for marijuana, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Traci Miller said. Jordan’s attorney, Judson Collier Jr., said Ish had been
sending his client threatening messages in the month leading up to the killing on April 13. It’s why Jordan feared for his life when Ish showed up with Kwarteng at his house that morning, Collier said. Jordan loaded a .40 caliber gun and confronted the two by waving it around and telling them to leave. The gun went off, killing Kwarteng, as Jordan was pushing the two out the door. Collier said Jordan never put his finger on the trigger and the killing was unintentional, but every action Jordan took in the immediate moments leading up to it was not. The bullet struck Kwarteng’s back and he died on the front porch of the West Moore Street home. Jordan was arrested and charged with manslaughter shortly thereafter. “Sam moved himself [off campus] so he could focus on school.” then-senior Micky Atakilt said at a vigil held at the Commons the following day. “That’s why he’s graduating at 20-years-old, but there hasn’t been enough focus on who he was as a person in the media.” Kwarteng was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and was set to graduate a year early in May 2018 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Pi Kappa Phi members recently reached out to the School of Engineering to memorialize Kwarteng by installing a new whiteboard and plaque in the computer lab Kwarteng spent a lot of time studying in, according to a Facebook event created by the fraternity’s leaders. In addition, on Oct. 2 they placed a banner for students to sign in the Compass. A GoFundMe page was created in April to help Kwarteng’s family pay for funeral expenses raised more than $23,000, exceeding its $15,000 goal.
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Stat of the Week
VCU basketball earned 299 points in the A-10 Preseason Poll, good for fourth, just one point behind third-place Saint Joseph’s University.
Press Box
IN S RJ VE ON
tain Michael Bradley couldn’t manage to get into the starting lineup for a declining A.S. Roma team in Italy, he got a $6.5 million reward to return to the MLS. You’re probably wondering how players like Bradley and Altidore have a combined 250 appearances for the national team — it's because the American player, which Arenas so firmly believes in, actually sucks. And his future doesn’t get much better either: The U.S. men’s soccer teams failed to qualify for the Summer Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016. The Olympic soccer tournament only features under-23 teams and is regarded as a bellwether for how teams will perform in the future — so maybe the U.S. failing to qualify for that competition was the perfect forewarning for this year’s failure. Likewise, if American coaches were decent, foreigners wouldn’t consist of more than a third of all MLS coaches. U.S. Soccer apparently doesn’t believe in the American coach as well. There are five candidates being considered to fill Arenas’ shoes, according to CBS Sports — Only
one of them, Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter, is American. What’s even more embarrassing? Former France coach Laurent Blanc and former England coach Sam Allardyce are being considered over Americans. The former was caught on tape talking about implementing a racial quota on the French team to limit the number of Black and Arab players on the team. The latter was entangled in a corruption scandal when he used his position as England coach to give businessmen advice on how to go around British rules on player transfers. Maybe Arenas is delusional and actually believes that U.S. Soccer is on the right path despite his front row seat to its catastrophic downfall. Personally, I think he’s been hitting the pipe, which would explain his coaching and his prognostication. If he is, I hope he doesn’t mind passing it to the rest of the country. After watching some of the team’s recent performances, we could all use some.
VCU swept Fordham as well, pushing their win-streak to 19 games and remaining perfect inconference. The Rams had an efficient day on offense, hitting .352 in the match, with only 13 hitting errors. Fordham had a solid day offensively as well, hitting .309. VCU was tested in the third set as Fordham had match point, but the Rams would go on to fight off the other Rams and win the set on back-to-back
kills, 28-26. The Rams had four players record double digit kills on the day. Kandler and sophomore outside hitter Vicky Giommarini led all players in kills, both tallying 11. The Rams were led offensively by Baldwin, who had had 10 kills on an impressive .750 percentage in the match. Baldwin added four blocks on the defensive end. Tuzzolo added 10 kills for the Rams as well, and Adler blasted seven kills on 11 shots. VCU swept the season series against Fordham, and has swept all eight conference matches on the year. The Rams look to remain perfect in A-10 play and extend their win-streak when they take on Saint Louis University at home Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. An Oct. 29 home showdown at 1 p.m. with Dayton University (16-6, 7-0) — the only other undefeated team in the A-10 — looms on the horizon.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ELIZABETH HUMPHREYS
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Perhaps no one embodies the U.S. Men’s National Team’s hasbeen standing in world soccer quite like Bruce Arenas. Before his second stint as coach of the Yanks, which culminated in epic World Cup failure — the first time the team failed to qualify for the competition since 1986 — he coached in the mediocre Major League Soccer. Before that, he led the national team to an impressive run to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. Four years later, the team didn’t make it out of the competition’s group stage. To no one’s surprise, Arenas resigned after the team’s 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago earlier this month which meant the U.S. wouldn’t compete among the world’s best in Russia next summer. “While this is a difficult time, I maintain a fierce belief that we are heading in the right direction,” Arena wrote in an optimistic press release saying goodbye. “I believe in the American player and the American coach, and with our
combined efforts the future remains bright.” What? Truth is, Arenas’ fierce belief that all is right in this sinking ship is extremely misguided. If the future of the American player were so bright, Arenas wouldn’t have selected a roster with the average age of 30 to lose to Trinidad. Ironically, the team’s star player, Christian Pulisic, is 19 years old but was the only boy among men on that team. Pulisic is the only player on that team whose career is thriving in one of Europe’s top leagues — the fact he’s played more than 10 UEFA Champions League games for Borossia Dortmund at his age is remarkable. Fellow attacker Jozy Altidore, however, was rewarded by MLS with a $5 million salary after a shocking stint in the Premier League where he managed to score only one goal in 42 matches as a forward for A.F.C. Sunderland. For comparison, four defenders have scored double that amount in the opening nine games of the league this season. When the national team’s cap-
Volleyball wins 20th straight match, 20th consecutive set continued from page 1 The big story on the day was the VCU defense. The Rams recorded 40 kills in the matchup, while Rhode Island only mustered 30. Rhode Island hit slightly better than .100 in the first set, but in sets two and three they dropped below the serviceable .100 mark.
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U.S. Soccer’s dwindling stars haven’t earned their stripes
FADEL ALLASSAN Contributing Writer
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Sophomore outside hitter Vicky Giommarini was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Defensive team as a freshman.
PHOTOGRAPH BY RAELYN FINES
Women’s soccer clinches A-10 tournament berth
Junior midfielder Maddi Santo has ammassed seven points this season — two goals and four assists. She scored a brace at Davidson in a 3-2 victory on Sep. 24. ADAM CHEEK Contributing Writer Women’s soccer closed out their regular season with a .500 record in their final week, beating the University of Rhode Island Rams 2-1 on Thursday night and falling to the La Salle University Explorers on Sunday by a score of 1-0. Concluding the regular season with a 9-5-3 record, VCU ended an excellent fall that contained two threegame winning streaks. The Rams are headed to the Atlantic 10 Tournament after finishing the season
with a 0.72 goal against average percentage. The score goes against the run of play, as the Rams managed to La Salle outshoot the Explorers by a margin The final match of the regular of 15-12, as well as lead in corner season pitted the Black and Gold kicks 4-2. against the La Salle Explorers, reJunior forward Julia Suarez sulting in a tense 1-0 loss for the closed out the regular season as the Rams. points leader for the team, ending The VCU offense was unable to with 11 total, including four goals, notch a goal throughout the course as well as three assists. of the game, but junior goalkeeper Senior defender Megan Dell led Audrey Sanderson tallied seven the attack on the afternoon with saves on the afternoon. Sanderson four shots. The 54th minute proved finished third in the conference, to be the Rams’ undoing, as La Saltied with Saint Joseph’s University for seventh place at 17 points.
le scored the eventual deciding goal. Sophomore defender Amanda Tredway had one more shot opportunity with just 15 seconds remaining, but the shot went wide left.
Rhode Island The Black and Gold emerged triumphant in their final home game of the season, ousting the Rhode Island University Rams in two overtimes for a thrilling 2-1 victory. Malancone opened the scoring with her first goal of the season and
VCU career in the 42nd minute. Gutzmer scored her third goal of the season with the game-winner in the second overtime, becoming the second Ram this season with multiple game-winning goals. Over the 102 minutes of the game, the Black and Gold held Rhode Island corner kick-less, and rendered the opposing Rams without a shot in the overtime periods. Outshooting Rhode Island 275, the Black and Gold also outshot the other Rams 15-1 on goal. Sanderson faced and turned away only the one shot thanks to
the VCU defense, who kept the ball at the Rhode Island end of the field for most of the game. As the sixth seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, VCU will play in the opening round next weekend. The Black and Gold will be hosted by third seed George Mason next Sunday, with the starting time set at 1:00 p.m. Win or lose, the Black and Gold will host the final rounds of the A-10 tournament — semifinals are set for Friday, Nov. 3 at 2 and 4 p.m. with the championship match slated for Sunday, Nov. 5 at noon.
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NILE MCNAIR Contributing Writer Field hockey (12-5, 5-2) kept its resurgent season rolling last week with a pair of victories over Saint Francis University and La Salle University. The Rams edged the SFU Red Flash by a final of 5-4 Friday evening and dominated the Explorers of La Salle Sunday afternoon, 7-0.
The seventh and final goal of the game was scored by freshman midfielder Svea Strum in the 69th minute. Senior goalkeeper Chessa Kownurko was 3-3 on save attempts en route to helping the Rams secure their sixth shutout of the season.
Saint Francis
VCU started their homestand last week against a conference opponent in the Saint Francis UniOn Sunday the Black and Gold versity Red Flash. This matchup shut out the La Salle Explorers in pit the fourth and fifth positions the their second home game of in the A-10 field hockey standthe week. VCU came away with ings against each other. the win by a final of 7-0. Senior defender Natalie Junior forward Emily McNa- Bohmke of the Black and Gold mara shined brightest of everyone scored first in the game, with a on the field. goal in the 23rd minute. McNamara got her second hat Both teams picked the offentrick of the week with goals in the sive momentum up in the second 11th, 20th and 48th minutes. half after making adjustments by Assisting McNamara in car- scoring three apiece in the period. rying the scoring load was senior The Red Flash’s Brianna Govforward Jamee Albright, who ia scored the pivotal goal that sent scored twice herself. the match into overtime, with just
La Salle
under four minutes remaining in the game. McNamara scored the game winner for VCU in the 85th minute on a penalty corner. McNamara was the star of the night, as she secured a hat trick — she is VCU’s second all-time leading scorer. VCU had the advantage in shot attempts over Saint Francis. The Rams shot 29 times compared to the Red Flash’s 15 attempts. The game was an overtime thriller that ended in a victory for the Black and Gold with a final score of 5-4. The Black and Gold have now won four out of their last five games, only falling to no. 5 the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last week. The pair of wins gives VCU a 12-5 record on the season and 6-2 in A-10 play, already double their win total from the 2016 season. The Rams have two regular season games remaining — at Saint Louis University on Oct. 27 and home against Longwood University on Oct. 29.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEXANDRA JONES
McNamara scores two Rams in action: Maite hat tricks, Rams roll and Svea Sturm
Maite and Svea Sturm have combined for 27 points in their freshman campaign. JESSICA WETZLER Contributing Writer Starting their first year at VCU after traveling from overseas, Maite Sturm and her twin sister Svea are quite the package. The freshman midfielders from Waltrop, Germany played in eight Juvenile German Indoor Hockey Championships, reaching the finals five times. The twins began playing field hockey in 2008. The Sturm twins led their team to two championships during that time in addition to a runner-up finish and two third place finishes. In 2016, their club team, Duisburg’s of the Club Raffelberg, finished first in German Juvenile Championship Field Hockey. Svea and Maite both appeared in several games in one of the top adult leagues in Germany. This season, Maite has started in 17 games, scored five goals, converted one assist and was named A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week early in the season. Svea has likewise started 17 games and scored eight goals so far this season.
Why did you decide to play field hockey? Maite: Because I like team based sports and field hockey requires so many different skills like technique, understanding for the game, conditioning and many other skills. Svea: I love playing sports that allow me to be part of a team and field hockey offers a great variation of what I want.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHEL MAULDING
How has your transition from playing in Germany to playing in the U.S. been?
Field hockey (12-5) has almost doubled their win total from last season (7) with a pair of regular season matches remaining.
Maite: I realized very quickly that it is important to be in a good shape, because every player on the field has to be able to recover. Also, team spirit has been a high priority. In Germany it is necessary to have a good tactic understanding and the skill level (and) technique is very valuable. Svea: First, I have had to adjust to playing in the U.S. because here it becomes more about being athletic and team spirit where in Germany
the focus is on ball possession, tech- weaknesses on the field? nique and tactic. I think after a few games I have been able to adjust Maite: I discuss too often with to the U.S. playing style more and the referees and sometimes it dismore. tract me. Svea: Sometime like to discuss things too often with the referees. Why did you decide to come and
play field hockey for VCU?
Maite: I think the first important point was that I met Coach Bean personally in Germany and that we had good conversations about building up a competitive team and we shared the same ideas of game play. Besides, it was important for me, that the field hockey program gave my sister and me the chance to study and play at the same university. The third point is that VCU is very good in the academic aspect and that it had a good business school. Svea: VCU give me a great opportunity to play field hockey at a high level and to study at a good university. Also, Coach Bean came to Germany and convinced me that VCU would be a great fit with her ideas of game play and team spirit.
How would you describe your game play? Maite: My game play comes with speed, technique and the open eyes for my teammates. Svea: I think I’m a player with speed, technique and a good eye for free passes, but I think I’m also a hard worker who hustles back to help the defense.
What do you consider to be your strengths on the field? Maite: I’m a very ambitious person, so I work very hard on the field so that as a team, we don’t lose the game. I think I have a good technique and understanding for the game. Svea: I think my strengths are that I never give up because I hate to lose. I also think my strengths are technique and dribbling with the ball and my passes.
What do you consider to be your
How has this season been for you in terms of game play? Maite and Svea: I think our defense and attack are well balanced, and I like our game play because we are really good in pressing the ball and creating a lot of good chances. In the beginning of the season, you were named A-10 co-rookie of the week, how did that accomplishment feel? Maite: I was very glad for this honor of winning A-10 Rookie of the Week and I have to thank my team because they help me a lot on and off the field. But for me, it is more important that my team and I win the games.
Do you find that there is a level of competition playing with your sister? Maite: No, I think there is no competition between us. We both push each other in a positive way and want the best for the other one. Svea: I think Maite and I don’t really compete against each other, we want to make each other better when we play together and help her garner the achievements which she gets, for example A-10 co-rookie of the week. For me, the team success is the most important thing in field hockey.
How do you hope to end the season? Maite: I hope we will qualify to go to A-10 semifinals and the final of the Atlantic 10 Tournament and then to win it. Svea: I hope we will qualify for the A-10 championship and play there as best as we can to try and win the A-10, so that we go on to the NCAA tournament.
Men’s soccer keeps clean sheets en route to pair of victories VCU Men’s Soccer (8-4-0, 5-10 A-10) traveled to Fairfax to face George Mason University (5-7-2, 0-5-1 A-10) Oct. 17 before taking on Saint Joseph’s University (3-94, 1-4-1 A-10) in Philadelphia Oct. 21. The Black and Gold came away with a pair of decisive victories to move up to third in the A-10.
St. Joseph Despite back to back road games, the Rams did not miss a beat. The Black and Gold achieved their seventh win in eight games with a 3-0 victory over the St. Joseph’s Hawks. Freshman goalkeeper Mario Sequeira keeps turning heads. The Costa Rica native secured his sixth shutout this season off two miraculous saves against the Hawks, moving him to second in the A-10 in goals saved. In a back and forth first half, redshirt-senior midfielder Luc Fatton got a couple of shots off, but was not able to find the back of the net. The Rams and Hawks went into the half tied at nil. Siad Haji, a freshman forward from Manchester, New Hampshire, recorded an assist not long into the
second half after finding Fatton running up the sideline. Fatton maneuvered behind St. Joseph’s back line and score the first goal of the night in the 49th minute, his seventh goal of the season. Fatton leads the team in points at 14. A stalemate occurred for the next 20 minutes. Both teams produced chances, however, the VCU offense racked up seven shots compared to St. Joseph’s five. Fancy footwork from redshirtsenior-midfielder Francesco Amorosino allowed the D.C. native to pass a would-be defender and chip a shot over the Hawks’ keeper, making it 2-0 for the Rams in the 79th minute. Senior defensive midfielder Steven Dal Molin started the play, helping Amorosino get his sixth goal of the season. Japanese native and sophomore defender Ryo Shimazaki scored his second goal of the season less than a minute after Amorosino. In the 79th minute, Shimazaki’s shot went high and over a defender guarding the goal line into the top netting, making it 3-0. VCU’s defense held the SJU Hawks to only 11 shots and two on goal. The Rams’ win over St. Joseph’s puts them at a commanding 5-1 in the A-10, good for third place behind the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst (5-0-1) and George Washington University (5-2).
George Mason The Rams recorded the first of two conference road shutouts last week in Fairfax against the Patriots of GMU. Keeping it consistent this week with a scoreless first half, the Rams and Patriots did have some tight calls in the first period, with seven shots by George Mason requir some assistance from Sequeira. The second half flip-flopped in shooting from three shots by the Rams in the first to 12 minutes. George Mason only managed three against the VCU defense in a dramatic flipping of the first half script. VCU opened the scoring on a penalty kick seven minutes into the second half. Brazilian senior midfielder Rafael Andrade Santos got VCU fans on their feet in the 52nd minute when his precision shot went right past the keeper’s hands and into the goal. Santos recorded his fifth goal of the season to put the Rams up 1-0. A Shimazaki assist to Dal Molin got the Rams their second goal of the night in the 67th minute.
PHOTOGRAPH BYJACOB MEDLEY
DANIEL PURYEAR Contributing Writer
Redshirt-senior midfielder Luc Fatton has accrued 14 points on seven goals this season. The ball hit the crossbar and found its way to the back of the net. Amorosino sliced a shot from 12 yards out to put the game away. The Black and Gold did not let up, however, as junior midfielder Lyndsey Moreland used his agil-
ity and persistence in a run up the right side of the field to cap the scoring at 4-0. Men’s soccer will travel to College Park, Maryland to face the No. 3 University of Maryland (10-2-3) Terrapins Tuesday, Oct. 24. The Rams will
have their last regular season home game Saturday Oct. 28 against the University of Rhode Island (8-4-3, 3-2-1 A-10). The A-10 tournament commences Nov. 4 in Dayton, Ohio.
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On this day
Beyonce releases her single “Irreplaceable” on Oct. 23 2006 and it becomes Billboard Song of the Year in 2007.
Jazz in Richmond’s past and present
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GEORGIA GEEN Staff Writer TThe Richmond Jazz Society, founded nearly 40 years ago by musicians and music enthusiasts, advances. Educate and preserve jazz and it’s history, as seen through its exhibition “Virginia Jazz: The Early Years,” located at The Valentine. The exhibition provides insight on the historical and social impact of the genre through profiles on dozens of prominent Virginia jazz musicians, while conveying the importance of the City of Richmond in the context of jazz music. “The Jackson Ward area was known as ‘the Harlem of the South’ because of its vibrancy, wealth of entrepreneurs and the music scene,” Richmond Jazz Society Executive Director, B. J. Brown, stated in an email. Brown was the curator for “Virginia Jazz: The Early Years.” Some of the important venues in the city included The Globe Theater, Everett’s Place, The Cuban Room, Johnson’s Ballroom and Market Inn. Ruth Brown, one of the musicians featured in the exhibition, had described the Hippodrome Theater, located at 526 N 2nd St., as being one of several important theaters on the national circuit for Black performers. Brown, who was a jazz vocalist in the 1950s and 1960s, later became an advocate for the rights of Black performers. “There is a historical connection between Jazz and activism,” Brown said. “Richmond dancer Bill Robinson was well noted for his overt
actions to insure that performers in his shows were paid handsomely and treated with respect. And he wasn’t afraid to physically make his point known.” Brown said Robinson, who was prominent during the 1930s, tapdanced on Leigh Street to raise money for a stoplight, which still stands today, upon learning that Black children were being hit by cars on the way to school. One of the most notable groups in the exhibition is Roy Johnson’s Happy Pals, which was the premier jazz band in central Virginia for nearly 20 years. The group gained notoriety for their professional sound, three-part harmony and challenging arrangements. As conveyed in the exhibition, the lines for their concerts wrapped around city blocks. Though all of the featured artists were born in Virginia, not all of them stayed in the South for the entirety of their careers. “Many of these artists wanted to have the opportunity to expand their talents beyond what their local cities and towns could provide, artistically and economically,” Brown said. “And, there were also horrible issues of racism and Jim Crow laws which made living in the South unbearable for many artists.” However, Brown emphasized many artists stayed in Virginia and made contributions to jazz music within the state. The exhibition describes jazz music as an “American art,” referencing its links to historical events in the U.S. Jazz music contains influence from Africa, Europe, Spain,
the Caribbean and Black slaves in North America. Above all, Brown said, jazz music is considered to be “African-American classical music.” “All of this is melded with the uncanny ability of the Jazz musician to spontaneously compose music while it is being performed. The genre has influenced music worldwide,” Brown said. Jazz music has also influenced more modern genres, such as the case of Lonnie Liston Smith, a Richmond-born pianist and composer, whose compositions have been sampled by rapper Jay Z. Composer, musician, playwright and poet, Weldon Irvine of Hampton, was a mentor for many hiphop artists in New York. “Jazz is a vehicle for expression, especially when it comes down to expressing the human condition,” Brown said. “Jazz allows a sense of freedom and expression from the heart, from the very soul using basic elements from the human spirit to get a message across --just like hip-hop.” One of the goals of the Richmond Jazz Society is to preserve jazz music, something Brown hopes was achieved through the exhibition. “I want the next generations to take these traditions and add their own spin and make their own history,” Brown said. “Virginia Jazz: The Early Years,” will be on exhibit through April 30, 2018.
GEORGIA GEEN Staff Writer The Depot Market, a collaboration between VCUarts Depot and the VCU Office of Sustainability, offers fruits, vegetables and natural products sourced from Field of Dreams Farms to VCU students and community members. The market opened for the first time this fall after a longer than expected planning period. It is located on the second floor of the VCUarts Depot every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., “We were really interested in providing fresh produce options for the students who get run down,
We were really both interested in providing fresh produce options for the students who get run down, especially this time of year. Jill Ware, VCUarts Depot Interdisciplinary Events and Spaces Manager especially this time of year,” said Jill Ware, VCUarts Depot’s Interdisciplinary Events and Spaces Manager and dance professor. Similar collaborations in the past, such as the outdoor garden at the VCU Institute for Contemporary Art office, raise the question of social practice art, Ware said. Social practice art seeks to promote change by engaging communities and encouraging collaboration. “Sustainability, in a lot of ways, is about community building, building better communities with resources or products, or ways of doing things,” Ware said. “The
disciplines within the school of the arts are very unique and particular and everyone is so incredibly talented. We really wanted something we could all engage in across disciplines and address some of the students’ health, students’ mental well-being and the first step is eating well.” Ware said the original goal was to focus on students within the school of the arts, but students in other areas have shown interest, too. “I think for the arts students, sometimes their health is overlooked,” Ware said. In addition to increased attention from VCU students, Ware anticipates interest from residents of the Carver community, located near the VCU campus. Field of Dreams Farms is a cooperative of local producers, all of which use natural growing methods. Carolina Donahue, of Grit & Glam Farm, is in charge of running the market. “In this area, there aren’t a lot of fresh grocery stores within walking distance,” Donahue said. “The big goal is to get the fresh options so students can come by and pick them up and have their food for the week.” Donahue said the market will The VCUarts Depot is bringing fresh, affordable produce to VCU students and hopes to extend it to sell art in the future. adapt with the seasons, providing winter vegetables and greenhouse items. In addition, Donahue offers microgreens, plants harvested during the early growing stages, year-round. Ware anticipates growth for the Depot Market. Soon, students will be able to pay with Rambucks. In addition, she said it’s possible that in the future, art will also be available for purchase. Donahue said in the spring semester, the market might look into creating a garden space where students can get “involved in growing their own food and kind of getting their hands dirty.” “The idea is to progress from this market into other things,” Ware said.
PHOTOS BY CASEY COLE
VCUarts Depot opens new weekly market
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PHOTOS BY JACOB MEDLEY
One year after opening “Speed” stays true to Science Museum of Virginia’s vision of immersion
The Science Museum of Virignia is using immersive technology to bring science to the general public. NYASIA MILAN WILLIAMS Contributing Writer The Science Museum of Virginia’s permanent exhibit, “Speed,” reopened Thursday after undergoing renovations. The exhibit was created as a way to allow museum attendees to explore the intersection of time and space with the use of modern science and technology. The exhibit features 50 experiences which focus on five majors areas titled “Speed of Sound and Light,” “Sports Speed Matters,” “Too Fast to See,” “Machines Fast and Slow” and “Too Slow to See.” The museum is charging $14.50 for adult tickets and $13.50 for youth and senior tickets. Visitors are granted access to historical tokens, including the elevated SR-71 Blackbird supersonic jet. Originally built as Union Station of Richmond 98 years ago, the museum’s nearly century-old architecture called for creativity to house
the gigantic SR-71 Blackbird. After the 43,000 pound aircraft was broken into seven pieces and a hole was cut into the museum’s wall, the aircraft was reassembled and suspended over the exhibit. “We want you to have a great experience, have some fun, and then what [you’re] getting out of that, without even realizing it, learning different concepts in science,” said Jennifer Guild, manager of communications and Curiosity at the Science Museum of Virginia Guild emphasized the museum’s ability to simultaneously educate and entertain its visitors with its interactive and artistic exhibits. The “Speed,” exhibit is an extension of the museum’s interest in breaching the gap the public’s interaction with the sciences. The SMV evaluates the proposal of a new permanent exhibit based on the relevance of the exhibits story and the ability to include as many complementary elements of an exhibit’s story within
the museum’s budget. the weather speed activity to be a The “Speed” exhibit has a lot popular and timely attraction for more to offer than the tilted mo- its visitors. The Extreme Weather: Human Wind Tunnel, put its participants in the middle of a realistic hurricane wind speeds of 80 mph. On one end of the exhibit, children can be found playing air hockey while on the other end there is an immersive space offering lectures with 4-D projections in a specialty theatre on the science of speed. One attraction showed children how how quickly an outbreak can spread by using interactive children’s games which showed the incredibly fast force at which a simple sneeze comes out of your nose. “To us, [Speed] is the fulfillment of a long-awaited dream to have an exhibit gallery that lives up to Richard Conti, SMV the mission of the museum,” said Richard Conti, the Chief Wonder Chief Wonder Officer Officer of the Science Museum of tion design seen in most of the fea- Virginia. tures showcases. With the recent presence of natural disasters, the museum found the inclusion of
“Speed” is the fulfillment of a long-awaited dream to have an exhibit gallery that lives up to the mission of the museum.
Sam’s Take: “Geostorm” is a tornado of a mess
Despite all these bad omens, I still was not prepared for how nonsensical and lazy this disaster of a disaster flick would be.
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Samuel Goodrich, Staff Writer
SAMUEL GOODRICH Staff Writer Sometimes, you can tell when a movie is going to be bad. You can watch a trailer and see how the advertisers struggle to make something interesting. You can see interviews where the actors and crew are unengaged. You can even look at a film’s troubled production history and see something’s off. “Geostorm” has all three marks against it. The film was finished in 2014, but was pushed back for reshoots after negative audience reactions. The trailers were a confusing mix of blockbuster fun and horrifyingly relevant doomsday predictions. The interviews are few and far between, as there’s so little to work with that many turn into the actors
playing games with the interviewer. Despite all these bad omens, I still was not prepared for how nonsensical and lazy this disaster of a film this would be. The film is set in the near future where every nation has built a series of satellites in order to control the weather after global warming caused multiple catastrophic natural disasters. When a series of accidental extreme weather conditions leave hundreds dead, Jake Lawson, the former head of the satellite project, is called in to fix the issue. While working to fix the unknown kinks, Lawson and his brother Max discover these were no accidents -the culprit is someone within their own government. There is an inherent sense of tension in the apocalyptic film
genre since audiences can relate to trying to navigate impossible situations and is something that “Geostorm” could have banked on. However, you never see the characters go through anything remotely catastrophic. The geostorm is a behemoth natural disaster mixing all extreme weather conditions that could result in massive damage to the planet. Yet, this biblical danger is not the antagonist of the film. Hell, none of our main characters are even put in danger from these extreme storms.“Geostorm” is one of the most boring natural disaster movies I have ever seen. Butler’s character spends the entire movie sitting on a space station doing nothing. He never has to deal with the weather, instead he’s
trying to solve the mystery of who’s causing it, eventually having to escape the self-destructing station. Max actually does most of detective work on the ground. He only has one scene where he’s in the path of an unwieldy lightning storm, but he avoids it by driving under a bridge, where the main threat is him getting shot by a group of men. The villains of “Geostorm” aren’t the satellite or mother nature, but a single unknown person with an even more mysterious motive. Because of this, every scene involving a natural disaster happens somewhere else in the world, leaving the audience disconnected from the conflict as we see random people taken out by fire and ice. Even worse, none of the “excit-
ing” disaster scenes happen until the final 30 minutes -- the audience is stuck for more than an hour with these bland, underdeveloped characters and a mystery most will solve in the first five minutes. There are few enjoyably bad moments during this portion, being unimaginably mediocre with the rarity of entertaining leaps in logic. The fun doesn’t begin until the climactic ending and the geostorm takes a back seat to shootouts, explosions and narrow escapes. Still, we are only given a few shots here and there of random cities being destroyed and the film continues to focus on the threat of men with guns and a computer virus. These series of action scenes are hilarious, as it becomes clear the crew forgot they had a geostorm in
their movie titled “Geostorm,” so they throw it in there in between the scenes that actually matter to the plot. Yet, these moments are even more laughable, as the special effects are so poor and the characters so flat, there’s no impact in these bombastic action sequences. “Geostorm” reflects its hellish production with a confused structure and generic characters and dialogue. It’s a random amalgamation of crowd-pleasing cliches that haven’t worked in the last 10 years. Despite a plot with so much going on between so many characters, it still feels hollow. The worse part is that the filmmakers are too incompetent to make the movie hilariously bad, leaving the world with another forgettable, cheaplooking blockbuster.
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Monday, October 23, 2017 11
Quote of the week
“From ‘smart’ guns to age requirements, background checks to purchase decisions, these misguided proposals all share one thing in common: they do not stop determined criminals from attaining firearms.”— Alan Booth
Walter Williams’ absurd argument and what it says about the RTD The Richmond Times-Dispatch published a column by Walter Williams titled “White privilege and other fables” on their website Oct. 14. Less than a week later the column was deleted and replaced with a message from the RTD apologizing for publishing the column and justifying their publication and subsequent removal of the column. In their statement, the RTD says if they were given the opportunity to do it over, they wouldn’t have published the article in the first place. They also say they “aspire to something higher.” While it’s admirable the RTD was able to recognize and take credit for their mistake and attempt to make things right, both of these revelations should’ve been in their minds prior to publishing the article. The most criticized aspect of Williams article is where he discusses campus sexual assault and rape — a topic all women are tired of hearing men try to explain. He questions decisions college aged women make by comparing the situation to a hypothetical one in which Williams leaves his wallet on top of his car and goes about the rest of his day. He says while he has the right to do so, it isn’t a wise decision and he most likely will not find his wallet still sitting on top of his car when he returns. Comparing a traumatic sexual assault or rape situation to that of an inanimate object is not only ridiculous, it’s demeaning. Williams was able to diminish an entire nation-wide epidemic down to the
ILLUSTRATION BY IAIN DUFFUS
An ode to self care I think we have a lot of unlearning to do when it comes to women and how we perceive them, not just in fashion or the media.
case for Williams and his family, it isn’t the case for all people of color in this country whose institutions are catered towards White people. There are several ways in which we see the consequences of White privilege but perhaps the most important is segregation of our schools. The Washington Post reported last year the number of K-12 schools consisting mainly of poor Black and Hispanic students grew from 9 to 16 percent from 2001 to 2014. According to the Government Accountability Office, these high-poverty schools are less likely to provide all the necessary math and science classes, depriving minority students of the same educational opportunities as students at low-poverty schools. As for the RTD, I consider them irredeemable. They claim the article “fell short” of their editorial standards, but why didn’t it fall short when it was being finalized to be published? It’s an editor’s job to ensure the content upholds the publication’s standards and I don’t think the RTD was being lazy, rather, I think they were compliant to Williams and his column. I understand the importance of publishing articles that express a wide range of opinion, but that wasn’t the case here. Williams’ article did nothing but make false claims offending the majority of readers and he did so on the basis of his own knowledge. It was a rant with no evidence of truth and as Richmond’s largest news publication, Williams should have no place in the RTD.
SHAUN JACKSON Staff Columnist
How does one go about you marrying the ideas of “nothing matters” with the importance of working for social justice and equity to alleviate others’ suffering? No matter how you feel about this universe and why humankind may or may not be on it, I think nothing has to matter for you to be a good person and treat yourself, others and the earth with respect, love and care.
- Shaun Jackson
ILLUSTRATION BY IAIN DUFFUS
inconvenience of losing your wallet. Then he says it’s as equally unwise for college women to “get stoned, use foul language and dance suggestively.” It’s deplorable to claim women are asking to be assaulted by taking part in normal young adult activities both genders participate in. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted in college. To blame that statistic on the victims rather than the predators is shameful. Anyone, including Williams, who sees sexual assault as a result of a woman’s actions is ignorant and misogynistic. Williams, an economics professor at George Mason University, wrote an offensive, damaging and appalling editorial “debunking” concepts he claims colleges create, such as White privilege. Williams is a Black man and has every right to express how he views his experience in this world. To claim, however, White privilege is a myth in itself disregards the experience of other people of color. In another article written by Williams titled “White Privilege,” he suggests the concept is “devious indoctrination” occurring in schools. He uses words like “propaganda,” “lunacy” and “fools” to describe the idea of White privilege and people who believe in it. He makes the argument in his article published in the RTD that his daughter is at an advantage as well, whether this be because of his success, their socioeconomic status or some other factor, he doesn’t specify. While this might be the
KATIE BASHISTA Opinions Editor
Recently someone complimented me saying I have a nice figure and then they jokingly said they hated me. What do you think is the best way to get people, specifically women, to understand that we all have different body types and that’s okay? I think we have a lot of un-
learning to do when it comes to women and how we perceive them, not just in fashion or the media. It’s well known that the average American woman is anywhere between a size 12 and 16 which is considered plus sized, but nothing on shelves, television or in magazines reflects that. This is probably how this certain someone came to be insecure about themselves and projects that onto others via backhanded compliments.
Do you really think accepting gifts is okay even when you know they’re being used to buy a way into your affections?
How do you go about getting someone you’ve only been talking to for a while to talk about their STI and STD status?
I’m usually the first one to take
This is something that should come up while you’re dating and hopefully before that sort of physical exchange happens. Bring it up casually and have an open and honest conversation about your sexual health. You can even make a date of it and get tested regularly together as a couple if that makes things easier. As always, make sure you are having safe and consensual sex.
something just because it’s free but I’ve learned that the old saying is kinda true: “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Of course the context of lunch is a little off here, but my point remains that when a gift isn’t given to you out of love or thoughtfulness people could begin to expect things from you in return which is not how giving a gift works. It’s best not to open yourself up to that.
If you’d like to send Shaun a question you can submit them via email at Jacksonsk@commonwelathtimes.org or anonymously at Lascivious-Witch. Tumblr.Com/Ask
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LTE: Post-truth politics have no place in gun regulation
To the Editor: I am disappointed to see such an uninformed stance on gun control published in the Oct. 9 edition of the Commonwealth Times. Perhaps the only thing Bashista gets right in “After Las Vegas, it’s time for Americans to end our bond with guns” is that this issue is indeed bigger than either her or me. First, allow me to dispel the popular misconception that suppressors eliminate the sound of gunfire. They don’t. A low-powered handgun produces a gunshot noise around 160 decibels (dB). Suppressed gunshots generally register around 130 dB, with the quietest suppressors reducing a gunshot to around 120 dB. In simpler terms, the sound of a suppressed firearm is somewhere between a chain saw and a jet launching from an aircraft carrier with its after-burner. Anyone who has ever shot a suppressed firearm, and not just seen them in movies, could tell you that. It is also why gun owners insist on calling them suppressors, and not silencers. They are tools used to prevent hearing damage and reduce recoil, allowing smaller people to better control the gun’s motion. In the strictest sense, a suppressor is just an accessory. It does not make a firearm more lethal or stealthier in any meaningful way, and obviously, they are not firearms themselves. Making them more difficult to obtain would be
a pointless exercise achieving little. The author’s call to make modifying semi-automatic firearms into automatics illegal is similarly irrelevant. Such modification is already a felony punishable by 10 years in prison. How do we make it more illegal? The notion that we, as a nation, must do something in the aftermath of tragedies like Las Vegas is understandable. Over the past weeks, I have heard it echoed across all walks of life and from many sides of America’s political landscape. Yet, as Jacob Sullum writes in an Oct. 4 column for Reason Magazine, “a massacre is not an argument.” In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, politicians and pundits claimed we “must do something.” What followed was a war on terror that has left thousands dead, while multiple presidential administrations have used the premise of safety to abuse the individual rights and privacy of American citizens. Many of the gun control policies advanced in the wake of the Las Vegas attack would have done little to prevent it from happening. From “smart” guns to age requirements, background checks to purchase decisions, these misguided proposals all share one thing in common: they do not stop determined criminals from attaining firearms. These examples highlight what should be an obvious truth: policy made in the wake of tragedy is
often over-reaching and almost always irresponsible. The federal legislative process is designed to be slow – so that the real facts and honest numbers can be examined. Let’s explore some of these. FBI statistics show that of the 15,070 homicides committed in 2016, only 374 involved rifles. By comparison, 656 homicides were committed by individuals using only their hands, feet, or fists. Another 7,105 homicides were committed with handguns. These statistics are far more solid than the author’s assertion that “on average, there is more than one mass shooting for each day in the U.S.” That statement is based on a deceptive methodology. Instead of counting only the slain victims of a gunman, it may include the gunman himself, or any civilians accidentally wounded by police; the shooting doesn’t even have to be fatal. Mother Jones, far from a staunch supporter of gun rights, only counts seven mass shootings in 2017 – a horrific and tragic number, but far fewer than 281. Other similarly misleading gun violence statistics count any shooting that happens within four miles of a school as a school shooting. Many firearm statistics include suicides in their figures. I despise the very idea of suicide and wish that more would be done to help individuals needing mental or emotional support, but including these deaths in gun vio-
lence statistics is misleading and disingenuous. An uninformed reader would assume that gun violence means a person inflicting violence on another individual through use of a firearm.
original opinion, and throughout the media, are part of why 56 percent Americans incorrectly believe gun violence is on the rise. Even as publicity for high-profile shootings like the Las Vegas and Pulse nightclub attacks has risen, public support for banning handguns has generally declined. A study from the Roper Center at Even as publicity Cornell University suggests a reason: many Americans simply do for high-profile not believe the government can do much to prevent such shootshootings like the ings. So they reason, ‘if the govLas Vegas and ernment can’t protect me, then I’ll do it myself.’ Pulse nightclub This is the heart of Peggy Noonan’s Oct. 5 column in the Wall attacks has risen, Street Journal. Noonan argues “a public support lot of Americans have guns because they’re fearful.” She explains for banning that these Americans believe the handguns very structure of our country is collapsing. It is not hard to see why, if has generally you try. Perhaps they are worried about the opioid crisis, or social declined tensions, or maybe crazed terrorists and nuclear weapons. Maybe it - Alan Booth is because crime constitutes nearly 10 percent of nightly news coverage. They might even be unnerved However, the situation is not as by an openly hostile technological dire as our statistics may seem. Ac- and cultural elite. cording to the Pew Research CenWhatever the reason, the liketer, firearm homicide deaths in the lihood of many Americans volunU.S. have declined by 50 percent tarily disarming, let alone being since the 1990s. Non-fatal firearm forced to disarm by a government crime has decreased by 75 per- of elites they fundamentally discent. The irresponsible post-truth trust, is zero. platitudes shared in Ms. Bashista’s In light of these truths, those
who still believe an absolutist approach to gun control is the answer are simply ignoring reality. It is easy for Bashista to blame the lack of gun control she perceives on the NRA and corrupt politicians, but her anger is misplaced. The real gun lobby she despises is every American who owns a firearm, be it for hunting and recreation, self-defense, or perhaps even protection from their own government. Surely a paper that has bemoaned the killing of unarmed African Americans by police officers can understand mistrust of government, even if they see no need for self-defense. This all underscores the simple truth that guns aren’t going anywhere. Even in the aftermath of other tragedies, such as the Virginia Tech and Pulse nightclub shootings, public support has remained firmly in support of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. A gun buyback or round-up would be predictably messy, as would criminalizing firearm modifications, many of which can be done with household items or 3D printers. Before we can have a serious debate on gun safety, the left needs to abandon its hysteria and its condescension to gun-owners and advocates. It’s time to look at the facts, not our feelings. -Alan Booth
comics
12 The Commonwealth Times
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