The Commonwealth Times; November 20, 2017

BEST SMALL, NON-DAILY —2017 Virginia Press Association The independent press of Virginia Commonwealth University

NEWS Hate crimes • 3

November 20, 2017 • Vol. 59, No.13

SPORTS Emily McNamara • 6

OPINIONS Homelessness • 9

SPECTRUM Terracotta Army • 7

Can you dig it?

Volleyball wins 27th straight, captures first ever A-10 Championship

PHOYO BY SHAYLA BAILEY

continued on page 6

Volleyball defeated Dayton University Sunday in a five-set nailbitter to secure the program’s first A-10 title. Senior libero Rebekah Strange (6) was named to the all-tournament team.

ZACH JOACHIM Sports Editor Men’s basketball split a pair of marquee non-conference home games last week to move to 2-1 on the season. The Black and Gold topped the Ospreys of North Florida University 95-85 in a fast paced shootout Monday night at the Siegel Center before falling to in state rival the University of Virginia 76-67 in a rugged battle Friday afternoon.

VIRGINIA

Despite 19 points on 8-10 shooting from sophomore forward Issac Vann, the Black and Gold failed to close out a back and forth tussle for bragging rights in the commonwealth. VCU never

led, but cut UVA’s lead to as little as two points in the waning minutes of a tightly contested contest.

“If you told me 48 hours ago it would be a one possession game with two minutes to go, I would’ve taken it,” VCU coach Mike Rhoades said after the game. “I was really proud of our effort and approach. At times we just beat ourselves, and you can’t do that against a really good team. We’ve got to learn how to put those games away.”

VCU committed 12 turnovers, leading to 18 UVA points off turnovers. Cavaliers sophomore guard Kyle Guy led all scorers with 29 points on 11-20 shooting from the field, 5-9 from three and procured a game-high four steals.

PHOTO BY ERIN EDGERTON

continued on page 4

The Butler did it the net.

“When you get to the round of 32, every team is going to be The men’s soccer team will difficult,” said VCU Coach Dave not be advancing to the quarter- Giffard in the post-game press finals of the NCAA tournament conference. “But when you conafter a 3-2 loss in the Round of cede three goals in the NCAA 32 against Butler University tournament, you’re probably not Sunday night. going to win, unfortunately we Neutral fans would have en- conceded three goals.” joyed the back and forth affair, The Rams started the scorbut the VCU faithful will likely ing off when senior forward Luc rue the string of chances the Fatton’s 25th-minute strike from team missed, which could have more than 35 yards out caught changed the game’s outcome. The Butler goalkeeper Eric Dick out Rams will also regret a six-min- of his goal. The screamer from ute span in second-half in which midfield was one of few excepButler scored all of its goals. VCU tional moments in a first half was not blameless in the barrage hallmarked by crisp possession of Butler goals, as the Bulldogs and organized defense for both capitalized on defensive lapses in teams, but not many chances on concentration to find the back of goal. continued on page 6 FADEL ALLASSAN Managing Editor at Large

PHOYO BY JACOB MEDLEY

Wahoo wake up call

2

news

The Commonwealth Times

CRIME LOG

At VCU, tuition skyrockets without safeguards for students

Monday 11/13 Theft Brandt Residence Hall 710 W. Franklin St. Pending Theft from Motor Vehicle 100 S. Linden St. Pending Burglary - Residential 511 N. Harrison St. Outside Agency

DAKOTA RUST Contributing Writer

Theft 300 W. Franklin St. Outside Agency

According to a report from Virginia Public Radio, VCU’s tuition has risen 111 percent, the second greatest rise in higher-education institutions in Virginia from 2008 to 2016. The College of William & Mary ranks first with a 123 percent rise in its tuition.

While William & Mary’s tuition was the greatest increase in the commonwealth, many of its students have not experienced the impact because of the institution’s tuition guarantee.

Gloria Cruz Olea, sophomore at William and Mary, said she chose the school because of its tuition guarantee.

“It has helped my family and I budget ourselves,” said Cruz Olea.

Many schools across the nation have tuition initiatives similar to W&M — VCU students impacted by tuition hikes do not have such an option.

“I would have an easier time allocating money for school because I know exactly what it would be instead of coming up short because the tuition increased for

Burglary - Residential 411 Gilmer St. Outside Agency

Tuesday 11/14 Alcohol Violation Brand Residence Hall 710 W. Franklin St. Closed Arson GRC 711 W. Main St. Closed Theft The White House 806 W. Franklin St. Pending Theft 700 W. Grace St. Pending Sexual Assault B700 W. Marshall St. Pending Theft 1000 W. Cary St. Outside Agency Hit and Run 600 N. Belvidere St. Outside Agency Theft 1300 W. Leigh St. Outside Agency

INFOGRAPHIC BY DESIREE CHOE

Theft 1101 W. Marshall St. Outside Agency Larceny 901 N. Lombardy St. Outside Agency

Wednesday 11/15 Larceny 1400 W. Clay St. Pending Theft Chili’s Bar and Grill 355 W. Cary St. Pending Simple Assault 311 W. Franklin St. Pending Stalking 901 Park Ave. Pending Alcohol Violation 1300 W. Marshall St. Closed Destruction of Property 1100 W. Leigh St. Outside Agency

Students should not have to shoulder the burden of larger tuition increases.

Ralph Northam, Governor-elect

whatever reason,” said Aayush Ghimire, a VCU senior majoring in information systems.

Many students who hear of “tuition guarantee” think of it as a win.

However, most individuals do not sift through the complex process of what makes such an initiative successful and fair for students in all aspects of cost of attendance.

According to an article from U.S. News & World Report an institution’s tuition initiatives can vary in name and policies. The initiatives also do not mean cost of attendance will not increase.

“The programs don’t mandate that other college fees, such as room and board, won’t rise during a student’s time of enrollment,” U.S. News & World Report stated.

Colleges offering tuition-lock guarantees are often older, more established institutions.

“This university doesn’t have the years of tradition and history like William & Mary and UVA,” said Karol Gray, VCU vice president of finance and budget.

“They have a very strong donor database, and therefore their endowment is significantly higher than the university.”

Creating pathways to affordable tuition at public colleges and universities was a hot-button issue in Virginia’s statewide elections this year.

Governor-elect Ralph Northam advocated for tuition caps during his campaign this year.

“Too many Virginia students still can’t afford to attend our public colleges and universities,” Northam’s website states. “Students should not have to shoulder the burden of large tuition increases.”

Richmond murder rate among the highest in nation

Violent crime in Richmond: 2015 vs. 2016 Richmond saw an increase in every category of violent crime. The number of rapes doubled, and the number of violent offenses jumped 28 percent.

2015

Hit and Run 600 N. Belvidere St. Outside Agency

2016

Drug Violation 1101 W. Main St. Outside Agency Drug Violation 1100 W. Main St. Outside Agency

Thursday 11/16 Drug Violation Rhoades Residence Hall 710 W. Franklin St. Closed

Hit and Run 000 N. Harrison St. Pending

0

Simple Assault 900 W. Franklin St. Pending Simple Assault 6 N. Laurel St. Closed Hit and Run

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.

200

600

1000

1200

1400

Sources. FBI Uniform Crime Report | Richmond Police Department | Analysis by Charlotte Rene Woods populations between 100,000 and 300,000 and were included in the FBI’s most recent Uniform Crime Report.

Richmond had one of the Only five of those cities had a highest murder rates last year murder rate higher than Richamong mid-size U.S. cities, ac- mond’s in 2016, the analysis found. cording to an analysis of local One was Orlando, Florida, whose and federal data. rate was inflated because of the Richmond, which has about mass shooting at the Pulse Night223,000 residents, had 59 murders club on June 12, 2016. and non-negligent manslaughter Each year the FBI releases deaths last year, according to the crime data reported by local and Richmond Police Department, state police departments. Howequating to a rate of 26.4 homi- ever, Richmond’s data was missing cides per 100,000 population. from the most recent FBI report In terms of its murder rate, due to delay in correcting an error that puts Richmond near the top from June 2016. among the 236 cities that have Capital News Service obtained CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS Contributing Writer

the year-end data from the Richmond Police Department, integrated it into the FBI statistics and calculated crime rates to compare Richmond against similarsized cities and examine what has changed since the 2015 FBI report.

The FBI tabulates violent crimes (which it defines as murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larceny theft and motor vehicle theft).

In comparison to 2015, Richmond’s overall violent crime rate increased nearly 30 percent. Not only did the number of homicides jump from 43 to 59, but reported rapes went from 60 to 143.

Property crimes in Richmond increased by 5 percent. Although the number of burglaries dropped, thefts were up – with car thefts rising 44 percent.

The two U.S. cities with populations closest to the size of Richmond are Boise, Idaho, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Boise, with just over 220,000 residents, had six murders in 2016; Baton Rouge, with more than 228,000 residents, had 47 murders.

However, Richmond compared more favorably in overall violent crime rates. Richmond had 654 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Baton Rouge had 938 violent crimes per 100,000 popula-

tion – because it had far more aggravated assaults and robberies than Richmond.

Boise reported 298 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

However, it had the same number of rapes as Richmond – 143.

Baton Rouge had a higher property crime rate than Richmond (4,350 property crimes per 100,000 population, vs. 4,084). Boise’s property crime rate was 2,326 offenses per 100,000 residents.

Richmond is not alone in seeing an increase in violent crime.

Nationally, the FBI reported an increase in violent crimes for the second year in a row.

INFOGRAPHIC BY ERIC NGO

Drug Violation 922 W. Franklin St. Closed

www.commonwealthtimes.org

Monday, November 20, 2017

3

After Virginia Votes

Retrospective of the Virginia Governor’s Race

Republicans here in Virginia have become accusomted to public opinion polls, which are historically inaccurate.

you’re always trying to find ways to be authentic or unique.”

The topic of campaign advertisements was also broached during the discussion. Earlier this fall, campaigns attacking both of the candidates were released and received backlash.

An anti-Gillespie advertisement released by the Latino Victory Fund depicted Gillespie supporters as Confederate racists who prey on minority children.

The arguably controversial advertisement was not directly affiliated with the Northam campaign. Komar said that they had not seen the ad before it aired and did not authorize it.

Immediately following his response, a member from the audience shouted “Liar!” at the campaign manager.

“I believe that the Latino community felt it was under attack based on the ads that were being run by the Gillespie campaign and felt they needed to respond,” Komar said.

The majority of the campaign budget goes towards television and radio advertisements. Both candidates agreed there’s a lot of people who aren’t accessible through broadcasted advertisements, bringing both candidates to become more active on social media.

Levitt claimed Snapchat has become the new yard sign, enabling young voters to express their alliance through different social media platforms.

Both campaigns also used apps that revolutionized modern voting by allowing users to text questions or concerns about policies to members of their staff.

The event was livestreamed on YouTube, receiving nearly 900 views, and is still open for viewing.

ILLUSTRATION BY LIZZY COX

Northam’s campaign focused heavily on how Trump’s policies would hurt Virginians.

Campaign managers for Repub“My biggest takeaway from this lican Ed Gillespie and Democratic race is trying to look forward not governor-elect Ralph Northam backward,” Komar said, “We knew gave 250 Virginians a behind-the- the story we wanted to tell voters scenes look to this year’s election about Ralph and our opponent. during a discussion hosted by the I think we stayed true to Ralph, Virginia Public Access Project at which is so important.”

George Mason University Nov. 13.

The free and public event was arranged to be a civil conversation between Gillespie campaign manager Chris Levitt and Northam campaign manager Brad Komar where they reflected upon the governor’s race and shared their most memorable moments.

“What we seek to do is to analyze what happened and why. Tonight we come together with the campaign managers who have graciously agreed to participate,” said Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government, who mediated the conversation.

Northam won by roughly 250,000 votes winning 54 percent of Virginia, compared to Gillespie’s 45 percent. Northam won Richmond with 81 percent Chris Levitt, of the vote.

Campaign Manager “Republicans here in Virginia have become accustomed to public opinion polls, which are historiWhen asked about the most cally inaccurate. We thought it was immediate lessons learned during gonna be close,” Levitt said. the race, Komar responded with Komar followed up with how he the essentiality of relentlessness. believed their campaign was able Throughout the entire campaign, to get democrats to the polls.

Northam volunteers knocked on “A lot of the Democratic energy 3.9 million doors — doubling the is in response to what’s going on amount the Clinton campaign in Washington. The enthusiasm reached and quadrupling the numwe saw was in response to Presi- ber of doors knocked on by Virgindent Trump on the democratic ia governor, Terry McAuliffe. side,” Komar said.

“We have volunteers do handLevitt claimed the Gil- written notes, you see an increase lespie campaign didn’t want to of voter turnout,” Levitt said. nationalize the race; however, “When you’re on these campaigns, EMMA GAUTHIER Contributing Writer

Report shows increase in hate crimes SARAROSE MARTIN Staff Writer Hate crimes in the United States increased by 4.6 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to data released by the FBI Nov. 13.

According to the report, there were 6,121 hate crimes last year compared to 5,850 in 2015 — over half stemming from a racial or ethnic bias.

While 58.5 percent of reported hate crimes were motivated by race, 21.3 were motivated by religion and 16.9 were motivated by sexual orientation.

Of the 15,254 law enforcement agencies that participated in the Hate Crime Statistics Program, only 1,776 agencies reported hate crime incidents. FBI hate crime statistics are based on voluntary rather than mandatory reporting of law enforcement agencies, and many states laws associated with hate crimes vary. This may result in flawed and incomplete data.

The Anti-Defamation League is a national civil rights and human relations organization that combat hate and protect communities. Doron Ezickson, ADL Washington D.C Regional Director, said law enforcement agencies around the country have a mixed set of requirements and suggestions for reporting hate crimes.

According to Ezickson, there are two elements to hate crime reporting: one is the crimes are reported and the second is the obligation or opportunity for folks to report them.

“We think that the increase is because there are obviously additional incidents occurring,” Ezickson said. “We continue to believe that if more police departments were required to report hate crimes, and if more of the public had a better understanding of the importance of doing so, then we would see larger numbers.”

In Virginia, a hate crime is defined as a crime against an individual because of race, religion or ethnic origin. This differs from the FBI definition that includes sexual orientation, gender-identity and disability.

Virginia reported 122 hate

Forum tackles the role of people of color in the film industry Enjoli Moon, founder and creative director of Richmond’s Afrikana Film Festival addressed the necessity of Richmond’s Black community to achieve accurate representation in film at her talk at VCU on Nov. 15.

I decided to present these short films that told this very different story about what it meant to be Black.

Enjoli Moon, Afrikana Film Festival Founder Moon created Afrikana to bring a film festival to Richmond that showcases the cinematic work of people of color. Speaking at VCU African-American Studies Department’s second Community Forum on Critical Issues in Black Richmond, Moon made

clear the shift in narrating the Black experience through film and television production.

Afrikana made its debut in Richmond in 2014. The festival focuses on the global Black narrative, providing a platform to authentically showcase the true Black experience. Without any previous experience in film, Moon, a Richmond native and VCU graduate, worked to facilitate the film festival.

The festival focuses on including every voice there is to be heard within the Black community. Afrikana is made up of short films, which Moon said have the power to change a person in less than 20 minutes.

“I decided to present these short films that told this very different story about what it meant to be Black. It told stories that I knew. It told stories of me, my mother, my cousins, my uncles. But not the story that I saw when I turned on HBO, not the story that I saw when I turned on Channel 12, or FOX or any other station,” Moon said.

Moon said accurate representation has two parts: the representation itself and the platform through which it is expressed. Both of these ideas work together for a group to feel fully represented.

“In addition to our representation on the screen, we have to be mindful of our representation in the platforms that we create,” Moon said.

She said a shift in Black representation across all industries has

been underway since 2016, mainly due to social media. A huge mobilizer for the Black community, social media provided everyday people the opportunity to speak out and say their current representation was not true to reality, Moon said.

“Accurate representation falls on the shoulders of both the consumers and producers,” Moon said.

When it comes to representation, Moon said it is only one half of the story to produce films that express the Black experience. The other half lies in consuming the productions that exemplify the Black narrative and its multiplicity accurately, she said.

Moon’s work with the Afrikana Film Festival is her way to truly represent Black creativity. She stressed the necessity of representing the various Black experiences that exist, because a monolithic narrative is dangerous -- confining individuals to that sole experience and no other.

Afrikana is Richmond’s first film festival to highlight the endeavors of people of color through film and similar productions. With an overarching goal to create a platform for people of color to truly represent themselves, Afrikana has been a part of the representational shift, Moon said.

Addressing a variety of critical issues pertinent to Richmond’s Black community, the Community Forum has monthly seminars with different speakers which is planned to start up again in January 2018.

crimes in the United States rises like there’s almost cycles,” Hirsh said. “There’s a long history in the United States of hate crimes of all kinds, in particular, the legacy of slavery.”

... and you understand it’s not just a crime against an individual, but really a crime against a community.

Doron Ezickson ADL D.C. Regional Director With the addition of technology, Ezickson said the availability of hate ideology is a new challenge. ADL works with social media platforms to be more aggressive about identifying and ridding platforms of incitement and harassment.

“Hateful ideology can be spread everywhere. You don’t need any infrastructure, you don’t need any money,” Ezickson said. “I think we see an emboldening of people who hold hateful ideologies, and it also too often leads to acts of hate which are not authorized or should not be tolerated.”

Ezickson said accurate data will ultimately help them analyze where they should prioritize their efforts and on what issues.

“Hate crimes are very powerful and the reason they are a separate category is because they seek not just to do harm to somebody — they seek to make that person or the community in which they are apart of feel that they don’t belong somehow in America based on their religious belief or their ethnicity or race their sexual orientation, that’s not American.”

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crimes in 2016 compared to 158 reported in 2015.

Ezickson said ADL works closely with law enforcement to educate on the attributes and impacts of hate crimes.

“When you understand what a hate crime is and you understand how it’s not just a crime against an individual, but really a crime against a community, you’re more apt to identify or to ask questions to determine whether something was motivated by hate,” Ezickson said.

John Aughenbaugh, a political science professor at VCU, said the classification of hate crime is relatively new. The Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 was the first federal data collection statute related to hate crimes.

“For many people, what now gets reported as a quote-on-quote hate crime as a criminal classification is relatively new, so until law enforcement jurisdictions get used to it and pressured to report things as hate crimes, you’re going to have underreporting,” Aughenbaugh said.

He also said there are several variables that contribute to a rise in hate crime statistics at a national level. Hate crimes tend to increase when the economy is doing poorly, when national elections are close and when the nation is in a declared war.

For example, when the economy is doing poorly and people are ‘underemployed,’ which means they are not working as much as they’d like to be, citizens look for someone to blame, Aughenbaugh said.

“That’s where you see a lot of the ethnic racial crimes because the assumption is my race is being harmed in this economic downturn and or another race or ethnicity is taking my job.

Its feeling me, my family, my friends, we don’t seem to be making as much progress.”

According to Herbert Hirsch, author of Genocide and the Politics of Memory and VCU political science professor, the United States has a history of hate crimes that often moves in cycles.

“The legacy of racial hate

VISIT HOUSING.VCU.EDU FOR MORE INFORMATION.

4

sports

The Commonwealth Times

Stat of the Week

Justin Tillman set a new career high Monday against North Florida with 27 points.

PHOTO BY ERIN EDGERTON

Rams ground Ospreys in shootout, can’t close Cavaliers

Coach Mike Rhoades said Justin Tillman is “locked in” and primed for a dominant senior camapaign. He was named to the preseason All-Atlantic 10 first team.

continued from page 1 The Rams tried desperately to run the sharpshooting Guy off the three point line, but Rhoades said the Wahoos excel at creating space for their star sophomore to work with.

“Anytime you get a guy like that going early it becomes a buzzsaw,” Rhoades said. “We didn’t run him off the three, and the thing about their offense is it’s not just one screen, it’s multiple. They probably set 200 for him in the 40 minutes.”

Senior guard Jonathan Williams and senior forward Khris Lane joined Vann as the only Rams in double figures. Williams posted 14 points, 8 assists and only committed 1 turnover in an impressive all around showing that saw the caggy

senior take on ample responsibility as the Rams’ only viable ball handling option. Lane racked up 12 points on 5-8 shooting, 2-3 from outside, and 5 boards in a contest that called for his physicality and toughness, as the Black and Gold were out sized by the Cavaliers down low.

UVA coach Tony Bennett praised Williams, the Rams’ ability to spread the floor, the Siegel Center and VCU program after the game.

“When they’re making shots and spreading the floor, with how much Jonathan Williams has improved, they’re a tough team to play,” Bennett said. “That’s a great college basketball atmosphere. I

have the utmost respect for the VCU program, what’s been built over the years and Mike [Rhoades].

This game is good for the state and both programs.”

Despite the outcome, Rhoades and RamNation couldn’t help but be encouraged by the nail biting level of competition the Black and Gold achieved in what was a litmus test for their ability to play with the best in the nation going forward.

“If we play our way on both sides of the floor, we’ll get better, and be able to beat a team like today,” Rhoades said. “We gotta do it quick, because we play some really good teams in Maui, but it doesn’t matter who we play, it’s about us.”

North Florida NORTH FLORIDA The sharpshooting Ospreys gave the Black and Gold everything they could handle Monday, but senior forward Justin Tillman poured in a career high 27 points on 13-17 shooting en route to a heartstopping VCU victory.

North Florida shot 17-40 from beyond the arc, as the undersized Ospreys attempted to spread the floor and push the pace as much as possible. NFU coach Matthew Driscoll had ample praise after the game for the VCU program, players and fan base.

“Your people clapped for our kids coming off the floor, which shows how much they know,” Driscoll

said. “You can tell this is a basketball school. To me, this team seems like they have that spirit about them. They’re more cohesive than past VCU teams. I just feel something special from them.”

Williams said the Rams weren’t perturbed by the Ospreys’ shooting prowess early on.

“We knew we would get to their legs eventually,” Williams said.

“They kept hitting, but we knew we’d eventually wear them down.”

Tillman had his way down low against North Florida’s undersized front court. Rhoades said he looks forward to seeing what the battle hardened senior big man can accomplish in his VCU swansong.

“Justin is really locked in this

year. Here’s a senior who’s been through a lot,” Rhoades said. “I loved his effort tonight.”

Men’s basketball has no time to breath, as they boarded a flight to Maui Friday night immediately following the UVA game. A worldclass field including No. 7 Wichita State University, the University of Michigan and Will Wade’s Louisiana State University Tigers awaits the Rams at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Black and Gold will play three games in three days in the islands, starting Monday at 2:30 p.m. against Marquette University.

www.commonwealthtimes.org

Monday, November 20, 2017

5

PRESS BOX

R-E-L-A-X

ILLUSTRATION BY GRACE HUNSINGER

NICK VERSAW Staff Writer

Golden gophers galore: women’s basketball blown out at Minnesota

In this new age of social media, everyone has a voice. No matter who you are or what you do — be it a cook, a lawyer, a firefighter or the president of the United States — you can make your voice heard to millions of your fellow people with the simple click of a mouse or the tap of a screen.

This new-age mode of communication has done wonders in giving anyone with access to a computer or smart phone and an internet connection a voice. It opens doors and helps spread knowledge and information, but it also comes with its fair share of consequences.

Take sports, for example. Between Twitter and what’s become of ESPN, it seems at times like there’s nothing but “hot takes” and outlandish overreactions these days.

Nothing can ever be had at face value anymore.

Just take a look at your social media feeds on Sundays. After, say, a Carolina Panthers win, quarterback Cam Newton is hailed as one of the league’s elite quarterbacks.

One week later, after they lose, he’s a bum who has no place leading an NFL team. It’s just overreaction after overreaction after overreaction.

In the wise words of Green Bay Packers star QB Aaron Rodgers, everyone needs to sit back, take a deep breath and “R-E-L-A-X.” Seasons are built on more than just one game. But to many arm-

chair pundits, one game’s results means their team is either the greatest show on earth or everyone involved should be fired, depending on whether they win or lose.

What happened to the middle ground? Where’s the reasoned analysis? Does anyone remember where we left the big picture?

Heck, sometimes these overreactions blossom before a game’s even over. Look no further than last season’s Super Bowl LI. At halftime, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were trailing the opposing Atlanta Falcons 21-3.

All over social media, people were blasting the Patriots. They were knocking down Brady a peg or two in their all-time rankings. People were calling Bill Belichick a farce.

There were jokes and memes galore.

And you know what happened?

Brady led his team to one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sports en route to his fifth Super Bowl victory. Those hot takes all of a sudden weren’t looking so hot after all.

Let’s go back and take a look at some of the things that were said early on in that game. Immediately after Atlanta’s Robert Alford returned a Brady interception for a touchdown to give the Falcons a 21-0 lead, Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless tweeted “Well, that’s it. The Atlanta Falcons are Super Bowl champions.”

One of his colleagues, Colin Cowherd, had a similar reaction. “I would hold off on trading Jimmy Garoppolo,” he tweeted shortly

thereafter.

Keep in mind, these aren’t even your typical Twitter armchair pundits. These are people who are paid to comment on sports. Just imagine what the rest of the world had to say.

So, as we head into another season of VCU basketball, let’s remember that one game doesn’t make or break a season. Friday’s loss to University of Virginia doesn’t mean the Rams are going to struggle this season or Mike Rhoades isn’t as good of a coach as his predecessors.

Even if the Rams won, it wouldn’t have meant they were going to make another Final Four appearance, either.

Every half or game or season has its fair share of ups and downs. In 2007, the Patriots went 18-0, only to lose the Super Bowl. On the other hand, multiple teams have started their seasons off 0-3 before making a run and winning it all.

Cleveland Indians pitching great Bob Feller once said, “Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is, with a new game every day, and that’s the way baseball is.”

So, the next time your team has a big loss, don’t go to social media claiming their season is over. Every game is a new game. Before your Twitter fingers start to get itchy, remember five simple letters: R-EL-A-X.

ILLUSTRATION BY JACOB MEDLEY

Ram in Action: Emily McNamara leads field hockey resurgence

McNamara scored 12 more goals than any other player on her team this season.

PHOTO BY CASEY COLE

ZACH JOACHIM Sports Editor

Sophomore guard Nyra Williams scored four points on 2-8 shooting against UM. However, the Golden Gophers then went on a blistering 22-4 run to end the first half with a 55-29 Women’s basketball fought hard lead. Freshman forward Sydnei against the University of Minne- Archie put up the first nine points sota Golden Gophers on Thursday for the Black and Gold in the opennight, but fell to the northern team ing quarter, keeping VCU close at by a score of 108-63. just a five-point deficit with under Although the Black and Gold seven minutes remaining. fell 0-2, the team featured three VCU more than doubled its players with double-digit point first-half point total in the second totals, one of whom scored a new half, scoring 34 to bring the final career-high. The Golden Gophers tally on the day to 63. Despite the improved to 3-0, with their per- Rams only committing four turnformance including two 20 point overs, the Golden Gophers talscorers. lied 53 points of their own to raise The Black and Gold, although their final scoring total to 108, in trailing 33-18 at the end of the a hard loss for the Black and Gold. first quarter, managed to mount a Reed scored a career-best 18 points, rally, going on a 7-0 run to open notching three rebounds in addithe second quarter. Sophomore tion to her double-digit effort. Arguard Nyra Williams ignited the chie added five more points to her comeback with a layup, and fresh- opening nine, bringing her total on man guard Tera Reed scored on the day to 14. back-to-back jumpers to continue Freshman guard Delphynia spurring the run.

Sparks’ 13 points and three reADAM CHEEK Contributing Writer

bounds also contributed to the Rams’ effort, and sophomore center Danielle Hammond added six points and five boards of her own to the statistic totals for the day.

The Golden Gophers shot 50 percent from the field overall, with the Black and Gold only 34.3 percent from the floor.

VCU’s next week of play will feature three games, all away, with two at the Georgia State University Thanksgiving Classic. The Rams will face the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in an away game on Tuesday, Nov. 21, with a tip off time of 5:30 p.m. Georgia State University will host the Black and Gold in the GSU Thanksgiving Classic on Friday, Nov. 24, with the start time set for 4:00 p.m., and will face Mercer in the same tournament on Sunday, Nov. 26, also slated for a 4 p.m. opening tipoff.

Junior forward Emily McNamara enjoyed a dominant 2017 campaign in what was a turnaround season for the VCU field hockey program. McNamara led the Black and Gold with 21 goals — no other player on the team scored in double figures.

With 48 career goals, McNamara ranks second on VCU’s all time scoring list. Field hockey finished with a 14-6 record under new coach Stacey Bean. In her first year at the helm, Bean guided the Rams to their most successful season since 1992. The CT spoke with McNamara about appreciating a stellar season, saying goodbye to six seniors and what made her chose the Black and Gold.

“No one wants their season to end without a title but looking back now we did take a lot of steps forward as a group and I have a lot of goals that I think can be accomplished next year if we work hard enough. After we had the coaching change I knew we would take a positive step forward, but after this season it looks like an even brighter future for us.

“Individually, I haven’t ever had such a great year in my life stat wise and I’m so grateful for my achievements this year. I’m thankful for my teammates for helping me do it, but over any individual award I wanted to win. I know that those awards aren’t always given to the people who deserve it, like what happened this year, but I would of traded it all for a championship.”

Spencer Tossone obviously has a knack for creating scoring chances for you and the other forwards. Can you describe how “I think the number one thing her role as facilitator has helped she changed was the pace of our game. Practices this year and last you wrack up 48 goals in your spring were hard and fast paced, VCU career?

What did coach Bean change this year?

that was something we didn’t have in the past. Then with the new recruits, the whole entire game we played was a huge step forward than in past years. That change made us see and believe we had a chance to be successful this year and I think that’s why we won so many games.

We finally saw it was possible and we went out and did everything we could to win each game.”

I know you can’t be happy about how the season ended against UMass, but now, a week later, can you start to look back a little bit and appreciate a really special season, collectively and individually?

“It was a pleasure to have such a great inserter on corners. Corners are a huge opportunity to score and there are a lot of important parts to executing a good shot. I think after this year, it will be sad to replace our senior corner contributors, but I think our freshman from this year have what it takes to step up.”

Can you talk about how much the graduating group has meant to the program and to yourself over your three years here? How do you guys replace that production and leadership going into your senior season?

“We have a lot of new talent coming in next year who I think are all very willing and able to replace what we had this year. Even though we had such a big turnaround this year, next year I strongly believe it is possible we will have an even better chance to win and really make a run for it.”

What made you choose VCU? “I choose VCU because I wanted to make an impact. It was the place I felt most comfortable with and I fell in love. I wanted to take a program in the middle and try to put it on top. After three seasons, I think that I have done an OK job at that.

There is a much brighter future for the program here at VCU, I just wish I had more years of eligibility to play here longer with Coach Bean and everyone else she gets to come here. The best thing about this place for me is all the people I have met. There have been numerous people that have walked in and out of my life and I’m thankful for them all for different reasons. The people at VCU are all so different and almost make you feel safe to be who you are and that’s what I love most.”

What’s life after VCU? “I hope my next chapter continues to be revolved around sports.

Sports have been my life since I learned how to walk and I hope to keep that going as I go on. My dream is to be a sideline sports reporter, or a part of a sports team’s PR department. Whatever I do I want to be a part of sports in any way I possibly can.”

6

sports

The Commonwealth Times

Volleyball wins 27th straight, captures first A-10 title marini on the all tournament team.

Dayton recovered from a five point deficit in the first set to tie the score at 23-23, but the Black and Gold closed out the set in draVCU volleyball won its first ever matic fashion. A pivotal block from Atlantic 10 Championship and 27th sophomore middle blocker Jasmin consecutive match Sunday in a five- Sneed proceeded a set-winning serset thriller against Dayton University. vice ace from Tuzzolo.

The Rams dispatched the University of Dayton captured the second set Rhode Island Saturday in straight sets 25-21, but VCU bounced back in to reach the title game. the third, taking a 5-0 lead right out of the gates, propelled by kills Dayton from Tuzzolo and Giommarini.

DAYTON The lead eventually ballooned to Sophomore outside hitter Vicky as wide as 13-3, and junior middle Giommarini was named the Most blocker Tori Baldwin sealed a domOutstanding Player of the A-10 inant set for the Rams with a spike tournament after leading the Rams at the net. to a heart stopping, back and forth Dayton once again responded victory over the Flyers of Dayton in in the fourth to set up a decisive the championship match. fifth set. Neither side led by more Giommarini was the VCU than two points in a nail biting ficatalyst offensively and defensively nal showdown between two sides Sunday, recording 16 kills and 15 that collectively dominated the digs. Junior middle blocker Tori A-10 this season, going 27-1 in Baldwin, senior libero Rebekah conference combined, with DayStrange and sophomore opposite ton’s lone loss coming at the hands hitter Gina Tuzzolo joined Giom- of the Rams.

With the Flyers up 13-12, VCU called a timeout. The Black and Gold proceeded to ice the match on a 3-0 run. Senior outside hitter Alica Kandler, who finished with 14 kills and 13 digs, delivered the title-winning kill.

blocks and 40 digs on the day. The story offensively for the Rams was their balanced attack, with six players recording six or more kills.

The Rams were led offensively Giommarini, who hit .444 with 11 kills on the day, while also pitching in on defense with five digs Rhode Island and three blocks. Sneed also had RHODE ISLAND an efficient day offensively, tallying VCU extended its nation’s best six kills on .625 hitting and added win streak to 26 games on Satur- five blocks. day in the A-10 semifinals against Defensively, the Rams were led Rhode Island. The Black and Gold by the front row with six different got off to a quick start in the first players recording multiple blocks. set, jumping out to 9-2 lead and Baldwin and Strange impacted the never looking back. The second game defensively. Baldwin conset was a back and forth affair, but trolled the net, with a match high VCU went on a quick 8-2 run to seven blocks for the Rams, while extend their lead 19-13. VCU Strange controlled the back row closed out the match in the third with 24 digs on the day. set on a 7-2 run.

The Rams dominated every The NCAA Division 1 Women’s phase of the match on Saturday. Volleyball Championship selection VCU outhit Rhode Island .400 to show was Sunday evening. The .071, while only committing two field was not announced in time for hitting errors in each of the first publication, but the Rams clinched an two sets. The Black and Gold were automatic bid with their victory earlier stout on defense as well, totaling 12 in the day.

PHOTO BY ERIN EDGERTON

Senior outside hitter Alica Kandler has recorded 594 kills in her VCU career.

PHOTO BY ERIN ELIZABETH HUMPHREYS

RODNEY ROBINSON Contributing Writer ZACH JOACHIM Sports Editor

Senior midfielder Luc Fatton scored one goal on two shots Sunday against Butler. Fatton’s VCU career concludes with 18 goals and 5 assists.

Rams rue string of missed chances in tournament loss to Butler continued from page 1

The first half had three shots on goal – all of which were Butler’s and all were saved by VCU’s freshman goalkeeper, Mario Sequeira.

The Rams had the Costa Rican to thank for it being scoreless at the half, particularly when he somehow saved a close-range shot by a Butler forward that appeared destined for the back of the net in the 30th minute.

It wasn’t until more than 20 minutes into the game the Rams began finding their feet on offense as forwards began finding pockets of space in behinds for their runs.

Fatton’s long-distance goal came shortly thereafter.

Butler came alive minutes into the second half when the Bulldogs scored three goals in less than five minutes.

Sophomore defender Alex Lehtinen started things off for the Bulldogs when he put the ball away in the 54th minute for Butler, with the assist coming from junior defender Joe Moulden.

Three minutes later, sophomore midfielder Lewis Suddock calmly tucked away his shot after a through ball from sophomore midfielder Isaac Galliford. Butler was in the driver’s seat for the first time in the game.

The Rams barely had time to

recover when sophomore forward Brandon Guhl’s shot from a deflected cross hit the underside of the crossbar and went in Sequeira’s goal just seconds after the previous Butler goal.

An apparently shaken VCU team struggled to string together passes in the ensuing moments, but defender Ulrik Edvarsen was able to find the back of the net when he headed home a deep free kick by midfielder Fortia Munts.

Then the chances started coming for VCU. First, France Amorosino found himself in a one-on-one with the Butler keeper, but the off-balance

midfielder scuffed the shot straight into Dick’s arms with 19 minutes to play in the half.

Then, Amorosino found himself in close-range again, but his deflected shot — which looked destined for goal — was kick-saved by Dick as it nearly crossed the line.

Amorosino would have wanted the next chance back. After being put through on goal by Munts with just the keeper to beat, the midfielder was perhaps a little too unselfish as he tried to find senior forward Luc Fatton across the goal.

The pass was well read by a Bulldogs defender.

Butler had their own fair share

of missed chances. With nine minutes to play, forward Brandon Guhl put a shot just wide after a cross found him in VCU’s box with space to shoot. Minutes later, Suddick put another shot just wide for the Bulldogs after a through ball by Galliford put him in position to score.

The Rams had their best chances to score with less than three minutes left, but luck was clearly not on their side on the night. A shot

by Edvarsen from yards out was blocked and fell to the feet of another VCU player, whose effort was also blocked at the goal line, that shot fell to Munts, who put it just

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over the crossbar.

“I was proud of the players, not just this evening but over the course of the season,” Giffard said in the post-game, “especially our senior class. Those guys have fought some battles over the last four years.”

The stars may not have aligned in the Rams’ first NCAA tournament in four years, but the team will be back, Giffard said. The coach said the team is already focused on next season.

“The preseason starts tomorrow,” Giffard said.

spectrum

www.commonwealthtimes.org

Monday, November 20, 2017

7

On this day

PHOTOS BY ALI JONES

On Nov. 20 1986 The World Health Organization announces the first global health initiative to combat AIDs after six years of the pandemic

Despite being a short lived dynasty, the Qin empire (221 B.C.- 206 B,C.) produced over 10,000 individually tailored terracotta figures.

Legendary Terracotta Army comes to VMFA GEORGE GEEN Staff Writer

the figures is also presented. Originally, the pieces were painted with vibrant colors, but only traces remain after millennia of interment.

Many of the excavated pieces featured in the exhibition relate to an essential aspect of Qin civilization: horses. Items like a sixth century B.C. gold, bronze and silver chain that was placed around a horse’s neck convey the importance of the animal. Other pieces include a snaffle bit, adornments which were placed on bridles, a chariot and chariot bells.

“Our exhibition is organized to bring our audience a better understanding of Qin history and ancient Chinese art and archaeology,” Li Jian said.

The middle section of the exhibition includes a myriad of pieces yielding from everyday life in the Qin culture, such as jewelry and objects of adornment, in addition to showing the influence of nomadic people. Objects from Qin “commoners” illustrate the differences in

lifestyle between classes.

“I believe this exhibition will provide a great opportunity for American audiences to understand the daily life of Qin people and the visual culture of the empire more than 2,000 years ago,” said Dr. Zhao Rong, Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau.

“This exhibition actively promotes cultural exchange between China and the United States, and increases understanding and friendship between peoples of both nations,” Several exhibitions of this nature have been exchanged between China and the U.S. in recent years, one of them being the VMFA Fabergé collection which was on view in the Palace Museum in Beijing in 2016.

The exhibition is free for children ages six years old and under, VMFA members and active-duty military personnel and their immediate families. The cost of admission is $10 for students with a college ID, $20 for adults and $16 for seniors 65 and up.

PHOTO BY ELIZABETH HUMPHREYS

“Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China” opened to the public on Nov. 18 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, featuring ten life-size terracotta figures from 210-209 B.C. and more than 130 works of art.

The exhibition was curated by Li Jian, the VMFA E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of East Asian Art, and the Curator of Asian Art at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Hou-mei Sung. Once the exhibition closes at the VMFA on March 11, 2018, it will travel to the Cincinnati museum.

Many of the featured objects were excavated from the mausoleum complex of the First Emperor of the Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who founded the dynasty in 221 B.C. who died shortly before the dynasty’s collapse in 206 B.C. Though short lived, the empire was the first successful attempt to unify large

portions o of what is now modern day China.

“The Terracotta Army is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

In our 80-year history, Terracotta Army will be the first exhibition organized by VMFA that is devoted to the art and archaeology of ancient China,” said VMFA Director Alex Nyerges.

The exhibition’s three parts are separated loosely by the physical gallery space with the terracotta figures, consisting of warriors and a cavalry horse, located at the end.

Each figure represents a specific individual who was important to the First Emperor of the Qin Empire.

An estimated 8,000 of these figures were created, including warriors, officials and servants, and buried in three pits a mile away from the emperor’s burial site. The figures’ statuses are denoted by a variety of visual elements, but their differing poses are most noticeable.

Information on the creation of

The inaugural “Pocahontas Reframed: Native American Storytellers Film Festival,” received national attention for being one of the first festivals of its kind on the East coast.

Inaugural film festival “Reframed” the Native American narrative SIONA PETEROUS Spectrum Editor The Byrd Theater hosted the inaugural “Pocahontas Reframed: Native American Storytellers Film Festival,” celebrating the diverse Native American cultures, histories, languages and identities Nov. 17- 19.

A press conference in the VCU Commons was held a few hours before the film’s opening, where the film festival’s organizers, as well as featured actors, directors and performers, spoke.

“Reframed,” was directed by Brad Brown, the Chief-Assistant for the Pamunkey Indian Tribe based in King William. Brown said the creation of the film festival started in March 2016 after a conversation with Peter Kirkpatrick, co-director of the French Film Festival, who was pushing for a Native American film.

Other main organizers also in-

cluded George Aguilar, the well known Native actor who worked in The Scarlet Letter, and is an organizer for the French Film Festival and Todd Schall-Vess, the General manager of Byrd Theater.

“The response has exceeded our expectations” Brown said. “The festival is free too which shows the extent of support from Todd and others and work that has gone into this.”

According to Aguilar, there are festivals focused on indigenous communities in the western part of the United States, but this is the first of its kind on the East coast.

The festival features 16 films from various genres that were all directed and/or produced by Native Americans.

Ironic comedies like “Reel Injun” (2009) use historical analysis to mock the stereotypes of Native Americans seen in Hollywood which are traditionally focused on belittling Native culture while ro-

manticizing the lead white characters. “Rumble: The Indians who rocked the world” (2017) is a documentary film that explores the under recognized impact of Native musicians in rock, folk, blues and pop. Similar to the film festival’s titular name, the film “Pocahontas: Beyond the Myth,” (2017) challenges the false mythology of the Powhatan princess’s conversion to Christianity and acceptance of British culture and religion.

The curation of the film’s list also focused on a younger, millennial generation of Native Americans who are using their art to address political and social issues.

Nataanii Means is the focus a eponymous documentary. Means, a member of the Lakota Nation, has a large international following as a filmmaker and musician and has been a leading organizer during the Standing Rock resistance movements since 2016.

“I do a lot of things but story-

telling is who I am and the greatest storytellers of our generations are the freedom fighters, the activists,” Means said. “I went to arts school mainly because I didn’t know what to do but my brother said you’re going and getting off the reservation.

I went and started to use storytelling as a tool.”

The 1491’s are an all Native comedy sketch group who say that they are based in the “wooded ghettos of Minnesota and buffalo grass of Oklahoma.”

The members of the group, Dallas Goldtooth, Sterlin Harjo Migizi Pensoneau, Ryan Red Corn and Bobby Wilson are currently working on a feature length film and have appeared on popular shows like the “Daily Show.”

Though the comedy group uses a dry humor to mock Native American stereotypes, each of the members are politically active among their own tribes and in pushing for legal rights of Natives.

“Being Native is inherently a political thing,” Red Corn said. “Even if you aren’t into politics anything you do becomes political so we use comedy as a tool. We can’t separate ourselves from politics.”

The 1491’s performed during the weekend-long festival and also had a feature documentary that covered their performances throughout the world.

Both Means and the 1491’s feel social media has positively impacted the representation of Native American youth and is helping make tangible change in their lives through policy change.

“The entire Standing Rock movement, the recent oil spill near Standing Rock, we can use social media and our art to raise a voice. we’re finally seeing some beautiful self love from the Native youth,” Means said. “It’s because of the freedom fighters, the activists and it’s a beautiful thing to see because coming from an harsh place like

the rez, it manifests in self-hate, you consume it.”

Statistically, Native Americans have the lowest rates of education and the highest rates of poverty, homelessness and suicide among other forms of cyclical violence.

Many of the actors present at the press conference commented on their belief that the increasing push to celebrate Native American identity through the arts is crucial in changing the impact of centuries of violence on indigenous communities.

“In our admittedly unwieldy title to me the most important word is ‘storyteller,’ Schall-Vess said. “If you go see a great play, a great poetry reading, a great musician and if you go and see a great film the key point there is the storytelling.

It succeeds or fails based on the the story telling. The storytelling here will help reframe and challenge the stereotypes of indigenous peoples.”

spectrum

The Commonwealth Times

PHOTO BY AMY COMSTOCK

8

Jade Chang’s debut novel focuses the uprooted lives of Charles Wang and his immigrant Taiwanese family as they travel cross-country after losing their wealth.

EMILEY BAGALAWIS Contributing Writer Author Jade Chang visited VCU Nov. 16 as the winner of the 2017 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for her novel, The Wangs vs. the World. The award honors the work of debut authors whose work breaches genre boundaries and causes strong emotional reactions in the readers. Changs novels tells the story of an immigrant Taiwanese family who embark on a crosscountry roadtrip after losing their cosmetic empire. The novel explores immigrant identity, survival and questions the meaning of home.

The talk consisted of Chang doing a brief reading and opened the floor to questions from the audience.

Chang sat down with the The CT to discuss how her novel came to be, the theme of the American Dream in her story and how the novel relates to America today.

You came up with the idea for your novel after you attended the launch of Trump Tower in Dubai in 2008. When you were waiting for the valet to come with your car, you found an iPod inside your gift bag. Why do you think this particular event sparked your idea for this novel?

I don’t know if it was the only thing that sparked the idea for the novel. It was the whole party, you know, just driving away from that party, it really kind of just a stark example of this crazy moment that we were in at that time. It was late summer 2008, the whole world was kind of falling apart a little bit. All these financial institutions were collapsing and the entire mortgage market was collapsing and there was this real sense that anything could happen. Who knew what was going to happen? And I think that because what was going on in the outside world was so clearly, “We’re on the brink of financial collapse,” it felt like the fact that the inside world felt so over-the-top extravagant, it was very much like a fiddling while Rome burns kind of moment.

You attended launch of the Trump Tower as a journalist. Was that your major in school and if it was how did that aspect of your career influence the writing process for the novel?

It was not my major. I was an English major and a political philosophy minor, but I do think that in order to be a journalist it’s helpful to be a writer in general. I actually think it’s helpful to study a lot of different things. Part of what makes for good writing is an ability to look at the world and interpret it in different ways and help people understand it. And I feel like you’re more able to do that if

you have more experience looking at the world through many different lenses. And in terms of how it helped my writing, I think it helped the most with dialogue. Because as a journalist you record these interviews, then you go home and you transcribe them. So you’re literally typing lines of dialogue. You’re writing things down that are exactly the way the people say it. So you get used to a rhythm of speech, you understand how real people talk.

Where as sometimes you’ll read a book and you’ll feel like “Well, I mean, I’m amused by this” or “I enjoy this” but it doesn’t feel authentic. It feels like someone’s making a speech or someone’s trying to be so funny or something like that. But it doesn’t feel like someone’s authentically having funny, easy back and forth banter. I think it was very helpful for that.

One the most prominent themes in your book is the concept of the American Dream. That dream promotes the idea that anyone can do well in America if they pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make their own fortune and is often symbolized by a white picket fence. What is your interpretation of the American Dream and how does your book reflect that?

Well I think that my book is sort of more of an examination and critique of the American Dream. At one point Charles Wang, who is the father, the patriarch of the book, says “America thinks they invented the American Dream.” Which is true. I mean America did invent the American Dream, but also his point, basically, is that America is not the only country in which people want their children to build better lives for themselves than they had, who want to fulfill their dreams where people have ambitions for success and security and family and love. That exists in so many other countries in the world, but America has definitely done a very effective job of branding itself.

And one of our most effective tools is the American Dream, this sense of “Only in America can this happen.”

With Trump being a prominent figure in America today and the launch of his tower being a part of your idea for the novel, if you came up with this idea today instead of back in 2008, do you think the story would be different and why? think that those are things that exist at any point in time. I think that greed and ambition and over reach and ego, those are all just as existent today as they were then.

I really don’t think that the novel necessarily would be all that different. It’s interesting. For example, when I first started writing the book, the word “microaggression” was not in common usage, but I definitely had a sense of what

I wanted to write about. For example, someone will ask you where you’re from and you’ll tell them.

And they’ll say “No. Where are you really from?” That was something that has happened to me so many times, that has happened to every person of color in America so many times. And yet I’ve never seen it in a book or a movie or a TV show.

Maybe someone has portrayed it, but I haven’t seen it and I feel like I watch a lot of TV. That, for example, was something where I was like “I definitely want a scene in which that happens.” I have the experience of seeing things that I was thinking about and writing about become a real part of the conversation. So that’s been interesting. It’s exciting to be part of a conversation in that way.

Your parents emigrated from China to Taiwan to America, just like Charles Wang in the novel.

Does the novel reflect any aspect of your experiences growing up?

We also learned that the book contains Mandarin written in the English alphabet. Why did you include this in the novel?

I really wanted readers to have sense of what it was like to be in the car with the Wangs. To really be on the road with this family. That’s the way that my family talks; partially in english partially in Chinese. So many families I know in several languages at once. And so I decided to put that in, to essentially have untranslated Chinese, but to have Chinese that was readable, so at least you could have some sense of what the words might sound like. I think it’s an interesting question of who a book is for and in my mind, this book is for people like me to understand in one way, and then for anyone else who might read it understand it in another way. But I also think in terms of languages, there are actually so many languages in the book. There’s also the language of the art world, the language of the fashion world, the language of the comedy world or the language of finance. If you do or don’t understand any of those things, you're gonna have a very different understanding of what’s happening in the book as well.

Do you plan on writing a sequel or other novels and what would they be about?

I plan on writing other novels.

I don't know if I plan on writing a sequel, not immediately. Maybe someday. And it’s a little too early to talk about what they would be about.

Many novelists consider themselves artists. Do you consider yourself an artist?

Yeah, sure. I mean who wouldn’t consider themselves an artist?

ILLUSTRATION BY IAIN DUFFUS

Author Jade Chang on her debut novel, the American Dream and microaggression

Sam’s Take: The lifeless husk of “Justice League” SAMUEL GOODRICH Staff Writer If you keep up with the DC comic book cinematic universe you will be aware that the most recent addition to the franchise, “Justice League,” has been plagued by nothing short of production hell.

Unfortunately, it shows.

“Justice League” sees heroes Batman and Wonder Woman forming a team to stop an alien threat lead

by Steppenwolf, a planet conquering being eyeing Earth for his next mission. The hero-dup can’t fight this battle alone, so they recruit newly discovered talents Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash.

Originally “Justice League,” was intended to be a two part epic culmination of characters and teasers. However, the original director, Zack Snyder, had to leave before post-production edits due to the passing of his daughter. The lack of cohesive vision between Snyder and subsequent replacement directors contributes the fillm’s theme of disconnect.

The acting, the plot, the dialogue, the action, the editing, everything lacks cohesion, resulting in a meaningless mess that fails to leave any emotional weight, be they positive or negative emotions.

The filmmakers were forced to trim this film down to two hours, and it shows. Anything that acts as

exposition, character development, or just serves to even out the brisk pacing is cut entirely. As a result, the movie moves at a breakneck pace, with nothing connecting scenes or character motivations.

Things seem to happen in “Justice League” simply because they’re supposed to happen in a movie like this. Everyone happens to know everything, everyone can simply go anywhere, and scenes are thrown into the mix without any real explanation. As long as a scene is required to understand the thin plot, contains a joke, or features “cool” posing, then it’s thrown into the runtime.

This causes problems from the very beginning, where the original dark tone of the DC cinematic universe clashes with the new lighthearted direction. Many scenes that appeared in trailers at night now take place in color-corrected day, while other scenes that are meant to be serious are awkwardly sandwiched in between random comedic moments.

The characters also suffer from the Frankenstein editing, as half the cast are introduced in this one film. The first half of “Justice League” is spent introducing the heroes, but once we see them, they barely develop beyond their initial character trait. There are no character arcs, and the ones that are there are inconsequential. It’s clear that all of these heroes, like Cyborg

and Aquaman, are interesting and charismatic enough for their own movies, but instead we’re given minor growth in favor of fleshed out solo projects.

Since there are no characters to care about, the action scenes suffer as well. Only two sequences are interesting or well-shot, with only The Flash doing anything exciting or interesting. The same goes for the comedy, where almost every joke falls flat, and most of the humor comes from laughing at the unintentionally cheesy dialogue or nonsensical filmmaking.

The epitome of what makes “Justice League” a bad movie is the final action sequence. This should be the part where our heroes team up to fight the bad guy in a spectacular show of camaraderie and victory. Instead, the sequence moves too quickly for any character to have a moment to shine and doesn’t even let the audience understand what’s happening.

During this final scene, no one in the packed theater I was in reacted in anyway. There was no laughing, no cheering, not even groans. The audience just let the film play out it’s tired, lifeless show. Ultimately, that’s what “Justice League” is; a lifeless husk of a film that has everything it needs to be an entertaining superhero flick — everything except competence, passion and heart.

www.commonwealthtimes.org

opinions

Monday, November 20, 2017

Quote of the week

“As the weather begins to drop down to the 20s in the coming days, Richmond residents should be aware of the homeless problem in this city.

It’s a systemic issue that should be addressed in several areas and it’s not going to be solved anytime soon.” — Katie Bashista, Opinions Editor

What Americans’ responses to the Iran-Iraq earthquake say about our country RACHEL TERRELL Contributing Writer

ILLUSTRATION BY YEWEI WANG

The earthquake that rocked the Iran-Iraq border Nov. 12, killing at least 500 people and injuring over 7,000 others, has since been named the deadliest earthquake of 2017; its impressive magnitude of 7.3 made it one of the five most powerful this year. The chaos barely took place a week ago.

So why aren’t more Americans talking about it?

The word “earthquake” trended on Twitter in the U.S. for a mere matter of hours before being replaced by words like “Roy Moore” and “Keurig.” Not even President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences toward victims of the disaster, despite finding time to post about the “failing” New York Times and to mock Kim Jong-un’s physical appearance.

Perhaps even more concerning were the themes present among the tweets that did address the catastrophe. Comments condemning the citizens of Iran and Iraq and referring to the earthquake as “karma” were as disturbing as they were prominent. The thoughts and prayers Americans generally love to offer the world were hidden amidst the heartless tweets that blamed a natural disaster on the politics of the people whose lives it took.

Besides being downright inhumane, the implication that victims of the earthquake were in any way the cause of their own demise is rooted in xenophobia. The belief

that America is somehow inherently better and its citizens worth more than those of other countries is a direct result of this harmful way of thinking.

Unfortunately, this mindset is

Deliberately turning a blind eye to the most fatal earthquake of 2017 is simply another manifestation of the country’s overwhelming epidemic of xenophobia.

Rachel Terrell Contributing Writer nothing new. Whether because of discrepancies between ethnicities, religions or political viewpoints, Americans as a collective have been consistently hostile toward residents and descendants of the Middle East.

In a January 2016 survey conducted by Pew Research, it was

found 49 percent of Americans felt at least “some” American Muslims were anti-American, despite also being U.S. citizens. For Republicans, this number was an even more troubling: 63 percent and 41 percent among Democrats.

On the contrary, a 2017 Pew study observed 9 out of every 10 American Muslims described themselves as “proud to be an American.” Not only are nonMuslim Americans’ perceptions of Muslim-Americans ultimately false, they’re perceptions are based on thoughts lacking facts.

If an event as cataclysmic as the one in Iran and Iraq last week wasn’t enough to snap Americans out of their bigotry even for a moment, then I fear nothing may be.

How can we brag about tolerance, inclusion and human rights while simultaneously disregarding a major loss of lives that didn’t look like ours?

Despite being a self-proclaimed “melting pot,” the U.S. seems to be baselessly afraid of diversity and inclusion, even when it comes to something as simple as expressing sympathy for countries who have just experienced massive devastation. Deliberately turning a blind eye to the most fatal earthquake of 2017 is simply another manifestation of the country’s overwhelming epidemic of xenophobia. And until the U.S. decides to trade its nationalism in for compassion, aftershocks of hatred will continue to follow tragedies like this one.

UNSHELTERED AND UNWELCOME How the city of Richmond treats its homeless population

The orange and white barricades went up around Monroe Park for its $6 million renovation around this time last year. VCU students haven’t been able to use the park as a study spot or a shortcut to the other side of campus for the past year. As the weather gets colder, a different populations of people come to mind when thinking about Monroe Park.

The January 2017 Point-in-Time counts conducted by Homeward, Richmond’s planning and coordinating organization for the homeless population, found on a single night in Richmond, 606 adults and 56 children were unsheltered.

People experiencing homelessness often found a form of shelter in Monroe Park and when news came regarding its closure, a wave of concern for what this would mean for the homeless population.

According to Homeward, 56.8 percent of Richmond’s homeless population attend meal programs and of that percentage, 51.1 percent went to Monroe Park for these programs.

In March, a CBS6 article featured one man experiencing homelessness saying the homeless population was able to congregate at Abner Clay Park after the closure,

but were very quickly shown by the city of Richmond they were not welcome there.

Homeward made preparations for the closure in advance. Kelly King Horne, Homeward’s director said in the same CBS6 article that there has been an increase in homeless people getting connected to permanent housing since Monroe Park closed.

Local churches and organizations regularly provide meals for the homeless and these organizations did a sufficient job in making this information known to people who may need it.

If the Monroe Park renovation was inevitable, I believe the organizations that center around the homeless population did a good job in preparing for the closing of the park. I’m not so convinced, however, the city of Richmond has as much empathy.

It’s hard to walk by a bench with a third armrest in the middle and not think its sole purpose is to keep homeless people from sleeping on it. Some cities argue things they put on benches, curbs or sidewalks are to keep skateboarders off of them. Whether it’s intended or not, they serve an alternative purpose as well — to keep homeless people off.

The 2016 Point-in-Time counts conducted by the United States Interagency Council on Home-

lessness showed 549,928 people were unsheltered on a single night in the U.S. and 6,268 were unsheltered in Virginia. The 2017 point-in-time counts haven’t been released yet.

As the weather begins to drop down to the 20s in the coming days, Richmond residents should be aware of the homeless problem in this city. It’s a systemic issue that should be addressed in several areas and it’s not going to be solved any time soon.

In the meantime, be mindful

of your unsheltered neighbors and spare a dollar, a cigarette or a kind word or two at all times. Organizations such as Homeward and HomeAgain provide information about different ways you can help out, especially during these next few cold months.

ILLUSTRATION BY ELLIE KIM

KATIE BASHISTA Opinions Editor

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