The Commonwealth Times; March 13, 2017

The independent press of Virginia Commonwealth University

A-10 EXCLUSIVE SPORTS SECTION

NEWS FOIA laws • 2

March 13, 2017 • Vol. 58, No. 22

SPORTS A10 tourney • 5-6

SPECTRUM Sam’s Take • 8

OPINION Ode to Self Care • 10

BITTER-SWEET RAMS LOSE A-10 FINAL, LAND NCAA 10-SEED

PAGE 5

We’re tough to kill.

We fought back, just couldn’t get over the hump. It’s on to the big show now. Let’s make some noise.”

PHOTO BY ERIN EDGERTON

Will Wade Head Coach

Spectrum

Spectrum

‘Ambassador of the Arts’ James Ragan views poetry as activism In 1985, James Ragan and three other poets from Western countries were invited to perform before 10,000 Russians at the first International Poetry Festival in Moscow.

“I still remember how I’m thinking the audience is looking at the stage and they’re saying ‘Oh, my God, there’s Bob Dylan. Oh, my God, that’s Seamus Heaney, Robert Bly … Who the hell is that?’ That was me — the ‘who the hell is that?’” Ragan said.

Ragan managed to make himself stand out by speaking Russian. He told the audience in their native tongue that his parents were born in Czechoslovakia and that his translator, who was born in Siberia, was “my brother.”

“The place went crazy. ‘The American is speaking Russian to us!’” Ragan said. “I could have whispered my poem after that.”

Ragan is back on center stage in a new documentary, ““Flowers and Roots, James Ragan, An Ambassador of the Arts.” The film, which explores how Ragan’s poetry and writing provided

an outlet for his social activism, was featured on Sunday, the last day of the weeklong Richmond International Film Festival.

When the documentary producers first approached Ragan in 2014, he had no idea why they wanted to make a movie about him. After all, he is not a household name, even though Ragan has read his poetry for seven heads of state, published nine books and had several internationally produced plays.

“It was amazing how they were looking in at me, and seeing this as all being spectacular, whereas I was looking out and saying, ‘We were supposed to be doing this back in the ’60s and ’70s — we didn’t see it as spectacular,’” Ragan said. “And they immediately liked that response.”

The movie navigates the Cold War era through Ragan’s own life. Born into a Czechoslovakian immigrant family in Philadelphia as one of 13 children, Ragan said that growing up speaking Slovakian got him into a lot of physical fights.

“As I learned English, I learned to fight less,” Ragan said. “I had a huge respect for the language, and a huge respect for the arts. I just loved that you could win fights with words and not fists.”

COURTESY OF VCU CINEMA

AMELIA HEYMANN Contributing Writer

“Mercy Street,” “TURN” cancelled, VCU film students concerned about finding local work

—continued on page 9 Senior VCU Cinema student Monica Woolsey (right) works on a film set.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY AMERLIA HEYMANN

MAURA MAZUROWSKI News Editor

The documentary on Ragan’s work was shown at the Richmond International Film Festival.

Two locally-produced television shows announced their final seasons, and filmmakers and students alike are concerned about job prospects in the area moving forward.

PBS recently canceled “Mercy Street,” a television show that has provided hundreds of jobs for Richmonders. The Civil War-era production was first filmed in 2015 in various parts of Central Virginia. It originally aired in 2016 and starred Josh Radnor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Producers cited the “complicated nature of aligning production timelines and funding commitments,” as the reason for the cancellation. The second season’s finale — now the series finale — aired last Sunday.

“We sought to bring a time and place to life that is so important to understanding American history, and in a way that was meaningful, authentic and entertaining,” said executive producer David Zucker in a statement.

According to fellow producer David Zabel, “Mercy Street” was a project five years in the

making before airing on PBS. “Together, we delivered 12 hours of compelling and worthwhile storytelling which we all take pride in,” Zabel said.

“TURN: Washington’s Spies,” another television show shot in and around Richmond, announced this season — it’s fourth — would be its last.

Not only will the cancellation of both shows result in a loss of jobs for Virginia filmmakers, but many VCU students have lost opportunities to work and learn on professional sets.

“With the talk recently about, you know, funding to public access programs and PBS being cut, I think that seeing a show like Mercy Street fall immediately after that is really kind of saddening and disappointing,” said VCUarts student Nick Atanasio.

Atanasio, a junior in the Cinema program, said he was hoping to land a job on “Mercy Street” post-graduation.

“That’s a lot of stability gone from their lives with both ‘TURN’ and ‘Mercy Street’ canceled,” —continued on page 9

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news Future public servants

The Commonwealth Times

In this section:

General Assembly pages. Civil rights activists. FOIA laws. Vetoed bills on absentee voting and immigration.

All data obtained from the VCU Police Dept. “Daily Incident Log.” Monday, March 6

Theft From Building PAC Building 922 Park Ave. Pending Destruction of Property Private 710 Catherine St. Reported by Outside Agency

Tuesday, March 7 Hit and Run 122 S. Belvidere St. Reported by Outside Agency Drunkenness 1501 W. Main St. Reported by Outside Agency Forgery By Credit Card 1319 Floyd Ave. Reported by Outside Agency

Wednesday, March 8 Trespassing 900 Park Ave. Closed Theft From Motor Vehicle UU Lot 1300 W. Broad St. Closed City Code Violation 900 W. Broad St. Closed Burglary/B&E Residential 1102 Grove Ave. Reported by Outside Agency

Thursday, March 9 Alcohol Violation 1 N. Harrison St. Closed All Other Larceny 907 Floyd Ave Pending Drug Violation/All Other Offenses 400 N. Belvidere St. Closed Drug Violation 500 N. Belvidere St. Closed Simple Assault West Broad St. Deck 1111 W. Broad St. Pending Destruction of Property Private/Graffiti 1001 W. Franklin St. Pending Alcohol Violation 925 W. Grace St. Pending Destruction of Property Private 600 W. Grace St. Reported by Outside Agency Hit and Run 1001 W. Broad St. Reported by Outside Agency Burglary/B&E Residential 1019 W. Leigh St. Reported by Outside Agency

Shoplifting Kroger 901 N. Lombardy St. Reported by Outside Agency Shoplifting ABC 1217 W. Broad St. Reported by Outside Agency Shoplifting ABC 1217 W. Broad St. Reported by Outside Agency

Reporting suspicious or emergency situations to the VCU Police Department can help solve crimes, provide emergency assistance that may save a life and help deter criminal activity.

Download the VCU LiveSafe mobile phone app to report crimes anonymously.

To contact the VCU PD call (804) 828-1196.

For an on-campus emergency call (804) 828-1234.

For an off-campus emergency call 911.

observe lawmaking firsthand

MARY LEE CLARK Staff Writer For the past two months, they showed up every day at the state Capitol, dressed in matching blazers and carrying pen and paper at the ready — the next generation of public servants carefully observing their superiors.

These young adults are known as pages.

They are middle school and high school students from around Virginia who assist in everyday tasks at the General Assembly to experience firsthand how the legislative process works.

The program dates as far back as 1850, when the one page who worked was paid $2 a day.

Now the combined total of House and Senate pages is 85 individuals, all age 13 or 14. Virginia is one of a handful of states that offer this type of program.

“It gives them exposure to the legislative process in a way that is not taught in the classroom,” said Bladen Finch, director of the Senate Page Leadership Program. “We do a little classroom-like instruction, but a lot of it is learned by actually observing the process.”

Many pages said they didn’t know much about how the General Assembly works before becoming a page.

Senna Keesing, an eighth-grader from Longfellow Middle School in Fairfax County, learned about the page program from her sister.

She said that she made herself flashcards with the names and faces of senators so she could identify them during the session.

“I learned about it (the General Assembly) in seventh grade. I probably just memorized the steps for the test, and then forgot about it,” said Abbey Rice, a ninth-grader from Jefferson Forest High School near Lynchburg. “This is something I’ll never forget because I got to live it every day.”

Pages carry out tasks throughout the day such as fetching items from the legislators’ offices, assisting at the Capitol’s information desk, and getting lunch for the senators and delegates while they’re in session.

Although these may seem like simple tasks that lawmakers can do themselves, the pages know this is an important duty because constituents depend on their legislators being completely focused on business during the session.

That can be especially true in the Senate, where the Republicans hold only a slight edge over the Democrats.

“With the majority being 21-19, every vote counts. We have to have people ready to do things for the senators they can’t do for themselves,” Senna said. “Putting something in their office, or taking something from their office, takes a really long time. Which is why they have us do it.”

On most days, the session starts at noon and typically lasts a few hours.

“Would you rather them getting lunch, or would you have them voting on a very contentious bill?” said Stephen Wiecek, an eighthgrader from Chickahominy Middle School in Hanover County.

Even with the time-consuming job of being a legislative page, the students still don’t get off the hook from homework.

“It’s basically like having a full-time job and a full-time school career, all in one day,” Abbey said.

In addition to helping at around the Capitol and keeping up with their homework, pages help out in the community in various ways.

This year, they volunteered at the Central Virginia Food Bank, Feedmore. Collectively, the

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BLADEN FINCH

CRIME LOG

A General Assembly page assists a Capital Policeman with raising the Virginia state flag in Capitol Square. pages put in 154 volunteer hours.

The pages also raised about $7,000 in donations from parents, former pages and legislators. This year, the pages collected items from lawmakers’ offices that were being left behind in the General Assembly Building, which is to be demolished and replaced starting in June. The items were sold at a yard sale, raising about $450.

“As young leaders, and young possible politicians, we have to remember that everything we do is for the service of others,” Abbey said.

Now experts on the state legislative process, all the children have been inspired to work in some form of public service, even if it’s not in politics.

Senna, who before the page program had no plans for politics, found inspiration in the diverse background of Virginia’s political leadership.

“I am really interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), which is probably my future career. That’s why the lieutenant governor is so inspiring to me because he is a pediatric neurologist,” Senna said. “He’s a doctor and the lieutenant governor of Virginia.

I find that really cool, and that’s definitely a possibility for me.”

On Friday, the pages held a graduation ceremony. After the legislative session ended on Saturday, the pages prepared to return home, taking along educational experiences and lifelong friendships.

“Trust me, some of these people are going to do great things, and I’m going to want to know them when I grow up,” said Lilly Hallock, an eighth-grader from Tuckahoe Middle School in Henrico County.

Pages spend their semester assisting legislators with day-to-day tasks.

A lot of the kids do go on to do great things. Finch, who himself is a former page, said many children who graduate the program go on to careers in public service or politics.

A former page, Thomas Cannella, last year

won a seat on the Poquoson Central District City Council at the age of 19. He was part of the page program in 2011.

“This is not a one-time experience. This is something they carry with them forever,” Finch said.

New laws could help and hurt access to information MEGAN CORSANO Contributing Writer For advocates of government transparency, the General Assembly’s 2017 session was a mixed bag, resulting in bills that both increased and decreased information available under the Freedom of Information Act. According to Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, the session saw fewer FOIA-related bills than in past years. Even so, the group stayed busy opposing legislation that Rhyne said would keep important information from the public.

She said one such bill was HB 1678, which would have allowed information on the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — to be withheld from mandatory disclosure under FOIA. The bill cleared the House of Delegates but was ultimately defeated in the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee.

Rhyne said the “most concerning” bill this legislative session was HB 2043, which would have made the release of the names of police officers involved in police shooting investigations a Class 1 misdemeanor.

The bill, sponsored by Del. Jackson Miller, R-Manassas, was narrowly approved by the

House General Laws Committee. However, Miller withdrew the measure when it reached the House floor.

Now police will have to give families that information instead of using the exemption that allows them to withhold investigative records.”

Megan Rhyne Va. Coalition for Open Government Many FOIA-related bills did make it through the General Assembly.

Rhyne was glad to see SB 1102 pass both the House and Senate. It would require that records of “unattended deaths” — in which the dead person is not found for several days or weeks — be accessible to family members of the victims involved.

According to Rhyne, “unattended deaths” usually end up being police-confirmed suicides. Under a current FOIA exemption, family members of the deceased can be denied access to the records in the case.

“Now police will have to give families that information instead of using the exemption that allows them to withhold investigative records,” Rhyne said.

To Rhyne, this reflects a greater awareness among lawmakers about openness in government. “I don’t know that we would have seen that kind of incremental change five years ago,” she said.

The 2017 General Assembly also passed bills requiring a list of FOIA officers to be available online, clarifying where minutes from public meetings should be posted and requiring the Freedom of Information Advisory Council to develop an online form that allows the public to comment on the quality of assistance from that agency.

At the same time, several bills were passed that will result in less access to information under FOIA, Rhyne said. They include HB 1587, which would create a FOIA exemption for engineering and construction plans for singlefamily homes except when requested by the home’s applicant.

Legislators also passed HB 1971, which would allow government agencies to withhold information on investigations into cases of child abuse, neglect or assault.

And SB 1226 would create a FOIA exemption for certain records when a government agency contracts for solar photovoltaic services or buys solar power equipment. The business involved could specify that certain documents are proprietary information or trade secrets, and they would be exempt from mandatory disclosure under FOIA. Those bills now go to Gov. Terry McAuliffe for approval.

Other bills that would have opened government to more disclosure failed in the General Assembly. For example, HB 2401, which would have required public bodies to take minutes and make audio recordings of closed meetings, died in the House General Laws Committee.

Although this was a low-key session for bills concerning open government, Rhyne is optimistic for the future.

“It has been encouraging to see a growing number of legislators introducing access-friendly bills and also getting good votes on some of these bills,” she said.

www.commonwealthtimes.org

Monday, March 13, 2017

VCU recognized as a top Fulbright Scholar-producing institution HIBA AHMAD Online News Editor VCU is the leading university in Virginia to produce Fulbright student scholars for 2016-school year, according to the U.S Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Eleven VCU received Fulbright awards, including four English Assistant Teaching grants and seven research or study-related grants in 2016.

VCU has produced 45 Fulbright scholars since the conception of the National Scholarship Office opened in 2005.

“Along with my colleagues, I am honored to represent a university with so many Fulbright award recipients,” said VCU president Michael Rao. “Recognition from the program further highlights what we have always known — our students are smart, driven, and engaged.”

The Fulbright program was created in 1946

through the U.S. government as a student exchange program. The program is facilitated through the Department of State, which is allotted money annually through Congress and other foreign governments, foundations, etc. who often host the students.

The Fulbright program awards up to 1,900 U.S. students every year and receives upward of 4,000 students from foreign countries. The program currently works with 140 countries worldwide.

11

3

VCU students received Fulbright awards in 2016.

VCU has produced

45

Fulbright scholars since 2005.

The Fulbright program is facilitated through the State Dept. and awards up to U.S. students annually.

1,900

State building renamed for civil rights activist A state government building that once served as headquarters of the “Massive Resistance” campaign against racial integration of Virginia’s public schools was renamed last Thursday in honor of Barbara Johns, a student activist who played an important and often overlooked role in the civil rights movement.

Johns was only 16 when she led a student protest that would one day become part of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Like most segregated schools at the time, the all-black high school Johns attended in Farmville, Virginia, was overcrowded, underfunded and dilapidated in comparison to the white schools in the Prince Edward County. On April 23, 1951, Johns persuaded all 450 of her classmates to stage a strike, and some went downtown to meet with education officials to protest the school’s substandard conditions.

“When she took a stand like that, it was a dangerous time, and I was the one who was worried about what might happen to us. She didn’t seem to have any fear at all,” said Barbara Johns’ sister, Joan Johns Cobb, who marched alongside her.

Johns enlisted the help of the NAACP, which filed a suit on behalf of 117 students against Prince Edward County, challenging Virginia’s laws requiring segregated schools.

“This was before Little Rock Nine, this was before Rosa Parks, this was

before Martin Luther King. This was a 16-year-old girl who said that we will not tolerate separate but not equal,” said Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who announced in January that the newly renovated Ninth Street Office Building would be renamed in Johns’ honor.

Located at 202 N. Ninth St., the building was once known as the Hotel Richmond. During the 1950s, members of the General Assembly stayed at the hotel when they came to the capital for the legislative session. The building became the unofficial headquarters of the Byrd Organization, the dominant pro-segregation political machine at the time.

The attorney general at that point, James Lindsay Almond, originally defeated Johns’ case by claiming that segregation was a way of life for Virginians.

Now the building, which houses the state attorney general’s office, has been christened the Barbara Johns Building. Current Attorney General Mark Herring said the renaming will serve as a reminder to him and his staff that the mistakes of the past cannot be repeated.

“She saw an injustice for exactly what it was, and she stood up for what was right.

A monument in the Capital Square depicts Barbara Johns and her classmates protesting against segregation.

She demanded that which the constitution guaranteed her, and which the commonwealth denied her,” Herring said. sembly then met in the very building that close than integrate. It wasn’t until 1968, desegregation is naming a day for BarThe case, Davis v. School Board of now bears Johns’ name to plot against when the Supreme Court ruled their plan bara Johns is a really powerful testament Prince Edward County, was appealed the desegregation of Virginia’s public unlawful, that large-scale desegregation to how far we’ve come,” said Dr. Larissa to the Supreme Court and combined schools. took place in Virginia.

Smith Fergeson, professor of history at with four similar segregation suits under Led by U.S. Sen. Harry Byrd and his The House of Delegates joined the Longwood University. “In many ways, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. political machine, the state engaged in a Senate in passing a resolution declaring these are symbolic acts, but symbolic acts On May 17, 1954, the court ruled unani- campaign of “Massive Resistance” against April 23, the anniversary of the strike, as matter.” mously that racial segregation in public desegregation. This led to the shutdown Barbara Johns Day in Virginia. education was unconstitutional. of schools across Virginia when lawmak“The fact that the very General AsPowerful members of the General As- ers decided they would rather see them sembly that passed laws to prevent school

PHOTO BY MEGAN SCHIFFRES

MEGAN SCHIFFRES Contributing Writer

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NEWS FRIDAY 4:30 P.M. EDITOR Maura Mazurowski ............. mazurom@commonwealthtimes.org SPORTS TUESDAY 7:30 P.M. EDITORS Sophia Belletti ........... bellettisr@commonwealthtimes.org Zachary Joachim .............. joachimz@commonwealthtimes.org SPECTRUM FRIDAY 4:00 P.M. EDITOR Siona Peterous ............... peterous@commonwealthtimes.org OPINION EDITOR Eleanor Fialk .................... fialke@commonwealthtimes.org

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news

The Commonwealth Times

Gov. McAuliffe vetoes bill to detain immigrants longer than necessary

PHOTO BY MAURA MAZUROWSKI

HIBA AHMAD Online News Editor

Gov. McAuliffe promised at the start of the 2017 General Assembly to veto anti-immigration bills.

Governor Terry McAuliffe has vetoed a bill that would allow detaining undocumented persons longer than necessary.

House Bill 1468 was proposed by Delegate Robert Marshall (R-15) and passed through both the House and Senate. A similar bill, HB 481, was proposed and also vetoed last year by the Governor.

In statements released on March 3, McAuliffe argued that the bill itself was unnecessary because local law enforcement continues to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency that works to identify and detain individuals who do not abide

by U.S. immigration law.

In a time of heightened conversation around undocumented immigrants in the United States, McAuliffe said that he was concerned with the message that this bill sent to the Commonwealth.

In his statement, McAuliffe referenced a point he made last year after he vetoed HB 481 which presented similar legislation for the detainment of non-citizens.

“Rather than stoking irrational fears of non-citizens present in the Commonwealth, the General Assembly should be focused on substantive policies to improve public safety in Virginia,” McAuliffe said.

Richmond residents continue to push

Some female hunters have their sights set on pink camo

back against legislation and policies that would endanger undocumented immigrants in the city. ICE out of RVA is a grassroots organization that has organized multiple rallies since the Trump Administration took office in late January.

The General Assebmly should be focused on substantive policies to improve public safety in Virginia.”

Terry McAuliffe Governor Mayor Levar Stoney made it clear in his Directive of Inclusiveness, which was released in February, that citizens and noncitizens alike would not be asked about their immigration status by law enforcement.

ICE out of RVA and other local organizations continue to urge city council members and Stoney to declare Richmond a sanctuary city.

Governor McAuliffe vetoes barrier to absentee voting MAURA MAZUROWSKI News Editor

JESSICA SAMUELS Contributing Writer Cassie Crouch of Bedford, Virginia, started hunting when she met the man whom she later would marry. “It was one of our first dates,” she said. In 2010, Crouch and her husband Daniel even celebrated their wedding anniversary by hunting wild hogs.

Crouch, who uses a variety of guns as well as a bow and arrow, likes the fact that hunters soon may have a choice of colors for their hunting safety apparel: Hunters would be able to wear bright pink, instead of being limited to blaze orange, under a bill approved by the General Assembly during its recent session.

Another female hunter – Amanda Bailey of Tazewell County – also is looking forward to the new law.

“I would love having the option of wearing pink camouflage or orange,” said Bailey, who hunts deer, elk, coyotes and bear and uses a variety of firearms.

Crouch and Bailey are among a number of female hunters hoping Gov. Terry McAuliffe signs HB 1939 into law. If he does, the bill – which was approved unanimously by the House of Delegates and 35-5 by the Senate – will take effect July 1.

HB 1939, sponsored by Del. James Edmunds, R-Halifax, states that “every hunter and every person accompanying a hunter shall (i) wear a blaze orange or blaze pink hat … or blaze orange or blaze pink upper body clothing, that is visible from 360 degrees or (ii) display at least 100 square inches of solid blaze orange or blaze pink material at shoulder level within body reach visible from 360 degrees.”

Many female hunters and stores that cater to them already have

been considering pink as a camo option. It’s all part of an effort to give women a choice of colors to wear out in the field. Retailers have begun marketing hoodies, hats and T-shirts for hunters – all in pink.

Del. Kaye Kory, D-Falls Church, is among the legislators who voted for the bill.

“My fellow House members who support the addition of blaze pink to be approved hunting clothing explained that blaze pink is more readily seen at a distance than the traditional hunter’s orange,” Kory said. “Therefore, I supported HB 1939.”

Virginia is not the only state offering blaze pink as a substitute for blaze orange for hunters. Wisconsin was the first, and since then, New York, Colorado and Louisiana have followed suit.

Some believe that the color option will draw more women to hunting. About 13,000 women currently are registered to hunt in Virginia.

While some women see the new law as a fashion statement, other female hunters prefer blaze orange to blaze pink.

Tamala Doup, who lives in Midlothian, has been hunting most of her life. She killed her first deer at age 11. Doup hunts every year between November and beginning of January, using a black powder rifle.

“I personally prefer the blaze orange from a safety aspect,” Doup said. “It seems much brighter and easily recognizable in the woods, especially in dense areas.”

Doup has another reason for preferring orange over pink: She is colorblind. Experts say colorblind people may have more trouble seeing pink than seeing orange.

“That bright blaze orange is better for me, personally,” Doup said.

“It’s all about safety, not fashion.”

COURTESY OF THE COMMONWEALTH TIMES

Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed House Bill 1428 last Thursday which would have required voters to submit photo identification when requesting a physical absentee ballot.

According to the bill’s summary, HB 1428 would require “any voter submitting an application for an absentee ballot by mail or by electronic or telephonic transmission to a facsimile device to submit with his application a copy of one of the forms of identification acceptable under current law.”

The bill would have exempted military and overseas voters with a disability from this requirement.

“This bill remains substantively unchanged from a bill that I vetoed in 2015. The bill imposes barriers on an eligible voter’s ability to obtain and cast an absentee ballot,” McAuliffe said in a statement.

“The requirement would not in any way deter fraudulent voting since it provides no means of verifying the identity of the individual depicted in the submitted photograph.”

At the start of the 2017 Virginia General Assembly session, McAuliffe had promised to veto bills on topics ranging from anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ rights and antiimmigration. Since taking office in 2014, McAuliffe has vetoed 71 Republican-supported bills.

He has since stood by his word and vetoed HB 2264, which which would cut off federal Title X funding for Planned Parenthood and any other groups that perform abortions in Virginia.

“Without access to reproductive care and the freedom to exercise choice, women are denied the choice to make deeply personal health decisions,” McAuliffe said.

“It’s time that our General Assembly understands that we have a responsibility to protect the rights and dignity of women.”

The governor also vetoed HB 1468, which would have forced state or local authorities to hold those undocumented immigrants until federal immigration officials allow them to be released.

Republicans need a two-thirds majority in both chambers — 67 votes in the House and 27 in the Senate — to override this veto.

They’ve never been able to muster that in the past. As a result, not one of McAuliffe’s vetoes has been overturned.

“The right to vote is a fundamental tenet of our democracy, and we should be doing all we can to facilitate eligible citizens’ access to the ballot,” McAuliffe said. “This bill would undoubtedly result in the disenfranchisement of qualified eligible Virginian voters and increase the potential for costly and time-consuming litigation.”

None of McAuliffe’s vetoes have been overturned by a 2/3 General Assembly majority vote.

sports

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A-10 FINAL

Monday, March 13, 2017

5

Stat of the Week:

Sunday was the Rams’ fifth consecutive A-10 championship final since joining the conference in 2012-13. This week they will compete in their seventh consecutive NCAA tournament.

RAM AGAINST RAM

SOPHIA BELLETTI & ZACH JOACHIM Sports Editors The VCU Rams fell inches short of an Atlantic 10 conference tournament title on Sunday in Pittsburgh in a 70-63 loss at the hands of the University of Rhode Island.

The Black and Gold never led in the contest, as URI built an early double-digit lead on five of six shooting from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes. The Rams from Richmond battled their tails off against the Rams from up north, outscoring them 36-30 in the second half and pulling within as little as three points, but were never able to climb all the way back.

“We’re tough to kill,” said VCU head coach Will Wade. “We fought back, just couldn’t get over the hump.”

“If you beat VCU in the conference tournament final, you earned that trophy,” said Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley. “That’s an elite program with one of the best young coaches in the country.”

A Rhode Island hot hand in the first half led to 51 percent shooting from the field, compared to VCU’s meager 23 percent. Lock-in defense from the Black and Gold held URI to only 28 percent shooting in the second.

“We didn’t communicate well on defense early, and that allowed them to knock down some threes and get comfortable,” Lewis said. “When we realized we had to play catch-up that’s when we turned it on. But you have to play 40 minutes to win a championship.”

Rhody junior guard Jared Terrell led all players in scoring with 20 points, and senior guard E.C. Matthews chipped in 19. Matthews was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. The lefty slasher is a feel good success story after missing all of last season with a ghastly knee injury.

VCU senior guard JeQuan Lewis led his Rams in scoring with 15 points on a sub-par 5 of 14 shooting.

Junior forward Justin Tillman was a monster in the paint — he recorded a game-high 17 rebounds.

The Black and Gold out muscled Rhode Island on the glass, recording 47 rebounds compared to their 36.

Unfortunately for Wade and his Rams, 23 offensive rebounds led to a mere 14 second-chance points.

“Twenty-three offensive rebounds looks great on paper,” Wade said. “But that’s a lot of misses.”

“Give Rhode Island credit,” Wade said. “They took it to us in the first half. Now it’s on to the big show — let’s see if we can go and make some noise.”

Lewis was named to the all-tournament team alongside Matthews, Davidson University’s Jack Gibbs, George Mason University’s Marquise Moore and URI’s Hassan Martin.

VCU received a 10-seed bid for the NCAA tournament. Rhode Island’s automatic bid gives the Atlantic 10 conference three teams in the big dance, as the University of Dayton received a 7-seed bid, despite losing in the first round of the A-10 tournament.

Rhode Island beat VCU 70-63 in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship at Pittsburgh’s PPG Arena on Sunday.

Still dancing!

VCU is a 10-seed in the NCAA tournament. The Rams play No. 7 St. Mary’s on Thursday in Salt Lake City.

PHOTOS BY ERIN EDGERTON

VCU did not lead the entire contest after URI built an early double-digit lead in the first 10 minutes of play.

THE PRESS BOX

Don’t take greatness for granted NICK VERSAW Staff Writer Sport mirrors life. As the world continues to grow and evolve, so too does the world of sports.

In the age of social media and the 24-hour news network, the world’s larger-than-life athletes are bigger than ever.

Take LeBron James, for example. In addition to the 32-year-old’s three championship rings, the “kid from Akron” has been to 13 consecutive NBA All-Star Games and currently sits in the top 25 in all-time points, assists and steals. On the basketball court, he’s accomplished just about everything one could possibly ask and he shows no sign of stopping any time soon However, James’ work doesn’t end once he steps off the hardwood. The future hall of famer is the current face of Nike basketball and can be seen on both television and the silver screen representing brands like Samsung, State Farm and McDonald’s, as well as starring in films like Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck and the upcoming Space Jam 2. He owns several of his own businesses, including Klutch Sports and Uninterrupted, and has ownership stakes in prominent brands Beats, Blaze Pizza and even a professional sports team — Liverpool Football Club.

James is truly a jack-of-all trades — a modern day renaissance man. But he is far from the only one. Several other marquee athletes follow the same path.

In an age where an athlete’s reach is as long as ever, stars like Tom Brady, Lionel Messi and

Bryce Harper have more exposure than ever before. They can be seen in commercials, on billboards and all over social media, but, somehow, none of these stars get the recognition they truly deserve.

In the past 365-odd days, the world has witnessed some of the greatest comebacks in the history of sports.

Last June, James’ Cleveland Cavaliers completed the first ever comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals. In November, the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 109 years after overcoming the same bleak outlook. Just last month, Brady and the New England Patriots completed the largest comeback in Super Bowl history after trailing the Atlanta Falcons 28-3.

Even as recently as a few days ago, Messi’s FC Barcelona came back from a 4-0 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain to complete the largest Champions League comeback in history.

Yet, even with all of these monstrous stories, fans still don’t appreciate the greatness they are witnessing first hand.

Despite James’ insane résumé, which includes an unprecedented six-straight NBA Finals appearances and 13 consecutive All-NBA honors, many fans are quick to dismiss even the argument of the three-time MVP’s claim as the greatest of all-time.

James possesses one of the most well-rounded skillsets ever to grace the hardwood. He passes like Magic Johnson, scores like Michael Jordan and dunks like Julius Erving. The Akron, Ohio product has never suffered a serious injury

and has seen little regression in his production, despite tallying nearly 50,000 minutes over the course of his 13-year career. Yet, after exceeding all expectations bestowed upon him, James still remains largely in Jordan’s shadow.

The same can be said for Brady. The former sixth-round draft pick has achieved more than anyone could have ever imagined, including five Super Bowl rings, two MVP awards and 12 Pro Bowl appearances, yet it wasn’t until last month’s epic comeback that many fans would consider labeling him as the greatest.

This trend extends to just about every major professional sport. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are two of the most prolific players ever to grace the ice, yet they get little fanfare compared to past greats like Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. In soccer, Lionel Messi continues to win trophy after trophy, but he’ll always be in Pele’s shadow. Even after the departure of some of baseball’s greatest players in recent years, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout are posting numbers not seen in a generation, yet nobody seems to be giving them the light of day.

Even here, at VCU, the men’s basketball team oftentimes lacks the recognition they truly deserve. Over the past decade, the Rams have gone through four coaches and dozens of players, yet they continue to put up season after season of winning ways.

In that time, the program has produced five NBA talents. The Rams have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments and have progressed to the Round of 32 five times.

They’ve established themselves as one of the

premier mid-major powerhouses, yet they still lack the same kind of notoriety experienced elsewhere. They’ve achieved more than any midmajor program apart from Gonzaga and Butler, yet they appear on major networks’ nationally broadcast games less than a handful of times each season.

Although they have now won at least 24 games in 11 straight seasons, the Black and Gold continue to fly under the radar, even to their own fan base. During the ‘80s, VCU appeared in five NCAA Tournaments in six years, but in the two decades following the 1985 season, the Rams graced the tourney just twice.

Prior to former coach Jeff Capel’s arrival on campus in 2002, winning was few and far between for the Rams. Now, if the team doesn’t win the conference tournament or make it out of the NCAA Tournament first round, many fans see the season as a failure.

The program has continued to overachieve season after season. They’ve gone on to knock off powerhouses like Duke and Kansas over the years and even became just the second mid-major school to reach the Final Four in 2011.

Ask a fan of any other mid-major program and they would kill to have the consistency VCU has experienced over the past decade.

So, as the Rams approach their seventh straight NCAA tournament berth, appreciate the team’s continued success. Enjoy the run. Soak it all in, because in a few years, the Rams’ dominance — like LeBron James, Tom Brady and Lionel Messi — may be gone before you know it.

Don’t take their greatness for granted.

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The Commonwealth Times

A-10 SEMIFINALS

CROSS-TOWN RIVALRY:

Rams surge past the Spiders A well-rounded stat sheet, a dominant 14-6 overtime period and some timely senior leadership propelled VCU to its fifth consecutive Atlantic 10 championship after a heart-stopping 87-77 win over the University of Richmond at PPG Paints Arena.

VCU’s scoring depth lead the Black and Gold to victory — the Rams posted 35 bench points, compared to Richmond’s meager two. All five UofR starters finished in double figures, while three of VCU’s starters reached the mark.

Senior guard JeQuan Lewis lead the Rams in scoring with 18, followed closely by redshirt-freshman guard Samir Doughty (17), redshirt-senior forward Mo Alie-Cox (15) and junior forward Justin Tillman (11). Nine of ten VCU players who recorded minutes scored in the contest.

“We outrebounded them and scored 56 points in the paint,” said coach Will Wade. “That’s our formula. We made some plays when we needed to.”

Richmond freshman guard De’Monte Buckingham was nothing short of sensational — he lead all scorers with 26 and went 9-14 from the field.

The Rams found themselves in dire straights at the end of regulation. Richmond’s freshman guard Nick Sherod hit a corner-three with 25 seconds left to give the Spiders a three-point-lead.

When all seemed lost, coach Wade and the Rams looked to their senior leader, and asked the world of him — Lewis delivered.

The first-team all-conference guard rose up from the wing and tied the game after running a curl off a screen in the post. Junior guard Jonathan Williams fed him right in the shooting pocket on a play Wade said the Rams run frequently. Williams led all players in assists with seven.

“I had shooting in my mind before the play even started,” Lewis said. “We practice that play a lot.”

On the final possession of regulation, Richmond senior guard ShawnDre’ Jones had a chance to give his Spiders the win.

UofR got the switch they wanted, with Alie-Cox matched up against Jones on the perimeter. The VCU forward showed off his versatility by forcing a fade-away, contested jump shot that went begging.

“A team that forces overtime wins 72 percent of the time,” Wade said. “They were going to have to hit a crazy shot in regulation to beat us — and they didn’t.”

“Mo helps us so much defensively. How many other fives can switch off defensively onto a guard and just bottle him up and make him shoot an 18 foot, contested fadeaway jump shot? He’s a freak of nature, that’s why he’s going to be playing in the NFL or whatever he’s going to do.”

Doughty, who was recently relegated to a six-man role after starting for much of the season, was a catalyst for the Black and Gold. Doughty’s ability to get to the rim was key for a VCU team that — according to Wade — settled for too many jump shots in the second half.

“We took so many pull-up jumpers in the second half, I was so mad,” Wade said. “Samir’s instinct is to put his head down and drive the ball. We needed that mentality today.”

“Samir is a great player and scorer, we need that from him,” Lewis said. “He’s scrappy.”

The Rams moved on to face the University of Rhode Island Rams on Saturday in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship at 12:30 on CBS. The last time the Rams played each other, Rhode Island out-muscled VCU and won by a final of 69-59 up north. URI did not visit the Siegel Center this year.

“It’s gonna be up and down. It’s gonna be physical,” Lewis said. “We have good guards, they have good guards. We have good post players, they have good post players.”

“They obliterated us on the glass,” Wade said. “We weren’t strong in the paint. They’re the one team in the league that’s as physical as we are.”

A team that forces overtime wins 72 percent of the time. They were going to have to hit a crazy shot in regulation to beat us — and they didn’t.

Will Wade Head Coach

PHOTOS BY ERIN EDGERTON

SOPHIA BELLETTI & ZACH JOACHIM Sports Editors

A-10 QUARTERFINALS

PHOTOS BY ERIN EDGERTON

VCU beats George Mason in first appearance at PPG arena

The Rams took down the Patriots 71-60 on Friday in Pittsburgh.

SOPHIA BELLETTI & ZACH JOACHIM Sports Editors In his third game back following a foot injury, freshman guard De’Riante Jenkins led the VCU Rams with 15 points to knock George Mason University out of the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals, 71-60, Friday evening in Pittsburgh.

“It’s really nice to have De’Riante back,” said VCU coach Will Wade.

“He was tremendous.”

PPG Paints Arena felt a lot like a home game at the Siegel Center Friday night, as RamNation traveled in superb fashion. At least 3,000 VCU supporters made their voices heard in the Steel City.

Following nine ties and 10 lead changes, VCU pulled away in the final six minutes of the game. Senior guards JeQuan Lewis and Doug Brooks

fueled the late onslaught with a pair of three pointers each.

Lewis pointed to his team’s mindset as a cause for the late run. “(We got) more aggressive,” Lewis said. “We were settling a lot for permentier shots. We just ran plays to get us driving down hill.”

Lewis knocked down five shots in the second half en route to 13 points on the evening, following a dry spell for the Dixon, Tennessee, native. He also recorded six assists and three steals.

Redshirt-senior forward Mo Alie-Cox went 0-4 from the floor and junior forward Justin Tillman recorded seven points. The struggles down low rendered it pivotal for the guards to knock down outside shots. Alie-Cox did, however, did chip in a pair of vintage blocks, which came on consecutive possessions in the second half and fueled the late momentum shift.

VCU shot 57 percent from beyond the arc in the second half, largely thanks to Lewis (2-4), Brooks (2-3) and Jenkins (3-3).

The Black and Gold applied pressure early and often, attacking the Patriots in a full-court zone press for most of the night before dropping back into a half-court zone. The Rams forced 14 turnovers and created 20 points off the resulting opportunities.

“We talk about the last six minutes of the game a lot -- we call it winning time,” said coach Will Wade, whose team finished second in the A10 regular season. The conference champion, Dayton, lost to Davidson in Pittsburgh on Friday. .

“We executed down the stretch. When we’re making threes like that the scoreboard really adds up.

“They threw a bunch of junk defenses at us, and it took a second for us to adjust,” Wade said. “But once we figured it out, our guys were tremendous. I’m really proud of all of them.”

www.commonwealthtimes.org

Monday, March 13, 2017

Taming the Grizzlies

Baseball defeats Oakland in fourth weekend series of the season After three days of a solid display on skill and talent, the Rams took home their 10th win of the season and seventh win at home JESSICA WETZLER Contributing Writer

Sunday, March 12

Saturday, March 11

Friday, March 10

The offense for the VCU Rams was alive and ready Sunday afternoon as they gathered 14 hits and 10 runs in their 10-1 victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.

Starting pitcher senior Brooks Vial pitched arguably his best game of the season by pitching six scoreless innings, giving up one walk and striking out five, earning his first win of the season.

Wasting no time getting on the board, the Rams put up a three-spot in the opening frame after a 1-2-3 inning by Vial in the top half. Both junior Daane Berezo and senior Logan Farrar began with singles. Senior Alex Gransback came up third and smacked an RBI single.

Freshman Paul Witt led the offensive charge by adding an RBI single to make it four straight hits for VCU after starting the game. Witt continued the charge with a three-hit afternoon, going 3-for-4 with the previous RBI, a walk, and two runs scored throughout the game.

After junior Mitchel Lacey was called out, senior Dylan Isquirdo grounded out allowing Gransback to score but scored a run. That gave a VCU a 3-0 lead after one inning.

Sophomore Zac Ching sent a sacrifice fly out to right field in the bottom of the third inning, extending the lead to 4-0. By the bottom of the fourth inning, the Rams were exploding with five runs, highlighted by RBI singles from Lacey and Berezo, pushing the score to 9-0.

Senior Darian Carpenter added VCU’s final run in the bottom of the sixth inning, smacking a solo home run to give the Black and Gold their double digit lead, 10-0.

The combination of Vial, sophomore Tanner Winters, and senior Luke Crabb held the Golden Grizzlies scoreless until the ninth, where they added one before the final out was called.

The VCU Rams pitching staff came out to play Saturday afternoon by only allowing a total of two hits on the game as they defeated the Oakland Golden Grizzlies by a final score of 4-1. Junior Mitchel Lacey smacked his first home run of the season, finishing with a three-hit effort on the day.

Two scoreless innings started off the day until VCU jumped on the board in the bottom of the third inning. To start the inning, Senior Darian Carpenter was hit by a pitch and moved up to third base on a senior Logan Farrar single into right field. Oakland’s starting pitcher Tyler Palm threw a wild pitch that would score Carpenter and give VCU the 1-0 lead.

Lacey came out ready to hit in the bottom of the fourth, leading off the inning with a solo home run, extending the VCU lead to 2-0.

Oakland would fight back to score one in the top of the fifth inning, as the Golden Grizzlies were able to put a couple runners on the bases. With one out, Myles Zilinsky sent a sacrifice fly to left that would score Ryan Fitzgerald and cut the VCU lead to 2-1.

VCU got their lead back in the bottom of the sixth to two runs as freshman Josh Simon drove in Lacey from second base with a single up the middle, increasing the score 3-1.

The Rams loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning, and were able to snag a run as junior Haiden Lamb drew a walk to force in a run, securing VCU with a 4-1 lead and winning the game.

Senior Sam Donko recorded the final four outs for VCU, grabbing his fifth save of the season. Freshman Connor Gillispie kept up his dominance by only allowing one hit and no runs over four innings of hard work.

Lacey finished the day 3-for-4 with a double and home run, scoring two runs with an RBI. The three hits would give Lacey his second multi-hit game of the season. Simon and Lamb each finished with multi-hit efforts, each going 2-for-3 on the day. Simon’s two hits gave him his first multi-hit game of his career. Freshman Paul Witt and D. Carpenter each finished with a hit and run scored, while sophomore Zac Ching and Logan Farrar each chipped in hits as well.

VCU began the game strong by putting up two runs in the first inning. After senior Alex Gransback reached, freshman Paul Witt executed a hit and run to put runners on first and third. Witt would eventually steal second and as the pitch went down, Gransback broke for the plate and scored.

With the 1-0 lead, sophomore Zac Ching hit into a double play that would end the inning. However, as the first baseman touched the bag and threw to second, a tag needed to be applied. Before the tag, Witt scored from third giving VCU the 2-0 lead.

Oakland would not get on the board until the top of the fourth inning, as Oakland’s Matt DiLeo sent a single up the middle, scoring one and cutting the VCU lead to 2-1.

Ching extended the lead back to two in the bottom of the sixth, as he flied out to right field with a sacrifice fly, scoring Gransback to push the score to 3-1.

In the top of the eighth, Oakland seemed to be making a push to even the score. DiLeo smashed a double into center field over the head of senior Logan Farrar, scoring one to cut the lead to 3-2. With runners on second and third and nobody out, senior Sam Donko came in to replace freshman Hayden Moore.

With a runner on third that threatened to tie the game, Oakland’s Mike McGee sent a fly ball to left field. Junior Haiden Lamb would make the catch, and toss the ball in as Ben Hart crossed the plate. Hart failed to add a run for the Golden Grizzlies after becoming the second out for Oakland. Donko would get a fly out to right field, keeping the 3-2 VCU lead intact.

Heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Rams continued to cling onto a 3-2 lead. Both Ching and senior Darian Carpenter were able to solidify the lead with RBI’s, increasing the score 5-2. Donko preserved the lead with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth, securing the win against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.

Donko pitched a solid two clean inning, not allowing any hits, walks, or runs in collecting his fourth save of the season. Junior Sean Thompson collected his third win of the season after going six innings and allowing five hits, one run, three walks, and seven strikeouts.

Seven of VCU’s nine batters in the lineup collected one hit during the battle against Oakland. Witt and senior Dylan Isquirdo each scored a run. Witt reached home twice with a walk and hit by pitch, while Isquirdo and Carpenter smacked a double.

The Black and Gold continues their stay at home as the team takes on Marist Red Foxes on March 14 and 15 in a mid-week two game series. The team will then travel to UNC Wilmington to compete during the next weekend series.

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The Commonwealth Times

On this day...

in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh announces discovery of Pluto at Lowell observatory.

Okeechobee Festival

PHOTO BY LIA TAACKMAN

Music, art brings spring breakers south

Above: festival attendees await George Clinton’s performance during the four-day festival in Sunshine Grove, Florida. Okeechobee is in its second year, and sold-out more than 36,000 tickets.

LIA TABACKMAN Contributing Writer Visiting the beaches of Florida is a hallmark spring break tradition for college kids along the East Coast, but some students look for something more culturally potent than just drinking Bud Light on the beach for a week.

Okeechobee Music and Arts festival in Okeechobee, Florida lies at the intersection between beach-side escape and transcendent music festival.

Produced by Soundslinger LLC, the minds who created Bonnaroo and Electric Forest festivals, Ockeechobee ran for four days from March 2-5.

Despite only being in its second year, the festival sold out of all ticket levels — bringing 36,000 camp-

ers into Sunshine Grove for four days of music, art and community building.

Richmond was well represented at the South Florida festival. There were multiple “King of Pops” stands vending throughout the venue and a VCU flag waving high above the crowds.

Travel agency “JusCollege” sold discounted wristbands that supplied students with tickets parking passes, and a college-specific camping areas. VCU student Laurel Gates said that the package allowed her to camp close to her friends and meet spring breakers from VCU, James Madison University and other southern schools.

“The camping situation was perfect because even if we weren’t right next to our friends, they had all of the students together in a smaller area right near the beach,” Gates said. “I keep running into people

from Richmond and VCU and it’s really cool to have everyone here.”

Interactive art installations made of recycled materials lined the 800 acre venue and provided spaces for groups of festival-goers to meet up and take a break from the stages. The stages themselves were works of art to their right.

On the beach, the Incindia stage glowed with cannons blasting flames and performers spinning fire on poi and hula hoops. The techno-blasting Jungle stage was lined with laser beams that reflected off the hundreds of palm trees and created intricate motifs against the illuminated stage.

The festival’s lineup was as diverse as its attendees and included headliners from The Lumineers to Anderson Paak. Rap legends Wiz Khalifa and Waka Flocka Flame added hip-hop flavor to electronic

songs, by creating re-works that spanned across various genres.

Funk legend George Clinton brought the crowd to their feet with an afternoon performance alongside members of Parliament and Funkadelic. Electronicmusic connoisseurs Bassnectar and Pretty Lights made the crowd wobble with lush, layered melodies swimming alongside their infamous heavy bass lines.

VCU student Sameer Khataybeh said that he went to the festival to see some of his favorite artists.

“I’ve seen some of the artists before in Richmond but a lot of them are too big of names to stop by the smaller cities,” Khataybeh said. “I went for both: spring break and to see the my favorite artists like Bassnectar, Kings of Leon and GRiZ.”

Exploring the outskirts of Santo Domingo The Dominican Republic welcomes the most tourists — more than 5 million — than any other nation in the Caribbean, but the motorized streets of the Azua, “The City of the Sun,” don’t reflect the tourism industry the country is known for.

Azua lies three hours west of Santo Domingo, the nation’s capital, where tourists land — usually on their way to resorts, on the northern or eastern ends of the country — at Las Américas International Airport.

Santo Domingo attracts its own visitors, said 23-year-old Wendy Melo, whose statements were translated from Spanish.

Melo said she lives in Azua but travels to the capital to study clinical psychology at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD).

“They’re very kind and friendly,” Melo said of foreign tourists.

Few international travelers, aside from volunteer or mission groups, are found along the more arid southern coast, she said.

Much of the route between Santo Domingo and Azua is wedged between mountain ranges and the Caribbean sea.

Melo said Azua lacks the opportunities found in Santo Domingo, and that many students from other parts of the country travel to the capital. At UASD, she said there are students from nearly every province.

“In regards to education, Azua only has the one university as opposed to Santo Domingo which has many private and public universities like UASD that allows students with few resources to study there,” Melo said.

Melo said UASD helps stu-

dents with some of the costs of materials.

Homes in Azua often extend beyond property lines. Neighbors walk back and forth to borrow items, sometimes sending their children a few doors down to ask for ice.

Music doesn’t stop playing at any hour of the day. It surges through the air from private homes, cars navigating bumps and potholes and from scores of “colmados,” a social cornerstore.

Children with single-digit ages often leap over the oversized step elevating the store from the sidewalk to buy candy.

The rocky and sometimes dusty terrain provides many staple foods like guandules — a grain resembling peas when shelled, beans, potatoes and yuca — a starchy root that can be transformed easily across the day’s meals.

These items, along with other fruits and vegetables and common packaged foods, are in abundance at colmados and produce stands propped up around main roads.

“Plátano Power,” a phrase related to the success of many Dominicans in major league baseball, alludes to a prolific member of the nation’s cuisine. Plantains grow in fields where the city starts to disperse and are sold in bulk in varying states of green.

Plantains can take a sweet or savory path to the dinner plate and plátanos maduros, mature plantains, are often used in a similar fashion as yuca or potatoes.

Generations of motorcycles provide a soundtrack before, during and after mealtimes to the turning streets of pastel-colored houses.

Many residents cannot afford cars, so “las motos” often accommodate two or even three pas-

sengers. The streets are filled with purpose and destination, if only that of stopping on a few corners to greet friends.

When the electricity is periodically shut off in Azua, as in the rest of the country, echoes of “se fue la luz,” which means “the lights went out,” bounce throughout homes in both interrogative and declarative tones.

During the day, however, the only immediate indicator of this practice is the silencing of humming fans, since windows are left open to let in the wind and the sun.

In regards to education, Azua only has one university as opposded to Santo Domingo which has many universities that allow students with few resources to study there.

Wendy Melo UASD student

PHOTOS BY GEORGIA GEEN

GEORGIA GEEN Staff Writer

Houses in Azua maintain a traditional low-lying, single-floor structure in comparison to buildings found in urban Santa Domingo.

www.commonwealthtimes.org

Monday, March 13, 2017

Cinema students grapple with “Mercy Street” cancellation Atanasio said. “I can’t even imagine how stressful that must feel for VCU students who are trying to get work fresh out of college.”

Headed by program director Robert Tregenza, VCUarts Cinema is one of 17 American film schools recognized by the International Association of Film and Television Schools (CILECT).

Fourteen VCUarts Cinema students, alumni and professors worked on season one of “Mercy Street,” and 16 worked on season two, according to program academic advisor Nikita Moyer.

“As a senior about to graduate, it’s scary because ‘Mercy Street’ and ‘Turn’ were major shows that we could get our start on,” said senior Monica Woolsey. “Now that both are gone it’s worrisome because that leaves a lot of people without steady work. I’m sure other shows will pop up, but those two seemed to be the most steady and helpful in the Richmond area.”

A handful of other projects have passed through Richmond in recent years, including feature films “Lincoln” (2012), “Killing Kennedy” (2013), and “Loving” (2016).

Zoe Ferebee, a junior in the Cinema program, worked as a production intern last fall on “Loving,” directed by Jeff Nichols. The film told the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and an African American woman who were sentenced to prison in Virginia for their contested inter-racial marriage in the mid-20th century.

VCU Cinema student Zoe Ferebee adjusts lighting on set.

Ferebee said that while VCUarts Cinema provides plenty of learning opportunities for its students, there is nothing that can “imitate working on a real set.” She said some of the highlights are working with a range of people — some who just started out and others who have been in the business for more than 30 years.

“Losing another show is absolutely terrible and toxic for local filmmakers,” Ferebee said. “If we want to keep up with making more good filmmakers, people like me need local professionals to learn from.”

According to the Virginia Film Office website, the state has two different incentive funds that have drawn many filmmakers to shoot their projects in Virginia. The Motion Picture Opportunity Fund provides grants, while the Virginia Motion Picture Tax Credit Fund provides refundable tax credits.

Since the show’s cancellation has been announced, the VFO Facebook page has requested anyone interested in seeing the production picked up by another outlet start spreading the hashtag “#SaveMercyStreet.”

“No show is ever 100 percent guaranteed to get renewed on television, but the fact that a lot of national art funding is being cut now has a clear and direct impact on local graduates and businesses,” said Jamie King, a 2015 graduate of the Cinema program. “It’s just depressing to see something I have a degree in have to worry about the fact that it isn’t deemed a necessity by the (Trump) administration.”

Sam’s Take

“Kong: Skull Island” is a smashing time SAMUEL GOODRICH Staff Writer In terms of genre filmmaking, 2017 is off to a fantastic start.

With the likes of “John Wick: Chapter 2”, “Get Out”, and “Logan” kick starting the year, the future looks bright.

Hoping to continue the trend is “Kong: Skull Island”, a revival of King Kong set in the universe of the recent “Godzilla” film.

While that film may have fallen short in terms of action, “Kong” seems to be its antithesis, roaring up impressive fights and special effects for a fun time at the movies.

Taking place during the 1970’s “Kong: Skull Island” sees a group of monster researchers investigating an island they believe to be infested with creatures. After recruiting a team of capable specialists, they set out to discover what is beyond our human knowledge. They soon discover that they are in the presence of King Kong, who defends the world from monsters who attempt to escape the island.

This film is bursting with personality, full of vibrant and unique imagery. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts takes almost every opportunity to make the cinematography stylistic. One example is in how there’s an orange hue over the film, resembling the look of old films from the 70’s. The camera is also constantly moving, making the film dynamic, even during the slower moments.

Luckily, this style never gets

in the way of the monster fights, which are a ton of fun. Kong and his fellow monsters are massive, and the actions scenes are heightened by their awesome size. Punches, chokes, and body slams have a sense of weight and presence, having a real impact at all times.

The final action scene in particular made me feel like a kid again. I was shaking in my seat with excitement, failing to stop myself from yelling at the screen.

This type of nostalgic TLC can be felt in all of the set-pieces, creating many awe-inspiring and memorable moments.

While these moments are fun, they are only moments, leaving us plenty of time to spend with the human characters. I can’t say that they are great characters, but they’re serviceable.

All of the actors do a good job, and the script gives everyone something to work with. The problem is that everyone just fills a role instead of seeming like a true character The exceptions to this are Samuel L. Jackson and John C. Reilly. The former leads a band of army pilots while he seeks revenge on Kong for killing his men. Jackson is playing Jackson, as always, but his camaraderie with his squad is endearing, giving some emotion to the violence.

Reilly seems to be having the most fun, actually encompassing a character with range and humor. He plays a WWII veteran trapped on the island after his plane crashed and is the effective

comedic relief.

While no one else is doing a particularly bad job, no one is doing much to stand-out either. This can make the numerous stretches between monster encounters kinda slow. Also, there are too many characters, with most of them feeling like afterthoughts that were added just to be disposable bodies. Yet, I can’t say I was necessarily uninvested in these

people, just bored from time to time.

I could sit here and further nitpick small details, or I could just tell you that King Kong fights an octopus. If that phrase excites you, then you are the perfect audience for “Kong: Skull Island”. This film has enough style and exciting action to entertain moviegoers of all ages.

Rating: This is for you if you don’t want to completely turn off your brain and still have a good time.

Also, if you like giant monsters.

ILLUSTRATION BY JIAQI ZHOU

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZOE FEREBEE

—continued from page 1

Poet James Ragan’s unique social activism —continued from page 1 and a huge respect for the arts. I just loved that you could win fights with words and not fists.”

When Ragan grew older, his personal experiences continued to shape his use of language and art as a means of addressing issues. In college, Ragan received multiple bones spurs in his legs from playing basketball. The doctor treating him gave him radiation therapy to heal the spurs, but ending up giving Ragan an overdose that caused cancer.

Rather than simply writing about the pain his cancer caused him, Ragan used his pain to discuss “the cancers of the world,” such as the injustices that triggered the civil rights movement and communism.

To this day, Ragan uses his work to reflect “the truth of the times” – for example, in the poem “The Dumbing Down Finale,” which will debut in an upcoming book.

In the poem, he explores his belief that American society is devolving with the increase of social media, reality TV and “alternative facts.”

Ragan fears that a lack of respect for education and the arts will destroy America.

Despite his harsh commentary on society, Ragan calls himself an optimist. From seeing young people protesting as their counterparts did in the 1960s and ’70s, to seeing Americans treating each other kindly, Ragan believes there is hope for the moral foundation and future of the country.

“I’ve seen beautiful things happen with people who wouldn’t normally want to help that neighbor and they do,” Ragan said. “Recently someone had leveled the headstones in a Jewish cemetery, and the Muslims came to help the backup, as well as Protestant and other religions.”

Ragan has often used his work to speak out about communism, and his writings were banned in one country.

When he was studying under a Fulbright scholarship in Slovakia, the U.S. Embassy asked him to distribute 10 copies of Newsweek and Times magazine at one of his candlelight readings. Ragan said the people in attendance were eager to receive the publications and were “grabbing at the truth.”

“Journalists have also played a very important part in that history, and especially now we need that,” Ragan said. “To see these people that had very much so been the victim of propaganda and also oppression, that one moment of truth I was giving them through a poem on the stage or through these magazines brought a great sense of responsibility to me, of what I could do. The power of language, the power words.”

Ragan said Americans sometimes take freedom of speech for granted – a freedom many people in the world don’t have. He thinks it’s important to use this freedom to stand up and speak out.

People must make “a moral decision to stand up or lay down,” Ragan said. “And I’ve never been one not to stand up.”

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FRY- DAY March 17

th

Student Commons Plaza

2- 4 PM FREE FOOD

GAMES

I N T E R C U LT U R A L F E S T I V A L

PRIZES

9

PHOTOBOOTH

opinion Letters to the Editor

10 The Commonwealth Times

Quote of the week:

“I want to take this opportunity to apologize to those students whom we ‘wronged’ 47 springs ago.” —Arthur Seidenberg

“Voting” Dear Editor: America is in trouble. I’m a super-busy student. What can I do to help?

Well, at first glance, not much.

It’s not like you’re a college president who could declare a day of “College Civic Pride Pledge” and cancel classes on national election days so more students could vote. You’re just a student.

Here’s the deal, in the noncollege world, if you write or call people in power, they may (most likely) not take your call. In college, if you call or write to your college paper or college president, even if they don’t take your call, they’ll know that you called, and what you called about.

Outside of America, there are many countries where election day is a national holiday. With the current administration, this is probably not going to happen.

But you’re in college. Things can happen in a college. And there are lots of colleges in America.

With a lot of students. In fact, there are 16 million college students in America. Most don’t vote.

How could you help get more college students to vote? What if

“A belated apology to a few VCU students”

you wrote to your dean or school president or even this college newspaper, or called them and suggested the “Civic Pledge” idea? You could tell them your details about how college students are extremely busy with jobs to go to, studying to do, internships, resumes to write, job interviews, in addition to attending classes.

Why not suggest to your dean or college president or college paper that more students would vote if they had just a little extra time on election days? Your school could take a “College Civics Pride Pledge” and cancel classes every two years for a single day so students could vote.

If you did it at your school, other schools might follow. That’s a lot of educated young voters.

Isn’t that what our country needs now?

So, next time you take a coffee break, send an email to your dean or college president or your college newspaper. Or call them.

It’s two minutes of your day.

Maybe even one minute if you type fast. And, yes, tell a friend to do it too!

Ross Brodie

Dear Editor: In the last (February-March, 2017) issue of Boomer Magazine (free at local supermarkets), I read an interesting article, “The Music of Our Generation.” The author is David L. Robbins, who teaches in the VCU Honors College.

In this article, he had a number of categories of “best,” with regard to classic rock music. One category was “Best Protest Song.” Immediately, after reading the article, I went to my iPOD and played Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Ohio.”

In my book, this is the best protest song, ever. But, every time I hear that song, it saddens me because it brings to mind my worst experience in my 34 plusyear-career at VCU. On May 4,1970, four students, protesting the war in Vietnam, were shot and killed by National Guard troops. This event became known as the “Kent State Shootings” or the “Kent State Massacre.”

Following the shooting, there were protests throughout the country. Here, at VCU, from May 6-8, there was to be a student strike.

At the time, I was team teaching two sections of Biology 102. We had a test scheduled on one of these strike days.

Several students came forward and requested that we move the test to the following week.

My two co-instructors and I met to

consider their request. I was outvoted 2-1, and the test was held, as scheduled.

Several students participated in the strike, missed the exam, and consequently received a zero. This included some students who were then making an “A” or “B” until they received a zero. I was able to verify this as I still have the grade sheets.

I want to take this opportunity to apologize to those students whom we “wronged” 47 springs ago. They are now, most likely, in their 60s and may have forgotten what happened In Biology 102, Sections 5 and 6; I never have.

As a postscript, here are several things that you might consider doing: 1. Google: “Kent State Shootings.”

Read the wiki article and then some related articles.

2. Go to YouTube and play CSNY’s “Ohio.” Great video with it.

3. Go to the VCU Libraries website.

Research. Digital Collections. Commonwealth Times. Look at the CT issues for May 6, May 7, and May 8, 1970. With regard to the strike: the SGA, the Faculty Senate, and the VCU President opposed it. But, it happened!

4. Look up David Robbins’ article, particularly if you like classic rock.

Arthur (Art) Seidenberg Associate Professor of Biology Emeritus

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COLUMN

An ode to self care

I got fired for missing a staff meeting today. (I’ve been working at a coffee place for about two months). I forgot about the meeting. How can I get my job back?

Well, I’m not too sure how to go about getting your job back aside from trying to schedule a meeting with your supervisor to discuss the instance that got you fired.

Nevertheless, I don’t think you got fired for missing the staff meeting, I think you got fired for being the type of person who misses a staff meeting; learning the difference could save your next job.

I’ve never been in love. I’m 22 and I’m

N TA H BE RE T

Want to get ahead of a busy semester?

Need to play catch-up? Interested in exploring a course that fills up fast or doesn’t fit in your schedule during the academic year? Check out the Summer Studies website for courses and updates.

scared it won’t happen to me anytime time soon. What should I do?

First of all, take a deep breath. Secondly, I don’t care what MTV, Marie Claire or any other mainstream outlets have to say if you don’t have a partner at this age.

Let me be the first to reassure you: there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Here’s what I would do — start dating, find out what you like emotionally, romantically and physically.

Learn what a healthy relationship looks like, what communication looks like, what trust looks like and build a healthy foundation for yourself to actually fall in love with someone.

Don’t worry, darling. There are upwards of 7 billion people on this planet; I think one of them is bound to like you.

Can two friends really just be or will one person always want more? What should you break the friendship or move on?

I think this is all dependent on the context and situation and how the relationship ended.

Some people can’t seem to separate themselves from the other person post-break up so they just cut them off full stop.

And of course, there’s the handful of people who can end their relationships and still exists amicably as friends. It’s totally possible to move on without ending the friendship.

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IL L U

STR

AT IO

GA N BY

Last night I told a black woman that I know that I am currently in an interracial relationship. She told me that she could never do the same because of how hard it is to explain the black experience to a non-black person who is not touched by black issues. My question is: do you think that it is possible for a non-black individual to completely understand and respect black issues?

I understand and respect, of course. However, I don’t think that a non-black individual who has not lived within the experience of a black individual (or any race or ethnicity for that matter) can completely understand and comprehend the layers and complexity that goes into these racially linked issues.

It sounds like you’ve got a real ally on your side though, even if it’s just being cognizant of these issues that permeate our society. Having a partner that recognizes these issues are actually a thing — that’s a wonderful place to start.

LL

SHAUN JACKSON Staff Columnist

summer.vcu.edu

comics

www.commonwealthtimes.org

To Have Jet Lag Is To Die by Gareth Bentall

Monday, March 13, 2017 11 THE CT STAFF Executive Editor

Sarah King kingsa@commonwealthtimes.org

Creative Director

Ashley Moody moody@commonwealthtimes.org

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Online News Editor

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Staff Writers

Jim Thomma thommajw@commonwealthtimes.org Georgia Geen geengr@commonwealthtimes.org Mary Lee Clark clarkml@commonwealthtimes.org Muktaru Jalloh jallohmm@commonwealthtimes.org Nick Versaw versawnd@commonwealthtimes.org

Oop Game by Malik Radford

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ABOUT THE CT

Ello Ello Dog And Bone by Gareth Bentall

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

The CT’s Operations Budget is a reflection of independent advertising revenue accumulated throughout the previous academic year(s). Operations expenses include salaries, phone and internet, postage, professional memberships, award submissions and banquets, FOIA requests, programming costs and travel.

Each spring, the CT staff elects the next year’s Executive and Managing Editors, who then hire the remaining staff.

ADD YOUR VOICE The opinion pages of The CT are a forum open to the public. Contributions are welcome by email to Eleanor Fialk, by mail or in-person at 817 W. Broad St., Richmond, Va. 23220. Opinions expressed are those of individual columnists and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Commonwealth Times. Unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of The CT staff.

The Commonwealth Times strives for accuracy in gathering news. If you think we have made an error, please email the appropriate section editor. Corrections will appear on the opinion pages and/or online.

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12 The Commonwealth Times

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