Home - The Commonwealth Times

VCU research initiatives, growing funds point to changing campus identity

April 15, 2026

Heciel Nieves Bonilla, News Editor Andrew Kerley, Executive Editor VCU is aiming to “not just be a national, but an international hub for research and innovation,” according to P. Srirama Rao, the university’s vice president for research and innovation. In his annual State of the Research address, Rao outlined a lofty goal for the university — to reach $1 billion in sponsored research funding. The announcement comes amid an academic year packed with new grants for interdisciplinary studies, new and reworked minors and consolidated programs. As VCU has put more money into research and shifted its branding accordingly, some students and faculty have pointed to the campus possibly shifting away from its identity as a hub for the arts and humanities. VCU is ranked No. 46 nationally in research spending among public research universities by the National Science Foundation — yet it is ranked No. 72 in public schools overall by U.S. News & World Report. VCU’s research spending, and status as an R1, “very high research activity” university, is exceptionally high for a school of its prestige. VCU has a guaranteed admission policy for students with a high school GPA of 3.5 or above, per a previous report by

RVA communities raise cancer risk concerns as Trump softens regulations

April 15, 2026

Sal Orlando, Assistant News Editor The Trump administration recently reshaped federal standards on carcinogenic pollutants, adding greater risk to the Richmond area — which is designated by Propublica as a hotspot for elevated cancer risks from ethylene oxide. Richmond has two medical sterilization facilities that use ethylene oxide within six miles of each other, making the city vulnerable to higher cancer risks, according to VPM. Sterilization Services of Virginia, in Eastern Henrico County, was identified as a major contributor to elevated cancer risks in the area by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The facility is less than 10 miles away from Central Virginia Health Network/Bon Secours Mercy Health, another sterilization facility. Ethylene oxide is a colorless gas used to sterilize medical equipment and is carcinogenic to humans, according to the EPA. Humans who are exposed to EtO have increased risks of lymphoma and leukemia. Virginia Interfaith Power & Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission of bringing together communities of faith to advance climate and environmental justice, according to their website. WIPL communications manager Connor Eppley said the locations “form a Venn diagram” over VCU. “It’s not just out in Eastern Henrico, though they’re getting the brunt of it,

Virginia on track for codified same-sex marriage

April 15, 2026

Do VCU students actually care about men’s basketball?

April 15, 2026

Rage against the streaming machine, buy physical media

April 15, 2026

Emma Conroy, Contributing Writer You don’t own a single song on your phone. Not one. That precious playlist you’ve spent years curating? Rented. Your “Spotify Wrapped,” telling you who you are based on what you listened to? That’s not actualization — that’s a corporation selling your listening habits back to you as identity. You’ve spent thousands on streaming subscriptions and you own nothing. Your music library could evaporate tomorrow. We are all responsible for this. We traded ownership for convenience and called it progress. Streaming didn’t just change how we consume music — it stole music from us. It sanitized it, commodified it, optimized it for skip rates and playlist placement. Devaluation of art is just the start. But in a studio on VCU’s campus, a small group of college radio DJs are staging a quiet rebellion. WVCW, VCU’s internet-only radio station, is one of the last places where students still spin physical media like vinyl records and CDs. Every week, these DJs make a choice about how to broadcast. Some, like Eric Wiggins, stream from the catalog VCU has provided with digital uploads. Others, like Alexis and Lana Waters, refuse to play anything that isn’t physical media. The format

Academic elitism is doing nothing to stop conservative lies

April 15, 2026

Emily McFarland, Contributing Writer VCU labels its students as “UNcommon” — different and better than our peers. Our college education grants us a degree, but more importantly, assurance that our superiority complex is grounded in reality. Within the masters in social work program, I have heard that same elitist perspective being used to dehumanize those swayed by conservative rhetoric. These future social workers decry “I could never work with a Trump supporter!” They giggle when a conservative is harmed by the policies their president instated. They point at research and ask how anyone could be so ignorant to disregard it. Yes, the conservative coal miner with a bootstrap mentality and half a working lung is the pinnacle of societal evil. And yes, it is totally moral for future social workers to hypothetically deny service to ne’er-do-wells like him. There seems to be a tendency to villainize those who do not trust science’s holy truth, framing them as simply stupid. We find it difficult to grant people the benefit of the doubt, to consider that they might just be less privileged people and equally capable of change as you and I. In actuality, academic elitism is just a consequence of improper

Furries shook their tails and waved their paws at second Fur Fair

April 15, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor Velociraptors, multicolored cats and new blends of creatures roamed the halls of VCU’s Commons last Saturday at the Anthro Society’s annual Richmond Fur Fair, or RUFF. The event offered panels, a photobooth, an artist alley and a place for furries, new and old, to meet and connect. Planning for RUFF started long before the announcement of the event, according to Dev Partangal, President of the Anthro Society. From figuring out the logistics throughout the last year and a half, to cutting out over 900 badges for the fair while watching My Little Pony, the society had been working hard to make it the best fest yet. “Most of the planning, like a lot of the bulk of it, took place starting in December, but it took a lot,” Partangal said. “It was a lot of working with The Commons, we had to work with them really, really closely to manage security because that was probably our biggest concern.” RUFF is Richmond’s first furry-centered convention, according to Partangal. Other furry events are over an hour away, mainly in Virginia Beach or NoVA. “So that’s how we I we came up with the idea idea for RUFF,

VCU’s Doomsday to put on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ musical

April 15, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor Buffy, Spike, Willow and the other residents of Sunnyvale will gather on stage at Richard Newdick Theatre in Shafer Street Playhouse from April 17-19. Doomsday VCU, a theater company on campus will be putting on “Once More, With Feeling,” a production of the musical episode of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” The musical is taken from the season six episode of the same name, when the demon Sweet puts the town of Sunnyvale under a musical curse. “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,” is a beacon of late 1990s and early 2000s fashion. When creating the costumes for the show Ian Lambert, first-year cinema major and the show’s costume designer, pulled inspiration from the original episode, as well as the series as a whole. “A lot of like that 90s, early 2000s fashion has been super popular recently. Which is very helpful in terms of finding those types of pieces out in the wild, like thrift stores,” Lambert said. “That’s been very helpful, that our fashion interest lines up with everybody else right now.” Buffy has been one of Lambert’s favorite characters to style — having fun with the vampire slayer’s bolder outfits and red leather pants in which

APRIL 15 RECAP: How every VCU team did this week

April 15, 2026

Ben Martindale, Staff Writer Men’s tennis vs. Liberty University VCU men’s tennis suffered a tough 6-1 homecourt defeat at the hands of No. 60 ranked Liberty. The Rams were competitive early, but eventually dropped the doubles point to fall behind 1-0. Despite multiple competitive three set matches, VCU could not string together enough momentum to turn the tide. The Rams’ lone point came from second-year Erwann Bouchet, who won his match 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Men’s track at Duke University, University of South Florida and University of Mount Olive VCU men’s track and field had a historic weekend, breaking the school triple jump record twice in the same meet. Third-year Isaiah-Taji Kargbo-Owens broke the record first with a score of 15.64 meters. Fourth-year Philip Daniel then broke his record with a score of 15.73 meters. In the 400 meter dash third-year Jude Okafor clocked in a time of 46.96, the second fastest time in VCU program history. Women’s track at Duke University, University of South Florida and University of Mount Olive VCU women’s track and field had an incredible meet with three athletes finishing top three in program history in their respective events. Fourth-year Sydney Carr finished second in program history

Richmond swordfighter ranks among world’s best

April 15, 2026

Benney Koch, Contributing Writer On a tennis court in Richmond, athletes gather with heavy bags of gear to clash with their blades. Donning great masks and thick gloves, fencers tap their swords before engaging with one another in quick combat. In an instant, one fighter strikes another, and they ready themselves to go at it again. It looks like something out of a historical or fantasy film, but for Zach Showalter, it is the result of nearly a decade of disciplined training. Showalter, founder of the Scuffletown Fetterfechters, is currently ranked No. 10 in the world at longsword in Historical European Martial Arts, or HEMA. What began as curiosity after watching an online video has grown into a competitive career and a central role in shaping Richmond’s expanding HEMA scene. “I thought it was the coolest thing,” Showalter said. “I was like, I have to do this.” HEMA is a martial art practiced through historical European fighting systems. Athletes read centuries-old manuals to adapt them into a modern, historically researched sport where they can compete against one another. While HEMA is sometimes mistaken for LARPing — live action role playing — or Olympic fencing, the historical aspect and study balances

Do VCU students actually care about men’s basketball?

April 15, 2026

Bryer Haywood, Staff Writer Ben Martindale, Staff Writer Drew Thompson, Sports Editor VCU men’s basketball garnered national attention for its historic performance in this year’s March Madness. Their comeback against the University of North Carolina was the largest in first round NCAA Tournament history. Men’s basketball is undeniably the premier attraction for VCU Athletics, and it receives the funding to back it up. VCU Athletics Director Ed McLaughlin promised to devote $4-5 million to pay men’s basketball players last year. With the success of the team this past season, that number is only slated to increase. The team is also already revered by the Richmond community, with home games averaging a sell out of 7,614 people. Even for away games, thousands of people show up to support the Rams. Official statistics from VCU Athletics show that 14,178 Rams fans went to the second round game against the University of Illinois. Though the Rams ultimately lost that game by 21 points, the fervor for the team has not diminished. However, while the community travels in droves to support the Rams, the student section tends to remain the emptiest come the opening whistle. VCU is home to over 29,000 students, but the

What women’s basketball fans can expect from Banbury

April 15, 2026

Jenny Allen, Staff Writer Drew Thompson, Sports Editor Chelsea Banbury was announced as the new VCU women’s basketball head coach after a challenging 2025-2026 season. Banbury was hired from High Point University and is the 14th head coach in VCU women’s basketball history. The Rams ended last season with an 8-23 overall record after head coach Beth O’Boyle was dismissed from her position midway through the season. VCU former assistant coach Kirk Crawford filled the role as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. After Crawford took on the role as head coach, the team did not see another win the rest of the season. The Rams were hindered by coaching changes and injuries to key players as they crawled past the finish line. Banbury is looking to revitalize the team after her seven successful seasons at HPU. She did not have a single losing season during her time at High Point, with an overall record of 140-79. Banbury held a win percentage of 64%, compared to O’Boyle who held an overall win percentage of 53% during her VCU tenure. Prior to O’Boyle’s dismissal, the Rams were lower in nearly every statistical category from Banbury’s Panthers. Banbury and

VCU baseball pummels No. 9 Virginia 6-2

April 14, 2026

Hayden Braun, Staff Writer VCU baseball put together one of its most complete performances of the season Tuesday night, defeating the No. 9-ranked University of Virginia 6-2 to secure its first win in the rivalry since 2022. The Cavaliers struck immediately — third-year outfielder AJ Gracia opened the game with a leadoff home run in the top of the first to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead. However, VCU responded quickly, chipping away slowly before breaking the game open late. The Rams tied it in the second inning when third-year infielder/outfielder Trent Adelman delivered an RBI single to score third-year infielder Nate Kirkpatrick. Adelman later added another key hit in the sixth, finishing with multiple hits and RBI’s. “It all just started by my teammates. They set me up well,” Adelman said. “Not trying to do too much, just staying calm.” VCU took control in the third inning after loading the bases with no outs. A wild pitch brought in the go-ahead run, and a sacrifice groundout from graduate student catcher Teige Lethert extended the lead to 3-1. While the offense began to find rhythm, the pitching staff delivered in high-pressure moments. Virginia totaled 11 hits but left 14 runners