Sunday, April 19th, 2026

Comunidades en Richmond elevan preocupaciones sobre el cáncer mientras que Trump reduce regulaciones 

April 19, 2026

Sal Orlando, Editor Adjunto de Noticias El gobierno de Trump cambió recientemente las normas federales sobre contaminantes carcinogénicos, lo que ha añadido más riesgo al área de Richmond — una área que Propublica designó como un foco para riesgos elevados de cáncer de parte del óxido de etileno. Richmond tiene dos instalaciones de esterilización médica a menos de seis millas de la otra que usan óxido de etileno, lo que hace la ciudad más vulnerable a riesgos elevados de cáncer según VPM. La Unión de Científicos Preocupados Comprometidos identificó la instalación de Servicios de Esterilización de Virginia en el este del condado de Henrico como un contribuyente a los riesgos elevados de cáncer en el área. La instalación se encuentra a menos de 10 millas de la Red de Salud del Centro de Virginia/Salud Misericordia de Bon Secours, otra instalación de esterilización. El óxido de etileno es un gas sin color que se usa para esterilizar equipamiento médico y es carcinogénico para los humanos, según la Agencia de Protección del Ambiente (EPA en inglés). Las personas que son expuestas al óxido de etileno tienen riesgos aumentados del linfoma y la leucemia. Luz y Poder Intra-Fe de Virginia (VIPL en inglés)

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

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

Baseball falls short against GW; loses weekend series

April 17, 2026

Drew Thompson, Sports Editor The Rams got swept in the weekend series to George Washington University, losing 4-3, 8-7 and getting dominated 9-3 in game three.  Graduate student pitcher Everett Vaughn was credited with the game three loss after 1.2 innings pitched, four hits, three earned runs, four walks and a strikeout.  Third-year infielder Trent Adelman and redshirt first-year infielder Alec Warden both had the only multi-hit performances for the Rams in the game three loss.  Third-year infielder Nate Kirkpatrick and redshirt third-year utility Quinn Maher both had good games despite the game two loss. Maher drove in a career-high four runs.  Redshirt fourth-year pitcher Patrick Stietz started game one strong for the Rams, but the game broke open after he was relieved.  VCU lost 4-3 to GW on Friday to start a three game series, falling back to earth after its upset win over the University of Virginia earlier this week.  Neither team made much of an impact in the first inning, with both sides failing to get a hit.  VCU cruised through the top of the second despite redshirt fourth-year pitcher Elias Holbert hitting two batters.  The Rams started the bottom of the second with a lead-off double

Women’s tennis dominates Duquesne through injuries and intense heat

April 16, 2026

Benney Koch, Contributing Writer VCU dominated the nationally ranked, No. 67 Duquesne University on Thursday, winning 4-0. A strong doubles performance gave the Rams the momentum needed to secure a team victory in the singles. VCU second-years Andrea Magallanes and Sofia Jane Thorne took over. The pair quickly found rhythm and built a commanding lead behind strong coordination at the net. Magallanes’ long-range shots created openings, while Jane Thorne consistently closed points at the net, helping the duo finish with a 6-2 win. VCU third-years Tan Andrade Sabando and Mariam Ibrahim got their second doubles victory with a match score of 6-3. Sabando and Ibrahim secured an early lead and maintained pressure by forcing errors from their opponents. Ibrahim’s well-timed feints and Sabando’s aggressive returns sealed the result. The Rams’ second-year Sara Alba and first-year Viktoria Lackova had a difficult match. They fell behind early and battled hard, but weren’t able to recover before VCU secured the doubles point. VCU entered the singles stage needing only two winning matches for the team victory, as Duquesne was short a player. Ibrahim won a tight first set, but the match ended early in the second after building up a 5-1 lead.  VCU

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

Comunidades en Richmond elevan preocupaciones sobre el cáncer mientras que Trump reduce regulaciones 

April 19, 2026

Sal Orlando, Editor Adjunto de Noticias El gobierno de Trump cambió recientemente las normas federales sobre contaminantes carcinogénicos, lo que ha añadido más riesgo al área de Richmond — una área que Propublica designó como un foco para riesgos elevados de cáncer de parte del óxido de etileno. Richmond tiene dos instalaciones de esterilización médica a menos de seis millas de la otra que usan óxido de etileno, lo que hace la ciudad más vulnerable a riesgos elevados de cáncer según VPM. La Unión de Científicos Preocupados Comprometidos identificó la instalación de Servicios de Esterilización de Virginia en el este del condado de Henrico como un contribuyente a los riesgos elevados de cáncer en el área. La instalación se encuentra a menos de 10 millas de la Red de Salud del Centro de Virginia/Salud Misericordia de Bon Secours, otra instalación de esterilización. El óxido de etileno es un gas sin color que se usa para esterilizar equipamiento médico y es carcinogénico para los humanos, según la Agencia de Protección del Ambiente (EPA en inglés). Las personas que son expuestas al óxido de etileno tienen riesgos aumentados del linfoma y la leucemia. Luz y Poder Intra-Fe de Virginia (VIPL en inglés)

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

Opinion

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

The Rundown

Spectrum

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

Sports

Baseball falls short against GW; loses weekend series

April 17, 2026

Drew Thompson, Sports Editor The Rams got swept in the weekend series to George Washington University, losing 4-3, 8-7 and getting dominated 9-3 in game three.  Graduate student pitcher Everett Vaughn was credited with the game three loss after 1.2 innings pitched, four hits, three earned runs, four walks and a strikeout.  Third-year infielder Trent Adelman and redshirt first-year infielder Alec Warden both had the only multi-hit performances for the Rams in the game three loss.  Third-year infielder Nate Kirkpatrick and redshirt third-year utility Quinn Maher both had good games despite the game two loss. Maher drove in a career-high four runs.  Redshirt fourth-year pitcher Patrick Stietz started game one strong for the Rams, but the game broke open after he was relieved.  VCU lost 4-3 to GW on Friday to start a three game series, falling back to earth after its upset win over the University of Virginia earlier this week.  Neither team made much of an impact in the first inning, with both sides failing to get a hit.  VCU cruised through the top of the second despite redshirt fourth-year pitcher Elias Holbert hitting two batters.  The Rams started the bottom of the second with a lead-off double

Women’s tennis dominates Duquesne through injuries and intense heat

April 16, 2026

Benney Koch, Contributing Writer VCU dominated the nationally ranked, No. 67 Duquesne University on Thursday, winning 4-0. A strong doubles performance gave the Rams the momentum needed to secure a team victory in the singles. VCU second-years Andrea Magallanes and Sofia Jane Thorne took over. The pair quickly found rhythm and built a commanding lead behind strong coordination at the net. Magallanes’ long-range shots created openings, while Jane Thorne consistently closed points at the net, helping the duo finish with a 6-2 win. VCU third-years Tan Andrade Sabando and Mariam Ibrahim got their second doubles victory with a match score of 6-3. Sabando and Ibrahim secured an early lead and maintained pressure by forcing errors from their opponents. Ibrahim’s well-timed feints and Sabando’s aggressive returns sealed the result. The Rams’ second-year Sara Alba and first-year Viktoria Lackova had a difficult match. They fell behind early and battled hard, but weren’t able to recover before VCU secured the doubles point. VCU entered the singles stage needing only two winning matches for the team victory, as Duquesne was short a player. Ibrahim won a tight first set, but the match ended early in the second after building up a 5-1 lead.  VCU

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

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