VCU Cinema creates promo video for Girls Rock RVA

VCU Cinema is teaming up with Girls Rock RVA to create a informational video for the nonprofit’s cause with the goal of empowering women and LGBT youth and get them to collaborate in a safe environment. Spearheaded in 2010, Girls Rock RVA is a nonprofit whose mission is to “facilitate a space in Richmond that […]

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor: Our state and national unemployment rates, while falling, are still too high.  We should not single out a sector – oil and gas – whose job growth has increased 40 percent since 2007, while the rest of private sector has remained stagnant.  Yet that is exactly what so many in Congress are calling […]

Can women bleed for free? A hygienic dilemma

While walking into the restroom at Target, I heard the far-too-familiar sound of another woman desperately shoving coins into the tampon dispenser attached to the bathroom wall. I noticed she was empty-handed, the vendor was empty, and she was out of change. Luckily, I was also on the last few days of my period so […]

Holiday Havoc: shopping safe this season

  The holidays are a time of cheer, giving and “out with the old, in with the new” celebrations. The sweet relief of being done with final exams, shopping, partying with friends and traveling throws even the most aware person into a tailspin of excitement. This can result in people being less aware of their […]

Cannabis: the misunderstood drug

Imagine you have a loved one with severe epilepsy. They experience dozens of seizures a day, and despite being on countless prescription medications, nothing seems to work. Now imagine there is a drug that could treat them and greatly improve their quality of life, without potentially dangerous side affects. This drug is cannabis, and it […]

Heffatrump and Carwoozles

Staff Illustrator, Gareth Bentall Gareth is a cartoonist and illustrator currently in his junior year as a Communication Arts student. He specializes in political cartoons, humorous illustration, underground comic trivia, bird watching, hoarding, forwarding, boogie boarding and Parcheesi. Gareth currently resides inside of his inkpot. // Facebook bentallgr@commonwealthtimes.org

Fighting for autonomy in the wake of violence

Breaking news: Conservative rhetoric has decided to prove that all lives matter by killing some to conserve others. On Nov. 27, three people and a police officer were killed in a domestic terrorist attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado. While authorities have not determined what the motive of the shooting was, many speculate the white […]

Staff sign-off: Matt Leonard

As a transfer student I came to Richmond knowing just one person on campus — my cousin. Similarly, when I came to VCU five semesters ago there was just one organization that I wanted to join — the Commonwealth Times. Thus, through meetings, productions and late-night office sessions I quickly became part of another family […]

Staff sign-off: Meg Dermody

When I transferred to VCU, I was lucky enough to have a safety net in place already. My dear friend Mechelle Hankerson was heading into her final semester of undergrad, and was happy to be my guide as I navigated my first weeks as a Ram. Mechelle was the executive editor of the Commonwealth Times […]