The Commonwealth Times Staff
As many of us prepare to move on from VCU, we, The CT staff, are reflecting on the period of substantial growth and change we have undergone this past academic year — and the meaningful stories you allowed us to retell.
We began in August with a staff of almost entirely new faces, hoping to produce a newspaper that would truly reflect and honor our community.
We came together from different backgrounds, majors and experiences. This short-lived staff sought to give a voice to the underrepresented and underserved. We recognize VCU as a unique, nuanced institution that exists within the boundaries of a beautiful, growing Richmond. To the people of RVA, thank you for tolerating us. We hope our reporting reflected those sentiments.
This era of The CT ushered in new ideas across every corner of the publication. We initiated a streamlined hard news operation to promptly deliver vital information to our readers. We found new ways to tell stories in an evolving world; our four sections became five with “Features.” Our digital footprint widened with new video and audio content. We translated stories to Spanish in a principled step to broaden our reach, promote language access and fill news gaps.
As full-time college students, many of whom work other jobs or internships, each and every member of The CT staff showed commitment and care with every piece published. Everyone brought something unique to the table.
We kept our ears to the ground. We kept our fingers on the pulse. We sent reporters, photographers, producers and contributors of all types to key university and city happenings — from the boards and committees running VCU, to the clubs and communities keeping it alive.
We made editorial stances that reflected the needs and voices of VCU. We broke from AP Style by referring to the conflict in Gaza as what it is: a genocide. We advocated for the Free Press and student media as tools for both record keeping, and change — meeting the moment Americans are living through.
By the numbers, The CT has grown wildly. We doubled how much we print as we returned to weekly issues. Our website visitation tripled. We branched out to new social media platforms. We gained more followers on Instagram in nine months than in the entire previous decade.
The power of and hunger for student journalism is real, and you all proved that.
We cannot wait to see what the next staff and next generation of student reporters, illustrators, photographers, producers and designers bring to The Commonwealth Times.
As the news landscape and the world change around us, we hope this little newspaper will continue to be a beacon for voices at VCU and a pacemaker for student media.
We hope you keep reading!
FROM THE EDITOR: Be bold, Rams
Andrew Kerley, Executive Editor
VCU is a special place.
From the paint-stained blankets that garnish Monroe Park to the bustling, never-quiet Compass; from string-lit backyard punk shows to the roaring rapids of the James River — our campus, and our city, channel a certain southern, scrappy energy you can’t find elsewhere.
VCU churns out changemakers and trailblazers. Some students harness institutional support to invent solutions that improve people’s lives. Others fight against the grain to change things from the bottom up.
VCU loves to champion its “Uncommon” branding. Though when I think of “Uncommon,” I also think of the faces you don’t see on billboards and the sides of buildings — students like Sereen Haddad, who put her degree on the line to fight for human rights. I think of the good folks at the NAACP and their chapter president Ashley Brown, who have advocated for better housing, inclusive university boards and justice and equity for all. I think of all the students, faculty and staff who have worked since VCU’s inception in 1968 to give us everything we have.
You might find it corny, but in a way, we are “Uncommon.” Not because of them, but because of us.
Here at The CT, we worked every day to write the news other outlets won’t — to represent the unrepresented, to record campus events and keep the score on history. We heard your stories, your hardships and your triumphs. And we did our best to pack it all in 1,500 bundles of paper to be distributed to you, the community, for free, every single week.
They say that universities are microcosms of society. They’re a training ground for finding your way of making a little difference.
It’s understandable to wallow amid this crazy time we’re living in. It’s easy to feel defeated by how hard it’s becoming to just exist. But I encourage you to look at the speckles of good around, and start building the world you want to live in. It doesn’t have to be big — it all starts with your community, your people.
We made our difference, now go make yours. Be bold, Rams. Change your world!