Who we are

The Commonwealth Times is the award-winning independent student newspaper at Virginia Commonwealth University, since 1969. The CT staff — to include advertising, design and production — is comprised entirely of VCU students.

Click here to meet the CT staff

How we operate

At the end of each academic year, the current Executive Editor writes the budgets for the next year’s CT Print and Operations. The budgets are then presented to the Student Media Commission for approval. The Commission is a panel composed of students and faculty representing the SGA, Greek Life, VCU Libraries, the Robertson School of Media and Culture, the Student Media Center and the Division of Student Affairs.

The CT’s Operations budget is a reflection of advertising revenue accumulated throughout the previous academic year(s). Operations expenses include salaries, phone and internet, postage, professional memberships (Virginia Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and Associated Press), seats at the annual Virginia Press Association and Society of Professional Journalists awards banquets, FOIA requests, programming and events costs and travel to the Atlantic-10 and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments.

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Previously, the CT obtained full funding for the Print budget through an allocated percentage of the mandatory student activity fee. Beginning the 2016-17 school year, the CT is now also taking on approximately a quarter of the total printing costs. This means eight issues (approximately $10,000) are included in this year’s CT Operations budget, too.

Throughout the next three years, the CT will continue to take on another quarter of the total printing costs until the organization does not rely on any funding from the mandatory student activity fee. For 2016-17, the Student Media Commission approved the CT Print budget request for $25,700 to print the 21 remaining issues not covered by the Ops budget.

Check out our print edition archive here

What we do

The CT is not subject to the oversight of VCU administration. Content is generated by student writers, photographers, artists and designers of all majors. The opinion pages of The Commonwealth Times are a forum open to the public.

Clear, concise and compelling contributions are welcome by mail at 817 W. Broad St., Richmond, Va., 23220. Letters to the editor can be sent to editor@commonwealthtimes.org.

Letters must be sent from a valid VCU email address or signed with a daytime and evening telephone contact. We reserve the right to edit for grammar, style and space.

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