Hate against Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders is nothing new
Ishaan Nandwani, Contributing Writer National headlines were made March 16 as mass shootings occurred at three massage parlors in Atlanta, leading to the death of eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. This shooting was one incident in a string of a myriad of recent hate crimes against the Asian American and […]
Tea Time with Tagwa: In-person classes are an unnecessary risk
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor Tea timers, I remember how badly I wanted to be on campus this time last year. With grocery stores empty, stores closed and classes moved online, life felt extremely abnormal. We were dealing with the new normal, but we didn’t know it yet. When two of my classes got moved back […]
Latina women are the unsung heroes of women’s history
Monica Alarcon-Najarro, Contributing Writer Like a flower blooming — just as Selena Quintanilla said in her song, “Como la Flor” — Latina women are taking over various industries in the U.S. It’s never too late to put our Latino roots in a country that has had so much systemic racism against the Latino community. Our […]
Tea Time with Tagwa: Minority groups are not your quota
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor Tea timers, how would you feel if someone decided to reduce your race, gender, sexuality or identity to a mere quota? If they simply classified you as a point system, rather than as a unique being? I can tell you how I’d feel: disgusted. Even the idea to minimize me strikes […]
We need to take a stance on Greek life
Ishaan Nandwani, Contributing Writer Shock. Disappointment. Anger. Sadness. These were some of the many emotions I felt when I heard about the death of Adam Oakes, a 19-year-old VCU freshman who died on Feb. 27 as a result of the hazing process for the Delta Chi fraternity at VCU. Whether it’s looking at his bright-eyed […]
Staff Editorial | Adam Oakes’ death left a void in our community. VCU, Delta Chi share blame
For most VCU students, moving to Richmond is a lasting memory, marked by excitement and hopefulness. Opportunities seem endless — new places to explore, communities on campus to join, new friends to make. Our university naturally promotes the advantages of living in an urban environment, boasting a “campus with no boundaries” on its website. “The […]
Richmond’s community is riddled with food insecurity
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor Do you know where your next meal is coming from? That is a question many of us are fortunate enough to not think about — a question that we must not fear responding to because we are confident and secure about our access to food. But for those of us who […]
Marcus-David Peters Circle’s fence blockades Black unity
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor Marcus-David Peters Circle. To most Richmonders, this circle is a political hotspot. It is where protesters gathered this past summer during the Black Lives Matter rallies. To me, it is our unifying hub. I remember when I got back to Richmond in July, the first place I went to was Marcus-David […]
We need to talk about the farmer protests in India
Ishaan Nandwani, Contributing Writer I am the proud child of immigrant parents from the Indian state of Punjab. My mother was born and raised in Amritsar, the cultural and commercial center of Punjabi culture. Back home, my relatives work as educators, construction workers and farmers, with the latter serving as the backbone of our state’s […]
COVID-19 heightened systemic racism in Latino communities
Monica Alarcon-Najarro, Contributing Writer The U.S. has failed to properly handle the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s no surprise that immigrant families — who have clocked in countless hours working labor-intensive jobs during a global health crisis — are the ones suffering endlessly from the economic downfall. This country seems to always forget that immigrants are […]