Katie Meeker, Opinions & Humor Editor When attempting to navigate the odyssey that is Richmond traffic, there is nothing more enraging than getting stuck behind a cyclist. As someone who frequently drives in the city, I am very familiar with this frustration. However, as someone who is also often the very cyclist holding up traffic, I am more concerned with how dangerous this anger — and road-sharing in general — can be. Richmond has a huge cyclist community, with infamous biking clubs such as the Broad Street Bullies and bike shops such as RamBikes and Outpost Richmond contributing to a thriving, accessible culture. Beyond these more involved cyclists, there is also a large population of both VCU students and regular Richmonders who use bikes to commute to school and work. However, like most American urban centers, there is a suboptimal amount of infrastructure in Richmond specifically dedicated to protecting this population. Bike lanes are limited to only a few major roads — and no, the bus lane on Broad Street doesn’t count as one — leaving cyclists to decide whether to tempt death via automobile collision or get heckled riding on sidewalks.  Compared to other cities, Richmond ranks pretty low

Ericka Kopp, candidate for Virginia’s 1st Congressional District  This letter was submitted by Ericka Kopp, a 2014 VCU forensic science alumna and Democratic candidate for Virginia’s 1st Congressional District. The Revolutionary War began with the “shot heard ‘round the world” on April 19, 1775. In 1776, the U.S. declared independence from British monarchical rule. The war officially ended in 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. From that point forward, the future was to be lived under no king’s rule. On Saturday, March 28, “No Kings 3” gave us an outlet. Maybe you marched in the streets or stood with us in protest. I spent the day meeting people at the heart of VCU campus, listening to what they hoped the event would spark.  I don’t believe we’ve met. Hi, I’m Ericka Kopp (‘14). I’m running for Congress this year in Virginia’s 1st District. As a congressional candidate, I’d like to hear your top issues with the government or with Virginia. Do you know who your congressional representative is? It’s okay if we don’t know, but we should now, right? My family has called Virginia home for decades. We’ve watched the region shift in countless ways. The most

Shiny Chandravel, Assistant Opinions Editor A recent New York Times investigation revealed allegations that famous workers’ rights activist Cesar Chávez sexually abused women and girls. A figure who was once a monumental hero for union rights and the celebrated founder of the United Farm Workers union now taints the very movements he helped pioneer.  As his legacy topples, so are the numerous statues and memorials once mounted in his honor. The California State Legislature, in a moment of rare bipartisanship, even passed a bill to rename March 31 from Cesar Chávez Day to Farm Workers Day.  This rapid unraveling of a once glorified legacy reveals something beyond Chávez. It illustrates a deeper problem — the way we choose to memorialize history is fundamentally flawed. For generations, we have built statues and named institutions after individuals we deem “heroic.” We set up bronze and marble embodiments of the individuals whose lives represent our country’s highest ideals and morals.  This approach of carving the visages of our nation’s heroes attempts to accomplish something that history repeatedly disproves — that any one person can fully preserve the values we ought to embrace like justice, perseverance, courage, equality and freedom.  As leaders emerge, our

Kylie Grunsfeld, Staff Columnist A few months ago I decided to go to Ram’s Coop for dinner.  I was in the mood for something that would make me feel good, so I ordered a chicken caesar salad — pretty much the only item on the menu with a vegetable of any kind, not including a potato. When the man working at the counter looked at what the kitchen had passed forward, he said, and I quote: “There’s no way you’re giving this to her.” But they did indeed give it to me. What I received for the price of one whole meal swipe — the rough equivalent of up to $10 — was a few pieces of wilted lettuce, a sprinkle of cheese and one cold chicken tender cut into pieces.  Pissed off and hungry, I went home and dug something out of the back of my freezer. I live in Cary and Belvidere, which provides apartments with decently sized kitchens, so I have the facilities to cook my own meals. But any student knows it is simply unrealistic to expect all of your meals to be home-cooked, let alone consistently made from whole ingredients.  There are numerous factors that