IRL with Arielle: Confidence is a privilege
Arielle Andrews, Staff Writer If you have ever complained to someone about your lack of prospects in relationships or careers and they respond, “confidence is key,” you owe it to the rest of us to sue them. There is a strong belief online that the solution to getting everything you want is just to be […]
VCU postpones upcoming racial literacy course requirement
Andrew Kerley, Audience Editor VCU announced that incoming students will not have to take a class on racial literacy this semester in a letter from the Provost at the end of July. The installation of a racial literacy general education requirement is being indefinitely delayed from starting in the fall 2023 semester, according to the […]
Mirror, mirror on the wall: Who is the fairest of them all?
Kofi Mframa, Opinions Editor Nella Larson’s “Passing” follows the reunion of childhood friends, Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield, two light-skinned Black women who “pass” as white — albeit in different ways. The book centers on “racial-passing” and the pleasures and tragedies that come with it. This book and the Netflix adaptation really got me thinking […]
Black figures should be recognized all year long
Kofi Mframa, Opinions Editor Every February, like clockwork, my teachers would pull out the same lessons about the same four or five Black historical figures. Every year, we were taught the same trite lessons on Martin Luther King Jr. having a dream, Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat and Harriet Tubman’s journey to […]
Affirmative action’s presence in college admissions is in danger, but it must be upheld
Ishaan Nandwani, Opinions Editor Diversity is almost certainly the buzzword of the 21st century for institutions of higher education. It has been celebrated in charts on college pamphlets and brochures, lauded by admissions officers in presentations to prospective students and served as the focal point of countless schools’ mission statements. There’s a reason why diversity […]
Youngkin’s first few days in office are an expected disappointment
Ishaan Nandwani, Opinions Editor Following his inauguration as Governor of Virginia on Jan. 15, Gov. Glenn Youngkin immediately signed 11 executive actions into law. These actions include ending the use of the Critical Race Theory in K-12 public education, allowing parents the decision of whether their children wear masks in public schools and rescinding the […]
Minority students deserve more than what UVa’s Multicultural Student Center provided
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor Minority students attending predominantly white universities and institutions have constantly found themselves feeling othered and left out of the norm. Even at VCU, I am sometimes hyper-aware of my blackness or my religious background. According to university data, the school’s student population is made up of nearly 30% underrepresented minorities such […]
Opinion: I appreciate your white guilt, but I really don’t want it
Tagwa Shammet, Opinions Editor Dear White People, This isn’t a Netflix show. This isn’t a Justin Simien movie. This is real life. There’s a serious elephant in the room that we need to discuss: your white guilt. I’m sure some of you are thinking, “I don’t have white guilt.” Maybe you don’t. But maybe you […]
OPINION: You can’t bet on B.E.T.
Alexia Holloway, Contributing Writer Black Entertainment Television, or BET, started off as a black-owned entertainment company founded by Robert L. Johnson in 1979. The television network offered a black alternative to white-dominated media outlets, like MTV. It was bought out in 2000 by the white-owned company Viacom, founded by Sumner Redstone. Since the buyout, BET has […]
Horror hasn’t always loved black people but that’s changing
Brianna Scott, Opinions Editor Preface: Fun drinking game for you legal kids — take a shot every time I say the word “horror” or “black!” Horror hasn’t always been the genre where black people are the prime stars and are shown love. As a horror movie fan myself, specifically of classic slasher films, my favorite movies […]