Thursday, August 20th, 2026

VCU Students face higher than average tuition increase

August 19, 2026

Sal Orlando, News Editor Maeve Bauer, Executive Editor VCU in-state undergraduate students are now paying 3.9% more on their tuition this academic year.  In-state undergraduate students enrolled in 15 credits per semester are now paying $17,963 in tuition and mandatory fees, according to VCU News. Virginia’s average increase in tuition for in-state undergraduates is 3.2%, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. VCU had the second highest percentage increase in the state, behind Old Dominion University. Almost 80% of registered voters in Virginia’s July 2026 Commonwealth Poll believe that cost is too high to attend college in Virginia, reflecting a 10% increase since the winter poll. VCU cited that the tuition increase covered mandated costs, which includes salary increases, student internships, security and service contracts, graduate stipends and military tuition waivers, per a previous CT report. “VCU has the highest percentage of VMSDEP-eligible students among Virginia’s public institutions, with approximately 6% of our in-state undergraduate population participating in the program,” Brian McNeill, a VCU spokesperson, stated in an email. “As a result, VCU also has the highest VMSDEP waiver costs in the state.” McNeill stated that VCU’s average net price has stayed flat for families earning under

Unionized workers reject contract offer from Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

August 19, 2026

Harshini Kanala, Contributing Writer Workers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden rejected their employer’s final contract offer after unionizing for increased wages and benefits since November 2024. The LGBG Workers United are the second group of LGBG workers in the US to unionize.  Eligible staff voted to organize for “living wages, safer working conditions, better benefits, and a seat at the table where the decisions that affected our well-being are made,” LGBG Workers United stated in a social media post. “We are wrapping up a 2-year-long, $31 Million Expansion at the garden, but union-eligible garden staff (everyone but the managers) haven’t seen a raise in 2 years,” LGBG Workers United stated. As of Aug. 13, LGBG Workers United announced that they chose to reject the employer’s “last, best and final offer” and will “go through internal procedures and notifications before details and next steps are released.” The LGBG Workers United declined a request for comment from The Commonwealth Times due to time conflicts. Singer-Songwriter Jesse Welles, known for his folk protest songs, moved his concert at the garden to the National on July 15 in solidarity with the union. He offered refunds for participants who could no longer attend. “To the

Why opinions matter — even the ones you don’t agree with.

August 19, 2026

Kylie Grunsfeld, Opinions & Humor Editor During COVID, I found myself in a hyper-liberal bubble of the internet. My algorithms were consistently pushing videos made by creators who shared views similar to mine. It resulted in a very unbalanced perception of the average political alignment in this country, especially among people my age.  Isolated as I was, when I went back to school after lockdown, I was shocked to find that my peers were actually a lot less tolerant than I expected. I did not know how to approach them with anything less than bewilderment, which would quickly turn to frustration. If I ever tried to have a genuine debate, I was at a loss. I had no earthly idea how their brains worked or how to deliver my own opinions in a way that was not, frankly, patronizing. There is very little a person hates more than being patronized, especially during a conversation about society and/or politics.  This goes both ways. Whether you are left-leaning, right-leaning or identify with neither side, the ability to understand is an important tool to have. When people chastise a publication for including an article written by someone whose opinion differs from their own,

When looking out makes you feel powerless, look within.

August 19, 2026

Eva Schaberl, Contributing Writer These days, the broadest cultural context of the world, also referred to as the macrosystem, looks eerily similar to the beginning of a poorly written dystopian movie. As the world experiences multiple genocides, an entirely new level of surveillance states and anthropogenic ecological collapse, many people are calling these “unprecedented times.”  The current technology of our world does not fit nicely into the plans previously outlined in economic philosophies of the past. Ancient bacteria are melting out of the glaciers that used to contain them. Biblical wildfires and floods are wiping out communities. Flock cameras, nuclear weapons and AI drones have effectively brought us back to the drawing board when it comes to uniting the working class.  Despite this, it is critical that we do not become caught in the falsehood that the working class is powerless. If you talk to any history nerd for long enough, you will begin to understand how cyclical the nature of humanity is. Despite the arena changing, the monsters have always been the same.  To name these monsters, we need to zoom into the psychology of individuals. Psychotherapist Carl Jung’s ideas of archetypes and the shadow have been incredibly influential

HOTPANTS finds its sound in Richmond rock scene

August 19, 2026

Rachel Nicholas,  Assistant Spectrum Editor In a city full of creativity and booming artistry, Richmond rock band HOTPANTS has spent the last few years finding their place in the city’s music scene, pulling inspiration from classic rock, indie and psychedelic music.  Although they gather ideas from a multitude of places, the band agrees that assigning a genre to their sound is not so simple. “People will ask us, ‘What kind of music do you play?’ I’m just like, ‘I don’t know,’” frontwoman Mackenzie Roark said.  HOTPANTS formed after Roark released her first album in 2022 and wanted to bring the songs to a live audience. The band’s current lineup came together through years of connections between Richmond musicians, eventually becoming what Roark considers the “core of HOTPANTS.” Roark first met guitarist and bassist Billy Bacci around 2017 at an open mic event she was running. Bacci previously played with drummer Drew Barnocky and bassist Matt Moran through another band they were in together. “Paint on it was a band that me, Matt and Drew were in,” Bacci said. “We made three albums together and I met Matt through his brother and Drew was playing for Mackenzie at the time.” When

Buzz-worthy day at Pollinator Palooza

August 19, 2026

Aaliyah Sharrock, Contributing writer What brings people together to learn about native plants, butterflies and bees? For the attendees of Pollinator Palooza, the answer may be as simple as curiosity or even a desire to better understand the ecosystems around them.  That connection was on display at Pollinator Palooza located at Studio Two Three on Aug. 16, where educators, vendors and community members gathered to learn about pollinators, native plants and the relationship between people and nature. The free event offered visitors an opportunity to learn about pollinators, explore native plants and interact with local businesses and educators.  Yelena Avigail, an educator at the event, is a butterfly expert who showcased artwork, stickers and watercolor paintings while teaching visitors about moths and butterflies. “My favorite pollinators are moths and I think they are very misunderstood because people think that they are here to eat our clothes, but most beautiful moths don’t even have mouths,” Avigail said. One of Avigail’s favorite pollinators is the snowberry clearwing moth, a daytime-flying moth that mimics the appearance of a bee. Visitors were also particularly interested in the Atlas moth at her booth.  The moth came from Southeast Asia and was raised through its entire

PRESS BOX: The WNBA and the Manufactured Eligibility Crisis

August 19, 2026

Benney Koch, Staff Writer  In recent years, the WNBA has become more popular than ever. That growth has brought more viewers, sponsorships and attention, but also more scrutiny and vitriol. Now, the league is at the center of a national political debate — should transgender women be allowed to play in women’s sports? Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN that she wants to “protect women’s sports” and believes transgender women should not be allowed to play in the WNBA because of their sex at birth. Her comments quickly snowballed. Supporters and protesters on both sides have appeared at games, players and coaches have weighed in and sports media has sought out transgender athletes to ask whether they could or would ever try to play in the WNBA. “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA “, according to the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement. The agreement does not specifically define whether that means biological sex, gender identity or some other standard. Enes Kanter Freedom, who retired from the NBA in 2022 after 11 seasons, announced that he planned to declare for the WNBA draft as a transgender woman. He argued that he meets “every single requirement”

VCU women’s soccer stays positive despite early season struggles

August 19, 2026

Ben Martindale, Sports Editor VCU women’s soccer lost their home debut 4-0 against North Carolina State University at VCU Athletic Village on Aug. 16. The match comes on the heels of a 4-1 loss to Elon University in the team’s season opener earlier this week. “I think a lot of things went right for us because we’re choosing the hard path,” said VCU head coach Lauryn Hutchinson. “We’re not choosing the easy path. We could come out there and bomb the ball, we could put ourselves in a position where we’re just trying to win a match, but at the end of the day we want to prepare for conference, so we choose the hard route.” The teams battled back and forth in the early minutes with neither team establishing dominance. That changed in the eleventh minute when second-year forward Daisy Duda scored to put NC State on the board first. From that point, VCU struggled to find their rhythm offensively, forced on the back foot by an aggressive NC State offense. The Wolfpack scored again in the 34th minute to extend their lead to 2-0. The Rams fought back, seeming to gain momentum with second-year midfielder/forward Jess Gotshall narrowly

Baseball Recap: What Happened over the Summer

August 19, 2026

Devynn Alston, Staff writer VCU baseball capped off a historic bounce back season with an A-10 tournament championship. The 21-game improvement was the biggest in VCU history, in part due to the squad hitting a program-record 67 home runs over the course of the season. The Rams’ first game of their championship series highlighted their championship run, with VCU winning against the University of Rhode Island in a 18-16 slugfest. In the second game of the series, VCU sealed the deal, winning the championship 9-1. It’s win marks the program’s fourth championship win in six years. It was second-year head coach Sean Thompson’s first A-10 tournament win. Thompson said the team’s resilience was a defining factor of the team’s championship run.  “You got to have the right people in the building and in the program,” Thompson said.  Thompson, a former VCU player and the youngest coach in D-1 baseball, revived the program through roster retention, smart use of the transfer portal and player development.  Ram nation will remember the 2026 squad for its hit production, with three different players producing 70+ hits this season, a first for VCU since the 2010 season, according to VCU athletics. The Rams’ season ended in

Men’s soccer in search of new identity ahead of season opener

August 19, 2026

Ben Martindale, Sports Editor VCU men’s soccer will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. to make their 2026 season debut on Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m. The Rams have been a threat to win the A-10 championship since head coach Dave Giffard took over the program prior to the 2010 season and have consistently finished between the top 15 to 60 teams in national rankings. This year’s squad hopes to be no different, but there is still work to do, according to Giffard. “We’ve got some unanswered things and some guys where maybe the data isn’t quite out there yet,” Giffard said. “But we’re making progress each day.” Injuries are the biggest reason for this lack of data. “We’ve got five or six guys that have been out all preseason. They haven’t really trained or done anything due to injury,” Giffard said. “Unfortunately, those guys all happened to play in the same part of the field.” Despite injuries, the VCU coaching staff has powered on, electing to use the unforeseen circumstances as an opportunity to encourage growth in players who typically wouldn’t get as much playing time. “The nice part is you’re really spending time helping to bring the other players

APRIL 29 RECAP: How every VCU team did this week

April 29, 2026

Ben Martindale, Staff Writer Men’s tennis Atlantic-10 conference tournament VCU men’s tennis entered this year’s A-10 tournament as the No. 1 seed in pursuit of what would be their ninth consecutive A-10 championship. Quarterfinal — VCU vs Davidson College VCU got off to a good start in the A-10 tournament, kicking off its first match by winning the doubles point. In singles play, second-year Mads Bredschneijder opened things off for the Rams, winning 6-3, 6-2. VCU first-year Patrik Petera followed up his A-10 rookie of the week winning performance with another excellent showing, winning in dominant fashion 6-1, 6-1. Third-year Alfred Almasi clinched the match for the Rams winning 7-5, 6-0. Semifinal — VCU vs University of Richmond VCU’s season, and reign as A-10 champions, came to an end in the second round of the conference tournament. Richmond won the opening doubles point and never ceded the lead to VCU. The Rams fought hard, but lost a competitive match 4-3. Women’s tennis A-10 conference tournament VCU women’s tennis entered this year’s A-10 tournament as the No. 2 seed looking to win their second consecutive A-10 championship. Quarterfinal — VCU vs Saint Louis University VCU hit the ground running against Saint

VCU Students face higher than average tuition increase

August 19, 2026

Sal Orlando, News Editor Maeve Bauer, Executive Editor VCU in-state undergraduate students are now paying 3.9% more on their tuition this academic year.  In-state undergraduate students enrolled in 15 credits per semester are now paying $17,963 in tuition and mandatory fees, according to VCU News. Virginia’s average increase in tuition for in-state undergraduates is 3.2%, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. VCU had the second highest percentage increase in the state, behind Old Dominion University. Almost 80% of registered voters in Virginia’s July 2026 Commonwealth Poll believe that cost is too high to attend college in Virginia, reflecting a 10% increase since the winter poll. VCU cited that the tuition increase covered mandated costs, which includes salary increases, student internships, security and service contracts, graduate stipends and military tuition waivers, per a previous CT report. “VCU has the highest percentage of VMSDEP-eligible students among Virginia’s public institutions, with approximately 6% of our in-state undergraduate population participating in the program,” Brian McNeill, a VCU spokesperson, stated in an email. “As a result, VCU also has the highest VMSDEP waiver costs in the state.” McNeill stated that VCU’s average net price has stayed flat for families earning under

Unionized workers reject contract offer from Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

August 19, 2026

Harshini Kanala, Contributing Writer Workers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden rejected their employer’s final contract offer after unionizing for increased wages and benefits since November 2024. The LGBG Workers United are the second group of LGBG workers in the US to unionize.  Eligible staff voted to organize for “living wages, safer working conditions, better benefits, and a seat at the table where the decisions that affected our well-being are made,” LGBG Workers United stated in a social media post. “We are wrapping up a 2-year-long, $31 Million Expansion at the garden, but union-eligible garden staff (everyone but the managers) haven’t seen a raise in 2 years,” LGBG Workers United stated. As of Aug. 13, LGBG Workers United announced that they chose to reject the employer’s “last, best and final offer” and will “go through internal procedures and notifications before details and next steps are released.” The LGBG Workers United declined a request for comment from The Commonwealth Times due to time conflicts. Singer-Songwriter Jesse Welles, known for his folk protest songs, moved his concert at the garden to the National on July 15 in solidarity with the union. He offered refunds for participants who could no longer attend. “To the

Opinion

Why opinions matter — even the ones you don’t agree with.

August 19, 2026

Kylie Grunsfeld, Opinions & Humor Editor During COVID, I found myself in a hyper-liberal bubble of the internet. My algorithms were consistently pushing videos made by creators who shared views similar to mine. It resulted in a very unbalanced perception of the average political alignment in this country, especially among people my age.  Isolated as I was, when I went back to school after lockdown, I was shocked to find that my peers were actually a lot less tolerant than I expected. I did not know how to approach them with anything less than bewilderment, which would quickly turn to frustration. If I ever tried to have a genuine debate, I was at a loss. I had no earthly idea how their brains worked or how to deliver my own opinions in a way that was not, frankly, patronizing. There is very little a person hates more than being patronized, especially during a conversation about society and/or politics.  This goes both ways. Whether you are left-leaning, right-leaning or identify with neither side, the ability to understand is an important tool to have. When people chastise a publication for including an article written by someone whose opinion differs from their own,

When looking out makes you feel powerless, look within.

August 19, 2026

Eva Schaberl, Contributing Writer These days, the broadest cultural context of the world, also referred to as the macrosystem, looks eerily similar to the beginning of a poorly written dystopian movie. As the world experiences multiple genocides, an entirely new level of surveillance states and anthropogenic ecological collapse, many people are calling these “unprecedented times.”  The current technology of our world does not fit nicely into the plans previously outlined in economic philosophies of the past. Ancient bacteria are melting out of the glaciers that used to contain them. Biblical wildfires and floods are wiping out communities. Flock cameras, nuclear weapons and AI drones have effectively brought us back to the drawing board when it comes to uniting the working class.  Despite this, it is critical that we do not become caught in the falsehood that the working class is powerless. If you talk to any history nerd for long enough, you will begin to understand how cyclical the nature of humanity is. Despite the arena changing, the monsters have always been the same.  To name these monsters, we need to zoom into the psychology of individuals. Psychotherapist Carl Jung’s ideas of archetypes and the shadow have been incredibly influential

The Rundown

Spectrum

HOTPANTS finds its sound in Richmond rock scene

August 19, 2026

Rachel Nicholas,  Assistant Spectrum Editor In a city full of creativity and booming artistry, Richmond rock band HOTPANTS has spent the last few years finding their place in the city’s music scene, pulling inspiration from classic rock, indie and psychedelic music.  Although they gather ideas from a multitude of places, the band agrees that assigning a genre to their sound is not so simple. “People will ask us, ‘What kind of music do you play?’ I’m just like, ‘I don’t know,’” frontwoman Mackenzie Roark said.  HOTPANTS formed after Roark released her first album in 2022 and wanted to bring the songs to a live audience. The band’s current lineup came together through years of connections between Richmond musicians, eventually becoming what Roark considers the “core of HOTPANTS.” Roark first met guitarist and bassist Billy Bacci around 2017 at an open mic event she was running. Bacci previously played with drummer Drew Barnocky and bassist Matt Moran through another band they were in together. “Paint on it was a band that me, Matt and Drew were in,” Bacci said. “We made three albums together and I met Matt through his brother and Drew was playing for Mackenzie at the time.” When

Buzz-worthy day at Pollinator Palooza

August 19, 2026

Aaliyah Sharrock, Contributing writer What brings people together to learn about native plants, butterflies and bees? For the attendees of Pollinator Palooza, the answer may be as simple as curiosity or even a desire to better understand the ecosystems around them.  That connection was on display at Pollinator Palooza located at Studio Two Three on Aug. 16, where educators, vendors and community members gathered to learn about pollinators, native plants and the relationship between people and nature. The free event offered visitors an opportunity to learn about pollinators, explore native plants and interact with local businesses and educators.  Yelena Avigail, an educator at the event, is a butterfly expert who showcased artwork, stickers and watercolor paintings while teaching visitors about moths and butterflies. “My favorite pollinators are moths and I think they are very misunderstood because people think that they are here to eat our clothes, but most beautiful moths don’t even have mouths,” Avigail said. One of Avigail’s favorite pollinators is the snowberry clearwing moth, a daytime-flying moth that mimics the appearance of a bee. Visitors were also particularly interested in the Atlas moth at her booth.  The moth came from Southeast Asia and was raised through its entire

Sports

PRESS BOX: The WNBA and the Manufactured Eligibility Crisis

August 19, 2026

Benney Koch, Staff Writer  In recent years, the WNBA has become more popular than ever. That growth has brought more viewers, sponsorships and attention, but also more scrutiny and vitriol. Now, the league is at the center of a national political debate — should transgender women be allowed to play in women’s sports? Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN that she wants to “protect women’s sports” and believes transgender women should not be allowed to play in the WNBA because of their sex at birth. Her comments quickly snowballed. Supporters and protesters on both sides have appeared at games, players and coaches have weighed in and sports media has sought out transgender athletes to ask whether they could or would ever try to play in the WNBA. “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA “, according to the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement. The agreement does not specifically define whether that means biological sex, gender identity or some other standard. Enes Kanter Freedom, who retired from the NBA in 2022 after 11 seasons, announced that he planned to declare for the WNBA draft as a transgender woman. He argued that he meets “every single requirement”

VCU women’s soccer stays positive despite early season struggles

August 19, 2026

Ben Martindale, Sports Editor VCU women’s soccer lost their home debut 4-0 against North Carolina State University at VCU Athletic Village on Aug. 16. The match comes on the heels of a 4-1 loss to Elon University in the team’s season opener earlier this week. “I think a lot of things went right for us because we’re choosing the hard path,” said VCU head coach Lauryn Hutchinson. “We’re not choosing the easy path. We could come out there and bomb the ball, we could put ourselves in a position where we’re just trying to win a match, but at the end of the day we want to prepare for conference, so we choose the hard route.” The teams battled back and forth in the early minutes with neither team establishing dominance. That changed in the eleventh minute when second-year forward Daisy Duda scored to put NC State on the board first. From that point, VCU struggled to find their rhythm offensively, forced on the back foot by an aggressive NC State offense. The Wolfpack scored again in the 34th minute to extend their lead to 2-0. The Rams fought back, seeming to gain momentum with second-year midfielder/forward Jess Gotshall narrowly

Baseball Recap: What Happened over the Summer

August 19, 2026

Devynn Alston, Staff writer VCU baseball capped off a historic bounce back season with an A-10 tournament championship. The 21-game improvement was the biggest in VCU history, in part due to the squad hitting a program-record 67 home runs over the course of the season. The Rams’ first game of their championship series highlighted their championship run, with VCU winning against the University of Rhode Island in a 18-16 slugfest. In the second game of the series, VCU sealed the deal, winning the championship 9-1. It’s win marks the program’s fourth championship win in six years. It was second-year head coach Sean Thompson’s first A-10 tournament win. Thompson said the team’s resilience was a defining factor of the team’s championship run.  “You got to have the right people in the building and in the program,” Thompson said.  Thompson, a former VCU player and the youngest coach in D-1 baseball, revived the program through roster retention, smart use of the transfer portal and player development.  Ram nation will remember the 2026 squad for its hit production, with three different players producing 70+ hits this season, a first for VCU since the 2010 season, according to VCU athletics. The Rams’ season ended in

Men’s soccer in search of new identity ahead of season opener

August 19, 2026

Ben Martindale, Sports Editor VCU men’s soccer will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. to make their 2026 season debut on Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m. The Rams have been a threat to win the A-10 championship since head coach Dave Giffard took over the program prior to the 2010 season and have consistently finished between the top 15 to 60 teams in national rankings. This year’s squad hopes to be no different, but there is still work to do, according to Giffard. “We’ve got some unanswered things and some guys where maybe the data isn’t quite out there yet,” Giffard said. “But we’re making progress each day.” Injuries are the biggest reason for this lack of data. “We’ve got five or six guys that have been out all preseason. They haven’t really trained or done anything due to injury,” Giffard said. “Unfortunately, those guys all happened to play in the same part of the field.” Despite injuries, the VCU coaching staff has powered on, electing to use the unforeseen circumstances as an opportunity to encourage growth in players who typically wouldn’t get as much playing time. “The nice part is you’re really spending time helping to bring the other players

APRIL 29 RECAP: How every VCU team did this week

April 29, 2026

Ben Martindale, Staff Writer Men’s tennis Atlantic-10 conference tournament VCU men’s tennis entered this year’s A-10 tournament as the No. 1 seed in pursuit of what would be their ninth consecutive A-10 championship. Quarterfinal — VCU vs Davidson College VCU got off to a good start in the A-10 tournament, kicking off its first match by winning the doubles point. In singles play, second-year Mads Bredschneijder opened things off for the Rams, winning 6-3, 6-2. VCU first-year Patrik Petera followed up his A-10 rookie of the week winning performance with another excellent showing, winning in dominant fashion 6-1, 6-1. Third-year Alfred Almasi clinched the match for the Rams winning 7-5, 6-0. Semifinal — VCU vs University of Richmond VCU’s season, and reign as A-10 champions, came to an end in the second round of the conference tournament. Richmond won the opening doubles point and never ceded the lead to VCU. The Rams fought hard, but lost a competitive match 4-3. Women’s tennis A-10 conference tournament VCU women’s tennis entered this year’s A-10 tournament as the No. 2 seed looking to win their second consecutive A-10 championship. Quarterfinal — VCU vs Saint Louis University VCU hit the ground running against Saint

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