Category Archives: schools

VCU Bike Round Up Tomorrow

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10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Commons Plaza

From webpage:

Ride your bike to campus on April 14 for a tune-up and registration, and talk shop with other VCU riders. All bike riders – serious, silly and sensible, alike – are welcome.

This program is for the every-day, casual bike rider. Competitive and serious cyclists are welcome but will likely have knowledge and assistance beyond what the Great Bike Round-Up offers. VCU Police will be here to help get students’ bikes registered. Mechanics from local bike shops will be here giving free tune-ups and are here to answer any questions you may have about your bike. Food will be provided while supplies last!

Celebrate Earth Day early by getting your bike set up and ready to ride! We thank you for choosing alternative transportation!

TheCollegePlace-Richmond Upcoming Workshop – April 17

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Announcement:

TheCollegePlace-Richmond Upcoming Workshop:

College Admissions for High School Students – Preparation for college is
important and it?s never too early to start doing your research on higher
education. This workshop is targeting high school students and provides
basic information on choosing schools, filing college applications,
computing college costs and more. (Please note: This is the last College
Admissions Info Workshop this fall.) Target audience: 10th and 11th grade
students/parents.

Event Details: Mary & Frances Youth Center (on the campus of VCU next to the
Cary Street Gym).

Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010 (10:00a – 11:30a) — Registration Deadline ?
April 14, 2010

Register: This workshop is free but space is limited. Visit
http://www.ecmcfoundation.org/details/workshopForm.html to register. You
must register in order to participate.

For questions, please call 827.0551 or email Gabriela (gmira at ecmc.org).

RPEC Sponsors Anti-War Film and Discussion At VCU

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From press release:

Discussion of War as Entertainment and the Militarization of Culture

Next Wednesday, March 31, join us for a forum on War as Entertainment and
the Militarization of Culture at 7p.m. in the Commons Forum Room, in the
VCU Student Commons building (907 Floyd Ave.). The showing and discussion
is free and open to the public.

The forum will include excerpts from the film Militainment, Inc., from the
Media Education Foundation, which offers a thought-provoking and timely
glimpse into the militarization of American popular culture. It examines
how U.S. news coverage has come to resemble Hollywood film, video games,
and “reality” television in its glamorization of war.

The film will be introduced by Dr. Paul Achter, Associate Professor of
Rhetoric, University of Richmond. Following the showing, audience members
will be invited to discuss the presentation with an informal panel
including Adria Scharf, director of the Peace Center, VCU professor Mark
Wood, and Jonny Cecka of the Network of Spiritual Progressives at VCU.

This event is co-sponsored by the Richmond Peace Education Center, the
Network of Spiritual Progressives at VCU, Bon Air Presbyterian Church
Peace Study/Action Group, and the VCU Religious Studies Program. For
more information, contact RPEC at 232-1002 or rpec at rpec.org,
or NSP-VCU at nspvcu at gmail.com.

VCU/Monroe Park Housing & Crime Issues

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While parking is still of concern, VCU is taking steps to become more of a residential university. Recent articles contain announcements of new developments and feedback.

There is also news on VCU’s recycling front.

And if that was not enough, there is also this email from Oregon Hill resident and Monroe Park Advisory Council member Todd Woodson, which expresses concern over the way VCU crime is reported, and can be seen in the context of the latest (2008) postings of crime in Virginia colleges by FBI:

Friends-

I left our last meeting with more questions than answers regarding safety statistics and in particular, enforcement statistics for Monroe Park. Please find below a link for VCU’s 2009 Safety Report. It is odd that although VCU includes statistics for Cumberland ave, 100 block Pine St and 100 block Cherry St which are all part of the Historic Oregon Hill Neighborhood and not campus, there is no mention of statistics within Monroe Park itself:

http://www.vcu.edu/police/campussafetyreport2009.pdf

Of interest are the statistics for non-student liquor and drug offenses on unspecified public property which essentially doubled from 2007 to 2008 (block by block figures for public property provided by RPD) :

2008: non student liquor offenses on public property: 168
” ” ” drug ” ” ” ” ” 151
2007: non student liquor offenses on public property: 80
” ” ” drug ” ” ” ” ” 78

It would be most helpful to address safety issues in Monroe Park if offenses in the Park could be logged and consequently tracked by the Council and/or a Richmond Police entity. I know we have asked for these statistics many times in the past and as was discussed, we really havent had any consistent presence at meetings from either RPD or VCU Police during our tenure.

In addition, I have included an eye opening report from the Commonwealth Times October 2008 issue regarding VCU crime statistics:

http://eblackstock.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/campus-crime-statistics-subject-to-interpretation/

I think that considering the amount of money hopefully being directed toward the park, the safety issues are something we as a group really need to focus on- especially the ever present substance abuse and collateral safety issues. As we’ve said before, there seems to be an absence as well as major confusion over day to day law enforcement in Monroe park. I believe we should address this at our next meeting and of course invite RPD and VCU police. Hopefully someone from higher up in those respective organizations will attend.

thanks,

Todd.

Search Continues For Missing VCU Student

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From the Commonwealth Times, Virginia Commonwealth University’s student newspaper:

The search continues for the missing 22-year-old exchange student from Guernsey, England, who was last seen on campus on March 2. The VCU Police Department is joined by students, family and friends in their efforts to locate the student.
Jonathan “Jonny” S. Dorey is a geography major who lives in the Gladding Residence Center.
According to press statement issued by VCU Police Chief John Venuti, Dorey is between 5 feet, 10 inches and 6 feet tall, weighs between 180 and 200 pounds and has brown hair. Dorey wears glasses and was last seen wearing a blue and white plaid jacket with a hood and dark blue jeans. He was riding a black mountain bike.
Venuti stated police have no reason to believe foul play is involved in Dorey’s disappearance, but would like to talk to anyone who has seen Dorey.
Lorna Yarberry, a friend of Dorey and a communication arts major stated in an e-mail she was informed of his disappearance Wednesday afternoon when mutual friends called asking if she had seen him. Yarberry stated Dorey was a frequent bike rider and the search had extended to trails Dorey had been known to ride.
“A friend works for the K-9 Alert search and rescue for Henrico and she and her dog and the rest of the team with state-certified search dogs were out around the river today looking for him,” Yarberry stated. They didn’t find anything yet they’re going to continue to search the area and the river.”
Yarberry stated some of Dorey’s friends, including an officer, covered all the paths and grounds at Belle Isle (north and south ends) and the trails of Hollywood Cemetary (sic).

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Cary Street Parking Changes Considered

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In a recent VCU’s Telegram for Students, this bullet point appeared:

2. Changes to Parking on West Cary Street
VCU is considering requesting the City of Richmond change the parking restriction on the south side of West Cary Street, the 900 and 1000 blocks, from no restriction to 2-hour parking, similar to the majority of campus streets. The change is being considered because of the opening of the Cary Street Recreation Center and the demand for parking near this new facility (I added boldness here- ed.). Please direct comments to Paul Walker, manager of Parking & Transportation, at prwalker@vcu.edu no later than March 12.

While this is in congruence with making the Cary Street corridor more urban-business-friendly (something that the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association is in favor of), it stands in contrast to what the VCU administration said during its campaign against the neighborhood:

E. Objection to parking. This project will not increase the enrollment at VCU, and therefore does not increase campus parking requirements. .

Of course, most Oregon Hill residents are not surprised in the least by this. It fits in with the rest of the Student Recreational Center controversy. (Again, OHNA was never against VCU students getting a new facility. The location and implementation were the issues). Hopefully, someday soon, VCU will take more positive steps to allow healing.

VCU Tornado Preparedness Exercise

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Dear Monroe Park Community Advisory Group Members,

I want to advise you that VCU will conduct a tornado preparedness exercise on Tuesday, March 2, as part of statewide emergency preparedness efforts.
The VCU exercise will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the activation of 10 sirens on the Monroe Park and MCV campuses along with text messages, digital signs, Web site information and social media that are part of a multi-channel system for communicating emergency information to VCU students, employees, parents and neighbors.

Tuesday’s test is a departure from the regular noon tests each semester and will serve as the Spring 2010 full-scale test. The sirens will sound a fast, up and down wail for four minutes, and after a three minute pause, the sirens will sound a steady wail for two minutes to signal “all clear.”

In addition, VCU is conducting its first Campus-Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) class with the assistance of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Virginia Department of Transportation. Student volunteers will simulate tornado “victims” at a designated site on campus, providing the C-CERT students an opportunity for the triage portion of their final class drill.

The tornado “victims” will be staged at Park Plaza, between Cabell Library and Hibbs Hall on the Monroe Park Campus. The location also will serve as the site for an incident command post location. Emergency personnel from VCU and the City of Richmond will participate and their equipment, including vehicles, will be staged in the area.

I also would like to remind you that you and your neighbors may sign up for text messaging in order to be notified about emergencies, closings and delays due to inclement weather, and the monthly and semester emergency tests. There is no cost for enrolling, and you can sign up for text messaging now at www.vcu.edu/notify. Emergency information also is available on the VCU Alert Web site at www.vcu.edu/alert.

We hope you will find that our emergency communications are beneficial to you, and we will continue to work together to provide as safe an environment as possible. As always, we will communicate with our community neighbors when there is any enhancement or change about which you would want to know. And please, do not hesitate to forward this email to your neighbors, to help spread the word about the siren test.

Sincerely,

John M. Bennett
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration
Virginia Commonwealth University

804-828-6116
jmbennett@vcu.edu