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Previous Stories: Fall 2007
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 Raking
in the dough
Looking for a high-paying job? Maybe you should try
being a president…college president, that is!
President George W. Bush’s annual salary is about
$400,000, but what about Virginia Commonwealth
University President Eugene Trani? Students and staff at
VCU guessed anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000.
How close can you come?
Read more... |
 Your
holiday tree guide
This holiday season, higher gas prices mean you’re going
to be paying more to trim that tree. The average price
of a real tree is up 10 percent, according to the
National Christmas Tree Association (NTCA). Tree
vendors say one way to not only keep your tree lasting
longer, but also keep the cost down, is by purchasing
trees from local growers.
Read more...
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 Bottled
water blues?
According to a recent study by the Natural Resources
Defense Council, the United States is the leading
consumer of bottled water. The sale of bottled water has
increased by 500% in the last decade. VCU
Recycling Coordinator Steve Heintz says he’s noticed the
increase in bottled water use.
Read more... |
 Most
vain state?
A recent survey on vanity plates by the American
Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators put Virginia
at the top of the list for states with the most vanity
license plates. The survey titled, “Who’s So
Vain?,” says a little more than 16 percent, or about 1.1
million, of all registered cars in the state of Virginia
sport personalized plates.
Read more... |
 Administrators
say VCU on path to "world class" status
A planning commission called VCU’s general education
program “at least 20 years out of date.” That was
in 2004.
This year, freshmen are taking courses in a revamped
core education program. And top administrators say the
program is improving student learning in core
competencies and increasing student engagement.
Read more... |
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Do you need a flu shot?
As the winter approaches so does cold and flu season.
The Centers for Disease Control has set aside the week
of November 27th as National Influenza Vaccination week.
During this week they are targeting children. Each year
over 20,000 children are hospitalized and 36,000 people
die because of the virus. College students
are among those in the high risk group.
Read more... |
 Students
making
a difference for Africa
Students at Virginia Commonwealth University are
reaching out to those in need in a global way. Virginia
Commonwealth University hosted “For Africa: A
Benefit” November 1-3 to raise money for children in
Ghana. Money donated will go to Sovereign Global
Mission, a non-governmental organization in Ghana, which
serves homeless street children and rural children who
can't afford to go to school.
Read
more... |
Who's running for president?
USA Today reports that college students, in particular
freshmen, are more interested in politics these days. With the
pending 2008 elections, political interest is on the rise. The VCU InSight street team recently
surveyed some VCU freshmen to see how interested they are in
politics. We quizzed freshmen outside Brandt and Rhoads Halls –
VCU’s on-campus freshmen dormitories – to find out which
candidates they recognized – and which they didn’t.
Read
more....
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Test your slang IQ
Though some slang words may not be found in the dictionary,
slang has been a part of the American culture for centuries. But
where does it come from, and how does it evolve? VCU language
professor Elizabeth Kuhn says that slang changes as each group
of people uses it.
“The key is that it is a specialized thing for that group, and
then if it starts spreading to everybody and everybody uses it,
it doesn’t work as slang anymore and so people have to come up
with new words, which is why it constantly, constantly changes,”
Kuhn said.
Read more...
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 Making
marriage last
It appears that many Americans are making better choices
when it comes to the people they marry. Divorce
rates have been dropping for the past 30 years and are
at their lowest since 1970. After two years of marriage,
Brett and Brandon Jaycox say that communication,
teamwork, laughter and good TV shows are the keys to
their successful relationship.
Read
more... |
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For VCU professors, NASCAR means business
The speedometer isn’t the only thing reading big numbers
when it comes to NASCAR. Auto racing is one of the
fastest-growing sports, with 78 million loyal fans and
$3 billion in annual licensed product sales.
NASCAR is big business – so much so that VCU’s School of
Business offers a course on the business of NASCAR. It’s
taught by two professors who keep a nationally
recognized blog about the sport.
Read more...
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 TXT
MSG is turning 15, OMG how time flies
Text messaging can be seen everywhere; all you have to do is
look around and you can spot a texter right off. This form of
communication allows the user to send a condensed kind of
mini-email via a mobile phone. The message is limited to 160
characters. As a result, people are getting creative with
spelling.
Read more... |
VCU emergency test – it worked OK
At noon on Sept. 19, you might have heard an extremely
loud, obnoxious and long siren. Don’t worry
– it wasn’t a terrorist attack, and it didn’t mean
Godzilla came to town. It was just Virginia Commonwealth
University testing its new security alert system.
The alert system went off as planned, and there were
only a few minor missteps. In some of the buildings, the
siren volume wasn’t as loud as expected because of the
thickness of the walls. And for some, the alarm almost
sounded like an ambulance.
Read
more... |
 Katrina's Legacy: Jazz spreads through U.S.?
Smooth
vibrations danced through the trombone, while the sounds
of blues flowed through the crowd like a warm summer
breeze. Students, faculty and Richmond residents all
gathered on the MCV Campus Green September 9 to hear the
culture rich sounds of New Orleans jazz.
Read more... |
Can your genes really affect your friend choice?
The Archive of Genetic Psychiatry just released a report
that says our genes can affect who we socialize with.
Dr. Kenneth Kendler, professor of human genetics and
psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University, was one
of the researchers on this project. He and other
researchers located about 1800 male twin pairs from the
Virginia Twin Registry and interviewed them over the
course of four years. Kendler believes the research may
be used to predict possible future behavior.
Read more... |
VCU implements new safety measures
After the tragic events at Virginia Tech this past
spring, many colleges around the nation are taking extra
precautions with campus safety. Virginia Commonwealth
University is no different. In order to keep students
and faculty up to date with the most recent information,
VCU has now implemented the use of text messaging.
Read more...
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Studying Abroad
Every year 400-500 VCU students study
abroad. Many of those students find that traveling
to another country to study is an important and
rewarding college experience.
"I get to help students study abroad who maybe never
left Virginia before, who've never been on a plane
before and that's really exciting," says Stephanie
Davenport, assistant director of International
Education.
Read more...
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Fire danger on campus
The risk of getting caught in a fire is rising for
college students. The National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) says the number of on-campus fires
has risen dramatically in recent years. But as freshmen
students begin their first semester at VCU, fire safety
is one subject they won't find in their textbooks.
Read more...
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