The Collegian
Thursday, September 21, 2023

Features


Features

Student interns observe political processes during eight weeks at General Assembly

Each week, 18 University of Richmond students wake up, put on black suit coats and close-toed shoes, sit in rush hour traffic and push through the revolving doors of the General Assembly Building. Instead of money, these juniors and seniors are earning six credits for the 20 hours per week that they spend working for the Virginia General Assembly through the university's oldest internship program, Political Science 395: State Legislative Internship. The course, which has been offered since the 1970s, is divided into two sections.


Features

Emotions run high during solemn holiday service

Absent were the celebratory Christmas carols, the brightly ringing bells, the jubilant and joyous greetings of a traditional Christmas service in Cannon Memorial Chapel. Absent were the cries of joy and happiness, replaced, instead, with cries from quiet sobs in an atmosphere of solemn reflection. And absent was the customary candle lighting for a somber rendition of "Silent Night." Instead, a procession of people stepped up, one-by-one, to light candles and say the name of loved ones whom they had lost. For those who attended Tuesday's nondenominational Blue Christmas Service at noon at the chapel, the holidays have been a struggle to find happiness while the rest of the world seems filled with joy. "This service is for you," Kate O'Dwyer Randall, the university's acting Chaplain, told the congregation of about 35 students and community members at the beginning of the service.


Features

Third Eye Blind gives intimate performance in Richmond

Third Eye Blind played a sold-out concert to more than 1,400 people at Toad's Place Monday night with music that spanned a decade, with hits from the '90s and unreleased songs from their next album. The band's 10-day tour includes shows at venues that are smaller than usual.


Features

For Abby Ayers, public life means keeping some things close to heart

Among the events the Ayerses attend each week, a contest that Abby and Ed Ayers participated in struck the new university president as a symbol of their experiences since they had lived in Richmond. They agreed to a local "Dancing with the Stars" competition, which they competed in against Bobby Ukrop and a local radio personality.


Basketball

Dedication to basketball shaped manager's life, influenced teams

During an Atlanta meet-and-greet for young alumni in October, former University of Richmond men's basketball team manager Daniel Woolley told new President Edward Ayers he was upset that Richmond had disbanded its sports management major. "He kind of bit his ear off," his mother, Charlsie Woolley said. Ayers asked Woolley if he would have majored in sports management.


Features

Jazz pioneer Pat Metheny to play at Modlin Center

On Nov. 9, sounds of contemporary jazz music will be captured within the walls of Camp Concert Hall as Pat Metheny combines his cutting edge style on the guitar with Christian McBride on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a guy who plays at gargantuan venues and huge universities with over 3,000 seats in an up close and personal setting," said Kathy Panoff, executive director of the Modlin Center for the Arts.


Features

APO hosts senior citizen prom

Alpha Phi Omega, University of Richmond's co-ed service fraternity, will host a night of dancing and conversation for both college students and senior citizens. APO's 15th annual Senior Citizen Prom, themed "A Red Carpet Affair," will take place on Nov.


Features

From war-torn Afghanistan, a former refugee finds her place at UR

When Wadia Samadi began her first week of classes at the University of Richmond last Monday, she might have seemed just like any other first-year student. She was mildly overwhelmed with the workload that came with taking 15 credits, she relaxed after a long day in her Moore Hall dorm room, and she sometimes lost her way to different classes. "Everyday I have to ask like 50 people where things are," said Samadi, 18.


Features

For new president, first task is finding university's identity

As Edward Ayers begins his second full month as president of the University of Richmond and his first week with students, he finds himself probing for answers about the university's identity -- answers he has yet to find. "My job this year, with as much honesty as I can, is to figure out what the University of Richmond is so I can help it fulfill itself," Ayers said. Ayers, the former dean of arts and sciences at the University of Virginia, said his background as a historian is serving him strongly as he works through the early months of his presidency. He is meticulously moving through the campus and among its community members, meeting with groups of students and faculty and doing whatever he can to sense a common pulse in a community that largely fails to fall into the rigid mold of a liberal arts university. "It's very clear that nobody else is built like we are.