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VOL. 72, NO. 12 APRIL 15, 2026 THE INDEPENDENT PRESS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
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VCU IS ALL IN ON RESEARCH New initiatives, growing funds point to changing campus identity
HECIEL NIEVES BONILLA News Editor ANDREW KERLEY Executive Editor VCU is aiming to “not just be a national, but an international hub for research and innovation,” according to P. Srirama Rao, the university’s vice president for research and innovation. In his annual State of the Research address, Rao outlined a lofty goal for the university — to reach $1 billion in sponsored research funding. The announcement comes amid an academic yea r packed w it h new g ra nts for interdisciplinary studies, new and reworked minors and , and consolidated programs. A s VCU ha s put more mone y into research and shifted its branding accordingly, some students and faculty have pointed to the campus possibly shifting away from its identity as a hub for the arts and humanities. VCU is ranked No. 46 nationally in research spending among public research universities by the National Science Foundation — yet it is ranked No. 72 in public schools overall by U.S. News & World Report. VCU’s research spending, and status as an R1, “very high research activity” university, is exceptionally high for a school of its prestige. RESEARCH Continued on page 4
Researchers gather by a computer in a neuroscience lab at VCU. Photo courtesy of VCU News. FEATURES
SPECTRUM
Richmond swordfighter ranks among world’s best
Furries shook their tails and waved their paws at second Fur Fair
Zachary Showalter helps grow local HEMA community
Top 10 longsword fighter Zachary Showalter. Photo by Landon G Walker. BENNEY KOCH Contributing Writer On a tennis court in Richmond, athletes gather with heavy bags of gear to clash with their blades. Donning great masks and thick gloves, fencers tap their swords before engaging with one another in quick combat. In an instant, one fighter strikes another, and they ready themselves to go at it again. It looks like something out of a historical or fantasy film, but for Zach Showalter, it is the result of nearly a decade of disciplined training. SWORDFIGHTER Continued on page 11
Richmond Fur Fair attendees herding together in Ram Horns Plaza. Photo by Cameron Powell. CORA PERKINS Assistant Spectrum Editor Velociraptors, multicolored cats and new blends of creatures roamed the halls of VCU’s Commons last Saturday at the Anthro Society’s annual Richmond Fur Fair, or RUFF. The event offered panels, a photobooth, an artist alley and a place for
furries, new and old, to meet and connect. Planning for RUFF started long before the announcement of the event, according to Dev Partangal, President of the Anthro Society. From figuring out the logistics throughout the last year and a half, to cutting out over 900 badges for the fair while watching My Little Pony, the society had been working hard to make it the best fest yet.
“Most of the planning, like a lot of the bulk of it, took place starting in December, but it took a lot,” Partangal said. “It was a lot of working with The Commons, we had to work with them really, really closely to manage security because that was probably our biggest concern.” FURRIES Continued on page 8
Coach Banbury expectations
Students put on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' musical
Fire alarms in dorms are doing more harm than good
see SPORTS page 6
see SPECTRUM page 8
see OPINIONS page 12