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VOL. 72, NO. 11 APRIL 8, 2026 THE INDEPENDENT PRESS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
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A pile of oak tree catkins, the part of the flower that stores and releases pollen into the air, cover the grounds of Monroe Park. Photo by Burke Loftus.
Students grapple with
Climate change, urban greenery make Richmond tough city for allergies SAL ORLANDO Assistant News Editor Across VCU campus and Richmond, pollen is coating cars, windows, walkways and the nostrils of students — as Richmond was recently ranked in the top 20 most challenging places in America to live in with a pollen allergy. The city’s
tree coverage and global climate change contribute to its allergenic status. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released a report this year classifying Richmond as the 14th harshest place for people with pollen allergies. The report claims climate change may be a reason for pollen spikes across the nation. “Richmond is at a climatic intersection
between north and south, and for that reason we have a number of different tree species that are contributing to the pollen count,” said VCU ecology professor Chris Gough. “The pollen count is particularly high at this time of the year because we have a number of different flowering plants.” Last year, the AAFA ranked the city
SPORTS
Women’s basketball ushers in new era with Chelsea Banbury
as the eighth most challenging city in the country to live in with a pollen allergy. Gough said the only solution that can alleviate the pollen in the Richmond area is eliminating tree canopy, which he does not think is a good idea. “Eliminating tree canopy has its downsides, because it would increase the temperatures in the city, particularly during the warmer months,” Gough said. “It would reduce cooling associated with the evaporation of water from plants in the city.” Richmond lost 2% of tree coverage over the past five years, bringing the city to 43.8% tree coverage, according to the Washington Post. That is still larger than the DMV metropolitan area’s 39.7% coverage or the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area’s 31.5% coverage. New York City’s metropolitan area has 27.5% coverage. Richmond has higher urban heat problems in areas that were redlined in the 1950s, per a previous report by The CT. “Climate change results in the pollen coming sooner,” Gough said. “We know that warm temperatures enhance the rate at which plants flower and when they produce flowers, they’re generating pollen, so that’s one effect of climate change. The second is that warmer temperatures can stimulate growth and, part of that growth results in an increase in pollen count.”
POLLEN Continued on next page FEATURES William Thomas examines samples in a lab. Photo courtesy of
Jonathan Haff/VCU News.
DREW THOMPSON Sports Editor VCU women’s basketba l l unvei led Chelsea Banbury as its 14th head coach on March 31. Banbur y coached at High Point University for the past seven seasons, winning four regular season conference c h a mpion sh ip s , t h r e e c on fe r enc e tou r na ments a nd t h ree NCA A Tournament appearances. Three of those four regular season titles came in the last three years, as well as back-to-back conference tournament championships. Banbury finished last season at 27-6, her fourth 20-win season in seven years. Banbur y opened her introductor y press conference by f irst thank ing the community. “You guys have a great group of people that welcomed us with open arms,” Banbury said. “They’ve made it feel like home from the beginning. So I do appreciate that and I want to thank all of you.” Banbury then followed by promising to develop and challenge the current student
William Thomas researches solutions to health inequities, including his own disease VCU Athletics Director Ed McLaughlin swears in Chelsea Banbury as the 14th head coach of the women's basketball program. Photo by Ben Rekosh. athletes, asking that they “fall in love” with the process. Banbury detailed her game plan on both ends of the court for the upcoming season. Offensively, the plan is to push the pace and rely on spacing and efficiency while utilizing screens and motions to create advantages.
“We’re going to attack the basket and we are going to shoot a lot,” Banbury said. “We will utilize the three point line.”
WBB COACH Continued on page 5
SAPPHIRA MOHAMMED Copy Editor Fourth-year biology student William Thomas has been conducting research at VCU on curing sickle cell disease, the very same disease he has lived with his entire life. WILLIAM THOMAS Continued on page 10
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see SPORTS page 5
see SPECTRUM page 7
see OPINIONS page 12