Wednesday, August 19, 2026 @commonwealthtimes @theCT1
VOL. 73, NO. 1 AUGUST 19, 2026 THE INDEPENDENT PRESS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
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VCU Students face higher than average tuition increase SAL ORLANDO News Editor MAEVE BAUER Executive Editor VCU in-state undergraduate students are now paying 3.9% more on their tuition this academic year. In-state underg raduate st udents enrolled in 15 credits per semester are now paying $17,963 in tuition and mandatory fees, according to VCU News. Virginia’s average increase in tuition for in-state undergraduates is 3.2%, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. VCU had the second highest percentage increase in the state, behind Old Dominion University. Almost 80% of registered voters in Virginia’s July 2026 Commonwealth Poll believe that cost is too high to attend college in Virginia, ref lecting a 10% increase since the winter poll.
VCU Student Financial Management Center at Harris Hall on Aug. 18. Photo By Burke Loftus.
Tuition Increase Continued on page 3
NEWS
SPECTRUM
VCU POLL: Virginians express concerns over data center impacts
HOTPANTS finds its sound in Richmond rock scene
SAL ORLANDO, News Editor The L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs released a new Commonwealth Poll on July 15 with results showing Virginians are pushing back against data centers. Nearly 8 in 10 registered voters in Virginia believe data centers should pay additional fees to compensate for increased electricity demands from facility operation, according to the poll. Over 70% of registered voters oppose data centers receiving sales tax exemptions that incentivize facilities in the state. Virginia leads the country in the most planned data centers, according to Pew Research Center. There are future facilities planned for Chesterfield, Henrico, Petersburg and Goochland. Mar y Finley-Brook, Professor of Geography and Global Studies at the University of Richmond and member of Data Center Defiance, said that Google, Meta, QTS, Chirisa and Tracts are all well-known entities in the data center landscape building in the Richmond area. DCD is a coalition in Central Virginia with the mission of protecting people and
the environment from the harms of data centers in the region. “They’re trying to squeeze as much as they can out of every locality, and it is always a sense of ‘If you don’t go along with what’s being demanded, they we will go elsewhere,’” Finley-Brook said. “So,
local governments feel a little bit over the barrel… I think they are misinformed about the risks.”
DATA CENTERS Continued on page 4
HOTPANTS lead singer and guitarist Mackenzie Roark performing at the Woodland Heights Tiny Porch Concert series on Aug. 16. Photo by Burke Loftus RACHEL NICHOLAS Assistant Spectrum Editor In a cit y full of creativit y and booming artistry, Richmond rock band HOTPANTS has spent the last few years finding their place in the city’s music scene, pulling inspiration from classic rock, indie and psychedelic music.
Sign at Chesterfield Google Data Center Open House. Courtesy of Data Center Defiance.
HOTPANTS Continued on page 14
Baseball Season Recap
Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making an improv show!
Why opinions matter — even the ones you don’t agree with
see [SECTION] page 8
see SPECTRUM page 12
see OPINIONS page 16