Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 @commonwealthtimes @theCT1
VOL. 72, NO. 4 FEB. 11, 2026 THE INDEPENDENT PRESS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
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Graduate students struggle to afford living expenses with VCU pay rates
Ph.D candidate Mahmoud Kaid works with sensitive materials through a glovebox in a VCU lab. Photo by Kieran Stevens. Illustration by Zoë Luis.
OPINIONS
KATIE MEEKER Opinions & Humor Editor To say Richmond was unprepared for the landscape of snow and ice that has been plaguing residents is an understatement. Many sidewalks and backroads are still virtually unnavigable three weeks after the initial snowstorm that occurred the weekend of Jan. 24. The scourge has left many residents and VCU students unable to safely commute to work and class. SNOW Continued on page 13
VCU graduate students say they are having a hard time affording living expenses with the pay they receive for campus work as costs rise across the region. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, one adult working to support themself would need to be paid $25.21 an hour to make a living wage in Richmond. The site defines a ‘living wage’ as the fulltime hourly rate one needs to support themselves and/or their family. The current minimum wage in Virginia is $12.77 an hour, a 2.9% increase from $12.41 in 2025. Graduate students are paid with stipends based on how many hours they work per week. For nine and 10 month assistantships, minimum stipends are $4,000 for 10 hours of work per week and $7,500 for 20 hours of work — amounting to as little as $10.42 an hour. There are 902 Graduate Assistants actively employed by the university as of Feb. 9, according to VCU spokesperson Brian McNeill. For dissertation assistantships, the stipend is $9,375 semesterly. Participating Ph.D candidates must work on their dissertation full-time and cannot work elsewhere during the award period. GRAD WAGES Continued on page 2
New bill would allow students to donate meal swipes to each other ERIKA VASQUESZ Contributing Writer
Trump needs to prevent snowfall from being our downfall
BRYER HAYWOOD Contributing Writer
A new bill that would allow university students to donate unused meal plan credits passed the Virginia Senate last month — the latest piece in a series of legislation seeking to address student hunger. The proposal would add on to the HungerFree Campus Food Pantry Grant Program, an initiative enshrined into law last year to fund food banks on and around campuses. The swipe donation bill was introduced by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, who is known for sponsoring bills to “feed hungry kids.” It renames the program and expands on the qualifications needed for a school to receive a Hunger-Free Campus grant. Universities given the Hunger-Free Campus status that have meal swipe services — such as VCU — would be required to establish student meal credit sharing programs on top of continuing their on-campus food pantry programs. Students would be able to voluntarily donate unused meal plan credits to be distributed for use by other students at campus dining halls or on-campus food pantries, such as the VCU Ram Pantry. Donated swipes could also be used by on-campus food pantries to support themselves.
Baseball preview ahead of a hectic season see SPORTS page 5
The bill leaves the institutions responsible for developing procedures for the program, including how students may donate and receive their meal plan credits. A VCU Dining Services spokesperson declined a request for comment regarding its position on the swipe donation program and any guidance to students who cannot use
their swipes, and said the university does not typically comment on pending legislation. The bill was filed to create sustainable solutions to address basic food needs on campuses, raise awareness services offered [...] SWIPES Continued on page 3
A VCU student swipes their student ID at Bleecker Street. Photo collage by Zach Montgomery.
The CT’s Valentine’s Day look book see Spectrum page 7
Stall Seat Journal celebrates 25 years see FEATURES page 9