Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026 @commonwealthtimes @theCT1
VOL. 72, NO. 1 JAN. 14, 2026 THE INDEPENDENT PRESS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
COMMONWEALTHTIMES.ORG
Immigrant students at risk of losing in-state tuition following Trump Lawsuit
2025 ACP NEWSPAPER PACEMAKER WINNER
OPINIONS
Illustration by Sophie Dellinger.
Richmond has a pedestrian safety problem. Public transportation could be a solution. Illustration by Zoë Luis.
HECIEL NIEVES BONILLA News Editor SAL ORLANDO Assistant News Editor Some Virginia immigrant students are fearing they will lose access to higher education as an agreement between Virginia and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, pending the approval of a judge, would remove their in-state tuition eligibility. FEATURES
The DOJ sued Virginia on Dec. 29, challenging laws that provide instate tuition and financial assistance to residents regardless of immigration status — including those benefiting from the Virginia Dream Act of 2020, which expanded in-state eligibility to refugees and other immigrant-status students provided they meet residency and economic requirements. The DOJ took issue with the protection extending to “ illegal aliens,” claiming the act discriminates against U.S. citizens and incentivizes
undocumented immigration. Outgoing Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares chose to enter an agreement with the DOJ just before the new year, instead of fighting the case. If the agreement is approved by a judge, undocumented students receiving in-state tuition and financial assistance would lose in-state resources immediately. DOJ LAWSUIT Continued on page 2
NEWS
Charlie Schmidt was arrested ‘a lot’ protesting as a VCU student Now he’s Richmond’s next lawmaker ANDREW KERLEY Executive Editor Charlie Schmidt took it all the way. Once like many-a-VCU-student; riding the city bus lines and organizing anti-war protests — the academic turned activist, civil rights lawyer and public librarian recently secured himself a seat at the Virginia State Capitol after winning a special election to fill a House of Delegates seat between Southside Richmond and Chesterfield in an upset victory. In a shuffle between deep-blue districts — Schmidt was running to replace the seat held by Del. Mike Jones, who will soon be known as Sen. Mike Jones after running to
fill the seat left behind by Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi. Schmidt’s main hurdle was the Democratic primary, in which he defeated well-known former Richmond City Council Speaker Michelle Mosby, who finished second in the 2024 Richmond mayoral race. Schmidt received 639 votes to Mosby’s 488. It took a lot of community organizing to defeat the more established Mosby — who had the endorsements of multiple city council members, Mayor Danny Avula and even Jones himself. CHARLIE SCHMIDT Continued on page 10
KATIE MEEKER Opinions and Humor Editor As Richmond begins the new year, it has seen a recent uptick in tragedy — multiple people, including the beloved director of the Valentine Museum Bill Martin, killed in pedestrian-related traffic accidents. Richmond has some of the riskiest drivers nationwide, according to Axios. While trafficrelated deaths in the city have declined since 2022 (a year that saw a record-high 26 deaths), the average is still higher than the 20172019 decline. For the past year, City Hall — in collaboration with VCU — has committed to a global strategy called “Vision Zero,” an initiative aimed at preventing traffic-related fatalities. The program has since taken a few main courses of action: building infrastructure that promotes pedestrian safety, such as curb extensions and crossing signs; increased police presence to ramp up speed enforcement; and initiatives such as “Heads up, Rams!” to educate and enhance pedestrian awareness. The rollout of these programs, while efficient, is still ongoing. In Richmond, there were 13 trafficrelated pedestrian deaths in 2025. In just the past three weeks, we have seen six. Richmond’s pedestrian safety issue is better classif ied as a crisis. Mayor Danny Avula addressed these recent concerns directly in a Jan. 8 press release, announcing a series of immediate actions aimed at improving pedestrian safety in the city and stating that “everyone deserves to get where they’re going safely.” The new actions Avula described include an expanded safety camera program, accelerated street safety improvements and the creation of a “Pedestrian Safety Task Force” in partnership with VCU. ROAD SAFETY Continued on page 12
Sing Karaoke every night in RVA
We pay the price when nursing isnʻt ʻprofessionalʼ
How VCU Athletics teams fared over winter break
see SPECTRUM page 8
see OPINIONS page 12
see SPORTS page 6