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VOL. 71, NO. 4 SEPT. 10, 2025 THE INDEPENDENT PRESS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
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Departments combine as VCU pushes forward with
academic repositioning HECIEL NIEVES BONILLA Assistant News Editor The VCU English and Foreign Language departments within the School of World Studies are being merged into a new department with the potential name of the “Department of Language and Literature.” Multiple programs focused on innovation and entrepreneurship will also be integrated into University College, the existing umbrella department for interdisciplinary work. ACADEMIC REPOSITIONING Continued on page 2
From left to right: VCU President Michael Rao, Provost Beverly Warren, Board of Visitors Vice Rector Steven DeLuca. Photos by Kieran Stevens.
Google invests in new Chesterfield data center project as energy costs rise MOLLY MANNING News Editor A new Chesterfield data center is expected to begin construction by the end of the year as part of Google’s new $9 billion investment in Virginia announced in August by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Google president Ruth Porat at Brightpoint Community College. The investment will also expand existing locations in Loudoun and Prince William Counties, according to Data Center Dynamics. Increased and continuous construction of data centers will coincide with Dominion Energ y ’s monthly rate increase for customers, proposed at the State Corporation Commission’s 2025 biennial rate review. Dominion’s proposal would add $10.51 a month to customers’ energy bills starting in 2027, according to Virginia Mercury. In addition, customers would face another $10.92 average monthly increase for fuel costs, bringing the combined increase to around $21 over the next two years. DATA CENTERS Continued on page 2
FEATURES
‘ICE IS NOT WELCOME HERE’:
How Richmond business owners are fighting back ETHAN YORK Staff Writer ANDREW KERLEY Executive Editor As President Donald Trump continues his surge of immigration enforcement across the nation, Richmond business owners are taking a stand on behalf of immigrants in the community. Virginia is a hotspot for immigration enforcement, data shows. Over 2,000 Virginia residents received deportation orders in March alone — 300 of whom were in the Richmond area. Arrests in June 2025 were six times higher than in 2024. Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order in February directing the Virginia State Police and Department of Corrections to fully cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and requested that local police departments do the same.
In response to ICE’s presence in RVA, dozens of businesses — from toy stores, to book shops to pizza places — have opted to display “ICE IS NOT WELCOME HERE” signs on their storefronts. The signs — created and distributed by the nonprofit Richmond Community and Legal Fund — list the rights of businesses and citizens, intending to show citizens what to do if confronted by ICE. They are written in both English and Spanish. “ICE does NOT have the authority to stop, question or arrest anyone at will — even in a public business,” the signs read. “No one can enter a private area of this business without permission or a judicial warrant.” The CT spoke to three business owners in the Carytown shopping district about why they are choosing to take a stand. ICE FLYERS Continued on page 9 Graphic by Marty Alexeenko.
DUMBOUYA FEATURE
'TOTAL KNOCKOUT'
PROTESTS
see SPORTS page 4
see SPECTRUM page 7
see OPINIONS page 13