Mechelle Hankerson
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Part one of a two-part series about complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act on campus at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.
The full story can be viewed here.
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Part of a Sunshine Week project completed in March 2013 at VCU.
The full 69-page special feature (which includes the actual documents) can be viewed here.
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All photos by Amber-Lynn Taber for the Commonwealth Times
Even though Virginia wasn’t called in favor of President Barack Obama until after national media outlets began calling the election around midnight, students at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. took to the streets to celebrate Obama’s second term.
The crowd marched in a small circle in the center of VCU’s campus with the cooperation of Richmond police, who blocked off traffic to allow the crowd to move safely.
Richmond and its surrounding counties (like Henrico, which The Post called one of the seven most important counties in the country to win) went to Obama, although Republican stronghold Chesterfield County went for Mitt Romney.
Richmond city went overwhelmingly for Obama: the Virginia State Board of Elections reports that 77.03 percent of the vote there went for Obama while the remaining 21.4 percent went for Romney.
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Looks like Virginia Commonwealth University’s chapter of Students for Obama got to campus early to do some last-minute campaigning in the middle of campus.
Many of VCU’s students who live on or close to campus are split between three districts, but the school is providing shuttle buses to and from polling locations until 5 p.m. today.
Read more about VCU students’ districting here.
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Henrico County, Va. reports early-morning outages at polling places Voting has been underway in Virginia since 6 a.m. this morning with minimal reports of major interruptions.
In Eastern Henrico, at least three polling places reported power outages that disrupted voting, but Dominion Power restored power to all locations by 7:41 a.m.
Newport News reported malfunctioning ballot counting machines at one polling location
The 12 reported about the importance of Henrico County a few days ago.
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Some college students choose not to vote this year With all eyes on battleground states like Virginia, outreach and advocacy groups have been reminding voters how important it is to get out and vote on Election Day.
And while this election is the first for many college-aged students, University of Richmond’s Scott Himelein reports for The Collegian that there are some students who just aren’t ready — or just don’t feel like — voting.
“Young people do not seem to have the same enthusiasm they did four years ago,” said Ernest McGowen, a University of Richmond political science professor. “I do not think this trend is particular to young people. Most Democrat and Independent voters in Virginia — more young people tend to be Democrat — are registering lower enthusiasm for the race, likely because the overall mood of the country is down.”
Visits from the candidates over the coming weekend (there are five scheduled visits between both camps before Monday) are still happening in the few days before the election in an effort to mobilize some voters and sway undecided voters in their favor.
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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released an ad today in Virginia that focused on small businesses by telling the story of Bill’s BBQ, a recently closed local restaurant in Richmond, Va.
This isn’t Romney’s first hyper-local campaign effort in the state. In September, Romney distributed mailers about Lyme disease to residents in Northern Virginia.
With five days to go before the election, Romney is trying to hold on to his two-point lead over President Barack Obama in the state. Rasmussen Reports show that Romney is holding at 49 percent and Obama is at 47 percent.
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The Killers, “Read My Mind” from 2006’s “Sam’s Town” released by The Island Def Jam Music Group
Probably didn’t peg Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as a fan of The Killers, did you? Or how about President Barack Obama as a No Doubt fan?
Romney’s campaign playlist - the music that plays before his appearances and other campaign events- has a variety of genres and artists including a handful of songs from The Killers, whose vocalist, Brandon Flowers, is Mormon like Romney.
The Atlantic Wire’s Elspeth Reeve says campaign playlists have two main purposes:
The first is that it’s just a bunch of songs that have a lively enough beat to keep the crowd energetic and happy. The second is that every single artist and tune is selected to subtly communicate messages about the candidate and his policies.
Romney’s playlist features some artists who have endorsed him, most notably, Kid Rock. ’80s rocker Meatloaf recently endorsed Romney, but none of his songs have been added to the Romney/Ryan campaign playlist yet.
Obama’s playlist makes an obvious play toward younger voters, with No Doubt’s “Different People” from 1995’s “Tragic Kingdom” album as well as Florence and the Machine and the Arcade Fire.
Bruce Springsteen, who recently endorsed Obama and performed a free concert in Charlottesville in support of the president, is also included.
You can listen and see a complete list of Obama’s playlist here on Spotify.
You can also check out Romney’s Spotify playlist here.
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“It shouldn’t be news that somebody who wants to go into the Senate is willing to start from a position of openness and dialogue. We can’t start with non-negotiable.” — Virginia U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine (D) during a debate against Republican candidate George Allen on Thursday, Sept. 20 in McLean, Va. Kaine and Allen both tried to stay as bipartisan as possible during the debate, focusing on decreasing the national debt while avoiding cuts to the military budget. (via The Richmond Times-Dispatch)(via 2012swingstates)
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“If there’s a way to cut down the costs on spending but still have financial aid, that’d be perfect for me. But so far I think Obama’s approach is more favorable for me.”
— Harrison Sun, junior chemistry major at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond
Sun and 14 other VCU students are participating in a special class this semester through the university’s Honors College and the School of Mass Communications. Students are following the state’s high-profile Senate race between George Allen (R) and Tim Kaine (D), as well as the presidential election. The group has also begun efforts to register any last-minute voters on campus. VCU Votes can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
What issue matters most to you in the upcoming election? Tell us here on The 12, or tweet your response using #VoterVoices
You can also read up on the candidates positions and endorse their statements using the Washington Post’s Issue Engine.
