[{"id":792,"date":"2026-09-17T16:20:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=792"},"modified":"2026-09-17T16:20:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:20:52","slug":"expressive-activity-at-vcu-fall-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/expressive-activity-at-vcu-fall-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Expressive Activity at VCU Fall 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear Students,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you settle into the fall semester, we want to share some information regarding expressive activity on campus, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.public.doctract.com\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DA32A740D31FB4D9FC17CC1351AF65\"><strong>Campus Expression and Space Utilization Policy<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VCU is a community with a host of differing viewpoints reflecting each of our personal lenses through which we see, and experience, the world. This diversity of viewpoint and opinion is a tremendous asset to our community.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We expect that all members of our community, and our guests, engage in conversations with others who share similar and dissimilar perspectives. The university is committed to fostering a climate that encourages civil and spirited discourse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a public university, VCU is committed to the First Amendment and Virginia law. The First Amendment prohibits a public university from prior restraint on speech and taking adverse action against individuals or groups, whether affiliated with the university or not, based on the viewpoints of their speech. This freedom of speech also encompasses the rights of those who present differing viewpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.public.doctract.com\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DA32A740D31FB4D9FC17CC1351AF65\"><strong>Campus Expression and Space Utilization Policy<\/strong><\/a> outlines how activities, including expressive activities, may occur at VCU. This policy was developed in 2018 as the Reservation and Use of Space Policy and revised and renamed in 2025 through a transparent and inclusive process that included multiple opportunities for student participation in feedback.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information, please visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/dos.vcu.edu\/student-resources-and-information\/ram-voice\/\"><strong>Ram Voice<\/strong><\/a> page on the Dean of Students website. Additionally, here is a link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/dos.vcu.edu\/student-resources-and-information\/ram-voice\/campus-expression-and-space-utilization-maps\/\"><strong>Space Utilization Maps<\/strong><\/a><strong>.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We also have a team of staff members through the Division of Student Affairs who are available to consult and are often present when expressive activities occur on campus. The Dean of Student Advocacy office is available throughout the year to meet with students who have specific questions or concerns and can be reached at <strong>vcudean@vcu.edu<\/strong> or 804-828-8940.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a public university, we will uphold the constitutional rights of our community, and hold tight to our core values of decency, respect, diversity, and inclusion. We will foster an environment where all members of our community feel welcome, safe, supported, and able to succeed in the context of our mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you for your support of expressive activity on our campus and your willingness to engage in productive civil discourse with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Division of Student Affairs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Students, As you settle into the fall semester, we want to share some information regarding expressive activity on campus, including the Campus Expression and Space Utilization Policy. VCU is a community with a host of differing viewpoints reflecting each of our personal lenses through which we see, and experience, the world. This diversity of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2026-spring-2027","category-vpsa-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":794,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792\/revisions\/794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":783,"date":"2026-09-17T13:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=783"},"modified":"2026-09-17T13:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:42:53","slug":"meet-inayah-oneil-office-of-student-leadership-and-engaged-learning-peer-leader-of-the-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/meet-inayah-oneil-office-of-student-leadership-and-engaged-learning-peer-leader-of-the-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Inayah O\u2019Neil: Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning Peer Leader of the Month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<span id=\"docs-internal-guid-2047d636-7fff-6acc-463a-8c80744d3e5e\" style=\"font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap\">I really enjoy helping other people accomplish their goals and discover their\u00a0 passions.\u201d \u2014 Inayah O\u2019Neil<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Inayah O\u2019Neil, leadership is rooted in community, curiosity, and helping others succeed. A senior from Richmond studying computer science with a cybersecurity focus and data science, she has spent her time at VCU creating spaces where students feel supported, connected, and encouraged to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her dedication to student leadership began during her freshman year and has continued through her involvement with the Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cInayah was chosen as Peer Leader of the Month because of her dedication to the Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning since the beginning of her freshman year,\u201d said Shawn Watson. \u201cHer commitment has contributed greatly to the success of the office and positively impacted those around her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout her time in the Emerging Leaders Program, Inayah has served as a mentee, mentor, and Student Director. Watson says her bright energy, passion for leadership, and ability to create inclusive and engaging programs have helped foster a welcoming environment for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cInayah stands out because she brings a unique perspective to everything she does,\u201d Watson said. \u201cHer ability to see situations from viewpoints that others may overlook brings valuable insight to those around her. She approaches challenges and opportunities with thoughtfulness, creativity, and an open mind, making her perspective an important part of every space she is in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finding community through leadership<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inayah currently serves as a Peer Leadership intern for the Peer Leadership initiative, where she leads workshops, plans community engagement opportunities, and works to celebrate and support peer leaders across campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her involvement extends across VCU. She also serves as vice president of internal relations for Omicron Delta Kappa, a Peer Academic Coach at the Campus Learning Center, and a Student Athlete Tutor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her favorite part of being involved is the opportunity to connect with people she may not have otherwise met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGetting to learn about people outside of my major and who have different life experiences than me is rewarding,\u201d Inayah said. \u201cI really enjoy helping other people accomplish their goals and discover their passions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through those experiences, Inayah says she has discovered how important community is to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have learned that I really enjoy community and learning about people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inayah credits great mentors with teaching her to lead with care and curiosity\u2014two qualities she believes are essential for working through conflict, building genuine community, and contributing to society. She also sees those lessons carrying into her professional future, where working on teams and thinking critically about systems will be important in her field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As she approaches the end of her VCU journey, Inayah hopes to leave the university more connected, more curious, and more welcoming than she found it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And when she isn\u2019t studying, mentoring, or leading? Inayah loves to travel. One memorable adventure took her to Hawaii, where she ziplined on a mile-long course over a waterfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What makes a Peer Leader of the Month?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peer Leaders of the Month are recognized based on three key criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Student Success Champion: Actively supports, encourages, and contributes to the success of fellow students.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Campus Commitment: Demonstrates dedication to building a positive, connected, and supportive campus community.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leadership in Action: Shows a strong understanding of their leadership identity and uses it to positively influence others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through her commitment to community, student success, and leadership, Inayah embodies each of these qualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congratulations, Inayah, and thank you for being a leader worth celebrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">*Article Note: Keyouna Richardson, Student Content Creator, is the credited author of this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I really enjoy helping other people accomplish their goals and discover their\u00a0 passions.\u201d \u2014 Inayah O\u2019Neil For Inayah O\u2019Neil, leadership is rooted in community, curiosity, and helping others succeed. A senior from Richmond studying computer science with a cybersecurity focus and data science, she has spent her time at VCU creating spaces where students feel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2026-spring-2027"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":791,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783\/revisions\/791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":776,"date":"2026-08-31T03:22:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T03:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=776"},"modified":"2026-08-31T03:22:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T03:22:43","slug":"weeks-of-welcome-2026-early-assessment-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/weeks-of-welcome-2026-early-assessment-highlights\/","title":{"rendered":"Weeks of Welcome 2026: Early Assessment Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VCU\u2019s Weeks of Welcome (WoW) provides students with opportunities to connect with the university community, build relationships, explore involvement opportunities, and learn about resources and supports available to help them succeed at VCU.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WoW 2026 spans the first three weeks of the semester and continues through <strong>September 6<\/strong>. The assessment results below provide an <strong>early snapshot of student participation, reach, and experience<\/strong>, with additional events and data collection still underway.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reach and Scale<\/strong>: WoW includes a broad range of programs and activities offered across the university.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of Friday, August 28th,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A total of <strong>100 scheduled WoW event sessions<\/strong> across the three-week WoW period.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>75 sessions (75%) have been completed, with 25 sessions (25%) still to come.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A total of<strong> 9,722 RSVPs <\/strong>and <strong>5,919 recorded check-ins<\/strong> have been captured to date, representing <strong>3,575 unique students<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>WoW programming spans activities intentionally designed to advance these three primary goals. Among 59 distinct WoW events:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Connection and Sense of Belonging \u2013 27% (16 events)<\/strong>: Helping students feel welcomed, included, and connected to the VCU community.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Engagement and Involvement \u2013 36% (21 events)<\/strong>: Helping students explore campus life and find ways to get involved.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Resource Awareness and Student Success \u2013 37 (22 events)<\/strong>: Helping students learn about resources and support available to help them succeed at VCU.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Highest-Attended Events to Date (by check-in)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>FloydFest Monroe Park Block Party<\/strong>: <strong>1,500<\/strong> student check-ins<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Sound of Ram Nation: Black &amp; Gold Wednesday Kickoff<\/strong>: <strong>623 <\/strong>student check-ins<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SOVO Fair<\/strong>: <strong>1,216<\/strong> student check-in<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Key outcomes: What Students are Telling Us&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>Everyone was coming together and showing their pride in becoming a Ram. It felt like home.<\/em>&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;I also met my new best friend there, which made me excited for the rest of this semester.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participant surveys are being administered across several major WoW signature events. To date, assessment data are available from five signature events, with individual event response rates generally ranging from approximately 30% to 33%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the three signature events with comparable core measures\u2014<strong>FloydFest Monroe Park Block Party, Black &amp; Gold Wednesday Kickoff, and SOVO Fair<\/strong>\u2014early findings point to several consistent themes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Students feel welcomed, a strong sense of belonging, and connected<\/strong>. Across signature events, students report high levels of feeling welcomed and connected to the VCU community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>97%<\/strong> of survey respondents reported <strong>feeling welcomed<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>93%<\/strong> reported that attending the event <strong>increased their sense of belonging at VCU<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>WoW is strengthening school spirit and connection to VCU<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students consistently reported strong school spirit at major WoW events. Events designed around VCU traditions, such as Black &amp; Gold Wednesday, are helping students recognize and participate in shared aspects of university life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>93%<\/strong> reported feeling a strong sense of school spirit at the events.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Students see value in their WoW experience<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Survey results indicate high levels of satisfaction and positive perceptions of the value in attending WoW events.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>94%<\/strong> agreed at various levels (somewhat to very) that attending the event <strong>was a worthwhile use of their time<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>95% <\/strong>reported a <strong>positive overall event satisfaction rating<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Building Momentum for Continued Involvement<\/strong>. Early findings suggest that WoW experiences are encouraging students to remain engaged beyond the opening weeks of the semester.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the <strong>FloydFest Monroe Park Block Party<\/strong>, <strong>95%<\/strong> indicated that the experience encouraged them to <strong>attend future campus activities<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the <strong>Black &amp; Gold Wednesday Kickoff<\/strong>, <strong>92% <\/strong>agreed that the event helped Black &amp; Gold Wednesday <strong>feel like a VCU tradition<\/strong>, and <strong>70%<\/strong> indicated <strong>plans to participate some, most, or every week<\/strong> during the semester.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At <strong>SOVO Fair<\/strong>, <strong>96%<\/strong> indicated that they found at least one organization or opportunity that <strong>fits their interests<\/strong> and <strong>95%<\/strong> reported feeling <strong>more confident about how to get involved at VCU<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>71%<\/strong> plan to <strong>join or follow an organization on RamsConnect<\/strong> and <strong>77%<\/strong> plan to <strong>attend a student organization meeting or event<\/strong>, after the SOVO Fair.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taken together, these early findings suggest that WoW is contributing not only to student participation at the beginning of the academic year, but also to important student experience outcomes related to <strong>welcome, belonging, school spirit, tradition-building, and continued engagement<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Everyone was so sweet, welcoming, and patient with me. They didn\u2019t mind me asking questions and genuinely made me feel comfortable. That is the type of experience I was hoping to have when exploring [involvement].&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Looking ahead<\/strong>. Weeks of Welcome continue through <strong>September 6<\/strong>, with <strong>25 additional events<\/strong> still scheduled.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assessment will continue throughout the remainder of WoW, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>tracking attendance and participation across remaining events;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>examining the reach of WoW across key student populations;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>collecting additional participant feedback;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>comparing outcomes across signature events; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>identifying broader patterns related to student belonging, engagement, resource awareness, and connection to VCU.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A more comprehensive assessment report will be available after WoW concludes and all participation and survey data have been compiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview VCU\u2019s Weeks of Welcome (WoW) provides students with opportunities to connect with the university community, build relationships, explore involvement opportunities, and learn about resources and supports available to help them succeed at VCU.&nbsp; WoW 2026 spans the first three weeks of the semester and continues through September 6. The assessment results below provide an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":777,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2026-spring-2027","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":781,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776\/revisions\/781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":772,"date":"2026-08-23T11:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=772"},"modified":"2026-08-23T11:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:54:20","slug":"activities-programing-board-hosts-successful-havoc-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/activities-programing-board-hosts-successful-havoc-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Activities Programing Board Hosts Successful Havoc Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Activities Programing Board (APB) hosted an extremely successful Havoc Week in April. Havoc week serves as APB\u2019s end-of-year celebration designed to help students de-stress, celebrate the completion of the academic year, and strengthen school spirit before finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year&#8217;s series placed a stronger emphasis on creating a week-long signature experience by pairing large-scale APB programs with Spirit Week activities and daily giveaways, encouraging students to participate across multiple events throughout the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Featured events included Pimp My Ram, Love &amp; Bingo: Courtside Havoc Bingo, The Ram Wears Prada, RamFest featuring Zack Fox, and Havoc on the Block Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">APB welcomed approximately 2,476 student attendees. RamFest and Havoc on the Block Party were the highest attended programs, drawing 982 and 300 students respectively, while Love &amp; Bingo also exceeded attendance expectations with 230 participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with students sharing that they appreciated the variety of programming, opportunities to connect with friends before finals, and the combination of entertainment, giveaways, and interactive experiences throughout the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Office of Student Involvement team, which advises APB, shared that moving forward because we found week-long programming paired with high-value incentives encouraged students to attend multiple events rather than a single program APB plans to continue building on this model.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Activities Programing Board (APB) hosted an extremely successful Havoc Week in April. Havoc week serves as APB\u2019s end-of-year celebration designed to help students de-stress, celebrate the completion of the academic year, and strengthen school spirit before finals. This year&#8217;s series placed a stronger emphasis on creating a week-long signature experience by pairing large-scale APB [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":773,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-26-dsa-annualreport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":774,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772\/revisions\/774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":768,"date":"2026-08-23T11:48:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=768"},"modified":"2026-08-23T11:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:49:08","slug":"title-saeo-partners-with-vcu-libraries-to-open-sensory-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/title-saeo-partners-with-vcu-libraries-to-open-sensory-room\/","title":{"rendered":"SAEO Partners with VCU Libraries to Open Sensory Room"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In consultative partnership with the Office of Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity (SAEO), VCU Libraries opened a new sensory room at the James Branch Cabell Library in September 2025. Designed specifically for students with acute sensory needs or sensitivities, the versatile study space can be tailored to individual preferences to reduce discomfort, stress, and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To plan the room, the library team studied SAEO\u2019s existing sensory facilities, documented optimal furnishings, and consulted with national peer institutions through the Sensory-Friendly Libraries Discussion Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe design is intended to provide students with an academic environment that will help them center their sensory needs so as to be more academically successful,\u201d said Laura W. Gariepy, Ph.D., former associate dean for research and learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.vcu.edu\/article\/2025\/09\/vcu-libraries-new-sensory-room-serves-neurodivergent-students\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/news.vcu.edu\/article\/2025\/09\/vcu-libraries-new-sensory-room-serves-neurodivergent-students\">Check out this article from VCU News to learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In consultative partnership with the Office of Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity (SAEO), VCU Libraries opened a new sensory room at the James Branch Cabell Library in September 2025. Designed specifically for students with acute sensory needs or sensitivities, the versatile study space can be tailored to individual preferences to reduce discomfort, stress, and anxiety. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-26-dsa-annualreport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":771,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions\/771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":765,"date":"2026-08-23T11:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=765"},"modified":"2026-08-23T11:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:41:12","slug":"grace-lauren-housing-project-underway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/grace-lauren-housing-project-underway\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace &amp; Lauren Housing Project Underway"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an effort to meet high student demand for on-campus housing, Residential Life and Housing broke ground on the new West Grace Housing Project in February, marking the university&#8217;s first new housing development since 2018. This 325,000-square-foot project will offer approximately 1,000 new beds for VCU students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Living on campus remains popular due to a supportive, intentionally designed environment that focuses on providing students with a safe and secure residential experience. The halls offer programs designed to help students learn essential skills for living independently and harmoniously with others. Furthermore, living in VCU residence halls continues to positively impact student success; year after year, on-campus residents maintain higher retention rates and academically outperform their off-campus counterparts across every level (first-year, sophomore, junior, and senior).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The West Grace Street Housing Project will feature approximately 1,000 single and double semi-suite-style beds. The ground floor will include a secure residential lobby, as well as space for housing operations, faculty offices, resident amenities, and conferencing. Additional ground-floor features include a 5,000-square-foot dining venue, two 1,500-square-foot retail spaces, and a 6,000-square-foot mail center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This new residential facility is slated to open in fall 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an effort to meet high student demand for on-campus housing, Residential Life and Housing broke ground on the new West Grace Housing Project in February, marking the university&#8217;s first new housing development since 2018. This 325,000-square-foot project will offer approximately 1,000 new beds for VCU students. Living on campus remains popular due to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-26-dsa-annualreport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":767,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions\/767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":752,"date":"2026-08-19T12:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=752"},"modified":"2026-08-23T11:37:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:37:30","slug":"welcome-to-the-fall-semester-from-vcu-student-affairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/welcome-to-the-fall-semester-from-vcu-student-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the Fall Semester from VCU Student Affairs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear Students,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Happy Black and Gold Wednesday! It is an honor to welcome you to VCU for the Fall 2026 Semester. Come meet me today at noon at the<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x35d1b3x0507\"> Weeks of Welcome Black and Gold Wednesday Event<\/a>! Here are four action items I want you to know as you start the semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>(1) Get Involved \ud83e\udd1d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rams show up, in class and at events, and we encourage you to get involved and explore the many opportunities VCU offers to build lifelong friendships and connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your student activity fee helps support the nearly 500 Registered Student Organizations. The best way to learn more about student organizations and things to do on campus is through<a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.campusgroups.com\/home_login\"> RamsConnect<\/a>, at the upcoming<a href=\"https:\/\/ramsconnect.vcu.edu\/theunderground\/rsvp_boot?id=1946023&amp;rel=title\"> SOVO Fair<\/a> on Friday, Aug. 21 and over the next few weeks at our<a href=\"https:\/\/ramsconnect.vcu.edu\/events?topic_tags=13473536\"> Weeks of Welcome<\/a> events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can specifically connect with the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, Office of Student Involvement, Office of Student Leadership and Engaged Learning, Fraternity and Sorority Life, the Student Media Center, and Residential Life and Housing for involvement opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>(2) Utilize DSA Support Resources \ud83d\udca1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our team in the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) is here to support you with innovative programs and services designed for your success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/counseling.vcu.edu\/\">University Counseling Services<\/a> (UCS) offers <strong><em>24\/7\/365<\/em><\/strong> comprehensive in-person clinical counseling services, recovery support, and outreach to all students. You can always call <strong><em>804-828-6200<\/em><\/strong> for assistance! Additionally, VCU students have access to free virtual care services through<a href=\"http:\/\/timelycare.com\/vcu\"> TimelyCare<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The<a href=\"https:\/\/advocacy.vcu.edu\/\"> Office of Student Advocacy<\/a> is the place to go to find answers to general questions, support when encountering a challenge, assistance in navigating university policies, and help for students needing emergency support. To seek support from the OSA team or to report something of concern visit<a href=\"http:\/\/go.vcu.edu\/getsupport\"> go.vcu.edu\/getsupport<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/health.students.vcu.edu\/\">University Student Health Services<\/a> offers a wide variety of primary care services with skilled doctors and healthcare professionals available for your medical needs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/recwell.vcu.edu\/\">Recreation and Well-Being (RecWell)<\/a> offers a wide variety of programs and services that include workout facilities, fitness classes, intramural sports, sports clubs, yoga classes, and much more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x32224bx0507\">Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity<\/a> works to foster an environment where all students have equal access to the University&#8217;s programs, services, and activities. Students can consult with the office about possible accommodations or disability-related support.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>(3) Review Student Expectations Policies and Resources \ud83d\udcda<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you look to connect with your fellow Rams and get involved, it is important to understand what is expected of you. I encourage you to review the<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x35d1b9x0507\"> VCU Code of Student Conduct<\/a>, the<a href=\"https:\/\/conduct.students.vcu.edu\/transparency-reports\/registered-student-organization-rso-conduct-report\/\"> Registered Student Organization (RSO) Conduct Report<\/a> and to familiarize yourself with the<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x35d1bbx0507\"> Hazing Prevention and Discipline Policy<\/a> and our VCU<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x35d1bcx0507\"> Hazing Prevention<\/a> resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you haven&#8217;t already, complete the &#8220;Have you Herd? What New Rams Need to Know about Alcohol and Other Drugs at VCU\u201d course on<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x35d1bdx0507\"> Ram Ready<\/a> by Monday, Sept. 7. Required training for new and returning students can be found on<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x35d1bex0507\"> this helpful website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VCU is committed to providing an environment free from sexual misconduct, assault, harassment or any sex\/gender discrimination that may violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and other state and federal laws. To make a report and for additional information, please visit the<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x35d1bfx0507\"> Title IX website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>(4) Remember These Safety Resources<\/strong> \ud83d\udee1\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your safety at VCU is paramount, and we encourage you to play an active role in keeping yourself safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x34d0d6x0507\">VCU Police<\/a> encourages students to be aware of their surroundings at all times and to report any<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x34d0d7x0507\"> suspicious behavior<\/a> immediately.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All members of the VCU community are encouraged to become familiar with the<a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.public.doctract.com\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DA32A740D33773D021364CCD17A201?slu=08DCC15E6A062D4B8FE829215E631EA4\"> Threat Assessment and Violence Prevention Policy<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/orange.hosting.lsoft.com\/trk\/click?ref=znwrbbrs9_6-1c6b4x316ee6x025866&amp;\">.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>VCU Police reminds students that officers are available to help all members of the VCU community; if you need assistance, please call (804) VCU-1234 \/ (804) 828-1234 to reach VCUPD directly at any time, day or night. Students can also download the free<a href=\"https:\/\/police.vcu.edu\/stay-safe\/livesafe\/\"> LiveSafe<\/a> app.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pause. Verify. Protect: <\/strong>Look out for scams, particularly phishing scams, that target VCU users. You can read more in this<a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/trk\/click?ref=z173r7sgll_0-34470_0_0x35d1c3x0507\"> blog post<\/a> from our VCU IT team.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you for being a member of the Ramily and good luck this semester. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance. Follow us on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vcudsa\/\"> Instagram<\/a> for important information and to engage with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Go RAMS!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aaron J. Hart, Ed.D.<br>Vice President<br>Division of Student Affairs<br>Virginia Commonwealth University<br>dsa@vcu.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Students, Happy Black and Gold Wednesday! It is an honor to welcome you to VCU for the Fall 2026 Semester. Come meet me today at noon at the Weeks of Welcome Black and Gold Wednesday Event! Here are four action items I want you to know as you start the semester. (1) Get Involved [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2026-spring-2027","category-vpsa-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=752"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":757,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752\/revisions\/757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":749,"date":"2026-02-17T12:31:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T12:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=749"},"modified":"2026-02-17T12:31:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T12:31:26","slug":"spring-2026-alcohol-and-other-drug-policy-and-resources-notification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/spring-2026-alcohol-and-other-drug-policy-and-resources-notification\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring 2026 Alcohol and Other Drug Policy and Resources Notification"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Creating a positive environment for learning is essential to the VCU community. Alcohol and other drugs can interfere with academic success and campus safety. At VCU, we proactively address these issues in both our well-being programs and our policy enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VCU Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy provides information about protecting your health, sustaining safety and promoting the general well-being of the VCU community. All VCU students are asked to take a moment to read the <a href=\"https:\/\/policy.vcu.edu\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DA32A63EDBC03643AC76578A0275BB\">VCU Alcohol and Other Drug Policy<\/a> in the online VCU Policy Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The policy outlines the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>VCU standards of conduct surrounding alcohol and other drugs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>University and community resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The health effects of alcohol and other drugs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Federal and state laws pertaining to alcohol and other drugs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Medical amnesty for students seeking medical assistance for themselves or others.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, please be aware that VCU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/recwell.vcu.edu\/thrive\/well-being-resources\/\"><strong>RecWell<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>provides a variety of alcohol and other drug prevention education and online resources. This includes a free, brief online self-assessment that provides personalized feedback and information on how relationships with alcohol and other drugs relates to goals and choices. VCU news also published this helpful <a href=\"https:\/\/news.vcu.edu\/article\/2025\/09\/making-safe-choices-at-vcu-what-you-should-know\">Making Safe Choices<\/a> article recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VCU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/recovery.vcu.edu\/\">Rams in Recovery<\/a> is an active community that supports students and staff in recovery and celebrates all that life in college can be without alcohol and other drugs. Email recovery@vcu.edu for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Best wishes for a safe and productive spring semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Division of Student Affairs<br>Virginia Commonwealth University<br><a href=\"mailto:dsa@vcu.edu\">dsa@vcu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: Creating a positive environment for learning is essential to the VCU community. Alcohol and other drugs can interfere with academic success and campus safety. At VCU, we proactively address these issues in both our well-being programs and our policy enforcement. VCU Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy provides information about protecting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2025-spring-2026","category-vpsa-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":747,"date":"2026-02-05T20:57:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=747"},"modified":"2026-02-05T20:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:57:30","slug":"expressive-activity-at-vcu-spring-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/expressive-activity-at-vcu-spring-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Expressive Activity at VCU Spring 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear Students,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you get settled into the spring semester, we want to share some information regarding expressive activity on campus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VCU is a very diverse community with a host of differing viewpoints reflecting each of our personal lenses through which we see, and experience, the world. This diversity of viewpoint and opinion is a tremendous asset to our community.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our expectation is that you engage in conversations with others who share similar and dissimilar perspectives. In that regard, the university is committed to fostering a climate that encourages civil and spirited discourse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VCU advocates for the dignity of all human beings. We understand that while creating an environment that supports civil dialogue, hurtful comments can be made by others. We are committed to creating a supportive culture for all our students while protecting First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VCU is committed, as a public university, to ensure a strong commitment to the First Amendment and Virginia law. The First Amendment prohibits prior restraint on speech and taking adverse action against individuals or groups, whether affiliated with the university or not, based on the viewpoints of their speech. This freedom of speech also encompasses the rights of those who present differing viewpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.public.doctract.com\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DA32A740D31FB4D9FC17CC1351AF65\"><strong>Expression and Space Utilization Policy <\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;clarifies how expressive activities may occur at VCU. This policy was developed through a transparent and inclusive process that included multiple opportunities for student participation in feedback.&nbsp; For more information, please visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/dos.vcu.edu\/student-resources-and-information\/ram-voice\/\"><strong>Ram Voice<\/strong><\/a> page on the Dean of Students website. Additionally, here is a link to the <a href=\"https:\/\/dos.vcu.edu\/student-resources-and-information\/ram-voice\/campus-expression-and-space-utilization-maps\/\"><strong>Space Utilization Maps<\/strong><\/a><strong>.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We also have a team of staff members through the Division of Student Affairs who are available to consult and are often present when expressive activities occur on campus. The Dean of Student Advocacy office is available throughout the year to meet with students who have specific questions or concerns and can be reached at <strong>vcudean@vcu.edu<\/strong> or 804-828-8940.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a public university, we will uphold the constitutional rights of our community, and hold tight to our core values of decency, respect, diversity, and inclusion. We will foster an environment where all members of our community feel welcome, safe, supported, and able to succeed in the context of our mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you for your support of expressive activity on our campus and your willingness to engage in productive civil discourse with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Division of Student Affairs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Students, As you get settled into the spring semester, we want to share some information regarding expressive activity on campus.&nbsp; VCU is a very diverse community with a host of differing viewpoints reflecting each of our personal lenses through which we see, and experience, the world. This diversity of viewpoint and opinion is a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2025-spring-2026","category-vpsa-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":743,"date":"2026-01-14T14:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T14:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/?p=743"},"modified":"2026-01-14T14:50:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T14:50:14","slug":"welcome-to-the-spring-2026-semester-from-the-division-of-student-affairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/welcome-to-the-spring-2026-semester-from-the-division-of-student-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the Spring 2026 Semester from the Division of Student Affairs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear VCU Students,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Happy Black and Gold Wednesday! I am thrilled to welcome our new and returning Rams to campus for the Spring 2026 semester. To help you hit the ground running, I\u2019d like to share four essential tips for a successful semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Get Involved, Stay Involved&nbsp; <\/strong><strong>\u2705<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Active engagement is the best way to build friendships, gain leadership experience, and develop new skills. Here are two immediate ways to connect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Explore <a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.campusgroups.com\/home_login\"><strong>RamsConnect<\/strong><\/a>: Search for clubs, programs, and events that match your interests.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attend the upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.campusgroups.com\/theunderground\/rsvp_boot?id=1942998\"><strong>SOVO Fair<\/strong><\/a>: Join us Friday, January 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second floor of the Commons.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, do not miss these upcoming opportunities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Week 2026<\/strong> <strong>(Jan 19\u201323):<\/strong> Join the VCU community for a week of reflection and community engagement honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. See week of event details <a href=\"https:\/\/mlkday.vcu.edu\/\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Board of Visitors &amp; SCHEV Representatives:<\/strong> Represent your peers at the highest level. <strong>Apply by Sunday Feb 15<\/strong> using <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/Wa4VqEsRhftdMoh87\">this link<\/a> and l<a href=\"https:\/\/students.vcu.edu\/student-life-at-vcu\/get-involved\/student-leadership\/bov-student-reps\/\">earn more about our current student leaders here<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>VCU Homecoming Week (Feb 21\u201328): <\/strong>Check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcualumni.org\/events\/homecoming\/\">VCU Homecoming 2026 website<\/a> for a full schedule of athletic and spirit events.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Utilize DSA Support Resources <\/strong><strong>\u2b05\ufe0f<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Division of Student Affairs (DSA) is dedicated to your well-being and success. Our programs are designed with student input to help you thrive. Please reach out to these units whenever you need support:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/omsa.vcu.edu\"><strong>Office of Multicultural Student Affairs<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>offers a welcoming space in the University Commons and hosts events that are open to everyone and encourages students to celebrate their whole selves and the global community we share.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/saeo.vcu.edu\"><strong>Office of Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>works to foster an environment where all students have equal access to VCU\u2019s programs, services and activities.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/advocacy.vcu.edu\/\"><strong>Office of Student Advocacy<\/strong><\/a> is the place to go to find answers to general questions, support when encountering a challenge, assistance in navigating university policies, and help for students needing emergency support.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/counseling.vcu.edu\/\"><strong>University Counseling Services<\/strong><\/a> (UCS) offers comprehensive in-person clinical counseling services, recovery support, and outreach to all students. Additionally, VCU students have access to free virtual care services through <a href=\"http:\/\/timelycare.com\/vcu\"><strong>TimelyCare<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/health.students.vcu.edu\/\"><strong>University Student Health Services<\/strong><\/a> offers a wide variety of primary care services with skilled doctors and healthcare professionals available for your medical needs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/recwell.vcu.edu\/\"><strong>Recreation and Well-Being (RecWell)<\/strong><\/a> offers a wide variety of programs and services that include workout facilities, fitness classes, intramural sports, sports clubs, yoga classes, and much more.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Review Student Expectations, Policies, and Resources <\/strong><strong>\ud83d\udcd9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being a Ram means upholding our community standards. Please familiarize yourself with the<a href=\"https:\/\/policy.vcu.edu\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DD5A576A3D02EB05C96267E2906DC0\"> Interim Student Code of Conduct<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.public.doctract.com\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DA32AA85BE764A67373C1A0775A51C\">Honor System and Standards of Academic Conduct<\/a>.<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please also familiarize yourself with the new <a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.public.doctract.com\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DA32A740D31FB4D9FC17CC1351AF65\"><strong>Campus Expression and Space Utilization Policy (CESU)<\/strong><\/a> and check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/dos.vcu.edu\/student-resources-and-information\/ram-voice\/\">Ram Voice webpage<\/a> for additional CESU resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Prioritize Safety and Community <\/strong><strong>\ud83d\udedf<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Practicing safety, civility and being a considerate neighbor is central to our identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Stay Safe When Driving and Walking:<\/strong> As the spring semester begins, it is important that you have a renewed awareness about staying alert when traveling through VCU, VCU Health and the City of Richmond. Please make sure to keep yourself safe when walking and driving around VCU by following the recommendations shared in this <a href=\"https:\/\/massmail.vcu.edu\/list\/260112C_0\/b8tyqnzcocj5.vib?a1=91kmfnse&amp;dr=0&amp;a4=skillmanj2%40apps.vcu.edu&amp;a3=50113&amp;a2=skillmanj2%40APPS.VCU.EDU&amp;a0=57544&amp;a5=4866462&amp;ssq=4866462\">stay safe message<\/a> sent out on Monday January 12.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Informed Involvement:<\/strong> Review the<a href=\"https:\/\/conduct.students.vcu.edu\/transparency-reports\/registered-student-organization-rso-conduct-report\/\"> Student Organization Conduct Report<\/a> before joining new groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Police &amp; Prevention:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/police.vcu.edu\/\"> VCU Police<\/a> encourage you to stay aware of your surroundings and report suspicious behavior. Please also review the<a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.public.doctract.com\/doctract\/documentportal\/08DA32A740D33773D021364CCD17A201\"> Threat Assessment and Violence Prevention Policy<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Title IX:<\/strong> VCU is committed to an environment free from discrimination and misconduct. For reporting or resources, visit the<a href=\"https:\/\/equity.vcu.edu\/title-ix\/\"> Title IX website<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you for being part of our vibrant community. I wish you an incredible semester\u2014and don&#8217;t forget to wear your <strong>Black and Gold<\/strong> every Wednesday!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Go Rams!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aaron J. Hart, Ed.D.<br>Vice President<br>Division of Student Affairs\ud83d\udcf8 Make sure to follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vcudsa\/\"><strong>@VCUDSA<\/strong><\/a> on Instagram \ud83d\udcf8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear VCU Students, Happy Black and Gold Wednesday! I am thrilled to welcome our new and returning Rams to campus for the Spring 2026 semester. To help you hit the ground running, I\u2019d like to share four essential tips for a successful semester. Get Involved, Stay Involved&nbsp; \u2705 Active engagement is the best way to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2025-spring-2026","category-vpsa-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/studentaffairs\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]