By Matt Doyon
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University will have more available classrooms to begin the spring semester. 500 Academic Centre is scheduled to open in January in the same building Ukrop’s once occupied on Harrison Street.

The building’s shorthand is 500AC in VCU’s eServices and will feature six classrooms, each able to accommodate 50 to 80 students. Remaining space will be used to house up to 200,000 of VCU’s less-used library volumes. Those books will be cataloged and available upon request.

Ukrop’s closed its doors to customers at the Harrison Street location in May 2008. VCU is renovating the property for $3.25 million.

By Iva Radman
VCU InSight

The VCU Rice Center has been name the Region’s Overall Project of the Year by Midatlantic Construction Magazine. The “Best of 2009″ Awards Program recognizes the center for its exceptional design and construction.

“The Walter L. Rice Education Building blends exceptional design with careful construction,” according to a news release by the magazine. “It is the first building in Virginia to be awarded the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED platinum certification, and received 54 out of the required 52 credits.”

The $2.8 million research center is located on 342 acres on the north bank of James River in Charles City, Virginia. The center was opened in 2008.

By Matt Doyon and Jerome Foster
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va.–At 27 years old and working as a customer service representative, Robert Orfield doesn’t fit the traditional profile of a football team owner.

He’s one of the more than 27 million fans, according to ESPNRadio.com, who “own” teams through fantasy football.

“I am pretty into it,” said Orfield. “I’ve got like every team up checking their stats as they’re updating during games.”

Fantasy players have NFL players on their team. The better the NFL player does on the field, the more points the player scores for the fantasy team.

Sports websites like ESPN.com and NFL.com have entire sections dedicated to fantasy sports and allow website visitors to “own” multiple teams. Fantasy players organize these teams into leagues, just like in real life.

“Now I’m up to doing 10 leagues a year,” said Orfield.

Despite the growth in popularity of fantasy football in the past few years, the game is not new. Rotoworld.com, a leading fantasy information site, said the game started in the 1950s.

Prices to play in fantasy leagues can range from nothing to thousands of dollars with payouts being well above the entry fee. To some players, fantasy football is a form of gambling.

“It’s an addiction,” said Chris Thompson, a 26-year old Verizon Wireless store manager. “People have hobbies and gambling and fantasy football is a part of gambling.

Fantasy football also allows players to control teams and treat it like it’s a real NFL squad. If you want to cut an underachieving player, cut him. Want to trade for a player? Make an offer.

“If’ I’m starting to lose games and they’re not being productive, I’m cutting them,” said Thompson.

By Chelse Greaux and Eric Blackstock
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va. — Thrift stores in the Richmond area are seeing an increase in sales as Virginia Commonwealth University students continue to deal with economic issues in the United States.

Area stores, such as Fantastic Thrift and Diversity Thrift, see as many as 1,500 shoppers each day, with Diversity Thrift reporting sales of over $500,000 annually.

“I’ve noticed that we’re seeing more folks from VCU, the University of Richmond, Virginia Union, who are in here at all times during the year,” Diversity Thrift owner Jay Squires said.

Thrift stores offer a variety of merchandise, selling on average at about one-third of the original retail price.  Most items are used and from donations, and can sell for as low as $0.99.

“It’s really cost effective,” VCU english major Paul Ianniello said.  ”I don’t have a lot of money to spare.  I pay for everything myself, so it’s a lot easier to just go and get some used things and there’s usually some pretty good stuff.”

Fantastic Thrift manager Mike Crittenden says his store also caters their customer service to the needs of students.

“We try to be very quick at the registers in getting people out of the store, so they can shop on lunch breaks or shop in-between classes,” Crittenden said.

The National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops spoke to USA Today and said sales are up nationally and that the 2009 holiday shopping season could be one of the busiest in years.

By Ben Schafer
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va.– After 32 years the Richmond Marathon is still running strong.

This year’s marathon was held on November 14th and was the largest to date with more than 15,000 participants.  The lowest record for participation was just over 2,000 runners in 1997.

Kenyan runner Jyocel Basweti took the win home for the second year in a row.

By Eric Blackstock
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va. — The VCU-TV/HD program at Virginia Commonwealth University will be offering courses to students beginning in the spring semester 2010.

Students will learn to use high-definition film equipment and produce documentary programming. Training obtained through these courses could allow for students to eventually be promoted to paid positions within the VCU-TV/HD program.

“We decided to switch things up a bit and start having students actually take these courses,” VCU-TV/HD senior producer Lisa Figueroa Crawford said. “Then, they would take the courses, move up to an internship and then if they’re lucky, get a producing job.”

The courses will be open to all VCU students, but applicants must submit a résumé and be interviewed beforehand.  An advanced-level course will be offered starting in the fall semester of 2010.

On June 6, 2009, VCU-TV/HD documentaries “Study Abroad: VCUQatar” and “Local Life: Chop Suey” won Emmy awards at the 51st Capital Emmy Awards.

By Ben Schafer
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va.–Coming off the disappointing finish in last year’s NCAA tournament, VCU InSight sat down with Ryan Kopacsi, Director of the VCU Pep-band, to see what changes he has in store for this year.

“I can say hands down that this is going to be the greatest season that we’ve had,” said Kopacsi.

By Iva Radman and Amy Via
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va. – In ancient times, acupuncture was a last resort medical treatment. Now people everywhere, including students at Virginia Commonwealth University, are using the Asian treatment to help everything from migraines to sports injuries.

Katherine Sammons, a VCU senior in social work, had acupuncture treatments because she said her lack of energy was interfering with schoolwork. After the four-month treatment, she noticed a difference.

“It was really beneficial to me so I definitely sing its praises,” said Sammons.

Acupuncture, along with acupressure, heat therapy, and nutrition, are traditional methods of Chinese medicine. According to Chinese philosophy, acupuncture helps to restore “qi,” or the flow of the body’s natural energy.

Keith Bell, a licensed acupuncturist and former VCU student, has been practicing acupuncture in Richmond for 10 years. He says the method of diagnosing a patient is more holistic than most Western practices.

“We look at the color of their skin; we actually smell the air around them, to see what they smell like,” said Bell.

After Bell consults with a patient, he begins a treatment by inserting needles into various pressure points on the body.

Monica Gittings is very familiar with the process, as she works in Bell’s office as a massage therapist and is also a regular acupuncture patient. She says the needles don’t hurt at all.

“Initially when he puts it in some spots I feel like a zing almost. Not always but sometimes a zing. Then after that I get a warming or kind of a fuzzy feeling that spreads out from certain points,” said Gittings.

But that zing costs up to $150 per session. A new bill, The Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2009, is currently being debated in congress to have insurance cover the costs.

The National Institutes of Health issued a statement in 1997 announcing acupuncture to be an effective treatment for certain medical conditions. While the process has been deemed safe, there are still some reported side effects: slight bleeding after needle removal, bruising, fainting, or feeling tired after a treatment.

And sometimes acupuncture isn’t the right treatment option.

“It’s good at treating nearly anything but emergency medicine, I mean I wouldn’t go to an acupuncturist if you have a car accident,” said Bell.

While more and more patients are turning to acupuncture, Bell says he also benefits from the interaction.

“The relationships with the patients, the relationships with my students, that’s my favorite. The ability to actually connect with people one on one and make a meaningful change in their lives,” said Bell.

By Taylor Hall and Curtis Colbert
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va.– As everyone prepares for the holiday season, they also start to decide how to become more health conscious around the holidays–one of the hardest times of the year.

Some students like VCU freshman Rebecca Morrison have found a way to eat healthier all around.

“I’m actually a vegetarian and my parents aren’t so I always cook for myself for Thanksgiving.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than one-third of the U.S. is obese or overweight.

Others like VCU senior Don Jonathan Webb, and VCU sophmore Shara Patterson say they are just going to enjoy themselves, despite the potential health risks.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 95% of the US population will spend between one and half to two hours eating food on Thanksgiving day. Dr. Robert Franco, a VCU Health Sciences professor, suggests some healthy eating tips for the holidays.

“Enjoy the conversation, enjoy the company. Wait about 20 minutes before you feel like you may need to go get your second portion.”

Dr. Franco also strongly suggests that if you know you are going to indulge and eat a lot of food make sure you get out the very next day to go run or play a game of pick-up basketball or some sort of activity.

“Just make sure you’re not just eating and sitting on the couch since you’re at home.”

By Curtis Cobert
VCU Insight

RICHMOND, Va.– With help from students with VCU’s Center for Sports Leadership, the VHSL has a volleyball tournament at the Siegal Center this month.

The Virginia High School League or VHSL is the governing body over Virginia High School sports.

The Center for Sports Leadership is a gradute program that prepares VCU students for careers with sports backgrounds. The Center has a partnership with the VHSL that allows student to work side by side with the VHSL in planning events.

“We have an events class which basically pick up some of their events throughout the year and help run and organized them,” said Jeremy Hirsch, a student in the Center for Sports Leadership.

The class has 35 students and puts in a lot of hard work to make the events go smoothly.

“Pretty much everyone pitches in to help out,” said Mark Driscoll, another student in the Center for Sports Leadership. “They’re a very dedicated group of people over there.”

The Center and the VHSL have many future events coming up. To find out more visit www.vhsl.org or events.vcu.edu.