Stimulus Bill brings mixed feelings to VCU

The reaction within the VCU community to the current Congressional stimulus bill proves to be both hopeful and unsure.


By Amy Via



On Jan. 26, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was introduced to Congress by Rep. David Obey. The House of Representatives has since approved the bill, but it is still being debated by the Senate.

Virginia Commonwealth University staff and students respond to the current stimulus bill with their opinions on its possible success and educational benefits.

Ed Millner is the chairman in the VCU Department of Economics. He believes the Senate will pass something, but isn’t sure about the effectiveness of the overall package.

“Opinions over fiscal stimulus have varied over time,” said Millner. "The stimulus package might come at the expense of other sectors of the economy."

Millner explains that the package will create a larger deficit, which will hurt credit. While consumer spending may increase, there will be less spending somewhere else, like factory building. He thinks the recession may shorten if the package passes Congress.

Beth Kreydatus, a Focus Inquiry professor, has been following the debate and also expects the package to pass in some form.

In terms of economic hardships, she thinks the package will be “helpful, but it won’t single-handedly solve the problem,” said Kreydatus.

She thinks the Democratic Party may have an agenda for how they will spend the money, but she agrees with their methods. She thinks they are working to address the lack of funding for education.

Will Sims, an advertising professor, isn’t sure if the bill will benefit education. But he hopes Congress will structure the bill so it has long-term benefits for the economy.

“We’re overdue for infrastructure overhauls for the economy,” said Sims.

When asked about his opinion on the possibility of ulterior motives behind the bill, Sims said he thinks everyone has ulterior motives, “but I don’t think there’s some conspiracy behind the government.”

Public relations professor Yan Jin feels like the debate has “gone on forever” and hopes the plan will not be delayed much longer.

While she believes that some action needs to be taken, she also believes there needs to be a follow-up plan.

“The stimulus bill is one of many medications the country needs,” said Jin. "Spending is mainly to push consumers, but other areas like credit and recovery issues need to be addressed."

VCU student Jessika Farrar thinks the bill will pass mainly because of the increasing rate of unemployment. She thinks the stimulus package may help to address that concern.

“With politics there’s always something behind every good deed,” said Farrar, on the subject of ulterior motives behind the bill.

But she thinks the key factor is to see whether the package works, and where the money goes.

Farrar said, “If it goes only to schools with good products and a lot of books, but not to inner city schools, it won’t help.”

African Art Comes to VCU

A successful opening reception for Anderson Gallery’s Yoruba Art and Beaded Prayers exhibitions leads to high hopes for the season.


By Amy Via


On a chilly, recent Friday evening rhythmic beats emanated from the Scott House on West Franklin Street.



Inside, musicians Olumide Gilbert and the Alkebulan Ensemble performed on African drums while visitors chatted and ate hors d’ourves.

It was the opening reception for Embodying the Sacred in Yoruba Art, featuring the Bernard and Patricia Wagner Collection, and The Beaded Prayers Project.

These exhibitions are on view in the Anderson Gallery at 907 ½ W. Franklin St. The first showcases mixed-media artwork from the Yoruba, an ancient and spiritual culture from Africa. The second consists of thousands of small, sealed packets, each one having the individual artist’s hope or prayer inside.

Professor Sonya Clark, chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Craft Department, is the creative mind behind the Beaded Prayers Project.

Clark was inspired by a desire to do something different from her regular studio practice, which she describes as slow and solitary.

“This helped me get out into the community and helped me learn from other people,” said Clark.

She took a year off from teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received funding from the university to pursue her project.

Clark taught friends how to make the packets, which are usually composed of cloth with beaded embroidery, then sealed with a piece of paper inside. The paper contains a prayer or dream for the future. Some artists choose to make their packets entirely out of beads, and the resulting shapes can range from square to circular to triangular.

After establishing a web site so people could mail their artwork to Clark, she had enough material to build a show.

Since the project’s launch in 1998, 5,000 artists between the ages of 6 and 90 from 35 countries have participated.

“Collectively this is something much larger than me,” said Clark, who describes herself as the caretaker of the artwork, more so than the curator.

Clark describes the response to the show as “overwhelmingly phenomenal. I once said, that it will be the last show, and now 10 years later there’s still interest.”

At the gallery, student workers Melissa Dishman and Kelly Hart found a special connection to the Beaded Prayers Project.

“It’s so colorful, so cool to look at. I’m still seeing new things each time,” said Hart.

Dishman, a VCU student majoring in elementary education, helped install the exhibition.

“There’s so much feeling behind each piece,” said Dishman.

Ashley Kistler, Anderson Gallery Director, explains that this is an ideal opportunity to view African artwork since the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has closed many of their exhibits.

“It was a great opportunity to get a first-class African art exhibition here,” said Kistler. Dr. Babatunde Lawal, a VCU art history professor, was also involved in bringing the Yoruba Art exhibition to the Anderson Gallery.

Traci Flores, gallery coordinator and collections specialist, expects a positive response from the exhibitions because “people are very fascinated with African art and culture.”

The exhibitions will be showing at the gallery through March 1.