Dear Mindy Kaling: Stop Disappointing Your Community
Mindy Kaling initially entered the comedy writing scene as a spunky diversity hire for the beloved 2005 comedy “The Office.” Watch just two minutes of her portrayal of Kelly in any episode, and it’s clear what direction she chose for her career. She aims to wildly negate all the stereotypes South Asians were subjected to […]
Unpacking the Collective Behind FuzzyForceFields Sweater Co.
I’ve noticed a recurring theme across the city of Richmond: whimsical, one-of-one, custom streetwear pieces featuring ‘90s icons. A mixture of screen printing, patchwork and tapestry-melding — these upcycled, mixed-media works catch your eye across stores and crowds. I visited Studio Two Three in Manchester to better understand how this eccentric and unrepeatable design process […]
I Want My Cake and to Eat It Too!: Reviewing The Treats Richmond Has to Offer
“There’s more than meets the eye” is the mantra we’ve all heard since childhood, and something I’ve grown to learn as an adult. As an avid foodie, I can tell you that it sucks when what you’ve been anticipating to try ends up being a dud. One bad encounter after another has led me to […]
Idolizing the City
Being an artist is a constant, overwhelming, all-consuming obsession. It’s a hook at the nape of your neck, dragging you along so you can never quite see where you’re going; it’s a gnawing in your stomach, a persistent craving for a food you can’t place; it’s a staccato plucking at your hamstrings. It keeps you […]
What it Means to Be P*l3stinian
I wish I was born with a handbook on how to go about life. Something to show me how you’re supposed to live knowing your people are being ethnically cleansed, knowing that the place your grandparents grew up in is in complete and utter destruction. How do you go about life feeling guilty because it […]
Letter in Solidarity with Palestine
The staff of Ink Magazine want to make an unambiguous, decisive declaration of support for a free Palestine. As a VCU student publication, we want to show support especially to the student organizers and protestors who have been treated unjustly by university administration, as well as the VCU, Richmond City and Virginia State Police. Student-led […]
A Letter to the Forever Young
From: Aurelio Herrera-BabbitSuburbs of Richmond, VA March 13, 2021, 8:17 PM To: You Location Unknown I was parked outside a drug dealer’s basement. Inside it was carpeted concrete. Two lazy boy recliners across from one couch, forming a loose triangle. Occasional footsteps echoing overhead. And the steady “BZZZZZZZ” of cicadas pulsing through the thin plaster […]
Assigning Horror Movies to Your Confessions
As Halloween passes us by, it’s only right that we spend the following days embracing our fear through music, outfits and festivities. If you’re lost for ideas on what you could do this month, let us help you out. Here at Ink, we believe movies are a great way to start. One good movie can […]
Yuniform: The Peace You Find in Nature
Bringing the Black Community Together in a Unique Way Yuniform’s exploration of Jump Rock and Viewing Rock in Goshen, Va. Photo courtesy of Youssef Hussein. Amid our hectic lives, it’s difficult to fully cherish the moment and engage with our surroundings. In the 21st century, most of our time is spent glued to media. With […]
On Being Cultureless
A woman stands in a room filled with heavy perfume. The aroma is sweet, regal, and composed of different branches of scents that all stem from the same tree. Her own branch is soaked into her fabric and is cut in a design that has been worn by several mothers before her. Gold accompanies this […]
Our Weekly Roundup: One for the Ladies! (and Walker)
Hassam: I finished rewatching “The Nanny” around a week ago and I literally haven’t been able to stop thinking about the Moschino piano dress she wore as a skirt in the last season like it’s actually so perfect. Walker: Since this semester has decided to overwhelm me with schoolwork, I’ve had to lock in at […]
The Paradoxical Rousing Banality of Donald Trump; or, Why I No Longer Feel Civil War is Imminent
Last year, over winter break, an originator of 23 of my chromosomes told me, with slow, earnest head-shaking, I’d been “brainwashed” by the “liberal media.” If you haven’t guessed, this same individual has supported, and continues to support, Donald J. Trump, née Drumpf. It’s a bit of a tradition for us to enter into a […]