r/vcu

I applied for the plus loan this summer semester. I see that my regular school loan has already been used for my tuition. Does anyone know when the plus loan will be applied? I plan on emailing financial aid but I thought to ask you all in here as well.

*please note this post was removed from rva sub by mods

Hey Richmond, I am dealing with a potential severe, building-wide housing hazard in the Fan/VCU area. Every single city resource has completely failed me, and I am facing retaliation from property management for exercising my legal rights. I need advice, tenant advocate recommendations, or local journalist contacts because this is a possible active environmental and medical emergency.

The Exposure & The Building-Wide Crisis
Following **two floods in my apartment over a two-month span**, I grew severely concerned over management's cleanup and paid out of pocket to hire an independent industrial hygienist. While assessing my HVAC unit for moisture, the inspector discovered something completely dangerous: the apartment maintenance team had placed a **highly concentrated commercial restroom urinal screen** (Renown Wave 3D) directly inside my residential HVAC unit behind the air filter.

Urinal screens are commercial restroom deodorizers made of an Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate plastic matrix saturated with intense fragrance oils. They are designed for open, high-airflow public restrooms—**they are absolutely not safe for residential HVAC use.** High HVAC airflow acts as a forced-induction chemical diffuser, stripping the highly concentrated volatile organic compounds (VOCs like Benzyl Benzoate and Linalool) off the plastic and pumping toxic chemical vapors directly into the home.

During that same inspection, the official lab report from Hayes Microbial came back with horrifying results: **The surface swab taken directly from inside my HVAC unit isolated a massive growth of Cladosporium mold at 20,000 cfu/cm².**

*Cladosporium* is a documented cause of **Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis** (severe lung tissue inflammation). I have an appointment for medical evaluation at **VCU Health Pulmonology.**

This is a possible building-wide issue. After finding this in my unit, I looked (with permission) into the HVAC units of two other residents in different areas of my building. Both units were heavily coated in rust and **another unit also contained a urinal screen.** Management has completely failed to investigate or reveal the actual source of the moisture.

**The Total Failure of Richmond City Departments**

I have tried to follow every correct municipal channel, and the bureaucratic buck-passing is disgraceful:

**Richmond Code Enforcement** flatly refused to investigate the urinal screen (a foreign chemical object placed in an HVAC system) and refused to investigate the mold, stating "we don't have a way to test for mold." Code Enforcement claimed it was out of their jurisdiction and referred me to the Health Department and Attorney General. They are incorrect about their jurisdiction.

**The Attorney General's Office** took the time to speak with me and kindly explained that this falls outside their scope and is not the Health Department's jurisdiction either—they referred me right back to City Code Enforcement.

**My Local City Council Representative's Office** dismissed this as an "individual matter." They only relented and mentioned "possibly having a meeting with management" after I stated that this exact hazard was observed across three separate HVAC units in different parts of the building, proving a systemic failure.

**Management’s Retaliation & My Legal Rights**

Now that management knows I have independent scientific proof, they claim they have a "remediation plan" and are trying to force entry. However, **they are actively refusing to share the written remediation plan or contractor licensing details with me.**
When I insisted on seeing the documentation, management stated that my request "violates my lease" because I am denying entry.

**This is a lie.** Under the **Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA) § 55.1-1220**, landlords are legally required to provide the full package of remediation reports and information upon tenant request. I have a statutory right to confirm that a certified, professional environmental contractor is performing this work so that my apartment isn't cross-contaminated with millions of airborne mold spores.

Since local city government refuses to protect its citizens, what are my options? Are there any local Richmond housing watchdogs, legal groups, or investigative journalists (NBC12, CBS6, Richmond Times-Dispatch) who will expose this building-wide hazard?

Thank you for reading. The HVAC is off and my vents are taped shut, but this building is a public health hazard

Hello! I am looking to see if anyone has any study materials for Calc 1. I am looking for practice exams/quizzes that I can use as study material and reference as I take this class. Thank you!

I’ll be at VCU during the summer time to take courses here and only will be taking two classes but outside of classes I wanna try to find something to do to make my time worthwhile. I have a car and a bike so I want to explore Richmond. Any suggestions?

I’m gonna be a freshman this fall and I’m aware of VCU’s no-car rule (which is kinda stupid imo), but it would be really inconvenient for me to take public transport or ask or rides whenever I wanna go home. I live in NC currently and it’s a lot simpler to just drive to and from campus with my car, but I’m not sure what to do since that rule is in place.

Is there any way I can get around it? I don’t wanna be paying insurance and whatnot for my car just for it to be sitting at home 300 miles away :/

Hey, I’m a VCU student staying in Richmond over the summer and trying to stay consistent with the gym, work, classes, and self improvement stuff. Looking to meet more people around my age and possibly find a gym buddy to help keep each other accountable.

I usually go to Cary Street Gym but I’m open to other gyms too. Mainly focused on weight loss, lifting, and just staying disciplined over the summer.

If anyone’s still in RVA and down to workout sometime or even just make new friends this summer feel free to comment or DM.

Has anyone ever emailed a professor asking for a seat in a full class?

I’m trying to get into a course I really need, but it’s already full. I’m thinking about emailing the professor to ask if there’s any chance they could let me in anyway. The class is actually remote and already has around 150 students, so I feel like it might be possible, but I also know enrollment limits are usually set by the department.

Has anyone tried this before? Did it work or is it basically a lost cause?

Thanks guys!

Hi, I’m staying on campus over the summer (before finding an apartment) and let’s just say I’ve sort of let myself go in terms of weight in the past few months due to a lot of family stuff. I work at Amazon from Sunday to Wednesday, but I don’t want that to be the only time I’m moving around.

I’m a female, 20 years old, and about 5’8. I’m not obscenely overweight but I think it’s noticeable (and kinda embarrassing 😅) Just looking for someone to go with since I find going to the gym on my own pretty daunting.

I just graduated this spring, and was hoping to use the VCU gym for as long as possible, will my ID still work or will it decline when I sign in?

hi all! im a recent graduate of kennesaw state university in GA & i have a BS in media. i want to be an art director but im unsure of the path i should take.

i’ve been looking into a few programs at SCAD, VCU, MAD, DAD & Parsons. idk which school would be the best overall fit.

pls let me know!!!

I’m a junior in high school with an 3.0 gpa with pretty weak extracurricular I also live in nova what should I improve on the most to get into vcu

How to tell if you’re registering for a Pass/Fail class??? I earned an A in HUMS202 and my grade is a P. Had no idea it was a p/f class,

How hard is it to bring up a 1.1 gpa

Hello,

I heard there is a Virginia Commonwealth Grant, however for some reason on my wife's financial aid letter it didn't show. Anyone know about this.

does anyone know why Honoo ramen bar is permanently shut down?

Straight forward question: Is univ 200 hard

Hi all! I'm an incoming freshman and I'm having some issues with starting my placement exam, the LockDown browser extension I was told to download keeps telling me to close tabs I don't have open and the test won't register that I've downloaded it? I've already set up a meeting time with my advisor but that isn't for 2 weeks. Do I have to meet with them first before I take the placement exams? Any help or advice would be great, sorry if this is the wrong place to post!