The Forum

Princess Peach and Mario standing next to each other and staring, slack jawed, up at the sky.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie might as well have been written by AI

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026Colley Baker, staff writer

There has been a lot of discussion of AI art and its effect on the movie industry, but not enough discussion of art that has been produced in such a careless and profit-minded way that it might as well have been written by AI. Nintendo and Illumination’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is one such […]

PVCC’s Head Librarian Promotes Literacy on Campus

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026Colley Baker, staff writer

The Senior Director of Library and Academic Support at PVCC, Crystal Newell, is involved in numerous projects and initiatives aimed at promoting media literacy and reading. Newell projects affability and the kind of patience sometimes found in people who have spent years as educators. Her office is filled with baby pictures and children’s drawings hanging […]

Ty Cooper standing in front of an old, white house holding up a high-tech camera.

PVCC Hosts Documentary Screening and Discussion

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026Colley Baker, staff writer

On April 3, a small crowd of around 20 people attended PVCC’s screening of the documentary film The Price of Resistance: Sala Udin, an American Agitator in the V. Earl Dickinson Building’s spacious Main Stage Theatre. The documentary follows the life of activist Sala Udin and his imprisonment and persecution at the hands of the […]

A large, blue bin with children's books in it. A big sheet of paper is connected to the top with "Elementary School Book Drive!" written on it in rainbow lettering.

PVCC Book Club Offers Students Reading and Community

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026Colley Baker, staff writer

This semester, PVCC’s student Book Club is reading a self-help book called The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins. Last semester, the club read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. For reading enthusiasts, there is no better way of getting introduced to a variety of new reads than joining a group of like-minded people. However, reading is not […]

Two bottles of wine, an espresso mug, and a Tavola cookbook displayed behind the host stand at Tavola.

A Taste of Tavola

April 23, 2026April 23, 2026Lauren Waskey, assistant editor

Charlottesville’s historic Belmont neighborhood boasts a vibrant variety of eclectic restaurants that rank among Charlottesville’s best. From Cajun and Creole comfort food at Southern Crescent to upscale American at The Jervey to authentic Oaxacan cuisine at Conmole, there’s a culinary experience just waiting for anybody with taste buds. Nestled in the heart of Belmont, right […]

Morena Figueroa smiling with her host parents, Jim and Vicki Farmer, in front of a Rotary Club banner.

My Experience in Charlottesville

April 23, 2026April 23, 2026Morena Figueroa, guest writer

My name is Morena. I’m 18 years old, and I am an exchange student. I’ve had the opportunity to come live in the United States for eight weeks, and this experience has been one of the most meaningful and unforgettable moments of my life. It was also the first time I traveled alone and stayed […]

A glass box display containing sheets of paper with hand signs on them, a bust, nettles, and cut outs of paper puppets. More paper characters and drawings hand above.

Nettle Shirts Puppet Show Entertains the Deaf and Hearing

April 23, 2026April 23, 2026Colley Baker, staff writer

At 3 p.m. on March 22, the Nettle Shirts puppet show took place in the PVCC Maxwell Black Box Theatre in the V. Earl Dickinson Building. The performance featured an old folk tale retold as a story of queer acceptance for all audiences. The puppet show is the brainchild of Miranda Elliott-Rader, who is responsible […]

Susan Page, in yellow, and Nancy Pelosi, in green, standing in between two blue banners for the Karsh Institute, next to an American Flag, with columns and windows in the background.

A Conversation on Congress, Hope, and the State of the American Democracy

April 22, 2026April 22, 2026Lila Castleman, staff writer

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi was in the Capitol for President Trump’s State of the Union address. The next afternoon, she was in the Dome Room of UVA’s Rotunda Building for a talk organized by the Karsh Institute of Democracy. The event was the fifth part of the institute’s series, “Congress as […]

A gathering of attendees pictured from behind a few dozen yards from the stage at night. The Capitol Building sits illuminated in the background. Some attendees are holding signs reading, "LOVE STRONGER THAN HATE," "ENOUGH," "HANDS OFF THE CONSTITUTION," "STAND WITH UKRAINE," "PEOPLE'S STATE OF THE UNION. PEDOPHILE PROTECTORS ARE IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!", other cut-off messages, and images of the Constitution and an upside-down American flag.

The People’s Truth

April 21, 2026April 21, 2026Lauren Waskey

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Feb. 24, President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address at the Capitol. More than 80 congressional Democrats were not present. Almost three dozen instead attended an event in direct protest of the president. The People’s State of the Union was an event held on the National Mall concurrently […]

How Trump’s Climate Policies Affect Local Government

April 21, 2026April 21, 2026Lila Castleman, staff writer

President Donald Trump referred to climate change as “the greatest con job ever” at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. His administration has consistently resisted climate action. The most recent example of this policy is the revoking of a 2009 endangerment finding that pollution is harmful, as described in a BBC […]