Trump Ticks Ahead in Virginia in RCP Polling Average

Trump and Biden Virginia

Former President Donald Trump has inched ahead of President Joe Biden in Virginia, a state no Republican has won at the presidential level since 2004.

The RealClearPolitics polling average currently shows Trump with 43.8% support to Biden’s 43.4%. The average includes five surveys from Emerson, VCU, NY Times/Siena, Fox News, and Roanoke College.

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Virginia Commonwealth University Will Raise Tuition in 2022-2023 Academic Year

As consumer prices and inflation soar, a public university in Virginia has decided to raise the cost of tuition before the next academic year. 

“The Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors voted Friday to set tuition and fees for the 2022-23 academic year. Tuition will increase by 3%, the first tuition increase for undergraduate students since the 2018-19 academic year,” Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) said in a Friday statement. “The increase is necessary to cover VCU’s share of anticipated salary increases for faculty, staff and adjuncts; to increase student support; and to address the higher costs of maintenance and utilities.”

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After Miyares Legal Opinion, Virginia’s Largest Universities End Student Vaccine Mandates

After Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) wrote a legal opinion last week saying that vaccine mandates for public university students are illegal, several of the state’s largest schools have backed off their COVID-19 vaccine requirements. 

“Absent specific authority conferred by the General Assembly, public institutions of higher education in Virginia may not require vaccination against COVID-19 as a general condition of students’ enrollment or in-person attendance,” Attorney General Jason Miyares said in his opinion.

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Virginia Commonwealth University Threatens to Fire Unvaccinated Staff

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is ramping up its punishments for faculty, staff, and students who refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine. 

According to one report, those faculty, staff and students will be removed from campus completely if they do not take the vaccine or submit to regular COVID-19 testing. The stricter policies come after VCU’s American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter wrote a letter to the school demanding that the administration take a stronger stance against the unvaccinated. 

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Some Virginia Universities Ease Mask Mandate for Vaccinated Students, Faculty, Staff

College student walking on campus, wearing mask

Some Virginia universities have eased their mask mandates for those who have been fully vaccinated to follow more closely with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Universities that officially made mask changes for vaccinated people include the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth University and Old Dominion University.

“Based on the advice of University medical experts, we are pleased to inform you that the University will follow the advice of the CDC and the Governor and update our policy so that UVA community members who are fully vaccinated can now safely forego masks both indoors and outdoors,” UVA President Jim Ryan said in a statement with other university leaders.

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New Research Shows Excess of Non-COVID Deaths Increased Over Course of Pandemic

New research from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) shows that excess, non-COVID-19 deaths increased over the course of the pandemic. The authors theorized that the pandemic caused “disruptions” that led to these deaths.

Non-COVID deaths accounted for over thirty percent of the overall excess deaths. The most significant non-COVID causes of death were heart disease, Alzheimer disease, and dementia. 

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