French Fries from fast food giant Wendy's.

There are very few people in this world that can look at a vat of old French fry grease and see a golden business opportunity, but Joseph Michael Anderson, a twenty-year-old sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University, has somehow managed to do just that.

By Andrew Brown

The Conception:
Over the course of the past two years Anderson has been dreaming, building, and starting up his own business. Commonwealth Bio-Diesel, as it has been dubbed, is a business whose purpose is the collection and conversion of used vegetable oil and grease into environmentally safe Bio-Diesel that any diesel car or truck can use.

“We’re essentially picking up their trash and turning it into gold,” said Anderson.

The idea for Commonwealth Bio-Diesel was first conceived while Anderson was
working on the hamburger grill at the fast food restaurant Wendy’s.

“I was just scraping the grease into the grease-trap and I thought to myself, ‘ wow this is a lot of grease, I wonder who actually gets it”, said Anderson. “So when I got off of work I went home, looked it up, and realized that it only took a machine and a few chemicals to turn this stuff into fuel.”

Now, almost two years later, a simple idea, thought up in a kitchen during lunchtime, has spawned into something much more for this Chesterfield County native.

“It’s amazing the amount of thought he has put into this whole thing,” said Eddie Anderson, Joseph’s older brother. “He would come home from school for holidays and just talk about oil, grease and diesel.”

The Production:
In order to make any amount of Bio-Diesel, you first need a reliable source of oil and grease, which Anderson was easily able to secure this from his longtime employer, Wendy’s.

The next step for Anderson is to borrow his father’s pick-up truck, drive to any of the district’s Wendy’s locations and psychically hand-pump the grease into water containers, resulting in about 200 gallons.

“It’s a lot of work to tell you the truth,” said Josh Carden, Anderson’s friend and helper. “It’ll take about thirty minutes to empty out the grease traps at a single location.”

This point in the operation is as far as time and money have allowed Anderson to go, but he has a very detailed plan for the final steps of the process.

“It’s taking forever to get all of the necessary licenses and stuff that you need in order to legally produce and sell fuel, so until then I am basically stuck at this point,” said Anderson. “Being 20 years old in college with no credit isn’t the easiest way to start a business.”

After the laborious work of gathering, Anderson would bring the grease buckets, which he currently stores at his parent’s house, to his processing facility, add methanal and lye, and let the mixture sit on heat for 24 hours; the final result being a clean and renewable substance that can fuel cars, busses and trucks.

“It is an easier concept to say rather than to do, but you literally have to just work through the grease before you can get to the gold,” said Anderson

The Future:
“I have a million short and long-term goals,” said Anderson

Among these, Anderson says that he needs a bigger loan and a location to house his processors in before he can start on the actual production of Bio-Diesel, which, for Anderson, is the next big step in his business plan.

“I really think that I have something here, and even though I keep hitting snags along the way, I don’t mind waiting,” said Anderson. “I have faith that one day this thing will finally take off.”

Click here for audio slideshow.

VCU's "Rocky Horror Picture Show"

Once every year at Virginia Commonwealth University, a quirky tradition carries on. Its three major components are singing, dancing, and cross-dressing…

By Andrew Brown

The Tale:

The Commonwealth Ballroom looked as if a bomb had gone off. Dried grains of rice covered every inch of the hardwood floors. Broken latex examination gloves hung from the back of this normally well, kept room’s plush green chairs. And the ever-to-present crack of neon noise makers had become almost like white noise to the crowd of about 100 Virginia Commonwealth University students, professors and friends who had just witnessed the “Orgasmic Rush of Lust’s” version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
“Don’t you worry about the mess,” Justin Castonguay, event coordinator for the Student Activities Advisory Committee, told a reluctant VCU official outside of the ballroom as the crowd gathered to collect its special “props”, “we’re planning on cleaning it all up after the show.”

The Horrific History:
Once every year a quirky and spooky tradition is carried on by proud groups of thespians and interested onlookers in Richmond.

Singing, dancing and cross-dressing; these are three of the staples of the annual Rocky Horror Picture Show, a semi-live, semi-filmed screening of Jim Sharman’s 1975 cult classic of the same name.

Since its release, the Rocky Horror Picture Show has had a massive cult following. Enough so, in fact, that it is still being viewed on the big screen, as it was seen 34 years ago.

The tradition of acting out the film, reciting the script along with a few select actors on stage and in the audience, has been part of the “experience” since the film was released, and now thanks to word of mouth and increased access on the internet, the horrifically entertaining tradition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

One goal of the live show is to interact as much with the film as humanly possible. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, dressing up like the scantily-clad characters of the film, memorizing and reciting every song, dance and line of the original film, and even knowing the fan created “participation script” that has been used throughout the years at these gatherings.

The Experience:
“This one is for all of those old folks reliving their old days when they went to the theatre in their fishnet,” said Castonguay as the show began.

As the lights dimmed on the ballroom, the sound of excitement and anticipation began to fill the air.

“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” the group shouted as the opening credits began playing.

The following hours consisted of what can best be described as organized chaos. There were props flying, and limbs flailing, all coupled with catchy pop songs and a spotlight.

For some, it was enlightening:

“It was basically one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in person,” said first time viewer Emily Fox, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University. “To tell you the truth, I really had no idea what I was getting myself in to.”

For others it was purely bizarre:

“Women dressing like men dressing like women. This is by far the best way to spend a Saturday night,” said freshmen Kara Heird.

And for others, it was exactly what they expected:

“This is my second time going to the show. It’s one of the best things about the fall semester, in my opinion,” said advertising major Sammy Bridge.

Throwing and tossing; singing and dancing. There is truly something to be said about the pure energy that a room full of self proclaimed “Sweet Transvestites from Transsexual Transylvania” can produce on an otherwise somber autumn night.

VCU's "Tweet That" Event

The content that today’s college students are sharing online will have an effect on their job opportunities’ in the future, and the panel at the Social Media Club’s “Tweet That” event wants to make this point clear.

By Andrew Brown

Tweet That, which took place on Monday night in the Commonwealth Theater, was a panel discussion in front of a crowd of about 130 professors, students, and Richmond residents about the use of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin, for career and community building.

The four panelists, all of who utilize one or more forms of social media in their careers, spoke in front of a screen with floating “tweets” from members of the audience, saying things like “at #tweetthat. Wish I had some gum.” and answered questions from guests whose nametags bore not only the traditional first and last name, but also a “Twitter Handle”, the user name of a Twitter user. Needless to say, this was not a traditional experience.

To a very engaged audience, the Tweet That! Panelists drove the point home that in order to get a job, it is a good idea to watch what is being made public online.

“Be the best version of yourself that you can be,” said panelist Jolie O’Dell, blogger for ReadWriteWeb, StartupLucky, and Adrants and Center Networks, speaking about online personalities.

“If you want to work in a place were you can drop the F-Bomb, you can do that,” said O’Dell. “You are what you project.”

The difference between being personal and being professional was one of the main topics covered by the panel.

“Let your personality shine, just watch what you’re doing,” said panelist Trevor Dickerson, a VCU student and co-owner of RVA MediaWorks.

For the most part, all four panelists agreed that no matter what purpose a social media account is fulfilling, be it personal, professional, or both, the user needs to be aware about what message it is sending about him or her as a person.

“I have two separate accounts,” said Dickerson, speaking about his online-personality choices.

“You just need to use your best judgment,” said Dickerson. “If you’ve been drinking, you might not want to be Tweeting.”

Candace Nicolls, a recruiting manager at Ironworks Consulting, said to the audience that when she is hiring new employees, one of the first things she does is check the applicant’s online persona.

“Know that recruiters are googling you when you are applying to a job,” said Nicolls, who feels that people have an online reputation these days that they need to pay attention to and protect.

Panelist and recent University of Richmond graduate, Generra Peck, addressed the problem of unwanted information, such as inappropriate pictures, showing up on these social networking websites.

“The best thing to do is contact that person right away and ask them to take that photo,” said Peck, who things that simply “un-tagging” oneself is not enough when trying to protect your online identity.

This event seemed to resonate well with the crowd, and judging by the tweets that were being shown in real-time during the event, many members of the audience found the panel’s information to be quite useful.

“It makes it seem like employers actually care about drinking and stuff like that,” said Alex Morton, 19, a sophomore in the School of Mass Communications. “Maybe I’ll keep an eye about what’s being put on my Facebook.”

By Andrew Brown

The VCU Sex Club has recieved a lot of attention around campus, but an underlying question of its purpose still exists.

Started this fall by graduate student and adjunct professor Jonny Cecka, the Sex Club meets once a week to talk, share, and concider all things sex.

“I think that there needs to be a forum for all students to be able to discuss sexuality in a safe and fun way,” said Cecka, “The main idea of the club is this forum. Just people talking, asking questions, and feeling that they are not alone.”

Stressing the “open” attitude of the club, Cecka noted that, in his opinion, society has shed somewhat of a negative light on the subject of sex and sexuality, making it into something that is viewed as perverse and dirty; this is where he thinks the club’s mission begins.

“I understand that it’s part of our culture, but that’s the part of our culture that I want to change,” said Cecka, who believes that opening up discussion on some of these historically tabooed issues will bring about positive change, “I see it as a thumb in the eye of our culture in regards to sex.”

Scott Racette, a junior who recently transferred from Christopher Newport University, understands why there is a need for such a club at VCU.

“College kids are obsessed with the subject of sex, mainly because it is such a mystery to them,” said Racette, who sees the sex club as an outlet for people to express their concerns, share their experiences, and even ask questions to a like-minded audience.

Many students have heard this message, and for sophomore Matthew Whitt this was exactly the kind of thing that he had been looking for.

“I had never really had a place to talk, on this level, about the basic subject of sexuality.” said Whitt

Hearing about the club through a friend, he knows what most of his peers probably think of when they hear the name “Sex Club”.

“The word ’sex’ just has this strong negative connotation, but it really doesn’t have to,” said Whitt, “It’s not like we’re going to watch porn or anything, it’s not about getting a quick hook-up, it’s not a swingers club.”

Whitt believes that the Sex Club has the potential to challenge the way VCU students view their own sexuality.

“I think this is the spark that starts a fire,” said Whitt. “I would love to see our club break down the negative stereotypes. If our members become comfortable with talking openly about sex, they then talk to their friends, their friends then talk to their friends, and thus, a public conversation is started.”

For some people it may make perfect sense why these subjects are typically confined to the bedroom, but for the VCU Sex Club, human sexuality is just another natural thing.