I graduated VCU in 1982. Got two bachelor's degrees from there (BS Biology, BS Chemistry). I am now one of those "old" white guys they graduated Completed graduate education in the Northeast.
The photography school is hard to get into because VCU is one of the premier art schools in the country. If all your daughter saw were "ghettos" (and all it seems she cared about by what you wrote) she was looking at Virginia Union University, not VCU. The "Fan" in Richmond is every bit as charming as back bay Boston. The VCU Medical College is world renowned for research and drug discovery.
As a lifetime alumni member I have complained to VCU's President Rao in person at alumni gatherings about trends and directions I see the school taking. Maybe with time they will resist the outside pressure groups if they hope to keep up enrollment.
FReegards!
