Every day as I walk past Southside, the JC or one of the many academic halls I can hear political dialogue between students. Whether it is a booth in the JC for Green Patriots or a message board to join the Israel Club, it seems every person associated with Mason has a connection to politics. Freshman Will Rosenberg believes he has the answer to this fascination:
“People are more expressive about it because it’s close to DC. Both presidential candidates were here,” he said. “It creates this passion for GMU students.”
Now this passion is not always supporting a party or candidate. Professor Lesley Smith of New Century College noticed: “I see a lot of political engagement, not always supporting one candidate but local and global communities.”
And that’s just it—besides election season you do not see Obama and Romney posters hung all over campus. Rather, you see posters supporting environmental issues, notices from the Invisible Children Club and bulletins from the Korean Student Association. They are clubs supporting policy for communities, not just yourself.
Whether you believe in a policy or not, Mason is a campus filled with pride and an attitude to bring change to this country and the world.
“I see more diversity on Mason’s campus than ones I visited, worked, and learned on,” Smith said. Rosenberg disagrees.
“This campus presents itself as more liberal and blue. That surprised me, it seems like Mason is pushing those policies on its student body,” Rosenberg said.
While there is disagreement on whether or not Mason is homogenous, we can all agree that the campus is filled with a passionate student body.
When the election season was in full swing, Obama and Romney both visited Mason’s campus to campaign a key electorate. Mason students were proud supporters and volunteers for both candidates’ campaigns.
And just recently, Mason’s Green Patriots joined 30 states and Canadian provinces to protest in Washington against the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline.
Members of Mason’s Catholic Ministry joined other religious groups around campus to advocate pro-life policies in Washington.
This is a passionate campus that has views from different perspectives and ideologies, which enhances Mason’s diversity.
Each week, I will be writing a column about politics and Mason. It will range from policies to beliefs to views of the future of America.
Hopefully, this column will provide the student body with a stronger understanding of differing views. Appreciate that a belief is not wrong but, rather, a different image of how our democracy can look based on the electorate’s belief.
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