Articles by: skline

Toure Makes Appearance at Mason

News1 February 20, 2012 at 2:51 pm Comments are Disabled

What does it mean to be black in America today? Touré, a television personality, writer and cultural critic, addressed this question before an audience of nearly 50 students and faculty members at the Johnson Center Bistro during a keynote speech sponsored by George Mason University’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Education for Black History Month. Touré primarily based the keynote speech upon his 2011 book “Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness?” “The book talks about the rise of the 21st century African-American community,” said organizational administration major James Williams. Students in attendance were familiar with Touré’s work. “I read his articles in The New York Times,” Williams said. “I’ve seen him on TV,” said communication major Meghann Patterson. During the first half of his speech, Touré examined the implications of living in a post-racial society. “Post-racial means whatever you want it to mean. There is no fixed idea of what post-racial means,” Touré said. “Racism still affects our world a great deal.” Touré explained that contemporary racism is more subtle and nuanced than the racism of the past. “The racism our parents experienced was obvious,” Touré said. “Now, it’s like fog. We can’t see it. We can’t grab it. It’s harder […]
Mason Student Passes Away at 24

News1 February 13, 2012 at 6:01 pm Comments are Disabled

George Mason University sophomore Bridget Healy passed away unexpectedly at the age of 24 on Thursday while at home with her parents. Healy was active in the Mason LIFE program, which offers a university experience to students with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Friends describe Healy as loving, caring and special. “My favorite memory of Bridget was being able to see her smile everyday,” said Tommy Miossi, Mason LIFE student and buddy director of Best Buddies Club at Mason, which pairs disabled students in one-to-one friendships with other university students. In her free time, Healy enjoyed watching movies, spending time with her friends and attending Mason events. “Bridget was a great and wonderful person and a very great friend of mine. I loved her so much,” said Caitlin Donovan, historian of Best Buddies and Mason LIFE alumna. “She had such a great personality. She will be greatly missed by all of the Mason LIFE staff and students.” Healy was a member of the Best Buddies Club. Each month, the club holds meetings so that all of the friendship pairs can get together for activities. “Best Buddies is planning to plant a tree on campus in her honor near the Aquia Building. […]
Lawsuit Leads to Policy Change in Student Government

News1 February 13, 2012 at 6:00 pm Comments are Disabled

A lawsuit filed by a former member of the George Mason University Student Senate over the legality of the use of secret ballots in voting for senate appointments was shot down by a Fairfax County judge Jan. 30 due to an error in whom the lawsuit was filed against. The lawsuit was filed by Michael Jordan, whose appointment to the senate was rejected Oct. 18, 2011, in a secret ballot vote by the Government and Academic Affairs Committee in the first step of the interview process. The lawsuit named as the defendant Matthew Short, the individual, rather than Matthew Short, the chair of the G&A Committee, Short said. To be valid, the lawsuit should have been filed against Short in his capacity as committee chairman. In the lawsuit, a “petition and affidavit for good cause/for injunction of mandamus – freedom of information act,” according to a court document, Jordan asked for a writ of mandamus that would require Short to “declare all ballot votes since October 18th, 2011 null and void and require the committee to re-do the interviews in a fairer process. I [Jordan] am also asking to recover reasonable costs,” according to the document. A writ — or […]
Pearson of the Year

Sports February 13, 2012 at 5:58 pm Comments are Disabled

Fans in Fairfax were shocked when the Preseason Player of the Year votes were tallied and their senior forward was not at the top of the list. How could Ryan Pearson play second fiddle to an injured Kent Bazemore to open the season? Bazemore finished last season scoring 12.3 points per game, but added 98 assists and 76 steals to his game as a swing man. The CAA is known as a defensive league — perimeter players can steal the ball in the blink of an eye — but after winning the postseason tournament, the Monarchs fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, Pearson was coming off the best season of his career. With nearly seven rebounds and 14.2 points per game, he anchored the Patriots’ frontcourt. His consistent play propelled Mason to finishing at the top of the regular season standings and into the NCAA’s Round of 32. Not even a coaching change could hold back what this player would unleash in his senior year. “It was difficult. Different coaches have their different styles, coaching styles. His style, I want to say, is more free,” Pearson said. “We just do what we know to do. He […]
Your Face, Your Voice: Mason Cable Network

Lifestyle February 13, 2012 at 5:56 pm Comments are Disabled

Recently, the mass media has brought the idea of gender identity to my attention. The matter of gender roles is a very sensitive subject in America. Gender roles are an important mediator of human experiences and of the way individuals interact with each other and their physical environments. Many people question the validity of gender binaries in youth as compared to in adulthood. I find them to be questionable in general. As soon as the umbilical cord is cut and the sex of the baby is determined, social expectations are activated. Suddenly, there is an agenda for a whole array of developmental experiences that will influence that person throughout his or her life. Over the past year, the Ad Council and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, in conjunction with the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, has been running ads for the Take Time to Be a Dad Today campaign, which ostensibly aims to provide advice on being a good parent. Many of the ads center on a father catering to his young daughter by playing dress up with her, letting the girl paint his nails or engaging in other feminine activities. Similarly, in April […]
Gender Binary Norms Set the Stage for Disapproval

Editorials February 13, 2012 at 5:55 pm Comments are Disabled

Recently, the mass media has brought the idea of gender identity to my attention. The matter of gender roles is a very sensitive subject in America. Gender roles are an important mediator of human experiences and of the way individuals interact with each other and their physical environments. Many people question the validity of gender binaries in youth as compared to in adulthood. I find them to be questionable in general. As soon as the umbilical cord is cut and the sex of the baby is determined, social expectations are activated. Suddenly, there is an agenda for a whole array of developmental experiences that will influence that person throughout his or her life. Over the past year, the Ad Council and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, in conjunction with the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, has been running ads for the Take Time to Be a Dad Today campaign, which ostensibly aims to provide advice on being a good parent. Many of the ads center on a father catering to his young daughter by playing dress up with her, letting the girl paint his nails or engaging in other feminine activities. Similarly, in April […]
Women’s Lacrosse Starts with Fast Break

Sports February 13, 2012 at 5:53 pm Comments are Disabled

On a frigid, snowy Saturday afternoon, the Mason women’s lacrosse team opened their season at home with an impressive 19–9 victory over the Saint Francis University Red Flash. The Patriots were led by a balanced offensive attack that saw three different players score four or more goals. “We’ve worked a lot with our attack,” said head coach Lauren Hay. “Coach [Jaclyn] O’Leary has the attack, and we’ve really worked in the off-season as far as having a balanced attack, and we really feel like the girls showcased that today, so we’re excited about that. It’s not just one person. We have that balanced attack, and everyone is going to be a threat for us.” Mason opened the game with a 3–0 lead that began with junior midfielder Caitlin Formato scoring the first of her five goals, followed by scores from seniors Emily Ellisen and Mary Schwartz who each scored four on the day, with Schwartz also contributing two assists. SFU’s first goal was quickly answered by a 4-0 Patriots run that saw Formato, Ellisen and Schwartz each add their second scores, while sophomore attacker Katie Mascolo scored her first of two, off of an assist from junior midfielder Allie Hilderbrandt. […]
Smoking Ban Update

News1 February 13, 2012 at 5:51 pm Comments are Disabled

George Mason University officials are seeking to enhance enforcement of the university-wide smoking ban within 25 feet of campus buildings. This policy is now being enforced more strictly because of a general societal attitude against smoking. “Smoking is deemed to be unhealthy and a safety hazard,” said Dan Walsch, Mason’s press secretary. Students acknowledge the policy and its fairness. “It is a little inconvenient, but I understand why the rules are in place,” said government and international politics major Mehryar Khan, 24. “I know smoking harms me [and] also harms other people.” Khan claims that the enhanced enforcement of the smoking ban has not affected him so far. Students also note the difficulty of smoking at least 25 feet away from buildings. Non-smokers appreciate the policy’s improved enforcement. “It is nice to walk out of a building and not get a face full of smoke,” said biology major Caitlin Taylor, 21. “The friends I have who do smoke are conscientious about it and respectful to others.” Increasing policy enforcement is currently a work in progress. “We are in the process of reviewing requests from Student Government to put additional no-smoking signage around the Johnson Center,” said Todd Rose, associate […]
Women’s Season Best Under Porter

Sports February 6, 2012 at 4:08 pm Comments are Disabled

After the 2003-04 women’s basketball season, Coach Debbie Taneyhill was reeling from a successful season. Her girls went 18-11 and won 11 games in the CAA. Of course, these were the days when Old Dominion ran the conference. They had won every regular season and every tournament in the conference since 1992. This season, the Patriots sit in the middle of the conference with a 5-6 record, not quite like the early 2000s, but more reminiscent any year since. They’re coming around to playing CAA basketball. “There’s another element on this level,” Coach Jeri Porter said. “There’s a mental and physical toughness, playing 40 minutes, being able to handle somebody’s run, and answer it.” The Patriots took second place in the 2004 CAA tournament, losing to Old Dominion by an 85-81 final score and the Monarchs would continue to dominate the Atlantic seaboard through the 2008 season. But the conference was headed to change. It was the Patriots last season with a winning record. The next year went a bit worse. A first-round CAA loss ended the season after an 8-10 conference mark. The 2006 season took them a round further before Old Dominion ended their postseason hopes again. […]
Mason Opens Spotsylvania Enterprise Center

News1 February 6, 2012 at 4:08 pm Comments are Disabled

George Mason University is helping to support small businesses in Spotsylvania County. The Spotsylvania regional office of the Mason Enterprise Center opened Thursday. Like the Fairfax Mason Enterprise Center it will serve as a small-business incubator, offering both office space for lease and crucial business counseling programs. “There’s a lot of movement of people and business up and down the I-95 corridor. It made a lot of sense to open up a facility in Spotsylvania because there are a lot of businesses that do business with the military,” said Keith Segerson, executive director of the Mason Enterprise Center at the Office of Research and Economic Development. The Spotsylvania MEC is the latest of several regional offices to open in Manassas, Woodbridge, and Springfield. “We have opened up regional offices strategically around Virginia in areas that have strong business growth potential,” Segerson said. “We have a good track record,” said Jody Keenan, managing director of the Fairfax MEC. “Businesses that work with the Mason Enterprise Center tend to grow faster and create more jobs than other businesses in general.” Although they operate under strict confidentiality and cannot name the companies they work with, Keenan said that over 30 successful businesses have […]