Articles by: studentmedia

 

• California dreamin’: Junior seeks to move westward after college

  Sports April 5, 2010 at 1:18 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Fernanda Bartels, Staff Writer Today, junior Lindsay Gray is in the pages of Broadside. Tomorrow, she will make headlines in Hollywood. Casted as one of the top players on the George Mason University women’s tennis team, Gray is an English major with a concentration in non-fiction writing, with a communication minor. Mason is the first stop on Gray’s journey to the world of entertainment. After graduation, the second stop will be California. “I want to move out to L.A,” said Gray. “It’s always been a dream of mine since I was little to be out in Hollywood. In the back of my mind, I want to be famous, but I understand that it is a really hard profession. It’s so competitive.” Gray is heading to California for the summer, where she will be interning for the second time with Dick Clark Productions. “I feel like getting out there, getting my feet wet,” said Gray. “Interning at Dick Clark Productions sort of gets me in the door a little bit, and [helps in] getting to know what they look for.” California dreams aside, Gray keeps herself busy during the school year with tennis, academics and extracurricular activities. Gray is the […]

   

• Students hold food drive to help Food for Others: Nonprofit organization helps feed the hungry

  News1 April 5, 2010 at 12:36 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Sonya Hudson, Managing Editor To help feed the hungry of Northern Virginia, George Mason University students collect donations of food Saturday outside the Giant Supermarket in Loehmann’s Plaza in Falls Church, Va. for Food for Others, a nonprofit organization dedicated to distributing free food directly to people in need in Northern Virginia. Food for Others highlights the poverty problems in Northern Virginia. According to its website, “Even though Northern Virginia is considered one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the country, we still face a poverty rate of about 5%. This means, based on U.S. Census figures, that more than 90,000 people are living in poverty and 30 percent are children.” Food for Others takes donations of food, money and time. Food for Others also helps support food programs of other community-based agencies. According to its website, “We make bulk distributions of food to more than 30 other charitable organizations that support soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and deliveries to the elderly, as well as church and community center pantries.” The nonprofit organization’s upcoming special events include “Empty Bowls,” an April 9 event in which individuals who contribute a small donation receive a meal of soup and bread in handcrafted bowls […]

   

• Earthlings learn to speak out of this world language: Klingon inventor speaks to students

  News1 April 5, 2010 at 12:34 pm 3 comments

  By Pearson Jones, Asst. Style Editor Star Trek is not just for geeks anymore. J.J. Abrams recent resurrection of the Star Trek franchise proved that. Capturing the attention of a whole new generation of trekkies, Abram’s installment beamed up younger fans to the Enterprise who were just being introduced to Captain James T. Kirk for the first time. This new fan base, combined with the diehard fans that have been rocking the Vulcan salute for over 40 years now, can be attributed to the large turnout alien language designer Marc Okrand received from George Mason University last Friday. Okrand is the designer behind the alien language Klingon used in many of the Star Trek films. The veteran linguist is also responsible for developing the language used in the Disney animated film Atlantis. A god to those familiar with the franchise, Okrand unveiled the secrets of Klingon to a waving room of Vulcan salutes and anxious fans. James Doohan, the actor who played Scotty in the television series, came up with the idea of Klingon orginally. Okrand took it one step further though in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Actually, make that two Klingon Dictionaries, several Shakspeare plays translated […]

   

• Mason Day headliner announced: Students express disappointment about choice of Cobra Starship

  News1 April 5, 2010 at 12:29 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Emily Sharrer, Editor-in-Chief Following Program Board’s announcement March 27 that the neon-colored skinny jeans wearing fivesome Cobra Starship would be headlining this year’s Mason Day, close to 20 disillusioned members of the “Bring ____ to Mason Day 2010” Facebook group posted comments on the group’s wall, calling into question the process used to pick the synth-pop group. Other possible Mason Day acts included on a student survey were Trey Songz, Passion Pit, Wale, Phoenix, Billy Currington, Kid Cudi with Ratatat, Girl Talk and Flogging Molly. “Personally I’d like to see the results of the survey,” said Genevieve McKenna, a communication major, on the wall of the group, which recently changed its name to “Mason Day 2010 Feat. Cobra Starship.” “I mean if it was a majority that’s great… but [there’s no] proof that they even looked [at] our votes or, you know, went with what they could afford. A straight answer is all I ask,” said McKenna. Mason Day will be held outdoors on April 22 in Lot L. The free event, which is scheduled for 2-10 p.m., will feature rides, concerts by local bands and Mason organizations hosting games and passing out free food, culminating in an 8 […]

   

• Barnett and Yoo win election: Pair elected student body president and vice president

  News1 April 5, 2010 at 12:27 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Rachael Dickson, Mason Nation Four Years Later Editor-in-Chief D’Leon Barnett and Jacky Yoo D’Leon Barnett and Jacky Yoo were named the next George Mason University student body president and vice president this week, marking the end of a competitive election that featured significant campaigning from all parties and higher voter turnout than ever before. According to Chairperson Dale Warfield of the Elections and Disputes Commission, who announced the results today in the Johnson Center Atrium, the 3,961 votes in this election were the most ever cast. Barnett and Yoo garnered over 1,200 votes, about 31 percent of the total. Barnett spoke briefly to the large lunchtime crowd. “We’d like to thank everybody at George Mason for answering the call to action,” Barnett said. He later commented, “We’re ready to bridge the gap between students, faculty and administrators,” citing a commitment to diversity. Barnett and Yoo’s closest competitors among the four other pairs running for the executive offices were Lynn Gold and Dominic Pody, who had 971 votes (about 25 percent). Sean Hobaugh and Evan Massengill came in third with 653 votes, with Shane Smith and Rich Everett only two votes behind. Jill Ferron and Mark Murphy received 275 votes. […]

   

• Student Government elections: Presidential and vice presidential candidates discuss their platforms and policies

  News1 March 29, 2010 at 12:31 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Hayley Roder, Broadside Correspondent While interviewing the ten candidates for George Mason University student government president and vice president, one common theme transpired: advocating for the student body. The five tickets — Shane Smith and Rich Everett, Jillian Ferron and Mark Murphy, Sean Hobaugh and Evan Massengill, Lynn Gold and Dominic Pody and D’Leon Barnett and Jacky Yoo — have proposed different campaign platforms, but they all arrive at a similar goal: to let the voices of the students be heard. “Advocating for the students is our number one priority,” Smith said. “There’s been a disconnect between student government and the university administration, and we want to advocate on behalf of the students.” Gold echoed a similar statement. “Our main responsibility [as leaders of student government] would be to serve as the primary representative for students — to the administration, to the state legislature — to let them know what the students want and need to lead Mason into the future.” Another common theme was transparency. “Really, you only hear from student government once a year [during election time],” Massengill said. “We don’t hear what student government is doing for us daily or weekly, or even monthly.” Hobaugh agreed: […]

   

• Alumnae helps impoverished children: Through Teach for America, former student aids at grade school

  News1 March 29, 2010 at 12:24 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ethan Vaughan, Asst. News Editor “I had a parent come up to me, crying. She said, ‘My child can read.’” That moment epitomized what got Marissa Herrmann out of bed early every morning five days a week, kept her going in the face of economic obstacles and gave her the strength to face down a classroom of teenagers who sometimes begrudged her presence. Herrmann, 23, is a participant in Teach for America, which sends high-achieving college graduates to public schools in impoverished areas in the nation. According to the group’s mission statement, its goal is “to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting our nation’s most promising future leaders in the effort.” At an age when many of her peers are lugging backpacks and sitting behind desks, Herrmann is at the front of the classroom, responsible for instilling knowledge in the minds of special education students at Southeast Middle School in Baton Rouge, La. While a senior at George Mason University and majoring in communication, Herrmann applied to the Teach for America program and was subjected to a rigorous selection procedure. “It was the craziest interview process I’ve ever been in in my life,” Herrmann said when […]

   

• Nondiscrimination policy unchanged: Board of Visitors ignores Cuccinelli’s advisement

  News1 March 29, 2010 at 12:21 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Kevin Loker, C2M Executive Editor The Board of Visitors resolved yesterday to continue protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the George Mason University community under the university’s nondiscrimination policy. Mason’s governing body reaffirmed the current “institutional commitment to nondiscrimination,” maintaining the protected classes within University Policy 1201. The resolution comes over three weeks after Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote a letter to all state universities addressing the inclusion of ‘sexual orientation,’ gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ in the institutions’ nondiscrimination policies. In the letter, Cuccinelli advised the state institutions to remove the language from their nondiscrimination policies on the basis of current Virginia state law as determined by the General Assembly. The letter was later leaked to the public, sparking outrage, confusion and protest. While most of the discussion that produced the resolution occurred during closed executive session, Press Secretary Dan Walsch confirmed Thursday that the BOV’s conclusion would leave the policy unchanged and unadjusted unless a serious external legal change occurs. “If at [a point] in the future a new state law is passed that requires all state agencies and entities to make some changes, then we will comply with the law,” he said.

   

• ‘Virginia is for all lovers’: Protesters unite at Mason Law School to attest Attorney General Cuccinelli’s proposed change to university discrimination policies

  News1 March 29, 2010 at 12:19 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Emily Sharrer, Editor-in-Chief Despite cold temperatures and sporadic rain, a combination of students, faculty and staff of George Mason University’s law school, passersby and members of Pride Alliance gathered on Tuesday to protest Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s visit to the George Mason School of Law in Arlington. The demonstration was in response to Cuccinelli’s controversial letter, leaked earlier this month, in which the attorney general advised state institutions to remove ‘sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ from the language of their nondiscrimination policies on the basis of current Virginia state law as determined by the General Assembly. [Student Media recently received an op-ed written by the attorney general defending his position.] About 65 protesters were present for the protest and rally. Many of them held signs, some of which read: “VA is for all lovers,” “hate is not a family value” and “who remembers Matthew Shepard?” “I felt good about it,” said protest organizer Cathryn “Kate” Oakley, a second year law student and president of the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Law Association (GALLA) at Mason’s law school. “I felt that there was a really good amount of support from the community.” Speakers for the protest included Pride Alliance […]

   

• From Stand-up to Standout: Top five actors who have made the leap

  Lifestyle March 25, 2010 at 10:57 am Comments are Disabled

  By Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer This week, Ben Stiller will be taking a break from comedies like the Night at the Museum and Meet the Parents series for a more serious turn in Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, a film about a middle-aged man trying to figure out his life. Stiller is one amongst several notable comedians who have tackled heavier, more dramatic roles with great success. With Stiller’s recent turn as a launchpad, here are the top five comedians to take on serious roles: 5. Jamie Foxx After Foxx’s first dramatic role in Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday, it was easy to forget about his awkward, comedic past. With movies like Collateral, and his greatest role as Ray Charles in Ray, Foxx is stepping up as a promising young actor. 4. Will Smith Who would have thought that The Fresh Prince would eventually earn two Oscar nominations? Yet Smith has, for his love-him-or-hate-him role as The Greatest himself in Ali and for his role as the father who will do anything for his son in The Pursuit of Happyness. Even with a fantastic career so far, Smith still has many penetrating roles ahead of him. 3. Robin Williams A good rule […]