Articles by: benjamin

 

• Letter From Our Student Body President

  Editorials November 5, 2009 at 6:53 pm Comments are Disabled

  This fall Student Government has made it a goal to provide Vote Vans for the gubernatorial elections. Thanks to the dedication of many members of Student Government including Student Senator Ally Bowers and Secretary of Government and Academic Affairs Ryan Huff, this Tuesday, Nov. 3, we will be following through with this initiative. We will be providing two seven-passenger vans to take students from Sandy Creek to the local polling place at W.T. Woodson High School, which is less than 5 miles from campus. The shuttle will run from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. The vans will be driven by members of Student Government, and will alternate trips, with one heading to the polls while the other is departing, with the hope that no student has to wait more than a few minutes for a ride. Not only will this event give students an opportunity to get to the polls as quickly as possible without having to block off a large portion of their day to go vote, but this year students will also be provided with non-partisan literature on both the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates. The platform information provided for both candidates will be drawn solely from the […]

   

• Letter to the Editor

  Editorials November 5, 2009 at 6:51 pm Comments are Disabled

  In the previous issue of Broadside, a number of writers commented on the popularity of sexy Halloween costumes and expressed disapproval of it. I agree with their misgivings and commend their efforts to bring the issue to the attention of Broadside readers. However, I think their focus is misplaced. The way I see it, criticizing acts of sexual exhibitionism in practice while supporting sexual libertarianism, or “free love,” in theory is inconsistent and pretentious. To argue against sexually-exhibitionist Halloween costumes, while supporting sex and romantic intimacy, with little or no restraint is capricious; arguments that are not kind and based on differences in degree are fertile ground for subjective opinion, rather than reason or a consistent worldview. To criticize those who use a liberty that is based on principles you do not question is not only baseless, but hypocritical. Like the concerned staff of Broadside, I am made uneasy by rampant exhibitionism that pervades the sexy costumes fad. However, unlike the majority of the writers or most people, I am also opposed to the pervasiveness of sexual liberalism in society. The modern trend of sexual misbehavior in our culture is simply part of a much larger issue: The fact that […]

   

• Detroit's For Sale, But Nobody's Buying: Michigan Making Up for Economy by State Sale

  Editorials November 5, 2009 at 6:47 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brandon Minster, Staff Writer About once a week, I have a serious discussion with myself that starts with, what do I want to be when I grow up? And usually near the top of my list is auctioneer. The career combines the best of all other jobs. Fast, unintelligible talking, “do I hear five, five, five, do I hear wharlgurlgarble hamanahamana”, but at a much higher wage than working a fast food restaurant. Describing people’s shameful character traits, “sold to the obese, balding woman in the back row,” but with more regular gigs than an insult comic. Forcing people to buy things they do not want: “I’m sorry, sir, but I did see a slight motion of your head, and now you own a Rembrandt,” but without the criminal record that accompanies a career in racketeering. Auctioneering has it all. It is the wave of the future. The future is already here in Detroit, Mich., a city poised to become the first in America, since the days of railroad speculation, to be sold completely on the auction block. In 2007, Wayne County, Mich., officials offered 2,000 seized properties at their auction. This year they offered 9,000 properties. More than four-fifths […]

   

• Politics in the Classroom: Are Professors Just Personal Agenda Pushers?

  Editorials October 27, 2009 at 3:42 pm Comments are Disabled

  Alan Moore, Broadside Correspondent Since coming to George Mason University, I have been shocked and appalled at the number of professors who are more concerned with pushing their own political agenda than actually teaching. I have had to bear professors lobbying for a variety of political ideological rants ranging from Christopher Columbus accomplishing nothing more than being a bigoted murderer to Rush Limbaugh perpetuating a fantasy system of lies and falsehoods. I also can’t seem to get through a class without hearing about how man irrefutably aids global warming. Quite frankly, I’m sick of it. Let me be clear on this next point: If you subscribe to such beliefs, then that is fine with me, I do not really care in the slightest. I might think you’re a radical leftist, but if that is what you want to believe, then so be it. We can both think whatever we want. However, the line must absolutely be drawn when you walk into the classroom. Professors in their ivory towers love to push their ideological values on their students because students fear that speaking up will place them in their bad graces. After all, we are all here to earn a college […]

   

• Possible Smoking Ban on Campus: Students Have a Right to Smoke if They Choose

  Editorials October 27, 2009 at 3:40 pm Comments are Disabled

  William Curtis, Opinion Editor I can never say which is my favorite, the after-eating cigarette, the while-drinking-coffee cigarette or the after-crapping cigarette. They all manage to calm me down and make everything better. Over the span of time, the sanctity of cigarette smoking was so well-accepted that in a world I can never imagine . . . you could even smoke on a plane during a flight. Now, the times have clearly changed. First they took regular buildings, then some states took restaurants and bars, and now you want to take away the only thing us smokers have left, the outdoors? It’s bad enough that we only have 15 minutes to move from one class to another, that certainly isn’t enough time to sit, relax, and have a cigarette when you have to walk all the way across campus just to get to class on time. I mean, why don’t you just outlaw cigarettes all together? I send these notions of disapproval to the members of George Mason University’s Environmental Action Group, whose action towards protecting the universe one Solo cup at a time are greatly appreciated . . . until you try and take my nicotine away. On their […]

   

• Sexy or Scary: What to Wear for Halloween?

  Editorials October 27, 2009 at 3:38 pm Comments are Disabled

  Stephanie Tran, Broadside Correspondent What’s the first thing that you think of when someone says “Halloween”? Probably orange and black, haunted houses, candy and of course, costumes. Pretty innocent, right? Sure, except that while browsing for costumes in a store or online, you’ll see several blatantly sexy costumes being sold. Of course, costume companies market these costumes towards adult women and teenage girls, but the funny thing is that, well, isn’t Halloween supposed to be scary, not sexy? According to an Encyclopedia Britannica Online article on Halloween, “scary beings such as ghosts, witches, and vampires” became a part of Halloween over the years. Passing over arguments over whether or not vampires are attractive or not and ignoring ghosts as being, well, dead. Witches, it can be argued, are hardly attractive, never mind sexy: old, ugly women with large noses and warts, probably carrying a broomstick and sporting a pointed hat. In short, not even remotely sexy. A quick search on websites such as CostumeHub.com soon proves you wrong. Typing in “witch” and filtering only the “sexy” costumes introduces the viewer to six sexy witches. While three of these witches sport the typical pointed hat and one even touts a broom, […]

   

• Weapons of Mass Employment: Finding the Perfect Job, in a Not-So-Perfect Economy

  Editorials October 27, 2009 at 3:34 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brandon Minster, Broadside Correspondent President Barack Obama has a lot on his plate. Between adjudicating misdemeanors in Cambridge, Mass., opining about the proceedings at the MTV Video Music Awards, demonizing a non-friendly news agency, and advocating for a college football playoff, no one can really blame the man if unemployment is on its way past 10 percent. Clearly he’s busy. Not to fear. While our country is shedding high-wage technical jobs, others are growing in those very sectors. If you happen to enjoy sunny Mediterranean climes, pistachios that get your fingers all red, gasoline that costs less than 50 cents per gallon, and oppressive Islamic republics, scores of jobs await you in the promising field of nuclear technology. According to Mark Hosenball in Newsweek, Iran followed its 2003 “halting” of its atomic weapons program by, well, immediately restarting its atomic weapons program. In Iran’s defense, though, it should be noted that, since even Denny’s now closes for Christmas, every business can be said to “halt” every once in a while. It’s the length of the halting that matters. One man’s halt is another’s dramatic pause. The problem is the nature of diplomatic language, which doesn’t really differentiate between halting and […]

   

• Meal Plan Limitations: Why Eating Off Campus Should be Easier

  Editorials October 27, 2009 at 3:32 pm Comments are Disabled

  Kenny Tindal, Broadside Correspondent Throughout my freshman year, when we were still allowed to have the Freedom meal plan, I wished I could use my money off campus. Even now there are many nights where I opt to stay on campus and eat at Taco Bell than go out to Old Town or University Mall because my Freedom was so high, but my wallet was so thin. I think it is only natural to want to explore and see what is out there, and when you are from a different county or even state and your outside funds are not limitless, and it is hard, knowing you probably should be eating on campus instead. George Mason University should be encouraging their residential students to leave campus, and see what Fairfax has to offer them. Students who have a flexible meal plan usable off campus will find themselves out in Fairfax and exploring more. The universities solution to off campus dining is Mason Money, which can basically turn your Mason ID card into a debit card; usable at many places on and off campus, such as University Theatres at University Mall, and Chipotle on Lee Highway. Students can add money to […]

   

• Two Party System Means Both Can't Be Losers

  Editorials October 20, 2009 at 2:44 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brandon Minster, Broadside Correspondent In America’s perpetual electioneering, the moment Barack Obama took the presidential oath of office the midterm election campaign began. Prognosticators make a living by discussing such things on cable news channels, often making up for a lack of insight with an overabundance of hot air. “My opponent wants to pay for (social program/defensive weapon) by cutting spending for (defensive weapon/social program), all while balancing the budget on the backs of the (poor/rich), which will benefit no one but the (rich/poor).” Using this formula five times in 10 minutes will get you a guest spot on the McLaughlin Group; using it 10 times in five minutes will get you your own show on CNBC. Currently, the presidency and both houses of Congress are controlled by the Democratic Party. The Republican opposition looks at the incredibly low Congressional approval poll numbers (which has skyrocketed to 26 percent from a low last fall of 14 percent, according to realclearpolitics.com) and salivates. Wait until next year, they think, and they will ride the wave of disapproval to electoral victory. The problem is that congressional disapproval is nothing new. In fact, Congress’ approval rating has been at or below 50 percent […]

   

• A Disease Worse Than Swine Flu

  Editorials October 20, 2009 at 2:42 pm Comments are Disabled

  Justin Lalputan, Broadside Correspondent Last year, the H1N1 virus, also known as “swine flu,” struck many countries worldwide. Americans especially have been filled with fear since the flu has struck campuses and communities nationwide. However, despite the so-called “imminent danger,” I think it’s time that Americans calmed down and took a logical look at the situation. Earlier this year, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano confirmed what many had been saying when she announced that, “The severity of the disease, the severity of the flu [and] how sick you get is not stronger than regular seasonal flu.” Essentially, what that means is this: if you’re not at risk to die from the regular flu, then chances are that you’re not going to die from H1N1. However, those whose immune systems are compromised, are above the age of 50, are young children or pregnant should be more careful as both the regular flu and H1N1 could have a significant impact on their health. People are scared of H1N1 because of what they may have heard from rumors and speculation, but in actuality, in the United States, almost all of those infected with H1N1 have made full recoveries. The worst cases of H1N1 […]