Articles by: Colleen Wilson

Students for Life sponsor non-profit A Best Choice

Featured, News March 24, 2013 at 10:47 pm Comments are Disabled

Every other Wednesday, an unmarked camper RV is parked out front of Southside with a sign that advertises pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. Inside are two women, Kirsten Ball and Angela Clarke. Clarke is a Mason alumna and executive director of the mobile ultrasound and resource center, and Ball is registered with the state as a geriatric physician who works in a general practice office and performs the ultrasounds. The two say they are affiliated with no organization or program and are offering the services independently. However, Hannah Krandall, scheduling manager for events management, confirmed that the RV was scheduled and reserved through the student organization, Students for Life. In the brochure Ball and Clarke hand out to young women who use their services, there is a strong emphasis on counseling services they offer. “The most important part of our outreach mission is in having the opportunity to talk with these women and girls who have not heard the truth about abortion and be there to listen to them,” the brochure states. Anna Maher, president of Students for Life, said that this truth is that abortion ends the life of a human being and has negative physical, emotional and mental side […]
Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Editorials, News March 24, 2013 at 9:39 pm Comments are Disabled

I have never been a big fan of Taylor Swift, despite my often mocked love for country music. I find Swift to be childish and idealistic, even whiney at times, but when I read a recent article that called her the anti-feminist, I was ready to convert to team Swifty to defend her. The article, published on Thought Catalog, said that by purveying the stereotype of the virginal maiden who must kiss a few frogs before she finds her prince, Swift is going against all progress and ideals of feminism. I could not disagree more. The goal of feminism is not to define what the female experience should be for each individual, it is to empower women to be exactly who they want to be and pursue their own dreams and desires. The whole movement is pointless if women are held back in any way, be it shaving their heads and burning their bras or spending their lives pregnant and barefoot. Feminism is not about hating men, shedding your femininity or rejecting societal norms. In fact, the word feminism itself was poorly chosen- feminism is equality and independence for all genders. For a woman to seek out a relationship with […]
Nutrition Department hosts Chocolate Challenge

Featured, Lifestyle, Multimedia March 6, 2013 at 11:01 pm Comments are Disabled

Amateur and professional chefs and chocolatiers create edible sculptures For the twentieth annual Chocolate Lovers Festival, the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies hosted the Chocolate Challenge. The competition pitted amateur and professional chocolatiers against each other in a Food Network style competition. All entries were required to be completely edible, made predominantly of chocolate and no larger than 2’x2’. Awards were given for the best amateur and professional cake entries in both child and adult divisions, best in show for sculpture and artistic creations and an overall people’s choice award. Best judges entries received a blue ribbon and an award certificate. Sandy Dornslife of CakeWalk won best professionally decorated cake for her pirate ship creation. The Nutrition Kitchen, a space used by the nutrition studies program, was transformed from a working classroom-kitchen to an edible art gallery. Chocolate creations ranging from sculptures to cupcakes were judged by both a panel of judges and the general public. Judges included: Thomas Prohaska, Dean of the College of Health and Human Services and his wife Beth; Warren Brown of Cake Love and Love Café who has been featured on Food Network; Sabrina Campbell of Occasionally Cake; and Mayor of the City […]
Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Editorials, News March 6, 2013 at 3:33 pm Comments are Disabled

Each week I struggle to balance my schedule as a full- time student, an editor at the paper, a part-time babysitter and a girlfriend. Like everyone else on this campus, I am incredibly busy. Each week is an onslaught of quizzes, papers, interviews, articles, studying and my least favorite of all — the dreaded group project. Unlike Stephen Kline in Editorials, I am vehemently opposed to group work of nearly any sort. While I agree that working together and relying on others is an important life and career skill, I am far from convinced that the reason professors assign group work is because of a desire to teach students how to interact and work as a team. I cannot tell you how many times my professors have stood in front of the class, lamenting the class with the sad tale of how many papers and quizzes they have to grade each week. I am not contesting their hard work and dedication, I understand that being a professor consists of so much more than showing up and lecturing. But my sympathy only extends so far. Often, when professors design their syllabi to lighten their work load, they push the burden off onto […]
Fire hazard or health concern? #GMUProblems: Smokers

News March 6, 2013 at 12:12 am 3 comments

What is the problem? Despite a Virginia law and university policy banning smoking within 25 feet or inside of campus buildings, smokers often clog the entranceway to the JC and other highly populated areas around campus. Students with sensitivity toward smoke, ranging from annoyance to severe medical symptoms, are often forced to walk through packs of smokers. Smokers, under Virginia law, retain their right to smoke in designated public areas as a personal freedom. What is the university smoking policy? In accordance with the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act, university policy promotes a healthful and safe work environment for students, faculty and staff while still preserving the right to choose to smoke. Smoking is only permitted in designated areas marked by signs. Hallways, classrooms, restrooms and all public areas are smoke-free. Smoking is permitted outside of buildings not designated as hazardous. The policy was last updated in 2004, but currently a student task force is working on updates. Who enforces the policy? Several administrators are responsible for the enforcement of the smoking policy, including the assistant vice president and chief human resources officer, the associate provost for personnel & budget, and the assistant vice president for university services. Duties include implementing […]
Synchronized swimming hosts Southern Region Zone Championships

Featured, Sports February 26, 2013 at 2:37 pm Comments are Disabled

With tiny sparkly leotards and bright performance makeup, the Mason synchronized swimming team could easily be mistaken for a dance or gymnastics team. In a way, they are, as they flip, turn and propel themselves out of the pool in unison. As one of only 20 competitive college-level teams in the country, Mason’s club team is able to compete at the top-level nationally against varsity. On Feb. 23. the Mason synchronized swimming team hosted the South Zone Region Championships for teams from Texas, Florida and Virginia. The annual competition rotates between host schools each year. Each performance is approximately 4.5 minutes long, half of the time the swimmers are underwater, the other half above water. Judges critique the teams on their artistic impressions, execution, musical interpretation and synchronization. Teams can compete as a group of 8 or in triples, doubles or in solos. The Mason synchronized swimming club was created 8 years ago by a mother-daughter team who have stayed on to coach the current team. While some of the girls on the team have experience with synchronized swimming, a few have never played a sport before. “You have to learn how to be graceful in the water,” said Rebecca […]
Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Editorials, News February 25, 2013 at 2:17 pm Comments are Disabled

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Nicholas Ugrin, a student-veteran who was battling with the university over his status as a domicile, or in-state, student. Even though he has lived and worked in Virginia for some time, Ugrin is being charged out-of- state tuition because of a mistake that happened somewhere along the line during registration. Ugrin does not hold anyone in particular accountable for the mistake, which may have happened on his application, however, he is upset that the school has been unwilling to work with him to resolve the issue. I was surprised to hear that the university was reacting so coldly and formulaically over such a potentially life-changing subject, especially in relation to veterans. I was even more surprised to see a similar story on the Washington Post Nova blog last week. On Feb. 21, Tom Jackman broke the story about Stephanie Kermgard, another student-veteran at Mason who is being charged for classes as an out-of- state student. Though Kermgard’s story varies in many details from Ugrin’s, their core is the same. For some reason, Mason is repeatedly denying domicile status to in-state students, both veteran and citizen. Ugrin told me that he cannot afford the […]
Mason’s Interim Chief works to ensure transparency

Featured, News February 17, 2013 at 6:10 pm Comments are Disabled

The quick change in leadership at the Mason Police Department during the latter half of the Fall 2012 semester put Drew Tracey into the role of Interim Police Chief at the department. In the ten weeks that has served as the leader of the department with 58 sworn officers, Tracey has worked towards making the station more open to the public. Broadside initially approached Tracey on the topic of the police department complaint report system. The Mason Police Department has released reports from 2008, 2009 and 2010 that detail the complaints filed against the department during that specific calendar year. Such complaints range in severity from off-duty assaults to unprofessional conduct. While the released reports have no problems, as of Jan. 1, 2013, the department had yet to released a report for 2011. “We are actually not required to release it,” Tracey said, about the location of the 2011 report, “but why don’t we just do it anyway?” According to standards set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), departments located on a university are technically not required to release complaint reports publicly. However, that did not sit well with Chief Tracey. “I’m real big on […]
Cabrera outlines his new vision for Mason

Featured, News February 17, 2013 at 6:03 pm Comments are Disabled

Dr. Angel Cabrera had an assignment at hand when the Mason Board of Visitors tasked him with creating a new vision for the university. In only nine months on the job, the time it takes to complete one academic year, President Cabrera was expected to not only become familiar with and understand the largest university in the state, but to redesign its role in the future of higher education for the state, country and world. “There is one component that talks about what shouldn’t change, and then a part that talks about what should change. Both are equally important because what we’re trying to do here is hey, there are some features about this university, values, shared beliefs, that have been essential to bring us to where we are,” Cabrera said. “The second part is that now we are in the 21st century, things are happening around us. The challenges we face are not the same challenges that Dr. Johnson faced 34 years ago or Dr. Merten faced 16 years ago, they’re different, so how do we deal with them?” With the help and input from people from around the Mason community, Cabrera has completed a first draft and is […]
Students give a face and story to statistics at first annual Mason Lobbies

Featured, News, News1 February 13, 2013 at 3:22 pm Comments are Disabled

“Democracy is messy, it’s noisy, it’s complex. But in a very deep way, it’s amazing,” said President Angel Cabrera to a group of Mason students who travelled down to Richmond for Mason’s first lobbying day. “You’re going to be a part of the process today.” The students, who traded in their T-shirts for blazers for the day, spent Feb. 7 talking to Virginia state delegates and sena- tors to off er a personal touch to the statistics lawmakers consider when doling out state funds to universities. “Th is is the best possible way of telling folks what’s happening at our beloved university,” said delegate David Ramadan (87th district). Mason Lobbies is a new initiative put together by the student government to allow students, alumni and faculty to share what they love about Mason. I think they get tired of seeing the admin-istrators and presi-dents, but they love seeing students; so, it’s really important that you’re here to- day because you tell the George Mason story best -Laura Fornash, Secretary of Education Forty-three current students and 15 alumni, along with a bevy of faculty from offices across campus, showed up to represent the university. “Today is so important for you to […]