Articles by: Colleen Wilson

 

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  Alumna fundraises for her African Peace Corps village

  Lifestyle January 29, 2013 at 8:45 pm Comments are Disabled

  In her senior year at Mason, Jennifer Bent needed to fill her last few credits and found herself enrolled in an introduction to anthropology class. Little did she know that a few years down the road that class would play an important role in her life and career. “I remembered the professor teaching us that you cannot make assumptions on another culture based off the rules of your own,” said Bent, who is now in Togo, Africa working as a girl empowerment and education volunteer with the Peace Corps. Currently, Bent is working on a Peace Corps Partnership Project to raise $5,000 to buy desperately needed textbooks and chalkboards for the poor village she lives in. She has already raised nearly $1,000. The villagers have pledged to donate to help build new desks, plant trees and contribute to the classroom supplies. The overwhelming poverty and lack of development in the small village she lives in are made even more difficult by the rigid gender roles in the Togolese culture that Bent must battle. “It’s unlikely that I will be able to alter a whole cultural belief system overnight, or even over my entire time in service,” Bent said. “Despite this, […]

   

• Mason Makes Careers

  Lifestyle January 29, 2013 at 8:43 pm Comments are Disabled

  Every week, Broadside features a student or alumnus with a great internship or job to highlight the opportunities and potential earning a degree at Mason offers Name: Becca Norris Year: Junior Major: Integrative studies major with an individualized concentration in media: production, consumption and critique with a minor in electronic journalism Internship: Seventeen Magazine in NYC, N.Y.   What were some of your day-to-day responsibilities? On a daily basis I was responsible for creating the daily clips for the entire office which was basically the news and gossip breakdown of the day. I was the executive editors intern and I basically did whatever she asked as well as doing a lot of research for our health editor.   What was your favorite part of the internship? The best part, apart from getting my foot in the door of a major magazine, was the freebie table. Everyday items from designer makeup, books, designer accessories, shoes and more were put on the table and were up for grabs on a first come, first served basis. Needless to say, I got a lot of great stuff!   How have your classes at Mason prepared you for the internship? Mason helped prepare me by […]

   

• Overheard at Mason

  Editorials, Lifestyle January 29, 2013 at 8:42 pm Comments are Disabled

  My friends have said, on several occasions, that I should not eavesdrop. But here’s the thing: the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines eavesdrop as “to listen secretly to what is said in private.” By that definition, I would not consider what I do to be eavesdropping. In no way does the fifth row from the back of the lecture hall qualify as a private space. What is said there is said in public. I just got back from class and I am setting the scene for a story I am telling my friends about a pair of individuals I overheard talking before the lecture started. “Barely anyone else in the room was talking.” “You would think they would realize how loud they were talking.” I begin to describe the individuals picking out definable qualities; “The one on the left had this unusually high ponytail that mirrored the movements of her mouth while she talked,” and “The other one had this ugly pink sweater that literally made everything around her the same ugly color.” Using bits and pieces of what I have overheard, I put together as much as I can about what it is they are talking about. The ponytail girl is […]

   

• Patriots Activity Council hosts inauguration party

  Editorials January 29, 2013 at 8:39 pm Comments are Disabled

  On Nov. 6, Mason became a campus that helped vote Obama into his second term. The night of Jan. 25, Mason celebrated that effort. The event, titled as the Inaugural Ball 2013, was a high energy dance party decorated in American, Democratic pride. Red, white and blue hats were scattered on the tables, along with free food and a cake featuring the American flag. An array of balloons hung from the ceiling, waiting to be dropped on the frenzied dance-floor at midnight. The crowd was a pleasant mix of people wearing both casual and formal clothing – among them was an ecstatic pair dressed as a snowman and penguin. All cheered in excitement as the balloons showered them, officially commemorating their political accomplishment. From pounding mainstream dance songs played by DJ Rush Hour to a more alternative live band by the name of “Monster Band,” it was an occasion that catered to several tastes. The event was a celebration of the re-election of President Obama, but it had another theme tied in. “It’s honestly a partisan-friendly event,” said Robert “Bobby” Hagans, the student Lead Director of the Patriot Activities Counsel that organized the event. “The idea is for everyone to […]

   

• Mason Cable Network begins work on new live morning show

  News1 January 29, 2013 at 8:37 pm Comments are Disabled

  For years, Mason Cable Network (MCN) has been missing a key component of television: a live news program. On Feb. 5 at 10 a.m., the network is broadcasting its new and revamped news program, Mason Cable News (MCNews). The show will also be broadcasted on channel 231 and online on masoncablenetwork.com/live Tuesdays and Thursdays. Jake McLernon, a grad student and the general manager of MCN, is heading the new project. “There has never been a full-out live morning news program at Mason,” McLernon said. “There have been news programs in the past, but there’s never really been anything like this attempted. When students come out of high school, they’ve experienced the morning announcements that you’ll see on television screens in the mornings. We didn’t have that here. We do now.” MCNews is a significant addition to Mason Cable Network, not only because it will inform students about their school in an easy-to-access way, but also because it will give students interested in television broadcasting a chance to learn. “It’s a great experience for students who want to come, want to learn, and want to gain experience. We will show you the ropes, we will train you to read the teleprompter, […]

   

• Con Gun Control

  Editorials January 29, 2013 at 8:32 pm Comments are Disabled

  The issue of gun control is one of the most contested ones in our country. Every election cycle it’s discussed, but it’s normally pushed under the rug because at the end of the day most politicians don’t want to go near the issue. Every time our nation sees a tragedy such as the movie theatre shooting in Aurora or the evil attacks on elementary schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, the first thing people, especially the media, resort to is increasing gun control. Increasing gun control will not stop these sorts of tragedies from happening. Even with more gun control, people will still find a way to acquire weapons on the black market. The bigger issue here is the mental health of these evil attackers. I am not against increasing background checks on all weapons purchased, so we can stop those with problems from acquiring weapons and ammo, but it is not the government’s place to tell me which weapons and magazines I can or cannot buy. Areas that ban guns completely, known as “Gun Free Zones”, such as here on Mason’s campus create a dangerous environment for people to be in. I pray that we never see the […]

   

• Pro Gun Control

  Editorials January 29, 2013 at 8:28 pm Comments are Disabled

  As a kid raised in rural Vermont, guns are nothing new to me. I have never found it to be surprising or unsettling to know that my neighbors, classmates and teachers all own guns. During certain times of the year, hunting is a perfectly viable excuse to miss school. So it may strike you as odd that I’m the one writing about why we need more gun control in this country. But it is impossible to ignore the events in the past decade, let alone the past year. Towns like Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut now carry with them the heavy burden of what happens when evil is given access to tools to perpetrate such evil. As a nation, we cannot idly allow events of such a nature pass by through our news cycle without doing anything to prevent the next one from happening. Gun control is by no means a singular issue; it is a multi-dimensional problem with no single solution. I do not want to ban guns, but there is absolutely no good reason that guns with the capability to slaughter twenty children and six adults in less than an hour should be legal. For anyone. We need […]

   
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  Guest speaker gives lecture on terrorist motivation

  Arlington and Prince William January 29, 2013 at 8:26 pm Comments are Disabled

  Dr. Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama, has set out to debunk that it is religion or bravery that causes terrorists to go on suicide missions. Dr. Lankford spoke last week at the Arlington campus for an event hosted by Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center. The lecture provided a forum of discussion between professors, scholars and some of the most influential minds in national security to share their thoughts and gain insight on Dr. Lankford’s new book, “The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self Destructive Killers.”   Dr. Lankford’s book notes that there are variables to review and apply to the Islamic world and the U.S. that are directly related to the role of organizations and social approval that affect suicide bombers, rampage shooters and self-destructive killers. These variables can change the landscape and through his research he provides analysis of what it would take to change the occurrence of suicide attacks. “To merely dismiss these individuals as ‘crazy’ or ‘monsters’ wrongly behests the root of what makes them suicidal,” Lankford said. Dr. Lankford has written for The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Wired, The Daily Beast, […]

   

• @GMU_Problems: Snow

  News1 January 29, 2013 at 8:24 pm Comments are Disabled

  Mason Has Problems Social media provides students a way to share their thoughts, feelings and opinions with the Mason community. The twitter handle and hashtag GMU problems has a pulse on the students and the problem they face on campus each day. Broadside is looking into whether each problem is one specific to Mason and whether any solutions are available. This week, some students were upset over the decision by the university to not cancel classes on Thursday after overnight snowfall. According to David Ferris, director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, the delay was the best decision they could have made given the circumstances. He credits a system of preparedness, an accurate assessment of conditions and the experience of the people making the decision, to getting it right.   Assessing the conditions The University uses sources such as the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to understand the circumstances that drivers will face. Forecasts that predict icy rain in combination with snowfall, a mix that causes dangerously slippery roads and sidewalks, are taken into consideration. With access to road cameras, they are able to assess road conditions before making a decision. When the snow accumulates […]

   
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  Obama Discusses Jobs Report at Campus Rally

  Multimedia, News1 October 5, 2012 at 2:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  Just hours after the monthly jobs report was released, President Barack Obama spoke at a rally held on the Fairfax campus, telling the lively crowd that he wanted America to keep moving forward. “Today I believe that as a nation we are moving forward again,” Obama said. “After losing about 800,000 jobs a month when I took office, our businesses have added 5.2 million new jobs over the past 2 and a half years. The president elaborated on many of the points made at the debate Wednesday night, including taxes, the economy and spending. Reiterating the promise he made in 2008, Obama promised to be a president for all if re-elected. “I’m not just fighting for Democratic jobs or Republican jobs. I’m fighting for American jobs,” Obama said. Women and women’s issues were the clear focus of the rally. The stands on the stage behind the podium were filled with women and all but one of the opening speakers and performers were women. “The decisions that affect women’s health aren’t up to politicians; they’re not up to insurance companies, they’re up to you,” Obama said. Obama touted the points of his healthcare bill, which is especially pertinent to the college-age […]