Articles by: jdavis15

 

• OHRL Brings Music to Pilot House

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:25 pm Comments are Disabled

  With a growing number of students living on campus and looking for entertainment on the weekends, George Mason University has recently put greater emphasis on providing more activities and programs. The Office of Housing and Residence Life has added more events for the Mason community to enjoy on weekends. Residents and students alike have been offered a chance to enjoy a free live music concert series hosted by the Pilot House. “We just really wanted a chance to be able to showcase all of the wonderful talent that we have here at Mason,” said Lauren Mauriello, the resident student program coordinator for the Office of Housing and Residence Life. “There’s a lot of talent that we can support here.” The band Styles of Conflict, a hip-hop group based at Mason, performed at the series on Oct. 7. “It was really great being able to perform at this event,” said junior global affairs major Ealias Fekadu, a member of Styles of Conflict. “We really enjoyed the show and being able to perform.” Fekadu is happy that Mason is giving the opportunity for students to showcase their talent. He admits that the show did not bring out too many people because it […]

   
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  Roadshow Teaches Eco-Friendliness

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:25 pm Comments are Disabled

  The Sustainable Living Roadshow is a volunteer-based organization that travels the world to “empower communities and individuals to utilize sustainable living strategies for a healthier planet.” The SLR was founded in 2005 and on Wednesday made its first appearance at George Mason University. This year’s SLR at Mason featured several organizations such as Appalachian Voices, Compassion for Animals, Hemp for Humanity , The Human Revolution, the GMU Environmental Action group and many others. Yoga and meditation workshops were featured as well as various games, arts and crafts, a variety of tents and demonstrations, a dance performance, a film showing and a market. Also, Everlasting Life Café, a vegan restaurant that will soon be opening a location on campus, served free vegan food. The SLR expressed views on all things harming the planet, from the mass production of animals to the removal of mountain tops. The goal of the show was to let people know that they have a voice and that they can do something to prolong the sustainability of the planet. “Sustainability is operating in a way that does not compromise the future,” said Margaret Lo, sustainability assistant manager for the Office of Sustainability. Her statement highlights the fact […]

   

• r/gmu — How Some Students Harnessed Reddit

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:17 pm Comments are Disabled

  Where do you get your George Mason University news? Well, I get mine from Broadside — cough, cough — but for a growing number of students, it comes from the new GMU subreddit. This summer, computer science major Craig Haseler (usename cahaseler) found the page in a sad state with around 15 members and hardly any traffic. He decided to take up the position of the subreddit’s moderator. He had a friend draw up a Mason version of the Reddit alien and began posting any and all Mason-related stories he could find. After the word spread via Facebook, the site took off. Today, the GMU subreddit has 268 active users and is growing. Haseler’s suitemate, computer science major Amar Sahai (username penultimatum) became the second active moderator. In addition to being essentially an aggregate of campus news and discussion, “We are also willing to help fellow Patriots who ask for help in whatever regard,” he writes in a post. The two have organized several successful Mason redditor meet-ups on campus with an average turnout of 15 people. Reddit is a social media website that allows people to post links. The posted links are then voted up or down by users. […]

   

• Open Access Week at George Mason

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:16 pm Comments are Disabled

  International Open Access Week takes place Monday through Sunday and George Mason University will be celebrating on all three of its campuses. Open access is a relatively new phenomenon that grew alongside the rise of the internet in the late ‘80s and ‘90s. Open access is a worldwide movement that allows scholars to make their content free, immediate and available online for anyone to read, download, distribute or print. Open access articles can be accessed from anywhere by anyone with an internet connection. These articles do not require a username and password. Open access serves to benefit researchers, educational Institutions and businesses and is used for collaborative purposes. It allows people to get access to data and information that can be used in different ways such as for research and educating workers. In an open letter to Congress, several Nobel Prize winners wrote, “Open access truly expands shared knowledge across scientific fields — it is the best path for accelerating multi-disciplinary breakthroughs in research.” People in developing countries or small colleges that may not have the money for databases can benefit from open access articles. “There are lots of very renowned publications that are available only online and have always […]

   

• New Organization Dedicated to Making Education Accessible for Everyone

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:15 pm Comments are Disabled

  George Mason University freshman government and international politics major Abdullah bin Khurram, an international student from Pakistan, has spent the last three years managing a small non-governmental organization in his homeland. Devoted to making education accessible to all, the Mashal Foundation established a small schoolhouse in the village of Ghiyala, outside of the city of Faisalabad in northeastern Pakistan. Mashal means “shining light” in Urdu, one of the official languages of Pakistan. Bin Khurram founded the Mashal Foundation in 2008 with three friends who recognized the need for education in rural areas that are most vulnerable to illiteracy, poverty and crime. “The Mashal Foundation is an NGO based on [the] idea that education is for everybody,” bin Khurram said. The Ghiyala school is the first one to be established there and the only one under the purview of the Mashal Foundation. The school teaches children in English through grade three, is co-educational and provides essential items to students, as well as things like uniforms. The school is sustained entirely through donations and is staffed by teachers who make $17 per month, but who are compensated in other ways such as through gifts of home appliances or products. In Ghiyala, families […]

   

• Mason Considers Hookah to be ‘Drug Paraphernalia’

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:14 pm Comments are Disabled

  It’s hard to believe that at the turn of the millennium, oxygen bars were all the rage. But today’s social trend amongst collegians is far more hazardous to a person’s health. Hookah has grown (no pun intended) in popularity over the past few years. A 2006 New York Times article first documented the trend as Middle Eastern restaurants found a niche consumer base in college students. A 2009 survey done by the American College Health Association found that of college students who knew what hookah was, 24 percent agreed or strongly agreed that smoking hookah was less harmful than smoking cigarettes. That may not seem like much, but it’s still easy to forget that when you smoke hookah, you are inhaling the same carcinogens even if the smell of the tobacco is masked by perfume. What’s the appeal? Many hookah users tout the fact that it’s cheaper than bar-hopping, and you don’t have to wait until you’re 21. There’s no hangover, and you can go out with your friends to a hookah bar even the night before a big exam. Also, unlike cigarettes, smoking flavored hookah doesn’t make you smell like an ashtray. But if you’re thinking about taking your […]

   
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  Mason Professor Participates in Program to Rescues Pups from High-Kill shelters

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:12 pm Comments are Disabled

  In addition to his duties as an adjunct professor and advisor to the aviation club at George Mason University, Michael Young has devoted his time to saving dogs since being introduced to Pilots N Paws, a website dedicated to the rescue, shelter and fostering of animals. Pilots N Paws works to connect pilots to organizations that rescue dogs from high-kill shelters in southern states and helps them find adoptive families in the north. The responsibility, in both time and energy, falls upon the pilot to transport the dogs from the southern states to the north. According to Young shelter dogs in the south outnumber adoptive couples. But in the north there are fewer dogs, so it is easier for organizations to find people willing to adopt. “What people have done is go to these high-kill shelters and pull the dogs from these shelters in these rural parts of the southeast and they have relationships with receiving rescues in the northeast and they move the dogs up there,” Young said. Young participates in a relay system in which another pilot might transport the rescued canines from North Carolina to Virginia, whereupon Young would then finish the journey by flying the dogs […]

   
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  Mason Nanoscientist Named in ‘Brilliant 10’ for Developing Cutting-Edge Diagnostic Technology

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:09 pm Comments are Disabled

  Alessandra Luchini was used to studying ancient Greek and Latin culture at her small high school in northern Italy. When she attended her first a science lecture — a rare event at the literature-oriented school — she was immediately drawn in by the topic: nanotechnology in medicine. “It really opened up my eyes,” Luchini said. “It looked really cool and I thought it was something worth pursuing.” Luchini, now 34 and a researcher at George Mason University, has been named one of Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10.” The magazine’s annual list features some of the top researchers in the country. Luchini developed a method that could help detect cancer and infectious diseases earlier. In the initial stages of a disease, substances called biomarkers are released into the host’s bloodstream. These biomarkers are chewed up by the body’s enzymes within hours — sometimes even minutes — making them undetectable. Nanoparticles created by Luchini and her colleagues at Mason’s Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine can be mixed into a blood or urine sample in order to capture biomarkers before they are digested. This method of preservation allows for the biomarkers to be analyzed at a later time. For years, scientists have […]

   

• Exposure Outweighs Profits for Mason Athletics

  News1, Sports October 24, 2011 at 7:06 pm Comments are Disabled

  George Mason University has a knack for forward thinking. It established the first engineering school in the country that focuses on information technology in order to meet the need of an emerging high-tech economy. It was the first university in the country to offer doctoral programs for majors such as conflict resolution, bioinformatics and information technology. Over the last five years, Mason has added more than 30 graduate and undergraduate degree programs. “I was driving around campus and everything just looks new to me,” said Lamar Butler, starting guard for the 2006 Final Four team. “This place has changed a lot in five years.” Butler was a vital part of the Cinderella story that took place in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Since then, the university has undergone a magnificent facelift. More than $450 million has been poured into three Mason campuses, with a number of new buildings and residence halls being constructed over a span of just five years. Mason is the largest university in Virginia; It is home to more than 32,000 students and hosts over 200 clubs and organizations. Much of this growth is unarguably, though indirectly, due to the success of the athletic department. Intercollegiate sports, however, […]

   

• Task Force Concludes Mason Should Adopt 25-Foot Smoking Rule

  News1 October 24, 2011 at 7:04 pm Comments are Disabled

  After much debate surrounding smoking on the George Mason University campus last year, the Student Government Smoking Policy Task Force has come to a decision regarding this contentious issue. “The ultimate conclusion was that most people agreed that a compromise was necessary and Mason should enforce the 25-foot rule,” said Chief of Staff Alex Williams, a former task force member. “But after 25 feet, if a person wants to smoke, he or she may smoke.” Last year, the Smoking Policy Task Force held two town hall-style meetings during which members of the Mason community were allowed to give their input. Students who showed up to the meetings were given an opportunity to speak with all three task force members present in order ensure that the varying views were represented. Upon gathering all necessary information from the community, the task force issued its final report. “The report concluded that there were a few fringe elements; a few of those who were completely hands-off, ‘let us do what we want,’ and a few on the other side who [wanted] to completely ban it across campus,” Williams said. The task force’s conclusion was forwarded to SG and the Faculty Senate for approval. The […]