Articles by: jdavis15

 

• Microfinance?: Upcoming conference to discuss economics, poverty eradication

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 3:20 pm Comments are Disabled

  Opportunity International will be hosting a conference on microfinance Thursday through Saturday at the Crystal Gateway Marriot in Arlington.

   

• Food for thought: Debate to focus on Latino, Hispanic graduation rates

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 3:19 pm Comments are Disabled

  In an effort to involve faculty members in Hispanic Heritage Month, the Office of Diversity Programs and Services has developed “Food For Thought,” a debate concerning a March study on Hispanic/Latino graduation rates.

   
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  Combating sexual assault: Rape Aggression Defense Class to teach self-defense

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 3:12 pm Comments are Disabled

  With national statistics stating that 1 in 3 college women will experience a sexual assault in their lifetime, being a victim might seem like an almost unavoidable part of being a woman. However, George Mason University instructors for the upcoming Rape Aggression Defense class do not think that has to be true.

   

• BOV holds first meeting: Board extends Merten through 2013, approves new construction

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 3:09 pm Comments are Disabled

  George Mason University’s Board of Visitors met last Wednesday for its first meeting of the 2010-2011 year, approving several measures as well as welcoming five new members to its ranks. “Things went very smoothly,” said Peter Pober, chair of Mason’s Faculty Senate. “The meeting was very productive.” The governor-appointed board that primarily deals in oversight and policy making for Mason has extended President Alan Merten’s contract to serve as president through July 2013, said the board’s rector, Ernst Volgenau. The board approved the formation of the Office of Global Strategy, which will act as a liaison between Mason and various international institutions, Pober said. In addition, the board approved changing the name of the Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering to simply the Volgenau School of Engineering. The board approved a new Master of Engineering program called GeoConStruct, derived from Geotechnical, Construction and Structural Engineering. The board approved a measure to consolidate the Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology with the Department of Molecular and Microbiology. The new department will be known as the School of Systems Biology within the College of Science, said J. Thomas Hennessey Jr., chief of staff for the Office of Mason’s President. “More than […]

   

• Northern Neck Internet Fiasco: Internet connectivity disrupted; ITU recommends wired connection

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 3:05 pm Comments are Disabled

  Throughout the past few weeks, George Mason University students living in the dorms have experienced difficulty connecting to MasonResNet, Mason’s residential wireless internet network. The problem has been especially prevalent around the Northern Neck residential area. “When we install wireless access points in a new building, it’s difficult to tell exactly how many we need and where they should be located until the building is occupied,” said Randy Anderson, director of Network Engineering & Technology. “It has become apparent that Northern Neck requires additional access points to provide good service, so we are working to add more.” ResTechs in the building, who stopped by when the problem was first being reported, were unable to fix it and suggested the use of Ethernet cables as an alternative. Even though the cable provides students with a hardwired connection to the internet, it is often slower than wireless. “Our staff is actively working on a plan to add more access points to fix weak signal areas in all residence hall buildings,” Anderson said. Though over 90 percent of the Mason campus has had wireless Internet access since 2004, there are still problems to be addressed. Some areas of campus are particularly difficult for […]

   
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  Getting to know Peter Pober: Head of Faculty Senate talks business, life

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 3:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  Meet Peter Pober. If you think you are busy, stop dead in your tracks and consider this – he is the head of the George Mason University forensics team. He is the chair of the Faculty Senate. He is a professor of communication. And what is he reading for fun? Oh, just Plato’s Phaedrus.

   
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  Shafted: Number of reports of people trapped in elevators five times higher than normal

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 2:53 pm Comments are Disabled

  Police records show there were 16 calls to the George Mason Police Department reporting people trapped in elevators on campus Aug. 27-Sept. 20. That number is five times higher than what Quality Elevator Co. officials say they usually get. Quality Elevator Co. is in charge of the maintenance of a majority of the elevators on campus. DON’T PANIC Lt. Jim Jeckell, a fireman with the city of Fairfax who has responded to calls about stuck elevators on campus, has the following tips for students in the case that they get stuck: Press the call button, and wait to talk to the Customer Service Center. If no one answers the call button, use your cell phone to call 911. Try to give specific information as to the location of the elevator and floor you might be on. If you do not have a cell phone, press the alarm button on the elevator to attract attention. It sounds like a fire alarm. Under no circumstances should you try to force open the elevator doors and attempt to exit the elevator on your own. Nor should people try to open the hatch. No untrained person should try to force open the elevator doors […]

   

• Blown arrestor cuts power to Fairfax Campus: Lights out across campus for an hour and 30 minutes

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 2:45 pm Comments are Disabled

  George Mason University’s Fairfax campus experienced a power failure Saturday afternoon. A blown arrestor in the metering box is reported to be the cause of the outage, according to a representative from the electric power company.

   

• Mason Dining’s inmate work-release program draws attention: University did not hire prisoners because of Sodexo workers’ strike as indicated in Fairfax Times story

  News1 October 4, 2010 at 2:44 pm Comments are Disabled

  The September strike among Sodexo-employed dining workers has drawn attention to Mason Dining’s preexisting program with inmates from the Fairfax County Jail.

   
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  Wizards kick off season at Mason: NBA team did week-long preseason training at Patriot Center

  Sports October 4, 2010 at 2:43 pm Comments are Disabled

  Promptly at 11 p.m. on the night of Sept. 27, the doors to the Patriot Center flew open and the rush began. Students pressed their way to the front of the line, hoping to claim a seat in the first row of the arena. They had been waiting all day in anticipation to see an NBA team up close, waiting to catch a glimpse of their favorite player.