Articles by: jennykrashin

 

• President Cabrera answers questions on Reddit AMA

  News April 23, 2013 at 6:08 pm Comments are Disabled

  President Angel Cabrera sat down and answered questions from George Mason’s Subreddit as part of an Ask Me Anything chat on Friday, April 19. Here are several of Cabrera’s responses. Q: I actually went to GWU, not GMU, but I’m interested in knowing how you view your term in office? Is it similar to how President Knapp of GW works (donor focused, leaving the student affairs to the Provost), or more like a Trachtenburg (Student focused, furthering the “campus/student life” mission)? Cabrera: 5 year contract. Functions are both internal and external, with great people helping me on both sides, including our provost Peter Stearns who overseas all academic and student affairs. Q: I am coming from a Graduate Student perspective here, but what is your opinion on the support given to graduate students and their research? My research is heavily into retention and I’m ironically finding that there is not enough helping me stay on this campus due to competition for funding of tuition and networking. Cabrera: We have to do much, much better in graduate student support. It is a priority that we need to solve as soon as we can identify some funding. Q: How can you continue […]

   
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  Undergraduate students utilize research program opportunity

  News April 23, 2013 at 5:53 pm Comments are Disabled

  Making sacrifices is not always easy. Just ask senior sociology major Niah Grimes. Grimes is a full-time student, peer advocate for sexual assault service, employee at Assisting Young Mothers and Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) fellow. OSCAR’s goals include increasing the visibility of undergraduates doing work and increasing opportunities for students in scholarship. The office organizes the URSP, one-on-one student research working alongside a mentor. OSCAR works with departments to organize research projects for students. Last year, Grimes participated in the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program(URSP). Aside from schoolwork and her job, Grimes researches for a minimum of 10 hours per week. Krystal Thomas, a psychology and conflict analysis and resolution major, is also an OSCAR fellow who shares a similar experience. For both Grimes and Thomas, participating in the URSP opened the door for many opportunities, making their sacrifices worthwhile. “The OSCAR program totally shaped my time here at Mason,” Grimes said. “It propelled me forward and gave me the job I have now – it also makes you a stronger applicant for grad school.” At one point, Thomas was a full- time student with 16 credits, a resident advisor, an ambassador at the Office of the […]

   

• State laws cause deficit in budget

  News April 23, 2013 at 5:50 pm Comments are Disabled

  At a budget town hall on April 15, Senior Vice President J.J. Davis and Provost Peter Stearns discussed increasing student tuition and the 2014 fiscal year budget. Tuition rates are expected to rise, however the exact amount of the increase is yet to be determined. Stearns hopes that it will be less than 4.2 percent, which is the expected increase for other Virginia public universities. “As the state has reduced its taxpayer dollars to Mason and other institutions, we see, nationally, institutions move to a more tuition-based funding solutions,” Davis said. “So the state reduces its money, institutions of higher [education] have to find resources to fund faculty, staff. So increased tuition is a way to offset some of the budget cuts.” Due to funding and enrollment changes, tuition will be increased in order to offset new costs set by the state. As part of the Virginia state budget passed by the General Assembly earlier this year, public higher education institutions are required to increase faculty salaries. For fiscal year 2014, faculty wages will be $12 million of the total university budget. “When the state gives a salary increase, it pays for slightly less than half of it, but we […]

   
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  Students petition oil drilling plans

  News April 23, 2013 at 5:45 pm Comments are Disabled

  Students rally support against seismic airgun testing for oil in the Atlantic    Students in bright yellow Hazmat suits and caution tape were an unusual scene at North Plaza on April 17. “This is a metaphor of what has happened in the past and what may happen in the future regarding oil spills that have been going on,” said CJ Duncan, a member of Northern Virginia Community College’s Green Club. The scene, a demonstration put on by a partnership between Global Interdisciplinary Programs, the Environmental Action Group (EAG) and the international non-profit, Oceana, took place in commemoration of the of the third anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred on April 20, 2010. “Offshore drilling is still as dirty and dangerous as it was three years ago,” said Colin Nackerman, a representative from EAG, in a press release about the event. “We need to invest in renewable energy sources like offshore wind, rather than expanding offshore drilling into new areas like the East Coast.” Lisa Breglia, director of Global Interdisciplinary Programs, said that 114 signatures were collected during the event. “Students were initially curious and then enthusiastic about our event,” Breglia said. “They were were familiar with […]

   
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  Greek Week celebrates fraternities and sororities

  Featured, Lifestyle April 22, 2013 at 9:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  Every April, Greek life takes over campus with traditions and celebrations      Greek Week is an anticipated tradition for Mason’s Greek organizations. The event originally only included the 15 recognized National Inter-Fraternity Conference fraternities and the six National Panhellenic Conference sororities, but now encompasses all social Greek councils, which include the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Multicultural Greek Council. The overall goal of Greek Week is not only to promote Greek life, but to raise awareness and funds for Habitat for Humanity and canned food donations for Food for Others, a Fairfax food bank. According to a celebratory post on Phi Kappa Sigma’s Facebook page, nearly 20,000 canned goods were collected for Food for Others. just two days into this year’s Greek Week. To give raising funds, awareness and donations for Habitat for Humanity and Food for Others a competitive edge, Greek Week is also a competition among the Mason fraternities and sororities. In the past, each fraternity and sorority represented only their organization. Each Panhellenic sorority would compete against the other Panhellenic sororities to win the title of Greek Week sorority champions, and the IFC fraternities would compete for the fraternity Greek Week champions title. Now, with 36 […]

   
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  North Korean threats have no effect on international study

  Featured, News April 22, 2013 at 8:37 pm Comments are Disabled

  Life for families, plans for South Korean Songdo campus continue without interruption  Despite the stream of aggressive threats from North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, life at Mason goes on as normal and plans concerning Mason’s South Korea satellite campus continue. The Office of Global and International Strategies announced in statement on April 18 that although they are aware of the threats from North Korea, no advisory has been announced warning against travel to South Korea. “Furthermore, none of Mason’s partner institutions in South Korea have advised their international students to leave South Korea,” the announcement stated. According to Anne Schiller, director of the Office of Global and International Strategies, planning continues as usual. “Student exchange programs in South Korea have not been affected by the threats, either, which are regularly issued by North Korea in moments of presidential transition in South Korea like this one,” Schiller wrote in an email. Some members of the Korean Student Association are not worried about the threats either, explaining that these threats happen often and are not taken seriously. “Their threats have been non-stop throughout their history, since the end of the Korean war,” said Basil Ok, an undeclared sophomore and member of the Korean […]

   

• News&Notes

  News April 15, 2013 at 6:29 pm Comments are Disabled

  Mason to Offer New Opportunities to Study Science Communication Mason now offers new opportunities to study science communication at the Fairfax campus. Graduate study opportunities include: MA with concentration, Graduate certificate, and Doctoral study. The department also offers graduate specializations in health communication and strategic communication. For more information contact Katherine Rowan or the Department of Communication. Native Plants Society Donates ‘Flora of Virginia’ to Mason Mason’s Ted R. Bradley Herbarium recently added a copy of the official and newly revised “Flora of Virginia”. The book contains keys for identification, taxonomy, habitat and status, and detailed descriptions of each plant. The book will be an invaluable resource for students, faculty, and visitors to the herbarium. Annual Scholarship Celebration Dinner Recognizes Students The annual Scholarship Celebration Dinner on April 4 honored five outstanding students, including the first-ever Black scholars Endowed Scholarship recipient. Seth Robertson, Mackenzie Snider, Jacqueline Koromah-Mitchell, Ryan McCreedy, and Nancy Xiong all received scholarships based on their incredible contribution to the Mason community and academic excellence. April 8 Corrections – In the PRIDE Week Drag show story titled “Annual Drag Show Packs JC”, it was incorrectly stated that there were 16 performances instead of 19. E-Cleff’s name was spelled incorrectly. We apologize for the errors. […]

   
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  Workout of the week

  Sports April 15, 2013 at 6:18 pm Comments are Disabled

  Spring Training: Running Spring is finally here! What better way to enjoy the weather than going outside for a run? Running may seem basic, but there are actually many factors to consider if one plans on logging some miles this year. Let’s cover some of the basics to help you enjoy your run.   1. Shoes Purchasing running shoes is literally where the rubber hits the road. A good pair of shoes increases comfort and can help prevent injuries. The process can be overwhelming. So, do your research and get properly fitted by a sales associate. How long should a pair of shoes last? Generally you should be replacing your shoes every 300-400 miles or every six months. It is also important to consider what type of surfaces you will run on.                 2. Warm up and cool down Each run should begin with a warm up and end with a cool down. The warm up raises the temperature of the muscles for optimal flexibility and efficiency. It also serves to slowly raise your heart rate, which helps minimize the stress on your heart. On average, your warm up should last between 5-10 […]

   

• Play by play: Life lessons from sports

  Sports April 15, 2013 at 6:06 pm Comments are Disabled

  “Don’t worry about those other guys, just run your race,” words every track coach should tell their runners. Or the any-sport substitute: “Just play your game.” You cannot waste your time thinking what the opposition is planning to do- they are going to use their talents and try to take away your strengths. It works the same in every sport. What it comes down to is being able to play your game regardless. If your game is pace pushing, fast breaks, slow and steady, hard defense or attacking on the transition- you know if you play it right it will work out for you. The every man’s way of saying this is just do you. It may sound like an overstated piece of advice, but there is a reason it’s said so much. It is because nothing else anyone else does, thinks or says really matters. None of those things have power over you unless you relinquish it to them. It may help to think of your work or your life as a race, but understand that this isn’t the Olympic 100-meter dash or the Boston Marathon. It is more like a 5k fun run. There are no winners and no losers. […]

   
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  Women’s rowing finding the right combinations

  Featured, Sports April 15, 2013 at 6:04 pm Comments are Disabled

  The women’s rowing team took the water on April 7 in Occoquan, Va. for the Occoquan Sprints. The race was only the second official race of the spring season. Because it is still early in the season, the team used the race to try different combinations of rowers for their boats. “We had a lot of lineup switches and, as a result, we gained, overall as a team, a lot of speed throughout our two Varsity Eights and both of our Varsity Fours and also the Novice Eights,” senior rower Bridget Hally said. “I think the expectation was to go in there and race our own race, and I think all boats accomplished that. So we were very happy with the results.” The changes to the lineup came after the opening spring race of the season at the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia on March 30. Coach Geoff Dillard was not entirely satisfied with the results at that event and felt the tweaks were necessary to keep pace with other teams. “I think coming off the first race, we did not necessarily race our own race. So, we were definitely looking to keep our heads in the boat and knowing that […]