Articles by: news

 

• Students Show Support for AIDS Awareness: Mason Plans Ahead with Mason Team for AIDS Walk in D.C.

  News1 October 1, 2009 at 2:58 pm Comments are Disabled

  Sebastian Flores, Broadside Correspondent In the many brochures and flyers handed out by George Mason University’s fraternities, organizations and event sponsors throughout campus, one small fact on an information card the size of a postcard stood out among the rest. In the lower right-hand corner of this card, there was a little red box, and in white letters it stated, “ONE in 20 adults in D.C. has HIV. It’s time to put your foot down.” Some students at Mason are aware of the gravity of this situation and have taken it upon themselves to do something to change it. On Oct. 3, Washington, D.C. is hosting their annual AIDS walk to support the fight against AIDS. The five-kilometer walk is a fundraiser, focused on collecting donations for the Whitman-Walker clinic in D.C. The mission of the clinic is to serve D.C.’s diverse community, with special expertise in HIV care. In honor of the AIDS walk, Mason has put together multiple “teams” to participate in the walk. Aside from the major team called “George Mason University,” a number of different fraternities and sororities have felt a need to give back to their community by forming teams of their own to raise […]

   

• Student Activities Surveys Campus for Fall Concert Acts: Survey Technology Gets Feedback from Students

  News1 October 1, 2009 at 2:57 pm Comments are Disabled

  Katherine Morgenegg, Broadside Correspondent As the vacant Nov. 16 fall concert approaches George Mason University, the Student Activities Office invited students to participate in an online survey on Surveymonkey.com to vote for which bands or artists they would like to see perform. Surveymonkey, a relatively new piece of technology at Mason, is in its second year of use, but has been growing in popularity at other colleges. Surveymonkey has been used not only for surveys but for registrations and other online forms at Mason over the past two years. The link to the survey for the fall concert was posted on the Welcome Week Facebook group where students answered one question: who they wanted to see perform. The choices consisted of The Zac Brown Band, Keri Hilson and Drake, Drake and Kid Cudi, The All-American Rejects and Taking Back Sunday, and David Cook and Keri Hilson. Based on the results, Student Activities chose the most popular pairing to pursue in signing a contract. Although the results of the survey are in, they cannot be released yet as the contract has not been completed. “Hopefully, we will be able to release that [information] within the next two weeks,” said Dennis Hicks, […]

   

• H1N1 Hits Campuses Close to Home: Universities of Virginia and Maryland Affected by Pandemic

  News1 September 22, 2009 at 2:34 pm Comments are Disabled

  Lema Baha, Broadside Correspondent The number of swine flu cases is rapidly rising on college campuses throughout the country. According to the American College Health Association, of the 236 reporting institutions there have been 4,974 new cases of the H1N1 virus for the week of Aug. 29 to Sept. 4. So far ABC News has reported that there have been three deaths among college students due to complications related to the virus. George Mason University has not reported any cases of swine flu this semester, but neighboring schools have not been as fortunate. The University of Virginia has had 151 swine flu cases so far this fall, and has even set up a tally on their student health services website to report new cases of the virus on campus. Sandy Murray, director of nursing at UVA, said the tally is updated every day and sometimes several times a day to keep up with the rising number of infected students. UVA has been following the Centers for Disease Control’s suggestions on how to contain and respond to cases of swine flu. The university has encouraged self-isolation of diagnosed students until 24 hours after their fever has passed and sick students have been […]

   

• ‘Go-Bus’ Takes Students for Ride: Shuttle Offers Off-Campus Transportation

  News1 September 22, 2009 at 2:23 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brenda Shepard, Broadside Correspondent Gunston’s Go-Bus continues its service to George Mason University students this semester, allowing them to travel off campus to places including Fair Oaks Mall, Fair Lakes Center, Fairfax Corner and University Mall with the use of their Mason ID. The shuttle service makes a stop every half-hour at the Sandy Creek bus stop to pick up and drop off students. The new shuttle began last spring with a trial program when the Department of Parking and Transportation partnered with Student Government. During this test period, the Go-Bus only ran Thursday through Sunday. It now runs seven days a week, with late night service on Friday and Saturday nights for students who want to head out on the town. “Last spring we spent about $30,000 . . . we had a few hundred users each week. For the 2009-10 academic year, our forecasted budget is $187,000—nearly 3,000 hours of service,” said Josh Cantor, director of Parking and Transportation. Though the buses look similar to other shuttles that exist at Mason, their logo is the key indicator for patrons to look for. The Go-Buses have signs in their windows with the Go-Bus logo. All stops are marked with a […]

   

• Clinical Flu Shot Provided On Campus: Swine flu Fails to Overshadow Seasonal Influenza Preparation

  News1 September 22, 2009 at 2:21 pm Comments are Disabled

  Amanda Cheek, News Editor The seasonal flu has not left the minds of many students and faculty at George Mason University this semester. Despite the recent H1N1 epidemic, students and faculty lined up at the first clinic on campus where the flu shot was offered by the School of Nursing on Sept. 15. Dr. Charlene Douglas, coordinator of Community Health Nursing, said that she was concerned that people were so caught up with the H1N1 virus that they would not come out for the seasonal flu shot. Douglas also said that the seasonal flu kills about 36,000 people every year and that is just another reason people should get the flu shot. Jenna David, a geography major and freshman at Mason, said she has never had the flu shot before but chose to get it this year because she was living in the dorms. “Now that I live on campus, there are a lot of kids [and] a lot of germs. I feel I’m more likely to get it here than just living at home with my family,” said David. The flu shot clinic offers the seasonal flu shot to students for $15 and to faculty for $20. A shot for […]

   

• Students’ Wallets Stretch as Parking Rates Rise: Mason Parking Offers Explanation on Pricier Permits

  News1 September 14, 2009 at 10:36 am Comments are Disabled

  Amanda Cheek, News Editor On a campus that understands commuting all too well, a parking permit can easily become one of the bare necessities to students at George Mason University. That being said, it comes as no surprise that students are concerned that the prices of that bare necessity are going up. “I know that prices go up, I just don’t understand why. I’d like to know why every year,” said junior Brittany Rouse, a communication major. Director of Parking and Transportation at Mason, Josh Cantor shed some light on this subject in an e-mail interview with Broadside. “Parking [and] Transportation is a self-funded auxiliary, meaning it receives no tuition dollars or general funds from the state budget. Thus, it has to generate revenue to cover all its expenses,” said Cantor. Cantor explained that Parking and Transportation’s expenses include $2.6 million in operations and $4 million to $5 million in debt on deck construction projects. Cantor said that there is also $2 million to $3 million annually in transportation expenses, which include a subsidy to the City of Fairfax so that Mason students and employees can ride the CUE bus for free, and over $2 million in shuttle expenses. “ […]

   

• New Parking Deck Spaces Available: Rappahannock River Parking Area Ready for Students

  News1 September 14, 2009 at 10:34 am Comments are Disabled

  Yasmin Tadjdeh, Assistant News Editor The new Rappahannock River Parking Deck, which opened this fall, provides the Fairfax campus with an additional 2,650 parking spaces over its 789,000 square foot facility, accordng to George Mason University’s Office of Facilities’ website. However, the deck that was constructed to help alleviate crowded parking lots has opened to lackluster interest. “Personally, I think sales are a little below expectations,” said Josh Cantor, Director of Parking and Transportation at Mason, “but [we] also realize that it will take some time to reach capacity as students re-adjust to campus and as resident students get into new patterns. We have seen some [people] that initially purchased general lot passes come in and upgrade as they were willing to pay the difference for the guarantee and peace of mind of not having to worry about where to look for parking.” According to Cantor, as of the morning of Sept. 8, only 475 reserved student permits and 50 faculty and staff reserved permits had been purchased. “I expect [permit sales] to pick up a bit as the new Police Headquarters opens and the new Admin Building, to be named University Hall, opens in January 2011. [It] is being […]

   

• Clearing Up the Swine Flu

  News1 September 14, 2009 at 10:28 am Comments are Disabled

  This interview was conducted via e-mail with Executive Director of George Mason University’s Student Health Services and University Life, Wagida Abdalla, M.D. Q:  How do you get swine flu? A:  The 2009 H1N1 flu virus, originally referred to as swine flu,  is spread like other flu viruses mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something—such as a surface or object—with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. Q:  What are common symptoms of the virus? A:  Sudden onset of: fever greater than 100º F, chills, sweats, cough, sore throat, headache and body aches.  These symptoms last about three to seven days. Q:  What can we do to prevent getting the flu? A:  Wash hands often with soap and water. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective. •  Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. •  Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way. •  Try to avoid close contact with sick people. •  Get vaccinated against H1N1 flu and seasonal flu. Q:  What should you do […]