Articles by: news

 

• Spring Break Kiosks Pop Up: Students Encouraged to Stay Safe

  News1 March 1, 2010 at 1:47 pm Comments are Disabled

  Sandra Evans, Broadside Correspondent Spring Break is a time for some fun in the sun amid a hectic, energy-draining spring semester; however, the special occasion has a bad reputation, with some college students making not-so-great decisions that can sometimes have very serious consequences. The Office of Alcohol, Drug & Health Education (OADHE) will set up its Safe Spring Break kiosk today through Wednesday before the start of break. It will be held at the Johnson Center Kiosk A from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “[Our goal] is just to let people know about the resources on campus . . . and [for people to know] the high-risk behaviors they may be exposed to and try to minimize that,” said Health Promoter Coordinator for OADHE Megan Grant. The kiosks will have information on safe and healthy decision making and how to have an enjoyable Spring Break while staying out of harm’s way. Topics that will be discussed include what behaviors are considered high-risk, how to plan a safe trip and what factors into good decision making. Many are skeptical about whether or not Safe Spring Break can have a posititive impact on certain college students who are already determined to fully […]

   

• Mason Group Clashes with Mining Companies: Students Work to Pass ‘Stream Saver’ Bill

  News1 March 1, 2010 at 1:45 pm Comments are Disabled

  Allison Rutledge, Broadside Correspondent Over the past month, members of George Mason University’s Environmental Action Group, or EAG, have been working hard to help pass legislation to protect streams and mountains in the commonwealth. One bill in particular, the “Stream Saver” bill, would stop coal companies from dumping surface mining waste into streams, effectively ending mountaintop removal in Virginia. The EAG is familiar with the environmental destruction caused by the extraction of coal. Last October, five EAG members traveled to the coal fields of West Virginia for the annual Mountain Justice Fall Summit. The students witnessed the impacts of mountaintop removal, the predominant type of surface mining in Appalachia. According to the EAG, mountaintop removal is the practice of leveling mountain tops with massive explosions and then dumping the resulting debris in adjacent valleys — a common location for streams. The waste pollutes the watersheds, decreases biodiversity and deprives Virginia residents of clean drinking water. This type of mining has already destroyed 67 Virginia mountains. A 2001 assessment by the U.S. EPA says that the waste from mountaintop removal mining had affected 151 miles of streams in Virginia. Many more miles of streams have been destroyed since 2001 and, according […]

   

• Your Body is a Wonderland: Love Your Body Week Promotes Healthy Body Images

  News1 March 1, 2010 at 1:42 pm Comments are Disabled

  Yasmin Tadjdeh, News Editor Last week, George Mason University celebrated Love Your Body Week. The week, which was hosted by the Eating Disorders and Positive Body Image Awareness Taskforce, aimed to encourage students to love themselves no matter what they look like. “Formerly known as Positive Body Image Awareness Week, Love Your Body Week coincides with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week,” said Assistant Director of the Office of Alcohol, Drug and Health Education Danielle Lapierre. “The taskforce decided to take a more positive approach to the week, encouraging students to love their bodies, love themselves and recognize that all bodies are beautiful.” “From a very young age, both boys and girls are exposed to negative body images and body expectations from the media, and these images can create unhealthy and unrealistic expectations for their own body ideals,” said Lapierre. “[Our] popular culture is permeated with unrealistic expectations,” said Ruthie O’Donnell, a junior economics major. According to O’Donnell, these unattainable expectations promote unhealthy body images in many people. During Love Your Body Week, students were able to visit kiosks in the Johnson Center where they could learn about having a better body image. According to the OADHE website, “Students can express […]

   

• Cuccinelli Files Lawsuit Against EPA: Attorney General Wants Virginia Out of Clean Air Act

  News1 March 1, 2010 at 1:39 pm Comments are Disabled

  Nya Jackson, Broadside Correspondent With Virginia facing a deficit of $1.59 billion for the 2010-2011 biennial budget, one George Mason University organization alleged that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is wasting taxpayers’ money with “frivolous lawsuits.” The Mason Environmental Action Group, or EAG, was referring to petitions the attorney general filed in federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. to block the Environmental Protection Agency from complying with a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The ruling allowed the agency to set limits for greenhouse gas pollution in order to protect public health under the Clean Air Act. “Cuccinelli’s actions are a slap in the face to the thousands of people around Virginia that have been working for years to combat climate change,” said Jason Von-Kundra, physics major and co-chair of the EAG. At a recent press conference, Cuccinelli said that the EPA was making its decisions based “on unreliable, unverifiable and doctored science in its bid to regulate greenhouse gases.” Others disagreed. “Cuccinelli’s extreme claims are without warrant,” said atmospheric scientist Jennie Moody, research associate professor at the University of Virginia. “The public welfare is threatened by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.” “If Jennie Moody and other scientists at the University of Virginia […]

   

• Women’s History Month Begins: Events to Showcase the Contributions of Women

  News1 March 1, 2010 at 1:36 pm Comments are Disabled

  Yasmin Tadjdeh, News Editor This month, students on campus will have the opportunity to learn more about the contributions of women to our society. The Women and Gender Studies Center will be hosting Women’s History Month at George Mason University this March. Through performances, art and seminars, officials involved in making Women’s History Month hope to educate students on women’s issues. “During Women’s History Month, we strive to raise awareness of women’s and gender issues as they intersect with issues of race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, religion and other additional aspects of identity and culture,” said the Associate Director of the Women and Gender Studies Center Vicki Kirsch. “It is also a time to celebrate the contributions by women to all aspects of cultural and political life.” Through events such as the Reve(a)ling Feminist Art Gallery that will be in the Johnson Center 123 Gallery, Kirsch hopes that students will gain a better understanding of feminism. “The Feminist Art Show is always thrilling,” said Kirsch, “and this year we invited artists from Empowered Women International, an organization we have collaborated with in the past, to join our Mason artists to give a broader and perhaps deeper response to the questions evoked […]

   

• McDonnell Order Does Not Protect Gays: Omission Based on McDonnell’s State Constitution Interpretation

  News1 March 1, 2010 at 1:30 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ethan Vaughan, Asst. News Editor Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell issued an executive order last month protecting state workers from discrimination, but one particular group was left out: gays and lesbians. McDonnell’s Feb. 5 order, issued a month after he took office, “specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities. The policy permits appropriate employment preferences for veterans and specifically prohibits discrimination against veterans as contemplated by state and federal law.” The governor’s executive order was mostly non-notable — it continued a long tradition in Virginia gubernatorial history — but it was significant in that it omitted gay and lesbian workers, who had been included in executive orders issued by Gov. Mark Warner and Gov. Tim Kaine in 2001 and 2005. “Had he simply not been the governor to take the next step, it would not have been noticed,” said Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. “But what McDonnell did was to take us back. An executive order is only viable as long as the next governor lets it be. In a symbolic way, it takes civil rights a couple […]

   

• Textbooks Allegedly Sold for Crack: Mason Police Bust Bookstore Theft Ring

  News1 March 1, 2010 at 1:28 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ethan Vaughan, Asst. News Editor The George Mason University Police Department broke up a theft ring at the university bookstore earlier this semester, busting an operation where textbooks were stolen from the school and allegedly sold for crack cocaine. On Jan. 28, Mason police arrested Sandra Reid, 43, and Brian Boyd, 33, both non-students who had taken merchandise from the bookstore on two separate occasions. Both are to be tried in the Fairfax County court system, with Reid facing charges of grand larceny, concealment of merchandise and possession of cocaine, and Boyd standing for conspiracy to commit grand larceny. A third suspect has yet to be identified, but the police department says they are actively pursuing information. The drama began on Jan. 15, when bookstore employees observed several individuals behaving “strangely.” “It was the way they acted,” said John Howard, assistant general manager at the bookstore. “They lurked.” General Manager Barbara Headley stopped and confronted an unidentified suspect at the door who appeared to be putting books into his backpack. After a brief conversation, he dropped his bag and ran, whereupon Howard began chasing him while Headley contacted the police. Officers responded to the scene but the suspects had successfully […]

   

• New Century College to Hold Conference

  News1 February 22, 2010 at 1:56 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ethan Vaughan, Asst. News Editor George Mason University’s Center of Consciousness Transformation, in conjunction with MasonLEADS, will host a Leadership and Positive Psychology Conference in SUB II on March 19. The conference is being organized by New Century College students taking NCLC 295, an events management class, and while it is “geared mainly for Mason’s undergrads,” anyone may attend. The students said the function’s main purpose was to give attendees tools to “improve . . . leadership effectiveness” and “grow . . . workplace satisfaction.” Participants will hear from keynote speakers on positive psychology and leadership skills and will take part in panel discussions on the same subjects. Among the presenters are faculty members Jim Harter and Shane Lopez, who work with the Gallup Organization, and Todd Kashdan and Tojo Thatchenkery, who have written books related to the conference topics. Undergraduate students will be charged $15 to take part, while graduate students will pay $25 and non-students will pay $50.

   

• Workshop in Philosophy, Politics and Economics

  News1 February 22, 2010 at 1:55 pm Comments are Disabled

  Matthew Harrison, Broadside Correspondent George Mason University philosophy professors want to show students the different connections between politics, philosophy and economics. Dr. Peter Boettke, an economics professor at Mason, said the school’s weekly seminar touching on all three areas will integrate the topics. “Increased specialization in these subjects has isolated them from what they were in the past,” said Boettke, who hopes to bring the fields closer together. Boettke obtained his Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University, has taught economics for 12 years and is a winner of the Gold Dozen Teaching Award from New York University. His open discussion on politics, philosophy, and economics occurs weekly during the school year. Boettke wants to make students realize the potential and criticism of the fields, and then use the knowledge to help write their theses. The main guest speaker for last week’s session was Dr. Tara Smith, a professor from the University of Texas at Austin. She has been teaching for 21 years and expresses to students the deeper value of philosphy. “Most of the students are writing papers for their theses, so this interaction gives them a second-hand perspective,” said Boettke. Students interact with Smith and other teachers to […]

   

• Healthy Relationships Week Starts: Aims to Educate Students on Good Relationships

  News1 February 22, 2010 at 1:52 pm Comments are Disabled

  Sandra Evans, Broadside Correspondent The life of a college student is hard enough with the endless amount of assignments and exhausting overnight cramming sessions, but knowing how to maintain positive and healthy relationships is a vital skill. With an MTV-show theme and the tagline “Rock Your Relationships,” George Mason University’s Sexual Assault Services is planning to host its annual weeklong Healthy Relationships Week all this week. “Healthy Relationships Week is our chance during the year to celebrate [the positive aspects of] all healthy relationships,” said Rachel Lindsey, outreach coordinator for Mason’s Sexual Assault Services. “What we are hoping students to get out of this is that a good, healthy relationship is an amazing thing, and everyone deserves that.” Healthy Relationships Week will kick off with its first event, “True Life,” today in Student Union I’s Patriot’s Lounge from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The subject of discussion is relationships of all kinds, whether they be romantic or platonic, and the facts on what constitutes a happy and healthy relationship. There will also be T-shirts, games, candy and other activities. “Made” will take place at the Johnson Center Kiosk G from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow. This event is focused […]