Articles by: news

 

• Volunteers Discuss Memories of Homelessness: Speakers Share Personal Experiences

  News1 December 1, 2009 at 7:09 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ethan Vaughan, Connect2Mason Reporter Faces of Homelessness, a program highlighting homelessness awareness, was held in the Patriots Lounge in Student Union Building I on Monday, Nov. 16. The event, carried out in cooperation with Lutheran Campus Ministry and the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), featured a video presentation and several guest speakers, including two individuals currently experiencing homelessness. The focus of the gathering was to raise public knowledge of the issue and to dispel some of the stereotypes surrounding it. NCH volunteer Johnny Bell said Americans should take notice of homelessness, which he cited as a growing threat to communities nationwide. “Homelessness is increasing,” Bell said. “There are more homeless people this year than there were last year. Currently, there are three million homeless people in this country every day, and about 700,000 [on the streets] each night. Those figures are climbing.” Bell challenged what he said was a faulty view of the homeless as lazy people unwilling to work. “The largest . . . segment of the homeless population [is] families,” Bell said. “Families, not individual men and women, but families with dependent children, account for 40 percent of all homeless people. In the D.C. [metro] area in […]

   

• Construction Sites Near Completion: Students Show Concern for On-Going Campus Building Projects

  News1 November 17, 2009 at 5:10 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brenda Shepard, Staff Writer Whether they have been woken up by the sound of hammers, or were rerouted on their way to class, most of the student body is tired of seeing the caution tape and chain link fences. For many students, faculty and staff, construction has been going on from the time they stepped foot on campus. In many cases, students have become numb to the fact that construction has been taking place in nearly every corner of George Mason University. Many students now cannot walk through this campus without construction around every turn. “It was here when we came, so I don’t know any different,” said freshman dance major Tikiri Shapiro. “But one time something fell from the ceiling during [dance] class. Our teacher said, ‘just keep dancing.’” For students living in the Student Apartments, the treacherous journey through the maze of construction along Aquia Creek Lane can be a hassle. Fortunately, the new Data Center next to Student Union Builing I, which will provide “swing space” for displaced departments and offices while other buildings undergo renovation, is scheduled to be completed by April 2010. Some students, however, have yet to even take notice of the construction which […]

   

• Dear Mr. President: Students Write Postcards to Obama Regarding the Defense of Marriage Act

  News1 November 12, 2009 at 4:56 pm Comments are Disabled

  Yasmin Tadjdeh, Asst. News Editor With Washington, D.C. right around the corner, George Mason University students are signing, sealing and delivering their postcards to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. This Thursday, Mason students will be hosting the Postcards to the President Card-A-Thon. “Postcards to the President is a non-profit group started in L.A. after Prop 8,” said Quincey Smith, junior communication major and a member of the organizing group for Postcards to the President at Mason. “The goal for the group is to send 20,000 postcards to the president by the end of 2009. The group relies on other activists around the nation to collect postcards and have them send them to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. While one postcard might not seem important, 20,000 postcards can definitely say something.” “[Postcards to the President] is basically a get-out-the-voice campaign for Mason students to ask President Barack Obama to repeal DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act],” said Smith. “Students can participate by filling out a postcard that we will provide . . . Our group is hoping to have as many individuals as we can to get their voices heard by simply writing a simple postcard. We have a goal of collecting 100, […]

   

• Students React to McDonnell’s Win: Virginia’s Newest Governor Won by a ‘Commanding Margin’ in Last Week’s Election

  News1 November 12, 2009 at 4:55 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ethan Vaughan, Mason Votes Writer Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell claimed the Governor’s Mansion by a commanding margin of 59 to 41 percent in Tuesday’s statewide election, and he brought a slew of other Republicans with him. Following on McDonnell’s coattails were re-elected Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, and Attorney General-Elect Ken Cuccinelli. As Democrats lost the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, students reacted to state developments and talked about the implications for the Democratic Party in the 2010 and 2012 presidential elections. “I went back and forth,” said senior administration of justice major Jason Butler. “I chose Deeds.” Butler, who made the decision of who to vote for only days before the election, said that the pressing issues facing the country motivated him to vote for the first time in a non-presidential election. “I figured I might as well exercise my right to vote,” Butler said. “Some people don’t have that right. With the way things are going in the country, every vote counts.” The most important issues for Butler going into the 2010 midterm elections and 2012 presidential election included withdrawing American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, protecting the right to bear arms, and keeping abortion legal. As […]

   

• Twenty Years Later: Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Iron Curtain Replica To Be Torn Down Today

  News1 November 12, 2009 at 4:48 pm Comments are Disabled

  Amanda Cheek, News Editor The Unity Walk will begin at the North Plaza of Campus at noon today and will end under the Clock Tower. It will provide a way for students to gather for the demolition of the Berlin Wall replica that will begin at 1 p.m. After a month of campus and non-campus events relating to the wall, including debates and participation in wall graffiti, the wall will be destroyed with sledgehammers and saws. This demolition will celebrate the anniversary of the destruction of the actual Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989. “We’re focusing on social action for this event . . . to underline the important lessons to be learned from the Berlin Wall,” said Jacob Kohut, organizer and graduate student majoring in music. “Our understanding of ‘unity’ that we’re trying to express runs so much deeper than merely two sides of a city reuniting – it’s about the unity of the human race and destroying divisions both physical and imaginary that limit humanity’s progress.” Although the wall will no longer stand on Mason grounds, events will continue to occur on and off campus. The famous German writer Peter Schneider will be speaking on Nov. 10 at […]

   

• Student Government Promotes Public Relations: New Committee Created to Advertise Events

  News1 November 12, 2009 at 4:46 pm Comments are Disabled

  Hillary Huber, Broadside Correspondent George Mason University was the number one school to watch last year, and with a new Public Relations Committee, Student Government is proving why Mason deserves that title. The committee will be responsible for any and all advertising, and according to the Student Government website is dedicated to “giv[ing] students professional experience while developing Student Government’s visibility within the Mason Community.” Peter Danjczek, Student Government’s Chief of Staff and a senior government and international politics major, wants to make sure students are more informed. “We really want to benefit students. As a student government, we have built the relationships with all of the administrators and staff on campus,” said Danjczek. “If a student needs to know about something, we have other students that are specifically trained to know about a certain topic, and if for some reason that student doesn’t know the answer, we have all of the resources to quickly and easily get one for that student,” said Danjczek. “Well, I never know when anything is happening so more advertising would help more people know about the events and lead to more people going to the events,” said freshman Jennifer Stenzel, a community health major. […]

   

• Campus Groups Promote Homelessness Awareness: Variety of Activities Planned to Educate Students

  News1 November 12, 2009 at 4:45 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brenda Shepard, Staff Writer Imagine sleeping on cement. Now think about being hungry, alone and numb from the cold. This is how many people across the United States spend each day and night. While students on campuses across the country lie in their warm dorm rooms watching the latest reality show, these homeless men, women and children are simply trying to survive. From Nov. 15 to the 21, students across Mason’s campus will have the opportunity to learn more about homelessness through the annual Hunger and Homelessness Action Week. Through a variety of activities, students will learn about homelessness from people who were and still are living without a roof each night. “We live in one of the richest regions of the richest country in the world, so it’s easy to assume it’s not happening, but it is,” said Northern Virginia Lutheran Campus Ministry Director Ben Buss. According to the event website, actionweek.org, “Hunger and Homelessness Action Week is an annual program of the GMU Campus Ministry Association. The goal of the week is to promote greater awareness of the needs of hungry and homeless people in our community, in the United States, and around the world.” “We decided to […]

   

• Coalition Created to Care for Cats: Students and Faculty Organize Aid for Feral Felines on Campus

  News1 November 12, 2009 at 4:43 pm Comments are Disabled

  Matthew Harrison, Broadside Correspondent Two feral cats sit outside Thompson Hall in a parking spot waiting for love and human attention. It is early in the morning so the cats feel more comfortable showing their presence. And of course, it is almost feeding time. Students move slowly along the walkways of George Mason University’s Fairfax campus, never really noticing the cats that hide among them. One cat straightens its back, perks its ears and focuses on the car slowly rolling into the empty reserved spot. Food and love could not have come at a better time. They could not be happier. “At first I didn’t want to tell the police where the cats where hiding,” says Colleen Bauer, one of several faculty and volunteer workers who take care of the feral cats. “But the police said if I didn’t say where they were hiding, they would catch every cat on campus and have them all tested for rabies.” Bauer was first introduced to Mason’s feral cat community nine years ago when she was working in Krug Hall. She noticed a mother cat and her babies in a window well. Attempting to help the mother and her babies, Bauer was bit […]

   

• Making It to the Polls: Classes on Election Day May Cause Conflict for Some Student Voters

  News1 November 5, 2009 at 9:59 pm Comments are Disabled

  Hillary Huber, Broadside Correspondent While government agencies and some work places have Election Day off, George Mason University students will still be setting their alarm clocks early on Nov. 3. This presents multiple conflicts in the Mason community. Some students’ schedules are too crammed to fit in a trip to the polls; others think it creates an inaccurate representation in election outcomes. Josh St. Louis, a junior government major and member of the College Republicans, said he would be in favor of having Election Day off, but does not think students will have a difficult time getting out of class. “Government classes are more flexible [with tardiness and absences] on Election Day because they understand students need to get to the polls,” said St. Louis. “Work places are usually more flexible, too.” Smaller elections, such as Tuesday’s election, do not get a big enough turnout to need a day off from school, said freshman and business major C.J. Manapsal. “The turnout wouldn’t even be big enough for the presidential elections, and the turnout is even lower for smaller elections, [so] there’s really no point in getting the day off . . . People wouldn’t take advantage of having the day […]

   

• Gubernatorial Candidates Oppose Gay Marriage

  News1 November 5, 2009 at 9:57 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ethan Vaughan, Mason Votes Writer Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell has a long history of championing conservative positions on social issues like gay marriage, but with Democratic opponent Creigh Deeds stating his belief that marriage is “between a man and a woman,” the campaign for the Governor’s Mansion is proceeding with a uniformity of opinion from both sides on one of the Commonwealth’s most divisive and emotional issues. With neither side taking up the cause of gay rights, some voters feel as if their choices have been curtailed. “I think Deeds is too conservative, but he’s the more liberal of the two,” said George Mason University senior economics major Phil Dudley. “I’m for gay marriage and I feel that gay people should have the same rights as straight people. As for the Virginia Marriage Amendment, I disagree with it. Gay people should be able to visit their significant other in the hospital, should be able to have access to insurance, should be treated the same as everyone else. Gay rights isn’t the deciding factor in my vote, but it’s something I would take into account.” Most students were quick to voice opposition to the 2006 Virginia Marriage Amendment, which not […]