Articles by: skline

 

• Add/Drop Period to Remain Unchanged

  News1 March 26, 2012 at 4:15 pm Comments are Disabled

  The Academic Policies Committee of the Faculty Senate has decided not to change the add/drop date next semester. Students will have eight days from the first day of the semester to decide which classes they wish to add and drop from their schedule. On Feb. 29, Student Government presented a resolution to the Faculty Senate to open discussion about the add/drop date. The Student Senate resolution laid out counterarguments to the list of reasons cited by the Faculty Senate when it had changed the add/drop date in spring 2010. Prior to the fall 2011 semester, students had two weeks to add or drop classes. The Faculty Senate stated that the reasons for its decision to change the add/drop date in the resolution presented by Student Government were incorrect, but the Academic Policies Committee decided to discuss the issue over spring break and return with a decision. As of now, there will be no change to the add/drop date. According to Suzanne Scott, chair of the Academic Policies Committee of the Faculty Senate, there are two major reasons for not changing the add/drop date. “The most important things were [that] financial aid is held up, which is a hardship for some […]

   

• Blackboard Mobile App Arrives

  News1 March 26, 2012 at 4:14 pm Comments are Disabled

  George Mason University will roll out the mobile version of the popular Blackboard Learn software this week following increased student demand for the mobile app. The mobile version 2.0 of the software will be available starting today through the Apple, Android, Blackberry and Palm app stores. It will allow students and faculty to view a mobile-friendly version of the MyMason Blackboard site and access assignments, readings, blogging tools and grades from smart phones and tablet computers. Officials in the Division of Instructional Technology noticed increased demand for a Mason version of Blackboard Mobile after prospective users unsuccessfully attempted to download the app. “I think a lot of people may have just found it in the app store for whatever device they have and tried to use it and, it would say ‘George Mason University does not currently support Blackboard Mobile.’ The app will then ask you to sign up to learn when George Mason makes it available,” said Joe Balducci, manager of Online Learning Services and Learning Support Services with DoIT. “We had found that there were about 400 people who signed up to be notified when [Blackboard Mobile] was available.” According to Balducci, in order to make the Mason […]

   
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  Board of Visitors Discuss Tuition Increases, Songdo Expansion

  News1 March 26, 2012 at 4:13 pm Comments are Disabled

  The Board of Visitors met Wednesday to discuss tuition and room and board hikes in addition to George Mason University’s expansion into South Korea. The board also honored several  Mason faculty members including President Alan Merten. Visitor Mark McGettrick introduced a number of motions that were passed by the board. These included a 3.8 percent increase in tuition in summer 2013 and an overall increase of 3.24 percent in room and board rates for the same year.  Also discussed at the meeting was Mason’s expansion into South Korea, a project known as the Songdo initiative. Before Mason can become a part of the Songdo international campus in South Korea, it must receive certain financial data from South Korean officials. The board expects to receive the information sometime in April, in time before the board’s last meeting. A new master’s degree in commerce was also approved. The degree will be part of the school of management. The Mason Medal was awarded to Merten and Visitor Lovey Hammel for their services to Mason. Emeritus status was conferred upon Thomas Hennessey, university chief of staff for the Office of the President. Peter Pober, chair of the Faculty Senate, was honored with a plaque […]

   

• Drunk and Disorderly

  News1 March 26, 2012 at 4:11 pm Comments are Disabled

  Short of a few private institutions, alcohol is a part of student life at most every university in the country. “The nationwide, college drinking culture frequently results in dangerous or life-threatening ways,” said Lindsey Hammond, coordinator of the Office of Alcohol, Drug, & Health Education. Over 600,000 students are injured each year as a result of alcohol use Hammond said. “Most RAs are content to let lower levels of intoxication go,” said Morgan Paugh, a junior tourism and events management major and resident advisor for two years. “But in dangerous situations, we’re trained to call the police and the hospital as well as file an incident report.” “Mason offers a lot of education opportunities and alternatives to dangerous behavior, and that’s the kind of policy that’s going to help eliminate these trends,” said George Ginovsky, assistant chief of police at George Mason University. Ginovsky said that police officers are not targeting drinking but possession. When officers are involved with a situation involving underage drinking, their intervention is  often at the behest of resident advisors or peers who are concerned about their friends or the safety of the students involved. The brochure dealing with alcohol on campus is offered at the […]

   

• Student Government to Explore Shared Governance

  News1 March 26, 2012 at 4:08 pm Comments are Disabled

  Following the passage of a Student Senate resolution calling for shared governance between students, faculty, staff and administration, members of Student Government will meet Friday to discuss how that might best be implemented. At the heart of the issue is the lack of student involvement in decisions made at the highest levels of the university, chiefly by the Board of Visitors, the Executive Council and the President’s Council. The BOV has two student members, though they cannot vote, while the latter two groups have no student input. “When you don’t have any decision-making power, you get completely ignored, and that’s what this is all about,” said Jason Von Kundra, one of the student senators who submitted the resolution at the March 1 Student Senate meeting. “Ultimately, where all of us see this going is greater student power and students having decision-making power on the issues that affect us most. What those decisions are and how much decision-making power we would get is to be determined.” The meeting, which begins 1 p.m. Friday in the Student Senate office on the second floor of Student Union Building II (The HUB), is open to anyone who wishes to attend. The meeting is the […]

   
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  Mongolian Wrestler Hopes to Pin an Olympic Spot

  Sports March 26, 2012 at 4:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  In eighth grade, Mendbagana Tovuujav was a skinny kid living in Mongolia. After a scuffle with some local gang members, Tovuujav was approached by two-time world freestyle wrestling finalist Naranbaatar Bayaraa.  “He told me that if I thought I was tough, I should come wrestle with him instead of waste my time with street kids,” Tovuujav said. The experience changed the eighth grader’s life. After training with the Mongolian wrestling team, Tovuujav was offered a full scholarship to an American prep school. From there, he received a full scholarship to George Mason University. Tovuujav, who’s now a senior, has been a nearly unstoppable force on the Mason wrestling team. This year he finished the regular season with a 20-3 record and went on to the NCAA Division I nationals in St. Louis, where he lost. Tovuujav plans to move back to Mongolia after he graduates in May and try out for the 2016 Mongolian Olympic wrestling team. “Wrestling is an individual sport,” Tovuujav said. “If everyone works hard, then the team does well. I focus on improving myself.” When new coaches Joe Russell and Tommy Owen came on for the 2012 season, the team was told that it was hard […]

   

• Coaches Blamed for Pitcher Ligament Injuries

  Sports March 26, 2012 at 4:05 pm Comments are Disabled

  There’s an ongoing epidemic across all levels of baseball. Pitchers are more frequently in need of labrum surgery or, the most prominent of all, Tommy John surgery. Mason’s baseball team has unfortunately had to deal with such injuries during pitching coach Steve Hay’s three-year tenure. “One has been the fluke, one-pitch incident where it just happened late in the season. We have had some others where some pitchers have come into the program tired or hurt which may have caused the injury,” Hay said. “Most of the time there is a deficiency in the muscles in the shoulder or an issue with posture which we are currently doing a study on.” Tommy John surgery is also known as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. The procedure got it’s name from former Dodgers pitcher Tommy John who was the first to undergo the operation in 1974. When the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow tears and a tendon from another place in the body is used to replace the damaged ligament. The usual timetable for a return from Tommy John surgery for a player is anywhere from 12 to 18 months. In recent times there seems to be a high rate of pitchers […]

   

• Coach Spotlight: Joe Russell

  Sports March 26, 2012 at 4:04 pm Comments are Disabled

  When the University of Minnesota offered a scholarship to Joe Russell, the head of Mason’s Division 1 wrestling team, they knew they were taking a risk. In 1985, during his junior year of high school, Russell won national championships in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He was on his way to becoming the star of college wrestling when a terrible accident changed his path. “I got into a motorcycling accident before my senior year in high school,” Russell said. “I had a compound skull fracture with lacerations of the brain, and I was completely paralyzed on the left side of my body.” Russell had a choice to make. He could leave the wrestling world or stay knowing the chances for a full recovery were slim. “After the accident I felt like even though I was supposed to die, for some reason I lived, and I knew I was going to come back as a wrestler,” Russell said. Russell was recruited by the University of Minnesota in 1988. The coach hoped he could make a full recovery. Russell eventually regained the majority of feeling in his left side but was not able to compete at the same intensity as he did before. […]

   

• The Odds Were In Their Favor

  Lifestyle March 26, 2012 at 4:02 pm Comments are Disabled

  “The Hunger Games” has solidified itself as a major blockbuster. Making just under $20 million in midnight-release tickets alone, it has secured its position as the new, undisputed champion of book-to-film adaptations. Was there ever any doubt? Taking place at an unspecified time in the future, “The Hunger Games” is a tale about class oppression and how far people are willing to go to survive and provide for their families. Whenever beloved books are adapted for the screen, expectations run perilously high, and I have to say I feel it truly delivered. Jennifer Lawrence has been knocking performances out of the park with roles in “Winter’s Bone” and “X-Men: First Class,” but “The Hunger Games” is the first time she’s had a part I felt would herald her arrival as a star. Her performance as Katniss Everdeen is the anchor of the film. With the exception of Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, all the actors deliver strong performances, even in roles that will have you doing double takes. Yes, that’s Lenny Kravitz in the film, and, yes, he can act. The film is broken into three distinct acts, and each takes a unique approach to filmmaking. The third act is the […]

   

• Punk Rock Lives On

  Lifestyle March 26, 2012 at 4:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  The new Anti-Flag album, “The General Stike,” just dropped. The album was much anticipated in the punk world by old, nostalgic fans and the new crowd alike. The album isn’t unusual or shocking, but it’s comfortable and just OK. Since their first performance in 1993, the band has been refining their sound. The group came out of Pittsburgh Pa. in the late ‘80s and has been a force to be reckoned with ever since. Their first album, “Die for the Government,” was a gritty, punk strike at the establishment, embodied by subpar recording equipment and visceral, youthful anger. Since then they have cleaned up their equipment and their sound but maintained a staunchly revolutionary and pissed-off tone. The band is heavily involved in activism — their influence can be felt from PETA to Amnesty International. However, involvement in big-ticket organizations doesn’t mean they’ve sold out; they’re still behind the scenes, organizing groups like Military-Free Zone and the Underground Action Alliance. Most recently, they have been up in arms against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, an act signed by President Barack Obama that gives the president the right to detain American citizens without a trial. “The General Strike” is […]