Articles by: skline

 

• The Latest Slice is Quite Nice

  Lifestyle April 2, 2012 at 4:11 pm Comments are Disabled

  When I was 13 my parents rented me a film they thought would speak to my blossoming adolescence — “American Pie.” Needless to say the film packed more punch than either I or my parents were expecting, but from that moment on, I forever felt a connection with Jim, Stiffler, Oz, Kevin and, of course, Finch. Luckily, after 13 years — has it been that long? — “American Reunion” proves that even if the actors involved haven’t had stellar film careers, they still understand these characters and deliver all the raunchy, crude humor that is associated with these films. “American Reunion” is going to work best for people who grew up with the characters or at the very least have seen the films. Considering that a majority of the film’s soundtrack is made up of songs ripped from the ‘90s, it’s possible that the feeling of nostalgia the film is going for will be lost on those who weren’t old enough to appreciate the decade. As the title suggests, the film centers on the gang reuniting to go to their school’s ten-year reunion, three years late — something I’m glad the movie references. “American Reunion,” spends its first act giving […]

   

• This Week, Take Pride

  Lifestyle April 2, 2012 at 4:10 pm Comments are Disabled

  Pride Week began Sunday with the annual Pancakes With Some Queer on Top offering free pancakes and some queer-themed films. The remainder of the week will be dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ culture and educating the Mason community about relevant issues. “The planning for Pride Week is always an unpredictable and fun thing,” said Ric Chollar, associate director of the LGBTQ chapter at George Mason University, “because we bring in lots of students as well as whatever departments and offices want to help us in the planning process.” This year’s Pride Week takes its cues from Mason’s very own motto, “Where innovation is tradition.” It offers events that students have come to regard as traditional, like the drag show and the Pancakes this past Sunday, while also introducing a host of new events. “Some years the group wants to fall back on traditional programs that we have every year,” Chollar said. “But this year, with regards to things we do all the time, the group said we don’t have to do all of them just for the sake of doing them. So we’ve got some innovative things and some traditional ones as well.” First-time events include Let’s Talk About Leather, a […]

   

• Keystone Pipeline XL: A Bad Idea

  Editorials April 2, 2012 at 4:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  Nasty stuff happens when you let other people think for you — especially if those people happen to be House Speaker John Boehner and his allies, who are still mourning the death of a bill last month that would have let them approve the Keystone Pipeline XL. The bill was killed in the Senate by just four votes. Proponents of the bill were mostly Republican. However, a few Democrats joined Boehner, including our own Sen. Jim Webb, because they feared their chances for re-election might die along with the bill. But every George Mason University student should be dancing on its grave. The Keystone Pipeline XL is an anti-green project, and when I say “green” I mean your money. According to a September 2011 study by Cornell University, if Keystone XL is ever built, your gas could cost you between 10 and 20 cents more per gallon. Unless you believe the June 2010 Perryman Group study, which claims that the building of Keystone XL would lower gas prices by an uncountable amount. Since the Perryman study was funded by TransCanada Corporation, the very company that wants to build Keystone XL, I think it’s safe to assume the people at Perryman […]

   

• The Inconvenient Truth About Racism

  Editorials April 2, 2012 at 4:05 pm Comments are Disabled

  The recent hateful murder of Trayvon Martin in Florida and the xenophobic beating and subsequent death of Shaima Alawadi in her own home in California accentuate the fact that racism still exists. Events such as these deflate the fantastical notion that we have developed a racism-free utopia. It is an inconvenient truth that racism — compounded by xenophobia and religious antipathy — not only exists in today’s world, but is an innate part of human nature. It will exist for as long as the human race endures. Racism, defined by Webster’s Online Dictionary as “the discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race,” exists in one form or another on every continent and in every country, every society, every neighborhood and every individual. Surprisingly, even our own human immune system behaves in a such a manner. Immunologists speak of a process in which our bodies react defensively to an “unwanted intrusion” by “foreign non-self” elements that are not recognized by the body. Sometimes, however, the process breaks down and the immune system attacks its own cells and tissues leading to what’s called “autoimmunity.” In this state of hypersensitivity, much like overt racism and hatred, the body attacks normal cells […]

   

• The Coffee Sundress

  Editorials April 2, 2012 at 4:04 pm Comments are Disabled

  We frequently hear that imperfections make us unique and beautiful, but this idea of the importance of individuality is incomplete. Imperfections are what make us gorgeous, but only when we embrace them unconditionally. All too often, however, we exaggerate and obsess over our perceived “flaws,” thereby confining ourselves to a mentality akin to slavery. We allow ourselves to be consumed by silly externalities that no one else actually notices. Our keen eyes seem to be constantly searching for something to be unhappy about. Who cares if your hips are big or small? Maybe you’re on your way to loving yourself unconditionally and regardless of your “deviant” waist-to-hip ratio. You’re beginning to feel that it’s the way you’re supposed to be — completely and uniquely you. Then a friend who is secretly wearing devil horns steps into your happy situation and starts making snide comments about you. These remarks stem from her envy of your ability to simply adore yourself, but you still feel guilt and shame. All of a sudden you’re the odd girl out just because your friends all settled for self-hatred whereas you are on track to an emotionally healthy state. Loving yourself seems like it should be […]

   

• The Evolution of Animosity in Classrooms

  Editorials April 2, 2012 at 4:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  Jonathan Leonberger took a seat toward the back of room 103, Innovation Hall’s largest lecture hall, as his 236 classmates began to fill the 287-seat auditorium. “One of the fascinating things about sitting this far back is that you are able to see what all of the other students are doing,” said Leonberger, a sophomore marketing major at George Mason University. One by one, students pulled out their notebooks and laptops. “In a class of 236, paying attention is a choice rather than a requirement,” Leonberger said as he pulled out his i>clicker2 handset, which are used in large classes to perform tasks ranging from taking attendance to administering quizzes The classroom of antiquity was not the large lecture hall with rows of students squished together listening to a teacher’s monologue but an arena of interactive and explorative philosophical thought. Socrates created a method of interactive teaching known today as the Socratic Method. He used thought-provoking questions to force students to examine their own beliefs and form hypotheses. The Socratic classroom was an open forum of discussion for the betterment of both the student and the teacher. With successive technological advances, we seem to have strayed from this method of […]

   

• Ads and Body Image Don’t Mix

  Editorials April 2, 2012 at 4:02 pm Comments are Disabled

  Decades ago women were cherished for their overtly round hips, plump buttocks and full, natural breasts. However, in the 21st century the idea of naturally occurring beauty has all but disappeared, leading to an incessant need to alter bodies in order to have “normal” appearances. “Clearly, there’s an idealized breast out there, round and very full. Trouble is, it doesn’t quite go with another ideal — the slim, slim torso,” Canadian freelance journalist Judith Timson states in her article “Breast Stroke.” “Those Victoria’s Secret models, for instance, with their slender bodies and major boobage — this is not an anatomically normal set of events. No exercise, diet or potion can produce those contradictory proportions for most women. But surgery can.” The reality is that people, namely women, are consulting plastic surgeons to obtain ideal bodies whether or not their bodies are anatomically correct. In the 21st century, American society has done away with uniqueness and created a norm which most women feel the need to conform to. “Comedian Joan Rivers was asked on an A&E documentary to come up with one word to describe breasts today,” Timson continued in her article, “and, ever succinct, she replied ‘plastic.’” Breast augmentations aren’t […]

   

• Flawed Process Leaves Little to Voters

  Editorials April 2, 2012 at 4:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  The state of American presidential politics is simply depressing. The media has taken the reigns of the Republican primary and continuously injects Americans with their two anointed candidates, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney. These candidates have records of expanding government, increasing spending and advocating market and foreign interventionism. On the other side we have our president who ignores the calls for restoring fiscal sanity, respecting civil liberties and halting the expansion of our overseas empire. The similarities between the “frontrunners” make them nearly indistinguishable; Americans might as well flip a coin to decide whom they will vote for come Election Day. Our severe lack of choices should not come as a surprise. The unabated, diminishing interest in policy and increasing focus on both the electoral horse race and party labels have diluted American politics and pushed out philosophical voters. Ask your average voter why he supports a certain candidate. The usual response seems to be, “I want this person because he is a better option than the other.” What this shows is not only a symptom of widespread ignorance of the issues but also the fact that people aren’t completely satisfied with their choices. Some may take this lightly and […]

   

• Student Government: Inefficient or Incapable?

  Editorials April 2, 2012 at 4:00 pm Comments are Disabled

  Student Government is holding a “What Do You Want Wednesday” this week. I really regret that I can’t attend as I’m sure whatever problems I’d like to see solved here at George Mason University — lower tuition, lower parking fees, less wasteful spending, traffic lights at the overcrowded intersections — would certainly be tended to immediately and efficiently. It’s comforting to see that when students say they want to see a reduction in penalties for drug possession, SG understands this to be code for “We want plastic bag taxes, $9,000 worth of Gold Rush T-shirts and then Donald Garrett, the guy who privately raised half the funds to buy these shirts, to be impeached and then kicked off of the presidential ballot.” But, hey, at least they give you a cookie. Since I’ll be gone on “What Do You Want Wednesday,” I decided to conduct my own version by asking some students here at Mason what they would like to see done on campus and include the list in Broadside. Not only are some of the students I asked currently campaigning to make SG better, more useful and less wasteful, but some of the students I asked are in SG […]

   

• Everett Got It Wrong

  News1 April 2, 2012 at 3:59 pm Comments are Disabled

  On behalf of the Greek Week Steering Committee, we would like to address the Mason Community in response to Clara Everett’s column posted in the March 26 edition of Broadside. Greek Week has been going on for over 20 years at Mason.  This year we worked hard to come together to unify the Greek Community and showcase to Mason the amazing work that we do on behalf of our institution for the surrounding communities.  This year’s theme was not “I Love the 90’s”, but rather, “We All Stand Out but We Never Stand Alone.”  As a community we are proud to share that we raised over $7,500, which was not given to the homeless in Washington D.C., but to the Northern Virginia chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Over 8,292 lbs. of food was donated to Food for Others to support those in need right here in Northern Virginia. Countless hours are put into the planning of the shacks, and other events during the week to celebrate the Greek experience at Mason. There is so much pride in this week from the majority of the community that it hurts many of us to read an article like the one that was […]