Articles by: Sonya Hudson

 

• Twenty Years Later: Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Where Were You When the Wall Fell?

  News1 November 12, 2009 at 4:53 pm Comments are Disabled

  On November 9, 1989, I was the Patient Care Information Systems . . . computer training coordinator, providing hospital computer training for all levels of staff in all departments, including physicians and physicians’ office staff at California Pacific Medical Center, a 425-bed acute care hospital in San Francisco, California. I found out by TV news. My first reaction, having been born and raised in Nurnberg, Germany (1951-1969) was that it was incredible and just the beginning of great change in the world. Can you imagine living under the cloud of Communism for so long and then have it evaporate overnight? I was excited for people but also worried about the adjustment they would have to make (and it was hard for everyone on both sides of the Wall at first).” – Odette Willis, assistant professor and coordinator for Academic Excellence in the School of Nursing. RN, MN, MBA I remember exactly where I was. I was sitting in the living room of my mother’s summer house in Newport, Rhode Island, a place where my brothers and sisters and their kids all converge for two weeks each summer. We were watching the TV, not really focusing until we realized that we […]

   

• Mason Alumnus Dead at 22: Students Mourn the Loss of Brian Picone

  News1 November 5, 2009 at 10:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  Emily Sharrer, Editor-in-Chief For many George Mason University students, recently deceased alumnus Brian Picone will live on as a role model, teacher and friend who dedicated himself to increasing visibility of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning issues and always lived life to the fullest. Picone was guest teaching in Leah Perry’s Queer Theory class last Monday when he collapsed according to an e-mail sent to faculty, staff and students by Suzanne Scott, associate professor of Women and Gender Studies. Picone was rushed to Inova Fairfax Hospital where he was pronounced dead according to police records. He was 22. Picone graduated from Mason last spring with his Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies with a concentration in Gender, Society and Human Rights and a minor in Women and Gender Studies according to Scott’s e-mail. He was also given the top academic award from Women and Gender Studies. Shocked friends took to Facebook to share their memories of Picone and grieve the loss of a treasured part of the Mason community. On the “RIP Brian Picone” Facebook group, friends and family members remembered Picone as an outgoing young man with a larger than life personality who inspired all those that knew […]

   

• Search For Missing Student Continues: Metallica Puts Money Toward Reward for Virginia Tech Girl

  News1 October 27, 2009 at 2:44 pm Comments are Disabled

  Heather Gioia, Broadside Correspondent Popular metal band Metallica announced last Friday that they were giving $50,000 towards the reward for any information about Morgan Harrington, the 20-year-old Virginia Tech student who went missing during the band’s concert at the University of Virginia on Oct. 17. The total reward currently stands at $150,000. According to CBS News, Harrington and her friends were together to see opening act Lamb of God, who took the stage at 7 p.m. Sometime before 8:40 p.m. Harrington stepped outside to and was denied re-entry under John Paul Jones Arena’s policy according to a press release from the Virginia State Police. After being denied re-entry, friends phoned Harrington who told them not to wait for her and that she would find her own ride home. Following the concert, Harrington’s cell phone and purse were found in a parking lot of the John Paul Jones Arena the following morning. There was no sign of any struggle in the area according to the release. Harrington’s parents reported her missing when she failed to show up at their home in Roanoke, Va. on Oct. 18. On Oct. 20, Metallica released a statement on their official website about Harrington’s disappearance. “We […]

   

• End of the Season: On-Campus Farmers’ Market Closes for the Winter on Wednesday

  News1 October 27, 2009 at 2:37 pm Comments are Disabled

  Katie Miller, Staff Writer This Wednesday, the weekly Mason Farmers’ Market comes to a close after three seasons on campus. The market’s success ebbed and flowed, depending on how populated the campus was at that time. “In the spring, there were very few participating vendors and very little attention from the campus community,” said Mark Kraner, vice president of University Life. Jean Janssen, market organizer and spokesperson, explained that because the summer was so slow, they lost all but three vendors by the end. She also said those three pushed through in the hopes of establishing a solid base for a year-long market. Because the market does not continue on for the entire year, vendors are projected to suffer financial stress, according to Janssen. “We wouldn’t have sweated through last summer if we didn’t think we would be here all year long,” said Janssen. “For us, the bigger problem is the loss of income for the vendors, [which] they counted on to get them through the winter season.” During any season, vendors and farmers have to do multiple markets a week to survive, according to Janssen. Janssen also stated that during the summer, vendors have to do between three and […]

   

• Student Government Strives to Keep Gold Rush Alive: Student Senate Votes for More Funds for T-Shirt Program

  News1 October 27, 2009 at 2:29 pm Comments are Disabled

  Matt Loffman, Connect2Mason Podcast Director The George Mason University Student Senate voted Thursday to approve $12,500 in funds to continue the Gold Rush program this year. The money will initially come out of the Student Government budget funded by student fees, but Student Government members are working on getting donations from Mason departments and local businesses to cover the cost of the program. Last year, Student Government approved $17,000 for Gold Rush, but more donations came in, so they made money on the program. As of the Thursday meeting, $5,000 had been promised from Mason departments to fund the program, and another $5,000 in verbal promises had been made. “I feel really confident in Secretary [of University Life Krista] Muise with her track record and getting donations, and that it will all be paid for, if not more, and we’ll actually be able to buy more t-shirts,” said Senator Allyson Bowers, a government and international politics major. “I think we don’t have many traditions at Mason, and Gold Rush is one that we have.” A few changes are being made this year. Along with a new design for the t-shirts, 1,000 fewer shirts are being ordered for a total of […]

   

• Power Shift Summit Comes to Mason: Environmental Initative Promotes Discussion

  News1 October 27, 2009 at 2:15 pm Comments are Disabled

  Amanda Cheek, News Editor The Energy Action Coalition held its Virginia Regional Power Shift 2009 event at George Mason University this past weekend from Friday to Sunday, where 114 students, volunteers and presenters traveled from all across the state to create a dialogue between students and organizers on generating and promoting environmental awareness and clean energy coalitions. The 3-day conference included 25 workshops on varying green topics relating to environmental economy, social change and environmental legislation among others. Attendees included students from over 10 colleges and schools across the state, as well as individuals that were not students, but were interested in promoting green ideas and fighting global warming. Power Shift is held annually across the country by the Energy Action Coalition, and is made up of several regional conferences across the United States which happen simultaneously. The EAC is made up of 50 youth organizations from all over North America which are dedicated to promoting the student and youth clean and just energy movement, according to its website www.powershift09.org. “Mason seemed like a great location to have an event and the students from GMU’s Environment Awareness Group were really enthusiastic to help host [the event], so EAC and CCAN […]

   

• Shuttle Driver Arrested on DUI Charg­­es: Employee Had No Previous Infractions on His Record According to Reston Limousine

  News1 October 20, 2009 at 3:29 pm Comments are Disabled

  Emily Sharrer, Editor-in-Chief A Reston Limousine employee is awaiting trial for charges stemming from an Oct. 8 arrest for driving under the influence while operating a George Mason University shuttle. Frederick Bromm, of Lorton, Va., was driving the Gunston Go-Bus shuttle with no students on board at the time of his arrest according to Josh Cantor, director of parking and transportation for the university. According to Tony Simon, general manager of Reston Limousine, the Mason Police Department received a call from somebody on the road who noticed the shuttle swerving just before Bromm’s arrest at 8:27 p.m. Bromm reported for duty around 3 p.m., according to Simon, and had not been drinking when he started his shift and checked in with supervisors from Reston Limousine. Cantor said that in the five hour time period Bromm was on duty, he made between five and six one-hour loops and there was no clear indication of when Bromm began drinking. “It’s kind of a mystery as to when he started drinking and how much he drank,” said Cantor. “Procedure wise, I think everything was done appropriately.” “It’s a very unusual situation,” said Simon. “We’re extremely appreciative to the people who noticed the vehicle […]

   

• Professor Arrested for Public Drunkenness: Adjunct to be Removed from Payroll

  News1 October 20, 2009 at 3:27 pm 2 comments

  Rachael Dickson, Broadside Correspondent An adjunct professor who was arrested for drunkness on the George Mason University campus will no longer be employed by Mason past the month of October. According to George Mason University Police Logs, Charles “Chip” Hauss was arrested on Oct. 5 at 6:43 p.m. for being Drunk in Public in Enterprise Hall. The arrest occurred less than 40 minutes before he was supposed to teach his weekly Introduction to International Politics class, according to the class profile and syllabus available on the Department of Public and International Affairs website. Assistant Chief George Ginovsky of University Police said he was not prepared to give out any more information on the incident than what was available on the blotter. “At the end of this month he will no longer be on the university payroll,” Mason Press Secretary Dan Walsch said. A woman who would not identify herself answered repeated calls to Hauss’s phone number and said he would not comment. As of Oct. 15, Hauss’s profile is not accessible via Mason’s PeopleFinder or the Public and International Affairs website. According to Patriotweb, that Monday night class is now taught by Sonja Taylor. Since he was hired by Mason […]

   

• Mason Art Students Build Berlin Wall Memorial on Campus: Interactive Cold War Replica Comes to Free Speech Zone

  News1 October 20, 2009 at 3:26 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brenda Shepard, Staff Writer Lives changed on Nov. 9, 1989 when people from East and West Berlin were allowed to meet freely once again. The Berlin Wall was not just concrete and wire, but a representation of constraint—Cold War hatred and inequality. Twenty years later, many still remember images of people tearing apart the concrete and shouting for joy. In celebration of this event, George Mason University students will have the opportunity to participate in a re-creation of the Berlin Wall. The project, “Freedom without Walls: Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989-2009,” is being presented with the help of many different facets of the university. The German word “Weltanschauung” means “a world outlook”, which was the guiding idea for the wall between East and West Germany to come down. A replica of the Berlin Wall will be placed under the clock in the Free Speech Zone and students will have the chance to put their own expressions on it. On the anniversary date, Nov. 9, the replica wall will be torn down at 1 p.m. “Most of our students, especially freshmen and sophomores, were not even born in 1989. Hence the fall of the wall is a distant and possibly […]

   

• A Lower Budget and a Higher Student Enrollment: President Merten Delivers the 2009 State of the University Address

  News1 October 20, 2009 at 3:25 pm Comments are Disabled

  Sonya Hudson, Managing Editor President Alan Merten discussed the budget and student enrollment in his State of the University Address delivered on Wednesday, Oct. 14 in Dewberry Hall. Virginia, like most states, is experiencing a revenue downfall, which also falls on higher education institutions. “At Mason, the result is a reduction of $17.5 million or approximately 15 percent from our operating fund for this fiscal year,” said Merten. “This means in the past year and a half we have had over $45 million taken from our budget – money that will probably not be replaced. And while federal funds ease the pain this year and next, the cuts are still severe and the band aid is temporary.” Merten explained how this budget cut will impact George Mason University. It means not filling research, staff and faculty positions that are currently available. Non-personal spending for conferences, travel, equipment and training will be deferred and IT contracts will be reduced. “Further, it is very likely that all state workers will be furloughed for one day over the next 10 months,” said Merten. “A final determination on this will be made sometime soon.” Despite these financial difficulties and sacrifices of faculty and staff, […]