News

Social entrepreneurship program holds fundraiser

News April 30, 2013 at 1:54 pm Comments are Disabled

18 days, five thousand dollars and the opportunity to give five students the learning experience of a lifetime. This is the current goal of the Mason Center for Social Entrepreneurship (MCSE) and while the days tick down the staff in this division are working harder than ever to reach the numbers. Starting on June 16, MCSE is launching their annual Social Innovation Program (SIP) . The program invites ten cohorts from around the country and from over 15 different institutions, who have been accepted into the summer program, to come and participate in a five week, learning intensive atmosphere. MCSE sponsors the program only has enough funds to grant ten students scholarships for the $3,750 tuition fee. In the hope of giving 15 total students the chance to participate in this outstanding program, instead of the initial ten, MCSE has launched an 18 day campaign with the online site Indiegogo to raise the $5,000 necessary to provide those five students with scholarships. “We are flexible funding and verified non -profit because all of our money is going through Mason, and one of the reasons that we choose Indiegogo as a platform is because of the perks they can give you for […]
Wetlands research facility hosts guests

News April 30, 2013 at 1:46 pm Comments are Disabled

Mason biology students will be presenting results of wetlands research to area high school students on May 10 in the West Campus Wetlands Mesocosm Compound. According to Professor Dr. Changwoo Ahn, wetlands ecologist and associate professor with the Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), the presentation is a part of the Ecological Sustainability class. Ecological Sustainability is a research-intensive course that teaches students how to integrate what they have learned and conduct scientific experiments around the theme of building ecologically sustainable environments to mitigate the effects of wetlands loss and climate change, using the West Campus Wetlands Mesocosm Compound. The compound of medium-sized microcosms is designed specifically for testing and observations of wetland growth and degradation. “Under the theme of ecological sustainability, I’m teaching how to do science, or how to conduct a scientific experiment,” Ahn said. “So a little bit of math and a little bit of science is [in the course], and actually there is a lack of courses where we teach directly to students or where we provide them the opportunity to combine or integrate the things they have learned from courses like chemistry or math or physics into just one course.” Throughout the semester, students are […]
Graffiti marks Mason

Featured, News April 30, 2013 at 1:44 pm Comments are Disabled

Unsolicited artwork around campus costs university thousands in cleanup, removal Bathroom stalls littered with hate-filled sentiments and other ambiguous graffiti across campus has cost Mason thousands of dollars. Although students at Mason tend to create art in acceptable campus locations, more obscure forms of graffiti remain on campus. The kind of spray- painted graffiti normally seen in inner cities and on freight trains is not what is normally popping up around campus, though. It is the drawing on bathroom stalls and occurrences of lesser- known graffiti that are costing money. Recently, some illicit outdoor graffiti has become prominent. “We get occasional reports [of graffiti],” said Sgt. David Ganley of the Mason Police Department. “We’ll have sprees of things like that.” In the past year, tags displaying the word “slick” have cropped up around campus. Appearing anywhere from outside of the Patriot Center to the halls of the Robinson buildings, “slick” has become a dreaded adversary to the Fairfax campus. “As far as that goes, that would be part of an ongoing investigation,” Ganley said. “If people do have information, we encourage them to call our crime solvers tip line here on campus.” The biggest occurrence of the “slick” tag […]
A primer for keeping up with the correct LGBTQ vernacular

Multimedia, News April 28, 2013 at 7:59 pm Comments are Disabled

Andi Johnson has never liked being called “mister” or “sir” and feels out of place when people assume that Johnson identifies as male, simply because of Johnson’s outer appearance. “When being identified by male pronouns, I feel like I’m being pushed into a masculine identity. People expect me to act and be a certain way,” Johnson said. The wide spectrum of identities represented in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ) communities has created a new vocabulary in order to fully include all individuals. A way that sexual minorities have navigated through the limited vocabulary of the English language is by creating gender-neutral pronouns. For example, use of “they” for “he or she,” “them” for “him or her” and “their” for “his or her.” Johnson, communication chair of Pride Alliance, noted language is constantly changing and, in Shakespearean times, there was a singular form of the word “they.” This usage is starting to resurface in order to acknowledge people who may not fit in the gender binary. Other unique lingual adaptations are “xe or ze” for “he or she,” “hir” for “her or him” and “rs” for “hers or his.” “Always ask how to identify a person,” Johnson […]
President Cabrera answers questions on Reddit AMA

News April 23, 2013 at 6:08 pm Comments are Disabled

President Angel Cabrera sat down and answered questions from George Mason’s Subreddit as part of an Ask Me Anything chat on Friday, April 19. Here are several of Cabrera’s responses. Q: I actually went to GWU, not GMU, but I’m interested in knowing how you view your term in office? Is it similar to how President Knapp of GW works (donor focused, leaving the student affairs to the Provost), or more like a Trachtenburg (Student focused, furthering the “campus/student life” mission)? Cabrera: 5 year contract. Functions are both internal and external, with great people helping me on both sides, including our provost Peter Stearns who overseas all academic and student affairs. Q: I am coming from a Graduate Student perspective here, but what is your opinion on the support given to graduate students and their research? My research is heavily into retention and I’m ironically finding that there is not enough helping me stay on this campus due to competition for funding of tuition and networking. Cabrera: We have to do much, much better in graduate student support. It is a priority that we need to solve as soon as we can identify some funding. Q: How can you continue […]
Undergraduate students utilize research program opportunity

News April 23, 2013 at 5:53 pm Comments are Disabled

Making sacrifices is not always easy. Just ask senior sociology major Niah Grimes. Grimes is a full-time student, peer advocate for sexual assault service, employee at Assisting Young Mothers and Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) fellow. OSCAR’s goals include increasing the visibility of undergraduates doing work and increasing opportunities for students in scholarship. The office organizes the URSP, one-on-one student research working alongside a mentor. OSCAR works with departments to organize research projects for students. Last year, Grimes participated in the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program(URSP). Aside from schoolwork and her job, Grimes researches for a minimum of 10 hours per week. Krystal Thomas, a psychology and conflict analysis and resolution major, is also an OSCAR fellow who shares a similar experience. For both Grimes and Thomas, participating in the URSP opened the door for many opportunities, making their sacrifices worthwhile. “The OSCAR program totally shaped my time here at Mason,” Grimes said. “It propelled me forward and gave me the job I have now – it also makes you a stronger applicant for grad school.” At one point, Thomas was a full- time student with 16 credits, a resident advisor, an ambassador at the Office of the […]
State laws cause deficit in budget

News April 23, 2013 at 5:50 pm Comments are Disabled

At a budget town hall on April 15, Senior Vice President J.J. Davis and Provost Peter Stearns discussed increasing student tuition and the 2014 fiscal year budget. Tuition rates are expected to rise, however the exact amount of the increase is yet to be determined. Stearns hopes that it will be less than 4.2 percent, which is the expected increase for other Virginia public universities. “As the state has reduced its taxpayer dollars to Mason and other institutions, we see, nationally, institutions move to a more tuition-based funding solutions,” Davis said. “So the state reduces its money, institutions of higher [education] have to find resources to fund faculty, staff. So increased tuition is a way to offset some of the budget cuts.” Due to funding and enrollment changes, tuition will be increased in order to offset new costs set by the state. As part of the Virginia state budget passed by the General Assembly earlier this year, public higher education institutions are required to increase faculty salaries. For fiscal year 2014, faculty wages will be $12 million of the total university budget. “When the state gives a salary increase, it pays for slightly less than half of it, but we […]
Students petition oil drilling plans

News April 23, 2013 at 5:45 pm Comments are Disabled

Students rally support against seismic airgun testing for oil in the Atlantic Students in bright yellow Hazmat suits and caution tape were an unusual scene at North Plaza on April 17. “This is a metaphor of what has happened in the past and what may happen in the future regarding oil spills that have been going on,” said CJ Duncan, a member of Northern Virginia Community College’s Green Club. The scene, a demonstration put on by a partnership between Global Interdisciplinary Programs, the Environmental Action Group (EAG) and the international non-profit, Oceana, took place in commemoration of the of the third anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred on April 20, 2010. “Offshore drilling is still as dirty and dangerous as it was three years ago,” said Colin Nackerman, a representative from EAG, in a press release about the event. “We need to invest in renewable energy sources like offshore wind, rather than expanding offshore drilling into new areas like the East Coast.” Lisa Breglia, director of Global Interdisciplinary Programs, said that 114 signatures were collected during the event. “Students were initially curious and then enthusiastic about our event,” Breglia said. “They were were familiar with […]
North Korean threats have no effect on international study

Featured, News April 22, 2013 at 8:37 pm Comments are Disabled

Life for families, plans for South Korean Songdo campus continue without interruption Despite the stream of aggressive threats from North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, life at Mason goes on as normal and plans concerning Mason’s South Korea satellite campus continue. The Office of Global and International Strategies announced in statement on April 18 that although they are aware of the threats from North Korea, no advisory has been announced warning against travel to South Korea. “Furthermore, none of Mason’s partner institutions in South Korea have advised their international students to leave South Korea,” the announcement stated. According to Anne Schiller, director of the Office of Global and International Strategies, planning continues as usual. “Student exchange programs in South Korea have not been affected by the threats, either, which are regularly issued by North Korea in moments of presidential transition in South Korea like this one,” Schiller wrote in an email. Some members of the Korean Student Association are not worried about the threats either, explaining that these threats happen often and are not taken seriously. “Their threats have been non-stop throughout their history, since the end of the Korean war,” said Basil Ok, an undeclared sophomore and member of the Korean […]
News&Notes

News April 15, 2013 at 6:29 pm Comments are Disabled

Mason to Offer New Opportunities to Study Science Communication Mason now offers new opportunities to study science communication at the Fairfax campus. Graduate study opportunities include: MA with concentration, Graduate certificate, and Doctoral study. The department also offers graduate specializations in health communication and strategic communication. For more information contact Katherine Rowan or the Department of Communication. Native Plants Society Donates ‘Flora of Virginia’ to Mason Mason’s Ted R. Bradley Herbarium recently added a copy of the official and newly revised “Flora of Virginia”. The book contains keys for identification, taxonomy, habitat and status, and detailed descriptions of each plant. The book will be an invaluable resource for students, faculty, and visitors to the herbarium. Annual Scholarship Celebration Dinner Recognizes Students The annual Scholarship Celebration Dinner on April 4 honored five outstanding students, including the first-ever Black scholars Endowed Scholarship recipient. Seth Robertson, Mackenzie Snider, Jacqueline Koromah-Mitchell, Ryan McCreedy, and Nancy Xiong all received scholarships based on their incredible contribution to the Mason community and academic excellence. April 8 Corrections – In the PRIDE Week Drag show story titled “Annual Drag Show Packs JC”, it was incorrectly stated that there were 16 performances instead of 19. E-Cleff’s name was spelled incorrectly. We apologize for the errors. […]