News

Global Education holds event highlighting new programs

News February 21, 2013 at 12:53 pm Comments are Disabled

A university heavily involved in politics and global affairs, Mason boasts a far-reaching study abroad program that lets students choose from a list of 45 different sites around the world. From summer and winter break programs to semester-long offerings and even internships abroad, there is truly something for everyone, regardless of whether one is looking to earn credit for a major, gain work experience or simply explore the unknown. This year alone, the Center for Global Education is offering nine brand-new programs, including two intensive language study programs (Italian in Bologna and Arabic in Morocco), an internship in Rabat, psychology in Cyprus, Arab Spring at Oxford and a British Invasion music course in England, among others. The CGE uses a variety of methods to develop new study abroad programs. Not only do they receive proposals from faculty members hoping to look at a question or an area of study in-depth, but they also monitor the student body to see if there is any interest in a certain program, says CGE General Manager Marie Alice Arnold. Paige Impink, a junior double-majoring in English and communications, traveled to Granada last summer for a four-week language intensive program in Spanish; Rachel Bruns, a senior […]
LGBT community comments on satisfaction at Mason

News February 21, 2013 at 12:51 pm Comments are Disabled

Lesbian, gay, bisexual give Mason 7.5 rating where as transsexual give 4.5 On Jan. 29, President Angel Cabrera tweeted that satisfaction ratings for the LGBT community on campus was 7.5 for “LGB” and 4.5 for “T”. Cabrera was able to glean this rating from his visit to the Office of LGBTQ Resources, where he asked students to give Mason a generalized rating out of 10 based on their satisfaction with its LGBTQ policies and their overall experience with their fellow students and faculty. For lesbian, gay and bisexual students, the rating was relatively high. According to the Campus Climate Index, a national listing of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities, George Mason University scored a 4/5 based on elements such as LGBT academic life, student life, campus safety and counseling and health. Two areas in which Mason scored poorly were LGBT policy inclusion and housing and residence life. Ric Chollar, Associate Director of the Office of LGBTQ Resources, says the problem starts higher up. “Being in the state of Virginia, and being a public institution, the restrictions on LGBTQ folks in Virginia apply to us as well.” According to Chollar, there is currently no protection for transgender and gender variant students and faculty […]
Education Meets Opportunity at Career Fair

News February 21, 2013 at 12:49 pm Comments are Disabled

National employers will look for potential candidates All Mason students and alumni will have the chance to network with dozens of employers, thanks to the upcoming career fair hosted by University Career Services. The fair will be held on Feb. 20 and 21 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Dewberry Hall of the Johnson Center. A wide variety of local, national and international employers—from AOL to The Institute of World Politics—will comprise the 180 employers in attendance at the fair. There are not going to be employers from just one particular sector; all majors from all schools are welcome to attend. There will, however, be certain employers that students may be particularly interested in. Career Fair Manager Bernadette Davey highlighted several companies from different fields that may be appealing to students. ISOM Global Strategies is a company that provides full-service marketing, communication and management services for government, corporate and commercial clients. Internships and part-time openings are available for anyone interested in event planning, graphic design, web development, project management or communication. For information technology or engineering students, Palantir Technologies has a variety of positions available. The company was named one of the Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2012 and […]
Mason’s Interim Chief works to ensure transparency

Featured, News February 17, 2013 at 6:10 pm Comments are Disabled

The quick change in leadership at the Mason Police Department during the latter half of the Fall 2012 semester put Drew Tracey into the role of Interim Police Chief at the department. In the ten weeks that has served as the leader of the department with 58 sworn officers, Tracey has worked towards making the station more open to the public. Broadside initially approached Tracey on the topic of the police department complaint report system. The Mason Police Department has released reports from 2008, 2009 and 2010 that detail the complaints filed against the department during that specific calendar year. Such complaints range in severity from off-duty assaults to unprofessional conduct. While the released reports have no problems, as of Jan. 1, 2013, the department had yet to released a report for 2011. “We are actually not required to release it,” Tracey said, about the location of the 2011 report, “but why don’t we just do it anyway?” According to standards set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), departments located on a university are technically not required to release complaint reports publicly. However, that did not sit well with Chief Tracey. “I’m real big on […]
Cabrera outlines his new vision for Mason

Featured, News February 17, 2013 at 6:03 pm Comments are Disabled

Dr. Angel Cabrera had an assignment at hand when the Mason Board of Visitors tasked him with creating a new vision for the university. In only nine months on the job, the time it takes to complete one academic year, President Cabrera was expected to not only become familiar with and understand the largest university in the state, but to redesign its role in the future of higher education for the state, country and world. “There is one component that talks about what shouldn’t change, and then a part that talks about what should change. Both are equally important because what we’re trying to do here is hey, there are some features about this university, values, shared beliefs, that have been essential to bring us to where we are,” Cabrera said. “The second part is that now we are in the 21st century, things are happening around us. The challenges we face are not the same challenges that Dr. Johnson faced 34 years ago or Dr. Merten faced 16 years ago, they’re different, so how do we deal with them?” With the help and input from people from around the Mason community, Cabrera has completed a first draft and is […]
Hillel hosts German Embassy for Shabbat

News, News1 February 14, 2013 at 2:04 pm Comments are Disabled

Building bridges across cultural and linguistic barriers is a complex and delicate task, yet it yields many worthwhile rewards. George Mason University Hillel, the center for Jewish life on Mason’s campus, attempted to do just that last Friday night during their weekly Shabbat dinner at the Hub, in which they invited the Federal Republic of Germany’s Embassy along with a few young German professionals to promote German-Jewish dialogue. Hillel director Ross Diamond was aware that it was much easier for people to relate to others with a similar background and language as them, so he actively encouraged the various attendees to get to know each other. “We’re all humans here,” Diamond said. “We all want to sit with people who we can speak the same language with or who look a little like us, but I’d like it if everyone took the intentionality to sit with people who they may have a keen interest in finding out their story.” The evening began with an opportunity for the students to introduce themselves to each other, followed by a Shabbat service, which involved the singing of traditional Hebrew prayers, led by Mason students Marissa Arager and Erez Cramer. “Shabbat is just […]
Students give a face and story to statistics at first annual Mason Lobbies

Featured, News, News1 February 13, 2013 at 3:22 pm Comments are Disabled

“Democracy is messy, it’s noisy, it’s complex. But in a very deep way, it’s amazing,” said President Angel Cabrera to a group of Mason students who travelled down to Richmond for Mason’s first lobbying day. “You’re going to be a part of the process today.” The students, who traded in their T-shirts for blazers for the day, spent Feb. 7 talking to Virginia state delegates and sena- tors to off er a personal touch to the statistics lawmakers consider when doling out state funds to universities. “Th is is the best possible way of telling folks what’s happening at our beloved university,” said delegate David Ramadan (87th district). Mason Lobbies is a new initiative put together by the student government to allow students, alumni and faculty to share what they love about Mason. I think they get tired of seeing the admin-istrators and presi-dents, but they love seeing students; so, it’s really important that you’re here to- day because you tell the George Mason story best -Laura Fornash, Secretary of Education Forty-three current students and 15 alumni, along with a bevy of faculty from offices across campus, showed up to represent the university. “Today is so important for you to […]
Photo of the week: Taking advantage of the weather

Multimedia, News, News1 February 4, 2013 at 2:41 pm Comments are Disabled

Junior Alex Budnick utilizes the fresh snow by visiting Liberty Mountain in southern Pennsylvania. Unseasonably warm weather put a strain on local ski resorts earlier in the season, but the recent cold weather and snow has allowed area snowboarders and skiers to visit the mountains.
Sophomore convinces world-renowned experts to speak at Mason

Featured, Multimedia, News, News1 February 4, 2013 at 12:56 pm Comments are Disabled

Rejection knocks most people down, but when sophomore Peter Pham is on a mission, it is hard to tell him no. Pham, an integrated studies major, spent months trying to get in touch with some of the most intelligent and respected professionals in the international relations field and was discouraged to learn that his phone calls and emails were largely ignored or fielded by secretaries. So he decided to try something different. This past summer Pham took a road trip and visited his idols in person to convince them to come to Mason and speak to his Patriots for Foreign Service club. His trip covered ground between the University of Chicago, Princeton, Harvard and Yale. Perseverance paid off, and Pham was able to convince Dr. Joseph Nye, the former dean of the Kennedy School at Harvard, a renowned political scientist to speak in Dewberry Hall at 9 a.m. on Feb. 6 to speak on the presidential advancement of American foreign policy in the twentieth century. The event is open to the public and Pham encourages anyone with an interest in foreign service, despite their degree program, to attend. “We are looking for people who want to work in foreign service, […]
Exhibit showcases new international campus in Korea

Featured, Multimedia, News, News1 February 4, 2013 at 12:55 pm Comments are Disabled

Far from the humdrum suburbs of Fairfax, Mason’s new satellite campus is becoming a reality in Incheon, South Korea. To introduce the new campus in a more visual way, the Office of Global and International Studies is hosting an exhibit in the Johnson Center 123 Gallery from Feb. 4-8 each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. “This will be a Mason campus with its own personality,” said Anne Schiller, Vice President for Global and International Strategies. “It will be both different and familiar and help students expand their global understanding.” Set to accept its first Mason students in 2014, Songdo Mason is a university built into the concept of an aerotropolis, or an airport city. Built on 1,500 acres of land reclaimed from the sea, Incheon, located near the capitol city of Seoul, is within three and a half hours of one quarter of the world’s population. “East Asia has always been an area of commitment for Mason,” Schiller said. “This is a natural continuation of the commitment Mason already made with the Korean government.” Songdo University Global Campus is one of many initiatives in a city that hopes to become the world’s gateway to East Asia. “American education […]