Editorials

• Time for a More Reasonable Drug Policy

  Editorials March 26, 2012 at 3:55 pm Comments are Disabled

  The rules set forth by George Mason University’s Board of Visitors and the Office of Student Conduct not only hinder student learning and engagement but also discourage it. Under the current university policy, if you are caught on first offense with any possession of marijuana, you are likely to be suspended “from the University for a minimum of one academic semester.” This isn’t the case for the possession of or drinking alcohol, which is illegal for those under 21 and something a lot of college students do frequently on this campus. Who’s to say what is worse for you: marijuana or alcohol? All I know is that they’re both “bad,” and alcohol is illegal for a majority of Mason’s undergraduate population. The university’s policies are also far more strict than those of the Commonwealth of Virginia and of comparable sister institutions like James Madison University. JMU, for example, has a three-strike policy related to marijuana. Why should someone get kicked off campus and out of their classes for an entire semester because of a little bit of pot? How does that policy “foster student engagement” and learning? It obviously doesn’t. I’m not trying to say there shouldn’t be any consequences […]

   

• Student Government Monthly

  Editorials March 26, 2012 at 3:54 pm Comments are Disabled

  Welcome back to another exciting Student Government Monthly! We hope everyone had a safe and fun spring break. It’s that time of year again. SG will host its fourth annual Academic Advising Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday in Dewberry Hall, located on the bottom floor of the Johnson Center. Faculty and staff from more than 20 departments and offices on campus will be at the event to answer students’ questions. This event is one way the administration supports the student body with respect to vital aspects of the college experience such as academic advising. Students are encouraged to attend the AAE where they can ask questions, find out who their advisor is and receive on-the-spot advice about their academic plans. But wait, there’s more! Free food will be provided along with a chance to win a free general lot parking pass. All who attend and are advised will be entered in a raffle for the parking pass, which is valid for one semester. Raffle winners who have already purchased their passes for the fall 2012 semester may redeem the prize for cash back or an upgrade. Students can also purchase $1 tickets for a raffle to win […]

   

• Kony 2012: Why Should Americans Care?

  Editorials March 26, 2012 at 3:54 pm Comments are Disabled

  “There’s nothing worse than attempted murder of possibility,” tweeted Ben Keesey, the CEO of Invisible Children. The Kony 2012 movement has flooded our newsfeeds and Twitter pages for the last two and a half weeks, and I am not complaining. The non-profit that raises awareness about Joseph Kony and the gruesome acts of his Lord’s Resistance Army has received an exuberant response to their 30-minute documentary. The film highlights the history of the LRA, their terrorizing of vulnerable and innocent children and the fear Joseph Kony has spread over Northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. Jason Russell, the director and creative mind behind the film, tells the audience to join him in making Kony famous. Through social media and the power of unity, Invisible Children’s goal is to end Kony’s reign of terror. The question isn’t why should you care. The question is why shouldn’t you. Everyday, children are kidnapped, drugged and forced to be sex slaves or soldiers in a war with no purpose and, if we ignore that, we continue to let it happen. But with the help of George Mason University’s Invisible Children Club, ignoring Kony and his […]

   

• What Do Multiple Choice Exams Prove?

  Editorials March 26, 2012 at 3:52 pm Comments are Disabled

  Are you someone like me, who can answer all the questions during class but fails to do well on your multiple-choice exams? The first few semesters of college my grades suffered — not because I didn’t know the material, but because I generally don’t do well on anything multiple-choice related. Frustrated with the poor results from all the time and effort I put into studying, I began to question if multiple-choice is even an accurate way of measuring how much a person really knows. How many times have you not studied for an exam but still managed to receive a decent grade on your multiple-choice exam? I have many friends who have gotten away with that, whereas I would pull all-nighters studying and end up with a significantly lower grade . Bubbling random answers without even understanding the course material and then receiving credit for something unintentional seemed nothing short of unfair. Essay exams are a more accurate reflection of how much people understand the material, because they either know the material or they don’t. Not only do essay exams accurately measure how much we know, it encourages us to come up with creative ways to respond to a question […]

   

• Is Student Government Just for Fun?

  Editorials March 26, 2012 at 3:50 pm Comments are Disabled

  Student Senator Donald Garrett recently resigned from the Student Government following a movement for his impeachment. This article is not necessarily about the merits of Garrett’s proposed lawsuit on the state level, which raised SG’s concerns, nor is it about the earlier feud between Michael Jordan and Matthew Short. This article is about the general attitude exhibited by many members of Student Senate concerning the office to which they’ve been elected. In an online video available via Connect2Mason, many student senators voice their opinions regarding the lawsuit that was raised for initially choosing to vote via secret ballot. According to the meeting’s minutes, senators felt that retribution might be sought against them if they openly declared loyalty to a specific side on an issue. Certainly, voting by secret ballot is illegal under the Freedom of Information Act. Taxpayer money funds George Mason University, which in turn funds SG. It’s frustrating to see almost all student senators say, “Well, I didn’t expect to get sued,” or “Well, this is a club. I came here to have fun!” While I personally don’t believe in litigation as a means of conflict resolution, I can tell you I would never break the law to […]

   

• Due Process and Constitutional Rights Are Being Threatened

  Editorials March 26, 2012 at 3:46 pm Comments are Disabled

  On March 5, 2012, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder gave a speech at the Northwestern University Law School about the legality of using lethal force against potential “terrorists.” Holder defended the use of drones and air strikes to kill and assassinate anyone who poses an “imminent threat” to US interests. Furthermore, he stated that even American citizens abroad can be targeted in such a fashion without any due process or legal oversight, as was the case with Anwar-al-Awlaki.  Such efforts to legalize extrajudicial programs follow a historical pattern of restricting rights.  Eager to preserve national security, many past administrations had taken solid—but profoundly unjust and unconstitutional—moves that deliberately restricted constitutional rights and liberties of certain individuals, groups, and ethnicities. In the book “War and Liberty,” Geoffrey Stone contends that the “United States has had a long and unfortunate history of overreacting to the perceived dangers of wartime.” Such overreactions excessively limited civil liberties, and were later regretted.  Some historical examples, as stated in “War and Liberty,” include the Sedition Act of 1798 which, signed by President John Adams during the confrontation with France, made it “a crime for any person to make any statement against the president, the congress, or […]

   

• Greek Week: ’90s Style

  Editorials March 26, 2012 at 3:43 pm Comments are Disabled

  ­­­­­­­­It’s March. Enter spring weather, midterms and cravings for summer. Oh, and we can’t forget about Greek Week: the one week each year dedicated to the Greek organizations at Mason. Seeing as how there’s no Greek row (in fact, no Greek housing at all) and practically no acknowledgement whatsoever that Greek life exists here, it’s the least this school can do for the Greek system. Don’t know what Greek Week entails? Don’t worry. Simply read on for a very opinionated and biased overview. Basically, Greek Week is a giant competition between all the Greek organizations. Six Pan-Hellenic sororities and 16 Interfraternal Council fraternities, along with those Greek organizations in the Multicultural Greek Council and National Pan-Hellenic Council, participate in Greek Week. Every Greek group has the option of taking part in Greek Week, but not all choose to. Those that do, however, must partake in all sorts of shenanigans before and during Greek Week. Said shenanigans are quite noticeable to the rest of the student body and are generally a source of irritation to those who are not affiliated with Greek organizations. As someone who belongs to a Greek organization and contributes to these shenanigans, I would like to apologize. […]

   

• Snookinomics

  Editorials March 8, 2012 at 1:00 pm Comments are Disabled

  Imagine a person who embodies all the virtues of free-market capitalism. I’m guessing Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is at the bottom of your list. Let me explain why she should be at the top. Snooki is a great example of the relationship between wages and productivity, which is one of the tightest statistical correlations in the social sciences. You might not like the fact that Snooki gets paid millions of dollars to get drunk and make imprudent decisions. However, if she weren’t incredibly productive, MTV wouldn’t be paying her a dime. MTV doesn’t pay Snooki millions as an expression of altruism. It pays her millions because she produces droves of a good for which consumer demand is exceptionally high: entertainment. Snooki has generated more economic activity over the past few years than many of us will in an entire lifetime. Consider how many people are employed as a direct result of the immense popularity of “Jersey Shore” — directors, producers, cameramen, film editors and publicists, not to mention all of the people working for companies whose products Snooki endorses. This is to say nothing of Viacom’s shareholders, who saw the company’s domestic ad revenues go up by eight percent in 2010, […]

   

• Disney Creates the Norm

  Editorials March 8, 2012 at 12:53 pm Comments are Disabled

  We were all five once — that age when we were transfixed by beloved Disney characters. The funny thing is that back then, we probably never realized how these children’s movies perpetuate the privileged status of heterosexuality. “Heterosexuality is constructed through hetero-romantic love relationships as exceptional, powerful, magical, and transformative,” said Karin A. Martin and Emily Kazyak, the authors of “Hetero-Romantic Love and Heterosexiness in Children’s G-Rated Films.” The researchers explained that by the time children enter elementary school, they have a general heteronormative understanding of the world. “Heteronormativity structures social life so that heterosexuality is always assumed, expected, ordinary and privileged,” Martin and Kazyak said. “Its pervasiveness makes it difficult for people to imagine other ways of life.” Many people claim they support their children in whatever relationship choice they make, but it’s important to note that these same people also show their children Disney movies, thereby reinforcing a heteronormative worldview. Parents and guardians are often unaware of the heteronormative effect of the media. They view these movies as nothing more than entertainment. They fail to see that these very media are helping to shape their children’s identities at an early age. So how do these movies influence identity? […]

   

• Humiliating the Film Industry

  Editorials March 8, 2012 at 12:52 pm Comments are Disabled

  In cinema today, there are some spectacular actors. They light up the screen and always put on terrific performances. This article is not about them. This article is about the scum of the screen. It’s about the worst actors of our generation. It’s about those actors who can single-handedly ruin a movie. Let’s count them down, shall we? Number five: Keanu Reeves. There are a couple reasons Keanu Reeves does not rank higher on this list. The first is that all the other actors are just worse than he is. The second is “The Matrix” — just “The Matrix,” — not the “Matrix Reloaded,” “Matrix Revolutions” or “Enter the Matrix.” And definitely not “Constantine,” “Speed” or “Something’s Gotta Give.” Other than “The Matrix,” Keanu has produced, at best, mediocre films with poor plot lines and bad acting. Not to mention he looks like a homeless person 90 percent of the time. Number four: Paul Walker. Let’s talk about the “The Fast and the Furious” movies for a hot second. I’ll go ahead and say it: Those movies are straight up amazing. Like, incredible. I love those movies, all five of them. They’re so good. They are wildly entertaining and a […]