Editorials

• LETTER FROM THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT: Congratulations to our newly elected officials

  Editorials April 19, 2010 at 2:09 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Senators Jennifer Mancini and James Nance Well, student body, the results are in. Your new president and vice president have been decided. On behalf of Student Government, we would like to congratulate D’Leon Barnett and Jacky Yoo on their win. We are sure to see great things from them in the upcoming year. Student Government would also like to congratulate the 2010-2011 student senators. Also, congratulations to our new supreme dictators of George Mason University: Mhehvish Khan and Jeremy Miller. Good luck to all of you! Along with Kappa Sigma, Senator Nathan Dorfman has spearheaded the effort to raise over $1,400 for Fisher House. Fisher House is a charitable organization that funds the construction of family lodging facilities near military hospitals. Student Government would like to commend the efforts of Senator Dorfman on behalf of Fisher House, which will be opening its doors for eight students from Student Government to tour. Mason Day is right around the corner — April 22. The main event will be in Lot L from 2 p.m. until 10 p.m. Be sure to come for free food, rides, games and Cobra Starship. Student Government will be grilling hamburgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers. Word […]

   

• Actions speak louder: Countries snubbed by Obama Administration

  Editorials April 19, 2010 at 2:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Stephanie Tran, Staff Writer It’s been clear for years now that the United States is on the outs with Iran, North Korea and Syria because of disagreements over each of the countries’ respective nuclear programs. However, last week the problems between the U.S. and each of these countries hit a whole new low. From Monday, April 12 through Tuesday, April 13, Washington D.C. played host to 47 different countries attending the nuclear summit. The goals, according to BBC News, were to “safeguard nuclear stocks and keep material out of terrorists’ hands.” In short, to reduce the numbers of nuclear weapons or amounts of enriched uranium that terrorists could use to make nuclear weapons. While countries are still able to research nuclear power and the agreements made by several countries such as Ukraine, Russia and Mexico are hardly binding, it’s certainly an admirable movement and could be seen as a win for the “War on Terror.” However, it’s not enough. President Obama applauded the summit’s attendees for “[coming] together in a spirit of partnership to embrace our shared responsibility and confront a shared challenge,” yet there’s no doubt that the summit ruffled more than a few feathers. A brief Google […]

   

• Obama’s war on terror: A review of the president’s terrorism policies

  Editorials April 12, 2010 at 1:21 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brandon Minister, Staff Writer A paramount question of the last presidential election concerned the War on Terror. Neither candidate appeared to support the status quo. John McCain argued for a firmer commitment to our position in Iraq, upwards of 100 years if necessary. Opposing the effort was Barack Obama, who argued for a time frame for withdrawal from Iraq and for opening a dialogue with Iran. To offset what might appear a hasty wrapping up of the American offensive in the War on Terror, Obama supported an increase in activity in Afghanistan. Far from cutting and running, candidate Obama appeared to be shrewdly allocating resources for a more successful outcome. Now that his presidency is in its second year, any guiding principle directing Obama’s prosecution of the War on Terror appears incredibly well disguised. Firstly, the nation is no longer in a “War on Terror,” the phrase having been neatly removed from the administration’s vocabulary. Divorcing military action from the terrorism it is designed to stymie threatens to undermine public support on all fronts, not just those that displease the genteel class. Secondly, the public gesture has replaced the private victory. On Sept. 20, 2001, then-President George W. Bush […]

   

• The birds and the lights: Mason’s battle against nature

  Editorials April 12, 2010 at 1:19 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Justin Lalputan, Staff Writer One of the things that I love about George Mason University is that we’re constantly upgrading and improving our campus. One thing that we can say about our campus is that we always have a lot of construction going on. Recently, Mason has decided to upgrade the streetlights and replace them with brighter ones. At first look, this seems like a good move, however, the installation of these new lights may have some unforeseen consequences. At first, when I saw the new lights, I rather liked them. I liked the fact that I no longer tripped over random objects walking back from Ike’s at 4 a.m., and I could also see the faces of people who were also walking around at night. As I was walking one night, I noticed a sound that seemed out of place — the sound of a bird chirping. I checked my watch, which read 2:30 a.m., and thought that it was crazy for birds to be chirping at so early an hour in the morning. After talking to some people, I figured out that the birds could not sleep because of the lights. The new lights are bright, and […]

   

• Letters to the editor: ‘Lalputan only used Google to find terms.'

  Editorials April 12, 2010 at 1:17 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Amy Jenne I understand that everyone has his or her own opinions, but I was very unnerved when I read “New Age Cyberbullying.” I have researched cyberbullying on multiple occasions, and it was apparent to me that Justin Lalputan only used Google to find key terms. He did not really investigate what cyberbullying was or how it has been used. Cyberbullying, also known as electronic bullying or online social cruelty, is defined as “willful and repeated harm inflicted” on others. Technology is being embraced and becoming a dominant medium at a younger age than ever before. In 2007 alone, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry polled students and 42 percent admitted to being bullied through the use of the Internet. Cyberbullying is a huge issue because those who are bullied online are highly likely to skip school, to have detentions or suspensions, to carry a weapon to school or to have severe depression, substance use and delinquency in their lives. Although you, Mr. Lalputan, do not believe that cyberbullying is an issue because you find it laughable, it is an issue. These students who are bullied experience real suffering that can affect not only their emotional development, […]

   

• Mason student strives to prevent sexual assaults: What students should know during this awareness month

  Editorials April 12, 2010 at 1:15 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Alan Moore, Staff Writer April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and it is time that the student body steps up its efforts to end these atrocious acts. This is a difficult topic to stomach because many people know someone who has been a victim, and the subject matter is unpleasant. College students are unique because they hear about sexual assault more often than most people as a result of the sexualized and social environment in which they live. While extremely difficult to talk about, the George Mason University community needs to face these problems and commit to finding workable solutions. Sadly, sexual assault in college is not normally perpetrated by some creep hiding in the shadows. Among college women, nine out of 10 victims knew their assailant. The problem lies in our community and in people we associate with every day. Most have heard the alarming statistics that one in five college women will be a sexual assault victim before they graduate and 95 percent of attacks in college are not reported to law enforcement. Why are these crimes not reported? Many times victims are afraid of the assailant or lack faith in the justice system. So what can […]

   

• The legality of guns on campus: ‘How is our campus safer by taking away our constitutionally protected right to defend ourselves?'

  Editorials April 5, 2010 at 1:14 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Alan Moore, Staff Writer Currently, the Supreme Court is considering McDonald v. Chicago which could determine once and for all if state and local governments have the right to restrict and control gun ownership. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees that an individual has the fundamental right to bear arms in the District of Columbia v. Heller case. If this current gun rights case is overruled, then it is likely that all laws and ordinances prohibiting handguns in states and localities will be nullified. As this landmark case is being considered, it seems prudent to examine the policy on guns at George Mason University. According to University Policy Number 1120, Section 3-A, “The possession of any weapon on campus by any member of the faculty, staff or student body, with the exception of law enforcement officials as cited in the policy portion of this procedure, is prohibited.” The policy first defines weapons as “pistols and revolvers.” The hypocrisy of this policy must be recognized and the regulation repealed. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, you must be 21 to purchase a handgun and/or handgun ammunition. You are not permitted to purchase a firearm if you […]

   

• The smooth operator: Obama employs the art of persuasion

  Editorials April 5, 2010 at 1:12 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Johnetta Saygbe, Broadside Correspondent Everyone in this country uses the art of persuasion; politicians, however, have perfected this art. Politicians innately possess, or have been taught, the ability to present themselves and their platform in a way that is the most pleasing to their audience. While the mode of presentation varies, all persuasive arguments begin at a single point: the speaker must identify an audience and its needs, and then create an environment where the audience feels comfortable with the speaker, which dismisses any skepticism of the argument being presented. On Friday, March 19, 2010, the speaker was the president of the United States, Barack Obama. The audience was the George Mason University community. The topic discussed was change in current health care policies. In order to establish the aforementioned comfort level, President Obama refused to acknowledge the obvious hierarchy that existed between him and his audience. Upon ascending the stage, he immediately removed his suit jacket. His desire to be more comfortable, relinquishing his arms from the restricting threads of a jacket, also brought the audience to an ease. President Obama had the same confidence that most Americans only encounter in reporting. As he stood on that elevated […]

   

• Finding someone to blame: Identifying the ‘nth level cause’ of climate change

  Editorials April 5, 2010 at 1:10 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Bradon T. Minister, Staff Writer Who was the first human to discover cause-and-effect relationships, and how quickly did his peers kill him for his heresy? Until this mysterious human — let’s call him Roger Cavemanson — came along, every action in the world was clearly the work of a capricious god, or possibly a group of such gods. Cavemanson was the first to propose otherwise. For his troubles, he was rewarded with an early grave in a bog. Since then, cause-and-effect has become more fashionable. Five hundred years ago, a bunch of northern Italians laid the foundation for our modern decadent society by basing all learning on the principle. Now, instead of looking for the primary cause of an event, we now look for the nth-level cause — as long as that nth-level cause is something we hate. Thus, someone is not overweight because he happened to consume more calories than he burned, he’s overweight because of Wal-Mart pricing or McDonald’s management politics. The further away we can push the cause, the more peace of mind we have. If I don’t earn enough money and it’s all my fault, I could feel bad about that. If I can instead […]

   

• New age cyberbullying: Next generation of torment or total nonsense?

  Editorials April 5, 2010 at 1:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Justin Lalputan, Staff Writer There have been many fabulous technological advancements in the last two decades. We have iPods, personal computers and have made fantastic use of the Internet. However, along with these improvements, there are a few inevitable downsides. One such is the practice known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is when one person bullies another over the Internet. This can be done through any format: instant messaging, message boards or even online video games. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of cyberbullying occurs between students in middle and high school. This practice has been the cause of numerous incidents in which students have been traumatized or have even caused physical harm to themselves. “Cyberbullies” post mean, derogatory comments about other individuals or spread malicious rumors with the intention of making others feel bad. Cyberbullying gets more serious when people start posting pictures and videos of others on the Internet. I feel that when this happens, the offense can no longer be considered simple cyberbullying — it becomes harassment, which is a different matter altogether. Personally, I cannot believe that this is a problem in today’s society. I can understand why, if it is intense enough, regular bullying can make students […]