Editorials

• Housing selection rears its head

  Editorials February 4, 2013 at 1:12 pm Comments are Disabled

  The last thing on anyone’s mind when coming back from a long winter break is housing. We have not even been in school for two whole weeks and we already have to decide where we want to live during the 2013-2014 school year. As a sophomore, I am already somewhat familiar with the process of housing but as a freshman, the whole process can be just added stress. When I was first accepted to George Mason, filling out the housing application was simple; you answered questions about what you did and didn’t want in a roommate, decided where you wanted to live, and then the University did the rest. However, the housing selection process has changed a bit since my days as a freshman. To begin, you must figure out what kind of group you want to be. From all the housing selection information meetings which I’ve attended, groups of four have always been strongly recommended. Finding a group of four definitely looks better written on paper. For example, you might have a group of friends all of whom want to live in different places with different people, making it difficult to form a group of four friends. If anything, […]

   

• Everyone judges, everyone hates it

  Editorials February 4, 2013 at 1:11 pm Comments are Disabled

  Everyone judges. Unless you are affiliated with Mother Teresa or Gandhi, I am sure you have passed judgment sometime in your life. What organization someone is affiliated with causes judgment, what you wear, what you believe, who your friends are. These are all things that people pass judgment on. I know I am guilty of it just like everyone else but in my opinion everyone is entitled to what they want to say. Everyone has an opinion and whether you personally agree with that opinion, is it really worth the argument? Of course there are people that love to debate and argue but personally I am not one of those people, especially when it comes to something as petty as what student organization you are involved in or what you choose to wear. The people who act as though they are the victims of judgment or say they don’t judge are usually the worst judgers of all. When people follow the stereotypes that society has created, that’s when the competition of what is ‘cool and uncool’ or what is important and not important comes into play. Our university’s student organizations for example are pinned against one another. Who cares what […]

   

• Relationship Status: It’s Complicated

  Editorials January 29, 2013 at 9:10 pm Comments are Disabled

  If I were in a relationship with George Mason University, I’d consider breaking up. Yes, I love Mason and we’ve been together for two and a half years now, but something is lacking. The most important factor in any relationship, whether it is romantic, platonic or professional, is communication and Mason and I just can’t seem to get on the same level. Both as an editor at the newspaper and a student, I often feel as though I’m out of touch with what goes on at the Fairfax campus, not to mention the comings and goings of Prince William and Arlington. I cannot even count the number of times I have heard music blasting from the Johnson Center, only to stumble upon a huge event that I had not heard even a whisper of. If it’s difficult for me, I can’t even begin to think how commuter and off-campus students feel. The worst is when I get an email time-stamped after the start time of an event or past the deadline for an internship. Thanks for the descriptive paragraph that piques my interest for something that no longer exists, Mason. As the new editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, the problems […]

   

• JC Cinema Shows Golden Globe Winning Argo

  Editorials, Lifestyle January 29, 2013 at 8:51 pm Comments are Disabled

  The Johnson Center is screening a highly praised film, Argo, from Jan. 26 to Feb. 2. Tickets are free with a Mason ID, $1 for faculty and $3 general admission. Ben Affleck directs and stars in the thriller about the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran (IMDb). The movie times are either 6 p.m. or 9 p.m. Many moviegoers have admired the film, including revered film critic Roger Ebert, who awarded it the Best Picture of the Year. Along with Ebert’s award, it also won the Best Motion Picture-Drama at the Golden Globes and was nominated for Best Picture in the Academy Awards. I saw the film on its first weekend and fell in love with it, along with the rest of America.  It is a great story that delves deep into how the mission is executed and the conflicts that occur for the CIA in orchestrating the mission, as well as the diplomats in Iran who struggle to stay alive. The film has its historical flaws. For example, demonizing the British for turning away the America Personnel. In reality the British actually housed the six Americans but believed that the […]

   

• Overheard at Mason

  Editorials, Lifestyle January 29, 2013 at 8:42 pm Comments are Disabled

  My friends have said, on several occasions, that I should not eavesdrop. But here’s the thing: the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines eavesdrop as “to listen secretly to what is said in private.” By that definition, I would not consider what I do to be eavesdropping. In no way does the fifth row from the back of the lecture hall qualify as a private space. What is said there is said in public. I just got back from class and I am setting the scene for a story I am telling my friends about a pair of individuals I overheard talking before the lecture started. “Barely anyone else in the room was talking.” “You would think they would realize how loud they were talking.” I begin to describe the individuals picking out definable qualities; “The one on the left had this unusually high ponytail that mirrored the movements of her mouth while she talked,” and “The other one had this ugly pink sweater that literally made everything around her the same ugly color.” Using bits and pieces of what I have overheard, I put together as much as I can about what it is they are talking about. The ponytail girl is […]

   

• Patriots Activity Council hosts inauguration party

  Editorials January 29, 2013 at 8:39 pm Comments are Disabled

  On Nov. 6, Mason became a campus that helped vote Obama into his second term. The night of Jan. 25, Mason celebrated that effort. The event, titled as the Inaugural Ball 2013, was a high energy dance party decorated in American, Democratic pride. Red, white and blue hats were scattered on the tables, along with free food and a cake featuring the American flag. An array of balloons hung from the ceiling, waiting to be dropped on the frenzied dance-floor at midnight. The crowd was a pleasant mix of people wearing both casual and formal clothing – among them was an ecstatic pair dressed as a snowman and penguin. All cheered in excitement as the balloons showered them, officially commemorating their political accomplishment. From pounding mainstream dance songs played by DJ Rush Hour to a more alternative live band by the name of “Monster Band,” it was an occasion that catered to several tastes. The event was a celebration of the re-election of President Obama, but it had another theme tied in. “It’s honestly a partisan-friendly event,” said Robert “Bobby” Hagans, the student Lead Director of the Patriot Activities Counsel that organized the event. “The idea is for everyone to […]

   

• Con Gun Control

  Editorials January 29, 2013 at 8:32 pm Comments are Disabled

  The issue of gun control is one of the most contested ones in our country. Every election cycle it’s discussed, but it’s normally pushed under the rug because at the end of the day most politicians don’t want to go near the issue. Every time our nation sees a tragedy such as the movie theatre shooting in Aurora or the evil attacks on elementary schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, the first thing people, especially the media, resort to is increasing gun control. Increasing gun control will not stop these sorts of tragedies from happening. Even with more gun control, people will still find a way to acquire weapons on the black market. The bigger issue here is the mental health of these evil attackers. I am not against increasing background checks on all weapons purchased, so we can stop those with problems from acquiring weapons and ammo, but it is not the government’s place to tell me which weapons and magazines I can or cannot buy. Areas that ban guns completely, known as “Gun Free Zones”, such as here on Mason’s campus create a dangerous environment for people to be in. I pray that we never see the […]

   

• Pro Gun Control

  Editorials January 29, 2013 at 8:28 pm Comments are Disabled

  As a kid raised in rural Vermont, guns are nothing new to me. I have never found it to be surprising or unsettling to know that my neighbors, classmates and teachers all own guns. During certain times of the year, hunting is a perfectly viable excuse to miss school. So it may strike you as odd that I’m the one writing about why we need more gun control in this country. But it is impossible to ignore the events in the past decade, let alone the past year. Towns like Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut now carry with them the heavy burden of what happens when evil is given access to tools to perpetrate such evil. As a nation, we cannot idly allow events of such a nature pass by through our news cycle without doing anything to prevent the next one from happening. Gun control is by no means a singular issue; it is a multi-dimensional problem with no single solution. I do not want to ban guns, but there is absolutely no good reason that guns with the capability to slaughter twenty children and six adults in less than an hour should be legal. For anyone. We need […]

   

• The Carouser Report: Wino Revolution

  Editorials November 19, 2012 at 1:48 pm Comments are Disabled

  I love wine. Correction: I love super crappy wine. I am realizing this as I read the headline of the Huffington Post: The Rocky Mountain High just got a whole lot higher. “God, I love America,” I laugh to myself as I guzzle down my sixth glass of the evening. I swirl the reddish nectar around in the glass and begin to float off into that deep introspective space your mind sometimes takes you to, especially when you’ve been drinking too much wine. As I wander off, I begin to ponder what place wine holds in relation to the college booze culture. Beer has obviously made a name for itself, there is no denying that. But it has always been a drink consumed in large quantities. Even liquor, the most rotten and foul of all booze, is cherished by many. But wine is something different altogether.  It represents a change in drinking etiquette. We have taken the bourgeois aspect out of wine drinking and replaced it with our beastly binge drinking instincts. We are heathen gods when it comes to downing wine. Have you ever witnessed a round of slap the bag? It’s barbaric: slapping the bladder of wine, while […]

   

• Everyday Should Be Veterans Day

  Editorials November 19, 2012 at 1:43 pm Comments are Disabled

  As the cold weather begins to set in, students have begun setting their sights on the Thanksgiving break that is rapidly approaching. Others look forward to the winter holiday season or simply an extended break from the tedious and mundane college class schedule. No matter in which category you reside, this a time of gratitude and a season of giving.  It is an occasion of celebration, and an opportunity to show appreciation for those who have given everything for the well being of this great nation: the United States Armed Forces. While Memorial Day is appropriately set aside to honor our fallen heroes, those who made the ultimate sacrifice, Veterans Day is intended to honor all of our military veterans – including the nearly 23 million living men and women – who have dedicated their lives to service. Unfortunately, oftentimes, the mention of veterans brings about connotations of warriors. It promotes images of barbarians, instead of figures of service and sacrifice. As Hurricane Sandy inflicted destruction across the East Coast, members of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard gathered at March Air Reserve Base in California, preparing to trek more than 3,000 miles to assist their fellow Americans. […]