Editorials

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  Green Colleen: Brownie Bliss

  Editorials November 5, 2012 at 11:57 am Comments are Disabled

  There is nothing better than a warm, chocolatey gooey brownie. That is, until you add something in the middle. I try to bake something for the Broadside staff each week during deadline, but I wanted to do something a little more exciting than your basic brownie. I also had a bag of peppermint patties in my room that I needed to remove from temptation. It was a perfect combination. I baked the patties right in to the brownies, creating a cool minty bite in the middle of the chocolate confection. I always like the corner brownies best, so I made my brownies in muffin tins to give each one a bit of crunch on the edges. The method is simple. Simply put together a brownie mix, either homemade or boxed, as you usually would. Pour half of the batter into the pan, then drop peppermint patties in. Fill the rest of the muffin cups or brownie pan with batter. Bake at recommended temperature and time. Be careful not to eat the brownies too quickly. The peppermint patty centers may be much hotter than the exterior brownie. If you’re not a fan of minty candy, you could subsitute the patties for […]

   

• Harvest Moon Cafe Provides Creative Performance Venue for Students

  Editorials November 5, 2012 at 11:42 am Comments are Disabled

  The Johnson Center Bistro is silent except for a single voice infiltrating the darkness from the stage at the front of the room: “I know now that he will never go away. He will never leave me alone. The Scary Man will always be there, hidden in the darkness of my room.” The audience listens rapt as Kathryn Makin, a senior at Mason, reads her short story Shadows in the Dark, which won second place in a contest hosted by Volition, Mason’s undergraduate literary magazine. When she finishes, her voice fading into silence, a wave of appreciative applause goes up among the wooden tables scattered about the restaurant. Welcome to Harvest Moon Café, a Halloween-themed event organized by Volition, the student-run creative magazine and WGMU, the student-run radio station, that incorporated everything from costumes and live music to open-mic poetry and short story readings and, of course, free food. Although originally planned for October 30, the event was postponed for a day due to Hurricane Sandy. Even so, the JC Bistro was full of people eager to celebrate Halloween by listening to their fellow students share their work and local bands perform their songs. WGMU recruited The Ash Lovelies and […]

   
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  Jersey Native Laments Sandy’s Effect on the Shore

  Editorials, Multimedia November 5, 2012 at 11:21 am Comments are Disabled

  There is nothing more frustrating or painful than watching as your hometown is torn apart while you sit in safety several hours away. Hurricane Sandy struck my hometown, Toms River,  N.J., on Sunday Oct. 28.  The storm hit the shore full force and in the course of one night, everything that I loved about growing up on the Jersey Shore was completely wiped out. It may just seem like childhood memories to some, but my entire life was spent on the beaches and boardwalks that Sandy stole from us. The first roller coaster that I ever rode is now just a twisted piece of metal. The boardwalk that I have walked every summer since before I was old enough to remember is left in splinters, in the sections where there is boardwalk left, that is. There are some places where it is just gone all together. The ocean has completely overtaken the beaches that I used to lounge on for days at a time.  It was where I laughed, and played and learned about everything that I love about life. From the comfortable bubble that is Mason, it is hard to see the true impact of Hurricane Sandy. Sure, it […]

   
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  Mason Exemplifies Future of Higher Education

  Editorials November 5, 2012 at 11:11 am Comments are Disabled

  Only at Mason. Many institutions across the nation cancelled classes early last week. They notified students and staff through various outlets with text alerts, emails, impersonal social media updates and web postings among the most prominent. Not at Mason. Only as Patriots can students and staff tune in to the Twitter feed of the university president to obtain such valuable information. Only as Patriots can we interact and inquire about certain decisions directly with those responsible for making decisions. Last Sunday evening, Dr. Ángel Cabrera took to the Twitter-verse to update students on the operating status of the university. He kept students informed by announcing the times during which the Emergency Operations group would be meeting to make decisions. He passed along hurricane survival tips and reminded his followers to charge their cell phones to prepare for a power outage. And, perhaps most importantly, Cabrera made himself available to students and answered questions regarding operating status. In addressing the Twitter-verse, Cabrera gave students instant, up-to-the-minute access to the decision-making process. His announcement came before the Mason website carried the information, and it came before the university social media accounts presented the information. Former president Dr. Alan Merten instilled a desire […]

   

• The Carouser Report: Home is Where the Booze is At

  Editorials October 31, 2012 at 11:01 am 1 comment

  I am sitting at the bar, alone.  Constantly shoving the cold bottle to my lips and keeping my cigarette properly ashed are the two things distracting me from the evening news. I dare not look. Looking into the depths of a used toilet might be more productive than watching the onslaught of reporting on the presidential race. Tweedldee and Tweedledum, the two girls to my left, are having a most interesting conversation. I cannot help myself from tuning in. It is a triumphant dialogue – a personal boozography – of their time in college.  House hopping at Virginia Tech, bar crawling the streets of University of Maryland, and fratting it up down at Radford are among the highlights. And then, as I’ve heard it a million times before – a statement that has come to define Mason – they end with: “OMG, Mason just doesn’t know how to party.” They are not the first and will certainly not be the last to utter these words. What the Mason community most commonly misunderstands is the farfetched idea that, one, Mason is not a party school, and two, the student population should strive to make Mason’s party community similar to those of […]

   

• Mason Athletes Obtain Academic Excellence

  Editorials October 31, 2012 at 10:39 am Comments are Disabled

  The time commitment involved in being a college athlete is similar to holding a full-time job that requires frequent business trips and out-of-office demands that stretch far beyond the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. work day. While no athlete could realistically claim that playing a college sport does not come with a lifetime of valued memories, the fact of the matter is that the taxing schedules of these athletes are much unlike the schedules of other students on campus. Still, student-athletes, just as normal students, have enrolled at Mason with one common goal: graduate with a degree at one of the most prestigious universities in Virginia. In a recent study released by the NCAA, the association found that student-athletes who enrolled at Mason from 2002-05 – and, therefore, graduated between 2006-10 – scored a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 80 percent. According to the study, men’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s rowing, women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball all finished with a perfect score of 100 percent and eleven teams scored greater than 80 percent. Such astounding statistics are certainly not unheard of in the association, but the accomplishments of these athletes should be applauded and recognized as […]

   

• Hateful Freedom of Speech

  Editorials October 23, 2012 at 11:01 am Comments are Disabled

  In recent months, an advertisement was put up in the New York Subway system that read, “In a war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”  This advertisement raised much controversy even before it filled 400 different subway stations. Although at first the New York Transportation Authority rejected the advertisement, it was still protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Not only is the advertisement biased, it is also extreme and hateful. Referring to this advertisement directly, the words are of pure ignorance, hatred, and fear. Although the First Amendment is used to back up these hateful postings, I am left wondering; when does it become too much? When is it decided and by whom is it decided that freedom of speech could also become the freedom of hate? Under the First Amendment, anyone’s opinions are protected. Hate groups trying to undermine minority groups and religion abuse the luxury of the freedom of speech. They feel as if there are no legal consequences to hate speech. However, a combination of words that insult or dehumanize a group of people has a pretty high chance of disrupting the peace of the society […]

   

• Fall vs. Spring Classes

  Editorials October 23, 2012 at 11:00 am Comments are Disabled

  Last week, while sitting in the Johnson Center, one of my friends made a comment about how they think fall semester has been so much harder than spring semester. Multiple people agreed with her and this got me thinking whether or not it was true. After researching this further, I found that many students felt this way but also thought that the semesters were equal. “Fall semester is more difficult because of the different course load offered between the two,” said Tania Ghods, an Information Systems & Ops Management major. “In a way fall is the beginning of the year and spring is the end, so professors may have the mind set to hit the ground running where as in the spring the semester could be viewed as the last stretch before summer vacation.” Fall semester is usually viewed as the beginning of school year and all the students are recharged from the summer. I think that the students at Mason want to do their best in the beginning to have that fresh start. In addition to the students, the professors also want to start off the new school year strong, and I am sure their syllabi reflect that. “Probably […]

   

• Study Spaces on Campus

  Editorials October 23, 2012 at 10:58 am Comments are Disabled

  We have all felt that panic before, as you and some vicious stranger speed walk towards the same table on the third floor of the Johnson Center. Well, it could be anywhere on our sprawling campus, from the engineering building to Fenwick Library, but the hunt is the same. Your heart rate quickens and your legs tighten up as your order your friends to march forth, only to be sorely disappointed half the time. Study space is a highly coveted commodity on campus, and though we’re all aware of the popular places like the Johnson Center, Fenwick, or even Starbucks, there are many untouched areas on campus that offer a serene quiet that facilitates some fierce study sessions. Have you ever heard of The Ridge? If you are a commuter, probably not, and even if you live on campus, it is probably still a no. Unless you are involved with the Office of Housing & Residential Life, this hidden gem is still a mystery to you. Situated between Blue Ridge and Sand Bridge Hall (dormitories down from Southside), it is a 24/7 student study space filled with sofas, tables, and white boards. It opened up just a week ago, and […]

   

• The Carouser Report: Drunk Politics

  Editorials October 23, 2012 at 10:21 am Comments are Disabled

  I’ve got a new drinking game.  Take a drink every time one of your friends posts something over-exaggerated, irrelevant or flat-out uninformed during the presidential debates. Have 9-1-1 on speed dial; it’ll be a wild night. But, I digress. This campaign season has seen the emergence of a new drinking tradition. The presidential debate drinking games swirling around the internet are all the rage among the college crowds. For those of you who have no idea what I am referring to, listen up. Two men take the stage for a friendly debate. The nation is watching. You are prepared with a case of ice-cold brew. Beforehand, you have Googled some version of the fascinating game, and are well-versed in the rules. Lights, camera, action. Mr. Schieffer, please begin. As the rules state, you will take a drink every time one of the candidates says a key word or phrase. For example: Romney says “Obamacare” — drink. Obama mentions 47% — drink. One of the candidates interrupts the other — chug! There are varying rules, but you get the point. By the end, you’re three sheets to the wind, and left with little idea of who even won — blackout. With […]