Editorials

• The Weekly Rant: Irresponsibility of Student Government

  Editorials October 4, 2012 at 3:14 pm 1 comment

  Student Government is supposed to “serve the students and needs of the Mason community” but that is not the case with Bill 4. Bill 4 is a disgusting waste of student’s money and completely unnecessary. Let’s start out with some background on Bill 4. It was brought forward to the Student Senate to provide funding for a speaker at Take Back the Night, an event during Sexual Assault Services’ Turn Off the Violence Week. This bill allocates money for a specific speaker, Ben Privot from “The Consensual Project.” His website for The Consensual Project goes as far to say “I want to ____ you with my hard ___ until you ____ all over me” in one of the blog posts on “How to Talk Dirty.” I’m sorry, but it is absolutely ridiculous for Student Government to waste $250 on TEN MINUTES for this guy to speak. Let’s be real here: this is not an event that all Mason students will attend and is not even geared toward a majority of students. I commend Sexual Assault Services’ Turn Off the Violence Week and the goal to end violence, but to waste our money on an event disseminating messages that not all […]

   

• Know Yourself

  Editorials October 4, 2012 at 3:13 pm Comments are Disabled

  October is here once again. Not only is this month known for the bringing of fall weather, football and Halloween but it is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For those who do not know, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the annual campaign to raise awareness of the disease. Many people are aware of breast cancer, but are not aware of the steps and ways to detect the disease, which in my opinion is most important. Being able to identify the symptoms and signs beforehand could help prevent the loss of many lives. To start, it is important to know the symptoms and early warning signs breast cancer may have. These can include a change in breast skin or a lump in the breast. Also, any change in how the nipple looks or feels should catch your attention. Every person should know the symptoms and signs of breast cancer, and any time an abnormality is discovered, it should be investigated by a healthcare professional. Breast cancer can happen in both men and women. Performing a self breast-exam each month and looking for any abnormalities will help  with prevention. Any changes should be discussed with a doctor or physician. Be sure to […]

   

• For Every Reaction, an Overreaction

  Editorials October 4, 2012 at 3:11 pm Comments are Disabled

  For every action there is at least one opposite overreaction. In both the Middle East and Southeast Asia, violent protests against an anti-Muslim film posted on YouTube have been well-documented. While the film was very distasteful, killing innocent people definitely constitutes a gross overreaction. United Nations. Since 1999, the OIC has been pushing for the UN to officially denounce blasphemy against religious figures. Taking advantage of the horrid fallout from the film, the OIC has once again called upon the global body to denounce what they call the growing intolerance towards Muslims with an international code of conduct for media and social media to disallow the dissemination of incitement material. While the OIC puts on a good show about how great a global blasphemy law would be, its usage at the national level leaves much to be desired. Take Pakistan, a country that has had a blasphemy law since the days of British Imperial control.  Ebrahim Moosa, professor of Religion & Islamic Studies for Duke University’s Department of Religion, stated in a Duke press release that Pakistan’s blasphemy law has ruined Pakistan’s reputation for decades. “Several politicians who had petitioned for the reform of the blasphemy laws were assassinated in […]

   

• Socialization or Education?

  Editorials October 4, 2012 at 3:10 pm Comments are Disabled

  Mason exemplifies what many believe to be one of the best institutions of higher education in the world. Its respected observers continue to watch it grow and compete more and more with top tiered schools. The university teaches their slogan “Where innovation is tradition” through its classes that start at the 100-level all the way up to 400. Mason is providing its student body with an education that will place its students at a higher level than other institutions when they enter the working world. What if I told you that the way to succeed is by attending class and being attentive? You would say that it is easy enough, but as soon as your phone vibrates, that world-class education suddenly becomes second to the three-word message. This institution is filled with adults who are ready to take the next step in education, and to thrive in today’s ever changing world. Students are adults and can make their own decisions. Specifically, this article pertains to the freedom of texting in class. So make the choice, decide if texting takes a priority over a discussion that will help transition you from a student to a worker. When you begin to text, […]

   
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  Green Colleen: Upcycling Cereal Boxes

  Editorials October 4, 2012 at 11:51 am Comments are Disabled

  It’s hard to believe, but we are already five weeks into the semester. Almost all at once, the tests, readings and homework seem to have piled up, nearly crushing us under their weight. Around this time each semester, I start to become untangled. My laundry bin overflows, my hair is constantly in a messy ponytail and my desk becomes unrecognizable. Buried under a mountain of paperwork, I can hardly find a place to set up my laptop and get some work done. The environment is hardly conducive to a productive workspace. This week, I decided to shape up and get myself in order. I threw my laundry in the wash, brushed my hair and sat down to attack my desk. A short while later, I had a full recycling bin and stacks of neatly organized papers. The only trouble was that I still had no place to put them. Leaving them on my desk would only welcome the clutter back and stuffing the papers in the drawers would undo all of my work to organize them. The solution was upright desk organizers designed to hold papers and magazines. The problem was that I didn’t have any. A quick look through […]

   
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  Reacting to a Disaster: NFL Response Long Overdue

  Editorials, Sports October 4, 2012 at 11:28 am Comments are Disabled

  For nearly 92 years, the National Football League has been the cornerstone league in all of sports. Serving as an outlet for social activity, millions of fans across the nation gather with friends every Sunday. Until last season, at least in our generation, the NFL could seemingly do no wrong. When the players were locked out prior to last season, football was marred but not yet tarnished. It was bruised but unbroken. As this preseason progressed and the season got underway, television sets across the nation were finally changing channels. Coaches, players, media and fans spoke out in protest of the NFL’s newest blunder: employing replacement officials. Faces of the NFL, such as Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, contested that the integrity of the league was tarnished. Games in weeks one through three in the 2012-13 season will forever have an asterisk. They will forever put a sour taste in the mouths of so many fans. Worst though, as difficult as it was to watch the referee saga, the occasions, any many ways, is a microcosm for the United States of America. It is commonplace in our culture to fight a major change, pretending hardships do not exist, until our […]

   

• Spreading the Smiles

  Editorials September 27, 2012 at 9:19 am Comments are Disabled

  As Mason students continue to embark on their fifth week of school, the stress and multitude of to-do lists are in full swing. Class readings, exams, presentations, group work, jobs, extracurricular activities, families, friends; how are we supposed to keep up with it all without exploding? There are the typical answers, such as time management, going to class and studying. To me, the one answer that is the most important is to keep a positive outlook. We all have days where our moods may be less than stellar, but do we really like feeling that way? When you have a positive outlook, there is no time to be unhappy because you are too busy being productive in order to keep up with the fast-paced trend that life brings. Lucky for us all, Mason is one of the friendliest, most welcoming places in the area. Looking back, the first conclusion I made as a freshman was about how nice everyone was. Just to make sure that I was not the only one who felt this way, I asked other students what they thought about the impression given off by Mason. “I felt that Mason did a good job of making the […]

   

• Martyrs for Mitt

  Editorials September 27, 2012 at 9:19 am Comments are Disabled

  The Republican Party has nominated a Mormon millionaire as its candidate for the highest office position in the United States, which is, of course, the presidency. Mitt Romney is not an easy candidate to champion. He has adjusted his stance on more than a few issues, is viewed by many as unprincipled, and, as recent events have shown, is a bit of a gaffe machine. But at the end of the day, Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee and as a voter who has a number of views that align with those of the Republican Party, I feel it is my duty to not only give Governor Romney my vote, but to stand up for him. It’s not easy to be an advocate for Governor Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan. I have been ridiculed, mocked, and laughed at. I have had my Romney Ryan stickers torn from my door far too many times. I have been called “ignorant” or “insensitive”, I have been told that I am as “out of touch” as the public has declared my candidate. I know I am not alone. I know that especially on a college campus, standing up for Mitt Romney […]

   

• We Are Home to Accessibility

  Editorials September 27, 2012 at 9:18 am Comments are Disabled

  Here we are at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, home to many great restaurants on and off campus. According to Google Maps, we are just 20 miles from the National Mall in Washington D.C., 14.5 miles from the Manassas National Battlefield and 19 miles from Arlington National Cemetery. There are many different places we can visit as students here at Mason. But the question is, do we take advantage of all the opportunities we have here at Mason? According to freshman Tosca Lanfranconi, “It’s very easy to get around the area because of all the shuttles. I have not had one problem getting somewhere because of lack of transportation”. I have to agree with Tosca because Mason could easily not put this much of an effort in allowing students to leave campus, but it does. Not only does Mason have CUE buses that take Mason students around Fairfax for no charge, but also free shuttles to the Vienna/ Fairfax-GMU metro station. As Mason students, we have the ability to travel through Fairfax and the nation’s capital, thanks to the shuttle and CUE buses. It’s the perfect system for us as Mason students because not only do we get our […]

   

• Green Colleen: Dorm Dining on a Dime

  Editorials September 24, 2012 at 3:27 pm Comments are Disabled

  Staying on budget in college can be a big challenge, whether you mismanage your weekly meal plans and run out before Thursday or have trouble scraping together your change for an $8 tray of sushi in the JC. On those desperate nights, students often turn to the epitome of all college food: Ramen noodles. The prepackaged meals are filling and flavorful and often retail for around 10 cents a package, a third of the price of a cup of water on campus. But as your college career drags on and money stretches even tighter, the basic flavors of Ramen noodles can quickly turn bland and boring. To solve those noodles woes, revolutionize the standard meal with a few extra ingredients for different flavors. I transformed my Oriental flavored noodle package into my version of a homemade peanut pad thai. The add-ins I used this week cost only a few dollars each, and most can be saved and used again and again. The sriracha chili sauce added a spicy kick that the basic noodle packages don’t deliver. I’m not a big fan of spice, so I appreciated how the chunky peanut butter bit through the heat and provided some relief. The […]