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• Going Nuts for Testival: Annual festival educates and entertains students

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 2:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Evan Benton, Staff Writer Testival, arguably George Mason University’s best and most popular celebration of testicles, returns Thursday for another bout of ball-grabbing and free T-shirts. Sponsored by the Office of Alcohol, Drug and Health Education, University Life and Phi Sigma Kappa, Testival has been going strong for the past several years and manages to support a very important cause while keeping it all tongue-in-cheek with their catchy slogan, “Check your nuts.” The festival for testicles will feature such nutty games as Guess that Nut, Balls to the Wall, Testicle Toss, Whack-a-Ball and Balls Bingo. Exams will be demonstrated but not administered by the Student Nurses’ Association, and those who need practice can use the effective but disgusting Ball Bags, which are replicated testicles in bags of gel complete with those pesky little cancerous polyps and cysts males have to watch out for. So on Thursday, students walking to and from the Johnson Center might see countless numbers of their peers spending the afternoon squeezing little gel sacks — that is, if they’re not trying desperately to get the limited edition Testival shirts that seem to sell as soon as they open the boxes. Testival 2008’s shirt featured an […]

   

• Denzel returns to Broadway in Fences

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 2:05 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Jason Ulrich, Broadside Correspondent In Denzel Washington’s riveting return to stage acting, both he and fellow thespians Viola Davis and Mykelti Williamson appear in the Broadway revival of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences. The play, written by famed playwright August Wilson, will officially open up today, April 26, and will run for 13 weeks at Cort Theatre in New York City. Part of Wilson’s famous “Pittsburgh Cycle,” a group of dramas concerned with the African American experience during the 20th century, Fences is one of his most popular pieces. Taking place in the Pittsburgh of 1957, Troy Maxson (Washington) is a family man who works as a garbage collector with aspirations to be the first black truck driver. The character, originally played by James Earl Jones, constructs a fence around his home throughout the play, reminiscing his heyday as a ballplayer for the Negro Leagues. Washington, whose last Broadway venture was 2005’s Julius Caeser, takes this tough role and runs with it, playing off both Maxson’s ferocious anger and indignation as well as displaying a surprising inflection of physical humor. Troy Maxson is unlike any character Washington has played in his long career. Through concentrating on the man’s […]

   

• Radiohead’s debut not so sweet

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 2:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ramy Zabarah, Staff Writer To everyone who’s sung the song “Creep” on Rock Band and called themselves a Radiohead fan, I ask you this: Where did it all begin? For over 18 years, the English alternative rock band has been writing, recording and performing music, gaining worldwide recognition for their unique style and experimental sound. But where did it all begin? The band’s debut album, Pablo Honey, was released in February 1993, after they signed a six album record deal with the British record label EMI. Despite what some may think, Radiohead didn’t always have the great diverse talent that they have today. Pablo Honey was a career landmark, but it failed to show signs of hope for the band at the time of its release. At the time of its original release, Pablo Honey couldn’t bring the band fame and fortune, or even proper venues to perform in. In fact, their first album tour was comprised of British colleges and small clubs. It wasn’t until the album gained recognition in the U.S. that the band started to build a name for themselves. Their debut single “Creep” had all the catchy qualities that the average listener was looking for, […]

   

• What a Buzzkill!

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 2:00 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Dylan Hares, Staff Writer There is no doubt that George Mason University is growing. Lot I is closed for the construction of residence halls and Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads will see their first fall semesters starting in fall 2010. Both Student Union buildings are seeing construction and expansion, and we’re getting several new office and academic buildings all over campus. With all these expansions in these hard economic times, it begs the question from tuition-paying students: What is it that I’m paying for exactly? The consensus seems to be that Mason is a boring place on the weekends. At least half of the resident population goes home during this time and those who remain seek off-campus excitement. At least it seems that way when the campus is literally barren and on-campus events go unattended on the weekends. This past Monday, Provost Peter Stearns and Senior Vice President Maurice Scherrens hosted a very candid and open budget summit at Ike’s. Among the points touched on were the cause of rising tuition and where the money goes. According to Scherrens, this past year saw a $4.5 million reduction in the funding provided by the state. In the past 10 years, […]

   

• The sleeper hits of the summer

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 1:59 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer Every summer, audiences become inundated with copious amounts of blockbusters. In the first month of this summer alone, Robin Hood and Prince of Persia will be released, as well as sequels to Iron Man, Sex and the City and the fourth Shrek movie. Yet hidden in between these mammoth films are sleeper hits, movies that come out of nowhere as a respite from the usual. In past years, these films have included Garden State, Little Miss Sunshine and last year’s District 9. So here are the top five potential sleeper hits of summer 2010. 5. Babies Summer can be a surprisingly great time for documentaries. Fahrenheit 9/11, March of the Penguins and Super Size Me all did remarkably well in their genre, during a time when blockbusters reign. This year, that surprise summer documentary could be Babies. The film chronicles a year in the life of four different babies across the world. And if there’s one thing that’s cuter than marching penguins, it’s cross-cultural babies. 4. Get Low Get Low, based on a true story, is about a man in the 1930s who decided to throw his own funeral while he was still alive. The […]

   

• Big payoffs for good causes: Relay for Life and Students Helping Honduras raise more than $46,000 total

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 1:05 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Kristen Byrne, Broadside Correspondent Every day, students walk by kiosks in the Johnson Center. But what they don’t realize is that just one minute of their time or one dollar from their pocket could help save a life — or a community. Students Helping Honduras (SHH) and Relay for Life at George Mason University have extended their helping hands to better the community by raising money. SHH is focused on building a new community for families that were displaced in Honduras due to Hurricane Mitch in 1998, while Relay for Life’s main concern is to raise cancer awareness, primarily through its annual event. Although these two organizations are passionate about different issues, both are reaching out to the Mason community for help and support. Despite how recently the club was organized, SHH has raised $4,000 dollars for the Learning and Empowerment Program in Honduras, with a goal to raise $10,000 for the chapter by the end of the semester. Relay for Life exceeded its goal of $35,000 by over $7,000, bringing its total to over $42,000. The students of both organizations have worked hard to get these results. “Every day teams were hosting bake sales, donut sales and restaurant […]

   

• A festival of dramatic proportions

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 1:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Jason Ulrich, Broadside Correspondent On April 23 and 24, the Department of Theater and the GMU Players presented the Fourth Annual 10-Minute Play Festival. Taking place on the TheaterSpace stage in the Performing Arts building, the show was broken up into two acts . Each act was composed of four plays, of which two tended to be comedy-driven and two that were dramatic. The plays covered a plethora of topics, ranging from imaginary boyfriends to a broken medical system. There were three showings, which began with the premier on Friday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m., followed by a 2:00 p.m. Saturday matinee and ended with the final show at 8 p.m. that Saturday night. The shows themselves were as varied in subject as they were in tone. Made up of 44 actors, the first act kicked off with Of British Mice, Simple Men & Squirrel Gangs by Philip Dallmann. This was a hilariously self-referential fairy tale that kept the audience in stitches. Definitely one of the strangest plays, this performance also housed the largest cast; theater major Chelsea Withington gave a standout performance as the British Mouse, as did Mason O’Sullivan as the Broadway-savvy Head Squirrel. The final show, […]

   

• Mason Ecosphere

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:58 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Environmental Action Group Just in time for Earth Day, Mason’s Office of Sustainability received word that they had been awarded a $5,000 grant for their Student Training for Environmental Protection program. For a week this summer, college students from all over the United States and Puerto Rico will be coming together at Prince William Forest to learn how to turn their passion for the environment into action. Colin Bennett, outreach coordinator for the Office of Sustainability and director of the program, submitted the program to the Brighter Planet Project Fund competition at the beginning of April. The program had to compete against seven other environmental projects to see which one could receive the most votes during the 15-day voting period. Through the efforts of people across Mason reaching out to their friends and family to encourage them to vote, the resulting 2,233 votes won the program $5,000. This money will help greatly with aiding the students who will require scholarships in order to attend. This year marks the second Student Training for Environmental Protection program organized by the Office of Sustainability. According to Bennett, “This program teaches students how to become successful environmental advocates; students will leave this program […]

   

• GMU sets gaze on East: Mason explores partnership with South Korea

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:57 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Rashad Mulla, Staff Writer George Mason University is seeking to build relationships beyond its established boundaries. Within the last four years, Mason officials have contacted a number of universities in South Korea to explore the possibilities of setting up partnerships there. Already, Mason has recruited a number of Korean undergraduate students through admissions trips. And in October 2009, the School of Art hosted a delegation from Kyonggi University, based in Suwon. According to Provost Peter Stearns, the big project — still in its exploration stages — is a potential international education center in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, directly west of Seoul. Mason officials are exploring whether such a plan is feasible, Stearns said. “We have funded a formal feasibility study to see if conditions will allow us to set up operation[s] there,” he said. “This is a strong interest, but it is not yet a commitment. Lots of questions still need to be answered, but we’d love to do this if the conditions warrant it.” In January, Virginia State Senator Chap Petersen (D-34th) introduced Senate Bill No. 712, which authorizes the exploration of the Incheon process. “This partnership will establish a long-term alliance between GMU and South Korea, […]

   

• So you think you can Cook? TAP residents face off in cooking competition

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:50 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Kristin Conklin, Broadside Correspondent Last Saturday, George Mason University hosted the third TAP Chef Cooking on a Budget event, as part of TAP’s (which stands for Townhouses, Apartments) annual, campus-wide Young, Broke and Fabulous program. “Participants are required to cook a budget-friendly meal, under $10, in 30 to 45 minutes,” said Malissa Brennan, the TAP residence director. One contestant, Kelley Towne, a junior and Communication major showed up with groceries in hand, ready to show off her cooking skills. “I like to cook and it seemed like fun,” Towne said. “Plus, these events need support.” On the menu was chicken stir-fry. With just five ingredients, Towne cooked up a simple meal, fit for any college student on a budget. Towne brought with her chicken, white rice, canned crushed pineapple, frozen vegetables and soy sauce. Towne first heated the chicken in a pan along with the frozen vegetables and cooked until tender. She then added the crushed pineapple and cooked for a few minutes more. She then added salt to taste and served it all atop white rice. This event is part of the TAP’s Young, Broke and Fabulous program, which included seven events in total. With the program in […]