Recent Posts

• Get the scoop on the budget: Provost Stearns and Vice President Scherrens host meeting with students at Ike’s

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:40 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Yuri Svjagintsev, Broadside Correspondent George Mason University will undergo a drastic budget cut and a tuition raise in the fall semester as a response to the global credit crunch and the Virginia General Assembly slashing part of its state subsidy to Mason. Last Monday, Provost Peter Stearns and Senior Vice President of the University Maurice Scherrens hosted a town hall meeting at Ike’s with complimentary sundaes and giveaways. The idea behind the event was to inform students about what would be behind the cut, what would be cut and when it would be cut. The meeting also gave students the opportunity to discuss the budget directly with two of the senior decision-makers who influenced these new university-wide decisions. Out-of-state students will be particularly affected. Already, many out-of-state students pay double the tuition their Virginia peers pay. With housing and living expenses included, out of state students can expect to pay more than $33,388 for an academic year as tuition is raised by $1,730. In-state students will be looking at a tuition increase of $950 or a rise of 6 percent from this year. The tuition increases and budget cuts have been the trend for the last few years, but […]

   

• U.S. Navy visits Mason:Hopes new program will recruit students

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:37 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Sandra Evans, Broadside Correspondent Wouldn’t it be nice to have a generous chunk of your tuition paid off for you even before working, as well as having the guarantee of a job after graduation? The U.S. Navy will be visiting George Mason University today from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in North Plaza. The purpose of the event is to promote the Navy’s Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program (BDCP), which helps qualifying college students with their tuition while also guaranteeing a job with the Navy upon graduation. Christina Ramos, an account executive for Accent Marketing, an organization that helps arrange recruitment interviews for the Navy, said that she hopes a lot of students apply for the scholarship and that she’s very excited about the program itself. The scholarship program pays up to $4,700 a semester, which is even more appealing when mentioned along with the guaranteed job with the Navy upon degree completion. If a student starts the program at the beginning of his or her college career, it adds up to $37,600 before even beginning work. There are other benefits to the program as well, such as full medical and dental insurance during enrollment and payment of all moving […]

   

• Sodexo workers claim racism: War of words heats up as battle continues

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:33 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ethan Vaughan, Asst. News Editor Accusations continue to fly between Service Employees International Union (SEIU) supporters and Mason Dining management, with both sides claiming the use of intimidation by the other and one union organizer alleging racism from Sodexo. “Here, a big part of it is racial discrimination,” SEIU organizer Amaya Henry said Friday. “Sodexo has a history of racial discrimination. The mistreatment comes in varying degrees. It depends on if someone is from another country and doesn’t know their rights. At the top of the chain are the student workers. No one would dare abuse them, because they’re educated and they know their rights. Below them are Asian and African-American workers, and last are Hispanics.” The assertion comes a month after Sodexo, the international food services and facilities management company, was ranked first on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity. The company is currently receiving such criticism as Henry’s on a wider scale as a part of SEIU’s nationwide “Clean Up Sodexo” project. George Mason University’s on-campus Sodexo management, had not received any such criticism, at least publicly, until now. Union supporters, including Henry, claimed Friday that two Hispanic workers, Elizabeth Blas Falcon and Marta Zelaya, were denied […]

   

• Students play crime scene detective: CSI: George Mason

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:31 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Matthew Harrison, Broadside Correspodent Crime scene investigation, or CSI, teams are well known to the public through hit television shows. In almost every court case involving murder or violence, a CSI team has to come up with accurate evidence to fully prosecute the suspect. Last week, George Mason University students got to play the role of detective. Individuals enrolled in BIOL 575: Forensic DNA Analysis class Biology 509 put together a mock trial last Thursday at Innovation Hall, where students and faculty participated in a crime scene investigation. “This is an opportunity to apply my knowledge of DNA in the legal community,” said Dr. J. Thomas McClintock, a professor of forensic DNA analysis. McClintock started a consulting firm in 1993 that handled cases pertaining to murder and violence. He has also been working at Mason for over 11 years and has been publicizing this event for five. The mock investigations last week included opening statements from both a defendant and prosecutor. Witness testimonies also took place under very strict guidelines set by the judge, played by McClintock. The Forensic DNA Analysis class at Mason hosted this event to inform students about the importance of science and how it relates […]

   

• Student threatens South Park over Islam

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:25 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Rachael Dickson, Four Years After Final Four Editor A former George Mason University Student posted a warning online to the creators of South Park that has been perceived as a threat by many, including Comedy Central. The message, posted on RevolutionMuslim.com April 15 after a recent South Park episode in which the prophet Muhammad was shown in a bear costume, said, “We have to warn [Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park] that what they are doing is stupid, and they will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them.” Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was killed in 2004 after he produced a film criticizing the treatment of women in Islamic societies. Because of the message, the latest episode of South Park aired with the Muhammad character censored. The author of the note, Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, was born Zachary Adam Chesser, he confirmed in an e-mail correspondence. He attended Mason as a freshman for one semester in 2008. “I did not think [my comments] would garner quite this large of a reaction, but they were […]

   

• Student Assaults Police Officer

  News1 April 26, 2010 at 12:22 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Alyse Knorr, Broadside Correspondent Five Mason students were arrested on charges of being drunk in public last Thursday, one of whom also was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. Biology major Phillip Sullivan, 21, was arrested in Parking Lot A on charges of being drunk in public, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, according to police records. He posted a $10,000 bond early Friday morning, according to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. “Our officers were on patrol and they approached him because he appeared to be intoxicated,” said Assistant Chief of University Police George Ginovsky. “When they went to arrest him for being intoxicated in public, he resisted the arrest and in the process of the arrest he assaulted one of the officers,” said Ginovsky. Ginovsky said the department had extra patrols out campus-wide because of Mason Day, including a special team called the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) team that consists of officers in plain clothes. Ginovsky said that for special events such as Mason Day, Homecoming and certain concerts at the Patriot Center, the police team is split into several different teams that work together. These include a patrol team that maintains law […]

   

• Mason’s guilty pleasure: Cobra Starship’s performance brings Mason Day to a successful close

  Lifestyle April 25, 2010 at 9:40 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Pearson Jones, Asst. Style Editor “We came here for one reason and one reason only, to be your fucking guilty pleasure,” cried out Cobra Starship’s leading man Gabe Saporta to a fist-pumping sea of unruly George Mason University students during Thursday’s Mason Day concert. The crowd was guilt-free, however, as students shamelessly danced their way through a synth-pop set list of hipster anthems about alcohol-induced hookups and hot messes. The band headlined George Mason University’s annual Mason Day last Thursday in a transformed lot L that featured carnival rides, free eats and a main stage that stayed ghostly vacant for most of the day until Starship’s arrival. Assistant Director for Programming Michelle Davis felt the night proved to be a hit with students. “Overall it was great” said Davis. “Everything went really smoothly and we had an amazing crowd out there, so I’d say the students really liked it. We had a lot of students excited and enjoying the concert so I think it was a great success.” The instantly recognizable hit “The City is at War” set things off for the night, showcasing the bands infectious energy that caused the Mason Day crowd to ditch the rides and […]

   

• Out of control spending: Obama splurging over 30 percent of our GDP

  Editorials April 19, 2010 at 2:12 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Alan Moore, Staff Writer With the massive amount of spending by the federal government, it is clear that we are on an unsustainable path to destruction. The Obama Administration has been spending money like a freshman with his first credit card; unbeknownst to him, he will have to pay it back in the very near future with interest. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) used by the past Bush Administration infused public money into private enterprise, and the floodgates were opened to a range of big spending. TARP set the stage for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, simply referred to as the “economic stimulus plan.” $989 billion was shelled out to create and expand government programs and workforce, and it helped increase the federal deficit to almost $1.8 trillion. So who are the United States’ primary creditors? China owns $877.5 billion of our debt. Japan owns the next highest amount at $768.5 billion. Britain owns $321.7 billion, and Hong Kong owns $152.4 billion. Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve chairman and White House economic adviser recently said, “If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes.” Do not take those […]

   

• The new Republican movement: America needs a stronger Republican Party

  Editorials April 19, 2010 at 2:11 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Justin Lalputan, Staff Writer To start with, politics are not something that I usually get involved in. Sure, I’ll have a friendly debate with someone about abortion or stem-cell research, but I generally don’t involve myself with either the Republican or the Democratic political parties. However, I must say that I don’t like what I see on the news these days. Since the Republicans lost the 2008 presidential election, they’ve seemed like a political party that didn’t have their feet on solid ground. I’ve watched numerous rallies, the most notable being the “Tea Party” rallies, and I can sense somewhat of a change stirring within the party. The thing is, when people see these rallies, they scoff at the people in them, and in many cases, call them ignorant. While it is true that sometimes some foolish things are said at these rallies, in other instances, the things mentioned are not foolish at all; rather, they simply reflect the ideology of the Republican Party and its constituents. While I understand that sometimes these views can be somewhat intense, the Republican Party needs to find some way to gain more popular support, and they need to do it now. I’ve […]

   

• 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 […]