Recent Posts

Burdened with struggles, fencing club dominates home meet

Sports February 24, 2013 at 10:17 pm Comments are Disabled

Fencing Club Captain Khalfan Javaid was tired as he took his lunch break after three grueling matches. He and the team were successful in their matches, so far, beating Bryn Mawr College, Drexel University and University of Maryland at Baltimore County, the junior has a lot on his plate as the captain of the team. Not only does Javaid fence for the club, but he is a stand-in coach, runs the practices four days a week and coordinates the home tournament each spring. This seems like a lot for just one person to take on and despite the help Javaid gets from his teammates, it is still exhausting to keep up with a program that has little administrative help. “Fencing is an expensive sport, and we do not have enough funds to provide for necessary things like a coach and non-conference tournament competition,” Javaid said. “We could not even have our tournament in the main gym at the RAC because painter’s tape is not permitted on the courts this time, despite having used it previous tournaments with no problems. It is frustrating because this limits our chances of giving our club some recognition. No one can simply walk by the […]
Women’s lacrosse club trying to find their rhythm after slow start

Sports February 24, 2013 at 8:20 pm Comments are Disabled

As night fell over Fairfax, the air was cold, but Mason’s Women’s Lacrosse club was starting to get warm. Mason hosted a round robin double header on Feb. 23 with central conference teams Salisbury University and Georgetown University. While the weather would not be doing them any favors, the team was able to make sound improvements in their game. Mason came out cold against Salisbury putting up only two points. For most of the players, this was their first game with the whole team and for some, their first game since high school. After a break, Mason collected themselves and turned up their offense. While their players were not meshing into a perfect fit, it was much improved from the grinding gears of the first game. Mason put up eight goals in their loss to Georgetown, a top team in the conference who will be a force to be reckoned with come this postseason. Mason showed a lot of power and potential at moments in the Georgetown game, but the young team’s lack of flow led to some struggles when they could not score quickly. “We haven’t had time to really connect and know how each other play yet. Also, […]
Freshman named top newcomer

Featured, Sports February 24, 2013 at 7:52 pm Comments are Disabled

Freshman Brandon Gum had one of the most nerve-racking moments of his baseball career when he first stepped onto the field as a member of Mason’s baseball team. Gum, a heralded shortstop in his first colle- giate baseball game, earned a spot in coach Bill Brown’s opening day starting lineup against The Citadel. “Being named a starter right away was a dream come true but also made me very nervous. Before the first game I was extremely nervous, but I felt like I was ready, as our coaches did a great job of preparing me. Once I was in the flow of the game, I was fine,” Gum said. Gum went 2 for 11 from the plate, drawing one walk, scoring a run and striking out a team-high eight times. “I felt a little pressure to contribute right away. But that is because I want to be able to perform and play well personally, but I always want to do what I can to help the team win. I do not want to try and do too much because that just adds unneeded pressure,” Gum said. As with most freshmen collegiate hitters, there is an adjustment period to college pitching […]
New Mason club going natural with style

Lifestyle February 24, 2013 at 7:17 pm Comments are Disabled

This past semester, My Natural organiza- tion was formed at George Mason University to embrace and promote organic and natural beauty. “The purpose of My Natural is for college women to empower each other and use each other as resources in order to maintain healthy hair and be proud of their identity, while also creating a sisterhood,” said Saffie Kamara, who is the vice president of My Natural. The birth of My Natural actually occurred at Winston-Salem State University during September 2011 by Johnene Benson, who purchased a relaxer that resulted in her hair loss. Because of this aesthetical misfortune, Benson was inspired to foster a group empha- sizing the allure and importance of natural hair and championing women’s raw beauty. To expand knowledge on maximizing physi- cal attributes, My Natural meets twice a month and invites guest speakers to discuss topics ranging from excellent organic hair products to tips on how to install weave in an alternative fashion. The organization also hosts meetings and do-it-yourself sessions where members can discuss and share commentaries and opin- ions about other ways to maximize their hair’s potential. Their first organized meeting was held Feb. 12. Twenty-six participants arrived and went home […]
Photo of the week: Last second win over William and Mary

Featured, Multimedia, News February 24, 2013 at 6:47 pm Comments are Disabled

A last-second jump shot from Erik Copes won the game for Mason versus William and Mary on Saturday, with a final score of 60-58. Cope’s shot from the free throw line went through the net and left just .5 seconds on the clock. Freshman Patrick Halloway was the leading scorer for Mason with 15 points from a career-high 5 three-pointers.
Mason photos speak louder than words on Tumblr

Lifestyle February 24, 2013 at 6:09 pm Comments are Disabled

If photographs could talk, a look through Walter Martinez’s “Humans of GMU” Tumblr blog could single-handedly describe moments across campus that define the diversity and uniqueness of Mason’s campus. Martinez is a street photographer, meaning he uses his camera to capture otherwise forgotten and passed-by moments, focusing on Mason’s campus. “I want to capture the people and what’s going on,” Martinez said. Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s “Humans of New York” photography project, this Mason student takes photo- graphs to capture the people around him and the inspiring moments of everyday life. Martinez’s love of art runs in his family. His father owns an art studio and gave his son an old Nikon from the ‘80s. Soon after playing around with it, he enrolled in a photography class. Last semester, to further pursue his interest in art, Martinez created a blog to show his images. The trickiest part of street photography is getting a good feel of how to angle a shot without looking through the lens. It is best to get as close as you can without overwhelming the subject. This style is meant to capture real-life moments, as people in studios may feel awkward knowing they are behind the […]
Students support “No Fear in Love” 6-mile race

Lifestyle February 24, 2013 at 6:03 pm Comments are Disabled

It’s 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Not a normal hour for a group of Mason students to be up. Not only are they awake and functioning when most students are fast asleep, they are about to run a six-mile race around Arlington. Are they crazy? No, not really. Dedicated? Most definitely. But these Mason students aren’t running six miles in the rain and cold for themselves or for their teammates, they are running for one victim of dating abuse who will get the chance to start fresh and receive a one-year scholarship to Mason. This scholarship is the result of the “No Fear in Love” race, a race dedicated to championing one’s inner power. This was the race’s third year beginning at 6:45 a.m., an un-Godly hour to some, but to Karen Bontrager, the organizer of the race and “No Fear in Love” campaign, this early hour symbolizes something much more meaningful. “This is about running together away from the darkness and into the light,” said Bontrager, who wants the darkness at the beginning of the race to symbolize a dark past or cloud in life. Runners will overcome this darkness together, so every runner will, literally and figuratively, push […]
Graduate student shoots for infinity and beyond

Lifestyle February 24, 2013 at 5:56 pm Comments are Disabled

Student’s alter-ego Kam the Astronaut campaigns for space trip The first time Kamil Stelmach stepped into public wearing his astronaut suit, he was stopped by a police officer. “It turns out that it’s a class six felony to have your identity concealed in public in Virginia. So I got a little lecture on that, but since the officer figured I wasn’t going to rob a bank, he took a picture and shared it with the department and let me go,” said Kamil Stelmach, graduate chemistry student at Mason. That incident marked just one small bump in the road for Stelmach’s potential future journey to space. “The inspiration itself came about ever since I was little. I am originally from Poland, and one of the first few books I had was in Polish. The title translated to, “Stars and Planets,” and ever since I read it, I was really excited about space,” Stelmach said. Stelmach’s inspiration led him to enter himself into Axe Apollo Space Academy’s competition to send someone to space. The competition is composed of two parts. The first is a sweepstakes where anyone can enter him or herself in hopes of being chosen in a random drawing of […]
Mason National Pan-Hellenic Council steps up

Featured, Lifestyle, Multimedia February 24, 2013 at 5:41 pm Comments are Disabled

As Mason’s National Pan-Hellenic Council week came to a close, the winners of their annual step show were crowned on Feb. 22. The week, which was called “Divine Habits,” showcased a different characteristic of black Greek life each day, stretching from Monday’s “Having Fun” to Wednesday’s “Educating,” all topped off with Friday’s “Stepping” and “After-Party.” The step show brought together five Mason sororities and fraternities, as well as four from other universities, to compete. The Mason step teams in the competition were Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Beta Sigma and Omega Psi Phi. “I particularly like the event because it promotes Greek unity,” said Amanda Herbert, president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. “I know that regardless of the conflicts that happen within different chapters of organi- zations, we can all come together and have a step show that the entire Mason community enjoys.” Though Herbert was not a part of the actual competition for 2013, it was her first year not stepping, and she was excited to to see the competition from an entirely different “This is what black Greeks are known for — stepping and just really giving people a show that they […]
Photo of the week: Mumford and Sons comes to Mason

Featured, News February 21, 2013 at 4:27 pm Comments are Disabled

Coming off their victory at the Grammys for Album of the Year, Mumford and Sons performed two sold-out shows at the Patriot Center. Acts Haim and Ben Howard opened for the London-native quartet this past Wednesday and Thursday. Broadside was able to get exclusive access to the event and bring you these photos. (Photos by Jenny Krashin/Broadside)