Recent Posts

• Are You ‘Credit Wise’? Information Every College Student Should Know

  Editorials February 2, 2010 at 7:08 pm Comments are Disabled

  Michael Foley, Broadside Correspondent As you read this, college students nationwide are irresponsibly managing their finances. Last year, the average college undergraduate carried $3,173 in credit card debt, the highest level since the data was collected in 1998. In 2004, college students had on average $2,169 in credit card debt. With college costs surging and the cost of living in the D.C. area increasing, the need for more education in personal finances needs to increase as well. As a peer educator for the Are You Credit Wise? financial literacy program, I would like to lend a few tips on how college students can better manage their money. I’ll start with the basics: credit cards. It can be your savior in an emergency or the devil in disguise. With today’s job market becoming more competitive year after year, employers are beginning to pay special attention to an applicant’s credit score to see how responsible they are at handling their finances and, in some cases, their life. Let me give you the most commonly disregarded trait about a credit card: interest rate. If you were to charge $1,000 to your credit card and only make the minimum payment each month, it will […]

   

• THE PAB NEARS COMPLETION: Building to Reopen During the Summer

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 7:06 pm Comments are Disabled

  Helena Okoilcsanyi, Broadside Correspondent Walk through the Performing Arts Building any day and one thing is clear: rehearsal space is scant. As the George Mason Symphony rehearses, there is barely enough room for musicians to play their instruments without bumping into each other. Move to the dance rehearsal studios and the same is evident. Every department has outgrown their space and everyone is suffering. “The rooms are so crowded, especially the ensemble rehearsal rooms, [and] it feels almost like a fire hazard when you’ve got all these students rehearsing for all of these events,” said Dr. Linda Monson, associate director for the School of Music, and professor of keyboard studies. Officials at Mason have listened and the PAB is currently being expanded. The construction of the building has been a long time coming, says Dan Hobson, production manager for the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Mason. The new construction “was brought about by a huge need from all the departments for more space to teach and work on their craft,” he said. Hobson said that the new space will “include two dance studios, a percussion studio, a large band room, two classrooms and a wellness center for injuries, […]

   

• Express Gets Pulled From Mason Campus: Removal Begins As Paper’s Circuit Area Dwindles

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 7:04 pm Comments are Disabled

  Lauren Jost, Connect2Mason Staff Writer Patriots looking for Express, the daily and free commuter newspaper once distributed at numerous locations across campus, are now out of luck. Due to budget cuts and downsizing at The Washington Post — which Express is a subsidiary of — all news boxes are being plucked from the George Mason University campus. According to Express’ circulation department, Mason will no longer have dispensers because the paper’s circuit area has been drastically reduced; exact calculations of all Express cutbacks are still in the works. “I liked . . . Express because it was free and you were given the opportunity to find out what’s going on [in] the news without having to go to the grocery store,” said senior government major Asia Odum, who read Express while en route to the Metro over the summer. When asked whether other area universities were affected, the Express circulation department was unsure whether or not specific universities and associated news boxes were affected like Mason. Express, best known for its bright yellow news boxes, was popular among Mason students for its short news articles, as well as for its area entertainment listings and puzzles. “What happened to . . […]

   

• New Eatery to Open in Fall: The Pilothouse to Add to Late-Night Dining Options

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 7:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  Kevin Loker, Connect2Mason Executive Editor Come fall of 2010, Ike’s will not be the only late-night munchies option on campus. When classes start on Monday, Aug. 30, students will also have the chance to eat in the wee hours of the morning at The Pilothouse, a 120-seat dining facility adjacent to Eastern Shore and the new Hampton Roads dormitories. Named and decorated to fit the maritime feel of the Hampton Roads’ namesake, the facility will serve a similar selection of menu items as Ike’s, and do so until the same time of 4 a.m. According to Regional District Manager of Sodexo Denise Ammaccapane, while the final menu is still being decided, one menu item is a for-sure bet because of suggestions students have made for Ike’s and the rest of Mason’s on-campus dining: true New York-style pizza. “Some people like Chicago-style,” said Ammaccapane, “but I’m from New Jersey [and] I just can’t do it.” The Pilothouse’s kitchen, separated from the glass window-lined dining room, will house state-of-the-art equipment to make the pizza, as well as a flexible menu, possible. This area will be gated off outside of operation hours, allowing students to use the dining space for studying, holding meetings […]

   

• Mason Graduate Students Join Together to Help Latin America: New Non-Profit Assists in Creating Infrastructure

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 6:59 pm Comments are Disabled

  Yasmin Tadjdeh, News Editor Between exams, papers and assigned readings, the workings of third world countries often seem distant to college students, but for one group of graduate students, they have made the advancement of impoverished nations their priority. The Inter-American Development Fund is a non-profit international development organization that aims to help build infrastructure in Latin America. Led by a small group of George Mason University graduate students and alumni, the group helps to coordinate development in various Latin American countries such as Bolivia, El Salvador and Mexico. Masterminded by Rudy Mareno, a public administration graduate student, the idea for creating the non-profit group came after visiting Latin America. “Through traveling around the region I was able to talk to and interview mayors and senators,” said Mareno. “I got to see the whole experience of Latin America . . . [and] I knew I could do more for Latin America . . . There is an urgent need for infrastructure there. There are small communities where they ask their governments for schools and don’t get them.” Mareno cites government inefficiency, lack of funds and lack of political will as factors as to why essential infrastructure has not been created. […]

   

• New Groups Start This Semester: Student Organizations Gain Recognition

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 6:58 pm Comments are Disabled

  Jenny Pan, Broadside Correspondent Female students interested in singing a Capella, students fascinated by cutting-edge technology, enthusiasts of Spanish heritage, music students looking for volunteer opportunities and students who have roots in Nepal all have something in common this semester. Five new student organizations have been officially recognized this semester at George Mason University, with each accommodating their diverse interests. Noteworthy, a women’s a Capella group and Sigma Alpha Iota, a women’s music fraternity, may attract musically inclined female students. Belting melodies ranging from barbershop songs to pop music, Noteworthy will perform for the university and surrounding areas without the aid of synthesizers or musical instruments. The founders of Noteworthy, sophomore communication major Amanda Liverpool-Cummins and freshman nursing major Chelsea Bateman, created their group after having similar organizations in their high schools. Students who wish to join Noteworthy must audition. While auditions usually occur at the beginning of the year, Noteworthy is currently welcoming auditions and encouraging interested singers to attend rehearsal. Noteworthy meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building. While there are many student groups dedicated to diverse areas of music, it is often difficult for music students to find […]

   

• ‘It Felt Bad, but Not As Bad As It Actually Was’: STUDENTS RETURN FROM HAITI NEARLY A WEEK AFTER QUAKE

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 6:56 pm Comments are Disabled

  Emily Sharrer, Editor-in-Chief The Mason students that survived the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, say that for them, luck and coincidences only went so far in returning their group home safely—and then came God. “We prayed on this trip,” said group leader Mark Cruz, a sophomore conflict analysis and resolution major. “We were just like ‘we want to experience God on this trip’ and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I experienced God firsthand throughout the whole week.” The eight students were three days into a mission trip with McLean Bible Church’s college ministry called The Gathering when the earthquake hit, severely damaging the control tower at the Port-au-Prince airport and leaving the nation in ruin. A McLean Bible Church staff member, a Fairfax resident and Thony Querrette, the Haitian World Hope coordinator, also accompanied the students during their trip. The group had been working with World Hope International, a non-profit organization based in Alexandria, Va., building latrines and running Bible classes for children in the town of Petit-Goave – about 30 miles west of the capital Port-au-Prince and about 15 miles from the epicenter of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The Associated Press currently estimates the death […]

   

• Mason Granted Land: Gift Creates the Potential for a Loudoun County Campus

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 6:54 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor There is always construction on George Mason University’s campuses, but a donation of 37 acres of land from Van Metre companies in Loudoun County, Va. gives students a reason to expect even more changes. “The Van Metre Family . . . has had a long relationship with Mason and the Northern Virginia community, and they were looking for a way to honor [the late] Mr. Van Metre,” said Jerry Coughter, the executive officer for the Loudoun site administration. “They’ve owned the land in Loudoun for years and are looking to help the community and higher education.” This land created a win-win situation for the Van Metre family and Mason. The Van Metre family receives a tax break by donating its land, along with the sense of pride that comes from helping the community, while Mason receives a no-strings-attached donation that allows the university to take its time building and developing the land. “The wonderful thing about the gift,” said the Assistant Vice President for Regional Campuses Kathleen Johnson, “is that it gives us an opportunity to start building the relationships with the businesses and corporations in that area, that may lead to possibilities for the […]

   

• Jammin’ at Starbucks: Tuesday Jams Moves from Jazzman’s to Starbucks

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 6:52 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ethan Vaughan, Asst. News Editor Tuesday Jams, the weekly event held in the Johnson Center’s Jazzman’s Café, has a new home this semester. On Jan. 19, Mason senior Vincent Lacsamana became the first musician to play Tuesday Jams at the Starbucks in Northern Neck, where it will now be hosted on a regular basis outside of the popular coffee outlet. Addison Brown, a sophomore administration of justice major and chair of the George Mason Concert Committee, said the decision to transfer the event was made last fall in response to the increased student focus on Starbucks, which detracted from patronage at Jazzman’s. “We all decided it was for the best,” Brown said of the committee. “Tuesday Jams wasn’t well represented or well known. We wanted to make it more visible, so we put it somewhere with higher traffic where a greater number of students will have the opportunity to enjoy it.” Brown came up with the idea last semester, when he noticed how many students were frequenting the newly opened Starbucks. “Starbucks has just opened up,” Brown said. “And in my experience, Jazzman’s does not get a lot of foot traffic. With Northern Neck housing being right there by Starbucks, […]

   

• Mason Relocates Data Center: ‘Nerve Center’ of Mason Transfers to Aquia Building

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 6:50 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ethan Vaughan, Asst. News Editor The transfer of the George Mason University Data Center from Thompson Hall to the new Aquia Building was partially completed over the winter break. The Data Center is the computer nerve center that keeps George Mason University’s e-mail system, Internet service, computational systems, electronic records and most of its telephone systems working. Between Dec. 21 and Jan. 15, crucial components of the system were transferred across campus to the Aquia Building, which will house an expanded Data Center due to renovations on Thompson Hall. According to Walt Sevon, executive director for the Technology Systems Division of George Mason’s Information Technology Unit, the most important part of the move was successfully repositioning the center’s fiber patch panel. The panel, which serves as a conduit through which the Internet is channeled from more than 200 servers and then distributed to computers across campus, was replaced over a period of three weeks. “It was really important that we did it over the break,” Sevon said. “We didn’t want to do it while people were here.” The transition process was long and delicate. A new fiber patch panel was installed in the Aquia Building shortly after the fall semester […]