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• Pro-Life Supporters Descend on D.C.: Students Participate in Annual March For Life

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 6:49 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor Masses of people lined the streets at The Mall in Washington, DC, shouting, chanting, singing and praying last Friday to participate in the annual March for Life. On the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, which ruled that most laws against abortion violated a constitutional right to privacy, thousands of people found their way to the District of Columbia to support the pro-life movement. The March for Life, which has been held annually since 1974, gives people who support pro-life laws a means to come from all over America to express their feelings and sentiments towards the laws and lawmakers that currently support abortion. According to Examiner.com, more than 300,000 people descended on the Capitol, with some informal estimates ranging from 250,000 to 400,000 people. The event began at noon, as participants gathered for a rally on the Washington Mall until 2 p.m., after which the group marched along Constitution Avenue, to the side of the Capitol building, then along 1st Street NE to the Supreme Court building, where they finally gathered again. Many diverse groups participated – the old and the young, men and women, people from the district itself […]

   

• Anthropology 114: Students Win Award for Class Project

  News1 February 2, 2010 at 6:47 pm Comments are Disabled

  Sonya Hudson, Managing Editor Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion University
and James Madison University each have 21 less Public Anthropology Award winners than George Mason University, specifically Professor Susan Trencher’s Anthropology 114 class, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Students from Trencher’s class participated in the Public Anthropology Community Action Website Project, in which students from different universities write professional-style op-ed pieces that are published on the web for other students to peer-review. All are anonymous. Students from participating universities judge the best work. The purpose of the project, according to the Public Anthropology Community Action Website, is to get students actively engaged in discussions with students from other universities with different life-experiences about “ethical issues that lie at the interface of anthropology and the contemporary world.” One of the 21 Mason award winners, Masoud Sultan, found the project to be rewarding. “The Community Action Project was a thoughtful experience that really opened my eyes that there are issues around the world that go unnoticed,” said Sultan, a sophomore majoring in information technology. The project not only enlightened the students on issues beyond their own backyard, but also helped to improve their writing skills. For award winner Sarah DiGiovine, a sophomore majoring in government […]

   

• A New Low in Diet Disorders

  Lifestyle February 2, 2010 at 6:45 pm Comments are Disabled

  Patrick Wall, Style Editor By all accounts, Kathleen MacDonald was a normal child. She was a little thin, but she was a runner – it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Despite this, MacDonald says she was dying. Growing up, her mother taught her that thin was the way to be. So at age 12, she stopped eating lunch, a habit she’d keep for 16 years. As she got older, MacDonald’s illness brought her to the brink of death. To disguise it, she started drinking heavily. Her condition cost her friends, jobs and even an education – she was kicked out of college three times. All seemed lost. Then, in July of 2002, MacDonald traveled to Washington, DC to give a testimony in front of Congress. The topic? The severity of eating disorders. Her speech was raw and heartbreaking. “I do not want to live my life as a result of anorexia,” MacDonald said before the House of Representatives. “However, I am scared that I might have been sick for too long now, and I wonder if the costs of anorexia will force me to become part of the 2-5 percent statistic of eating disorder victims who take their own […]

   

• The Year in Cinema: A Frequent Flyer, Precious, An Old Man and a Bunch of Basterds Claim Top Spots

  Lifestyle February 2, 2010 at 6:43 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer 2009 was a year that ended the last decade on a good note. 2009 was the year of 3D, vampire love and the return of Sandra Bullock. Films broke box office records (Avatar), defied expectations (Paranormal Activity) and showed that animation was very important to filmmaking (Fantastic Mr. Fox). To wrap up this landmark year in film, here are the best and worst of 2009. The Worst 3. The Limits of Control A man with no name sits at a coffee shop. A stranger shows up, asks him the same questions that the person before him has asked and the same questions the person after him will ask. They trade matchstick boxes.The man receives a piece of paper, reads it and then eats the paper. Then it all repeats. Over and over. For two hours. The film ends in a third act that tries for a message but by that point, it’s too late to save this pretentious and dull film. 2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen When watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, it’s hard not to think that you are the butt of some elaborate joke led by Director Michael Bay. Bay attempts to […]

   

• Starbucks Hosts Local Music: Mason Musician Performs for Tuesday Jams

  Lifestyle February 2, 2010 at 6:37 pm Comments are Disabled

  Dylan Hares, Staff Writer The sound of music wafting through the air on Tuesday could be heard by all those passing through Chesapeake on their way to Starbucks. The music they heard was coming from Vincent Lacsamana, a senior finance major at George Mason University. He was the first performer on the bill for Program Board’s Tuesday Jams, held last week. Students may remember that for the past few semesters, Tuesday Jams had been hosted in Jazzman’s on the bottom floor of the JC, but due to the small attendance numbers, Program Board moved its event to Starbucks, a more popular coffee shop in a more traffic-heavy location. Luckily, Tuesday provided nice (albeit brisk) weather for the show to go on outside on the patio. Lacsamana opened up with a wonderful Jason Mraz cover, following up with emotional, acoustic versions of many popular songs from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5 and Death Cab for Cutie. He also played a sweet and touching version of T-Pain’s “Buy U a Drank.” Lacsamana displayed his vocal and guitar skill for a solid hour in the on-and-off cold wind to the attentive crowd. Applause was hard to come by but everyone passing […]

   

• The Upright Citizens Brigade Visits the District: Improv Troupe to Perform this Weekend

  Lifestyle February 2, 2010 at 6:33 pm Comments are Disabled

  Patrick Wall, Style Editor The Daily Show has been employing their alumni for years. So has Saturday Night Live. No, it’s not a university – it’s the improv comedy troupe known as The Upright Citizens Brigade. The troupe will be performing four shows over two days at the Harman Center for the Arts this Friday and Saturday. The Brigade formed in 1990 by a group of comedians from Chicago including SNL’s Matt Besser and Horatio Sanz. After nearly ten years in Chicago, the group moved to New York City where they performed and gave lessons on improvisational comedy. Their stage show became so popular that they opened their own improv studio in New York. In 1998, the troupe earned its own show on Comedy Central. The self-titled show featured the troupe’s most famous cast, including Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh and Amy Poehler. Despite rave reviews from critics, the show ended after three seasons. Although the cast has since changed, the troupe tours the country, performing its edgy and hilarious comedy for eager audiences all over the world. Audiences and critics alike have praised them for their work, including former late night host Conan O’Brien who said, “They are doing […]

   

• Contra Breaks New Ground: Vampire Weekend’s Sophomore Album Delivers the Goods

  Lifestyle February 2, 2010 at 6:31 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ramy Zabarah, Broadside Correspondent Since their sudden appearance in 2008, Vampire Weekend has been one of the more unique bands in the indie rock scene. Their self-titled debut album brought them the popularity such a group could only dream of having, especially considering New York City has no dearth of local indie bands. And with popularity comes great responsibility. Contra, the band’s second album, does not disappoint. In fact, it only gets better with each listen. A huge step up from the self-produced first album, Contra has the same indie pop sound with the same African influence reminiscent of Paul Simon’s Graceland with a fuller, more mature and better-produced mix. Not to mention electronic drums! Vampire Weekend can be defined by their unique use of percussion, distinct guitar tones and lead singer Ezra Koenig’s raw vocals. Fortunately, none of these have been compromised. The opening track “Horchata” is a soft, percussion-heavy song that is sure to put you in the mood to sit back, relax, and do absolutely nothing but sip on your favorite drink and wonder where your worries went. Did I already mention electronic drums? Vampire Weekend doesn’t shy away from them. But instead of taking away from […]

   

• In Bed with Billy: Go Long, Go Strong

  Lifestyle February 2, 2010 at 6:29 pm Comments are Disabled

  Billy Curtis, Sex Columnist Men have always been obsessed with their penises – their size, shape and even their capabilities to function properly. Freud, among others, made many inquiries and theories regarding the penis, and then there is my personal favorite to witness: the male preoccupation with size that can be seen with every moron driving a Hummer or big SUV to compensate for their lack of height . . . or rather length. But when function isn’t exactly attainable for the penis during intercourse, it is the partner who is left hanging (pun intended) that suffers just as much – if not more – than the person who is actually dangling with impotence. Luckily, I’ve never had a problem in the erection department, but I can’t say the same for some of the people I’ve dated in the past. In “Women and Impotence: A Woman’s Point of View About Male Impotence” by Colette Bouchez, Andrew McCullough, director of sexual health at New York University Medical Center, notes that partners tend to take erectile dysfunction to heart: “Women internalize things – they tend to blame themselves first,” and he continues to explain that this is because partners think that it […]

   

• Rate My Professor

  Lifestyle February 2, 2010 at 6:28 pm Comments are Disabled

  Evan Benton, Staff Writer When I first came to George Mason University at the tail end of the glorious, eye-awakening summer of 2006, I braced myself for what, at the time, seemed like the only part of college I should prepare for: the classes. I was told by a plethora of former students and high school teachers prior to my college career that, “In college, I will be just a number in a sea of faces; a student with no identity, whose only method of communicating with his professors is via e-mail, as they don’t take questions during class.” This is a rough paraphrase of what I was told, but every one of those sentiments was expressed in some way to me. I found out quickly that this was not the case and, except in classes that are laughably nonessential for majors like mine (EVPP 110, SOC 101, IT 103), I have been exposed to many classes of the most intimate and friendly variety. College professors, like the aforementioned classes they taught, I figured, would be different from the many high school teachers I had over the years: men and women with higher salaries, many of them published authors. These […]

   

• Kallenberger: A Fresh Face: First-Year Forward Makes All-Conference Impact

  Sports February 2, 2010 at 6:25 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Assistant Sports Editor Freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger has been devoted to sports and has used her skills at George Mason University to power through defenses to put herself in the running for conference awards. Before coming to Mason, she played for the Trojans of University High School in Irvine, Calif. More than a decade ago, Kallenberger’s parents pushed her to play a wide variety of sports, throwing her into the world of an athlete at a young age. She spent her time playing soccer, basketball and swimming, while involved in student council and some school clubs. “In the beginning, I had [no skill]; it was just a bunch of running around,” Kallenberger said of the beginning of her soccer career. Her coaches molded her into an impact soccer player, which became her biggest influence in the game. “In addition to her exceptional soccer skills and natural athleticism, Tiana is also an extremely hard working and dedicated person,” said her former high school coach Chip Fuller. “Her individual work ethic is very rare in someone so young.” In high school, this led to Tiana receiving All-League and All-County honors. This season, she looked to make an impact and bring […]