Recent Posts

• In My Own Words: Final Four: Setting Up for the Excitement and Looking for Closure

  Sports December 1, 2009 at 4:40 pm Comments are Disabled

  Fernanda Bartels, Staff Writer We concluded our regular season schedule with a victory against our rival, the James Madison Dukes. We finished the regular season with a 21-8 record and qualified for the CAA Tournament as the third seed. Today, we look to prolong our season as we face the second-ranked Delaware Blue Hens at Virginia Commonwealth University. The winner in our match and the winner in the matchup between the top-seeded VCU Rams and the William & Mary Tribe will face off in the conference championship tomorrow. With our season reaching its end, we have been reflecting about our team and where we stand in the conference playoffs. I am proud to say that we are not the same team as we were in August; we are more confident and mindful of the game. These strengths were built with a lot of sweat, hours in the gym and time on the court. I am also proud to say that we have been playing our finest volleyball since I came to George Mason University. During the spring and all throughout the season, we had one goal in mind. Our goal was to make it to the tournament. This year, the […]

   

• Inside the Locker Room: A Closer Look at the Cleveland Cavaliers

  Sports December 1, 2009 at 4:38 pm Comments are Disabled

  Cody Norman, Staff Writer There is just something about multi-million dollar athletes that cause people to mistake them for superhuman beings with fat pockets and big heads. I was given the unique opportunity to explore the depths of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room before and after the game on Saturday night Nov. 14 against the Utah Jazz. I discovered that the exact opposite was true of these professionals. They’re just people like you and me. 5:45 p.m. I arrived at the Quicken Loans Arena and took a walk down to the court. While standing courtside, Zydrunas Ilgauskas finished his warm-up, and prior to returning to the locker room, “Z” stopped to acknowledge each and every fan that called his name from the bottom row of the arena. He spent several minutes signing autographs and posing for pictures with Cavaliers fans and even a few Jazz fans along the way. I was impressed with Z’s willingness to laugh and joke with his fans after 11 years of being in the league. He was and still is a true class act. 6 p.m. Head Coach Mike Brown typically speaks to the media for about 90 minutes before the opening tip. The Cleveland […]

   

• Tough Turkeys: Giving Thanks to an Established Free Market

  Sports December 1, 2009 at 4:36 pm Comments are Disabled

  1. Compared to the other holidays, where does Thanksgiving rank in terms of your favorites? 2. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish? 3. If there was one piece of turkey left, and you and another person wanted it badly, what would you do to get it? Kelsey Bohman 1. First 2. Mashed potatoes 3. Trade one of the bread rolls Tiana Kallenberger 1. First 2. Mashed potatoes and gravy 3. Push my sisters out of the way or have a dance off with them Ryan Pearson 1. Second 2. Fried chicken 3. I probably would pay him for it. Probably spot him a five for that

   

• Get to Know Your Opponent

  Sports December 1, 2009 at 12:50 am Comments are Disabled

  Going from a 9-18 season to reaching the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament to winning the championship the hard way, the George Mason University women’s volleyball team will face another tough opponent in the Iowa State Cyclones. Recently jumping two spots to fifth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll, the Cyclones have an impressive résumé to show for in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. While this season was a turnaround season for Mason, Iowa State successfully reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season with a school-best 25 wins in 2009. Last season, the team reached the regional final before falling to the Texas Longhorns. The Cyclones are competing at a high level with Big 12 Coach of the Year Christy Johnson-Lynch. The Cyclones are equipped with three All-Conference First Team players, including the two-time Big 12 Libero of the Year Ashley Mass, who led the conference with 537 digs. Junior outside hitter Victoria Henson finished third in the conference with 4.13 kills per set. Whereas Mason is comprised of dispersed talent, the Cyclones’ players are concentrated in the midwest region. Despite the difference in makeup of the team, both Mason and Iowa State share some similarities. As […]

   

• The Saga Continues

  Sports November 29, 2009 at 5:34 pm Comments are Disabled

  The women’s volleyball team will travel to Ames to take on the Iowa State Cyclones in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The match will start at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4. Coming off a conference championship win over the VCU Rams, Mason faces a tough challenge in the seventh-seeded Cyclones, who finished second in the Big 12 conference. Mason, the only team in the Colonial Athletic Association to have qualified for the NCAA Tournament, will look to continue their journey into the midwest with the CAA Player of the Year Holly Goode and Coach of the Year Pat Kendrick.

   

• Rally Pats Win Eighth Conference Title

  Sports November 25, 2009 at 3:27 am Comments are Disabled

  The women’s volleyball team had a set point advantage in each of the first two sets, but the team was unable to put away the VCU Rams in either set. Despite being down 2-0 on Tuesday night, Mason rallied from behind for the second straight day to capture their eighth conference title in school history. Mason scored the first five points in the fifth set and held on to win the set, 15-9. Junior opposite hitter and middle blocker Holly Goode added the Most Oustanding Player award to her list of accomplishments for the 2009 season. Goode recorded 20 kills and 16 digs. Goode, senior outside hitter Rebecca Walter and sophomore outside hitter Noelle Fanella each recorded double-doubles in the championship match. Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman and junior setter Fernanda Bartels were named to the All-Tournament Team. Bartels posted 57 assists, and Bohman contributed 13 kills. Mason last won a conference title in 2003. Six years later, the team added their eighth title, placing them in a tie for most conference titles with the William & Mary Tribe. Tuesday night’s championship match was also historic in the sense that Mason became the first team to rally from a two-set deficit […]

   

• Third Try is a Charm

  Sports November 23, 2009 at 10:52 pm Comments are Disabled

  The women’s volleyball team defeated the Delaware Blue Hens when it mattered most. Down 2-1 in sets, Mason prolonged their successful season by taking the final two sets. The VCU Rams swept the William & Mary Tribe in three sets to set up a tantalizing matchup between Mason and the Rams. Junior opposite hitter and middle blocker Holly Goode, who was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, led all players with 20 kills. With 14 digs, Goode notched her 10th double-double this season. In their two meetings this season, Mason dropped both matches in straight sets. This time around, Mason built a 20-15 lead, but the Blue Hens rallied to cut the lead to one, 24-23. Mason finally won their first set against the Blue Hens with a kill from Goode. Mason led 18-13 in the second set, but the team was unable to stave off the Blue Hens’ rally. Outside hitter Kelly Gibson served two aces to close the gap to 18-17, and by the time Head Coach Pat Kendrick, the CAA Coach of the Year, called timeout, Mason could not recover from the Blue Hens’ rally. After leading 18-13, Mason allowed the Blue Hens to […]

   

• Ten9Eight Shoots for the Moon and Misses

  Lifestyle November 21, 2009 at 5:10 pm Comments are Disabled

  by Josh Hylton, Staff Writer Upon arrival at the official website for the new documentary, Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon, the first thing to catch the eye is a quote praising the film. The quote comes from the U.S. Secretary of Education. Clicking further through, quotes from the Chancellor of New York City Schools and the Executive Director of the Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore are highlighted. The one thing all of these people have in common is their affinity for learning and watching students succeed. Though their intentions are noble, they, by all accounts, really have no idea of what constitutes a good or bad movie. They merely see the message, an admittedly good one, but fail to recognize the film’s importance, or in this case unimportance. While certainly not a terrible documentary, it is not something I can see garnering much praise upon its release. Ten9Eight follows a select group of inner city teenagers as they compete on a national scale in the National Youth Entrepreneurship contest where they create their own products and businesses and pitch them to a group of judges who decide which entrepreneur has the most viable business model. By […]

   

• Construction Sites Near Completion: Students Show Concern for On-Going Campus Building Projects

  News1 November 17, 2009 at 5:10 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brenda Shepard, Staff Writer Whether they have been woken up by the sound of hammers, or were rerouted on their way to class, most of the student body is tired of seeing the caution tape and chain link fences. For many students, faculty and staff, construction has been going on from the time they stepped foot on campus. In many cases, students have become numb to the fact that construction has been taking place in nearly every corner of George Mason University. Many students now cannot walk through this campus without construction around every turn. “It was here when we came, so I don’t know any different,” said freshman dance major Tikiri Shapiro. “But one time something fell from the ceiling during [dance] class. Our teacher said, ‘just keep dancing.’” For students living in the Student Apartments, the treacherous journey through the maze of construction along Aquia Creek Lane can be a hassle. Fortunately, the new Data Center next to Student Union Builing I, which will provide “swing space” for displaced departments and offices while other buildings undergo renovation, is scheduled to be completed by April 2010. Some students, however, have yet to even take notice of the construction which […]

   

• Former Peruvian Senator Speaks to Mason: Riots Among Indigenous Amazonians Spark Discussion

  News1 November 17, 2009 at 5:08 pm Comments are Disabled

  Amanda Cheek, News Editor Former Peruvian Senator Javier Diez Canseco traveled to George Mason University to speak to students on the Amazonian struggle, protests and conflict in Peru. The lecture, titled “Rising Up: The Amazonian Struggle in Peru,” was sponsored by Latin American Studies, Global Interdisciplinary Affairs, and the Center for Global Studies at Mason, and was held Nov. 12 in Student Union Building II. Diez Canseco, a current human rights activist who works closely with regional organizations and indigenous movements in Peru, discussed the 2008-2009 confrontations between the Amazonian indigenous peoples and the Peruvian state in his lecture, such as the Bagua confrontation, which occurred during late May and early June of 2009. During this conflict, Peruvian police were sent in to dislodge thousands of indigenous protesters who had taken to the streets in protest of government decreed laws that would give multinational corporations free reign to explore oil in indigenous territories. “In some of the worst violence seen in Peru in 20 years, the Indians this week warned Latin America what could happen if companies are given free access to the Amazonian forests to exploit an estimated 6bn barrels of oil and take as much timber they like. […]