Recent Posts

• Letter To The Editor

  Editorials October 20, 2009 at 2:26 pm 2 comments

  Mitchell Huber, History On behalf of the Environmental Awareness Group: In last week’s paper, Alan Moore tried to convince us that anthropogenic climate change is “laughable.” As a group dedicated to fighting global warming on campus, we’d like to correct a few of Mr. Moore’s claims, and tell you why this issue is no laughing matter. The first and most glaring error he makes is that the “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that the rising sea levels may in fact be cyclical and there is no evidence that man contributes to these.” In reality, the IPCC’s most recent report found there was over a 90 percent likelihood that global warming is in fact human-caused. His next claim is that new glaciers are forming, offsetting the hundreds that are melting so rapidly. He is not alone – many people, Alaskans, this summer claimed that local glaciers were expanding because they were advancing further than before. However, as Chris Larsen of the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute explains, “Terminus advance, in this case, is not a sign of a healthy glacier. Quite the opposite.” In fact, it is glacial melt that causes these glaciers to drop in elevation and thus advance […]

   

• Patriots Pluck Blue Hens: Mason Garners First Win in Three Games against Delaware

  Sports October 20, 2009 at 2:20 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor It was a cold and rainy night, but a night for two teams that needed a win. The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens came in at 5-7-0 overall, needing to turn around their losing season. The Fightin’ Blue Hens were 2-2-0 in the CAA, setting up for an important conference matchup. The George Mason Patriots came into the game 7-3-1 overall, continuing their success from last year. Unfortunately, they have not lived up to their own conference expectations, beating the formidable foe William & Mary, yet subsequently losing to the dismal Towson Tigers. To continue boasting a winning conference record, the Patriots would need to play against not only Delaware, but also the terrible weather conditions. At kickoff, the temperature was in the 40s, paired with a drizzle that never seemed to stop. “We lost to Towson last week; we should have won against James Madison. Now . . . we want to win everything,” said sophomore midfielder Ryan Gracia on the two non-wins last week. The night seemed to be characterized by awful plays from both sides, completely missing passes directly to them, missing foul shots over the box from just a few yards away […]

   

• Rugby: Here to Stay

  Sports October 20, 2009 at 2:18 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ryan Dempsey, Staff Writer There are so many club teams at George Mason University that so few actually know about. One of those is the Mason rugby club teams. Rugby at Mason has a team for men and another for women. The men’s rugby team was founded in 1963 and is the oldest club team on the Fairfax campus. The men’s rugby team has held a winning record in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The National Guard has sponsored the team since 2007. The women’s team is new to Mason, founded spring 2009. Both teams compete against other NCAA Division II schools that bring about a lot of competition. The men’s rugby team currently has 45 players on the roster and three coaches that bring vast international playing experience from England, France and South Africa. The women’s team has 25 players and one head coach. Practices are held for both teams Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Intramural Field 4. “We are very proud of our players,” said men’s Head Coach Frederic Bardot. “We were the clearly superior team, but we never lost our focus. Now we are still undefeated, but the real test comes next week […]

   

• Running Club: A Step in a New Direction

  Sports October 20, 2009 at 2:16 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ryan Dempsey, Staff Writer If you are a student interested in running with others, now you can. One of the newer club teams at George Mason University is the Mason Runners’ Club. The runner’s club was founded in spring 2008 by juniors Nadar Hussein and Blake Silver and officially became a Mason club team the following fall semester. “The only way students were able to competitively run on campus was by being a part of the NCAA division I varsity team,” said Silver. “We wanted something more accessible for students to be apart of and that’s why we formed the club.” Practices are held at the track behind the Field House every weekday except Thursday. Athletes on the team range from complete beginners to very experienced runners and the team welcomes new runners to join year-round. There are currently 60 members on the team, half of which are active members. To be an active member of the club, a runner has to attend just one practice per week. So far this season, the team has competed in two races. The first event was the Maymont Invitational in Richmond Va., where the team competed against many teams including University of Virginia’s […]

   

• The Dance Begins: The NBA Season Will be Filled with Highs and Lows, but Nothing Unexpected

  Sports October 20, 2009 at 2:15 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor It’s that time of year again. People are once again ready for the whistles of corrupt referees, the yelling of corrupt coaches and the self-centered play of the stars of the court. With the preseason starting up, the National Basketball Association looks to rectify its broken past with the new season. “We did in fact tweak the language on traveling in this year’s book,” commented NBA Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson on a rule change. For a variety of reasons, mostly because players keep getting away with it, anyone can now take two steps without a traveling call. Now the NBA has finally made some changes to better their sport, second only to the replay rules that have already overturned wins and losses after the post-game celebration. In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics look to add another championship to the 17 they have already earned and the Wizards look to have a breakout year. The Orlando Magic had a great year, winning the championship out of the third seed, but Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis probably cannot put together a good playoff run twice in a row. The Cleveland Cavaliers look […]

   

• In My Own Words: Back to the RAC, Part II

  Sports October 20, 2009 at 2:11 pm Comments are Disabled

  Fernanda Bartels, Staff Writer We started the month of October on the right note. On the first weekend, we played our first home conference games. It was a tough weekend, but it felt amazing to play our conference games in our new gym. With our new gym, our sense of “protection” of home court increased. We are starting a history for the RAC and we want to start it right. We played the VCU Rams and the William & Mary Tribe, ranked second and third in the CAA respectively. We were able to pull off the victory against the Rams in five sets on Friday, but we did not have the same luck against the Tribe on Saturday. In our conference, everyone plays at a similar level. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. For example, the Hofstra Pride, ranked seventh, took a set against the Delaware Blue Hens, the undefeated conference leader. When it comes down to winning, details such as having home court advantage, having the momentum of the game or having a crowd cheering for you makes the difference. For that reason, I personally would like to thank the crowd for showing up at the Friday […]

   

• Halloween Rock: Deathklok and Mastodon to Headline Halloween Show at Patriot Center

  Lifestyle October 16, 2009 at 5:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  Pearson Jones, Asst. Style Editor Halloween provides the yearly excuse to dress up as some of the strangest and most iconic characters without looking too out of place in public. In keeping with the Halloween spirit of make believe characters, George Mason University has scheduled the virtual cartoon death metal band Dethklok to perform at the Patriot Center this Hallows-Eve. Also known as the TV-famed cartoon band featured on the show Metalocalypse that’s aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, Dethklok will be joined on stage by Grammy-nominated heavy metal band Mastodon as the two groups continue on their “Adult Swim Presents” tour. Mastodon has become a driving force in recent years behind the movement of new wave American heavy metal and also have been connected to some of Adult Swim’s shows by donating songs, most notably to Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Most people are familiar with Dethklok as the drawn out Scandinavian band from Metalocalypse, but during their tour, audiences will be able to see a more realistic side to this comedy rock band, a style of their own that can only be slightly compared to that of GWAR and Spinal Tap. However, ultimate question becomes how does a fake […]

   

• Mason’s Own Fall Classic: Mason Fall Sports Teams Experience Highs and Lows of the 2009 Season

  Sports October 6, 2009 at 2:18 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Women’s Cross Country The women’s cross country team matched the men’s team with a sixth-place finish at the James Madison University Open Invitational. The team averaged a time of 21:39.70, whereas both Duke Blue Devils’ teams won the meet. Junior Samantha Fickel ranked 31st overall, crossing the finish line at 20:42.30. Three sophomores also placed in the top 100. Karlyn Lockie and Kailyn Lockie finished in 84th and 90th, respectively, while Elizabeth Smith inched past a Delaware Blue Hens runner by one second for 100th place. The team also competed in the Lou Onesty Invitational, where freshman Rochelle Sceats placed fifth in 18:46.90. Under the Scope: Fickel, Mason’s top runner last year, enters this season with high hopes again. Last season, she was only one of two Mason runners to participate in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. In addition to her 31st-place finish at the JMU Open Invitational, Fickel finished in 16th place at the Lou Onesty Invitational. Men’s Cross Country The men’s cross country team opened their 2009 campaign at the James Madison University Open Invitational at the New Market Battlefield last month. Mason took sixth place among the nine competing schools. Senior James […]

   

• Mission Accomplished: Men’s Soccer Dethrones National Champions

  Sports October 6, 2009 at 2:12 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor The George Mason University men’s soccer team came into the game against the Maryland Terrapins with little to prove. Maryland was ranked third in the nation and needed to prove their season after a loss to their rival, the North Carolina Tar Heels. In the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the Mason Patriots lost 2-0 to Maryland. The appearance was the farthest the Patriots went into the postseason since 1996, and the loss snapped an eight-game winning streak. The Terrapins went on to win the national championship by defeating North Carolina. Mason came out of the gate with their usual high-energy offense and even though the ball possession was fairly even, junior forward Victor Freeman shocked the Terrapins. Freeman charged the goal and, staring down Maryland sophomore goalkeeper Zac MacMath, deposited the ball into the right corner. “We’ve been playing better lately. I think the second half of Longwood got us off on the right foot. We’d been very lethargic up to that game,” said Head Coach Greg Andrulis of his team’s potent high-energy offense. Maryland continued their comparatively slow level of play during the first half of the game. However, Mason stayed […]

   

• Act V: Mason Dodges Past the Rams

  Sports October 6, 2009 at 2:11 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Sophomore outside hitter Noelle Fanella fell one dig short of a double-double in last year’s loss to the VCU Rams in Richmond, but she still had a solid 11-kill performance. On Friday night, Fanella topped last year’s performance with a career-high 18 kills as she helped the women’s volleyball team (13-5, 2-1) win its conference home opener against the Rams (12-6, 1-1) in a five-set thriller (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 21-25, 15-11). Mason returned to the RAC after playing its last 10 games on the road and opened conference play with a 1-1 record. The team opened the first set with an 8-3 lead and played at ease before taking the first game, 25-21. The Rams came as close as three points when they cut the lead to 24-21, but Mason was able to hold on as middle blockers and opposite hitters, senior Laura Turner and junior Holly Goode, recorded a set-ending block. “[Winning the first set] was very important because we knew VCU was going to have a very good team, so we wanted to try to set the pace early,” said Head Coach Pat Kendrick. The team again gained the early advantage by taking […]