Recent Posts

• Stories from Solitary: Robert Hillary King Fights for the Angola Three

  Lifestyle October 1, 2009 at 2:50 pm Comments are Disabled

  Pras Gustanto, Staff Writer Picture a typical George Mason University dorm room. Now split the room in half and imagine how uncomfortable and agonizing it would be to live in that space for 30 years. As incredible as it sounds, solitary confinement has been the reality for Robert Hillary King, who spent three decades of his life locked in a small, six-by-nine prison cell. King visited Mason last Thursday to discuss his experiences in prison. King is part of the Angola Three, the name given to three men who had been incarcerated in Angola Prison, La., for starting a movement against the prison administration’s unethical practices. At the time, the prison was known for being the most brutal and discriminatory prison in the U.S. According to King, violence was a routine occurrence. Inmates were often forced into homosexuality and forms of prisoner prostitution. His experience is common. According to the documentary The Farm, 85 percent of the inmates who are sent to Angola will die there. For the past three decades King, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox were placed in solitary confinement for their actions. King was released in 2001, but Wallace and Woodfox remain sentenced. According to King, the […]

   

• Covering the President: Three Authors Weigh in on the Obama Presidency

  Lifestyle October 1, 2009 at 2:46 pm Comments are Disabled

  Deena Smith, Staff Writer The election of President Barack Obama will remain a milestone in American history. After his election, however, questions about the future of the country have been plentiful. Many of these questions were discussed during last Wednesday’s Fall for the Book presentation, “Understanding Obama.” Each of the three authors attending presented unique and engaging perspectives on the Obama presidency. The first speaker, Niall Stanage, author of Redemption Song: An Irish Reporter Insider the Obama Campaign, said the perception of the United States has increased favorably since Obama entered the presidential election. According to Stanage, the Global Attitudes Project’s most recent statistics in 2006 showed that favorability of the U.S. jumped in Germany from 37 to 64 percent and in Spain from 23 to 58 percent. In France, the favorability almost doubled from 39 to 75 percent. Stanage said reasons for this increase could be because Obama is a Democrat and the Republicans lost respect because of former President George W. Bush, but also because Obama gave back the “mythic sense of America.” Stanage said Obama restored some of the founding principles of our country, such as a sense of possibility and a policy of zero tolerance on […]

   

• From the Silver Screen to the Director’s Chair: Ten of the Best Actors Turned Directors of All Time

  Lifestyle October 1, 2009 at 2:44 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer In the next few weeks, many famous actors will be going behind the camera to try their hands at directorial debuts. In honor of this, I present the greatest actors turned directors: 10. George Clooney He may have started off as Dr. Ross on ER, but now George Clooney is also known for his exceptional directing. Good Night and Good Luck earned him an Oscar nomination for best director, and even though his other films Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Leatherheads haven’t been as good, he shows a style that beckons back to the golden age of film. 9. Mel Gibson Say what you will about the man, but Mel Gibson can direct. With 1995’s Braveheart, which won Best Picture, and controversial choices like The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto, Gibson isn’t afraid to tackle unusual topics and come out surprising the audience with what he can do. 8. Ben Stiller Ben Stiller has directed three of the most famous cult comedies in recent years: Reality Bites, The Cable Guy and Zoolander. However last summer’s Tropic Thunder showed Stiller’s range, from the fake trailers at the beginning to the action-heavy comedy, Stiller announced himself […]

   

• Off-Campus Eats: Increase in Dining Choices

  Lifestyle October 1, 2009 at 2:43 pm Comments are Disabled

  Evan Benton, Staff Writer My friends and I used to joke around when heading off, four or five guys to a car, on our weekly exodus to Chipotle. We’d all get burritos and then, when asked how we were planning to pay, flash our green and gold student IDs and confidently state, “Freedom, please.” In which case the cashier would look at us quizzically and we’d front some Jacksons. Or, in my case, nine or 10 Washingtons. Great joke. But now things are different; sort of. Now we can use Mason Money, George Mason University’s debit card system, at Chipotle as well as many other places — and not just restaurants, either. To put the concept of Mason Money in a nutshell, one simply goes to the Mason Money office (or any of the five Card Management stations on campus) deposits any sum, and this money goes on the student’s account, immediately accessed by swiping those handy ID cards. Now, if one wanted, they can take their cards and get a carnitas burrito. And although I don’t know many people with a Mason Money account, the fact that Mason is making an off-campus meal as easy as one, two, swipe […]

   

• In Bed with Billy: Experience and Reason: The Age of Enlightenment

  Lifestyle October 1, 2009 at 2:39 pm Comments are Disabled

  Billy Curtis, Sex Columnist In the earlier years, many philosophers believed that in order to find the absolute truth in this world one had to doubt everything, question everything, and eventually a person would—through experience and reason—find the pure truth they were looking for. This way of thinking can also be applied to dating. Let’s face it. As years progress and time continues to slip away, we can see the people around us continuing to lose faith in their search for happiness. So many times we have been hurt, shed unnecessary tears and overthought every aspect of our past relationships in the hopes that something we missed or misunderstood would bring more light to our lost causes. We continue our search for love, but as time goes on, after every ache and pain, we lose more and more of ourselves in the hope that someday something new or better will come along and save us from the prison we have entrapped ourselves in. I bring this topic up, because I have a very dear friend who has for all intense and purpose given up hope for her happiness. Marie was an intelligent, beautiful and hilarious woman in her mid 20s. […]

   

• Kid Cudi Reaches for the Moon: Rapper Bursts on the Scene with Second Debut Album of Hip-Hop’s 2009 Freshman Class

  Lifestyle October 1, 2009 at 2:35 pm Comments are Disabled

  Luis Perez, Broadside Correspondent Last December, hip-hop magazine XXL wrote a feature piece on 10 relatively unknown MC’s, deeming them hip-hop’s “freshman class of ‘09.” Among that list of up-and-coming future stars was Kid Cudi. Kid Cudi’s major-label debut, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, is the second release from the ’09 freshman class, following Asher Roth’s mildly received Asleep in the Bread Aisle last April, and the similarities between the two end at their mutual affinity for celebrating April 20. Cudi makes it clear on more than one occasion that he doesn’t have much in common with anyone at all, which in a twist of irony is Cudi’s major selling point. If you had the chance to catch Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark tour, Man on the Moon’s format will seem suspiciously similar. Divided into five acts, the concept album follows Cudi’s consciousness through the night, beginning with the end and ending with a new beginning. Narrated by fellow G.O.O.D. artist Common. Kanye’s 808 and Heartbreak presence is felt even further on tracks like “Sky Might Fall” and “My World,” where Cudi raps from a the shell of a boy banking on being top-dog sometime further […]

   

• Patriots Pummel Retrievers: Mason Women’s Soccer Holds UMBC Scoreless

  Sports October 1, 2009 at 2:06 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor The George Mason University women’s soccer team took on University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers Tuesday night. The Retrievers were winless coming into the match and were winless going out. The Patriots took care of the match by scoring three times in the second half. There was only one goal in the first half at the 12-minute mark, scored by freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger. For the goal, senior forward Annie Lebherz found Kallenberger at the top of the box, who turned for the goal, the first in 33 minutes. “We were getting it in there, but we were a little bit off in our selection or we were a little bit too tight in our outside,” said Head Coach Diane Drake. This shows how, while the Patriots seemed to have countless scoring opportunities, they were unable to capitalize. Drake gave a motivating halftime speech, leading to three second-half goals. The Patriots learned from their dismal first-half showing and attacked with gusto in the second half, and, with heightened communication and hustle. The second half success came to a head when Kallenberger scored the goal after a block, followed 30 seconds later by a score from […]

   

• Revenge of the Patriots: Rematch of 2008 Sweet 16

  Sports October 1, 2009 at 2:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ebad Khan, Broadside Correspondent The highly anticipated matchup between the George Mason University men’s soccer team and the Maryland Terrapins will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The Patriots will look to avenge their 2-0 loss on Nov. 25 last season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins, the second-seed in the tournament, ended the dreams of the Patriot hopefuls, who advanced to the second round of the big tournament for the first time since 1996. Mason’s eight-game winning streak was snapped, sending seven of the Mason’s finest into collegiate retirement. For the Terrapins, they were able to enjoy their 2008 season on top, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels in the national title game. The senior co-captains midfielder Richard Edgar and goalkeeper Sean Kelley, who were also named to the 2009 Preseason All-CAA Team, plan to lead the young Patriots and seek revenge on a talented Maryland team. Mason started the season 3-2 with victories over the Howard Bison, Presbyterian Blue Hose, and the Richmond Spiders. The Patriots took the runner-up slot in the D.C. College Cup, suffering a 2-1 defeat to the American University Eagles. Mason competed in the Adidas Gamecock Classic in South Carolina, […]

   

• The Worldwide News of Sports

  Sports October 1, 2009 at 2:02 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ryan Dempsey, Broadside Correspondent UFC Ultimate Fighting Champion superstar Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has announced that he will retire from the UFC. Jackson announced his retirement for reasons such as being rushed into fights, past injuries and recent altercations with UFC President Dana White. The altercations with White and Jackson were caused after Jackson accepted the role of B.A. Baracus in the forthcoming A-Team movie, leaving White to scrap plans for the Dec. 12 bout between Jackson and Rashad Evans. “The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them,” stated Jackson, the former UFC light-heavyweight champion. “He’s acting like a baby right now, but he’s a grown man,” commented White on KHTK radio. No one knows exactly what this means for the UFC, but there is no question that this story will develop into something interesting in the future. Men’s Tennis Last week, tennis star Rafael Nadal announced that he will again be taking time off from the game. The announcement came after Nadal was seen by doctors. According to CNN News, “Dr Angel Ruiz Cottoro, medical services chief for the Spanish Tennis Federation, revealed the world number two has suffered an acute […]

   

• Mason Looks to Muzzle Huskies

  Sports October 1, 2009 at 2:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  Yasin Jama, Broadside Correspondent The George Mason University women’s soccer team, ranked fifth in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Polls, will continue their conference tune-up when they host the Northeastern Huskies. The game will be played at George Mason Stadium at 2 p.m. The team is off to a great start with its young roster, winning eight of the first nine games. Redshirt junior midfielder Omolyn Davis leads the team with six goals and has 14 points. Davis is among two other players with 14 points, which includes senior forward Kelly Keelan and freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger. Keelan has four goals and six assists while Kallenberger has three goals and five assists. Fellow freshman goalkeeper Katie Frey earned the CAA Rookie of the Week this week. Of Mason’s eight victories, four of them have come from playing at home, that stat propelled by the fact that Mason has not given up an opposing team’s goal at home. With the exception of Mason’s 3-1 loss to the Pennsylvania Quakers, Mason has been terrific so far in the 2009 season. However, Mason could be facing its toughest game of the season this Sunday when they take on the third-ranked Huskies. Freshman Devin Pets […]