Recent Posts

D.C. Bike Share Program Brings Resource to Students

Featured, News1 October 31, 2012 at 10:48 am Comments are Disabled

Mason students, staff and faculty members can now travel efficiently around campus, while promoting a sustainable environment at the same time, thanks to Patriot Bikeshare. Founded this September, Patriot Bikeshare enhances transportation options around campus and makes bicycles more accessible for people who do not own them. “It is an easy way to travel short distances,” said bicycle and recycling coordinator Tyler Orton, who works with the Office of Parking and Transportation as well as the Office of Sustainability. Patriot Bikeshare is unique because it is the only fully automated bikeshare model. Unlike other models, such as Washington D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare, no permanent infrastructure is needed. The bicycles, provided by ViaCycle, are unlocked through a mobile application or through sending a text message to a designated number. At this point, 20 bicycles are available for rental from four on-campus locations: the Northern Neck Starbucks, the Johnson Center North Plaza, the Shenandoah (Sandy Creek) parking deck and the SUB I Quad by Krug Hall. Riders can pay $3 for a one-time 12-hour rental, or pay $6 to become a monthly member and receive unlimited two-hour rentals. Riders are charged $1 for each additional half hour. The bicycle fleet was purchased through […]
Campus Students Host “Love Week” to Raise Money for Kids in Need

Featured, News1 October 31, 2012 at 10:43 am Comments are Disabled

Paper. Pencils. Pens. These items are most likely taken for granted by students at Mason. But to the children living in Old Naledi, Botswana, they make a world of difference. Under the direction of staff member Brett Miller, Mason’s Campus Crusade for Christ organization, otherwise known as Cru, chose Botswana as the country it will be aiding during this year’s Love Week beginning on Oct. 29. In its previous two years, the organization has chosen to help Haiti and South Sudan. Mackenzie Snider, a conflict analysis and resolution major who has taken on a leadership role in this year’s Love Week, says the goal is to raise $18,000, to package two thousand backpacks with school supplies and to start a mentorship program for the children in Old Naledi. Additionally, Cru staff will send student-made videos, supplying the children with added encouragement. “We’re trying to change all of these kids’ lives and the country of Botswana,” said Joanna Kirby, a junior psychology major, who is co-directing the event with Erwin Camacho, a sophomore systems engineering major. Cru’s objective is not simply to provide the children of Old Naledi with supplies that will improve their lives, but to allow the children and […]
Professor Uses Replacement Program for Blackboard

News1 October 31, 2012 at 10:41 am Comments are Disabled

Every class, freshman Minneli Seneviratne walks into Enterprise Hall 80 and sees approximately 150 unfamiliar faces. In any other class this size, lecture after lecture, these faces usually remain unknown and the class loses its human touch. “I immediately felt relaxed,” Seneviratne said of the Government 132: Introduction to International Politics class. “But the same time I felt, am I not going to learn effectively?” Her professor, Peter Mandaville, has found a way to overcome the barrier of numbers. Enter Lore: a new, multifaceted, online tool whose main feature is a Facebook-like discussion board. Mandaville is using Lore for the first time this semester in Seneviratne’s class to create a small class atmosphere. “I am trying to use it as a substitute or a proxy for a smaller, seminar kind of setting,” said Mandaville, who has taught at Mason since 2000. “My sense is not that Lore can act as a full substitute for [an intimate setting], but it can help to bridge the gaps in a class of such size.” Lore has provided the course with a platform for discussion. After lectures, students post questions to clarify content. Before lectures, students discuss readings and assignments. Even during the lecture, […]
Mason Athletes Obtain Academic Excellence

Editorials October 31, 2012 at 10:39 am Comments are Disabled

The time commitment involved in being a college athlete is similar to holding a full-time job that requires frequent business trips and out-of-office demands that stretch far beyond the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. work day. While no athlete could realistically claim that playing a college sport does not come with a lifetime of valued memories, the fact of the matter is that the taxing schedules of these athletes are much unlike the schedules of other students on campus. Still, student-athletes, just as normal students, have enrolled at Mason with one common goal: graduate with a degree at one of the most prestigious universities in Virginia. In a recent study released by the NCAA, the association found that student-athletes who enrolled at Mason from 2002-05 – and, therefore, graduated between 2006-10 – scored a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 80 percent. According to the study, men’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s rowing, women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball all finished with a perfect score of 100 percent and eleven teams scored greater than 80 percent. Such astounding statistics are certainly not unheard of in the association, but the accomplishments of these athletes should be applauded and recognized as […]
Mason Aspires to Offer Anytime Dining to Students

News1 October 31, 2012 at 10:37 am Comments are Disabled

Last month, Mason Dining held a meeting with a variety of different food service companies, all of which were potential bidders to be the next food provider for Mason. University officials outlined several stipulations and obligations that the company would have to meet if it were to work for Mason, one of them being moving towards anytime dining. “We want to provide 24/7 dining by changing the hours of our dining halls to create a valued dining experience,” said Mark Kraner, Executive Director of Campus Retail Operations. It is this valued dining experience that Kraner believes anytime dining will provide. The plan starts with building more university regulated dining halls. Starting in 2013, Ike’s in Presidents Park will be closed and replaced by a dining hall similar to Southside that will seat 385 people that will service the Shenandoah neighborhood. Furthermore, plans are beginning to take shape to build a dining hall for the Aquia neighborhood between 2015 and 2016. These two construction projects, combined with the library expansion, a new residence hall and the removal of a lecture hall would not only dramatically change the layout of Mason’s campus, but also change the system of dining on campus. “These […]
Hateful Freedom of Speech

Editorials October 23, 2012 at 11:01 am Comments are Disabled

In recent months, an advertisement was put up in the New York Subway system that read, “In a war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” This advertisement raised much controversy even before it filled 400 different subway stations. Although at first the New York Transportation Authority rejected the advertisement, it was still protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Not only is the advertisement biased, it is also extreme and hateful. Referring to this advertisement directly, the words are of pure ignorance, hatred, and fear. Although the First Amendment is used to back up these hateful postings, I am left wondering; when does it become too much? When is it decided and by whom is it decided that freedom of speech could also become the freedom of hate? Under the First Amendment, anyone’s opinions are protected. Hate groups trying to undermine minority groups and religion abuse the luxury of the freedom of speech. They feel as if there are no legal consequences to hate speech. However, a combination of words that insult or dehumanize a group of people has a pretty high chance of disrupting the peace of the society […]
Fall vs. Spring Classes

Editorials October 23, 2012 at 11:00 am Comments are Disabled

Last week, while sitting in the Johnson Center, one of my friends made a comment about how they think fall semester has been so much harder than spring semester. Multiple people agreed with her and this got me thinking whether or not it was true. After researching this further, I found that many students felt this way but also thought that the semesters were equal. “Fall semester is more difficult because of the different course load offered between the two,” said Tania Ghods, an Information Systems & Ops Management major. “In a way fall is the beginning of the year and spring is the end, so professors may have the mind set to hit the ground running where as in the spring the semester could be viewed as the last stretch before summer vacation.” Fall semester is usually viewed as the beginning of school year and all the students are recharged from the summer. I think that the students at Mason want to do their best in the beginning to have that fresh start. In addition to the students, the professors also want to start off the new school year strong, and I am sure their syllabi reflect that. “Probably […]
Study Spaces on Campus

Editorials October 23, 2012 at 10:58 am Comments are Disabled

We have all felt that panic before, as you and some vicious stranger speed walk towards the same table on the third floor of the Johnson Center. Well, it could be anywhere on our sprawling campus, from the engineering building to Fenwick Library, but the hunt is the same. Your heart rate quickens and your legs tighten up as your order your friends to march forth, only to be sorely disappointed half the time. Study space is a highly coveted commodity on campus, and though we’re all aware of the popular places like the Johnson Center, Fenwick, or even Starbucks, there are many untouched areas on campus that offer a serene quiet that facilitates some fierce study sessions. Have you ever heard of The Ridge? If you are a commuter, probably not, and even if you live on campus, it is probably still a no. Unless you are involved with the Office of Housing & Residential Life, this hidden gem is still a mystery to you. Situated between Blue Ridge and Sand Bridge Hall (dormitories down from Southside), it is a 24/7 student study space filled with sofas, tables, and white boards. It opened up just a week ago, and […]
Culture Taught Through Dance

Sports October 23, 2012 at 10:56 am Comments are Disabled

Every Thursday at 6:30 p.m., the Aquatic and Fitness Center (AFC) begins filling up with the sound of African drumming. This is not a typical dance class that everyone has experienced: it is Kukuwa. Kukuwa Nuamah has been the African World Dance professor at Mason for the last seven years. She started these classes at George Washington University in an effort to make a difference and open students’ eyes to a wider scope of African culture. The classes at the AFC, as well as the credited class, teach students about Central, Western, Eastern and South African dance. These dances originate from the hundreds of tribes in Africa. Each tribe has different languages, values and religions; these things reflect back in the differences of the dances. Mason provides this dance class along with classes for other traditional dance genres, but this class can help anyone from dance majors to mathematics majors become better dancers. “All types of genres take from African dance. The fundamentals of dance come from Africa,” Nuamah said. Even if people are more concerned with getting a good workout than the dance aspect, Kukuwa is still a great class to take. Unlike other dance classes, Kukuwa uses every […]
Golfer Finds Right Fit at Mason

Featured, Sports October 23, 2012 at 10:53 am Comments are Disabled

Kevin Yerks’ collegiate golf career almost never got off the tee. His drive to Mason took detours in Miami and Harrisonburg. It took a shot-in-the-dark email to Mason’s men’s golf coach Scott King for Yerks, a junior at Mason, to find his collegiate home in Fairfax. Yerks’ post-high school golf career started with a scholarship to Johnson & Wales University in Miami, Florida. After a semester, Yerks realized that the Sunshine State was not a fit for him. He decided to bide his time at a community college just outside of Harrisonburg, Virginia, waiting for an opportunity to play collegiate-level golf again. “For a while, I thought I might not get a chance to play again, as many coaches had already filled their rosters and did not have a spot on their team,” Yerks said. “I was seriously thinking about never playing again.” That’s when King stepped in with an open spot on Mason’s men’s golf team. “I owe a lot to him for getting me here and giving me a chance at playing collegiate golf,” Yerks said. Yerks began playing golf around the age of four with his grandfather in Williamsburg, Va. Yerks quickly fell in love with the […]