Recent Posts

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  USAF Veteran Finds Healing in Philosophy Program

  9/11 Commemorative Issue, News1, Special Issues September 16, 2012 at 2:21 pm Comments are Disabled

  As American Airlines Flight 77 approached the Pentagon, it took out power lines and a generator before smashing into the western side of the building. Fifty-three passengers and six crew members were killed in the crash and a section of the Pentagon collapsed from impact. Senior Airman Rachel Moran, a computer systems operator for the Air Force at the Pentagon, just happened to not be at work that September morning. “It was a surreal time,” Moran said. “Things at work didn’t really change until the war in 2003 but in other aspects of life everything changed immediately. Everyone was just in shock.” One week after the attacks, letters containing anthrax were mailed to several news media offices and politicians, killing five and infecting 17. Just one year later, John Allen Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the Beltway with a spree of sniper shootings. The series of events heightened the fear and threat of terrorism in the country, and partially led to Moran’s decision to retire in 2004 to spend more time at home with her family. Before she worked for the Air Force, Moran served in another capacity as a military spouse. She and her husband had decided that […]

   
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  Deployment Helps Strengthen Father-Daughter Bond

  9/11 Commemorative Issue, News1, Special Issues September 16, 2012 at 2:19 pm Comments are Disabled

  Colonel Matthew Haber sat at the foot of his daughter’s bed, repeating the words, “I love you” as tears rolled down his cheeks. Anna Haber was just 11 years old when her father broke the news: He was being deployed to Stuttgart, Germany and would be away for four months. She lay in bed that night, watching her father cry for just the second time in her life, but she was still too young to really understand. “At that age, it doesn’t set in until the next day when your dad isn’t there,” said Anna, now a junior marketing major at Mason. “At that point, you can’t just call and tell him to come home.” Col. Haber spent four months in Germany, leaving his wife to care for both Anna and her younger brother, Michael. Both children were becoming increasingly involved in sports and choir but Jane Haber, Anna’s mother, did what she had to do to keep everything as normal as possible. “It helps having good kids,” Mrs. Haber said. “You have no choice. You just do what you have to do. But the kids made it easy.” Still, though, his time in Germany would pale in comparison to […]

   

• School of Management Prepares Students for Career Excellence

  News1 September 16, 2012 at 2:17 pm Comments are Disabled

  Every great idea begins with a great plan. Sir Winston Churchill once said, “Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.” Fortunately for Mason students, the School of Management has developed a way to eliminate advance worrying through a Plan for Academic and Career Excellence (PACE). “The purpose of PACE is to get students out of here on time with no surprises,” said Meggan Ford, Assistant Director of Academic Services. “We want students to be successful academically, get out of here on time and graduate with no surprises.” Though it has been in place since 2005, a $25,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation allowed the School of Management an opportunity to overhaul the technology in order to better serve the students. The grant assisted with upgrades that allow for more interactivity, including the ability for students to view their individual progress toward personal goals, use interactive checklists and post accomplished goals to their social media pages. While the PACE website was being upgraded, the School of Management’s academic and career advisors considered that today’s students prefer multimedia rather than large blocks of text and, in response, added more video and audio presentations. “We really tried to go through and […]

   
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  Proud to be an American

  9/11 Commemorative Issue, Editorials, Special Issues September 16, 2012 at 2:14 pm Comments are Disabled

  A robed figure of Libertas, Roman goddess of freedom, stands tall in New York Harbor. Dedicated in 1886 by the people of France, Libertas bears a torch upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet as this statue, the Statue of Liberty, serves as a representation of the American culture and welcomes immigrants arriving from abroad. But what does it mean to be an American? As you stand atop the hill, watching the guard pace back and forth with such precision as he guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the skyline of Washington D.C. faintly peers through the trees. More than 400,000 headstones mark our nation’s fallen heroes, lying in the forefront of the nation’s capital. Pausing for a moment to pay my respects to my great-grandfather, Captain James E. Herbert, I was overcome by the sacrifice made by each of these young men and women. Each of the headstones, markers that stretched across the 624-acre mass of rolling hills, signified the true cost of our nation’s greatest quality. Freedom is not free. Freedom comes at the significant cost of the more than 400,000 people […]

   

• Green Colleen: Red, White & Chew

  9/11 Commemorative Issue, Editorials, Special Issues September 16, 2012 at 2:12 pm Comments are Disabled

  When I was in fourth grade, I was confused beyond belief as to why terrorists had attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing thousands of innocent people. In my naivety, I had failed to grasp the concept of the word terrorist, one that my young ears had never heard before. Unfortunately, I learned more than I ever should have about the evils of the world as a ten year old on that terrible day. As a resident of Northern Virginia and the descendent of veterans on both sides of my family, being patriotic and recognizing the sacrifice made by millions of Americans, both civilian and enlisted, for their country, is one of my greatest duties. Politics aside, I couldn’t agree more with President Obama’s encouragement for all Americans to go out and volunteer to recognize the 9/11 attacks and honor the victims. Though I was young, I remember being amazed as the whole country pulled itself together and became united as neighbors, friends and family reached out to help and support one another in the wake of the attack. That mentality has fallen by the wayside over the past 11 years, but this Tuesday, take a moment to remember […]

   

• The Carouser Report: All-American Collegiate Beer Review

  9/11 Commemorative Issue, Editorials, Special Issues September 16, 2012 at 2:08 pm Comments are Disabled

  ‘Merica. We love our beer. Nowhere is this more apparent than college campuses across this great nation.  From Juneau, Alaska to Tallahassee Florida and everywhere in between, college partiers are pounding cases of these great American beers.  They want it cheap, chuggable, and easy to forget the next morning. Below are the top five most All-American collegiate beers for your drinking pleasure.   Natural Light: 4.2 % ABV The most iconic of all collegiate beers, Natural Light, also called “Nattie” is first up on the list. If you’ve never beer bonged one of these suckers, you’ve most likely never been to college. Introduced in 1977, this beer been knocking partiers-goers out ever since.  Part of the Anheuser-Busch Family, the empty carcasses of this great beer are sure to be found at every college party. Drinkability: There is a reason college kids love this beer so much. You can drink a ton of it and never feel full. There isn’t much to say in terms of taste. Long gulps from your garden house will yield the same flavor. Cost: It doesn’t get much cheaper than Natural Light. If your scour your couch, car, and piggy bank for some extra change, you […]

   
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  Mason Professor Enlists Student Engineers for Project in Peruvian Amazon

  News1 September 16, 2012 at 2:00 pm Comments are Disabled

  Each individual in the village stood in anticipation along the riverbank. It was 1999, and after a long boat ride through the Peruvian Amazon, Dr. Michael Gilmore ended his trek at one of the four Maijuna villages in the region. Pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket, Gilmore went down the list of five names that he received from famed ethnobiologist Jim Duke a year earlier. Not one was present. “I probably spoke third grade Spanish back then,” Gilmore said. “And that’s probably too kind; maybe second grade Spanish. When none of the five names were there, I got even more nervous than I already was.” A year earlier, Gilmore was unexpectedly handed the reins to lead an ecotourism group to the Peruvian Amazon, despite his unfamiliarity with the land, when his PhD advisor forgot his passport. It was then that he met Duke and learned about the Maijuna people. Fortunately, as Gilmore stood in front of the crowd on the riverbank, an 18-year-old Maijuna man recognized Gilmore from the prior year and welcomed him into his home. From 1999 to 2004, Gilmore spent time working with the Maijuna for his Ph.D. dissertation on ethnobiology, which is the […]

   

• The Carouser Report: Work Hard, Play Harder

  Editorials September 16, 2012 at 1:58 pm Comments are Disabled

  The last rays of summer sun are finally fading into the western sky. It’s about that time when college kids begin trading in their swimsuits and wine coolers for books, pizza, and light beer. The silence that lulled over the campus’s landscape will now be replaced with the beats of party music and clinking of beer bottles. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back; it’s party time. With my decision to take on this column, I may have become a martyr for the cause. All dreams of a respective writing career are most likely out the window. But as a weekly reader of this publication, I felt it was time for serious assessment as to how the collegiate booze culture could be properly represented. All it took was a visit to the newly elected Editor in Chief, asking if he had any space for a party writer on his staff. With some reluctance, and a fair warning, I was given this column. Perhaps you are wondering what qualifications one needs for such a prestigious job. To begin with, one must have plenty of practical experience within the college culture. This can be attained with a six year college career, and a goal […]

   

• Green Colleen: A Cheap and Easy Solution to Your Scheduling Woes

  Editorials September 16, 2012 at 1:55 pm Comments are Disabled

  Each year, as soon as the school year begins, a black hole slowly opens up in my life. Almost instantaneously money and time disappear, and my living space shrinks down to a fraction of the space that I’m used to at my parents house. This time, I’m coming in as a junior, halfway done with college. The thought is as equally terrifying as it is thrilling, and I like to think that in my time at Mason so far, I’ve learned a few tricks and tips to make college living a little easier. Cooking, and eating, are a passion of mine. Though I’m currently living in a dorm with a kitchen, I’ve also got some great recipes for easy homemade microwave meals. Grocery bills can add up quickly when you move into a room with a kitchen, so I’ll also share some of my favorite recipes and menus for cheap and quick dorm eating. I love recycling and up-cycling to turn old or unwanted things into something new and exciting. It’s also a great way to save money and have fun getting creative and crafty. I’m a firm believer in making your space your own, so I’ve completed several D.I.Y. […]

   

• Newly Released MobileMason Delivers Useful Information

  Editorials September 16, 2012 at 1:51 pm Comments are Disabled

  When I first downloaded the new MobileMason app on my iPhone a few days ago, it is safe to say I was a little hesitant. More than once, I’ve downloaded applications that I thought were going to be extremely handy, then been disappointed when the design and follow through of the application just wasn’t there. MobileMason, on the other hand, has landed a new spot on the first page of my applications, right next to my text messages, so that I can check it frequently to keep up with all of the exciting interactive features. My favorite feature is definitely the map section, which features interactive campus maps for Fairfax, Prince William and Arlington. The great part about the MobileMason maps is that you can type in any building that you’re trying to find and the application will give you a detailed map with distance and approximated walking time. For freshmen, visitors and people like me who get lost on a regular basis, this feature will be a lifesaver. Having Blackboard integrated into the application is one of the biggest reasons why I’ll be using MobileMason every day. My professors are constantly changing assignments and adding things to their courses, […]