Recent Posts

• A Visceral Thrill Ride

  Lifestyle April 16, 2012 at 4:30 pm Comments are Disabled

  Reviewing “The Cabin in the Woods” without divulging the plot of the film feels like an impossible task. To speak to the movie’s plot would be to possibly deny potential viewers of one hell of an experience. That being said, “The Cabin in the Woods” is quite possibly the most entertaining movie of the year so far. You’ve probably seen in the trailers, what little plot details can be safely revealed without spoiling the flick. Five college kids, all of whom fulfill their own cliché roles, head out to — you guessed it — a cabin in the woods for a weekend of boozing and sexing. But things soon go horribly wrong. It’s a formula you’ve seen before, but much as “Scream” deconstructed the slasher genre in 1996, “Cabin” is a game-changer that takes what you know about the genre, spins it on its head and then says, “Here, have some more.” One of the reasons this film shines is that all of the characters are quite likable. Yes, they do happen to fall into familiar roles for the genre, but the formulaic aspects of the characters account for only the thinnest layer of each person’s identity. Many people will […]

   

• Button Mashing – ‘Final Fantasy’

  Lifestyle April 16, 2012 at 4:29 pm Comments are Disabled

  The central conflict in every installment of the “Final Fantasy” series pits an assembly of characters against some evil and, sometimes, an ancient antagonist who wants to destroy the world. The stories usually begin with a sovereign state battling a rebellion comprising the game’s protagonists. The heroes are often fated to defeat the evil force dominating their world, which is what causes the main heroes to unite. You would think that after twelve installments (and a few sequels) with essentially the same basic plot, players would begin to think it’s the same game over and over. Well, actually, it’s not. Created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and developed and owned by SquareEnix, the series blends of science fiction and fantasy. The enterprise began with the 1987 release of “Final Fantasy” in Japan and in America three years later. Two sequels, “Final Fantasy II” (1988) and “Final Fantasy III” (1990) were also released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Subsequent titles are numbered, usually with an unrelated story. (Think of them as volumes instead of sequels.) The series was a huge success, branching into other genres such as third-person shooter, tactical role-playing and action role-playing. Although the series remains successful, it is beginning […]

   

• Get Thrifty

  Lifestyle April 16, 2012 at 4:28 pm Comments are Disabled

  What’s old is new again. Thrift shopping is becoming a more popular form of purchasing clothing and it can be especially useful for those of us college students who are on a budget. It seems that people either enjoy or strictly avoid thrift shopping. Though it can be fun rummaging through racks of clothing, some find the thought of wearing someone else’s clothing unappealing. But as long as you know how to search through all of the items in the store, it can actually be fun and easy to find some great deals. “You can find clothes that are barely worn and in perfect condition. It’s a great deal,” said Vicenta Tran, a freshman chemistry major. For those who have a slightly higher fashion standard, the store Plato’s Closet offers cash for gently used, name-brand clothing and sells the items at a generously discounted price. The closest Plato’s Closet store to campus is in Chantilly. “It’s a good way to find nice clothes that are pretty cheap, but you have to do a lot of scavenging,” said Jake Chavara, a freshman government and international politics major. It is beneficial to check out many local thrift stores and larger chain thrift […]

   

• Mason Makes College a Family Affair

  Lifestyle April 16, 2012 at 4:27 pm Comments are Disabled

  As students leave home and travel to college, it can be difficult for siblings to stay in touch. Hoping to keep students and siblings connected, the Office of Orientation and Family Programs and Services will host its first annual Siblings Day weekend on Saturday, April 28. All George Mason University students are invited to participate and register their siblings for the fun-filled weekend. In order to attend the event, students must register their siblings on or before Wednesday, April 25 at masonfamily.gmu.edu. The signed registration form must be submitted to the office of orientation and Family Programs and Services via mail or by emailing a scanned copy. The event is open to siblings aged 12 to 18. While the office hopes to accommodate younger siblings in the future, they have planned this year’s weekend for adolescent siblings. As the graduate assistant to the Office of Orientation and Family Programs and Services, Jennifer Burns is excited to watch this event come to fruition. “We hope that this will be a way that siblings and teenagers can stay connected after one goes off to college,” Burns said. Sibling attendees must pay the registration fee of $20. The fee will provide a T-shirt, […]

   

• Say ‘Yes’ to Less Stress

  Lifestyle April 16, 2012 at 4:25 pm Comments are Disabled

  It could be dueling for a parking spot or attempting to get through a three-hour lecture after pulling an all-nighter at Ike’s. It could be accidentally spilling drinks on a customer’s table or having an ex bash you on Facebook — George Mason University students deal with a lot of stress. In a population of approximately 31,000 students, young people at Mason can get lost in the shuffle and may struggle at times to manage school, work and interpersonal relationships. “Due partially to stress, a surprisingly high percentage of college freshmen don’t go on to graduate,” according to an about.com article by wellness coach and health psychology specialist, Elizabeth Scott. “Many students keep crazy hours from staying up late to study, getting up early for classes and trying to cram in all the work and fun that can possibly fit.” But there’s a simple answer to relieving all of this stress from the challenges that college students face. All one has to do is say yes. YES Plus, which stands for Yoga Empowerment Service Plus, is an organization at Mason that focuses on helping students effectively manage different aspects of their lives through meditation, intellectual discussions, breathing techniques and interactions. […]

   

• Gender Inequalities in the Workforce

  Editorials April 16, 2012 at 4:23 pm Comments are Disabled

  I am a writer — an aspiring journalist — but I am also a woman. That means I am likely to encounter obstacles during my professional career that my male colleagues will not have to deal with. You would think that as a woman living in the 21st century I would have equal opportunities across the board. However, I cannot even begin to tell you how inaccurate this assumption is. According to the 2010 Global Media Monitoring Project, articles written by women account for less than 50 percent of all news stories. Furthermore, only 13 percent of all stories focus on women. These statistics seem disconnected from global demographic averages. Women constitute 51 percent of the world’s population, but we are not getting as much coverage as we deserve. Nor are we given equal opportunities to fill positions in which we could utilize our talents to better inform society about important issues. “An important future indicator for a developing economy is its treatment of women,” Sheryl WuDunn, co-author of “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” and the first Asian American to win the Pulitzer Prize said in “The Case for Girls,” a November 2001 article by […]

   

• Multiple Choice Exams

  News1 April 16, 2012 at 4:22 pm Comments are Disabled

  I wanted to take a moment to respond to a piece in the Opinion section of Broadside’s Mon 26 Mar edition, “What do multiple-choice exams prove?” by Angela Kim. In my role as an adjunct history professor with 11 years of experience, not just at GMU but at Northern Virginia Community College, I have had the opportunity to write, administer and grade 133 exams (yes – I went backthrough my records and counted!).  I’d say the split between multiple-choice and essay-based exams is about 40/60 – most often, I do rely on essay-based exams, but what Ms. Kim needs to understand is that multiple-choice exams have worth and an important place in the classroom. Just like no two students are the same, no two classes are the same – neither are any two professors.  We rely on our knowledge of how classes work and how students learn to determine whether a class is better suited to an MC or EB exam.  In the course of any given semester, I have even used both types of tests with one class. No matter what type of exam I choose to give, I guarantee you about half the class will hate it, call […]

   

• Patriots for Choice

  News1 April 16, 2012 at 4:21 pm Comments are Disabled

  I responded to this article on the website, but was concerned that my protest would be neglected, as it seems the site doesn’t get much traffic.  And this issue cannot be neglected: My friend pointed this quote out to me, and I did not believe that any newspaper that wishes to be credible could have such an oversight: ” The demonstration was protested by Patriots for Choice, a student group that supports abortion.” Wrong.  So wrong.  Patriots for Choice does not “support abortion”. Patriots for Choice supports the right of women to choose whether or not they are physically, mentally, or financially ready and able to carry and give birth to a child.  They do not support abortion.  They do not promote abortion.  They fight for the right to keep it a viable option for women who may be in need of it. Even the Pro-Life term is incredibly misleading.  It seems to suggest that Pro-Choice advocates are not in support of life, which is blatantly untrue.  They care very much for life.  They also care about the rights, not just of children (or babies, or fetuses, or zygotes as the case may be), but about the rights of women […]

   

• Broadside Issues

  News1 April 16, 2012 at 4:19 pm Comments are Disabled

  As a 2010 graduate of George Mason University, I don’t read the Broadside as much as I did as a student.  So of course the one issue I happen to read in a few months (April 2) upsets me. I must express my dismay in two areas. 1 – On the front page (the front page!) you show a student holding up a sign in support of Trayvon Martin.  The problem?  He uses the word “your” when it actually should be “you’re”.  It may not be a big problem to some, but putting it on the front page of the school newspaper shows a lack ofproofreading on two levels – that of the student and of the editor.  Your message tends to not be clearly conveyed when you use incorrect grammar as people tend to focus more on your mistakes than your message. 2 – I was also upset with Sayed Shah’s article about the recent hate crimes.  Sayed uses the death of Trayvon as a lead in to an article about racism, but never explains what Trayvon’s death has to do with his article.  It seems he is just going along with the media and not waiting for the […]

   

• Mason Club Football

  News1 April 16, 2012 at 4:17 pm 2 comments

  Your article “An Undying Question: Football,” [April 2] by James Ho was amusing, frustrating and infuriating all at the same time. As a founding member of the GMU Football Club, I spent several years at Mason trying to work through the very same arguments for and against NCAA football on our campus — but that was almost 20 years ago. Not much has changed, I’m afraid to say. As far back as 1993 when we were a fledgling club sport on campus, some in the athletic department and other high-level positions at Mason used the cost argument to negate the importance or value of an NCAA-sanctioned team. And while I don’t diminish the expenses that go with supporting a team, let me ask this: Do the students at Penn State, Nebraska, Virginia Tech or even at JMU and William & Mary deserve better or more than the Mason nation? Those students have associated costs with their football programs, but I’m pretty confident you couldn’t get them to give up their traditions for anything. Simply put, football builds pride and a bond with your college like no other single activity can. There are costs and risks, but isn’t Mason “mature enough” […]