Nov, 11, 2013

FOURTH ESTATE

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NEWS

Sept. 30, 2013

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BROADSIDE AND CONNECT2MASON PRESENT

FOURTH ESTATE Nov. 11, 2013 | Volume 1 Issue 10 George Mason University’s official student news outlet

LEADING THE WAY Senior men’s basketball players help to guide the team through the transition into the Atlantic-10 division | page 16

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News

Nov. 11, 2013

In this issue

FOURTH ESTATE

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Mason’s unique honor committee is made up entirely of students | 8

COLLEEN WILSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF gmufourthestate@gmail.com

Fenwick renovations feature more space, technology access| 7

Men’s soccer team goes undefeated at home this season | 17

This spring, for my last semester of college, I’ve decided to step down as Editor-in-Chief.

I hope to focus on my courses and take some time to myself before I head into the “real world.” But to be honest, working at the student newspaper has been about as real as it gets.

Working at Fourth Estate is so much more than a job. As I’m sure other student leaders can tell you, the pay doesn’t justify the hours, the stress can wear you out and balance between school and work can be difficult to navigate.

But it is hands down the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. I’ve established life-long connections, learned skills that simply cannot be taught in a classroom and grown both personally and professionally.

I’m very grateful for my time as Editor-inChief and cannot thank everyone enough who helped get me here and supported me while I was in the role.

Professors like Steve Klein, who told me time and time again to do less better and encouraged me to work my hardest both inside the classroom and out.

Administrators like President Cabrera, who took the time to write us a letter congratulating us on our merger between Connect2Mason and Broadside and has given Fourth Estate frequent shout-outs in his tweets.

Coworkers like Frank Muraca, Executive Editor of Fourth Estate online, who helped create a vision and execute it with successes and failures bigger than we could have possibly imagined.

And finally, Kathryn Mangus, the director of Student Media. Though she runs the entire

office, Kathryn has always had a special place in her heart for the newspaper. Without her devotion to the staff, to Fourth Estate and to me, I can guarantee we would not have been so successful this year.

The journalism industry is a unique one, especially at the university level, and I am so grateful that we had Kathryn to guide and support us through the troubled times, cheer us on when we succeeded and stand up for us when we were being beaten down.

I owe Student Media for helping me to foster roots in the Mason community and learn what it truly means to be a Patriot.

After my freshman year, I was unsatisfied at Mason and unsure of my future here. I had filled out applications to transfer and was starting to distance myself from the university emotionally when I enrolled in the newspaper workshop class.

I thought I was over the journalism bug after my stint as Editor-in-Chief of my high school newspaper, but I fell for the craft all over again.

I forgot about transferring and made it my new goal to become Editor-in-Chief, something I’ve worked hard for every day since then.

I was bold, and probably a little brash, about the changes I wanted to see and the progress I wanted to be a part of.

I’m proud to look back and say that the Broadside and Fourth Estate teams have made many recognizable and laudable achievements – more than I could’ve ever dreamed of as a starry-eyed sophomore.

Thank you again Mason Nation for continuing to read Fourth Estate and appreciate all of the hard work we do here at Student Media.

Applications are now open for Editor-in-Chief and other various editor positions that will open up for the spring semester. Learn more at http://www.gmufourthestate.com/content/ work-fourth-estate If you’d like to contact me, I’ll have access to the gmufourthestate@gmail.com account through the end of the semester and can be reached at cwilso12@gmu.edu after that.

Why FOURTH ESTATE ?

New feature on PatriotWeb helps students schedule classes| 9

Prior to Broadside, the student newspaper was called The Gunston Ledger. It was changed in 1969 to better represent the politically out-spoken student body at the time.

A “broadside” was a pamphlet used during the American Revolutionary War to help spread information. While Broadside has become an important part of life at Mason, we believe it no longer represents the overarching goals of student-run news.

Though not specifically outlined like the three branches of government, the concept of a fourth estate referred to journalism and the media as an important tenet in upholding justice and liberty through establishing an informed public.

These historic roots coincide with the transforming industry of modern journalism.

gmufourthestate.com

FOURTH ESTATE

News

Nov. 11, 2013

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Online at

gmufourthestate.com Provost search committee chairman hosts open forum The search for a new provost to replace Peter Stearns, who has held the position since 2000, is underway. Professor T. Mills Kelly, the chair of the Provost Search Committee, hosted a forum to discuss the search with the public. http://www.gmufourthestate. com/content/provost-searchcommittee-chairman-hosts-openforum

The New Black shares a new perspective on homophobia Student organizations within the Mason community teamed up to present a new film at the JC Cinema exposing the dangers of homophobia. http://www.gmufourthestate. com/content/new-black-sharesnew-perspective-homophobia

(WALTER MARTINEZ/FOURTH ESTATE)

Photo of the Week: Gold Rush Groovin’ Students gear up for Mason’s home opener at the annual Gold Rush event

Q. Did you know that there are undocumented students who go to Mason, and what do you think about that?

“I guess I didn’t know that, but I could have guessed it maybe. It’s not a problem, but it’s a serious issue that is affecting not only students, but people who are trying to make their lives better, and education is the way to do that.”

Alexander Kruszewsky, Junior

“No, I would have to say I’m a proponent for anyone to get an education. Not sure exactly how they got into the country, and what the deal is exactly, but I would never want to kick anybody out because they don’t have papers.

It’s not like they are doing anything wrong or hurting anybody else, they are just trying to make something better out of their life.”

Noor Abutaah, Senior

“No. I think that’s a good thing. They are obviously trying to be successful like all of us are trying to be. If they have a way to pay for it, why not? It obviously shows that they are going to do whatever to be able to get a degree and be just like the ones who do have papers.”

“No. I’m not really sure how I feel about that, to be quite honest. It’s not surprising, because at a large-scale institution, something has to slip through the cracks somewhere.”

Gabriella Jaldin, Junior

Aaron Langley, Freshman

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Nov. 11, 2013

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FOURTH ESTATE

QUICK FACTS Virginia does not have a DREAM Act, a state law that dicates how undocumented students can attend college.

Virginia, however, does not prohibit undocumented students from being admitted to a public university. It is the university’s choice to allow people who are undocumented to apply.

Mason allows undocumented students to apply, many of whom have DACA.

DACA Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Who qualifies?

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Those who have arrived in the United States prior to age 16.

Those who have continuously resided in the United States without legal status since June 15, 2007.

Those less than age 31 as of June 15, 2012 and at least age 15 at application (unauthorized immigrants under 15 but in removal proceedings are also eligible to apply).

Those currently enrolled in school, who have graduated high school or obtained a general development certificate (GED) or an honorably discharged veteran.

Those who have not been convicted of a felony or multiple or serious misdemeanors and do not pose a threat to national security or public safety.

What does DACA provide?

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temporary suspension of deportation authorization to work in the United States does not provide access to grants, loan or any federal aid does not provide resources for high school students to be able to apply for college does not give citizenship must be renewed every two years

Information courtesy of http://www. brookings.edu/

(ILLUSTRATION BY KATRYNA HENDERSON/ FOURTH ESTATE)

Undocumented students at Mason When Dayana Torres was a senior in high school, she received full-ride scholarships to five different colleges.

“When I received the letters from the schools, I looked at the bottom and it said that a social security number was required to accept the scholarship,” Torres said.

Torres found out from her parents that she did not have a social security number, and thus she could not accept the scholarships.

Torres was born in Columbia and lived there with her parents until they decided to move to the United States because of unstable political and economic conditions in their home country.

Because Torres did not have the proper documentation to accept her scholarships, she decided to attend Mason.

Mason accepts undocumented students, like Torres, who are not citizens and do not have legal documentation of their residency in the United States either because their visa expired or they were brought to the U.S. unauthorized.

These students are often first-generation college students and must often pay out-of-state tuition without the help of loans, grants or other federal financial aid.

With the help of a family friend, several scholarships and jobs, Torres was able to attend Mason and is now a sophomore studying computer science. She is also the president of Dreamers

of Virginia, an organization that advocates for education and immigration reform and provides resources for undocumented student who want to attend college.

These students are often called DREAMers.

“DREAMers are very driven people who overcome adversity and have dreams of obtaining in-state tuition,” said Jorge Velasquez, president of Mason DREAMers, a student-run advocacy group for undocumented students.

The Mason DREAMers hosted Immigration 101 and 201 a two-part information series on immigration laws and how they affect students at Mason and the undocumented community as a whole.

“Mason allows admission, but out-of-state and resources like financial aid and career services don’t have the legal knowledge of dealing with undocumented students,” Velasquez said at Immigration 201. The event featured a panel of university officials to whom the DREAMers presented models from other universities that provide resources for undocumented students.

The members addressed what they thought are problems that undocumented students run into when applying to Mason, including having to pay out-of-state tuition, not being able to apply for financial aid and not having a clear path or access to people who know how to handle undocumented student situations.

“When I applied for college, all I did was fill out FAFSA and the application,” Velasquez said.

“That’s it.”

Undocumented students cannot fill out FAFSA because they do not have a social security number. They also usually must apply as out-ofstate or international students because of their residency status.

Mason DREAMers suggested several areas of improvement for the university’s relations with undocumented students, including encouraging undocumented student enrollment, alleviating financial aid burden and increasing student resources and success.

“We want to fully support Mason DREAMers because their goals are [University Life’s] goals,” said Rose Pascarell. Pascarell, the vice president of University Life, was also on the Immigration 201 panel.

LaMan Dantzler, associate university registrar for certification in the office of the university registrar, deals with in-state tuition appeals.

Dantzler encourages students to bring their individual situations to the registrar to have an individual assessment of each person’s ability to qualify for in-state tuition.

“We want to help,” Dantzler told the audience at Immigration 201. “We want to make sure that you are treated fairly.”

The State Council for Higher Education in

FOURTH ESTATE

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Nov. 11, 2013

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(JOHN IRWIN/FOURTH ESTATE)

Mason DREAMers’ student organization pioneers solutions to problems for undocumented students attending Mason.

(ANTHONY DO/FOURTH ESTATE)

Virginia keeps an eye on how Mason grants in-state tuition to undocumented students because of the high population of immigrants in Northern Virginia, according to Philip Hunt, director of development for access initiatives.

“We preach consistency, constantly,” Hunt said.

Only few people in the university have the knowledge to be able to give guidance to undocumented students because there is no formal training for staff to understand the laws that dictate how undocumented students should be handled. The Mason DREAMers want to create safe-zone training similar to what the LGBTQ Resources office provides.

“We want to train people in other offices so that undocumented students know that there are resources for them specifically in each office,” Velasquez said.

Velasquez noted that when a student looks online for information about undocumented students at Mason, the search comes up blank and they are redirected to information about international students.

Pascarell said the lack of this information is due to the former lack of demand for it and that student initiatives can aid administration in creating the sufficient resources. The same kind of initiative created the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Resources Office amid political tensions similar to those of undocumented students, Pascarell said.

“I promise you,” Pascarell said. “We’ll respond more effectively as a response to this.”

Some undocumented students at Mason have sought refuge in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural

Education. The help of Jennifer Crewalk, assistant director and STEP coordinator in ODIME, is one resource that Mason unofficially provides to undocumented students.

“The most important thing I do is listen,” Crewalk said, who is also on the advisory board for the Mason DREAMers.

Being undocumented is often a hidden identity and some students feel isolated, Crewalk said. She argued that for students to have the motivation to stay in school, especially if they have to work to pay for college and may take a semester or year off, they need to establish a relationship with someone at Mason. Crewalk has helped students in the past and those students often think of her when someone they know in a similar situation needs help. “[Students] find a place on campus to be yourself and not feel like you’re being judged,” Crewalk said.

In Virginia, people like Dayana Torres qualify for DACA-Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival policy that allows students to receive a driver’s license, temporary suspension of deportation and authorization to work in the U.S, but not citizenship. ”We live in a state where basically the legislation handcuffs us in this process,” said Matt Boyce, the senior associate director of admissions. “A lot of what we have to do is push legislation forward.”

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IV

Nov. 11, 2013

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FOURTH ESTATE

IS HIRING Fourth Estate is now accepting applications for editors for the spring semester. Check out http://www.gmufourthestate.com/ content/work-fourth-estate for specific job descriptions and details on how to apply.

FOURTH ESTATE

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FOURTH ESTATE

EVAN PETSCHKE STAFF WRITER Fenwick Library, one of Mason’s oldest buildings, will be nearly unrecognizable after current renovations complete. It is estimated that the project will be finalized in the winter of 2015.

Currently, the construction of Fenwick is in its initial phase, with the land having been cleared so the building of the additions can begin.

Despite the appearance that this project has resulted in the loss of green space, the team has done as much as they can to preserve the surrounding trees.

“When we started to design this project, we had a bunch of focus groups to give us their input. One of the big concerns was that in this area is a nice stand of trees. We actually tried to save as many trees as possible in the mature trees area, to allow research projects to continue and to retain a good amount of the green space,” said Cathy Wolfe, director of Campus Planning.

Once the project is completed and the construction fences are taken down, these efforts will be much more noticeable.

Currently construction is being done on many safety precautions, including sprinklers and new stairways in the towers, to prepare for the building of the exterior.

The end phase will be to make the existing structure and the

News

Fenwick Facelift Construction doubles study spaces, increases access to technology new addition look like one single building.

Once the project is completed, all that will remain from the old structure are the two towers. However, these will eventually undergo an interior renovation.

The new addition incorporates many changes, including five floors, comprising study spaces, offices, instructional rooms, research commons and a special collections and exhibit gallery space.

Additionally, the new space will include a two-story reading room with lots of space for research and collaboration. A 24-hour study area will be added to the front of the building.

Nov. 11, 2013

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A café with additional seating will be added to the side of the library facing Sub I. As part of the renovation of the towers, the stacks will be condensed toward the back of the building. This will make room for more research and study space.

“The biggest change is that we are adding more than double the amount of existing study spaces,” said project manager Alex Iszard. “After it is completed, most study rooms will have a monitor on the wall for presentation practice, as well as whiteboards for group collaboration. Rooms will be not so much a desk and chair, but more of a table, multiple seats and monitor, a place where students can collaborate.”

The new renovations promote the use of technology and will provide many more outlets and much more room for the use of various technological devices, such as the monitors in the study rooms.

Once it is finalized, the team must outfit the new space and move in all the vacated items and people. It is expected to open in spring 2016.

Additionally, at the conclusion of this project, the plaza outside of Southside and Skyline will be enlarged to make a new space for outdoor events and activities.

There are also plans to improve the walkway that attaches the plaza and the North Plaza outside of the Johnson Center.

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FOURTH ESTATE

Honor Code: To promote a stronger sense of

mutual responsibility, respect, trust, and fairness among all members of the George Mason University community and with the desire for greater academic and personal achievement, we, the student members of the University Community have set forth this: Student members of the George Mason University community pledge not to cheat, plagiarize, steal, and/or lie in matters related to academic

(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)

The goal of the Honor Code is to assure academic integrity. Mason’s Honor Committee is entirely composed of student.

work.

Student Honor Comittee upholds academic integrity JULLIANNE WOODSON STAFF WRITER A body called the Honor Committee is charged with the vital task of hearing cases of alleged Honor Code violations, as is customary at most institutes of higher education. The key difference is that Mason, unlike other schools, has an Honor Committee composed entirely of students.

“We do have a student-based system, which I believe is the best way to do this,” said Pamela Allen, director of the Office of Academic Integrity. “Not all institutions have it. In fact, most don’t. We’re kind of unique in that area.”

Michael Greene, a junior public administration major, is the chairman of the Honor Committee. Greene considers having an all-student Honor Committee to be vitally important.

“We’re the peers of students,” Greene said.

“I think everybody wants to be judged by their peers.”

Last year the Honor Committee, in conjunction with the Office of Academic Integrity, handled 440 cases of Honor Code violation.

If a student is accused of an Honor Code violation, they are notified and required to meet with a representative of the Office of Academic Integrity. There, students may

accept responsibility for the violation and the accompanying sanctions, accept responsibility but dispute the appropriateness of the sanctions or altogether dispute the alleged violation. If the student chooses one of the latter two, the Honor Committee steps in.

A panel of three members is convened if a student accepts responsibility for the violation but feels the sanction imposed by a professor is inappropriate. The panel then decides on an appropriate sanction.

For cases where the student denies responsibility for the Honor Code violation, a panel of five Honor Committee members convenes.

Students have the right to call witnesses and defend themselves in front of the committee.

To find a student responsible, four out of the five must find the guilt to be of a clear and convincing nature.

“Students have the opportunity to say there’s not enough clear and convincing evidence,” Allen said. “Most universities make a decision on probable cause, but for us it’s clear and convincing evidence. It’s a pretty high standard. If they [the Honor Committee] do not believe that there’s clear and convincing evidence, they can find the student not in violation. If they believe there is, then the student is going to have to face the sanction.”

Sanctions vary from a zero in the class to

suspension or expulsion, depending on the facts of the case and the number of previous violations committed by the student. Greene notes, however, that expulsions in Honor Committee proceedings are rare.

Students have the right to appeal decisions if there were procedural irregularities in the case or new evidence is available.

The Honor Committee does more than just hear cases, however.

According to Greene, the main focus of the Honor Committee is educating students about academic integrity and preventing Honor Code violations in the first place.

“We don’t want to see anybody have to go to a hearing,” Greene said. “Just because you didn’t know it was a violation, you’re held responsible regardless. That’s the importance of education and prevention – to make you aware of something you weren’t aware of.”

Members of the Honor Committee speak at a variety of events and University 100 courses to spread the word about academic integrity and the details of Mason’s Honor Code. The Honor Committee also provides proctoring services for professors administering exams to large classes.

Greene hopes that, through education and prevention, the Honor Committee can teach Mason students to be more proactive about

Honor Code violations.

“It’s important to promote and uphold a culture of academic integrity on our campus,” Greene said, “If you suspect that there’s a violation occurring you should give a verbal warning [to the offender] or you can report it to your faculty member,” Greene said.

In addition, he considers it important for faculty to remain vigilant about Honor Code violations.

“What the faculty should continue to do is to talk about the Honor Code at the beginning of the semester. They should expand on their expectations in their syllabus, be proactive in class and give warnings when they think a violation is occurring,” Greene said.

According to Allen, upholding academic integrity can help students in the long run.

“When you decide to graduate finally, and get out there and use your skills in the business world, what do you want the business world to say about a degree from Mason. Integrity would be a really nice thing for them to include in a description of graduates from George Mason University,” Allen said. “It’s a valueyou’re going to add value to it [your degree] by being known as a university that supports academic integrity and their Honor Code.”

FOURTH ESTATE

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Nov. 11, 2013

PatriotWeb services ease registration process

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Poll: What matters most to you when picking classes?

(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)

Communication Advisor Catherine Wright shows a student the new Degree Works service. Degree Work and Patriot Scheduler were released for spring 2014 registration.

KATLYN BABYAK STAFF WRITER Students now have the option of using Degree Works and Patriot Scheduler when registering for spring semester classes in November.

Degree Works, a new degree evaluation system, was released this fall and is geared toward students with a catalog year of fall 2012 or later.

Meghan Arias, assistant university registrar for Degree Compliance, works with graduating students to make sure they will graduate on time and helps students who have questions about degree evaluations.

“The biggest new feature of Degree Works is the ‘best fit’ [aspect],” Arias said. “The new system will be smarter about how it applies classes to requirements in the evaluations.

Classes will apply where they best fit for each student’s program.”

Arias said the new program is more intuitive and easier to read and understand than past formats.

Regardless of subsequent catalog changes, students are held only to the requirements of the catalog year when they entered the university.

For all graduate and undergraduate students with a catalog year prior to fall 2012, the Curriculum Advising and Planning Program is still an option if they would like to enter their degree information manually. In Degree Works, students’ degree requirements are automatically entered into the system from the corresponding catalog and updated each night.

Although the new website was exhibiting some glitches soon after its release, most of the glitches have been fixed and the system runs smoothly. A tutorial video and instructions are available on the registrar’s website.

Patriot Scheduler is another scheduling tool also available on Patriot Web. “When I first started I was doing it by myself, just doing it by hand, but then I think this was the first semester I used the Scheduler. That was awesome, it was very helpful.” said Paul Bousel, associate director of the Academic Advising and Transfer Center. “It does a lot of the work for them. It’s a good tool. It’s something they should try at least initially.”

Students choose classes based on a variety of factors, including time of day, professor and topic of study. According to Bousel, most students prioritize the time of day of their classes over other factors.

Abby Sanders, a junior studying tourism and events management, often picks classes around time.

“I see what days [classes are] available and what times, because I don’t want to get up that early. I know I’m going to work in the mornings, so as long as they’re after one. So they have to work around my work schedule,” Sanders said.

Senior and electrical engineering major Ahsanul Haque said that he looks for class times in the late morning since he commutes from Loudon County.

“It’s hard to get on campus and find parking before nine. And waking up is an issue,” Haque said.

However, the determining factor for him was ratemyprofessor.com.

“If the teacher is good, and if they both have good ratings, I’ll try to find one that doesn’t conflict with my work schedule,” Haque said.

Other students choose professors based on word of mouth. According to Bousel, friends are often a good resource when looking for information about professors. However, when it comes to classes, the advice is different.

“Don’t let your friends advise you. We see that all the time,” Bousel said.

According to Bousel, students can often get incorrect info from friends. For example, they might have a different calendar year than their peers. Many times, parents also advise students about classes, working off of previous college experience. This advice, though valuable, is dated and not universally applicable.

The new Degree Works evaluation available on Patriot Web is better suited to show students which classes they need to take.

Freshmen and other students registering for the first time or who have later registration than others should prepare well in advance.

“If you have high priority, you can do some research, and get the classes you want,” Bousel said.

Bousel recommends that students see an adviser and to have first, second and third choices for classes.

“It’s better to ask than find out later they did something wrong,” Bousel said.

Two more tips from Bousel were to register during the allotted time slots and to check for holds on students’ accounts.

“If you’re not sure, register. If you haven’t seen an adviser, register. It’s much easier to drop a course than to start from nothing,”

Bousel said.

Bousel advises students to balance easy classes with harder classes.

“If you’re taking a full load of like 15 credits you want to balance out some of the harder classes with easy classes, and if it’s a hard class with an easy professor that makes life so much easier,” Bousel said. “It becomes very difficult to balance out work and hard classes when you’re stuck with just those and no gen-eds.

You need some fun buffers.”

Sanders said that it is important to look for a good professor and keep sleep schedule in mind.

“Just know your sleep schedule, so if you know you’re up late, maybe take late classes.

Or if you can’t get up early, don’t take early classes,” Sanders said.

For Haque, it’s all about who you know. Had he made more friends with seniors, he said he would have been much better off and his GPA would have been higher.

“Make friends with seniors. They basically tell you the things that your advisors don’t tell you about classes, work load. Like how many papers need to be done, this professor’s more reasonable about deadlines, stuff like that,” Haque said.

Although freshmen begin registration on Nov. 15, Bousel said that there will still be classes available.

“Keep in mind that we know they’re there.”

Bousel said. “What we tend to see is anxiety about getting a schedule in general. But after the semester ends, there’s a lot of activity that occurs. They really shouldn’t assume that this is the end of it.”

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FOURTH ESTATE

Boundaries of Mason Police ALEXA ROGERS STAFF WRITER

What is the jurisdiction of the Mason police?

“Everything owned, operated, controlled, leased or contiguous to George Mason property,” Mason Police Chief Eric Heath said.

The jurisdiction includes the Mason property on the Fairfax, Prince William and Arlington campuses, streets that surround any Mason property and President Cabrera’s house.

Alcohol referrals up over 100 percent REEM NADEEM BEAT REPORTER The release of the 2012 Mason Security Report shed light on the rise in various crimes at the university.

While certain crimes, such as burglaries, have decreased, others have increased regularly through the years.

A continuing trend at Mason is the growth of liquor arrests and referrals, which have more than doubled since 2011.

Liquor Law Referrals, in which students are reported to the Office of Student Conduct but not charged, have risen from 211 in 2011 to 560 in 2012.

However, statistics can be misleading. Concerts held at the Patriot Center attract many non-Mason students and any arrests that occur are reported as a part of the statistics.

“The way the system is designed is that the Patriot Center is on our campus so any kind of liquor law violation under Clery standard, whether it’s a student or non student, has to be reported because that’s on our campus and that’s within our jurisdiction,” Chief of University

Police Eric Heath said.

Another reason for the growth in alcohol-related offenses may be the growing population at Mason, which Heath said could account for the growth of victimless crimes such as drug use or underage alcohol consumption.

“When you increase the on-campus population, specifically resident facilities that often times house underage individuals, then obviously that brings to light more concerns or problems within residential facilities,” Heath said.

A $9,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Alcohol Beverage Control helped Mason police with targeted enforcement during 2012.

Heath said this grant contributed to the statistical growth in alcohol-related offenses.

“ABC will often give grants to agencies where they believe have large amounts of alcohol-related issues. They’ll give grant funding to those agencies to be able to do extra enforcement, or more directed enforcement related to those specific Virginia criminal code violations related to alcohol,” Heath said.

Mason’s transition from a

commuter college to a residential college may also contribute to the statistics.

“Look at George Mason, how it’s transitioned from a commuter college to a residential college and you will start to see, because of that, more numbers with relation to alcohol or drug-related issues because you have people living on campus,” Heath said.

Students of drinking age and Patriot Center event attendees are encouraged to be responsible with their drinking. Should a situation involving University Police or Residential and University Life arise, students should be cooperative and honest.

Forcible sex offenses decreased from 8 to 7. However, the American Association of University Women believes that 95% of sex crimes go unreported to the police.

Chief Heath said Mason police understands unfortunate social stigmas and the nature of the investigation can deter victims from reporting their assault. However, officers are trained to handle these situations and victims can be steered towards local organizations such as WAVES to receive the support they need.

“We really try to provide a supportive network in which people feel they can come forward and report those crimes and know that something will be done about them when we can,” Heath said.

Small rises in crimes such as burglary, robbery, arson, motor vehicle theft and aggravated assault are too small to establish patterns.

“They’re very hard to predict.

Especially when you have a low number, if you go from 0 to 3, obviously to anyone going up 3 is alarming but 3 is oftentimes difficult to come up with some sort of crime pattern or hot spot analysis or some crime analysis,” Heath said.

As Mason’s strategic plan calls for an increase in student enrollment, prevention and education will become key to try and decrease the crime rates.

“I think other entities on campus then have a responsibiity, whether it’s the WAVES office or the University Life office or the housing and residential offices. We all have a responsibility to work collaboratively to work on addressing that particular concern,” Heath said.

Mason police can also travel off-campus to patrol and protect areas such as the Commerce Building on University Drive and the Food and Nutrition Studies Classroom on Main Street in downtown Fairfax.

Here are a few scenarios that involve the jurisdiction of Mason police: • When infractions happen on campus property, such as speeding on campus, Mason police are allowed to pursue the individual off-campus to make a “safe and controlled” traffic stop.

• Mason police can make traffic stops on the roads that surround the campus. For example, they could pull over someone that is unaffiliated with the university on Ox Road for reckless driving.

• Mason police can respond to any crime-related incident on campus. Mason police can involve Student Conduct for small infractions and make arrests for major offences.

News

FOURTH ESTATE

11 Close encounters of the police kind Nov. 11, 2013

ALEXA ROGERS STAFF WRITER Students are walking to their dorm coming home from a bar. They had a couple beers and they are 21.

Can they be detained for public intoxication? What are the limits? What are the police looking for?

(JENNY KRASHIN/FOURTH ESTATE)

Mason Chief of Police Eric Heath’s goals include increasing effective communication within the university.

Police look to enhance relationship with campus community ALEXA ROGERS STAFF WRITER The Mason Police Department is undergoing a makeover.

In July, Mason hired Eric Heath as the new Chief of Police. Bringing with him his experience in the police departments at the University of Chicago and the University of Arkansas, Heath hopes to provide a fresh perspective to the department. “[My goal is for the police] to have much better interactions with everyone we encounter, whether it’s faculty, staff or students,” Heath said.

In his first semester on campus, Heath introduced several new ideas to help improve the department’s presence at Mason. One of Heath’s initiatives focuses on improving the police department’s image through effective communication.

Sargent Bruce Jackson feels “community policing” already has priority at Mason.

“Community policing is supposed to be getting to know your community, learning from your community, working with your community…that’s what university police departments are all about,” Jackson said.

While developing their communication with the community, the department is also working to improve their interactions with students by partnering with Student Government. Starting in early October, the two organizations initiated monthly meetings in which they discuss any outstanding issues

brought to Student Government by the student body.

A member of Student Government also resides on the police department’s panel in charge of hiring new officers to give the department a student’s perspective on the candidates. Heath said that students will be a valuable resource in helping to determine if the candidates would make a good police officer and be a good fit for Mason.

Despite these efforts, Raj Panth, a sophomore IT major who had an alcohol-related encounter with the Mason Police earlier this school year, believes that the Mason Police need to do a better job of accommodating students on campus.

“They should be more catered towards student safety than prevention,” Panth said. “Warnings don’t create negativity.

They help create responsibility.”

While Heath wants the department to foster better communication with students, he wants the community to realize that their job is their number one priority.

“My goal wasn’t to treat students better or one segment of the community better, it was to treat everyone better,” Heath said. “[We need to] provide the most professional and courteous service as possible.”

Jackson agrees, emphasizing the difficulty of always having positive encounters.

“I would like people to understand that we have a hard job to do sometimes… we can’t please all of the people at one

time,” Jackson said.

Heath’s one piece of advice for students that encounter the police is to simply be respectful.

“Be respectful, be courteous, cooperate with investigations that are going on,” Heath said. “If you are the subject of that investigation, cooperate and be truthful.”

With the community in mind, Heath also wants to improve security technology to accommodate Mason’s always-evolving campus. Heath hopes to introduce a program called Comm Stat Analysis, a crime analysis plan that would help predict crimes before they happen and turn the department into a more proactive force.

According to Jackson, security improvements in the past have helped the department grow to the force it is today.

“All of these [changes] have dramatically changed how we can respond to our community in the best way,” Jackson said. “No matter what the need of the community is.”

As he helps to implement the new changes to the department, Heath is starting to see Mason as a home.

“I really like George Mason,” Heath said. “I like the institution, the diversity of the student body and the things that we’re challenged to do on a daily basis…I love being in law enforcement on a college campus because it really feels like you can interact more with the community.”

Chief Heath said that student safety comes first when encountering any drinking situation, whether the students are under or of legal age to drink. Officers examine whether or not the individual poses a risk to himself or herself by looking for behaviors such as difficulty standing or keeping their balance. These behaviors could lead to more dangerous actions, such as stepping out into the road, which Heath feels is a very serious danger on Mason’s busy campus. Based on the individual’s level of intoxication, according to Heath, medical assistance could be called or the individual could be taken into custody as a way to protect their safety. “Someone’s safety is paramount to how we respond to those types of situations,” Heath said.

Students are at a party off-campus. The police show up at the house to respond to a noise complaint.

How should students react?

In this situation, Mason police would not typically be the first to respond to a party. However, according to Heath, the responding department may call Mason police as a way to address the situation and refer students to Student Conduct instead of being arrested.

Heath said the best way to respond in this situation is to listen to what the police department tells you.

Escape methods, such as running away from the party, can create mass panic among students and will end up drawing more attention from law enforcement.

Heath said that listening to the officers often results in a simple notification or warning of certain behaviors, such as loud music. “Listen to what you’re being instructed. Be honest and provide information to the individuals requesting it and you’ll be fine,” Heath said.

Two students are walking on the road and are approached by Mason police officers for “suspicious behavior.” What are the rights of the students? What are the rights of the officers?

According to Heath, “anyone in the law enforcement capacity, if they see something suspicious or have responsible suspicion to stop and ask somebody some questions, they have the right to do so as long as they can justify it and document what they witnessed.”

However, how officers react can be based on a number of factors, such as time of day, current crime trends in the area or any reasonable suspicions the officers may have in these situations.

12

Nov. 11, 2013

Lifestyle

FOURTH ESTATE

Foreign dispatch: Abroad in China for two semesters MARC ZALASKUS STAFF WRITER It is no secret that China is on the rise in the global marketplace. Studying abroad in the land of the dragon, or even learning Chinese, is essentially an invaluable asset to add to a resume.

Sam Morgan, global affairs and Chinese double major, studied abroad in China at Liaoning Normal University through a selective program offered by the Chinese Government. She participated in an intensive Chinese-language study for two semesters.

“The application process was really simple.

You fill it out online and write a short essay,” Morgan said.

She completed the application in November, but did not hear back from the program until the next Spring.

“When I got the acceptance email, I started crying,” Morgan said.

At the time of Morgan’s application, only three Mason students were allowed into the program.

Each of the selected participants was accepted with a full scholarship for various programs across China. While Morgan applied as a Mason student, this particular language-intensive program is only offered by the Chinese Government and not directly affiliated through the Center of Global Education or the Confucius Institute.

“The thing about going through a nonMason program is that you go alone. All I got was an acceptance letter saying be here, at this address, on this date,” Morgan said.

Upon arriving in Beijing, she rented out a cheap hostel before continuing the next morning on an overnight train ride to Dalian, China.

During the trip, she recalls multiple occasions where strangers would offer help in carrying her luggage.

“The Chinese people are so willing to help you, because you are a foreigner,” Morgan said.

“They want to help you even more because they want Americans to like China.”

Upon arriving at Liaoning University, Morgan felt that she had trouble recalling even basic Chinese phrases. Luckily, however, English-speaking teachers and students helped Morgan get situated in her dorm. It was a difficult situation made worse due to the fact that she was unable to get in contact with her mother due to a misunderstanding with a transferable phone plan.

While she was studying abroad, the Chinese government gave Morgan a monthly stipend through the scholarship program that was equivalent to roughly $300. For some extra cash, Morgan was also able to tutor people in English for an extra $200 a month.

After initially meeting a young Chinese girl, Morgan was later invited to visit the young girl’s home. The parents of the young girl paid

(PHOTO COURTESY OF SAM MORGAN)

for her meals, an elective trip to the Great Wall of China and other various activities.

They also insisted on her sleeping in the master bedroom while the rest of the family slept on the young girl’s bed. In exchange, the parents asked for Morgan to help find the young girl a scholarship to study in the United States. She later learned that it is a Chinese customary to feel obligated to return favors.

By participating in the study abroad program in China, Morgan felt that she gained

the ability to live in a foreign country more easily.

“Right now, my plan is to apply to American companies, but I also want to do a program called EPIK, which is a program in teaching English in Korea,” Morgan said.

Morgan encourages any participants in the study abroad programs to face strangers with humility and respect.

“It is okay to be ignorant at first, but at least try to learn their culture,” Morgan said.

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Fourth estate

Lifestyle

Nov. 11, 2013

13

Mason Makes Careers

Each Week Fourth Estate features a student or alumnus with a great internship or job to highlight the opportunities a degree from Mason can provide

(PHOTO COURTESY OF DEREK DODDRIDGE)

MEGHANN PATTERSON STAFF WRITER Derek Doddridge is a fifth year senior and environmental science major at Mason. He hopes to pursue a career in either remote sensing or astronomy. In 2011, Doddridge interned for NASA.

What's a typical day like at NASA?

I was a part of the NASA DEVELOP Program.

The program gives students the opportunity to work with NASA remote sensing assets in order to conduct research projects benefiting community and national concerns.

Working for DEVELOP was a rewarding and worthwhile experience. I not only learned valuable research skills but also leadership and managerial skills.

Every day at NASA is different. One day you might be running models and digging up satellite data and the next you might be traveling, presenting your work or meeting with community partners.

As a team leader for my research team, I was responsible for constantly maintaining a working knowledge of the research my team members were conducting.

I was also responsible for managing the research project as whole, providing the team with direction, maintaining constant communication with the program managers and ensuring the well-being of my team members.

What past experiences prepared you for this internship?

What did you learn that you didn't know how to do before?

Mainly a general scientific background helped prepare me. DEVELOP equipped me with all the tools in order to conduct successful research.

Everyone brings something unique to a research team so a wide variety of backgrounds are desirable. Opportunities at DEVELOP are not limited to individuals with scientific research.

I worked with individuals studying languages, communications, economics and many others.

Working at DEVELOP is primarily a learning experience. I never realized how much free and accessible data NASA and other agencies provided. It’s a simple internet search away.

I got a lot of hands-on experience using data visualization programs and scientific models.

In addition to all of this, the program helped me develop a high standard of scientific writing and professional presentation.

What program were you a part of?

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scientific writing was the most challenging and ultimately one of the most rewarding aspects.

What was the most challenging part?

DEVELOP instills high standards of scientific presentation in all of its students.

Constantly striving for improvement in public speaking, scientific presentation and

What's your ideal job?

Down the line, I would like to get into remote sensing data analysis and GIS-type work, but I have an open mind regarding the particular field.

I would also like to be an astronaut.

Hopefully that will be an attainable goal within my lifetime.

14

Nov. 4, 2013

Colleen Wilson Editor-In-Chief gmufourthestate@gmail.com

Opinion

Support for same-sex faculty benefits misguided

Andrew Stevenson Managing Editor

Niki Papadogiannakis News Editor

Janelle Germanos News Editor

Mary Oakey Asst. Lifestyle Editor

Will Rose Opinion Editor

Hau Chu Sports Editor

Daniel Gregory Asst. Sports Editor

John Irwin

Photography Editor

Walter Martinez Design Editor

Jill Carter Copy Chief

Katryna Henderson Illustrator

Kathryn Mangus Faculty Advisor

David Carroll Associate Director Fourth Estate operates as a publication of Broadside.

Fourth Estate is printed each Monday for George Mason University and its surrounding Fairfax Community. The editors of Fourth Estate have exclusive authority over the content that is published.

There are no outside parties that play a role in the newspaper’s content, and should there be a question or complaint regarding this policy, the Editor-in-Chief should be notified at the email listed above.

Fourth Estate is a free publication, limit one copy per person. Additional copies are 25 cents payable to the Office of Student Media.

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FOURTH ESTATE

MICHAEL GRYBOSKI COLUMNIST Throughout the fall semester, the powers that be at Mason have been trying to advance their vision of progress regarding LGBT rights.

In October, the Mason Faculty Senate approved a resolution calling for the expansion of partner benefits for same-sex couples employed at Mason.

At the start of November, President Ángel Cabrera echoed their sentiments, urging Virginia’s state government to expand the benefits for same-sex couples throughout the Commonwealth. The reasoning undergirding this support from above is marked with the usual claims for diversity and competitiveness.

The president’s website refers to the resolution as being for “university competiveness” and argues, like the resolution Faculty Senate passed, that the current status quo of no same-sex married couple benefits harms Mason’s “ability to compete to attract and retain a diverse and talented faculty.”

Yet Mason’s, and to an extent Virginia’s, competiveness and diversity are unharmed by not providing same-sex couple benefits.

Diversity is an easy point to refute because ultimately Mason is diverse by default.

Mason’s campuses are concentrated in a part of the country that has a broad array of ethnicities and nationalities represented.

With the many amiable attributes Mason holds and its proximity to a large population center, Mason will likely never be in want of prospective students. With its resolution, the Faculty Senate and Cabrera are falsely assuming that competiveness will be achieved through expanding benefits to same-sex couples, ignoring the immense progress the former UVA satellite campus has made sans same-sex couple benefits.

To use another example, consider an academic entity like Liberty University. Given its ideological biases at the leadership level, Liberty will likely refuse to provide samesex couple benefits until some hypothetical future state government compels them to do so.

Yet such a closed mind towards LGBT benefits has hardly stopped their progress.

As reported by Mary Beth Marklein of USA

Today, Liberty’s growth has been impressive.

“The cacophony of construction across the 7,000-acre campus it overlooks suggests that the once-struggling Christian college has not only arrived but also plans to stick around,” wrote Marklein in September.

And if Liberty seems too far distant an example of progress without LGBT benefits, consider some entities more directly connected to Mason. At the lowest level of SUB I there is a Chick-fil-A. Having a devout Southern Baptist leadership openly opposed to gay marriage has hardly inhibited their economic success story.

According to a report by the research company Sandelman & Associates, consumer usage of the chicken sandwich chain increased by 2.2 percent right after CEO Dan Cathy’s 2012 controversial remarks compared to the same period in 2011, with the chain also gaining on market share and ad awareness.

If anything, being opposed to gay marriage and its expansion of benefits aided the company’s competitiveness.

Next year, Mason will be opening a campus in Songdo, South Korea which will offer programs in economics and management. Strange that South Korea is considered competitive enough to garner attention from Mason when the country itself does not legally recognize same-sex marriage nor has passed anti-discrimination legislation for sexual minorities.

Having a population where the majority of citizens still consider homosexuality wrong has hardly halted investment from entities like Mason.

All in all, the call for expanding same-sex couple benefits in Virginia both for Mason and other for-profit entities is built upon the

oft-repeated and seldom criticized claim that same-sex marriage recognition is good for the economy. It is, in the opinions of the sympathizer, part of the path to progress.

Yet there is strong evidence against such a claim. Consider CNBC’s “America’s Top States for Business 2012”, in which states with constitutional amendments banning samesex marriage dominated the top ten.

The top were Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming and Georgia. Of them only Wyoming lacked an amendment.

Wyoming, for the record, does not legally recognize gay marriage.

Iowa, whose activist court struck down its marriage definition law regarding same-sex couples years back, ranked number 12 and Massachusetts, the first state to legalize samesex marriage, was number 28.

Odds are good other Virginia campuses will have administrative bodies supporting the expansion of benefits for same-sex couples in the Commonwealth. They will argue that they need these expansions to remain competitive and to foster diversity. However, for the past several decades, competition and diversity have thrived without said benefits existing.

We have not needed further endorsement of LGBT advocacy to succeed before and we will not need it in the modern day.

There are plenty of entities that have never caved to such ideas and yet continue to thrive.

Just ask Liberty University, Chick-fil-A, South Korea and every high-ranking state on the CNBC’s list of best states for businesses.

Cartoon Corner

by Leilani Romero

Fourth estate

Opinion

A call to arms

Mason’s weapons policies favor criminals, endanger lawabiding students and staff

JOHN HILL COLUMNIST Students at Mason are probably well aware of the gun ban on campus and in housing.

And due to the lack of outrage, it seems that students don’t mind a temporary suspension of their rights in the name of safety.

Students may be “ok” with not being allowed to have a gun on campus, but where does it end? What other self-defense tools are not permitted on campus?

Emergency situations can pop up anywhere, anytime. Law can only deter violence and police can only react to it. Need for action in the present to protect one’s own body or belongings could arise without a moment’s notice.

The ability and preparedness to protect oneself could be the difference between life and death.

A variety of tools are available to citizens of this free country as a way to gain an advantage over the bad guys who pose a threat because they don’t follow the law.

For example, guns, pepper spray, stun guns and knives have all proven to be great tools in situations where self-defense is needed.

Mason doesn’t address these useful protection items as “tools,” rather, they prefer the title “weapon.” All of those self-defense items listed above are restricted here at Mason.

University Policy 1120 details the weapons prohibition on campus, while the Resident Student Handbook expands further control over what you can and can’t have on campus.

As mentioned previously, firearms are not allowed on campus, including the extremely dangerous Nerf “guns” many students grew up playing with as children.

The Student Resident Handbook lists out examples of “weapons” not permitted, but also states that students aren’t allowed to have “other items deemed to be dangerous, inflict a wound or cause injury on university property.

A weapon may be a substance, instrument or object.” With that arbitrary definition, it is possible that a pencil could be deemed a

weapon.

When asked for a list of weapons not permitted on campus, Mason’s Office of Housing and Resident Life responded, “There is not a list of items deemed to be dangerous, but examples are provided in the handbook. The spirit of the policy is to address items that are used with the intention of threatening another individual.”

Translation: there is no set list of items prohibited, so students could be completely unaware that they are breaking policy.

The only clear exception given is to kitchen knives, which are as equally dangerous as non-kitchen knives that are prohibited.

It’s quite possible under this policy that fists and feet are prohibited because the spirit of the policy is to address items used with the intention of threatening another.

News flash to the university policy makers: the goal of self-defense is to be as big a threat as possible to the attacker so they leave their target alone.

The more self-defense weapons permitted on campus, the more of a threat the student body is to rapists, thugs and other criminals.

Pepper spray and stun guns are commonly used self-defense tools, especially for women who don’t want to carry a small firearm.

Mason does not take kindly to students who wish to defend themselves with these products, and students found in possession of those items could be evicted from the residence halls and are subject to further discipline. Pepper spray is one of the most popular and useful tools for protection in this country, but Mason decided that our campus is safer without it.

Mason’s weapons policy leaves students empty-handed and vulnerable. If attacked, call 911.

If you can’t call 911 because you’re being attacked, try fighting with your hands and feet. If the attacker is stronger than you, pray and hope for the best. Watch out though, if your hands and feet are used in a threatening manner, you might be in trouble.

George Mason, that guy our school is named after, wrote, "To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them."

Here at Mason, we’re enslaved by our attackers in the event of a crime because self-defense is outlawed.

Oct. 28, 2013

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16

Oct. 28, 2013

Sports

FOURTH ESTATE

Men’s basketball seniors weather major change

(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)

Johnny Williams, Sherrod Wright, Bryon Allen and Jonathan Arledge after practice at the Patriot Center before the season opener against American University.

PAT CARROLL MANAGING EDITOR For the seniors on the Mason men’s basketball team, the course of their collegiate playing careers has been a whirlwind of ecstasy and uncertainty. From an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament to the loss of the coach who recruited them and a move to the Atlantic 10, the landscape of the program has shifted dramatically.

Seniors Bryon Allen, Sherrod Wright, Jonathan Arledge and Johnny Williams have had to make the necessary adjustments that come with college athletics: dealing with coaching changes, vying for playing time and transitioning from one coach’s playing style to another.

The four only caught glimpses of the NCAA Tournament. Wright nursed a shoulder injury after receiving a medical redshirt. Allen and Arledge played in garbage minutes late in the Patriots’ loss to Ohio State. Williams, however, had a more prominent role in the tournament, contributing eight points against Villanova and played a career-high 21 minutes against the Buckeyes.

Williams’ role as the team’s seasoned veteran provides perspective for younger players on what goes into making a

tournament run.

“It brings fuel to the team because nobody has been there before,” Williams said. “I try to lead by example and tell them that ‘We’ve got to get there because I’ve been there and it’s great.’ Getting escorted by the police, flying in a private jet and playing in an NBA gym.

It’s just amazing and I want them to get that feeling that I had.”

After finishing the 2010-2011 season with the best record in school history, the future of the men’s basketball program was up in the air. Coach Jim Larranaga left Mason in April 2011 for the University of Miami and the door opened for Paul Hewitt. Hewitt was months removed from being fired by Georgia Tech after an underwhelming 13-18 season and Mason seemed like an opportunity at redemption.

The move sparked conversations about the future of the program and how the change would affect the players. For Allen, the hiring of Hewitt was a blessing.

“Both of them are great coaches,” Allen said. “For me, personally, I like Coach Hewitt more. He’s a straight-forward guy and he gives everybody a fair chance, no matter what grade level you’re in. He just wants to win.”

As a freshman under Larranaga, Allen saw limited action behind team captain Cam

Long, junior guard Andre Cornelius and sophomore guard Vertrail Vaughns, with most of his minutes logged with the game already in hand.

He considered transferring at the end of the season, but Hewitt’s pedigree within basketball circles and his ability to coach NBA-level talent swayed Allen’s decision to stay at Mason.

“He was the main reason why I stayed,” Allen said. “Also, I talked to some of the other guys who were going through the same situation that I was as I was and we all decided that we really wanted to stay here and play together and give it a shot.”

Arledge was in the same predicament as Allen after rarely seeing the floor his freshman year due to frontcourt depth. The two roomed together, along with Williams that year and their strong bond encouraged the players to finish their careers at Mason together.

“We all get along,” Arledge said. “We all have a good relationship.”

Under Hewitt, Wright and other players have seen the program evolve, especially in the area of player development.

“I’ve seen the program continue to develop with the players that come in and the bond that each player builds with each other,” Wright said. “It’s a constant steady progression to get

better as a person and get better as a player.

The main things I’ve seen are the focus and just becoming better overall.”

Larranaga’s coaching style stressed a slower pace and running a half-court offense that forced the ball into the paint for inside scoring. Hewitt’s style, however, involves a more aggressive, up-tempo scheme where conditioning is essential. At first, the shift was a shock for the players but Larranaga’s system has begun to take hold on his players.

“It’s changed a lot,” Allen said. “The tempo has definitely changed. Defensive-wise, we’re more of an aggressive, fast-paced style.

Communication on defense has also changed.

Everybody’s talking and trying to be a leader on the court.”

With the move to the Atlantic 10 conference, the team’s chances to reach the NCAA Tournament increase tenfold because of better competition. In their final year of eligibility, making a mark in the tournament is not only a personal goal for each senior, but it is a team goal that those who witnessed it before wish to share with the next generation.

“It was wonderful just being in that environment and getting that treatment,” Arledge said. “We want to get back to [the NCAA Tournament] so everyone can get the chance to experience what we experienced.”

Fourth estate

Sports

Nov. 11, 2013

17

Men’s soccer looks to carry momentum into A-10 tournament

(JOHN IRWIN/FOURTH ESTATE)

DARIAN BANKS STAFF WRITER While the Mason men’s soccer team achieved their goal of going undefeated at home this season, they still have unfinished business as they prepare for the A-10 tournament.

The team prepared to take on Duquesne University and Saint Bonaventure University, two Atlantic 10 opponents. Those results determine their ranking in the A-10 tournament, which runs from Nov. 14-17 in Dayton, Ohio.

“We have a chance to make this an exceptional season,” said Greg Andrulis, the head coach of the Mason men’s soccer team.

The team tackled the learning curve of moving to a new conference with prior knowledge of the format and teams from past experiences.

“We’re very fortunate to have Trevor Singer as our assistant coach, because he was in the A-10 for many years,” Andrulis said. “Having local knowledge has been invaluable to the guys and the team.”

Inside knowledge and eight returning seniors contributed to the teams 9-2-3 overall record and 4-0-2 conference play record. Their

record represents a notable improvement from their 4-5-1 conference finish and comparable to their 11-6-2 final season in the CAA. “This team has been very interesting, because we had an awful lot of returning players,” Andrulis said. “That group [of seniors] has been able to integrate a very large freshman class and develop a very cohesive group that has wonderful team chemistry.”

The team’s success so far could lead to overconfidence during the tournament, but there are always opportunities to be humbled.

“When you do think you’re doing well, you get punched in the nose and it’s a wake up call,” Andrulis said. “The games humble you and keep you focused. You set goals and we’ve only accomplished being undefeated at home.

We have an awful lot left to do.”

One difference the team will face in the A-10 from the CAA is potentially playing three games in four days. It’s unusual for the conference to require teams to play back-to-back games and accommodations will have to be made.

“We have never played a back-to-back game, so that’s going to be very interesting and we will have to make adjustments,” Andrulis said. “And those will be made based on the health of the team and the facility.”

Senior Wes Sever has been out since spraining his ankle in a game against Saint Joseph’s University. His health may change the team’s strategy going into the tournament as well.

“As the teams second leading scorer, our hope is that he’s back before the conference tournament, but we don’t know,” Andrulis said.

Andrulis cited consistency and improvement as his goals for the team this year in a story by Fourth Estate prior to the beginning of conference play.

“We’ve been a great defensive team which means the guys work really hard and work for each other,” Andrulis said. “Our attacking has been consistent without being outstanding, but we get the goals.”

In terms of goalkeeping, the team leads the conference with seven shutouts and has the least amount of goals allowed with a 0.64 average.

“We’ve had good goalkeeping from [freshman] Steffen Kraus but fortunately haven’t needed great goalkeeping because we give up the fewest amount of chances per game in the conference,” Andrulis said.

One team that will give Mason a contest is Saint Louis University, tied with the team’s conference record.

“We’re very fortunate to have Trevor Singer as our assistant coach, because he was in the A-10 for many years,” Andrulis said. “Having local knowledge has been invaluable to the guys and the team.”

- Greg Andrulis, the head coach of the Mason men’s soccer team “It doesn’t matter who we play. Every game in the conference has been very competitive and all the teams are good,” Andrulis said. “But in big games, big players makes big plays.”

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(GOPI RAGHU/FOURTH ESTATE)

Cross-country season highlighted by A-10 win HAU CHU SPORTS EDITOR In the first season of Mason’s inaugural year in the Atlantic 10, a cross-country runner has brought a conference championship to Fairfax.

Junior Bethany Sachtleben won the women’s 5K run held on Nov. 2 in a field of 111 runners. Sachtleben won the race with a time of 16:54.6, edging out the second place finisher by eight seconds. It was not only winning the race that pleased Sachtleben, but also the way she kept her composure.

“I had a strategy that I actually followed and it paid off,” Sachtleben said. “It’s usually really hard for me to be patient at the beginning of a race when it goes out really slow but I was happy that I was able to stay calm and make good decisions.”

Sachtleben, before coming to Mason, had never run on any organized track team in high school or otherwise. She ran a marathon and a half marathon in high school, but it was not until her finish in the marathon that she began to consider running at Mason.

“Running was just always something I enjoyed and did for fun because I wasn’t good enough at any other sports,” Sachtleben said. “But after I completed the marathon, my family and friends really encouraged me to get serious about running.”

That led to Sachtleben contacting Mason cross-country Head Coach Andrew Gerard and Associate Head Coach Sita Waru-Ewell to ask about running for the team. Sachtleben’s freshman year involved training and learning about how to

compete in collegiate cross-country.

Sachtleben’s immediate success in the sport came as a surprise to Gerard. “[Sachtleben] has made some leaps and bounds in improvements over the last couple of seasons. This is only her second cross-country season running competitively,” Gerard said.

“So, it’s a huge piece of luck. You don’t plan on those kinds of things.”

The races leading up to the A-10 meet had not been going well individually for Sachtleben.

“The meets leading up to the A-10 conference meet were honestly a little shaky for me. I had a rough first meet at UVA where I just felt dead from the moment the gun went off and that was really disappointing,” Sachtleben said. “As the season progressed I continued to struggle with my confidence a little, but Coach Ewell really helped me regroup and focus, and I was able to get my season back on track.”

Gerard was not concerned with Sachtleben’s performance during the season because of the nature of cross country. “[Cross-country] is definitely a sport that peaks. If you run well at the championship meets, nobody really remembers what you did at the beginning of the season. In some ways, it’s completely irrelevant,” Gerard said. “You can finish dead last at the first meet and if you peak well and win the last meet of the year, you’re a superhero.”

Gerard believed that Sachtleben was one of the favorites in the A-10 meet.

“We really felt that there were probably two to three other women that had a shot at [winning] on any given day, but we

knew that she’d be a real strong contender in there,” Gerard said. “Obviously, it played out where she was able to win the title, so that wasn’t a huge surprise.”

While Sachtleben and her coaches believed in her ability to win the meet, such expectations were not felt from outside parties.

“Coming into the A-10 meet, I wasn’t really a favorite to win. I don’t think anyone except me and my coaches expected that to happen, which was really good because I didn’t have that pressure,” Sachtleben said. “The only pressure came from myself because winning the conference meet was my goal from day one of the cross-country season.”

The cross-country team as a whole finished in line with where Gerard expected. The men’s overall team finished third in the A-10 meet, placing behind pre-season favorite La Salle University and Saint Joseph’s University.

“We thought we could be anywhere from about second to fifth, we had a pretty strong feeling that La Salle — if they ran the way they should have — would win,” Gerard said. “St. Joe’s, who ended up getting second, we thought we had a shot at them if they ran the way they had been running — we thought we could exploit their [strategy]. With the way they ran, we couldn’t have found 22 more points on that day.”

The women’s overall team finished eighth in the conference meet, which was a little lower than where Gerard thought they could finish.

“Team-score wise, we would’ve liked to be a little bit higher, but the women did run well, just based on their times and past performances,” Gerard said. “The A-10 is a pretty deep

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Hazing problems in the NFL DANIEL GREGORY ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

(GOPI RAGHU/FOURTH ESTATE)

conference on the women’s side, and it’s just going to be challenging for us.”

Sachtleben echoed Gerard’s sentiments for the women team’s overall race and effort in the meet.

“I was really excited for my teammates because they all set [personal records] at the A-10 meet. Everyone just put it all out there and it was so cool to have that happen at one of the most important meets,” Sachtleben said. “We are stronger this year than we were last year and I know we are only going to get better.”

The next meet that the cross-country team and Sachtleben are looking forward to is the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship meet on Friday, where there will be tough competition from schools that have traditionally performed well in cross-country, such as the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke University.

“Traditionally, the southeast region is an extremely strong region. Historically, this region has sent four or five squads on a regular basis to the NCAA Championships,” Gerard said.

There are nine regions in the NCAA, with each getting two automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, and 13 at-large bids at stake. Mason men’s team last year missed out on an at-large bid by a point to Duke.

Gerard admits that last year’s team graduated many seniors who were responsible for the high finish but still believes that this year’s team can place well.

“I don’t think we have the depth this year to do quite that well, but if we can be in the top 10 on the men’s side,

that would be a significant result,” Gerard said.

For the women’s side of competition at regionals, Gerard still thinks the team is building to better results in the future.

“We probably would be hoping for something in the top 15 range — plus or minus — and that would be a step forward. We finished 24th last year, and we would be looking to build on that,” Gerard said. “That was a very young crew last year, so this year they’re all back, basically, and we’re looking to build on what they did last year.”

Gerard believes that Sachtleben can place this year in the top 15-20 in the region, but guaranteeing a spot for the NCAA Championships is a difficult task. The top three runners not on a championship qualifying team make it in at-large. Gerard said that since it is impossible to figure out who will place where until the end of the race, the only way to lock up a spot is to place top three overall in the race.

Sachtleben is looking forward to the NCAA meets and is confident in her training to pay off when the stakes are raised.

“I’m just maintaining what I’ve developed so far this season going into the regional meet,” Sachtleben said.

“The work has pretty much been done already and this next week or so is just about working out hard and taking care of my body.

The Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito saga continues to worsen daily. Each morning it seems someone releases new information supporting or condemning either player. As this fiasco prolongs, one thing is clear: the NFL loses.

An old saying claims you cannot polish turd. As much as the NFL might try to save face, they will not come out of this looking like an organization that has adequate control of its teams.

The dialogue will eventually shift from how bad Richie Incognito is to how prevalent hazing is in the NFL. Jonathan Martin leaving the Dolphins gives those outside the league an unprecedented look at the culture of the NFL. So far, it is safe to say the public does not like what it sees. From listening to ex and current players, hazing happens across the NFL and most other professional sports.

Eventually, the league has to address hazing in the locker room.

If only to avoid legal liability, the league will create an anti-hazing policy once the uproar over this particular case settles.

When the time comes to implement the new rule, the NFL will have to decide how to write and enforce the anti-hazing policy.

When writing the rule, the league must define what constitutes hazing.

The NFL can look to several different sources to decide how to implement the new rule.

Currently, 44 states have anti-hazing laws on the books. The league might better be served drawing from universities or Greek-letter organizations that have anti-hazing policies.

The Fraternity Information and Policy Group created a definition for hazing that many national

fraternities and sororities use as their standard. The FIPG says, “Any action taken or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule.”

Let’s just pretend the NFL decides to adopt the same definition for hazing, placing a league-wide ban on the act. What impacts will that have?

You can say goodbye to rookie haircuts. That’s right, no more hilarious dos like friar Tebow.

No more rookie talent shows. No more watching rookies on Hard Knocks doing impressions or singing songs. No more rookies carrying veterans’ shoulder pads or buying veterans’ meals.

Seeing these things disappear would leave me conflicted. As someone who played sports, I went through some initiationlike behaviors that under the definition listed above would be defined as hazing.

I personally found the experiences valuable and funny. I was never asked or put in a situation I found uncomfortable or something that I truly did not want to do. I would hate to see those experiences go away under such a rule, and ultimately I think most NFL athletes would share that sentiment.

The implementation of the anti-hazing rule would be accepted by some organizations whole-heartedly while others would continue to function as always, with the actions being swept under the rug and less publicized.

Hazing in any organization is a specific problem that cannot be solved by an overarching rule.

The change must occur within the players before the NFL will ever see any improvement across the league. Slowly but surely, a culture against hazing will emerge in the NFL, but it will take time, and it has to begin with the players.

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Fourth estate

Workout of the week Box jumps, step ups

MICHAEL SNOWDEN STAFF WRITER Box jumps are a plyometric exercise that target the major muscles of the lower body.

Plyometrics increase muscular power and explosiveness as the muscles get stretched and then rapidly shorten. Begin with ground-based jumping exercises to ensure comfort while exercising.

As with any exercise, risks are involved and, by working your way up to a higher box, you can

reduce these hazards.

People who do not find it comfortable to jump onto a box can also get a lot of great work done by stepping onto and off of a similar platform. This exercise, called the Step Up, can also be performed while holding a weight for an added resistance.

When performing the box jump, the most important tool required is a sturdy platform, specifically a plyometric box or aerobics step.

An important factor to consider before doing this exercise is the height of your platform, which will depend on your height and jumping ability.

Most people will find it comfortable to begin jumping at a box height around 12 inches.

(JOHN IRWIN/FOURTH ESTATE)

Face the box with feet about hip-width apart in a stable position. (Top left) Squat down naturally to where you feel you could reach the top of the platform in a single jump. (Top right) Jump out of your squat and leap onto the platform. Step backwards off of the box to return to the floor in a stable starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

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