9.17.18- Fourth Estate by Student Media George Mason University

F O U RT H E S TAT E September 17, 2018

Volume 6 Issue 3

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

BRINGING THE STORM page 17

THE

RECOVERY PROBLEM

news/ page 4

ASK IVY: MASON’S ADVICE COLUMN

culture/ page 11

LOVE LETTER TO

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL sports/ page 19

THE

MORALITY OF CHEATING opinions/ page 21

@ivestate | gmufourthestate.com

FOURTH ESTATE

9.17.2018

GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE

ALEXANDER SHEDD Editor-in-Chief

Corrections from 9/10 Issue: Misspelling of photographer’s name on page 10 photo credit, “Ibrahim Ahmed” would be correct spelling Page 11 photo credit should say “photo courtesy of Avery Powell”

BASMA HUMADI Managing Editor IZZ LAMAGDELEINE ELIZABETH ELKIND OWEN FERGUSON Copy Editors

Page 7 and 12 misspelled staff writer in byline

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

TISHA HERRERA News Editor DANA NICKEL Assistant News Editor MONICA ECHOLS Culture Editor

Dear Patriots, First of all, we’re up to 28 pages this issue. That’s pretty incredible, considering that last year we started out with 16. We couldn’t have done it without you. We’re also trying out a new format for our cover. I hope you like it! This Monday (9/17) is Constitution Day. As a government major and a student journalist, I feel some obligation to talk about the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Freedom of the Press relates to a question I hear quite often: “what does Fourth Estate mean?” Going back to traditional European governments, the three estates of government were the clergy, the nobility and the commoners. In later democracies, the concept refers to the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the government. Basically, the term “fourth estate” refers to the unofficial fourth branch of the government—the press. In a society where press freedom is an essential institution, the idea of the press serving a major role in society is more important than ever. Other things to look out for in this issue are our new advice column “Ask Ivy,” our features on substance abuse on campus and the issues at Chipotle and our coverage of the WNBA championship (for which we took our own pictures). As always, reach out to me at masonfourthestate@gmail.com if you have questions, comments or concerns.

HAILEY BULLIS Assistant Culture Editor JAMIE BELIVEAU Opinions Editor NATALIE HEAVREN Sports Editor LAUREN SULLIVAN OLIVIA VERMANE Longform Editors KRISTEN TALMAN GMU Korea Coordinator ALLIE THOMPSON Photo Editor ALLY MCALPINE Art Director BILLY FERGUSON Online Director

Sincerely,

ANDREA LUGO Social Media Editor

Alexander Shedd

DOMINIQUE BERNARDINO Multimedia Editor

Editor-in-Chief

EMMETT SMITH Distribution Manager KATHRYN MANGUS Director

We are always recruiting volunteers for: For all inquiries, please email - WRITERS - VIDEOGRAPHERS - ILLUSTRATORS - COPY EDITORS - PHOTOGRAPHERS George Mason University Mail stop 2C5 4400 University Drive Fairfax, Va. 22030 Phone 703-993-2950

DAVID CARROLL Associate Director JASON HARTSEL Assistant Director

a resume and cover letter or sample to: masonfourthestate@gmail.com

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

COVER PHOTO CREDITS Fourth Estate/ Domenic Allegra

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9.17.2018

LAZINESS, DESPERATION, OR SOMETHING ELSE

How Mason students feel about cheating on homework and tests SANJANA RAGHAVAN, STAFF WRITER Every semester, Mason professors warn their students not to cheat or plagiarize on any assignments or tests, but to abide by the Honor Code as stated in every syllabus. The consequences are quite severe, including the possibility of expulsion. With the high risk clearly stated on the Office of Academic Integrity website, what motivates students to continuously disregard the rules?

the students who did try.”

Conversely, other Mason students take a more flexible view on cheating. Tyler Beard, a senior who majors in rehabilitation science, does not believe cheating is good, but he pointed out different reasons as to why students might be tempted. “I don’t think cheating is … right, but sometimes people just don’t see another option. I think there’s a lot of pressure on students to really keep up their GPA and keep their scholarships or even get to another school of their choosing. Mason gives students a good opportunity to get away from those habits,” Beard said.

“Now, you’re paying for your education. People are also very scared of Honor Code violations, and they get caught so easily, so that there’s too much fear [that prevents them from cheating],” Joyce said. Some students, like junior and English major Brian McCook, report cheating on smaller assignments. “Whenever there’s an online quiz or online assignment,” McCook said, “even though it’s been explicitly stated you can’t use your textbook or online resources, it’s a natural inclination to

MASON WEEKLY CRIME LOG

FOURTH ESTATE TISHA HERRERA

Lily Joyce, a junior majoring in marketing, explained why students tend to cheat less in college, compared to high school.

Ava Weeks, a junior at Mason, also does not believe cheating is necessarily wrong.

pull up the internet and search.” On the other hand, some students believe that it comes at their expense when others cheat.

Gabrielle King, a senior who majors in cyber security, takes a firm stance against cheating. “It’s bullshit because these students are getting the same grades in the

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 - Monroe Hall, 1:51 a.m. Liquor Law Violations / Medical Assistance: Subject (GMU) was transported to Inova Access Hospital by emergency medical services for overconsumption of alcohol and also referred to Office of Student Conduct (OSC) for possessing alcohol while under age 21. Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 - EagleBank Arena, 9:07 a.m.

Photo courtesy of GEORGE MASON POLICE

Theft from Building: Complainant (GMU) reported the theft of an unattended cell phone from an unsecured location. Case 2018-008716 - Referred to OSC Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 - Fairfax Campus/ Student Housing Facility, 1:00 p.m. Sexual Assault/ Rape: Complainant (GMU) reported being sexually assaulted by a known Subject (GMU). Due to confidentiality of reporting, limited information is available regarding this incident. Case 091318-2 - Information Only Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 - Fairfax Campus/ Student Housing Facility, 1:00 p.m. Stalking: Complainant (GMU) reported receiving unwanted contact from a known Subject (GMU) on multiple occasions. Due to confidentiality of reporting, limited information is available regarding this incident. Case 091318-1 - Information Only

class as I do, so it’s not really fair. In one of my classes, a bunch of students didn’t get caught sharing answers to the homework,” she added. “They passed the class, and ended up hurting

“I’m a huge goody two-shoes, but at the same time, I would never judge someone for cheating. To me, I don’t know their circumstance. I don’t know how they’re doing in the class or anything that’s made it unfair to them, so I don’t think it’s fair of me to say to someone else, ‘You’re wrong for doing this,’” Weeks said.

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 - Fairfax Campus/ Student Housing Facility, 1:00 p.m. Stalking: Complainant (GMU) reported receiving unwanted contact from a known Subject (GMU) on multiple occasions. Due to confidentiality of reporting, limited information is available regarding this incident.Case 091318-3 - Information Only Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 - Innovation Hall, 3:42 p.m. Theft from Building: Complainant (GMU) reported the theft of an unattended laptop from an unsecured location. Case 2018-00735 - Inactive Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 - Johnson Center, 4:33 p.m. Drunkenness/ Medical Assistance: Subject (GMU) was to Inova Access Hospital by emergency medical services for overconsumption of alcohol. Case 2018-008736 - Closed Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 - Rappahannock Parking Deck, 6:00 p.m. Hit and Run: Complainant (GMU) reported a hit and run of a vehicle. Case 2018-008740 - Inactive

NEWS

9.17.2018

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FOURTH ESTATE TISHA HERRERA

SUBSTANCE ABUSE RATES SPIKE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

Mason lacks the recovery resources that other Virginia schools offer DANA NICKEL, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Overdoses kill 115 people every day who are not enrolled in college. in the U.S., according to the National “Students who are part of the Greek Institute on Drug Abuse. system are up to 26 percent more September is National Recovery Month, as stated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and studies have indicated that more college students need recovery than ever before. Substance abuse is “hardly a new trend” universities are facing. According to the Addiction Center, the spike in binge drinking and drug abuse at the collegiate level began in the 1970s. Studies conducted by the Addiction Center have also shown that young adults who are enrolled full-time in college are twice as likely to abuse drugs, compared to those

likely to binge drink,” states the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center. In 2016, The Washington Post reported that fatal overdose rates in Virginia rose by 38 percent between 2015 and 2016. Overdoses are now the number-one cause of unnatural death in the Commonwealth of Virginia, surpassing gun-related incidents and car accidents for the fourth year in a row. Dr. Alexandra Masterson, a term assistant professor in the biology department at Mason, worked as a clinical pharmacist for 28 years before

coming to the university. Substance abuse is a subject she is all too familiar with. Masterson told Fourth Estate in an interview that she saw addiction in people young and old through

be aware of this issue: “It’s a bigger problem in this state because of how easy the access to these drugs is.” Masterson added that Mason, like other public Virginia universities, works with the state government to “make a greater effort now to restrict these drugs.” Masterson described one method that the state government is taking—“actively trying to get out awareness about naloxone.” Naloxone, or the “overdose-reversing drug” as Masterson called it, can be administered to people up to 90 minutes after an overdose. Masterson believes that all professors

Masterson of situations in which a student is suspected of abusing drugs. Masteron believes that professors should be a student’s “support system if they don’t have that within their families.” The problem with referring students to Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) or other campus programs like the Student Support and Advocacy Center (SSAC) is that there are currently no support groups or recovery meetings geared strictly towards students who are recovering drug users or addicts. SSAC used to offer special meetings twice a month for a group known

Overdoses are now the number-one cause of unnatural death in the Commonwealth of Virginia, surpassing gun-related incidents and car accidents... the duration of her career. She’s worked with all kinds of patients who struggled with substance abuse, from pregnant mothers to military officials. Masterson stressed that people need to

should be educated on the issue of substance abuse, as well as the importance of naloxone after an overdose. “As a professor, I have an obligation to at least refer [students] to CAPS,” said

as Patriots for Recovery, but the webpage for these meetings has not been updated since January of 2017. According to a representative from SSAC, the program has been disbanded indefinitely due to its

NEWS

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“...if somebody had a cold you’d give them medicine, but when someone’s an addict you won’t even give them a support group? It’s ridiculous.” former coordinator being out on leave since the summer of 2018.

my sister, who’s still growing up in it,” said Rose.

A Mason student, who chose to speak under the pseudonym Rose, spoke to Fourth Estate about addiction and how it has affected her life. Rose came to Mason a couple of years ago, and has since done research on substance abuse resources on college campuses.

“I feel like the culture of addiction [at Mason] is really dismissive,” she added. “When people try and address it, others say things like, ‘There isn’t a really high demand for that,’ and there is. People just aren’t considering [drug addicts] or looking at ways to help them,” Rose said in regards to her effort to create resources on campus for students who struggle with addiction.

She said that the inspiration for her research stemmed from a strong friendship with another student at Mason who struggles with drug addiction. “My mother was an alcoholic,” Rose said. “Her attitude when she was drunk, and she was pretty much always drunk, made for a really toxic environment in our house. I had to grow up in it now I’m concerned for

Rose went on to explain her frustrations with SSAC’s and CAPS’s lack of resources for students who are addicts: “I mean, if somebody had a cold you’d give them medicine, but when someone’s an addict you won’t even give them a support group? It’s ridiculous.”

“Friends are the family that we get to choose, and you want the world for them,” Rose concluded. “It just hurts when you can’t give it to them, and the institutions that they are part of and they rely on refuse to give it to them.” Mason offers Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings on campus twice a week, though the meetings are not directly linked with the SSAC program. Since there are no other support groups that meet on campus, many students attend the AA meetings to seek any sort of recovery they can. According to a representative from SSAC, Dina Bicking is the only one working on resource issues related to addiction and substance abuse. Bicking, the SSAC program and student support coordinator, is

9.17.2018

currently in charge of finding a new leader for Patriots for Recovery. They stated that there would be no meetings offered until SSAC could find a suitable replacement. Bicking provided literature stressing the importance of education and awareness programs to address addiction-related issues on campus. Mason only rarely hosts events that mention substance abuse, however, while other Virginia universities offer an abundance of educational and support programs. For instance, Virginia Commonwealth University holds numerous events on campus through a program called Rams for Recovery. They hosts events accommodating multiple types of substance abuse issues with programs like addiction information sessions, Naloxone trainings, retreat trips for sober students, and a “Recovery Clubhouse” for sober students to study and meet other sober students. While there are no statistics available

for substance abuse rates among Mason students in particular, one student, Tristan Medina, died almost a year ago on campus after taking LSD and jumping through a window of his residence hall. In early May of 2018, one Mason student was arrested in connection with selling drugs to Medina shortly before his death. The student pled guilty to selling Medina LSD. According to an article published by NBC Washington, the student faced up to 40 years in prison, but instead received 100 hours of community service and active probation. For National Recovery Month, Mason will be offering two events to provide support for students who have struggled and are currently struggling with substance abuse. Both events will be held on the same day, Sept. 25. The first event, Pugs not Drugs, will be held in the afternoon in the quad by SUB I. The second event, Survivor and Recovery Space, will be held later that evening in SUB I.

MASON AMBASSADORS VS. PATRIOT LEADERS

Two different organizations, two different purposes

geared toward two different groups of students. They also have a different set of responsibilities and standards to follow. Mason Ambassadors Madi Wiernusz, president of Mason Ambassadors said, “We are more geared toward giving tours to prospective students, so these are students that are looking into coming to Mason. They’re not quite sure if they want to come here yet and so our job is to really ‘wow’ them with the school and get them to put down their deposit and come to Mason.” The Ambassadors’s main job is to give these prospective students a “baseline view” of Mason during

As far as expectations go for Ambassadors, school spirit is a big part of the job description. “We expect them to have school spirit, because that’s a big part of the job. Like you are an advocate for the school. You are an advocate for Mason,” said Wiernusz. Patriot Leaders Meanwhile, the Patriot Leaders welcome students that are officially enrolled at Mason. “Patriot Leaders are working orientations. They are getting students ready to be at Mason,” said junior Joy Ford, a Patriot Leader. Patriot Leader attend all programmatic initiatives including the summer and

PHOTO COURTESY OF MASON AMBASSADORS

HAILEY BULLIS, ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR Most Mason students know who the tours, according to Wiernusz. Each Mason Ambassadors and Patriot Ambassador is required to give eight Leaders are, through the highlighttours during their first year, with the er shirts and khakis respectively, the number of tours required decreasing Ambassadors and Patriot Leaders are every year they are an Ambassador. easy to pick out of the crowd. The tours can take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. Beyond These students are among the first tours, Ambassadors go to the fall and faces every Mason student sees before and after deciding to enroll at spring premieres, the Honors College Mason. But while the two groups are Event and it is recommend that they the first faces, the organizations are work during spotlight days.

winter orientations, Family Weekend, move-in, Preamble and welcome2mason. Patriot Leader’s also have to be currently enrolled at Mason and stay enrolled for the entirety of the year. The majority of events Patriot Leaders have to work occur during the summer. During these events, free housing is provided to Patriot Leaders to stay on campus in between events and orientations. However, before orientations and the other events begin, Patriot Leaders

have to attend training. Training to become a Patriot Leader starts two weeks after the final exam period to the the end of July. Patriot Leaders are only required to stay in the dorms the night before and after each orientation. Perhaps one of the bigger differences between Mason Ambassadors and Patriot Leaders is that the Patriot Leaders are paid. This summer, Patriot Leader’s were paid $3400 before taxes according to

Ford. During the school year, Patriot Leaders are paid a total of $750. Patriot Leader’s have to work a total of 15 hours during Family Weekend, 10 hours during Siblings Weekend and Kids Weekend, and serve a total 35 hours during the month of Aug. While Patriot Leaders and Mason Ambassadors work some of the same events, their purpose in the Mason admissions process couldn’t be more different.

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9.17.2018

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STUDENT GOVERNMENT ROUNDUP Concern over the allocation of funds to assist Mason Veteren Patriots

Genoese-Zerbi and Pettine discussed executive appointments and confirmations as well as two bills and a resignation from the head of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Senator Madison Essig. There was also a dispute over the ratification of appointments. Executive Appointment Confirmation Votes taken on April 26, 2018 and May 3, 2018. President Bekah Pettine started the meeting by announcing the confirmation of the new Executive Chief of Staff, Adanna Newby. “Adanna has been in Student Government for over a year now, and she’s worked really hard in [public relations]. [Vice President Eric Truong] and I had a real meeting... and this is something we have been discussing since the summer, and there’s nobody else we’d rather have than Adanna,” stated Pettine. Although Newby has filled an executive cabinet position, there are still many positions to be filled. The current vacant positions in Student Government are executive undersecretary for facilities, executive undersecretary for identity affairs, executive undersecretary for civic engagement and executive undersecretary for event and inter-organizational relations. The first bill of the meeting which concerned the allocation of funds, $500, for the September 11th Day of Service was passed. The second bill introduced concerned the Allocation of $3,000 in funds to assist Mason Veteran Patriots. The bill was described in the public comment during the initial stages of the meeting. Rich Strauss, the Secretary of Mason Veteran Patriots and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post said that the primary objective of the bill is to have Mason send funds to help rebuild infrastructure at John

Lyon VFW Post in anticipation of a 9/11 Day of Service. The funds would also be used to renovate the gardens, replace a flag, fix a raccoon infestation and eliminate foul smells from the facility. The representative of the VFW Post and Mason Veteran Patriots also went on to say, “We decided to approach Student Government due to the fact that we have such a good working relationship with [Student Government]. We would love to see them get involved more due to the fact that we have such a large foothold in the community, thereby making a big difference.” The representative goes on to say that he would love not only the Student Government but the entire campus to get involved with Mason Veteran Patriots and their projects, such as their plan to renovate the VFW Post.

Affairs, said,

confirmations and appointments.

“This issue that’s been raised is that the student body president, Bekah Pettine, was not officially serving as president of the [student body] yet. So, there are some that believe therefore [that that makes her cabinet] null and void … . But, technically, once the Senate votes on something--in this case, the executive cabinet confirmations--we can’t revote on it because it’s already been passed.”

Davide Genoese-Zerbi provided the following quote:

Senator Olivier went on to say that the EDC (Election and Disputes Commission) acts a mediator in this situation and decides whether there needs to be revote on executive cabinet

“The constitution states that the term of the student body president begins on Saturday following the first Monday in May. The senate voted on all of President Pettine’s appointments, but they voted on them before Pettine was technically president. So, what I believe needs to be done, since [the] cabinet was not appointed by a sitting president, they need to be ratified. Ratification is defined as taking an illegitimate decision and [making] it legitimate after the fact.”

The speaker went on to say, “The president disagrees with me. She believes there is ambiguity in the constitution. Namely, she says they all vote the term begins the Saturday following the first Monday, but her powers begin before the start of her term which I think is a dubious claim.” Ultimately, the point was postponed for one week. Katlyn Weiser and Salma Hamze were appointed as executive secretary of academic affairs and undersecretary for outreach and media respectively. Lastly, Madison Essig, the Diversity and Multicultural Affairs chief resigned.

The bill was ultimately referred to the Administrative Financial Affairs committee and proper plans of action will be reported soon. In other business, there was a dispute amongst the senators concerning the ratification of the votes made by the Executive Cabinet E x e c u t i v e Appointment Confirmation Votes taken on April 26, 2018 and May 3, 2018. Claire Olivier, head of Administrative and Financial

FOURTH ESTATE JALEN REID

JALEN REID, STAFF WRITER The fourth meeting of the 39th Student Senate took place last Thursday. The meeting was headed by the new speaker, Davide GenoeseZerbi, and President Bekah Pettine.

GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE

NEWS

9.17.2018

STUDENT EMPLOYEES COME FORWARD ON WORKING LATE WITHOUT PAY Chipotle underpays employees by making them clock out at midnight, but The arrival of one of the most popular realize the unforeseen demands that fast-food chains has brung excitement would follow the restaurant’s success. SABIHA BASIT, STAFF WRITER some stay as late as 5 a.m. for students at Mason, but Chipotle’s success comes at a cost. Employees have alleged that Chipotle avoids paying their employees fair wages by clocking them out at midnight, even though closers continue to work until as late as 5 a.m.

FOURTH ESTATE TISHA HERRERA

Two Chipotle workers, who chose to speak under the pseudonyms Josh and Jack, came forward about working later than any other campus restaurant without compensation. “We were told that we would get clocked out until our shift ended on paper,” said Josh, who has been working at Chipotle for months. “The system automatically clocks you out at midnight, regardless [of whether] you are finished working or not. You will not get paid for staying late. We usually would get off around 1, but oftentime we [finish work] at 1:30 or 2 a.m. … [Since] the school year started, there have been nights [when the closing crew] doesn’t get out until 3 or 5 in the morning.” Josh said that employees did not

“I chose to work there because I needed the money,” Josh continued. “I liked the politics [of the company] and that it paid well per hour. I was expecting it to be a restaurant job, as opposed to a fast food job, after the first day of training. Before that day, I thought Chipotle was basically just fast food. I figured there would be long hours, but it wouldn’t be extremely demanding or anything.” Despite the disparity between hours and pay, Josh said that he will continue to work there, as he needs the money and the job security. “It’s not fair, and it makes people quit.,” Josh said. “I am just tired of [not getting paid for staying late] and I want it to change, because it really sucks for everyone there.” Jack recently decided to quit due to the frustration and uncertainty involving pay, though he is not part of the closing crew. “If I was working past midnight, I would [immediately] quit,” Jack said. “The job was so intense and exhausting. Every single time I got off work, I needed to sleep. I’m unable to do my homework and do my extracurricular activities. I’m already behind on over 200 pages of reading.” In the end, both employees are tired of being overworked and deprived of their already limited time at Mason.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MASON CABLE NETWORK

“We should be paid,” Jack said. “Those are billable hours for employees. We’re not volunteers. There’s a big difference between the two. I’m a college student; I need money for gas and food,” An assistant manager from Chipotle told Fourth Estate that while their system does automatically clock its employees out at 12:30 a.m., it is the managers’ responsibility to adjust the system so that everyone is paid for the full hours they work. Timesheets provided by anonymous sources at Chipotle, however, show workers clocked out by 12:26 a.m., with no adjustments indicated.

... of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. — Preamble of the United States Constitution, September 17, 1787

Timeline of America's Constitution

— George Mason, 1776

"The Constitution is the guide which I will never abandon." — George Washington, 1795

"[The Constitution] must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties." — Abraham Lincoln, 1856

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Test your First Amendment knowledge with this online quiz from the Student Press Law Center: bit.ly/2NMzbR2

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The “self-evident” truths of human dignity and equality, and “unalienable” rights to life and liberty were truly revolutionary goals. But could they be achieved?

The United States Constitution was signed on Monday, September 17th, and each year we celebrate the achievements of those whose wisdom and foresight delivered the blessings of democracy to each of us on that day — Constitution Day.

Following the surrender of the British at Yorktown in 1781, the leaders of the former colonies had an awesome task on their hands: creating a new form of government — from scratch — that eschewed the tyrannical whims of the monarch they had just escaped while also fulfilling the enlightened promises set forth in the Declaration.

For some 230 years, the document crafted during the summer of 1787 has withstood the trials of war, disaster, foreign threats, and domestic political crises, and has preserved as the bedrock upon which the American democratic experiment continues to be built. Following the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791, the Constitution has been changed a mere 17 times and is respected and cherished around the world as the model for modern democracies.

merica celebrates its birthday on July 4th, the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1776, but the true birth of American democracy didn’t happen until over a decade later. In declaring their independence, the founding fathers made known to the world their intent to self-govern, but what shape that new government would take or if it would succeed were questions whose answers were far from certain for the fledgling American nation that emerged after the Revolutionary War.

In May of 1787, the first meeting of the Constitutional Convention was called to order in Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania State House with George Washington presiding over a quorum of state delegates (all but Rhode Island were represented). Over the next 100 days, Hamilton, Franklin, Madison, Mason, and their counterparts proposed solutions, debated issues, argued policies, and slowly but surely crafted a governing document that enshrined into law the aspirations of the Revolution and could function on a practical level as the framework for a new democratic republic.

JASON HARTSEL Assistant Director of Student Media

"All men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights...namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."

Constitution Day: Why We Celebrate

Source: Bill of Rights Institute

CULTURE

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9.17.2018

VIRGINIA LAUNCHES EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT CAMPAIGN Gender equality could finally become a constitutional right MONICA ECHOLS, CULTURE EDITOR

Those who have not paid close attention to the Constitution might be shocked to realize that gender equality is not explicitly included. To make constitutional gender equality a reality, Virginia launched a statewide campaign on Aug. 26 to become the final state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) into the Constitution.

been made for women’s rights, those who support the ERA believe there is still more work to be done. The VAratifyERA campaign provides

several reasons for why the ERA is still necessary today. One reason is that all international constitutions have included gender equality, so America’s

constitution should it include it as well. Also, unlike cases of discrimination based on race, religion or country of origin which are covered by the 14th

Women can find it difficult to prove gender discrimination in court. There are other laws that protect against gender discrimination, such as Title IX, but these laws are not in the Constitution.

The ERA has been around for decades. In 1923, suffragist Alice Paul drafted the original ERA. Twenty years later, she revised it using the wording of the 19th Amendment and created the ERA that is used today. It states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.” It would extend the 19th Amendment protections against gender-based discrimination from just the right to vote to all rights.

According to Hornung, the ERA could be particularly helpful for college women dealing with sexual assault cases. “One of the big cases that got lost was with a woman at Virginia Tech,” Hornung said. “What happens right now is if women are in the court system seeking redress for some sort of gender discrimination, and for college students in particular, sexual assault cases...when you go up and are sitting in front of a judge at the Supreme Court level, they [compare] your court case against the Constitution … We’re having to fight discrimination using other parts of the Constitution because we don’t have an Equal Rights Amendment. The 14th Amendment does not include women.”

By 1982, 35 states had ratified the ERA, but 38 states are needed to ratify an amendment into the Constitution. Congress set the deadline for the ERA to 1982, so without those last three states, the push for the ERA died down until recently. In 2017, Nevada ratified the ERA, and Illinois followed suit in May 2018. Virginia hopes to be the final state needed to ratify the ERA into the Constitution. According to Kati Hornung, the campaign coordinator for the VAratifyERA campaign, Virginia is “very well positioned” to be that state.

There are two ways that the ERA could make its way into the Constitution. The first is through the legislative branch. The 19th Amendment language does not include the deadline, so Congress could extend the deadline, which it has done before, or remove it altogether. The second path is through the judicial branch, since Article V of the Constitution does not provide for amendment deadlines.

Despite the many advances that have

FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON

The campaign officially kicked off on Sunday, Aug. 26, to coincide with Women’s Equality Day. The kickoff included free showings of the movie “Iron Jawed Angels,” which told the story of Paul. Local elected officials Delegate Jennifer Carol Foy, Delegate Hala Ayala and actress Alyssa Milano hosted the screening. Hornung said there is “a big historical synergy” around the campaign. “As a state, we were the last state that ratified the Bill of Rights into the Constitution, so that gives us the opportunity to once again be the last state to put the ERA into the Constitution,” Hornung said.

Amendment, gender based discrimination cases are treated with “intermediate scrutiny” instead of “strict scrutiny.”

According to Hornung, Virginia has enough votes to ratify the ERA, but “there is still a cultural shift toward equality that needs to happen.” Hornung said, “When I went into the working world, I ran into situations I thought we were beyond. It felt prehistoric almost … It seems on the surface many times that a lot of equality has come into being … but it’s kind of a mirage.” Hornung continued, “I want way more than that for my daughter. I feel like I had more opportunities than my mom had, but I want a way more equal playing field for my daughters.”

9.17.2018

COLLEGE LIFE ON A BUDGET

CULTURE

GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE

Saving can feel overwhelming, but with these tips, it doesn’t have to be

HAILEY BULLIS, ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR

Write a list before:

saving a dollar, you would have 30 extra dollars saved. The point is to save what you can when you can. Don’t stress yourself out by thinking you have to save half of your paycheck to save But it doesn’t have to be. Turns out, the money. “easy” ways to save money are a lot like It is important to how the average student approaches also stop thinking of saving money buying college textbooks. as what you Make a plan: can’t do and Much like making a plan or to-do list start thinking for your homework, write out your of it as what you saving or spending goals on paper. Be can do. In other words, realistic about your goals and what instead of thinking of you can comfortably save. This doesn’t saving money as “I can’t mean you can’t go out to eat or have go out with my friends this fun with friends, but planning out w e e k e n d , ” t h i n k how much you want to save can help of it as “if you make decisions for the longterm I don’t instead of impulse buying. s p e n d m o n e y Set small goals: now, I can Saving a dollar a day will give you by those seven dollars by the end of the week. new shoes At the end of the month, if you kept later.” Saving money as a college student is easier said than done. Between the countless cups of coffee and the convenience of on-campus restaurants like Chipotle, saving money becomes less and less of a reality.

This is self-explanatory, but write a grocery list, write a “needs” list, write so many lists that you get sick of lists. Making a list puts what you are actually going shopping for at the front of your mind, so you’re less likely to impulse buy, which saves you money. Along with this, don’t go stress shopping at midnight with your friends. It can lead to a lot of impulse buying and can break your budget.

FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON

Look at student discounts and other deals: Plenty of places offer Mason students a student discount. Giant in University Mall gives students a 10 percent discount when you show your Mason ID. Patriot Activities Council (PAC) gives every Mason student one free movie

ticket per week that is valid at the University Mall theater. Cinemark Fairfax Corner 14 Theater, which you can get to by taking the Mason shuttle, gives student discounts too. Saving money and spending less doesn’t mean you can’t do anything fun. It just means spending less when you can to save more overall. Buy used: Much like how students often go about buying used textbooks, buying used clothes, movies and videogames will save so much money long-term. Thrifting has turned into a popular pastime for students, but it doesn’t have to stop with clothes. There are plenty of discount stores available that allow for spending on a budget. College students joke about student loan debt and being broke, but that doesn’t mean you actually have to be broke. Saving a little can go a long way, and doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT FENWICK A peek at some cool offices in Fenwick Library NAYOMI SANTOS, STAFF WRITER

FOURTH ESTATE NAYOMI SANTOS

The way someone decorates their space—whether it be a home or office—can say a lot about that person. Students aren’t the only ones who like to decorate their space. Faculty members do too. In fact, a few faculty members at Fenwick Library shared their space and remarked what made it special. Jessica Bowdoin, head of the Access Services department, has an office in the “backstage” area of the library. There, a small garden along the windowsill of the interlibrary loan area can be seen while walking past Fenwick. The garden is a staff favorite, along with the new individual shades in each office. Jamie Coniglio also has a fascinating office, along with a few fascinating stories. Even from the outside, one can tell that the office they are about to enter will be special. Coniglio, a native Iowan, has a few postcards from Iowa hanging outside her door, as well as

the iconic “American Gothic” painting by Grant Wood, another native Iowan. Coniglio’s job within the library is publicity and engagement. She assists and organizes the programs that the library holds, among other publicity necessities. She has several meaningful items within her office, including an umbrella that her father received on his way home from Japan during WWII. Coniglio also has other trinkets from all over the world, including some tins from London bought during Prince William and Kate’s royal wedding and a few souvenirs she brought back from the United Arab Emirates. She also has a mini plumber which she hung onto “in case we needed it” and a Buzz Lightyear doll. Additionally, a large corn wreath hangs from the wall in front of her desk. The wreath, Coniglio says, reminds her of home. A picture of the patron saint of lost things, Saint Anthony, is also kept

near because she “calls on him daily” to help her help others. In addition, she keeps an Iowa state flag on her windowsill. Robert Vay, an archivist for the Special Collections Research Center within Fenwick, created a mini museum above his workspace, which is a personal and important part of his desk. Over the years, Vay has worked with all kinds of cameras and is fascinated by them. It is fitting then that the “museum” displays a few vintage cameras Vay acquired at yard sales. A picture of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing at Mason in 1989 rests in the background. His favorite item is a hat he got when Mason made it to the Final Four. “I am probably one of the biggest fans at George Mason because I went to school here,” Vay said. By decorating their workspace Bowdoin, Coniglio and Vay transform their plain offices into a reflection of who they are.

GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE

DEAR IVY,

CULTURE

9.17.2018

In Fourth Estate’s first advice column, a student asks Ivy for advice about how to balance their schedule I’m having problems with balancing my school work, my job and the club I’m a part of. My problem is essentially there isn’t enough time in the day for everything I want to do. I often find that I’m too tired to read textbook chapters or finish an assignment until early the next morning. Then the cycle repeats itself. I also want to devote more time to the club I’m in, because I really enjoy the club and my friends are also in the club, but

Dear

very

stressed out student,

The very first thing you need to do is get a planner or something close enough to a planner where you can write everything down. There’s only 24 hours in a day and you need to be spending eight of it sleeping, so with the other 16, you should have plenty of time to balance everything as long as you work on your time management skills.

FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON

However, time management isn’t something that you can perfect overnight. It will take some time until you get a hang of your routine. If your grades are currently suffering from it, you might need to drop something. As you mentioned, you can’t quit your job, and you have to go to your classes, so my recommendation is to leave your club for the time being, until you can get your life in order. But if you are adamant on staying in your club I would advise you to use your planner to dedicate time for everything and schedule everything around your classes and your homework. By writing exactly when you’re going to study and splitting up the work between the days

often I’m faced with participating in the club or going to work or my classes. I can’t quit my job because I need the money, and I definitely can’t stop taking classes. However, I’m also not willing to drop my club as it is so important to me. I know that obviously school comes first, and that that is my priority, but do you have any tips on how to balance my schedule more? -A very stressed out student you don’t have classes, you’ll be more likely to actually do it. If you split up your readings, you won’t feel as overwhelmed about all the work you have to do. Keep your classes a priority by scheduling your other activities around them. Life is only going to get busier, and perfecting your time management skills will definitely make it easier, but make sure that you are prioritizing your mental health as well. Dedicate your time for your work, but don’t forget to set aside some me-time. Taking some time to do something that you love, or to just sleep in and relax, will motivate you to get some work done. I also find that rewarding yourself constantly for the work that you’ve already accomplished, can help push you through the week. You can’t be productive and you will lose the passion for whatever you are studying if you are too stressed to enjoy it so take it easy. You got this! -Ivy

Send in letters to mechols@gmu.edu

HIDDEN HANGOUTS: BURKE LAKE PARK

With the summer coming to an end, visit Burke Lake Park for your favorite last-minute summer activities KIM BARTENFELDER, STAFF WRITER

With the beginning of a new semester comes new responsibilities, more dedication to our studies and the sad reality that summer is coming to a close. It’s easy to forget about the bliss felt from the previous three months away from school. We still walk to class in the blistering heat that mimics summer, but it is not quite the same. Well, have no fear. Even in Fairfax, it is possible to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible with a visit to Burke Lake Park. Only a 12 minute drive or Uber ride down Virginia State Route 123, Burke Lake Park has plenty of activities to help you live out the last best days of summer.

Burke Lake Park has a variety of accommodations to appeal to different people, from those who take pleasure in the tranquility of nature to those who are more athletic.

888 acres for friends and family to gather for the day or the weekend. The park also has a stop and shop ice cream parlor, camp store and clubhouse.The biggest hot spot is the marina. Not only an escape from dry land, the marina is a sight for sore eyes.

Throughout the park, four sand volleyball courts await your bump, set and spikes, while the disc golf and mini golf So as you finish out the last days of courses are eager to test your skills, or summer, go visit Burke Lake Park and see for yourself what it has to offer. lack thereof. For the sightseers and easy-mind- Whether you’re at the park to relax ed, don’t fret. Burke Lake Park has away from campus and other obligations or you’re looking to compete with numerous trails, including the 4.7-mile lake trail, tour boats, fishing and friends, Burke Lake Park is worth the trip. Do it quick — the park facilities camping sites. are only open weekends to the general And for those in between, you haven’t public until Oct. 26, with the last night been forgotten. There’s plenty for you to camp under the stars being Nov. 11. as well. Picnic tables scatter the park’s

FOURTH ESTATE KIM BARTENFELDER

Dear Ivy,

CULTURE

9.17.2018

GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE

THE LAST SHIP OUT OF DEBT: SCHOLARSHIPS

When looking for scholarships, here’s some do’s and don’ts LEIGH NORMAN, STAFF WRITER

Today, you’re going unlock the secret to financial aid: scholarships. There are other options, like grants from the government and the occasional work-study program, but there are so many more scholarships out there for all kinds of students. VISIT THE SCHOLARSHIP PORTAL Apply to Mason’s scholarships first. Since they are exclusive to Mason students, the pool of applicants is smaller than a national or statewide scholarship. To apply, visit the scholarship portal at https://gmu.academicworks.com and fill out the general application. This includes a mini-essay,

a resume upload and various questions to see what you qualify for. A word of caution: some of Mason’s scholarships, like the Mary Roberts Rinehart scholarship, aren’t active anymore but remain posted on their website. Email the given contact for that scholarship and check its availability. Beyond what Mason offers, ask your clubs and organizations if they have any scholarships. This includes fraternities and sororities, too. In 2018, the national Kappa Delta sorority awarded over $160,000 in scholarships to members across the country. EXTERNAL SCHOLARSHIP OPTIONS

Check external scholarship sites like Chegg, Scholarships.com and Nitro. These sites offer custom search engines and categories. Chegg even allows you to make a user account with a resume and user information, allowing for a more personalized experience. Take caution though. Unlike Mason’s scholarship portal, these scholarships aren’t always vetted. Double check with the offer’s website before throwing your information out there. Beware the “Do Something Easy” scholarships. They are merely a cover for an information-selling scheme. Unless you enjoy texts from strange numbers. You can also see what your school district has to offer. Even elementary

schools can offer scholarships to their alumni years later. Whether you’re a Fairfax native or consider Beijing your hometown, there’s a scholarship out there. FAKE SCHOLARSHIPS You may be looking for scholarships, but fake scholarships are looking for you. It’s common knowledge that college students are drowning in debt, with scholarships being one of the few lifelines. Sometimes, when you try to reach out and grab that extra grand, you’ll get pulled under. Here are a few warning flags that you’ll lose more money than you’ll make. Don’t ever give sensitive information,

like your social security number (SSN), credit card information or bank account number. Normally, scholarships will ask for the name and address of your school and send it directly to their financial aid department. This is why if you ever change schools, organizations ask you to notify them immediately, as they are dependent on that address being correct to get you your award. Sometimes, a check may even come directly to you. In this case, it’s on you to deposit it. Don’t fall for the “check scam”. Basically, you’ll be sent a check with a little extra money than what you won. This is the “processing fee”, or so the scammers say. The scam occurs when you cash the check and send the processing fees back to the organization. The check bounces, leaving you on the hook for money you never had. Ever lost a contact? Ever not had one to begin with? If the scholarship website does not list any sort of contact information, then you are being scammed. No matter how nice the page is, if you cannot find out who you are giving your information to, you’re swimming in murky water.

FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON

Scholarships do not cost money. “Application fees” for scholarships are a myth and a scam. Likewise, if a scholarship asks for donations to sweeten your chances of winning, make a run for it. There are exceptions. For example, many companies, such as Great American Restaurants, offer employee-exclusive scholarships. Places with paid membership, like country clubs, also have scholarships. However, paying a membership fee or being part of an organization is far different from outright paying for a scholarship. If a deal seems too good, it is. There’s no such thing as an “instant win” scholarship (“You’re our tenth visitor!”) or winning without applying first. Should you get notified that you won a scholarship that you do not remember applying for, have no record of applying for and cannot find reputable records of the scholarship online, leave it be. You have so many other options. A final note: always check. There’s funds and awards to be gained, but you must be careful about who you give your information to. Get on the “Scholar Ship” just don’t forget to look out for pirates.

CULTURE

GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE

9.17.2018

FINDING INNER PEACE WITH MINDFUL MEDITATION Relax your mind in SUB 1 D’ANDREA BRADY, STAFF WRITER

FOURTH ESTATE GRANT SMITH

School can be very stressful for a lot of students, no matter what year they are. Students have an endless amount of homework during the semester, and those who are in a financial bind have to work as well. So, where do students get the time to decompress, relax and de-stress from the demanding aspects of college life? Enter the meditation sessions

here on the Fairfax campus. For 45 minutes out of the week, students can find comfort and relaxation in a private and secluded area on the third floor of the Student Union Building at Mason.

those few moments they can be in the same room, listen to the same thing and be better prepared to be open to whatever the faculty will bring to the session,” Gavin said.

In the sessions, the facilitator chimes a small bell to begin meditation. Once it starts, participants sit in silence for the remainder of the session. Once meditation ends, the facilitator chimes the small bell again to end the session.

Senior John Turner used to suffer from anxiety and depression that negatively impacted his life and his ability to flourish as a person. He was introduced to Mindful Meditation through books and was welcomed to the sessions with open arms. It made him feel the Michael Galvin, an administrator, is expansion of his abilities as a student one of three facilitators of Mindful Meditations. “Students did not have and as a person. these resources before,” Galvin said. Meditation sessions run every Tuesday “It gives them the opportunity to be from noon to 12:45 at the Student better students. We have many faculty Union Building in room 3309. Students members across the nation that will and faculty of all majors and departhave mindful moments before their ments are welcome to join and practice class to help their student be more the art of meditation with each other. You will benefit with 45 minutes of productive.” peace and tranquil space away from “Mindfulness helps people, to give them a baseline to start because for the hustle and bustle of college life.

ADJUSTING TO LIFE WITH CONSTRUCTION How Mason students feel about construction on campus CHRISTINE VIRAY, STAFF WRITER

through the path cutting through the updated,” Raja Richmond-Sargent, a Robinson buildings,” Pagan said. “I freshman nursing student, said. think it’s taking a really long time for Once the additional accommodations them to demolish the building—it’s as if they are doing it brick by brick. But I think that it is a good thing Another Mason student saw the construction as an obstacle. “The that they are develconstruction is very inconvenient all oping more classrooms for students around campus and they should focus and faculty.” more on student housing and living the spaces, as well as making it more afford- While able to go to school,” Patrich Finch, a construction may sophomore global affair major, said. seem inconvenient to many students A few freshmen also gave their now, the buildings thoughts about the construction. “I enhance strongly oppose against it mainly for will campus life in the the sake that it cuts off specific routes that would otherwise be paths that future. construction “adds a minute or two to get to SUB 1” and thought the additional commute is “not pleasant during bad weather.” However, Suarez tried to make light of the situation. “We just have to move on and make the best of it,” Saurez said.

Students should expect to see a new addition taking over Robinson A’s spot, which is planned to become a six-story building with 27 classrooms. According to the construction details, the building will have open glass classrooms and smart classrooms, which hints at the new technology that Mason students could expect to use in the future. The “Core Campus Project” will be the main academic center for the College could greatly reduce the time it takes of Humanities and Social Sciences. to get to class,” Jerry Ao, an undeclared While the construction and new major, said. additions on campus seem exciting, Another freshman, Joe Pagan, rememsome students are finding the construc- bered looking at the school and tion to be annoying as the work is noticing how much it has grown over preventing students from accessing the years. Pagan even remembered certain paths. walking through SUB 1’s original Jorge Suarez, a junior, said that the route. “Before I could just walk right

“I think that the construction is sometimes distracting in a way, but I think that it is productive that they are trying to expand campus and keep it

and hang out spots are built, Mason students are sure to appreciate the construction efforts that they once complained about.

FOURTH ESTATE CHRISTINE VIRAY

With Mason expanding in order to accommodate new students, there is a lot of construction taking place on campus. Construction teams worked throughout the summer to remodel multiple areas, including the Robinson A building. As the construction efforts continue throughout the semester, students are developing mixed feelings about the changes.

FACES OF MASON delves into the lives of Mason students, faculty or alumni, and organizations every week. This week we take a close look at student Pally Ray, alumna Liana Montecinos, professor Inmaculada Jones, and organization Chase Dreams Not Boys. If you know of a Mason student, faculty member, alumnus or alumna, or organization that would like to be featured on FACES OF MASON please submit your request via: https://goo.gl/HZ4SMd INTERVIEWS BY HAILEY BULLIS

S T U D E N T, PA L LY R AY How did you get into music? So I’m a transfer from University of Louisville. I was actually just freestyling in the locker room, and my teammates were like, “You’re good,” and I was like, “I’m not a rapper,” and then they pushed me to do a talent — like the ACC talent show in front of a thousand people. I just started freestyling...Then they paid for me to go to the studio and I met Bryson Tiller and bunch of famous engineers and it just took off from there and I taught myself the rest in the last two to three years.

FOURTH ESTATE ALLIE THOMPSON

Do you play any sports at Mason, or did you? The reason I’m here — I’m from Atlanta, Ga. — I got recruited here to play tennis. I’m one of the upperclassmen on the tennis team, and this is my last year here, and then I’ll keep playing some pro tournaments, some money tournaments and keep going after music on the side. Between music and sports, which one is more personal to you? They both are. They’re both different journeys. Once you commit to anything in life, once you commit to a certain amount of — you have this dedication to it, it starts teaching you about life itself and yourself. Like tennis, I’ve lost, I’ve had really good matches, I’ve had really bad matches where I lose control, and it makes me have to be better as a person

if I want to be better for my team. It reflects in my music and my music is an outlet that lets me let all of that out, you know what I mean? Like express myself in that way and it helps me too because I also learn more about myself in the studio and on the court. What’s your process when you’re writing songs and recording songs? What goes into that? I usually like to write when I first wake up or right before I’m going to sleep because one you start writing, everything just starts flowing. You don’t think anymore. All the words just start falling into place and everything. So, I used to write lyrics and put it on a beat, but now I listen for beats that I really like alone, and then I think of the verse harmonics. I start singing with it, put words and something that’s real there, and the rap verses just come off the hook. The rap verses are really natural. That’s the easy part but coming up with a good harmony and a good melody is definitely how I start. What’s your biggest strength? I honestly think it’s my ability to communicate and relate with people. With people that don’t know me I’m usually pretty nice, I like to think. I make people laugh and I try to talk to everybody even if I don’t know you. I think that would be it, just communication and my personable skills.

PROFESSOR, INMACULADA JONES What do you teach at Mason? I teach Spanish 101 and 110 now. I can also teach Spanish 210, 200-level classes but mostly beginning Spanish. Why do you like teaching Spanish at Mason? I love the schedule, I love the students, I enjoy that it’s my native language so because of that I think I am able to motivate students and [push] them to learn. Besides teaching at Mason, do you have any other jobs?

FOURTH ESTATE ALLIE THOMPSON

Yes, I have a job as an interpreter for the Spanish-speaking families in the community for the public schools so I do that usually Tuesdays and Thursdays. I go to meetings at the schools and try to help the families communicate with the schools that pretty much what it is. What’s a hobby of yours? I love to read and I like to spend time with family, I have four children. I also like hiking, I like to walk my dog. And I’m interested in languages in general, so I want to improve my Italian. Where have you traveled? I have traveled, mainly, to Spain because I’m from Spain.

Many places in Europe-France, Austria, Portugal, England, and [different places] in the United States. And also Honduras in Central America. What was an important moment in your life? Important moment in my life was when I gave birth to my children, my four children. That is probably my favorite moment in my life. What is your biggest strength? I would say my strength is my kindness. I am kind to people. And also, I’m open and inclusive. I love diversity, I like so many different kinds of people and cultures. What is a goal you have? I would love to be able to really motivate the students when I teach and make sure that they really enjoy [what they’re] learning and that they are not only focused on their grades and they really enjoy the learning and are there because they want to learn. What’s a quality you like your students to have? I like for them to be creative and to to try to enjoy the classroom atmosphere. To not be tense in class, and be willing to learn and enjoy the learning experience.

GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE

LIFESTYLE

4.30.2018

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ALUMNA, LIANA MONTECINOS How does being Latina affect who you are? It affects every moment of my existence, particularly during the current political climate in the U.S. I believe that our humanity should be our equalizer in the world. In other words, being human should be enough for one to be treated with dignity, equality and kindness. However, in our current political climate, this is not the case. We are witnessing immigrant children being caged and families being torn apart. This is cruel, unnecessary and ironic in a land built by immigrants. The anti-immigrant rhetoric is sickening.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIANA MONTECINOS

What advice do you have for other Latinx students? Si se puede. I am living testimony of this. I was practically homeless at 15, in removal proceedings at 16 and with nothing but my fe, faith, to grab on to. Through my journey, I met amazing mentors that I consider “angels” who guided and supported me in every imaginable way, and who sometimes believed in me more than I believed in myself. Because life has kicked me down so many times and I have been able to lift myself up each time, I can tell Hispanic/Latino students that the fight ends when YOU want it to end. Nothing will be easy in life, but by taking ownership, you can make it manageable. Make a plan for your life with things that you are passionate about. Let that plan be your sculpture in life, and work on this craft relentlessly every day even if its little by little. How did being an undocumented student affect your education? How did it affect you?

Despite being a resident of Virginia, because I was undocumented, I had to pay triple the tuition at Mason. I was neither eligible for FAFSA nor many scholarships because I was undocumented. I was also not authorized to work. And, on top of that, I was in removal proceedings. So, in order to pay this prohibitively cost for higher education, I applied to dozens of scholarship opportunities. I took no winter or spring breaks and during lunch, I went to the library to apply for scholarships. I was very fortunate to receive a full ride to Mason through the Early Identification Program (EIP), of which I was part of since 7th grade. This scholarship, however, only covered my in-state tuition at Mason and the difference I had to pay was my full-ride times two. A private donor, whom I had the privilege to meet through EIP, paid for my tuition difference. Not everyone has a private donor willing to pay thousands for their education. I was very lucky. What makes you unique? I think every person is unique. What makes my immigration story different is that I am one of the few who are very fortunate. Because I recognize my blessings and privilege, I have made a commitment to pay it forward. I have returned to help my hermanos and hermanas because I believe that their success is a success for our community. I want more Latinos(as) reaching their full potential academically and professionally. I hope that they also pay it forward to the most vulnerable in our community.

O R G A N I Z AT I O N , C H A S E D R E A M S N O T B OY S What is (CDNB)? Alice Jordan, events coordinator: Chase Dreams Not Boys is an organization run by women. We basically empower minority women on-campus, and try to inspire and make sure everybody is feeling comfortable. Natasha Whyte, treasurer- “And create a sense of community. We also reach out to local girls and mentor them, and help them see their dreams as well. Last year we did a collaboration with girl scouts at the end of the semester and that was great, we made dream boards with them.

FOURTH ESTATE ALLIE THOMPSON

Jordan: Also kind of focusing on freshmen, making sure they’re comfortable and getting acclimated to the campus. So we do girl talks every month or so where we cater those to the freshman and make sure they have the resources they need. How did you guys get involved with CDNB? Jordan: Last year at the interest meeting they mentioned they were looking for interns so I stayed after and talked to one of the presidents about it and I put my name down. So then we had a whole interview session, and I found out like a couple days later I was the event’s coordinator intern, so that’s how I became involved in this organization. Faryn Fairweather, secretary: Same thing with me. I went

to the meeting last year and really enjoyed everything and everybody and I stayed after and wanted to get involved more and they told be they had the intern position open as well and I interviewed and they contacted me back about becoming the fundraising chair last year. Whyte: And I was one of the people interviewing them. I actually started with Chase Dreams my sophomore year. I went to one of the meetings and I was a regular and then at the end of my sophomore year I interviewed for the secretary position, so I was secretary last year and now I’m the treasurer.” What other events does CDNB do? Whyte: So we do de-stress events, especially around finals where we just get the girls together and give everyone a change to relax, because it can get intense especially for freshman girls, and then we also do more informative events like the Black Box series and Inside the Locker Room, which are more geared toward gender and sexuality and how to find yourself on a college campus. We do the black box series, which is like a discussion whereas Inside the Locker Room is sort of a panel style, where different people from minority groups are represented and discuss gender and sexuality on-campus.

9.17.2018

SPORTS

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FRESHMAN GUARD LOOKS TO MAKE AN IMPACT Jason Douglas-Stanley reconnects with his high school teammate ZACH SEAY, STAFF WRITER

Two hundred thirty-five miles separate Mount Vernon, New York and Fairfax, so having a familiar face around is sure to help freshman guard Jason DouglasStanley while he transitions to life in college.

photo courtesy of NEWS 12 VARSITY LONNIE WEBB

photo courtesy of GMUHOOPS INSTAGRAM

“In high school, we were a problem together,” said Greg Calixte, who played three years with Douglas-Stanley. The two developed a chemistry that is sure to translate onto the court for the Patriots. “We always had that connection … I’d always find him when I was getting double-teamed.” “It’s a nice feeling knowing that we’re going to be able to bring our chemistry to the collegiate level,” said DouglasStanley. “Having him as a backup, letting me know where to go, things I can and can’t do, it’s good to have. He’s a good resource, since I knew him for so long back home.”

competitive; he really works on the defensive end and wants to improve in all the areas of his game, and that’s been really fun to see in just the short time that he’s been here.”

earned him an offer from the NCAA Tournament frequenter Iona, as well as options at Old Dominion and Drexel, but he wanted to go somewhere where he could have an instant impact In his four years under head coach against quality competition, and Mason Bob Cimmino, the Knights went provided him just that. 75-19, collecting three sectional titles “I wanted a school that felt we were and winning the program’s 11th New on the same page, where I could come York State Public High School Athletic in and have an impact, and they felt Association (NYSPHSAA) state title in that this was something that I could do 2017. here,” said Douglas-Stanley. “I know I To cap off his senior year, Douglas- can score … and get to where I want to Stanley was named NYSPHSAA get. They believed in me, so that’s what Section 1’s “Mr. Basketball” and earned I really liked.” 2018 New York Class AA First Team All-State accolades.

Now that he’s on campus, he’s focused on improving his game in order to Those achievements cemented a place become a well-rounded player, from for Douglas-Stanley in Mount Vernon being able to put the ball on the floor to basketball lore, whose notable alumni getting his defense to the college level. include NBA champions Gus Williams “I’m still working on my ball handling. and Rodney McCray, as well as former I want to make sure that, even though NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award- I’m still a 6’2” guard, that I can defiwinner Ben Gordon. nitely play the point guard position “With Mount Vernon … you want to because I feel that I have good vision leave a good legacy,” said Douglas- and I can see the floor very well,” said Stanley. “You want to make sure that Douglas-Stanley.

Douglas-Stanley averaged 28.7 points per game and shot 43.7 percent from three-point land as a senior at Mount Vernon, leading the Knights to a sectional championship and setting the program’s single-game scoring record the history stays with you there, so those with a 50-point performance against accolades were important to leaving a Wadleigh back in February. legacy for me.” “He’s got a unique Growing up in Mount Vernon, Douglastalent,” said assistant Stanley was always active and went to a coach Dane Fischer. “It variety of summer camps for different starts with his ability to sports, but basketball really caught his score from behind the eye once his dad came into the picture. three-point line, and He saw Jason’s passion for the game it’s something that can and worked tirelessly with him during change the dynamic his childhood through workouts and of a team if you’ve got playing at any time of the day. one guy that you just can’t leave out there.” Eighth grade was a pivotal year for Douglas-Stanley. He came to the Junior However, possessing Knights program with few expectathe skill to shoot from tions from the people around him, outside was not the sole which added more motivation for the reason he was recruited confident guard to make a name for by the Patriots. himself. “What’s impressed “Going into high school, nobody us about him is that expected me to be the player that I was,” as much of a reputaDouglas-Stanley admits. “Everybody tion that he has as a was talking about the other players, great shooter and a and I was in the backdrop a little bit, great scorer, he’s got but I ended up outworking everybody a lot more basketball that they said would be better than me game than just that,” back home.” said Fischer. “He’s a really tough kid. He’s His hard work and determination

With how easy it is to burn out during freshman year, having a hobby off the court provides much-needed down time for Douglas-Stanley and his teammates to relax. One of those activities is shopping, which he and senior guard Logan Samuels both share a passion for. “[T]he big thing [is] high expectations to win. I don’t want to be another player who can just play and score. I want to come to a program and help the team win,” he asserts. “We feel that no matter what, inside or outside of our league, that we want to be competitors in everything that we do.” After the Patriots finished a programbest fifth in the A-10 standings last season, Douglas-Stanley is aware of the expectations placed on the team to finish in the top four and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. This upcoming season is not short on competition, as the Patriots have notable non-conference games against Cincinnati, Kansas State, Vermont and William & Mary to go along with the grueling Atlantic 10 competition.

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A STORM OVER WASHINGTON Seattle sweeps Washington 3-0 in the WNBA Finals DOMENIC ALLEGRA , STAFF WRITER

This something is the emotion felt in EagleBank Arena, the arena both Mason and the Washington Mystics call their home, even if it was only for one game of the Mystics’ most important series in their franchise history. There’s something special about hosting this kind of event--it produced the emotion that was brought to campus, the emotion that was generated on the court from these players and the emotion that will stay with these players as they leave this university. All of these emotions will not be forgotten by the students that attended, the players who performed at their best and the faithful fans who stuck it out until the end. It did not take long before EagleBank Arena added more to its history. For the first time, Mason hosted a WNBA game, which just so happened to be Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. Furthermore, Courtney Paris, a center for the Seattle Storm, suited up on Wednesday. If that name sounds

familiar, it’s because her NCAA single-season rebounding record was broken by Mason center, Natalie Butler, last season on this very court.

went to dive to keep a ball in bounds in the corner, but ended up falling on the concrete floor, badly injuring her ankle. She did not return to the game. As the Mystics took on the Storm in The Mystics coach commented on how the WNBA Finals at EagleBank Arena, it impacted them, saying “I mean, you they didn’t win their first title, but rather know, you’re taking a starter out of the gained valuable playoff experience that lineup who was playing pretty well, had will help them next postseason and the a good start to the second half. She turned her ankle pretty good stepping next time they make it to the Finals. off the edge of the floor going for the The Mystics came to Fairfax after loose ball.” advancing to their first WNBA Finals in franchise history, after tying the Home court advantage was not really franchise record for regular season wins present throughout the postseason for the Mystics. While their main court with 22. at Capital One Arena was being Mystics stars, Elena Delle Donne and renovated, they were temporarily Kristi Toliver struggled to find their moved to the Charles E. Smith Center groove in this series. Delle Donne had to on the campus of George Washington deal with a bone bruise on her left knee, University. Being subjected to these about which she said “I wasn’t able to arena changes at the beginning of their practice a lot, I was trying to figure out postseason and having to move again my go-to moves as games were going to Eagle Bank Arena did not help the on… I’m a very left-footed player. I like Mystics. to push off one leg. Floaters, stepbacks and all that off my left leg. Just trying to During the post-game press conference, find a different way to get it done. But Elena Delle Donne spoke on how her I felt more and more comfortable as we team’s season and how they compare to other teams saying, “Next year there’s went on.” going to be teams that were super young However, Delle Donne was not the only this year that grew so much throughout player affected by injury. During the the season, and so many teams were game on Wednesday, LaToya Sanders knocking on that door just to even get

FOURTH ESTATE DOMENIC ALLEGRA

As the clock ticks down the seconds left, the game starts to come to a close. While it might end on the court, it’s only just the beginning. What is “it”? Not the WNBA Finals, but rather something more sentimental.

into Playoffs. It’s going to be grueling. Even more grueling next year than this year. So we know how great the teams are and how much better we have to be. We’re not just going to be satisfied that we got here this season. We know we’ve got to improve because everybody else is.”

FOURTH ESTATE DOMENIC ALLEGRA

Going into Game 3, the Seattle Storm were 0-7 on the road in the postseason, their last playoff road win came in 2010 to sweep the Atlanta Dream to win their second championship. The Mystics were also going up against history, every team in the Finals since 2005 to have started 0-2 has been swept by their opponent. While the Mystics and other teams failed to win the championship this year, the Seattle Storm did not seem phased at any point during this series. However, the Storm almost didn’t make it to DC. The Storm led their series 2-0 with the Phoenix Mercury before the series moved to Phoenix. The Mercury won Game 3, 86-66, and despite having eleven assists, Seattle’s starting point guard Sue Bird failed to score a point. Bird was off to a much better start in Game 4, but during the second quarter

teammate Breanna Stewart inadvertently elbowed her in the face. Despite travelling with three masks, Bird wasn’t able to re-enter the game as her nose wouldn’t stop bleeding. With just under six minutes to go in Game 5 of the Semifinals, the Phoenix Mercury led 73-69. That was until Bird decided she wanted to reach her third Finals. With 5:48 to go, Bird hit a three to pull the Storm within one. She would go on to score 14 points, going 4-5 from behind the arc before the end of the game. The Storm went on to win by 10 and advance to their third Finals in franchise history. Led by stars like Stewart and Bird, the Seattle Storm to came together and won this series. “Stewie was just amazing. She truly was the MVP of this league, she truly was the MVP of these Finals,” said Seattle Storm Coach Dan Hughes. “God blessed me with an opportunity to coach her, and I will be forever grateful, because she is just a very special player in so many ways.” continued on page 19

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9.17.2018

A LOVE LETTER TO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NATALIE HEAVREN, SPORTS EDITOR

Dear Women’s Basketball, Thank you. I’ve had the joy of watching you since I was only a few months old. When I was born, my parents still regularly attended University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball games. They used to put me in my UConn windsuit, hand me some pom poms and take me with them. 19 years after my parents started taking me to games in my snowsuit, my love of the game continues to grow. Taking a few steps backward, my mom played basketball on her high school’s first girls’ basketball team in 1978, six years after Title IX was passed. She went on to play basketball, as well as, field hockey and softball at the Division III level.

Bird earned her third championship win (2004, 2010, 2018), adding to her extensive list of accolades over her seventeen years in the league most notably, 11 WNBA All-Star selections, and four Olympic gold medals. During the preSs conference after their win, Stewart was asked what she had learned from Bird during her time here at Seattle. “I say everything, and it’s

I’m writing this less than hour after Game 3 of the WNBA Finals wrapped up in EagleBank Arena in front of a sold out crowd.

I was sitting on a plane at a gate at a Chicago airport at the time, but if I wasn’t I would’ve been one of the first ones to buy tickets to support the In the last year I’ve started covering sport I love. Mason Women’s Basketball, including Natalie Butler’s historic season, and Love, have started following the WNBA Natalie

honestly true,” said Stewart in regard to what she had learned from Bird during her time with Seattle. Stewart continued, “On-the-court stuff, off-the-court stuff… her basketball IQ is like no other, but the fact that what she does for her body... I’ve kind of just tried to mimic that… really focusing in on how can I make sure that I’m prepared every single day, whether it’s practice or games or that type of thing, and now doing that, it makes you want to win with her….it’s easy to say that. It’s not as easy to do it and do it at the level that she was at.” Stewart and other players have inspired many communities to be involved and engage more with the WNBA and women’s basketball. The Mason Women’s Basketball team had a chance to meet some of the players from both teams on Wednesday morning at the shoot-around and while the WNBA Finals may be over, the emotions brought to the arena and pride that came out of them will never be forgotten.

My mom watched because she played the sport, because she had friends that watched and because at the time she was playing in a rec league with former UConn players. My dad watched in part because he knew people that were fans, but also because he recognized that they were getting more attention and that they were winning. I was lucky enough to get that love of the game passed down to me. I’ve been watching UConn for as long as I could remember, so of course when I showed an interest in learning more about how the sport of basketball worked my dad turned on UConn. For most of a season we only watched the women’s team until I had a solid grasp of the fundamentals and the importance of passing and teamwork. After that, we would watch almost every game, men’s or women’s, that Connecticut played. However, for me, watching the women play was always different. The quality of play was better, I loved the continuous passing and teamwork and once 2012 rolled around… there was Breanna Stewart.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NATALIE HEAVREN

Bird commented on Stewart’s accomplishments saying, “I think coming into this season, she really just changed her mindset. She had goals, specific goals, and yeah, she had some individual ones, but I think she knew those individual goals, winning MVP, being dominant or as dominant as possible, that was going to impact the team positively and probably lead us to where we are now. So I think it just speaks to Stewie. Obviously the kid knows how to win.”

more closely. This summer I went to see the Washington Mystics play the Minnesota Lynx and the Connecticut Sun play the Chicago Sky.

In the early 1990s my parents began closely following the UConn Women. This was before the fame and 11 National Championships, but they were beginning to gain more attention.

FOURTH ESTATE DOMENIC ALLEGRA

In addition to her first WNBA Championship, Stewart won the regular season MVP and Finals MVP and is currently undefeated in WNBA Finals games.

Stewart, or as I, most of Connecticut and now most of the country knows her, Stewie, was the first basketball player I fell in love with. Watching her grow and develop from an awkward freshman to a four-time NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player and four-time national champion was an extraordinary experience. She went on to win Rookie of the Year in 2016, WNBA MVP, as well as WNBA Finals MVP and WNBA Champion in 2018.

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9.17.2018

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WHY ARE YOU STILL A CATHOLIC? SUSAN KATHERINE CORKRAN, STAFF WRITER

that now is synonymous in the news with child molestation.

Yet there are challenges with my church for which I was not prepared. As scandal after scandal horrify the flock of the faithful and non-Catholics alike, many of us are charged with accusations of why we choose to remain. Familiar, loving faces have vanished from the pews of my parish church. Exhausted, utterly disenfranchised worshippers have stopped returning to the institution

I’m furious; millions of Catholics are. I know priests who would never, ever hurt a child, yet those innocent men are now branded as pedophiles by strangers on the street who spit in their faces. The men I call “Father” and trust with my confessions, my fears and my deepest struggles are beloved to me. Hearing them called monsters breaks me in a

That sheer brutality of that sentence is sickening and painful for me to write, but it must be acknowledged. My church means a thousand things for me—charity, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, love, gentleness, compassion, humility and nourishment, but there is a darker meaning that many will never be able to forget when they hear the word Catholicism. They will think of silenced children who were abused by the priests who were sworn to protect them, body and soul.

finished yet. In Christ, we have the hope of salvation that no scandal, no sin or “Lord, I am not worthy that You should atrocity can ever take away. enter under my roof—but only say the We are faced now with a choice to word, and my soul shall be healed.” define our legacy and the world around us. Let us accept Jesus, His mercy, and We say these words every Sunday, We are now tasked with answering the but how often do we consider their His call to be more than our old, sinful question: “Why are you still Catholic?” meaning? We are all sinners, all selves. The Church calls us to sainthood. way I can hardly articulate. There are horrific men who were shuffled around and protected in churches across the nation, and now the consequences of their unspeakable actions have fallen heavily upon the hearts of all Catholics.

We proclaim our faith in this gift, now is the time to act on it.

Why? Why do we go to church still? unworthy and all flawed in the choices Our generation must answer this call. Why do we pray? Why do we keep we have made. But our story isn’t That is why we are Catholics. faith in an institution that has always struggled between preaching Christ’s word and living by it?

PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHOLICEXCHANGE.COM

I converted to Christianity at 17 years old and at the age of 21, I was confirmed in the Catholic church on Easter of 2017. I was not a “cradle Catholic” brought into my faith from a young age. Far from it—my family is predominantly atheist. My journey to religion was defined by years of personal struggle, illness and grief. I wouldn’t erase a single footstep of that journey: each mistake, each tear, each minute of loneliness eventually led me to a precious understanding of who I am and what I am meant to do with my life.

We are Catholic because we know that our faith in God cannot be shaken by the failures of men. We are Catholic because we trust in the promises of our Lord, knowing that He will not abandon His church in her greatest hour of need. Most importantly, we are Catholic because we know that the goodness of Jesus’ sacrifice is present every day, all around the world, in every church where the Eucharist is offered.

TERM LIMITS WON’T FIX ANYTHING JACE WHITE, STAFF WRITER

PHOTO COURTESY OF SANDRA HELSEL

Congress’s frequent low approval ratings have lead many to suggest that creating term limits for our representatives would fix what many view as a corrupt and broken system. They believe that people who have been in office for a long time promote a system where corporations and other interests can pay money to influence the government. Term limits won’t solve this problem because it isn’t the congressmen themselves, but the size of the enormous government they are tasked with operating that give us a

system that benefits some at the expense of others. Advocates for term limits assume that the actions of Congress are primarily determined by the attitudes of individual elected officials. They say that the government could distribute all of the money that it collects in a fair way if it wanted to, but it doesn’t because the people who are now in Congress are not interested in being fair. They say it’s because they have been there too long and are only focused on being reelected.

It is true that many people in Congress seem to work more with special interests than with their constituents, but can we really expect new congressmen to be any different? When we ask a group of a few hundred representatives to decide how to spend money collected from the rest of us, it is almost impossible for them to do so in an unbiased way. The very best among us may be able to resist the temptation to collect money in exchange for favors, but no one is completely unaffected by

outside pressure. Even the most idealistic congressmen need to consider the political realities they face. Party loyalty, the need to secure funds and support for reelection, and the demands of constituents can all prevent a representative from being totally objective when deciding on an issue. It is a mistake to believe that the only reason lobbying is a big business today is because today’s congressmen are a special group of greedy and corruptible people.

a government action. With so much at stake, there is no way that normal, fallible people could decide how to fairly divide that much power.

The economist Milton Friedman spoke of those who “think that the cure to big government is to have bigger government except with them running it instead of the people who now run it.” It is much easier to blame senior members of Congress for our problems than to accept that the system that In truth, lobbyists are an inevitable now exists is the inevitable result of the consequence of having a big govern- kind of government that we ourselves ment. With the federal government demanded. spending trillions of dollars each year, We could attempt to diminish the there are thousands of groups with influence of special interests by reducing both helpful and harmful agendas that the size of government to prevent it descend on Congress hoping to secure from being a useful tool for businesses part of that enormous sum of money. looking to grow richer off of special They want subsidies, tax breaks, regu- government privileges. By viewing the lations, protective tariffs and more all problem of interest groups as something in an effort to enrich themselves and that affects government no matter who punish their competitors. In all of that is in office, we can take practical steps chaos, it is extremely unlikely that every towards eliminating it. voice would be proportionally represented, and it is often the case that those Or we could just create term limits and with the most money are better able to comfort ourselves knowing that even influence congress. It makes financial though we are still making the same old sense for a business to spend millions mistakes as before, at least now there are of dollars on lobbying if it stands to some new faces to look at. make billions of dollars because of

OPINIONS

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9.17.2018

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A RESPONSE TO A TRUMP AIDE CHRIS KERNAN-SCHMIDT, STAFF WRITER

Dear Anonymous Trump Aide,

If you do not agree with the president’s directives resign and continue

create further turmoil in the White House. You make very valid points on the mental state, flip-flop nature and questionable practices of President Trump. However, you were appointed and trusted to work diligently alongside the president; yet you have broken that

PHOTO COURTESY OF WHITEHOUSE.GOV

You should resign. You have been appointed to do a job – whether it is to advise the president, write reports or any number of other tasks, that is your job. Your job is not to “[work] diligent-

I do not agree with them but that does not give you the right to work to undermine the president’s authority from the inside.

ly from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.” I get it; President Trump’s policy ideas are far from the norm and often times

your resistance from the outside. No matter how right or justified you are in your complaints and opinions, it is inappropriate to use your position to

trust and are doing the exact opposite. I am beginning to think however that this oh-so-noble resistance is less about saving our country but more so

about saving Republican Party’s reputation. You said it yourself: the 25th Amendment allows the option for your ‘resistance’ to remove the president. I am willing to bet it was not because “no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis” that you all neglected to do this, but rather you all are too scared to be ousted and face the consequences from the far-right voters. If you really wanted to reach across the aisle, this would not be a factor. The Republican Party gains from your resistance. President Donald Trump is damaging to their brand but to admit that would be political suicide. Your true objective, I hypothesize, is to present the notion that not all Republicans are amoral, adversarial and petty as you suggest President Trump is. You are trying to convince the American people that there are still Republicans in the White House who will stop at nothing to protect democracy and our Nation. You do not need to convince me of that. There are countless Republicans who truly care about this country (and do

not necessarily agree with President Trump), but I am not convinced you are one of them. If you were, you and your colleagues would have either invoked the 25th Amendment regardless of the political consequences, ousted yourself and publically come out against the president or you would have resigned to continue your resistance from the outside. Regardless of your true intent whether to revive what is remaining of the Republican Party’s image or protect the republic - I do not think sneaking around inside the White House’s inner circle actively trying to undermine the president is an appropriate course of action. Not only does it break a bond of trust between you and the president, it creates further turmoil and suspicion in an already crowded den of snakes. Your resistance may have prevented potential presidential outbursts or radicle policy changes but it will only further deteriorate the authenticity of the executive branch and the trust that should be shared by those within.

CHEATING IS NOT IMMORAL ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTOR

That was the last time I cheated for years, and throughout middle school, my view of cheating went like this: people who cheated were lazy. They just weren’t trying hard enough, not like I was. They were morally inferior to me, in a sense. And if they tried to peek at my test or copy my homework, they were taking something away from me and invalidating my own hard work with their laziness. Then I moved and went to high school in a wealthy and hypercompetitive area. Suddenly, with AP classes piling up and the pressure to go to college increasing, I caved. I shared homework answers with friends and copied answers to physics questions during my lunch break. I looked up test questions on Quizlet. I cheated.

But was I lazy, or dumb, or trying to take the easy way out? No. I was overwhelmed, overworked, anxiety-ridden and depressed. Far from being lazy or trying to take the easy way out, I spent hours doing outlines and poring over my AP Calculus notes. On top of that, I had debate speeches to write, dance classes to attend and SAT prep. When I cheated, I was trying to make ends meet in a system that had largely failed me. When I wasn’t overwhelmed, I was dealing with incompetent teachers. For instance, my physics teacher spent the class droning on about his life, and then assigned us confusing homework assignments that I just couldn’t learn by myself. I spent hours looking up YouTube videos, reading other teachers’ powerpoints and reading the textbook, but it still wasn’t enough. I resigned myself to copying my friends’ homework during lunch. I was also terrified of failing. I clung to the idea of getting perfect grades and maintaining a perfect GPA, but for the first time, classes were getting more and more challenging, and I was falling behind no matter how long I

PHOTO COURTESY OF BEN MULLINS ON UNSPLASH

In third grade, we had a geography quiz and had to fill out the states on a paper map. I got stuck on how to spell Tennessee. Desperate to not fail and not disappoint my immigrant parents, I did the unthinkable: I took a deep breath and peeked at the map of the kid next to me. Turns out he was the wrong person to cheat off of, because we both ended up getting that answer wrong.

stayed up studying. Students that cheat aren’t trying to make your life worse or invalidate your work. They aren’t lazy. They aren’t evil or dumb. Maybe they’re just overwhelmed. Maybe they love to learn, but need a better teacher. Maybe they’re just scared to fail. Of course, cheating isn’t the best choice, but it

does a disservice to students when cheating is represented as immoral and lazy. In high school, once I dropped some of my AP classes, found a therapist and stopped trying to keep a 4.0 GPA, I didn’t need to cheat. I’ve been in college for two years and I haven’t cheated, and I don’t plan on it either.

But if I ever notice one of my classmates cheating, instead of vilifying them, I hope that I would be able to look at them with more empathy. I hope I would remember that third grader who didn’t know how to spell Tennessee, and in a moment of panic, looked at their neighbor’s test.

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9.17.2018

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POLICING IN AMERICA BY: CHRIS KERNAN-SCHMIDT, STAFF WRITER

During the application process, the majority of applicants for law enforcement must take a polygraph (commonly referred to as the lie detector) test, undergo a stringent background investigation and attend multiple interviews. While this process undoubtedly weeds out many unsuitable candidates, it clearly fails in hiring 100 percent qualified and suitable candidates. Last month, Baltimore police officer Arthur Williams was seen on video repeatedly punching a man during an altercation while his partner did little to stop the assault. I cannot begin to try to discern what was going through the officer’s head at the time, but I can say that mistakes and anger on this level are in no way, shape or form appropriate for an office in the line of duty. Thankfully, Williams resigned and was charged

with felony assault, but it should not have happened in the first place. According to the Baltimore Police, candidates must undergo the stringent application process above as well as a psychological evaluation. This process, although not perfect, should have caught any red flags. Notably, this video was not Williams’ first encounter with the victim. An article on heavy. com features a video taken on June 26, 2018 and shows Williams arresting and tackling the man. The victim’s lawyer claims that his client was Williams’ punching bag. This pattern of adverse behavior should have resulted in disciplinary action and additional training to ensure these outbursts would not occur. Williams’ actions and subsequent consequences are just one piece of a very large problem among police forces. The root of the problem is police accountability. In 2006, a CBS affiliate news station in Miami ran a segment about filing a police complaint. In the almost 40 minute video, very few of the stations and police officers the CBS investigator, Mike Kirsch, talked to offered a complaint form. Some officers even go as far as to threaten him with a “night in jail” upon pushing the issue.

The hostility shown throughout the report is scary. This lack of accountability and, perhaps more damaging, the willingness to protect fellow officers from adverse action leads many officers in these forces feeling invincible. If a citizen cannot easily file a complaint, what stops morally deviant officers from abusing that power?

which ultimately can lead to some police forces to adopt a culture of overlooking police brutality, dishonesty and the plethora of other power abuses that citizens can face.

I hope that police forces that adopt this ethos can restructure to be able to support, reward and highlight those officers that truly do good for their communities. Do not let the bad apples define your profession.

A few deviant officers here and there can be explained off as outliers, but when you have entire forces that enact a “blue code of silence” (Metro Times) dedicated to not reporting fellow officers misconduct you are left with what we see now. It boils down to officers not being held accountable for adverse actions,

PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXABAY

Police officers in America are, for the most part, an essential and vital service for the safety, well-being and education of a community. They are an invaluable backbone in our modern society. That said, the state of policing in America is concerning. From police brutality, to dishonest officers and questionable conduct, these bad apples affect the overall image of police and this conduct needs to be addressed.

ON MEMORIES AND REMINDERS DOMINIC PINO, STAFF WRITER

PHOTO COURTESY OF PHOTO.GMU.EDU

As a sophomore, I am a member of the first class to attend this university that does not have any memory whatsoever of the terrorist attacks which occured seventeen years ago last Tuesday. Some

members of the Class of 2020 may have been old enough to have a faint recollection, but my classmates, I and all the students who come to Mason hereafter will only have known of the

attacks as historical events. As a patriotic American, lack of memory of those horrific events makes me feel uneasy. It’s not because anyone is intentionally erasing history. On the contrary, Americans do a tremendous job commemorating 9/11. There is a difference however, between commemoration and memory. Anyone can commemorate an event, but only some people can have memory of it. Memory is much more powerful than commemoration. The emotional link between a person and an event is much closer and more vivid when it is a memory. People can tell you where they were and how they felt when a tragic event took place. Everyone under the age of 20 does not have that link to the Sept. 11 attacks. The destruction of that link is hardly new and it is inevitable since time relentlessly presses forward.

For reasons I can’t really explain, I attempt to remedy my lack of memory by taking a few minutes on Sept. 11 every year to watch news coverage from that tragic morning in 2001. I would not watch such videos any other day of the year, and I get no pleasure from watching them. To be honest, it hurts to see those images. The moment when the second plane hits and the newscasters realize it wasn’t an accident is nightmarishly chilling, but I just feel obligated to watch. All of us under 20 can never have a memory of 9/11, but the events of that day should be more than something to commemorate; they should be something to remind. To remind us evil is real, forcing innocent people in the Twin Towers to choose between jumping to death or burning to death. To remind us courage is real, emboldening firefighters to run into the towers

and start climbing the stairs. To remind us desolation is real, smoldering in the crushed cement and spilled blood. To remind us unity is real, inspiring President Bush’s bullhorn speech to the clean up workers at Ground Zero three days after the attacks. Most importantly, the Sept. 11 attacks should remind us freedom is neither free nor permanent. The United States was created at great cost and is no more immortal than Prussia, the Ottoman Empire or any other defunct country in history textbooks. We should all be grateful to live in a country designed to secure the blessings of liberty to we the people. The freedom we enjoy is not guaranteed, and there is no way of knowing how or when it may end. Since we under-20s have no memory of 9/11, we should use Sept. 11 as a day to reflect on those truths and remind us who we are as Americans.

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THE VOICE OF MASON KOREA

9.17.2018

HOLLYWOOD’S NEW TREND: “ASIANIZATION”

MASON KOREA STUDENTS BACK FROM UNITED NATIONS HAEUN CHOI, REPORTER

Haseung Joung and Seihoon Lee, both freshmen global affairs majors, represented Mason Korea in the 2018 WFUNA College Leaders at the United Nations: Korea Program from this April to August. As one of the 25 selected Korean students from 15 U.S. and Korean institutions, Joung and Lee researched on specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030, and presented their policy recommendations to staff members at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and U.N. member Missions at the New York U.N. Headquarters. The Voice decided to interview with the students about their notable experience. How did you get to know about the opportunity and become interested? Joung: I have always been interested in international issues and U.N., and was aware Mason Korea was a part of the program even before I was accepted, but I wanted to spend my freshman year getting used to university and building my knowledge. Once I saw posters about the program around school this year, I decided to send in my application. Lee: I was aware of the program since my first semester, but then, I felt that I was not prepared and that I needed to grow in knowledge and wisdom to be able to actively participate in the program. Thus, compelling me to discover the world of the U.N. through this program. Could you explain the preparation process for the journey to U.N. after you were selected? Joung and Lee: The whole program is a four-month journey. We had three weeks of training in Seoul which consisted of lectures about the assigned SDGs and honing professional skills

such as how to communicate with professionals. During training time, we were given time to think about our targeted area of research in the realm of the SDG. After teams were organized based on each SDG, we went into a three month period of preparing for our presentation in New York. We were supposed to find a topic that had a related target within in the assigned SDG and develop an action plan according to it. After furnishing our presentation in Korea, we headed off to NYC to begin the real program. The program in NYC was consisted of U.N. tours, lectures and sessions with U.N. professionals, NGO founders, and U.N. delegates from various countries. All of the sessions were based on our topics that the teams were researching. In our free time, we had the time to prepare and finalize our presentations and tour around New York. How was the whole experience and what was the most impressive? Juong: I can say with confidence it was one of the highlights of my year. Through this process, I learned so much from incredible people and gained confidence in the path I am on. Other than the professional lessons, I also gained personal life lessons by working with people from diverse disciplines and backgrounds. I gained insight and different perspectives on various issues. Lee: The experience was fantastic. It was a special time for me to think about my possible career in the United Nations and find if it fits me well or not. Also, I was surprised by the fact that the characteristics of the United Nations system almost resembles a

national government. The whole session has equipped me with critical thinking skills. The program, also, was a great stage to network with different Korean people. I had the honor to work with such talented and intelligent students of each universities. What would you tell the students at GMUK to prepare for in the future program? Joung: Above all, be confident! I think one of the most memorable lessons I learned through this program is that being active, asking lots questions and showing your assets in a confident and professional manner will take you a long way. This program gives you a platform to practice and hone those skills, which are crucial for the future! You gain results based on how much effort you input. You can either make it a couple of months working on a presentation, or make it into an opportunity to transform this experience into something bigger. So, immerse yourself and make it into your own. Lee: I would recommend this program to any of the students at GMUK who want a glimpse of the UN. About the phrase, “to reach out to people and actively try things that interest you,” after this program, I ultimately think this is true. If we do not connect with the Korean environment, it is difficult to figure out your way in Korea after graduation. Since we live in a hybrid environment that contains both Korean and American elements, it essential to take sectors in external activities outside the school. The WFUNA College Leaders of the United Nations is appropriate for such means. You never know what you might experience.

August 2018 was “Asian August” for Hollywood. “Crazy Rich Asians”, the first all-Asian cast in a Hollywood film in 25 years, became an unexpected box office success, grossing $170.8 million in the first 30 days after its premiere on Aug. 15. Another movie that hit the box office last Aug. was “Searching”. Earning $9.7 million in its first two weeks, it became another main contributor of “Asian August”. The film is often described as Hollywood’s first mainstream thriller with a lead by an Asian-American actor. The surprising success of these two films have brought the American media’s representation issues to the surface and ignited the rallying call for greater Asian representation in Hollywood. Asians have undergone various racial discriminations in Hollywood. “Whitewashing”, the practice of casting non-white characters being played by Caucasian actors, can be seen as a form of this. Hollywood has constantly received huge criticism for whitewashing Asian roles. “Ghost in the Shell”, an American movie based on a Japanese manga, was heavily criticized for casting Scarlett Johansson, a Caucasian actress, as a character whose ethnicity is originally Japanese. Rupert Sanders, the director of the film, commented that

“We’re not making a small Japanese version of the film. We’re making a global version of the film, you need a figurehead movie star.” Although race-based discrimination still exists in Hollywood, there are some signs of progress. More films and TV shows representing Asian stories have been released. “Fresh Off the Boat”, an American sitcom series based on a Chinese-American family, got positive reviews with a 91 percent rating on the American review website Rotten Tomatoes. Also, “To All the Boys I’ve loved Before”, Netflix’s new romantic comedy, based on a Korean-American girl, drew much attention from the public. On top of that, according to the Hollywood Diversity Report 2018, non-white actors accounted for 13.9 percent of the leading roles in mainstream films in 2016, which is a 3.4 percent increase compared to that of 2011. Also, several Asian actors noted that Hollywood’s current representation status is much better than the past. In an interview with Larry King, John Cho, the Korean-American actor who played the lead in “Searching”, said, “Asian representation in Hollywood is getting better”. Michelle Yeoh of “Crazy Rich Asians”, said, “Finally we [Asians] can be seen and heard” during an interview with ABC News.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SANGWON LEE

THE VOICE HAEUN CHOI

SANGWON LEE, REPORTER

9.17.2018

THE VOICE OF MASON KOREA

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ARE YEMENIS IN JEJU FAKE REFUGEES? HYUNSEON KIM, REPORTER

Prior to the event, an online petition insisting for the abolishment of the Refugee Act was posted to the Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House) website on June 13th. This has been signed by 714,000 people, contending for either strengthening the security check or abandoning the whole policy. One commenter asked, “Out of all the places in Europe, which is a close continent from their country, why would they come here to Asia?” Se-woong Koo, publisher of the online magazine Korea Exposé, briefed in an interview with Public Radio International that the Yemenis were

trying to look for Asian countries that have signed to the UN Refugee Convention; South Korea being one of them. “At first, many of them actually ended up in Kuala Lumpur” he said. However, since the visa-free tourist access became unavailable in Malaysia, they have found alternatives in Jeju, in which the government allowed access to for a month. The stay is combination of the visa-free program and available job positions found online and through job fairs from the Immigration Council. As over half a million people signed the petition, the Korean Ministry of

Justice responded to the public through an online video. Minister Sang-ki Park, has emphasized that abolishing the Refugee Act is equivalent to pulling out of the UN Refugee Convention, which could be related to abandoning the agreed security process and the international responsibility of South Korea. He stated, “The visa-free access system cannot be abolished by the Ministry of Justice alone; we will negotiate with Jeju government more”. For the problem regarding ‘fake refugees,’ the United Nations Human Rights Council will instruct the Korean Ministry of Justice to have

more professional translators, shortening the process and clarifying some of the distinctions. Recently, on September 14th, the Jeju Immigration Office released a statement that it will give one year of a humanitarian residence permit to 23 of the 484 Yemeni refugees. This means that they were denied asylum but allowed to stay in the country up to a year, due to humanitarian reasons. The pending issue will still be updated, as this was the first result from refugee applications.

THE VOICE HYUNSEON KIM

“Fake Refugees Go Home Right Now”! This is what a group of protesters were shouting on June 30th, at the Gwanghwamun square, an emblematic place for civil protests in South Korea. This time, they were opposing to Yemeni refugees who had fled their homeland and came to Jeju island. Due to an ongoing civil war in their country that began in 2015, the asylum seekers entered Jeju, in hopes of applying for a refugee application. However, Jeju locals and many people throughout the whole country are worried about the current situation and further urging for the Yemeni’s deportation.

CONSIDERING STUDYING ABROAD? Meet with the GMU Korea coordinator YA-EN SIE, REPORTER

Grace Lee, the Mason Korea Campus Coordinator at Fairfax, takes an important role in helping students with study abroad within the Mason community. Lee works closely with University Life, especially with the Assistant Dean of University Life, Dr. Lori Scher. A part of Lee’s job is to assist students with questions about transitioning to the Mason Fairfax campus and the Mason Korea campus, getting campus resources, and understanding other non-academic inquiries. Lee’s goal is to let students in Mason Fairfax and Mason Korea see themselves as one in the Mason community and help

students to have a smooth transition from one campus to the other for the full Mason experience. Regarding Lee’s important role as liaison of both campuses, The Voice took a deeper look into her position and service. Prior to becoming the Mason Korea Campus Coordinator, Lee said she has always been interested in international education with a focus on working with Korean students. With her past experience in Seoul National University and other universities in South Korea, Lee has helped prepare students to study abroad in the U.S. or

other English-speaking countries. “It’s students who make my position so enjoyable,” Lee said. Students would share their experiences abroad with her, whether it is meeting great professors, getting involved in organizations, or traveling around the country. “In particular, I love to hear students having a great experience at Fairfax or Mason Korea, and I’ve met many students who have had transformative experiences from their time in GMU Fairfax or GMU Korea!” Lee said. Talking about study abroad, a common question Lee is often asked

is: What are some important processes that students need to go through before studying abroad. “The process could not be simpler!” Lee said. The process begins with completing a simple application form. Then, students will need to set up an appointment with Grace to walk through further steps of the study abroad application. “Our goal is to make studying at GMU Korea and GMU Fairfax as rewarding as possible.” Despite her lengthy experience working with students who are interested in studying abroad, she has

not gotten the chance to work in the Mason Korea campus. Nonetheless, Lee has always worked closely with many of the staff at Mason Korea and has regular Skype meetings. She gladly shared that working and connecting closely with Mason Korea staff feels like she has been to the Mason Korea campus. “I hope to meet them in person one day soon!” Lee said. Lee’s office is located in Merten Hall 3100 at the Mason Fairfax campus. Lee is willing to meet with students by appointments. She is also available by phone at 703-993-5961 or by email at glee36@gmu.edu.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES OF WOMEN & GENDER ISSUES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM GOLD ROOM, JC A panel discussion with fellows about their work on women and gender issues on a global level.

Rugile Butkevičiūtė Gender Based Violence in Lithuania

FOR MORE INFORMATION: WGST@GMU.EDU / 703-993-2896

Sahar Sarsour Women, Media & Journalism in Palestine

Onyinye Edeh Girls’ Health and Empowerment in Nigeria

ETC.

9.17.2018

FISTFUL OF ZEBRAS

FOURTH ESTATE JAY TOPSHE

Want to make a comic?

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Get it published in Fourth Estate! Send a submission to masonfourthestate@gmail.com

3030: Grammar

MS Funny

FOURTH ESTATE MONIQUE LE

FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON

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9.17.2018

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OPEN MIC NIGHT SEP

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