A World-Wide First Mason is the only university in the world to host an official branch of the Cochrane Collaboration. NEWS • Page 3
<<A Day in the Life of a Soccer Player
Change of Season Calls for Change in Fashion
We spent a day with freshman Midfielder Verneri Valimaa. Check it out.
Find out what some of the most fashionable students on campus are wearing. STYLE • Page 5
SPORTS • Page 9
George Mason University’s Student Newspaper www.broadsideonline.com
October 3, 2011
Volume 88 Issue 5
John Carlos to Visit Mason
A Military-Friendly School
G.I. Jobs Magazine Recognizes Mason Initiatives
Former Olympic Athlete to Attend Documentary Viewing
Janelle Germanos Broadside Correspondent
Pat Carroll Asst. Sports Editor At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a remarkable stance against racial inequality. The respective 200-meter gold and bronze medal winners held their black-gloved fists high in protest of the treatment that blacks received in the U.S. Nearly 43 years later, the moment in time is still relevant and considered one of the most courageous and significant moments in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Currently, Smith and Carlos spend their days talking with people about their experiences and spreading their messages of racial equality. Carlos and Dave Zirin — a sportswriter and radio personality who has co-written an autobiography with Carlos titled “The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World” — will be at George Mason University tonight at 6 p.m. in the Johnson Center Cinema. “[The book], traces [Carlos’] life from his upbringing in Harlem up to the Olympics and beyond,” said Zirin. During the event they will be viewing the documentary, “Not Just a Game,” and speaking about their new book. Based on Zirin's bestselling book “The People's History of Sports in the United States,” the documentary argues that American sports have long been at the center of some of the major political debates and struggles of the past century. Zirin has authored a handful of other books on sports and politics, writes for SLAM, the Progressive, and the Nation magazines, and is well-researched in the field. He also hosts an XM show called Edge of Sports Radio. In the autobiography, Carlos and Zirin detail the many hardships and triumphs that Carlos
See CARLOS, Page 10
Photo by Jake McLernon
Photo by Megan Ekhami
Cadet Staff Sgt. Stephen Arakelian (top) and George Mason University ROTC cadets (bottom) train on campus. Mason has been recognized for its excellent relationship with ROTC cadets and military services.
Experiencing Culture Through Dance Salsa Club Looks to Increase Presence on Campus Monika Joshi Managing Editor Hips swayed to a Latino beat as feet swiftly tapped the hardwood floor of the Johnson Center Studio Tuesday night. “Right, left, right, tap, five, six, seven,” a novice couple repeated in unison under their breath in an attempt to stay coordinated. “One thing I’ll tell you about Cuban salsa is that we’re down!” said Jim Lepore, the club’s faculty adviser, as he explained the seven basic steps of the dance. “It’s low!” Just like every other week, the Azucar George Mason University Salsa Club and its prospective members had come together for a two-hour lesson. This week, the group was learning rueda, a form of salsa that is danced in a circle and involves switching partners. “The key to partnering is stay close to your partner and keep tight elbows,” said Lepore as he demonstrated rueda with one of the more experienced female dancers. The salsa club, now in its seventh year, allows students to come together through the medium of a social dance. “The demographics reflect the salsa community at large,” Lepore said. “There’s usually a core Latino population, but that sits somewhere under 50 percent. The rest are made up of people who love dancing and they come
from all different ethnicities and backgrounds.”
saw your salsa guys performing out in such and such place,’” Lepore said. “I’d be like, ‘Really?’ I didn’t even know about it!” A Sweet Start The club’s membership “There’s usually a core The club originated has declined in recent years, from a set of informal salsa but Club President ChrisLatino populaion, but tine Gonzales said she is gatherings held by a group that sits somewhere looking to rejuvenate its visof students and Lepore, under 50 percent. The who currently teaches ibility and possibly even form an organized Latin Afro-Cuban and Afrorest are made up of Latino dance at Mason. dance team on campus by people who love dancthe end of the school year. The name “Azucar”, the ing and come from all According to Gonzales, Spanish word for “sugar,” different ethnicities was a stage expression the weekly workshops curused by Celia Cruze, a rently attract about 20-30 and backgrounds.” renowned performer people. This year, the class is being taught by Stracy known as the “Queen of -Jim Lepore, Azucar FacDiaz, a professional dancer Salsa.” It was chosen as the ulty Adviser and stuntwoman who has club name by the founders made numerous TV and to represent the “vibrance and liveliness of salsa,” film appearances. said Lepore, who has been “I decided in order to raise the caliber of the class with the club since its inwe should have an instrucception. In 2005, alumnus Cesar Vence took the tor unlike any other Azucar has ever had,” club to its highest point, with 60 paying Gonzales said. members and classes being held twice a week. The group even performed at halftime during Connecting Through Dance As the first hour of the workshop a Wizard’s game at the Verizon Center. “I would be walking across campus and See SALSA CLUB, Page 5 run into a colleague who would say, ‘Hey, I
George Mason University provides a variety of services and programs on campus that are dedicated to ensure student success. This has been recognized by G.I. Jobs magazine, which recently named Mason a Military Friendly School for the third year in a row. “It is important that a school knows and recognizes its military population,” said Aaron Emery, the military transition coordinator at the Office of Military Services, a subset within the Office of Admissions. “Specifically, ‘military friendly’ means that we are providing many services that are helpful to the military population.” “We are here to advocate for military students,” Emery said. “We are interested in how to make a military student successful at Mason.” Emery said that other universities are struggling to become as military friendly as Mason, often because their administrative bureaucracy gets in the way. “Some schools just focus on admissions and credit-transferring, or just one side of the process,” Emery said. “But there is no one, cookie-cutter answer.” In fact, other universities often call Mason to praise its programs and seek advice upon seeing the success that military students and Military Services experience. “Other universities sometimes struggle with how to set up this type of program,” Emery said. “You have to know how your school works. No one size fits.” Colleges often are unable to take advantage of the benefits that are offered to military students, Emery said . G.I. Jobs magazine, which targets military personnel making the transition from military to civilian life, reviewed over 8,000 schools before composing the list. The magazine judges schools on specific criteria which it then divides into four different categories that account for a certain percentage of the overall score. These categories include programs and policies, financial commitment, and suc-
cess in recruiting military students. Military Services was essential in making Mason military friendly. “Because all of us here working in the office have experience, we are able to help put everything together for the students that come in here,” Emery said. “It is easier to be successful here because we have all of the components: Mason, the military and the Department of Veteran Affairs.” Emery said that there is no simple answer when it comes to ensuring success for a military student. “It is important that the school knows its own population,” Emery said. “Because we are part of admissions, we are able to deal with all the necessary relationships involved in the college process.” Included in this process of helping military students adjust to college life are several programs created by Military Services. Among these include Battle Buddies, which matches up new military students with junior or senior students who serve as mentors. “We match up students based on major, and if possible on branch of service,” Emery said. The program, which just recently launched, helps to aid military students at Mason with different aspects of their education. “It provides a comfort to military students,” Emery said. “I don’t know of any other schools that have a program like this.” Other programs include the Military Alliance Program, which helps to bridge the gap between the military students and the rest of the community. “It touches on sensitive things that most people wouldn’t really think about,” Emery said. Upcoming events include Mason Honors the Military, which will take place Nov. 1 to Nov. 15 to observe Veterans Day. As Mason continues its military friendly programs and services, it is important to note that there are resources available that will help ensure success for life. “We want students to be successful at Mason and beyond,” Emery said.
Mason Bids Farewell to Ricci Heishman
Computer Science Professor Dies of Cancer Justin Lalputan News Editor George Mason University bids farewell to Ricci Heishman, a research professor who passed away Sept. 25 due to cancer. According to an email sent by Sanjeev Setia, chair of the Department of Computer Science, to his students after his death, Heishman spent 20 years in the Navy before spending 10 years at the NOVA campus in Manassas where he was the assistant dean of computer science and information technology. He joined Mason in 2008 after obtaining his Ph.D. in information technology. Many students at Mason, however, are most familiar with Heishman because he taught CS 112 and CS 211, two classes that are required for computer science majors and others involved in engineering, as well as a computer ethics class. “Heishman is the only reason I paid attention in that class, and I got an A,” said junior computer
Ricci Heishman
science major Connor Payne, who took 112 with Heishman his freshman year. Many of Heishman’s colleagues also had positive things to say about him. “Ric touched all of us during his all-too-brief stay in our department. We will miss him deeply,” said Setia. Pearl Wang, associate chair of the Department of Computer Science, described Heishman as very
See HEISHMAN, Page 3