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Feb. 25, 2013

Volume 89 Issue 16

Broadside GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

BroadsideOnline.com @MasonBroadside

Psychologists examine factors contributing to the current generation’s stress levels

PAGE 11 NPHC’s annual step show Saturday features fraternity and sorority talent

PAGE 12 Students show passion for bringing change to local and global communities

PAGE 18 Freshman baseball player David Gum voted as CAA newcomer to watch

PAGE 22

MASON GONE WILD Through a partnership with the Smithsonian, Mason has created a one-of-a-kind learning experience in Front Royal PAGE 14

(STEPHEN KLINE/BROADSIDE)

Feb. 25, 2013

Mason in the News

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“The program recruited the human flotsam and jetsam of the discipline and pretended it was recruiting the best. Treating taxpayer money as if it were water, it paid under-qualified 20-something anthropologists more than even Harvard professors. And it treated our ethics code as a nuisance to be ignored.”

-- Hugh Gusterson, an anthropology professor said to USA Today about the Human Terrain System program which sends in civilian scientists to locations overseas so that soldiers will have better interactions with locals. Gusterson has studied the program and its impact on anthropology.

“They get reminded each and every day anytime their models don’t prove to be correct. For them, the whole notion of projecting what the climate will be 30, 50, a hundred years from now, they’ve got a fairly high degree of skepticism” -- Ed Maibach, director of the Center for Climate Change Communication said to NPR about meteorologists’ opinions on climate change.

“Clearly, you don’t want to introduce a kindergartner to slaves being shackled on a boat. But you do introduce them to Harriet Tubman [and similar black American icons]…The greatest challenge for our instructors is to know they have to have those difficult conversations and find age-appropriate ways to have those discussions.”

-- Wendi N. Manuel-Scott, director of African and African American Studies, said to the Fairfax Times, emphasizing the importance of timing and content for children learning about African-American history.

News

Broadside

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief A few weeks ago, I received an email from Nicholas Ugrin, a student-veteran who was battling with the university over his status as a domicile, or in-state, student. Even though he has lived and worked in Virginia for some time, Ugrin is being charged out-ofstate tuition because of a mistake that happened somewhere along the line during registration.

Ugrin does not hold anyone in particular accountable for the mistake, which may have happened on his application, however, he is upset that the school has been unwilling to work with him to resolve the issue.

I was surprised to hear that the university was reacting so coldly and formulaically over such a potentially life-changing subject, especially in relation to veterans. I was even more surprised to see a similar story on the Washington Post Nova blog last week.

On Feb. 21, Tom Jackman broke the story about Stephanie Kermgard, another student-veteran at Mason who

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is being charged for classes as an out-ofstate student.

Though Kermgard’s story varies in many details from Ugrin’s, their core is the same. For some reason, Mason is repeatedly denying domicile status to in-state students, both veteran and citizen.

Ugrin told me that he cannot afford the extra $7,000 it will cost him per semester, and that he will be forced to drop out of school and volunteer for a military deployment with the National Guard if his appeal continues to be denied.

Kermgard’s case is currently continuing on to the state Supreme Court, where it could set the precedent for Ugrin and all student-veterans who follow to register as in-state students.

After the story broke on the Post website, I received an email from a soldier in Afghanistan who read about Kermgard’s experience and was disgusted at the way Mason is treating its veterans. In the letter, which is printed on page20, the soldier makes a vow to pass over Mason as an option to continue his education when he returns home, which

breaks my heart.

For all of the amazing opportunities and resources Mason provides to both citizen, active duty and veteran students, this story has marred our reputation for at least one perspective student, and perhaps the entire military community.

Broadside has reached out to the Registrar’s office and requested an interview to discuss how the legal and decision making process works, and I sincerely hope the university agrees to allow us to expose a little bit of light onto the situation, for the benefit of all.

We may not know the whole story yet, but I hope that in the next few weeks we can clarify more details and put the entire domicile status debate into perspective.

Colleen Wilson

Editor-in-Chief

Number of the Week Number of freezers at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation holding over 20 years worth of elephant poop to be studied W H

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News

Broadside

Feb. 25, 2013

3

Last second win over William and Mary A last-second jump shot from Erik Copes won the game for Mason versus William and Mary on Saturday, with a final score of 60-58.

Cope’s shot from the free throw line went through the net and left just .5 seconds on the clock. Freshman Patrick Halloway was the leading scorer for Mason with 15 points from a career-high 5 three-pointers.

(JENNY KRASHIN/BROADSIDE)

News&Notes

CHSS Panel on Obama’s Second Term

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) will be hosting a panel entitled “Obama's Second Term: Impact on the Global Community” on Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Meese Conference Room in Mason Hall.

The panel will feature three experts from the fields of journalism, politics, history, and national security. They will focus on how the Obama administration may impact the United States and its place as one of the major world powers.

One of the speakers, Bill Schneider, Mason faculty

member and political journalist from CNN and Politico, will talk about the United States’ economic situation and what Americans can expect in the economy this coming year.

New dean of CHSS

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) recently appointed Deborah Boehm-Davis as its new dean of CHSS. Boehm-Davis has been serving as the associate dean of the school and has been serving as University Professor in the department of psychology since 1984.

She holds degrees in psychol-

ogy from Rutgers University and University of California, Berkeley.

An author of several scholarly articles, Boehm-Davis also serves as president of both the Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology divisions of the American Psychological Association and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

As the dean, she looks forward to growing the college and improve the program.

Juvenile escapees in Prince William County captured

Five juveniles escaped from the Molinari Juvenile Detention Facility at 12:32 a.m. on Tuse-

day, Feb. 19.

The detention center is located behind the Prince William campus. Mason released an alert around 1 p.m. on Feb. 19 saying that the juveniles had been apprehended. The Mason community was notified via the Mason alert system.

The juveniles were described as one white female, one hispanic female, two black females and one black male.

“All juveniles are wearing gray sweatpants and white-tee shirts.

One juvenile is also wearing a black jacket,” read the description of the individuals that was sent via Mason Alert.

Student government

Election Packets due

Student Government will be holding an information session on Monday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in the HUB room 1014 about how to get involved, including on how to complete the Spring Election Packets.

The packets include ballots for the thirty seats in Student Senate and the Student Body President and Vice President.

Those who want to be nominated need to collect a certain number of signatures to get on the online ballot.

Election packets are due by 12 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 1 to the front desk of the Office of Student Involvement.

4

Feb. 25, 2013

News

Broadside

Mason develops innovation in conservation studies Most college graduates find jobs in familiar places, such as near their homes or somewhere surrounding their respective school.

Not 2012 Mason graduate Kendall Bilbrey.

In a few weeks, she will be participating in her first post-college internship at the Chengdu Panda Base in Chengdu, China.

While there, she will be conducting behavioral research on red pandas for four months.

Bilbrey attributes this opportunity to her experience at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation. “Without my skills and knowledge I received at SMSC, I would not be where I am today,” said Bilbrey, who graduated with a degree in Integrative Studies with concentration in conservation studies from Mason’s New Century College.

Mason joined efforts with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology (SCBI) Institute in 2008 to establish the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC).

SMSC opened their brand new, eco-friendly facility this past fall. This school is the only one of its kind.

This school offers a type of education that regular universities cannot. “This school allows students to be totally immersed in all aspects of education,” said Alonso Aguirre, executive Director of the Smithsonian-Mason school of conservation and associate professor of Environmental Science and Policy.

“The school itself provides a very handson approach to the practices of conservation biology,” Belbrey said. “The subject by nature is integrative, meaning that many different aspects of biology, ecology, wildlife management, public policy, sociology, economics, and education all come together to create

a discipline to conserve and preserve the natural world.”

Students take 5 classes and one practicum, resulting in 16 credit hours for the semester. They are in class from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

However, according to Aguirre, approximately 60 percent of their class time is spent either in the field or lab.

“Last semester we spent a lot of time outside,” said Dr. Jim McNeil, assistant professor of conservation studies. “We connect the work in the field to theory in the classroom and learn the explicit things we can do in the environment to impact behavior.” As the weather warms up for the spring semester, McNeil plans to move more classes outside.

Students participate in an array of field studies, from surveying plant and animal populations in the local area to learning about animal management practices in the field and in captivity.

The practicum portion offers students “mini-internship” opportunities.

These include working alongside the animal keepers and in the labs with SCBI scientists. Bilbrey assisted at the San Diego Zoo in grant research and administrative tasks, where she was also able to build her professional network.

Each student is paired with a mentor.

Students work alongside their mentors during the practicum, gaining first-hand knowledge of the mentor’s concentration work.

“Every day is different. We give students a variety of learning tools unique to this school,” Aguirre said. “Our education program is very experimental.”

This school began as an initiative to become the best conservation program out there. It

(STEPHEN KLINE/BROADSIDE)

The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation offers degrees in environmental and conservation including a BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and a minor in conservation studies.

The students in these programs get hands-on experience with researchers in the field. also aims to guarantee a bright future for the environment.

“We want to expose students to a more practical way of learning, while creating the next generation of conservational leaders,” Aguirre said.

The partnership between Mason and SCBI is very strong. While the federal government owns the land on which the SmithsonianMason schools sits, Mason provided the funding to build the school.

“It is a great partnership with Mason and will afford students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to work side by side with researchers from around the world who are doing work that is so important as our planet becomes more and more fragile,” said Julia Huntly, a student at Mason studying conservation biology who has volunteered at SMSC. This program is treated similarly to study abroad programs. Students from any school, not just Mason, and in any major may attend.

To apply, there is a prerequisite of at least 45 college credit hours. The school offers a number of scholarships to its students.

SMSC is located in the center of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, which itself is a world leader in conservation studies.

“We house several endangered species and develop new techniques for species survival and preservation through the brilliant staff and students here. It truly is an international hub for learning and training in the field of conservation,” Bilbrey said.

The program is currently taking applications for the upcoming fall and spring semesters.

The application can be found at sms.gmu.edu.

EVAN PETSCHKE STAFF WRITER

News

Broadside

Pitch Mason 1.0 sparks ingenuity Student entrepreneur startup program leads to unconventional careers In today’s economy, people are constantly looking for new forms of employment.

Many have turned to social entrepreneurship. Particularly, more and more college students and young adults are entering the field.

“I think most people in college get caught up into the thinking of ‘finding a job,’ rather than even exploring the idea of creating jobs or coming up with a new innovative idea. In my opinion, college is one of the best places for that to occur because a lot people are here to help you,” said Ibi Pashaei, a sophomore at Mason studying kinesiology and business.

David Miller, director of entrepreneurship at the Mason Center for Social Entrepreneurship (MCSE), noticed this phenomenon, and recently started “Pitch Mason 1.0” as a way to engage more people in entrepreneurial work.

“We are trying to create a network of Mason students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members who are interested in entrepreneurship, and a place where they can go to pitch their ideas, gain feedback, and eventually start-up,” said Miller, an entrepreneur himself, who is also a faculty member in Mason’s School of Management as well as a Ph.D. candidate at Mason’s School of Public Policy.

The point of this project is to host “Pitch Mason” days, which are essentially competitions where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. The judges then pick a winner from the candidates.

This first Pitch Mason day occurred February 15. Four candidates presented their ideas and were judged by four qualified judges, one of which was a Mason alum.

Pashaei, an entrepreneur in the process of beginning his own eco-friendly landscaping business, was one of the four competitors at this first event.

“It was great way to give a five minute presentation and get feedback from mentors, successful entrepreneurs, and professionals,” Pashaei said.

This project is part of the center’s efforts to expand Mason’s entrepreneurial opportunities.

“It’s imperative for the entrepreneurship community at Mason to grow, and gain a foothold, in order for Mason to be a viable and big name university in the future. Startup Mason is building that community from the ground up,” said senior Jordan Bramble, another of

the four contestants.

The initial idea spurred from student demand.

“Our students wanted more opportunities for members of the office to listen to their ideas and help them go where they want to go with these startup projects,” Miller said.

Bramble is in the process of starting a “location-based social media network that caters to a spontaneous lifestyle.”

Pitch Mason offered him a great platform to make his idea known.

“I got the opportunity to work with an allstar panel of judges, ranging from a Hollywood screenwriter/producer and venture capitalists to international business development experts. David Miller is doing a wonderful job of carrying the torch and growing Startup Mason into something big,” said Bramble, who is working toward a double major in physics and systems engineering.

Pitch Mason is still in its initial stages, hence the label “1.0.”

The Center for Social Entrepreneurship is looking forward to the future evolvement of this idea.

“This is the very beginning, we’re still just seeing what happens. However, as with all entrepreneurial [efforts], successful projects do not end where they begin and ideas always evolve over time,” Miller said.

Miller hopes that by the fall, the Pitch Mason competitions will offer cash prizes to the winners to aid them in their startup endeavors.

Miller also plans to eventually hold six Pitch Mason events per year.

He expects pitching and social entrepreneurship to become bigger activities at Mason and hopes to acquire a bigger venue and target a larger audience.

Feb. 25, 2013

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News

Feb. 25, 2013

Broadside

#Tweets of the Week

Mason’s changing identity impacts retention rates Initiatives to reduce the number of students who leave after sophomore year The univeristy’s identity has changed over the past few years; from local alternative and commuter school to having one of the biggest on-campus student presence in Virginia, Mason is creating a new identity that is evolving everyday.

With Mason’s identity, a trend had been for students to attend Mason for two years and then transfer to another university.

“We do a pretty good job at keeping students their first and second year. We drop a little bit second to third year, so the sophomore level,” said Jeannie Brown Leonard, dean of student academic affairs, advising and retention.

The Institutional Research and Reporting has a report on Persistence and Graduation Rates for FirstTime, Full-Time Baccalaureate Degree-Seeking Cohorts which shows the retention rate for each cohort, meaning the percentage of an enrollment group (oneyear, two-year, etc.) that enrolls for the next year.

The report shows that in 2002, the percent of the two-year cohort, consisting of mostly sophomores, was 72.8 and dropped to 69.2 in the three-year cohort (mostly juniors).

In the latest report in 2009, the two-year rate was 79.4 and the three-year rate was 75.2. A change that may seem like the trend is changing because of the larger percentage of retention overall, the the percent of those who do not enroll in the next year is about 4.2%. This number, however, is from five years ago.

Leonard notes that the number may be misleading.

“It’s important to look at it in these broad trends,” Leonard said. “It depends on how big the number is that you are tracking, but one or two students can sometimes make a huge difference. And that’s sort of crazy. If we see a fractional percentage point change in either direction it’s not particularly meaningful.”

Despite the progress, the university has taken steps to insure that the retention rates are and remain high for each cohort, as have many other universities. Leonard also notes that it is unreasonable to expect a 100 percent retention rate.

“We would love to see it continue to grow,” Leonard said. “We would love the story to be that students learn about Mason in a way that’s consistent with what their experience is so that there is an alignment and that they thrive when they get here.”

Some students who decide to transfer out of Mason to another four-year university, whether it be University of Virginia, James Madison University or another four-year institution, do finish and get their degrees.

Out-of-state students may return to their flagship universities or to community college in their home state.

It is not required for students to tell the university what school they will be transferring to, so the information on where the students decide to go is minimal.

When students leave, there is a process by which

students can come back to the university without reapplying. This process, according to Leonard, brought back three students who left at the beginning of the fall 2012 semester.

“We were able to say, whatever went on we are hoping is fixed and you’re going to come join us,” Leonard said “And they didn’t have to reapply which they would of had to ordinarily. So we’ve facilitated that process.”

No matter which institution the student transfers to, the reasons that they leave is diverse.

“It’s a mixture,” said Angela Deltev, associate director of Institutional Research and Reporting. “We do know that some do finish their bachelors. It varies, it could have been the program. Mason has a lot of programs and a lot of really innovative choices for students to follow.”

“But we don’t have speech pathology, for example,” Leonard said. “So if you wanted to be a speech pathologist that might motivate your change.”

Leonard notes that the most difficult group to retain is out-of-state students. Brown said it is essential for students to feel like they fit in and have a place at the university. Going to a school in another states is a big commitment because of financial reasons, so loving Mason and finding the right academic program is key.

The university has taken steps to help acclimate out -of-state students to the university, even during orientation, to help them feel like they belong and thus boosting their likelihood of graduating at Mason.

MAP- Works, the Making Achievement Possible Works survey, is a survey sent to first and second year students (mostly freshman and sophomores) in which behavior, expectation, development and other retention factors are measured to investigate student satisfaction.

Other programs for students to succeed include intervention for students who may be at risk academically, making sure that off-campus students have found a niche within the university using programs such as the off-campus High-5’s, residence halls, using University 100, the introductory classes for first semester freshman and making sure that students are visiting their academic counselors.

“I would argue one of the best benefits of MAPWorks has been the university wide commitment and awareness to student success,” Leonard said.

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News

Feb. 25, 2013

Jewish students take sponsored trips to Israel

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Ten-day Birthright trip provides oncein-a-lifetime experience and memories College is a time that many use to explore their heritage in the hopes of discovering their identity. For some Jewish students, this may involve the exploration of their religious or cultural roots, for which many look towards Israel.

As the world’s only Jewish state, Israel is the cultural and religious center of Jewish heritage, and for this reason, many Jewish students choose to go on 10-day Birthright trips to Israel.

“Birthright is an opportunity for Jewish students between the ages of 18-26 who have never travelled to Israel on a peer trip before,” said Mason’s Hillel Director Ross Diamond.

“It’s an opportunity for students to travel to a country that’s talked a lot about in the news, and to experience it for themselves.”

Diamond stated that while the trips generally differed based on organization, most generally included the holy sites in Jerusalem, Israel’s national cemetery Mount Herzl, the Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem, visiting a Bedouin community, the city of Safed, a night out in Tel Aviv and the famous fortress Masada.

Sophomore Carleigh Ladden-Stirling noted that the many hours on the trip that had been spent travelling from one location to another provided for a great bonding experience with the many students on the trip.

“The thing about Birthright is that it’s mostly

on the bus, and you don’t get a lot of sleep either,” she said. “On the flight here most of us didn’t even sleep and we just bonded. It’s like coming to college for the first time.”

While Birthright isn’t an exclusively religious trip, there are trips to religious sites due to their importance in the Jewish tradition.

Ladden-Stirling was fascinated by how silent Jerusalem was on the day of the Sabbath, and the spiritual significance of the famous Western Wall.

“When you’re there you kind of feel a supernatural presence,” Ladden-Stirling said.

“I had shivers down my back, and people were crying and praying. You also get to write down a prayer and leave it in the wall and it’s supposed to come true.”

Sophomore Amy Driessen’s experience was a little different due to the fact that it rained 7 out of the 10 days that her group was in Israel, which is very unusual for the Middle East.

“We actually went on a jeep ride through the Golan Heights in the pouring rain,” she said.

“There were minefields surrounding us, which was really cool and a little scary. But who doesn’t want to live on the edge?”

Driessen also remembered many evenings in which the group would wind down together in their hotels by socializing and dancing.

Like Ladden-Stirling, she said that the trip provided a great opportunity for socialization and meeting people who came from all over

(PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMY DRESSEN)

Birthright trips allow for students to experience their culture first had in a way, that without the sponsors, would not be possible. The experience varies depending on the organization that it is sponsored by, but many of the trips include visits to Isreal’s national cemetary Mount Herzl, the Holocoust Museum Yad Vashem and holy sites in Jeruselem such as the Wailing Wall, pictured above. the United States.

On Ladden-Stirling’s trip, most of the students with her agreed that visiting the Bedouin community, which included riding a camel, was the highlight of the experience.

“We stayed in these tents in the desert overnight, and it was the best part of the trip,” she said. “In Israel, at night you can see the stars perfectly, so we would just lay out in the desert, and it was really peaceful.”

Both Driessen and Ladden-Stirling left Israel with an appreciation for the country and its people.

“Everyone we talked to was really nice

and if you got lost, and if you got lost, everyone would help you. I felt safer in Israel than walking around in DC,” Ladden-Stirling said.

Birthright is had many different sponsors and trip providers, and is currently thriving.

Hillel Director Ross Diamond stated that the summer 2012 trip that his students had taken had been one of the most successful trips yet.

Birthright registration for summer 2013 opened on Feb. 13.

SUHAIB KHAN STAFF WRITER

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Feb. 25, 2013

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Argentina Business in Beijing Tourism in Costa Rica and Nicaragua Brazil England Psychology in Cyprus China Human Development in Costa Rica Colombia British Popular Music in the UK Morocco Arab Spring at Oxford University Israel Summer at King's College, London Palestine Indian Studies in Hyderabad, India Irish Studies at Galway, Ireland Music in Assisi, Italy Italian Culture in Milan Summer at the American University, Rome Peacebuilding in the Philippines Summer at Stellenbosch University, South Africa

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Johnson Center, Room 235 Phone 703-993-2154 Fax 703-993-2153 Email cge@gmu.edu

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Feb. 25, 2013

Mason undergraduate alumni’s salaries highest in the state

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Report by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia puts Mason at the top of Virginia schools for the highest average starting salary of students who received a bachelor’s degree.

The Wall Street Journal published a graphic on Feb. 12 that made the conclusion that students who receive a bachelor’s degree from Mason, get the highest starting salary out of the public schools in Virginia.

The statistics are from a report from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) from the 2009-2010 reporting year.

The information released only includes graduates working in Virginia.

Those who work for the U.S. government are self-employed or moved out of Virginia are not included in the statistic.

In the same report, SCHEV released other statistics about the students who completed a four-year bachelor’s degree in the degree years between the reporting years 2005-2006 and 2009-2010.

Out of 19,391 graduates, 47.7 percent have full-time wages, 11.2 percent enrolled at another institution in Virginia, 11.3 percent have part-time wages.

The SCHEV is able to report salary and graduation outcomes due to the Virginia’s Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011.

This information also includes the amount of debt students have after attending private and public colleges but also does not include information on graduates who obtain a government job, join the military or work outside Virginia.

According to The Washington Post, those who support the new database believe that incoming college students and their families should have access to this information before making decisions on which colleges to attend.

Those who oppose the new database are fearful that incoming college students will choose schools and majors based off of how much money they will earn.

Federal and state officials are working together in order to pass legislation for other states to provide this type of public information as well.

During the week of Feb. 13, Senators Ron Wyden (D., Ore) and Marco Rubio (R., Fla.)

1

planned to reintroduce the Student Right to Know before You Go Act, a bill that would legalize providing public record of this information.

Other states that plan to provide this information include Tennessee, Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada and Texas.

Recent Mason graduates who have obtained bachelor’s degrees in psychology and information sciences earned salaries that have topped the state’s average and gone beyond what other graduates from Virginia colleges are earning eighteen months after receiving similar degrees.

According to a report by The Washington Post, the starting median salary in the state of Virginia for a Mason student with a degree in psychology is $30,256 while the starting median salary for a Mason student with a degree in information sciences is $55,213.

SAFFIE KAMARA STAFF WRITER

Follow @Broadside on Twitter

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George Mason 2 UVA 3 Virginia Tech 4 ODU 5 JMU 6 VCU 7 William & Mary 8 Radford 9 Norfolk State 10 Virginia State

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$41,153 $39,648 $38,957 $36,571 $35,224 $34,677

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To read the entire report on wages of graduates from the State Council of Higher Education for Virgnia follow the QR code.

$35,571 $31,825 $31,454 $28,820

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Data Source: Wall Street Journal Figures do not include salaries of graduates who are self-employed, work for the government, or move out of state.

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Feb. 25, 2013

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Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice. University of Phoenix is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association (ncahlc.org). College credit granted by University of Phoenix. For information about University of Phoenix accreditations and licensures, please visit our website.

While widely available, not all courses and programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. Please check with a University Enrollment Advisor. © 2013 University of Phoenix, Inc. All rights reserved. | CONED-01963

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News 11 College cohort has higher stress levels than other generations Broadside

Feb. 25, 2013

College students are no strangers to stress and trying to manage it. Between studying for classes, having a job, extra curricular activities and trying to manage a social life, stress is an ever present factor of college life.

When looking at the stress levels of freshmen in college, freshmen aremore likely to be stressed because they are trying to find the healthy balance in their lives.

“Since it was my first semester, everything was stressful,” freshman Nilou Kazemzadeh said. “I didn’t know how to study for my classes. I started studying differently for each class and I got scared that I wasn’t studying enough and I wasn’t studying the right way.”

It’s easy to say that the stress levels college students experience are normal, however, these days they might not actually be and not just for college students, but for the entire Millennial Generation.

According to the study titled Stress in America, released on Feb 7 by the America Psychological Association, the Millennial Generation (ages 18-33) are experiencing increasingly high levels of stress with 39 percent of Millennials reporting an increase of stress from the previous year.

Compared to the other generations survey in this study, Generation X (ages 34-47) Boomers (ages 48-66) and Matures (ages 67 and older) Millennials and Generation X have reported the highest levels of stress.

Compared on a scale ranging from one to 10 (10 being the highest level of stress) the average Millennial and Gen X reported an average stress level of 5.4, far higher than the Boomers’ (4.7) and the Matures’ 3.7 stress levels.

The study, taken each year since 2007 measured the stress levels by regions, major

cities and gender. According to the study, adults in the eastern U.S. report higher levels of stress than those in the other regions and they are also more likely than people in other regions to say that their stress levels have increased or that they experience extreme stress.

“Part of it is that there are different cultures in our country,” said Dr. Robin Haight, a practicing clinical psychologist in Northern Virginia who has worked as the Public Education Coordinator for the state of Virginia for the last three years. “There are different cultures in the east, west and mid coast and different cultures in terms of your family and job mobility.”

For those who work and live on the east coast, the lack of support and stability that some of the other regions have, might be a reason for increased stress in daily life.

“I think that it is more unstable on the east coast, in the bigger cities like D.C., Philly and Boston, so you don’t end up having the social support and stability when you end up dealing with life stresses,” Haight said.

Despite the fact D.C. has high levels of stress they have decreased in the last couple of years.

“The Washington, D.C. sub group is showing that their stress levels are declining even though they are still stressed. Because work, economy and money are the primary stress factors for the D.C. residents, those are the three things that are going to be stressed over the most,” Haight said.

However, despite living in one of the most highly stressed regions in America, there are other factors that could be increasing the Millennials’ stress levels and why the generation is having great difficulty managing their stress compared to others.

One reason includes the factor that genders process stress differently. The study shows that 43 percent of women and 33 percent of men say their stress level has increased from last year. However, women continue to report higher stress levels than men on a ten point scale and more women report experiencing extreme stress than men.

Despite women reporting higher levels of stress, something to note is that women and men prioritize things like relationships, healthy eating and getting enough sleep differently. In the study, it was reported that women are more likely than men to rank having good relationships with friends as important to them. They also tend to place more importance on healthy living goals.

“Women tend to place a higher importance on their relationships and the stress of their relationships,” Haight said. “The data captured that women also mange their stress in ways that are not always healthy.”

Women are on par with men when it comes to the ability to achieve these goals, which demonstrates a disconnection for women between what they think is important and what they are able to achieve.

Looking beyond the basic reasons for increased stress levels like gender and region, the study notes whether or not the Baby Boomers and their way of raising their children are to blame for the increased stress levels of the Millennial Generation. With the focus put on making sure every child has self-esteem, some believe that the focus point has given the Millennial Generation false expectations.

“It’s probably the convergence of several things,” said Dr. John H. Riskind, professor of clinical psychology at Mason who specializes in cognitive behavioral research, treatment

and theory of anxiety, mood and related disorders. “In five years there has been the recession and all these problems, so you have fewer opportunities with higher expectations that have been bred into people. When you have a stress and a vulnerability at the same time you are going to get the maximal anxiety level.”

Whether the stress increase is due to the Baby Boomers’ effect, a result of the last five years or a combination of both, when it comes to stress the most important thing to known is how to handle it.

“Exercise is a big important component to staying healthy and having good mental health, it helps with depression and anxiety and physical activity is really important on a regular basis,” Haight said. “ If someone feels like they’ve been stressed out for more than a couple of weeks they should reach out for the support of a friend and if it continues, reach out to a mental help professional.”

Because the younger generation lacks the ability to mange their stress levels, it is important to emphasize learning how to manage and recognize triggers.

“It is an extremely important life skill to learn how to manage stress and to learn what your stress triggers are. Understanding your own family and personal history can help you from getting too stressed,” Haight said.

“It fascinates me that the younger generation is having a hard time with this and I think it is a call to arms for psychologists to help the younger generation.”

MARY OAKEY STAFF WRITER

DOES YOUR WORK BLUR BOUNDARIES BETWEEN SCHOLARSHIP AND CREATIVITY? submit to Mason’s Undergraduate Research Journal

March 15th gmreview@gmu.edu

gmreview.gmu.edu

12

Feb. 25, 2013

LifestyLe

Broadside

Mason National Pan-Hellenic Council steps up

(MAURICE C. JONES/BROADSIDE)

On Feb. 22, five Mason fraternities and sororities-Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Beta Sigma, Omega Psi-Phi-performed in the annual step show in Dewberry Hall.

As Mason’s National Pan-Hellenic Council week came to a close, the winners of their annual step show were crowned on Feb. 22.

The week, which was called “Divine Habits,” showcased a different characteristic of black Greek life each day, stretching from Monday’s “Having Fun” to Wednesday’s “Educating,” all topped off with Friday’s “Stepping” and “After-Party.”

The step show brought together five Mason sororities and fraternities, as well as four from other universities, to compete. The Mason step teams in the competition were Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Beta Sigma and Omega Psi Phi. “I particularly like the event because it promotes Greek unity,” said Amanda Herbert, president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

“I know that regardless of the conflicts that happen within different chapters of organizations, we can all come together and have a step show that the entire Mason community enjoys.”

Though Herbert was not a part of the actual competition for 2013, it was her first year not stepping, and she was excited to to see the competition from an entirely different

“This is what black Greeks are known for — stepping and just really giving people a show that they will remember. If one of them messes up, oh, they’re going to be remembered for it.

It’s the biggest thing for us.”

Aaron Anderson

perspective.

“Stepping was very difficult. It was timeconsuming and nerve-wracking, but it was a

great experience. I know that’s how I met a lot of the other Greek people at Mason—through step.”

The step show, though a heavy competition for the Greeks, had an emphasized sense of unity. Minisha Morris, a senior and president of the Zeta Omicron chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., explained this sense of competitive collaboration even as she stood alongside a member from a different Greek organization, Aaron Anderson.

“In a sense, it is about winning since you want to take pride when the judges think you step better than the other teams, but overall you’re still happy for the winner, even if you probably wish it was you,” Morris said.

Anderson, NPHC treasurer and Kappa Alpha Psi Vice Polemarch, agreed with Morris.

“I’m the lone neo. I’m actually the only new member [Kappa Alpha Psi] has,” Anderson said, though even a new member understands the importance of the annual step show to the NPHC community. “This is what black Greeks are known for — stepping and just really giving people a show that they will remember.

If one of them messes up, oh, they’re going to be remembered for it. It’s the biggest thing for

us,” Anderson said.

This year, Morris was able to show this sense of pride the moment her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, was crowned with the second place sorority award, while the first place sorority trophy went to Herbert’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

The fraternity winners were Phi Beta Sigma in first place, with Iota Phi Theta taking second place.

Regardless of who won, all of the sorority and fraternity members gathered with other Mason students again in JC, Dewberry to celebrate the annual Mason NPHC week as whole.

Even though the NPHC is comprised of many different Greeks that may not usually associate with each other, the week is a time for all black Greeks to come together and do something with the entire Mason community.

MELANIE MILES ASST. LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Lifestyle

Broadside

Feb. 25, 2013

13

Graduate student shoots for infinity and beyond Student’s alter-ego Kam the Astronaut campaigns for space trip

(JENNY KRASHIN/BROADSIDE)

Graduate student, Kamil Stelmach, campaigning to go to space.

Stelmach was seen wandering campus in an astronaut suit, asking people to vote for him to go to space camp.

The first time Kamil Stelmach stepped into public wearing his astronaut suit, he was stopped by a police officer.

“It turns out that it’s a class six felony to have your identity concealed in public in Virginia. So I got a little lecture on that, but since the officer figured I wasn’t going to rob a bank, he took a picture and shared it with the department and let me go,” said Kamil Stelmach, graduate chemistry student at Mason.

That incident marked just one small bump in the road for Stelmach’s potential future journey to space.

“The inspiration itself came about ever since I was little. I am originally from Poland, and one of the first few books I had was in Polish. The title translated to, “Stars and Planets,” and ever since I read it, I was really excited about space,” Stelmach said.

Stelmach’s inspiration led him to enter himself into Axe Apollo Space Academy’s competition to send someone to space.

The competition is composed of two parts. The first is a sweepstakes where anyone can enter him or herself in hopes of being chosen in a random drawing of eight individuals to compete at a space camp.

The second part is the voting portion, where individuals can choose to work and campaign for votes. The two top vote getters will also participate at the space camp, where one individual will be chosen for a chance to fly to space.

Currently, Stelmach is ranked 20 out of more than 600 individuals. But according to him, he still has a huge hill to climb.

“The top five people have over 10 thousand votes, and that’s mostly because they were kind of famous before the competition. They were famous YouTube bloggers,” Stelmach said.

The two top vote getters currently have roughly 41 thousand and 35 thousand votes respectively, leaving Stelmach with a huge gap to fill, but he has not given up yet.

“I am trying to tackle campaigning in stages. So, the first stage was my friends and friends of friends. Now, I am transitioning into where I am just going person to person but also trying to get some media attention,” Stelmach said.

Stelmach’s campaigning also has a unique aspect that he

uses to try to gain attention: a space suit. Purchased off of Amazon, his suit, complete with NASA-badges, helmet and backpack, help him to stand out while he walks across campus, DC and surrounding areas during get-out-the-vote efforts.

Stelmach has also worked to strengthen his social media presence. He has three Facebook pages: One specifically geared towards the Mason community called “Send a Patriot to Space” another aimed at University of Illinois where Stelmach received his undergraduate degree and another geared towards the public.

Stelmach is also creating a kind of alter-ego, Kam the Astronaut, to help give his cause a brand name.

“I know it’s a little slow right now, but at this stage, we are just trying to get to a thousand plus votes so I can be in the top 10 so people can spot me really easy. At that point, we can try to get some video out that might go viral,” Stelmach said.

Despite being far off from securing the top spot in the competition, Stelmach has found plenty of reward from the process, so far.

“I have been a little surprised by how people would be excited to support me. There were people that I hadn’t talked to in a while, even from high school, who had joined up and told all their friends so, that was really exciting, especially from the perspective of a lonely grad student,” Stelmach said.

The competition stays online until Apr. 27, giving Stelmach time to build up a strong voter base, but he will need lots of help.

“It’s my personal philosophy that it would be nice to see someone who wanted to go to space and who was working for it their entire life,” Stelmach said. “Because it seems like a lot of the people in the top five, they are basically doing this competition because they heard of it and they think it’s cool.”

Visit Stelmach’s Facebook page for more information and details on how to vote at http://goo.gl/2xkV3.

AARON LOCKE MANAGING EDITOR

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14

LifestyLe

feb. 25, 2013

Mason Makes Careers

Every week, Broadside features a student or alumnus with a great internship or job to highlight the opportunities and potential earning a degree at Mason offers

NAME: Craig Haseler GRADUATION DATE: Fall 2013 DEGREE: BS in Computer Science; Minor in Business INTERNSHIP: Information Technology Assistant at the American Lung Association (ALA) (PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAIG HASELER)

How would you describe the place you are interning at?

The American Lung Association is one of the oldest non-profits in the country, founded to fight tuberculosis in the early 20th century, and now focusing on air pollution, asthma, anti-smoking campaigns and many other modern lung-related concerns. I work at the National Headquarters office on Pennsylvania Ave. in DC. What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities?

I am in charge of the project to create a new internal intranet for the ALA and its volunteers nationwide that we are calling “LungNet.” A typical day might start with a conference call to our office in New York City, but I’m also working closely with

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national and local employees in Illinois, California and various places in between. Each day has a new challenge. A big project like this has many complications, so, I’m solving new problems every day.

What’s the most exciting part of your internship?

The most exciting part of the internship is definitely the level of responsibility I’m being given. Having complete control of this project and how it moves forward is something I didn’t expect at an internship of this caliber. Early on in my internship, I got a call from an external Sharepoint consulting company, and they asked to be put in contact with ALA’s “Project Lead” for the Sharepoint deployment. Well, that was me! They were just trying to sell us something, but it took me off guard, that as an intern, I had sole responsibility for such an important project.

What’s the most challenging part of your internship? Could you describe a challenge you’ve overcome?

There have definitely been some major hurdles to overcome — the biggest one is working within the budget of a non-profit. That is to say, basically working with no budget.

As a non-profit, we are able to get some software for free, but most software we’d like to have is out of our price range. This complicates things significantly, and I’ve had to work around it. Earlier this year, we wanted access to a product called Windows Azure. With a $10,000 license, it wasn’t really going to happen. But I found out as a non-profit we could get free access to a piece of software called Visual Studio, which came with a free subscription to Microsoft Developer Network. After more digging, we discovered that Microsoft Developer Network subscribers get free access to Windows Azure! Problem solved.

RYAN WEISSER LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Broadside

First audition in the Big Apple Hi, my name is Paul, and I’ll be auditioning for the role of “point guard.”

Did you want a contemporary monologue, or something a bit more classic? Or wait did you have some slides for me to read from? Is anyone else auditioning?

I will take the silence and blank stares as a “please perform a prepared monologue. ” Oh, I almost forgot! Here are my headshots.

I’m sorry I’m all out of sorts, this is my first audition in the Big Apple!

Let me just say that it was pretty challenging to find this place! All I could find online was “Madison Square Garden.”

Also, once I got inside, which was NOT easy, I tried asking a guard for directions to the audition, and he tried to arrest me!

Thank God I had my pepper spray, or I might have been late.

I always carry pepper spray on me, just in case someone tries any funny business. Mama told me, “look out for the creeps in the big city,” and now I know why. Even security guards can be out to get you in this city!

I don’t even know if it’s real pepper like Pa grows back at home. I think it’s just chemicalsOh look at me, I’m babbling again! Hahaha silly me. I’m sorry; let’s start over. I’m a LITTLE nervous, which is why I’m rambling. And sweating so much.

I’ve never seen this show “The New York Knicks,” but I HAVE been in quite a few Neil Simon plays; so, I sort of get the whole “New Yorker” thing. Isn’t Neil Simon the best? He’s the best.

Alright, well this monologue is from “The Odd Couple,” and it’sOK sir, I know it’s probably overdone, but the least you could do is let me perforNO, I will not leave. I won’t take no for an answer. I am an actor, and I refuse to give up on my dreams! This is New York City! The city of drUnhand me sir! Unhand me! I have pepper spray! I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY! I’m sorry I had to do that sir. Don’t rub your eyes, it only makes it worse.

Do you think we could start over? I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.

Paul Laudiero Columnist

Broadside

Lifestyle

Feb. 25, 2013

15

(RYAN WEISSER/BROADSIDE)

(Left) “No Fear in Love” sign, posted at the entrance of the event’s conference room. (Right) On the left is the campaign organizer, Karen Bontrager, and a race contestant who wanted to promote a healthy relationship with her husband.

Students support “No Fear in Love” 6-mile race It’s 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Not a normal hour for a group of Mason students to be up. Not only are they awake and functioning when most students are fast asleep, they are about to run a six-mile race around Arlington.

Are they crazy? No, not really. Dedicated? Most definitely.

But these Mason students aren’t running six miles in the rain and cold for themselves or for their teammates, they are running for one victim of dating abuse who will get the chance to start fresh and receive a one-year scholarship to Mason.

This scholarship is the result of the “No Fear in Love” race, a race dedicated to championing one’s inner power. This was the race’s third year beginning at 6:45 a.m., an un-Godly hour to some, but to Karen Bontrager, the organizer of the race and “No Fear in Love” campaign, this early hour symbolizes something much more meaningful.

“This is about running together away from the darkness and into the light,” said Bontrager, who wants the darkness at the beginning of the race to symbolize a dark past or cloud in life. Runners will overcome this darkness together, so every runner will, literally and figuratively, push on toward a brighter beginning.

Bontrager wants the focus on unhealthy relationships to end. To Bontrager, a focus on healthy relationships, rather than unhealthy ones, is what is going to prevent dating violence from occuring. Too often, relationship forums and conversations occur after violence or abuse has already happened.

Bontrager wants this to change.

“The perspective about what healthy is needs to change.

Boys and girls, from early on, see unhealthy relationships occur, but they don’t realize that behavior is not OK. They see the unhealthy as normal so, we need to start having conversations with 16-24 year-olds about what a healthy relationship is,” Bontrager said.

The “No Fear in Love” name actually came from this idea of what a healthy relationship should be. The vision revolves around the idea that no one should ever feel fear in a healthy relationship. The “No Fear in Love” campaign states

“experiencing fear is an early indication that something might be awry or unhealthy in a relationship.”

But in order to come to terms with an unhealthy relationship, Bontrager and many of the participants of the “No Fear in Love” race believe that you must be secure in yourself. With confidence and knowledge that you deserve to be cherished and loved in a relationship, Bontrager believes anyone can notice, prevent and even end a negative relationship.

“You should be championed in your relationship,” Bontrager said. “If I give you a dollar and tell you that’s what you’re worth, and you believe me, that means I have control in the relationship, not you. You need to know your self-worth, and you need to know that no one but you can create that worth. Everyone deserves to be championed in a relationship, and it will happen if you believe in yourself.”

Mason’s Running Club made the 20-minute trip to the race because of this cause. “No Fear in Love” is different because it looks for the positive, and that is why the running club found so much appeal in the race.

“I was looking for races to go to around the area,” said Running Club President April Aralar, who is a Mason freshman studying bioengineering. “I saw that this one had an amazing cause that benefits a Mason student. I thought it was great for our first meet together.”

The Mason Running Club had the most people who are aged 16-24 at the race, so Bontrager wanted to recognize them. Bontrager donated $100 to the Mason Running Club as a “thank-you” for showing their support for the cause and running for one fellow Mason student who is a victim of an unhealthy relationship.

But “No Fear in Love” was more than a race or campaign, it was a discussion with people ranging in ages from 13 to their 50s, which offered a diverse group of opinions about what a healthy relationship should look like. Each person in the room had different relationship experiences, and they shared each experience to broaden someone else’s understanding of what healthy relationships should be.

“I don’t think we know self-love,” concurred one group who believed loving and respecting yourself comes first in a relationship.

One group believed that to make this campaign more effective and to actually make a societal change, we need to look toward the power and influence of social media.

“Social media is a great way to reach out to the age group of people we are trying to target,” said a group member. The group also noticed that TV is sending too many negative messages, there aren’t enough public figures to promote healthy relationships and music is especially negative when it comes to relationships.

“Music really sticks with people. It’s something that we listen to when we’re young and it’s ingrained in our memory. If someone’s rapping or singing about negative feelings toward their loved one or about abusing them, that subconsciously makes an impact on someone’s view of a relationship,” a 15-year-old group member said.

Even though “No Fear in Love” is geared toward 16 to 24-year-olds, one mother was glad to have the opportunity to bring her 13-year-old to the race and discussion.

“We’re here for our daughter who’s volunteering,” said Cathi Cox, who is coincidentally a Mason alumna. “This is such a great organization that helped us open the discussion about healthy relationships.”

Regardless of age, discussion about healthy relationships is important. Mason WAVES opens up discussion for healthy relationships during February as a part of National Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month. This year, LLC Coordinator Kevin Stoy participated in the race, and he hopes that Mason and “No Fear in Love” will collaborate to get more students out to the race for years to come.

RYAN WEISSER LIFESTYLE EDITOR

16

Lifestyle

Feb. 25, 2013

Broadside

Mason photos speak louder than words on Tumblr

(PHOTO COURTESY OF WALTER MARTINEZ)

Walter Martinez’s Tumblr “Humans of GMU” posts photos of students, some posed and others candid, from around campus.

If photographs could talk, a look through Walter Martinez’s “Humans of GMU” Tumblr blog could single-handedly describe moments across campus that define the diversity and uniqueness of Mason’s campus.

Martinez is a street photographer, meaning he uses his camera to capture otherwise forgotten and passed-by moments, focusing on Mason’s campus.

“I want to capture the people and what’s going on,” Martinez said.

Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s “Humans of New York” photography project, this Mason student takes photographs to capture the people around him and the inspiring moments of everyday life.

Martinez’s love of art runs in his family. His father owns an art studio and gave his son an old Nikon from the ‘80s. Soon after playing around with it, he enrolled in a photography class. Last semester, to further pursue his interest in art, Martinez created a blog to show his images.

The trickiest part of street photography is getting a good feel of how to angle a shot without looking through the lens. It

is best to get as close as you can without overwhelming the subject. This style is meant to capture real-life moments, as people in studios may feel awkward knowing they are behind the camera.

The feelings in street photographs are raw and uncensored.

“I like how his photographs show people. There’s so much going around campus, and so many people, it’s nice getting to see that,” Mason student Kattey Paros said.

Martinez does not edit his photos before uploading them. Although it is tempting to tamper with Photoshop or other after-effect aids he feels, these aids can only do so much.

Some well-known tips when taking photographs include leading lines, framing a subject and rule of thirds— basic photography rules. However, with street photography, moments are happening everywhere at every second.

If one takes too long positioning a camera, one would lose the chance of capturing the moment.

“The biggest thing is just get over your fear of other people, because that was the biggest thing for me,” Martinez said.

“That initial fear of ‘would it be OK if I take a picture’… you just have to go and do it.”

Martinez started his blog with photographs taken with his Nikon SLR camera.

However, this semester he’s been taking photographs in film, so uploading pictures takes a bit longer than usual.

The pictures on his site vary—some are black and white, others are filled with color. Martinez prefers the former because, “black and white brings out the emotion.” Also, although there are some photos taken off-campus, the blog mostly surrounds life at Mason.

To promote his site, Martinez is giving away a free opportunity. The 200th follower — if he or she is a Mason student — will get a portrait session for head shots, band photos, couple shots or anything that the winner decides.

To see Walter Martinez’s work, visit www.humansofgmu.tumblr.com.

DARLENE ALEGRADO STAFF WRITER

New club encourages students to go natural with style This past semester, My Natural organization was formed at Mason to embrace and promote organic and natural beauty.

“The purpose of My Natural is for college women to empower each other and use each other as resources in order to maintain healthy hair and be proud of their identity, while also creating a sisterhood,” said Saffie Kamara, who is the vice president of My Natural.

The birth of My Natural actually occurred at Winston-Salem State University during September 2011 by Johnene Benson, who purchased a relaxer that resulted in her hair loss. Because of this aesthetical misfortune, Benson was inspired to foster a group emphasizing the allure and importance of natural hair and championing women’s raw beauty.

To expand knowledge on maximizing physical attributes, My Natural meets twice a month and invites guest speakers to discuss topics ranging from excellent organic hair products to tips on how to install weave in an alternative fashion.

The organization also hosts meetings and do-it-yourself sessions where members can discuss and share commentaries and opinions about other ways to maximize their hair’s potential.

Their first organized meeting was held Feb. 12. Twenty-six participants arrived and

went home with knowledge of the “beading method,” or how to condition and style their hair by utilizing nature’s best products such as: shea moisture, cantu shea butter and castor oil.

“We were really excited about the turn out,” Kamara said. “We’re more excited that students on campus came up to us throughout the week telling us how excited they were about our next events.”

Their next meeting will be on Feb. 26.

My Natural will be tackling how the media presents natural hair and how the consequences of their portrayal affect women’s self-identity.

Men should not feel left out. My Natural excludes discrimination to the male population. Kamara explained that men are invited to join My Natural as well, and she mentioned that there have been male students interested in joining the new organization.

Students, however, are required to have a minimum 2.5 GPA to join the organization. and students are also required to fill out an application that includes a $15 fee, due by March 5.

(PHOTO COURTESY OF SAFFIE KAMARA)

TRICIA MARCAIDA STAFF WRITER

(Left to right) Vice President Saffie Kamara, Expo Coordinator Sha’Air Hawkins, Historian Tianii Sharpe, President Taniqua Price, Queen Jasmine Young, Secretary BreAnna Davis and Treasurer Rachel Jones.

LifestyLe

Broadside

Feb. 25, 2013

17

Chocolate Lovers Festival sweetens Fairfax Chocolate cakes, candies, fudges and other sweet confections float around a chocolate lover’s paradise—or something Fairfaxnatives know as the annual Chocolate Lover’s Festival. From March 2-3 the festival will return to Old Town Historic Fairfax and bring wafts of sugary-sweet cocoa with it.

For the past 20 years, the event has drawn thousands of people from all over the Northern Va. area. Dozens of vendors sell an assortment of chocolate-flavored confections at their main event, a ‘Taste of Chocolate.’

This year, the main event will be held at Old Town Hall, right off of University Drive, a short walk or CUE bus ride for Mason students. Last year, this event included a wide range of chocolate concoctions, including chocolate-flavored cotton candy and chocolate-covered Twinkies.

One of the committee members from the City of Fairfax, Chris Cohen, believes that the annual Chocolate Lover’s Festival caters to more than just the average family or couple— it caters to the student population at Mason as well. “[The Chocolate Lover’s Festival] is a little different than most other festivals. This is more of a community event, where there are multiple organizations that participate in multiple events and bring something fun to the City of Fairfax—and for Mason students to taste and enjoy,” Cohen said.

New to the festival this year is a Chik-Fil-A “Spirit Night.” On Feb. 28, the Fairfax Circle Chik-Fil-A will donate 20 percent of a person’s purchase to the Chocolate Lover’s Festival Community Grant when customers mention

the “Chocolate Lover’s Festival” between 4-9 p.m. The fundraiser will help raise money for local non-profit organizations.

Every year, money is raised and presented to non-profits. This helps the event not only become a community event but a charitable one as well. The 2013 recipients of the Chocolate Lover’s Festival Community Grant include: the City of Fairfax Fire Department to support the Citizen’s Fire Academy, the City of Fairfax, the Young at Heart Senior Center to help purchase fitness equipment and support a healthy lifestyle and Shelter House Inc. to serve homeless families victims of domestic violence.

Also at the event will be the Fairfax Kiwanis club, who will be collecting non-perishable food items for their Meals for Young Minds program, which supports local students by providing meals for the weekend to those who cannot afford them.

Some of the events at the Chocolate Lover’s Festival include a small fee to enter, but many of the events are free and open to the public.

The City of Fairfax has even included free direct transportation to and from the various event locations.

W“This is not just a Chocolate Lover’s Festival, this is an event for everyone to come and enjoy what these chocolate vendors have to offer as a community,” Cohen said.

MARIAH SUTTON STAFF WRITER

(CHRIS COHEN/CITY OF FAIRFAX)

The 2012 Chocolate Lover’s Festival featured an unlimited amount of cakes, chocolate, bon-bons, truffles and other sweets.

The struggle for happiness at Mason “I thought college students were supposed to be happy and carefree,” said the middle-aged woman to her husband as they sit in the JC with their son after a morning tour. “They all look miserable.”

She looks around the atrium, looking at the faces that crowd through the lines at the register and heading down the stairs and I can’t blame her for making such a blunt comment.

From where I sit, I can spy at least seven furrowed brows, eight crossed arms and dozens of eyes cast to the floor. Happy or pleasant looking faces run in the minority and it is no wonder that visitors find the mid-day Mason lunch rush to be a miserable experience.

But this is not some call to arms to smile

more at the people you walk by or say thank you to the person swiping your Mason ID for expensive sushi. This is an acknowledgment of the fact that college might not be the happiest time of your life.

“Happy” is defined as feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. That is quite possibly the last thing that college is.

College is a lot of things; institutionalized competition for the longest list of accomplishments, the systematic collection of tests that decide a grade point average and the separation from home in order to find necessary adulthood independence. But college is not an inherently happy experience.

Happiness is not something that just present itself. It exists on the last page of the fifty-page reading you have to do by tomorrow morning, the paper you have been procrastinating all week, the six a.m. practice you are

dreading and the event you volunteered to work on Saturday morning.

College is an environment that places happiness on the other side of the commitments and responsibilities that accompany our to do lists.

This is not to say that college is somehow devoid of happiness, it just means that we must work a little harder to derive happiness from the work that we do while finding sources of happiness that can stand alone.

“Give them a break, honey. It’s a Saturday morning,” He’s right. Give us a break. But that starts by giving ourselves a break, because despite popular perception, stretching yourself to where your resume is as long as your research papers is not healthy.

In high school, I was cast in this one act play titled “The Last Day at Whoopee Kingdom.” I’ll

save you the gritty and embarrassing details, but the slogan of the satirical play was this: Excellence plus imagination equals maximum fun for all.

Ultimately, we are not as busy as we think we are, which means that we are not as stressed as we think we should be. Find ways to maximize your happiness—make lists, prioritize, learn to say no and be responsible.

These are supposed to be the best years of our lives, but they are certainly not the most fun. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to change.

Aaron Locke Managing Editor

18

Feb. 25, 2013

Broadside

George Mason University’s Student Newspaper

Colleen Wilson Editor-in-Chief EIC@BroadsideOnline.com

Aaron Locke Managing Editor Niki Papadogiannakis News Editor Evan Stancil Arlington Editor Ryan Weisser Entertainment Editor Melanie Miles Asst. Entertainment Editor Elise Baker Editorials Editor Bryan Dombrowski Sports Editor Jennifer Miller Asst. Sports Editor Jenny Krashin Photography Editor Stephen Kline Design Editor Natalie Shapiro Copy Editor Ashly Mayle Copy Editor Manuel Alfaro Cartoonist Kathryn Mangus Faculty Advisor Jacques Mouyal Business Manager David Carroll Associate Director Broadside is printed each Monday for George Mason University and its surrounding Fairfax Community. The editors of Broadside have exclusive authority over the content that is published.

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

OPINION

BROADSIDE

A case for corporations

We live in a world where corporations are driven by profits.

And this is a good thing.

This may be hard to believe, but profitdriven corporations give consumers power. In fact, you could almost say that a free-market economy that is primarily driven by large corporations is fairly similar to a democracy in the concept that the consumers vote.

Every time you pick up a Coke instead of a Pepsi, every time you decide that organic eggs are going to be healthier than regular eggs, even every time you call an electrician to change a light bulb, you are voting.

Without the profits from customers, corporations are nothing.

“But Stephen, I’m just one person!

No corporation cares about just one person!”

I’ll admit it, every now and then a corporation screws over a customer, but I guarantee that there is no Dr. Evil sitting in a boardroom twiddling his fingers with glee when it happens. Those

executives sitting in their boardrooms are actually trying to figure out how to make their customers happy so that they develop a loyal customer who will return time and time again.

You can express this power by not buying into a corporation’s product or ideology.

“But Stephen, the flocks of sheep in society still buy into because they don’t know any better!”

Guess why? Because they like it.

Classic case: Valentine’s Day. We’re celebrating some saint that got killed or something, and we’re doing so by buying flowers, chocolate and maybe even jewelry. Some of the time we’re doing it because we love another person and want to make sure they know, most of the time we’re doing it so we can get laid.

Either way, we do it because it makes us happy.

Sure, we should be giving tokens of appreciation to our loved ones every day, but I know for a fact that I can’t afford that.

Don’t like the idea of Valentine’s Day? Don’t buy your loved one a gift, and know

that you won’t be getting a gift from me.

And you’ll feel like a self-centered jerk.

Why? Because people enjoy Valentine’s Day. Another example: Christmas. We’re celebrating the birth of Christ by sitting around a glorified piece of lumber exchanging gifts.

Don’t like how corporate Christmas has become? Don’t buy anyone gifts.

You’ll feel like, yeah you guessed it, a self-centered jerk. Why? Because people enjoy Christmas.

Don’t get mad because corporations have figured out a successful business strategy. In fact, be happy that you live in a world where they want to make you happy—the alternative is not very attractive.

Parking Power by Manny Alfaro

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I have the power... to ticket you.

Stephen Kline

Design Editor

OPINION 19 The greatness of James K. Polk Lost voices in the GOP

BROADSIDE

Mason is known for its diversity. Among cultural diversity lies political diversity, which always makes for good conversation, especially in the college setting.

The way my peers and fellow students look at me now, when I say that I am a republican, says that I am a conservative who has lost touch with modern society.

They feel that I would have the same ideals as my fellow members in the GOP, who call themselves the Tea Party.

The Tea Party has tarnished the image of the Republican Party. The problem that I have with the Tea Party, as a young republican, is that they are a loud minority who has very right wing views.

This is bad for our country and the Republican Party. The Republican Party needs to separate itself from this minority if it wishes to have more political power in Washington.

The Tea Party scares away more moderate and independent voters because these old ideals that conservatives follow are outdated, which result in more young people being drawn away from the party.

The ultra right-wing tea partiers have made me question the principles of my own political party. I feel as though change is needed in the policies and ideals that the Republican Party follows.

The problem with that, though, is there are still old conservative members in the party who refuse to change and feel that the ‘Reagan era’ way of thinking still

Feb. 25, 2013

works in today’s society. Many young moderate republicans who try to bring new ideas to the party get ignored or bullied by the ultra conservative tea party minorities or by the old conservatives on Capitol Hill who refuse to change their mindset.

This refusal of change leaves a lot of young republicans, lost like me, to either abandon their party or accept ideals that a majority doesn’t follow.

I am challenging young republicans to stand up and let your voice be heard, to not let the old conservatives bully you and to bring your new ideas to the party.

We are the future of the party, and we can change the way of thinking within it. Go to town hall meetings, email your congressmen and senators, go to political rallies and lets change this party together and introduce change that the Republican Party can follow.

Let’s distance our image from the ultra conservative tea party way of thinking.

Let’s work with democrats and not villainies them as the ultra conservatives have. In the end, we are all Americans.

Editorial by

Nicholas Pickens

When thinking of the greatest presidents in American history, a handful of names come to mind. This list inevitably includes Washington, Lincoln, the Roosevelts, and perhaps Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

Allow me to present another name as one of the greats. This man was a one-termer, but perhaps had the most effective record of any president, two terms or one (or four), in American history. He grew the nation by a third, settled international border disputes and changed the economic face of the nation for years to come. I am of course talking about James K. Polk (1845–1849).

In a very close election, Polk, the dark horse democratic nominee, edged out his Whig (the forerunners of the republicans) opponent, Henry Clay, with a 39,490 vote margin.

During the campaign, Polk had campaigned on a single term, and in that single term proposed to accomplish four tasks. He declared that he would reestablish the Independent Treasury System, reduce tariffs, acquire all, or some, of the Oregon Territory and negotiate a land trade with Mexico.

First, Polk was able to reestablish the Independent Treasury System, which remained in existence until 1921. In a huge step to encourage international trade, Polk had the Walker Tariff pushed through Congress. The increased revenue and trade which stemmed from the Tariff also brought good relations with nations all over the world yearning to tap into American markets.

Such good relations, most notably with Great Britain, were critical when Polk was able to settle the dispute over the Oregon Territory at the 49th Parallel peacefully. Idaho, Oregon, and Washington were all added to the Union as free territories, and the United States and Great Britain refrained from going to war for a third time in 70 years.

Following the annexation of the Republic of

Texas in 1845, relations between Mexico (who had lost the territory in 1836) and the United States were considerably soured and war was declared on May 11th, 1846.

What followed was a short conflict, during which the Army scored victory after victory over the ill-prepared, ill-trained and ill-equipped Mexicans.

A peace treaty was signed in 1848, with the land encompassing California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming becoming territories of the United States.

True to his pledge, Polk declined to run for a second term, leaving office on March 4th, 1848, returning to his native Tennessee and promptly dropping dead three months later. In those four years, Polk expanded the United States by a third, changed economic policy for generations, and fostered trade and good will with nations across the world.

Harry S. Truman summed up his predecessor quite accurately: “He said what he was going to do, and did it.” Of course the man has a chorus of detractors, inevitable given the breadth of his accomplishments. A man who owned other human beings is entitled to criticisms.

At the end of the day, however, what cannot be denied is the fact James K. Polk completed his agenda and changed this country forever. Thank goodness I can learn more about Polk and others at Mason.

Editorial by

David Dorsey

Mason’s motivated student body feeds political fascination Every day as I walk past Southside, the JC or one of the many academic halls I can hear political dialogue between students. Whether it is a booth in the JC for Green Patriots or a message board to join the Israel Club, it seems every person associated with Mason has a connection to politics.

Freshman Will Rosenberg believes he has the answer to this fascination: “People are more expressive about it because it’s close to DC. Both presidential candidates were here,” he said. “It creates this passion for GMU students.”

Now this passion is not always supporting a party or candidate. Professor Lesley Smith of New Century College noticed: “I see a lot of political engagement, not always supporting one candidate but local

and global communities.”

And that’s just it—besides election season you do not see Obama and Romney posters hung all over campus. Rather, you see posters supporting environmental issues, notices from the Invisible Children Club and bulletins from the Korean Student Association. They are clubs supporting policy for communities, not just yourself.

Whether you believe in a policy or not, Mason is a campus filled with pride and an attitude to bring change to this country and the world.

“I see more diversity on Mason’s campus than ones I visited, worked, and learned on,” Smith said. Rosenberg disagrees.

“This campus presents itself as more liberal and blue. That surprised me, it seems like Mason is pushing those policies on its student body,” Rosenberg said.

While there is disagreement on whether or not Mason is homogenous, we can all agree that the campus is filled with a passionate student body.

When the election season was in full swing, Obama and Romney both visited Mason’s campus to campaign a key electorate. Mason students were proud supporters and volunteers for both candidates’ campaigns.

And just recently, Mason’s Green Patriots joined 30 states and Canadian provinces to protest in Washington against the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline.

Members of Mason’s Catholic Ministry joined other religious groups around campus to advocate pro-life policies in Washington.

This is a passionate campus that has views from different perspectives and ideologies, which enhances Mason’s diversity.

Each week, I will be writing a column about

politics and Mason. It will range from policies to beliefs to views of the future of America.

Hopefully, this column will provide the student body with a stronger understanding of differing views. Appreciate that a belief is not wrong but, rather, a different image of how our democracy can look based on the electorate’s belief.

Nate Falk

Columnist

20

OPINION

Feb. 25, 2013

BROADSIDE

At the expense of others

Something unexpected happened at Mason’s homecoming game. No, it wasn’t Georgia State beating us by 18 points after our initial lead early on. This unexpected something occurred during halftime: a woman won the Mason Majesty contest.

That might not seem shocking, but let us have context. The last time a woman won a homecoming award was in 2008. In 2009, a drag queen won homecoming queen and in 2010 GMU opted to get rid of the homecoming king and queen titles for “Mason Majesty.” The reason?

Diversity. Assistant Director of Programming in Student Activities Michelle Davis said that, “we wanted to be more inclusive to all persons on campus — no matter how they identify.”

This is where things get paradoxical. For diversity, the gender neutral Mason Majesty honor was created. Yet, because of this diversity-driven decision, the percentage of female winners plummeted. Only men won homecoming honors all the way through President Barack Obama’s first term.

In the rush to appease a vocal anti-gender binary minority, campuses have been known to ignore women. Consider New College of California, which in 2005 “de-gendered” its bathrooms. The alteration was enacted to protect transgendered individuals from being uncomfortable or harassed.

Apparently, the officials ignored the large number of females

who would be uncomfortable with men using the same bathroom or the perfect alibi now given to peeping toms and misogynistic predators who fantasize about harassing women in those facilities.

The response to women being less represented at Mason’s homecoming apparently gets little opposition from the Women and Gender Studies Department. When, in 2009, Ryan Allen became homecoming queen, Associate Director Vicki Kirsch called it a, “significant and positive benchmark in Mason’s history.” Who would have thought the head of a department all about women’s equality would rejoice at the news of a man defeating two women for a prize meant to honor women?

By removing gender specific homecoming titles Mason did not just unintentionally harm women, they also showed a basic hypocrisy prevalent in the overall sexual minorities movement: tolerating different identities.

Back in 2010, when Mason was wondering how to appeal to its transgendered population, it did not decide to add a third category for the competition; rather it got rid of the gender specific categories altogether. So much for “live and let live” and “to each his own.” The pleas for tolerance evaporated the moment the anti-gender binary cause could change society.

When they lacked this power—that was when they sought coexistence.

Vianney Torres should be commended for her victory, as she

Letter to the Editor I am writing to you from Afghanistan, to express my dismay that your school is continuing to take legal action against a veteran who is a state resident. A recent report I read in the Washington Post about Navy veteran Stephanie Kermgard’s protracted legal battle with your school over tuition makes me wary of your institution’s support for student veterans.

These reports have indicated a disturbing lack of concern for student veterans—I put the student first because we are, after all, there to learn—and our issues. Particularly with regards to financial aid and VA (Veteran’s Administration) educational assistance, I am appalled to hear that your school administrators consider some military students out-ofstate residents; while the vast majority of other universities consider us in-state residents.

A bill to fix this is working its way through Richmond’s corridors of power, but does it really take legislation to inject some common sense here?

After my current deployment, I had planned to move to Virginia—my fiancée lives in Washington D.C.—to complete my education.

George Mason was among the schools I had strongly considered applying to, due to its proximity to DC, great reputation and support for the GI Bill’s Yellow Ribbon program. As a result of the recent report, I am no longer interested in attending your university.

We in uniform are more than just guaranteed tuition payments. At a time when veteran unemployment is high and school funding is

drying up, universities ought to be stepping up and leading the path to education and degree completion for those who have served honorably, not putting obstacles in the way.

For a school which hosts the Army ROTC’s “Patriot Battalion,” it sure doesn’t appear to be upholding that tradition. It is time for George Mason to live up to its motto—“Where innovation is tradition,”—and fix its military residency tuition woes, before the Supreme Court does.

C.K. Yang (NOTE: The opinions and views expressed here are mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army, the Veteran’s Administration or the Department of Defense.)

“Hala Numan thinks that corporations invented the association of green with shamrocks, red and green with holly, red and pink with romantic love, and orange and black with pumpkins and nighttime. The only thing more absurd than this is her failed attempt to then segue into a hackneyed, juvenile rant against “the system” which had nothing to do with her aforementioned groundbreaking discovery. Please tell me this isn’t the best that Mason’s left wing has to offer.”

Charles Olson Graduate student, software engineering, Volgenau School of Engineering

broke the four year absence of female winners at Mason homecoming. Yet, if the first five years of the Mason Majesty are any indicator of what is to come, it’s going to be a while before we get another female victor. How ironic that those who so vocally harangue against male patriarchy have created a venue for it.

No decision by campus institutions is permanent. Bad ideas can be reversed. Consider that, for a brief time, the Office of International Programs and Services banned large flags as part of Mason’s “Parade of Nations.” The result was a horribly diminished procession that hardly represented Mason’s wonderful multicultural environment. Yet, OIPS learned its lesson, and International Week has visibly benefitted. So, Mason Majesty can someday, some year, include gender specific titles once more, so as to put a halt to cold streaks like the one just broken and any others that may come thereafter. Then, we can have diversity that is not at the expense of others.

Michael Gryboski Columnist

Is UmeeUs on the right track?

While I was going through my emails this week, one intrigued me in particular. It opened with large font saying, “Better Than Facebook?” which is sure to get someone’s’ attention.

The email advertised a new form of social media known as UmeeUs. The email continued to address how this new site has been launched at Yale, Cornell, Vassar and George Mason Universities.

It also said that this site would provide information about your school, allow you to get to know more people and have a simple set up that would be easy to navigate.

After reading the advertisement for this site, I thought it looked like a great idea.

It would benefit off campus students, because living off campus makes it more difficult to stay in touch with all the events and opportunities that Mason offers.

I also thought that if the site was specific toward Mason, then that would make navigation simpler for the user.

There would be no clutter on the site because it is newer so staying informed would be easier.

All of these thoughts entered my head before actually going to the site and seeing what it was like. Once on the site, I realized that it was not at all what I thought it would be.

Overall the site is more geared toward individuals and their lives rather than to a

university.

Their motto, “Simple.Safe.In.” provides an ideal framework for a social media site however instead of having focus on the school, it focuses more on the individual.

This whole idea seems recurring and unoriginal to me because what Mason really needs is a site that is focused on Mason alone.

When I say this, I mean a site that advertises all the events, fairs, shows and opportunities in a simple, accessible way.

By having a social media site that is solely interested in the Mason campus, many more students will be informed.

This would include students living off campus, family of the students and more students in general.

If there was one social media site that was one click away instead of multiple sites being multiple clicks away, Mason would benefit from the students being more informed.

I think that the platform UmeeUs offers the framework for an effective site however the focus needs to be reevaluated.

Elise Baker

Opinion Editor

SportS

Broadside

Feb. 25, 2013

21

(MICHAEL CASHELL/BROADSIDE)

Last week, the Mason synchronized swimming club hosted the South Zone Region Championships for schools from Florida, Texas and Virginia. The team will continue to nationals after spring break.

Synchronized swimming hosts Southern Region Zone Championships With tiny sparkly leotards and bright performance makeup, the Mason synchronized swimming team could easily be mistaken for a dance or gymnastics team. In a way, they are, as they flip, turn and propel themselves out of the pool in unison.

As one of only 20 competitive college-level teams in the country, Mason’s club team is able to compete at the top-level nationally against varsity and On Feb. 23. the Mason synchronized swimming team hosted the South Zone Region Championships for teams from Texas, Florida and Virginia. The annual competition rotates between host schools each year.

Each performance is approximately 4.5

minutes long, half of the time the swimmers are underwater, the other half above water.

Judges critique the teams on their artistic impressions, execution, musical interpretation and synchronization. Teams can compete as a group of 8 or in triples, doubles or in solos.

The Mason synchronized swimming club was created 8 years ago by a mother-daughter team who have stayed on to coach the current team.

While some of the girls on the team have experience with synchronized swimming, a few have never played a sport before.

“You have to learn how to be graceful in the water,” said Rebecca Howell, a junior. “We swim to our strengths as individuals.” Howell

comes from a gymnastics background, which has been beneficial to her in the pool.

“We invite anyone to join,” said senior Julia Roke. “If you can swim across the pool we can teach you the rest.”

The team practices 4 or 5 nights a week for 2.5 hours from Sept. to March. Half of the time is spent on routines in the water, the other half on dry land fitness.

“People think this is easy to do and its not,” said freshman Sophie Polnow, who had never participated in synchronized swimming before college. “Not only do you have to worry about breathing, you also have to make sure that you don’t have to touch the bottom of the pool.”

Keeping off of the floor of the pool becomes particularly challenging during lifts. While holding their breath underwater, two girls must tread water while pushing a third girl out of the water with equal force.

The team writes the routines as a group, incorporating opinions and ideas from each member.

This year, nationals are being held in Stanford, Cali. after spring break. 2 girls from the team will travel to the West coast to compete.

COLLEEN WILSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Workout of the Week: The unsung aspect of exercise, stretching

(JENNY KRASHIN/BROADSIDE)

Keeping your center of balance, take a slightly larger than average step. While keeping your back straight, bend at the knees and lower yourself towards the ground. When you have reached as low as is comfortable or your back knee touches the ground, hold the lunge before returning to a standing position and repeating with the opposite leg.

Dedicating yourself to a healthy lifestyle is all about one idea: commitment to change. It is not just about commitment to going to the gym or eating healthy, but committing to changing your entire life.

It is hard to go to the gym each day and perform the same routine. Working out should be a fun learning process, where you come to understand yourself and your body more than you did before.

We are all Mason students, which means we have a desire to learn. However, our learning should not only be limited to the classroom.

I like to think of the gym as just another class. Granted it can be more fun than a class, but it can also be just as tedious.

The great part about working out is that you get to make it what you want. As students, we are limited by what the teacher decides we will do. However, at the gym we are allowed to explore in any number of ways.

This does not mean that you should simply go to the gym and pick whichever exercise looks the most fun. Working out requires you to do your homework before you even think about exercise.

You need to decide what you want to gain from your workout. Do you want to gain muscle or shed fat? Do you want to work on a certain part of your body? Are you preparing for some type of athletic event?

You can go to the gym and see someone doing a new exercise, or learn how to use a new machine, but you still want a basic game plan heading into your workout.

One of the most overlooked aspects of working out is stretching. The purpose of stretching is not to bend over and simply touch your toes. Rather, stretching should be another component of learning and training your body for new activities.

Lunging is a great exercise to perform for your legs, and it is one that is often overlooked. It is a good way to get your

body ready to run on the treadmill, as it gets blood moving through your legs.

I know some people who do not like to perform lunges because they claim it is a difficult exercise. I completely agree, but I take that as a challenge.

If I am in class and I do not understand a certain concept taught by the professor I make sure to work harder on that concept so I completely understand it.

Just as you work to know calculus, you must work to know your body and its various weaknesses.

Column by

Danny Lehnert

Sports 22 Freshman named top newcomer

Broadside

Feb. 25, 2013

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THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGY IS THE KEY. HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE IS WHAT TURNS IT.

AP FO N P R O LY SU W M

M

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!

(MAURICE C JONES/BROADSIDE)

Freshman Brandon Gum had one of the most nerve-racking moments of his baseball career when he first stepped onto the field as a member of Mason’s baseball team.

Gum, a heralded shortstop in his first collegiate baseball game, earned a spot in coach Bill Brown’s opening day starting lineup against The Citadel.

“Being named a starter right away was a dream come true but also made me very nervous. Before the first game I was extremely nervous, but I felt like I was ready, as our coaches did a great job of preparing me. Once I was in the flow of the game, I was fine,” Gum said.

Gum went 2 for 11 from the plate, drawing one walk, scoring a run and striking out a team-high eight times.

“I felt a little pressure to contribute right away. But that is because I want to be able to perform and play well personally, but I always want to do what I can to help the team win. I do not want to try and do too much because that just adds unneeded pressure,” Gum said.

As with most freshmen collegiate hitters, there is an adjustment period to college pitching from high school pitching, and Gum is well aware of the transition he will need to make.

“The main adjustments that I need to make have to do with my timing. In high school, there were kids that threw hard, but in college, every pitcher throws hard so, timing is very important. The off-speed pitches are also a lot better and are used much more often earlier in the counts,” Gum said.

Gum was heavily recruited by a number of schools besides Mason, including Radford University, Wofford University and The College of William and Mary.

In the end, the sway of playing so close to home and Mason’s academic prestige won out.

“Two of the biggest reasons I chose Mason were because of the scholarship I was offered and the academic reputation that Mason has.

Another important consideration was the proximity to my family, which would allow my

family to see almost all of my home games,” Gum said.

So far, Gum has no regrets about his decision.

“I like the campus, so far. All of my professors have been great and are very helpful. My teammates have made it very easy to get acclimated to life at Mason,” Gum said.

Gum is hoping that this season, Mason’s baseball team can take the CAA by surprise.

“The CAA has us picked to finish fifth, but not many people know our team very well.

There are a lot of changes that we made from last year. I expect us to be in the CAA tournament at the end of the year,” Gum said.

Gum himself will not be able to surprise opponents because he earned the fifth spot out of five on the list of Top Newcomers for the CAA in Baseball America’s 2013 CAA season preview.

“Gum has a projectable body and solid athleticism. He’s the kind of player who has other ways to help a team win games, playing defense, running well, moving runners, while he learns to hit,” said Baseball America Editorin-Chief John Manuel.

“The recognition was an honor. I don’t really see it as any more pressure to perform.

How I play put me on that list. I always strive to do my best, so, there is no need to change that and try to do more,” Gum said.

Gum has the dream of playing in the majors one day but does not want to worry himself about what lies ahead in his baseball career, and as the old sports platitude goes, take it all one game at a time.

“My ultimate dream is to play major league baseball. It’s been that way ever since I was a little kid. However, my focus right now is to have a great college career and earn my degree. I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on myself to get drafted because all of that will work itself out,” Gum said.

HAU CHU STAFF WRITER

(MAURICE C. JONES/BROADSIDE)

Freshman starter, Brandon Gum, may be what the baseball team needs to take the CAA by surprise.

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SportS

23 Women’s lacrosse club trying to find their rhythm after slow start Broadside

As night fell over Fairfax, the air was cold, but Mason’s Women’s Lacrosse club was starting to get warm. Mason hosted a round robin double header on Feb. 23 with central conference teams Salisbury University and Georgetown University. While the weather would not be doing them any favors, the team was able to make sound improvements in their game.

Mason came out cold against Salisbury putting up only two points. For most of the players, this was their first game with the whole team and for some, their first game since high school.

After a break, Mason collected themselves and turned up their offense. While their players were not meshing into a perfect fit, it was much improved from the grinding gears of the first game.

Mason put up eight goals in their loss to Georgetown, a top team in the conference who will be a force to be reckoned with come this postseason.

Mason showed a lot of power and potential at moments in the Georgetown game, but the young team’s lack of flow led to some struggles when they could not score quickly.

“We haven’t had time to really connect and know how each other play yet. Also, we haven’t been able to practice any plays to make our offense faster,” Oglevee said.

The few veteran players had a frustrating time compensating for newer players, who

were not quite sure when and where to cut around the goal. However, during the second half of the Georgetown game, Mason’s players were catching on and making good use of their speed.

Georgetown did pull away to win 16–8, but the Mason players were not disheartened.

The two teams have a strong relationship that precedes their time in the conference. Mason also plays out of conference games against schools such as Richmond and VCU that serve as big learning opportunities without any potential danger to their post season.

Getting as much possible play time in the spring is a big deal for these girls, especially in the beginning of the season. During the fall semester, the club participates in an open league through Marymount University and plays games without holding regular practices. This leaves a lot of learning and practicing to be done.

Oglevee and Humphreys are not shaken by the cold start to the season. While the games showed some of their weakness, the weekend as a whole revealed their strengths.

This year marks the first for the club with a chance at postseason, after their probationary introduction year to the Mid Atlantic Womens Lacrosse league. Current club president Courtney Oglevee helped the team make the transition last year to help develop the strength and quality of the program.

“When I started playing club [my sophomore

Feb. 25, 2013

(MAURICE C JONES/BROADSIDE)

Oglevee and her team are planning to have a strong post season presence after a year of ineligibility. The Central conference holds several lacrosse powerhouses including Georgetown and Salisbury year], the group was very nonchalant and laid back,” Oglevee said.

The club is five years old, and the first three years of play were organized with only a each games each semester and no official postseason establishment.

“We didn’t even have much respect from the club sports department because we were just not very organized,” Oglevee said. “But since joining the league, it has been a complete 180 and allowed us to really ground ourselves.”

Mason is part of the central conference within the league, which contains six other

teams mostly from Maryland and DC, including Georgetown University and Salisbury University. Both competitors are top caliber and showed the Mason team what they will be needing to focus on this season.

“We’ve got to work on our defense, ground balls and transition. Fortunately, we know what we need to work on,” said club vice president Devin Humphreys.

BRYAN DOMBROWSKI SPORTS EDITOR

Burdened with struggles, fencing club dominates home meet

(IAN MOSTROM/BROADSIDE)

Fencing Club defeated Bryn Mawr College, Drexel, and UMD in their first tournament on Feb. 23.

Fencing Club Captain Khalfan Javaid was tired as he took his lunch break after three grueling matches.

He and the team were successful in their matches, so far, beating Bryn Mawr College, Drexel University and University of Maryland at Baltimore County, the junior has a lot on his plate as the captain of the team.

Not only does Javaid fence for the club, but he is a stand-in coach, runs the practices four days a week and coordinates the home tournament each spring.

This seems like a lot for just one person to take on and despite the help Javaid gets from his teammates, it is still exhausting to keep up with a program that has little administrative help.

“Fencing is an expensive sport, and we do not have enough funds to provide for necessary things like a coach and non-conference tournament competition,” Javaid said. “We could not even have our tournament in the main gym at the RAC because painter’s tape is not permitted on the courts this time, despite having used it previous tournaments with no problems.

It is frustrating because this limits our chances of giving our club some recognition. No one can simply walk by the gym and watch us; we are secluded upstairs with little fan base”.

Not only is the gym secluded, but it is also much smaller, leaving much less room for the 150 plus fencers and the other personnel involved, including 21 referees.

With the constant beeping from the scoring equipment, it was easy to be overwhelmed.

But the players rose above the tough atmosphere and lack of support and came out on top.

They are second in the southern part of the conference and sixth overall.

In the tournament in the fall, they only lost one match to the high-ranking United States Naval Academy.

Since the team went undefeated on Feb. 23, they will finish second place in the conference, an amazing feat for a team with no coach and little funding, unlike other teams like Navy who have top-tier coaches and give out scholarships to students.

The planning for the tournament was difficult. Each team had to contribute

$200, bring their own scoring equipment and Khalfan and the members had to plan months in advance, hiring referees and securing gym space at the RAC. Fortunately, the fencing community prides itself on its friendly competition and camaraderie among the teams.

There is little animosity and the players mix easily, discussing fencing techniques, sharing knowledge and discussing other tournaments going on throughout the nation.

Perhaps the camaraderie is due to fencing’s lack of recognition among mainstream sports, and they must depend on each other for support. But the team still looks to the wider community in hopes for support and recognition for the sport they love so deeply.

“We have had a difficult time fundraising due to the lack of recognition of fencing among the school,” Khalfan said, “Most people do not even know there is a fencing club on campus, but we hope, with better recognition, the administration will provide more funding and we will then be able to become a better team”.

24

Feb. 25, 2013

Sports

Broadside