September 28, 2015

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FOURTH ESTATE September 28, 2015 | Volume 3 Issue George Mason University’s official student news outlet gmufourthestate.com | @IVEstate

COULD THIS BE

(CLAIRE CECIL/FOURTH ESTATE)

YOU?

THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN ALTERED.

INSIDE: SEXUAL ASSAULT / 03 • DOMESTIC VIOLENCE / 07 • SELF-DEFENSE / 13

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Crime Log

Fourth Estate

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On the Cover

2015-027549 / Sexual Assault/ Rape Complainant (GMU) reported being sexually assaulted by a known subject (GMU). Case referred to Criminal Investigations Division. (54/King) Commonwealth Hall / Pending / 9:00 p.m.

Sept. 11 CSA Report # 091115(2) / Dating Violence / Simple Assault A Mason employee witnessed a physical altercation between a student and their former intimate partner on the early morning to September 11, 2015. Due to confidentiality reporting, limited information is available regarding this incident.

Outside of Lecture Hall / Information Only / 4:50 a.m.

Sept. 19 2015-029240 / Stalking Complainant (GMU) reported receiving mulitple threatening messages from a former intimate partner (GMU). (48/Bannett) Starbucks / Information Only / 1:06 a.m.

For those of you that have not met me, my image is on the cover. But it’s not my picture specifically that’s important; it could easily be any one of the survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence on this campus. Based on prior experiences throughout college, I felt that it was important to have a cover that depicts the shocking physical image you might think of when you hear about sexual or domestic violence. But a photo can only do so much. What it does not do is show you the stories or emotional pain that survivors are forced to carry with them after an attack. The scars are not visible when they’re only felt on the inside.

Although many of you already know the statistics, one in five women will be sexually assaulted during their four years in college and one in five women have been the victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. In my freshman dorm in President’s Park, that was 2.333 women on my hall. In my sorority, that’s approximately 20 women. On our editorial staff, that’s 2.1 of us.

My Co-Editor, Sara, and I had many conversations with people in our office about the cover image and how it would be viewed from several lenses. We do not want this to be seen as an attempt to overdramatize this situation or exploit survivors’ pain. We are very aware of the seriousness of these issues, especially in the college community, and that is why we wanted to present it to you in this way.

But the one thing I never personally heard from our office was that it was brave to address this problem so directly. Our entire editorial staff wanted to work together to bring light to this issue and rather than talk about how we can further advance an honest and actionable discussion, we’ve instead become anxious about the repercussions of publishing this cover, similar to the thoughts survivors may have while deciding how to share their story.

What that shows me is that our community is not ready to confront these issues head-on. If a campus newspaper that is supposed to be on the forefront of university transparency and need-to-know information for students has doubts about a provocative cover, how can the rest of our community be prepared to handle this?

That’s the same question I asked myself after Emma Copeland and members of our chapter of the Roosevelt Institute received backlash from our university president and many others after there were inconsistencies in her data. And some of that I think is valid; this is a sensitive topic and any errors may be viewed as disrespectful and exploitive of those that have had to experience sexual violence.

But I think it’s even more dangerous that we were so quick to resort to criticism and anger. This is something that affects the physical and mental well being of our student body, and I think it’s more important that we’re united under the idea that one case of assault or violence on campus is too many.

Our university task force on sexual assault and events like Turn Off the Violence Week, both of which are discussed in this issue, are great launching points. But that’s not enough. Our university has the ability and the power to bring purposeful change and that means that we need to be doing more than having group discussions or participating in annual awareness events. These are real issues that our students encounter daily and we need to find a more action-oriented response while also working to build an accepting and informed community.

While this itself is just another discussion point, I felt that we needed to put this image on the cover of our newspaper to make everyone acknowledge their own feelings about this painful topic. It’s only then that we can move towards making impactful change for the sake of our survivors.

Please email us with any questions, comments or concerns at gmufourthestate@gmail.com. My hope is that your feedback, whether positive or negative, will create an honest dialogue so we can find a better way to navigate this awful thing together.

Corrections: Volume 3, Issue 3 ​ he men’s soccer team record was incorrectly reported as T 3-3. Their record, at the time of press last Monday, was 3-4.

Sara Moniuszko & Alexa Rogers Editors-In-Chief

Ellen Glickman In observation of Domestic Violence Awareness Month starting in October and the continuous stories of sexual assault on college campuses across the U.S., this issue of Fourth Estate is focused on bringing these topics to light in the Mason community.

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ALEXA ROGERS | CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

News Editor

Natalia Kolenko Assistant News Editor

Savannah Norton Lifestyle Editor

Tatyana White-Jenkins Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Courtney Hoffman Sports Editor

Claire Cecil Photography Editor

Katie Morgan Design Editor

Megan Zendek Visual Editor

Barbara Brophy Copy Chief

Ryan Adams Distribution Manager

Kathryn Mangus Director

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

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

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

Mail Fourth Estate George Mason University Mail stop 2C5 4400 University Drive Fairfax, Va. 22030 Phone 703-993-2950

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Update on Mason’s sexual assault task force MADISON ANTUS | STAFF WRITER

Last February, Mason’s Task Force on Sexual Assault and Interpersonal Violence published a report that contained eight recommendations to be implemented on campus by August 2015. Currently, seven out of the eight have been completed.

Under an order from President Ángel Cabrera, the task force was formed last fall. The group, which includes faculty, staff and students, met seven times between September 2014 and February 2015.

After members published a final report this past February, another task force was created. This new task force, the Sexual Assault and Interpersonal Violence Leadership Committee (SAIV), has been working since February to ensure that the eight recommendations are completed.

Currently, a number of the members of the original task force serve on SAIV, including Equal Opportunity Specialist and Deputy Title IX Coordinator Herbertia Gilmore, University Life Vice President Rose Pascarell and Dean of Students Juliet Blank-Godlove.

“The leadership team met throughout the summer and has made great progress in meeting the August 2015 goals, with the majority of goals met by the time of new student movein,” Gilmore said.

The first recommendation was to create a Sexual Assault and Interpersonal Violence Leadership Committee, which was fulfilled by the formation of SAIV. According to the report, the committee’s purpose is to “oversee the implementation and annual assessment of Task Force recommendations and determine staffing and resources needed for success.”

The second recommendation was to secure “tangible and ongoing commitments” from various university leadership, including the President’s Council. This recommendation

required that by August 2015 the President’s Council be featured on Mason’s new website containing all information on sexual assault policy. The creation of this website was the only item the task force did not complete. However, commitments were still secured from university leadership.

The second recommendation also asked that 25 percent of faculty and staff be trained as Title IX allies, which means they can file a Title IX complaint on behalf of someone else once a certification program becomes available. The report did not specify when that would be.

Part of the report’s seventh recommendation, the website was intended to integrate “all online and written information on all policies, procedures and resources, both on- and off-campus, available to the Mason community.” All information was supposed to be no more than two clicks away from the main university website. This recommendation also mandated the creation and distribution of a brochure containing relevant information and resources related to reporting services and support. The brochure is no longer part of the plan. Instead, “the team chose to work with professionals to create an entire communications campaign,” Gilmore said. The campaign is still being produced and will be distributed campus-wide when it is completed, according to Gilmore.

A third recommendation was that a full-time Title IX Coordinator position be created. Currently, Gilmore is the deputy Title IX coordinator.

A fourth recommendation stated that the university should “identify and adhere” to written criteria outlining the process by which the Mason community is notified after a campus sexual assault is reported.

The report’s fifth recommendation requested that the roles of Campus Security Authorities and Responsible Employees be defined and identified.

According to the Clery Center website, Campus Security Employees (CSAs), are defined as “individuals with significant responsibility for campus and student activities, such as campus police/security, resident assistants, coaches, and club advisors, among others.” Responsible Employees are defined as “any employee who has the authority to take action to redress sexual violence, who has been given the duty to report to appropriate school officials about incidents of sexual violence or any other misconduct by students, or who a student could reasonably believe has this authority or responsibility,” according to NotAlone. gov. Title IX requires that students be made aware of which employees are Responsible Employees.

(MEGAN ZENDEK/FOURTH ESTATE)

This is closely related to the sixth recommendation: developing what the report calls a “one-page information sheet for faculty, staff and relevant campus offices related to their status as either ‘Responsible Employees’ and/or ‘Campus Security Authorities.’” The information on such a sheet would include information on confidentiality, reporting requirements and maintaining victim integrity while reporting an incident.

The eighth and final task force recommendation to be completed by August 2015 was the formation of a campus climate survey. According to the task force report, it will be used to determine the “efficacy of programs, policies, training, and in-class curricula.” The task force plans to send out the survey on an annual basis, beginning in the 2016 academic year.

In addition to the above short-term goals, the task force issued 25 aims for the long term, thereby formulating a list of 33 recommendations altogether.

“The leadership and implementation group took on the first eight over the summer – the eight that the task force deemed most important,” Gilmore said. “The task force leadership and implementation group will work throughout the year and beyond in an effort to implement all recommendations, and we will create tangible programs, projects, and information for use by students, faculty, staff and the community.”

According to Blank-Godlove, SAIV began to focus on the long-term recommendations this week, with the goal of completing all remaining recommendations by the end of the academic year.

“Working groups have been asked to review the recommendations, prioritize them and then submit implementation date suggestions. It is expected that the implementation of these recommendations will be tiered,” Blank-Godlove said.

One long-term recommendation is “regularly scheduled, mandatory training opportunities for several constituency groups on campus,” such as fraternity and sorority members, student athletes and ROTC, Blank-Godlove said.

Overall, Blank-Godlove believes that “the implementation of the task force report recommendations ... [will] create a climate change on campus, where the campus community is actively informed and engaged in the programs, policies, training, and curricula that will combat incidents of sexual assault and interpersonal violence.”

Gilmore thinks “the task force recommendations will continue to create more awareness, training, education, and knowledge of reporting and adjudication options” and says that “[the committee] will continue to educate students as they enter Mason.” Gilmore explains that the committee’s ultimate goal “is to make a positive difference in campus culture, to increase reports, and ultimately decrease incidents of sexual violence.”

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Annual Security Report provides more information on sexual violence ELLEN GLICKMAN | NEWS EDITOR

This year’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains more information concerning sexual assault than previous reports, mostly due to changes to the Clery Act. The federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act contains requirements for how universities deal with cases of sexual and domestic violence and includes reporting obligations related to these crimes.

The 2015 report is 82 pages longer than the 2014 report. Of those additional 82 pages, approximately 41 contain information related to sexual violence that was not included in last years’s report.

The majority of new sections are reference documents, including a list of programs Mason provides to prevent sexual assault and descriptions of bystander intervention, among others. In total, there are approximately eleven sections that cover sexual assault in some way.

Recent amendments to the Clery Act mandated the reporting of this information, which also includes many legal definitions of sexual assault and related criminal activity. In 2013, the Clery Act was expanded to include the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act, which “increases transparency on campus about incidents of sexual violence, guarantees victims enhanced rights, sets standards for disciplinary proceedings, and requires campus-wide prevention education programs,” according to KnowYourIX.org. This act is partially responsible for the new information included in Mason’s annual report.

Longo said this is important information because what can be prosecuted as sexual violence can sometimes be different from the cases of sexual violence the university is required to report under the Clery Act. “Some of those definitions differ,” Longo said. “So, for example, the legal definition of a rape or a forcible fondling, or something like that, may be different in some cases from the Clery definition.”

rights are. You know there’s a support structure there so you don’t just have to quietly endure something that happens to you that’s wrong.”

One helpful aspect of the report, Longo said, is that it contains all

“I think the information is empowering,” Longo said. “… It’s empowering personally because you know, first off, what your rights are. You know there’s a support structure there

so you don’t just have to Another new section, “Procedures Victims Should Follow in Cases of Sexual Violence,” lists steps for survivors to follow depending on their situation. For example, there are instructions if an assault recently occurred or if it happened a longer time ago. There are also steps to follow in the cases of stalking and domestic violence. This section also provides details of undergoing a post-assault medical exam.

Longo said the new information will enable survivors of assault to find the help they need.

“I think the information is empowering,” Longo said. “… It’s empowering personally because you know, first off, what your

quietly endure something that happens to you that’s wrong.”

the options for survivors of assault.

“For example, let’s say I was a victim of a rape, and I’m very traumatized about it,” Longo said. “I don’t know if I want to go through it again in court; I don’t know if I want to tell my story to police officers. I can look at this safety guide, and I can see that I can go to other sources that will treat it confidentially, and they will help me and give me the support that I need. But I don’t have to go through all this other stuff unless I decided, ultimately, that I want to. That’s empowering.”

“All these new things have to be disclosed,” Thomas Longo, Mason’s interim chief of police, said. “The policies have to be disclosed, and those are naturally somewhat legalistic in their wording, and they’re long.”

Among the new Clery requirements is more detailed reporting on sexual violence from Campus Security Authorities (CSAs). Before the amendments were passed in 2013, CSAs only had to document whether the incident was a forcible or non-forcible sex offense.

Now CSAs must document what kind of forcible sex offense occurred. As a result, the number of rapes and fondlings that were reported in 2014 are included in this annual report.

One of the additional sections is called “Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Stalking Laws in Applicable Jurisdictions.” It includes how the state of Virginia defines various crimes related to the listed categories.

This part of the report includes Virginia’s definitions of crimes such as rape, aggravated sexual battery and stalking, among others. It also contains the state’s definition of terms related to these crimes such as “complaining witness” and “sexual abuse.”

(MEGAN ZENDEK/FOURTH ESTATE)

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Longo said the information in the annual reports helps Mason Police maintain its essential purpose.

news MELISSA MOORE | STAFF WRITER

An old mobile safety application, In Case of Crisis, has been reworked after a turn of events in an effort to promote student safety on campus.

According to Longo, how campus police departments handle sexual violence has changed throughout the years.

The free application available for iOS and Android devices can be used to report behavior to Mason’s Campus Assessment and Intervention Team, submit tips and photos, contact the Mason Police Department and access emergency response guidelines.

He said he has seen programs and initiatives concerning the Clery Act, Title IX and sexual assault escalate, particularly in the past five years.

“It was a thing which we basically report on every year, but it wasn’t nearly as proactive as it is now,” Longo said.

He said this shift within police departments and universities has potentially led to an increase in victims reporting.

“I think there’s an awareness now not only of the Clery-type things, but that I [a victim of sexual violence] can tell someone about this, and I can do it confidentially, or I can do it more out in the open and prosecute if I want,” Longo said. “I think people are feeling more empowered.”

To view the entire report, which includes emergency and evacuation procedures, crime prevention programs and fire safety tips and statistics, among other safety information, visit the Mason Police website at police.gmu.edu or stop by Police and Public Safety headquarters to pick up a hard copy.

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In case of a crisis, download an app

“Ultimately, what we exist for is to keep students such as yourself focused on what they came here to do, and that is to get their degree and to be a success in life,” Longo said.

“This is a paradigm shift from when I started in this business 30 years ago,” Longo said.

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The application also has emergency contacts for numerous campus resources, including Counseling and Psychological Services, the Environmental Health and Safety Office and Student Health Services, among others.

The company behind MasonWatch, the application that was promoted last school year, decided to stop supporting the platform, prompting the swap, said former Chief of Police Eric Heath. “[I]n cooperation with the Mason Office of Emergency Management, the current emergency management application, In Case of Crisis, was reworked to fill the gap on most of what MasonWatch was capable of,” Heath explained.

Heath, who left Mason September 18 to work at the University of Chicago, said the original application that was created in partnership with Mason’s Student Government would no longer be helpful to students.

“Unfortunately, the company decided at the end of the spring semester of this year, that they would no longer support the platform and as such, the application would no longer be updated and useful,” Heath said.

The original emergency preparedness application, In Case of Crisis, was then revised and has since become the primary mobile safety application for the community, he said.

“I haven’t yet downloaded the app, but I think it’s a great idea,” said sophomore Ian Canty, an economics and mechanical engineering double major. “Mason Police already does a great job of keeping our campus safe; this is just an additional way for students to communicate with first responders.”

Heath said that mobile safety applications are on the rise on college campuses.

A screenshot of Mason’s page in the In Case of Crisis mobile safety app.

“Mobile safety applications do seem to be the trend right now on college campuses across the country,” he said. “The challenge is balancing need with overall cost of the service and determining which one is best suited for the institution.”

Canty believes that the application is more beneficial for the community than the blue light system.

“For Mason, this application suited our needs as a department and hit the mark with what we were asked to provide to the students and the greater community,” Heath continued.

“I think the app is the twenty-first century version of the blue light system,” Canty said. “It allows students to utilize technology that we all have and use daily.”

Blue light systems consist of a network of strategically placed phones that can be used to contact university police and alert them of a student’s exact location in the event of an emergency. According to Interim Chief of Police Thomas Longo, using a mobile app via cell phones is a better option for the university for a variety of reasons. Among those: cell phones provide a more exact location, it allows a caller to give more detail to the police and most people are familiar with the technology.

“It just made sense to utilize technology that everyone is using… rather than have [people] focus on, ‘Where is the blue light?’ because the blue light is in your hand,” Longo said.

“I think students are a lot more likely to use the app as opposed to the blue light system, because it’s something that they always have with them,” Canty said. “You don’t need to find a blue light, it’s already in your hands.”

In Case of Crisis supports 28 colleges and universities, two city school districts and one high school. Students can create an account, download their respective school or district’s crisis plan and have the resources of the application at their fingertips.

Links to download the application can be found on ready.gmu. edu/mobileapp.

“It’s impossible to know when you’ll find yourself in an emergency situation, but it is possible to have emergency information in the palm of your hand,” reads the site.

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Pope in D.C. talks climate change, faith and sainthood

(COURTESY OF ROBERT HORAN/MASON CABLE NETWORK)

Crowds gather in D.C. to see Pope Francis.

HAMNA AHMAD | STAFF WRITER

Pope Francis visited Washington, D.C. last week as part of his fiveday tour of the United States. This was the current pope’s first visit to the country, and he is the fourth pope to visit the U.S., continuing a tradition started by Pope Paul VI in 1965 when he met with President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The nation’s capital was packed this past week as Catholics and non-Catholics alike flooded in to see one of the world’s most iconic figures. The AAA Mid-Atlantic warned that traffic conditions could be “a-pope-calyptic,” with thousands of travelers and commuters alike trying to get to downtown D.C. “For me personally, to have the Pope so close is a sign of hope and security that in an ever changing world one thing will never change, and that’s the Church’s presence on earth. When I gaze upon Francis I see 2,000 years of human history,” said Tanner Sigmon, a sophomore global affairs major and member of Catholic Campus Ministry.

On Tuesday, September 22, Pope Francis landed at the Joint Base Andrews military facility in Maryland. A small crowd started cheering “Francisco!” as soon as he appeared on the airstair, and the president, vice president and their families personally greeted him there.

The next morning, Pope Francis made a short speech on the South Lawn of the White House that was followed by a private meeting with President Obama. According to the official papal visit’s webpage, this meeting marked the third time a pope has ever stepped foot in the White House. The pope also celebrated Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Wednesday and addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday.

Pope Francis arrived at JFK Airport in New York on Thursday evening. After a jam-packed schedule that included addressing the United Nations General Assembly and delivering Mass at Madison Square Garden, he left New York to spend the weekend in Philadelphia. The pope departed from the Philadelphia International Airport for Rome Sunday night, concluding his short but historic visit to the United States.

Canonization of Junipero Serra and Immigrant Politics

were primarily distributed throughout Hispanic parishes in the D.C. metro area.

Pope Francis celebrated his first Mass in the United States at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in North America and one of the ten largest Catholic churches in the world.

Previous popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II also visited this church during their visits.

Pope Francis himself is Argentinian, and as the first pope from South America, he is often considered a spokesman for the global South by media outlets like Crux. He entered the U.S. after

During the Mass, which was delivered in Spanish, Pope Francis canonized Junipero Serra, an eighteenth-century Spanish missionary who preached in California.

Serra is the first saint ever to be canonized on American soil.

“Father Serra had a motto which inspired his life and work, a saying he lived his life by: Siempre adelante! Keep moving forward!”

Pope Francis said during the Mass, according to USA Today.

Serra represents the arrival of Catholicism to the western U.S. in contrast to the AngloSaxon Protestants in the east, and he also provides a Spanish-speaking example to the Latino Catholic population. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 34 percent of U.S. Catholics are Hispanic/Latino.

“At a time when the Catholic Church is becoming more and more Hispanic and Latino, they’re trying to say, you know, Catholicism in America needs to be understood as always having had this kind of Hispanic element to it,” Robert Senkewicz, a historian and Serra expert at Santa Clara University, said in a recent Atlantic article

by Emma Green.

According to Catholic Online, the majority of the 25,000 tickets to the Spanish Mass Pope Francis waves to crowd in D.C.

(COURTESY OF CHRISTY PENNINGTON)

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spending four days in Cuba, and, according to NPR reporter Sylvia Pogglioli, originally wanted to enter the country through the U.S.-Mexico border to make a bold statement, but was unable to due to logistical reasons. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said in an interview that the pope entered the U.S. as “a migrant.”

While the pope’s actions may please one demographic of America, another is openly offended. Native American organizations across the country have spoken out against Serra’s canonization, citing the brutalities committed under the mission system and their contribution to the extinction of native traditions.

Senkewicz summarized the two main opposing arguments against Serra. First, that the canonization of Serra means that the papacy is taking steps toward approval and justification of the entire mission system, including the castigation, diseases and death it spurred. The second argument is that “to canonize Serra is to justify and whitewash the church’s role in colonial expansion … and the horrible loss of native lives and land that was part and parcel of that process.”

Nicole Lim, executive director of the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, was quoted by the New York Times days after Pope Francis announced his plans to canonize Serra in January.

“If he [Serra] is elevated to sainthood, then he should be held responsible for the brutal and deadly treatment of native people,” said Lim. Aldo Peñafiel, a senior graphic design major and communications director at Catholic Campus Ministries, does not think that Serra’s canonization is too controversial.

“To canonize Serra is simply to recognize him as a man whom we know with certainty to have made it to heaven. It’s an extremely thorough process … It is in no way declaring any person or system without it’s flaws, nor is it a justification of them but rather a celebration of the blessed life they lived on earth,” Peñafiel said.

Address to Congress On Thursday morning, Pope Francis addressed a joint meeting of Congress. In attendance were various ambassadors and Supreme Court justices. Pope Francis is the first pope to address Congress, and, according to a statement and video released in preparation for the pope’s visit, this is something Speaker of the House John Boehner has been advocating for 20 years.

Although Boehner and Pope Francis share the same faith, they differ on many of their social and financial politics.

Pope Francis has in his recent encyclical called for countries to take more responsible actions toward preventing climate change and curbing global warming. He is also outspoken against unfettered capitalism, calling extreme greed the “dung of the devil” during his visit to Bolivia this summer. Lastly, he has adopted a less harsh attitude toward homosexuality than the papacy has in the past, asking “Who am I to judge?” and, although he is strongly opposed to abortion, has criticized the church for being obsessed with these polemic social issues.

These actions, along with his advocacy for labor rights for impoverished populations, have the press heralding the pope as “progressive.” For one Mason student, however, the pope is not so much moving the church forward as he is adhering to Catholic teachings.

St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel, home to Catholic Campus Ministry. the left or not, at least one Republican representative boycotted the speech. Arizona Representative Paul Gosar chose not to attend because of the pope’s views on climate change, telling The Hill that Pope Francis should spend more time focusing on religious extremism and abortion.

“When the Pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one,” Gosar, a Roman Catholic, wrote in an op-ed.

(CLAIRE CECIL/FOURTH ESTATE)

the global refugee crisis, advocate for the sanctity of human life with the abolition of the death penalty and protection of unborn fetuses and emphasize the importance of eradicating poverty. He praised business, going on to say that the “noble vocation” should serve to the common good. Throughout the address, the pope referenced four Americans: President Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.

He ended his speech with a short and impactful “God bless America!”

Pope Francis’ speech, however, was not extremely critical of America’s free market or social policies. He compared lawmakATTENTION: A CLINICAL RESEARCH STUDY FOR WOMEN ers’ struggles to those of Moses and said he was addressing the American people through their elected representatives.

“I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and – one step at a time – to build a better life for their families. These are men and women who are not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their own quiet way sustain the life of society,” he said.

The pope also spoke at length on the impact of immigrants on the U.S., connecting with the crowd by emphasizing that he, too, is a child of the Americas.

“To label the Pope as ‘progressive’ certainly depends on one’s definition of ‘progressive’,” Peñafiel said. “Do I think Pope Francis is here to change the things that the Church has taught since its Apostolic beginning? Not at all. Is he here to remind us of the things that many of us Catholics seem to overlook or forget are demanded of us as believers of Jesus? Absolutely.”

“We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants.”

Regardless of whether the pope’s teachings actually lean towards

Pope Francis went on to mention

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TO DO THIS WEEK:

#GMU

MONDAY 9/28 On campus:

“We have no AC and I’m the only one in class fanning myself...like is everyone made of ice???? I don’t get it???”

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Off campus:

Fall for the Book: Window From Prison: Art as Activism Exhibit

Fall for the Book: YA Auhtor Lindsay Smith Kingstowne Library

Center for the Arts, Concert Hall, 1st Floor

7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

All day

@saramaepanneton Sara Panneton

TUESDAY 9/29 Off campus:

On campus: “A psychic told me I’d die from stress, and I’m pretty sure it’ll be from all of my professors that take attendance for class”

@_AdiDez_ Dez!

Nick Jonas: Live in Concert

Fall for the Book: Better Said Than Done Storytellers Panel

The Filmore

Johnson Center Plaza

Silver Spring, Maryland

12 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 9/30 Off campus:

On campus: “I’m convinced mason wanna be bob the builder so bad”

Fall for the Book: Better Said Than Done- A Night of Storytelling

7th Annual Happy Heart Walk Merten Hall

The Auld Shebeen

12 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.

7:00 p.m.- 8:15 p.m.

@Your___Dreams VI$ONARY

THURSDAY 10/1 Off campus:

On campus:

Half Price Thursdays for students at IHOP

Give Cancer the Boot

“People on this campus act like they’ve never seen a deer –before”

6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Johnson Center, North Plaza 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

@annamarijka AnnaMarijka

FRIDAY 10/2 On campus: Fall for the Book: Peotry Contest Pannel Discussion Johnson Center, Meeting Room D 3 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Off campus: A Party for the Season: A Grarden of Colors Smithsonian 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.

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Event sparks continued conversation on assault at Mason SAVANNAH NORTON | LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Mason students gathered last week at Fear2Freedom to raise awareness for sexual assault prevention, an issue that continues to be a topic of disscusion on campus.

Organized by a nonprofit organization of the same name, volunteers at the event assembled Fear2Freedom boxes, which were filled with toiletries, clothing, a teddy bear and a hand-written note with a special message for survivors of rape or domestic violence.

The 350 after-care kits went to Inova Health Systems and local hospitals.

The event was attended by members of Mason administration, including President Angel Cabrera.

“I think we are doing better and better every year in bringing people to this event. This very week we had a new set of data released from the Association of American Universities (AAU) that published that data. Once again, one in five, mostly women, when they were asked were at some point a victim of sexual assault,” Cabrera said. “And the frustrated thing about those numbers is that they just haven’t changed in the past seven years. It’s simply unacceptable.”

According to the AAU official website, the goal of this survey was to “provide participating institutions of higher education (IHEs) with information to inform policies to prevent and respond to sexual assault and misconduct.” This study was administered at the end of the spring 2015 semester on 27 IHEs, 26 of which were AAU member universities. The survey was designed to assess the incidence, prevalence and characteristics of incidents of sexual assault and misconduct; the overall campus climate with respect to perceptions of risk; knowledge of resources available to victims and perceived reactions to an incident of sexual assault or misconduct.

One of the survey’s key findings showed that “11.7 percent of student respondents across 27 universities reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force, threats of physical force, or incapacitation since they enrolled at their university.”

“There have been numerous studies conducted nationally about the frequency of campus sexual assault,” said Lauren Mattos, coordinator for violence prevention and response at Wellness, Alcohol, and Violence Education and Services (WAVES). “These studies confirm, time and time again what we know. This form of violence is very prevalent on college campuses everywhere. The most recent study shows that one in five college students are sexually assaulted during their time at school. Regardless of the statistical numbers, however, even one sexual assault is too many.”

Mattos believes that the campus environment contributes to these statistics.

“The college environment is very conducive to this form of violence because of the close proximity students have to each other, the availability of alcohol, exposure to new situations, inexperience and lack of education about sexual assault. These factors make students more vulnerable to being victimized.”

According to Mattos, another contributor to the prevalence of sexual assault on Mason’s campus is the age of the student body which averages between 18 to 24 years old.

“Research shows that people between the ages of 16 and 24 have the greatest risk of being sexually assaulted, while the average age of sexual perpetrators is also 16 to 24,” Mattos said.

Another statistic found in the AAU study showed that the incidence

of sexual assault and sexual misconduct due to physical force, threats of physical force, or incapacitation among female undergraduate student respondents was 23.1 percent. This included the 10.8 percent of women who experienced penetration.

“I can predict that most assaults happen in the ‘home’ of either the victim or the perpetrator,” said Associate Director of Women and Gender Studies Angela Hattery. “This can range to anything from a residence hall, apartment, or off-campus houses for college students.”

However, many survivors may be too traumatized to report in a timely manner. The AAU study found that just five to 28 percent of sexual assault instances were reported to campus officials or law enforcement.

Mattos says the first step after a survivors’s assault is to figure out what happened.

“When looking at the impacts of trauma it is understandable that victims often do not report,” said Mattos. “There may be pieces of their memory that are not clear which makes it very difficult for them to process the experience much less communicate what happened to someone else.”

This can prove to be especially difficult for students that do not feel comfortable sharing personal experiences with strangers. According to the survey, other reasons for not reporting were that “they [victims] were ‘embarrassed, ashamed or [thought] that it [reporting assault] would be too emotionally difficult.’” Others did not report assault because “they ‘did not think anything would be done about it.’”

This statistic also included the fact that more than 6 in 10 student respondents (63.3 percent) believed that a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct would not be taken seriously by campus officials.

(CLAIRE CECIL/FOURTH ESTATE)

Fear 2 Freedom volunteers assembled 350 after-care boxes for sexually assualted victims.

According to Hattery, survivors may have a good reason for this. “…only two to eight percent of reported rapes turn out to be false, only about six percent are ever prosecuted, either in the criminal justice system or in a campus conduct process.” said Hattery.

Still, Hattery reminds everyone that, “It is important to be clear, no victim is ever responsible nor should they be blamed for the assault.”

After acknowledging the incident, healing both physically and mentally takes time.

“Research shows that the reaction of the first person the victim tells about the assault determines what help/support the victim ultimately gets,” said Mattos. “When the reaction is supportive, nonjudgmental and encouraging the victim is more likely to cope in a more healthy way. Conversely, when met with skepticism, anger and/or blame, a victim will often keep the assault a secret and not report or disclose to any one again. That is why, in my experience, a great first step after a sexual assault should be to get help and support from a victim’s advocate like me.”

One resource available to survivors are victim advocates, who are available to talk with victims about their overall safety, reporting options, the medical services available to them, their legal rights, and to assist them with housing and academic accommodations to ensure that students can finish their degrees while dealing with the traumatic situation. “[Victim] advocates can also provide the victim coping strategies that have worked for others and help them develop a support network,” said Mattos. “They can explain trauma and the brain and body’s reaction to it. This comprehensive support can ultimately get sexual assault victims on a path to healing that is meaningful and unique to them. Victim advocates know that every person copes in different ways; they understand that it is essential to give the victim back the control and power over their situation while allowing them to dictate the terms of their healing.”

On Mason’s campus, WAVES is a confidential resource for students on campus, dedicated to providing services to those impacted by situations like sexual assault. The program also offers education and volunteer opportunities for those interested in getting involved in the fight to stop sexual assault.

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“Our staff knows that these issues severely impact the lives of those who have been affected and we are dedicated to providing support,” said Mattos. “Our goal is to help student-victims maintain happy, healthy lives so they can reach their goals of completing their degrees and moving forward on their paths to success.”

WAVES does more than help those dealing with recent trauma, however.

“Besides providing direct services to students who have been impacted by sexual violence, a large part of preventing sexual assault on college campuses is through awareness and education,” said Mattos. “WAVES starts this mission out strong every semester with welcome week events like Cookies and Consent.”

In addition to services, the women and gender studies department recently piloted its own sexual assault survey that assesses the rates of sexual violence on our campus. The report has yet to be released. Hattery believes their findings will be mostly congruent with those at similar universities.

“I can predict that yes, sexual assault likely takes place at Mason at the same rate it does on other campuses, impacting 20-25 percent of the people who identify as women and perhaps 5 percent of those who identify as men,” said Hattery. “I do know that national data tell us that 84 percent of victims were rape[d] someone they know.”

In order to keep up awareness, the women and gender studies department plans to continue tweeting out sexual violence statistics to raise awareness and to offer a one-credit course in the spring 2016 semester called Healthy Relationships in which sexual assault and dating violence will be discussed. Students can also take the pledge to Eradicate Sexual Violence in the Women and Gender Studies Center, where students sign the pledge and get a free t-shirt.

Here are some of the upcoming events hosted on-campus to further awareness of sexual assault at Mason: Fall for the Book speakers: Holly Kearl, founder of Stop Street Harassment, will be speaking Sept. 30 at 1:30 p.m. in Research Hall, room 163.

Author Leora Tannebaum will be speaking about her recent book on slut shaming Oct. 1 at 3 p.m. in Research Hall, room 163.

The 26th annual Take Back the Night will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m in North Plaza.

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Mason honors domestic violence awareness month

TATYANA WHITE-JENKINS | ASSISTANT LIFESTYLE EDITOR

This Oct., Mason marks 15 years of celebrating domestic violence awareness month with a series of events called, Turn off the Violence.

These events held on campus help to raise awareness about domestic violence on the local, state and national levels.

“These events are important in not only raising awareness and educating the campus community about the dangers and prevalence of dating/domestic violence,” said Caren Sempel, associate director for interpersonal violence education and services at WAVES. “They are also opportunities to demonstrate support for those impacted and to discuss an issue which is often hidden behind shame, fear and hopelessness.”

Since domestic violence is a prevalent issue among young adults, the celebration of this month is especially important on college campuses.

“Women ages 16-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence,” said Sempel. “In fact, nearly 1.5 million high school students experience physical abuse from a dating partner each year. This abuse often includes sexual violence as well. So, we know from statistics that many Mason students are arriving on our campus already with a history of dating/domestic violence.”

The events held for Turn off the Violence offer students both volunteer opportunities and a chance to learn more about domestic violence. By gaining awareness of the issue, students can better understand and support their peers.

“Domestic violence can happen to anyone and sometimes we as a culture want to sweep it under the rug because it’s an uncomfortable subject,” said Kelly Hayden, who interns at WAVES. “The sooner we learn about it and spread awareness the better. The more people we get to speak up and help these victims the better.

They need to know they are not alone and that there are people here who want to help them.”

on clotheslines across campus as an expression of pain and healing.

“It is a visually powerful campaign raising awareness of the impact of domestic and sexual violence on our campus and in our lives,” said Sempel. “It also gives people the opportunity to express their personal experiences and support. It requires a tremendous number of volunteers so if you are interested, go on the WAVES website and sign up for a shift to help.”

During the Clothesline Project, men are encouraged tto hand out white ribbons to each other as part of the White Ribbon Campaign, which provides men with the opportunity to demonstrate solidarity with women in the fight against gender violence. These types of violence include domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault.

In collaboration with Women and Gender Studies and the Feminist Student Organization, WAVES will also hold Take Back the Night, a rally encouraging conversation about sexual violence on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.

“The Mason community comes together to shatter the silence surrounding dating violence and sexual assault,” said Sempel.

“There will be opportunities to create posters and listen to speakers raise their own voices and share their stories.”

Students of all backgrounds and ages are encouraged to attend, participate and support all the events comprising Turn off the Violence week, which Sempel believes can create a supportive and accepting environment for victims of violence at Mason.

“Participation in these events can help create a climate on our campus which supports victims and holds offenders accountable which increases on-campus safety and the well-being of our community members,” said Sempel. “Only when we talk about it, work toward addressing it, and demonstrate our support for those impacted can we, as a community, help victims of dating/domestic violence move toward safety and healing.”

Turn off the Violence kicks off with the Clothesline Project held October 5-9, which allows individuals affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a t-shirt. Shirts are then hung (FOURTH ESTATE ARCHIVES)

Mason also offers other free and confidential resources.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides counseling to students who have been affected either recently or in the past by incidents of interpersonal violence. Student Health Services (SHS) provides free medical examinations, sexually transmitted infection screening, HIV screening, emergency contraception and confidential support during recovery.

Every year since 1997, Mason participates in The Clothesline Projecct

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Leaders in the making at Mason KAELYN COOK | STAFF WRITER

The leaders of tomorrow are the students of today, and they are right here at Mason. Students are joining clubs, taking classes and growing their skills as they get ready to step up to the plate and become future leaders.

Mason is one of the many universities that has a ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program. Matthew Hoover, the admissions and scholarship officer for the department of military science, explained that the program is divided up into three parts: physical training, classwork and a lab. Physical training happens three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in the early morning and consists of cardio training, weight lifting and circuit training.

In the classroom portion of this program, participants learn in a regular classroom setting and then the lab portion of the course on Thursdays. The students take the concepts they learned in the classroom and apply them with their peers.

“The whole program is designed to not only develop their [the students’] own leadership skills, but also help them identify what good leaders look like, what those traits are and applying it to their own life,” said Hoover. “The reason leadership is part of the title of the course is because when students graduate from our program they will go out and serve as platoon leaders, second lieutenants [or] commissioned officers in the United States Army.”

Hoover explained that although most people enter the ROTC program with the intention of competing for a slot to contract to eventually serve as a commissioned officer when they graduate, anyone can take the course part of the program as an elective, and it can even be taken as part of a leadership minor. To obtain the minor, students must complete the eight-semester ROTC program along with a few additional classes.

Mason students can also choose to become a trip leader or peer advisor. Trip leaders go through training and accompany students to Project Peak, the extended orientation for incoming fall freshmen. Project Peak is a student-led trip that consists of two trip leaders and a peer adviser who lead the students on a five-day outdoor trip. Trip leaders apply in the fall and receive training in the spring. Training includes certification in wilderness first aid, team development, public speaking, leadership, group dynamics,

communication, and more.

counseling

“Trip leaders and Peer Advisors [complete] various certifications and programs to prepare for their roles in Project Peak and co-teaching a University 100 class,” said Aysha Puhl, assistant director for Student Leadership Programs and the coordinator for Project Peak at CART (Center for Academic Advising, Retention, and Transitions).

Peer advisors co-teach a University 100 class and undergo more extensive training than trip leaders do. They also have the option of being both a trip leader on Project Peak as well as a peer advisor (COURTESY OF ROBERT HORAN/MASON CABLE NETWORK) Students participating in a University 100 class. or just a peer advisor. Both posiwell and able enough, both mentally, physically, and emotionally, tions are paid leadership positions. and you can put the needs of others just a little bit ahead of your “Being a peer advisor is really great because you are given equal responsibility for instructing University 100, which is split between you and a faculty. You can create a syllabus and challenge students to be, and find what they want to be, what they want to become when they end their college career,” said Tom Shaw, a peer advisor and senior at Mason.

In addition, peer advisors go through WAVES (Wellness, Alcohol and Violence Education and Services) training as well as diversity, community and transitioning training to make sure they are best fit to help guide freshman students through their first two weeks at college and set them up for success.

However, despite this opportunity, Shaw thinks that leadership is learned best through experience.

“I don’t think that any position in particular can teach you leadership,” he explained. “I think leadership comes when you are

own, not so much that it’s unfair to you but as a service to your community.”

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RAD program faces challenges COURTNEY HOFFMAN | SPORTS EDITOR

For many female college students, feeling and staying safe can seem like a challenge. Mason Police’s Rape Aggression and Defense System (RAD) classes provide information on how women can defend themselves in the event of an emergency.

The program, which is held several weekends a year and is free to Mason students, faculty and staff, is designed to teach women ways to protect themselves against violent aggressors when there is no one around to help. Mason Police’s website says that RAD is “one of the best women’s self defense courses available.”

Unfortunately, the RAD program at Mason has not seen a high success rate, according to Lieutenant Patricia Millan, who directs the program. Millan began working with RAD in 2001 and has since seen its success waver.

Millan explains that there has been a lack of interest among Mason women to attend the sessions, likely due to their long hours. Classes are typically offered weekends in two six-hour installments.

Several organizations and Greek life members have asked Milan to shorten the courses, so members can attend as a group.

Unfortunately, this is not an option for Millan.

When a police officer becomes RAD-certified, he or she is required to teach nine- or 12-hour lessons. If the length of the course is reduced, vital information is lost and attendees walk away unprepared. Since Millan and the officers at Mason are trained according to these rules, they are not permitted to teach anything short of what is required.

In addition to scheduling hiccups, the program has also faced criticism in the past for staying too traditional in its teachings and ideas. Some critics believe its lesson plans do not treat participants like powerful, strong women. Basic lessons like having one’s back pressed to a wall in an elevator have been criticized.

Regardless, Millan believes RAD is the perfect way to teach girls the fundamentals.

“Yes, it’s fundamental. It’s basic self-defense, definitely. But it’s implemented in a way that someone who has never been in a situation can learn and work [her] way up. We still apply modern time scenarios to the training,” Millan said.

Dimly lit paths and and late-night classes at Mason make walking around campus after dark risky for female college students, thus warranting the need for a program like RAD. “We teach them techniques and skills so they learn how to strike, we talk about what-if scenarios, we follow [the RAD] curriculum then questions pop up during teaching,” Millan explained.

Millan encourages everyone to attend RAD. She offers half-price discounts to women in the area who are heading off to college, so they can learn the basics for keeping safe. She also encourages everyone to sign up in groups, so attendees can have fun learning with friends or family.

“It not a guaranteed solution, but it’s a way to help you,” Millan said.

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How to stay safe on campus COURTNEY HOFFMAN | SPORTS EDITOR

Walk in groups; stay on lit paths; we’ve all heard it before. However, how many women actually follow this advice 100 percent of the time?

With reported cases of violence, rape and aggressive behavior on campus, it’s important to know how to keep safe.

Lieutenant Patricia Millan, a member of the Department of Police and Public Safety at Mason, offered some quick tips for how to stay safe on campus.

The first thing she recommends is a cell phone app called In Case of Crisis. Connected to Mason Ready, the app offers a variety of features like instructions on what to do and who to contact in emergency situations. Just click on the icon that looks like an ambulance, and the app will walk you through the steps for getting help as quickly as possible.

The app also allows users to send tips straight to the Communications Office and to Mason’s chief of police. These tips might include information about robberies, crimes or on-campus violence students may have witnessed.

Millan also encourages students to attend Rape Aggression Defensive System (RAD) courses on campus. The classes offer basic fundamentals for women to learn how to protect themselves and get out of aggressive circumstances.

Another step to keeping safe is to notify any professor or faculty member about circumstances in which you have been involved. A faculty member who is told of an incedent automatically becomes a Campus Security Authority, which means they are able to give students advice or details about possible safety options, while keeping identities anonymous.

However, lack of interest and timing are not the only factors affecting the success of the program.

Millan has had to compete with other organizations to book rooms on campus for hosting sessions, and the staffing at Mason’s police headquarters has wavered, keeping Millan from being able to staff the class at times.

If you choose to go and talk to someone in the Wellness, Alcohol, Violence Education and Services office, that person will need to report a statistic but will not need to report your name or any personal information.

“The biggest thing is that people sign up for free, but then a beautiful weekend comes along [and participants do not show up], so we need at least five students to authorize overtime for the officers.

Unfortunately, we have to factor that in,” Millan explained.

If you need to walk somewhere late at night, Mason’s Police Cadets offer a free ride program for transporting students across campus or back to their dorm safely. Just call the number listed on Mason Police’s website to access this service.

The program is not only offered at Mason. It is taught at over 400 universities across the United States and Canada, and it has been endorsed by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA).

Lastly, Millan reminds female students that walking in groups and staying on lit paths are, in fact, two of the smartest ways to stay safe on campus.

When Mason cannot host RAD sessions, Millan directs attendees to Falls Chuch City or other locations where the class is taught. But she is not certain if off-campus sessions are free for students.

The next RAD class at Mason was scheduled for the weekend of October 3 but had to be cancelled due to a lack of interest. Millan is hoping to reschedule the course for November.

(MEGAN ZENDEK/FOURTH ESTATE)

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Club sports: The best kept secret at Mason MITCHELL WESTALL | STAFF WRITER

Club sports might just be the best kept secret at Mason. Contrary to popular belief, a student doesn’t have to be an athlete to get the involved in the programs.

There are a variety of club sports offered at Mason, including football, ultimate frisbee, volleyball and cycling. However, only 805 of the nearly 22,000 undergraduate students participated in club sports during the 2014-2015 school year. That’s less than 4 percent.

Assistant Director of Club Sports Ryan Bradshaw oversees all 31 club teams. While he encourages all the teams to play their hardest, he believes that success does not mean winning a championship or a tournament. To him, a game is successful when the players have a lot of fun and really grow as people. The players love to compete -- and they certainly compete well, as proven by the Quidditch team’s recent victory -- but their main goal is much more important than any trophy they could ever hoist.

Junior Maggie Jackson is a co-captain of the girls’ club field hockey team. She echoes Bradshaw’s opinion: “Club field hockey has had a huge impact on my college experience along with my life in general! It has helped me manage my time in order to Club field hockey after a game during the 2014 season.

accommodate practices, games, work, class schedules and everyday life.”

There are currently 31 active club sports programs at Mason, but that is subject to change.

Bradshaw is always encouraging the creation of new clubs here at the school. Students can recommend that another sport be added to the club program by visiting Mason Recreation’s website and filling out an application form.

Club sports are not just for students who want to jump into gear and onto the field. Bradshaw says he also needs students who are interested in behind-thescenes work.

One of Bradshaw’s accomplishments in his two years at Mason has been creating an executive council of seven students elected by the clubs to manage almost every aspect of club sports here at Mason. There are even students who join to manage budgets for each individual team. Bradshaw’s goal was to make the program as student-run as possible, giving himself the title 0f “Risk Manager.”

Since these clubs require lots of different equipment and do a significant amount of traveling (Mason club teams traveled a total of 42,000 miles in the last year alone), there is always a lot of risk and budgeting involved. Bradshaw said that a total of approximately $207,000 was spent on club sports last year but that teams were able to bring in an additional $182,000 through fundraising and dues.

Any student who loves to travel, play sports and form a bond with teammates should consider joining a club sport, since these are all things the club sports program is looking to achieve.

(COURTESY OF MAGGIE JACKSON)

Maggie Jackson scoring a goal during a game last season.

Jackson says her team has grown close by spending time together both on and off the field. “[Club field hockey] went to a pumpkin patch, we did tye-dyes, we had so many pizza parties and study sessions and we were such a close knit support system for each other,” Jackson said.

To get involved with club sports, students should visit Mason Recreation’s website. In order to join most teams, students will need to have an updated sports physical and accurate insurance information. In addition, most teams require players to contribute a small fee to help pay for equipment and other important items.

“It’s fun, it keeps you active and exercising, the club sports network is large and strong also,” Jackson adds. “Club sports not only gets you involved with your team but with the other club sports the school offers!”

(COURTESY OF MAGGIE JACKSON)

The week ahead in sports COURTNEY HOFFMAN | SPORTS EDITOR

Pull out your Mason gear and finish up your homework, Mason Nation. This weekend your Patriots will be hosting a number of teams in Fairfax.

The men’s soccer team will be taking on Virginia Commonwealth University Saturday, October 3. The game begins at 7 p.m. The Patriots lost 3-0 to VCU last season. The VCU Rams, who are also in the Atlantic 10 Conference, currently hold a 2-6-1 record. The Patriots are 4-5 (as of press time). Expect the Patriots to come out ready to turn the tables on the Rams after last year’s defeat.

Men’s tennis will be hosting a Mason Invitational tournament Saturday and Sunday. This weekend is one of the only weekends to see the Patriots take the court since they will not play at home again until March.

Four Mason teams are on the road this weekend. Men’s golf starts off the week Sunday, September 27, at the Patriot Intercollegiate tournament in Lorton, Va. The women’s soccer team is taking on Saint Bonaventure Thursday, October 1, in New York. The last time the women’s soccer team took on Saint Bonaventure was back in 2013 in the Atlantic 10

championship, ending with a 0-1 loss.

The swim team is not traveling far to compete in the Potomac Relays at American University Friday, October 2. This will be the first meet of the season for the men and women’s swim teams.

Women’s volleyball is playing Davidson College Friday, October 2. Last season the women’s team defeated Davidson 3-2 and lost to them later in the season 1-3. The Patriots currently hold a 5-9 record (as of press time).

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A CULTURAL FESTIVAL FOR GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY AND THE DC AREA Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here DC 2016 (AMSSH) is a book arts and cultural festival planned for January through March 2016, throughout the Washington DC area. Exhibits, programs, and events will commemorate the 2007 bombing of Baghdad’s historic bookselling street, and celebrate the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, to stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq, who have endured so much; and with people at home and abroad who are unable to make their voices heard.

And in Iraq, Fires

Anita Klein, Reading Under the Covers, 2014, linocut 14.76 inches X 11.22 inches

Featured Partner: Smith Center for Healing and the Arts Founded in 1996, Smith Center healing and creativity. We believe for Healing and the Arts is a that art has the ability to mend Washington, DC-based nonprofit social, psychological, and physical health, education, and arts ills by building community, organization. Its mission is to inspiring change, and celebrating develop and promote healing life. I am proud to be a partner practices that explore physical, to the Al-Mutanabbi project that emotional, and mental wellness celebrates culture, learning and and lead to life-affirming the arts as essential tools for a changes. It offers programs for civil society. It is through culture the community and specializes that we maintain our humanity in in serving people with cancer the face of now daily messages of Shanti Norris, Executive Director, and utilizing the arts in healing. inhumanity. This project speaks to Smith Center for Healing It offers programs and resources the importance of recognizing the and the Arts built on an integrative model that beautiful and ancient culture of addresses healing and wellness for the whole Iraq – the cradle of western civilization. And to the person – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. power of poetry, the printed page and the visual Specializing in using creativity and the arts as tools arts in challenging times. Al-Mutanabbi is both a for healing, it is the only cancer support center real place and a metaphor for every meeting place serving the entire D.C. community. of learning, arts and culture around the world.

“The Joan Hisaoka Gallery is a nonprofit arts space in Washington, DC dedicated to exhibiting fine art that explores the innate connection between

And for everywhere that freedom of thought and freedom of speech is honored. For each of us AlMutanabbi Street starts and lives where we are.”

In another city, we would call this flood.

Instead it is just rain, housefuls of it making pockets of the shore. The waves fume.

Some feverish belly, a lit mouth through the window.

Bridge, umbrella, a better November.

We want crisis. Childhood without the sugar castle, the forest of birds. Seven nationalities yoked together in this cavern, we are frantic with love.

I am the slack one, eating a plum without washing it and writing a song for Hagar waiting with bare mouth to kiss the ankle of soil. Every war is a fete and the thunder parrots itself.

Below find rivers dappled with trash, white and blue, find the water puckering in sewers that tumbles, licks our sneakers. Parchment family, we meet where the wood darkens, ash powdering our fingertips like kohl.

Always, a television flickers. Theater beneath the glass, it is kaleidoscope. It is kaleidoscope.

They die, they are always dying, pleating tin to scrape bone from pavement.

In the garden beneath timber, I brush my hair.

The American boys practice their Arabic.

– Hala Alyan Originally published in Four Cities (Black Lawrence Press, 2015).

Hala Alyan is an award-winning Palestinian American poet and clinical psychologist whose work has appeared in numerous journals including The Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner and Colorado Review. Her books of poems include Atrium, winner of the 2013 Arab American Book Award and Four Cities, from Black Lawrence Press.

She resides in Manhattan. www.halaalyan.com

Hala Alyan will read on Sunday, February 21, 2016, at Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Streets, NW, Washington, DC.

Partners include George Mason’s School of Art and Fenwick and Provisions Libraries, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, Split This Rock, McLean Project for the Arts, Corcoran at George Washington University and Georgetown University, Cultural DC, Smithsonian Libraries, and National Portrait Gallery Library, and Brentwood Arts Exchange. For programming and AMSSHDC partner evnets visit www.amsshdc2016.org/events

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This is part of an ongoing series about the AMSSHDC2016 project.

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The Mason Community of Organizers for AMSSH Respond The Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here project is cultural memory.

It flattens the globe and breaks apart the barriers that separate us all by learned biases. AMSSHDC2016 questions, engages and activates the realities of equality and human rights. The heart of al-Mutanabbi Street must live in us all, no matter the point of origin from which we came into this world. It grows from the wellsprings of our souls and stretches out beyond the borders that divide us. It is an honor and privilege to work alongside so many courageous people, to bring Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here to our nation’s capitol. A complex understanding of this project and its immense capacity to create and demand change is unfolding with its many parts. As a close observer to how unlikely partners come together to stand in unwavering solidarity to give voice and form to those repeatedly and violently silenced in parts of the world, where the freedom to express freely is threatened, I stand devoted to this project.

Nikki Brugnoli, Assistant to the AMSSH Project Coordinator Curriculum Coordinator

Leilani Romero Graphic Design Intern

Bonnie Thompson Norman, Remember: People of Al-Mutanabbi Street, 2011, artist book

Angel Cabrera,

President of George Mason University: “Professor Frederick, Nikki Brugnoli Faculty, SoA George Mason University

As an intern this Fall it has been an experience unlike any other.

I’ve seen first hand all the hard work put in by everyone who has been immersed in the makings of this cultural festival. There are a lot of moving parts, and although everyone has their own focus, we are all learning from one another. I am working on research and designing various forms of publicity for the events. This project has left me motivated and has opened my eyes to the importance of art, community, and world change. I am proud to be a part of a program that celebrates freedom of expression, and I am excited for what the future of this project has to offer. The poem in this issue AND IN IRAQ, FIRES by Hala Alyan leads me to think about the impact war has on the people in the Middle East, and how writings and poetry have an ability to express far more than the imaginable.

Hala Alyan’s poem takes us out of the comfort of our homes and to another place, where horrors of wartime haunt family life, and the presence of humanity is then realized.

Leilani Romero, SOA Undergraduate, Graphic Design

Thank you for bringing the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here cultural festival to my attention. What a powerful idea! I look forward to seeing it unfold.

Another great example of ‘consequence’. Keep up the great work.”

Support for the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here DC 2016 George Mason University as a lead partner for the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here DC 2016 project is pleased to announce an award from the National Endowment for the Arts to support our exhibitions and cultural festival activities for “Building a Cultural Bridge to Baghdad: Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here”.

Literary programming is supported by a grant to Split This Rock from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art Building Bridges Program, designed to engage U.S.-based Muslims and non-Muslims in arts experiences to increase understanding and advance relationships between communities.

Get Involved!

The Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here DC 2016 has given me the opportunity to contribute to a cultural festival, not only at Mason, but the greater Washington DC area. This project has brought students from various disciplines. As a graphic design intern, I design the layout for the spread in the Fourth Estate.Now working the third edition, the layout comes together naturally.

This project is made possible by a dedicated team of volunteers. To volunteer your time, contact:

Choosing artists’ books and prints from the AMSSH inventory, to feature in the paper has made me realize how widespread this project is. I love the power these works posses, they are able to engage people from different communities, while standing in solidarity with those fighting for freedom of expression.

I AM IRAQI / I READ YouTube Video: ow.ly/RtBB0

Danielle Coates, SOA Undergraduate, Graphic Design

www.amsshdc2016.org

HELEN FREDERICK, hfrederi@gmu.edu or NIKKI BRUGNOLI, nbrugnol@gmu.edu GOT A QUESTION? info@amsshdc2016.org

Join the conversation:

@AMSSHDC2016 Visit our website for more information:

Danielle Coates Graphic Design Intern

AMSSH thanks the Fourth Estate for its generous and ongoing support Designed by Danielle Coates

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