April 14, 2014

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FOURTH ESTATE April 14, 2014 | Volume 1 Issue 22 George Mason University’s official student news outlet

Greek housing panel raises more questions than answers

p. 5

(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)

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Letter from the editor-in-chief Yes! Yes! Yes! Daniel Bryan kneed his enemies in the face on his way to victory at WrestleMania and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. But, can we talk about how it was Brock Lesnar of all wrestlers who ended the Undertaker’s streak?

My staff is saying I’m a sad, dumb boy and telling me to stop typing lest they shame me and shun me as their editor, so I’ll move on from my inane musings on wrestling.

In the cover story of this week’s issue -- the story of which can be found on page six -- executive editor Frank Muraca talks about a panel that the university hosted last Wednesday to talk about the long, clamored for Greek housing. From discussions with members of Fourth Estate who attended the panel. the general feeling of the audience members following the talk seemed to be one of dismay.

Many seemingly thought the discussion was an inkling that the process to get Mason Greek housing was in motion from the university, rather the feeling was the result of the discussion was more of a lecture from the administration about why Greek housing couldn’t happen.

Reading through Frank’s article and the context under which the panel was hosted, I feel the majority of the onus for a lot of the confusion and disappointment should lay with the audience.

The panel’s intent was to inform and dispel any rumors or hearsay about bringing Greek housing to Mason, not to bring about tangible, concrete actions to provide such housing.

One positive thing for those in favor of a Greek row at Mason is that from the quotes -- especially from Phil McDaniel, associate director of Student Involvement for Fraternity and Sorority Life -- is that there is a window of opportunity now where Mason administration seems to be willing to work with FSL to try and do the work to make concrete plans to bring Greek housing to Mason.

The only problem lies with the willingness of current fraternity and sorority presidents to engineer and see through a plan that they’ll never reap the benefits of. It’s going to be a true test of how much value is placed in the meaning of a brotherhood or sisterhood.

Members of Greek organizations talk about how they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, so this is the chance to prove that. Devote the time, energy and frustration to working with the administration and getting something you would all like to see happen, just for future members of Mason’s Greek life.

Just from my perspective and the facts presented in Frank’s article, it seems unlikely that Mason will see a Greek row constructed any time soon unless Greek organizations and the university are willing to pony up some serious money to purchase housing in the area.

Now, will someone talk to me about the despair and shock they felt when the Undertaker lost to Brock Lesnar? Because I’m still reeling.

HAU CHU EDITOR-IN-CHIEF GMUFOURTHESTATE@GMAIL.COM @HAUCHU

IV ESTATE Hau Chu Editor-In-Chief

Daniel Gregory Managing Editor

Alexa Rogers News Editor

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INTO Town Hall Meeting

(KATRYNA HENDERSON/FOURTH ESTATE)

SUHAIB KHAN PRINT NEWS EDITOR

On April 8, Mason held a town hall meeting aimed primarily at the Mason community in order to discuss its partnership with INTO. INTO, a for-profit organization based in the UK, provides partnerships to various American, English and Asian universities to help develop their international programs. Over the past year, Mason has been finalizing its partnership with INTO. The town hall meeting served primarily to address various concerns Mason’s faculty and staff had with the partnership.

Concerns ranged from questions dealing with the incoming students’ English-speaking capabilities, to integrating the international students with the domestic Mason community, to admissions.

According to a panelist, the admissions process works in three ways. One is INTO’s vast international network that can refer them to Mason. They can also apply directly through the INTO website, and they can apply to Mason as they have in the past, where they apply to Mason’s Pathways program or they apply to Mason’s academic units.

Following a potential students’ application to INTO, the program will supply Mason admissions evaluators with the relevant credentials, test scores, resumes and background information, and they will then make the admission decision. Following a decision, Mason admissions will notify INTO whether the applicant

has been admitted provisionally, conditionally and recommended for academic English. INTO will then notify the applicant.

“Remember the students who come into the Pathways program are not matriculated students at GMU…so this is a two step process,” Mason Provost, Peter Stearns said. “We also expect INTO to help us generate some applications for students who are fully qualified for admissions right away, not through the Pathways program. Remember the Pathways program is a step toward admissions decisions.”

Concerns were also raised about the services offered to these international students, considering their immigrant status. Judith Green, executive director of the Office of International Programs and Services, said that there would be a distinction between the non-matriculated international students and those who would go on to be matriculated Mason students.

“Initially, they’re coming in as non-degree students,” Green said. “In terms of their immigration status, they wouldn’t be eligible initially for internships. Once they matriculate into a degree program, they’re eligible for the same services as any other Mason student…They are indistinguishable to any Mason student. These are not INTO students, they are Mason students. They are in the Pathway’s program in non-degree status until they meet the progression requirements and then they will be admitted into the degree program.”

Another major issue raised by present faculty was the concern

that the international students, who are to be housed in the newly renovated Mason Inn, will fall under the “silo effect,” where they will remain confined to their own facility and be unlikely to mingle with the rest of the Mason community. According to Green, this concern is being addressed by the university.

“We want to bring those students out of the Inn, but we also want to bring the students that don’t live there and don’t study there into the Inn for programs and activities,” Green said. “…We have to find other things to get students who don’t live there to go there for the program and the students who do live there and study there to come off. It’s on us and it’s on student programmers to.”

In addition to working on integrating the international students onto the main campus, the university is working on providing training for faculty and staff specific to international and cultural competency.

“Some of the training will come from the center and some of the training will come through some of the work that University Life is doing on global and cultural competence and we’re starting small but we didn’t have a training for staff on this whole process to train them about what to expect,” Green said. “I think that we are starting to try to figure out what the needs are and then identify opportunities for training but that is an ongoing process.”

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(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)

Cost, housing demand and other factors complicate development of Greek Row FRANK MURACA EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Bringing Greek housing is not a new discussion at Mason. According to an April 9 panel on the topic, both administration and students have had numerous talks about how to bring fraternity and sorority housing options to campus.

“The talk for Greek housing has been going on for probably 40 years here,” an alumnus said at the event.

The panel, organized by Mason Student Government, was meant to bring administrators and students together to better understand the issues surrounding development of a Greek Row. Panelists, which included Mason officials who work in housing and the Interfraternity Council, stressed that there were numerous challenges to providing housing for Greek groups.

“We’re in a very expensive part of the country,” said Todd Rose, associate dean of University Life. “We don’t have enough housing for all the people who need it. There are a lot of barriers in Northern Virginia that aren’t present in other

parts of the country.”

Apart from some of the highest property costs in the nation, funding for Greek housing would have to include maintenance and other upkeep costs. Additionally, some chapters are required by their national organizations to have full-time staff reside in their houses.

Another complication was ensuring that each house could be filled every year. If Mason were to invest in the project, the university would take a financial hit whenever the houses weren’t fully occupied.

“It’s really hard to get those 15 or 20 people to commit to [moving in],” said Phil McDaniel, associate director for Fraternity & Sorority Life.

“Our community wasn’t at the place to truly have those conversations.”

Another concern is the general demand for housing at Mason. By next year, the university will house 6,400 students on the Fairfax campus.

According to a recent study, the demand for housing at Mason is expected to increase 50 percent over the next ten years as more non-local students enroll.

“Mason has been a continuously growing and changing place,” Jana Hurley, assistant vice president of University Life, said last month. “At least for the seven years that I’ve been here, the demand for housing has exceeded the available supply.”

While Mason tries to provide housing for a growing undergraduate population, there are concerns about the most efficient use of a finite amount of space.

“The entirety of this community is extremely concerned with how to maximize the property available,” Hurley said. “Folks have some concerns with using that space for a higher density need.”

As Mason looks to meet demand in the near future, it’s more difficult to invest in expensive housing that only serves a special cohort of students. “[The university] will meet the undergraduate demand for housing as fully as possible,” Hurley said when asked about the Mason’s housing priorities.

Students were eager to know specific

requirements and costs of building Greek housing, but panelists repeated that it depended on many different factors, including the size and number of houses, as well as the general planning process.

Some panel members said that providing houses for every Greek organization at Mason could easily cost millions of dollars.

McDaniel said that Mason was not alone is facing these challenges.

“Universities aren’t building Greek housing,” McDaniel said. “If it is being built on campus it is being funded by national organizations.”

One student stressed concern that Mason’s administration was more concerned with serving future students than it was with students who are already here.

Panel members responded that even if this project were to begin now, it would take years before something physical was ever realized.

“This is a very future, long-term thing and it takes a while to get it right it,” McDaniel said.

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Master plan seeks facility improvements on campus

(COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF FACILITIES)

ALEXA ROGERS NEWS EDITOR

In early January, Mason’s Office of Facilities began working on the master plan, an 18 month long project that is focused on improving Mason’s physical infrastructure on all of its campuses.

The formation of the master plan follows the approval of Mason’s strategic plan, which was adopted by the university in late October of 2013. “[The master plan is] a road map to our future development on all of our campuses,” said Cathy Wolfe, Director of Campus Planning. “What

we’re trying to do now is understand how you translate that strategic plan into a physical master plan,” Wolfe said.

According to Wolfe, the Commonwealth of Virginia likes universities to create a master plan every 10 years. Mason’s latest master plan was created in 2002, leaving the university about two years behind in their schedule. Wolfe attributes this to President Cabrera’s arrival in 2012 and wanting to wait for a new president’s input on the master plan.

The plan is then proposed and adopted by the Board of Visitors. From there, according to Vice

President of Facilities, Tom Calhoun, the university makes capital funding requests from the state when they want to start on major projects.

The master plan has five phases: Discovery and Data Collection, Information Gathering and Communications, Conceptual Development, Preferred Direction and Guidelines and Documentation. The planning process for the master Plan began in Winter 2014 and is expected to be completed in Spring 2015.

Currently, Mason is somewhere in between the first two phases. According to Wolfe, data is still being collected through interviews with various

committees and offices on campus and Mason faculty is about to receive a survey on collaboration across disciplines to help facilitate these multidisciplinary initiatives from an infrastructure standpoint.

“We also collected a lot of information about the existing conditions of our campuses and buildings. Some of our buildings, we may not be using as efficiently as we could be, both from an energy perspective and a space utilization perspective,” Wolfe said.

However, the data collected through the MyCampus Survey, which was administered

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IV estate to students in early March, is already being analyzed.

The MyCampus Survey examined four categories pertaining to the university: campus life; academic life; quality of place; and mobility. Each of these categories had their own subcategories, of which included areas such as dining, classroom space and parking. Students were able to select the places that they most frequented, while also providing feedback on campus facilities.

Overall, 2,391 students responded to the survey and 62 percent of these students chose Fairfax as their main campus. Of Mason’s approximately 33,000 students, Wolfe commented that only a small selection contributed to the survey, however many of the students that chose to respond also commented on the quality of various facilities around the campuses.

“It’s a lot of comments but it’s actually a fairly small percentage of the student body that responded...you have to weigh the real value of the comments,” Wolfe said.

On the Fairfax campus, there were 5 major themes that students gave both positive and negative feedback on: dining, general improvements, gathering space, free time space and campus navigation in the winter.

In terms of facilities improvement, over half of the comments focused on parking, Robinson

A and B, the Krug Hall, Finley, East and West buildings, the Johnson Center, and Mason Pond.

According to the data provided by the Office of Facilities, the comments highlighted renovating buildings to have more technological capabilities in the classroom and improving food and seating options in the Johnson Center.

According to Calhoun, one of the main priorities of the plan is to focus on improving the spaces Mason already has, while also creating new facilities.

“Many people when they hear the word ‘development’ that it means new buildings, it doesn’t just mean that. It means, how do we use the space we have more effectively to support the strategic plan and the vision of the president,” Calhoun said.

One area that Calhoun feels will experience development with both new facilities and general improvement is housing.

“The one area that bridges those two [thoughts] is residential housing. If we’re going to achieve the goal of the strategic plan, that might mean a lot more students on campus or more distance education, it’s still to be determined how we’re going to do that. But I think there’s a belief that we’re going to have more housing on campus,” Calhoun said.

Creating more residential housing would

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increase the number of on-campus students who would be taking advantage of dining options, which Phil Abbruscato, student representative on the master plan’s steering committee, thinks Mason needs to look into expanding.

“We really need another dining hall in the Aquia neighborhood because after Ike’s and the Mason Inn dining facilities are complete, there’s still going to be a 500 seat deficit,” Abbruscato said.

The survey also examined student travel patterns, both on foot and by car. The survey showed major traffic congestion throughout the Fairfax campus and highlighted the density of the major parking lots (noted in the above graphic).

The graphic also shows that the pathway from Lot K to Mason Pond has the most interactions between cars and pedestrians.

In addition, the survey asked students to identify where they believe entrance is to the Fairfax campus. The answers ranged across the campus, identifying the entrance off of Chain Bridge Road and by the Patriot Center and off of Roberts Road. Abbruscato believes establishing a consensus on this issue would contribute to creating Mason traditions.

“It’s about establishing that belonging and tradition, the feeling that Mason has those things,” Abbruscato said.

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Keeping tradition in mind, Abbruscato hopes to continue to get student feedback and making sure student interests are being met during the planning process.

While continuing with the planning process, Wolfe is optimistic about the numerous ways in which the master plan can serve the university.

“What I hope comes out of this master plan is how are we going to continue to meet aspirations for growth that the university has,” Wolfe said. “The strategic plan says that we’re going to continue to grow in enrollment and research and other things and if you match that up with the fact that we’re not going to have significant amounts of new space, that means we’re going to have to renew and rethink how we’re using a lot of our existing space and using it as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Abbruscato also emphasized that the master plan not only needs to look to the future, but also to the students that are currently enrolled at Mason.

“It’s great that so many students are interested in coming to Mason but we need to make sure the infrastructure is there and that students that are here right now are able to reap the benefits of the opportunities that Mason has to offer,” Abbruscato said.

Student-run 3-D printing business starts ELLEN GLICKMAN STAFF WRITER

The idea came to sophomores John Hill and Ryan Cerny while watching a commercial for Staples’ printing services. They decided to take Staples’ regular 2-D services to the next level and offer 3-D printing services through their business Mason 3D LLC. Launched in February 2014, Mason 3D charges customers to have objects printed and also provides assistance in designing those objects. With 3-D printing technology, any design on a computer can be transformed into a physical item, and Cerny, an electrical engineering major, said this aspect is appealing to people in his field.

“All the engineering students love 3-D printing technology and would love to be able to use it, but they don’t have access to one,” Cerny said. “Everyone I’ve talked to and know in that field loves the idea of being able to use one and see it and work with it.”

According to Hill, similar services elsewhere are expensive by comparison.

“We want to get that nice technology so [customers] can come to us and we can do it for them,” Hill said. “3-D printing technology is expensive and complicated. We want to make it inexpensive because we’re providing access and less complicated because we’re providing our technical expertise.”

Mason 3D LLC was initially contacted by graduate engineering students who wanted to use their services while building a robot for a senior design project.

“They’re sending us the parts to the humanoid [or humanlike] robot that they’re building, and we’re printing the parts for them,” Hill said.

Hill and Cerny have already finished printing the robot’s pelvis and legs. The prints are made of hard plastic and will encase

electrical components made by the engineering students. To make the outside pieces, designs are loaded into a computer program that cuts the object into thin layers in a process called slicing. Then, the layers are printed one at a time. White, hot plastic issues out of the printer and cools down to form the robot parts.

Everyone

I’ve talked to and know in that field loves the idea of being able to use one and see it and work with it. “[Engineers] use 3-D rendering software to create 3-D objects or models of bridges, things like that. I hope to be able to print a house soon, a model house,” Cerny said. “A lot of engineers really like seeing what they can create, but then just being able to print it out so it’s actually in your hand is so much cooler than just having

it on a screen. I mean that’s still cool, but when you can physically hold it, that’s awesome.”

Hill said 3-D printing has a reach that extends beyond the engineering field.

“You press this button and a few hours later that object that you just designed is right here and you can touch and hold it,” Hill said.

“Not only is that going to inspire people to pursue engineering and technology and that kind of thing, but that’s just going to open up a vast amount of ideas and creativity. It’s going to unlock creativity.”

Mason 3D is also planning summer seminars for high school students that will involve information sessions and hands-on experience where participants can take home their own printed objects.

“We want to see it go far. We want to get people involved in it.

It’s going to be cool when everyone has a 3-D printer in their house and prints the knife they’re going to use for dinner,” Hill said.

In addition to the robot, Hill and Cerny have also made a saxophone reed and small elephant figurine. They also plan on making phones cases in the near future.

“Once we take care of our clients, [the engineering students], we’re going to practice making custom iPhone cases,” Hill said.

“We can print any kind of picture you want; I think initials would be a cool thing - who knows - different designs. You can do anything. It’s 3-D printing.”

The business’s motto came from an inside joke between the partners about the simplicity of using this 3-D technology.

“It’s really easy - all you need is an idea,” Hill said. “You can get anything printed. All you need is an idea.”

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Event series encompasses all aspects of well-being TATYANA WHITE-JENKINS STAFF WRITER

From April 7-21, Mason’s Center for Advancement of Well-Being is celebrating “Spring Into Well-Being,” a series of events that promote well-being.

The events of “Spring Into Well-Being” are held by many different offices, including the Center for Advancement of Well-Being, University Life, Human Resources, New Century College, Wellness by Mason, Counseling and Psychological Services and others.

“The main purpose of Spring Into Well-Being is to highlight and celebrate some of the many well-being programs, activities and resources available to the Mason community that help build individual and collective capacities for increased vitality, purpose and resilience,” said Jeanne Bliss marketing coordinator for the CWB. This was the first year “Spring Into WellBeing” was launched. Initially intended to be a one day event, the organizers will run this event for several weeks. This series of events was created in order to follow Mason’s new WellBeing initiative.

“The [CWB] decided to launch ‘Spring Into Well-Being’ this year as the university moves forward with its Well-Being university initiative,”

Bliss said. “The goal of the initiative is to see that Mason becomes a model well-being university where students, faculty and staff are…enriched by diversity and characterized by thriving across a range of domains. This includes being satisfied with one’s life and regularly experiencing curiosity, hope, meaning and joy.”

Some “Spring Into Well-Being” events include Good Deeds Day, booths for gratitude mandalas and postcards, a session on mindful eating, laughter yoga, seminars on financial well-being, a special event with Olympic medalist Apolo Ohno and wellness walks.

Dr. Patrice Winter, a professor at Mason, is a part of Wellness by Mason. She became involved with the wellness walks held on April 9 and 10.

Being a physical therapist, Winter wanted to emphasize the importance fitness has in well-being, as well as awareness of the mind, body and spirit.

“You need to be healthy in all the different areas that we function as human beings,” Winter said. “If you start out at this age being aware of your body, mind and spirit, it will help to create the successful life needed to take care of you. By getting them all in the same package on the same train, you get to your destination a lot smoother.”

The many events being held during “Spring

Into Well-Being” allows for students to gain awareness and also become involved with the initiative. Freshmen Anna Marijka Tilleman and Lauren Dehart were both able to participate and create a great experience.

“Mindful leadership is something I am really passionate about,” Tilleman said.” I got involved with this campaign because I wanted to show Mason students all the different ways to be mindful and promote well-being. I felt the best way I could accomplish this was by taking on a leadership position and [to] be more than just a student who holds an event, but is actually a part of the bigger picture.”

“Being part of the Mindful Living LLC here on campus, it was very easy for me to hear about this week,” Dehart said. “I knew immediately I wanted to contribute in some way, because striving for well-being has had such an incredible impact on my life.”

Having students be involved with the creation and running of the events helps show and teach students how important well-being is on a college campus.

“Being college students, we are continually stressed between all the things we have to juggle,” Dehart said. “And it’s important for people to build a solid foundation for helping to cope with

all this stress and remembering to enjoy life and be happy.”

“Well-Being is such a vital part of life. It’s really about being present in the moment and accepting things as they are without judgment,” Tilleman said. “Life is stressful and all the different workshops being provided can open doors to mindfulness and well-being.”

With Mason’s new Well-Being Initiative and the great turnout and impact they have had this year, those involved hope to continue with “Spring into Well-Being” in the coming years.

“Mason is indeed evolving as a ‘Well-Being University,’ and this was an opportunity to shed light on some of the opportunities and resources available to Mason faculty, students and staff that help build a life of vitality, purpose and resilience,” Bliss said. “‘Spring Into Well-Being’ is one way of demonstrating some of the many ways Mason supports well-being and is working to create a university that’s thriving together.”

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39336

METRO Orange or Blue line to Foggy Bottom

performances (SARA MONIUSZKO/FOURTH ESTATE)

Over $2,000 in two-three weeks!!!! Locations available throughout Northern Virginia. Must be 18 years old and willing to work long hours every day from June 17-July 7. For more info and online aplication go to www.tristatefireworks.com.

9

SARA MONIUSZKO PRINT LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Students, professors and other guests gathered in the JC Cinema on April 8 for the seventh annual Polyglot performances.

This evening of performances included a collection of music, theater and poetry that represented 10 different languages—from Portuguese to Chinese to French to Arabic.

For example, there was a Russian play titled “A Russian Romance” acted out by multiple Russian-speaking students as well as traditional and operatic songs sung in French.

The evening had a rather casual feel and some acts like the Turkish performance were not even present during their performance slot.

One performance that stood out was a traditional Japanese play titled “Momotaro” or, in English, “Peach Boy.” Due to the enthusiastic characters, colorful costuming and ease of understanding the storyline regardless of the language used, this play was a great example of cultural universality.

Mason freshman, Annaleigh Marshall, was one of the students involved in “Momotaro.

Acting as part of the ensemble, Marshall said

she got involved with the Polyglot performance through the Japanese department at Mason.

Marshall has only been studying Japanese for about two semesters, yet still felt comfortable enough bring her skills to the stage.

Practicing her speaking skills was actually one of the things Marshall enjoyed most about being involved with the Polyglot performances.

Marshall describes the play “Momotaro” as “a Japanese folk tale about a boy who travels to an island of populatd with oni -- folkloric demons and ogres -- and makes friends along the way through his mom’s cooking.”

“I recommend attending the performances because it gives students the opportunity to be exposed to new and exciting cultures,” Marshall said.

Another cultural addition to this year’s Polyglot performances was the artwork display in the Cinema’s entrance. The art pieces, all by Professor Nadia Duchelle, were a beautiful and impressive addition to the event’s Moroccanthemed gallery.

10

04.14.2014

lifestyle

IV ESTATE

IV ESTATE

COMIC CORNER

opinion

04.14.2014

11

By: Leilani Romero

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CRG-CEC-GeorgeMason-5_062x10_5.indd 1

8/19/13 4:39 PM

opinion

04.14.2014

Th

12

t s e l e u r c e

SHOW

For many years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus group has come to the Patriot Center every spring semester, attracting community members and bringing along several species of animals including: elephants, llamas, rabbits, tigers, dogs, zebras, horses and goats.

The array of wild animals paraded on campus during these two weeks might satisfy the curious individual, perhaps even those misled into believing Ringling supports conservation efforts.

However, it should be highlighted that Ringling Bros., and any other animal circus for that matter, merely presents another case of animal abuse and environmental degradation by the ‘entertainment’ industry. Amidst the annual groans about the lack of parking due to the circus’ two-week stay, let us take a moment to consider the enslaved animals we often overlook as mere inconveniences.

Circus animals spend their entire lives either confined to cages or in chains, traveling 11 months of the year through weather conditions considerably different from their native habitats.

In order for animals to perform circus tricks, they are beaten with metal bullhooks, shocked with electrical devices, tied down with ropes and whipped.

They are either stolen from their native ecosystems, or they are bred in captivity and removed from their mothers before their first birthday.

Despite public relations campaigns that falsely advertise “conservation efforts,” Ringling Bros. has never released a captive-bred animal into the wild.

Beyond physical maltreatment, circus animals are deprived of the freedom to roam, access to environmental stimuli and the ability to engage in instinctual behaviors such as social interaction.

In 2011, as a result of dozens of violations under the USDA’s Animal Welfare Act, Ringling’s parent company was ordered to pay the largest settlement against an animal exhibitor, totaling $270,000.

In response to the perennial arrival of Ringling Bros. at Mason, several generations of students, alumni and community members have challenged it. One such effort is the GMU Animal Rights Collective, a non-hierarchical group dedicated to raising awareness about animal rights on our campuses and within the surrounding community. [Ed. note: the author is a member of ARC] Since its inception in 2008, ARC has hosted film screenings (e.g. The Cove, Earthlings), vegan cooking demonstrations, guest speakers (e.g. author Colleen Patrick-Goudreau), Pay-Per-View

on

h t r ea

screenings in the Johnson Center, vegan bake sales and educational classroom presentations. Most of ARC’s efforts, however, focus on coordinating anti-Ringling Brothers protests on campus, through which we hope to inform people about the mistreatment of animals in circus settings.

ARC has successfully garnered support from Mason students in the past through petitions, the last one consisting of 1,667 student signatures.

The petitions were delivered to Gregg Toney, assistant vice president of Auxiliary Enterprises, which oversees several departments, student centers and other contracted entities including the Patriot Center.

Moreover, the thirty-first Student Senate expressed support of the protests in the Spring 2011 semester, resulting in Resolution 23, which acknowledges Ringling Brothers’ multiple cases violations of the Animal Welfare Act; animal cruelty and negligence; poaching; and exposure to transmissible diseases (e.g. tuberculosis) via human-animal contact. Equally important, these efforts were also reported by Mason’s media outlets, further demonstrating the student support the movement is experiencing.

Opposition to the use of animals in entertainment has gained momentum over recent years, especially with undercover investigations exposing animal cruelty and neglect as standard practice. As a result of concern over animal abuse, the United Kingdom banned the use of wild animals in circuses to go into effect in 2015. The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to ban the use of bullhooks, resulting in a cease of all circuses using elephants from performing in the city. Demonstrating that without violent coercion, handlers cannot get elephants to perform.

Circus animals are caged, routinely beaten to incentivize their performance of tricks and suffer both mentally and physically during their captivity. Their performances do not educate children about animals. Rather, they send a message that animal abuse and dominion is acceptable. As an alternative to Ringling Bros., please support shows with talented, consenting performers; such as Cirque du Soleil and other acts that do not exploit animals.

If you would like to stand up against animal abuse, join the ARC in educating the public about the cruelty of animal circuses. Please visit http://animalrightscollective.wordpress.com for our demonstration schedule.

GABRIELA M. GALEANO GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT

IV estate

let your opinion be

heard Do you have concerns, irritations, or praise regarding events that occur on campus? Want to comment on the way things run at Mason? If you would like to share your thoughts please email us at gmufourthestate@gmail.com

opinion

IV ESTATE

04.14.2014

Letter to the editor: Failure to tolerate viewpoints The United States government, as well as all subordinate governments on the state and local levels, has a duty to protect life, liberty and property. Ever since the legalization of abortion on a federal level in the United States, and the rise in societal acceptance of individual promiscuity rooted from the sexual revolution, there has been a societal decline in the value of an individual unborn life.

However, I would never argue that U.S. laws pertaining to sexual activity should revert back to the stringent standards of the pre-sexual revolution. In the past, there were laws pertaining to sexual activity which pioneers in the sexual industry, such as Hugh Heffner, worked hard to modify or repeal in order to “keep the government out of the bedroom.”

Government essentially has no business regulating your sex life, but it does have an obligation to protect an individual life rooted from one’s sex life.

Being pro-life doesn’t mean that that person is necessarily prude, a preacher of abstinence or doesn’t believe in the use of birth control measures. Pro-life individuals, such as myself, have plans in their own life and are more than willing to use birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

However, it is imperative that when birth control measures fail and a female becomes pregnant that all options are explored. Currently, Mason members of the administration do not permit the disclosure of information by health centers and by advocacy groups that provide information to women about their various options during a pregnancy.

The Students for Life group at Mason has a goal of humanizing the unborn so that pregnant women, who are considering having an abortion, will understand the value of the life inside of them. Their devotion to the value of life, takes bold measures to uphold, such as through pictures of aborted fetuses as recently shown in the Genocide Project. While not everyone will agree with the measures that the group takes to

bring the abortion issue to the forefront, members of group all have the first amendment right to display and to speak controversial speech to others on campus, even in cases in which it potentially disruptive to other students.

Unfortunately, members of GMU SFL have experienced multiple instances of discrimination, just for standing up for their strong personal convictions, by participating in the Genocide Project, advocating that religious and non-religious pregnancy centers be listed on Mason’s Health Center’s referral list, and for protests that the group has held on campus.

I was personally appalled when I found out that Rosanna Duran, director of Student Organizations for the Mason Office of Student Involvement, asked that the GMU SFL chair Anna Maher, the GMU SFL secretary Johanna Young and Johanna’s two daughters, leave a designated free speech zone on April 4, because she did not agree with the signs they were displaying on campus.

These signs read, “Your choice is not being respected if someone is pressuring you to abort and, “I regret my abortion”, and “Pregnant? Don’t let anyone undermine your strengths and capabilities: You can go to school and parent”.

Were these signs controversial? Absolutely. Did Anna and other others have a First Amendment right to be in the free speech zone at the time? Absolutely.

The university staffer called a police officer to escort Anna, Johanna and her children out of the free speech zone, but the police office never made the escort since he agreed that all of those individuals had a First Amendment right to be where they were.

A university, such as Mason, does a grave disservice to its students when policies and beliefs, that are not leftist in nature, are not permitted to be publicly spoken or displayed on campus.

First Amendment rights do not apply to just individuals who agree with the political views of Mason administrators, but to all individuals whether or not they agree with their personal beliefs.

Therefore, any administrator who is proven to violate the First Amendment rights of a student should be disciplined or terminated from their position, due to their unwillingness to tolerate other political views, because of the detrimental effect the stifling of free speech has on the spreading of pertinent information, such as information from GMU SFL which can influence a woman’s decision of whether or not to keep a child.

Contrary to what many liberals would like to make an individual believe, one can be both pro-sexual freedom, pro-individual liberty and pro-life at the same time.

With all of the reasons I have stated above, I ask students to take a stand with GMU Students for Life for their right to speak out on campus.

Launch your international career Find out more about Peace Corps!

Get one-on-one application help Tuesday, April 15 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Student Union Building, Room 3400

To sign up, contact Scott: skumis@peacecorps.gov

PHILLIP HAMILTON REPRESENTATIVE OF GMU STUDENTS FOR LIFE

13

Class of

2014

Senior Portrait Sittings: April 14-17 Senior Portrait Week is here! All graduates have the opportunity to have their senior portrait taken by Lifetouch for inclusion in the yearbook, GMView.

Portraits sittings will be offered April 14-17 in HUB Room 1012 from 10:00am-5:00pm.

Schedule an appointment for your portrait sitting online at www.OurYear.com or by calling 1-800-OUR-YEAR™ (687-9327).

Enter school code 700. Walk-ins are handled on a first come, first served basis. A $10 sitting fee is required.

Pre-order Your GMView Yearbook+DVD Today!

pre-order your official copy of the 2013-2014 GMView Yearbook+DVD! To preorder, visit gmu.edu/org/gmview or reserve your copy in person in HUB 1012. We accept cash, check, Visa, and Mastercard.

Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to preserve your Mason Spirit Today!

14

04.14.2014

Sports

GMU RECRUITS

IV ESTATE

Recruiting class for Fall 2014

Taking a look around the country -- and globe -- where incoming freshmen were recruited from by Mason sports teams

Ashley Candeletti

-From Forked River, New Jersey -Spent last two years at St. Rose High School -Former Defensive MVP during sophomore season

Megan Gooding

-From Portland, Oregon -Started rowing while in high school -A former competitive swimmer

Pennsylvania Ryan Ricci Baseball Anne Graf Women’s Rowing

New Jersey

Ashley Candeletti Women’s Soccer

Maryland

-From Columbia, Maryland -First –team All-Met in both The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun -Stolen 66 bases on 67 tries during high school career

Kristi Mokube

-From Phenix City, Alabama -Appeared in 27 games as a freshman at Florida State -Scored a career-high 10 points vs. Alabama A&M

Virginia

Trey Porter Mens Basketball Taylor Dodson Women’s Basketball Abby Downey Women’s Soccer Jenna Hamilton Women’s Soccer Jess Leonard Women’s Soccer Niomi Serrano Women’s Soccer Kaila Williams Women’s Soccer Trevor Kelly Baseball Michael Smit Baseball Tim Turner Baseball Taylor Williams Women’s Rowing

Trey Porter

-From Dumfries, Virgina -Picked George Mason over ODU, GW, Florida Gulf Coast and Hofstra -6’10 center averaged a double-double his senior season

Georgia

Eric Lockett Men’s Basketball

Alabama

Kristi Mokube Women’s Basketball

Libreville, Gabon Africa Therence Mayimba Men’s Basketball

Libreville

Gabon, Africa

(WALTER MARTINEZ/FOURTH ESTATE)

Cyndi Cole Women’s Basketball Casey Davis Women’s Basketball Quierra Murray Women’s Basketball Brady Acker Baseball Bryce Nightengale Baseball

Brady Acker

sports

IV estate

04.14.2014

15

Baseball staff advances high heat pitching

(GOPI RAGHU/FOURTH ESTATE)

IAN CRIMAN STAFF WRITER

Through 31 games, the Mason baseball team has already surpassed their overall record from last year. This success is due, in large part, to the dramatic turnaround of the pitching staff as a whole.

In the 2013 season, the staff had a 5.74 earned run average.

As of April 10, the ERA is down to 3.07. Senior pitcher Anthony Montefusco, the team’s ace, believes the success is due in large part to the fact that walks are down and pitchers are pounding the strike zone.

“The free passes are down and that’s helping our ERA, less guys on base we have to worry about,” Montefusco said.

The team also has a lot more veteran leadership, allowing the atmosphere to be more focused on executing the team’s game plan.

“The older guys this year have obviously learned from the past and learned from our mistakes, and other people’s mistakes. We talk to the younger kids, throwing strikes is really important,” Montefusco said. “We’re teaching the younger kids a lot and everyone gets along.”

A huge emphasis was placed in the offseason on holding runners and preventing them from stealing bases, an issue last year. Mason pitching has been better about that this year, making it more difficult for opponents to score.

“Last year, as a team we probably gave up around 100 stolen bases or so and this year we’ve put a focus on trying to be quick to the plate. They’ve done a great job with that,” said assistant coach Stephen Hay. “Right now I think we’ve only given up in the 20s.

What that does is that keeps the guy at first base, we have more chances to turn some double plays. It also now takes a double to

score a runner instead of a single so that’s been the main key. With two outs and a guy in scoring position, the average has been great.”

The catchers have been working hard on throwing out base runners as well. Catchers have been working on developing quicker feet and hands in order to set up their throws much faster.

“From a catching standpoint we worked on throwing a lot and having quick hands, quick feet,” said catcher Ray Toto. “It’s a joint effort, it’s as much on us as it is on them.”

Montefusco and senior Jared Gaynor, the team’s number one and two starting pitchers are experienced and that has helped with getting guys out when they need to in the late innings.

“I threw at the end of games a lot my freshman year, a lot of that was coming in with guys on base and a one, two, three run lead and having to get guys out… just throwing a lot has helped,” Montefusco said.

On a weekend series, the Patriots use Montefusco on Friday and Gaynor on Saturday. Both typically go deep into games, and Gaynor has thrown several complete game shutouts.

“I definitely try to go deep every time I’m out there. I feel like I prepare myself during the offseason and during the week to be able to do that,” Gaynor said. “I’ve always been a guy that has a rubber arm -- per se -- and I just love going deep in games. I’m usually pretty upset with myself if I don’t go at least seven [innings].”

Using these starters in the first two games has helped keep the bullpen fresh, so every arm is available for Sunday’s action.

“We’ve got a two guy group of Montefusco and Gaynor that are one and ‘one-a’ with their ERA and their numbers. They’ve thrown close to half our innings so when they’ve thrown that much, that only leaves one or two innings for the bullpen for the first two games in a weekend series,” Hay said. “On Sunday, we’re getting some guys back that are healthy and we only need to pick up three

or four innings. If the opponent’s pitchers are getting knocked out in the fifth or sixth innings you’re almost looking at a one game series.”

The team’s chemistry has also been a key factor. Players are looser this year, and Montefusco said he believes they are more focused.

“They’re just having a great time. It’s a great group. There’s a lot of older guys and now it’s a lot about execution instead of trying to babysit” Hay said. “They’ve brought along the young kids, the freshmen and sophomores, and they’ve really led. Now it’s just you come in, you get your work done and get out of here.”

Given the success so far, Mason has high expectations for the rest of the season.

“As a team our goal is to win the conference tournament and go to regionals, that’s not going to change,” Gaynor said. “Our central focus is to win this conference.”

Mason will have to face a new conference schedule this year, as Mason athletics moved to the A-10 conference. Hay believes the experience of the starting pitching will help as the familiarity between conference rivals increases.

“We haven’t seen these players before though, so there are adjustments we’ll have to make on Fridays. Good thing is, we have a top-notch Friday guy who can go out there against anybody and match up with anybody in the country,” Hay said. “The league has been what we expect so far. Now it’s just trying to take care of business and make sure we win series’.”

16

sports

04.14.2014

IV estate

Curl-Ups Last week was the first nice spring week we had all semester. So with warmer weather approaching, we want to make sure our arms are looking good. The exercise this week is called 21 bicep curls. I know girls think that this will make their arms big, but it won’t.

Strengthening your biceps will help with everyday tasks, such as carrying groceries in, picking up small children or pets, and so on.

21 biceps are one of my favorite workout for biceps, because it works the whole bicep muscles under tension longer than just doing regular bicep curls.

Performing 21s, is a three-part exercise. First, you want to grab a barbell, and begin by curling the weight upward to your belly button. Then lower the barbell to your thigh. Repeat seven times.

Next you will bring the weight to your belly button and start to curl here to your shoulders, and lower back down to your belly button. Repeat seven times.

Lastly, starting at the thigh, you will curl all the way to the shoulder and back to the thigh. Repeat seven times.

Make sure that the your wrist stays aligned with your forearm.

Don’t bend the wrist to help curl the weight. It will take the tension away from your biceps and you will be working more on your forearms.

I challenge you to go for three sets of 21 bicep curls twice this week. I hope you will like them as much as I do.

ANDREA FINFROCK COLUMNIST

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