Sept. 15, 2014

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FOURTH ESTATE Sept. 15, 2014 | Volume 2 Issue 3 George Mason University’s official student news outlet gmufourthestate.com | @IVEstate

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Hau Chu Editor-In-Chief

Daniel Gregory Managing Editor

Niki Papadogiannakis Managing Editor

Alexa Rogers News Editor

Suhaib Khan Print News Editor

Sara Moniuszko Lifestyle Editor

Savannah Norton Print Lifestyle Editor

Amy Rose Photography Editor

Amy Podraza Asst. Photography Editor

Walter Martinez Visual Editor

Jill Carter Copy Chief

Laura Baker Illustrator

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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Photo of the Week

A volunteer helps to light candles as part of Fourth Estate’s 9/11 Candlelight Ceremony Photo by Gopi Raghu, Fourth Estate Follow us on Instagram: @IVEstate Use the hashtag #IVphoto on snapshots of Mason for a chance to see it in a future issue!

IV ESTATE Letter from the editor-in-chief:

Giving thanks to the Mason community It seems like a lot of these letters might have to start with me expressing a deep gratitude to the Mason community and our readers.

Not only was this week a success in terms of response and engagement with stories in last week’s issue and our online content, but if you glanced at the photo to the left of this space, Fourth Estate along with the Office of Student Media organized the 9/11 Candlelight Ceremony at Mason Pond as part of the Mason Day of Service.

I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t almost have a panic attack nearly every day last week when thinking about and following through with overseeing the preparation of nearly 3,000 bags to be lit on Thursday.

I have to give thanks first to everyone in the Office of Student Media who in any way chipped in parts of their time to be a cog in the assembly line of sand, candles and monotony. Another shout out to the team who helped transport the finished bags -- and assemble the last bit of bags -- out to Mason Pond on an unseasonbly gross September day.

A special thanks to the two presidents who took time out of their nights to give remarks at the ceremony.

Student body president Phil Abbruscato recounted a story I’m sure many of us who grew up around New York City and Washington, D.C. can recall of confusion and fear on that day in September.

Mason president Ángel Cabrera reminded us that the tragedy we were there to remember was not only an American tragedy, but one where the world united in sympathy of such a horrifying act.

Probably the biggest shout out I can give is to my staff who not only helped out with various aspects of the aforementioned tasks, but also tried their damndest to light up all the bags before the ceremony start. Not to mention the mental and spiritual support I got from them before and after the ceremony, so that I wouldn’t be typing this letter to you from the loony bin.

When I gave my remarks, I thought I had a decent understanding of what it meant for a community to lend a helping hand even in the smallest of ways possible. I was genuinely touched when not only did more people showed up than I could have ever expected, but when those who came early saw that we were a little behind with lighting up the candles, stepped right in and prepped all the bags so that those with lighters would have a much easier time with the already dampened candles.

It also warmed my heart to no end to see so many attendees help out with collecting all the bags for disposal. To members of all those broad groups I listed above, you made this event all worth it.

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

CLASSIFIEDS Help Wanted

Child Care

Help needed for high school student. Mainly needing help with organizing and prioritizing. May need some help with geometry and chemistry. 5pm start time. 1-2 hrs/evening. Monday-Friday.

Qualified applicants please email Stacy@thekuhns.org

Attention Elementary Ed students: Family in Falls Church seeking part time nanny. Mon-Fri 3-5pm. Occasional early morning hours. Great opportunity for a positve, fun-loving person.

Reliable transportation. Text Cindy @ (703)357-2281 or fmcow@aol.com

Part-time, temporary position. Seeking a geeky well-organized student to handle a multitude of business and administrative matters. Will keep founder of (pre-launch) web based startup organized and on task. Strong editing skills and Windows 8.1 knowledge a plus. $12/hour and @ 12 hour per month. Please respond via email to David00395@gmail.com Snow Plow Drivers needed for the winter. $20 to $25 per hour. 12 hour shifts.

Must be available 24/7 when inclement weather comes.

Typically school is closed when we work. Email aflawless@me.com Personal Assistant to post and sell and process on eBay. Flexible hours. 10 hours per week 10 to 14 per hour. Email aflawless@me.com

Need help getting two kids 8 & 11 awake and out the door for school. 1 mi. from Fairfax Campus. Please email Sarah at jocynda@yahoo.com

Housing Room for Rent-Manassa; Single Family Home. $460/mo. Near public transport. Female only. We have enjoyed renting rooms for the past 10 years. Feel free to visit the home, meet the Family, and ask questions.

Call (571)358-9854.

Adoption Loving childless couple wishing to adopt an infant.

Willing to pay legal and medical expenses.

Please call 866-333-8686 or email suzanneanddonadopt@gma il.com

Administrative Assistant for Landscape Company in Chantilly. 10 to 15 hours per week, time can flex around school schedule. Email aflawless@me.com Family Care Giver Wanted.

Are you a positive person with a ready smile? PT Afternoon (20hr/week). Attractive pay. Two blocks from NOVA in Annandale. Family of four; two with minor special needs. Call Laura at (703)628-0982.

Help Wanted

09.05.20

Try Transit Week @

September 15 – 19

MON 9/15

Bike to Campus and Register Your Bicycle

TUE 9/16

Ride Together & Park in a Carpool Zone

WED 9/17

Ditch Your Car and Walk to Class

THU 9/18

Ride Mason Shuttles – NEW ROUTE

FRI 9/19

Pledge to be Car-free Over the Weekend

Bike to campus and stop by Nottoway Annex in Lot C (the old police building) to register your bike and receive a free U -lock and bike lights.

Carpool to campus and park in the Carpool Zone in Lot A or at the Rappahannock River Parking Deck (level 1) . Arrive by 11am to get a designated parking spot.

Find a carpool on Mason’s rideshare network at zimride.gm u.edu.

Do you live close to campus? Perfect! Leave your car at home and walk to campus. Use google maps to find the easiest route to Mason.

Mason Shuttles transports thousands of students every year. New route from BURKE CENTRE VRE is available. For all routes, visit shuttle.gmu.edu.

Take the pledge at carfreemetrodc.org.

Tell us about your commute to campus for a chance to win awesome prizes.

Help Wanted

Teach Gymnastics Have fun and make a difference teaching gymnastics at Fairfax Gymnastics Academy. If you’ve got gymnastics or cheer experience, and like working with children, this is the place for you. We have full and part-time positions available. Call (703)323-8050 or email your resume to fairfaxgym@aol.com

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@MasonShuttles @MasonParkingTransportation

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(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)

Dining backtracks on decision to close dining halls on weekends AVERY POWELL ONLINE NEWS EDITOR

Earlier this month, Mason Dining announced that both Southside and Pilot House would be closed on the weekends, only to reverse the decision days later due to student concerns.

The operating hours change was only a small part of the new Anytime Dining program that Mason has implemented. Anytime Dining meal plans are meant to give students dining options 24/7 and allow for unlimited swipes into the Anytime Dining facilities.

All residential freshmen are required to purchase this plan while upperclassmen are grandfathered into the previous plans. Each facility has also been equipped with optical scanners to replace using Mason IDs as a form of entry.

“Anytime Dining is the way to go and a trend Nationwide... adjustments naturally need to be made as we gain experience... as you saw,” said university president Ángel Cabrera in his Reddit “Ask Me Anything” on Sept. 10. “We’re proactively seeking student input and exploring improvements on an ongoing basis.”

Pilot House was originally a “made to order” restaurant where students could pay in cash, meal plan or credit card. Earlier this semester, Pilot House was changed to be an Anytime Dining area where students needed a meal swipe to enter. Southside also became an Anytime Dining facility but experimented with late-night operations last semester while Ike’s was undergoing renovations. Ike’s, located in President’s Park, was formerly a late night “made-to-order diner,” but is now an Anytime Dining area. According to Mark Kraner, the Executive Director of Retail Operations, the initial idea to close Southside and Pilot House was to create a community focus around Ike’s.

“We suggested and it was discussed and accepted that we make Ike’s the location for weekends to make it so that it looked busy because one of the issues that can happen on the weekends is we lose [students],” Kraner said.

According to Kraner, Mason loses about 60% of its students on the weekends.

However, a large reason for originally closing the two facilities involved lack of sufficient volume to support the two operations.

Kraner said that Southside costs $10,000 a day in labor alone. In

a letter sent out to residential students on Sept. 5, Kraner said that the dining services team “misjudged” the level of demand.

After the closing of Southside and Pilot House, two online petitions and a Facebook page were created in the hopes of re-opening the two facilities on weekends. Signs were also placed around residence halls and some students even staged small protests, including one in front of the Northern Neck Starbucks. Part of these efforts also sought to bring back the original menu at Pilot House. “[Southside and Pilot House have] both been really convenient, especially on weekends [or] awkward hours,” said Alice Visocchi, an on-campus senior, at the time of the closure. “[The closing of] Pilot House is just unfortunate, it was a good place to hang out late [or] get food in the middle of the night without having to swipe in.”

Mason Dining’s re-consideration of the hours came within a matter of days after the original announcement. At Student Government’s “What Do You Want Wednesday” on Sept. 3, dining managers and Kraner met with students to discuss their concerns. From there, the Food Service Advisory Committee met, debated and proposed changes to the schedule.

“We made a plan that got as close as possible to what the students wanted, including 24-hour Southside and the old Pilot House and its menu back,” said Storm Paglia, the executive undersecretary for Dining Services in Student Government. “Going forward, students can anticipate more late-night options and better food quality across the board.”

In their Sept. 5 letter, Mason Dining officially announced another operating hours change, re-opening Southside and Pilot House on weekends and bringing back the original concept of Pilot House. Southside also now has an expanded menu, featuring selections from Ike’s and Pilot House, giving students more options on the Anytime Dining plan, according to Kraner. Pilot House officially reopened in its old format on Sept. 7, with menu options coming back gradually.

“Dining heard the students and is making changes,” Kraner said. “We will put these in place and review later this semester to see if any changes or adjustments will be needed for spring.”

Future dining changes for the Mason community include the new Panera Bread in the Johnson Center, the removal of La Patisserie and the arrival of a temporary “Mexican style” option.

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Senators draft bills to reduce student debt This fall, the United States Senate will vote on two bills that would allow college students to refinance the interest rate on their loans.

After the November elections, Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) hope to push a vote on the recently drafted Dynamic Student Loan Repayment Act that suggests making an income-based repayment plan the default repayment option for borrowers. A similar bill, the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) would allow the interest on private and federal student loans to be refinanced.

Both bills were written to lower the national amount of college debt, which currently exceeds $1.2 trillion. The number places student debt as the second largest source of debt for American households, according to a March 2014 study by the Campaign for College Opportunity.

“Every day this exploding debt stops more and more young people from moving out of their parents’ homes, from saving for a down payment, from buying a home, from buying cars, from starting small business, from saving for retirement, from making the purchases that keep this economy moving forward,” Warren said while introducing her bill to the Senate this May. “I, like most Americans, could not have attended college without student loans,” Warner said in a press release this May. “However, all of us should be concerned about America’s looming $1 trillion student debt crisis. Our legislative proposals create smart, targeted and cost-effective tools that can lower the cost of higher education for Virginia families, strengthen workforce training programs, and give borrowers more flexibility in repaying their student loans.”

The Warren-sponsored bill would have allowed borrowers with unpaid federal loans to refinance at lower interest rates, specifically the rates of the 2013-2014 school year. Warren said this would significantly reduce rates for many borrowers.

“Homeowners refinance their loans when interest rates go down. Businesses refinance their loans,” Warren told Rolling Stone this August. “But right now, there’s no way for students to be able to do that. I’ve proposed that we reduce the interest rate on the outstanding loan debt…For millions of borrowers, that would cut interest rates in half or more.”

Mason economics professor Bryan Caplan said Warren’s bill, if passed, will implement minimal change because lowering interest rates would prove to be insignificant. Caplan said the federal government is already giving students good terms on the loans.

“It’s a great deal,” Caplan said. “What are credit card interest rates? They tend to be pretty high, 18, 20 percent,” he said. “In the end, it all comes back to the government going from giving people a sweet deal to an even sweeter deal.”

Caplan cited the high level of debt as further proof of advantageous rates.

“If interest rates were zero percent, you’d expect people to have hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt,” Caplan said. “Suppose you could borrow from the government at zero percent. How much would you want?”

Caplan said a large amount of debt “is generally a sign interest rates are good because it means it’s attractive to borrow.”

Sarah Nawab, co-president of GMU Democrats, said the amount of debt could represent the lack of options available to students. “[The government] has a monopoly on giving out student loans.

That leaves me without a choice for graduate school. That leaves

(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)

ELLEN GLICKMAN STAFF WRITER

Senator Mark Warner speaks to Mason students about student loans on Friday, Sept. 5. Senator Warner was promoting his Dynamic Student Loan Repayment Act, co-drafted with Florida Senator Marco Rubio. my fellow students without a choice for undergraduate and graduate,” Nawab said. “You could make the argument that they’re taking out these loans because they don’t have any other choice, and if they don’t take out these loans they don’t go to college, and to get a job now you need to go to college.”

Caplan attributed the government’s dominance to the “sweet deal.”

“Almost no private lender would want to offer you a better deal than you already have,” Caplan said.

The legislation drafted by Rubio and Warner outlines an income-based repayment plan designed to offer greater flexibility with payments.

“The Dynamic Repayment Act is more saying we’re gonna cap the amount of your payments each year to no more than 10% of your salary,” Warner said. “What’s so good about that, and I think what’s affordable about that, if you’re unemployed you get some forbearance, if you have to take a low paying job because you want to start a career that’s start low paying, like public service, it gives you flexibility.”

The income-based plan would become the default option for borrowers, however, it would not become the only one.

“Everyone could change their payment plan to this incomebased [plan]…You don’t have to; it would be your choice,” Warner said.

Rubio and Warner, along with Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), also drafted the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act, which calls for greater transparency from colleges regarding drop out rates, amount students graduate in debt, and job prospects for each major. The information would likely be posted online in the form of a new government website.

“We collected the data already. It’s not like ‘oh my gosh’ we’re going to add new bureaucracy and new regulations,” Warner said on a recent visit to campus. “We just got to pass the bill.”

“[The website] will be really helpful, not for us since we’re already here, but for students that are going into college,” Nawab said. “They need to know, ‘What am I putting my loans into?’

Because ‘Know Before You Go’ is basically a website that is going to tell you okay these are your requirements at this particular university, how long it’s going to take you, and these are the rate of people that graduate from our university and get jobs, so that way students that haven’t gotten into college yet can try to make the best decision with their money, with what little money they have.”

Caplan suggested the debt issue may have arisen from high school students choosing the wrong post-graduation route.

“My general view is that far too many people go to college, and it should be less affordable not more,”Caplan said. “More effort should be made to scare people off who aren’t actually that committed to finishing because most of the payoff comes from finishing, so I would focus on that rather than trying to make the debt more affordable.”

Caplan pointed out that students who don’t finish college are the ones who struggle most with debt.

“The graduates are doing fine. It’s the undergraduate, people who tried and failed, who are the ones in big trouble,” Caplan said.

Nawab said her own debt situation is not dire, but she knows it is a serious struggle for some of her friends and fellow students.

“For me personally, it’s not an issue yet, but I hear it, and I see it,” Nawab said. “Day after day I’ve had friends who have been completely concerned about this and you know they’re young kids in their early twenties, late teens. It’s a little early to be worrying about all these things I think, and something really needs to be done about it.”

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From top to bottom: -An overlook at the Bahá’í gardens in Haifa, Israel. Before the program was canceled, two students lived in Haifa while interning at Haifa University.

-One of the many ancient alleyways in the Old City of Jerusalem, near Damascus Gate.

-A restaurant in Haifa. The third largest city in Israel, Haifa includes a diverse population of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Study abroad students evacuated from Israel-Palestine due to war (All photos courtesy of Emma Durband)

ALEXA ROGERS NEWS EDITOR

Students studying abroad in Israel-Palestine this summer were forced to evacuate the countries four weeks early.

As airstrikes between the two countries began to intensify and violence escalated in Gaza, the university suspended the study abroad program.

Yehuda Lukacs, the associate provost of International Programs and the director for the Center for Global Education, said that the threat of conflict in the area is always present, but that there were no indications before the trip that increased fighting between Israel and Hamas would break out.

“With the murder of the three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank and the murder of the Palestinian teenager

in Jerusalem, tensions have begun to rise in the [West Bank] and Jerusalem,” Lukacs said. “Violent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli police and military began to spread beyond the West Bank and Jerusalem and even to Nazareth in northern Israel.”

Students on the trip reacted with both shock and anger at the program’s termination.

Andrew Dieckhaus, a senior at Mason majoring in Global Affairs, was upset that he would be unable to complete the research he started at the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem, West Bank.

“At first it was fear. I felt that maybe something big was going to happen that I could not foresee, and that the director knew something we did not. This was quickly replaced by anger, as I was not going to be able to complete my

research project for Holy Land Trust from the United States,” Dieckhaus said. “I was a little annoyed that I was being forced to reinforce the common notion that Americans leave at the first sign of trouble, but overall I understood and respected the director’s decision to cancel the program, as it was in my own self-interest as well as the university’s.”

David Prater, a second year Masters of Science in Conflict Resolution candidate at Portland State University, felt that the decision to send students home cheated them out of their experience.

“If a university is going to send students on a program specifically designed to examine the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and then order them out as soon as the conflict starts to develop in a way that we can really conceptualize and learn

from, then I think they are doing something wrong,” Prater said.

“We were there to learn about a conflict that encompasses every aspect of these people’s lives, and the program made us leave right when we started to witness how far-reaching it really was, which I believe was a tremendous missed opportunity and injustice for us as students of the conflict.”

The university also threatened to withhold the students’ credits for their program if they did not return to the United States. Lukacs said the university made this decision to stress the level of severity of the situation to students and bring them back to safety.

“This was an extremely serious situation and we needed to make sure the students understood the seriousness,” Lukacs said. “We also were very concerned with the students’

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After the program was suspended, many students experienced difficulty in returning home.

“During the train ride [my roommate and I] were both visibly upset about how things ended so abruptly and the amazing educational opportunities we were going to miss out on,” Prater said.

“Conversely, we also recognized the tremendous privilege we both had in being American and having the ability to pick up and leave a conflict zone while 1.8 million people in Gaza where literally reduced to ‘fish in a barrel,’ to use a bad idiom.”

Durband, unlike many of the other students, felt that returning home after the program was suspended was necessary.

“While having the ability to live in a country known for conflict during an escalation provides valuable insight, I felt unsafe and unprepared to deal with the psychological and physical aspects of enduring a conflict on that scale,” Durband said.

Lukacs believes that the students on the trip gained something valuable from their experiences.

“I think students had a unique experience that highlighted the complexities, dangers and seriousness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, even though the program was cut short, the main academic and cultural objectives of the program were achieved,” Lukacs said. “Most importantly, every single student who participated in the program has returned home safely.”

Despite the tensions in the Middle East, Dieckhaus says he hopes to return to IsraelPalestine in the future.

“I would love to return to Israel and Palestine. Apart from the conflict, the region itself is downright gorgeous,” Dieckhaus said. “My host family made Bethlehem a new home for me, and they have generously opened their home to me should I ever find myself in the region again. The only question is when.”

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(LAURA BAKER/FOURTH ESTATE)

safety and felt we needed to do whatever we could to have the students come back home quickly and, ultimately, safely. We understood that this request to return home would cut short the experience the students were obtaining through the program.”

This trip is not the first Mason study abroad program to be terminated in the Middle East. Students were in the region with the same CGE program in 2006 when the war with Lebanon broke out in northern Israel. However, students residing in Tel Aviv were given the option to remain in Israel for the duration of the trip, as the city was under no threat of attack.

According to Lukacs, the situation in Palestine this summer was different.

“This summer, most of Israel was affected by the missiles fired from Gaza,” Lukacs said. “Moreover, daily clashes also occurred in the West Bank, which could have impacted our students’ safety.

Consequently, it was decided that it would be in the best interest of the students and their safety that the program be suspended.”

Despite the university’s concern for student safety, many students on the trip felt that their safety was not compromised in their daily activities.

Emma Durband, a sophomore at Mason majoring in Global Affairs, says she felt fairly comfortable living in Tel Aviv, however, some aspects of the city required adjustment.

“Everyone is carrying around automatic weapons in malls, grocery stores, on public buses and trains and on the beach,” Durband said. “This caused me to be apprehensive at first, but then it became so commonplace that I simply became used to it.”

Dieckhaus had positive experiences with his Palestinian neighbors in Bethlehem.

“I felt safer walking through a refugee camp in occupied Palestine at 3 a.m. than I do walking through Washington, D.C. at the same time,”

09.15.2014

Prof. develops flood alert system ELLEN GLICKMAN STAFF WRITER

A team of students is developing a program to monitor campus flooding by creating an alert system for the Mason community.

“We’re trying to develop what I’m calling the Mason Educational Watershed, which is to create Mason as a living laboratory for Water Resources Engineering,” said Celso Ferreira, a water resources engineering professor.

Last fall, Ferreira received a $45,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation for Higher Education in order to pursue this project. He has had the idea since his arrival at Mason two years ago, and data collection is just getting started. Ferreira has done research on water resources systems analysis, hurricane storm surge modeling and hydrology and has a doctorate in water resources from Texas A&M. “We’re installing equipment all around campus to monitor flooding, but our equipment is very recent so we haven’t captured a flooding event yet,” Ferreira said.

This equipment includes little white sensors that the student team is currently placing in streams all over campus and a high-tech weather station that can send immediate results to a computer.

“Each little river here has a sensor that will tell us flood levels, and we have a weather station that’s catching rainfall in real time and will tell us when there’s an extreme event,” Ferreira said.

According to Ferreira, one long-term goal of the project is to create a website for students, faculty and staff that posts real time flood alerts to provide useful

information.

According to Ferreira, creation of the website has not started yet.

“The reason we’re not there yet is this is also student-led,” Ferreira said. “Maybe I’m kind of somehow leading here, but the students are performing the task. Students have classes, they’re busy, so it takes so much longer than we want it, but that’s the direction we’re going.”

Ferreira said the website is important to the study because its effects could be applied to real-life situations.

“One thing I wanted to study is how the media can help prevent disasters or flooding disasters,” Ferreira said. “Mason is a small scale of the entire country, the world or whatever you want. When I say disaster it might be, ‘Okay I’m getting my feet wet coming out of Southside,’ but [in real life] it could be Hurricane Katrina and your house is under water.”

The technology that would enable the website is state-of-the-art, according to Ferreira, and thus enhances the learning experience of each student involved in the project.

“One of the things we wanted to do is have the most up-to-date technology that you can think of on the face of the earth here for the students to use,” Ferreira said.

“Even if there were no flooding issue we would do it anyway because we’re an educational institution.”

According to Ferreira, the hands-on experience with technology is essential for preparing students to deal with future, reallife disasters.

“We want our students to do civil engineering, to learn how to use that, so that when they go work to prevent Katrinas and

Sandys they know how deal with equipment and things and all of that,” Ferreira said.

This past summer, Ferreira and an undergraduate student began collecting data and observed flooded areas close to Southside. Ferreira said that despite these observations, there is not yet scientific proof of a flooding event on campus and more times needs to pass before the data can be usefully analyzed. He said the project is in its beginning stages and will continue to evolve.

“During the summer was our kind of first stretch and this will be going on now for years to come,” Ferreira said.

According to Ferreira, Mason is an ideal place to conduct this study because the entire campus acts as a watershed.

“We’re within a watershed that’s contained inside campus, and a watershed is an area [where] the water is contained within,” Ferreira said. “If it rains inside a watershed, all the water that falls inside a watershed will drain to a different point… so any rain that falls in here, exactly where we are, will drain through Mason and get out at Braddock Road.”

Ferreira is also enthusiastic about working on the project at Mason because certain amenities are advantageous to research.

“It’s an exciting place to be,” Ferreira said. “We can connect this technology and see how [it is] effectively solving the problem that we face in our everyday life outside [Mason] where we don’t have these facilities, where we don’t have too much of a green infrastructure and we don’t have a sustainability vision which Mason kind of has, so I think it’s cool.”

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(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)

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Students of all religions are able use the “Quiet Mediation Area” in the Johnson Center for their religious practices as well as students who wish to use the space for any form of meditation.

Students request larger space for private meditation EVAN PETSCHKE STAFF WRITER

Complaints in previous years regarding overuse of the space by large groups such as the Muslim Student Association have urged people to refrain from leaving religious materials in the space so as to ensure an interfaith space.

With the 40-50 members that typically attend each prayer, the space often feels too small.

“It does get a little crowded,” said MSA President Yousaf Salim.

“We are just trying to get a bigger space to more comfortably fit all that wish to attend our daily prayers.”

The MSA does reserve a larger space, such as George’s in the Johnson Center, for their formal Friday prayers and special holy days. However because of the frequency of their meetings, it is hard to secure larger spaces as often as they need and their requests for a bigger space have been difficult to get through to the university.

The MSA is not necessarily asking for their own space, however.

Around 2004, the university offered them use of the JC Gold Room to use as their daily meeting place, which they declined.

“The board at that time said no because when you stuff all the Muslims on the lowest level, there is not enough exposure for Muslims to have an interfaith community,” Salim said.

A larger space would enable Muslims to practice more comfortably, while allowing a larger amount of other people who may feel intimidated by the size of MSA to use the space at the same time.

“We would just like a bigger space, such as the larger corner on the second floor of the JC. We do not want to have our own space.

The more the faith communities are tied together, the better,” Salim said.

Mason’s “Quiet Meditation Area,” located on the third floor of

the JC, is open to students and groups for any means of spiritual expression, religious or not.

“The space is intended for quiet meditation, so that is sort of by each person’s definition,” said Gail Sutton, the director of Student Centers. “This might be praying out loud or maybe internally.

There’s really no stipulation in terms of the kind of activity that is intended to take place.”

The space is not geared toward one religion or one means of meditation and is unscheduled so as to allow for a fully integrated community of expression.

Since Mason is a state school, the construction of a building for a specific religion would violate separation of church and state.

However, the quiet meditation space is not designated as a religious space and it does not cost more for the university.

“With an empty space, nobody is charged extra, and there isn’t really an issue with special privilege since it’s also not discriminating between people who can use it,” said Cody Smart, a Ph.D. student studying religion in politics, government and society.

“I think having a quiet space for religious or meditative purposes is okay, especially since it confines itself to a small area and doesn’t demand too much of itself,” Smart said. “You do whatever you want there and [there’s] no presumption of anything but personal quiet time.”

The MSA, one of the larger religious organizations on campus, uses this space regularly, on most days up to four times a day, to hold their daily prayers. Though they are not the only group to use the space.

“No other groups go regularly. Sometimes there are a few people with yoga mats just sitting there quietly and meditating, I assume, but I do not see that often. Maybe once or twice a month,” Salim said.

Mason does not provide specific prayer or meditation materials, except for prayer mats that were funded by the Auxiliary Enterprise Management Council, an outside organization.

According to Mason’s University Life website, AEMC responds to “immediate university needs with direct impact on student’s daily lives outside of the normal budget cycle and parameters.”

“The rugs provide some definition in terms of where people are walking, and are intended to make pathways more clear for those walking around while others are meditation,” Sutton said.

Student centers allows those who use the space to leave their belongings “at their own risk,” according to Sutton.

“We do not want to have our own space. The more the faith communities are tied together, the better” -Yousaf Salim, Muslim Student Association President

Lifestyle

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Butts Saved

(AMY PODRAZA/FOURTH ESTATE)

Above: University Mall Theatre’s current chairs. Above, Right: Daniel Collings talks about his excitment with the kickstarter. Right: Mark O’Meara poses with Kickstarter reward button.

HANNAH MENCHHOFF ONLINE LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Since July 1991, the University Mall Theatres has operated as a popular, second-run Fairfax community movie theater. “[I like going there because] the employees are nice, the price is cheap and the popcorn is really good,” said Mason student Sean Cummings.

Mark O’Meara, the owner of University Mall Theatre and Cinema Arts on Main St., opened the theater thinking he could reach a cheaper movie market.

The movie theater is the last second run theater in the Washington, D.C. area, which means once the area theaters “lose” the film, University Mall Theatres is able to show it. Some movies will show as early as five weeks after the release date.

On Aug. 30, University Mall Theatres’ “Save our Butts!” campaign was successfully funded. The goal was to reach $100,000 to replace the theater’s seats, but they surpassed the pledge and raised $131,758.

The theater has never had new seats as they were always bought used from old theaters.

O’Meara felt that it was a perfect time to purchase new seats in light of the 15-month University Mall renovations. He and Daniel Collings, the general manager for the theater, raised the money

through Kickstarter.com.

Free popcorn is a small price to pay for the successful campaign.

Kickstarter is a crowdsourcing website in which backers can donate to thousands of creative projects ranging from making potato salad to a “Dr. Who” rap album. Each fund also has gifts attached to them. With each donation, a reward is given by the backer.

O’Meara remembers one customer coming into the theater and saying, “’You guys have been in the community for 23 years and there hasn’t been a way to say thank you, until now.’ Which is why I think we hit our [Kickstarter] goal.”

However, a little less than half of the projects reach the goal the creator sets, which means the project gets nothing in the end.

O’Meara feels that their customer service, prices and their popcorn, which is coined “the best popcorn in the known universe” is what keeps people coming back.

To help the project be successful, Collings decided the length of the campaign should be less than 30 days.

“Campaigns that are 30 days or less are 43% more likely to succeed,” Collings said. “Something about the urgency about 30 days or less causes people to be excited and ones that are longer are less likely to be successful.”

With the money, O’Meara plans on purchasing 500 new seats.

He hopes to use the remaining money for other projects, including replacing the carpeting, adding a handicap lift and sprucing up the theater’s entrance.

O’Meara and Collings realize they have one challenge they must face, giving backers their rewards.

“So we were talking about how to do the rewards,” O’Meara said. “We haven’t figured out how to do that logistically. [For example,] there’s 1033 people that get a free combo. Two free combos actually. So how am I going to do 2066 combos.”

University Mall Theatres is able to reach a market of all ages, those who are busy and those who do not want to pay too much to see a movie.

“I like [the theater],” Mason student Natasha Raja said.

“Especially for the value and the price. Also, the movies aren’t too old, you get the movie theater experience without breaking the bank.”

New seats may be an added reason for locals and students to go to the theater and may help to enhance the community feel that O’Meara finds integral to the movie watching experience.

“I am all about movie promoting; I want people going to the movies,” O’Meara said. “Because I don’t want people watching movies on their phone. I just worry about that. I mean it’s easy and it’s convenient but I don’t want that to become the mainstay. You can’t beat the communal feel. I don’t think that will ever change.”

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lifestyle

IV ESTATE

(WALTER MARTINEZ/FOURTH ESTATE)

IV ESTATE

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11

Humans of GMU

Taking inspiration from Humans of New York, Fourth Estate visual editor and photographer Walter Martinez captures the Mason community and shares it on social media.

His portraits tell the story of students, faculty, events or even just people passing through campus.

Sept. 8- When I talked to this guy I found out that he wasn’t actually a student here, but a traveling monk trying to spread messages of peace and love through books on meditation.

Brajananda-das will be making his way through campus today and continuing his journey north tomorrow.

NOW HIRING DRIVERS! !!!GMU STUDENT SPECIALS!!!

(Valid for Carry Out with GMU ID or Delivery to GMU Fairfax Campus Only)

One Large 1 Topping Pizza…

$7.99

(tax and delivery charge not included, $9 Minimum Delivery)

MORE STUDENT VALUE DEALS! One Medium 1 Topping Pizza…$6.99 each Choose any Two (or more) items…$5.99 each Small 10” pizza w/2 top / Sandwich / Pasta tin / 8pc Chicken (Code 9181)

3 Mediums w/ 1 top each…$5.55 each (Online only Code 9116)

One Xtra-Large Cheese…$8.99 (Online Code XL) 2 (or more) Med pizzas w/2 tops each….$5.99 each (Code 9193) (online code items good for both on & off campus delivery) (Remember some deals are not available online.

Pan & Brooklyn crusts additional) Must mention special when ordering. Offer can’t be combined with other offers or specials. Prices do NOT include sales tax. Delivery areas may be limited to ensure safe driving and excellent service. Pan & Brooklyn crusts are additional. Delivery charges may apply. Drivers carry LESS than $20.00 MINIMUM DELIVERY is $9.00

Sept. 10 - The Send Silence Packing campaign happening today in North Plaza brings awareness to the amount of teen suicides that occur each year. The plaza has been filled with the backpacks of students who were victims of depression and felt as though they were unable to call for help due to the stigmas placed on the mental illness. On the backpacks you can find hundreds of stories of ordinary people who chose to end their lives too soon.

HOURS OF OPERATION during GMU School Year…

Mon-Thurs 10:30am until 1am and Fri-Sat until 2am (Summer and Mason school break hours we close at 12mid Mon-Thu and 1am Fri-Sat)

(703) 352-0990

10649-A Braddock Rd (University Mall)

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(ERIKA EISENACHER/FOURTH ESTATE)

Extended construction of Taylor Hall forces students into the Commons SARA MONIUSZKO LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Taylor Hall, a new residential building in President’s Park, was meant to be the new freshman honors Living Learning Community for fall 2014 in lieu of Eastern Shore, the previous freshman honors LLC building, which was converted into an upperclassmen honors LLC. Instead of housing these new honors freshman, however, Taylor Hall is still under construction, forcing students to live in the Commons, where the new freshman honors LLC floors are located.

Since faculty and staff thought the building would be done in time for the new school year, students wishing to be apart of the freshman honors LLC were under the impression they would be living in Taylor Hall when they accepted their enrollment

to Mason and the honors college. Once students were notified the new building would not be completed in time for their arrival in August, it caused confusion and disappointment.

“I thought it was kind of lame, because that’s what they like promised us, and then we didn’t get it,” said Jennifer Alvarez, an honors freshman LLC member living in the Commons. “Now that I’ve adjusted to this, I don’t really care as much. They just didn’t uphold their promise.”

living in the Commons.

“I just feel like since we didn’t have much information about Taylor Hall or how it was going to look… it hadn’t really affected us,” said Marco Perdomo, another honors freshman affected by the move.

Other students did not feel as strongly about the news of Taylor Hall being incomplete.

“To be honest, I hadn’t followed where I was going to live all that much. I knew it was Taylor Hall, and I knew it was supposed to be new, but…when I found out I was living here that didn’t change anything for me,” said Daniel Walters, an honors freshman living in Carroll Hall. “I wasn’t really in any way emotionally invested in Taylor Hall.”

“I was a little upset, but I like this better because I know that Taylor Hall has bigger halls and there’s a lot more people on each floor where as this, we’re all like really close, so I actually like this better,” said Darbi Caitlin, an honors freshman LLC member

Although some students were affected less than others regarding the housing change, faculty involved understood it was important to notify students of the situation as soon as they knew Taylor Hall would not be ready in time.

lifestyle

IV estate “We wanted that decision to come as quickly as we could so that we could communicate it as quickly as we could so that people could prepare,” said Kevin Stoy, the LLC coordinator. “We don’t want to mislead people, we don’t people to be informed too late to adjust or any of that kind of thing.

Stoy also noted that students who are part of the honors LLC should understand that the importance of an LLC comes from the experience, not the actual building.

“It’s not like when people come to the honors college the first thing we sell them is a building.

The first thing we sell them is the overall experience, and we really stand behind that, because we have a dean who totally supports this Living Learning Community piece,” Stoy said. “At the end of the day [the LLC] is a concept, it’s not a physical space… it’s an experience to be had.”

Amongst the changes students are facing living in the Commons as opposed to Taylor Hall are different sized floors as well as a new location on campus.

“It’s kind of a smaller room, but we’re freshmen so obviously I guess,” Alvarez said.

09.15.2014

being separated from the all-freshman neighborhood that Taylor Hall is located in, most still feel connected to other honors students despite them living in different halls.

that they feel close to the other honors freshmen living on their floor. The largest benefit students expressed about their LLC’s new location is the proximity it has to the 24-hour dining hall.

“I talk to people in Essex and I talk to people on my floor and the floor above, so I definitely see other people in the honors college and I’ll see them in classes too,” Walters said.

“It’s just so much closer to the school and it’s closer to Southside which is now like the only place for me to eat without paying money unless I want to like go over to Ike’s which has weird hours and is kind of far away… so I think there’s a lot to say about the convenience,” Walters said.

“We’re all still taking the same classes…so we get to meet the other people in the other buildings anyway,” Caitlin said.

Although honors LLC members are living in different halls as opposed to living in one building like Taylor Hall, Stoy, who said he comes at an LLC much more from a conceptual perspective than a building perspective, does not see the students as “dispersed.”

“They’re not dispersed. My opinion is that it doesn’t matter at all where the Living Learning Community is,” Stoy said. “A real, strong community shouldn’t matter about where it’s located.”

Stoy also believes that living in the Commons actually helps form community.

“I feel like the Commons is sort of like its own bubble as opposed to President’s Park where I feel like almost all, at least, freshmen live and so it feels very separated from them,” Walters said.

“The Commons is actually where living learning communities used to be, and it was built for that,” Stoy said. “And it was built for that because of the nice small floors… it’s much more conducive to building community than Eastern Shore was.”

Although some students expressed feelings of

Many freshman honors LLC students agreed

Stoy agreed that the location is fantastic for students especially with the dining changes that have recently happened on campus, but thinks the most important aspect of the new location is that the freshman honors are now living near other, non-honors students.

“I’d definitely say that it’s nice to be able to interact with people outside of the honors college as well,” said Mark Ircahi, a freshman honors LLC student living in Dickenson Hall.

One concern raised about the honors freshmen being moved into the Commons was that they would be living in forced triples or quads to accommodate everyone meant to live in Taylor Hall. Stoy said this information is false.

The confusion may have occurred due to the handful of honors freshmen who did not want to be a part of the honors LLC in the Commons and live with other honors freshmen, as they could have been put into triples or quads.

start leading others.

Even though all honors freshmen, non-residential students included, are part of the “honors community” and receive the same information about honors LLC updates and activities, Stoy said if they are not living in the residential freshman honors LLC in the Commons he does not have control over their housing arrangements.

“If they’re in another building, I can’t do anything,” Stoy said. “I don’t have any leverage, I can’t advocate for you as strongly when you live in Liberty Square as I can when you live in our residential area where our LLC is located.”

Stoy said he would not be surprised if the honors freshmen who decided not to live in the freshman honors LLC were put into triples, but made clear that all the students apart of the freshman honors LLC in the Commons live in double rooms.

For people who are still upset over the Taylor Hall situation, Stoy said that the priority, in his opinion, for honors students to achieve academically has been met.

“The reality is, at the end of the day, they’re not doing any worse in class because they live in the Commons and that’s what I care about the most is academic success. The rest of the stuff is secondary,” Stoy said. “I haven’t seen anything so far that would suggest to me that students aren’t getting the most they can out of their Mason experience over there in the Commons.”

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13

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lifestyle

IV estate

Student-run literary magazine opens student art, prose submissions for publication

”Without” - Rachel Tori Guarino

SAVANNAH NORTON PRINT LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Volition, Mason’s art and literary magazine and Fourth Estate’s student media partner, is accepting poetry, prose, art and photography submissions for their fall 2014 issue until Nov. 1. It is a great way for students to showcase the talent that they offer to Mason’s community.

“It’s a good thing to say that you have gotten published. It’s also good for networking too,” said Yessy Sansar, Executive Editor of Volition.

Volition will be hosting an Open Mic Night on Sept. 18 and Oct. 16 from 7-9 p.m. at the Corner Pocket in the HUB. Anyone can perform stand-up, musical selections, poetry readings or raps. Free pizza and soda will also be served.

“It’s unpredictable every time,” Sansar said.

The event is not exclusive to Mason students.

Volition encourages students to bring their friends from Mason and outside of campus as well.

Current Mason students can send in their submissions or questions to volitionmagazine@ gmail.com. ​

“

The artwork above and poem below were featured in Volition’s last publication. The photo on the left is titled “It’s within you!” by Khongorzul Batzorig and above is “Without” by Rachel Tori Guarino.

SWAMPLANDER Florida, you

I pleaded to wear them -- but you

left a sour taste in my mouth.

never saw, never thought

They only ever showed ghost thumbprints, but it burned,

a step

the months and months of choking on a future

Scorch me, then.

snubbed out

Leave me

before it started.

for the swamp birds, or for him

Esophageal tissue tightened around the fist

to pick clean.

that held, white knuckled, your broken set of dog tags.

ahead of the burn.

Turn me out in the sawgrass.

You will chase old ghosts; he will love my bones.

- Michelle Webber

opinion

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In response to: “Nitpicking the knit-bricking” Despite Mr. Gryboski’s derision of the actions of the SCA, he fails to realize the scope of how the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case was a major blow to religious freedom in this country.

Mr. Gryboski unfortunately does not seem to understand the history of US church/state separation, which a simple Wikipedia or Google search might remedy. If he had taken a few moments to research it, he would have found a lengthy list of SCOTUS cases establishing separation and setting tests for when government and religion. Courts over the last century and a half have upheld that separation, allowing something near balance between religious beliefs (unless you did not have any) as they operated in secular government.

The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case upends that balance, allowing the beliefs of a small group to ignore national law, force their religious beliefs on a larger group, and open the door for more disastrous cases.

The consequences of this disastrous court case are very openly framed in the minority opinion authored by Justice Ginsberg.

First, if individual religious liberty is the top priority, why then would the court put the religious views of a small group of owners over a vast number of employees that may not share those beliefs.

Remember, this is not a religious entity, this is a for-profit corporation.

Second, would this exemption extend to other corporations owned by religious groups that would like to exempt blood transfusions, antidepressants, medications derived from pigs, and vaccinations?

Third, I think Justice Ginsberg says it best: “Approving some religious claims while deeming others unworthy of accommodation could be ‘perceived as favoring one religion over another,’ the very ‘risk the [Constitution’s] Establishment Clause was designed to preclude.”

Medical insurance is not a benefit granted from on high from an employer, it is an earned benefit that the employee often contributes towards out of their pocket. This case allows employers to control not only an earned benefit, but how they can use that benefit based on nothing more than religious

superstition and limited understanding of basic reproductive biology.

Mr. Gryboski references Jefferson’s references to a creator in “Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom,” but didn’t read further down the document to the part saying “but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities.”

One of the “civil capacities” of a large employer is to furnish, by law, medical insurance to their employees; their religious beliefs should not therefore intrude into diminishing that capacity for others.

To call Jefferson a Christian by modern standards is laughable. Read any of his works where he addresses Christianity as a religion and you would define him with the agnostic camp at the very least.

He wrote several similar statements, but the most telling that shows him not to be like a modern Christian: “And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in an April 11, 1823 letter to John Adams.

I thoroughly encourage Mr. Gryboski to go beyond one letter, read many of the founders’ beliefs on the role of religion in the functions of the state, especially those by our university’s namesake. Do not misconstrue flowery Deist language for the acceptance of Theist rule in our republic.

ANDREW KECK SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH PH.D STUDENT

A menace to university values Every academic institution has a set of fundamentals that it seeks to be defined by. Mason champions itself as being “Innovative”, “Diverse”, “Entrepreneurial”, and “Accessible”, taken together as IDEA. These principles, described under “The Mason Vision” online, say we “question current thinking” and also “try new ideas.” Mason is “an open and welcoming community.”

As Mason’s stated values say, “We protect the freedom of all members of our community to seek truth and express their views.”

At Mason, many champion this message of diversity and welcome. It is in the name of this multiculturalism that they will hold events and have offices meant to advance respect for all people sans exception. Unless, of course, they express an unpopular opinion.

Earlier this month GMU Economics Professor Walter E. Williams penned a column where he pondered why smokers and obese individuals are obligated to pay more in health insurance due to lower life expectancies but not homosexuals.

“According to the International Journal of Epidemiology, life expectancy at age 20 for homosexual and bisexual men is eight to 20 years less than for all men. That’s a lifestyle shortening of life expectancy greater than obesity and tobacco use,” wrote Williams.

“Yet one never hears of insurance companies advertising lower premiums for heterosexual men.”

Williams went on to note that some would say that compelling homosexuals to pay more in health insurance is discriminatory.

He agreed, but added that “why is it acceptable for insurance companies to discriminate against smokers and the obese but not homosexuals?”

Williams made an argument based on factual evidence, he was questioning current thinking and entertaining “new ideas”

on an issue. So surely his writing was compatible with the goals and vision of Mason, correct?

Some Mason students do not see it that way. To them, Williams is an enemy to our University’s cherished fundamentals. In response to Williams’ syndicated column, one Mason student put up a petition on change.org calling for his resignation.

“No student deserves to be placed in an environment that is hostile to who they inherently are as an individual.

Unfortunately that is the environment that Professor Williams creates for so many students at this innovative institution,” claimed the student.

“George Mason University, please help us keep our campus safe and ask Professor Walter Williams to resign.”

Comments from supporters of the petition echoed much the same rhetoric, claiming that by even questioning the merit of any gay rights position Williams should be removed from the University.

The petition and the commenters did what so many LGBT activists do and linked Williams’ comments to homophobic violence. After all, they reason, Williams has made Mason unsafe for LGBT students with his nonviolent words.

Never mind that Williams agreed that homosexuals being forced to pay more was discriminatory, never mind that the petition did not present factual evidence contradicting Williams’.

By making nonviolent statements for his views, Williams has endangered the gay community.

By that reasoning, the LGBTQ Resource Center at SUB I, GMU’s Pride Alliance chapter, and every faculty-staff member openly affiliated with the LGBT-centered Safe Zone program should all resign.

Back in 2012, the Washington, DC office of the conservative Christian group Family Research Council was attacked by a violent gay rights activist. Floyd Lee Corkins entered the

FRC building and attempted to launch a mass shooting of those present. He wounded a security guard before being subdued.

Corkins later admitted to authorities that he wanted to shoot up the FRC office due to the organization’s opposition to various gay rights positions.

Now the fun part: Corkins was once enrolled at George Mason University. He was in this climate of intense gay activism, gay pride events, and the LGBTQ resource office. He probably observed a Pride Week or two, celebrated the diversity of sexual orientations at Mason, and absorbed all of the blind allegiance to the cause that exists here, right down to believing every critic no matter how merited or valid their arguments was a bigot who must be silenced.

Are the LGBTQ Resource Office, Pride Alliance, and every pro-LGBT faculty-staff member at Mason lobbyists for violence against ideological opponents? Certainly not! Then again, neither was Williams in his column.

Like any credible college environment, Mason should be a campus community that welcomes critique, debate, diversity of ideas, and challenging status quos. It should not be a place of censorship and ideological intimidation, like the world that the change.org petition calling for Williams’ resignation mandates.

MICHAEL GRYBOSKI COLUMNIST

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Sports

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Spotlight on the undefeated men’s soccer team TEODOR HANDAROV STAFF WRITER

This preview was originally published on gmufourthestate.com on Aug. 27 Atlantic 10 coaches predict Mason’s men’s soccer team to finish second in the A-10 Conference for the 2014 season-- St. Louis University to repeat its first-place finish from last season after beating out Mason and Virginia Commonwealth University for the regular season top spot.

Although the Billikens, Patriots and Rams may stand out among the rest of the competition, the long A-10 season can always have surprises.

For Mason, there are several factors that could contribute to coach Greg Andrulis’ team exceeding preseason expectations and taking the next step after last year’s second place finish.

Why They Could Succeed Finishing first in regular season offers a team bragging rights and favorable postseason draw. For Mason last season, they had to beat a team brimming with confidence after winning the regular season title while playing on their home field in order to win the A-10 tournament. Despite

playing in a hostile stadium, Mason managed to beat tournament host St. Louis 1-0.

That victory earned the Patriots a spot in the NCAA tournament, where they defeated the College of William and Mary, a former Colonial Athletic Association rival. Now, with one season in the conference under their belt, a stronger familiarity with opposition and a taste of national competition after several years of absence, Coach Andrulis’ men enter conference competition in the beginning of October more confident than they did 12 months ago.

Why They Could Struggle While Mason boasts a talented team heading into this season, there are not many pushovers on their schedule. The Patriots face top 25 teams Virginia, UMBC, Navy and Wisconsin in non-conference play while their conference schedule features VCU and St. Louis who both earned votes for top 25 recognition in the initial NCAA rankings. This tough schedule coupled with losing eight players from last year’s team could prove challenging to the Patriots this fall.

Key Returning Players After a stellar rookie season in which he allowed only 0.71 goals per game in 21 appearances, goalkeeper Steffen Kraus will have to disrupt the opposition’s forwards while directing the defensive line in front of him. The chemistry between the goalkeeper and defenders will be crucial to the team’s overall performance. Going into his sophomore season, Kraus has been named MAC Hermann Trophy Award Watch List. The list is presented at the beginning of each season and lists some of the best players in collegiate soccer. The MAC Hermann Trophy is collegiate soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

Zach Herstek’s return will also be important for the Patriots . After making 18 appearances with three goals and an assist last season, the 2013 All-Rookie Team member might assume a role that would see him act as a catalyst for Mason’s attacks. Along his side he will have experienced Timi Mulgrew, who has 54 appearances for Mason to his resume over the course of three years.

Up top, Jannick Eckenrode will be one of Mason’s top threats to the opposition’s defense. The transfer from

(GOPI RAGHU/FOURTH ESTATE)

Radford University scored a teamhigh five goals in his debut season with the team last year and registered four assists in 20 appearances. With one full season under his belt, he has had time to adjust to coach Andrulis’ philosophy and to the team atmosphere. If he has found that comfort level, he could make an even greater impact this time around.

Key Losses One thing that coaches of any sport — whether at the professional or collegiate level — cannot avoid is

the loss of players. Due to graduation, Mason lost eight players from last year’s roster, including Julio Arjona, Zak Haapaoja, Alex Herrera, Hugh Roberts, Wes Sever, Chase Miller, Laurent Newsome and Sean Cote.

Many of these individuals were stalwarts in the starting lineup and played a key role in the team’s success last season. While it will not be easy for the coaching staff to fill the void left by them, it is important that in each line of play Andrulis can count on returners who can act as leaders and help the new players adjust to their roles.

DATE

OPPONENT

RESULT

KEY STATISTICS

AUG. 29

HOWARD

7-0 (W)

Timi Mulgrew, F: 3 G Colton Amidon, M: 3 G

AUG. 31

AMERICAN

SEPT. 05

WISCONSIN

SEPT. 12

WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE

SEPT. 14

HARTWICK

Season Record: 1-0

1-0 (W) Season Record: 2-0

2-1 (W) Season Record: 3-0

2-0 (W) Season Record: 4-0

1-0 (W) Season Record: 5-0

Timi Mulgrew, F: 1 G Steffen Kraus, G: 3 SV Timi Mulgrew, F: 1 G Henning Dirks, F: 1 G Timi Mulgrew, F: 1 G, 1 A Zach Herstek, M: 1 G Henning Dirks, F: 1 G Steffen Kraus, G: 2 SV