Latest Fourth Estate Articles

Fourth Estate/Mitchell Richtmyre

Men’s basketball team continues to be better at home, being undefeated at EagleBank Arena.

BY JALEN STUBBS, MANAGING EDITOR AND BRAD BYRNE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MASON VS. QUEENS

Mason men’s basketball remained undefeated at home after securing a victory against Queens College of Charlotte. The final score was 72-65.

“Good win for our group, just have to keep getting better…guys, got back to full health,” said Coach Kim English. 

“Ronald was really good and I’m proud of our guys.”

Junior Ronald Polite III finished the game tallying 16 points after playing 31 minutes.

“Just staying together, playing for each other–it’s one possession at a time, get a stop, so just playing for the team,” said Polite III.

Fourth Estate/Mitchell Richymyre

MASON VS. HOFSTRA

Mason men’s basketball won an overtime thriller over old CAA foe Hofstra, 81-77.

Senior Josh Oduro led the Patriots with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Three Mason players fouled out (Ronald Polite III, Victor Bailey Jr. and Ticket Gaines) in the back-and-forth battle.

Hofstra’s Aaron Estrada was fouled while making a basket to tie the game at 68 in the second half but missed the game-winning free throw behind his 31 points.

Fourth Estate/Mitchell Richtmyre

MASON VS. TOLEDO 

Mason grew its winning streak to three, taking down the Toledo Rockets 80-73.

Graduate guards DeVon Cooper and Victor Bailey Jr. led the team in scoring. Cooper had 19 points, including 3-of-5 from three-point range.

Bailey Jr. achieved his first double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Patriots will be back in action at EagleBank Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. against Maryland Eastern Shore.

 

Fourth Estate/Allison Alberty

As the semester comes to a close, the only thing standing between the Mason community and winter break full of rest and relaxation is finals. The stress and anticipation on campus are palpable, but Pats for Patriots returns as a reminder to see the good, not sweat the small stuff, always help others and most importantly; be kind! 

This week… 

Faculty member Dr. Ken Thompson received a pat from a student for his help. Dr. Thompson took time out of his weekend to help a student with a late assignment, with his guidance the student was able to turn in their work later that day. The grateful student says “Dr. Thompson does so many kind things for me every day! He also is a HUGE inspiration to me and words cannot express his kindness.”  

Student DeAyre Talley received a pat from a Mason alumni for his exemplary effort. The alumni praises DeAyre for “Committing to self-development and a willingness to be academically excellent!”

Staff member Carrie Grabo received a pat from a thankful student for being more than just an academic advisor. The student thanked Carrie for “Going above and beyond as an academic advisor by checking on my well-being.”  

Have a wonderful winter break, Patriots! Pats for Patriots will return in the new year with more kindness to share! 

To submit a pat, visit: https://bit.ly/3KHPJUe.

Fourth Estate/Mitchell Richtmyre

As students rushed into EagleBank Arena for the annual Gold Rush event, enthusiasm and school spirit filled the atmosphere leading into the first home game and win of the season.

BY MADALYN GODFREY, STAFF WRITER

Another year and another win for Mason’s Men’s Basketball home opener! Kicking off the first home game for the 2022-2023 season at EagleBank Arena with a slam dunk and a buzzer beater; Patriot Pride filled the stadium throughout the night the moment doors opened at 5:30 p.m. for the annual Gold Rush event.

Despite the rain and the cancellation of the Gold Rush tailgate, free student tickets were completely sold out by the time the event started. For those who secured their tickets, found themselves rushing around full of excitement the moment they walked through the doors.

Through this rush of getting indoors and the close-knit-togetherness of the Mason community all in one place, several students noticed the high amounts of enthusiasm and school spirit that filled the arena leading up to the home opener.

Darren Miralles, a Senior at Mason, felt the high levels of enthusiasm and school spirit that surrounded his first-ever Gold Rush experience. “When I first walked in, I was immediately greeted by student staff to claim a free t-shirt with my Mason ID! While I didn’t use the photo booth, they offered free Patriot Pride Signs… as well as GMU stickers during the game.” said Miralles.

Miralles also mentioned, “[Gold Rush] was overall, a wonderful experience and [made him] want to go again!” 

Junior Patrick Bereit, agreed with Miralles in terms of enthusiasm and school spirit. “I had never seen such school spirit,” said Bereit. In addition, Bereit also stated that this event and the school spirit which surrounded it, “Truly made [him] proud to be a Patriot.” 

Similar to Miralles, this was also Bereit’s first Gold Rush. Despite not attending in the past, Bereit’s overall impression of the Gold Rush event of this year compared to past events was that “[The event] compared great!”

With Bereit, was senior Aleena Fernandez. Fernandez shared that Gold Rush and the basketball game following was her first game ever, “I honestly didn’t expect much in terms of Mason’s school spirit and enthusiasm, but when I first walked in, I was pleasantly and genuinely surprised,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez described the event as an overall fun time, “There were a lot of tables with nice activities… I was greeted nicely and pointed to where I could get my shirt for the game.” 

While there, she also mentioned that she and a friend “ended up getting gold room tickets from someone who was not going to use them… and had a great free dinner before the game.” By attending Gold Rush, Fernandez was able to have an enjoyable first basketball game experience, getting her into the spirit of the game. 

The spirited atmosphere that was gathered through the activities of the events, from face painting, free shirts, giant signs and the hyped-up songs from the Green Machine, remained throughout the game and afterward. 

Patriot pride was ultimately the theme of the night, as celebration followed the game with the first win of the season. Thus marking, this annual event of Gold Rush a success and leading towards a much anticipated Homecoming later on in the season.

Fourth Estate/Alexis McCaffrey

Ask the Mind

BY ALEXIS MCCAFFREY, CULTURE EDITOR

Mason recently adopted a new virtual platform called TimelyCare that helps students access free counseling and psychological services on a schedule that is convenient for them.

Upon first hearing about this platform through GMU Mental Health Discord chat I was curious and intrigued. So I signed up with my Mason email and made my first appointment. 

I got up early to make sure I would be ready for my 9:00 a.m. appointment. I prepped and wrote out some talking points about things I wanted to work on as well as why I wanted to participate in counseling. 

At 9:00 a.m. I hopped on the Timely Care app on my iPhone a little message popped up that stated to remain on the app in preparation for your appointment. I waited five minutes passed. I waited a few more minutes and then decided to contact customer service.

Timely Care’s customer service was super helpful and was able to solve the technical problem we were having in regard to my video counseling appointment. Within ten minutes I was on a video call with my counselor, Vivian McCorey.

 She was amazing! She gave me so much wisdom and helpful advice to me for things that I was often overthinking. It gave me peace about everything that has been bottled up before our appointment. Our appointment lasted about 45 minutes and was very helpful. Near the end of our appointment, she stated that I get free 12 appointments in the period of a year and that I also have access to a free chatroom called “TalkNow”  that is available 24/7. 

Other resources on the TimelyCare app also include an explore page that contains various activities like yoga, mediations, and mindful discussion. There is also a community page where you can share your feelings on a more public level and receive feedback from your peers. Once you sign into the app via your Mason email you will have access to free counseling via video or phone call as well as free health coaching. 

I think the TimelyCare app helps provide more students with accessibility to well-being resources on their schedule which I love! I like specifically how the app offers you an option of various providers based on survey responses you fill out prior. I felt my provider was a perfect match. I think the app has a few technical issues but, overall is helping students get one step closer to bettering their mental health. 

 

Fourth Estate/Kim Akker

If we are talking about a season where it becomes cooler after a long summer, nature is turning into a beautiful palette of red, orange and brown, and the season of the pumpkins, we are obviously talking about the fall. Even though the fall season in the Netherlands shows a lot of similarities with America, there are also differences.

Here in America fall season is all about farm markets, beautiful colors and of course Halloween, but imagine that the fall season is known for the rain, then it becomes suddenly less fun. If you ask random Dutch people about the fall, they will probably mention the amount of rain that falls during this season.

However, if you look at the bright side of fall in the Netherlands, it also has fun stuff during this time of the year. 

Here are four things you need to know about the fall in the Netherlands:

 THE DUTCH MOORLANDS IN FULL BLOOM

You know summer is coming to an end and fall season is starting when the heather in the Dutch moorlands is in full bloom. Most of the nature reserves in the country consist of moorlands where heather fields will turn into all shades of purple and lilac at the beginning of September. It kind of looks like the blooming lavender fields in France. 

FALL FOOD

Like every country, the Netherlands also has its own specific food they typically eat during the fall season. One example is Dutch apple pie, even though apple pie is also a real American thing, Dutch apple pies taste differently. It has a better texture because you can really taste the actual flavor of an apple with less sugar.

Another sweet thing that is typical for the season is speculaas. It is a typical holiday cookie, that traditionally is made for the Dutch celebration of Sinterklaas at the beginning of December. However, nowadays you can get it all year round. Speculaas cookies are usually shaped like windmills and are a type of spiced short-crust biscuit baked with speculaas spices.

The fall season and erwtensoep (pea soup) are things you immediately connect if you are Dutch, also known as snert. The soup is made of split peas, vegetables, and slices of rookworst (Dutch smoked sausage). The best erwtensoep is when it is so thick that your spoon can stand upright in it. Typically, with this soup, you eat rye bread with katenspek (a Dutch type of bacon).

Traditional comfort food during the fall is stamppot which is a perfect meal for the colder days. You would find definitely it on some restaurant menus during the colder day and they come in many different varieties. A stamppot is potatoes mashed with vegetables and topped with rookworst (Dutch smoked sausage).

SINTERKLAAS

While the rest of the world relates December with Christmas, the Netherlands has another big celebration in the same month: Sinterklaas. Every year Sinterklaas comes from Spain to the Netherlands on his steamboat, the Pakjesboot 13 (Present boat 13) with his many helpers, Pieten (Petes). On their boat, they bring many presents for all the children.

Until the big night of December fifth children put their shoes near the chimney in their house, sing Sinterklaas songs, and leave behind carrots, sugar, and water for Sinterklaas’ horse and sometimes drawing, letters, and their wish list for Sinterklaas himself. During the night Sinterklaas visits the houses of the kids to leave a small present in their shoes. He rides his horse over the roofs of the houses, but his helpers, the Pieten go down the chimney to put the present in the kids’ shoes.

The real celebration of Sinterklaas is the night of Dec. 5, also known as pakjesavond (gift evening). At one point in the evening, the Pieten knock on the front door and leave jute bags filled with presents. Sometimes kids get lucky, and they get a visit from Sinterklaas and his Pieten when they bring over the presents. 

ICE SKATING

One of the most Dutch things you can do in the Netherlands when you are there during the fall season is ice skating. As soon as the temperature drops, ice skating rinks are popping up around the country. Dutch people are passionate ice skaters. If you would ask around the country almost every Dutch person can ice skate. 

One of the most beautiful open-air ice rinks is in front of Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It is not the best ice to ice skate on since it is fake ice and always super busy, but for the view definitely worth it. After a few hours of ice skating, you can buy a nice cup of hot chocolate and eat poffertjes (Dutch mini pancakes)

When the temperature drops low enough for a longer period, lakes and flooded meadows turn into ice skate rinks. Even the canals in Amsterdam will turn into one big ice rink where you can find most Dutch people. In the past years, it did not happen a lot since the weather is warmer during the winter, but you are assured that if the temperature drops low enough you find almost all the Dutch people on the ice. Along the water, you would probably find some koek-en-zopies where you can buy split pea soup, hot chocolate, or enjoy a steaming cup of gluhwein (Dutch hot mulled wine).

 Well after this whole list you can describe the Dutch fall as a typical Dutch word: “gezellig”. This word cannot be translated into an English word, but the meaning includes everything from cozy to friend, from comfortable to relaxing and from enjoyable to gregarious. Probably after visiting the Netherlands during this season, you will understand what is meant by the word “gezellig”!

 

 

Fourth Estate/Alexis McCaffrey

BY ALEXIS MCCAFFREY, CULTURE EDITOR AND BRAD BYRNE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As the fall leaves begin to touch the ground activities in D.C. have become more popular. Here are some of our favorites!

The Office Experience: Are you a fan of the hit tv show, “The Office”? Then this is the place for you! Those who visit this interactive experience, similar to the “Friends” Experience, are able to celebrate their favorite moments from the cultural phenomenon that is “The Office”. You can take a stroll into Michael’s office and pretend you’re the boss of the Scranton Business Park office, or stroll to Pam’s receptionist desk. When strolling through the replica of the famous set, you can visit Ryan’s closet office or relieve Kevin’s Chili Spill. This is a must for any fans of the show and anyone who loves to take great photos for Instagram

Artechouse: is an immersive visual experience that combines art and technology. The current exhibit they have is ASE: Afro Frequencies which provides powerful visuals based on the celebration of the Black experience. This exhibit pushes the envelope on identity, power, and belonging as you walk through the history of African Kings and Queens. It was very moving and near the end of the exhibit, they even provided a video where they gathered the head artists’ insights on why this exhibition was made. Make sure to book your tickets in advance. They do offer student discounts so make sure to take your Mason ID with you. One of my favorite pastimes in DC which is perfect for fall is visiting bookstores. I am fall(ing) in love with books right now. Here are some of my favorite spots that showcase genres such as politics, women’s rights, poetry, and creative nonfiction as well as many others.

Capital Hill Books: located conveniently on Capitol Hill can simply be described as a house crammed full of books in EVERY single room. The house smells of books and in the best way possible. I originally found this bookstore on Pinterest and ever since then I have been in love. They have various genres and the staff is very courteous and will attend to your bookworm needs.

Bridge Street Books: located in Georgetown just flew blocks down from the Four Seasons Hotel. Offers access to a variety of best-selling books near the entrance while the rest of the store is divided into various sections: antiracism, feminism, classic fiction, and many others. I distinctly remember the poetry being located on the upstairs level. My favorite aspect about this store was the sections they had for those who worked in the store to showcase their favorite books. I thought it was a unique and quirky thing to do. There are many great finds in this bookstore and if you are ever in Georgetown make sure to stop by!

Fourth Estate/Madison Schofield

Students gather to mourn and call for action to protect trans youth.

BY MADISON SCHOFIELD, STAFF WRITER

Mason students and community members gathered at Horizon Hall on Friday to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR).

TDOR is held annually on Nov. 20 to recognize and remember the trans and non-binary lives lost due to anti-trans violence in the past year. 

Mason’s observance of TDOR occurred on Nov. 17. Students and community members gathered for a reading of the almost 400 names of trans and non-binary people who died this year. The event included a candlelighting ceremony and a moment of silence.

The event was hosted in collaboration with the Queer Student Leadership Council, the Pride Alliance, the Center for Culture, Equity & Empowerment and the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. 

According to Pride Alliance Secretary Jake Kornfield, it is essential for the LGBTQ+ community to gather together during this time. 

“In a world that isn’t always kind to trans people, community is everything. Community is life-saving,” said Kornfield

According to the Trans Lives Matter website, violence is the leading cause of death amongst trans and non-binary people, with many being lost due to beatings, stabbings, gunshots and other transphobic violence. 

TDOR is not only a day to honor those lost, but a day that serves as a call to action. 

“Nothing can bring back the people we lost, but we can prevent further violence from occurring,” said Kornfield. “We all have a moral obligation to change the world so that being trans doesn’t have to be a painful experience.”

Student Senator Bas Rawat shared that they are working with Student Government to protect trans and non-binary students, and prevent policies that may lead to harm. They also added that community help is essential. 

“As we move forward in time we must recognize the hardships the trans community endures, and how we are susceptible to large amounts of hate and violence,” they said. “Please do your part in helping the community. Protest policies to honor the past lives that we’ve lost and to protect future trans youth.”

Rawat invites the community to join them in fighting for trans lives at an upcoming rally hosted by the Pride Liberation Project. The rally which was originally scheduled for Nov. 19 in Richmond was postponed due to the tragedy at UVA. 

According to Rawat, updates regarding the rally’s new date will be shared on the organization’s Instagram.