C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker

Wanted: TV Bloggers

Thu, 07/29/2010 - 13:15 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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So many good shows.

UPDATED 2:16 p.m. 

Psst. Hey, you. Connect2Mason is expanding its coverage this fall. If "Merlotte's," "microexpressions," and "mash-up" are part of your everyday lexicon, odds are you'll like this part.

Over the past semester. C2M has had a heavy news focus, but folks, that doesn't mean we don't like to have fun too. Come fall, we're going to give you the best of both worlds. We're expanding and reinventing our entertainment coverage.

But we need your help.

Connect2Mason is seeking two to three television bloggers to contribute to its new Events & Entertainment section.

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Construction Mishap Knocks Out Mason's Lights, A.C.

Mon, 07/26/2010 - 16:05 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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POWER OUTAGE
Powerless! How Do I Live?
 Jittered by Monday's outage? It won't be the last Mason's campus ever faces, and it won't be for the greater community either. Thousands in the D.C. area loss power Sunday after a recent storm. 
What's the first thing you do when the lights go off unexpectedly? Do you grab a book, or do you rely on battery power?

Join in.         

 UPDATED 5:05 p.m. 

Construction workers nicked a reportedly mislabeled power supply during work on a housing project on the northwest side of George Mason University’s Fairfax campus, rendering more than half of the school’s buildings without power for the majority of the Monday workday.

The outage occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. when members of the construction crew working on the new dormitory project Housing VIIIA hit a “bulk feeder,” a main line source of power for the university, according to Nancy Pickens, a project manager for Facilities Planning. No one was hurt during the incident.

“All I know is I went to plug in my laptop, and when I looked back up, the power was out,” said Rona Loscano, a Sodexo unit manager with Mason Dining, while convening with other managers in a dimly lit Johnson Center shortly before the lunchtime rush hours. With a majority of its summer operations affected by the outage, Mason Dining temporarily opened Southside to the public during the outage, as well as its hot dog cart on the North Plaza. Employees also continued to sell “Grab N’ Go” items for cash-only in the Johnson Center, until the power returned at approximately 2:45 p.m.

Shortly thereafter, dining operations — and the majority of offices on campus who persevered through the lack of electricity and air-conditioning — returned to their normal summer schedule.

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Former Mason Student Charged with Attempting to Join a Terrorist Group

Wed, 07/21/2010 - 17:45 | C2M Senior News Editor Jordan J. Frasier and C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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This photo was originally published without caption or photo credit on the blog Jawa Report. Zachary Adam Chesser confirmed via e-mail this spring, however, that this picture was indeed of him. (Jawa Report) 

UPDATED 7/22 11:01 a.m.

A former George Mason University Student was arrested Wednesday as an alleged terrorist recruit on his way to join al Shabab, a Somali-based terrorist organization with ties to al Qaeda.

According to the Washington Post, Zachary Adam Chesser, 20, was stopped earlier this month after being placed on a no-fly list. He was barred from boarding a commercial flight from New York City to Uganda as part of multi-leg journey to Somalia, where Islamist insurgency al-Shabab wants to topple the country's weak central government, according to the FBI and papers filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. He attended Mason as a freshman for one semester in 2008.

Chesser, who goes by the pseudonym Abu Tallah Al-Amrikee, made threats earlier this year against the creators of “South Park” for presenting a negative view of Islam and the prophet Muhammad.

In an e-mail interview with Connect2Mason in April, Chesser stated that members of Revolution Muslim, a group based out of New York City to which he has claimed association, did not plan to stay in the United States very long.

"We do not encourage Muslims to remain in the West and we do not plan on doing it either," he said. "If immigration laws were not such a pain, than I would not be here right now."

Connect2Mason continues to investigate this story.

Read the full Washington Post story here.

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Question Box: Uh...Why is Mason Pond Brown?

Tue, 07/20/2010 - 13:11 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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Over the weekend, Connect2Mason received an inquiry about the condition of Mason Pond. (Kevin Loker) 
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UPDATED 2:00 p.m.

George Mason University is big. It’s really big. And there’s a lot going on. We do our best to cover what’s news and what we feel the Mason community should know, but sometimes we get e-mails with questions from you, the reader, about things we haven’t covered, on items that you think we should. Sometimes, these inquiries lead to great stories. But sometimes, the news value just isn’t there. Other times, they just make us laugh.

Enter the Question Box. It’s our solution to finding a home for some of the random tidbits of information we acquire while researching story leads — the bits that don’t warrant a full story, but are either interesting or humorous, and nonetheless worth knowing. 

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Today’s Question Box Question came to us through our contact form: “Hey Connect2Mason, do you know why Mason Pond is all brown and whatnot? Did something go wrong with construction?”

We looked into it. Apparently, brown’s a good color for the pond right now. According to Nancy Pickens, a project manager for facilities planning, that somewhat unsightly tinge means the pond working.

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Chesapeake Area Construction Work Will End in Separate Pathways for Vehicles, Pedestrians

Mon, 07/19/2010 - 10:35 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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Construction work near Northern Neck and the building's Starbucks will temporarily reroute pedestrian traffic on the northeast side of campus. (Kevin Loker) 

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UPDATED 11:40 a.m.

Latte-seeking faculty members and students making a beeline for their cars in Rappahannock Parking Deck will need to adhere to a couple pedestrian detours for the next few months in order to reach their final destinations. 

Construction work on a steam tunnel connection near Northern Neck is expected to temporarily change pedestrian traffic patterns until its completion early in the fall semester.  

The current work, however — which will connect a steam tunnel to the new University Hall administrative and retail building — is only a portion of a larger redesign of the area, according to Director of Construction and Auxiliary Services Steve Morehouse. In the end, the main strip of the Chesapeake housing area will have a separate access road for vehicles on the west side of the existing walkway, with some short term parking spaces, a median and trees. A new, albeit smaller, walkway will rest where the existing walkway is presently.
 
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Students Under Investigation for ID Theft, Plot to Burglarize Buildings

Wed, 07/14/2010 - 18:58 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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UPDATED 7:56 p.m. 

Two George Mason University students are under investigation for allegedly stealing a campus police officer’s ID information and plotting to burglarize buildings on campus. 

According to NBC 4, the investigation began in early May when police discovered someone had obtained a campus police officer’s ID information. The unidentified thief had been using the information to gain access to unauthorized areas, including a housing office in the Chesapeake housing area. Spotting a pattern in the usage of a particular student’s ID, police went to his residence to confront him.
 
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Three Einstein Bros. Locations Coming to Mason

Fri, 07/02/2010 - 10:11 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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Einstein Bros. Bagels

UPDATED 1:44 p.m.

George Mason University will house a total of three Einstein Bros. Bagels locations across its Fairfax and Arlington campuses by summer 2011, with each campus beginning an operation this fall.

Two of the three Sodexo-run operations of the national coffee and bagel chain will be located at the university’s main campus in Fairfax. The third Mason location will be on the street-level of Virginia Square on the Arlington Campus.

The first Fairfax location will open in the Long and Kimmy Nguyen Engineering Building before students start classes late August. Operating as a kiosk similar to the Jazzman’s in Fenwick Library, it will offer a limited version of the Einstein Bros. menu.

Plans for the Engineering Building also include a 400 to 500 square foot convenience store, with a selection of items similar to One Stop Patriot Shop.

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Police Investigate Armed Robbery Near University Mall

Fri, 06/25/2010 - 15:04 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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UPDATED 4:15 p.m. 

Two men attempted to steal a 34-year-old man’s car in a parking lot near the George Mason University Fairfax campus on Thursday, June 24, according to a Fairfax County Police press release.

The victim was standing by his car around 10:30 p.m. when a 2007 BMW M6 pulled up next to him. One of the two men exited the vehicle, pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded the keys to his 2007 Honda Civic. The victim complied with the suspect, who attempted to flee in the victim’s vehicle. Unable to drive away in the Civic, however, the suspect grabbed the victim’s cell phone, retreated back into the BMW and the duo left the scene.

The release says the event took place in the 10600 block of Braddock Road, which touches the southwest edge of campus and includes the University Mall Shopping Center.

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Aviation Club Pilot Teaches Connect2Mason How to Fly

Tue, 05/04/2010 - 19:53 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker, C2M Contributor Matt Loffman, and Alicia Thayer
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UPDATED 8:53 p.m. 

Looking skyward, with stomachs churning, C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker and then-Podcast Director Matt Loffman traveled to Warrenton-Fauquier Airport to go flying with George Mason University's future Flying Club.

David Fields, a pilot helping the student organization "get off the ground," took the duo up in his plane last fall, teaching Loker some basics. Fields says the goal of the group is to do the same for students and other Mason community members with an interest in aviation. 

The Aviation Club, which was officially instated as a university student group this spring, has since gathered close to 200 Facebook fans and 50 official members, 29 of whom gathered on Saturday for the club’s first-ever Flight Day.

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College Democrats ‘Fully Support’ Workers, Call Dining Committee Statements ‘Irresponsible’

Tue, 04/20/2010 - 22:49 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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College Democrats released a statement Tuesday reinforcing the organization's support of recent unionization efforts by some on-campus Sodexo employees. A strike last week in demonstration of the push closed the Johnson Center's Taco Bell, pictured above, due to staffing. (Peter Flint)
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UPDATED 11:49 p.m.

The George Mason University College Democrats released a statement earlier today, April 20, saying the organization will "fully support" a group of on-campus Sodexo employees in their unionization efforts. Outlined concerns expressed in the statement focus less on claims of intimidation and harassment directed at Mason Dining management and more on issues of wages, health insurance and “justice in the workplace,” according to the organization’s co-president.

The statement, which was posted on the organization’s website, follows and addresses a letter released last week from the Student Government’s Administrative Subcommittee on Dining Services that condemned the “false claims and accusations” leveled against on-campus food contractor Sodexo and Mason Dining management by the Service Employees International Union. Signed by the dining committee’s four Student Government senators, the letter outlined “frivolous claims” made by members of the SEIU at last week’s on-campus protest and march, as well as on the union’s website.

College Democrats call the committee’s statements “irresponsible.”

“It is unfortunate that these few members [of the dining committee] have chosen to make claims about the working conditions of our food service workers without even speaking with them,” the statement reads. “We have spoken with the workers. They want nothing more than a decent wage, affordable health insurance and justice in the workplace.”

READ THE FULL STORY | READ THE STATEMENT

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