Everybody Hates The Circus

By Broadside Columnist Nicole Kukuruda

It’s that miserable time of year again. You know it isn’t fun, and you almost forget it’s happening; but there it is, right in your face, ruining your life.

No, I’m not talking about tax day on April 15 — I get $12.00 back!

The day we all dread and fear is the day the circus arrives at George Mason University.

It always seems to creep up on you, too. You forget it is coming. You’re driving around Mason in late February searching for a parking spot, you’re complaining about the lack thereof, and you forget that it is only going to get worse.

You think to yourself that surely things must be getting better. They keep shutting down lots to build new things, like housing or the new academic building across from the aquatic center.

Parking keeps promising that they’re building parking decks to alleviate the problems, but then the circus comes.

Now I personally have a bias against the circus. It really is my least favorite potential event that the Patriot Center hosts. I’m not a crazy animal rights activist, but I really hate the circus in general.

This likely stems from my childhood fear of elephants, ironic for a Republican. But think about it—a big, five ton beast, with little understanding or comprehension of its surroundings.

I wouldn’t want a five ton beast coming after me, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be stuck in a small circular room with one either.

So, the whole problem with the circus isn’t just that big scary elephants could potentially trample you to your death; the primary problem for Mason students is what the circus does to their parking.

Now students get angry. They have to park at the field house. They want to kill people because they can’t park in Lot A, and overall, it is a rough situation for the two weeks or so that the circus is at Mason.

The animal rights activists come out in storms with kiosks
in the JC and constant protests on Braddock Road.

I still don’t quite understand why it is that the protesters have to be on Braddock as no one can ever seem to give me a really clear answer; but there they are, waving pictures of tortured animals in your face as you pull into campus.

I also don’t understand why parents continue to come. I’m sure that as a child, if I saw a tortured lion on a large poster board as I came to the circus, I’d never want to see the circus again.

Why is it that parents ignore the protesters and continue attending. The problem with the protesters is that everyone thinks they are kind of a joke.

I personally agree with what they’re saying, and considering my bias against elephants and against losing parking spots, I can’t help but agree that I don’t want the circus at Mason either.

It seems to me that considering the number of complications the circus causes, perhaps it is time to scrap the circus and look for Britney Spears to come to Mason.

I understand the argument that bringing the circus brings money to the Patriot Center, which reduces student fees, but I’m curious what the total level of discount is for students.

Personally, I’d be willing to pay $5 more in student fees to get rid of the circus, and I know there are a considerable number of students who share this view.

The moral of this story is that it is time for the university to reconsider the circus at Mason, and consider whether it is really worth the hassle.

Plus, let’s not lie, clowns are creepy!