News

RAP Offers New Options and Restrictions

Thu, 03/04/2010 - 21:13 | C2M Staff Reporter Lauren Jost
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Students can no longer lease an apartment on campus year-round. The move comes as a result of declined interest in the option over the past several years. 
(Photo by Daniel McEnrue)
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With March in swing, spring on the way, and next year's housing on many minds, resident students beginning to plan their living arrangements for the Fall and Summer 2010 semesters may notice a few housing changes as they complete their Room Assignment Process (RAP) application.

The most notable change to the RAP process is removal of the 12-month lease option for students looking to live in an apartment on campus year-round.

Brian Davis, associate director for Housing Services, says that there has been a steady decline in demand from residents for 12-month leases in York River Corner since 2004.

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Police Take Steps Towards 24/7 Camera 'Patrol'

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 18:39 | WGMU Program Director Alex Romano
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The George Mason University Police Department is upping security measures on campus, starting with a push towards a manned 24/7 'patrol' of on-campus cameras.
(Photo by Student Media Photography Manager Peter Flint)
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It may not be Big Brother, but "you are being watched." The George Mason University Policy Department is working to establish a 24/7 security operations center, and one of the first projects is the manned 'patrol' of closed-circuit cameras on the Fairfax campus.

On a regular business day, the cameras will be monitored for a total of four hours. Assistant Chief of Police George Ginovsky called this a 'baby step' towards the larger goal of monitoring the cameras 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The footage the cameras collect was previously only used as reference when a crime was reported.

WGMU Program Director Alex Romano ask Ginovsky about the changes in security and the greater move towards the 24/7 security operations center in this excerpt from the station's weekly segment, Ask the Police.

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Spring Break Kiosks Pop Up: Students Encouraged to Stay Safe

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 14:09 | Sandra Evans and Broadside Correspondent
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Spring Break is a time for some fun in the sun amid a hectic, energy-draining spring semester; however, the special occasion has a bad reputation, with some college students making not-so-great decisions that can sometimes have very serious consequences.

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Mason Group Clashes with Mining Companies: Students Work to Pass ‘Stream Saver’ Bill

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 14:07 | Allison Rutledge and Broadside Correspondent
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Over the past month, members of George Mason University’s Environmental Action Group, or EAG, have been working hard to help pass legislation to protect streams and mountains in the commonwealth. One bill in particular, the “Stream Saver” bill, would stop coal companies from dumping surface mining waste into streams, effectively ending mountaintop removal in Virginia.

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Cuccinelli Files Lawsuit Against EPA: Attorney General Wants Virginia Out of Clean Air Act

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 14:01 | Nya Jackson and Broadside Correspondent
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With Virginia facing a deficit of $1.59 billion for the 2010-2011 biennial budget, one George Mason University organization alleged that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is wasting taxpayers’ money with “frivolous lawsuits.”

The Mason Environmental Action Group, or EAG, was referring to petitions the attorney general filed in federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. to block the Environmental Protection Agency from complying with a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

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Women’s History Month Begins: Events to Showcase the Contributions of Women

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 13:59 | Yasmin Tadjdeh and News Editor
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This month, students on campus will have the opportunity to learn more about the contributions of women to our society. The Women and Gender Studies Center will be hosting Women’s History Month at George Mason University this March. Through performances, art and seminars, officials involved in making Women’s History Month hope to educate students on women’s issues.

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McDonnell Order Does Not Protect Gays: Omission Based on McDonnell’s State Constitution Interpretation

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 13:55 | Ethan Vaughan and Asst. News Editor
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Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell issued an executive order last month protecting state workers from discrimination, but one particular group was left out: gays and lesbians. McDonnell’s Feb. 5 order, issued a month after he took office, “specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities.

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Textbooks Allegedly Sold for Crack: Police Bust Bookstore Theft Ring

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 13:53 | Ethan Vaughan and Asst. News Editor
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The George Mason Bookstore recently aided in apprehending two non-student thieves who had stolen and sold books, allegedly to use the money for drugs.
(Photo by Student Media Photography Manager Peter Flint)

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The George Mason University Police Department broke up a theft ring at the university bookstore earlier this semester, busting an operation where textbooks were stolen from the school and allegedly sold for crack cocaine. On Jan. 28, Mason police arrested Sandra Reid, 43, and Brian Boyd, 33, both non-students who had taken merchandise from the bookstore on two separate occasions.

Both are to be tried in the Fairfax County court system, with Reid facing charges of grand larceny, concealment of merchandise and possession of cocaine, and Boyd standing for conspiracy to commit grand larceny.

A third suspect has yet to be identified, but the police department says they are actively pursuing information.

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University Discusses Proposed Budgets in Richmond

Sun, 02/28/2010 - 23:25 | C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker
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Provost Peter Stearns, left, and Senior Vice President Morrie Scherrens, right, held a town hall budget forum for faculty in the Johnson Center Cinema last Wednesday. Over 200 people were present to hear the proposed budgets and their effects on the university.
(Photo via camera phone by C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker)

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Wounded from recent economic troubles, current plans in Virginia’s General Assembly regarding the state’s budget and higher education may leave George Mason University students, faculty and staff stuck with more financial burden. In the proposed budgets, Mason faculty and staff would face a combination of furloughs, stagnant pay and general reductions in research funding —and students would face a projected tuition and fees increase between eight and 10 percent each year for the next three years.

During a town hall budget forum for faculty last Wednesday, Provost Peter Stearns and Senior Vice President Morrie Scherrens discussed options for combating the state budget cuts, options that, without attention in the present, would prevent the university from fully functioning in the future.

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One-of-a-Kind 'Cookie Cart' Debuts in Homecoming Parade

Mon, 02/22/2010 - 16:17 | C2M Staff Reporter Lauren Jost
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Full of milk and cookies and specially designed for Mason's Dining Services, the "Spunk Buggy" will begin roaming the Fairfax campus this semester. The cart debuted in last Saturday's homecoming parade. 
(Photo by Student Media Photography Manager Peter Flint)

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Unveiled in the “Unmasque Your Spirit” Homecoming Parade on Saturday was a new kind of treat wagon. A food cart that once stood idly in the back of SUB I was transformed into a mobile milk and cookie distributor called the “Spunk Buggy.”

Otis Spunkmeyer, the namesake and distributor of cookies baked and sold across various dining facilities, gave the cart a customized transformation to equip the old cart for cookies and milk.

“I could just see myself having a bad day and then seeing the cookie cart and all my worries are gone,” said art and visual technology major Britni Petersen.

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