Broadside

I regret saying this, but I called it. The VCU Rams rolled over the George Mason Patriots men’s basketball team in the final few minutes to run away with the 15-point win. Junior guard Cam Long was hot, I mean hot, until February rolled around. He was unable to tally 20 points in a game since Jan. 30.

As goes Cam Long, so goes Mason, I guess. In the two wins of the month, Long scored 19 points against VCU and 14 points against the Delaware Blue Hens.

Other players have stood up to make a name over the time though. Sophomore forward Mike Morrison had 17 points against the Drexel Dragons and 18 points, his career high, against VCU. Redshirt freshman forward Kevin Foster recorded a career-high 22 points against the William & Mary Tribe. Freshman forward Johnny Williams recorded 18 points, another career high, against the College of Charleston Cougars.

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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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This past Monday, Feb. 15, marked the first homecoming pageant in Mason history that won't crown a Mr. and Ms. Mason. Citing the university's diversity as the primary root of the change, the contest will crown one gender-neutral "Mason Majesty." Last year, Richard Malebranche, second from the left, was crowned Mr. Mason. Ryan Allen, center, also known by drag-queen name Reann Ballslee, was crowned Ms. Mason.
(Archived photo of last year's pageant by Grace Kendall)

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This year, not only will the homecoming queen be without a vagina — homecoming will be without a queen.

Starting this year, following last year’s crowning of drag queen Reann Balslee as Ms. Mason, homecoming will no longer have the Mr. and Ms. Mason competition, but will opt for just one winner, known as Mason Majesty.

“We, [being] Student Activities and Program Board, discussed that we wanted to be more inclusive to all persons on campus — no matter how they identify . . . [The removal of the Mr. and Ms. Mason competition] has been in discussion for years,” said Assistant Director of Programming in Student Activities Michelle Davis, noting that it was not brought about specifically because of a drag queen winning the Ms. Mason title last year.

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Mason graduate students come together to cut the ceremonial ribbon at the beach soccer arena in Cochabama, Bolivia.
(Photo courtesy of the Inter-American Development Fund)
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Between exams, papers and assigned readings, the workings of third world countries often seem distant to college students, but for one group of graduate students, they have made the advancement of impoverished nations their priority.

The Inter-American Development Fund is a non-profit international development organization that aims to help build infrastructure in Latin America. Led by a small group of George Mason University graduate students and alumni, the group helps to coordinate development in various Latin American countries such as Bolivia, El Salvador and Mexico.

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