F O U RT H E S TAT E December 3, 2018
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
WINTER BREAK ADVENTURES! page 17
Volume 6 Issue 11
YOU MATTER: ADDRESSING SEXUAL
ASSAULT News page 8
JAVON GREENE: DEAL WITH
DIRTY WORK
Sports page 11
DEAR IVY:
SPONGEBOB THEORY? Culture page 18
DON’T PAY AMAZON Opinions page 21 @ivestate | gmufourthestate.com
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12.03.2018
THE FOURTH ESTATE
GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE
ALEXANDER SHEDD Editor-in-Chief
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
BASMA HUMADI Managing Editor IZZ LAMAGDELEINE Copy Chief
Dear Patriots, I cannot overstate what an incredible experience it’s been to be your Editor In Chief this semester. While we have had our ups and downs, our dramas and late nights, our successes and our failures, I would not change a second of it. We started this semester with a 20-page paper and eight color pages. We are ending it with 28 pages and 12 color pages—a hugely significant moment in Fourth Estate history. It’s truly amazing to have such a dedicated and talented staff to carry the paper just about every week. And we’ve heard you. We know what you have liked, what you have loved, what you have ignored and what you have downright hated. You will see some changes in Fourth Estate next semester, including a new partnership with the NOVA Advance program, a revamped Opinions section, a brand new investigative team, new video projects and (hopefully) a new website. We are also making new strategies for advertising, distribution and social media to get closer to being the best student paper you could ask for. It’s been a long, difficult and hugely rewarding semester. My door is always open to you, and as always, you can reach us directly at masonfourthestate@gmail.com.
HUONG CAO LIZ ELKIND OWEN FERGUSON Copy Editors DANA NICKEL News Editor ABIGAIL ADCOX Assistant News Editor MONICA ECHOLS Culture Editor HAILEY BULLIS Assistant Culture Editor JAMIE BELIVEAU Opinions Editor NATALIE HEAVREN Sports Editor DOMENIC ALLEGRA Assistant Sports Editor LAUREN SULLIVAN OLIVIA VERMANE Longform Editors KRISTEN TALMAN GMU Korea Coordinator
Sincerely, Alexander Shedd
ALLIE THOMPSON Photo Editor
Editor-In-Chief
ALEXANDRIA MCALPINE Art Director BILLY FERGUSON Online Director
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FOURTH ESTATE BILLLY FERGUSON
GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE
IMMIGRATION AND THE 2018 MIDTERMS Panel talks future of immigration legislation IZZ LAMAGDELEINE COPY CHIEF
The 2018 midterm election saw the House of Representatives turn blue with a Democrat majority, while the Senate gained more Republican members. The midterms held several historic moments for the U.S., including the first Muslim and Native American women in Congress, as well as the first openly gay governor in the country.
the bases of each policy have grown further apart on immigration, and the bases are the ones that are controlling the narrative in both parties,” Brown explained. “The harsher one side gets on an issue, the other side will
a result of this perception, the movement to abolish ICE has gained steam in the past several months. “I think what’s interesting is that you’re beginning to see, within the progressive
the one thing that we stand for that does become a unifying message is … I like to say if this is a bumper sticker, our country is better than this. America is better than this.”
Panel members included Dara Lind, Vox News journalist; Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center; Virginia House Delegate Mark Keam; and Josh Breisblatt, legal counsel for Democrats on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. The discussion was moderated by Professor Justin Gest of the Schar School of Policy and Government. A major point during the discussion was the difficulty of creating comprehensive bipartisan immigration legislation. Participants discussed how harsh rhetoric contributes to the growing divide between political sides. “One of the reasons that immigration has become so polarized [is] that
FOURTH ESTATE ALLIE THOMPSON
Mason’s Institute for Immigration Research hosted “Immigration and the 2018 Midterm Elections,” a panel discussion on the impact this midterm will have on immigration policy in the near future, in the Johnson Center (JC) on Wednesday, Nov. 28.
Republican party who are supposed to be validators are now sort of marginalized within the party,” Lind sad. “Meanwhile, Democrats have adopted the idea of the Latino base as ... they are the mantle of a diversifying party in a way that makes it super hard for Republicans to get on board with any proposal that seems to expand that power base.”
almost always respond in an equally opposite, extreme rhetorical way.” On the Republican side, this could be concerning the Mexican border wall that President Trump originally proposed in his presidential campaign. On the other side, Democrats have heavily criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for cruel policies and tactics. As
movement … ‘Abolish ICE’ at a ‘Build the wall’- level [of] slogan,” Lind said. “[ICE is] obviously split on a policy level, and it seems like they could be split on a political level, and it’s gonna be interesting to see if Democrats do try to do that, or if they just shy away from ‘Abolish ICE’ because it’s so easily charactured over borders.” On the Democratic Party’s immigration policy, Keam stated, “I think
Keam better, than
continued, “We [more] moral what we see
are a people now.”
It was discussed that it is hard for Republicans and Democrats to come to agreement on immigration policy because they both want to limit the power that the opposing party has and have different core members of their base. “All of
the stakeholders in the
“The coalitional party politics of immigration reform have kind of broken,” she continued. “We haven’t seen anything replace that yet, not just in terms of ‘what do parties say they stand for?’, but who are the people inside that party creating political space.” The point was made that no comprehensive immigration policy changes have occurred in the past several decades, which affects today’s young immigrants in different ways. “How much longer should we tell immigrants to wait?” asked Brown. “I’ve been doing this 20 years and have had conversations with DREAMers, and they would say to me, ‘I’d be willing to wait if it would help my parents, I’d be willing to put up with maybe being deported or getting arrested.’ I don’t want you to have to. How much longer do we have those political debates and we tell people who are being affected by what is going on to wait?”
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ENDING THE STIGMA
A discussion about HIV/AIDS awareness SABIHA BASIT STAFF WRITER
The end of November at Mason marked Mason’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Week. Many activities and events were conducted in collaboration with various organizations at Mason, including the Student Support and Advocacy Center (SSAC), Patriot Activities Council and fraternities such as Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity. Events included an HIV workshop, a condom demonstration and a Project Condom fashion show. One panel discussion, “Living with HIV,” illustrated the reality of this disease. The panel took place on Thursday, Nov. 29, in the Johnson Center (JC) Cinema. It was organized by Dr. Malda Kocache, a biology professor who teaches classes on HIV/AIDS synthesis at Mason. The panelists, Mark and Neil, shared the trials and triumphs of life with the disease and gave advice to students on the importance of positivity and good mental health. They gathered to both end the stigma surrounding the sexually transmitted disease and discuss the importance of education and mental health. Neil graduated from Mason in 2015. He grew up in southeast Virginia, in a conservative small town called Windsor. His high-school graduating class was comprised of 48 people. As far as he was aware, Neil was the only one who was homosexual.
FOURTH ESTATE ALLY MCALPINE
“I had barely, if at all, any sex education,” Neil said. “I didn’t
know what HIV was until I came to Mason. For me, HIV was never on the radar. I was very sheltered. I felt like it wasn’t a problem for me, and it was a problem [for people] who engaged [in] risky behavior. It wasn’t something that was going to get me.” Neil said that southeast Virginia is a place where there is little discussion about homosexuality. “When I came to Mason, there was this community of gay men who wanted to have sex with me,” he said. “I’ll never forget the gentlemen I was speaking with on [the] Grindr app, who stated he was HIV-positive, but [it] was undetectable. I blocked him immediately [after], and that is one of my only regrets in life, because this is a person, little beknown to me, who I would become.” Neil has been HIV-positive for five years as of Nov 22. “I remember I went to my doctor’s office, and she said to me, ‘Neil, you have HIV,’” he recalled. “It felt like I got hit by lightning. I felt the shock from the top of my head all the way to my feet. Ironically enough, it was not the … worst news I’ve gotten.” He continued, “I truly believe that was one of my first deaths of my life, ... the death of myself prior to the diagnosis, and then shortly afterwards, the resurrection of myself after the diagnosis. Because I changed. I [came] to terms [with] the fact that if my smoking doesn’t kill me, HIV will. But … I have chosen to use what was given to me as [a way] to help other
people, and to educate and advocate for [people with HIV/AIDS].” A misconception the panelists addressed was that people see HIV-infected individuals and assume they are not suffering if they look healthy and vital. “Everybody is fighting a battle you don’t know anything about. I [ask] you all to be kind to one another, because everybody is going to die. When you are dead, people are going to remember how you treated others, how you acted and what you said. People will forget what you gave them for Christmas three years ago, ‘but [people] will never forget how you made them feel,’” he quoted. Mark rience
had a different contracting the
expevirus.
“I like to call my story a catastrophic love story,” he said. “After leaving South Carolina, I got a scholarship to attend NYU. I got a job [where] I made more money than my parents ever received. I [also] found love in New Jersey. … [The relationship] lasted three and a half years.” Despite living together, he had conflicting feelings about his partner. Mark eventually found out that his partner was HIV-positive and had given it to him. “Once I found out, it was catastrophic to me because I was the person who followed all the rules,” he recalled. “I went to school. I graduated. I got a job. I [did] have random sex, but I always used protection.” Mark continued, “In my head, the
stigma of HIV was, you get [HIV] because you sleep around and I thought that would never be me. In South Carolina, [HIV] is not something you talk about. Being gay isn’t something that is celebrated, and essentially I just had a lack of knowledge.” When he first experienced the symptoms, Mark went to multiple doctors. Instead of testing him for HIV, they all treated him for relatively minor illnesses such as strep throat. He explained, “I went to the doctor and said, ‘You need to test me for HIV,’ and their response was, ‘No, we don’t.’ Because statistically, if you look at my profile, you wouldn’t think I would be HIV-positive. I was in a long term relationship, I made a certain amount of money [and] I had two degrees, so my profile … led the doctors to think I was not HIV-positive. They finally did the test, and it was positive.” After testing HIV-positive, infected individuals face the psychological effects of their diagnosis. “There was a night in which I considered taking my life,” Mark said. “There was no point for me to live anymore. The only thing that kept me alive [that night] was the fact that I was going to try my music. My music gave me the reason to live.” Another aspect of HIV that people should be aware of is that it is a disease that largely affects ethnic minority groups. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, “Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of new HIV infections among MSM [men who have sex with men] occurred in minority men (Black/African-American, Hispanic/ Latino, Asian/Pacific Islanders and Native American/ Hawaiian).”
One of the reasons why Mark decided to open up about being HIV-positive as a Black male was to raise awareness and help break the stigma. “Men of color, specifically LGBTQ[+] men or women of color, have the highest risk of contracting HIV, and the very confusing thing about that is that we are the population that knows the very least about it, whether it’s because [they] don’t access it or is not provided,” Mark said. Both Neil and Mark agreed on the fact that education, awareness and destigmatization of homosexuality are key to establishing a society that does not discriminate against HIV-infected individuals. “There should definitely be more education about HIV to younger people,” Neil said. “I think it’s a disservice to not know about HIV. The United States [has a] very regressive teaching agenda. [The states are] very Eurocentric, heterocentric. It makes me mad, because that is not teaching anything of value.” Both Mark and Neil have an undetectable viral load, meaning that although they are not cured, there is only a small number of copies of the virus that are present in their blood (under 200 copies of virus per mL of blood). They both agreed that people should largely understand the difference between being detectable versus undetectable for HIV. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), “HIV … weakens a person’s immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. No effective cure exists for HIV. But with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled.” In 2017, 37 million people were living with HIV around the world.
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INADEQUACIES FOUND WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF GI BILL POLICY GI Bill recipient encountered problems with short-term deployments
JACK HARVEY STAFF WRITER
The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a federal program that helps pay for the education of veterans, enlisted troops and those affected by the 9/11 attacks. Capt. Christopher Duncan, a unit commander in the Virginia Army National Guard and a graduate student in the Earth Systems and Geoinformation Science program at Mason, was ordered to deploy for three weeks this semester. Duncan had to make arrangements with his professors to grade his work differently, as well as work with him to get around his absence. If such arrangements had not been possible, Duncan would have had no choice but to drop the course.
“I’m in the graduate program, so I can’t afford to get an F on something, or even a C,” said Duncan.
have been able to withdraw from only one course with no penalty to his academic record.
30 days, which led to OMS’ limited interpretation of the order, OMS Director Jennifer Connors explained.
Duncan was able to make arrangements with two of his professors, but one professor would not grade around his absence.
An executive order signed in 2012 by President Obama outlined “principles of excellence” for schools receiving money from the GI Bill.
“He assigned a bunch of in-class-only work,” Duncan explained. “You had to use specific software on the computers [at Mason].” As such, Duncan’s only viable option was withdrawing from the course.
The order stated that schools should “allow service members and reservists to be readmitted to a program if they are temporarily unable to attend class and take additional steps to accommodate short absences due to service obligations, provided that satisfactory academic progress is being made by the service members and reservists prior to suspending their studies.”
“We’ve always asked the professors to be as accommodating as possible, but we leave it up to the professor, assuming they know the coursework better than we do,” explained OMS Co-Director Ryan Barnett. “Now before, we obviously had the policy wrong. … The intent of the policy was to not let the student become financially burdened.”
Upon contacting Mason’s Office of Military Services (OMS), Duncan says he was told he faced an all-or-nothing decision. According to current school policy, he could not withdraw from just one course. He could either drop all three of his courses, or stay enrolled in all three with the knowledge that he would do very poorly in one. Reviewing current national GI Bill policy, Duncan realized there were grounds on which he should
Duncan
was
eventually
able
to
withdraw from his class by communicating with his department chair. He expressed worry about younger GI Bill recipients who may not be familiar with the system. “When you get an 18, 19, 20-year old. … If that had been someone who didn’t know, they might have failed that class, and under GI Bill rules, they would have had to pay [their tuition money] back.” Both the OMS director and co-director agreed that the current policy has to be updated. The policy is currently under revision in committee.
OMS’ Military Activation Policy, written before the signing of the executive order, includes absences due to deployment. The policy allows accommodations for GI Bill recipients with absences of over 30 days. The policy does not specify what to do for students with an absence under
FOURTH ESTATE EVAN CANTWELL
A Mason Post-9/11 GI Bill Recipient found himself experiencing unexpected bureaucratic pushback when he was ordered to deploy to Colorado for three weeks. His predicament, he argues, exposed a larger discrepancy in the school’s treatment of students currently enlisted in the military.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ROUNDUP Shakeup in student government leadership JALEN REID STAFF WRITER
On Nov. 29, former Chairwoman of Administration and Finance Claire Olivier was elected by Student Government to take on the role of speaker of the senate. Amanda Attiya was elected to fulfill the role of clerk of the senate. Cedric Price was elected the new chair of administration and finance, and Erica Kelly was
elected the new academics chair. The most-recent legislation logs currently available are from Nov. 1, so the full scope of the legislation cannot be reported. Documents that provide the topics of meetings are available. Resolutions to strengthen school spirit and observe Veterans Day were introduced and discussed. A bill to allocate funds for certificate holders was also introduced, as well as five bills to amend codes of student governance. The resolutions to support Veterans Day included initiatives to build care packages for veterans in a local hospital. It eventually became an
event in the Johnson Center that actor David Boreanaz was scheduled to attend before a wildfire displaced him and his family from his home. Furthermore, Chair of Diversity Amir Mahmoud was removed from his position through a vote of no confidence on Nov. 29. Sen. Elizabeth Gillette referenced sources who said Mahmoud lacked communication, professionalism and reasonable attendance. The election of the diversity chair has been postponed to January 2019.
FOURTH ESTATE JALEN REID
Student Government has undergone many changes over the last month. New legislation has been introduced, and leadership roles have shifted significantly. Speaker of the Senate Davide Genoese-Zerbi has resigned, as well as Clerk of the Senate Jeremy Aylward.
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MASON AT THE BAY University of Maryland partners with Mason to restore the Chesapeake Bay CYD MEJIA STAFF WRITER
In addition to its economic importance, it also provides a home for thousands of species of animals.Over the years, the Chesapeake Bay has become a victim of both pollution and the overexploitation of its oyster population. Oysters are particularly important for the bay, as they help clean and filter water. Mason takes part in various processes to help the bay and those
affected by its deterioration. One location that has been negatively impacted is Deal Island, Maryland. An article published in The Diamondback explained that flooding on the island has been caused by “a combination of factors—including rising sea levels, ongoing erosion and storm surges.” It continued, “In addition, rising saltwater levels along the island’s shorelines have killed off wetlands, which could’ve prevented damage from high energy storm waves.” Mason is working with the University of Maryland (UMD) to begin rebuilding the island’s dunes, the number of which has dramatically decreased. “[The Mason] contingent of the
project [has] focused on how natural infrastructure can protect the island from storm surges and rising waters,” the article stated. “They’ve collected data on how wetland marshes protect landmasses in parts of Virginia and have been analyzing the same conditions on Deal Island.”
understanding of the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s ecology. The multidisciplinary PEREC includes scientists from the Departments of Environmental Science and Policy, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Atmospheric,
Oceanic,
and
Earth
Sciences.”
These new facilities focus on research, working to inform people about the bay and what can be done to prevent further damage. PHOTO COURTESY OF UMD MARYLAND SEA GRANT
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. According to Lindsay Eney from the Chesapeake Bay Program, “[The Chesapeake Bay] is responsible for 80 to 90 percent of America’s recreational fish catches and over 75 percent of the commercial fish catches.”
This is not the only action that Mason has taken to help the Chesapeake Bay. The school has also recently invested in a new research facility dedicated to studying the bay. In an article written about the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC), it stated, “Researchers have studied this ecosystem to develop a greater
NEW TITLE IX RULE EMPHASIZES IMPORTANCE OF DUE PROCESS
DeVos proposes rule allowing cross-examination of students involved in Title IX investigations DANA NICKEL NEWS EDITOR
The newest proposed rule came last month. On Nov. 16, the Department of Education released a statement describing it. The statement explained that the new proposed rule “provides clarity for schools, support for survivors and due process rights for all.” It also stated, “The Department’s proposed Title IX rule will be open for public comment for 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.” A large portion of the proposed rule, which was drafted by DeVos, provided a clear-cut definition of sexual harassment. In the rule’s summary, sexual harassment is defined as “unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive
and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to the school’s education program or activity.” Some bigger proposed changes to Title IX include that this proposed bill would no longer allow universities to investigate allegations of sexual harassment that occurred off-campus. Additionally, the proposed rule would require universities to have live “fact-finding” hearings over allegations of sexual harassment or assault. This would remove the single-investigator model currently used by the majority of U.S. universities. The single-investigator model has been the subject of much debate between Democrats and Republicans. Conservatives like DeVos have criticized how it can violate the right
to due process of students accused of sexual harassment or assault. The proposed rule would implement a panel hearing instead. This
advisors can interview students, the complainant and respondent are not permitted to interact during the hearing. According to Mason’s Title IX policies, the Title IX coordinator will designate one or more investigators once a complaint is made and all parties involved are formally notified of the allegation. This notification of the pending investigation is another aspect of DeVos’ proposed rule. While Mason already has a policy in place to notify all parties involved once an allegation has been made, other public universities currently do not. PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR
Since September 2017, the U.S. Department of Education has made some significant changes in Title IX policies at schools. Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, has become a controversial figure after rescinding Obama-era regulations and proposing Trump-administration rules.
means that after an investigation is completed, advisors representing the complainant and the respondent can interview and cross-examine witnesses. Advisors can also interview the complainant and the respondent. The rule also specifies that while
Additionally, a committee within Mason’s Title IX office is required to meet and review the information found by each investigation. The complainants and respondents
do
not
attend
these
hearings.
While Mason’s Title IX office states that the students involved can meet with an advisor, these advisors do not represent them. With DeVos’ new rule, advisors are mandatory, and they would have to interview all parties involved in a courtroom setting. DeVos’ decisions in regards to Title IX at the university level have received both praise and criticism by people across the U.S. According to Time, some advocates for students who have been falsely accused of sexual harassment or assault have praised DeVos for her policies and changes. However, many advocates for students who are victims of sexual violence believe that DeVos’ emphasis on false accusations and due process would “reinforce outdated ideas and myths about rape.” People in the U.S. have 60 days to leave comments on the new proposed rule before it actually goes into effect.
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MASON GROUP BRINGS GUN SAFETY DEBATE TO CONGRESS
Students Demand Action meets with Pelosi official APRIL HORENCY STAFF WRITER
Pelosi is expected to resume her former position as Speaker of the House when Democrats regain the majority in January. If this happens, she would have a critical position on future legislation, including gun safety. As the amount and severity of shootings in America in the recent past has risen, with CNN listing that three out of the five deadliest shootings in American history have occurred in the past five years, legislation on this topic will likely occur in the next legislative session.
Unfortunately, SDA was unable to speak with Pelosi. They met instead with her legislative aide, Matt Ramirez. To begin their hour-long meeting with Ramirez, various students told personal accounts of their experiences surrounding gun violence in order to both establish their connection to the issue and explain why gun safety is so important to them. These stories opened up discussion for SDA members to ask questions about various topics surrounding gun control, with Ramirez answering. Questions were planned in advance so that they would touch on each of the five points of a plan they created before
the meeting. The points included protecting kids and communities, combating daily gun violence, creating a better background check system,
affected by gun violence. Other discussion topics included the lobbying for gun safety, imposing stricter regulations on gun sellers.
also mentioned in the conversation. Ramirez and members of SDA were careful with their wording due to the stigma surrounding gun safety.
PHOTO COURTESY OF STUDENTS DEMAND ACTION
Students Demand Action (SDA), an organization focused on establishing a space for college students to voice their concerns about current gun safety legislation and protection, present personal stories involving gun safety and lobby for new, comprehensive legislation themselves, was established at Mason this past fall. With this goal in mind, they visited the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 28 to meet with Nancy Pelosi.
disarming domestic abusers and holding the gun industry accountable. Some questions involved more controversial topics, such as Black individuals being disproportionately
Dickey Amendment, an amendment that stipulates that no funds that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) are given can be used for advocating or promoting gun control, was
“Overall I was very impressed with Ramirez’s comments,” said Erica Kelly, the legislative and candidate research lead of Mason’s SDA chapter. “I was impressed that he recognized that everyone is a part of this issue, so there should be diversity in solutions. … [He proposed] solutions that are more productive and are not just for white men.” This meeting was orchestrated by Direct Action Co-Lead Elijah Nichols. Nichols brought together the chapter of SDA at Mason, members of SDA NoVA and a small number of other organizations fighting gun violence in the area. He said he did his best to bring together as many people as he could to the event.
THIS WEEK IN POLITICS Monday, Nov. 26
Tuesday, Nov. 27
The U.S. Border Patrol fired tear gas at the migrant caravan as it approached the U.S.-Mexico border, which included children.
In Mississippi, Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated Democrat Mike Espy in the last election of the 2018 midterms. Hyde-Smith’s victory came after backlash over her racially charged comments, which resulted in some campaign donors asking for their donations to be refunded.
Wednesday, Nov. 28 Republican and Democratic Senators criticized Trump over his reaction to the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Republicans and Democrats in Congress voted to consider ending U.S. military support for the Saudi-backed war in Yemen. The Senate voted 63 to 67 to bring to the floor a measure to limit presidential war powers in Yemen. Rep. Nancy Pelosi won the Democratic nomination for Speaker of the House 203-32, with a floor vote to come on Jan. 3 to confirm her position.
Thursday, Nov. 29
Friday, Nov. 30
President Trump said that he was still considering pardoning Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman. This came after his plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller was broken, with Manafort reportedly lying to investigators.
Former President George H.W. Bush died at age 94. Bush served as president from 1989 to 1993.
President Trump also signed a new trade deal, the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), with Mexico and Canada.
Fourth Estate hosted its first semi-annual IVEes award dinner. The Culture section was voted Best Section, with Natalie Heavren and Domenic Allegra winning the Oxford Comma Award for Best in the Office.
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“YOU MATTER”: A MESSAGE TO SURVIVORS FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT
PHOTO COURTESY OF JEREMY UNISGKIEWICZ
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Patriots in Action addresses sexual assault at Mason ABIGAIL ADCOX ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), more than one in 10 of all students are sexually assaulted while in college. This is one reason why Student Government has dedicated one week every semester to the Patriots in Action initiative to end sexual assault on campus. This semester, Patriots in Action took place Nov. 26 through Nov. 30. Student Government intended to “educate the student body on what interpersonal violence is, resources for survivors and their empathizers and work to create an environment that inculcates a culture of sexual assault prevention.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGE MASON POLICE
MASON WEEKLY CRIME LOG
Throughout the week, there were various activities and events for students and faculty. In a “polaroid pledge” event, individuals were photographed after taking Mason’s Pledge to End Sexual Violence. GM-Power-U was an artistic open house featuring student organizations that are working to end sexual assault on campus. Training in krav maga was also offered during the week, in addition to another event called In Consent We Crust. “These kind of events are not exactly for prevention or education,” said Maggie, a peer advocate for the
Student Support and Advocacy Center (SSAC). “It’s more like celebrating survivors and giving a voice to survivors. This is a way [for survivors] to get your voice back.” The week concluded with Light the Night, a vigil to show solidarity with survivors of sexual assault. Students gathered around the clock tower and held candles. The words “You Matter” were written out on the ground in candlelight as a message to survivors. “We thought that the clock tower would be a good place to shine a light in darkness,” said Sean Diment, vicechair of the University Life Committee.
“With sexual assault survivors, there’s that feeling of lots of darkness around with no one to turn to, but we wanted to show that you can find the light.” Diment gave credit to his colleagues in Student Government for putting together the powerful event. During the vigil, members of Student Government read love letters to survivors that students wrote during GM-Power-U. One read, “If this letter finds you, than you are braver and stronger than I am.” Some students came forward and shared their own stories. Several mentioned how empowering it was to share their experiences
with people who supported them. “It’s definitely about visibility,” said Kerry Woolfore, another peer advocate for SSAC. “Being a survivor can be very isolating, but if you come out here and tell these stories and listen to the poems and letters if one person comes forward and gets the support they need, it’s all worth it.” Diment hoped that Student Government sent a message of support to the student body. “There are people around you that love you, care about you and are here for you,” Diment said.
Tuesday, Nov 27, 2018- Fairfax Campus, 1:33 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018- Fairfax Campus, Unknown
Drug/Narcotic Violations: Two Subjects (GMU) were issued releasable summonses for possessing illegal drugs.
Theft from Building: Complainant (GMU) reported the theft of unattended paintings from an unsecure location.
Case 2018-011630- Cleared by Summons
Case 2018-011652- Pending
Tuesday, Nov 27, 2018- Fairfax Campus, 4-8 p.m.
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Fairfax Campus, Unknown
Theft From Motor Vehicle: Complainant (GMU) reported the theft of an unattended laptop computer from an unsecured vehicle.
Hit and Run: Complainant (GMU) reported a hit and run of a vehicle.
Case 2018-011638- Pending
Case 2018-011701- Inactive
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018 - Fairfax Campus, 9:47 p.m.
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Fairfax Campus, 7:32 p.m.
Drug/Narcotic Violations: Subject (GMU) issued a releasable summons for possessing illegal drugs.
Larceny: Complainant (GMU) reported the theft of a secured bicycle from a bike rack.
Case 2018-011652- Cleared by Summons
Case 2018-011702 -Inactive
SPORTS
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12.03.2018
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ONE LAST STRIDE Senior Sarah Moore reflects on her college experience as a student-athlete KIM BARTENFELDER STAFF WRITER
For senior Sarah Moore, track and field has been a guiding light. Starting her career early on as a freshman at James Hubert Blake High School, Moore has grown from a distance runner to a sprinter in a matter of a few short years.
a college setting, she also emphasized how critical it is to maintain stability as a student, athlete and a combination of the two. Furthermore, as a student-athlete, “being able to experience so many different environments [has enabled
able to visit such eye-opening places around the United States. Additionally, some of the other opportunities that track and field has made available to Moore include participating in the 2015 AAU Junior Olympics. Running as part of a 4x400, Moore
when a team builds meaningful relationships, your team dynamic works better. You also get more of a family dynamic geared toward support on and off the track.
at the Atlantic 10 Championships, including a bronze medal for the 200-meter. In addition to her list of 2017 accolades, the rest of Moore’s achievements are excellent examples for the impact that she has had on the team
On a deeper level, track and field has given Moore more than what she could have ever asked for. “I should actually write [it all] down one day,” she said.
After carefully weighing both academic and track and field programs, Moore decided that bringing her talents to Mason would be nothing less than the correct choice.
“You have to be on time,” Moore said about her success. “As weird as it sounds ... if an event starts at 11:42, they will start with or without you. Hard work pays off. It really is just you because you are your most real opponent.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH MORRE, MASON ATHLETICS
Moore said, “Mason was always my number one. I actually had a weird visit because I came to Mason [from Maryland] on the Metro and was only here for a few hours, but I thought it was such a beautiful school, and the coach at the time just made me think, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’” Unlike many other sports, track and field is both a team and individual sport. “People get really nervous and doubt their abilities,” Moore stated. “I think I have a lot of control [so that I can] just run. Positive self-talk helps Moore after every practice and meet, knowing that she is her own competition. Her personal record is for her own self-assessment, allowing Moore to be accountable for her success as well as pushing her to do better on the track. However, positive self-talk is not the only aspect that keeps Moore at her prime. “Taking care of myself [is] a huge obstacle,” she said. “[You] have to eat well, get enough sleep, manage your time well, go to class and do your work, and just making everything work.” Even though Moore expressed how self-care can be difficult, especially in
Dec. 3 Men’s Basketball vs. University of Vermont EagleBank Arena (EBA): 7 p.m.
me] to travel quite a bit.” Moore said that her favorite place the team has traveled to was Eugene, Oregon, because “there’s so much nature. I always knew [of] its beauty, but beauty is an understatement.” Moore also stated that without being an athlete, she never would have been
Dec. 6
That same competitiveness extends into Moore’s nature as a sprinter. In the 2017 outdoor track season alone, Moore established numerous personal records and was awarded two gold medals for the 400-meter and 4x4 relay
while at Mason. As she exceeds expectations on the track, Moore said that she would have loved to try out the field portion as well. Approaching her last semester as a student-athlete come spring, Moore expanded upon how the other women on distance and sprints are more than just teammates to her. Moore said that
UPCOMING SPORTS Dec. 7
Women’s Basketball vs. University of Delaware EBA: 7 p.m.
said that the dynamic of track became competitive fun instead of solely fun at the competition.
Men’s Basketball vs. James Madison University EBA: 7 p.m.
Dec. 8
Wrestling vs. University at Buffalo Field House: 12 p.m.
She went on to say, “Some things aren’t a big deal. In high school, a bad race could ruin my day, but now I know that it won’t be last 400 I will ever run. Don’t make excuses; like if I ran slow, it’s because of me and not because my shoe was untied or anything else.” Moore was asked who she considered to be her biggest supporter. After some contemplation, she responded, “The Mason Nation.” Adding to her response, Moore said that, “When I qualified for nationals, it was completely unexpected, and I was still in shock, but everyone was supportive and proud.” What touched Moore was the fact that people in the Mason community intentionally turned on their televisions and picked up their phones to watch her on ESPN. Moore said, “I really should’ve turned my phone off, because it was going off the entire day.” Moore, in the near future, aspires to compete in the World Championships in 2019, hosted in Doha, Qatar. Moore said, “I just want to run as long as I can.”
Dec. 9 Wrestling: Patriot Open Field House: All Day
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12.03.2018
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EN GARDE! Mason’s fencing team provides a close-knit environment for students of all levels ALLY MCALPINE ART DIRCTOR
“The best way I would describe fencing is it is very fast-paced and your cliche sword fighting,” said sophomore Rodney Gentry. “Last year, we were a very small club,” Gentry continued. “This year … the president [and I] basically built the club from the ground up. We have a lot of very friendly people here and a great atmosphere.” As club president, junior Alison Kliem both runs practices and deals with
all the necessary paperwork. “I have them warm [up by running] in a circle and [stretching],” Kliem said. “For footwork drills, we just do basic advancing and retreating. … I want to work on … having them, after they attack, to automatically parry no matter what.” Fencing is broken down into three basic moves: the lunge, the parry and the riposte. The lunge is a basic attack. The parry is a defensive movement to block an
opponent’s lunge, and the riposte is a counterattack. “It’s broken down into three swords: the sabre, the epee and the foil,” Gentry explained. “All have different styles. … It’s a lot more in-depth than it seems at first glance.” A foil is a lightweight thin, round, flexible sword. It is the tool most fencers start out using. The tip of the sword is used, and only the torso of an opponent can be struck for points. “Personally, I did foil for about four years, and this is my first year with sabre,” Gentry said. “I gotta say, sabre [is] by far better, but don’t let anyone else here hear, because they won’t agree.” Sabres are wider, heavier and less-flexible blades than foils. Hits are restricted to the upper body, but they include arms and head, unlike with foils.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MASON FENCING
“I like sabre, because it is very fastpaced and not very technique-heavy,” said Gentry. “Sabre [is] a lot faster than any other sword we do.” An epee is rounded and slightly heavier than a foil. A point can be scored with a hit anywhere on the body. Also, unlike foils and sabres, epees do not use the right-of-way rule. Right of way means the first person
to hit their opponent gets the point. In an epee match, if both fencers hit each other at the same time, both players get a point. The fencing season lasts all year and includes up to six individual or team competitions. “The only bad part is they tend to be during exams, so it’s always a little struggle, but we seem to make it work,” Gentry said. Mason competes against 14 other schools in the Baltimore Washington Collegiate Fencing Conference (BWCFC). Tournaments are typically held at the University of Maryland, James Madison University or George Washington University. Mason’s team won the conference in 2009 and 2012, but has not yet hosted a tournament. “We’re currently looking to host a tournament here, maybe two next year, so we’re excited for that,” Gentry said. “We have our three teams,” Kliem said. “We have sabre, foil and epee. People on epee are going to go fence all the other schools’ epee teams. … Each fencer from each team will fight each other.” Referees are hired to watch matches done in a pool of fencers. The school with the most cumulative points at the
SPORTS IN BRIEF Men’s Basketball Men’s basketball improved to 3-5 Wednesday night after narrowly defeating Morgan State University 82-75. Senior Otis Livingston II recorded his 400th career assist, becoming just the second Mason player to put up 400 assists and 1,500 points. In addition to seven assists, he also scored a game-high 22 points. Sophomore Javon Greene led the team in rebounding, grabbing eight rebounds and adding 17 points. He shot a season-high 3-5 from behind the arc. The Patriots led by 75-73 with 1:10 left in the game, but Livingston II’s three-point play put the team up five with under a minute to go. Mason made 5–7 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MASON RECREATION FLICKR
Fencing is the modern Olympic sport of sword fighting.
end of all the bouts is the winner. Kliem has found the fencing club to be rewarding, saying, “I like all the friends that I’ve made. I’m proud of this.” The team meets Wednesdays 8-10 p.m., Fridays 6:30-8 p.m. and Sundays 6-8 p.m. Practice is held in the upstairs workout room of the AFC. For more information, email gmufencing@ gmail.com.
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Wrestling
Women’s basketball fell to 4-3 Wednesday night after losing to Howard University 73-59.
Wrestling earned a win in their Eastern Wrestling League opener, with a 24-11 victory over Bloomsburg to improve to 2-0. Mason won seven of the 10 bouts to gain the victory.
Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored 20 points, 18 of which came in the second half, though she shot just 1-8 from beyond the arc. Mason was outrebounded for the first time this season 50–36. Allie McCool tied a career-high of six rebounds and added eight points. Camarie Gatling grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and also added seven points in 17 minutes. The team scored less than 60 points for just the second time this season while shooting a season-low 31.9 percent from the field. They also shot only 18.2 percent from behind the arc, their second-lowest mark of the season.
Bloomsburg increased its match score advantage to 7-3 with a decision at 141 pounds. Mason earned victories in the next four bouts, scoring bonus points in three bouts. As a result, the Patriots took control of the match with a 15-7 lead. The Patriots will remain on the road in Pennsylvania, and will take on Lock Haven on Dec. 7.
SPORTS
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12.03.2018
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DEALING WITH THE DIRTY WORK
How sophomore Javon Greene impacts men’s basketball NATALIE HEAVREN SPORTS EDITOR
Greene is following in not only his sister’s but also his parents’ footsteps― his mother played basketball through high school, and his dad played at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Greene started playing when he was about five years old. Growing up, Greene also played baseball and football. He quit baseball toward the end of elementary school. By seventh grade, he was left with the choice between football and basketball. “My dad was saying just choose one, really,” said Greene. “[In] football, I was getting hurt a lot, so I was like, ‘You know what, let me just stick to basketball.’” Growing up, Greene looked up to LeBron James for different reasons than many other young basketball players do. “I had a book about him and ... how he grew up,” Greene said. “His dad wasn’t in his life, and he was moving around to different high schools, so to see him become the man that he is now is really inspiring.” He continued, “My favorite [basketball
memory] would have to be when I scored 58 points in high school. That game―it was televised, [so] it was nice. I think my highest was like 30-something, so just scoring 58 points was an amazing experience.” His performance, which broke a Holiday Hoopsgiving scoring record as well as his own career high by 20 points, gained the attention of USA Today. His 58 points also helped lead his team to a 92-89 comeback win. Greene came to Mason even though it was far from his home of McDonough, Georgia, because of the bond between Mason coaches and players.
PHOTO COURTESY OF RAFAEL SUANES, MASON ATHLETICS
Men’s basketball sophomore Javon Greene has always been surrounded by basketball. Growing up with an older sister who played AAU basketball, he was in the gym year-round, something he attributes to growing his love of the sport.
On his favorite part of playing basketball, Greene responded with a story about when one of his teammates hit his first three of the season. “One time, Gonar [Mar] hit a three,” Greene said. “Everybody went crazy. [I was] seeing my teammates happy. When my teammates are happy, I’m happy, so I think that’s the best part about playing basketball.” Going into his freshman season, Greene knew he was not going to make a huge impact. “I just wanted to help the team out any way I can,” he said. “Just find my role and just do it the best way I can do it.” Last season, Greene played in all 33 games, averaging 17.7 minutes, 4.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
He entered this year with more confidence, having one season under his belt, something that has been noticed by head coach Dave Paulsen. “He’s matured so much in his approach to the game,” Paulsen said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF RAFAEL SUANES, MASON ATHLETICS
“When he came in, he was a big scorer out of high school, and I don’t know if he’d ever played defense, and he’s emerged into an elite defensive player and has really worked really hard on that and embraced that.” Through the team’s first eight games, Greene is averaging 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 26 minutes per game. He leads the team in rebounding, and is third on the team in both points and minutes per game. “[I try] just to do my role as best as I can do it, and my role is one to get rebounds, so I help the team rebound,” Greene said. Paulsen also touched on Greene’s toughness, saying, “We’ve been working on him attacking the rim. I think as he’s adjusted to the pace and the physicality of the game, [and] he’s
really embraced the weight room and getting tougher. He’s really realized he can really be a dynamic driver.” Part of driving to the rim is drawing fouls. Greene made it to the line the second-most of anyone on the team, and makes his free throws at a higher rate than anyone else. While he is just six free throws short of matching his total for all of last season, he has not always been one to drive to the basket. “In high school, I was strictly a threepoint shooter, so my dad was like, ‘You’ve got to switch it up, just don’t live on the three-point line,’” said Greene. “That’s when I started attacking the basket and ended up getting to the free-throw line.” “I’m really confident right now from the free-throw line, so I think that’s helping me a lot, too,” he continued. Greene’s father, John, coached his son’s AAU team through the time Javon was in 10th grade. He continues to offer advice after games.
“After every game, I’ll call him and he tells me, not only the things I did good, ‘cause I know what I did good, (sic) just the things that I need to work on,” Greene stated. “Like if I get beat off the dribble or something like that, he’ll just tell me that, and he’ll help me for the next game.” On his performance, Greene said, “I feel like I’ve contributed a lot, especially on the defensive end, because that’s what we need. We need defense. We need people that can guard, so I feel like that’s helping me even get on the floor. And also rebounding―helping the team rebound and just doing all the dirty work.” When asked if he minds that “dirty work,” he responded with a smile, saying, “I don’t mind it. I don’t mind it at all, as long as it helps the team.” Paulsen believes the future is bright for Greene. “I think the sky’s the limit for the kid,” Paulsen said. “He’s very good right now, but he has not come close to his ceiling of how good he can be.”
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12.03.2018
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A MIDWAY CHECK-UP ON MASON ATHLETICS NATALIE HEAVREN SPORTS EDITOR; DOMENIC ALLEGRA ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Through the first eight games, men’s basketball has held a record of 3-5 on the season. Led by senior point guard Otis Livingston II and head coach Dave Paulsen, Mason will look to improve in their final non-conference games before heading to Atlantic 10 play. The Patriots will take on the University of Vermont, James Madison University and the Naval Academy before heading west to take on Kansas State University, who reached the 2018 Elite Eight before being knocked off by Loyola-Chicago. In conference play, the Patriots will first take on Saint Joseph’s University on Jan. 3, and play five other games over winter break. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL As of Nov. 30, the team holds a record of 4-3, with a 2-0 record at home and a 2-3 record on the road. Over winter break, the team will play three consecutive games at home to close out non-conference play.
Mason will be taking on the University of Houston, the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and the College of Charleston. The team will play five conference games before students return to campus, including two at home against St. Bonaventure University on Jan. 10 and Duquesne University on Jan. 13. The Patriots will take on the University of Rhode Island on Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.
through the 2018-2019 season. The Patriots start their season at Queens University of Charlotte on Jan. 4.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL Last season, men’s volleyball went 17-12 and 13-1 in conference play and reached the semi-finals in the conference tournament before losing to Princeton University. The Patriots will look to make it to the EIVA Tournament again after the departure of key players such as Johnny Gomez, Christian Malias and Brian Negron.
WRESTLING The Mason wrestling team finished last season seventh at the Eastern Wrestling League Championships. This was just one week before they sent senior Ibrahim Bunduka and juniors Tejon Anthony and Matthew Voss to compete at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. This is the first time in 17 years that the Patriots have sent three wrestlers to the national championship.
Led by head coach Jay Hosack, Mason will play 10 different non-conference opponents and 14 conference games
PHOTO COURTESY OF MASON ATHLETICS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
placing fifth. Three Patriots competed in the USA Swimming competition known as the AT&T Winter National Championship from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. On Jan. 19, the Patriots will take on Old Dominion, American University and Army before they host the Patriot Invite on Feb. 2. MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Men’s and women’s track starts their indoor season on Jan. 5, when Mason hosts the Father Diamond Invitational.
This year, the wrestling team finished 11th out of 16 at the Navy Classic, but holds a current record of 2-0 and will compete in the Patriot Open at home on Dec. 9.
After going on the road for the next two weekends, the team will return home to host another meet Jan. 25-56, before heading on the road the following two weekends.
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Last season, both the men’s and the women’s teams finished second at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships, which Mason will host this year for the first time since 2017.
This year, Mason’s swim and dive team competed in the Patriot Invitational on Nov. 17, with the men’s team finishing third and the women’s team
#293YearsOfGeorge
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CULTURE
GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM @IVESTATE
12.03.2018
IS FAST FASHION WORTH IT? Roosevelt@Mason discusses the consequences of the fast fashion industry NAYOMI SANTOS STAFF WRITER
The event was held on Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the Johnson Center, where Bautista and Thiam opened the eyes of those attending to the untold horrors of the fast-fashion industry. Before the presentation, a clothing swap took place as an alternative to purchasing fast fashion. During the swap, all kinds of clothing were exchanged, with those attending gleefully selecting pieces. Many have heard horror stories of the dangerous and unfair practices in factories around the world that are associated with fast fashion, but few are aware of the extent of these practices. Fast fashion depends on short production and distribution times, which
allows room for unethical practices to flourish. Cases where children are working long shifts under awful conditions often occur in factories of big name brands, such as H&M and Gap. The event also addressed environmental concerns that come with the industry. Bautista showed a picture of a polluted river with a giant red stain going through it. “That’s not blood,” she said. “That is red dye.” Bautista also talked about polyester and how it can take up to 200 years to degrade. Most clothes from fast-fashion brands are made out of this material. In addition to the environmental issues that come from fast fashion, most of the 40 million garment workers worldwide are mistreated. “They are punished for human error,” Bautista said. “They can lose their jobs for going to the bathroom.” On another note, both Bautista and Thiam talked about the commodification of social justice by brands such as H&M and Amazon. Thiam
spoke about finding feminist shirts on Amazon. “[Amazon] sells that image,” she said, “while the women who make the clothes are mistreated.” Fast fashion also inhibits international development by putting people out of business and only offering low-paying jobs. For instance, tailors in African countries who make their living by making clothes for others are losing their business as big-name clothing factories take over.
FOURTH ESTATE ALLIE THOMPSON
New fashion releasing according to the seasons is a thing of the past due to the rise of fast fashion, as new fashion now releases every week. Roosevelt@ Mason members Lucia Bautista and Sira Thiam hosted a “Care What You Wear” event to raise awareness about the fashion industry’s impact on people and the environment.
Forever 21, H&M, Urban Outfitters, Zara, Target and Walmart are all brands that contribute to the problem. Both Bautista and Thiam know how difficult avoiding big brands while shopping can be, and offered a few solutions. They mentioned thrifting and how useful and cheap it can be. They also suggested borrowing and sharing clothes with friends. “I love sharing my clothes with my friends,” Bautista said. Arwa Alzahrani, a graduate student studying sociology, talked about how the presentation shocked her. “I felt
sad about the people especially,” she said. Alzahrani was also surprised to learn about consumer spending when it comes to fast fashion. “Why do people spend so much money?” she asked. Bautista said it is also very important to be aware of your own consumer habits. She talked about an app that
highlights humane and environmentally friendly brands to buy from, called Good on You. Fast fashion may be on the rise, yet many people such as Bautista and Thiam are catching on to unethical practices and are dedicated to making a change for the better.
DECEMBER HOROSCOPES Winter is coming. Here are some tips for how to spend the break
MONICA ECHOLS CULTURE EDITOR Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) - Happy Sagittarius season! December is the perfect time for one of the most curious and open-minded zodiac signs to explore various religious and cultural holidays to learn about a different culture. Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) Capricorns are very ambitious and driven, which can sometimes make them impatient. Take this time to slow down, relax and cozy up with a good book or movie.
FOURTH ESTATE ALLY MCALPINE
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) - Aquarians are natural humanitarians who enjoy helping others. Use the current season of giving to help out in your local community by volunteering or donating to a charitable cause. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) - With the holidays right around the corner, many people are stressed about what kinds of gifts to give. Pisces are known for being kind and artistic, so use your talents and make a DIY gift to show the people you love how much you appreciate them.
Aries (March 21-April 19) - Aries tend to have a youthful, competitive energy. When the next snow falls this season, gather up your friends for a fun snowball fight, snowman building contest or sled race. Taurus (April 20-May 20) - With the new year quickly approaching, now is a great time to start planning your New Year’s resolutions. As one of the most dedicated and persistent signs, those born under the bull sign are the most likely to follow through with their resolutions. Gemini (May 21-June 20) - Geminis have a tendency to be tense and anxious. Use the upcoming winter break to engage in some serious self-care so that you can start the new year off relaxed and refreshed. Cancer (June 21-July 22) - Cancer is one of the most sentimental signs. As it is almost the end of the year, take some time to reflect on all of the good memories from 2018 so that you can enter 2019 feeling grateful.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) - Fiery Leos have a bright and sunny disposition. Your cheerful nature is sure to warm up even the coldest rooms this winter. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) - Virgos are very hardworking, but sometimes all that work leaves no time to play. As soon as the semester ends, make sure to take some time to indulge in some of your hobbies that you didn’t have time for during the school year. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) - Social Libras love spending time with friends and family, which can sometimes be difficult during the busy semester. Use the time off from school during winter break to catch up with friends and family members you haven’t seen or talked to in a while. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) - Scorpios may not always give compliments, but when they do, they always come from the heart. Spread some cheer and brighten someone’s day by giving them an honest, heartfelt compliment.
CULTURE FACES OF MASON delves into the lives of Mason students, faculty or alumni, and organizations every week. This week we take a close look at student Katana Lippart, faculty Ted Kinnaman and organization Mason Cable Network. If you know of a Mason student, faculty member, alumnus or alumna or organization that would like to be featured on FACES OF MASON please submit your request via: https://goo.gl/HZ4SMd INTERVIEWS BY HAILEY BULLIS
FA C U LT Y, T E D K I N N A M A N
What is one of the most interesting things you’ve ever done? I’ve lived in Germany. I’ve worked on a cattle ranch in Montana. What brought you to Germany? Well, I studied German philosophy, and I studied the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. So I’ve been to Germany [and] studied the philosophers there. What about the cattle ranch in Montana?
FOURTH ESTATE HAILEY BULLIS
The cattle ranch was just a job. It was a guy who was an alum, an alum of my college, who after [graduation] from college, he bought a cattle ranch, and then he would hire people from our college. It was just a summer, but it was a summer out in the open prairie of Montana, irrigating the fields and moving cattle around and running into the occasional rattlesnake. It was just a brief little interlude for me, not a life. So what’s a hobby of yours other than philosophy?
What do you teach at Mason? Well, I teach philosophy. I teach mostly courses in the history of philosophy, especially what we call modern philosophy, which is 17th and 18th century. So I teach Descartes, Kant, Hume and people like that. What drew you to teaching those parts of philosophy? I had a course on modern philosophy when I was in college, and it was the most exciting course I took as an undergraduate. The course I teach today is not that different than the course I took in college.
The course I had was just a great course. I had a chance not too long ago to see the guy I took it with and thank him and tell him I think of him all the time when I teach the course, ’cause he really inspired me.
I kind of have a hobby in beer. I used to brew beer, though it’s been a while since I brewed a batch of beer. I like really good beer and tasting different kinds of beer. I grew up in Wisconsin, where everybody drinks beer, and so I grew up kind of loving beer. Compared to when I was younger, I drank a lot less beer, so I can drink more expensive and nicer beers now. And that’s what I do. I sort of try different varieties and compare different beers.
What gave you the opportunity to see your old professor?
What was the first time you tried to brew beer like?
College reunion.
The first time I brewed beer, I was in
Every philosophy department in the country requires a modern philosophy course, a 17th- and 18th-century course, and it requires you to teach Descartes and Hume and Kant.
graduate school and it was surprisingly easy, because I just followed a recipe in a book. There [are] fast ways of brewing beer and easy ways of brewing beer—not-fast ways—and I did it not the fast way. I did a more difficult way for better beer. And I got great beer. My first batch was really, really good. It was an India pale ale. I often tell my students, actually. … I could explain more about why it’s relevant in a philosophy class. I tell my students that the first batch—I don’t tell them it was the first batch I brewed—but I tell them the beer I brewed, I took it to a beer judge. I was in a beer club and there was a guy who was a professional beer judge. He tasted my beer, and he had never met me, and ... I didn’t tell him anything about the beer, and he said, “Aha, you used liquid yeast.” And I had. I used liquid yeast, and he was able to detect that just on the basis of one sip, which is pretty remarkable when you think about it. But that was my very first batch of beer, a very long time ago. Why is it relevant to a philosophy course? Because … there’s an argument that a number of philosophers use called “the argument from the relativity of perception.” The argument is roughly that if people perceive different things with their senses, then that is reason for skepticism about whether they’re perceiving the same thing. So, if you might taste my beer, and you would not be able to taste that there was liquid yeast. There must be some taste in the beer that makes it the taste of liquid yeast. If you’re not a liquid expert, you wouldn’t be able to taste it. But he was able to taste it, supposedly, and it’s supposedly the same beer, but he tasted something different in it.
How things are perceived is relative to the perceiver. And so the conclusion that gets drawn is that a property like taste exists only in relation to a perceiver. It’s not something that’s in the beer itself. What would you say is your biggest strength? I think I can be empathetic. Other than Germany, have you ever traveled anywhere else? I have. Mostly to Europe. I’ve traveled [to] a bunch of places in the United States. I’ve been to Italy a few times. I’ve been to France a couple of times. I’ve been to England and Russia and Brazil. I’ve been to Liechtenstein and the Vatican, and—I’m trying to think of other small places—Luxembourg and Poland and Hungary. So I’ve been to a bunch of different places. What would you say is your favorite place to travel to? Rome. … It’s an ancient city that all of Western civilization is really built on. You know, you walk around there, and you just see so many things that are part of Western [civilization] from way back, from more than 2,000 years ago. You can go around and walk around and see stuff like this, and then you go to restaurants, and there’s fantastically good food. I’ve only been to Rome once, but I was there for over a week, and that [was] what we did every day. We went out and saw amazing things during the day, and we had delicious, huge and wonderful meals with red wine at night, and I could do that forever.
CULTURE S T U D E N T, K ATA N A L I P PA R T How did you get into art? I started in high school doing art classes, just sort of as an elective. Then in community college, I was exploring it a little bit more as a career option, and then when I transferred to George Mason I was, you know, much more confident and set that I wanted to do art.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATANA LIPPART
What media did you start working with? Definitely drawing, either from life or from looking at some of the masters’ works and experimenting with that, but then also painting. So, I don’t know; it’s kind of funny, because I don’t really do either of those anymore. Now I’m mostly into collage and printmaking. How did you get into collage and printmaking? Collage sort of
originated out of
daydreaming and the fact that I couldn’t draw what I was envisioning. In order for me to do that, I would just compile different images, and then printmaking originated when I was at a community college. One of the professors there, Michael Dean, is a printmaker and sculptor, and he was explaining the printmaking process, and I absolutely fell in love with it. Especially with working in layers, where only one color equals one layer, it really transforms the piece. You really don’t know what you’re working with, or you think you know what you’re working with, but then that last layer really surprises you every time. What are you working on now? Definitely, I am actually graduating this December, so I’m working on my capstone right now, and I’ll be in the senior art show [on] Dec. 14, and a lot
of the work that I’ve been doing recently has been sort of looking at themes of home—defining what home means and memory. In those projects I’ve been reevaluating what that looks like and what that feels like. And so I’ve kind of set it in an alternative ’60s era, because printmaking and collage both sort of originated as fine-art forms during that period. I’m kind of relating it back historically, but then also sort of just like this super nostalgic feel for something that I have lost or something that I maybe never had to the extent that I felt before. It’s been definitely a lot of researching of art installation and a lot of historical context to make sure I get things the way I want, but I’m happy with how it’s coming along.
O R G A N I Z AT I O N , M A S O N C A B L E N E T W O R K run a live weekly news broadcast for Mason Cable News and also have fun entertainment programs like “What’s Up, Mason?” led [by] Braxton Bonner and “Mason Munchies,” hosted by junior communication major Reagan Ortiz. What is the difference between Mason Cable Network and Mason Cable News? FOURTH ESTATE ANGELIQUE ARINTOK
Mason Cable Network is the umbrella for all our programs, and “Mason Cable News” happens to be one of those programs. The news team dedicates their time [to] providing students with the latest news, and also features relevant events happening on campus. Over the last semester, we’ve had the chance to cover Suit Up, Mason!, Comedy Circuit with America’s Got Talent finalist Sam Comroe and the Virginia Senate debate. What is your most popular show?
Angelique Arintok, General Manager: Mason Cable Network (MCN) is the student-operated television station on campus. We run our shows on campus channel 8.1, masoncablenetwork.com and youtube.com/masoncablenetwork. Our content is completely crafted by the students for the students. We have shows that range from sports [to] news to entertainment.
It’s tough to really say which show is the most popular, since each has its own following, given the wide range of genres we offer. But, across the board—the “Mason Cable Night Show with Cody Borden” has got to be the most viewed this semester. Cody, a junior communication major at Mason, is truly a star on the rise. His ultimate dream is to host his own late-night show, much like Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert. I’m glad we’re able to offer Mason Cable Network as a platform for him to practice anything and everything, behind and in front of the camera.
Can you name and describe some of your shows?
Is there a show that has become a staff favorite to shoot?
Like I said, the shows we have on the network consist of a really mixed bag. Our shows really portray the passion of their student creators. For example, Erin Whitton and Ryan Donohoe are both seniors with a strong liking for baseball—so much so that they host a twice-monthly baseball talk show called “Touch Base.” We
We have one main team member who coordinates all the shooting for our (about) 10 student programs on the network, sophomore communication major Cruz Sanchez. Knowing Cruz, I have learned that he enjoys a good challenge when it comes to video. So, in that aspect, the “Mason Cable Night Show” has given him
What is Mason Cable Network? What topics do you guys cover?
a lot of unique situations this semester, [from] a GoPro setup for walking through a haunted house [to] sliding through ice with no skates to capture Cody with the Mason Club Ice Hockey team. But, on a more regular basis, his favorite to shoot is probably “What’s Up, Mason?” where he and the host, Brax, face a lot of rejection with their man-on-[the]-street filming operation. Oftentimes, the rejection is comedic, which makes for some funny outtakes and moments. What can viewers expect to see from you guys next semester? Viewers can expect to see more content on the network next semester. This fall, MCN had a lot of new volunteers involved from areas in news to sports broadcasting. So, I really believe that they’ll effectively use what they learned this semester to implement a wider variety of content in 2019. How can prospective students get involved? We welcome any and all students who have a passion for television production. They can get involved by emailing mcn@gmu. edu, filling out an application on studentmedia.gmu.edu and/or emailing me at aarintok@gmu.edu. Do students need prior experience with cameras or other equipment? Students involved with MCN do not need any prior experience before joining. It definitely helps to know the basics. But, we’re always looking to train more people on all equipment like cameras, editing software, live production setup and more. There [are] tons of [opportunities] for folks in front of the camera, too, as far as [gaining] practice with delivery or writing a script for copy; the list goes on.
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“ANYTHING GOES” IS LIFTING SPIRITS WHILE PULLING AN 84-YEAR-OLD MUSICAL INTO 2018 A fresh take on “Anything Goes” is helping redefine casting for classic musicals
PETER NJOROGE STAFF WRITER
The play was originally written in 1934 by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It was scored by composer Cole Porter, winner of the first Tony Award for Best Musical for a musical he provided music and lyrics for, “Kiss Me, Kate.” “Anything Goes” captivates audiences with breathtaking live singing, acting and dancing like only a musical can. The live and in-person nature of a play does an excellent job of displaying the individual talent of each fantastic cast member. The musical is set in the Roaring Twenties, when being debonair and preserving a constant state of gaiety took precedence over just about anything else. For the select few, the U.S. could never have been greater. Largely a play of privilege, the affluent characters help remove viewers from the monotony and logistics of everyday life. The characters in the musical resemble different stereotypes of members of
early-20th-century society. There are the British nobleman and his highclass American wife, the devious yet charming nightclub singer, the comical gangster with his semi-promiscuous female sidekick and a not-so-politically-correct depiction of two Asian immigrants. The audience follows the story of Billy Crocker, played by former “High School Musical” star Corbin Bleu, as he relentlessly pursues Hope Harcourt, a woman he fell in love with at a party, by stowing away on a ship headed toward London. Billy soon finds out that she is to be wed to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, yet he still chooses to remain on the boat despite his boss’s request for him to be in Wall Street the next morning. Together, the cast embarks on a naval expedition of sorts from New York City to London. By the end of the production, three new couples have formed, and many lessons about life and love are shared among each other. This particular rendition of the show takes massive creative liberties in regard to the choices of actors for important roles. For example, Billy Crocker, Reno Sweeney and Hope Harcourt, some of the musical’s principal characters, are all people of color. The time period when the musical was originally written and scored for
Broadway all but literally implies that a vast majority of the characters are White, except for the two Chinese stowaways. Jimmy Ray Bennett, who plays a main role in Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, said in reference to the bold casting style, “There will always be very traditional shows. There will always be traditional Shakespeare. So, why not try something new?” Bennett continued, “I definitely think all of the choices were intentional.” Bennett also thinks that it does not make sense to try to create art from a perspective that is not representative of today life. “We want to be creating classic theatre for today’s audience, which is everyday’s America,” Bennett said. He argued that directors and actors should draw from today’s influences to connect with today’s audience. Some of the musical’s social antiquity is made clear in the way that the two Chinese men are portrayed as sinners who are essentially conning a priest into a free trip to London. Bennett also believes that these “insensitivities,” as Bennett called them, should be amended. Originally known as Ching and Ling, now Luke and John, the two immigrant men are constructs of a different era. Their roles still remain risqué, but almost seem to serve as a
reminder to the audience of how far American society has progressed. The addition of people of color in this version of the musical adds an element of modernity that helps the audience better picture the show in the far-more-multicultural age in which we all currently live. It also acts as a defiant and poignant message from Director Molly Smith. The casting itself is a theme that adds new dimension to the 84-year-old
FOURTH ESTATE PETER NJOROGE
Housed within the beautifully constructed Arena Theater in D.C., a brilliant reworking of the American classic “Anything Goes” is delighting audiences show after show in the nation’s capital. The show includes Mason alumna DeMoya Watson Brown, who plays Ensemble/Angel and is the understudy for Evangeline Harcourt.
Broadway production. When asked if there was any backlash from audience members or critics about the casting, Bennett simply replied, “No.” Regardless of time, multiple script changes and a whole new philosophy behind casting, the ability of “Anything Goes” to whisk away audiences to a place of carefree, hard-swinging times remains truly extraordinary.
NIC’S FLICKS: NOVEMBER RECAP BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Will it, will it rock you? Not entirely. Rami Malek’s performance as the great Freddie Mercury is without a doubt a highlight, but who is Freddie? The problem with musical biopics is that they often drill through the portrayed star’s outward persona and expose their ambition for being famous. With “Bohemian Rhapsody,” that’s not the case. We do not understand why he does what he does, so the film leaves us with more questions rather than answers.
The film is also quite historically inaccurate. For example, they show that Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 before Live Aid when he was actually diagnosed in 1987, after the event. Another instance is the fact that music label executive Ray Foster is actually a fictional character used for the sake of this film. It may also have impressive editing montages, a strong supporting cast and probably the greatest finale in this genre of all time, but in the end, another one bites the dust.
[Star Rating: 2.5/4]
WIDOWS Fans of director Steve McQueen should know that he is not one to pull a punch. If he did, his latest film would not be worth watching. This time, he tackles sexism, racism and police brutality with characters that are all caught in a web of corruption. Viola Davis brings her A-game once again, as does everyone else in the cast. Michelle Rodriguez proves her authenticity through rawness, while Daniel Kaluuya is so terrifying we may never look at him the same ever again.
The first act may seem too convoluted, as there are numerous characters to introduce, but the twists and turns we would never have seen coming keep the audience on the edge of our seats. It is an intense movie, but as it features a diverse cast of women in the lead, it ends up being the film we need to see right now. [Star Rating: 3.5/4]
FOURTH ESTATEMARY JANE DECARLO
NIC MACOTTO STAFF WRITER
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WINTER BREAK ADVENTURES
Check out what Mason students have planned for the long-awaited break After a long semester filled with papers, assignments and Blackboard discussion posts, a long-awaited winter break is nearly here for Mason’s hard-working students. They are not only gearing up for the holiday season, but are also finding ways to achieve that “winter getaway” experience.
Junior communication major Raven Royal is going out of the country over this winter break. “[My friends and I] are taking a girls trip to Cancún,” Royal said. “We plan to go zip-lining, dinner cruising, ATV riding and jet-skiing.”
only option. Royal recommends perusing through Airbnb, as “they can be much more cost-effective,” she said.
spending 16 days in London for the Global Public Relations program with Mason’s Global Education Office.”
Royal saved up some dollars for this big excursion, much like another junior communication major Keirsten Robinson. For this upcoming winter break, Robinson said, “I’m going home to Maine to visit my family and celebrate the holidays, then I’m
Robinson is diving into experiential learning overseas by studying abroad during the break. Since she’s invested a lot of hard-earned money to this experience, Robinson said, “I think that budgeting is important no matter what you’re doing for winter break.”
FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
As part of their girls trip, Royal said she had to book a flight and find housing. She recommends searching for flights on Tuesday evenings, which she says are generally the cheapest. “I also got a [flight] discount through my job, and was able to buy tickets that way,” Royal said. Hotels do not always have to be the
Not all students have that many dollars to shell out. Senior government and international politics major Kimberly Jaramillo is doing a mix of things for break to accommodate her budget. She will be spending the holidays visiting New York City while also finding time to binge-watch “Game of Thrones” before the new season starts in 2019. “I [also] suggest taking advantage of some free admission events in the D.C. area, like the ZooLights at the National Zoo,” Jaramillo said. The ZooLights showcase is open to the general public in the evenings from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The light display is running from Nov. 23 to Jan. 1, with the exception of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. The holiday season glows up the D.C. area, with a cozy fire-pit at District Wharf and stringed lights hung up at CityCenterDC downtown.
ANGELIQUE ARINTOK STAFF WRITER
For sophomore communication major Cruz Sanchez, his version of a getaway includes an active adventure. Sanchez is a part of the Mason Running Club and enjoys the activity. “This winter break I’m going to Walt Disney World [in Florida] to run the Dopey Challenge,” Sanchez said. “It consists of running a 5K, 10K, half-marathon and full marathon back-to-back, four days in a row.” Sanchez is also looking forward to getting on rides during the challenge. “You can take a break from running and jump on the rides as you run through all four parks,” he said. Whether your plans for winter break are to run races like Sanchez, go abroad like Robinson and Royal or tune into your favorite TV program like Jaramillo, a few weeks away from school is the perfect time to focus on yourself and seek your own adventures.
WOMANHOOD AS A RIGHT A discussion on inequality for women and minorities
Held by Kappa Phi Gamma Sorority Inc. and Chase Dreams Not Boys, the Womanhood Panel discussed these issues along with other aspects of gender and minority rights in the workforce on Nov. 28. Chase Dreams Not Boys is a women’s empowerment campaign geared towards minority women, which works to create an inspiring and uplifting environment for these young women. Founded in 1998, Kappa Phi Gamma is the first South-Asian interest sorority. Ridhima Bhatia, a sister of the sorority
who led the discussion, emphasized the principles of character, leadership, scholarship, sisterhood, service, womanhood, culture and self they emphasis at the start of the presentation. “We decided to host this event because one of our principles is womanhood and we really like to place an emphasis on women empowerment,” Bhatia said. “So, we decided to host this event as part of our founder’s month.” After introductions, the meeting started with a TED Talk by Sheryl Sandberg, entitled “Why we have too few women leaders.” Sandberg is the current chief operating officer of Facebook, as well as the first woman on Facebook’s board of directors.
In the TED talk, Sandberg emphasized there is no easy or right answer to workplace inequality, but women who want to stay in the workforce should “one, learn to sit at the table; two, make your partner a real partner and three, don’t leave before you leave.” The points Sandberg brought up kicked off an open discussion, in which Bhatia presented statistics such as how only 53 percent of employers provide women with some pay during maternity leave and how women earn 80 percent of what men do. For minority women, this issue is even worse. One hot topic of discussion is the repressive mindset that wearing natural hair for an interview is
sometimes considered unkept and unprofessional, presenting a barrier for a woman entering the workplace. If she manages to get a job, the glass ceiling will be another obstacle she must overcome, especially when she wants to get promoted within a company. Another topic touched upon is how young women in some communities attend college to find a “MRS degree.” This group of women will go to college with the intention of finding a husband who is getting a solid degree. These women then go on to get married and have children who they send off to college to find a good husband, continuing this cycle.
individual’s fault. A large theme of the discussion emphasized that the mindset of American culture needs to shift. According to Sandberg, many times success is positively correlated for men but negatively correlated for women. While a man’s aggressiveness makes him an assertive leader, a woman’s aggressiveness is considered as being bossy. It was concluded that the most important aspect a man or woman should have in the workplace is both their willingness to listen to the problem of workplace inequality and to have an open mind to change.
Workplace inequality is no single
FOURTH ESTATE ALLY MCALPINE
Did you know that the more education a woman has, the greater disparity in her wages? How do you think that you could improve workplace inequality in the economy?
ALLY MCALPINE ART DIRECTOR
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DEAR IVY, One “Spongebob” theory is troubling this Mason student
Believe it or not, and hear me out, the Spongebob characters represent the seven
Dear Midnight Drunk, Before I start, I want to applaud your dedication in sending in your letter at exactly 12:00 a.m. on the dot. Thanks for the picture illustrating this theory. Going back to your problem, the theory you are referring to has actually been around for a while. For those not familiar with it, the theory states that each of the main characters in “Spongebob” represents a sin. The seven deadly sins, in no particular order, are lust, pride, wrath, greed, sloth, gluttony and envy. In this case, Spongebob is lust, Patrick is sloth, Squidward is wrath, Sandy is pride and so on. So to say the least, there is a lot of material to backup this theory. Someone could watch one episode of Spongebob and understand why this theory came about. Spongebob with his endless love for literally everything. Patrick quite literally lives under a rock. Sandy, a born and raised Texan, is very proud of her home state. It’s quite easy to understand why this theory has both gained so much traction and continues to circulate.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MASON JAZZ VOCAL ENSEMBLE
So what’s my problem you ask?
deadly sins. Yep, you heard me loud and clear—your boy Spongebob is a sin. Spongebob has been a fan favorite of everyone’s, but I know too much, and it’s scaring me. How do I move on knowing all of this and live with myself and still graduate? Love your column, keep doing you boo. All the best, Midnight Drunk
evidence for this theory is that the voice actor for Spongebob is onboard with the theory as well. In a 2015 interview with the Huffington Post, the actor, Tom Kenny, stated he thought it was a “good theory.” Now I know that this knowledge is troubling you. However, I think it’s important to recognize that at the end of the day, this theory doesn’t destroy “Spongebob.” The show remains a staple in many individual’s childhoods, and many mourned the death of creator Stephen Hillenburg on Nov. 26. FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
Dearest Ivy, I am an eccentric person. You see, I have a little problem. It keeps me up at night “sweating,” and there isn’t a moment where I don’t think about this.
So, while this knowledge of “Spongebob” gives you much to think about, if you choose to believe in it, don’t take it too seriously. As far as graduating with this knowledge goes, remember that it’s probably not what Hillenburg had in mind while making the show, as fun as it is to theorize about it. Good luck with finals Midnight Drunk, and I hope this theory stops plaguing you. Keep doing you too boo. -Ivy
Perhaps one of the strongest supporting
Send in letters to mechols@gmu.edu
JAZZ ENSEMBLE SWINGS Group covers Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and more in Jazz Vocal Night IZZ LAMAGDELEINE COPY CHIEF
From Duke Ellington to Sara Bareilles, the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble played tunes from all eras of jazz at their Mason Jazz Vocal Night concert. The event was held on Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 8 p.m. in the Center for the Arts, where the group performed songs including “I’m A Fool to Want You,” recorded by Frank Sinatra, “Muddy Water,” sung by Aretha Franklin and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” written and performed by Stevie Wonder. The ensemble worked long and hard to make sure that the concert was a success, putting in hours of rehearsal three days a week throughout the semester to sound as perfect as possible. “We’re told-slash-encouraged to practice as if we were performing,” junior music education major Courtney Jennelle said. “Using all that energy and especially through all of these weeks, we’re pretty pooped. That’s sort of obvious. In the end though, that outcome is just so rewarding [with] seeing all of the people’s faces bright up (sic) in the audience.”
This is Jennelle’s first semester in the ensemble. After being encouraged to join in August by one of the members of the group who majors in jazz studies, Jennelle auditioned earlier this semester using a song from the popular television show “Steven Universe” and was offered a place within the group soon after. “I honestly am really glad I didn’t turn down the audition,” she stated about her experience in the group. “It was a big impact this semester and probably [will continue to be] throughout my college career at Mason.” An important aspect of the ensemble is the director, Darden Purcell. Having recorded with artists like Chaka Khan and performed in spaces from the Kennedy Center to the set of “The Late Show with David Letterman,” Purcell is a lauded jazz vocalist who has performed for audiences all over the world. “She is so caring about her students,” Jennelle stated. “Studio, soloists and also MJVE [Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble] or just anyone that is a part of this school.” Jennelle continued, “She’s been a
delight, and even outside of class … she’s very much there for her students. Teachers like that kind of encourage me to do better. Teachers that get in touch with their students in that way kind of make me want to come back to classes, or come back to school.” The concert also included a special guest appearance from Herndon High School’s Vocal Jazz performers, who performed tunes such as “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” arranged by Pentatonix. “I remember attending Vocal Jazz Night back in fall 2015 or something, and this Vocal Jazz Night might have been one of the most, quote [unquote], ‘lit’ performances that I have ever seen,” Jennelle stated. “There was a lot of energy through the ballads from the soloists and also from Herndon High School[’s performance].” The Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble will hold auditions next spring for new members who can boogie with the group. The process is open to anyone interested, so make sure to keep an eye out if you wish to start scatting songs all around Mason.
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MORE THAN A STEREOTYPE
An Afghan student talks about her country and Islamophobia MANSUR SHAHEEN STAFF WRITER
Madiha Amarkhil, a communication major, has lived in both Afghanistan and Iran. These are two countries that the U.S. has been at conflict with for nearly her entire life. While the American media may report about these countries as if they are war-torn disasters, Amarkhil says that is far from the truth. “Iran is a beautiful country,” Amarkhil said. “Living there and being there in person, it’s not how [we think] it is here … There were beautiful cities. The first thing I noticed when I visited were the mountains,” she said about Afghanistan. “Americans see the Middle East as a place with a lot of trouble going on, but living there and being there in
person, it’s not as you think it is,” she added. Amarkhil is ethnically Afghan, but conflict forced her family to move to nearby Pakistan where she was born. At age five, her family moved to Iran. She lived in Afghanistan for the first time when she was nine, when her parents moved back to the country. While American stories about Afghanistan can make it seem as if the country is overflowing with violence and terrorism, people in the country have lived fairly normal lives. “When we immigrated to Afghanistan at age nine … my parents never talked about it,” Amarkhil said. “The U.S., Taliban, [attacks on September 11th]. Nothing.” She feels that American media has sensationalized many of the issues in Afghanistan. Amarkhil lived a safe, routine life in the country. When she arrived in the U.S. at age of 13, the sensationalization led to her being bullied by her peers.
was an overlooked issue by many, especially within schools. Many Muslim students were constantly bullied and harrassed by their peers due to the ignorance of the American population. The idea that all Muslims were intrinsically linked to one another, and that the faults of one Muslim were the faults of all Muslims, dominated the media and trickled down into the minds of school children. Amarkhil said “there was a lot of ignorance” in defining what “Arab” even is. While she is not Arab, many still use that label on her and others from Afghanistan.
accounts for over 30 percent of the world's Muslim population, there is an assumption in America that all people of a similar complexion are Arab Muslims. This “racialization” of Islam, as Rice University puts it, makes everyone of similar colored skin a potential victim of Islamophobia, as it is easier to bunch them all together for the crimes of a small minority.
an Afghan news channel based in Virginia. One of the things she is planning on covering soon for the channel is feminism and the women's rights movements here in the United States.
While many may imagine that women from the Middle East are repressed, Amarkhil is the opposite. She is pursuing a career in media and even has an occasional feature on KabulTV,
Amarkhil is far from the stereotype, and she hopes to have a thriving career despite what many may think of her origin.
She is also practicing her skills as a radio DJ at Mason and hopes to find a job as a radio host after she finishes school.
While there are many ethnic groups within Afghanistan, the most common are the Pashtuns. In Iran, where she has also lived, the dominating ethnic group are Persians. Pakistan, the nation of her birth, is dominated by the Punjabi and Pashtun ethnic groups.
“I used to wear a hijab,” Amarkhil said of her adolescent life. “I used to be called a terrorist and they used to tell me stuff like ‘Is Osama Bin Laden your uncle? Are you related?’”
Many seem to forget that Pakistan has closer roots to India than it does to the Middle East. None of these groups can be classified as Arab. Arabic is not a primary language in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Despite this, many people in America still classify people from all three nations as “Arab”.
Islamophobia in the mid to late 2000’s
While
no
single
ethnic
FOURTH ESTATE MANSUR SHAHEEN
When Americans think of the Middle East, they often imagine a war-torn region, wrought with mass terrorism and fascist governments. There is also a common perception that women in Middle East countries are repressed, uneducated and unable to do simple things like driving or getting a standard education. While some of these notions are born out of truth, people who have lived in the region know that the area is actually thriving in ways that are often not covered by the American media.
group
SETTING REALISTIC GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR
Mason students share tips on achieving New Year’s resolutions SARA ANWAR STAFF WRITER
It is important for students to be realistic about their circumstances and acknowledge all the hurdles they could encounter while trying to achieve their goals. For instance, at the beginning of a semester, some students enroll in several courses without proper knowledge of the workload in their courses. Sometimes,
students
have
other
responsibilities such as managing a job or family obligations. In the middle of the semester, it could be too late when they start to realize that they might not pass their classes, leading to low grades. As a result, their short-term vision and unrealistic approach to work could lead them to frustration and depression. One way that students can avoid this scenario is to properly plan out their work so they have a clear understanding of how much effort required for a given task. Sophomore finance major Sara Kamrad suggests setting shortterm goals rather than focusing on
long-term goals, because having a long time span for your goals can quickly decrease your motivation. Take one
FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
Another year has passed in the blink of an eye: 2019 is just a few days away. This is a great time to think of New Year’s resolutions, which is not an easy task. Even though setting achievable goals is important, it is often a challenge for individuals to realistically consider whether their resources and circumstances allow them to work toward these goals.
step at a time, and set your future plans according to your resources and circumstances.
Another very common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight. Students who struggle with this issue probably will make losing weight their New Year’s resolution. Sometimes instead of adopting a healthy lifestyle, they will go on a crash diet and begin intensely exercising, which can result in frustration if their goal doesn’t get realized. They might get tired of the hectic routine, break their self-commitment and start eating even more unhealthy food. This is also an example that emphasizes the importance of setting realistic goals and keeping expectations in check. Rather than focusing solely on weight loss, sophomore mathematics major Mercy Wadhwa recommends focusing
on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. “Make sure you eat healthy food and maintain a balanced diet,” Wadhwa said. A well-planned weight loss plan can help you lose weight in a more healthy manner. Realism is good but optimism is better. Being optimistic motivates you to march towards your goals with passion and zeal. Senior computer science major Xavier Brandares suggests staying optimistic about your goals and having a backup plan. While setting realistic goals is an important step in ensuring that your endeavor will turn out the way you want it to, having faith in your abilities is also crucial as it gives you the self-motivation you need to achieve your goals.
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DEAR IVY, I just broke up with my boyfriend. He and I care for each other very much, but he did not have enough time or space in his life for me. He goes to school three hours away so I never really got the chance to speak with
Dear Sad, I am sorry to hear that, as I have been through almost the same thing. Sometimes, long-distance relationships don’t always work out, especially if there is no mutual effort made to continue building a life with each other. Some days may look better than others, but I can assure you one thing: you are not alone. Although it may sound cliché, things will always get better. It can be hard. Sometimes, when venting to your girlfriends about how much you miss him, you will either get a “forget about him, he isn’t worth it” or “that sucks” type of response. Often, this is not helpful, so I would suggest that you find a journal or diary where you can write down all your feelings and thoughts. This will help you express what you are feeling in a positive way, as well as help you get suppressed emotions off of your chest. I am not saying “don’t cry,” as you are a human being and we all need to let it all out at some point. Once that’s done, promise yourself you will overcome anything. Going through a break-up takes some time, because it’s not easy to forget someone you love. However, you can take advantage of this precious “single” time to find yourself again. By this, I mean spend more time
him, and he was never able to come visit me. Missing him sucks and I need a way to be able to deal with it. Any advice? Thanks, Sad
doing things you have a passion for and discover different hobbies. It helps you keep yourself busy, and gives you time to heal. I always like to say that meeting people in places you feel at “home” brings positivity in your life. We all have different interests, so try thinking about going to the gym, doing sports, drawing, writing poetry or just something you are good at or like to do. Afterward, challenge yourself with something you fear doing or have always wanted to do, such as going zip-lining, riding roller coasters, getting tattoos, dying your hair, dirt bike riding, skydiving, dancing in public and more. It is the small things that will make you feel better. FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
Dear Ivy,
Time is key, so try to avoid rebounds. They are not healthy for you or the other person. Healing will take time and effort. In my personal experience, after so many tears and sad nights, you will find that you can only find true happiness within yourself, not in anyone else. Sad, I wish you nothing but the best. You are loved by your friends and family. Remember to spend time with the ones who show reciprocity through their words and actions. -Ivy
Send in letters to mechols@gmu.edu
FOUR FUN THINGS TO DO IN NOVA Local activities for some winter fun this finals season BROOKE LEWITAS STAFF WRITER
With finals on your mind, it can be hard to focus on anything else. As the holidays are just around the corner, if you can pull yourself away from your textbooks even a little, there are plenty of fun things to do around NOVA to help you get in the holiday spirit. One recurring event right here in Fairfax is the Fairfax Holiday Market. This event will take place the first three weekends in December, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Fridays, 12 to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 12 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. It will take place just a few miles off campus in Old Town Square. Different local vendors offer live music, refreshments and crafts every weekend from Connie’s Chocolate to Wood & Glass Design, so there is something for everyone. For a complete list of the vendors that will be present each weekend, visit https://www.fairfaxva.gov. No winter would be complete without gathering a few friends to go ice skating with. Consider heading to the National Gallery of Art’s Skating Rink, located in Washington D.C., if you and your friends get a chance. On Saturdays, the rink is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and if you bring
your Mason ID, it is only $8 for two 45-minute sessions plus $4 for skate rental. After skating, visitors can warm up at the Pavilion Cafe, and take in the beautiful view of the Sculpture Garden while enjoying the cafe seasonal menu which includes pizzas, sandwiches, salads and desserts. The skating rink will remain open until March 10. After a long day of studying, the Bull Run Festival of Lights might be the perfect activity for getting into the holiday spirit cheaply and easily. At $20 a car, this is also a pretty good deal. The festival is 2.5 miles long and glistens with holiday lights. This event occurs daily from Nov. 21 to Jan. 6. During the week, the festival opens at 5:30 p.m. and goes till 9:30 p.m. On weekends and holidays the festival closes at 10 p.m. giving you an extra 30 minutes to see the lights before heading home for winter break. The last event you should check out is Zoolights, which is completely free and open to the public. For the entire month of December with the exceptions of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Eve, you can head into D.C. and go to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo to experience the
500,000 LED lights that will be used to transform the zoo into a winter wonderland, as well as two lazer light shows set to music. Starting at 5 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m., there will also be live musical performances by local artists throughout the night. Of course, no holiday event would be complete without holiday treats and refreshments, so don’t forget to keep an eye out for gingerbread, apple cider, eggnog, kettle corn and more while visiting. A holiday craft show called GRUMP on December 7, 8 and 9 featuring local crafters offering unique options for Christmas gifts will also be shown at the Zoolights. Visit the Zoo’s Connecticut Avenue entrance to browse homemade artwork like soap, candy, jewelry and hand-bound books. It’s a great way to support local artists and vendors while enjoying the illuminated zoo. These are some of just a few holiday events that are going on right in our area. Attending any of them would be sure to put you in the Christmas spirit, as well as a great way to unwind as finals come closer.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Ivy helps someone struggling with a break-up
OPINIONS
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Opinions do not reflect the views of Fourth Estate. Submit opinions to jbelive2@gmu.edu
A BETTER MOVEMENT ELIJAH NICHOLS STAFF WRITER
As Malcolm X once said “If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress. If you pull it all the way out that’s
not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made. And they haven’t even pulled the knife out much less heal the wound. They won’t even admit the knife is there.” Malcolm X spoke much truth to power in his years and that must be remembered today. And, as a white male, I strongly believe that my people have stuck the knife so deep in the back of people of color by speaking over them while supposedly being for them. We must remember that this world is not just ours. Whether it is the white queer at the rally yelling about “inclusion,” the countless white liberal men who believe they know what’s better for women than an actual woman does, or the the white woman who thinks
they know how “intersectionality” works, we have to learn to step back and pass the megaphone. Inclusion, intersectionality, and fixing the wrongs of the past must be done by letting those who are oppressed speak.
So, to my white peers, I strongly encourage you to make yourself uncomfortable and to step back for a second. Ask yourself, if you’re truly listening to what a specific community wants or not. If they need bodies
at an act of civil disobedience, you provide bodies. If they need voices calling elected officials, you provide voices. If they need votes, you give votes. Let’s admit the knife is there, in all of our movements, and take it.
PAYING AMAZON IS A BAD IDEA
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
To build a better society, a better system, we must first build a better community. When we have one voice lost in the crowd, we must uplift it. There is no doubt that there is beauty in numbers, but when the numbers don’t include a true representation of the entirety of the people then there is no chance in building a truly better society and system. As I march, as I talk to voters, and as I communicate my worries to elected officials, I have begun to realize my place of privilege. While, yes, I am grateful that I can speak up and out, I still know that there is a child of color who is punished harsher than his white peers, an immigrant family’s home raided by ICE, and a person of color that has seen the Orwellian state that our criminal justice system is. We must give a platform to those who have not been given a megaphone at the rally of yesterday because we will not progress as a society if it is not done. Today, we are going to do just that.
JACE WHITE STAFF WRITER
To understand why this is a problem, suppose I had a successful snowboard shop in Colorado and I decided to expand my operations into other states. I would look for locations with lots of winter resorts, people who wanted to buy snowboards, and knowledgeable snowboarders who could work at my
shop. These considerations would allow me to make the most money while serving the most local people. Now suppose that right before I sign the lease on a building ideally located in the mountains of Utah, I get a call from the mayor of Miami, Florida, who wants me to move my business to his city. He tells me that he is impressed with my business and has been looking to grow Miami’s snowboarding industry. Before I get the chance to hang up the phone, he offers to sweeten the pot. My business won’t have to pay any property taxes, and the city will spend a million dollars building a winter sports facility across the street from my store. The facility will pay for itself, he concludes, because along with my store it will bring much needed snowboard related jobs to the city. I also get a call from the president of Miami University, who promises to expand his school’s athletic program to include snowboarding. True, the athletes will need to fly across the country each week to be able to
practice, but he assures me that any amount of spending is worth it if it means providing greater opportunities for his students and their careers. With all of this money being thrown at me, I might begin to rethink my plans. Though this situation seems absurd, it mirrors the situation with Amazon quite well. Left to its own devices, Amazon would have had to perform a similar calculation as I performed with my snowboarding business. It would look for areas where it could build a headquarters at the lowest cost, where it could find the most employees, and where the existing local infrastructure best supported its business. No one needs a bribe to do something they were already going to do, so the fact that the chosen cities offered Amazon billions of dollars suggests that the company was compelled to make a decision it otherwise wouldn’t have made. It was, in effect, compensated by local governments for making a worse business decision. If Amazon was already going to
come to Virginia, paying them to come was a waste of money. If Amazon wasn’t planning on coming to Virginia, but was persuaded when the local governments and universities promised to spend billions of dollars helping them, that was also a waste
of money, not because nothing good will come from it, but because more good would have resulted from simply letting Amazon decide for itself where to put its headquarters and letting the taxpayers of Virginia spend and invest their money as they saw fit.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The news that Amazon will be bringing half of its new headquarters to Northern Virginia was met with enthusiasm by those who stand to gain from the company’s move. From the standpoint of the economy as a whole however, this is not something to celebrate. The company was offered billions of dollars in promised spending and tax breaks by cities across the country, which allowed it to choose cities based on the offers they made. Rather than relocate to where it could most efficiently conduct its business, Amazon was able to select a location based on which local governments were more eager to shake down taxpayers to entice the massive company.
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WHY YOU SHOULD WRITE
CHRIS KERNAN-SCHMIDT STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF PEXELS
trouble, I began to appreciate the art of writing. It was a way to for me express some of the most intricate ideas and feelings that I had. Writing has become more practical for me, but it remains an activity that I believe everyone should participate in beyond the c l a s s r o o m .
Whether I have liked it or not, writing has always been in my life. When I was younger, I despised writing. A common punishment in my parents’ house was writing sentences like, “I will never…” or “I will listen to mom”
up to 500 times – it was an effective punishment. That, combined with the weekly vocabulary practice my mom made me do, contributed to a disdain for the act of writing. As I grew older, and as I stopped getting myself into
As college students we are deeply familiar with writing. There is no doubt that writing is a valuable skill to learn no matter which industry you decide to enter, but it is understandable why so many students despise it. Final papers, blue book exams, and the plethora of other writing college students must do can make oneself
jaded. The sense of dread behind writing, I hypothesize, stems from strict deadlines and less-than-exciting topics. The sense of dread that amasses behind writing over one’s college career can often follow into adulthood. Journaling, writing out goals, and writing for fun are often lost art forms to many working adults. According to researchers, journaling can be very beneficial to one’s health. From stress relief to problem solving, writing down your thoughts is no doubt helpful. Aside from personal health is mastery of language. As I mentioned earlier, writing is a valuable skill in any career. Whether you are writing succinct reports for managers, lengthy research papers, or policy documents, writing is key – it is a skill. How does one get better at anything? Through practice and repetition. As hard as it may be sometimes, I try not to think of writing for classes as a chore because deep down I know that the more I write, the better I will become. Writing can be used for more than
just practice or mental health. There are a plethora of online articles and success coaches urging people to write down their goals. Whether it is writing your daily goals, semester goals, or lifetime goals, this simple act has had reported increases in productivity and accomplishment. By writing them down you force yourself to think about the goals you would like to achieve (which is hard enough by itself) and then you are able to better visualize them and “make them real” so-tospeak. To take it one step further you can write down how you achieve those goals and have a specific plan laid out. Having goals in your head is one thing but to write them out allows you to begin to solidify those goals beyond just daydreaming in your least exciting class. I have a request for everyone reading this now: write something right now. A sentence about your day, a rant about your job, a goal for next semester – anything. Try it and see how it feels. Begin to love writing, not only for others, but more importantly for yourself.
INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS CAN SAVE THE PLANET
In early October, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report stating that we have twelve years until the global temperature of our planet will be 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer. Even a half degree increase will lead to higher risk of droughts, floods, extreme heat, wildfires, hurricanes, hunger, and poverty affecting hundreds of millions of people. In short, we have until 2030 to reverse the damages of climate change. Hearing statistics that doom our planet to a lifetime of degradation simultaneously terrifies me and energizes me. I’m scared that people won’t change their ways, but I am hopeful in my ability to change my own. Climate change does not discriminate. It affects all – rich and poor, young and old, men and women. As college students with limited funding and the feeling that our voice often goes unheard, it can be understandable many feel hopeless in the face of climate change. However, there are many different actions and commitments we can take to mitigate this phenomenon. The clocking is ticking, and it’s due
time to channel our fear into action. While many changes to stop the causes of climate change need to be structural and on the corporate level, individual effort is crucial to succeed. America is an individualistic society and individualistic societies rely on the action of the single person to make any real impact on our changes in policy and social norms. So, it is here, that I urge you reading this to take action in two ways. The first is that as consumers, we must limit individual waste by prioritizing our efforts to buy locally sourced, secondhand, or fair-trade products, composting or recycling, and cutting out single-use products wherever possible. Second, I ask you to demand more from those who are in charge of making the rules and legislation that lead to an unsustainable lifestyle. Mason’s green community is a wonderful tool on campus to utilize and accomplish both strategies. With organizations like Green Patriots, Virginia Student Environmental Coalition (VSEC), Alpha Kappa Chi, Green Organic Gardening
PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAIG BISACRE
SARA BABCOCK CONTRIBUTOR
Association (GOGA), the Vegan Society, and many more, there are endless opportunities to hit the ground running to living a more sustainable lifestyle. Each organization, with the same goal in mind, take different approaches to creating momentum in the Sustainability Revolution. A resource that often goes forgotten in
the fight for a sustainable campus is Student Government. I joined Student Government because I deeply care for the sustainability of the world, and I believe that with my position in student government, I can help in the effort to facilitate change on our own campus. I am using my position to lobby and implement structural
changes on campus to the way we produce products, use products, and dispose them as well a multitude of other problems the environmental community advocates for. But I need you to do the same, reach out to me and the other organizations on campus and guarantee that your voice is heard.
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THE VOICE OF MASON KOREA
11.05.2018
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Content does not reflect the views of Fourth Estate. Submit corrections or comments to hjoung@masonlive.gmu.edu
SU-NEUNG:
The Day South Korea Falls Silent PHOTO COURTESY OF SANGWON LEE
HAEUN CHOI REPORTER
SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS RAMPANT IN NORTH KOREA, SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
On a special Thursday in November, South Korea stops. Airplanes do not depart, most of the workforce’s call times are delayed, and traffic is non-existent in busy cities. The only ones who are moving around are Korean high school seniors, waiting to take arguably one of the biggest exams in their life: Su-neung. This year’s Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (“KCSAT”), better known as “Su-neung”, was held on November 15.
On the day of the test, about 800 emergency vehicles are provided for students in traffic, and the morning rush hour is delayed. Police motorcycles are there for test takers who are worried about being late and parking is not allowed in the radius of 200 meter around the test site. Especially, Korean airplanes cannot take off or land during the English listening test. Finally, after the
The rate of Koreans going to college, which is nearly 70 percent, is the
SANGWON LEE REPORTER
In the report, HRW conducted interviews with 54 North Korean defectors and eight former North Korean officials who fled the country after Kim Jong Un came into power in 2011.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SANGWON LEE
The report stated that North Korean officials, including high-ranking party officials, police officers, and soldiers, abuse their position of power to constrain women to have unwanted sexual contact with them. “Interviewees told us that when a guard or police officer “picks” a woman, she has no choice but
to comply with any demands he makes, whether for sex, money, or other favors”, says the report. During the interview with HRW, Oh Junghee, a former trader from Ryanggang province in North Korea, said “On the days they felt like it, market guards or police officials would ask me to follow them to an empty room outside the market, or some other place they’d pick. What can we do? They consider us [sex] toys.” This is not the first time North Korea has been accused of the prevalence of human rights abuses happening within its border. The report mentions a 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry on human rights in DPRK concluded that, “systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations committed by the North Korean government constituted crimes against humanity.
These included forced abortion, rape, and other sexual violence, as well as murder, imprisonment, enslavement, and torture on North Koreans in prison or detention.” The Korean Central News Agency, the state news agency of North Korea, denied the accusation of its government, and claimed that the HRW’s report was part of a political scheme to tarnish the image of DPRK, and further branded the interviewees as “human scums.” During a news conference held in Seoul, South Korea, on November 1, Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW, said “North Korean women would probably say ‘MeToo’ if they thought there was any way to obtain justice, but their voices are silenced in Kim Jong Un’s dictatorship.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HAEUN CHOI
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based international NGO that investigates human rights issues worldwide, released a report titled “You Cry at Night but Don’t Know Why” to divulge the rampant practices of sexual violence in North Korea (DPRK) on October 31.
highest among OECD countries. Therefore, university admissions have become a natural social practice and tremendous meaning in South Korea. This tendency has also led to the so-called “Su-neung culture”. This culture is evident in the families, schools and society of South Korea.
exam, various companies and social organizations prepare events for the seniors. All kinds of items such as movie tickets, cell phones, and restaurants are vastly discounted only for them.
Families treat the test takers with the absolute utmost care for one year before the big day, and sometimes all the life patterns and styles of an entire family revolve around that of examinees. The high schools offer different curriculum, learning places and hours for the seniors, or “Go-sam”. The juniors prepare food and materials, such as sticky rice cakes and taffy, and paper towels. The sticky snacks symbolize the hopes to “stick” to the exam and pass it. As paper towel rolls come loose smoothly, it carries the hopes that the exam will flow easily. Also, the junior students prepare numerous events, such as cheering for the seniors by offering warm tea and candies at the test sites.
It seems that the warm culture of caring the test takers is beautiful and heartwarming, but the reality of Korea, which had to develop such a culture, seems tragic on the other hand. It is said that the reason why the KCSAT is on Thursday, not Friday, is to check their survival of the students on Friday. Due to the result of KCSAT, many students become frustrated and in extreme cases, they commit suicide. In this regard, it seems that this year’s “handwriting confirmation letter of KCSAT,” which is done to make sure there are no substitutes in the test, was designed to commemorate and praise their twelve-year efforts preparing for a single exam: “I’ve never seen anyone so lovely as you.”
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THE VOICE OF MASON KOREA
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PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUNGSEO PARK
Content does not reflect the views of Fourth Estate. Submit corrections or comments to hjoung@masonlive.gmu.edu
A CUP OF COFFEE, PLEASE?
Unique coffee culture in Sourth Korea YA-EN SIE REPORTER
YOUNGSEO PARK REPORTER
George Mason University Korea is busy saying farewell to autumn with an overall building renovation. Walls, tables, and chairs in global lounge are being relocated and now the “Marvel Lounge,” once on the first floor, is nowhere to be seen. There are also changes between the floors and facilities, as well as major departments, which are busy moving to new places within the building. Mason Korea is currently under the renovation after a few complaints and suggestions about the building usage surfaced throughout the semester. There have been proposals to change some places in a more efficient and effective way for the betterment of student and faculty life. However, there has been controversy around the ongoing renovation. On one hand, the idea is well-supported for the betterment of the building usage. Having a renovation means
looking and preparing for a new start. Some people take such change positively because the school is looking back the past and refresh itself to take a big step forward to the future. On the other hand, is not fully supported due to some shortcomings in the remodeling process. One issue is that the idea of George Mason University Korea having a renovation is not well-known around the school and there were not many opportunities to hear how people want the school to be changed. One student, who wished to stay anonymous, said, “I personally did not know the school is changing [the facilities]. It seems like not many people in the university know about this. Since I did not know, I was quite surprised when all the Marvel chairs disappeared and suddenly there was nowhere to sit!” Another student, who also wanted to remain
anonymous, said “I believe there was not any time the school asked about or discussed the idea of renovating the school to the students. So, I wonder what the purpose of the renovation is in the first place.” A professor in George Mason University Korea, who wished to stay anonymous, welcomes the ongoing renovation process, but expressed some worries at the same time. “It feels like many students or even faculty members are not aware of such changes yet. So, I am little bit worried that it going to cause confusion for a while.” George Mason University Korea has yet to give an official statement about the ongoing controversy over the renovation. Dr. Roland Wilson, a professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution said, “I welcome the new start of the school. But, I wish there were more places to talk about the ideas of how to change the school for the better!”
fit into the ongoing trend of South Koreans’ coffee drinking habit. Another aspect is Korean’s love of “Americano”, which has the highest ordering rate among all drinks in South Korean cafés. People drink Americano mainly because it does not contain any milk and it is cheap. For everyday employees, they drink it to gain more energy to work, while for students, they drink it to stay up late to study. Furthermore, to the young generation nowadays, purchasing a cup of coffee does not only mean consuming the coffee, but pursuit of new trends. Such trends can be drinking coffee at large coffee companies for show-n-tell or following the ritual of going to cafés after a meal. PHOTO COURTESY OF YA-EN SIE
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY KOREA IS BEING BORN ANEW
In South Korea, a cup of coffee is more than a drink, it is a part of people’s life culture. Despite the bitter taste of coffee, each cup of it carries different meanings to different people. “A cup of coffee a day, lets the energy stay” can be applied to some of South Koreans of their coffee drinking habit, especially for college students. According to a result of a survey targeting students at George Mason University Korea, the percentage of students who drink coffee as a source of energy is 67.2%, which is over half the participants. When asked about how often students drink coffee, 52.4% of them replied that they drink coffee every day. To tend to these coffee-lovers, coffee shops are everywhere in South Korea, and each of them has unique themes and styles that attracts people’s attention. For example, there are poolthemed cafés and Coca-cola-themed cafés. Not only have coffee shops in South Korea contributed to coffee culture unique, but “instant coffee” is also something that sets South Korean coffee culture apart from the rest. Instant coffee is tasty and quick, which is convenient to busy workers. Coffee shops and instant coffee both
To South Koreans, coffee has become an indispensable element in their daily lives. Because of how popular coffee is in South Korea, there is even a coffee show held in Seoul called “Seoul International Café Show” every year to share about people’s passion in coffee culture. With people pursuing in coffee, whether for their needs or wants, South Korea’s coffee culture has become one of the most unique cultures in the world.
REFLECTING FROM SOOKMYUNG GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL: Is the Korean ‘Susi’ system trustworthy for high school seniors? HYUNSEON KIM REPORTER
On their very first semester of high school in spring 2017, they ranked 59th and 121th, but suddenly shot up to 2nd and 5th in the following semester. The rapid rise made one
teacher from the high school to feel suspicious. To relieve his skepticism, he tried to investigate the situation when he was in charge of creating the chemistry exam in fall 2018. He purposely input the wrong answer to only one question, like a trap investigation, which was later corrected after the midterm test. As a result, Hyeon’s daughter was the only one throughout the entire 11th grade to write the exact wrong answer on the chemistry test. The Suseo district police in Seoul have forwarded
the evidence to the prosecutors of the Seoul Central District court, which announced in a press briefing that Hyeon had leaked the test information to his daughters over five times, from June 2017 to July 2018. During a probe investigation in their house and
high school, additional evidence such as exact answers for English tests on their phones and a set of multiple choice answers written on the actual calculus test paper were found. Following this case, the controversy circling Susi, or “early college
PHOTO COURTESY OF HYUNSEON KIM
On November 6th, the Seoul Central District Court arrested a teacher, surnamed Hyeon, who is a senior school administrator at Sookmyung Girls’ High School, for suspicion of allegedly leaking the exam questions to his 11th grade twin daughters. The police suspected the twin’s father since he had stayed alone late at school several times. After the final exam results for the spring 2018 semester were revealed, both of the twins ranked first in each of the entire liberal arts / science divisions in their junior year, which was a great leap from previous semesters.
application method” in Korean, has resurfaced. As susi is mainly based on grades and extracurricular activities within the school, it has been under fire for biased evaluation methods from certain teachers. Ultimately, this incident from Sookmyung Girls’ high school instigated parents to urge for the college application process to be based on 100% Suneung scores, which is the Korean Scholastic Ability Test. After the arrest, the high school has decided to change the twins’ test scores to zero and to fire Hyeon. Despite efforts to persuade the twins and their father to admit their allegations at the warrant’s validity investigation, they are completely denying charges and even making contradictory statements through their lawyer.
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MS Funny
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FOURTH ESTATE BILLY FERGUSON
Congrats to Billy Ferguson winner of the IVEE award ‘Best Comic Strip’!
Want to make a comic? Send a submission to masonfourthestate@gmail.com
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CLASSIFIEDS Help Wanted Phoenicia Resto & Lounge looking to hire servers, bussers, hosts and bartenders. Must have experience. Flexible schedule, must work minimun 3 shifts per week. Looking to hire ASAP. Submit your work history to danny@phoeniciaresto.com Phoenicia Resto and Lounge 2236 Gallows Road Vienna VA 22182 www.phoeniciaresto.com Dominion Center for Behavioral Health Services (DCBHS) is a multi-disciplinary practice, with board-certified, licensed child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrists (MD), licensed clinical psychologists (LCP), and licensed master level clinicians (LCSW and LPC). DCBHS is seeking to hire a part time Front Desk Receptionist. The selected candidates will be expected to work 30-40 hours a week, maintain a flexible schedule, covering morning, afternoon, and early evening shifts, as well as occasional Saturdays, Prior experience is preferred and candidate must have positive, outgoing, and a pleasant personality. Qualified candidates must be able to handle stressful situations well and work under pressure while maintaining a pleasant and professional demeanor. Please reply with a cover letter, resume and salary requirements to mneuman@dc4bhs.com
THIS ISSUE’S ANSWERS because we don’t have another issue next week! Good luck on exams, and have a good winter break!
LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS
AT LEAST ONCE in YOUR LIFETIME “Absolutely
THE NO. 1 SHOW in the world.”
—Kenn Wells, former lead dancer of English National Ballet
“There is massive power in this that can embrace the world. It brings great hope...” —Daniel Herman, former Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic
“The world is a better place because of Shen Yun.” —Richard Swett, former U.S. congressman
“II just wish there is a way that I could cry out to mankind: they owe it to
themselves to experience Shen Yun.”
—Jim Crill, veteran producer, watched Shen Yun 4 times
JAN 17–20 & MAR 12–14 GMU Concert Hall • Fairfax
Tickets ShenYun.com/DC
888-90-SHOWS 74697