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Photo courtesy of Abdul Mirza

BY CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, SPORTS EDITOR 

Basketball teams rely on committed staff members, those who scout opponents in order to help prepare  for upcoming games. At Mason, Connor Whitworth serves as the Head Manager for the women’s basketball team, overseeing other managers while assisting with scouting reports and film analysis. 

Whitworth spends 10-15 hours per scouting session using Synergy Sports, a platform that provides pre-cut footage of opponents’ past games. This allows him to analyze play styles and  prepare the team for their games against those opponents. 

“A lot of teams, a majority of them run like an America’s play action,” Whitworth said. “So there’s like actions that you can recognize through that right, that make it easier and be like, these are their play sets… we can figure out what they want to do on man-to-man defense, what they want to do on zone defense.”

Whitworth presents his scouting reports in film sessions before practices, highlighting key points like what hand the player shoots with, where they shoot best on the court, their weaknesses, or what side of the court they like being on. Afterwards, he would make it as easy as possible for the team to lock onto their matchups during games. 

Despite the fact that all the filming preparation can assist the team prepare for game night, game plans can always change from night to night. Basketball, dependent on players within a team, includes players making sharp on-the-fly decisions. Due to this adjustments must be made in real time, throwing a perfectly crafted game plan out the window.

“We’ll go out and we’ll try something that doesn’t work, and then our coaching staff would adjust, and then at halftime we’ll do whatever we need to do, the fix, adjust, change anything that we need to,” Whitworth said. “Teams are scouting us like we’re scouting them.”

Mason Women’s Basketball closed out their season on March 1st with a 24-5 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the A-10 conference. The team will begin its A-10 tournament journey on March 7th against the winner of Game 6 at 5 p.m. on Peacock. 

“The staff is amazing, like everything from Coach Blair all the way down to one of our new managers…I think our team as a whole is so great,” Whitworth said. “It’s so family oriented…it makes it mean a little bit more…it’s going to be a little bit stressful, but at the same time, we’ve had such a historic season.”

Whitworth initially considered a career in engineering, but during his senior year of high school, his mother encouraged him to explore a career path in basketball since he played the sport. With family’s support, Whitworth pursued his passion and found a home with Mason’s women’s basketball program

Whitworth thanks Mason women’s basketball coach Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis for allowing him to serve her program. “When I first came in, my first day, she came up to me and she was like, ‘Are you ready for a roller coaster ride?’” Whitworth said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect… but, man, it has been a roller coaster ride, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

Whitworth credits coaches Washington, Frank, and Bolton for shaping his basketball knowledge and coaching abilities. Whitworth also thanked Riley Walker for introducing him to the opportunity to work with Mason’s Women Basketball and expressed gratitude to his fellow managers for all the hard work and dedication.

Whitworth’s advice for people who want to be in his position is to work hard. “They’re going to be things that I was told that I need to do that I didn’t want to do, like, that’s just life….You got to take steps,” Whitworth said.  “I started at the bottom, and it’s just I slowly… worked my way up, and continued to just grow.”

After Whitworth graduates, his one goal in life is to coach an Olympic team like the Korean international team. He aims to stay in Division I college basketball and coach a team like UCLA and make his mark in the game he loves.

Mitchell Richtmyre/Fourth Estate

BY CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, SPORTS EDITOR

After two road losses, the Patriots bounced back to win their final home game on Senior Night against the Duquesne Dukes, 86-63, on Mar. 1. The game honored senior guard Paula Suarez, graduate student Ta’Viyanna Habib, graduate student Khamya McNeal, graduate student Nalani Kaysia, head manager Connor Whitworth, and their graduate assistant Riley Childs.

“Seeing you know how much the team has grown every single year… You can feel the culture just being there… The teammates like getting closer, so much more fun when we’re playing, and just keep it improving,” said Suarez. 

“I’m just grateful for all of it, the highs, the lows, the long days; it all just feels in this moment just worth it,” Kaysia added. 

Five Patriots scored in double-digit against the Dukes. Redshirt Sophomore forward Zahirah Walton led the team with 16 points, sophomore guard Kennedy Harris scored 14, and Habib contributed 12 points. Kaysia and Suarez each finished with 10 points.

Kaysia also grabbed 21 rebounds out of the Patriots’ total of 47, seven more than Duquesne’s entire starting five and nearly matching their 29 rebounds for the night. 

“The last two back-to-back on the road, they were tough,” said Mason head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis. “To be able to be able to finish at home when we play well, and our crowd has really supported us, and I was just really happy for them, and you want to go into the tournament with some steam, and I just feel like this was a really good send-off for us.”

Wanda Durant was one of the honorary coaches on bench with the team during the game.

“You can just see why [Kevin Durant]’s so loved in the league because of just being around her,” said Coach Lewis. “How she was just caring about people, taking care of people, and she deserves all these moments for the sacrifices she made…as a single mom… We know her son, but it’s a reason why people grow up to be who they are because they have great parents.”

The Patriots finished second in the A-10 standings with a 24-5 overall record and 14-4 conference record. Having different players step up each night contributed to the team’s success. Coach Lewis was also named to the Mid-Major Coach of the Year Midseason Watch List.

Suarez earned the Most Improved Player award and was named to the All-Conference Second Team with Harris. Walton was selected for the All-Conference Defensive team. 

Davon Marion/Fourth Estate

“We’re not just teaching basketball, we’re teaching life moments,” said Coach Lewis. “You’re going to have those moments where things are going really good. And then something’s going to come out the clear blue, something you didn’t prepare for, and how are you going to get over it? How are you going to get through it? For us, it’s our faith and then we can count on each other as sisters and the sisterhood that we can be there for each other.”

The Patriots finished first in offense of A10, averaging 73.7 points per game. The Patriots ranked fourth in defense, holding teams to an average of 56.9 points per game, giving them the best scoring margin in the conference at +16.8.  

The team finished fifth in assists, averaging 13.66 per game, third in team percentage with 42.6% and fifth in holding their opponent field goal percentages to 38%. They also finished second in shooting three-point percentages with 36.4% and 12th in holding teams to shoot 33.1% from three.

The Patriots finished fourth in combined rebounds with an average of 38.5 per game. Third in blocks, getting an average of 3.93 per game, and fourth in steals, hitting 9.38.

Spirits are high for the Mason women’s basketball team heading into the A-10 tournament. 

The Patriots will begin their tournament run on Mar. 7 against the winner of Game 6 at 5 p.m. EST on Peacock. 

Melanie Jensen/Fourth Estate

BY MELANIE JENSEN, STAFF WRITER

On Constitution Ave. in Washington, D.C., between the White House and the U.S. Capitol, three of the most influential documents in American democracy sit on display in a dimly lit rotunda. 

The National Archives Museum is home to the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. It also holds more than 750,000 artifacts, 41 million photographs and 12.5 billion pieces of paper. Some archives rest in the storage facilities built into the museum in 1937, while others are on display for visitors to explore for free. 

Melanie Jensen/Fourth Estate

The Charters of Freedom exhibition hosts the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence in a spacious rotunda on the second floor, adorned with two curved murals commissioned by artist Barry Faulkner in 1934. 

The mural on the left depicts the Founding Fathers presenting the Declaration of Independence to John Hancock, while the mural on the right shows James Madison submitting the Constitution to George Washington.

The room remains dimly lit to prevent damaging the over 200-year-old documents, and security guards enforce a strict no-flash photography policy. On the edges of the curved room, encased exhibits provide historic context for each document. 

While the Charters of Freedom exhibit is the most popular, the Records of Rights exhibition houses the most artifacts. Located directly across the museum entrance in the David M. Rubenstein Gallery, this exhibition focuses on three major themes in U.S. history: African American rights, women’s rights and immigrant rights. 

Near the entrance of the gallery, one of four original copies of the 1297 Magna Carta is on display. This document, which limited the king’s power in England and granted individual rights to the people, later inspired the Founding Fathers while drafting the Declaration of Independence. At the center of the gallery, a 17-foot touchscreen table allows visitors to interact with other archived documents related to privacy rights, workplace rights, Native American rights and more. 

To the left of the table, Private Cato Greene’s discharge papers from the Continental Army in 1783 sit brightly lit. Greene was an enslaved Revolutionary War soldier who fought to earn his freedom. His experience highlights the long struggle for Black Americans to be included in the Declaration of Independence’s statement “all men are created equally.” 

The exhibition also features documents related to women’s marriage rights, financial freedoms, equal pay and reproductive rights. A 1917 petition from the Women Voters Anti-Suffrage Party of New York, signed by 17 women, illustrates the complex history of women’s suffrage. Not all women supported the right to vote. 

“Our country in this hour of peril should be spared the harassing of its public men and the distracting of its people from work for the war,” the petition reads. The party sent the petition to the Senate, urging lawmakers to  avoid such a “radical change” while the nation was engaged in World War I. 

Similar to the struggles faced by African Americans and women, the Records of Rights exhibition displays the historic support and opposition to immigrants’ rights. 

“Holding high the flame of hope in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty has welcomed generations of immigrants and became an icon for freedom,” a display reads. The 1884 Deed of Gift from France,which transferred ownership of the Statue of Liberty to the United States, serves as an ever-lasting symbol of immigration history in America. 

While the Records of Rights exhibition showcases the unbending fight for freedom and liberty throughout U.S. history, rotating exhibitions like Power and Light offer a glimpse into the lives of families at a specific point in time. Russell Lee’s 1946 Coal Survey features more than 200 photographs of coal miners and their families in West Virginia, Kentucky, Utah and other states.

The enlarged portraits show miners at work and with their families at home, illustrating their daily lives and labor struggles in the years following World War II. 

Beyond its historic artifacts, the museum’s architecture enhances its storytelling. Architect John Russel Pope chose the location in between the Capitol and the White House to emphasize its symbolic importance. The museum’s grand Corinthian columns and intricate pediments with allegorical sculptures sit atop the museum’s carved name adding to its significance. 

An inscription on the west side of the building reminds passersby of the museum’s core mission:“The glory and romance of our history are here preserved in the chronicles of those who conceived and builded the structure of our nation.” This message underscores the institution’s role in safeguarding the nation’s historic legacy.

The National Archives Museum serves as a living testament to American democracy, preserving and displaying the country’s significant documents and historical records for future generations.

Katie Perschau/Fourth Estate

BY KATIE PERSCHAU, STAFF WRITER

Self-expression is a staple of Mason pride. This school year, Sophomore Jay Toussaint, a member of Mason’s Black Student Alliance, stepped out of his comfort zone to audition for the organization’s annual fashion show. 

While the students won’t walk the runway until March 29, Toussaint has been practicing and attending rehearsals since October. He said his decision to audition allowed him to participate in a unique activity and strengthen his sense of community at Mason.

Toussaint values self-expression and enjoys exploring different music genres and experimenting with fashion. However, he hadn’t considered participating in a fashion show until joining the BSA. 

“I originally wasn’t going to do it…it looked really cool, but it was so out of my comfort zone. I like taking pictures and I like putting outfits together, so I was like, [runway modeling] is something I would do if I wasn’t self-conscious, so why not just do it and get the experience because you don’t get less self-conscious by not doing anything,” Toussaint said. 

Toussaint was initially nervous to audition because he was the only male in rehearsals, but he soon found that the other BSA members were eager to support him. 

“They were so nice. They clapped after every walk and told you you did a good job; they really tried to work with you,” he said. Now, he describes the rehearsals as productive but also full of laughter, jokes and singing along to runway songs. 

While Toussaint originally joined BSA to get involved in an organization, he said that getting to know other Black students on campus has increased his confidence and made him feel more in touch with his identity. 

“Even if I don’t do [the fashion show] next year, at least I can say that this was something I was a part of,” Toussaint said. “If your friends aren’t Black, you can feel sort of detached from the identity…so [participating in the BSA] has made me feel more secure on campus.”

Toussaint encouraged students to participate in the BSA and the fashion show for the experience and community connections, whether they plan on making it a long-term commitment or just want to try something new. He said the fashion show offers a unique opportunity to build a portfolio and meet like-minded students. 

In addition to the BSA, Toussaint said that living in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences learning community during his freshman year helped him find a supportive group of  friends. 

“I feel like I definitely wouldn’t have made as many friends who were in my major and doing things related to my course load if I hadn’t joined the CHSS learning community. I feel like GMU does a good job of getting specific niche groups of people together,” he said. 

By auditioning for the fashion show, Toussaint has learned to not take things too seriously and to embrace new experiences.

“Not everyone is perceiving you the way you’re perceiving you all the time,” he said. “Some people are just as nervous as you.” 

As Toussaint prepares for the upcoming fashion show, he hopes his experience will inspire other students to take risks, step out of their comfort zones, and find confidence in unexpected places. 

Come support Toussaint and other Mason students at the BSA fashion show on March 29!

Photo courtesy of the Archery Club

BY VALENTINA FALA, STAFF WRITER

When the Mason Archery Club started in 2022, members aimed to put archery on the map by competing in various tournaments. Their competitive spirit has propelled the club two steps ahead of other teams, earning records, prizes, medals and significant accomplishments in just three years.

Archery primarily exercises the upper body but is adaptable to meet the needs of every athlete, emphasizing inclusivity and accessibility. “Archery is very dependent on both form and also physical ability,” Tiya Maroboina, the Club’s President said. “Of course there are many adjustments that can be made. Paralympic archery is a growing field of many people… For us, because we are a university club, we try our best to accommodate everybody.”

Skill levels vary among members–some started in the beginning of the Fall semester, while others have years of experience under their belt. With around 30 club members, each has competed at least once in the past year. Training is individualized due to the nature of the sport, and scores recorded at big competitions help members identify areas for improvement.

“We have three bow divisions we shoot in: recurve, which is what you’ve seen in the Olympics; barebow which looks very similar to a recurve…You take a basic recurve bow and take the gear off; and then compound is another division with the wheels,” Maroboina explained. “The most popular division is the barebow division, followed by recurve and compound.”

From Feb. 21 to Feb. 23, the club competed in the 56th JOAD Indoor Nationals, where student Kyle George won bronze in the Recurve Collegiate Men’s division and ranked in the national Top 25. At the Virginia State Indoor Championship, every club participant won a medal, and archer Ellalee Bullock set a state record in the Barebow Collegiate Women’s division.

Most competitions are external or collegiate-level events, but many are local and within a short drive from Mason’s Fairfax campus. The club typically practices at the Bull Run Shooting Center, approximately 20 minutes from the Fairfax campus. 

Recruiting only happens during the Fall semester, with interested students participating in a two-week tryout period that includes four practices. During this period, they learn the National Training System’s 11 steps in shooting, safety procedures and fundamental techniques.

After the tryout period, interested members pay a membership fee ranging from $60 to $75, depending on the funds raised through events like the Taco Fundraiser held on Feb. 28 at University Mall. Membership dues cover equipment, equipment repairs, fees and range expenses.

“The beginner equipment weighs between 20 to 26 pounds because you are contorting your body in a way that isn’t necessarily natural — unless you practiced swimming, rowing, or other sports that work your back which isn’t a common overlap — we try our best to avoid injury,” Maroboina said. “It is very easy to tear the rotator cuff and hurt yourself overall with improper form, that is why we have to be a bit more selective than we’d like to be for the club.” 

After learning the fundamentals of shooting and form, members improve with every session. Each practice has about 15 participants, with one professional coach supervising activities and experienced members offering their assistance.

With numerous achievements, the club is off to a strong start in 2025. As the year progresses, one can look forward to their continued success in competitions and events.

Julianna Marcello/Fourth Estate

BY JULIANA MARCELLO, STAFF WRITER

On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Mason Board of Visitors (BOV) met to vote on the resolution (BOV meeting book pg. 300) regarding antisemitism. The Diversity Board committee first discussed the resolution at the Feb. 13 meeting, introduced by Visitor Jeffrey A. Rosen. 

The original resolution was drafted with concern due to the Week of Rage protests held by former Resident Student Organization (RSO) Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in Fall 2024 from October 7-10th, as well as the uncovering of possible threats against the Jewish population by GMU students. 

At the meeting, protesters watched silently in the public seating area, holding signs of protest against the resolution. 

After re-introducing the resolution to the Board, Rosen said, “The purpose of this is to build on and help the university move to an even stronger place.” Rosen said that the Diversity Board committee believed that the resolution is anti-discriminatory and within the institution’s bounds. 

However, the resolution faced resistance from a number of Board members. According to Faculty Representative Solon Simmons, a large majority of Mason faculty believed that the original draft was unnecessary and an infringement on the Constitution’s First Amendment. 

Among the opposition, Graduate Student Representative Carolyn Faith Hoffman detailed experiences with Mason-sponsored courses and events that involved discussing Israel and Palestine. One course included a trip to Israel and the West Bank. Hoffman expressed concern over whether similar educational experiences would be able to continue under such a resolution. 

Undergraduate Student Body Representative Maria Cuesta, also spoke out against the resolution during the BOV meeting. To the Board,  Cuesta said, “I think that something to take away from those 300 plus comments is that even the Jewish students, faculty, staff, and community members don’t accept this.” The comments were left by the Mason community on the BOV minutes webpage in regards to the Feb. 13 meeting. 

President Gregory Washington expressed disappointment with both the original and revised resolution. “The reality is, this is an environment of education,” he critiqued. “People don’t always get things right and proper when they engage.”  

After a back-and-forth between Visitor Rosen, President Washington said, “this institution has to have the flexibility — to support discourse.” The president continued the sentiment by raising concern over the resolution’s vague language.

Revision 14 states that, “This board directs the University, including all of its administrative departments, offices, schools, and academic units, to refrain from sponsoring or endorsing any organization, event, or other activity whose position or posture is antisemitic under the [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] IHRA definition.” Members of the BOV were concerned with how the resolution would define, “sponsoring or endorsing” within its context. 

Visitor Dolly Oberoi criticized the language of the resolution and its interpretation, stating, “It has to be very easy to interpret because people outside of this room have to interpret [it], and who’s going to be the arbiter of whether it was right or wrong – somebody violated [it] or not.” She questioned why the resolution was not a general anti-discrimination policy rather than pinpointing one specific issue. 

President Washington requested the definition of “endorsement” to be added to the resolution. Washington’s request was denied by Visitor Rosen, who said that he “disagree[d] fundamentally” that its inclusion was necessary. This sparked further debate from all sides, including from Visitor Robert Pence who backed Visitor Rosen’s statement. 

Visitor Pence challenged the First Amendment in the case of the Revision, questioning President Washington’s stance. Pence commented on a past conversation that was had when first joining the BOV; a conversation had with President Washington. 

Shortly after the campus pro-Palestine protest of Oct. 7, 2024, Visitor Pence told President Washington, “The students are out there right now marching and chanting, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’ And I said, ‘I think they’re advocating genocide, to kill Jews, to push them … into the sea.’” 

Pence continued, questioning President Washington’s position and solidifying his beliefs in regards to the revision, “Would your position change if they were out there chanting ‘get the rope and hang them all’? … the answer is, it’s despicable, and I don’t think it should be allowed to be said.” Visitor Pence concluded by challenging the request for a definition and giving support for the resolution.

After a continued debate, the resolution was voted on and passed by a majority of eight. 

During the roll-call vote, a group of pro-Palestinian protestors rose and left the session. One unnamed protestor stood before exiting and stated, “This is a disgrace. You should all be ashamed.”