Fourth Estate Weekly
OPINION: We cannot afford more of Cuccinelli's anti-woman policies
|On Sep. 25, the Center for American Progress released a report about Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli’s record of supporting legislation that hurts Virginia women.
This includes (but is not limited to) support of bills that would limit Virginia women’s access to reproductive health care, sponsoring state funding of faith-based crisis pregnancy centers that are not required by law to provide medically accurate information and pushing for trivial regulations on women’s clinics that have already forced several in Virginia to close their doors.
OPINION: Uranium mining poses threat to Fairfax drinking water
|Clean and safe drinking water is fundamental. And typically it’s a given—when was the last time you questioned the safety of your drinking water?
But sadly we are in the midst of a serious fight to protect our drinking water from significant health threats—both our surface waters’ like the Potomac and the Occoquan which are the source for our drinking water here in Fairfax, and groundwater sources that give water to rural communities not served by municipalities, like my family in Pittsylvania County.
Governor Bob McDonnell announces new Virginia Center for Excellence in Teaching at Fairfax campus
|Governor Bob McDonnell announced on Oct. 21 that the new Virginia Center for Excellence in Teaching will be located on Mason’s Fairfax campus.
The center and its future programs will focus primarily on providing resources to experienced K-12 teachers looking to take a leadership role in their local education community. Doors will open in June 2014 for an initial program involving 100 outstanding teachers from across the state.
Study abroad program features National Geographic explorers
|Mason’s school for Conflict Analysis and Resolution recently announced a new study abroad program in collaboration with National Geographic Explorers.
For the first time ever, the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution will include National Geographic Explorers on their yearly trip to Israel and Palestine in Jan. 2014.
CRDC Executive Director Aziz Abu Sarah helped establish this collaboration between National Geographic and Mason.
Crisis app prepares students for the worst
|Mason has helped develop a new mobile app designed to teach students about what to do in an emergency.
The app “In Case of Crisis” provides detailed instructions for what to do in events ranging from severe weather and power outages to on-campus violence or bomb threats. It also lists emergency contacts and offers more general, basic information, like how to receive notifications of an emergency and how people with mobility impairments or disabilities should respond.
Strategic plan outlines university ten-year goals
|Mason’s new strategic plan lays out the university’s goals for the next ten years, showcasing the priorities of the university and where resources, including funding, should be allocated.
“It’s a structured approach to anticipating our future,” said Michelle Marks, chair of the strategic planning committee. “It will help us concentrate our resources in areas in highest priority to key stakeholders which include students, number one, also faculty, staff, also our community, our region and also the world.”
Adjunct faculty pay, benefits not on par with comparable universities
|While adjunct professors are an essential facet of the instructional faculty at Mason, they are hired per-class, meaning they do not receive all of the benefits nor the pay of full-time faculty.
OPINION: Increasing education costs are destroying college
|I am a junior at Mason studying government and international politics.
I pay for my own food, my own housing and my own tuition. I have to pay, out-of-pocket after financial aid, $2,446 this semester for my education (not including food and my cell phone bill each month).
While this may not seem like a lot, the burden of working and class combined is definitely stressful to say the least.
OPINION: The lure and danger of Molly (MDMA)
|When educating young people on the dangers of hard drugs, it is counterproductive to withhold information.
The Fourth Estate article on the drug MDMA, also known as “molly,” only lectures young adults on the dangers of the drug, and makes no effort to delve into why people use it or why its use is becoming so prevalent.
Here’s what MDMA does: users experience an increase in the release of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
Board of Visitors approves new degree programs
|In order to meet the demands of the job market, Mason has proposed four new academic programs. Starting fall 2014, Mason will provide a Bachelor of Science in cyber security engineering.
A Ph.D. in bioengineering and Masters of Science in data analytics will be available to graduate students.
The proposals for the new programs were approved by the Board of Visitors on Oct. 2. According to Provost Peter Stearns, the next step is approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, which may take time.