Fourth Estate Weekly
University offices promote cultural curiosity among all students
|Mason ranks in the top 50 most diverse schools in the nation in U.S. News and World Report's ratings. Mason received a 0.63 diversity score, in which closer to 1.0 means more diverse based on campus ethnic diversity, for 2012-2013. The diversity is evident by just walking around campus at peak hours; students and faculty of ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, sexuality and ideological differences are abundant.
Kappa Sigma brother represents fraternity in Richmond NASCAR race
|For most kids growing up, you learn to crawl before you learn to walk. Mason senior Ryan Ellis, meanwhile, took to four wheels before he took to two feet.
“When most kids were sleeping with teddy bears, I would sleep with toy cars and toy motorcycles,” Ellis said. “I used to crawl up to my Power Wheels and drive that around before I could actually walk. My whole life I have wanted to be a race car driver and nothing else.”
Student-run websites provide alternatives to find dining and laundry availability
|If time is money, then these three students are out to save a couple bucks.
Tyler Hallada, Garrett McNamara and Aaron Hunter have created alternatives to Mason Dining’s Hours of Operation and eSuds websites in order to quickly convey information to busy students.
Hallada, a junior at Northeastern University and former Mason student, created GMU Laundry, a website that provides washer and dryer availability details for Mason’s laundry rooms.
OPINION: Degree value rises with Mason stock
|Another year, another increase in rank of George Mason University on the US News and World Report rankings of Best Colleges in the United States. According to the report released on Sep. 10, 2013, Mason is ranked in their top 150 universities in the country.
Student government continues work on student bill of rights
|Since the start of fall semester, Mason Student Government has been busy with numerous projects, the largest of which is the completion of a student bill of rights, pioneered by the attorney general.
Student conduct revises first offense marijuana policy
|Last semester, Mason Student Government met with the Office of Student Conduct to discuss a marijuana sanction issue bothering the student body.
“I’ve been in Student Government for four years,” senior Attorney General Rachel Grimesey said. “This comes up every single year, but it’s always dropped because a new administration, a new group of students come in, but every year we’re seeing the same issues.”
Cadets act as eyes and ears of police department
|Mason Police are a fixture on campus, frequently seen roving the streets in white sedans marked with green and gold and standing guard by campus buildings.
The police cadets, who are students, are distinguished from them only by the miniature radios on their shoulders and the block letters on the backs of their beige shirts.
Student government leaders explain organizational hierarchy
|Speaker of the Senate Phil Abbruscato, a junior government and international politics major, believes the quote “Serving you and the needs of the Mason community” accurately represents the role of Student Government at Mason.
“The biggest responsibility student government has is to appropriately and accurately represent the student body,” Abbruscato said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Organization
Students question police response to gunshot incident
|In the early hours of the morning on Aug. 30, two gunshots struck a car fleeing from the Fairfax campus after hitting a Mason police officer.
In the week that followed, the campus buzzed with discussion regarding the decision not to send out a Mason Alert and the discharge of a Mason police officer’s sidearm.
At Krasnow Institute, students conduct high-profile research
|The Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study is not easy to find.
Nestled away at the very edge of the Mason Fairfax campus, on a small side street off Shenandoah Lane, the institute looks indistinguishable from any other university building.
Inside, students labor over homework in the Great Room, a high-ceilinged library complete with a fireplace, and hunch over microscopes in the many labs.
Posters cover the hallway walls, displaying graphs, charts and titles like “Communication Development of Autism Spectrum Disorder Through a Behavior-Level Approach.”