IVFOURTH ESTATE

Sept. 29, 2014 | Volume 2 Issue 5George Mason University’s o� cial student news outlet

gmufourthestate.com | @IVEstate

New park project in the City of Fairfax | page 6BUILDING A COMMUNITY

INSIDE: NEWS / REDSKINS / 4 • LIFESTYLE / CANCER / 9 • SPORTS / BASEBALL / 16(AMY PODRAZA/FOURTH ESTATE)

news2 09.29.2014 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

VS. SPORTING KANSAS CITY

October 3 // 8:00PM // RFK Stadium

COLLEGENIGHT

$15 TICKETS WITH A VALID STUDENT ID

dcunited.com/promotions

Hau ChuEditor-In-Chief

Daniel GregoryManaging Editor

Niki PapadogiannakisManaging Editor

Alexa RogersNews Editor

Suhaib KhanPrint News Editor

Sara MoniuszkoLifestyle Editor

Savannah NortonPrint Lifestyle Editor

Amy RosePhotography Editor

Amy PodrazaAsst. Photography Editor

Walter MartinezVisual Editor

Jill CarterCopy Chief

Laura BakerIllustrator

Kathryn Mangus Director

David Carroll Associate Director

Fourth Estate is printed each Monday for George

Mason University and its surrounding Fairfax

community. � e editors of Fourth Estate have

exclusive authority over the content that is published.

� ere are no outside parties that play a role in the

newspaper’s content, and should there be a question

or complaint regarding this policy, the Editor-in-Chief should be noti� ed

at the email provided.

Fourth Estate is a free publication, limit one copy

per person. Additional copies are 25 cents payable to the

O� ce of Student Media.

Mail Fourth EstateGeorge Mason University

Mail stop 2C54400 University Drive

Fairfax, Va. 22030Phone 703-993-2950

Paid staff positions are still available

in sports and design.

We are also always looking for writers,

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Email gmufourthestate@gmail.com

for more information.

always looking for writers,

WE’RE

Hiring

Regular readers of this letter will notice that this space is seemingly too cramped for my ramblings. For most, this is a big positive to not have to glance over too many words, to the other small percentage who actually read this -- hi mom and dad -- I swear my sweet, sweet long-winded prose will be back soon.

I promised in the fi rst letter of this semester to be more all-encompassing of the Mason community, and I think we’re starting to make those inroads with this week’s cover highlight-ing the City of Fairfax.

While, yes, it is a picture of construction and dirt -- for purposes of saving my ass with my wonderful photo editors, a damn fi ne picture at that -- I’m going to try and make more of an effort to make sure our cover-age talks about the happenings around Mason.

I hope in the future that Fourth Estate serves as the purveyor of news not only to those in the Mason ecosystem, but to our surrounding community because of the decline in local communi-ty newspapers and outlets.

If you happen to be one of those denizens of the City of Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William County, Loudoun or anywhere else we might be reaching you, let me know how Fourth Estate can better serve your needs and we’ll at the very least put in an effort to help out where we can.

I know I’ve really treaded enough ground writing about sports things, but I don’t really have enough space to write anything cogent on any import-ant topic, so this column will just be devoted to rooting interests.

When I wrote about why I’m still a fan of the NFL, there was a lot of defeatism found in the language of my writing. This is from years of D.C. sports teams breaking my spirit, but actually there have been two D.C. teams worth rooting for over the course of this past spring, summer and hopefully running well into fall.

The fi rst, adorns the left half of this page, D.C. United bounced back from a historically bad season to become the top team in the Eastern Conference. The second team that I could write a lot more on is the Washington Nationals.

The Nats just ended their season on a no-hitter, and despite all my better judgment, I’m excited for their playoff chances. I actually believe they have a reasonable chance to win the World Series. I’m not used

to this, is this what you call hope?

HAU CHUEDITOR-IN-CHIEFGMUFOURTHESTATE@GMAIL.COM@HAUCHU

Letter from the editor-in-chief:

News for the community

news 09.29.2014 3 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

Photo of the Week

Preach off by Amy Rose, Fourth EstateStudents gather around North Plaza to stand up for their beliefsFollow us on Instagram: @IVEstateUse the hashtag #IVphoto on snapshots of Mason for a chance to see it in a future issue!

Peace CorpsFind a job you’ll love. Choose where you go.

Apply by October 15 for jobs in Mongolia, Zambia, Georgia, Mozambique and more!

Seach jobs at PeaceCorps.gov/openingsContact Sally to learn more: skim@peacecorps.gov

Sept. 19

2014-018268 / Drug/Narcotic Violations / Disorderly Conduct Complainant (GMU) reported a subject (GMU) acting disorderly.Officers respond-ed and found subject acting erratically and in possession of illegal drugs. Officer transported subject to Fairfax Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. (59/Willis)

Status: Closed

Sept. 20

2014-018461 / Motor Vehicle TheftComplainant (GMU) reported a missing golf cart, last seen September 11th, 2014. Offender unknown. Estimated loss $8,000. (24/Lee)

Status: Pending

2014-018519 / Drug Equipment ViolationsComplainant (GMU) reported possible drug violation. Officers responded and took possession of illegal drug equipment and referred incident to OSC and OHRL. 46/Katona)

Status: Referred to OSC and OHRL POLI

CE

BLO

TTER

news4 09.29.2014 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

REEM NADEEMSTAFF WRITER

Controversy surrounding the Redskins team name has sparked heated discussion on campus.

In her visit to the Fall for the Book festi-val, Native American author and activist Dr. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz discussed the controver-sial Redskins name and mascot.

According to Dunbar-Ortiz, the term “Redskins” is not just a racially derogatory term, but a term of genocide that resulted from violent practices against Native Americans during colo-nization and western expansion.

“It’s certainly offensive,” said Kerry Desjardins, co-president of Mason’s Native American and Indigenous Alliance. “I think that debate needs to stop because it’s not debatable - it’s offensive. And I think it’s dehumanizing.”

Dunbar-Ortiz spoke to students about Native American and indigenous struggles around the world, but specifically addressed the local issue of the Redskins name controversy by defining the historical context of the term.

“[Colonists] also flayed the bodies, they skinned the body, and this became a practice under Jackson’s forces and all the way to California throughout these wars of conquest and genocide, of flaying the body,” Dunbar-Ortiz said. “And when you take the skin off, right under the skin are blood vessels so the whole body is bleeding, so they called those, literally an Indian corpse, a ‘redskin.’”

Redskins’ team owner Dan Snyder released an open letter in Oct. 2013 in response to growing national concern about the name.

“The name was never a label,” Snyder wrote. “It was, and continues to be, a badge of honor.”

Though many fans share this perspective, some Native American students disagree.

“I say that Dan Snyder or Redskins fans can’t dictate to Native people what they should feel honors them,” Desjardins said.

Many students, such as NAIA member Sarah Thompson, are fans of the team and have been for a long time.

“In being Native, that kind of hits home for me because I’m like ‘well, wait a minute, I’m

supporting this team, this is my team but it’s like undermining my ancestors and where I came from,’ so I struggle with that a lot,” Thompson said.

Although opinions about the team name vary among Native Americans, the prominence of Redskins paraphernalia can desensitize fans to the racially charged term. Though Thompson has been a lifelong fan of the Redskins, she said that the racial connotations of the word went unknown to her until recently.

“There are Native people that are not offend-ed by it, I know that for a fact,” Desjardins said. “I would argue that they’re not offended by it because they probably don’t know the history of it or have listened to it their entire lives and become desensitized to it.”

To some Native Americans, the protest against the Redskins name and mascot means more than just a fight against an offensive term. According to NAIA member Melanie Bartosh, long-term oppression against Natives has created a cycle of shame within the Native American community.

“I think the recent movement is more of a way for Native people to get back their identity which has been defined by other people for so long,” Bartosh said.

According to statistics released by Mason’s Institutional Research and Reporting center, of

the 1,172 new students enrolled in 2014, only 5 identified as Native American. Although Mason’s Native American student population is small, NAIA has received support from other organiza-tions and students on campus.

“Last fall, a lot of people reached out to us from campus, students from different classes, but also from other media outlets and things in the area asking us for our opinion on the issue,” Desjardins said. “I do feel like people are interest-ed in what we have to say about that.”

Many fans of the name claim the name not only shows respect, but also means more than just a team name. According to the letter from Snyder, the Redskins name is symbolic of values that guided Native Americans themselves.

“Washington Redskins is more than a name we have called our football team for over eight decades,” Snyder wrote. “It’s a symbol for every-thing we stand for: strength, courage, pride and respect. The same values we know guide Native Americans and which are embedded throughout their rich history as the original Americans.”.

The Redskins name controversy attracts national attention and emotions run high on both sides of the debate. In Feb. 2014, Washington state Sen. Maria Cantwell and Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole co-wrote a letter urging National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell to

publicly express support for a name change.“The National Football League can no longer

ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur. It is clear that you haven’t heard the leading voices of this country - and not just Indian Country. Virtually every major civil rights organizations in America has spoken out in opposition to this name, including the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, the Rainbow Coalition and the League of United Latin American Citizens,” Cantwell and Cole said in their letter.

Though he has no ties to Native American culture, sophomore and lifelong Redskins fan Fletcher Phillips said he will always root for his team.

“Even if the name is changed, it’s still the same players, the same coaches, the same team, the same spirit of the game,” Phillips said. “I would still root for them if they change the name, it wouldn’t be any different. I’d just be yelling a different cheer, I guess.”

While both sides of the debate continue to gain national attention and criticism, discussing the controversy with peers can be difficult for Native students.

“I’m very passionate about it but I hate talking about it, because it seems like whenever I do engage in a conversation about it, my feelings are not acknowledged so no matter how many times I say ‘it’s offensive,’ no matter how many times I say ‘it’s hurtful,’ there are people who are going to tell me it’s not,” Desjardins said.

Because of Mason’s proximity to D.C. there are many Redskins fans in the area, and advocat-ing for a name change or simply discussing the issue can be an unpleasant experience for Native students.

“It kind of demeans me as a human being, like what I say or what I feel doesn’t matter,” Desjardins said.” So it’s very frustrating. I don’t know how some people, who have been advocat-ing for this issue for decades, I don’t know how they do it. Because it’s a demeaning experience, just over and over again.”

According to Desjardins, though Native American students and their opinions on the

Native American students express frustration at Redskins name controversy

Members and alumni of the Native American Indigenous Alliance attend the 9th annual veterans’ pow wow in 2011. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN INDIGENOUS ALLIANCE)

THE HISTORY OF A NAME1933

Boston Braves become the Boston Redskins

1992

Protests at the 1992 Super Bowl between the Redskins and the Buffalo Bills

1937

Boston Redskins relocate to Washington D.C. and become Washington Redskins

2001-2007

Counseling and psychological organizations recommend not using American Indian as a mascot

1988

National protests begin after the 1988 Redskins Super Bowl victory

2013

Oneida Indian Nation broadcast radio ads against Redskins name, reviving the national debate

news 09.29.2014 5 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

NATALIA KOLENKOSTAFF WRITER

Mason students can now discuss and address political issues through a new student-run organization.

The Roosevelt Institute is a non-profi t organization created to honor the values and legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. The organization focuses on six main issues: defense and diploma-cy, education, energy and environ-ment, healthcare, equal justice and economic development.

Numerous campuses across the country have chapters, and each chapter chooses a few issues to research and develop policies. Once a policy has been drawn up, students work with local leaders and legislators to implement the policy.

Founders and Mason students Ryan Thornton and Beverly Harp fi rst discussed starting a Mason chapter during the winter of 2013-2014.

“When I talked to Beverley, both of us agreed that it would kind of fi ll a gap here at Mason,” Thornton said. “It really goes one step further than your normal college student orga-nization in that we really want to achieve something, more so than just generating discus-sion or getting people aware of issues, which are really important goals that we try to do, but then we try to also take those one step further.”

The pair then began devel-oping the organization with the help of Honors College Advisor Anthony Hoefer and Professor Steven Pearlstein, who has spoken at Roosevelt Institute conferences before. The two students also said that they were able to meet with former Provost Peter Stearns who gave them his support to start the chapter, after which they began to build up their board of founding members.

According to Thornton, as a new chapter, the group wants its members to focus on Mason poli-cies before they target bigger policy issues. They then hope to focus on a project called Rethinking Communities.

“We want to begin [this Rethinking Communities] project to research what are our ties to the [Fairfax] community, what kind of an economic impact do we have on the community, what kind of social impact do we have on the commu-nity and how can we do those

things better,” Thornton said.While the project is only in

its preliminary stages, Thornton hopes the chapter can focus on it more in the future.

Thornton and Harp believe that not only will students be able to make policies for issues they really care about, but joining the chapter can also benefi t students.

“There are some obvious,

superfi cial gains, but learning more about the policy process and understanding how to be a problem solver, those are things that will help you through any career, through the rest of your life as a citizen of the United States,” Harp said.

Both Thornton and Harp believe being near the D.C. area gives the chapter an advantage that other chapters might not have. Harp says that if the chapter were ever to have an interesting and innovative national policy, the accessibility of D.C. could be a big help.

Maurice Champagne, a gradu-ate student from Mason’s School of Public Policy, believes that being

students gives the chapter a differ-ent perspective than politicians that could be benefi cial to making and changing policies.

“When you look at issues such as inequality, issues such as Internet regulation, social media, that kind of thing, students, especially the millennial generation, have a different perspective than the poli-ticians that you see in Washington right now,” Champagne said.

Thornton and Harp also believe that students can provide a much different perspective on policy than politicians.

“[Being students] is the whole reason that Roosevelt, the Campus Network, was formed,” Thornton said. “The whole reason that we have chapters all across the nation is because people have realized that, wow, students have these really unique perspectives, these really unique ideas and they’re really going to be passionate about fi ghting for their own ideas.”

Champagne says that being young or a student should not be a reason to discourage the chapter from trying to make or reform

policies.“When you actually get

involved in Washington, you see that many of the people who have infl uence in public policy are very young,” Champagne said. “These are the kinds of environ-ments where people sort of have to leave their age at the door and deal with the content of what you’re saying. You can’t put age or a number on expertise.”

Though Thornton and Harp realize that being students adds a challenge in bringing policy changes to political leaders, they say that it is not discouraging.

“A good innovative idea is a good innovative idea. In some ways people in the political world recognize those things, and they are not awful, walled-off people,” Harp said. “Also, using our connec-tions at the university, because we have so many important people in Washington, will help us in a pretty big way achieving those things.”

New student organization fosters political engagement

Redskins controversy have been respected by others, Native American students can sometimes feel unnoticed.

“Because we don’t walk around in buckskin, people aren’t aware of our presence,” Desjardins said.

While it can be easy to neglect a small percent-age of the student population, students could be more aware of their Native peers, she says.

“I think that people should have a general awareness that Native people still exist and that they very well could be sitting next to someone who’s Native American,” Desjardins said.

According to Thompson, education in Native culture could go a long way in raising awareness of a Native American presence on campus.

“I think it just goes back to education about Native culture, and the presence and knowing the history of [the name] and why it’s offensive. I think that’s a hard concept for some people to grasp,” Thompson said.

Despite the controversy, and whatever its outcome may be, Phillips says it’s important for fans to understand how the name can be seen as offensive.

“I’ll always root for the Skins, even if they don’t change the name but I feel like it’s important for fans to understand where the name is coming from,” Phillips said.

“There are Native people that are

not offended by it, I know that for

a fact. I would argue that they’re

not offended by it because they probably don’t

know the history of it or have listened

to it their entire lives and become

desensitized to it.”

-Kerry Desjardins, co-president

of Native American and

Indigenous Alliance

“When you actually get involved in Washington, you see that many of the

people who have infl uence in public policy are very young. These are the kinds of

environments where people sort of have to leave their age at the door and deal

with the content of what you’re saying. You can’t put age or a number on expertise.”

-Ryan Thornton, co-founder of Mason’s

Roosevelt Institute Chapter

(WALTER MARTINEZ/FOURTH ESTATE)

news6 09.29.2014 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

“...The idea is to have a place where the community could come for concerts or just hang out with more things to do.”

-David Summers, director of Public Works

New park planned for heart of Fairfax city

REEM NADEEMSTAFF WRITER

A new park in the historic district of Fairfax will soon provide a civic and recreational outdoor space.

Construction of Old Town Square is expected to be finished by Dec. 2014.

“[Old Town Square] will be a very vibrant place not only for people just wanting to use the park but also a vibrant place to attract business into the downtown, whether it be to the restau-rants or retail or even what we do for business at Old Town Hall,” Director of Parks and Recreation Michael McCarty said.

The park is at the corner of North St. and University Dr. and extends to Old Town Hall and east to Old Lee Hwy.

“The overall design and concept was to allow flow through the downtown, so you can get to different areas easier to pull people together,” McCarty said.

According to McCarty, the park is also set up for multiple city events to take place, such as the free concert Rock the Block, Fall

Festival and the Independence Day celebration.“It’s also designed so you have a focus on multiple, different ways

you can set up events and activities in the downtown,” McCarty said.

According to McCarty, this year’s Rock the Block required shut-ting down a portion of the street, however the event will extend into the park next year. The park will also host a new event starting next May.

“It’s a beer, bourbon, barbeque and brews type of event and that’ll also extend into the park. So we’ll be able to put up perfor-mances, small and large at different locations,” McCarty said.

Because of its historic setting, Old Town Square will also pay homage to the heritage of Fairfax. The historic Kitty Pozer Garden will be enhanced with the construction of the park.

According to the park resolution, “the park has a unique oppor-tunity to commemorate the origins of the Kitty Pozer Garden and educate the public through interpretive signage the history of our great city and the role the Ratcliffe family played in the establish-ment of Old Town Hall and the surrounding plot of land.”

Along with the construction of the park, two other projects are taking place. The existing parking lot is being repaved and a pedestrian barrier is being constructed in front of the Auld Shebeen Restaurant on North Street. According to Director of Public Works David Summers, the cost for all three projects will be around $4 million.

New features being added to the park include a cascading water fountain and an interactive fountain similar to the one in Fairfax Corner, Summers said.

“So the idea is to have a place where the community could come for concerts or just hang out with more things to do,” Summers said.

Though the project has not yet encountered any issues, parking spaces were a topic of debate, according to Summers. The project only includes repaving the existing parking lot rather than adding spaces.

“I think at the end everybody was happy, you know we didn’t lose any spaces and we still have enough room for a good park,” Summer said.

(PHOTO COURTESY OF TH

E CITY OF FAIRFAX)

news 09.29.2014 7 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

RAQUEL DESOUZASTAFF WRITER

A new partnership encourages more college students to cast their votes at the ballot box.

MASONVotes and Virginia21, a non-profit and non-partisan organization that supports young voters in higher education, have created a partnership with TurboVote to ease the obstacles college students face, such as updating their registration, in the voting process.

TurboVote, according to TurboVote administrator and senior Lori Lawson, is a free, online tool that allows users to register to vote, update their registration to reflect their current address and vote absentee. The program provides reminders about upcoming local, state and federal elections.

According to Sam Novey, TurboVote partnerships director, the online program works with 211 colleges and universities across the country.

“MASONVotes started its partnership with TurboVote in

September 2013 as part of a statewide partnership with Virginia21,” Novey said.

Virginia21 is teaming up with 17 Virginia colleges and univer-sities. The participating schools include University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, College of William and Mary, Christopher Newport University, University of Mary Washington and James Madison University.

“[Virginia21] is doing great work supporting the efforts of MASONVotes and other similar groups across the state,” Novey said.

According to Novey, TurboVote has also been working with MASONVotes and Mason staff to develop strategies for disturbing TurboVote to eligible Mason students.

“The goal is to make the logistics of voting as simple as possi-ble for young voters so that they can focus on the most important things: the candidates and their stances on the issues that matter most,” Lawson said.

Alexsis Rodgers, the communication director for Virginia 21, says 147 Mason students have signed up with TurboVote since

Aug. 1. Students have until voter registration closes on Oct. 15 to register or update their information.

“A significant part of advocating for these issues [that face young voters] is ensuring that enough young voters hold elected officials accountable in each election cycle,” Lawson said. “A wise politician has little incentive to serve the wants and needs of a population that has historically not contributed significantly at the ballot box, particularly at the state level where higher education funding is being dramatically cut.”

According to Rodgers, these educational budget cuts lead to more student debt.

“Every time there’s a budget cut opportunity, it means that legis-lators look to higher education to find money to save, which will be money for the state, but then students need more money to go to college,” Rodgers said. “Students don’t really have more money to spend, so they’re borrowing more of it.”

According to the Pew Research Center, voter turnout from people aged 18-24 years old for the 2012 presidential election was only 41.2%. This is compared to the 65 and older demographic with a voter turnout of 71.9%. Overall, not many American citi-zens are showing up at the ballot box.

“The U.S. is rated 138th in the world in voter turnout,” accord-ing to TurboVote’s website.

Virginia21 hopes to change these low numbers by encouraging America’s younger generations to be informed and participate in politics.

“We care about issues like education, economic development and good government – issues that affect our lives every day. So we tell Virginia’s next generation of leaders about these issues and why they matter,” reads the Virginia21 website.

Lawson also urges young voters to participate in voting so that lawmakers can hear their voices and opinions on current, educa-tional issues.

“With the potential for mid-year tuition hikes across the state with the latest round of cuts to higher education funding, it is more important than ever for eligible college students to exercise their democratic right to vote and show just how much of a priority this investment in our generation should be for state lawmakers,” Lawson said. “This is where TurboVote enters the picture.”

According to Virginia21’s website, the state-wide chapters will be using social media as well as walking campuses with smart phones and tablets to accomplish one objective – turning out young voters. The idea is that if all college students have access to the Internet, whether through their smart phones or computers, then all of them should have the opportunity to register to vote online.

“You can get a text or an email that will send you information beforehand: when the deadlines are, what the elections are and when the elections are taking place,” Rodgers said.

Although TurboVote is meant to be an easy resource for students to use to register to vote, Lawson emphasizes that it is just the first step in creating a well-educated voting body.

“It is also important to note that TurboVote is just a first step,” Lawson said. “Taking the time to write and call legislators on all levels of government, as well as the most crucial step of actually showing up on Election Day or mailing off an absentee ballot, are tools that we must utilize to ensure that our interests as a gener-ation are heard. Be sure to act soon, however, as the registration deadline for the upcoming elections in November is Oct. 3, 2014.”

New partnership aims to boost student voice at polls

(LAU

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41.2% Voter turnout from people aged 18-24 years old for the 2012 presidential election.

news8 09.29.2014 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

Backpack display raises awareness for suicide preventionAMY WOOLSEYSTAFF WRITER

Hundreds of backpacks were scat-tered across North Plaza recently to reflect on growing suicide rates among college students.

Mason’s Active Minds organiza-tion co-sponsored the Send Silence Packing event on Sept. 10, in which the backpacks represented the number of college students that commit suicide each year.

“[It] was shocking for sure,” said Megan Bergquist, a junior who had passed the display on her way to lunch. “It was eye-opening to see the actual names and faces of lives that had been lost to mental illness. While some may have seen the exhibit as too harsh or in your face, I feel that the shock value helped to get the point across.”

The display featured a total of 1,100 donated backpacks and sheets of paper telling the stories of people affected by suicide.

“The purpose of Send Silence Packing was really to bring awareness to the Mason community about college mental health, suicide in particular,” said Leslie Geer, project director for Mason CARES, which co-sponsored the event. “It’s part of a larger goal to de-stigmatize mental health. The more comfortable people feel talking about it, the less shame people will experience, and as a result, we’ll have a healthier community.”

Send Silence Packing belongs to a nation-wide tour conducted annually by the non-profit organization Active Minds, which seeks to educate college students about mental health issues.

“Over the past couple years, members have been asking about it because it’s one of the [Active Minds] campaigns that more people know about publicly,” said Alise Sams, a junior psychology major and president of Mason’s Active Minds chapter. “Over the summer, Rachelle [Thompson] from Mason CARES called and said they were interested in bringing it, so we basically just worked out the contracting and we split the cost.”

Send Silence Packing was a compli-cated event to organize, according to the Mason CARES staff and students in Active Minds. Besides completing Mason’s standard procedures, such as space reservation, they had to compete to host the exhibit in the first place.

“We had to fill out an online application with Active Minds, the national organization,” said Rachel Thompson, a graduate assistant for Mason CARES. “We didn’t think we were going to get selected, but they actually called us and they were really excited that we had submitted [an application]. Their national office is just in D.C., so it was great networking with us because we’re so close to each other.”

Since Active Minds is a student organization, the contract to bring Send Silence Packing to Mason had to be approved by the university. The event also had to be coordinated with various departments in the university like Events Management and Parking. wait, why parking?

To further engage the community, Mason CARES enlisted a few local organizations to appear at the event.

“We had presence from Wounded Warriors in northern Virginia, NAMI, which is the National Alliance of Mental Illness and then we also had another organization called National Foundation for Suicide Prevention,” Geer said. “We reached out to those organizations and asked them to be a part of our event, and then we also worked with Active Minds closely to coordinate volunteers.”

Despite long-standing interest from students, this was the first time Mason applied for Send Silence Packing.

“It’s a pretty expensive event,” Sams said. “It’s about $5000 just for that one day… We finally had enough finan-cial support that we could bring it to campus.”

Send Silence Packing also provided an opportunity for Mason CARES and the university’s chapter of Active Minds, both relatively new and small programs, to generate more exposure, said Thompson.

Mason CARES started in 2007 as an initiative to train students and faculty in suicide prevention and inter-vention. So far, about 800 people have been trained.

“We train peers, we train faculty and staff, to recognize students – people – who are in distress or crisis and then... refer them to the counseling center or another office on campus,” Geer said. “The point of that is to build a community of people who are familiar with mental health and know how to address it.”

Through the training, education and events like Send Silence Packing, members of Mason CARES and Active Minds hope to raise awareness about mental health issues and create a more tolerant, informed campus environment.

“Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students,” Thompson said, give some context as to why she’s qualified to tell me this. “In most cultures, the age range of 18-24 is really fragile because you’re… growing and learning how to be an adult, and that’s why I think it particu-larly affects college students. Engaging

with college students to develop healthy coping strategies now is the best because… if we can develop those healthy habits, those will last when they leave college.”

According to a 2013 study by the American Psychological Association, the primary mental health issues college students deal with are anxiety and depression. Sams mentioned that eating disorders are also fairly common.

Besides Counseling and Psychological Services, students and community members seeking help can go to Wellness, Alcohol, and Violence Education Services, Student Health and even the Office of Diversity, depending on the issue in question.

However, because of the stigma attached to mental illness, many students are unaware that these resources exist or reluctant to take advantage of them, Sams said.

“It’s not really talked about a lot,” Sams said. “Sometimes people don’t want to go to CAPS because they don’t want people to think that they’re crazy or they have some sort of problem. So we basically try to open the dialogue

around, why is this so common, but no one wants to talk about it?”

Sams and her colleagues consid-er Send Silence Packing a success in terms of starting a conversation.

“A lot of people at the event that day knew someone or had a personal experience with someone, so I think having that personal connection to different people can help to reduce the stigma,” Thompson said. “When you get to know someone, you don’t really hold biases against them anymore.”

Still, more needs to be done. Geer aspires to eventually have all Mason faculty and students trained in Mason CARES’s gatekeeper program so more people are equipped to help anyone experiencing mental health crises.

“It’s important to discuss [mental health] in college because it’s happen-ing,” Geer said. “The more you talk about it, the more awareness is raised and the more you can become informed about it… It’s really import-ant in college, and it’s important every-where, for people to be able to talk about mental health.”

Students surround the hundreds of backpacks scattered around North Plaza. The backpacks represent the number of college students who commit suicide every year.

(GOPI RAG

HU/FOURTH

ESTATE)

of all annual deaths among 15 to 24-year-olds are suicides20%

Lifestyle 09.29.2014 9 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM

@IVESTATE

Give cancer the bootNew cancer inclusive awareness event educates students

SARA MONIUSZKOLIFESTYLE EDITOR

Two cancer awareness and educa-tion events will combine to form a more cancer-inclusive event to promote health and prevention.

Angela Johnson, the associate director and wellness coordinator of Wellness, Alcohol, Violence Education and Services, explains that the new event titled “Give Cancer the Boot” which will be on October 2nd in North Plaza, is a combination and expan-sion of past years’ “Breastival” and “Testival” events which only explored breast cancer and testicular cancer respectively.

After receiving feedback from students over the years as to why WAVES was focusing on just those two cancer forms, it was decided to incor-porate others including breast, testic-ular, skin, lung, prostate and ovarian cancer.

“We don’t want anyone to think we are prioritizing a type of cancer over another… so we wanted to add more,” Johnson said. “By having six cancers included in this event, we certainty have not been able to touch on all of the cancers, but we figured we need to start somewhere.”

Cait Patterson, a WAVES intern and senior studying community health education, said it is great to include as many types of cancer in the event as possible.

“It’s good to bring awareness to them all equally,” Patterson said. “They all equally affect people, some of them affect people more than just breast cancer or testicular cancer, like skin cancer is the biggest cancer and is very inclusive so I think it’s important to bring some more attention to that and all the cancers in general.”

Patterson also noted that college years are the primary time to do prevention education.

“Cancer is something light year’s away for a college student [in their minds], but no, I have so much time

to prevent it. This is the key time to prevent, not just cancer but a lot of health issues,” Patterson said. “I think the [college] age group is very focused on short term goals so realizing that there is something that happens after graduation [is important], your health goes on for more than a year or so.”

Ashley Freeman, a first year grad-uate student getting her masters in public health and global and commu-nity health, also works in the WAVES office and said she knows from person-al experience how college students can mistakenly view cancer as unimportant or not affecting to them.

“I know personally when I think of cancer I think of older people, I don’t think of being twenty-three and being affected by cancer,” Freeman said.

Freeman explains how a lot students have a “that’s not going to be me” mindset when it comes to cancer.

“Being so young, you feel invinci-ble,” Freeman said. “[Students think] I’m young, I’m fine, I’m doing every-thing I’m supposed to do to be healthy. I don’t really have to worry about

health problems until later on in life.”

Freeman argued, however, that students can be affected by cancer and should be aware of this “scary reality” as she put it.

“Preparing for this event [I found out] that testicular cancer literally can affect men who are seventeen,” Freeman said. “Being in that age range, it’s like wow, I can be affected… it’s not something that only affects 40-year-olds and it’s something that we need to be focused on now and the seriousness of it.”

Patterson added that students shouldn’t be embarrassed to learn about and practice cancer prevention methods or look for cancer signs and symptoms.

“It’s never too early or weird to care about your health,” Patterson said. “No one’s going to make fun of you because you’re 21 and checking your-self for cancer.”

Although WAVES is the only office involved in organizing “Give Cancer the Boot,” they reach out to other orga-nizations to support the event, such as

national and local cancer organiza-tions, student-led organizations that have a cancer focus and departments on campus that have a health focus.

Johnson explains that WAVES’s goal is to promote health on campus as opposed to direct health services.

“So while we wouldn’t necessarily be doing an examination for some-body who thinks they may be at risk for cancer, it’s our job to get the word out about signs and symptoms to look out for [and] where you can go for treat-ment options,” Johnson said. “It’s our job to help instill healthy life-long prac-tices for students.”

Due to the past success of the Breastival and Testival, the “Give Cancer the Boot” event will incorpo-rate some of these events’ traditions.

“We’ll still have the [cancer preven-tion/awareness] calendars and we’ll still have the t-shirts. They will just have a more inclusive focus, but they’re still going to be fun and taboo,” Johnson said.

Johnson says that, amongst other elements of the event, there will be fun

games to teach students about cancer and cancer prevention.

“We’re trying to show students that even though you feel young, and your skin isn’t’ wrinkled yet, be very cognizant about making sure that you are wearing sunscreen everyday [for example],” Johnson said. “Letting people know what they can start doing at this age in order to prevent some-thing from happening in the future.”

Johnson explained that with cancer, early detection is key because many cancers are a lot more readily treatable and curable if caught early.

“If people wait until they have reached an advanced stage of cancer, before they’re fully getting educated on it, they may have missed an opportuni-ty to be able to get this taken care of, cured or treated,” Johnson said. “We want to catch people before it’s too late and try to instill behavior change or things to look out for before it’s too late, while they’re still able to do something about it.”

(PHOTO COURTESY OF W

AVES)

lifestyle10 09.29.2014 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

(WALTER MARTINEZ/FOURTH ESTATE)

lifestyle 09.29.2014 11 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

Mason walks for healthy heartsSAVANNAH NORTON

PRINT LIFESTYLE EDITOR

The Mason community gathered to raise awareness of living a healthy lifestyle by partic-ipating in a walk around the university’s campus.

The 6th annual Happy Heart Walk event was held simultaneously on the Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William campuses on Wednesday, Sep. 24. Participants were welcomed in the Wellness Circle in front of Merten Hall. The event, sponsored by Wellness at Mason, promotes healthy choices in general wellness and exercise for the Mason community. It started in 2008 to bring together different departments on campus to encourage good health choices.

The campuses competed for the Happy Heart Team Award, a stuffed heart named Valerian, meaning strong and healthy in Latin. The award is given to the group with the largest attendance in their walk around campus.

Last year the stuffed heart was awarded to the young students of Mason’s Child and Development Center. In the past, the Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William campuses have each won twice.

Junior Morghan Martin and her volleyball teammates were a part of the various student organizations to volunteer for the walk.

“We are asked every year to assist and direct people around campus,” Martin said. “We bring the energy up and help get people excited.”

Along with the volleyball team were cheerlead-ers, cadets and basketball players. The Patriot was also in attendance for this anticipated walk.

Mason cheerleaders Erin Cianflone and Sommer Walton represented their cheer squad by helping the Patriot participate in the walk and passed out heart shaped antennas for participants

to wear while walking.

“We make the process go quickly and smooth-ly,” Walton said. “We want to help the Patriot support everyone participating.”

Patrice Winter, assistant faculty member of College of Health and Human Services, was present to run the event on the Fairfax campus.

“Every year we do this to bring awareness of doing exercise. It is open to all faculty, staff, and

students. This year over 200 signed up,” Winter said. “It is very cool because each campus is simultaneously doing the same activity at the same time.”

Walk leaders for the Fairfax campus were President Cabrera’s wife Beth Cabrera and Brad Edwards, Mason’s new athletic director. Cabrera and Edwards were referred to as the Queen and King of Hearts as they lead participants

throughout campus.

“We need to get up and moving in the outdoors,” Cabrera said. “Doing this with friends and colleagues makes it even better!”

Lori Scher, assistant dean for University Life on the Arlington Campus, and Richard Kelseu, assistant dean in the School of Law, led the way on the Arlington Campus that began outside of Founders Hall.

On the Prince William Campus, Ron Carmichael, the campus’ chief operating officer, and Carrie McVicker, operations and events coordinator, led the walk from the Bull Run Hall lobby.

“Let’s have a great and healthy mason nation!” Edwards said as he kicked off the walk at the Fairfax campus.

The Kaiser Permanente mobile health vehicle, a medical center on wheels with two exam suites, sat in the Merten Hall parking lot at the event from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Faculty, students and staff were invited to stop by for a “Know Your Numbers” health check at this mobile health vehicle. There was also a room to talk with a doctor or caregiver and educational videos shown inside.

People were able to receive routine preventa-tive care inside the vehicle and were able to check their blood pressure, body mass index, screen for cholesterol, glucose and more. Students and faculty were also given the opportunity to discuss how to manage ongoing health conditions, ask for medical advice and arrange follow-up appointments.

“This is the first offensive to good health,” Winter said. “It is so important to know your numbers. Some people are twenty-five and they aren’t even aware of their high numbers.”

(JOHANNAH TUBALADO/FOURTH ESTATE)

The pro-healthly lifestyle initiative gathered adults and children from around the Mason community in walk events across all three major campuses in Northern Virginia.

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lifestyle12 09.29.2014 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

HANNAH MENCHHOFFONLINE LIFESTYLE EDITOR

In an ideal world, Michele Greet, associate professor of art history at Mason, would curate her art exhibition with 125 pieces and tour it in five cities: three locations in the United States, one in Paris and one in Latin America.

Presently, Greet is finishing up the manuscript for her second book “Transatlantic Encounters: Latin American Artists in Paris between the World Wars,” and an exhibition based off of her research.

Although she teaches classes in both modern European and modern Latin American art, Greet specializes in and has conducted her research Latin American art.

Greet’s interest in Latin American art goes back to when she was an undergraduate study-ing language at Bowdoin College in Maine who wanted to study abroad.

“I needed to go somewhere with a different cultural experience. The longest part of it is my grandmother is Peruvian, but the Spanish has been lost. She moved here as a five year old and she spoke Spanish, but my mom doesn’t speak it at all, so it was lost in my family,” Greet said. “So I thought it would be interesting to go back to Peru, but at the time it was not stable political-ly, so I decided to go to the country next door. I ended up going to Ecuador.”

In Ecuador, Greet discovered local artist Oswoldo Guayasamín. After learning more about Guayasamín and his work, she realized she wanted to study Latin American art. Eventually, Greet would receive her Ph.D. in Modern Latin American art from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University in 2004.

Greet began her current project in 2008 when she received a grant from the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. She has received two more grants since for her research.

“So the second project, for me it was to try to bring together my two interests. I have these two languages and I had a hunch that there were a lot of Latin American artists in Paris, in the early part of the 20th century, and I knew who some were, but I had no idea how extensive it was,” Greet said.

About a year ago, the American Federation of Arts in New York City approached Greet with the idea of turning her research into an exhibition.

The AFA is a non-profit organization founded in 1909 that organizes and creates touring art exhibitions. There are three curators within the company who perform the same work as a curator who works in a museum. More often, however, they invite a guest curator like Greet to realize an exhibition.

“I was really thinking that it would be wonder-ful to bring into the AFA program an exhibition that focused on Latin American art. I didn’t

really have a specific idea of what that would be, I just started talking to people and researching and looking at what was going on,” said Margery King, curator of exhibitions at AFA. “One of the people who was working here, at the same time she was also a student the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, which is the gradu-ate school for art history. She said ‘oh I heard a wonderful talk by this person who is doing this work on Latin American artists between the two world wars.’”

King acts as the co-curator for Greet’s exhi-bition and works with the logistics of exhibition design, including the museum space, which art pieces they will be able to get on loan, and budgeting. Meanwhile, Greet focuses on the conceptual perspective of the exhibition.

Greet’s says her biggest job involved creating the checklist of all of the objects to include. The ideal checklist consists of 125 objects. However, it is more realistic that they will only be able to get between 110-115 pieces. Also, some pieces will have to be switched out with alternatives. Another task is organizing the pieces thematically.

“We have all of the categories of what the exhibition is going to look like. So it will have

rooms of like Latin American artists working in cubist modes, or Latin American artists involved with surrealism. Then I have two sections, one on the kind of cosmopolitan, those who were not incorporating any kind of ethnic subject matter and then artists who were very much putting their ethnic identity as part of their work,” Greet said. “So I’m looking at those two poles, and as why did they choose to make those decisions to either be universal or national and why in Paris. We have one section on constructionism, bordering on abstraction. There are a lot of artists working in those sort of experimental formats in Paris.”

There are many challenges to creating an exhi-bition. This exhibition in particular is difficult because it is entirely an on-loan show, meaning pieces will be borrowed from private collectors and museum collections. The curators will have to negotiate with all of those parties that have one or more of the pieces.

Greet searches through auction catalogs hoping to track down the current owner. Greet then submits an inquiry with the auction house, who will then forward it to the owner since the auction house cannot give away personal information.

Securing these loans may require Greet to travel to Buenos Aires, where there are several pieces she would like to include, and Cuba, since politics between the United States and Cuba are strained.

Greet’s work on her exhibition influences her work at Mason. Last spring she taught a class on exhibition curating.

“One of the reasons I took her class was because I’m interested in exhibitions that are coming in and out of museums. And we put together a proposal all throughout the semester for one of those exhibitions. She let us choose our own topic and pieces of art and let us dream a little,” said senior art history major, Madeline Cole, who took her class. “I got to learn what it takes to write a proposal, find pieces of art from certain lenders, prepare a budget and plan programs.”

For Cole, the experience was helpful when she interned at the National Portrait Gallery over the summer. Senior Shelley O’Conor, mean-while, realized that she likely did not want to be a curator.

“You have to have a really strong idea, and you have to consider politics like identity, and gender. That is tricky to handle so [your exhibition] is politically correct,” O’Conor said.

According to O’Connor, in the case of Latin American art, the curator needs to be careful not to misrepresent Latin Americans. A curator should not show South American art as simply bright colors and tropical fruit.

“What I’m trying to show to is that they didn’t just paint, quaint Latin American subjects. They were involved in every single movement,” Greet said. “What I’m arguing in the exhibition as well that it’s not just one-way influence. These artists were contributing. They were part of the global circles in Paris. They were part of the conver-sations about modernism. Not just sucking up influence and copying what they saw, but they were really part of that circle.”

Greet hopes to see the exhibition on tour by late 2017 to early 2018.

“With this one [exhibit], this one is special because it’s really a wonderful discovery and the work is so great. The story is really interesting, the work is really wonderful, a lot of it hasn’t been seen before in the U.S. And a lot of it many scholars who focus on Latin America are not necessarily familiar with. It’s very exciting in that way,” King said. “When we talk to people, when I’ve talked to fellow curators and other museum professionals about the show, people are very excited about it. They understand right away that this is something special, and it’s something that will really make a wonderful contribution to scholarship. But also in terms of seeing this great work, I think that’s what really makes this exhibi-tion special.”

Art history professor’s research earns exhibition

Michele Greet poses with Bachué by Rómulo Rozo frmo the collection of José Darío Gutiérrez, Bogota, Colombia.

(AMY PODRAZA/FOURTH ESTATE)

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opinion14 09.29.2014 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

One of those good things Mason does for its students is provide a place at the Johnson Center for those with religious and spiritual needs known as the Meditation Space.

The space is located on the third floor and nestled into one of the corners of the building, surrounded by stacks of books and study tables.

It is a place for students of all religious persuasions to go, pray, contemplate or even just take a step away from the demands of campus life.

“We wanted to create a place that anyone in the Mason commu-nity can use and tried to make it conducive to any form of prayer or meditation,” noted Alissa Karton, Johnson Center and University Life program manager, back in 2000 when it was established. “People can also use it to just collect their thoughts.”

Recently it was reported that Mason’s Muslim Student Association has been lobbying the university to get a better space. MSA President Yousaf Salim recently told Fourth Estate that the current space is too small for the many Muslims that come there daily to pray.

“We would just like a bigger space, such as the larger corner on the second floor of the JC,” Salim said. “We do not want to have our own space. The more the faith communities are tied together, the better.”

Issues over the size and scope of the Meditation Space have historical precedent. However. the requests made this semester are an improvement over past discussions.

In 2007, complaints arose that the MSA was basically taking over the space. While the Meditation Space was established with the explicit description of being nondenominational, by spring

2007 it had been tailored to be Islamic.

This included a dividing wall for the genders, copies of the Qur’an and the harassment of non-Muslims who wanted to use the space.

Broadside reported back then of “the seeming takeover of the meditation space by Muslims” and how non-Muslims were told they had to conform to Islamic rules on prayer.

After much outrage within the campus community, the surrounding community and the right wing blogosphere, the campus removed the most sectarian elements from the Meditation Space.

As the debate was taking place, then-MSA president Saleh Albarmawi told Broadside that the Muslim student group wanted the university to give them a space for themselves.

“Assign a prayer area for Muslim students. Have that area also serve as an Islam Education Center,” Albarmawi said. “Since MSA is a reflection of the general body of the Muslim Students at GMU, the area should be run by MSA.”

This blatant disregard for the religious neutrality of a public university was repudiated by the university, which released a state-ment in the summer of 2007 saying that the issues “were resolved peacefully on campus last spring with no additional problems.”

“... the university supports and maintains a peaceful and tolerant environment on campus while adhering to the appropriate separa-tion of church and state that is expected from a public institution,” added the university.

The recent requests of the MSA regarding the space are more complex than the previous comments about wanting their own Islamic Center on campus.

Given its present location, the Meditation Space’s expansion would invariably hit the Johnson Center library stacks, as well as the tables and study rooms used by the student body at large. If the MSA wants expansion of the third floor space at the expense of Mason’s academic mission, then they are still seeking the advance-ment of their religious group over the overall aims of a public educational institution.

Moving the Meditation Space to a completely different location on campus, one where expansion does not interfere with academia, is more possible.

If this move is being done solely for one religious sect’s benefit, that may involve a public institution playing favorites with one reli-gion over another.

Then again, maybe the move proposed by Salim, specifically going to the larger second floor space at the JC, could work and even benefit other faith groups seeking to use the space.

As long as the space remains nonsectarian, which Salim wants and campus rules mandate, then there might be something to this proposed transition.

Overall, the conversation about the JC Meditation Space has improved greatly since 2007, when the discus-sion was dominated by numerous reports of harassment of non-Muslim students and talk of establishing a religiously motivated facility on taxpayer dollars.

MICHAEL GRYBOSKICOLUMNIST

A better conversation on the meditation space

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Sports 09.29.2014 15 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE

SCOREBOARD

SPORT DATE OPPONENTSCORE/RECORD

CLUB ICE HOCKEY

SEPT. 19 DELAWARE 3-0 (W)

CLUB ICE HOCKEY

SEPT. 20JAMES

MADISON6-3 (W)

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

SEPT. 26 FORDHAM3-0 (W)

[5-9]

WOMEN’S SOCCER

SEPT. 27 GEORGE WASHINGTON

1-2 (L)[2-7]

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SEPT. 27

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE

COUNTY

3-0 (W)[7-0-1]

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

SEPT. 27RHODE ISLAND

1-3 (L)[5-10]

THE WEEK AHEAD

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Senior runner starts season strong

LYN MIDCAPSTAFF WRITER

When it comes to running cross-country, senior Michael Conway’s confi dence helps him glide through the fi nish line.

On Sept. 13, Conway broke records as he fi nished fi rst in the eight-kilo-meter course at the James Madison University Invitational.

“It’s the fi rst meet of the season, so it wasn’t easy,” Conway said. “But I was pretty relaxed throughout the whole thing, just taking it as my fi rst meet.”

With an impressive time of 24:45.90, Conway not only took fi rst in the race, but his performance ranked fi fth all-time at the New Market Battlefi eld.

Despite this performance, Conway and Head Coach Andrew Gerard said they treated the race as training for the season.

“It’s so early in the season, it’s just an opportunity to get out and get going,” Gerard said. “It was Michael’s fi rst race of the season, he didn’t even have a race to warm up for this race, so this race was kind of the prepara-tion for the season.”

For Conway and Gerard, mental discipline is a key factor in Conway’s success in his fi rst meet of the season.

“Michael is coming along very nicely. He is very fi t this year and he ran very controlled at JMU so that was a good indicator of where he is,” Gerard said. “He was never really stressed… he was never really out of his comfort zone.”

“He ran hard but that was what we

wanted to get done that day so that tells me a good deal about where he is right now,” Gerard said.

Conway was named the Atlantic 10’s Men’s Performer of the Week following his win at the JMU Invitational.

“It’s a nice gauge to see where I’m at,” Conway said. “But other than that, it doesn’t really mean that much for the season, it’s just the beginning.”

Stuart Crowell, Conway’s team-mate and fellow top-25 fi nisher at the invitational, predicted that Conway would come out on top.

“I expected him to win,” Crowell said. “After we fi nished, in the fi nishing shoot, I just look over to him and ask, ‘You win?’ and he just says, ‘Yeah.’ So I am proud of his work ethic, and he’s defi nitely deserving of winning meets and being on top, so it’s cool to see him succeed.”

Crowell placed 7th for Mason.“Coming off of a redshirt season

and just getting my feet wet for my senior year has been a process, but it was just a good race to learn from for me,” Crowell said. “You have to prepare mentally as well as physically and take every race and every workout seriously and do them the right way, and I just wasn’t prepared mentally for that race. Moving forward, I’ll have much better performances.”

With a time of 26:02.00, Crowell wants to better mentally prepare for the nest race and remember what motivates him.

“I know what it takes to get my mind and body prepared for those

races, and I’ll start to do those things more and more as important races start to happen,” Crowell said. “It’s just about focusing and visualizing and confi dence in the training, the races and in your teammates.”

Although Conway and Crowell both hope to place in the top of the A-10 and in the NCAA Southeast Region, both are more focused on achieving their team goals for the season.

“I think we should be at least top three in the A-10. We are always going for fi rst, but we will hopefully also be in the top ten for the southeast region in the NCAAs,” Conway said. “We have the potential to be really well packed together and really make an impact that way. As long as we close up the gap and get a good pack up front, we will have a lot of success this season.”

Gerard adds that his team has all the tools to be successful, as long as they use them cohesively.

“In all honesty, my feeling is that cross country is the ultimate team sport because you could put the four best athletes in the world on one team and if you put me on there and I get 250th place in the meet we aren’t winning anything,” Gerard said. “Similarly you could put me out there on a basketball court with four NBA all-stars and we would probably win a whole lot of things even though I never touch the ball once. In some ways in my mind, cross country is the ultimate team sport.”

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30-plus years managing the dugoutALEXANDRA SUDAK

STAFF WRITER

It would be hard to fi nd anyone in the athletic depart-ment, or even the entire univer-sity, whose tenure has outlasted the man responsible for setting the lineup for each Mason baseball game.

For nearly 40 years, Bill Brown, Mason’s head base-ball coach, has put his heart into Patriot baseball. Brown, a player on the team from 1978-79, and an assistant coach from 1980-81, is entering his 34th year as the head coach with an Atlantic 10 championship win from last year under his belt.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to be in one place for such a long time,” Brown said. “Some coaches bounce around, but it’s worked for me and it’s really been a blessing.”

His experiences as both a player and a coach give Brown a unique perspective on the baseball program.

“When I was playing, we rode around in vans, and our meals were the sandwiches that Coach [Raymond H.] Spuhler’s wife and family used to make. Things have dramati-cally changed along those lines. Back in the early days, we liter-ally had nothing.” Brown said.

Brown faced the same chal-lenges as a coach.

“Back 34 years ago, we were playing on a fi eld that was really a high school fi eld, and we were just trying to survive, we were just making due. We did all our own fi eldwork. We did everything,” Brown said. “We were self-suffi cient. But our goal was always to play in the NCAA Tournament, and it always has been, even back then when we had very little.”

Within three years of Brown becoming head coach, the team had made it to the NCAA Tournament. Since that fi rst postseason berth, the team has made it to the tournament six times, has had fi ve players go on to play in a Major League Baseball game and has had 44 players drafted by MLB

teams, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

“It’s fun to watch. I was just watching a game, and the [Miami] Marlins happened to be playing the [Washington] Nationals the other night, and I got a chance to see Justin Bour [a 2009 draft pick] hit his fi rst Major League home run, and he absolutely crushed the ball,” Brown said. “Outside of his parents, I’m probably next in line in being proud. It’s exciting to see because I know how hard he worked, and I know what a life goal that was for him to be able to accomplish that and do great things. It’s very fulfi lling.”

Senior Andrew Sable, a utility player on the team, thinks the key to Brown’s success is his ability to keep players working hard.

“I think that Coach Brown has been so successful here at Mason for such a long time because he expects the best out of each and every person on our team,” Sable said. “He knows how to set the bar high in terms of team performance, while keeping us loose at the same time.”

Walter Masterson, a two-time Major League All-Star, coach of Mason’s

team in the 1980-81 seasons and Brown’s mentor, taught him that the key to being a good coach is thinking logically rather than emotionally.

“The one thing I’ve always tried to remember from what Walter taught me is when he said, ‘When emotion walks in the door, logic walks out.’ So one of the things I think that’s worked for me, and helped me over the years, is I’m always able to kind of take the emotion out of the moment and step back, and just try to do the right thing, to step back and be able to clearly think through things,” Brown said.

Aside from coaching Mason’s baseball team, Brown also organizes summer baseball camps for young kids.

“We’ve had kids who have played in our program who have come through our youth camps. We’ve been running youth camps now for about 25-plus years, and they’re fantastic. Our guys who are in town who may be playing in the summer time in local leagues work during the summer at the camps, and the little kids just love them,” Brown said. “It’s one of the coolest dynamics that you’ll ever see, when you

see college athletes working with kids who are seven, eight, nine years old, because that kid is having so much fun, and that just makes him want to play more, and love the sport more. Ultimately, we want kids to see George Mason and have a great experience here, not just being on campus, but also involved with our students. The camps and clinics are really a blast.”

Although the team has achieved great feats, Brown continues to look to the future.

“We played in the NCAA Tournament last year, we absolutely played very well, we held our own. Our goal now is to play in the Super Regional. Getting past the regional level is something we haven’t done,” Brown said. “There’s no ques-tion in any of our minds that we could do it. And I think anybody who was there knows it’s not easy. You’re playing the best of the best, but I think a lot of our programs believe that they can move through that type of progression onto bigger and better things, and we’re certainly one of them.”