News
Mason ‘Swagger’ Is In Full Swing
By Connect2Mason Reporter Lauren Jost
Homecoming Week 2009 began its week-long events schedule on Monday with this year's slogan, “No one has swagger like us,” emblazoned on free t-shirts given out by Student Government.
Four contestants for the Mr. and Ms. Mason Pageant, “Swagger of a Champion,” handed out shirts to an eager crowd in the Johnson Center in promotion of the pageant, which took place last night at 8 p.m. in Dewberry Hall.
Patriot Only One Password
By News Editor Sonya Hudson
George Mason University’s new Patriot Pass system provides a more secure log in password , a strong password, that is difficult to “hack.”
The Patriot Pass system also provides the convenience of having the same username and password used on multiple Mason online systems.
Patriot Pass is Mason’s response to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s mandates to increase the security of online networks used by state agencies. It uses a password with a minimum of eight characters and three character types and has to be reset every 180 days.
Campus News in Brief
Student Government Town Hall Meeting
Student Government will be holding a town hall meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. The meeting will be conducted in the Student Government office, Johnson Center Room 133. The tentative agenda consists of a discussion of Student Government’s plans for this semester and the reasons behind the plans. Students are encouraged to attend to voice their dissatisfaction with Student Government and George Mason University as a whole. The town hall is open to anyone interested in attending.
Free Gold Rush T-Shirts
Search Engine Allows for Charitable Donations
By Staff Writer Laurel Ferretti
GoodSearch.com is a search engine that allows the web user to contribute money to a charity of his or her choice just by searching the web. The capital donated is received from web advertising fees that are, in turn, advanced to the selected charity.
“Fifty percent of the revenue generated from advertisers is shared with the charity,” says GoodSearch.com. The site supports U.S. groups that are “registered non-profits,” including schools, professional and religious-affiliated programs.
Students Make Efforts to Avoid Credit Card Debt
By Broadside Correspondent Amanda Cheek
Credit cards give students the opportunity to buy things they might not actually have the money to afford, but tough economic times are making students realize the severity of the debt these pieces of plastic can create.
Students each carry an average of 2.8 credit cards , according to United College Marketing Services in their study done last year.
Internet Outages on Campus
By Connect2Mason Breaking News Director Matt Todd
Internet outages are happening around the George Mason Fairfax campus due to fiber line cuts. According to http://outages.gmu.edu, not only will the Internet be down but students will also have problems using pay for print, accessing servers outside of their buildings and using a variety of other services.
Juicy Campus Shuts Down
By Broadside Correspondent Alex Crockett. Photo courtesy of flickr user foxypar4
JuicyCampus.com, the website that allows people to anonymously read and post gossip about their respective campuses, has officially shut down.
According to Matt Ivester, CEO and founder of the site, “difficult economic times” and a decrease in online ad revenue influenced the decision to shut down the website.
Housing Rates to Increase in 2010
By Broadside News Editor Sonya Hudson.
The Board of Visitors, a committee of 16 appointed by the Governor of Virginia, passed initiatives in their Feb. 4 meeting that will increase housing rates and the cost of meal plans for the 2009 fiscal year.
Housing rates will increase an average of $450 or 6.25 percent for students living on-campus next year.
According to the BOV, the change in meal plan options is intended to provide variety and flexibility.
Celebrating a Heritage: Black History Month
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
"There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell them."
MALCOLM X
"Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change."
Check out the C2M calendar for a listing of Black History Month events.
OPINION: Barack Obama Embraces Earth
By Broadside Staff Writer John Koblan
President Barack Obama recently set new policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel efficiency standards. These policies strongly contrast those set forth in the Bush administration’s Energy Policy Act of 2005, which Washington, D.C.-based public interest group, Public Citizen, called an $842 million “giveaway” to oil refineries.