Author: Jasmine Young

College Republicans First Meeting

On September 11, 2013 the College Republicans on Campus had their first meeting of the year. The new Executive Board for the year consist of Chairman Joe Caldarera, Vice Chairman Alex Colorado, 2nd Vice Chairman Devon Flynn and Treasurer Kyle Roll. Information about the meeting was provided by Caldarera who noted that at the meeting Patrice Winter, a candidate for State Delegate in George Mason’s District was the guest speaker. The meeting started on a solemn note when Caldarera lead the organization in prayer for those who were killed in the attacks on 9/11 and then was followed by a moment of silence to remember the troops fighting over seas. The meeting then proceeded with a speaker from Ken Cuccinelli the Republican candidate for Virginia’s Governor campaign and then Ms. Winter’s made her appearance as the College Republicans endorsed her. Other things that were discussed at the meeting were the plans for the organization for the semester as well as a discussion on Syria. All the members that were present at the meeting were opposed to bombing Syria.

For more information about the College Republicans you can contact:

Joe Caldarera (CHAIR): [email protected]
Alex Colorado (VICE CHAIR) : [email protected]

Register To Vote In 5 Minutes With TurboVote

Mason Votes has recently partnered with TurboVote. It is a Voters Registration outlet that is for all Americans. They are a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit and was created because they love the democracy. All you need to do is sign up, and TurboVote keeps track of all your rules and deadlines and will even send you all the forms you need. All you have to do is sign them and drop them in the mail. To get started with registration click the link: https://gmu.turbovote.org/register.

Looking for Staff Members For the Fall 2013 Election Season

Hello Mason Nation,

My name is Jasmine Young and I am the new Executive Editor of Mason Votes. Last year I served as the Copy-Editor for Mason Votes and loved the experience I had reaching out to the student body. I am currently looking for staff members to join my Mason Votes team to help make sure that the Mason student body is aware, educated and that they get out and vote on November 5, 2013. If you or someone you know would make a great addition to the team come out to the mandatory interest meeting that will be held Wednesday, September 11 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. room 1014 and Thursday, September 12 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. room 1012. You will need to attend at least one of these meetings to be assigned a position within Mason Votes. Both meetings will be held at the bottom floor of the Hub near the Student Media Office.

Hope to see you all there !

Jasmine Young

63103_4016559007689_1112515122_n

Live Election Results in J.C on Election Day

On Tuesday, November 6, Mason Votes in conjunction with the Office of Student Media hosted a live election night show. The program was broadcast live from the Johnson Center Atrium and available via webcast at Connect2Mason.com, MasonCableNetwork.Com, and Mason Cable Network campus TV channel 231. Many students and staff members joined together to make election night fun and exciting for students here at Mason. Although many reporters were in the J.C atrium there were also other reporters around campus interviewing students in places like Sub I getting their reactions and feedback from Election Day.

The panel on stage at last night’s event consisted of Shane Smith, Colleen Wilson, Reuben Jones, John Hill, and Storm Paglia. The panel had students representing different organizations come onstage to be interviewed throughout the broadcast. As a reporter, my job was to shade the Democratic states in as they were announced along with Lauren Waldron who shaded in the Republican States. Students were engaged and entertained throughout the entire event and the J.C atrium stayed packed until the announcement of President Barack Obama’s re-election. Judging by the turnout this is an event that will most likely take place in the next four years.

From Left to Right: John Hill, Shane Smith, Rueben Jones and Colleen Wilson.

From Left to Right: Jasmine Young (Reporter), Kevin Jackson (Student Government) and Lauren Waldron (Reporter).

GMU Gangnam Style Video !

Cover Photo by Alexandra Sudak/ Broadside

Students Use Pop Culture Phenomenon to Inspire Voting

This election season, Mason is voting Gangnam Style.

Alexandra Sudak/Broadside

Twenty people gathered by the George statue on Saturday, Oct. 27, to film a video of Mason students rocking out to the internet hit Gangnam Style, but with a twist–the song’s lyrics were changed to let young people know that voting is something that’s cool to do.

The video is part of an effort by the Mason Vote Mob, as well as All Hands on Deck, a self-identified non-partisan group whose goal is to get young people to the polls.

The filmmaker, Colin Christopher, is a member of All Hands on Deck.

Follow the Link for the full article:

http://broadsideonline.com/2012/10/31/students-use-pop-culture-phenomenon-to-inspire-voting-5500/

George Mason Univ. Students’ Election Season Rendition of Gangnam Style

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN0-LUyhYOw&feature=g-hist[/youtube]

CREDITS:

Psy Impersonator: Edgar Tran

Dancers: Daniel Abrokowitz Jasmine Barnes Gabrielle Cunningham Kyle Dingle Janisah Georges Jerell Georges Lesley Harris Saranya Jagadish Ashton Parker Morton Tiffany Nguyen Chelsea Norman Dan Quach Seth Robertson J.D. Stier Yunzhi Sun Marianne Tokarz Iliana Vakuza Jasmine Young

Editor: Daniel Singer

Assistant Editor: Janelle Germanos

Assistant Editor: Colin Christopher

Technical Adviser: Zach Gross

Music Director: Jaime Jimenez-Moreno

Producer: Colin Christopher

Director: Colin Christopher

Coreographer: Colin Christopher

Camera: Colin Christopher

Filmed on location at George Mason University

A Breaking Boundaries Production, 2012

www.HoodieVote.org

AllHandsOnDeck.Net

http://www.facebook.com/VoteMobGMU

First of All We Vote: GMU Presidential Debate Public Forum This Friday

Student Government, Weekends at Mason, Mason Votes and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. are hosting a student debate between the College Republicans and George Mason University Democrats. This will be another opportunity for everyone to get information before the election on November 6th.

When:

November 2, 2012

8-10 p.m

Where:

J.C Atrium, Fairfax Campus

Moderator:

Shane Smith – Mason Votes, Executive Editor

Topics discussed will include:

The Economy

Foreign Affairs

Women’s Rights

Voter Fraud

Education

And Much More!

The hosts of the event will be taking audience questions as well. Each debater will be arguing on behalf of their candidate. This is an unprecedented event and should be a great for all of those who attend.

GMU Chapter of NAACP: “What’s Your Stance?” Series Oct.24 and Oct.11

The GMU chapter of NAACP has hosted two more “What’s Your Stance?” Series events in October. Below are coverage of each event:

Event – October 24, 2012

On October 24, 2012 the GMU NAACP chapter continued their “What’s Your Stance” series introducing education issues and policies. Their guest speaker for the evening was Tina Hone, founder of Silence of the Coalition an organization launched in January 2012 in order to be the voice of underrepresented students in the Fairfax County Public School system. Hone discussed ways to bridge the achievement gap between White and Asian students and Black and Hispanic students in Fairfax County.

“I felt compelled to make sure the playing field was equal for every child in America.” said Hone.

According to Hone, Fairfax County Public Schools consists of mostly minority students compared to white students that were shown according to the Fairfax County website

(http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/demogrph/pdf/2011_youth_survey_report.pdf), take up 44.5 percent of the population as of the 2011-2012 school year. Secondly, of the students in Fairfax County, 25 percent come from less fortunate families.

Hone continued the discussion mentioning the purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act, which is now referred to as the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA), is to bridge the achievement gap in schools.

“Not enough is being done to close this achievement gap. They have been trying to build the achievement gap since I was fourteen years old, and I am old.” said Hone.

Although Hone believes more should be done to bridge the gap, she commended President Obama on the work he has done to help education policies.

“In this campaign, we need to look at the pressure the President has put on education.” said Hone.

One of the issues Hone explained regarding mending the gap was the use of standardized tests within the state.

“African American poor people do less well on standardized tests.” said Hone.

Furthermore, the success rates for White and Asian students are higher than success rates for Black and Hispanic students. According to the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/virginia-new-achievement-based-on-race_n_1826624.html) 45 percent of Black students and 52 percent of Hispanic students are required to pass the math standardized tests as opposed to 68 percent of White students and 82 percent of Asian students being required to pass this test. Hone wants to make sure that each student has the same opportunity as their peers regardless of their racial background.

“The most pressing issue to me is for as many brothers and sisters from the poorest neighborhoods to make it out.” said Hone.

Even with a law degree, Hone was an instructor through the Teach for America program and expressed that she understood the challenges of teachers in the classroom. She mentioned the importance of programs like Teach for America.

“Some of our best teachers are asking to go to tougher schools.” said Hone.

A final issue that Hone brought up was about evaluating the teaching profession.

“There are still teachers teaching who don’t have our kids best interest at heart.” said Hone.

In Hone’s last remarks, she informed Mason students that in countries such as Finland, it is harder to be a teacher than getting accepted into Medical School.

Event – October 11, 2012

On October 11, 2012 the George Mason chapter of the National Association of Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held their second segment of their “What’s Your Stance” series. The topic at hand was Women’s Health and Cortney Hughes-Rinker, a Mason Assistant Professor, Anthropology; Sociology & Anthropology led the discussion.

The first question asked was, “Why are women’s rights important in politics?”

Rinker continued with 4 solutions to the question. The first being, women’s bodies are fields of contest, the second being women should have control over their bodies and not a government with a majority of male politicians; the third being the concept on war on women is not just about women’s health; and lastly, politicians should not make women and their bodies interconnect.

Mason students were able to interact with Rinker and participated in a discussion regarding the presidential candidate initiatives on women’s health.

During this discussion, the topic of abortion was brought up where Veronica Ramos-Coreas, NAACP member, shared her thoughts on Planned Parenthood.

“Planned Parenthood doesn’t just perform abortions. There are contraceptive services and sex education provided also.” said Coreas.

Rinker mentioned that these issues are also social issues and men have different issues from women issues.

Beenish Butt, a senior stated that “men can’t have children and that alone is a major difference in men and women issues.”

Rinker informed Mason students that during this year, $16.8 million dollars were spent on Abortion ads in media alone.

Rinker also discussed topics in healthcare regarding women’s rights stating that “critics have claimed Romney’s plan of including more services for less money but not mentioning what services will be included are vague. Meanwhile, critics claim that Obama’s plan will take out money of elderly and taxes will increase to help preventative programs.”

By the end of the event, Mason students were asked what they thought the government’s role was in overreaching in healthcare.

“I want to know that the government should have regulations to prevent me from harming myself, but when it comes to my decision making, I want to have that freedom.” said Coreas.

Following the event, Ebonie Miller, biology major shared her thoughts on the event.

“It brought to light a lot of the issues that are never discussed. We talk about women’s issues but never talk about how policies affect our decision as women.” said Ebonie.

Governor Romney Visits Virginia this Sunday

This Sunday, October 28, 2012 Governor Mitt Romney will be visiting Virginia in three different areas in one day. If you are free Sunday there will be one rally about 35 minutes from campus. Below is the information that is posted on his website and how you can RSVP and receive tickets to attend.

Join Mitt and the GOP Team on Sunday, October 28^th at Battlefield High School in Haymarket. Doors open at 10:00 a.m. and the event begins at 12:00 p.m. Click here to RSVP.

Join Mitt and the GOP Team on Sunday, October 28^th at the Robins Center at the University of Richmond for a Victory Rally! Doors open at 2:15 p.m. and the event begins at 4:15 p.m. Click here to RSVP.

Join Mitt and the GOP Team for a Victory Rally at the Farm Bureau Live Amphitheater in Virginia Beach on Saturday, October 28^th! Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and the event begins at 7:45 p.m. Click here to RSVP.

http://www.mittromney.com/states/virginia

Third Presidential Debate Watch Party Tonight

Tonight at 9 p.m. Mason Votes will be hosting the third presidential debate watch party in the JC Atrium. All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to attend. Leading up to the election it is important for all voters to stay tuned into the debates.

Mason Votes hopes these debate watch parties will help students become aware of the issues, get educated on where each candidate stands, and encourage students to vote on November 6, 2012.

More information about the debate is provided on the 2012 Presidential Election News website:

Topic: Foreign policy
Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida

Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates

Participants: President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney
Moderator: Bob Schieffer (Host of Face the Nation on CBS)

The format for the debate will be identical to the first presidential debate and will focus on foreign policy.

http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012-debate-schedule/2012-presidential-debate-schedule/

GMU Chapter of NAACP: “What’s Your Stance?” Series

Photo by Frank Ross| BigGovernment.com

On Thursday, October 4, the day after the first presidential debate the George Mason chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held their first segment of their “What’s Your Stance” series leading up to the November 6 Presidential Election. Mason students met with Mike Everest, a member of the Fairfax NAACP chapter, and former Economics professor at the National Air College, who informed Mason students of the U.S.’ economic history from the 1950s to present day. He spoke at this event in order to share his thoughts on the current financial situation and further inform Mason students on different factors that are affecting not only the U.S. economy, but the Asian economy as well.

“When you think about economics, the first question at hand is where is the money in America?” said Everest.

Everest explained that to learn about the current economic situation, students should have a quick glance at the history of America’s economy. First, he explained that there have only been surpluses under two presidents in the history of our economy; the first being President Truman in 1947 and the second President Clinton in 1998. While using the Statistics of World Population, GDP and Per Capita GDP, 1-2008 AD”, Angus Maddison, University of Groningen, and Everest explained that China had a history of economic power. Because China had a history of economic growth, Asian Americans had the most homeownership in America in 2000, 2007, and 2008 and were the leading graduates in 2000, and 2008.

“I wanted to hear President and Governor Romney discuss these issues [during] [the] [Presidential] [debate].” said Everest.

Everest’s concern about this topic is that the money is not in America but in Asia. Because of the Asian countries being a strong economic environment, economic analysis reports the Asian economy first followed by Europe and the U.S. on a daily basis according to Everest. Also, he believes that because the economic deficit did not occur instantly, it will not be able to be fixed instantly.

“The President and congress should be able to work together in order to help the economy.” said Everest.

Everest indicated a few factors of how the U.S. economy differed from President Clinton’s term to now. During the Clinton presidency, the U.S. did not go through any wars. During the Bush presidency, the 127.3 billion surplus turned into a 157.8 billion deficit by 2002 because of the war in Iraq.

In the final moments of the “What’s Your Stance Series”, Everest mentioned what he felt would get the U.S. in a better financial situation.

“We need to get out of war, create jobs at home, and have everyone pay taxes,” said Everest.