Category: Top Stories

College Republicans and Democrats Debate Issues Tonight

From Connec2Mason.com
By Jordan J. Frasier

With just five days before voters head to the polls in this year’s midterm election, the Mason chapter of College Republicans and College Democrats will debate political issues tonight.

The event will feature an exchange between three Republican students and three Democrat students as they discuss local and national political issues.

Mason professor Dr. Toni-Michelle Travis will act as moderator.

For College Kids, Voting Is So Two Years Ago

Caption: George Mason University students celebrate in 2008 after election results were confirmed for President Barack Obama

From The Atlantic Wire
By Elspeth Reeve

The Obamamania that swept college campuses two years ago, spurring millions of young people to vote, volunteer, and lobby their parents to change their minds, now looks like a bubble that has burst. Democrats argue that the enthusiasm gap between its voters and fired up Republicans is overblown, but the numbers among young voters are undeniable. In 2008, Rock the Vote registered 2.5 million young voters. This year, it’s signed up just 280,000. Local registration drives apparently haven’t fared much better, Politico reports. The county that’s home to 90 percent of the University of Virginia’s dorms has registered 2,714 new voters this year, a huge slide from 6,171 two years ago. Likewise, in 2008, new voters numbered 20,000 in the county that includes Colorado State University’s campus. A mere 1,200 registered this year. Why have college kids swung back to apathy?

By Christian Smith

Incumbent democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly and Republican Keith Fimian, both contenders for Virginia’s 11th district House of Representatives seat, have been duking it out over the airwaves in recent weeks. As the Nov. 2 election quickly approaches, the two have been the stars of an all-out negative ad blitz.

At the beginning of the month, Connolly’s campaign released an ad loosely based in fact that implied Fimian would give himself a $250 thousand bonus if elected.

Of course Tim Edison, Fimian’s campaign manager, wasted no time in disputing Connolly’s claims.

Not to be outdone, the next day Fimian released an ad to TV viewers that had previously been available only on YouTube since April. This ad accused Connolly of “bankrupting America.”

In response, Connolly’s camp produced this video:

But if the winner of this negative ad battle is determined by shear number of produced ads, it’s Fimian who is victorious. In the past two week, including the one listed above, he has produced four negative spots to Connolly’s two.

Vote Vans to Take Students to Polls

Vote Vans, an initiative started by Zach Golden and Claire Forman in 2007, is coming back again this year to help students make voting easier. It will be shuttling students from Mason to W.T Woodson High School where they will be able to vote.

Vote Vans will have a tent set up in the grassy area between Enterprise Hall and Science and Tech II and also at the Sandy Creek Circle to educate students about the voting process as well as this year’s candidates running for office.

“Our main goal is to transport students who don’t have cars but are passionate about voting,” says Melissa Jackson, organizer for Vote Vans.

Vote Vans will also be handing out electronic surveys via iPod touches to students in hopes to raise awareness about higher education issues and budget cuts. This information will then be used to go to Richmond on Lobbying Day to lobby on the student’s behalf.

Come out and show your support and vote for your favorite candidate!

By Aisha Jamil

Mason Votes is Back!

It’s that time of the year again and Mason Votes is back!

Election Day is coming up in less than a month and Mason Votes is prepared to have students pumped up and ready to vote!

College-aged students are one of the most apathetic age groups when it comes to voting, but the last presidential election definitely turned over a new leaf. It got the masses excited. It got us excited. It got everyone excited!

So, in order to keep that excitement going, Mason Votes is coming back this year to raise voter awareness for Mason’s student population.

Come visit us at the Johnson Center -Tuesday, Oct. 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to have some free snacks (homemade brownies and such) learn about voter registration and become our fan on Facebook. Keep checking our website for more articles, news and updates about the coming mid-term elections in the next few weeks cause it’s bound to become a tough battle!

– Aisha Jamil

Mason Hosts H1N1 Influenza Town Hall

By Mason Votes Staff Writer Ethan Vaughan

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hosted a town hall on flu prevention this morning in George Mason University’s Dewberry Hall.

“We keep hearing people say that this is ‘just’ the flu,” Sebelius said. “That it’s not a big deal. It’s ‘just’ the flu. But ‘just’ the flu kills 36,000 Americans every year and leaves 200,000 hospitalized, and ‘just’ the flu cutting through schools, campuses, and daycare centers has a huge impact.”

According to Sebelius, college students are more susceptible to H1N1,“for some reason, older Americans are in fact more resistant to it, which isn’t usually the case.”

The event, which was moderated by Student Government President Dev Dasgupta, also featured Lisa Barrios of the Centers for Disease Control who urged students to take basic steps such as regularly wiping down shared surfaces like kitchen countertops and computer keyboards and washing hands on a routine basis.

Sebelius encouraged students to get vaccinated against both the seasonal flu and H1N1 as a part of their prevention plan. “The bulk of the [H1N1] vaccine will start flowing in mid October,” Sebelius said. “And it will keep flowing every week. We’re going to be ramping it up to robust levels.”

Mason has announced that it will be offering the H1N1 vaccine at Student Health Services for free.

“This flu spreads easily,” Barrios said. “It’s so important to stay home. Some universities have even started making special dormitories for people infected with the virus.” She also called on student cooperation, saying that roommates should help by bringing sick individuals food and school assignments. She also cautioned people to look for more serious signs.

“Usual symptoms include runny nose and body ache but people suffering from H1N1 exhibit higher levels of vomiting and diarrhea, which isn’t as common with the regular flu,” said Barrios. “If skin turns blue, purple, or gray, or the fever goes away and then comes back, if someone is lethargic and can’t get out of bed, then that’s something really serious and you need to see a health care provider right away.”

Inauguration Day Events at Mason

If you are on campus for Inauguration Day, George Mason University will have plenty to do. Among the events planned for January 20, you’ll be able to see the Inauguration in the JC Atrium and attend an Inaugural Ball right here on campus.

The ceremony will start at 11:30 a.m. and can all be seen on the big screen in the Johnson Center. There will be coverage both before and after the event, so plan to come early. If you can’t make it to the Atrium, Mason Votes will be hosting a live stream of the event.

At 4 p.m., GMU-TV will be hosting a panel of experts who will be giving a Mason perspective on the Inauguration. You can watch the show live at GMU-TV’s studio in Innovation Hall, 4th floor. Interactive on-camera participation in the event can also be found in Innovation Hall room 103.

Seating for both locations begins at 3:30 p.m. If you can’t find a seat, you can watch the on-campus cable channel 48 or see what channel GMU-TV broadcasts on near you at their website. The event is also available online via live streaming video.

Everyone is invited to send questions to the panel in real-time via Yammer, a social micro-blogging service accessible to anyone with an active gmu.edu e-mail address. By signing in to the service at www.yammer.com instant messaging to the panel will be available.

There will be a dialogue about the inauguration facilitated by Mason’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The event will be in the Johnson Center’s Dewberry Hall at 5:30 p.m. and is an opportunity for small-group discussions of the issues in the earlier GMU-TV panel.

In the evening Mason is holding its own inaugural ball. (See the Facebook group.) From 9 p.m. to midnight, the SUB II ballroom is the place to celebrate the Inauguration of the 44th president. During the night there will be food, live music, dancing, a balloon drop, mocktails, and video coverage of all the after inauguration events. Students are invited to wear anything from formal to party clothes and dressing up in red, white or blue is recommended. There will be live performances by The Monster Band and DJ Rush Hour.

Beyond the themed activities, the campus will be have a number of other options open for students who expected classes.

The Johnson Center will be showing movies all day.
The new fitness center will be open from 9 a.m. to midnight.
The SUB I game room will be open until midnight.
Corner Pocket will be open for play from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Any members of the Mason community are invited to e-mail their photos to Mason Votes’ Flickr account, where they will be posted live into the photo stream. You can send photos from your computer, cell phone or other internet-enabled device to [email protected]. Be aware that any photos sent to this address will fall under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Is Obama Ready to go Against His Supporters on an Auto Bailout?

According to a poll earlier this month, 61 percent of Americans oppose an auto bailout, 70 percent believe that a bailout would be unfair to taxpayers and another majority of those surveyed did not believe that the bailout would help the economy. Only 15 percent believe that bankruptcy in the auto industry would immediately affect them. Considering the wide majority by which President-Elect Obama won the popular vote, a significant number of those polled had to have voted for him.

That means that if Obama were to put the full force of his administration behind an auto bailout in January, he would be going against a significant number of his supporters, not to mention the 52-35 Senate vote. The bailout in the Senate may have failed because of the Republicans, but the American people seem to be against the Democrats on this issue.

If Obama were to enact economic policies that he considers necessary against the inclination of many who voted for him he may face backlash in the early days of his presidency. I know that among the young voters I know, most of whom voted for Obama, I’ve yet to meet one who supports giving money to the automakers.

Why should they? As the government digs itself deeper and deeper into debt, it’s the young voters who will have to cough up the dough. It’s no wonder everyone is hesitant about handing out billions more dollars, in the short time since the first $350 billion in rescue funds were allocated in October, the Treasury has spent $335 billion, leaving a mere $15 billion left. The proposed auto bailout was $14 billion. The amount is barely enough for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. to pay up, should Bush follow through with his apparent change of heart on using Troubled Assets Relief Program to help the auto industry.

Paulson is likely wary of using the funds for automakers, It doesn’t look like the other half of the money will be coming down the pike any time soon. Already, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and a number of his fellow congressmen have said that they would likely oppose signing off on the second $350 billion, leaving most to speculate that the Treasury won’t see a dollar more until Obama has been sworn in.

President-elect Obama needs to take a step back and consider what’s going to happen to his man of the people image when he goes against his own voters and members of his party. Detroit is not worth the trouble.

The Big Three (GM, Chrysler and Ford) don’t innovate, can’t do good business, and work against their customers. In fact, they sometimes work against innovation and their customers.

GM alone is losing 4.4 billion each month and the rest of the automakers are not far behind. Throwing money on the fire isn’t going to help them. Either they are going to shrink down, restructure, and come out as completely different companies or they are going to fail. To innovate their business they need incentive, and if they go down, they shouldn’t take the taxpayers with them. Giving them more money would just allow them to prolong the pain.

Most commentators seem to be looking at this issue in black and white, as if a failure to pour taxpayer cash into Detroit would mean every auto worker would loose their job and end up on the public dole forever. Talk about fear-mongering… Do we really expect that 2,201,955 people would just throw their arms in the air and give up?

Yes, if we don’t bailout auto industry now it will be hard on the economy, but it would only be worse later on. On the other hand, if The Big Three go down in flames, as they claim they will without public subsidization, it creates precisely the type of environment in which competition and innovation thrives.

If a big hole were to open up in a field that has been locked in by a small number of large companies for years, some of those out-of-job workers will start thinking about going into business for themselves. These businesses will be smaller, with less fat, more agile, and better able to innovate. As a result we will end up with a competitive field that is friendly to exactly the type of green technology Obama supports and better for consumers.

To quote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.): “We simply cannot ask the American taxpayer to subsidize failure.”

Originally posted on UPI’s The Voice of Young Voters Presidential Transition Forum.

Barack Obama Elected President of the United States

Barack Obama, senator from Illinois, has been elected to the Office President of the United States. Moments after Virginia’s Electoral College votes were called for Obama and the polls closed on the west coast, all major media organizations called the election in his favor.

In his concession speech, Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain said, “the American people have spoken and they have spoke clearly.” Boos erupted when Obama’s name was mentioned but McCain responded by holding up his hands in protest of their reaction. “His success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance,” said McCain of Obama.

After Obama was announced as the next president of the United States, an estimated 400 students gathered in an impromptu celebration rally outside Chesapeake. The rally moved across campus and gathered participants on it route to Presidents’ Park, Patriot Circle, and ending in the Johnson Center to hear Obama’s acceptance speech.

Students, many of whom were overcome with emotion, were screaming with excitement and chanting phrases such as “yes we can,” “Obama,” and “no more Bush.”

Live Video | Live Blog | Vote Vans | Student Reactions

Hacker Pulls Hoax on George Mason University Students

In the early hours of Election Day, a person hacked into the e-mail system of George Mason University, sending out an e-mail to the student body that claimed Election Day had been moved to Nov. 5.

The message was sent out at 1:16 a.m. from Provost Peter Stearns’s e-mail account. It read, “Please note that election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.”

Stearns addressed the issue in a later e-mail that said, “It has come to my attention early this morning that a message was hacked into the system fraudulently stating that election day has been moved. I am sure everybody realizes this is a hoax, it is also a serious offense and we are looking into it.”

A Student Government member volunteering with the Voters Van project, running students to the local voting precinct, said that volunteers already had had to field questions about the e-mail.

“We just got one guy. He was like, ‘Wait, I thought voting was tomorrow,'” freshman Nicola Anderson, a native of Scotland, said. “We’re just putting it down by saying Election Day is always the first Tuesday in November.”

Student Government President Zack Golden thinks there will be consequences for the hacker.

“Whoever did that, when they get caught, they’re going to be in major trouble,” Golden said.