The Mason Spirit

Imagine the shock when I pulled into the parking lot near the Patriot Center and saw these beautiful creatures getting a bath nearby. Yes, the circus has arrived! The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to be exact, and the elephants are part of this Greatest Show on Earth, which runs from April 14-24…

Continue Reading No Kidding! Those Are Elephants on the Fairfax Campus!

Editor’s Note: President Alan Merten has announced his intention to step down as president of George Mason University on June 30, 2012. As the university prepares for a presidential search and transition, we are getting a little nostalgic at the magazine. This article features the first family and originally appeared in the Fall 2000 Mason…

Continue Reading From the Archives: A Personal Look at George Mason’s First Family

As the number of veterans within Mason’s student population increases, it isn’t surprising that the number of veterans’ student organizations has also increased. One such organization is the student-run Veterans Society of George Mason University. Do student veterans seek each other out? You bet they do, says Veterans Society president and former Marine Jacobo Flores….

Continue Reading Student Veterans Looking Out for Each Other

Battling the lure of alcohol was nothing new for Shevonne Polastre’s younger sister, Kristine. No one thought, though, the problem would turn tragic, as it did on Jan. 26, 2010, when Kristine was found dead on an air base in Japan, the victim of alcohol poisoning. But while still deeply hurt by the loss of…

Continue Reading Alumna Turns Tragedy into Way to Help Others

You were required to wear a hard hat and a DayGlo vest. Beltway traffic was whizzing by many feet below. This was not your typical class field trip, but for a group of civil engineering students, it was a great experience and the opportunity to see engineering in action. The students were enrolled in a…

Continue Reading Classes We Love: Engineering Students Check on HOT Lanes

Just ask Mason’s going green mascot, Gunston, and he (or is it she?) will tell you that Mason is going all out to save the planet. But solar-powered dumpsters? Yes, they do exist. I found this little beauty parked outside the Eastern Shore residence hall on Mason’s Fairfax Campus. According to Stephen Morehouse, director of…

Continue Reading At Mason, Even the Dumpsters Are Green

Just because Mason is now classified as a residential university doesn’t mean we can forget about the biggest portion of our student-body: off-campus scholars. Currently, Mason is in the middle of what is being billed as Off-Campus Appreciation Week. The week features a slew of workshops and activities to help students with some of the…

Continue Reading Commuter Students Get Some Love from Mason

Now that Coach L has Mason’s men’s hoops team back in the NCAA tournament, what better time than now to relive the nationwide madness the team created five years ago by making it to the Final Four. And as if your memory needs any refreshing of that magical March, but here are a few articles…

Continue Reading Final Four Glory! Has It Really Been Five Years?

Mason graduate student Andi Kornak’s new job has her happily declaring, “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” The Michigan native was recently named curator of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s carnivores and large mammals exhibits, meaning she gets to work with some of the biggest species of the animal kingdom, including bears, elephants, and rhinos. So…

Continue Reading Student’s Bear of a Job Has Her Gladly Going Bananas

And you thought you were busy! Right now, Mason psychology professor Eden King is finishing up a book, helping to guide 60 graduate students, preparing for classes, doing her own research, and, oh by the way, all this with a new baby arriving very (and we mean very) soon. “People are so much nicer to…

Continue Reading Psychology Professor Eden King–We Certainly Think She’s Outstanding