feb. 23, 2015
DESCRIPTION
Volume 2, Issue 16TRANSCRIPT
IVFOURTH ESTATE
INSIDE: NEWS / CONTINGENT FACULTY / 7 • LIFESTYLE / DATE / 10 • SPORTS / MARCH SADNESS / 15
IVFOURTH ESTATE
Feb. 23, 2015 | Volume 2 Issue 16George Mason University’s o� cial student news outlet
gmufourthestate.com | @IVEstate
(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)
Making HistoryJunior guard Taylor Brown breaks school record mid-season
| page 16
News2 02.23.2015 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
Feb. 13
2015-004057 / Hit and Run
Complainant (GMU) reported damage to a vehicle. Offender unknown/fled scene. Damage estimated $500. (55/Higgins)
Shenandoah Parking Garage/ Pending
/ 4:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Feb. 19
2015-004331 / Grand Larceny
Complainant (GMU) reported that an unknown subject took their personal property after it was dropped on the ground. Loss estimated $400. Case referred to investigations unit. (48/Bennett)
Path between the JC and Art and
Design / Pending / 7:20 p.m.
Feb. 20
2015-004380 / Drunkenness
Subject (GMU) was arrested and transported to Fairfax County ADC for being drunk in public. (15/Lighthiser)
Lot R / Cleared by Arrest / 1:20 a.m.
Crime Log
POPULAR LAST WEEKStudents gather to mourn Chapel Hill victimsStudents gath-ered on Feb. 13 to mourn the death of three young people found dead in Chapel Hill, N.C. The victims were of Muslim faith and some have alleged the act to be a hate crime.
Student political organizations have growing effect The Roosevelt Institute and Common Sense Action now both have chapters at Mason, each working toward different goals and engaging young people in the political process.
School of Business to focus more on government contractingMason’s School of Business will have a curricu-lum change that will focus more on getting jobs in the government contracting field.
1 2 3
ON GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM
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The Virginia Department of Transportation is wokring on a project to improve the conditions of Interstate 66. Read more on page five.
(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)
news 02.23.2015 3 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
Hau ChuEditor-In-Chief
Ellen GlickmanPrint News Editor
Reem NadeemPrint News Editor
Sara MoniuszkoLifestyle Editor
Savannah NortonPrint Lifestyle Editor
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Amy PodrazaAsst. Photography Editor
Katie MorganDesign Editor
Walter MartinezVisual Editor
Jill CarterCopy Chief
Laura BakerIllustrator
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David Carroll Associate Director
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As the weeks wind down on my reign at the helm of Fourth Estate, I realized that these letters are going to get increas-ingly personal, sentimental and maudlin so I fi gure I might as well start that now when I’m most limited by how sappy I can get.
There have been two deaths in culture that have affected me in a way that I didn’t realize I could be by people I’ve never met.
David Carr was a media writer for the New York Times and maybe one of the few must-reads of the remaining major media outlets. You always knew that Carr cared about the topics he wrote on and that passion refl ected in his works.
He was beloved by his colleagues as a kind, caring man who was always tough and fair with those he interacted with. His work and criticisms are unparalleled -- if you want an example, read his dissection of The Tribune Company or watch the much shared video of his interaction with Vice in the excellent docu-mentary Page One.
I will miss the ability to absorb his perspectives, and that is only a fraction of grief that I imagine his friends and loved ones are feeling.
Then there was the death of Harris Wittels this week. Wittels was a comedian who was a longtime writer on the modern classic Parks and Recreation as
well as a writer on the underap-preciated Eastbound and Down.
Where Wittels most made his mark on my life were his appearances on podcasts. I love listening to comedy podcasts because hearing the dynamic between friends and comedians feels very personal and intimate in a way that few other mediums can duplicate.
If you want an understand-ing of his sense of humor and why he is missed by so many, go listen to Comedy Bang Bang -- particular-ly any of the “Farts and Procreation” episodes -- or Analyze Phish.
Both men dealt with addic-tion in their lives. Carr, by many accounts, was lucky to survive his substance addic-tion to lead a rich life but it is suspected that it was his addiction to cigarettes that led to a form of lung cancer that took his life. Wittels was found dead in his home from an apparent drug overdose.
Two good men died this week because of addiction, and there are many more dying every day for similar reasons.
HAU CHU | [email protected] | @HAUCHU
Letter from the EIC
news4 02.23.2015 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
Honey Bee Initiative goes to the Amazon
NATALIA KOLENKO | STAFF WRITER
Mason’s Honey Bee Initiative will be offering a new course that goes to the Amazon Rainforest to teach local communities beekeeping.
The course, titled “The Importance of the Amazon in the Modern World,” will offer three credits and count for NCLC 398, BIOL 440, or EVPP 495 or 505. This is the first time this course is being offered to students at Mason and will take place this summer from July 7-21. The course is open to eight students and will be led by German Perilla, the director of the Honey Bee Initiative. While the course focuses on beekeeping, there will be aspects of art, commu-nity health and tropical medicine, tropical ecology, education and nutrition.
According to Perilla, the multidisciplinary course involves working in the Amazon in Peru, Colombia and El Salvador with people who live in the jungle and helps to provide economic opportunity for these people through beekeeping.
Perilla said that students will teach the locals to develop a conservation plan that is sustain-able for their community, and the course participants learn to teach and empower the locals to defend their resources.
The course also focuses on teaching women in the commu-nity beekeeping skills because, as Perilla said, women in those communities have little power. He said that if they can teach women a skill that is valuable to the community, they will gain more strength and leadership.
Perilla and Kathleen Curtis, the assistant director of the Honey Bee Initiative, said they decided to bring the course and beekeep-ing to the Amazon because the rainforest is severely threatened,
and through this course they hope to protect and restore it. They stress that they try to do this in a non-interfering way.
“The Amazon is probably one of the most unique environments on the planet and one that has the highest threats on the planet,” Perilla said. “We need to understand the need to save the Amazon. We can’t wait until tomorrow because then it is going to be too late.”
“We are there to council, but we don’t leave a lasting footprint,” Curtis said. “All the equipment is made there, we use the local people who know how to do the woodworking, and the things that we provide them are mostly knowledge. It is requested and accom-plished by the people in the community.”
Perilla and Curtis said the course is for anyone who is interested, no matter their major, but warn that the trip is not always comfort-able, as the course involves hiking through the jungle. They said those in delicate health would have trouble because it is a physically
demanding trip.
“Through beekeeping, we can teach them empowerment in the community,” Perilla said. “We can build capacity in the communi-ty, not only in the beekeeping world, but we can teach them how to have a business plan, how to sell, how to make projections in business, and that will actually help them in everything they do, not just beekeeping.”
Perilla said that beekeeping can benefit the communities in a number of ways, but bees benefit from this project as well. When bees flourish, the community in which they live will flourish, Perilla said.
This course came about with the establishment of the Honey Bee Initiative on Mason’s campus. Curtis said the purpose of the Honey Bee initiative is to expose and educate students about beekeeping and why bees are good for the way people live. She also said it teaches students how beekeeping fits into our world and teaches people about sustainability, as well as connect students to nature.
The Initiative was created by Perilla and Curtis, building its first observation yard for the bees with a grant from the Patriot Green Fund. The New Century College then picked up the initiative and started offering the class.
The Initiative was also created do to the fact that bees are dying at an alarming rate in America, among other countries.
“At this point, there is a crisis in the bee world, and it is mostly in developed countries. It is called Colony Collapse Disorder. This disorder is the name to describe the disappearance of bees,” Perilla said. “Bees are dying in numbers that are very unusual. There are many reasons why this is happening such as lack of nutrition and diseases.”
As for their future goals, Perilla said as long as they have the will to do it, they will continue the Honey Bee Initiative, and as Perilla said, beekeeping is a universal activity.
“The sky’s the limit. We don’t have set goals. We’re just working on taking baby steps and getting people’s attention,” Perilla said. “As long as we have the strength and the energy to be able to do this, we will continue to do it.”
(FOURTH ESTATE ARCHIVES)
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news 02.23.2015 5 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
ELLEN GLICKMAN AND REEM NADEEM | PRINT NEWS EDITORS
The Virginia Department of Transportation is planning to widen Interstate 66 from one to two lanes between the Beltway and the town of Haymarket.
The expansion of the 25 mile stretch of highway is expected to cost $2-3 billion. VDOT plans to add a High-Occupancy Toll lane on both sides of the interstate and convert all carpool lanes to High-Occupancy Toll lanes. Construction is expected to start 2017.
According to VDOT, the goals of construction include moving “traffic and people more quickly and reliably” and reducing “congestion by increasing capacity.”
“66 is a major interstate. It’s a major commuter route so…we’re doing this to improve it, to alle-viate the congestion, provide more travel choices for people, and also provide more reliable choices for drivers, for buses. We’re trying to do that through the express lanes,” Michelle Holland of Transform 66 said.
While Transform 66 seeks to alleviate traffic by creating more options for drivers, the project will also provide alternatives to driving in general.
“We’re also looking at other improvements beyond just more lanes. We’re looking at adding
high frequency bus service, expanding and build-ing new park and ride lots to encourage car pooling, so we’re looking at a variety of other solutions,” Holland said.
Because the plan is still in its early phases, how traffic will be managed during construction has yet to be decided.
“On any of our major projects, we always devote resources to managing traffic during construc-tion. For instance, we don’t have major lane closures during rush hours, we try to do a lot of the work at night when traffic is lighter,” Holland said.
Four express lanes are also part of construction, two in each direction. According to Holland, these lanes will be free at all times for automo-biles with three or more passengers. This encour-ages carpooling, which also helps alleviate traffic, Holland said.
“What express lanes do is they offer a more reli-able trip, a more predictable commute because you have to keep traffic moving at all times, at least 45 miles per hour on express lanes. And you manage the traffic flows through dynamic tolling, meaning you adjust the price to match demand for the lane,” Holland said.
“I drive on 66 at least 5 days a week going back and forth from campus to Gainesville because of work,” sophomore Mikayla Kyle said. “Normally
I’m going against traffic which is not too bad, but when I do hit traffic I’m at a complete stop because I can’t be in the HOV lane by myself. I would personally love the addition of two express lanes, especially if I could use my E-ZPass. The only thing I won’t like is when they’re doing construction for them because that just makes traffic worse, but the end product will be well worth it.”
VDOT is contemplating two designs for the new stretch of highway. One option provides space for public transportation, like the Metro, and the second option does not.
The Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club hopes VDOT will maintain an interest in increasing transportation options throughout the project. Ishmael Buckner, Northern Virginia conser-vation program coordinator for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the group is focused on promoting public transportation and walkable communities, as well as making travel more enjoyable.
Though they advocate for better conditions, Buckner said the Sierra Club neither actively supports nor opposes the project. He said the chapter only wants to have its opinions heard.
“If the project is going to go forward we want these things to be considered and not be left out of the decision making process,” Buckner said.
In a public flyer, the chapter called this project a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to recon-nect Northern Virginia communities through improved bicycling and walking facilities.” The group supports the construction of a pedestrian and bicycle trail on the interstate, with a barrier to separate the trail from highway traffic. They said the trail would increase “non-motorized access” to Metro stations, shopping centers and parks.
While VDOT has listened to the chapter’s suggestions on some previous projects, Buckner feels the department is mostly focused on build-ing roads, which is contrary to the chapter’s goals of promoting walkable communities and increas-ing multi-modal transportation.
Buckner said a large group of people in the area would benefit from not having to pay the cost of regular highway travel. He said more public and multi-modal transportation would make travel-ing without a car easier for a lot of people.
“[VDOT is] realizing people are in need of public transportation options,” Buckner said.
He believes VDOT is listening to public concern while they finalize the plans for this construction.
“From the [public information] meetings and reactions I know they heard what people had to say about it,” Buckner said. “How that will trans-late to changes in the plan is still yet to be seen.”
Interstate 66 will undergo expansion to improve commutes
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news6 02.23.2015 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
AMY WOOLSEY | STAFF WRITER
Mason’s Office of Global Strategy is looking at proposals for a grant that will send a universi-ty faculty member to India in the spring 2015 semester.
The grant is part of a faculty exchange program Mason organized with the Foundation for Liberal and Management Education, a private college in Pune, India. The selected faculty member will visit FLAME for two weeks, and in return, Mason will invite a professor from FLAME to northern Virginia.
“Any exchange program between two institutions is the beginning of an association and partner-ship, which provides to faculty members expe-rience and exposure of two different cultures of academic institutions,” said Indira J. Parikh, co-founder and president of FLAME, via e-mail. “It creates spaces for sharing and learning about research. Faculty exchange provides exposure to different innovative ideas of teaching.”
The program was arranged by the India Advisory Committee, a group of faculty from various departments at Mason that creates initiatives to promote university interest in India.
“One of the points that George Mason has iden-tified as part of its mission statement is that we are a global community and a global university and you can’t do that if you’re not engaging with the rest of the world,” said Robert DeCaroli, chair of the India Advisory Committee and associate art history professor who specializes in South Asia. “So in targeted ways, they’ve made decisions to try and allocate resources in terms of building connections with various parts of the world.”
India is just one region the Global Office has designated as an area of interest. Mason also has groups focused on China, Eurasia, Africa and Latin America.
In addition to organizing events such as speaking engagements and art series, the committee strives to develop long-term connections to Indian insti-tutions and open up opportunities for students
and faculty in India.
“We think of this initial FLAME exchange as a kind of seed grant, meaning we’re hoping we plant something that will grow and bear fruit in the future,” DeCaroli said. “The hope is that [the faculty members] find areas of common interest, ways to conduct research and work together, and from that, we’re hoping eventually we can include students in the process.”
While at FLAME, the chosen faculty member will conduct workshops and seminars in his or her field. This will allow the individual to interact with students, explore research possi-bilities and establish academic and professional networks, theoretically paving the way for future collaborations.
The grant consists of $2,500 to cover travel and food expenses. FLAME is responsible for providing residential support. When the FLAME professor visits Mason, the financial obligations will be switched.
The possibility of a faculty exchange between the universities arose when FLAME professor Himanshoo Bhatt visited Mason around two years ago.
“George Mason University has the same breadth of disciplines as FLAME,” Parikh said. “Both institutions are desirous of being global players and share a common interest in emerging areas. Also, FLAME is a niche campus and George Mason is ideal for FLAME faculty to experience the university campus in the USA.”
On Mason’s side, the program was spearhead-ed by Susan Graziano, who recently left the project to become Director of Development for the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Her duties have been taken on by Richena Purnell-Sayle, the new executive assistant in the Global Office.
Through several email conversations, Mason and FLAME worked together to draft an official contract known as a memo of understanding.
“These are semi-legal agreements where we just write to say, George Mason University wants to partner with this institution and we’re going to work on the following things,” Purnell-Sayle said. “They had a very clear plan of what they wanted to pursue. They actually included details of what the faculty exchange would look like and what each partner would be offering.”
One member of the India Advisory Committee
visited the FLAME campus in January 2014. Marion Deshmukh, a history professor studying German art and culture, serves on the commit-tee due to her many contacts in India, including some who teach at FLAME.
“FLAME is a residential college just outside of Pune and it’s a beautiful campus,” Deshmukh said. “I spent the whole day with faculty and administrators and got a tour. I was quite impressed.”
Opened in 2007, FLAME emphasizes interdis-ciplinary education, offering courses in subjects ranging from business to performing arts, and encourages experiential learning. Deshmukh compared its approach to Mason’s New Century College.
“FLAME was in a position where not only were they very eager to work with us, which is some-thing we were happy to see, but they modeled their education system on a kind of Western-style university,” DeCaroli said. “If American students are going there, that might be a comfortable setting that they can experience and explore. So because of the fields they were interested in, their commitment to working with us and the type of
university they run, we thought all of those things would work well together.”
The grant proposals were read by a panel of five faculty members from the India Advisory Committee. Candidates were assessed based on a number of factors, most importantly the poten-tial impact their research would have on Mason’s relationship with FLAME.
The two highest-ranking applications have been sent to FLAME for further evaluation.
“They were all very well-qualified,” Deshmukh said. “It’s just a question of what [FLAME] would like that faculty member to do.”
The final recipient is expected to be announced sometime next month.
In the meantime, the committee looks forward to expanding the number and diversity of opportu-nities for students looking to study abroad.
“Students are really turning their interest away from the more traditional, Western places like France and England and wanting to try some-thing different,” Purnell-Sayle said. “FLAME was chosen with that in mind and as a place in India that’s still comfortable enough for our students to want to go and their parents to be willing to send them there.”
Travel grant to support Mason faculty research in India
(LAURA BAKER/FOURTH ESTATE)
“One of the points that George Mason has identified as part of its mission statement is that we are a global community and a global university and you can’t do that if you’re not engaging with the rest of the world.” -Robert DeCaroli
news 02.23.2015 7 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
REEM NADEEM | PRINT NEWS EDITOR
Provost David Wu called for the formation of an adjunct faculty task force at the Adjunct Faculty Dialogue. The announcement precedes Adjunct Dignity Day on Feb. 25, an event meant to encourage discussion of issues facing contingent faculty members.
The Adjunct Faculty Dialogue, hosted by Wu, provided a space for adjunct faculty to discuss issues they were facing. According to Wu, the faculty population at Mason reflects regional talent, including adjuncts.
The discussion included input from adjunct audi-ence members about how to better involve them at Mason. The conversation about adjuncts at Mason coincides with national movements advo-cating for contingent faculty rights.
According to a study “Invisible but Indispensable,” conducted by PhD and contingent faculty members Marisa Allison, Randy Lynn and Vicki Hoverman, as many as 3 in 4 university profes-sors are contingent faculty members. Despite the large population of contingent faculty, many work with no benefits, no resources from the university and poor compensation.
“It means that colleges and universities have been saying, and Mason is the case in this sense, that they do value the education that their students are getting. So when you have an entire group of folks who are the majority of faculty on a campus who are making below a living wage, then that’s something that needs to be reexamined because this is an institution where when you get an education, it’s supposed to raise your quality of living, but it turns out that it’s not,” Allison said.
The adjunct faculty task force and Adjunct Dignity Day are parts of a larger, national
movement in higher education. “Invisible but Indispensable” studied and presented the condi-tions contingent faculty must work with at Mason, but the authors noted that these problems are not unique to Mason.
“We weren’t necessarily setting out to start the movement but it’s very obvious it’s just happen-ing everywhere, so it wasn’t surprising to me to find out that people were already organizing on campus,” Allison said.
The Mason Coalition of Academic Labor consists of both faculty and students who advocate for contingent faculty at Mason. MCAL sought help from Service Employees International Union Local 500, an education and public service union, to voice their demands.
“The majority of adjuncts in the D.C. Metro area are now unionized, so the tipping point has happened, and we’re kind of on the other side of it. So it made sense to go with SEIU 500,” Allison said.
According to Allison, a lack of resources and time to prepare courses can negatively affect a contingent faculty member’s ability to teach and connect with their students.
According to a contingent faculty member and member of MCAL, who spoke on the condi-tion of anonymity, some departments provide no support or guidance before allowing them to teach students.
“I was sort of given a course, and I was only given maybe a month and a half [to plan] for it. And this was the first time I had ever taught, so there was no sort of support [from the department] for that, only sort of initial feedback like ‘Oh, show us your syllabus, and we’ll give you some critiques on it, or if we think you’re missing something
we’ll tell you to add it,’ and [the department] did that,” the faculty member said. “But other than that, there was no like ‘Here’s how you run the classroom, here’s what to expect of the students, here’s what the students are like at Mason,’”
Working conditions for contingent faculty members usually differ by department or college that employs them. Some departments try to provide resources and foster inclu-sion for their contingent employ-ees, while others do not.
“I think there is some support but it’s very like - it’s not core, it’s not institutionalized within the depart-ment. It’s like, you have a few allies and they’ll help you out if they can,” the faculty member said.
There are various kinds of contin-gent faculty members. Some working professionals teach part time to help the university and pass on their knowledge to students, but
other contingent faculty members work several part time jobs just to
make ends meet.
“I think there is a misconception and this kind of runs across the United States, but especially here in the D.C. area, is that that most adjuncts have full time jobs, they work in the city and they come out and share their expertise with students. And that’s just not correct,” Allison said.
A petition created by MCAL and SEIU Local 500 asks Provost David Wu and Mason adminis-trators to meet four demands to improve contin-gent faculty working conditions by the next academic year. MCAL demands adequate time to prepare for courses, access to a private space for student meetings, a fee for course preparation plus reimbursement for money spent on course resources and a 20% cancellation fee for last minute course cancellations.
“The relationship between the institution SEIU Local 500 and the George Mason MCAL group right now is one [where] we’re supporting them, they lead on what they want to do, we give advice. They’re doing a petition on getting some paid preparation time and other things and you know, we will help them in any way to achieve whatever goals they have in terms of improving their working conditions,” Anne McLeer, SEIU 500 director of higher education and research, said.
According to McLeer, advocacy for contingent faculty is growing nationally, as is the number of contingent faculty employed by higher educa-tion institutions. In the 1970s, 75% of teaching positions in institutions of higher education were tenure track positions and 25% were contingent. Today, the opposite is true, McLeer said.
“They’re paid by the course, a lot less than the equivalent full time person; [they] are just as
qualified and experienced as full time people, and they’re held to the same standards and expecta-tions, but they’re paid a lot less. They’re usually excluded from benefits,” McLeer said.
While official issues related to compensation, job security and benefits exist, contingent faculty can also face an alienating and isolating work atmosphere.
“[Contingent faculty are] often sort of excluded from the day to day decision making, from depart-ments, from the academic community; they can be a marginalized group. Many scholars have written there can be an academic caste system. I see the academic labor market, the teaching profession of higher education, as highly strati-fied with tenured people at the top in shrinking numbers and then layers upon layers of different types of contingent positions,” McLeer said.
One of the four demands in the petition requests a private space to meet with students. According to co-author of “Indispensable but Invisible” and MCAL member Vicki Hoverman, a private space for contingent faculty could go a long way in creating a sense of community.
“I guess it does feel kind of lonely, like I said you don’t have any sort of real department support. And there’s no university space where I guess, faculty that are contingent can, like, congre-gate to either have office hours or to sit there and grade or to use a university resource like a computer to help them keep everything in order. I guess it’s sort of like you’re here, but you’re not really part of it,” the faculty member said.
Institutions of higher education have shifted toward hiring more contingent faculty because they cost universities less, according to McLeer. However, the initiative to save money stems from a larger, national trend in higher education.
“A lot of scholars will point to the fact that starting in the 70’s and 80’s the dominant philosophy in running institutions of higher education moved to a more corporatized model. And a corporate model has financial as the bottom line. So the colleges save a lot of money by hiring more and more part time faculty, and a lot of that money is funneled into and away from instruction. So there’s more administrative professionals today in proportion to faculty than there ever were before,” McLeer said.
Because contingent faculty lack job security, their academic freedom and freedom of expres-sion can be compromised. According to Junior MCAL member Mohammad Abou-Ghazala, colleges are traditionally viewed as democratic spaces but lack of job security challenges this for some faculty members.
“We believe that students and faculty should have a say in what goes on, it’s really top down, the administrative hierarchy is because it’s a whole other issue. So basically, so what happens is anytime there’s a crisis, any time there’s admin-istrative pressure, the ones who it gets taken out on are people who are not protected,” Abou-Ghazala said.
Issues faced by contingent faculty come to light
(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)
news8 02.23.2015 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
MADISON ANTUS | STAFF WRITER
On January 12, Mason received approval from the State Council of Higher Education to begin three new degree programs: a B.S. in Kinesiology, a M.A. in International Security and a PhD program in Heath Sciences Research.
The Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology began this semes-ter. Previously a concentration within the within the College of Education and Human Development, the new degree allows students to study kinesiology more thoroughly and also provides them with internship opportunities. According to the program’s website, students are prepared for careers in “clinical exercise, corporate fitness, medical and exercise equipment sales, mind-body studies, pharmaceutical sales, personal training, sport and exercise nutrition, sport science, strength and condition-ing, or wellness/fitness manage-ment.” The website states that the B.S. provides students with a strong science background, while preparing them for profes-sional schools or post-graduate studies in this area.
The M.A. in International Security will begin in the summer of 2015. Mark Rozell, acting dean of the School of Public Policy, says that the program will take advantage of Mason’s proximity to D.C., and that there is a need in the market for this area of study.
“[The degree is] a perfect convergence of circumstances: the need for a strong academ-ic program in security studies in the national capital region combined with our unique ability to deliver such a program. We have several leading faculty in the area of security studies as well as such knowledgeable former practitioners as the former NSA and CIA director, former counsel to the NSA, former ambassa-dors, among others,” Rozell said.
Rozell says that the degree has been in the works since before he became dean in the summer of 2013.
“With emerging technologies and a changing character of war, there is enormous need to understand international security,” said Audrey Cronin, the director of Mason’s International Security Program. “This program is designed to build a generation of poli-cy-makers well prepared to face security challenges, ethically and wisely.”
Cronin also described the growing gap between civilians and mili-tary personnel, saying that many people who have served in the military have received training in strategy and theory and have learned about the history of international security, but civilian
contractors rarely receive this amount of training. This degree provides them with this training and also helps to bridge the gap between military service members and civilian contractors.
“We were determined to create this program and jumped through many high hoops to get there because we believe it is vital to our school, the university and the D.C. community,” Rozell said.
“A key reason why the degree was created was to educate wise policy-makers, with or without military backgrounds, who know how to respond wisely and ethically to tomorrow’s challenges,” Cronin added. “These range across the full spectrum of threats to human security, from terrorism to tsunamis, civil war to corrup-
tion, humanitarian crises to weapons of mass destruction.”
Thirty students have already enrolled in the program without any external advertising by the university. Rozell believes that this is very telling of the market that is out there, and that the reason this program is already so popular is because of the current and emerging job opportunities for students who have been trained in this area of study.
“An International Security Master’s degree is a broad, flexible qualification suited to the full range of public and private enter-prises that deal with security issues,” Cronin said.
Students hoping to work in the public sector can apply for jobs with the U.N., the E.U. and the World Bank, as well as many federal agencies, such as the Pentagon, State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and other intelligence agencies. In the
private sector, there are many think tanks and government contrac-tors that hire students with similar degrees. Cronin said journalists and humanitarians can also benefit from knowledge of security situations.
“There’s a healthy demand for well-trained graduates in International Security,” Cronin said.
The Ph.D. in Heath Services Research gives students the option of pursuing one of two concentrations: Health Systems and Policy or Knowledge Discovery and Health Informatics. Dr. P.J. Maddox, chair of the Department of Health Administration and Policy, says the program was created in response “to employment and student
demand” and added that it “compliments the department’s research mission.”
The concentration in Health Systems and Policy will provide students with “an in-depth understanding of health system functioning and health policy (state and federal), and the factors affecting health-care service delivery and public health,” according to its website. The concentration in Knowledge Discovery and Health Informatics will teach students the skills that will allow them to research health and health system problems.
The department of Health Administration and Policy has been developing the program and its curriculum for the last three years. According to the program’s website, “students in the program will acquire the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to creatively research complex health and health system problems in order to identify and develop innova-tions in health policy and health analytics to inform the way we finance, organize and deliver health care services for individ-
uals, populations and communities.”
Students with this degree can work in a wide range of positions, some of which include research in the field, educating others or working as a leader in health care organizations or consulting firms. There are jobs in both the public and private sector, and the degree teaches them how to “support or regulate public and private health service entities.”
According to Maddox, it is too early to know how many students will apply for the program’s first year.
“The application was just opened with a deadline for applications in May,” Maddox said.
Information sessions are currently being held for interested students. The program will begin in the fall of 2015.
New academic programs to begin within the year
(JOHANNAH TUBALADO/FOURTH ESTATE)
Lifestyle 02.23.2015 9IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM
@IVESTATE
@AstroBioProfHarold Geller
#GMU is closed today. Parking lot is unusally empty.
@KristiAnableKristi Anable
Come out to the @backyardgrill1 tonight for bar pong! Gotta promote the place I work! @
masonnation #GMU #snowday
@craigbisacreCraig Bisacre
It currently takes nearly an hour to make it half way around Patriot Circle... Driving.
#WinterStormOctavia #Snow @MasonNation”
@stateofnovaTom Jackman
“Just paid $25 for @GeorgeMasonU bball tkt plus 2 kids at $13 per. No wonder it’s
empty. Can’t be 1500 here. #GMU”
#GMU PHOTO OF THE WEEK
This week was marked by two separate snowfalls in the region.(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)
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lifestyle10 02.23.2015 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
get a date with fourth estateAlex And Michelle
SAVANNAH NORTON | PRINT LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Sophomore Michelle DuMars and junior Alex Yuk went on their blind date on campus at Starbucks. While we were pairing them together, we thought that their mutual sense of humor and outgo-ing personalities would fit well together. They were interviewed separately about their date experience.
What is your major?
MICHELLE: “Marketing.”
ALEX: “Kinesiology.”
Who planned the date?
MICHELLE: “First we began exchanging electronic mail and soon decided texting would be a more efficient method. He then asked me to get coffee. We both agreed on that activity, being that we both love coffee.”
ALEX: “We both kind of did, I suggested coffee and that was that.”
What was your first impression?
MICHELLE: “[We] instantly had communication issues due to the confusion on which Starbucks we were meeting at.”
ALEX: “[She was] very friendly.”
Did you have a good time?
MICHELLE: “Yes, I did. The conversation never dulled and he was witty and clever.”
ALEX: “Yes, I had a good time. Michelle is easy to get along with and fun to talk to.”
What were you expecting from this date?
MICHELLE: “I had no expectations due to the fact that I did not know him at all. All options were on the table.”
ALEX: “I didn’t really have expectations. I don’t like to have preconceived notions about people I’ve never met. If it went well, then great, and if not, then no harm no foul.”
What was the funniest thing that happened?
MICHELLE: “We could not get the location correct and ran all over campus. He also was excited that I was the Einstein’s Bagel girl [a common sight on the GMU Crush Facebook page].”
ALEX: “I thought the funniest thing that happened was when Michelle told me about how her friends Facebook stalked me and went through my profile pictures, and zoomed in on my junk. I didn’t care, but it reinforces my idea on why I think modern day dating is poop.”
How well did you guys click?
MICHELLE: “We definitely got along very well; great conversa-tion and it was an overall good time. Our sense of humor clicked as well.”
ALEX: “I thought we clicked pretty well. I think she’s an extrovert and I can get along with mostly anyone, so it was easy to talk to her.”
What was the most surprising thing that happened?
ALEX: “I found out that she once wanted a birthday party where I currently work (which is a small and not well known place called the C Kids Club).”
How did you guys break the ice?
MICHELLE: “It broke over the fact that we thought it was hilari-ous how bad at communicating we both were.”
ALEX: “I guess we broke the ice when I had to trek through the blistering winds from one Starbucks to the other and then back because I didn’t know there was a second Starbucks, and she didn’t know which one we were meeting at.”
What was something you learned about them that stuck out to you?
MICHELLE: “He worked at the C Kids Club in Ashburn as a birthday party coordinator which was a dream of mine as a child to have a party at that place.”
ALEX: “Well, she told me she has no friends but actually has a million who all carefully observed my junk.”
Why did you sign up?
MICHELLE: “It seemed like it would be fun.”
ALEX: “I signed up because I was bored.”
TO TRY YOUR LUCK AND GET MATCHED BY THE LIFESTYLE TEAM, APPLY TO GET A DATE WITH FOURTH ESTATE:HTTP://BIT.LY/FOURTHDATE
(AMY PODRAZA/FOURTH ESTATE)
lifestyle 02.23.2015 11 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
HANNAH MENCHHOFF | ONLINE LIFESTYLE EDITOR
As many American health workers return home from West Africa after helping to fight the Ebola epidemic, the question arises as to if their assistance was actually helpful.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of new cases of Ebola has decreased. For example, between the weeks of Feb. 4-11, 2015 there were about 400 new cases reported. This is in contrast to a week during the peak of the epidemic where more than 3,500 new cases were confirmed from Oct. 25-29, 2014.
“In the United States, we have about one physician for every 400 residents. In Sierra Leone [West Africa], there are about 45,000 residents for every one doctor. Ebola patients need a lot of one-on-one medical attention, and the only way to provide that level of intensive care during the peak of the Ebola outbreak was for doctors and nurses from other countries to volunteer to travel to West Africa to help with the Ebola response,” Dr. Kathryn Jacobsen, an associate professor in Mason’s Department of Global and Community Health, summarized. “These international teams of clinicians and support staff working alongside local profession-als have saved thousands of lives. Similarly, teams of international and local public health workers have played a critical role in imple-menting prevention control strategies, providing health education, and preventing new infections.”
In an article on NPR, Jason Beaubien also explained some of the other accomplishments made by the United States. For one, the CDC successfully created a tracking system to take note of new cases of the disease. By having a mobile blood-sampling system, it was much more efficient to diagnose cases. Also, having U.S. military presence made it much easier to get supplies in and out of West Africa.
Mason alums, Alexis Mosquera and Audrey Ferguson, both worked in Liberia to help prevent the spread of Ebola and are good exam-ples of the kind of work that was being done.
Mosquera who works for the U.S. Public Health Service, worked as the Medical Service Branch Director at Monrovian Medical Unit in Monrovia, Liberia for about eight weeks. He was in charge of the day-to-day operations at the clinic.
“So the goal of the operation was to take care of healthcare providers that had become infected while taking care of patients who had been confirmed as carriers of the Ebola virus. We saw nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, etcetera that had in many instances put their very lives in danger in order to take care of their fellow countrymen and women,” Mosquera said. “Another goal of the MMU was to encourage other healthcare providers from other countries to come to West Africa and help end this epidemic and if they got sick, there would be a place for them to receive care.”
Ferguson, who graduated from Mason with a nursing degree, worked with the organization Partners in Health. PIH was able to send healthcare workers to West Africa with grant money provided by United States Agency for International Development. She was in Liberia for about five weeks.
“Most of what I did while I was there was health education of their healthcare workers. To kind of emphasize how to prevent the spread of infection, and the importance of wearing protective equipment with Ebola patients, so I taught a lot of how to put on and take off those big moon suits without accidentally contaminat-ing yourself,” Ferguson said.
PIN also involved Ministry of Health, Liberia’s version of the American Department of Health, workers in the process. Ferguson commented that they taught them how to teach other health care workers in their country.
Ultimately, both Mosquera and Ferguson, have had a direct impact on the improvement of conditions in Liberia.
“We actually had more African health care workers coming into the country to take care of this population. Other non-governmen-tal organizations and other countries also came in and help out. That was the main goal and we definitely succeeded in that goal,”
Mosquera said.
In other words, the work of the United States and NGOs, encour-aged more and more doctors to come in and treat patients. Mosquera explains one particular moment, in which he even saw a healthcare worker go back to work after having Ebola.
“Things that I know that I keep going back to, it was really, I don’t want to say life changing but something that stands out, one of the first patients that we discharged that was Ebola free, came back to MMU, to thank us. He was very grateful,” Mosquera said. “This is a young man who had taken the initiative to go out and help out his fellow man, got sick, we treated him, and he wanted to go back and take care of the same people. So that was pretty altruistic. Helping the healthcare workers was pretty amazing to see, to be part of that.”
One aspect Ferguson kept returning to was the importance of train-ing and even emphasizing simple things like hand washing. Hand washing in West Africa was, for Ferguson the difference between coming to work the next day or becoming an Ebola patient.
Ferguson also gained these realizations, when discussing the issue with a village midwife.
“She thanked us and told us how important it was to her that we have somebody come and show them how to do it. I think a lot of times the outbreak was often blamed on healthcare workers not washing their hands well enough or you not wearing gloves, that’s how the other patient got it. That sort of thing,” Ferguson said. “She [the midwife] was like it’s one thing to give us a box of gloves, but it’s a completely different thing to show us how to use all of this stuff. I think understanding that it was making a difference to the people we were working with, I think made it that much more meaningful to me.”
mason alumni save lives from ebola
Jason Beaubien work in Monrovian Medical Unit in Monrovia, Liberia.
(COURTESY OF JASON BEAUBIEN)
lifestyle12 02.23.2015 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
(WALTER MARTINEZ/FOURTH ESTATE)
lifestyle 02.23.2015 13 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
mason takes on korea
JEVETTE BROWN | STAFF WRITER
With a reputation for innovation to uphold, Mason continues to make major strides forward that prove we deserve our top five position in “Up-and-Coming Institutions” as reported by U.S. News and World Report’s annual survey. One of these most recent opportunities that the university is offering, is the new campus loca-tion in Korea.
Less than a year ago, Mason opened the doors of its first inter-national campus in Songdo, Korea. Located 25 miles from the capital city of Seoul, the school already has around 2,000 students attending. It has availability to state-of-the-art technology as well as brand new dorms and faculty housing. Degree programs are offered in Economics and Management, and according to the Mason Korea official website, the staff is made up of a combina-tion of “tenured, term or tenured-track professors” from Mason in the United States as well as “qualified Korean faculty.”
The students attending Mason Korea are required to spend their junior year in the United States and U.S. students are also welcomed to spend a semester or two abroad in Korea.
Senior and Global Affairs major, Tijani Musa, just returned from spending his Fall 2014 semester in Songdo,. He decided to pursue this opportunity not only to learn about Korean culture, but also with the values of Mason in mind.
“It’s essential for us to know other cultures to bridge that gap so that when students or colleagues display any aspect of their culture here it is important that we don’t appear to judgmental” Musa said.
Musa was given the full South Korean experience while in Songdo. For example, kimchi (or kim-chee), a popular Korean vegetable dish, and white rice became parts of everyday meals for him. Also, as a practicing Muslim who doesn’t eat pork, the meat became one of the first words that Musa had to learn because of its common usage in Korean dishes.
Having never studied the language, trying to communicate
effectively at Mason Korea was a difficulty Musa faced. Since coming to the United States as a young teenager from Sierra Leone, Africa, he hadn’t battled such strong language barriers in a long time.
“Ordering a cookie or candy became one of the most difficult things I had to do. Something that was second nature to me here became one of the most difficult things I experienced there,” Musa said.
Luckily, a professor at Mason Korea helped Musa out and offered to let him take her class for free so he was able to catch on a little quicker.
This opportunity he was provided by the professor might have been due to the small size of the classes, with maybe 5-7 people in each course; a huge contrast to the some of the 100+ student size lectures, here at the Fairfax campus. According to Musa, while this smaller class size did require increased participation from students as well as more professor availability, these classes were also “un-skippable” because the professor remembered everyone names and faces easily.
However, one of the advantages to not being a substantially sized university was the opportunity that the students received to mingle with some faces we don’t get to see on a personal level here. For example, Musa recalls when Mason’s President Cabrera and Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance, J.J. Davis came to talk to the students.
“You get to interact with them because the population of students is so small. You can see them in the hallways. It was a nice feeling,” Davis said.
Conversing with President Cabrera wasn’t Musa’s only great memory. He played on the Mason Intramural Basketball team that won the championship between the other universities on
campus (SUNY, Ghent University from Belgium, University of Utah and two nearby Korean universities, Yonsei and Incheon). He also helped create 6 new clubs and visited the city that was the inspiration behind PSY’s catchy song “Gangnam Style.” Musa even had his first experience as a DJ at a”Winter Wonderland” party he and his coworkers hosted with the students to celebrate the end of finals.
Musa credits a lot of his opportunity to have this adventure towards the man he calls his “recruiter,” James Burke, the Events
and Outreach Director in the Office of Global Strategy. Burke is one of the many people behind the Mason Korea Study Abroad program. He speaks highly of Musa, proud of the many things he accomplished over just one semester in Songdo and Musa adver-tises for Burke in return; highly recommending the experience to anyone thinking about traveling abroad.
“In order to expand yourself you have to travel. It makes you develop as an individual and as a young professional. I would defi-nitely go back if I could. My mind is expanded now,” Musa said.
Mason Korea students pose for Fall 2014.
Tijami Musa poses infront of welcome sign at Mason Korea.
Office of Student Media14 02.23.2015 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
“Smoke” - Hoonyong Seo (Image color was altered for ptint)
“Luster” - Rachel Torres (Image color was altered for ptint)
If I was a bit more strong willed
I would’ve knocked on her door
up the hill
just past midnight a candle in a hand
and a promise in the other
we would’ve wandered down her street
to feel what it’s like to meet each
savory star between our eyes
Her mouth would’ve spelt out the answer
mute she would say nothing
but I would’ve heard every word
between her breaths and mine
if only i was a bit stronger
I would’ve dared to wander
with her until the street ended
where the lamp post
flickered
then died out
I would’ve wrote my Will
right then
blinded
she would’ve written hers
before burning it
and leaving to sleep.
- Mohammad Abou Ghazala
On this page, we have a selection of works from our last issue. We have an open mic night on Feb. 27 in the JC Bistro, as well as March 26. The submission deadline for our spring issue is March 31.
For more information, visit our website volitionmagazine.onmason.com or email us at [email protected].
STREETLIGHT PROPOSAL
Sports 02.23.2015 15 IV GMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
SCOREBOARD
SPORT DATE OPPONENTSCORE/RECORD
MEN’S BASKETBALL
FEB. 18 FORDHAM68-80 (L)
[8-17]
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
FEB. 18 SAINT JOSEPH’S
51-82 (L)[13-13]
WRESTLING FEB. 19GRAND
CANYON UNIVERSITY
34-3 (W)
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
FEB. 20 WINTHROP 6-17 (L)
MEN’S BASKETBALL
FEB. 21RHODE ISLAND
56-71 (L)[8-18]
THE WEEK AHEAD
SPORT DATE/TIME OPPONENTHOW TO WATCH
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
FEB. 255 P.M.
MOUNT SAINT
MARY’S
George Mason Stadium
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
FEB. 257 P.M.
FORDHAM Patriot Center
BASEBALLFEB. 27-MAR. 1
CORNELL Spuhler Field
All men’s and women’s basketball games have a live audio stream available on wgmuradio.com
Mason Cable Network will be streaming all home baseball, men’s volleyball and women’s lacrosse games this season. For more information, visit
masoncablenetwork.com
It was nearly nine years ago, but I remember it well. The Johnson Center was packed near to capacity. The circular tables at the food court were removed in favor of long rows of chairs. A giant screen in front of the book store showed the titanic struggle between our Patriots and the University of Connecticut.
They said it could not be done. UConn was leading for most of the game, time was winding down. Yet one great eleventh hour run and that previously unknown Northern Virginia school made headlines nationwide.
Campus was crazy. The cheers, the rallies, the cars going along Patriot Circle honking all evening. We had made it to the Final Four.
Nine years later and it is not just the players and the coach who are no longer present. The ecstasy, the triumph and the win-loss record have all gone as well.
In the 2005-2006 season, Mason men’s basketball garnered a 22-6 regular season record and a 15-3 record for games in the Colonial Athletic Association.
What a difference time has made. Even with the recent overtime win against University of Richmond, Mason’s losses doubled their wins. We had an 8-16 record going into the game against Fordham last week.
Steven Goff of the Washington Post looked at the matter back in January, remarking that “the Patriots have fallen back into the cluttered well of dreamers.”
“In eight seasons since the Final Four appearance, George Mason has won one NCAA tournament game, in 2011,” reported Goff.
“And with a 6-11 record entering Saturday night’s game against visiting Davidson, the Patriots are on a path to consecutive losing seasons for the first time in 17 years.”
Now with college basketball’s sacred month drawing nigh, alumni, students and even outsiders are asking the same question: what happened?
For many out there, the buck stops with Paul Hewitt, who was signed as head coach in 2011 following the departure of Jim Larranaga.
It is easy to fault Hewitt, as many things fell apart under his watch. The last time Mason won an NCAA tournament or beat a ranked opponent occurred under Larranaga.
Granted there were issues during the latter part of the Larranaga term. Many of the exceptional players that took Mason so far in 2006 graduated or transferred by 2007, which led to struggles for the Patriots.
Still, Hewitt’s track record has garnered more attention than from just the Washington Post. A movement to fire Hewitt lies under the surface.
For example there is a Twitter handle titled “Fire Paul Hewitt,” boasting 120 followers and drawing its lineage to back when Hewitt coached at Georgia Tech.
While leading Tech to an impressive showing in 2004, after that Hewitt was reportedly booed at home games for his failures. He also curried the contempt of Atlanta Journal Constitution sports blogger Mark Bradley.
“There was a time when Paul Hewitt seemed the savior of Tech basketball,” wrote Bradley, adding that “I don’t know if any other coach could have taken Tech further than Hewitt did in 2004, but I can think of three dozen who could have done better since.”
In what would be his last post-game press conference with Georgia Tech in March 2011, Hewitt was quoted as expecting to return to Tech but instead was fired by athletic director Dan Radakovich. This indicates a strong discon-nect between the coach’s impression of his efforts and the critique of the outside world.
Equally unnerving is his contract with Mason, which states that beginning next month Hewitt will receive $85,000 as a “Longevity Related Bonus” for staying with Mason.
It must be noted that there is another bonus category alto-gether called the “Athletic Performance Related Bonus” which given its parameters will not likely be given this season. So it’s not as though he is being directly rewarded for his failures.
Nevertheless, giving a coach who already makes an estimat-ed $650,000 a year an additional $85,000 when his team is making headlines for its shortcomings just does not seem right.
Maybe that extra $85,000 could go to help our men’s basketball program.
I remember the euphoria, the triumph, and the great glori-ous hopes of early 2006. I can recall all the cheering, the hysteria and celebrations.
They are in the past, with mere vestiges remaining in record books and the occasional mention in sports analyses. With Hewitt at the helm of the Patriots, many, including me, fear that entering the Final Four will remain an impossible dream.
MICHAEL GRYBOSKI / COLUMNIST
March Sadness
sports16 02.23.2015 IVGMUFOURTHESTATE.COM@IVESTATE
Brown takes place among Mason greatsLYN MIDCAP | STAFF WRITER
Taylor Brown leads the Atlantic 10 in points per game this season, making school history on her way there.
The junior guard from Bowie, Md. is only the 18th player in Mason’s women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 points in her collegiate career. Brown joins a group of women spanning several generations, including all-time scoring leader Keri Chaconas, who totaled 1,747 points while playing for the Patriots from 1992-1996. The group consists of players who played as long ago as 1977 and only consists of five players who played after 2010, including Brown.
“It feels pretty good, but it’s also very humbling,” Brown said. “It’s awesome to be a part of that group, but it just makes me want to keep going and strive to do better.”
The feat is made more impressive by the fact that she reached the mark in a record 50 games.
“I actually didn’t know at the time that I was at that number,” Brown said. “The key was definitely just playing my hardest. I went out there and gave it my all every game, and it was really a blessing to have been able to play so well.”
Coach Nyla Milleson agreed that Brown’s work ethic was definitely one of the keys to her game, while noting that the accomplishment was due to multiple factors.
“Taylor works extremely hard,” Milleson said. “She’s got a lot of God-given talent, but we also do a good job of putting her in posi-tion. It’s a team effort, but there’s no doubt that her talent and hard work have gotten her to this point. She’s definitely motivated.”
Brown finds motivation in accomplishing not only her personal goals, but also playing for her sister.
Brown’s older sister overcame a cancerous tumor in her knee when she was only 11 years old and attended Virginia State University where she played Division I basketball.
“Motivation is so important,” Brown said. “And she motivates me to play hard every day.”
Her sister is not Brown’s only support system: her teammates and coach have also facilitated Brown’s growth as a player.
“My teammates encourage me continuously; I know they always have my back, and that’s all you really need,” Brown said.
Milleson agreed, noting that Brown’s teammates “understand her role to be a main scorer and leader, and they listen.”
“They know that in order for us to be successful, we need to grow as a team and let Taylor lead by example. As Taylor keeps growing, she keeps her teammates more involved, and they all feed off of each other,” Milleson said. “It’s all about chemistry and trust. When your best player is a good person who works hard, everyone else works hard as well. The trust is there.”
The chemistry doesn’t stop there. Brown relies on the chemistry she has built with her coach to reach her goals.
“My coach, she really worked with me the whole way,” Brown said. “She set goals for me, she taught me how to be a better communi-cator, she taught me about being a leader, and everything I needed to know on and off the court.”
Milleson said that while Brown’s obvious talent and drive were there, it took a little longer to get Brown comfortable with becom-ing a leader.
“Taylor’s work ethic is always there,” Milleson said. “She’s the first in and the last out of the gym. She’s self-driven in all that she does. She’s one of our captains, and she takes that position seriously. She leads by example, and now we are just trying to help her become a more vocal leader.”
Recently, Brown has stepped up her game in other ways than scoring that have helped her become the leader that Milleson knew was there.
“The game against Massachusetts was one of the best examples,” Milleson said. “Taylor had nine assists, and she’s averaging five rebounds per game. We lost in overtime, but the effort was there. We just really need to win those close games, and Taylor helps us get there. If she continues to grow as a leader as much as I expect her to, her numbers in assists, rebounds, and points will keep going up. More importantly, she is a special player and a great person.
Her attitude is a major contribution to the team.”
Brown’s passionate attitude goes far beyond the game. At the age of 10, Brown ran her own basketball camp deemed the “Taylor Brown Basketball Camp” for young kids. She taught them basic basketball skills.
“My ultimate goal for the future is to own a sports complex, where I can teach kids all the time,” Brown said. “I want to provide an opportunity to show these young kids that they can get to Division I basketball.”
Brown would also like to own her own videography company.
“I’ve worked in videography for a little while now, and I love it,” Brown said. “I’ve always been a workaholic when it comes to playing basketball, teaching kids, school, videography or anything really. I have to be doing something.”
As for the remainder of the season, Brown and Milleson agree that the A-10 Championship game is on their radar.
“We want to finish at the top of the conference, and close out these last games,” Milleson said. “We’ve got to win the close games, the overtime games; we just need to grind it out. If we continue to get better every day, we’ll be ready.”
(AMY ROSE/FOURTH ESTATE)