Burke Brownfeld / Guest Columnist Brownfeld is a 2009 graduate certificate recipient of Mason’s Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution and a former Alexandria (Va.) Police officer. Over the last months we have faced immense anger and tension with regard to…
This opinion piece was originally publish in the Nov. 17 issue of Fourth Estate. Over the past two months, more than 1,000 law enforcement officials have undergone 5,000 hours of “specialized training” in anticipation for the announcement of Darren Wilson’s…
In response to one of Bill Maher’s recent anti-Islam tirades, a student group at the University of California at Berkeley petitioned the university to disinvite the talk-show host as their commencement speaker, citing Maher’s “offensive and dangerous rhetoric.” This petition,…
In my Government 101 this semester, several students have written about friends who say: “Why should I vote? It doesn’t make any difference?” In a democratic society every adult, with some exceptions, has the right to vote: But it is…
In the small town of Braga, Portugal, a teenage girl dreams to learn how to ride a bike. She’s sixteen years old and her older sister just brought home a bike, for their two brothers. “Bikes are for boys, not…
Twitter is turning into Facebook. That’s the gist of CFO Anthony Noto’s announcement at the Citi Global Technology Conference last Wednesday. In addition to adding a group chat feature, the social network plans to adopt a new filtering algorithm that…
Women received yet another reminder of society’s disdain for their gender this past Labor Day weekend when an anonymous hacker flooded the Internet with nude photos of various female celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Hope Solo and Rihanna. Although…
One of the biggest lies we’ve been fed about the way the world works is the idea that there are two sides to every issue. From our elementary school teachers attempting to resolve disputes to pundits on cable news, this…
The following opinion was submitted by Nicole St. Laurent, a senior majoring in anthropology and minoring in sustainability studies. Many of us will remember Shel Silverstein’s beloved Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout, who met an awful fate when the garbage she…
Executive Editor Frank Muraca’s parting letter from the editor to the Mason community: When I first sat down to write this letter, I spent a lot of time trying to tie all of the coverage I’ve worked on into one…