Mason Media Blog

Take a trip to a winery for grape harvest and “crush” (think Lucille Ball). Learn about beer from a home brewer and historian on German brewing. Figure out how to sound smart at beer- and wine-tasting parties. Oh, and earn class credit.

A new class this year, Global Health Perspectives on Alcohol, will accomplish all of these goals and more. Housed in the College of Health and Human Service’s newly formed Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, the course will “investigate the impact of beer and wine in health and society from a global perspective,” according to the catalog.

In addition to a planned visit to the King Family Winery in Crozet, Va., other field trips will also be scheduled. They hope to hold many of the classes in downtown Fairfax, where the department is leasing the location of the old Metro Silver Diner.

“There will be a wine-tasting component and a beer-tasting component—we’ll try to understand the processes from a chemical point of view,” says Gabriella Petrick, associate professor in Nutrition and Food Studies. “In other words, what goes on in a winery or brewery?”

Associate professor Gabriella Petrick

And that’s just the half of it. Students will also learn the trends of beer and wine consumption and production in the Western world from a historical perspective, including studying Prohibition. Other areas of the world will also be covered, like alcohol consumption in Australia or the making of banana beer in Africa. Some readings will focus on the archaeological and early historical evidence of wine and beer production.

From a global health standpoint, students will investigate the issue of alcohol abuse and explore different cultural attitudes toward wine and beer consumption. But students will also evaluate research on the possible health benefits of wine and beer.

“People actually drank more 50 to 100 years ago in the United States,” says Petrick. “So we will be looking at the so-called ‘taboo’ of alcohol in this country.”

Interested in brushing up on your booze knowledge? Spots are still available for the fall semester. Contact Petrick here for more information. Prerequisites include that students must be at least 21 years old and have taken basic chemistry and/or microbiology.

Mason pre-service teacher Jeness Vignoe works with elementary students at the Math Carnival. Photo by Courtney Baker

What’s your average on the Popcorn Drop contest? How does an artist, architect or ice cream shop owner use math daily?

These are just some of the questions that were explored during E=MC²: Enrichment in Mathematics Computing and Creativity, a two-week summer math camp for elementary students that took place in late July.

Throughout the program, students from Annandale Terrace Elementary School in Annandale, Va., and Westlawn Elementary School in Falls Church, Va., had the opportunity to learn about mathematics, technology and problem solving in a creative environment.

A unique aspect of the camp is that it allowed pre-service teachers from Mason to work collaboratively with mentor teachers at Mason’s Professional Development Partnership Schools. The pre-service teachers participated in professional development programs to learn more about teaching mathematics to a diverse population of students.

With their mentor teachers, the pre-service teachers planned daily lessons, gained valuable teaching experience and observed the techniques of the elementary teachers.

“There is a lot of controversy on how to best prepare our teachers for diverse classrooms,” says Jennifer Suh, assistant professor of mathematics education in Mason’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).

“I believe that this type of partnership between the university and local schools that weaves course work into clinical experiences puts Mason at the cutting-edge of demonstrating best practices in enriching mathematics education to diverse learners.”

Mason pre-service teachers Deanna Andrews and AnneMarie Thomas play a mathematics game with students. Photo by Courtney Baker

The camp culminated with a Math Carnival and Kidz Biz Expo. During the Math Carnival, the elementary students invited their family and friends and taught them mathematics games that involved probability and number sense.

The Kidz Biz Expo gave students an opportunity to learn about financial literacy, such as starting a business with a loan, making a profit and building mathematical power.

The camp was jointly supported by CEHD’s Elementary Education program and the Math Science Partnership (MSP) Center at Mason. The MSP Center, which was established by Suh and Padmanabhan Seshaiyer, associate professor of mathematical sciences in Mason’s College of Science, supports student learning in grades K-8 and professional development for math teachers. The MSP Center is funded by a grant from the Virginia Department of Education.

Doc Nix and the Green Machine are taking the Internet by storm! Check out the latest video of Mason’s pep band rocking out to Rage Against the Machine. So far, the video has racked up more than 400,000 views on YouTube.

The Green Machine now heads to the CAA Tournament where it will cheer on the men’s basketball team to victory! After a winning streak of 15 straight games, the Patriots will face off against either ninth-seeded GSU Panthers or eighth-seeded UNC Wilmington at noon on Saturday, March 5.

More information about the Patriots postseason and on purchasing tickets for the CAA Tournament is available at GoMason.com.

Located just 25 miles south of Washington, D.C., the Occoquan Workhouse, now a historical site and museums in Lorton, Va., represents an important, and often unknown, era in women’s history.

Judy Kelly stands next to her exhibit.

In 1917, women began picketing the White House as part of a campaign to win the right to vote. After being arrested, many of these women were brought to the Occoquan Workhouse, which was generally used to detain women arrested for soliciting, prostitution, disorderly conduct and drunkenness.

At the workhouse, the picketers were physically abused, forced if they refused to eat and made to live in filthy conditions.

As a tribute to these courageous women, Mason alumna Judy Kelly, who graduated in May 2010 with a Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS) degree with a concentration in women’s social movements, created a permanent exhibit for the Women’s Suffrage Museum at the Occoquan Workhouse as a capstone project when she was a student. The museum stands on the same site where the suffragists were imprisoned.

“Torture at the Workhouse” sheds light on the grisly conditions in which the suffragists lived and how their actions helped contribute to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I hope this exhibit inspires people of all ages and genders to recognize that the efforts of these brave women happened not very long ago and that, although women have come a long way, we still have so much farther to go to gain equality,” says Kelly. “If the suffragists’ actions shown in this exhibit encourage just one person to continue fighting for what they believe in, I will consider this project a success.”

More information can be found here.

DeMoya Watson can still remember her first season as a Radio City Rockette when the audience erupted in thunderous applause. Now in her seventh season, Watson, a graduate student in Mason’s arts management program, still loves every minute of it.

“I don’t think anyone can be a Rockette if they don’t love it. The best thing about it is the camaraderie and friendships that come with it. These girls have become my second family,” says Watson.

She is one of thousands of women who audition each year for a chance to become part of the legendary line and perform the famous ‘eye-high’ kicks.

Watson, a native of Daytona Beach, Fla., is performing in this season’s Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular in Fort Myers, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Austin, Texas. By the time the season is over, Watson will have performed in 97 shows – that’s almost 200 kicks per show!

“Everything about being a Rockette is rigorous. We begin rehearsals in October and are performing right up until the New Year,” says Watson. “With about eight numbers in each show and six hours of rehearsals each day, you have to be physically fit to keep up.”

Soon after her fourth season as a Rockette, Watson began conducting extensive research on various programs and decided that Mason’s arts management program was the best fit for her. After she graduates, Watson hopes to continue working in the dance field as an arts manager or educator.

Watson is also busy performing with other organizations in the Washington, D.C., area. She recently starred in “Sophisticated Ladies” at Arena Stage and has performed with Washington Reflections Dance Company, a contemporary ballet and modern dance ensemble.

More information about Watson can be found here.

Last year, Mason enrolled 700 student veterans and fewer than 5 percent of these students studied abroad. Many of these students can’t cover the cost of studying abroad because of the financial limitations of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

To help make studying abroad more accessible and affordable to student veterans, Mason’s Office of Military Services and Center for Global Education (CGE) have joined forces in the hope of securing a $50,000 grant through the Pepsi Refresh Project.

To cast your vote to help Mason’s student veterans study abroad, visit the website. Voting continues through Dec. 31.

Each month, Pepsi is giving away millions of dollars to fund “refreshing” ideas submitted by individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations whose aim it is to change the world. Throughout the month of December, anyone can vote for their favorite “refreshing idea.” The idea that receives the most votes at the end of the month will be awarded the grant money.

More information can be found here.

Thousands of Patriots gathered on the evening of Friday, Sept. 3 to break the world record for the largest game of dodgeball. After almost an hour of play, Mason’s 1,257 participants beat the previous world record of 1,198 held by the University of Alberta.

Players were placed on either the Green or Gold team and received a commemorative dodgeball shirt with their team color. More than 100 silver balls were placed in the middle of the court, and when the whistle blew, players battled it out. At the end of the game, the Gold Team took home the esteemed title of  “Winner of the World’s Largest Dodgeball Game.”

The Office of Student Activities hopes to make this event an annual Welcome Week tradition.