Please join Student Media in welcoming Mohammad Abdallah Khamis, a visiting fellow from Jordan, to the Mason community! Khamis is currently an independent screenwriter and producer participating in Community Solutions, a leadership development program that helps place visiting fellows with host institutions in the United States in partnership with IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board) and the U.S. Department of State.

Khamis joined Student Media in early August and brings with him many years of experience in media production and social media marketing. Most recently a content writer and producer at Kharabeesh, Khamis started his career in media as a reporter with UNESCO documenting youth educational activities at the Embassy of France in Sudan. He has also worked with UNICEF and several organizations in Malaysia, where he worked for more than 13 years in the event management industry.

Upon completion of his practicum, Khamis plans to continue his work empowering talented youth in Jordan to produce creative content that spreads the values of tolerance, peace, democracy, violence prevention and conflict resolution.

Khamis’ latest film, Morning of the Night, premiered in Jordan in 2019 and the U.S. debut is scheduled for Friday, November 15th in the Johnson Center Cinema (click here to learn more and RSVP).

Click here to check out Khamis’ IMDB page.

Student Media was proud to welcome author and journalist Peter Copeland as a special guest speaker on Friday, October 11th. His latest book, Finding the News: Adventures of a Young Reporter, was a perfect jumping-off point for a fascinating and thoughtful group discussion about journalism’s past and future with student editors and staff.

Copeland’s extensive work with newspapers, wire services, magazines, cable television networks, broadcast television stations, and digital platforms made him the perfect guest speaker to share career insights and inspiring stories with our aspiring media professionals. Throughout his 40-year career Copeland served as Washington bureau chief of the E.W. Scripps Company, editor and general manager of Scripps Howard News Service, a Pentagon correspondent, a foreign correspondent based in Mexico City, and a night police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago, just to name a few.

Click here to learn more about Peter Copeland and his new book.

Many thanks to Peter Copeland and #FallfortheBook!

Student Media was proud to help the Mason Nation observe Constitution Day on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. 232 years ago, on September 17th, 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the United States Constitution and American democracy as we know it was born. George Mason famously refused to sign the Constitution (1 of 3 dissenters), insisting that the document didn’t go far enough to secure individual liberties like freedom of religion, speech, and the press. His advocacy on those “inherent rights” eventually led to the adoption of the first 10 amendments and earned him the nickname of Father of the Bill of Rights.

Mason’s 2019 Constitution Day celebration included an appearance by George Mason himself who passed out free pocket Constitutions to the first 100 students and asked trivia questions about the document. Student Media was proud to partner with Student Government who helped distribute pocket Constitutions and Contemporary Student Services who co-hosted a catered luncheon for students in The Hub.

Many thanks to our partners and volunteers!

Test your First Amendment knowledge with a quiz from the Student Press Law Center at www.splc.org.

Explore the Interactive Constitution and learn more about the drafting of the U.S. Constitution at www.constitutioncenter.org.

Mason Cable Network’s Sports Broadcasting Team produces over 100 live streams each year through a partnership with Mason Athletics. Students handle all aspects of the production, including writing scripts, doing play-by-play and color commentary, handling tech services and working the cameras.

ESPN+ began carrying Student Media broadcasts of select A-10 sports (men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and lacrosse) in the fall of 2018.

“Having these broadcasts published on ESPN really makes this feel professional,” said Natalie McCarthy, a senior sport management major. “You have a bigger incentive to make sure everything looks good and is done just right.”

And, of course, she added, “It looks really good on a résumé.”

Click here to read more from Mason News.

Mason’s Department of Communication held their 28th annual undergraduate awards ceremony on Saturday, March 23rd in the JC Cinema and Student Media was very well represented. At least 14 of the outstanding students honored during the ceremony are currently involved in Student Media groups or have held leadership positions in past semesters. Special thanks to Kate Sweeney, Maria Carabelli, Tim Gibson, and Anne Nicotera for organizing the event and recognizing these students’ outstanding achievements!

Congratulations to all the winners!

Excellence in Journalism: Alex Shedd (Fourth Estate)

Excellence in Broadcast Journalism: Angelique Arintok (Mason Cable Network)

Excellence in Videography: Kera White (Mason Cable Network)

Multimedia Journalism: Dana Nickel (Fourth Estate)

Feature Writing: Lauren Sullivan (Fourth Estate)

Writing & Reporting: Natalie Heavren (Fourth Estate)

Society of Professional Journalists Leadership: Lauryn Cantrell

Journalism Student of the Year: Lauryn Cantrell (Society of Professional Journalists)

Kevin Athari Award: Natalie Heavren (Fourth Estate)

Dr. Bruce Manchester Outstanding Academic Achievement Award: Monica Echols (Fourth Estate)

Chapter of the Year: Society of Professional Journalists

COMM Ambassador of the Year: Jimmy O’Hara (George Mason Review)

PRSSA Special Recognition: Sydney Cano (Society of Professional Journalists)

WGMU Announcer of the Year: Vivek Rangarajan

WGMU Broadcasters of the Year: Giselle Aparicio & Rhema Johnson

Excellence in Communication Awards: Angelique Arintok (Mason Cable Network), Lauryn Cantrell (Society of Professional Journalists), Lauren Sullivan (Fourth Estate), and Alexis Whitted (Mason Cable Network)

On Friday, December 7th, Student Media hosted Happy Birthday, George! in Patriot’s Lounge (SUB I) and welcomed over 200 faculty, staff, students, and community members to celebrate #293YearsofGeorge. The party included birthday cake and refreshments, music, games and activities, 20 amazing raffle prizes donated by local businesses, a giant birthday card, and special guests including the Mason Patriot, Nancy Mason, and George Mason himself!

This annual event provides a chance for the Mason community to honor our university namesake’s legacy and ideas, including the drafting of the Virginia Declaration of Rights — one of the documents upon which the U.S. Constitution was based. George Mason is known to history as the Father of the Bill of Rights, and his contributions to democracy helped secure the five freedoms guaranteed to all Americans under the First Amendment. The very freedoms that George Mason fought for so passionately are critical to the work of Student Media today, including the freedom of speech and of the press.

Of George Mason’s vital contributions to democracy, fellow Virginian and founding father Thomas Jefferson had this to say: “The fact is unquestionable, that the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution of Virginia, were drawn originally by George Mason, one of our greatest men, and of the first order of greatness.” (1825)

This year’s celebration was a great success, and Student Media would like to thank everyone who attended and supported our event. A big thank you to Student Media students and staff, Don McAndrews, Janis Harless, and the Mason Patriot.

Sponsors who donated prizes include: Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant, Room Escape Fairfax, Tyson’s Biergarten, CorePower Yoga, Brion’s Grille, Gunston Hall, EyeAmAmerican, Washington Capitals, McAlister’s Deli, Student Involvement, Mason Recreation, University Bookstore, and University Life.

 

Student Media welcomed around eighty fifth- and eighth-graders (from D.C.’s Capital City (CCPCS) and E.L. Haynes (ELHPCS) public charter schools, respectively) to Mason’s Fairfax campus on Monday, November 5th to help remind college students to vote and learn what issues were most important to potential student voters ahead of last Tuesday’s midterm elections.

The students spent their time on campus interviewing Mason students about the issues and candidates most important to them in the 2018 midterms, handing out buttons and stickers with the Mason Votes logo, and practicing chants and making signs with slogans like, “Vote for Us Because We Can’t!” and “Vote: It’s Your Right!” The day culminated in a march from The Hub to Merten Hall during which the middle-schoolers raised their signs high and chanted, “we will get out the vote,” to the tune of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”

Designed to supplement classroom curriculum from both schools, the field trip gave the 5th graders an opportunity to “describe the importance of the legislative branch and convince others to vote during midterm elections,” while the 8th graders focused on “explaining the implications of voting or not voting in a congressional election and identifying the differences in opinion between two candidates.”

Fadhal Moore, 8th grade social studies teacher at ELHPCS, said this of his students’ experience at Mason: “I try to teach civic engagement in our classroom and having an authentic audience to engage with presented my students with high stakes that made what we are learning tangible and engaging.”

Sarah Cole, 5th grade humanities teacher at CCPCS, added: “I am confident that they will think of this day the first time they vote in 5 years (for the 8th graders) and 8 years (for the 5th graders). All of our students were so engaged, so mission-driven, and inspired in their work today because you so graciously welcomed them and supported them on your campus.”

Thank you to all those who made this visit a memorable one for the charter school students!

Click here for coverage of the event by the74million.org reporter Carolyn Phenicie >

Click here for coverage of the event by NPR-WAMU 88.5 reporter Jenny Abamu >

Watch video coverage of the visit from Mason Cable Network:

Listen to audio of the election chants:

Student Media’s Sports Broadcasting Team was thrilled to welcome President Ángel Cabrera into the announcing booth on Sunday, October 13th for his debut as an on-air commentator during the men’s soccer game against Duquesne.

Dr. Cabrera joined regular announcers Zach Hamilton (left) and Tyler Byrum (right) in calling the game as fans followed along on ESPN+.

Many thanks to Dr. Cabrera!

Student Media is pleased to announce that Mason’s student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has received the Region 2 Outstanding Campus Chapter of the Year Award for the second year in a row! SPJ previously claimed the top spot in Region 2 for the 2016-2017 academic year.

The award was presented on September 29th at the 2018 Excellence in Journalism Conference in Baltimore, MD, recognizing “outstanding programs and activities that enhance professionalism, thereby contributing service to the Society and the profession.”

During the 2017-2018 academic year, SPJ hosted 30 programs or projects including guest speakers from NBC4, The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, NPR, Washington Blade, Columbia School of Journalism, and more. SPJ partnered with the Communication Department on their 2018 #RealNews Insight Forum featuring keynote speaker Chris Matthews (host of MSNBC’s “Hardball”), co-hosted the Creative Careers Industry Panel with University Career Services, and worked with the English Department on National Day on Writing events. Additionally, SPJ members attended numerous conferences and workshops, participated in the INOVA Children’s Hospital holiday toy drive, and took field trips to tour the National Press Club, Newseum, and The Washington Post.

SPJ holds weekly meetings every Tuesday at 5pm in The Hub 1012 (lower level).

Congratulations to all of SPJ’s officers and members on another great year!

Please join Student Media in welcoming Sahar Sarsour, a visiting fellow from Palestine, to the Mason community! Sahar is currently participating in Community Solutions, a leadership development program that helps place visiting fellows with host institutions in the United States in partnership with IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board). IREX works closely with the U.S. Department of State and is an international nonprofit organization “providing thought leadership and innovative programs to promote positive lasting change globally.”

Sahar joined Student Media in early August and brings with her a wealth of experience teaching English as a second language, training aspiring journalists, translating news reports, and working with marginalized youth to meet the local needs of her community. As a Project Manager for Press House-Palestine, Sahar has experience managing media projects that present capacity-building, advocacy, networking, media, and documentation activities to young journalists.

During her fellowship with Student Media, Sahar hopes to learn how to better support women’s issues in her society. She also hopes to learn how to create a platform for journalists to effectively and objectively express their messages and practice democracy and a culture of peace. Upon returning to Palestine, Sahar plans to empower a culture of gender equality by holding a conference to bring together media and human rights organizations. She also plans to start two new capacity-building units in Press House to help journalists improve their English language skills, and to teach them to defend their rights based on human rights concepts.