Author: Samantha Greenberg

Last week, George Mason University students, in partnership with Break Away, participated in several exciting alternative break trips designed by students and staff to address social issues through meaningful community service and education.  Each of Mason’s trips challenged students to explore and address issues of discrimination, housing, hunger and poverty. These trips provided the opportunity for students to learn about social issues they are passionate about and allowed students to develop new perspectives that inspire them to be active and engaged citizens in their communities.

This year, Mason sent students on seven different domestic and international alternative spring break trips addressing the following community issues:

• Indigenous Culture, Education and Equity (Guatemala): Students traveled to Xecanchovax, a rural indigenous community. They provided assistance in a local elementary school that offers education through the sixth grade with projects that include teaching English, dental hygiene, as well as environmental awareness. 

• Literacy, Education and Equality (Jamaica): Students traveled to Jamaica and supported teachers by assisting with school maintenance and beautification projects as well as they spent time in the classroom and on the playground with the children. 

• Ecosystem Restoration (Stuart, Florida): Students helped the community return land to its pre-development state. Projects included planting native trees and removing invasive plants, oyster reef building, beach cleanup and park maintenance. 

• It’s Not Them but Us – Turning the Tide on HIV/AIDS (Washington, DC): Students provided meaningful service right in our own backyard in Washington, DC. They learned from organizations that educate, test and serve individuals with acute AIDS-related illness. Service included direct outreach to educate individuals in at-risk communities, supporting nonprofit fundraising efforts and friendly visits with individuals in health care facilities.

• Community Activism/Homelessness (Camden, NJ): Students traveled to Camden and volunteered with grassroots organizations addressing the needs of Philadelphia youth through after school enrichment programs.

• Development as Global Obligation (Human Rights in El Salvador): Students traveled to El Salvador and worked with Foundation Cristosal whose strategy is to build community capacity so that citizens can take the lead in organizing and establishing their own approaches to developing just and equitable communities.

• Civil Rights and Youth (Selma, AL): Students volunteered with the Freedom Foundation and tutored K-12 students, coordinated after school programs and other extra-curricular activities; and saw first hand some of Selma’s struggles.

In addition to the alternative spring break trips offered during the semester, Mason runs a summer trip during the end of May to Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

• Building Relationships and Adequate Housing (Pine Ridge, SD): Students volunteer with RE-MEMBER, a nonprofit organization, engages volunteers in service and cross-cultural learning in order to become advocates and stand in solidarity with the Oglala Lakota people on the Pine Ridge reservation. In addition to work assisting with building affordable and adequate housing, volunteers visit sites of historical significance and engage in cross-cultural learning.

If your student is interested in learning more about social issues, impacting change and meeting new people, encourage him or her to participate in a future alternative break! For more information, visit Social Action and Integrative Learning’s website.

Patty Mathison
Director
Social Action and Integrative Learning

Pre-registration for the fall 2016 semester is right around the corner.  Undergraduate students preregister from April 5 to April 15 with seniors being April 7 and freshmen on April 15. Prior to registering, your student should visit Patriot Web to verify his or her registration time ticket and prepare by scheduling a meeting with an academic advisor. Your student can request an appointment with an advisor in person or by e-mail, phone, or through the online appointment system.

Encourage your student to reach out to an advisor early to increase the availability of meeting times prior to registration. If your student is unsure of how to contact an advisor, he or she can consult the advisor locator.

Before meeting with an advisor, your student can consult several Mason resources to review planning sheets, course offerings and degree requirements. These resources include:

• Academic Planning Sheets: This resource is especially helpful if your student has not declared a major.  The academic planning sheets can assist your student in reviewing degree requirements for several different majors.
• Patriot Web: By utilizing Patriot Web, your student can view his or her transcript and review the degree evaluation. Instructions for accessing the degree evaluation planner can be found on the University Registrar website (link to: http://registrar.gmu.edu/students/degree-evaluation/degree-works/).
• Plan for Fall 2016: Also on Patriot Web, your student can plan his or her fall 2016 semester schedule by reviewing the course offerings. This information is found in the Student Services section.

If your student has questions about the registration process encourage them to visit the registrar website or contact their academic advisor to learn more. Remember, students who register on time get better opportunities to get the classes they need!

Ann Lewis
Assistant Dean
Center for Academic Advising, Retention, and Transitions

March 1	FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) priority filing deadline
March 1	Immunization record deadline
March 7 - 13	Spring Break

The George Mason University Writing Center provides free one-on-one tutoring for Mason students, faculty and staff. We are ready to work with your student at any step of the writing process, from brainstorming for topic ideas and building a thesis to citing sources and polishing a final draft.

Tutors provide writers with feedback on their drafts and with strategies for drafting, revising and editing. The goal is to support students as they write in their majors and prepare them to write in professional settings. All professionals, whether they are in the academic, non-profit, public or private sectors, put their high-stakes documents through cycles of feedback and revision. The Writing Center encourages students to begin this habit of soliciting feedback while they are still in school.

Writing Center tutors come from an array of disciplines including accounting, biology, creative writing, criminology, economics, engineering, global affairs and psychology. With this diverse group we can work with students on any kind of writing: essays, research papers, memos, proposals, resumes, cover letters, creative writing and personal statements for graduate school.

All tutors are trained to work with multilingual writers, and the center also has three ESL specialist tutors.

We offer face-to-face appointments at four different locations on the Fairfax campus, as well as on the Arlington campus. For added convenience, we also provide email and video sessions. During the academic year, the Writing Center is open Monday through Friday and on Sunday afternoons in Fairfax, and on Tuesdays in Arlington. Students may make up to fifteen appointments each semester.

Your Mason student can make a face-to-face or online appointments at writingcenter.gmu.edu. The website also provides many great writing resources including over sixty quick-guides. If your student is looking for feedback on any step of the writing process, encourage him or her to visit the Writing Center’s main location in Robinson A, room 114 or to reach out to wcenter@gmu.edu with any questions.

Kristin Brida
Tutor
University Writing Center