Author: Shyanne Hardy

During the past year, we have had to readjust our lives in a multitude of ways in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes altering the academic schedule and eliminating this year’s Spring Break.

Spring Break is typically a time when Mason faculty, staff, and students are able to rest and recharge before continuing to move towards the end of the semester. For some, this week includes vacationing, traveling, spending time with family and friends, or simply relaxing at home. However, due to pandemic protocols, a lot of these activities are no longer able to be performed as they once were.

Additionally, the Mason community is expected to continue classes and work as usual during what would normally be Spring Break. Because of this, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Senior Vice President, and Mason’s Faculty Senate leadership designated this week (March 8-12) as “Mason Meeting Free Week” – an attempt to help Mason faculty and staff focus on their well-being and help alleviate their workloads. Even though Mason Meeting Free Week mainly affects administrative meetings for faculty and staff, there are resources available for students to help them prioritize their mental-health and well-being:

Racial Healing Circles: Racial Healing Circles (RHCs) are designed for community building and racial awareness by focusing on health, well-being, agency, inclusion, and our common humanity. For more information, visit wellbeing.gmu.edu/resources/racial-healing-circles. Circles are available for all Mason students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Online RHCs will be held on the following dates, and your student can register at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLHOb9vdJrK1Mgi3spjc_h_j5PXsal6nUToThqrDmSWpwgTQ/viewform.
– March 29; 2-5 p.m.
– April 13; 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
– April 19; 2-5 p.m.

Mental Health First Aid Training: This training provides information about the signs and symptoms of common mental illnesses and strategy for connecting with those who demonstrate these indicators. The free training is 8 hours and will be split into two, 4-hour Zoom sessions. After successful competition, participants can earn a 3-year certification through the National Council for Behavioral Health. The sessions will be held on the following dates, and your student can register at www.eventbrite.com/e/mental-health-first-aid-part-of-hfe-programming-march-25-and-april-1-tickets-139541344919.
– March 25; 1-5 p.m.
– April 1; 1-5 p.m.

Mindful Mason Moments: These free, 30-minute online mindfulness sessions help Mason students, faculty, and staff take a mindful break in their day to contribute to positive well-being practices. These sessions take place at 12 p.m. every week day from now to May 14. Your student can join any of the sessions through this link: gmu.zoom.us/j/99936517619#success.

For more information on well-being opportunities for your student, visit wellbeing.gmu.edu.

Samaria Moss
Graduate Assistant
New Student and Family Programs

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The Parent and Family Council was started in 2013 to help parents, family members, and supporters of current undergraduate students become informed and actively engaged members of the Mason community. They also advise New Student and Family Programs on important issues facing families at Mason. Council members serve as representatives of the Mason family experience and assist with enhancing the relationships between current, incoming, and prospective families and the institution.

In addition to being parents of Mason students, they are also volunteers and their goal is to represent and support all Mason families. The Council consists of 25 members of diverse backgrounds and geographical locations, who are well-versed in various topics pertaining to academics, student organizations, resources, and support services at Mason. In a typical year, they would participate in a panel during Orientation, plan and host a Summer Send-Off for incoming students and families, meet you on campus at Move-In, and interact with you during Family Weekend.

There is a Council member who serves on the Parents Fund Allocation Committee as well. The Parents Fund raises money that directly benefits the lives of current students and enhances their academic and co-curricular experience at Mason. Funds raised are used to support initiatives with the direct goal of increasing student success through the provision of direct support services. For a list of programs and initiatives supported by the Parents Fund in previous years, visit masonfamily.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Parents-Fund-Project-List.pdf.

Although their visibility looks different this year, the Council is available to help you navigate your Mason experience. The best way to engage with the Council right now is through our Family-to-Family Dialogue sessions. The purpose of these sessions is for you to connect with other Mason family members, ask questions, share experiences, and support each other as you support your students. There are two more sessions this semester – Tuesday, March 16 and Thursday, April 22 both at 6 p.m. ET. Register for one or both!

Meet the entire Council and see what each of them has expertise and experience with at masonfamily.gmu.edu/parent-and-family-council.

Rebecca McCrory
Associate Director of Family Programs
New Student and Family Programs

We are currently in the Mid-term Evaluation Period at Mason. Does your student need assistance with their writing assignments? At the Writing Center, your Mason student can enjoy free one-to-one tutoring at any stage of the writing process. Tutors are ready to work with your student on topics ranging from brainstorming for paper ideas and developing a thesis to citing sources and polishing a final draft.

Our principal goals involve supporting students as they write in a variety of academic disciplines and preparing students to write in professional settings. Professionals in all fields rely on processes of feedback and revision to craft high quality documents. The Writing Center will help your student develop and maintain the strong writing and revision habits required for professional success.

The Writing Center hires tutors from an array of disciplines, including creative writing, English, communication, global affairs, information technology, linguistics, and psychology. With this diverse staff, we can work with your Mason student on any kind of writing: essays, research papers, memos, proposals, resumes, cover letters, creative writing, and personal statements for graduate school.

We also have extensive experience supporting multilingual and international students. All tutors are trained to work with multilingual writers, and our English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Opt-In Program allows students who request additional support to meet with the same tutor every week throughout the semester.

Due to COVID-19, the Writing Center is currently operating online. Your student can choose from one of two appointment formats: Written Feedback, where the writer uploads a draft and receives written feedback from the tutor; or Zoom, where the writer and tutor meet via Zoom to have a real-time conversation about the assignment. During the academic year, the Writing Center is open Monday through Friday and on Sunday afternoons. Students may make up to two appointments per week and up to 15 appointments each semester.

For more information and to make an appointment, your Mason student can visit writingcenter.gmu.edu. Our website also houses writing resources, including over 60 quick-guides that address specific writing-related topics. If your student is seeking writing help, encourage them to send an email to [email protected] with any questions.

Dr. Courtney Massie
Assistant Director
University Writing Center

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at gmu.edu/mason-family-association.

Is your student prepared for a weather-related emergency? Whether they live in a residence hall or an off-campus apartment, share these tips with them and make sure they are ready for an emergency — especially if that emergency means a loss of power.

Emergency Items to Keep on Hand

• Non-perishable food (i.e. canned foods, nuts, dried fruit, protein bars, etc. Include things that don’t need to be heated in case you lose power — tuna packets or peanut butter and crackers are a good option.)
• Bottled water
• Basic first aid kit
• Basic tool kit
• Extra blankets and warm clothing (a sleeping bag always comes in handy)
• Back-up power banks for charging electronics
• Flashlight, headlamp and/or camping lantern with extra batteries. An old-fashioned hand-cranked flashlight is a good idea, too.
• A supply of any medication they need regularly
• Hand sanitizer and baby wipes (which can be nice for cleansing; just don’t flush them)
• Battery-operated transistor radio

It’s also important that your student know how to get information or updates on the situation, whether from Mason or their landlord. Mason has an emergency broadcast system in place called Mason Alert, and your student should make sure they are receiving notifications. Your student can sign you up for the Mason Alert Emergency Notification System at ready.gmu.edu/masonalert. All university MasonLive email accounts are automatically signed up for the Mason Alert system. Students can register phone numbers for emergency text messages through PatriotWeb.

Beyond staying up to date on the situation, it’s crucial that your student know who to contact if they need help whether it be 9-1-1 or a campus emergency number. And if your student is far from home, it’s always a good idea to make sure they have a local contact person they can turn to during a difficult time, whether it’s a family friend, relative or the family member of one of their Mason friends.

Your student can call University Police at (703) 993-2810 or by dialing 9-1-1 from any on-campus phone for emergency situations. In order to reach the Environmental and Safety Office, your student should call (703) 993-8448.

Do Not Venture Out During Unsafe Conditions

In the case of potential flooding from a hurricane or tropical storm, or during an event of extreme snow and cold, your student should take extra precautions and not leave their residence hall or home unless advised that it’s safe to do so. In addition to heeding safety recommendations from Mason, they should tune into severe weather advisories for Northern Virginia.

If Your Student Lives Off Campus

Your off-campus student may need to shoulder a little extra responsibility in emergency situations. It’s possible that they will need to take initiative and contact their landlord and utility company for advice on what to do to keep their house safe. Fortunately, many student leasing companies know the drill and are proactive in providing tips to first-time renters — landlords have an incentive to protect property and appliances from damage, after all.

Here are things your student should not do in an emergency situation, especially if they have lost access to power and water:

• Don’t use candles as a light source. If you must, make sure not to use too many at once as candles can easily tip over. Pillar candles and candles in glass jars are the most stable. Never leave a lit candle unattended!
• Don’t play on your phone. It’s tempting to use your electronics as a source of entertainment through the boredom, but it’s much better to conserve your phone’s charge for important communications.
• Don’t open the fridge or freezer. Both are well insulated and will preserve their temperature for a while as long as you don’t release the cold air. (According to the U.S. FDA, refrigerated food will stay cold for about 4 hours during an outage and the freezer can do its job for 24–48 hours.)
• Don’t waste water. Apart from clean bottled water for drinking, if you anticipate losing power, make sure to fill your bathtub with water for things like flushing the toilet or washing your hands.
• Don’t run your car for warmth or power unless you absolutely have to. You may need a full tank of gas later on. Never run the car in the garage!

Keep Tabs on Developing Situations

Sometimes emergencies catch us by surprise but at other times, especially when extreme weather is involved, we may have some advance warning. If your student is aware of a developing situation or simply has a bad feeling about it, they can make sure they are prepared for the worst case scenario. Things like making sure their power banks are fully charged and checking on their supply of candles and food can truly make all the difference.

Originally published in Collegiate Parent

*To receive more articles like this straight to your inbox, sign up for the Mason Family Association at gmu.edu/mason-family-association.