George Mason University elected a drag queen as Ms. Mason for the first time in the school's history. more ›

We told you last week that George Mason University was set to unveil its new mascot, replacing Gunston, the ambiguous green fuzzball. Well here he is, via the Mason Gazette. This green and yellow-faced patriot debuted at the Mason men's basketball home opener last night. He still doesn't have a name - a naming contest is being held online and via text message over the next month. more ›

Looks like there are some changes on the sidelines at some local schools. George Washington had the first appearance of their new Little George mascot during Saturday's exhibition basketball game, and George Mason will be getting a mascot to replace Gunston, the furry green thing, on Monday. more ›

The National Zoo announced today via their newsletter that their Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability has formed a partnership with George Mason University to develop a new conservation education program. The program will be available to George Mason's undergraduate and graduate students, as well as practicing conservationists, and will take place at the Zoo’s 3,200 acre Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal. Students will live, study and work at the Center for a full semester and earn sixteen credits. more ›

Most people wouldn't ask an economist where to get dinner. But Tyler Cowen, a professor at George Mason University and author of the economics blog Marginal Revolution, has become an unlikely food critic with the popularity of his expansive Ethnic Dining Guide. Grounded in basic economic principles, Cowen's somewhat unusual dining philosophy has allowed him to discover arguably some of the best ethnic restaurants in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Last week, Cowen spoke to DCist about his dining habits, the economy, and the future of ethnic cuisine in the District. more ›

George Mason capped a successful holiday week by beating South Carolina yesterday to take third-place in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Will Thomas paced the Patriots with 22 points and 11 rebounds, solidifying his place on the All-Tournament team. George Mason kicked off their tournament with an 87-77 win over 18th-ranked Kansas State. John Vaughan's 21 points led the team, which put all five starters in double figures. Folarin Campbell's 25 points made... more ›

The mid-November start to the NCAA basketball season tends to get lost in the universe of sports coverage. This is probably due to the staggered opening nights around the country, but can also be attributed to competition with other sports -- college football entering its stretch run, the NFL in midseason, even the NBA's opening weeks garner more attention than college hoops. We're not about to let this exciting time slip through the cracks. With... more ›

Friday has arrived at last, Washington. Despite the federal holiday on Monday, it's been a rather long week for many of us - though of course, we couldn't hold a candle to the week that D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi has had. The Post writes about yesterday's lengthy D.C. Council hearing into the tax office scandal, which lasted until 9 p.m. and where it was apparently revealed late in the evening that authorities are investigating the... more ›

It's hard out there for a frat guy. That, at least, is what pro-Greek commenters over at George Mason University's Broadside newspaper would have you believe. The student publication has a story up about a law suit filed by the school's banned chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, which is suing GMU for violating their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Sigma Chi was kicked off the campus after being found guilty of a series of... more ›

Written by DCist contributor Angela Olson. Ballet Folklórico de México finishes an engagement at George Mason University Center for the Arts Concert Hall today. The Mexico City based dance company has long been a must see for travelers attracted by their colorful and energetic performances. The dancing exemplifies the spirit of Mexico, and the company puts on a great show for all ages. With six foot tall headdresses, carnival costumes and a live Mariachi band,... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Fredo Alvarez Campus Pride, the nation's largest non-profit student LGBT organization, this week launched its Campus Climate Index, an online report card that allows LGBT students from colleges across the country to rate their schools on their inclusiveness and support of LGBT students, employees and their allies. Schools are rated on a scale from one to five stars based on a voluntary survey. Of 80 public and private institutions that... more ›

At the end of August, young folks throughout D.C. will have the opportunity to apply for the Hamiltonian Fellowship, a two year program that offers emerging artists further professional development and exposure of their work in the Hamiltonian Gallery, currently under construction at the corner of 14th and U streets NW. The Hamiltonian Fellowship and Gallery is the brainchild of Paul So, a physics professor at George Mason University. While it may seem odd that... more ›

Every year since its opening in 1989, the DC Arts Center has held its 1460 Wall Mountables show as a fundraiser for the non-profit Adams Morgan art center. A non-juried opportunity for artists of varying styles and skill levels to display work in a respected D.C. gallery, Wall Mountables comes off as a mini-Artomatic. Work is displayed floor-to-ceiling salon-style, with photographs next to drawn portraits next to abstract oils. And, just like at Artomatic, some... more ›

An Examiner story this morning is designed to fill you with dread for the coming D.C. Pricepocalypse. According to a study released Wednesday by George Mason University professor Stephen Fuller, the average price of a home in the national capital region likely will swell almost 3,000 percent in 50 years. The study predicts the average home in the metro area will be $14 million in 2057, compared to today’s average of $477,000. As if your nightmares about never being able to afford to buy a home in D.C. weren't bad enough already. more ›

A trip out to Fairfax requires some justification, which the concerts hosted by the George Mason University Center for the Arts occasionally provide. This was the case Saturday night, when that venue distinguished itself as the only local stop for the current U.S. tour of the orchestra of the Leipzig Gewandhaus (recently in Chicago and Boston, but also in smaller places like Schenectady). That venerable ensemble, founded in 1781, is one of the oldest orchestras in the world. The musicians, who have always played at a high technical level, are making news again because of their new conductor, Riccardo Chailly, who now holds the podium occupied at various times by Kurt Masur, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Carl Reinecke, and Felix Mendelssohn. How embarrassing that the hall at GMU was not sold out, although the audience that filled perhaps three-fourths of the modest house was certainly appreciative. more ›

Kicking off Friday with a one-hundred and seventy-five person audience at George Mason University, the fourth annual DC Improv's Funniest College tourney has officially started. Whatever their US News and World Report rankings, the eight D.C.-area universities participating have the chance to out-smart each other in the subject of Laughter. Spanning over the next eight weeks, the competition allows individual students (grad and undergrad) to perform stand-up against fellow classmates inner-collegiately and against rivaling schools.... more ›

Thanks to the hard work of voting rights activists, a few Congressional allies, and the wisdom of the American people in November, the District is coming closer and closer to finally gaining some voting representation. Legislation to grant the District a voting seat in the House looks like it's moving forward, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton can once again vote on amendments on the House floor, and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has started asking aides... more ›

So much is happening in classical music this week, much of it already sold out. Here are a few things for which tickets are still available and that should be of interest. JUST VISITING: >> The award for best free concert of the week goes to the Hilliard Ensemble, one of the best choral groups in the world, visiting the Freer Gallery of Art on Wednesday (January 24, 7:30 p.m.). Their program includes music by... more ›

Editors Note: Yesterday afternoon a 27- year old Mason student fell to his death from the third story of the Johnson Center. This post was written yesterday afternoon, before the current facts were known, and is in no way meant to be insensitive. DCist extends every condolence to the young man's family and the Mason community. George Mason University, located in the middle of beautiful congested Fairfax, Virginia, is, apparently, one of the unhappiest college... more ›

It's a new year, and the winter and spring half of the season is getting under way. There are some excellent concerts planned in Washington over the next several months. We'll be letting you know more about them week by week, every Sunday. more ›

It feels like it's been a while since anyone truly famous has graced our fair city with their presence, but it looks like that drought comes to an end today. According to an email we received yesterday, Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro are in town (actually in Fairfax, Virginia) today taping a special episode of Chris Matthews' Hardball. Before you berate us for not passing this tip on earlier, tickets were only available to Mason... more ›

Soprano Cristina Nassif is a 20-something native of the Maryland suburbs. The daughter of an opera singer mother and a pianist father, Nassif received a music degree at the University of Maryland and got her start on the stage in the Virginia Opera Young Artist Program. Last season, she triumphed with Virginia Opera as Violetta in La Traviata, which brought her to the attention of the hungry eye of Plácido Domingo, ever watchful for... more ›

After last week, and especially yesterday and today, probably the busiest weekend in October for classical music, things slow down a little this week. Not to worry, there are concerts for you to hear and some good ones at that. TOP PICKS: >> A week from today (October 22, 7 p.m.), there are still tickets for the recital by Croatian piano virtuoso Ivo Pogorelich at the George Mason University Center for the Arts, way out... more ›

This week, among the city’s other offerings are those being conducted as a part of the “Fall for the Book Festival.” For more information, hit up their website. MONDAY That famous opening line of Anna Karenina has done more to fill the retail shelves with memoirs than just about anything else. Take that, opening line of Moby Dick! Alison Bechdel adds to the canon with Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Politics and Prose, 5015... more ›

We promise you, Washington, we’ll let go of this soon. Very soon. By November 7th at the latest. Yesterday, George Allen placed a telephone call to S.R. Sidarth to apologize yet again for the slip of the tongue that has sent his campaign into a tailspin. Allen’s critics remain unimpressed, including the 50 protesters that greeted President Bush’s arrival at an Allen fundraiser yesterday with signs that included, "Hey, George, macaca is a bad word."... more ›

Reader Matthew Yglesias responds to a recent piece we posted on crime in the city. Want to add your own voice to this debate? Email Opinionist. Should the District respond to its high crime rates and current purported "crime emergency" by hiring more cops as several City Council members are proposing? Calm heads like DCist's Martin Austermuhle say no and they have the numbers to prove it. He points out that DC has traditionally had... more ›

The George Mason University Patriots used to have a colonial looking fellow that led the cheers at sporting events, but it was felt that such a diverse school should not have a white male forefather type as a mascot. Instead, Mason decided to recognize its large and growing green muppet population, choosing as its representative the hirsute fellow seen at right. He's called Gunston, after George Mason's old home, and he became nationally recognized after... more ›

More on the church parking issue, you say? Today we find the Washington Times reporting that some Logan Circle residents are fuming at what they see as a concession to the neighborhood's powerful churches, a day after D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams put off enforcement measures and instead appointed a taskforce to study the matter. After close to a year of complaints, city officials promised to start enforcing the city's double-parking laws on Sunday, going... more ›

This week we saw Verizon's first foray into graffiti advertising fail miserably, as the District levied fines totaling over $20,000 on the telecommunications giant for the illegal use of public space. It was also quite the week for George Mason University, whose students, faculty and administrators rallied around the team and went easy on class attendance, only to see it lose to Florida in its Final Four matchup. We reported on some Hill heavies... more ›

Please visit http://hoops.gmu.edu and tell us your experience, or send us your picture, about George Mason University's unbelievable run in basketball. Be a part of online history! more ›