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From archaeology to artistic representations, Mason students help reveal the stories of the enslaved at Gunston Hall

In writing the Virginia Declaration of Rights, U.S. Founding Father George Mason IV took a stand for individual rights. His ardent defense would later inform the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution’s Bill of Rights—documents critical for securing liberties. But a challenging irony rests in Mason’s words versus his actions. “There’s this rather profound discomfort for us in reading about George Mason saying, we don’t want to be slaves to the British government, when he’s enslaving
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Art student Katherine Ashby brings to life the stories of the enslaved at Gunston Hall

The first time Katherine Ashby saw her artwork installed at Gunston Hall, the historic home of U.S. Founding Father George Mason IV, it was surreal. “I had never done something that felt that important or that had been installed physically,” the senior painting major from George Mason University said. “Usually, my work is put online digitally, so it was really a big moment.” The significance of Ashby’s art was both that it was installed in a museum and that it shone a light on a lesser-known n
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Carter School leads by listening, as Congolese partners construct their own peace.

It’s been a year since George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution touched base in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their goal? Accompany locals in creating their own sustainable peace—something the country has not experienced in more than 30 years. In December 2021, a unique peace accord was signed in the province of South Kivu, with representatives from armed groups, the Congolese government, military, police, intelligence services, religious leader
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Conservation students tag monarch butterflies to help save the endangered species

Many creatures migrate to warmer habitats for the winter, but no insect does so quite as uniquely and spectacularly as the monarch butterfly. From the United States and Canada, tens of millions of monarchs fly each year to a place they—and the previous butterfly generation before them—have never been before: tall trees found in a few mountain forests in central Mexico. Their tiny wings can take them on a roughly 2,500-mile transcontinental journey to these beautiful butterfly sanctuaries. In l
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24 students, a Supreme Court Justice, and national security experts walk into a piazza…

Over the summer, 24 students from George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School delved deep into issues of constitutional law, separation of powers, and national security in Padua, Italy—a place of inspiration for many of these ideals. The two-week study-abroad trip was co-taught by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and National Security Institute Founder and Executive Director Jamil Jaffer. “You get a real opportunity to bond, interact and debate these hard issues,” said Jaffer, who has
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Mason researchers partner with Indigenous nations to promote environmental resilience

It’s common to think of Indigenous peoples as living in the past. We may think of them around Thanksgiving or in old films and books. But Native Americans are very much here and now, said Jeremy Campbell, and after decades of struggle, that’s starting to be recognized. In 2018, U.S. legislation granted federal recognition to six tribes in Virginia. A George Mason University team has been partnering with two of them, the Upper Mattaponi and Chickahominy nations, as they embark on being sovereign
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Bee Vision: Shedding light on a conservation challenge

When a bee sees a flower, it knows where to land thanks to its ability to see ultraviolet (UV) color patterns on the petals. Many factors have caused those colors to dull, and now a team at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC), funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society, is helping reveal what pollinators see, and why it matters for the future of conservation. Honeybees help pollinate plants that produce food; they also help maintain biodiversity. That’s part of why u
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Mason students map the Russia-Ukraine war through personal stories

Despite being more than 5,000 miles away from the war in Ukraine, students at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution are actively assessing the conflict dynamics, with hopes that their research could improve the situation. “A lot of students in [Solon Simmons’ Peace Engineering and Participatory Approaches to Narrative] class felt it would be important to do what we could locally with our set of methods and tools to try and help,” said Keil Eggers, Peace Engin
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Road salt gets rid of ice, snow…and ecosystems? New student research addresses community-based solutions.

Road salt has been touted as a lifesaver when it comes to combatting icy roads. Yet using this snow-melting mineral has a dark side once it enters waterways. Graduating senior Maggie Walker, through the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC), is gathering data at local streams to influence change. “When excessive road salts get into streams, they can have devastating effects on the ecosystems in the streams,” said Julia Sargent, director of programs at Friends of the North Fork of the
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“We, too, have a seat at the table” — Law students reflect on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic confirmation

Of the 115 judges who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court, 108 of them have been White men. This summer, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will spark a change, as she becomes the first Black woman to serve as a justice in the court’s 233-year history. She was confirmed by the Senate on April 7. “I’m beyond thrilled that she got confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court, and I look forward to seeing the court one day becoming even more representative of what this nation looks like,” said Sally Alghaza
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Students support tribal nation justice reform in new Mason law program

Adam Crepelle had just started law school at the time of the 2010 BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As a citizen of the United Houma Nation, a historic Native American tribe, Crepelle felt that the consequences of the spill hit home hard. “The Houma were getting spilled on quite heavily by BP, and everyone in Louisiana was getting BP money, except the Houma Indians,” he said. “I assumed my professors would know how to solve this problem—but I quickly realized none of my professors knew anythi
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The conflict in Ukraine is fueled by Putin’s information war, Carter School expert says. Here’s what needs to be done.

The ongoing war in Ukraine is unique from other conflicts, and the international community can take five actions to control the situation, said Karina Korostelina, professor and director of the Program for the Prevention of Mass Violence at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. What makes this war different? This is not a war between people—it’s completely orchestrated by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his close supporters who made decisions about i
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Schar School Welcomes ‘Exiled’ Ukrainian Media Professor

The conflict in Ukraine the world is observing now is nothing new to Anton Liagusha. When gun-brandishing, Russia-backed separatists took over the Donetsk National University in Donetsk, Ukraine, in 2014, the country’s prime minister hastily relocated the school to a new campus in Vinnytsia, 20 hours away by train. Now the disused former diamond cutting factory is the site of a university that is, technically, in exile. “It was a very difficult time,” Liagusha said. Liagusha, an associate prof
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Climate change might be fueling ethnic violence. PhD candidate Emily Sample explores why

As a junior and senior at Annandale High School in Virginia, Emily Sample spent her summers as a docent at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. She was a teenager who had just lost a friend to police violence, she said, and joining the museum’s Young Ambassadors Program resonated with her. “I was fascinated and continue to be fascinated by this highly illogical idea of genocide,” said Sample, a PhD candidate at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resoluti
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New program welcomes Afghan scholars to Mason

To support Afghan refugees needing to relaunch their careers in the United States, George Mason University is inviting scholars and researchers who have recently left Afghanistan to request an academic appointment as visiting scholars. “At Mason, we care about what happens in our societies whether here in Virginia, regionally, nationally or globally,” said Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of Mason’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. “As the Carter School, we wanted to respond to the crisi
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Working on spacecraft and 3D-printed solar cars, junior accelerates his career at Mason

Since Michael Riggi was about six years old, his father and brother would take him to a “Cars and Coffee” show in Great Falls, Virginia, on weekends. Being around classic automobiles and luxury vehicles, Riggi said he developed an appreciation for cars, and other machines that go fast, including planes, boats, and rockets. Now, as a junior at George Mason University, his career path has also been racing forward. The systems engineering major working on an accelerated master’s degree is the pre
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Smithsonian-Mason team keeps watch, so elephants can doze off

Because elephants only sleep three to four hours a night, and frequently wake during that time, their sleep is a precious commodity. That’s why George Mason University senior Eva Noroski has spent a month this semester assisting 2017 Mason alumna and Elephant Trails keeper Ashley Fortner at the National Zoo, researching how these massive mammals can get optimal sleep. “Sleep is super important for the elephants because they don’t actually do a lot of it,” said Fortner, who studied for a year a
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Rare peace accord signed in the Congo, thanks to Carter School’s community-centered approach

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has not seen peace for more than three decades, but in November 2021, George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution helped the country take a leap in a hopeful direction. In the province of South Kivu, the school gathered representatives from 15 armed groups, the Congolese government, military, police, intelligence services, religious leaders, civil society groups, and peace advocates. Not only did everyone discuss a path toward p
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Mason team tackles climate change in Virginia counties through new three-step initiative

Solving climate change is a grand challenge facing the planet. As more individuals and leaders are recognizing the need to switch to environmentally friendly practices, George Mason University’s Local Climate Change Planning Initiative (LCCPI) is helping make that a reality for counties across Virginia. “Our vision is to have Mason be the lead university in helping counties that lack the resources and expertise in [addressing climate change] get this done,” said Paul Bubbosh, a 1988 Mason alumn
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Racing toward Mason’s first 3D-printed solar car

Most people with access to a 3D printer find themselves creating small objects or gadgets. But one student group working at the MIX at George Mason University each Friday is driven by a different dream. “We build, design, test and plan to compete in solar-powered car competitions,” said Michael Riggi, president of Mason’s solar car team, Hypernova Solar. “[We believe] our car, when complete, will be the world’s first and only 3D-printed solar car.” Riggi, a junior studying systems engineering,
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