Jeanene Harris

Harris Theatre resumes its rightful place at the heart of arts at Mason

Colleen Rich — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 17:31:38 +0000

Harris Theatre resumes its rightful place at the heart of arts at Mason Colleen Rich Tue, 03/01/2022 - 12:31

After 18 months of renovations, Harris Theatre on ��ӽ紫ý’s Fairfax Campus is once again open for performances.

“While most of the impact of the improvements will be felt by the students, faculty and staff of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the entire Mason community now has the opportunity to experience tomorrow’s stars before they become famous in a modernized, intimate space,” said Dan Hobson, production manager for the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA).

The venue's busy spring schedule includes the Mason Players performance of “Everybody” on March 31-April 2, the School of Dance's Spring New Dances on April 15-16, and Mason Opera's presentation of “La Cenerentola” on April 29-May 1.

The Harris Theatre renovation features an expanded lobby, an updated ticket office, a new entrance near the walking meditation garden, and a marquee to announce upcoming performances. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

“Harris is right at the heart of arts at Mason, and it’s great to have it back,” said CVPA Dean Rick Davis.

Opened in 1980 and named for the late Mason benefactor Holbert L. Harris, the proscenium theater seats 460 and is one of the most-used spaces on campus. The renovation features an expanded lobby, an updated ticket office, a new entrance near the walking meditation garden, and a marquee to announce upcoming performances.

Another plus: Dedicated restrooms. Previously patrons and performers had to exit the theater and go down the hall and into the former Robinson Hall B to use the restroom. This is no longer the case. The renovation includes both a performers’ restroom and designated restrooms for patrons.

The theatre is named for the late Mason benefactor Holbert L. Harris. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

The renovation also includes new air handling systems, new stage equipment and more storage, and a new stage-level dressing room. Prior to the renovation, the only dressing rooms available to performers were one floor down and under the stage. Those old dressing rooms have also been upgraded with new individual stations and chairs and will still be used.

“The house lighting is now energy efficient, and the stage lighting has been upgraded to provide consistency during performances,” said Hobson.

“It is CVPA’s busiest venue for student performances, in addition to hosting visiting lectures, panel discussions and screenings,” said Julie Thompson, executive director for Mason's Center for the Arts. “The theater’s location on Wilkins Plaza and next to Horizon Hall is a newly prominent spot on campus.”

“Theaters, like any sort of machine, have a maintenance and a lifespan schedule,” said Davis. “Harris Theatre was like that old car in the driveway you know is still running—it still gets you to the grocery store, but it didn’t get very good mileage and needed to go to the shop a lot.”

He added: “Every day I take a walk down that pathway and go between Horizon Hall and Harris Theatre and just marvel at what used to be and what is now. It’s just beautiful.”

Topics

Campus News

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Core Campus Project

Masonat50

MLK Evening of Reflection encourages living with 'dangerous unselfishness'

Colleen Rich — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 13:08:50 +0000

MLK Evening of Reflection encourages living with 'dangerous unselfishness' Colleen Rich Wed, 02/23/2022 - 08:08

Photo by Sierra Guard/Creative Services

With the theme of “Dangerous Unselfishness,” ��ӽ紫ý hosted its annual MLK Evening of Reflection and awards ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 15. The event honors the memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and recognizes members of the Mason community who actively live out his vision.

“What makes the Spirit of King Awards unique is that these awards are given to students, alumni, and professional members of our community that do the active work of social justice not in performative ways, but in ways that are authentic and unapologetically transformative to the lives they touch,” said Hamal Strayhorn, director of the Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment at Mason.

The event was presented in a hybrid format in the Hub Ballroom and livestreamed on GMU-TV.

The theme comes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Mountaintop speech” delivered in support of the striking sanitation workers at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968—the day before he was assassinated. King said: “Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike but either we go up together or we go down together. Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.”

Strayhorn said the MLK Commemoration Committee wanted a theme that speaks to current events and connects a younger generation to past social movements for equity and justice.

“We wanted to awaken the fire within this generation to actively participate in the work to dismantle racism and structures of hierarchy of human value,” Strayhorn said.

As part of the event, a panel discussion, led by Jamie R. Riley, NAACP's national director of race and justice, examined how leaders are fulfilling the theme of being “dangerously unselfish” in teaching a new generation to understand the work of social justice, to address moving beyond performative ally-ship to being a co-conspirator, and ultimately looking beyond self-preservation for the preservation of others.

Speakers included Whitney Bunts, policy analyst, youth policy, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Payton Head, DEI strategist; and Derrick Lewis, national director, youth and college, NAACP.

Riley shared three questions to live by: Who am I? What do I believe? Why do I believe it? He asked attendees to then spend time in that uncomfortable space to reflect and be honest with themselves and then be willing to make appropriate adjustments to live in “dangerous unselfishness.”

“The panelists challenged us, in their individual ways, to reflect deeply on our own commitment to creating positive change toward collective liberation,” said Creston C. Lynch, assistant vice president, University Life. “They challenged us to be courageous, bold, and aspirational.”

“I was inspired by the collecting energy, and passion from the people in the room,” said Lynch, “from the incredible panelists to the students who asked such challenging, but important questions, and on to the award recipients and nominees who are doing so much meaningful work at Mason and beyond.

“It was an honor to be in the room with so many change makers,” Lynch added.

These awards were presented to those engaged in activism to improve our community:

Spirit of King Award (undergraduate student): Corwin Matthews, Global Affairs.

Spirit of King Award (graduate student): Shauna Rigaud Matthews, Cultural Studies.

Spirit of King Award (staff): Saskia Campbell, Executive Director, University Career Services.

Spirit of King Award (faculty): David Corwin, Term Instructor, Associate Director for Academic Affairs, Women and Gender Studies.

Resounding Voice Award: Stacy Chai (undergraduate student), Biology, College of Science; Sharrell Hassell-Goodman (graduate student), Education.

Emerging Alumni Award: Tauheeda Martin-Yasin, Cultural Studies.

Superior Service Award: ��ӽ紫ý NAACP.

Yara Mowafy Award (undergraduate student): Fiona Klotz, Integrative Studies.

Yara Mowafy Award (graduate student): Ayondela McDole, Cultural Studies.

Topics

Campus News

Center for Culture Equity and Empowerment

Martin Luther King

Spirit of King awards

Mason Exhibitions Arlington is a gem for the neighborhood

Colleen Rich — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 17:12:08 +0000

Mason Exhibitions Arlington is a gem for the neighborhood Colleen Rich Thu, 02/17/2022 - 12:12

Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

Art is essential to a university's learning environment and invites research partnerships across all disciplines, said ��ӽ紫ý Curator Don Russell. A new arts space in Arlington—Mason Exhibitions Arlington at 3601 Fairfax Drive—is one such partnership that is already generating a buzz.

“It’s great to have a really prominent artistic footprint for Mason in Arlington,” said College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) Dean Rick Davis. “Arlington County has a well-deserved national reputation for having a thriving arts community and a welcome commitment to arts and cultural facilities and programs.”

Mason Exhibitions Arlington was conceived of seven years ago as a jointly operated, jointly funded space that would be appropriate for visual arts, small performances, and meetings, but intentionally not as a classroom. The space is a partnership between Mason Exhibition, and the Film and Video Studies and Arts Management Programs, all with guidance from Davis.

“We’re not trying to build out the Arlington Campus a block away,” said Davis. “We created something that’s distinctive and necessary for the neighborhood.”

Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

After many years of collaboration between Arlington County, the Latitude Building developers, and Mason, Russell said it’s an honor to join the community. The 2,300-square-feet space complements Mason’s existing art gallery in Van Metre Hall on the Arlington Campus and the four galleries that serve the Fairfax and Science and Technology Campuses.

Russell said the space will feature exhibitions, murals, screenings, lectures, readings, and events. Film and Video Studies classes will also use the space occasionally.

“It’s just an ideal addition to our portfolio, and one of our most visible,” said Davis.

Walking together: for them and for us, the first exhibit at Mason Exhibitions Arlington, is a collaboration with Rofa Projects and curator Gabriela Rosso, who Russell said has exceptional access to contemporary Latin American artists as well as a distinctive curatorial perspective. The exhibit features the work of 15 artists, mostly women but not exclusively, who live in or are linked to Latin America.

“We wanted to bring these artists' voices to the community to more deeply consider violence against women,” said Russell. “Gallery attendance has been hampered by COVID, but visitor response has been very favorable, including excellent visits from Latin American embassies of the artists on view.” The exhibition was also reviewed in The Washington Post.

Davis said the exhibit is very powerful. “It’s a difficult subject, but one of the things that art can do is provide a bridge for us to encounter difficult themes in ways that are more engaging than just rhetoric,” he said.

“Art at its best can transform the deepest darkest moments of human experience in a way that allows us to approach it,” said Davis. “Great poetry, drama, music does that, and certainly great visual art does that, because we can stand in front of it—it invites us in.”

Russell said he and gallery manager Alissa Maru are planning upcoming exhibitions, including a group exhibition about motherhood curated with Laurel Nakadate and Lily Siegel. Future exhibit themes will include environmental photography and art and divination.

Russell also said art projects will be commissioned for a large outdoor electronic sign board, which is adjacent to the gallery.

“We view this as a great laboratory for our arts management students as well, many of whom come to us with a visual arts background,” said Davis.

The current exhibit runs through March 12. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday

Topics

Campus News

Arlington campus

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

NIHCM grant recipients takes collaborative approach on health equity, medicaid telehealth policy

Colleen Rich — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 15:16:26 +0000

NIHCM grant recipients takes collaborative approach on health equity, medicaid telehealth policy Colleen Rich Wed, 02/09/2022 - 10:16

In This Story

Alison Evans Cuellar, PhD, MBA

Alison Cuellar. Photo provided

��ӽ紫ý’s Alison Cuellar and Leah Adams have received a $54,918 grant from the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation for their study on health equity and the impact of Medicaid telehealth policy.

“NIHCM looks for projects with high potential to inform improvements to the U.S. health care system, so we are honored to be included [among the 38 grantees]," said Cuellar, a professor of health administration and policy in the College of Health and Human Services.

Adams, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and the Women and Gender Studies Program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said they plan to focus on two studies evaluating the degree to which and how expanding telehealth services can improve health equity across a diverse set of populations within Virginia.

The quantitative study focuses on Medicaid claims data and the qualitative study focuses on barriers, facilitators, special concerns, and overall effectiveness of providing services via telehealth, they said.

For this qualitative component, Adams said they plan to seek the perspectives of a range of stakeholders including health care providers, patients, and advocacy organizations. She hopes this collaborative approach, which will draw on expertise from multiple fields, is a good example of how issues critical to public health can be addressed.

Access to health care is an issue that contributes to health disparities in Black, Latino, and low-income populations. “We hope to explore concrete steps that agencies and policy-makers can take to reduce and eliminate disparities in care,” said Adams.

Leah Adams. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

The findings of the study are expected to inform deliberations of federal and state policymakers as they consider whether and how to extend the more liberal telehealth policies and to identify remaining policy gaps—particularly among marginalized/minoritized communities.

“I was drawn to the chance to examine this big policy issue from a variety of stakeholders' perspectives to see where there is synergy for creating positive change,” said Adams.

“Policymakers across the country are trying to figure out how to support telehealth and retain high quality care at the same time,” said Cuellar. “For our study, we want to look at these issues through a health equity lens.”

Adams said they’re lucky to have students involved at multiple levels, including Constance Owens, a doctoral student in health services research, and several undergraduates through the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR).

“Our study includes data analysis and interviews with key stakeholders, so we recently added a few students onto our team to help with our interviews with clinicians, consumers, and others,” Cuellar said.

This is a one-year research project, with preliminary results expected by January 2023.

Topics

Research

College of Health and Human Services

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

CHHS Research

Center for Health Equity

Virtual reality simulation lab space provides immersive experience for nursing students

Colleen Rich — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 18:28:05 +0000

Virtual reality simulation lab space provides immersive experience for nursing students Colleen Rich Wed, 01/26/2022 - 13:28

The lab space opened in Fall 2021 and will be available for students across all health disciplines, such as social work, community health, and nutrition.

Nursing students Elianna Puerto, left, and Katherine Gugino use virtual reality sets for a new simulation platform, SimX, during a VR Simulation Lab training class. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Experience. Learning. Confidence. Autonomy. Scope of practice. These are a few takeaways that Bethany Cieslowski hopes students will gain from their use of ��ӽ紫ý’s new Virtual Reality (VR) Simulation Lab space in the Peterson Hall on the Fairfax Campus.

“VR provides many opportunities for patient care in an incredibly realistic, immersive environment,” said Cieslowski, associate professor of nursing and simulation coordinator in the College of Health and Human Services. “Students have the autonomy to treat and care for the patient as if they were the nurse, not student nurse—something that cannot be done in the real patient setting.”

The Simulation Team trained and tested the VR lab last fall, and deployed VR with 110 students enrolled in NURS 455 Advanced Technologies in Nursing. More than 50 nursing students a week participated in the VR lab experience and were presented with various patient scenarios that included medical history and an emerging medical issue.

Graduate teaching assistant Sindhu Mallala said once students put on their headset, they log into the SIM X application, which is used for their VR-based simulations, and enter a replica of a hospital lobby.

“The scenario usually takes place in a hospital room with patients, a handoff nurse, and a relative,” said Mallala, a former general physician in India who is majoring in health informatics. “The students enter as the nurses on shift and are assigned to that patient. The whole scenario is supposed to be a virtual replica of a real-life case management scenario that takes place.”

Mallala said the VR simulation lab is a safe environment for students to learn and develop a plan to treat their patients. “It’s a great exercise to improve critical thinking, a must-have quality in medical field.”

Graduate teaching assistant Sindhi Mallala runs the virtual reality simulation platform, SimX, during a VR Simulation Lab training class. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

“My biggest takeaway from the virtual simulation training was that medical mistakes happen,” said Katie Gugino, a senior in the bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) traditional program with a concentration in health promotion. “As health care professionals, we need to double-check steps to prevent them and then be prepared to act when they do happen.”

“It is important that we keep our patients safe and do our best to prevent medical errors and fix them as they arise,” Gugino said.

Cieslowski said the patient responds to the student’s actions, performance, and communication. A debrief immediately following the VR case helps educators understand and evaluate the critical thinking processes that drove students’ actions, performance, and outcomes.

“I think it's beneficial to have these simulation drills to really help us gain the muscle memory and critical thinking skills for how best to respond to emergency situations,” said Elianna Puerto, a senior in the traditional BSN program.

Puerto said she appreciated being able to ask the virtual patient questions.

“I try to stay with yes or no questions, which in a way is helpful for me to sort of triage the patient,” said Puerto. “For instance, I can ask the patient ‘Do you feel itchy? Is it getting harder for you to breathe?’ And the patient can say yes or no.”

Cieslowski said the virtual simulation lab prepares students for a career in the nursing and health care fields by providing another modality and opportunity for interprofessional education—the ability to learn about, with and from other disciplines.

“What I appreciate most about Dr. Cieslowski’s teaching style is that she allows us to discuss how we feel after lab and simulations and how she can improve the lab experience to make it more memorable,” said senior nursing major MaKayla Fortune.

Nursing students discuss how the class went after using virtual reality sets for the new simulation platform. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Senior nursing student Catherine Robinson appreciates the interactivity. “In simulations in the past, we just click and look at a computer screen, which I don’t find helpful because I am more of a hands-on learner,” said Robinson.

This spring semester, Cieslowski said the lab will be used to augment and enhance pediatric clinical hours for 108 junior-level nursing students to help alleviate the shortage of pediatric clinical sites available in the community.

Future applications of the VR simulation could include social work cases and interprofessional education experiences, Cieslowski added.

Topics

Students

innovative classes

College of Health and Human Services

School of Nursing

virtual reality

Tech Talent Investment Pipeline (TTIP)

TTIP

Tech Talent Investment Program

NEH/AHRC grant puts digital art history in the spotlight

Colleen Rich — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 17:23:25 +0000

NEH/AHRC grant puts digital art history in the spotlight Colleen Rich Tue, 01/25/2022 - 12:23

Deepthi Murali. Photo provided

��ӽ紫ý’s Deepthi Murali and Mills Kelly were recently awarded a collaborative grant co-funded by National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the United Kingdom’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The NEH/AHRC New Directions for Digital Scholarship in Cultural Institutions grant will provide $49,999 in funding for the project "Subaltern Histories of Global Textiles: Connecting Collections, Expanding Engagement."

“We are very pleased to receive this grant and look forward to working closely with our partners in the U.S. and the UK,” said T. Mills Kelly, director of Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM) at Mason.

Kelly and Murali are one of two sets of project directors. Meha Priyadarshini of the University of Edinburgh and Avalon Fotheringham of Victoria and Albert Museum in UK make up the second set. The Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City is also a partner in the grant. The co-directed project includes data collection, analysis, and construction of a prototype website to explore the use of Indian-style textiles in the African diaspora in the 18th and 19th centuries.

“I was absolutely thrilled to receive the grant,” said Murali, who is a postdoctoral research fellow at RRCHNM. “I am still in disbelief that we get to work with two of the largest design museums in the world on this project, as well as with the rich archival material at University of Glasgow.”

Mills Kelly. Photo provided

Murali says her inspiration for this project stems from a series of conversations that she organized in Spring 2021 on the Material Histories of the Indian Ocean World, hosted by the center. Talks between Murali and co-director Meha Priyadarshini about lesser-known textiles from South Asia and their presence in the Americas in the late 18th and 19th centuries motivated them to craft a digital public history project that visualizes this complex networked history in ways that are accessible to a global public.

Murali said she hopes this project shows how collaborative research is the way forward for the humanities, especially for those interested in transcultural or global studies.

A cloth merchant from South India in the early-19th century displaying textiles to an Indian middleman who is commissioned to buy the textiles for British traders. Circa 1807. Photo courtesy of the British Library Board

“As the first digital history project from the center/department that is art history-centered and on South Asia specific, it would be wonderful if this kind of collaborative work becomes part of the training for students in the humanities,” said Murali.

Murali said they plan to have at least two graduate students from Mason’s Department of History and Art History on the team and hope to include undergraduates in the research.

“Graduate students working on the project will be working closely with me in identifying textiles and imagery of African diaspora that will be used in the project along with collections research at Cooper-Hewitt,” said Murali. “We hope at least one graduate student will also take part in the design of the digital prototype itself after we gather our research data.”

Murali said a prototype website will be available in 2023.

Murali said they also plan to convene a workshop at Mason this academic year to bring together a diverse group of scholars from textile and material culture historians to scholars of African-American, colonial, and South Asian history.

Topics

NEH funding

National Endowment for the Humanities

Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Research

Mason Lighting the Way: Deion Maith

Colleen Rich — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 19:46:58 +0000

Mason Lighting the Way: Deion Maith Colleen Rich Wed, 01/12/2022 - 14:46

Mason Lighting the Way

Spotlights from the Task Force

More than 130 faculty, staff and students are working on ��ӽ紫ý’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force, which is taking a hard look at the current state of diversity and inclusivity efforts at the university and making recommendations for the future.

These individuals come from across our campuses and bring their different skill sets and expertise to this work. In this series, we will spotlight members of the task force and find out what drives them.

Mason graduate student Deion Maith. Photo provided

Deion Maith

Graduate student, Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Social Justice and Human Rights

Committee: Student Voice

��ӽ紫ý graduate student Deion Maith said he will never forget July 13, 2013, when he heard on the radio that George Zimmerman had been acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin.

“That sparked my fire,” said Maith, a native of Heathsville (in Virginia’s Northern Neck), “knowing that Trayvon could have been me or my younger brother.”

He began researching scholars like James Baldwin, Jane Elliott, and others who have contributed so much to the academic body of work on social justice and human rights.

When he had the opportunity to meet Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, at the 2018 Sojourner Truth Lecture at Mason, Maith recounted his reaction to her son’s murder. She shook his hand firmly and told him: “Don’t ever lose that fire. You are our future and don’t let anyone ever tell you different.”

Maith joined Mason’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force because he thinks it’s important to share lived experiences with other students and faculty/staff.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to voice the concerns of students who look like me,” he said. “I’ve always been eager to have a seat at the table where conversation turns into action, and I’m hopeful that the task force can accomplish just that.”

Maith, who graduated from Mason with a bachelor’s in integrative studies in 2020, is former president and student advisor of Collegiate Black Men; former undersecretary for Contemporary Student Services, Student Government; and former secretary and student advisor for Mason’s Chapter of NAACP. He’s also been involved with the Black Student Alliance, the Black Male Success Initiative, and the School of Integrative Studies Peer Ambassadors.

“The main goal of the Student Voice Committee is to make sure we’re effectively receiving feedback from students and figuring out the best way to reach them,” said Maith. Committee members are meeting with registered student organizations and their members, and working with student-focused offices.

Maith said he’s been pleasantly surprised by the feedback the task force has received from the university community. “Although there has been some backlash, I believe there has been more positivity than anything,” Maith said.

Maith’s work with the task force motivated him to pursue a graduate assistant position in Mason’s Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment (formally ODIME), where T. Garey Davis, assistant director of coalition building and diversity education, has served as a mentor.

Maith said Davis is passionate about optimizing the student experience for everyone, but especially students who belong to historically marginalized groups, and together they have built a team to improve Black male success at Mason.

“Promoting social justice and human rights doesn’t exclude anyone,” he said. “It includes everyone no matter your race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc. But we must self-reflect and take accountability for the ways in which we benefit and contribute to systematic and institutional racism to move forward.”

Maith has accepted a role at Cooley LLP in Washington, D.C., a Fortune 500 global law firm. After he graduates this fall, he plans to pursue a law degree at Howard University.

Topics

Students

Alumni

President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

School of Integrative Studies

Center for Culture Equity and Empowerment

diversity equity and inclusion DEI

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Mason alum wins best director award at Miami Indie Film Festival

Colleen Rich — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 20:52:44 +0000

Mason alum wins best director award at Miami Indie Film Festival Colleen Rich Tue, 01/11/2022 - 15:52

In This Story

Nikyatu Jusu

Recent ��ӽ紫ý alum Alexander Hammett returned to campus last fall, along with a few other alumni, to participate in the annual “Best of Mason” film showcase and talk to those students just starting in the Film and Video Studies Program.

Alexander Hammett. Photo provided

Hammett, who graduated from the program in May 2021, had advice for incoming and current students, but he also served as a shining example of a successful graduate. Hammett recently received Miami Indie Films’ Best Director Award for directing “Tale of Tarot,” a film written by fellow Mason alum Aaliyah-Janay Williams, BA Film and Video Studies ’21. At the same festival, the film also won for best lead female actress, played by Shalom Omo-Osagie.

The film, set at the turn of the 19th century, explores relationships through the eyes of two sisters who are trying to find a comfortable life. The plot includes a love triangle, but Hammett said the film’s biggest takeaway is to have faith in your loved ones. The film is available on Amazon Prime; its official trailer can be viewed on You Tube.

Hammett said he wanted to enter “Tale of Tarot,” filmed in May and June 2021, into as many festivals as possible. “It was great to know that the Miami Indie Film Festival was one of the few that were still open for submissions at the time.”

“It was honestly a great surprise,” Hammett said of the award. “This is the first piece I’ve directed that wasn’t at Mason, and to see how putting in the effort and time can really pay off was rewarding.”

While winning the award might been a surprise to Hammett, Mason professor Nikyatu Jusu wasn't surprised by the news.

“I recall Alexander to be a curious, self-motivated, highly collaborative and charismatic student,” said Jusu, who is assistant professor of directing and screenwriting at Mason. “His directing award for his most recent work comes as no surprise based on his presence in my course. Excited for his bright journey ahead.”

At the Best of Mason, he and other speakers explained the process of making films during the pandemic and recapped their time at Mason and what they learned. Hammett said Mason's College of Visual and Performing Arts was instrumental in helping students believe in themselves.

The audience also had the opportunity to view "Stuck," Hammett's senior thesis film—"a film I made during the time we all had to stay home because of COVID,” he said.

Hammett’s creativity extends beyond the director’s chair. He recently wrote the script and starred as a lead actor in a horror film, “Dantae’s Inferno,” directed by Shalom Omo-Osagie of 1939 Studios and released in November 2021. He is also working on a web series called "Command" that is in post-production.

“My message to students is that you should take the opportunities, take the chances, be on sets, be everywhere," said the rising filmmaker/screenwriter/actor. "Because just being there is getting every step closer to where you want to be.”

Topics

Students

Alumni

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Film at Mason

This graduate is not just an engineer, she’s artsy too

Colleen Rich — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 18:43:53 +0000

This graduate is not just an engineer, she’s artsy too Colleen Rich Tue, 12/14/2021 - 13:43

Topics

Students

Graduation

School of Art

mechanical engineering

College of Engineering and Computing

Tech Talent Investment Pipeline (TTIP)

CEC Alumni

Students push to bridge the digital divide, access to literacy

Colleen Rich — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 17:38:49 +0000

Students push to bridge the digital divide, access to literacy Colleen Rich Fri, 12/10/2021 - 12:38

Students in Honors 261 Bridging the Digital Divide put together an advocacy campaign as part of Digital Inclusion Week to raise awareness about the divide. Photo provided

The idea of the digital divide was brought into sharp focus for Tawnya Azar, a ��ӽ紫ý assistant professor of English, when she learned one of her students was completing all of her assignments on her mobile phone. Azar felt remorse for the way she had chastised her for turning in papers that were formatted incorrectly.

“She came to me very apologetically and said ‘I’m so sorry, I write all my papers on my phone, it’s my only computer.’” Azar recounted. “I felt so bad that I was so hard on her.”

Azar considers that the foundational story for her research and the classes she teaches in the Honors College this semester—two sections of Honors 261 Bridging the Digital Divide.

“I would define the divide as people who have access and literacy and people who don’t have access and literacy,” said Azar. “To me, essentially, digital divide is the digital haves and the digital have nots.”

Students also distributed stickers highlighting digital inclusion. Photo provided

“Bridging the digital divide means helping bring the entire world into the future,” said Don Shaw, a sophomore history major. “Access to technology is important for quality of life, so bridging the divide allows us to improve the lives of numerous individuals.”

Students put together an advocacy campaign as part of Digital Inclusion Week to raise awareness about the digital divide. Students in each section of the course divided into three groups: fundraising, digital content, and in-person activities. Students also created a website, pamphlets and flyers, and distributed stickers highlighting digital inclusion.

They created a Jeopardy!-style game to share with people in the Johnson Center, where people answered such questions as “What percentage of the elderly don’t have access to technology?” Answer: 27%, and “Which language is 60% of the internet written in?” Answer: English.

Patricia Troup, a junior with a double major in sociology and Spanish, helped to manage social media for the campaign.

“With our social media page, we had more than 100 followers. I saw firsthand interactive story posts like trivia, rating one's understanding of the topic, and answering questions I asked through the story feature on Instagram. I think there was really good engagement,” Troup said.

Azar said the class includes an aggressive reading schedule at the beginning of the semester, along with a community engagement project where students volunteer outside of class with one of a number of organizations whose mission is to address the digital divide. Partners this semester include Computer Core, Senior Planet, Fairfax Senior Center, EDU Futuro, and Girls Who Code.

The Honors College students did outreach to raise awareness about about the digital divide. Photo provided

Sophomore Iram Noor volunteered with the nonprofit Computer Core. “What drew me to this particular organization was the direct impact it has on underserved adults,” she said. “They help individuals learn how to use the computer and develop vital skills with a variety of software programs, such as keyboarding and Microsoft Excel.”

The final project for the class is a design thinking project, where students identify and address a challenge or question in response to the needs of the community.

“I have learned a lot about inequities that people with disabilities face regarding the digital divide,” said Theresa Boyd, a third-year special education major. “As educational practices change and adapt to modern technology, it should be constructed with the needs of all individuals in mind by using universal design practices during the developmental stage.”

Boyd said those who are developing web pages and other technology should recognize that the needs and abilities of individuals can change, including the needs and abilities of those developing the software themselves.

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Harris Theatre resumes its rightful place at the heart of arts at Mason

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MLK Evening of Reflection encourages living with 'dangerous unselfishness'

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NIHCM grant recipients takes collaborative approach on health equity, medicaid telehealth policy

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Virtual reality simulation lab space provides immersive experience for nursing students

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NEH/AHRC grant puts digital art history in the spotlight

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Mason Lighting the Way: Deion Maith

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Graduate student, Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Social Justice and Human Rights

Committee: Student Voice

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Mason alum wins best director award at Miami Indie Film Festival

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This graduate is not just an engineer, she’s artsy too

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Students push to bridge the digital divide, access to literacy

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