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[Falco]

Thunderbird wasn't an online college and is part of Arizona State University now.


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Well Arizona didn't acquire THUNDERBIRD UNIVERSITY until 2015. So Angel Cabera had nothing to do with the acquisition.

I am sorry but THUNDERBIRD UNIVERSITY is nothing like a traditional 4 year university. It's my opinion that George Mason needed a president with experience in building school pride, and I don't think you get that from a guy who ran THUNDERBIRD UNIVERSITY. In 2013, only 1,015 enrolled in Thunderbird, 530 of whom were enrolled full time.

Do you really think a guy who ran a school of a thousand students has the qualifications to run a 4 year university with 33k students. Come on man.

 

[GMUgemini]

Well Arizona didn't acquire THUNDERBIRD UNIVERSITY until 2015. So Angel Cabera had nothing to do with the acquisition.

I am sorry but THUNDERBIRD UNIVERSITY is nothing like a traditional 4 year university. It's my opinion that George Mason needed a president with experience in building school pride, and I don't think you get that from a guy who ran THUNDERBIRD UNIVERSITY. In 2013, only 1,015 enrolled in Thunderbird, 530 of whom were enrolled full time.

Do you really think a guy with ran a school of a thousand students has the qualifications to run a 4 year university with 33k students. Come on man.

It's a graduate school, you are right about that. But you honestly think a major university president's job is to help build school spirit?

I'm not really sure I understand your criticism of him. What specifically are you objecting to?


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[Falco]

It's a graduate school, you are right about that. But you honestly think a major university president's job is to help build school spirit?

I'm not really sure I understand your criticism of him. What specifically are you objecting to?


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You're right the role of a university's president is very complex.

That said one of the responsibles of a president is to build morale, motivate and relate to students, faculty and staff.

A president also serves as a face to the university and acts as a spokesperson for the university. A president is responsible for getting people excited about the university's vision so people are willing to partner, apply, donate to the university.

A president is responsible for promoting a culture and environment that students feel proud of. AKA student pride.

I understand a president is much more then I described. It has many duties but I think he has failed in this category.

i graduated in 2012 and the university is essentially a ghost town on the weekends. I still have family at Mason and hear it is essentially the same on weekends. A president should do everything in his power to make sure the students have a good quality of life and don't feel the need to go home. At the be ceey least they shouldn't want to go home. Basketball was something that at one time brought the school together but now we see an arena at 30% capacity half of which is the green machine.

Sorry everyone but the administration Has failed the athletic department which is the front door to school pride

 

[Jack Strop]

After I graduated from Mason, I went to JMU for graduate school. I rarely went home on weekends. Most other people left. The only times that anyone did stay at school over the weekend was when there a big football game. The biggest bar night was Thursday—Friday and Saturdays were beat. I visited VaTech a few times on non-football weekends. Again—a cemetary has more action. Night life does not equal quality of campus life.

 

[GMUgemini]

You're right the role of a university's president is very complex.

That said one of the responsibles of a president is to build morale, motivate and relate to students, faculty and staff.

A president also serves as a face to the university and acts as a spokesperson for the university. A president is responsible for getting people excited about the university's vision so people are willing to partner, apply, donate to the university.

A president is responsible for promoting a culture and environment that students feel proud of. AKA student pride.

I understand a president is much more then I described. It has many duties but I think he has failed in this category.

i graduated in 2012 and the university is essentially a ghost town on the weekends. I still have family at Mason and hear it is essentially the same on weekends. A president should do everything in his power to make sure the students have a good quality of life and don't feel the need to go home. At the be ceey least they shouldn't want to go home. Basketball was something that at one time brought the school together but now we see an arena at 30% capacity half of which is the green machine.

Sorry everyone but the administration Has failed the athletic department which is the front door to school pride

You should have seen what the school looked like in 2005...

I teach at ASU, and our campus is largely emptied by Thursday afternoon, although downtown Tempe (walkable from the dorms) offers a lot more than Fairfax does for extracurricular activities -- and downtown Phoenix is only 20 minutes away.

I don't really think campus social life on the weekend is the best metric for which to measure the success of a university president. If so, Alan Merten would have to rate as one of the worst university presidents ever.


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[KAOriginal]

i graduated in 2012 and the university is essentially a ghost town on the weekends. I still have family at Mason and hear it is essentially the same on weekends. A president should do everything in his power to make sure the students have a good quality of life and don't feel the need to go home. At the be ceey least they shouldn't want to go home. Basketball was something that at one time brought the school together but now we see an arena at 30% capacity half of which is the green machine.

Sorry everyone but the administration Has failed the athletic department which is the front door to school pride

It was a ghost town weekends in the 80s when I was there...so nothing has changed. We would move into empty classrooms on the weekends, furniture and all, since they were bigger than our dorm rooms.

 

[Falco]

Yeah I thought Mertin did a great job academic wise. And he did a great job expanding the university but he was the worst when it came to promoting a fun college experience.

That's why I thought we needed a new president who would change the culture, but we got a guy who ran a graduate school of w thousand students.

Last I heard South side the dinning hall was closed on the weekends. That's basically telling students to go home on the weekends and just promotes the commuter college reputation.

However, I just searched for Southside hours and say they are open 10am-2am. So I think they changed their hours. Well that's a good thing at least.

But a lot of other dinning options are closed. I kind of get it, but I wish the administration would do more to keep students on campus on the weekends.

 

[Falco]

Hindsight is a perfect 20/20. But I would have scheduled the homecoming game on 11/12/ when we played Towson.

It brings the crowd out for the first game. It might get people excited for the season..It is generally warmer in November then it is in February.

Just seems like a better choice then valentines day weekend.

 

[sleeperpick]

You're right the role of a university's president is very complex.

That said one of the responsibles of a president is to build morale, motivate and relate to students, faculty and staff.

A president also serves as a face to the university and acts as a spokesperson for the university. A president is responsible for getting people excited about the university's vision so people are willing to partner, apply, donate to the university.

A president is responsible for promoting a culture and environment that students feel proud of. AKA student pride.

I understand a president is much more then I described. It has many duties but I think he has failed in this category.

i graduated in 2012 and the university is essentially a ghost town on the weekends. I still have family at Mason and hear it is essentially the same on weekends. A president should do everything in his power to make sure the students have a good quality of life and don't feel the need to go home. At the be ceey least they shouldn't want to go home. Basketball was something that at one time brought the school together but now we see an arena at 30% capacity half of which is the green machine.

Sorry everyone but the administration Has failed the athletic department which is the front door to school pride

maybe your families experience is indicative of your family and not Mason as a whole. Not sure how the administration has failed the athletic department either it seems you just bitch to bitch on here. It is fine man but I know a good guy to sit on his couch and talk to when you are feeling blue.

 

[Falco]

maybe your families experience is indicative of your family and not Mason as a whole. Not sure how the administration has failed the athletic department either it seems you just bitch to bitch on here. It is fine man but I know a good guy to sit on his couch and talk to when you are feeling blue.

lol lol. when students were asked "if you could start over, would you still choose this college?" Mason ranked 10th in the state of VA . I am not a lone wolf. I am just the lone wolf on this forum.

1. JMU
2. VMI
3. VT
4.EMU
5. U of Richmond
6. Radford.
7. UVA
8. W&M
9. CNU
10. GMU.


http://www.whsv.com/content/news/JMU-ranks-5-in-the-nation-for-right-choice-401566465.html

 

[Scythe]

If you live on campus, the student life will be at the dorms (where there's wifi, laptops, TV, comfort, etc). College life is not at all like the brochures at any campus. Mason has lots of dorms now and proper student life. Just remove the idea that there's a magical 24x7 ultimate frisbee competition going on and that everyone is playing recreation games "at the quad" or whatever.

Some people have insane expectations. I sure would love more student turn out to the games, but first we have to lure people back with a solid winning program to excite the student body again.

 

[Vurbel]

If you live on campus, the student life will be at the dorms (where there's wifi, laptops, TV, comfort, etc). College life is not at all like the brochures at any campus. Mason has lots of dorms now and proper student life. Just remove the idea that there's a magical 24x7 ultimate frisbee competition going on and that everyone is playing recreation games "at the quad" or whatever.

Some people have insane expectations. I sure would love more student turn out to the games, but first we have to lure people back with a solid winning program to excite the student body again.

I would love for more alumni to show up. The students are representing.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I would love for more alumni to show up. The students are representing.

It's the younger alum who were around during our golden era whch unfortunately is the same demographic that doesn't have $25 to spend to see us lose on a last second DUNK

 

[Scythe]

I would love for more alumni to show up. The students are representing.

Agreed. Success in a program tends to lead to higher alumni turn out as well. I do feel like Mason could do a better job of exciting the alumni-base with better marketing. Perhaps some kind of "alumni discount" to make alumni feel special over standard ticket purchasers. It could even be a fake discount like most retailers do now. I don't believe I've ever received any athletics mailers outside of donation forms.

Young alumni get heavily discounted season tickets to be fair. That's how I got started with season tickets.

 

[Patriot8]

You're right the role of a university's president is very complex.

That said one of the responsibles of a president is to build morale, motivate and relate to students, faculty and staff.

A president also serves as a face to the university and acts as a spokesperson for the university. A president is responsible for getting people excited about the university's vision so people are willing to partner, apply, donate to the university.

A president is responsible for promoting a culture and environment that students feel proud of. AKA student pride.

I understand a president is much more then I described. It has many duties but I think he has failed in this category.

i graduated in 2012 and the university is essentially a ghost town on the weekends. I still have family at Mason and hear it is essentially the same on weekends. A president should do everything in his power to make sure the students have a good quality of life and don't feel the need to go home. At the be ceey least they shouldn't want to go home. Basketball was something that at one time brought the school together but now we see an arena at 30% capacity half of which is the green machine.

Sorry everyone but the administration Has failed the athletic department which is the front door to school pride

I graduated in 2013.. Campus was a ghost town on weekends throughout my 4 years there and that kind of thing doesn't change overnight...

Basketball was something at one time because we had a great coach and a history of success, then the PREVIOUS administration didn't push the Final Four money back into the basketball program the way they should have (see vcu), and then when their coach left, they hired a guy who had just been paid 7 million dollars to leave Georgia Tech.. I am not sure what correlation there is between President Cabrera and attendance at basketball games.. I think that has a lot more to do with over priced tickets and an underwhelming product..

 

[Vurbel]

It's the younger alum who were around during our golden era whch unfortunately is the same demographic that doesn't have $25 to spend to see us lose on a last second DUNK

$25 is insane. Granted they're nosebleed seats, but I can see Duquesne at KENTUCKY for $27. Or Davidson play at NORTH CAROLINA for $30. Or Austin Pea play at INDIANA for $28. We're not even close to their league.

 

[Falco]

I graduated in 2013.. Campus was a ghost town on weekends throughout my 4 years there and that kind of thing doesn't change overnight...

Basketball was something at one time because we had a great coach and a history of success, then the PREVIOUS administration didn't push the Final Four money back into the basketball program the way they should have (see vcu), and then when their coach left, they hired a guy who had just been paid 7 million dollars to leave Georgia Tech.. I am not sure what correlation there is between President Cabrera and attendance at basketball games.. I think that has a lot more to do with over priced tickets and an underwhelming product.. President Cabrera hasn't failed me in the slightest, as a student or as a young alum..

Yall are crazy, when a new administration takes over you should see change. What changes have you seen? Mason was awarded number 1 up and coming university 2 times while I was an undergrad. But what happened. Are we there yet, no.

I choose GMU because I saw all the potential. But GMU never really turned the page of up and coming to actually being here. Its a university where you get a great education and you will meet really interesting people. But did the university do enough to make you love your alma matter. Did it do enough to make alumni want to donate back to the school.

Are freshman excited to start GMU, or is it their safety school. Or do they choose it because its close to home. I think you all have to realize the people on this forum are the minority of students who found something that brought us together. But the bulk of students don't care about a losing bball program. Most of greek life will complain GMU doesn't let them have fun.

 

[mkaufman1]

It's the younger alum who were around during our golden era whch unfortunately is the same demographic that doesn't have $25 to spend to see us lose on a last second DUNK

Problem is that era of alumni (that is my age group, I was a junior during the Final Four run) is now settling down into being full grown adults, having kids and many aren't able to make it to that many games. Few are that passionate that they can make every game. I always make sure I bring a friend or two to a game since I have season tickets, but beyond that they don't make an effort to attend more than 2-3 games a year (mostly with me.

I do believe that overall many people support the program and pay attention, whether its twitter or instagram or just clicking on Facebook. Unfortunately its just not reflected in attendance. How to fix that problem? I'm not really sure, other than fix the product on the court.

 

[mkaufman1]

If you live on campus, the student life will be at the dorms (where there's wifi, laptops, TV, comfort, etc). College life is not at all like the brochures at any campus. Mason has lots of dorms now and proper student life. Just remove the idea that there's a magical 24x7 ultimate frisbee competition going on and that everyone is playing recreation games "at the quad" or whatever.

Some people have insane expectations. I sure would love more student turn out to the games, but first we have to lure people back with a solid winning program to excite the student body again.

This. I went to Mason over ten years ago before there were many of the dorms and I made the best of it as did many of my friends who came from wherever. I'm a firm believer that those who don't want to stick around on weekends wont stick around no matter where they go, and as long as someone finds their niche and activities/friends etc, you can do whatever on a weekend. I'm sure other schools are even worse...

 

[MasonSAE4]

Most of greek life will complain GMU doesn't let them have fun.

The greek life department (despite being headed by a guy who is a bit of a dunce) has gotten better since the time I entered Mason in fall '10. The problem is more they're happy with the status quo of no housing because it lets them have an "out of sight, out of mind" mentality. I'm certainly biased, but a greek row/village would solve a lot of these "no social life" complaints that are frequently talked about. Which feeds into your next point of no weekend life. It's there, the problem is it's at various houses around Fairfax. If you don't know someone, you don't know where it is/can't get a ride. At schools with more prominent social lives the parties are all a short walk off campus but due to ox/braddock there really isn't residential student housing right off campus. A greek area would fix that. But the school was super unreceptive to a group of us when we pitched multiple ideas to them about how to start the process.