This year, E.L. Doctorow will be receiving the Fairfax Prize for lifetime achievement in fiction and Sherman Alexie will receive the Mason Award for extraordinary contributions to bringing literature to a wide audience.

An event where close to 10,000 people attend is not easy to plan. Behind the authors, poets and speakers who come to the festival are the planners and organizers who devote a year’s worth of work to putting the event together. Ruth Goodwin, festival manager, sat down with VoxPop’s Best of Mason to talk about what sets Mason’s literary festival apart from any other in the area and more.

Written by Nicole Ocran, Best of Mason Director

As a new college student, you might find the task of shopping for groceries on your own a bit daunting. If you’re living away from the supervision of your parents, you now have the freedom to buy want you really want to eat instead of discreetly hiding your not-so-healthy purchases in the back of the pantry away from disapproving eyes. Where you go to buy those items goes hand in hand with figuring out how to budget your spending. Luckily for you, the City of Fairfax has a wide selection of supermarkets from the ordinary to the upscale within 13 miles of campus.

The nearest supermarket to campus is Giant in University Mall. There you can find most of your basic meal ingredients. You won’t find Wal-Mart-priced items here, but you’ll save a couple bucks on gas if you drive or shave off a few hours commute since it’s in walking distance. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Three miles away down Braddock Road in Courthouse Plaza is Safeway. It’s a little less pricier than Giant and a farther walk (carpool anyone?), but you get quality items that won’t drain your bank account and it’s open from 5 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to explore the City of Fairfax, catch the Green 2 CUE bus and head down to Trader Joe’s, your “neighborhood grocery store,” located in Pickett Shopping Center on Route 236. In addition to the usual grocery suspects, shopping patrons can find organic produce and products like Organic Super Crunch Cereal and Tea Tree oil every day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. If you’re looking for a more conventional store, try Shoppers Food Warehouse in Fair City Mall. It’s just across the street from Trader Joe’s and offers an impressive international food aisle, as well as kosher items and colossal-sized doughnuts. Shoppers is open Monday through Sunday from 6 a.m. to midnight. If traveling by CUE, be sure to find out what time the last bus runs back to campus before leaving to avoid getting stranded.

Bloom, a refreshing new supermarket based out of North Carolina, and specialized markets such as Amity Halal Meat & Grocery and Super H-Mart are other great options for all your grocery needs. Each store is accessible by CUE on Gold 1 and can be found down the Lee Highway/Fairfax Boulevard corridor. While Bloom is not exactly ethnic, this division of Food Lion has a lot to offer. The store was created with your shopping needs, expectations and behaviors in mind in order to give you a unique shopping experience while providing you with superior service and great prices. Bloom is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Amity Halal Meat & Grocery is a local Halal meat dealer. At Amity, the meat is prepared using Zabihah, the method of ritual slaughter according to Islamic law that says a prayer must be said before the animal is ritually slaughtered.  The store also offers Middle Eastern dish favorites from ful medames (fava beans) to za’atar (thyme & sesame spice mix). Amity Halal Meat & Grocery’s hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, they’re open between 9 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.

At Super H Mart, a popular local Asian grocery, exploring and trying new things is half the fun. Vivid advertisements mingled with the addictive sounds of Asian pop music blaring from the speakers make you want to dance through the aisles while you shop between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. Monday through Sunday. While passing through the produce section, you lose count of how many new fruits and vegetables you’ve just encountered. You can have your choice of seafood ranging in freshness from dried to still kicking and if its kimchi you’re after, H-Mart has a whole kimchi bar offering samples to shoppers.

You’ll need a car to get to the next two places, but the journey will definitely be worth it. Located in its own citadel and purveying the maze of townhomes around it is Wegmans, the mammoth mother of all supermarkets. A word to the wise: it’s best to avoid shopping on an empty stomach at Wegmans. Your taste buds won’t be able to handle it. Once you’re inside, you’ll be compelled to buy every little thing you see because it all just looks so good. Wegmans has a kosher deli, sushi bar, sub shop, several self-serve carryout stations, and a patisserie where you can find every baked good imaginable, prepared fresh daily.

In addition to being able to find almost everything offered at all the other shops in the area, you can also have custom meals prepared for you at the Market Café located inside. You’ll leave the store with a feeling of satisfaction, a trunk full of groceries, and probably a lighter wallet. Like Bloom, Wegmans is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.
The last stop on your grocery adventure is Whole Foods Market, Wegmans’ closest competitor. Tucked away off of Fair Lakes Parkway in the East Market Shopping Center, Whole Foods provides an almost overwhelming amount of food options. Upon entering the store, you’re struck with quite possibly the largest produce section to ever inhabit a supermarket, featuring both locally and organic grown produce. The further in you walk, the more you find. Whole Foods has four restaurant venues, an Italian café, a wine tasting room, two salad bars, a sushi bar, an extensive baked good section featuring European breads baked fresh daily and a variety of meat and seafood options that are prepared in-house. Stop in anytime between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Try the gelato; it’s fantastic.

The next time you find your fridge to be lacking, just grab you wallet or purse and visit any of these supermarkets.  You might be surprised by what you’ll find.

Freshmen, we hate to break it to you, but after the first few months here, you’ll probably get tired of the food choices on campus. It’s like anything else, really—variety is the spice of life. The Johnson Center food court can lose its charm pretty quickly; the traditional chain restaurants available around the City of Fairfax can get boring, and honestly, how many Dollar Menu combinations can you create before your insides are McFried? While Southside is Dining Services’ ‘pride and joy, all the food options will eventually begin to repeat themselves.

With many students living off of their meal plans or Freedom money, budgets for off-campus meals are limited, leaving a lot of well-known restaurants out of the question for regular consumption.  So, in order to better enhance your stomach’s and wallet’s collective happiness, here is a comprehensive list of well-priced dining establishments, all within reasonable driving distance or bus accessible.

Potbelly  Sandwich Works

Closest to campus and reasonably cheap, Potbelly Sandwich Works in Old Town Fairfax will do the job just right for those looking for an excellent hot sandwich. All of their sandwiches are priced exactly the same, so for a little over five bucks you can get their popular “wreck sandwich,” which is comprised of every type of meat you could imagine between two slices of bread, a traditional roast beef or turkey sandwich, or even a pizza sandwich—which tastes just as good as it sounds. To top it all off, most employees will make a combination sandwich on request, such as a roast beef/turkey combo, or an Italian/meatball fusion. They also have excellent soups and cookies available on a day-by-day basis—go for the broccoli and cheddar soup, which is served on Sundays and Mondays.

Five Guys

In the mood for more traditional American fare? It doesn’t get much more traditional than burgers and fries. If that’s your bag, then Five Guys is the place for you. Located about two and a half miles away from campus on Route 50, this burger establishment is not one to be messed with. Their burgers are juicy and their fries are delicious, with the potato skins still on them for an added touch of authenticity. Plus, you customize these $4 to $5 burgers on a list for the cooks to follow, so you know you’re getting exactly what you want.

Mamma Lucia Ristorante Italiano

Sandwich and pizza marathon, anyone? This reasonably priced pizza joint will provide huge slices of Italian-inspired goodness for your dining pleasure. Even though it’s a couple bucks per slice, it’s well worth it for the hearty portions they provide.

They also offer other Italian fare, namely their calzones.  Be careful though, this $6 monstrosity of cheese will give you a run for your money in trying to finish it. Really, what more do college kids want than unreasonable food portions?

Bombay Café

Speaking of more than you can handle portions, if all-you-can-eat is your preferred method of consumption, then Bombay Café on Route 29 may be the answer for you. Monday through Thursday, Bombay Café offers an encompassing buffet of three meat and vegetarian entree choices like tandoori chicken and butter chicken, along with rice, naan and potatoes, all for around five dollars.

Hunan West

If you prefer Chinese food, go with Hunan West, located in Kings Park Shopping Center down Braddock Road.  Though they don’t deliver to campus (unfortunately, we’re just outside of their delivery radius), it is well worth the drive to pick up an order from the restaurant itself. The portions are huge and their chicken dishes are absolutely scrumptious.

Brasa Roja

If you’re looking for other cultural cuisine, you’re in luck; the best pupuseria joint in the City of Fairfax, Brasa Roja, is in Main Street Shopping Center down the road from campus. They offer awesome authentic pupusas and other culinary delights for a very low price.

The next time your stomach’s growling and your wallet is too, get out of your dining-funk and take a trip to one of these nearby establishments for a cheap meal that will leave you full and satisfied.  After all, there’s nothing better than eating delicious food and knowing you’ll have enough money for the next time hunger strikes you.

David Lapidus | Staff Writer

The weekend is fast approaching and you finally asked out that someone who has caught your eye in class. Now you just need something fun to do! Your date options are virtually endless in the City of Fairfax. We all know that Washington, D.C. is definitely a hot spot for dates, but if you live on or near campus, venturing to into the city can seem like a hassle, especially if you don’t have a car.

The City of Fairfax has plenty of restaurants and events that are romantic and entertaining and they cater to any college student’s budget.

Maybe the charming classmate you’ve had your eye on all semester is a fun-loving person you want to have a few laughs with. You’ll probably want to go somewhere fun to keep them entertained. Junior Mala Kabir enjoys recreational activities to keep things exhilarating during a date.

“I really like taking nature walks and going on adventures in the woods,” said Kabir.

If you and your date could use a little fresh air and blue skies, you should visit Van Dyck Park. There you can escape the hustle of busy traffic off of Lee Highway, to a green getaway you can make your own. Take a leisurely stroll along the trail, or even go for a ride on your bikes. If you want to be a little more active, the park has courts for volleyball, tennis and basketball, as well as soccer field. Once you’ve worked up a strong appetite, there are picnic shelters where you can share a homemade meal with your outdoor companion.

If you’re not fond of working up a sweat, but still want to keep things moving, then consider the Fairfax Ice Arena on Pickett Road to test your skate skills. You might fall and make a fool of yourself, but that’s all part of the fun. You can always use the bad balance excuse to do a few laps around the rink hand-in-hand—just in case you fall again, of course. A day at the ice rink is a reasonable $10 per person—totally worth it for the laughs and the full body workout you’ll get.

After all of the falling and fumbling, you’ll need to relax and laugh at your clumsiness over a nice meal. Old Town Fairfax is close by and has some of the best restaurants in the Metropolitan area.

“Eating around Main Street and the court houses is a nice place to hang out with your boyfriend [or] girlfriend,” said junior Alicia Tarancon. “They have delicious restaurants… and at night the little shops are all lit up.” Dining in Old Town Fairfax can be pretty pricey. However, Courtside Thai has delicious cuisine at affordable prices with attentive service. Take your date out front to enjoy your meal al fresco in a floral garden and overlooking the historic buildings of Old Town. What could be better than enjoying the company of your date while surrounded by lilies and rosebushes?

The Sweet Life Café offers tasty deli sandwiches and salads if you’re dining on a budget, but we recommend taking your date there for dessert. Sweet Life has a variety of treats—cakes, ice cream, fudge and chocolate—you can enjoy on their wrap-around porch.

If you and your date are interested in enjoying some good tunes, you should check out one of the restaurants around Main Street that offer live music or karaoke. Picture the twinkle in your date’s eyes as you impress them with your vocal skills; either that, or they’ll be doubling over in laughter as you bust a move onstage. Don’t worry, as the night plays out you’ll be having a fantastic time. Keep in mind that if you’re going the karaoke route, you should probably practice your high notes at home in the shower beforehand.

For a more casual atmosphere, you can visit popular Irish pub, Auld Shebeen on Chain Bridge Road. They have  karaoke on Tuesday nights, live music on Fridays and an Irish Jam session on Saturdays. Right down the street, Potbelly Sandwich Works offers free live music with local musicians. You can also check out P.J. Skidoos Restaurant on Lee Highway for karaoke on Sunday nights and a DJ onTuesdays and Fridays.

Want something a little more upscale? Vespucci, an Italian restaurant located just five minutes from campus on Fairfax Boulevard has live acoustic guitar on Fridays and Saturdays and an open mic night on Sundays.  Not only does Vespucci have a fun atmosphere, but their food is some of the best in Fairfax, and they are “the first and only trans-fat free restaurant in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” according to their website.

If you prefer to keep things low-key, you could always go with the classic dinner and a movie combo.

“I like to keep it casual, so dinner and a movie is always the ideal date for me,” said Tarancon. “It gives us time to talk over dinner and then relax together and watch a movie.”

If pasta is the way to his heart, Bellissimo Ristorante offers exceptional Italian cuisine in an environment that sparks romance. It comes at a price, however. Entrees range from $19.95 to $25.95.

Now for the movies: George Mason University shows late releases in the Johnson Center Cinema on weekends. Movies are free with a Mason student I.D. and only $3 for guests. If you’d rather escape campus for a night, maybe opt for the Cinema Arts Theatre. Just minutes from campus on Main Street, you can view independent and non-mainstream movies for a unique film experience.

Top off your dream date with something sweet. You could always stop at a Starbucks, or you could try something found only in the City of Fairfax. Head back to Sweet Life Café for homemade ice cream, all of your favorite coffee drinks or one-of-a-kind sweets.

You got all of that? Good. All you need to do is gather up the courage to ask your special someone out. With what you know now, you’ll be sure to have a blast. Fun daytime activities, movies, dinner and dessert can all be found just around the corner.

Nicole Ocran | Managing Editor, Editorial

Chanel Dority | Staff Writer

2. Patriot’s Lounge
Sure you’re surrounded by a few university offices and you might receive a questionable glance from the information desk person, but who cares?

You’ve probably already heard about Southside, Mason’s sustainable dining facility. Located in the Chesapeake Area, Southside opened on Oct. 6, 2008 and has since become a popular hangout for students, particularly freshmen and sophomores. It features six dining stations and everything from sandwiches and burgers to cupcakes and cookies. Unlike other dining areas on campus, Southside uses a trayless system in order to help students reduce the amount of food they consume and a composting machine called a pulper churns waste into pulp to reduce waste and save energy. As part of sustainability efforts on campus, Mason uses biodegradable plasticware made from corn-based and recycled materials in Gold Rush, the grab-and-go shop on the lower level of Southside. Like with Southside, Mason is being conscious of the impact new building projects will have on the environment. New buildings on campus are being designed and built to meet a minimum of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard.

The latest sustainable effort to come to Mason is the Farmer’s Market. Sponsored by University Services, the market arrived in May of this year and is scheduled to remain on campus and be held in the Johnson Center North Plaza until October. Every Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., you can visit any of the vendors at the market and purchase a variety of locally grown products ranging from bread and baked goods to fresh milk and eggs. From now until Aug. 19, the market will be held on Wednesdays in Lot K from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will return to the JC North Plaza in time for the start of classes.

The Patriot Green Fund is another new sustainability endeavor by the university that is intended to support environmental initiatives at Mason. The money for the fund will come from a student fee every semester of $5 per full-time student and $2 per part-time student. Potentially, the fund could pay for the installation of solar panels on campus buildings, additional recycling bins, or a campus farm.

Recycling what you use on campus is a really easy and effective way to do your part in the campus greening revolution. You can recycle a number of materials including glass, steel, aluminum, plastics #1 and #2, white paper, mixed paper (receipts, cereal boxes, glossy mail inserts, etc), cardboard and newspaper. Wrappers, plastic grocery bags, and Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, or CFL’s, can be left at the recycling center in the Northern Neck residence hall. Old cell phones and dead rechargeable batteries can be recycled at the JC and Student Union Building II information desks. Ink cartridges can be recycled at Patriot Computers in the JC.

In an effort to reduce the amount of water cups used, Mason created two greening bottles, one for cold liquid and one for hot beverages. The Mason reusable green bottles are $5 and can be purchased at the convenience stores Patriot Express and One Stop Shop on campus. The bottles can be refilled with water or soda at any drink station on campus.

The Office of Sustainability, University Services and groups like GMU Environmental Awareness are the first names students think of when they hear the words “green” and “Mason,” but several offices on campus are doing their part to contribute. One example is the Office of Housing and Residence Life, which has made sustainability a priority with their involvement in a few green programs on campus. Their Greening Group has helped increase interest in University President Alan Merten’s Climate Commitment initiative, which demonstrates a pursuit of climate neutrality. OHRL also held Mason’s first energy challenge competition between residence halls Amherst and Brunswick. The goal of the competition was to reduce per-person electricity consumption and encourage students to be more environmentally aware.

A popular recycling program provided by the university is Patriot Pack Out. During the last week of each school year, students can donate unwanted clothing, electronics, working appliances and nonperishable food that will then be donated to local nonprofit groups in the area. In Climate Culture’s contest to determine America’s Greenest Campus, Mason is in second place with 1554 members as of Jun. 2. The contest is the first nationwide contest among colleges to reduce the carbon footprints of their students, faculty, alumni and staff. Students can register with their school e-mail address and have their carbon reductions count towards their university. The winning school has a chance to win up to $20,000 to green our campus. To get involved, you can log on to www.climateculture.com/americas_greenest_campus and register.

As a new Mason student, you’ll be expected to carry on the torch and pitch in to help Mason become a greener place. Take little steps to cut down on your carbon footprint. Remember, no matter how small, every action makes a difference when many individuals make the same decision.

If you’re looking for an engaging and enjoyable place to work, the Patriot Center may be your best bet. The Patriot Center offers flexible scheduling, a modest starting wage and a promise that no two days will be the same.

“It’s a great place to work–they’re really flexible with schedules. I hand in my [school] schedule every month and they let me know what events are going on,” said sophomore Val Shultz, who has been working at the Patriot Center as an usher for two semesters. “I just have to work at least 30 percent of the events every month, so if I have exams or other plans, I can fit my work schedule around them.”

While being a Patriot Center employee may not be the highest paying job on campus, it provides less tangible rewards such as free admission to concerts and shows. “When there’s a basketball game or concert that I like, I’m getting paid to enjoy myself,” Shultz said.

If you value your eardrums far too much to work at the Patriot Center, Fenwick Library is a great substitute. Even though you won’t get to rock out or cheer on the basketball team (unless you do so while helping them find a book), Fenwick Library offers a relaxed work environment, spending money and the opportunity to learn while you earn.

“I started working there just as a way to earn extra money,” said junior Emily Fink, a four-semester veteran at Fenwick. “The biggest perk is that they’re close and they’re very flexible as far as scheduling and school.”

Fink’s title as student assistant includes shelving, shelf reading and discharging books. Looking around Fenwick, you can see how easygoing and relaxed student employees are. At the checkout desk, you might catch them doing coursework or reading their favorite books, or you might find them bobbing their heads to Taylor Swift blasting through their iPods while shelving books.

While the Patriot Center and Fenwick Library are fine for bringing in a couple of extra dollars, jobs related to your major furnish your résumé and keep you interested. Logan Duvon, a junior majoring in psychology, was pleased to learn she could expand her studies at the Child Development Center on campus.

“I love children, it was close and easy to get to and [the children] were in the perfect age range [I planned on working with],” said Duvon. Through her experience as a teacher assistant, Duvon determined the focus of her studies. Along with helping two-year-olds with their letters, doing math and playing games, Duvon worked with an autistic child.

“Spending time with him really made me realize that I wanted to work with kids who have special needs,” Duvon said.

Senior Pat Money is another Mason student furthering his education through his on-campus job. Referred to his current position with the Office of Admissions as client services trainer by a friend, Money enjoys working closely with the George Mason University administration for the inside knowledge it provides and the competitive pay he receives.

“I work [at the Admissions Office] because of what the office is responsible for, helping students get into college and further[ing] their education,” Money said. ‘It’s something I have a passion for and the office is a great working environment.”

Between the convenience of location and the consideration to course schedules that Mason employers give, most jobs on campus automatically have an advantage over other jobs in the area.

Where you decide to work on campus all comes down to what you want out of a job. With almost all campus jobs, you can expect a schedule that fits your course load, great pay and maybe even a new group of friends in your coworkers. If you’re looking for more than just pocket money, you’ll have to figure out which campus office best suits your career goals. An accounting major might consider looking for a job with the Office of Financial Aid while a communication major might find a good fit with one of the organizations in the Office of Student Media.

Regardless of what you pick, the verdict is the same: working on campus will give you enough dignity to stop begging relatives for money, plus a flexible schedule that won’t hurt your academics or your social life.

Written by Owen Ito, VoxPop Staff Writer
Photo by Grace Kendall