Mid-Week Round-Up: Earth Day Edition

By Student Media Freelancer Aram Zucker-Scharff, GMU Events Round-Up

Wow, there is plenty to do this week. We have three major events all colliding this week. Asian Pacific American Heritage month continues. But that's the least of what is going on. The biggest things you'll see on campus this semester look like Mason Week and Earth Week, both with a huge number of events.

Earth Week centers around Tuesday's Earth Day, with more movies, events, and talks then I could get to in one blog post.

Tuesday (Apr. 22) - Earth Day!

• Bike to Mason Day Arrivals [Earth Week] - 7 to 10 a.m. @ North Plaza - Those who bike to campus today get a free breakfast outside of the JC.


• Radiant City Film and Discussion [Earth Week] - 10 to 11:55 a.m. @ JC Cinema - Radiant City, a full-length mockumentary about suburban development will be shown. "It educates the viewer on the source of urban sprawl and about the social issues it causes, while poking fun at a typical family who has moved into a 'development' in the 'burbs." At 11:35 a.m. the movie ends and a discussion on the topic of the movie begins.


• Transportation and Sustainability Fair [Earth Week] - 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. @ North Plaza - Check out this fair today for bike maps and other information related to Mason Day and Earth Day. Check out booths from the Sierra Club, Traveling Bike Museum, SDS, and plenty more.


• Kilowatt Ours [Earth Week] - 12 to 12:45 p.m. @ JC Cinema - Introduction by Dr. Susie Crate. Check out this movie, a 45 min. documentary about coal power and increasing household efficiency.


• Botanical Tours of Campus [Earth Week] - 12:05 to 1 p.m. @ Krug Hall, Rm 15 - This event looks to be plenty of fun. Environmental Science Professor Andrea Weeks takes students on a botanical walking tour of campus, checking out all the plants that grow on Mason's campus.


• Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars [Earth Week] - 12:45 to 1:20 p.m. @ JC Cinema - Zack Fields introduces this short movie on the politics behind the fight to turn the nation away from fossil fuels, with a focus on grassroots advocacy.


• Fighting Goliath, Kilowatt Ours, Discussion With the Experts [Earth Week] - 1 to 2 p.m. @ JC Cinema - Discuss the last two Earth Day movies with Dr. Susie Crate, Zack Fields, Dr. Allison Macfarlane and Tom Owens.


• Mountain Mourning [Earth Week] - 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. @ JC Cinema - Kayti Wingfield of the Sierra Club introduces this movie about how blowing up the top of mountains scars the environment.


• Softball v. North Carolina Central [Athletics] - 3 to 4 p.m. @ George Mason Stadium - Game 1 of a doubleheader.


• Earth Day Celebration & Awards [Earth Week] - 3:30 to 5:15 @ North Plaza - Earth Day comes to the fore at this event. There is a Bike Rally and a presentation of awards and prizes for the Energy Competition and for Bike to Mason Day. There will be a number of speakers, including: Mason's Chief of Staff Tom Hennessey, Provost Peter Stearns, Chairman Gerry Connolly, and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Mason's role as an agent of conservation will be a big topic.


• Green Social [Earth Week] - 5 to 7 p.m. @ Mason Damon's Grill - Network with other green-minded faculty, staff and students.


• Screen on the Green: "The Story of Stuff" and "Enchanted" [Earth Week] - 5 or 7:30 to 10 p.m. @ President Park Moved to JC Atrium - I'm unsure if this starts at 7:30 or 5 p.m.. Watch "The Story of Stuff", a tour of the costs of consumer culture, from iPods to resource extraction. Followed by "Enchanted."