The second official Mustang Rodeo took place throughout George Mason on Friday April 7, the day before Spring Break started. In addition to rewarding eligible students for their excellence throughout the third quarter, the event served as a source of stress relief from the arduous last week of countless tests and assignments.
The list of events varied from documentaries on culture and current issues, to workshops on building airplanes, and even a historical bus tour of Falls Church City.
Lasso staff reporters walked through the halls of George Mason just minutes after the event to find out which ones were most popular.
My Career at the CIA
Former CIA agent Jay Kainer spoke to students at the main gym about his experience with CIA from how he applied to what he did as an officer.
“He informed us really well about the job requirements, like having a foreign language and some martial arts training [and] gave us a description of his life as a Vietnam veteran,” freshman Aaron Kryk said.
“It was really nice to hear from a really experienced and previous member of the CIA, and it got me interested in the agency,” freshman Niharika Singhvi said.
“He seems really knowledgeable about the things he did over time and under cover in Geneva and Switzerland. He gave people interested in the field a sense of the requirements and what it was like compared to the movies,” senior Lauren Capozzi said.
Habitat for Humanity Doormat Decoration
The Habitat for Humanity Club took a break from their usual service with house building and embarked on the creation of doormats. These projects would ideally go to the houses that the club works on.
“I thought it was really fun, we designed cool mats and I think everyone who participated got something out of it. The things we made went out to those who needed it so it was nice to serve the community,” junior and club leader Megan Murphy said.
“We painted doormats that said ‘hello’ on them and had pictures of suns on them. It was cute. I really like the idea that it was going to another person not from Mason and that we had a great time planning and painting it,” sophomore Alex Biggs said.
Knittin’ with Kittens
This event was largely made up of Mustangs passionate about knitting, eating, playing with senior Ellie Christensen’s cat, or all of the above.
“There was food so that was nice and there was a large variety of tea. There was knitting but I did not participate; I went for the kittens,” junior Hope Bossart said.
Miss Representation
Students, both male and female, watched a film depicting the factors that contribute to the lack of representation of women in positions of power and influence in America.
“It was good because there was guys there too; they need to know that girls live that way,” sophomore Tania Del Moral said. “It was very truthful about society.”
Plastic Paradise
This rodeo featured a documentary about plastic pollution. Students learned about the Pacific Ocean Garbage Ocean Patch, an island two times the size of Texas of purely trash and plastic, and several other instances of contamination around the world.
“There was a lot of things I didn’t know about, like the BPA in thermal paper receipts that rubs into your skin, it causes cancer,” sophomore Shea Ruyak said.
The World We Live In
Another documentary rodeo, Tenzin Namgyel presented multiple short clips regarding current issues with racial bias and stereotyping followed by open ended discussion questions.
“In the end it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” junior Tenzin Namgyel said. “ It was cool to have a discussion about the issues and then have students show their emotions about how they felt about it.”
Theater Sports
Students were broken up into teams to compete in various theater-style games. This rodeo was open to all students at Mason, not just those enrolled in a theater class.
“It was fun because it was something I’m specifically interested in,” senior Rachel Skomra said.
“Theater Sports was a fun way to unwind. I don’t take theater as a class, so it was a great opportunity for me to experience a little bit of it, junior Will Langan said. “Rachel had an Australian exchange student with her, and even though he was a self-proclaimed “non-theater kid”, he loved all the various improv games we played.”
