Dear Fellow Patriots:
I was so proud to see the campus sights on Election Day: Advocacy groups had booths to inform and engage students. Republicans and Democrats were set up side by side, in spirited competition for votes, as steady streams of students lined up to vote at our on-campus precinct. The full power of our representative democracy was on display in microcosm, and I was inspired about the generation whom we are preparing to take the reins of society one day.
Today, Election Day has come and gone, and we are moving forward. That’s what we do as Americans. We debate, we deliberate, we vote, and we move forward as one nation. Now comes the work of regrouping, understanding the results, and moving forward accordingly.
Regardless of what your views on the election results are, this university is here to support you in your own journey as an engaged citizen. We can all agree that elections – especially, but not uniquely, this election – can become all-consuming. At turns, they exhilarate, exasperate, and exhaust us, because we are so deeply, personally invested in their capacity to profoundly shape and reshape our democratic society. Such is the awesome power of our vote.
George Mason University is a place that lives by its motto, “Freedom and Learning.” As each of us processes the election, know that regardless of where you land on the results, this university has resources and supports for you. That is our job: to prepare students to take on the challenges of their time. To that end, we offer the following:
Upcoming events:
- The Night After: Braver Angels National Meeting (online) Wednesday, 11/6, 7 p.m.
- GOV 103: Election Postmortem with Dr. Jennifer Victor (Schar School) Planetary Hall 131 (Fairfax) Thursday, 11/7, noon to 1:15 p.m.
- 2024 Presidential Election Debrief (Mason Square Campus, Van Metre Hall Room 125 & 126) (Live stream) Monday, 11/11, 6-7:15 p.m.
- After Virginia Votes by VPAP and Schar School (Online Registration) Wednesday, 11/13, 7-8:30 p.m.
- You Voted, Now What? Civic Engagement After the Election (Johnson Center 228) Thursday, 12/5, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Supports:
- Patriots Thriving Together
- Patriot Community Gathering Spaces
- Compassionate Listening Spaces, Wednesday, 11/6 3-5 p.m., HUB 1&2.
- Art of Mindfulness – Fairfax, Monday, 11/11 2:30 – 4 p.m., SUB-I, Room 3311
- Pizza and Perspectives, Monday 11/11, 6– 7:15 p.m., Mason Square Van Metre Hall Room 125 & 126.
- Compassionate Conversations Post-Election, Wednesday, 11/20, 1:30 – 3:00pm, JC Meeting Room C.
- Compassionate Conversations Post-Election, Monday, 11/25, 1:30 – 3:00pm, Zoom
As this long election season draws to a close, I hope we can rest, regroup, and continue doing what we do best at George Mason: Come together across our differences to thrive as an all-inclusive, welcoming community of engaged students and scholars, working to create a more just, free, and prosperous world.
Be well, Patriots.
Sincerely,
Gregory Washington
President