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Viviana Smith/Fourth Estate

BY VIVIANA SMITH, SENIOR STAFF REPORTER

A day before Polish composer Frédéric Chopin’s 215th birthday, hundreds gathered in the wooded orchestra hall of the National Philharmonic at Strathmore to celebrate and appreciate multiple works of the late composer performed by renowned pianist Brian Ganz. 

On Feb. 28, the National Philharmonic hosted Ganz’s “Extreme Chopin Project” for the 14th annual recital. The project is a major “quest” in Ganz’s career to perform all of Chopin’s works, according to Katie Drozynski, director of marketing at the National Philharmonic. Drozynski shared that the annual event is highly anticipated by patrons. The most recent performance sold  nearly every seat in the house. 

Patrons packed into the narrow seats of the concert hall. The audience varied greatly in age, both old and young, and they crammed together awaiting the performance. Late arrivals quietly flowed in as Jim Kelly, president of the National Philharmonic, prefaced the concert with a reminder of the beauty in the arts. 

While the shared love for music and the arts brought many into the theater, Chopin’s works left a long-lasting impact on history and music culture, drawing in an eager crowd. Key speakers echoed Chopin’s accomplishments with pride.

Following Kelly’s opening statement, the U.S. Embassy of Poland’s Deputy Head of Mission Adam Krzywosądzk highlighted Chopin’s impact on Poland. Referring to Chopin as “one of Poland’s greatest cultural treasures,” Krzywosądzk praised his works as symbols of resilience and courage in addition to being beautifully melodic. 

“Chopin’s works resonated deeply with the Polish people during our struggles for independence,” he said. “His music also served as a social strength throughout subsequent fights for freedom.” 

According to Chopin’s Britannica webpage, the works of Chopin were heavily influenced by the “glories and sufferings” of Poland. “[Chopin] sang of his own land, of his own people and he communicated the spirit of Poland to the rest of the world through the language he spoke so eloquently,” according to The American Institute of Polish Culture Inc.

Krzywosądzk described the various historical moments of Polish resistance but was cut off by a thunderous wave of applause and cheering. 

When Ganz stepped on stage, the audience greeted him with applause and smiles. Beginning with 4 Mazurkas, Op. 68, Ganz played with passion. The pianist switched from soft, flowing notes to swift, powerful strikes, shifting the intensity within each piece. As he paused between compositions, the air was still with anticipation for his next note.

It was as if Ganz was in his own world. Under the beaming stage lights, he hunched over the keys, his hands gently gliding left to right. His emotion with every note was infectious, as a woman on the balcony above continuously wiped her teary eyes throughout the evening. 

Between songs, Ganz pulled away from the piano to breathe and speak with the audience. Ganz discussed the “Extreme Chopin project,” recounted Chopin’s complex history and shared his love for music. “It feels much more like a conversation between artist and audience,” Drozynki said. “I think our patrons really love to feel his passion… It’s just contagious.”

Ganz performed alongside two guest artists, including flutist Julietta Curenton and pianist Alon Goldstein. Each artist beamed with passion, their eyes fixed on their sheet music. The only time they looked away was to exchange happy glances or close their eyes, disappearing to an orchestral-plane surrounded by melodious notes. 

The emotional connection to music was a recurring theme of the night. For some patrons, these feelings were undeniable. Utah-born Caroline Alder Pierson explained that Chopin’s music brings her a sense of nostalgia, as it reminds her of her late father. Her father, a classically trained pianist and Chopin fan, would wake her up to the sounds of Chopin every morning at 6 a.m. “[The performance] brought so much back to me,” she shared, smiling. “Chopin was always my favorite. He played it beautifully.” 

As the concert neared its finale, Ganz reminded the audience of the passion and strength one can find in music and how Chopin’s works reflect that. He referenced current political challenges, acknowledging that times are difficult for many. “I hope that tonight has been comforting and a solace for those of you who may be afraid,” Ganz said, pausing as the audience applauded. “May music continue to be a haven for all of us through challenging times.”

Ganz continued this point in an interview after the concert, sharing that Chopin’s music comes from the heart—something he believes the world needs more of.

“ I think we need more heart and less head in the world right now,” he said. “We need emotion, we need love…these are all things that, for me, abound in Chopin’s music.”

Austin Diaz/ Fourth Estate

BY AUSTIN DIAZ, STAFF WRITER

It was a cool, winter night. My sister and I were watching Disney Channel’s Austin and Ally on the family room’s television. My parents were in the kitchen when they heard a knock at the door. The man who appeared on our front steps asked, “Can we speak to Wilmer Diaz?” Beyond the door, my dad was, now, kneeling and being handcuffed. At that moment, all I felt was fear, as  I cried to my grandmother while looking out the window, seeing flashlights on the side of my dads work van as they searched my father for gang tattoos. 

This isn’t a unique story, at present many children of immigrants are experiencing a similar story. At young ages, children were witness to their parents being taken into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s custody without knowing when they would see them again. 

With the election of President Donald Trump, this fear is propagated. 

Today, ICE raids are happening nationwide due to President Trump’s executive orders signed within his first month in office.  Despite this, the immigrant community did not expect ICE to arrive at safe havens such as Fairfax County public schools, community shelters, churches and Mason’s Fairfax campus. 

On Jan. 20, Trump announced the immediate launch of an immigration crackdown, in sanctuary cities such as New York City and Chicago.

It directly affects the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia metropolitan area with the estimated number of immigrants being 95.4 thousand people in 2023 alone, equating to 14.1% of the population. It amplifies the fear of ICE raids and deportations in the area and in places I call home.

Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin also signed an executive order to permit state law enforcement, corrections officers and local government to assist and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. 

Worry increased when ICE agents were spotted in the DMV area during January. Plus, the detention of undocumented immigrants has been rampant with two accounts of arrests made.

Another arrest of seven undocumented immigrants occurred on Feb. 12, in Annandale, 15 minutes from the Fairfax campus. While raids haven’t happened in Fairfax, places such as Herdon, Reston and Falls Church have seen otherwise. With this being an area where many undocumented immigrant communities reside and where a large number of commuter students come to Mason, the potential of raids occuring hangs over all student’s heads.

The number of undocumented immigrant students are currently unknown. One Mason club called “Undocumason” has a total of 2,336 followers on Instagram. The organization, tailored towards the Hispanic and Latino community, have dispersed “red card” guides, to assist with interactions with ICE. It’s something I wish I knew when dad was taken into custody and ICE detention. 

My story is not the first nor the last, but it’s one of many stories needing to be heard. While my father’s legal status is no longer an issue, my campus friends are in a different boat.  People’s safety and trauma is a barrier for people to share these stories.  It’s the exact reason why I will tell my story and fight for my friends and family here in America. I fight with every breath so that we don’t live in fear any longer.

Jordan Giles/Fourth Estate

BY CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, SPORTS EDITOR

Mason women’s basketball’s historic season came to a close on March 22, as they lost to Florida State in the first round, 94-59.  Despite the loss, the team broke a record of 27 wins, an A-10 championship and their first ever NCAA March Madness—cementing their place in program history. 

“This year, no matter the outcome of this game, does not define who they are as a whole,” Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis said. “They are champions. They have put a legacy in place at Mason. They’ve won an A10 Championship and they’ve had the first ever NCAA birth at the university that can never be taken away,” 

Blair-Lewis expressed immense pride in her team, “I thanked them in the locker room for the deposit that they’ve made in this program and I’m super proud of not just the basketball players they become, but the human beings and the leaders they’re going to go out into the world to become.”

In her final game for Mason, senior guard Paula Suarez scored a career-high 25 points, hitting 5-of-9 three-pointers. 

Suarez, who played under Coach Blair- Lewis from the beginning, reflected on her journey. “I’m just really happy, really proud of the program, the team…how much I’ve grown on the court and off the court, thanks to the coaches. I’m just really happy, looking back and seeing where the program is.”

Throughout the season, multiple players stepped up alongside Suarez, including sophomore guard Kenndey Harris, redshirt sophomore forward Zahirah Walton, graduate student forward Nalani Kaysia, graduate student guard Ta’Viyanna Habib, junior guard Page Greenburg, sophomore forward Louis Volker and junior forward Nekhu Mitchell. Each contributed on different given nights, not just offensively, but defensively as well, helping to shut down opponents from scoring. 

Coach Blair-Lewis emphasized the team’s growth through adversity. “The losses we took this year were losses we needed to take the next step. And, I think those losses prepared us to go into the A-10 tournament this year and really become a team playing at its best and peaking at the right time,” She said. “I’m really excited about this journey especially with this team this year…from rejection to redemption.”

The players expressed their excitement about entering the NCAA tournament, eager to finally  experience what it’s like to compete on the national stage. Before the game, Coach Lewis sought the perfect message to inspire her team. 

“The story that I want to tell is the story that you wrote—your story—a story that will be for years to come told about these great women who believed in something when there was no evidence of it,” Coach Lewis said. “That believe big enough to believe that they could be future champions and you guys are the authors, so you get to decide how long these chapters go. And when the chapter ends  tonight, I’d like for you to keep writing because I’ve enjoyed reading every single page of your journey.”

With that, Mason women’s basketball’s incredible “Believe Big”  season comes to an end. But with the foundation laid and a bright future ahead, their story is far from over.

BY CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, SPORTS EDITOR, NAWAAL NACKERDIEN AND SAAHITI KIRAN CHAMALA, CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

When I traveled back home to India over break, I thought back to all the snacks that shaped my childhood. Growing up, my favorite candy was Gems—a colorful and sugar-coated chocolate treat that always made me feel like I was eating little rainbow jewels.

I loved Soan Papdi, a dessert that melts in your mouth like cotton candy, leaving behind an unforgettable delicate and rich taste. And of course, there were banana chips—a snack I always gaslit myself into thinking were healthy, even though they are fried to a crisp in oil. Another classic is Chikki, a sweet yet crunchy peanut brittle, a rite of passage for any Indian kid. 

I brought these snacks back to the Fourth Estate office not just to share a taste of home, but to give an insight into the food I grew up with. Each bite carries a memory, a story and  connection to my roots. I was excited to see how everyone would react to flavors that are so familiar to me yet so new to them. With that said, here are the opinions of Christian Segovia, Sports Editor, and Nawaal Nackerdien, co-Editor-in-Chief.

Soan Papdi

Nawaal Nackerdien/Fourth Estate

Soan Papdi is a gift given to other families during Diwali, the festival of lights in Southeast Asia, predominantly India. Overall, butterscotch Soan Papdi was really unique because it wasn’t like anything we had before.

Soan Papdi is broken up into cubes, breaking into fine strips or fibers when held. While it tasted like butterscotch, it was pure and sweet, singing on the tongue. Due to its fine texture, it melted away in a similar fashion to cotton candy. 

Soan Papdi can include more than eight ingredients. Despite the amount, nothing stood out overtly. Soan Papdi had the perfect combination of ingredients to create a delicious treat.  Therefore, we gave it a 10/10. 

Mint Tic Tac

The next snack, Tic Tacs, are very famous in India. We found that the reason that Tic Tac could have been a huge draw was because of its marketing as a “premium brand.” 

Ferrero, owner of Tic Tac, creates specialised flavors branded towards driving more sales in India, including Strawberry and Jeera-Black Salt. 

One can never go wrong with Tic Tacs. A small box of mints in your pocket, perfect to snack on throughout the day when heading to classes or going home is always great. Overall, the classic snack doesn’t need a rating. 

Gems

Christian Segovia/Fourth Estate

“Gems,” according to Chamala, are M&M-like but “Indian.” The name, Gems, is very fun and has a colorful fun appeal. 

Fun-fact, around the year 2005, Cadbury India copyrighted both the name “Gems” and “Gems Bond” for marketing purposes. Afterwards, a court battle between Cadbury India and Neeraj Food Products disputed over the rights to advertise with the phrase “James Bond” for two products with the same name. 

When opening the bag of Gems, it smelled eerily similar to M&Ms. Instant chocolate, but with a muted flavor. The Gems themselves were smaller than M&Ms, and we could tell that there was a significant difference between the two. 

“It’s kind of muted,” said News Editor Barrett Balzer. The chocolate flavor was much quieter than expected and we would have preferred more of it. The chocolate was very soft and not hard to chew on in any capacity. While everything felt muted during the tasting, there was nothing that deterred us from eating the Gems and they definitely weren’t bad. Therefore, we rate it a 6.5 out of 10.

Groundnut Jaggery Chikki

Christian Segovia/Fourth Estate

Next we tried Groundnut Jaggery Chikki. A sweet snack that snaps and sings on the tongue. Typically, Jaggery Chikki is more famous with the interchangeable ingredients of dried fruit and peanuts. Saahiti brought us the groundnuts version to snack in this review. 

Jaggery is an unrefined form of sugar. Our version, including groundnut, tasted heavily of peanuts. The Jaggery broke easily in fine chunks and overall reminded us of peanut brittle. The high point was that Jaggery is much softer than hardened cane sugar. In addition to the sugar and peanut flavors, we tasted added spices that we couldn’t identify. 

On top of this—it’s actually much healthier than peanut brittle! With a great taste, and healthy side effects, we rated it a solid 10 out of 10. 

Red Chili Banana Chips

The final snack was dried banana slices with chilli spice as their flavoring. Before trying the snack we were a bit worried. When it comes to spicy chips, you either get hit spices to the back of the throat or become overwhelmed with the chip as a whole.

 With these, we were pleasantly surprised; it’s almost flavorless with the spice being a subtle add on. We mostly agreed that we would eat the banana chips as a snack anytime. 

“It’s very snackable and just really good,” said Segovia. Nackerdien agreed.  We rated it a 5 out of 10.