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(Courtesy of K.Photozz)

BY VIVIANA SMITH, SENIOR STAFF WRITER

If you hear eclectic afrobeats and the cheer of excited audiences, chances are The Black Mambas are performing. Mason’s Black Mambas dance team has been around for 10 years, bringing the heat to many events on and off campus with their mixed style of afrobeats and majorette-inspired moves. 

According to their Mason360 profile, their mission is “to share African culture through the art of dance, and promote physical wellness.” At their performances, the spread of African culture and joy is undeniable, as audience members can’t help but cheer and dance along. They’re a crowd favorite, as seen by their win for “People’s Choice” and “Girl Scouts Choice” at the 2025 International Week (iWeek) dance competition. 

Aside from the love they receive from the crowd, the Black Mambas seem to share even more love from within. 

Their fast-paced and perfected performances are strengthened by their daily practices. Freshman Black Mambas’ dancer Whitney Cardwell shared that the team continuously sharpens their routines during practice. Though it sounds tough, when practice starts, it’s mostly smiles and laughter as they rehearse. 

“We never have a practice without laughing or some type of joke that we make,” Cardwell said. “It really feels like a good community within the girls. I genuinely think of them as like my sisters.” 

Sophomore Janice Champnkem shared that there’s never an awkward moment with the group. “We get along really well… we’re just a big family,” she said. 

For the Black Mambas’ President, junior Esther Gibson, holding the family together is both rewarding and sometimes challenging. Gibson shared that breaking people out of their shells is difficult, but welcoming new members into the family is what they do best. “The way we love each other, the way we care for each other,” she said. “I don’t like to think of us as a team, it’s more.”

Gibson shared that it can be a struggle to balance being a leader, friend and student, but “it’s hard to feel any kind of negative emotions” about the pressures because of the strong community around her. “They’re great people, great work ethic, great students, great dancers, great everything,” she said with a smile. The familial bond brings out the best in the dancers, with some sharing how they’ve grown in their self-confidence as well as their skills. 

Champnkem shared that she always loved to dance, but never knew how to put the right moves together on her own. After being convinced to join the team, the Black Mambas helped build her up from the basics. Champnkem believes it’s the camaraderie that encouraged her. 

Cardwell said this community makes her feel welcomed. “Especially as a freshman, it’s sometimes hard to kind of find your people and get out of your comfort zone,” she said. “With them, I was able to do that easily…being able to do that made me feel better about myself.”

The confidence was beaming from each member—probably because the Black Mambas are still reliving the high of their two wins at the iWeek dance competition. “It literally felt amazing… when I heard the crowd shouting, ‘big mambas…’ I was like ‘what’,” Gibson said. “ I wish I could relive that.”

For Champnkem, the iWeek performance was her first performance with the team. “Our hard work and dedication, we practiced everyday…it was so smooth,” she said. 

“Sometimes it’s truly not about that first or second place win. It’s about how we make the audience feel,” Cardwell said. “It’s nice when we see that we’ve impacted somebody else.”

The process of joining the Black Mambas is competitive, according to Gibson, but she encourages those who are willing to be their most authentic self to try out. The team is full of dancers who add their own flavor to each move, shared Gibson, so there’s always room for a new flow. 

“Don’t be afraid,” Cardwell urged any newcomers. “You never truly truly know until you just do it.” Cardwell insists that the Black Mambas—rather “sisters”—are here to help one another each dance step of the way. 

Chris Torres/Fourth Estate

BY CHRIS TORRES, STAFF WRITER

George Mason men’s volleyball fell to Penn State, 3-2, in five sets on Saturday evening, April 12, at the Recreation Athletic Complex. The Patriots have lost five straight matches and sit with a conference record of 4-6. 

Senior outside hitter Giomar Collazo led the Patriots with 17 kills and four service aces; junior middle blocker Evan Snodgrass had a career high 15 kills on the evening. Senior setter Troy McDonald led the team with 45 assists. On the defensive side, freshman libero Stef Kins led the team with 11 digs and junior middle blocker Elijah Lazor had four total blocks. 

In the first set, Penn State held an early control. Seven of the Nittany Lions’ first 10 points were errors by Mason. The Patriots were able to stay in the set thanks to kills by Collazo, Snodgrass and sophomore outside hitter Robert Evangelista. 

Mason took the lead midway in the first set at 17-16 and had a set point at 24-22. The Nittany Lions prevented two Patriot set points and tied it at 24-24. Penn State took advantage and won two straight points to win the set, 26-24. 

The Patriots got off to a better start in the second set, as the trio of Snodgrass, Evangelista and sophomore opposite hitter Jackson Herbert each registered multiple kills to spark the offense. With the score at 23-23, Collazo got a kill and forced an attack error to win the set for the Patriots, 25-23.  

The Patriots fell into a hole early in the third set, down 11-3. Penn State sophomore Matthew Luoma, who finished the match with 17 kills, powered the Nittany Lions in the third set to a 22-18 lead with six kills. The Patriots went on a 4-0 run to tie the match at 22-22 and put pressure on Penn State. 

A wild run ensued, during which Collazo and Penn State senior Will Kuhns exchanged points back and forth, giving both teams an opportunity to win the set. The Patriots prevailed in the intense duel, winning the crucial third set 31-29, due to attack errors by the Nittany Lions. 

The fourth ran the longest of the match, with 62 points disputed. Each team had several exchanges with one another until Penn State took control and created a set point at 24-20. Collazo got three kills to tie the set at 24-24. 

The Patriots had four match points to close out the Nittany Lions but three service errors occurred on the critical points needed. A kill by Kuhns, who led Penn State with 18 in the match, sealed the fourth set for the Nittany Lions, 32-30.

In the fifth set, neither team could build an early lead as they exchanged points up until a timeout called by Mason with the score tied 8-8. The Nittany Lions went on a 7-4 run to set up their first match point of the night. Kuhns took advantage and served an ace to win the set, 15-12, and win the match for Penn State. 

Up next for the Patriots are two home matches against the University of Charleston on Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19, streaming on ESPN+. 

Sam Douglas/Fourth Estate

BY SAM DOUGLAS, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

On Saturday morning at Mason Stadium, April 12, the Patriots fell 15-8 to the Rhode Island Rams after being unable to keep up a hot start momentum from their five goal score in the first quarter. 

In the “It Only Takes One” Fentanyl Awareness game, Mason ended the first quarter with a 5-3 lead, but were held off the board in the second quarter by Rhode Island’s defense. Mason was only able to score three goals total in the second half. 

Rhode Island started out steady with three goals in each of the first three quarters of the game. The game was still close halfway into the fourth quarter with Rhode Island hanging onto a 10-8 lead, but the Rams scored five goals in the last six minutes of the game to pull away.

Junior midfielders Kaitlyn Bestick, Dahlia Trippel and Kate Anders each scored two alongside freshman attacker Catherine Pollard and junior midfielder Riley Ellis each scoring one goal for Mason.

The win pushes Rhode Island’s record to 7-7 overall and 3-5 in A-10 play during their inaugural season. Mason falls to 6-9 overall and 1-7 in conference.

Present at the game was Virginia First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin, an advocate of fentanyl awareness. Before the game, Youngkin was named an honorary captain and presented with a ceremonial lacrosse stick during the pregame festivities.

Youngkin had previously stopped by Mason in October to talk to student athletes, including the women’s lacrosse team, about her “It Only Takes One” campaign, which aims to spread awareness about the dangers of the drug fentanyl.

The loss effectively ends Mason’s chances of making the A-10 tournament, as they fall to three games behind current six seed Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with two games left of the season. Rhode Island rises to seventh in the standings, and their match-up with VCU on April 26 could have major implications for the sixth team in the A10 tournament.

Mason will play La Salle at Mason Stadium on April 19, before closing out the season in Amherst against UMass on April 26.

(Photo provided by Boyd-Applbaum campaign)

BY SAM DOUGLAS, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

[Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]

Q: Can you introduce yourself? What year are you in, and what’s your major?

Jae Boyd (JB): I am currently a third-year major in government and international politics with a minor in political communication.

I am currently the president and founder of the Women in Law Association, we are going into our third year. I also served in a bunch of committees regarding student conduct, whether it would be honor committee, residential board, and I have also served on the writing across curriculum committee. I got appointed to secretary of academics in August 2024, so I only have six months of student government experience under my belt.

Why are you qualified to be student body president?

JB: I think I am qualified to be student body president because I am coming with a different experience. No shade to anybody that is running, but I feel as people coming from an RSO (registered student organization) background and a university committee background, we have a more diverse perspective. You have to know when students are not gonna be busy to pop up at a kiosk, know times around the Johnson Center where there is foot traffic, know what events attract students. I feel like a lot of people came into Student Government when they were a freshman and all they know is that type of mindset, not realizing you have to tailor to students. It is not supposed to be the other way around. 

I think that is what makes me more qualified because I am bringing a diverse experience. I could say student government has helped because you get to learn administrators, you get to learn the people that are in Merten. But as far as actually learning how to sit down and talk to students, I think my RSO and university committee experience is my advantage in this.

Why should Mason students vote for you?

JB: One thing I can say is that I am a person that stands on actions, not words. One of the things I was very disappointed about how performative Student Government is. People will say key words like, “oh, we are going to outreach students,” but how are you going to outreach to students? 

I feel like Mason students should vote for change. They should vote for somebody who is actually going to set achievable and attainable goals. We should be more collaborative with RSOs. We should connect students to administrators. And I have done that with the small amount of power and time in that organization. I feel as though if students really want change, they should vote for me, not just people that say words or can articulate a certain way. We need somebody who is going to fully change. I have even vouched for some of the other candidates just in case I lose, that I think would actually set forth that change.

What sets you apart from the other three tickets?

JB: Being collaborative with RSOs. Last Sunday, April 13, was YardFest, and I was tabling with my organization. I realized as I was talking to other RSOs, whether it would be academic, cultural, community, I am the first candidate that has spoken to them, spoken to certain aspects of fraternity and sorority Life. Hearing their comments about how I am the first person to speak to them, I am like, that is an issue.

Seeing Student Government individuals only during campaign season—that is an issue. And I feel like I am the only person that is willing to change. Even during the debate, I could not really articulate well because I was having a health issue, but I was trying to make a point of, you all have been in the organization for a year, two years, three years. You all could not make a smaller change, especially with outreach if you guys really wanted to. It should not take someone that wants to run for presidency to go, “Oh, let’s go reach out to all of the cultural RSOs,” like no, they have already been here. I feel like my campaign being more transformative, not transactional, sets it apart from the other three candidates. I do like some of the things that they are doing. However, I feel as though we can’t progress and be unified if students feel left out.

If elected student body president, what is the first thing you are going to do in office?

JB: The first thing I am going to do is start sending emails out to all organizations. And like I said, I think if I get elected, we have to build community ties and we have to amend those that we have hurt in the past. The first thing I am going to do is make sure I get mass emails out to all organizations so they know this is the president, this is the vice president, this is what the administration looks like, because I am going to be really transparent with this new structure of student government. You need somebody that is actually going to want to push for change. It can be so easy to fall into what we have been going through, where students feel like their voices are not being heard. A lot of students just want to feel like they are connected on campus and I feel Student Government perpetuates separating people on campus.

If you are elected, how do you see the school being different at this time next year?

JB: I know a lot of the other candidates have thrown out that they worked in D.C. I also have an internship in D.C., but I do not feel that it is important for what we are trying to do here. But seeing everything that is going on with higher education, if I am elected, I hope that by this time next year, I leave Mason a little bit more unified. I went into Student Government thinking I was going to make a better change for my community. I might have done some parts of it, but I realized certain leaders on campus are saying they have not had a conversation with the president or vice president since last year, and that is honestly terrifying. We need to be unified because there is strength in numbers. Let us come together instead of separating. 

There is a lot of pressure on Mason right now, both from the Board of Visitors as well as the federal government. How do you plan to address that as president?

JB: Strength in numbers. The criticism right now is you do not have initiatives, you just want to build relationships. But realistically, when there are times like a student leader on campus who wants to meet with President Washington, I use my resources to get him that meeting.

That is why I keep going back to building relationships and having unity on campus. It should not just be the president leaving the fight. It should be everybody leading the fight and compromising and wanting to get to this big goal.

Anything else students should know about you, your campaign, or your plans?

JB: I want students to know that I want to truly win based off of merit. I know there are a lot of things going on, especially in D.C., but I do not want people to look at me as Jae, the Black girl; Jae, the first-gen student; Jae, the person that is coming from a certain economic status. I want people to see Jae was a good leader who tried her hardest to not give up.

What is one fun fact about you that students should know before they cast your vote?

JB: I feel like everybody knows I am from New York. But I will say, past the aggressive exteriors, I do genuinely care and fight. If my mom was here, she would say I am the most selfless person you would meet. I always put people before me. And I think that is what the students need. They need somebody that is going to put them before themselves and not look at student government as a law school resume builder.

(Photo provided by the Johnston-Lincoln campaign)

BY SAM DOUGLAS, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

[Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]

Q: Can you introduce yourself? What year are you in, and what’s your major?

Zach Lincoln (ZL): This is my second year here at Mason, I am a junior, and major in public administration.

Why are you qualified to be the student body vice president?

ZL: I will be completely honest, this all happened in the course of maybe two or three weeks. A month ago, I did not think I would be running for this. My running mate and I started seeing the problems that Student Government is having. We feel like we could be representing the people better, both in terms of reaching out to people and making sure everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from or what you believe in, is welcome at the table. I do not think that is the case with Student Government right now. That is ultimately why we decided to run and also hopefully we can use our platforms if we win to focus on the things that impact students day to day lives, like dining or housing, or in my case today, class registration.

Why should Mason students vote for you?

ZL: Right now, Student Government is in the midst of restructuring themselves. I am not sure that the majority of our student body knows what our student government does in the first place and that they restructured. This whole process was in the course of the semester, and in my opinion was done behind closed doors without the input of the students that they seek to represent, so most of them do not know.

The advantage with that is this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the way student government operates, change our culture, make sure we are actually doing the things we say we are. If I am elected, I would love to have a student government that means what we say and says what we mean.

What sets you apart from the other three candidates?

ZL: I think it is our life experience that sets us apart mostly. Evelyn [Johnston] and I are relatively new to the Senate as opposed to two of the other candidates running. Those two were involved in the restructure process, so they probably know more about that than we do. We know how Student Government works, how it operates, we have that experience, but we are not entrenched. We are new enough to be the new voice of leadership, the new generation that I think Mason needs.

If elected student body president, what is the first thing you are going to do in office?

ZL: I would say the first thing we would do is start reaching out to people. There are a lot of people that I have talked to that have been left behind by Student Government, not just this year, but in years past. This is, again, a generational issue. Making those connections again would be the first thing I would do, because I want everyone at the table, no matter where you are at Mason. If you want to be part of this, if you want a seat at the table, we will give it to you.

If you are elected, how do you see the school being different at this time next year?

ZL: I would love to say a lot of our facilities issues that we are campaigning on would be different, but the burden of that is up to the university. But Student Government can use our position and platform to advocate for that change.

I can not say for sure what the school would look like in a year’s time. A lot could change, like you have seen federally. The way I would measure my success at the end of this is if people are happier here, if this is a place people want to be and they find community.

There is a lot of pressure on Mason right now, both from the Board of Visitors as well as the federal government. How do you plan to address that as vice president?

ZL: The federal administration is threatening, or in some cases for other colleges, have completely pulled federal funding. We need that federal funding to make sure students here get the same opportunities as they did in January, just to make sure we survive as an institution. But at the same time, we should not compromise where we stand, on making sure that we are indeed all together different. We welcome all students, no matter who you are or you have been in life, or what you believe.

Anything else students should know about you, your campaign, or your plans?

ZL: I would love to be more transparent with the students. Maybe look at doing weekly town halls or newsletters and not just have it in Merten Hall or somewhere, but broadcast it on social media. So any Mason student, whether they are here or somewhere else abroad, can see what their student government is doing, and how they are fighting for them.

What is one fun fact about you that students should know before they cast your vote?

ZL: I played violin for ten years now. This fall, I was in the Mason Concert Orchestra. I left because I got an internship with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center this semester. It has been a dream of mine.