{"id":10061,"date":"2022-03-01T12:11:15","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T17:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10061"},"modified":"2022-03-25T13:44:56","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T17:44:56","slug":"we-are-mason-a-students-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10061","title":{"rendered":"We Are Mason: A Student History"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mason<\/a>

Mason students and administrators watch Governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. sign the bill that creates George Mason University, April 7, 1972. George Mason University Office of University Relations news clippings and press releases records, R0004 Box 6, Folder 6. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Our university celebrates its 50th Anniversary as an independent institution this year. The above photograph is the only one from that day known to exist. It was most likely taken by a George Mason University (GMU) employee in a department housed in the North Building (today known as Finley) called Public Relations. While some versions of this photo have appeared with one or two of the students cropped out (most likely to save space for additional textual content), this one clearly shows that there were just as many George Mason students in attendance as there were governors, chancellors, and Advisory Board presidents.<\/p>\n

SCRC’s upcoming exhibition, “We Are Mason: A Student History”<\/strong> will not only illustrate GMU’s first fifty years as an independent university, but will also focus on how Mason developed in the fifteen years preceding April 7, 1972.\u00a0 As the title suggests, there will be a significant focus on our students, as they were the main reason the institution that would one day be known as George Mason University opened in 1957.\u00a0 Images in the exhibit will illustrate student life throughout the years as well as development of university traditions, growth of the campus, and milestones in our institution’s history.\u00a0 The images and and physical objects in the exhibition date from 1957 to 2022.<\/p>\n

\"Students<\/a>

Students of George Mason College of the University of Virginia in a Saturday Biology lab, March 5, 1964. Richard Sparks photograph collection, RA196304-03. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Photography from three different collections in the holdings of the University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center will be featured. The Richard Sparks photograph collection features 121 images of George Mason College life taken between 1961 and 1965 by Mason student Richard Sparks. The Broadside<\/em> photograph collection, R0135, contains over 55,000 images captured by Mason students working for the Broadside<\/em> student newspaper from between 1973 and 2001. The George Mason University photograph collection, R0120 contains over 120,000 images taken by the University’s Office of University Relations from the mid-1950s to 2007.<\/p>\n

\"George<\/a>

George Mason College students listen to music on Mason Day, April 14, 1970. Photo from the George Mason College yearbook, <\/em>Advocate, 1970. George Mason University Yearbook Collection, #R0132, Box 3, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"George<\/a>

George Mason University students move into the Student Apartments, October 13, 1977. The Apartments, which opened in October 1977, were the first-ever residence halls at George Mason University, housing about 250 students. From the Broadside photograph collection, R0135, Box 15, Page 57, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to this exhibition, SCRC will be celebrating this momentous occasion all year on social media – be sure to follow us (see below for links) and check out the hashtag #gmuscrc50 !<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We Are Mason: A Student History” is scheduled to run from April- August 2022 in Fenwick Library. The exhibition is curated by Robert “Bob” Vay, Technology and Exhibitions Archivist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0accounts. \u00a0To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n

<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our university celebrates its 50th Anniversary as an independent institution this year. The above photograph is the only one from that day known to exist. It was most likely taken by a George Mason University (GMU) employee in a department housed in the North Building (today known as Finley) called Public Relations. While some versions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":10067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,529,198,5,94],"tags":[902,903,455,635,263,901,30,57,214],"class_list":["post-10061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibits","category-george-mason-university-history","category-photography-collections","category-scrc-interest","category-university-archives","tag-902","tag-april-7","tag-archives","tag-fairfax-campus","tag-george-mason-college","tag-george-mason-university-50th-anniversary","tag-gmu-students","tag-photography","tag-undergraduate-students"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/R0135_25_131_4-16-98_MASONDAY_lite.jpg?fit=1800%2C1159&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-2Ch","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10208,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10208","url_meta":{"origin":10061,"position":0},"title":"George Mason University Becomes Independent, April 7, 1972","author":"Bob Vay","date":"August 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is part of a four-part series detailing the history of George Mason University from the student perspective. Our initial post,\u00a0Before We Became George Mason University: Our First Campus at Bailey\u2019s Crossroads, can be read here:\u00a0https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10138 and Establishing our Identity: George Mason's Fairfax Campus, can be read here: https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10152,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152","url_meta":{"origin":10061,"position":1},"title":"Establishing Our Identity: George Mason’s Fairfax Campus","author":"Bob Vay","date":"June 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is part of a four-part series detailing the history of George Mason University from the student perspective. 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George Mason University: A History\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/RO1020BO1FO1O10.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10138,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10138","url_meta":{"origin":10061,"position":3},"title":"Before We Became George Mason University: Our First Campus at Bailey’s Crossroads, 1957-1964","author":"Bob Vay","date":"May 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is part of a four-part series detailing the history of George Mason University from the student perspective. Other posts in this series include Establishing our Identity: George Mason\u2019s Fairfax Campus, which can be read here: https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152 and George Mason University Becomes Independent, April 7, 1972, which can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Final Day Exercises, 1963.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/R0120_B01_final-day.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/R0120_B01_final-day.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/R0120_B01_final-day.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/R0120_B01_final-day.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/R0120_B01_final-day.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/R0120_B01_final-day.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5808,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5808","url_meta":{"origin":10061,"position":4},"title":"Celebrating Hispanic Heritage","author":"admin","date":"October 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Hispanic Heritage month begins September 15th and continues until October 15th. In 1988\u00a0President Reagan formally established this 30-day period, which includes the anniversary of independence for many Latin\u00a0American countries such as\u00a0Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Chile, to celebrate and draw attention to Hispanic heritage and culture\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fairfax History"","block_context":{"text":"Fairfax History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=194"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chavez, Linda, Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation , Booknotes 1992-03-22, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University. 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