On George Mason's Campus

We received an email saying that there would be a rally held at the Johnson Center right before my class. I thought, "Oh, let me check that out and grab a Final Four t-shirt while I'm at it, if the line isn't too long." How naive I was back then (earlier today).

There were news vans and television cameras everywhere. Usually the JC bustles with the sound of students chatting. It's not quiet, but there isn't booming music and generally you can walk freely without having to stop every two seconds because the place is jammed with people.

I couldn't check it out too long, or I'd never get out of there. The wave of people and large electronics would have boxed me in. I knew picking up a shirt was out of the question. The line wasn't only out of the bookstore door, it was out the door of the Johnson Center, both before and after my class! And that was just to get into the bookstore, not even the line to buy the t-shirt!

Then I drove to George Mason's campus in Arlington. There were no signs of the Final Four exhibited on and around the Fairfax campus.

Another email complimented the way we have handled this Final Four success, compared to students at other campuses. I took that to mean Maryland- College Park specifically. I remember when I was on Maryland's campus in 2001, the year they lost in the national semifinals. After they lost, people went crazy. It wasn't safe to leave my friend's dorm room. I've been proud of our non-crazy students. Of course, it doesn't take much to be non-crazy compared to Maryland students.