Here's a story that will raise eyebrows among academic readers: Courtesy of Crooked Timber1 comes news from late last month that Thomson Reuters has filed suit against the Commonwealth of Virginia,2 seeking an injunction against George Mason University to prevent the school from distributing Zotero, a Firefox plugin for managing references and citations. The lawsuit claims that Zotero violates the license agreement for EndNote, Thomson Reuters's citations management software, because Zotero converts the proprietary .ens......

Selection Sunday is a few days away, and college hoops action is heating up inside the Beltway. With 2-4 area teams destined for this year's NCAA Tournament and local teams' success in recent years, it's safe to say that we're living in one of the country's college hoops hotbeds. Let's take a look at our area teams and make a few predictions along the way. In our first installment, we'll find out what went right......

George Mason capped a successful holiday week by beating South Carolina yesterday to take third-place in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Will Thomas paced the Patriots with 22 points and 11 rebounds, solidifying his place on the All-Tournament team. George Mason kicked off their tournament with an 87-77 win over 18th-ranked Kansas State. John Vaughan's 21 points led the team, which put all five starters in double figures. Folarin Campbell's 25 points made......

Friday has arrived at last, Washington. Despite the federal holiday on Monday, it's been a rather long week for many of us - though of course, we couldn't hold a candle to the week that D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi has had. The Post writes about yesterday's lengthy D.C. Council hearing into the tax office scandal, which lasted until 9 p.m. and where it was apparently revealed late in the evening that authorities are investigating the......

It's hard out there for a frat guy. That, at least, is what pro-Greek commenters over at George Mason University's Broadside newspaper would have you believe. The student publication has a story up about a law suit filed by the school's banned chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, which is suing GMU for violating their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Sigma Chi was kicked off the campus after being found guilty of a series of......

Written by DCist Contributor Sarah Stonesifer The Diamondback – University of Maryland: >> Hartwick Towers, an off-campus apartment building, was the scene of a fire on Friday, Oct. 12. The fire has come under scrutiny by both students and city officials, as the building is not equipped with sprinklers and fire alarms did not function during the fire. Students were left on their own to find alternative housing until they were let back into their......

Written by DCist contributor Angela Olson. Ballet Folklórico de México finishes an engagement at George Mason University Center for the Arts Concert Hall today. The Mexico City based dance company has long been a must see for travelers attracted by their colorful and energetic performances. The dancing exemplifies the spirit of Mexico, and the company puts on a great show for all ages. With six foot tall headdresses, carnival costumes and a live Mariachi band,......

Written by DCist Contributor Fredo Alvarez Campus Pride, the nation's largest non-profit student LGBT organization, this week launched its Campus Climate Index, an online report card that allows LGBT students from colleges across the country to rate their schools on their inclusiveness and support of LGBT students, employees and their allies. Schools are rated on a scale from one to five stars based on a voluntary survey. Of 80 public and private institutions that......

By DCist Contributor Sarah Stonesifer The Eagle - American: >> At American University, officials decided that an official record will be kept along with possible judicial action after students receive their "second medical transport due to alcohol consumption." So remember kids, the first case of alcohol poisoning is free. >> There was an attempted robbery in an American University dorm last Saturday, but the suspect was quickly apprehended and identified. The Hoya - Georgetown: >>......

FRIDAY: >> Starting tonight, George Mason Stadium plays host to the region's annual D.C . College Cup. The soccer teams of George Washington, American, Howard, and George Mason will square off in two rounds of games. Though the tournament is conspicuously missing national powerhouses UMD and UVA, the event will still showcase some of the best young talent around. GW and AU kick off tonight's slate (5:00 p.m.), with Howard and GMU rounding the night......

At the end of August, young folks throughout D.C. will have the opportunity to apply for the Hamiltonian Fellowship, a two year program that offers emerging artists further professional development and exposure of their work in the Hamiltonian Gallery, currently under construction at the corner of 14th and U streets NW. The Hamiltonian Fellowship and Gallery is the brainchild of Paul So, a physics professor at George Mason University. While it may seem odd that......

Every year since its opening in 1989, the DC Arts Center has held its 1460 Wall Mountables show as a fundraiser for the non-profit Adams Morgan art center. A non-juried opportunity for artists of varying styles and skill levels to display work in a respected D.C. gallery, Wall Mountables comes off as a mini-Artomatic. Work is displayed floor-to-ceiling salon-style, with photographs next to drawn portraits next to abstract oils. And, just like at Artomatic, some......

What makes a champion? Is it commitment, the ability to spend the long hours necessary honing a skill to a razor's edge, forgoing the simple pleasures of idle laziness the rest of us take for granted? Is it drive, that fire in the belly that pushes a winner on, past discouragement, past early failures, past the point when lesser beings throw in the towel? Maybe it's simply birthright, taking advantage of those innate abilities that......

An Examiner story this morning is designed to fill you with dread for the coming D.C. Pricepocalypse. According to a study released Wednesday by George Mason University professor Stephen Fuller, the average price of a home in the national capital region likely will swell almost 3,000 percent in 50 years. The study predicts the average home in the metro area will be $14 million in 2057, compared to today’s average of $477,000. As if your......

Hey, Washington, how are ya? If you like hot weather and uninterrupted sunshine (and who doesn't) you're sure to enjoy this fine Tuesday. If instead you're not savoring the thought of arriving at work covered in a fine sheen of sweat, think twice about cutting out your walk by hopping in the car. Gas prices hit a new high yesterday, with the cost of a gallon over $3.00. Are there any good deals at......

Nestled between cherry blossom season and the influx of D.C.'s summer intern and tourist season is a hopeful time, when students turn away from keggers and exams to graduate into the real world -- at least in theory. For Washington's thousands of college seniors, this means job hunting, leaving the friendly confines of campus and the prospect of moving into your parents' basement. It also means a litany of platitudes, advice and well-wishes from commencement......

This past weekend's concerts from the National Symphony Orchestra provided the second opportunity in the last month or so to hear Yundi Li play Liszt's first piano concerto. The first time was with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at George Mason (reviewed last month), and the coincidence demands a comparison. On both occasions, Li has played the work with impressive accuracy and grace, with renditions remarkably similar to his recent recording. There were a few negligible......

Good morning, Washington. We've been hearing some excellent reports from the frontlines of the celebrations in Georgetown last night, after the Hoyas came back from a 10 point deficit to beat the Tar Heels 96-84. Thousands of students filled M Street in their exuberance, chanting "Hoya Saxa" at the top of their lungs. A smaller group apparently ran all the way to the White House, where the Secret Service asked them to keep it down.......

So, it seems like George Mason may have used up much of the region's supply of NCAA tourney magic in last year's dramatic run. Of the seven regional teams in this year's tournament, only Georgetown survived the first weekend to make the Sweet 16 – stay tuned to DCist for more hoops coverage as the city unites behind the Hoyas. And before you ask: no, I'm not the least bit bitter about having a bracket......

It starts at 12:20 p.m. this afternoon. Tip-off. For some, the pinnacle of sports fandom rests in these next few days. They are epic: 12 hour days that capture some of the very reasons why we watch sports. The NCAA Tournament has the most exhaustive field in major U.S. sports, giving 65 teams a shot at glory in the national spotlight. Year after year, the Big Dance provides buzzer beaters, star turns, Cinderella stories and......

Mason's Magic Slips Away For 38 minutes Monday night, the George Mason Patriots did what they needed to do to complete their improbable four-game run through the Colonial Athletic Association and make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. They lost it all in 14 seconds. That’s how long it took for Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor to steal the ball from Dre Smith, drive downcourt, hit a layup while getting fouled by Gabe Norwood,......

Last week the Wizards signed former GW forward Mike Hall to a 10-day contract, making him the second Colonial from last year's team to make it to the NBA. The first was Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who scored the first points by a GW player in the NBA since Yinka "the Stinka" Dare in 1998. Neither look to play much this season, but it got us thinking - where are all the other players from local colleges?......

A trip out to Fairfax requires some justification, which the concerts hosted by the George Mason University Center for the Arts occasionally provide. This was the case Saturday night, when that venue distinguished itself as the only local stop for the current U.S. tour of the orchestra of the Leipzig Gewandhaus (recently in Chicago and Boston, but also in smaller places like Schenectady). That venerable ensemble, founded in 1781, is one of the oldest orchestras......

Georgetown 61, Pittsburgh 53 The Big East is aptly named. The 16-team behemoth is the largest in Division I and backs up its girth with some of the finest play in the nation. So it's no small feat that Georgetown has climbed to the top of this daunting hill. Backed by the strong play of juniors Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, and Jonathan Wallace, the Hoyas gritted their way to a victory over a Pittsburgh......

A weekend full of college basketball saw all four major D.C. area programs hosting games against teams ahead of them in the respective conference standings. Two emerged with convincing wins, while two others suffered disappointing losses. On Saturday, Georgetown leapfrogged No. 11 Marquette into second place in the Big East with a 76-58 victory in front of an announced 17,867 at the Phone Booth. Jeff Green helped break open a close one around the six-minute......

FRIDAY: >> This weekend is filled to the brim with events surrounding the 2007 Urban Film Series tour just in time for Black History Month. Dozens of short and feature-length films addressing the black experience are being screened at Regal Cinema Gallery Place, many with panel discussions following. There's a bevy of established and rising talent to see, but our pick for Friday has to be a conversation and book-signing with the Wizard's own center......

Kicking off Friday with a one-hundred and seventy-five person audience at George Mason University, the fourth annual DC Improv's Funniest College tourney has officially started. Whatever their US News and World Report rankings, the eight D.C.-area universities participating have the chance to out-smart each other in the subject of Laughter. Spanning over the next eight weeks, the competition allows individual students (grad and undergrad) to perform stand-up against fellow classmates inner-collegiately and against rivaling schools.......

Thanks to the hard work of voting rights activists, a few Congressional allies, and the wisdom of the American people in November, the District is coming closer and closer to finally gaining some voting representation. Legislation to grant the District a voting seat in the House looks like it's moving forward, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton can once again vote on amendments on the House floor, and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has started asking aides......

So much is happening in classical music this week, much of it already sold out. Here are a few things for which tickets are still available and that should be of interest. JUST VISITING: >> The award for best free concert of the week goes to the Hilliard Ensemble, one of the best choral groups in the world, visiting the Freer Gallery of Art on Wednesday (January 24, 7:30 p.m.). Their program includes music by......

Editors Note: Yesterday afternoon a 27- year old Mason student fell to his death from the third story of the Johnson Center. This post was written yesterday afternoon, before the current facts were known, and is in no way meant to be insensitive. DCist extends every condolence to the young man's family and the Mason community. George Mason University, located in the middle of beautiful congested Fairfax, Virginia, is, apparently, one of the unhappiest college......