Any day now, billions of six-legged flying critters called cicadas will swarm the east coast, outnumbering humans roughly 600 to 1.   Expect the loud buzzing noise they make from as far south as North Carolina all the way up to Connecticut for about four to six weeks.

“I’m not very excited about the cicadas,” said Andrew Skomra.

A brood is a type of cicada. There are different broods that come out at different times in their lifetime.

This is brood-2 of the cicadas which means this group of cicadas haven’t been out since 1996. Brood-2 cicadas crawl out the ground every 17 years and only when the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees, which it almost is.

“Those annoying little guys are going to be all over,” said Wesley Coupard.

“Ew gross! Cicadas are nasty!” said Brian Connelly.

The Stuff-a-Truck project group has ended their donations period and collected the money to be sent to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Atlantic City to help Hurricane Sandy aftermath.

The Stuff-a-Truck project began when Spanish teacher Suzanne Planas suggested to a group of students that they should organize something in response to Hurricane Sandy.

“There are many responses to these communities right after disasters when the damage is most visible, but we may forget the long-term effects left in these communities,” Ronald Lapitan, a member of the group, said.

A group of students got together after school one day and called the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Atlantic City to ask what they could do.

After speaking with the staff of the Food Bank, the students learned that the drop in tourism significantly hurt the area.

Not only were homes and businesses destroyed, but surviving businesses were also not getting enough tourists. This hurt many people, especially those who made money off of commission or tips such as waitresses.

Demand at the food bank was high, even for those whose homes were still standing.

“Our project was to gather a monetary donation from the school and community to send to the Food Bank to buy some of these supplies,” Lapitan said. “Our efforts to do so included a coin drive at school, connecting with local businesses and leaving change collectors, and an art sale during a Mustang Block.”

“What I take away from this project is that we tend to treat the symptoms of problems rather than the underlying structures that create conditions.” Lapitan continued, “We think of solutions in short-term responses like sending money to a food bank, rather than thinking in processes of how communities can become more sustainable.”

According to the Community Food Bank, 1.2 million people in New Jersey are food insecure. A high population influences this, causing a competition for jobs, a lowering of wages, and a rise of housing prices.

In addition, 45% of these resulting 1.2 million people don't qualify for government aid.

“There is more to be examined in the way we respond to each other in times of disaster, and I think that we should start shifting to this new paradigm of thinking of action in processes aimed at fostering the long-term conditions for supporting people into well-being. This subject engages us in bigger questions than our short-term project could suggest answers to,” said Lapitan.

Check out the video filmed and edited by FCCTV and Mr. Byrd's tweets from this year's GMHS Prom.

@MasonMustangs tweets from Prom

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There are only about four more weeks of school, three of which are filled with standardized testing. Virginia SOL’s take up two of those weeks, from May 20 to May 31. The regular bell schedule will go on as scheduled for all days except the first Friday, May 24, which has a schedule change: block three, then block one, block seven, and block five.

This year’s Spring JV Show is upon us. The first show starts tonight, May 16, at 7:30 p.m.  There will also be a show tomorrow, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. The JV Show is a tradition at George Mason where students can display their talents by singing, juggling, or dancing their way onto the stage.

For weeks now, a petition had been available to be signed at the front desk at Pearson Square.  The Pearson Square apartment building, on S. Maple Avenue, had been collecting signatures from residents in favor of changing the direction of the pool and courtyard of the proposed building, The Reserve at Tinner Hill, so that they face S. Maple Avenue.  Lincoln Properties, the construction company, has so far planned for the amenities of the upcoming building to be built facing S. Washington Street.

The petition at Pearson Square was to show interest, there was no agreement that if there were enough signatures, the orientation of the building would change.  The petition generated almost 200 resident signatures.

According to the Falls Church website, the proposed building will include a neighborhood grocery, retail and restaurant space, commercial lease space, 224 apartments and a plaza. The construction company is scheduled to break ground in either the fourth quarter of 2013, or the first quarter of 2014.

Due to the new construction, there will be some changes going on across the street from Pearson Square.  Though the Washington Market (Elevation Burger, Rex Day Spa, etc.) and Falls Church’s Historic Tinner Hill site will not be disturbed, two car dealerships nearby will be closed to make space for the Reserve at Tinner Hill.

Some of Pearson’s reasons for demanding a change in orientation of the building’s pool and courtyard have to do with noise issues as well as aesthetics. According to Tammy Dunlap, a concierge at Pearson Square, there is more traffic on S. Washington Street than on S. Maple Avenue, making Maple Ave. a more ideal street to place the pool and courtyard.  For Pearson Square, if the orientation is not changed, that would mean Pearson Square residents would face the rear of the Lincoln property, which is not an aesthetically pleasing, family-friendly view.

Lisa Gaus, a resident at Pearson Square, says, “Personally… I like a pool view.  I’d rather look at the front of a beautiful building.”

Residents at Pearson Square should get ready, because sooner or later, construction on The Reserve at Tinner Hill will begin.  Whether the courtyard and pool will face S. Washington or S. Maple Avenue is still up for discussion.