Obama wants your mama to vote.

On Friday, Barack Obama spoke to GMU students about voting and changing the government. He was able to share his dream about lowering tuition costs and insurance. As he spoke, I felt that I was witnessing a piece of history. Will America have its first black president?

Obama was greeted by thousands of students packed in the Johnson Center, some waiting since 7 a.m. with copies of "The Audacity of Hope" and copies of Obama's appearance in Time magazine.

Obama was asked to speak to students by the GMU College Democrats. One student, Farouk Olu Aregbe, was able to create a Facebook.com group for Obama. The group called, "Barack Obama (One Million Strong)," is currently at 207,000 members and going strong.

Obama said, "Wow, George Mason knows how to throw a party. Are you sure you all are not here for a basketball game?"

There was a lot of excitement for the event and I had to cancel the Flash I workshop on Friday. I walked around the Johnson Center at 9 a.m. and decided to stay. I was on the second level of the JC, opposite from the screen televising the event.

People from other universities came as well as other states. T-shirts said some funny things like "Obama Baracks My World," "Ready to Barack and Roll," and "Yalla Vote," which represented the Arab American students in the audience.

At the end, Obama signed copies of his book, posters and shook hands of students, teachers and babies. It was a great experience for everyone, despite what political party you choose. You knew you were in the presence of a great man.

Obama discussed that this event was important, not to see another famous politician but to understand where the country is and is going. He also made the crowd laugh while he recounted stories of his youth and how his wife doesn't understand why he draws crowds this large.

It was great to see someone genuinely care about the country and college students. Obama told the story of traveling to almost 40 cities in a 5-day trip to southern Illinois to run for governor. He discussed how several years ago, that area discriminated against blacks with violence. When he went for a visit, 3/4 of the population was white and 1/4 was black. He was pleased to see that the residents were wearing blue buttons in support for him.

Students followed Obama outside to his vehicle, escorted by numerous police and security guards. They chanted, "Yes, we can!"

It was a great lecture and never felt prouder to be a Mason patriot. This was history in the making, no matter what happens. I was overjoyed but at the same time, I was sad. I was sad that there were horrible things going on in the world. There is destruction, war, poverty and pain. I wish the world could just understand peace despite everything. There are political parties which tend to segregate people. It's OK to believe something else from the person next to you, but that's what America is all about. The chance to change things and the ability to be ourselves.

As an American and as a Muslim, I feel both sides of the war. I don't want to send our soldiers to Iraq and I don't want to see children dying in the streets. I want to see peace.

**The photos of Barack Obama were taken by myself while attending the event on Friday.

Help is around the corner.

I should write in here more often. It's hard to find a time but I will try. So far, the class is moving at a quick pace but I prefer it that way. It keeps everything exciting and I can focus better. Sometimes you have a class that drags on, forcing you to count the minutes.

As a graphic design student, I know the importance of Adobe CS2 programs like Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, etc. but in AVT classes, you're not taught that during class. We basically work on our designs, critique them and get everything printed. Even in Graphic Design I, there is no one to hold your hand to teach you the programs. Each student has to be a quick learner. People also forget about the available resources such as the help buttons, online forums or the STAR labs. I never took a workshop until this semester and I was satisfied. It was Photoshop I and only a few people signed up. The STAR mentor was extremely helpful and did not discourage anyone. He made sure each person received attention and constantly stopped to look around, draw diagrams on the whiteboard and to ask for any questions.

I still want to take more workshops but it will be hard because of my schedule for work and classes.

Rick Barton and the Iraq Study Group

I enjoyed the video conference with Rick Barton last week. He was informative about the Iraq Study Group and where the United States and Iraq are today.

The press conference took place in Innovation room 455 upstairs where a two-way televised video feed was available. Steve Scully, a senior political editor at C-SPAN was able to mediate the discussions. It was exciting that the video conference included GMU, University of Denver and Pace University. Luckily, I was able to ask the question: What are the most effective conflict resolutions and how do they differ in Iraq and Pakistan?

Rick Barton discussed his work to improve conflict situations by the international community. He provides active strategies for Iraq, Sudan and Sri Lanka and analyzes countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Barton was able to discuss the reality of each situation through analysis rather than avoidance.

Barton also acknowledged that learning more about the culture helps. This reminds me of the Camp David 2000 Summit where former president Bill Clinton met with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. There was no final solution, but at least there were people discussing the situation in a peaceful manner. On ther other hand, it was a great experience to learn about the study group and Iraq.