That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
--The Virginia Declaration of Rights, 17761
|
George Mason, the namesake of our university, drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which became a model for the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. George Mason University is part of a long tradition of standing up for rights and equality.
Everyone has a right to research. But due to the rising cost of journal subscriptions, universities and research institutions are often unable to afford to subscribe to all the journals they may need. Furthermore, people who are unaffiliated with universities or scientific and medical communities often cannot gain access to journals and databases. Students, faculty, researchers, doctors, patients, public officials, business professionals, and anyone else searching for current, reliable, and peer-reviewed research are often unable to find and read the resources they're searching for.
Open Access brings greater equity to scholarly and scientific research by opening it up to everyone online, for free. OA provides the Mason community, and anyone else in the world, instant access to ALL the information they need, promoting the sharing of information for the public good.
Check out the George Mason Statue, located in the Johnson Center North Plaza, Fairfax Campus.
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Many thanks to Donna Okubo of the Public Library of Science and Jennifer McLennan of the Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition for providing t-shirts, buttons, and other materials to help George Mason support Open Access.
1. Read the Virginia Declaration of Rights in its entirety at http://www.gunstonhall.org/georgemason/human_rights/vdr_final.html.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.