Even if you aren’t one to keep up with the latest entertainment trends, you’ve probably heard of “Squid Game.” This new Korean Netflix show became the most watched show in 90 countries within ten days of its release, making it a larger global phenomenon than anyone likely expected.
Edward Djerejian, founding director of the Baker Institute for Public Policy, announced last week that he will step down at the end of June 2022. The first and only person to hold the position, Djerejian will have been at the helm of the Baker Institute for 28 years when he retires in April.
Athletic director Joe Karlgaard describes himself as someone who likes challenges. But even he has found the past year and a half to be difficult. While the pandemic was a challenge to all college sports programs, Karlgaard said that Rice was at a disadvantage because they took it upon themselves to maintain higher COVID-19 safety protocols than many of their competitors.
At the heart of Marvel’s “What If…?” is, unsurprisingly, the question: “what if?” The series, which is the first animated entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is based on a popular comic book series of the same name. “What If...?” opts for a similar anthology format, with semi-standalone plots in each episode that eventually converge toward one storyline in the finale. Unlike the comic series, which has the expansive Marvel Comics’s canon at its disposal, the show opts for a smaller scope with only characters that have already appeared in the MCU. These creative guardrails on “What If...?” are the central problem of the show’s first season, which has flashes of immense storytelling potential amidst a more inconsistent affair.
On a Friday evening, the Old Sid Richardson College commons is mostly empty. It’s decorated with weathered grey furniture, dated Campanile yearbooks, mounted TVs playing funny cat compilations and a smattering of students across the couches. Welcome mats, potted plants and shoe racks dot the floors outside each bedroom. Right away, Old Sid is reminiscent of some homely cross between a retro high school and a corporate building.
Before Hispanic Heritage Month officially ends, I would like to take a moment to write about the labels those of us of Latin American heritage use to describe ourselves. At Rice, club names, course titles and survey questions often defer to pan-ethnic labels even though most people tend to use their national origin group as a primary identifier. These pan-ethnic labels are problematic. Although they in some ways unify Latin American communities, they often leave out others, like Afro-Latinos and indigenous Latinos. My goal here is not to dissuade people from using pan-ethnic labels; as history has shown, they can be useful, to some degree. However, my intention is for all of us, Latinos and non-Latinos alike, to use them wisely — with the understanding that the Latino community cannot be condensed into one culturally, ethnically or even linguistically homogeneous group. With that in mind, I hope that we as a Rice community continue to discuss and re-evaluate our language even after Hispanic Heritage Month ends.
