GSA not a residential college

By Staff Editorial     1/13/11 6:00pm

Diversity and inclusion. Unity and togetherness. Rice prides itself on its "one big happy family" philosophy. The attitude is actually a good one that promotes a pretty positive campus culture. But a line needs to be drawn.Quite simply, the Graduate Student Association needs to become a more independent institution. It is not and never will be a residential college, so there is no need to continue the charade. There is no need to include the GSA in the traditions belonging to residential colleges such as intramural sports and Beer Bike.

The primary problem with having GSA participate in intramural sports is the competitive advantage that the graduate students possess. They are often four to five years older and thus often have the advantage of having four to five years of extra experience in a given sport compared to an undergraduate counterpart. The graduate students who participate in intramurals include individuals who are former collegiate athletes or alumni of Rice sports. This advantage is apparent with the GSA powderpuff championship team, which includes multiple former undergraduate powderpuff players. A matchup that pits rookie powderpuff players against six-year powderpuff veterans is not a fair matchup, as evidenced by the GSA powderpuff championship victory this past season against Lovett College.

Furthermore, GSA's membership exceeds that of a normal residential college by huge margins. This advantage allows GSA a greater pool of athletes to draw from. Even if relative GSA involvement in intramurals is low, their overall pool of interested athletes still exceeds that of a residential college. The bottom line is that intramurals are about peers competing in athletics against peers. The GSA is not a peer to the residential colleges. If anything, allow the GSA to compete in a league of their own, forming teams along departmental lines.

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Rice's graduate programs are respected by all as academic institutions that keep Rice competitive nationally. However, GSA's contribution to undergraduate life has extended a bit too far. Graduate students had their time in college, now its ours.

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