Letters to the Editor

2/3/11 6:00pm

I was pleased to read the extensive coverage of RESET projects in the Jan. 28 edition of the Rice Thresher ("RESET Projects Innovative"). After just one semester, RESET is already a great success, leveraging $15,000 from the student fee to fund more than $40,000 in conservation projects thanks to matching funds from the Facilities, Engineering and Planning Energy Steering Committee (incorrectly attributed to Housing & Dining in the article). As illustrated in the article, this is a shining example of student, faculty, and staff collaboration. Behind the scenes, the FE&P Energy Steering Committee is working on more than $200,000 in fast payback utility conservation projects, including a new pump in the central plant, and better controls in multiple buildings to help reduce over-cooling. In addition, H&D is implementing several conservation projects as well, from window tinting at Wiess College to high-performance, low-flow showerheads to motion sensors in common areas. I encourage members of the Rice community to consider submitting a RESET project proposal this spring. The deadline is April 8, and further details are available

at reset.rice.edu.

Richard Johnson

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Director of Sustainability

As an alumnus and former Rice graduate student, I agree with the editorial regarding the Graduate Student Association as published in the Jan. 14 issue of the Thresher ("GSA not a residential college"). Of course the GSA, as the name implies, is nothing similar to a Rice undergraduate residential college. It makes sense that the more than 2,000 graduate students should compete in intramurals with their peers and leave the undergraduates to have their own undergraduate experience. Surely the graduate students can come up with their own extracurricular activities or perhaps focus more on their graduate studies or some volunteer activities.

Olina Raney '86

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