Students must remember respect

By Kai Sheng     11/12/13 6:00pm

I was walking back to Will Rice College from the Intramural Fields Sunday afternoon when I saw my freshman crouched over our Will Rice College stone sign in the grove. I cheerfully greeted him and asked him what he was doing, but it became clear once he stepped aside. My stomach churned as I surveyed the scene. Someone had vandalized the stone sign with offensive words and phallic drawings. My freshman was trying to scrub it off. 

As a senior, I am unfazed by anti-Will Rice sentiment, but this is different: This is vandalism. This is the third account of vandalism at my college this semester. The first and second vandalism attacks were directed at our murals. Three weeks ago, an individual or group of individuals used paint to black out a 15-by-6-foot mural of Texas and the United States in the Will Rice kitchen between our commons and Seibel Servery. This past weekend, there was a similar attack on New Dorm's third floor 20-by-6-foot mural of a fiery phoenix; the individual(s) blacked out the phoenix's eye. 

College pride, anti-cheers and jacks are lighthearted and harmless, but anonymous attacks on students and destruction of college property are reprehensible. I read not only mean-spirited Rice Confessions directed at Will Rice but also racist and disrespectful comments written about international students, athletes, universitywide organizations and individuals in different majors. 

---

---

This is not a Will Rice problem - this is a campuswide problem. We are not demonstrating respect for our peers, campus infrastructure or the university. 

How would your college react if a Rice student graffitied the Wiess War Pig, the Hanszen Guardian or the Fairy Fountain? What if the group of people you identify with is ridiculed on Rice Confessions? What is accomplished through these hateful attacks? The main question I ask is why are we, as Rice students, attacking each other?

Although the recent incidents and the few disgusting comments on Rice Confess reflect the characters of a few immature students across campus, the behaviors show there is blatant disrespect for other students, college property and Rice University. Regardless of students' colleges, majors and interests, nothing is achieved when they disrespect others through destroying campus property or cyberbullying. 

For those who have forgotten, we are all ambitious and brilliant students at a highly respected university. We must cease vandalizing our campus and attacking each other mindlessly. We should not be attacking each other under the guise of anonymity and wasting energy on unproductive hatred. I challenge students to look beyond their friend groups, teams, clubs and colleges and to stand together to be more supportive and honorable Rice Owls. 

Kai Sheng is a Will Rice College senior.

---