Saturday dinner option small step to inclusivity
In the coming weeks, Rice University Housing and Dining will be introducing a Saturday night dinner option for students who wish to dine on campus (see p. 1). Going off campus for Saturday night dinners is a long-standing tradition for many, with students generally being encouraged to go “beyond the hedges” and explore the city of Houston. However, we may sometimes forget that this is just one of many aspects of social life at Rice that requires a certain degree of economic privilege.
Last week, the Thresher reported that low-income students at Rice face barriers to accessing various opportunities such as student life and extracurriculars, according to a recent survey conducted by the Student Association. Given this context, we applaud H&D for taking tangible measures to address an aspect of student life that many may take for granted, but that some may find financially inaccessible.
While H&D has still not finalized details on the pricing, payment and food options available for Saturday night dinners, it is critical that the potential for this opportunity to reduce barriers to accessibility are fully maximized.
Currently, a single meal at the servery costs $8, so if students have to pay that amount for a Saturday dinner using their 50 tetra points, that allows for only six such meals a semester. Thus, we encourage H&D to look into lowering the price of Saturday meals, and possibly offset the decreased price by reducing the amount or variety of the food that is served at the time.
We hope that this is only the beginning of ongoing concrete changes in our community to ensure that the Rice experience is increasingly more inclusive to students from all backgrounds.
More from The Rice Thresher
Rice bends to Zionist propaganda
In the last several weeks, Rice University held three events — both openly and behind closed doors — that, taken together, demonstrate its commitment to advancing a Zionist ideology on campus, which serves as the foundation for Israel’s increasingly psychotic expansion of its genocidal violence into Lebanon and Yemen.
Innovation is good, responsible innovation is great
Those sitting in their college commons last Tuesday may have watched between two and twenty minutes of an ad promoting the student-developed food-tracking app Diagnos. We’re glad Diagnos provides that nutritional data — absent from servery menus — for free. However, we encourage the developers of Diagnos and other app developers, especially those that involve artificial intelligence, to address ethical concerns and user-test these apps prior to launch.
Rice is going through an awkward phase
Rice is going through puberty, marked by awkwardness, evolving parts and existential questions. This pivotal time offers both challenges and opportunities for growth. Our actions now, as a community, will have lasting impacts on Rice’s future.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.