LTTE: Op-ed regarding Turner’s political involvement misguided in its criticism

In an op-ed released yesterday evening, two students whom I have a lot of respect for and consider friends mentioned that I was stepping down as Rice University Young Democrats co-president at the end of my term due to my presumptive role as Student Association external vice president next year.
I think it’s important to correct the record on this matter. I had decided at the end of last year to step down as Rice University Young Democrats president in March because I believed two years as vice president and president meant it was time for a new leadership team. The decision had nothing to do with my plan to run for EVP. To be unambiguous, as someone who has served on the SA’s executive team and been heavily involved since my freshman year while maintaining leadership positions in the Rice Democrats and various political campaigns, I can confidently say that Juliette Turner’s political involvement would not conflict with her responsibilities as IVP. I’d contend any assertion to the contrary demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the role and the work the SA does.
Maurice Frediere
Duncan College junior
More from The Rice Thresher

Beware of dissenters, reinvestigate the real Israel
Israel is a special place and arguably the most misunderstood in the world. We will be celebrating Israel’s 75th birthday at Rice, commemorating the occasion with a conference hosted by the Baker Institute on April 27, 2023. It is important to understand that the Jewish connection to the land of Israel goes back thousands of years. Jews were always in this land before Israel was created. As I prepare to graduate, having founded a Students Supporting Israel chapter at Rice, I want students to be informed about Israel and Palestine. There are many people who spew misinformation and will not want to listen to facts because of the false narrative they love to believe.
Thank you for letting me tell your stories
If there is anything I will miss about college, it is the Thresher. No matter how many long nights or years of my life I have given to this paper, I have never grown tired of the Thresher. Maybe because of a superb staff that impresses me every day with their talent and dedication to good journalism or the unwavering support and friendship (and fist bumps) from my co-editor Ben Baker-Katz, but, I think most of all, it is the work I was able to do here.

Thresher holds the memories of a campus
For the last two years, whenever someone has tried to make plans with me on a Tuesday, I’ve responded with some version of “I can’t, I’ve got Thresher.” The natural next question, after I explain that putting together a weekly paper takes up the vast majority of every Tuesday, is “Why do you spend so much time on it?” And silly as it may seem, I’ve never really come up with a good answer to that question.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.