The Thresher welcomes submissions of guest opinions and letters to the editor from Rice faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students and alumni. We strive to publish all submissions that match the guidelines stated below. Opinions typically run between 500 - 700 words, while letters to the editor run 400-500 words. To submit, email a draft of your opinion to thresher@rice.edu or directly to our opinion editor.
Include your full name, any affiliations with Rice University or other institutions and organizations relevant to your submission and the best way to contact you. Our opinion editor will be in contact to discuss the editing process and next steps.
Content
Guest opinions are submitted by members of the Rice community. The views expressed in guest opinions, including those written by members of the Thresher staff, are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of the Thresher or its editorial board.
All guest opinions should have a substantial and specific connection to the Rice community. The Thresher does not publish hate speech. The Thresher defines hate speech as abusive or threatening writing that targets a particular group or individual or puts those groups or individuals in danger.
The Thresher will make a good-faith attempt to communicate with the writer regarding the headline of their piece. However, the Thresher reserves the right to alter or write a headline if needed.
Letters to the editor should directly respond to an article or opinion that previously appeared in the Thresher. However, the Thresher typically does not publish responses to letters to the editor to avoid back-and-forth exchanges across multiple issues.
What to expect
All opinions must go through the Thresher’s editing process before being published. Pieces will be edited for accuracy (both verifiable facts and factual assertions), conciseness, clarity and relevance. Writers are encouraged to stay in dialogue with the opinion editor to ensure that they agree with proposed edits.
Letters to the editor will be edited for Associated Press style and fact-checked, and though we try not to make content changes, if necessary such edits will be communicated to the author. While edits are not directly made to the document without the author’s approval, the editing process should be cooperative, collaborative and respectful.
Content warnings may be added to any piece at the editor’s discretion for sensitive topics.
Conflicts of interest
All submissions to the Thresher must be previously unpublished. The Thresher will typically not publish any pieces written with the intention of material benefit, including but not limited to class credit (i.e. a grade), monetary compensation, self-promotion and advertising. Failure to disclose these conflicts of interest can lead to the body of your opinion being removed from our website and a permanent ban from submitting an opinion.
Anonymity in submissions
The Thresher will only consider anonymous submissions given a) The author reveals themselves to at least one editorial board member (ideally the editor-in-chief and opinion editor) so that the editor can attempt to fact-check claims and confirm that the author is a member of the Rice community b) The author must make the case that publishing the piece under their name would put them at serious risk of personal harm.
In the past, we have allowed anonymous authors on pieces that have discussed severe personal mental health or their experience with sexual assault. Note that the Thresher keeps a high standard for anonymity.
Multiple writers and organizational submissions
The Thresher encourages authorship to be limited to one person. Submissions from an organization or club will typically not be permitted. Individuals from the same organization may co-write a piece. Opinions may not serve as advertisements for an organization, event or project. The primary call to action may not involve personal or organizational benefit, such as class credit or attendance at an organizational event.
Review policy
Opinions may not be shared or reviewed by anyone other than the author(s) and editors at the Thresher after submission and prior to publication without permission from the opinion editor.
Any exemptions to the above policy are up to the discretion of the opinion editor, who also reserves the right to make final stylistic decisions. The editorial board reserves the right to not publish opinion pieces that fail to comply with our policies or standards.
Last updated Feb. 1, 2022.
