The "liberated zone" opened Tuesday afternoon at the Solar Studios exhibit, across from Kraft Hall and next to the PCF tents. The schedule posted on Rice SJP's Instagram account says the events will run through 10 p.m. Tuesday, then resume from 10 a.m. through 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 24.

"We're trying to liberate this space for a popular university where we can bring education that is not taught at Rice, bring education around the issues of the genocide we're seeing now, talk about the history of Palestine, the history of resistance, the history of occupation," said Matti Haacke, a Sid Richardson College junior and organizer with Rice SJP.

A few dozen students, faculty and community members were present at the "liberated zone" throughout the day.

Haacke said the "apartheid wall" will be an 8 foot by 12 foot structure with a mural. It mirrors the separation barrier Israel constructed more than 20 years ago in the occupied West Bank, Haacke explained.

"We're going to have a mural on it symbolic of Palestinian life and Palestinian resistance, that we hope to keep up for as long as possible," Haacke said. "It's also a symbolic place because it's just across the corner from the Baker Institute and the Berlin Wall. It provides an interesting dichotomy between the 'western wall' and the resistance of the Palestinians."

Haacke said Rice SJP will continue to protest until Rice meets its demands. This includes allowing a vote on a tabled Student Association resolution that would prohibit clubs from spending student activity fee disbursements at companies on the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions list. Additionally, Haacke said Rice SJP is calling for transparency in Rice's investments and divestment from Israeli entities across academic and research partnerships and sponsorships.

A Rice spokesperson wrote in a statement that the university strives to balance personal expression with campus safety.

"The small, student-led teach-in of about 25 students took place at an isolated location that did not disrupt campus activities," the spokesperson wrote. "While we honor personal expression and academic freedom at Rice, we must also maintain a safe campus for all students. Fortunately, the student organizers agreed to modify their original plans related to structures and sound levels to maintain an environment of respectful discourse."

The "liberated zone" on Rice campus follows a tense week of student protest at universities nationwide.

On April 18, the Columbia University president asked the New York Police Department to sweep the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on the university's main lawn. Officers in riot gear arrested more than 100 students, the Columbia Spectator reported, and the university issued suspensions.

Student activists at other universities have pitched their own tents in response.

At Yale University, police arrested 47 students on the third day of their encampment on Monday, April 22. The NYPD arrested another 120 protestors, including students and faculty, at New York University later that day. Pro-Palestinian groups are leading similar encampments at campuses across the country, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Minnesota and the University of California, Berkeley. California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt has closed its campus through Wednesday after a group of students barricaded themselves inside a university building. And protests have only grown at Columbia, where classes are now hybrid through the rest of the semester.

"We're seeing this … resurgence of this political strategy on campuses in a way that we have never seen on this scale and not seen at all since the Vietnam War era," Haacke said. "It's really [about] taking up this land of these universities that are profiting off genocide and saying that we will not leave, we will put our bodies on the line, we will get arrested."

After graduating in 2018 with a degree in molecular biology, he got matching tattoos with his three Colorado College roommates - a house, stick-figured and the size of a stamp, on his right bicep. "It cemented [my] home," Zucker said in an interview with the Thresher, just before he headlined Moody X-Fest on April 19.

It was his first-ever tattoo. Just four months later he would release "comethru," his breakout song that would eventually amass over 800 million Spotify streams. Now, he has over 9.5 billion global streams and too many tattoos to count.

Editor's Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Rice Thresher: Welcome to Rice. How's it treating you? Have you been here before?

Jeremy Zucker: Never been here before, no. It's awesome. I didn't expect it to be so green. And humid.

RT: You went to Colorado College and you've performed at colleges before. How does it feel to be back on campus?

JZ: It feels great. I'm trying to think of the last college show that I did. Honestly, I can't remember. I do a couple of them every year. But Rice reminds me a lot of Tulane … It's the same long sidewalks with big trees lining the sidewalks. And the whole campus under a canopy.

RT: How's it different from your normal venues like House of Blues? The actual concert-concerts?

JZ: I mean, super different inside, for sure. I really love playing shows outside, though. All the college shows are usually on a lawn, depending on the weather. But if they're not on a lawn, then they can be kind of weird, because then there'll be like, a gymnasium or an auditorium.

RT: Shifting gears a little bit, happy five-year anniversary of "you were good to me." It came out April 19, exactly five years ago.

JZ: Oh, my God. Today? I wonder if my team knows that. What's crazy about it is that "you were good to me" just went double platinum.

RT: That was with Chelsea Cutler. You've done an EP with Chelsea, you've toured with The Kid LAROI. You did a song with blackbear, and "Heavy" and "make daddy proud" have the same melody … Can you talk a little bit about how your collaborations throughout your music career have shaped where you are now, shaped your music?

JZ: When I work with people, it usually happens one of two ways. When I was first starting out, I would have an idea for a song that wouldn't fit in my main stuff. I would leave an open verse and be, "Oh, so-and-so would sound good on this." The blackbear thing, that's how "talk is overrated" happened. That was after he remixed my song "Heavy." Since he did that, we were like, "Hey, we did you this favor. You want to get on my song?" and he was like, "Sure. That's awesome."

These days, collaborations exist very separately. My process is very solitary. My state of mind and my emotional state at that moment matter a lot. Bringing another person in just means bringing another unknown factor, when there are already a lot of unknown factors.

RT: Speaking of vibes, I'm going to list the names of some of your songs: "cry with you," "therapist," "we're fucked, it's fine," "all the kids are depressed." Your Apple Music bio describes you as a "sad-boy troubadour for the extremely online age."

JZ: Woooow.

RT: What are your thoughts? Is that accurate?

JZ: I don't think it's accurate anymore. For that era, it was super accurate for two reasons. One, I definitely used to be way more hopelessly sad and hopelessly romantic. During that time when I was making music, the Tumblr vibe was still alive online. The "sad boy" aesthetic was a thing. You don't really hear that much anymore.

These days, I'm much happier. There's less hopeless melancholy in my music, for sure.

RT: What do you think changed? Was it more so the music industry, or was it personal for you?

JZ: The industry changed so much, and that really made me reevaluate why I'm doing this and it made me come back to it with a bit more intention. Things just got faster. Music got supersaturated and I didn't want to be another voice competing for noise.

RT: Your career actually started on SoundCloud, a platform that has launched so many other careers of big artists: Post Malone, Billie Eilish, Lil Uzi Vert. Now, you're talking about change in the industry and how TikTok has risen so much. Where do you think the SoundCloud era of music is going? Is it going anywhere? Is it dead?

JZ: I think the SoundCloud era is kind of dead. I think people don't want to - I mean, I definitely don't - put in energy to find your music. The easier it is to discover music, that's what catches on. That's why radio was so big for so long. I think that's why TikTok is catching on, because it's so easy for people to discover music.

That said, I don't really know what comes next. It stinks for someone who doesn't want to make music for TikTok. I'd like to think I'm curating something deeper. But I would love to have a song blow up on TikTok again, for the record.

RT: So what do you make music for?

JZ: For the longest time, I was making it for myself and to understand myself. It still is this way, just less hopeless because I do understand myself way more than I used to. It's like therapy, it's like understanding my place in the world and contextualizing things that I've been through. Sometimes tossing in things that can help people and make them feel less alone.

RT: To jump a few years back to the music industry, how'd you get into it? And how'd you balance it in college?

JZ: It's funny. For some reason, I really didn't have a hard time balancing music and school … My school kept me so humble. If I was at a big state school and I was this kid picking [up] music, releasing stuff and going on tour, it probably would have gotten to my head pretty fast. At my small school, people were like "Oh, thinks he's too good for us now," and I was like, "No!"

But yeah, I didn't have any free time. My free time was when I would make music. That'd be my alone time. That'd be how [I'd] process emotions. It became a necessity to do that.

RT: You were pre-med, then obviously switched gears a little bit. You're in good company, since so many people here are pre-med. What advice would you have for a Rice student, or really any college student, who is pre-med and is considering going in a different direction?

JZ: If it doesn't feel right, it's probably not right … I worked at an optometrist for summer, but I didn't do any of the things you're supposed to be doing. I was not thinking about it because at the front of my mind, I was like, "This is my backup. I want to be making music."

RT: Okay, we have a few minutes left. I have a few rapid-fire questions. Physics or orgo?

JZ: Orgo.

RT: What's your tattoo with the biggest story behind it?

JZ: Probably my first two, which is this house and the world. I got this house with all my roommates in college when I graduated. It was the first time that I lived with a bunch of friends and it really felt like a home.

Later, I got this world map. Even though I have a lot of roots in my home, I want to see the world and get out there.

RT: You told TMRW Magazine in one of your interviews that you take a bunch of photos. How many do you have in your camera?

JZ: Oh, good question. Let's see. I got a two-terabyte phone, so I don't have to think about it. 42,000.

RT: One of Rice's mottos is "unconventional wisdom." What do you think that means?

JZ: That's a motto? For a school?

RT: Another one is "home of intellectual brutality." It's the athletics motto.

JZ: That's weird. Someone was either cynical or had a good sense of humor.

Students said they appreciated this year's outdoor venue - last year's X-Fest was held in Tudor Fieldhouse due to inclement weather - and expanded food options.

The event celebrates the Moody Foundation's $100 million dollar gift to Rice, which will fund construction of the new student center and support undergraduate extracurricular activities. Moody X-Fest is a part of inquiry week, which highlights research, design and creative works at Rice.

Lana Nguyen, who performed with Rice Lions, the lion-dancing team and one of X-Fest's featured student groups, said that they were excited to interact with the audience. The Rice Philharmonic performed a cappella renditions of popular songs, including Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" and Hozier's "Too Sweet." It was the second year they had performed at X-Fest, and singer Taylor Stowers said she appreciated the crowd's energy.

"It was so fun," Stowers, a Duncan College junior, said. "The energy of the crowd was fantastic. Even at soundcheck earlier, the fact that we worked with professional equipment in there, we feel that this is a real, actual performance. We had to step up our game a little bit, but it was a really positive way."

Zucker took the X-Fest stage at 8:30 p.m."Who wants to cry?" he asked at the beginning of his hour-long performance, before launching into a setlist that included popular songs like "comethru," "all the kids are depressed" and "talk is overrated."

X-Fest was open to both undergraduate and graduate students, and Ph.D student Sandro Serpone said that he was glad that he came.

"It's been a great event so far, the music is good, the food has been good, the environment and the atmosphere," Serpone said.

Nithya Ramcharan, a Lovett College junior, said she wasn't familiar with Zucker's music prior to the concert, but understands his appeal.

"I thought it was really incredible, it was a really nice atmosphere overall and I loved how the community was brought together," Ramcharan said. "I think he was a really good choice, because I do know he is popular among a lot of Rice students, so I think he was popular enough for there to be a good ambiance. I think he appeals a lot to college students, being a relatively young person too."

Towards the end of his set, Zucker paused from singing to talk about his own time in college.

"Many years ago, I majored in molecular biology," he said. "Where the science people at?" The crowd answered with a collective scream.

The results arrived nearly two weeks after the races on April 6. The final results account for penalties, appeals and internal review, according to campus-wide Beer Bike coordinator Willa Liou.

Last year, Beer Bike results were released April 5, 2023, only four days after the races - but were quickly recalled after Jones and Will Rice College submitted formal contestations of the results. Several teams had also submitted appeals, including the GSA, Jones, Brown, Wiess College and Duncan College. The correct, final results were announced April 14, 2023.

This year, only the final placements were announced. Times, appeals and formal contestations will remain private, according to "college request," Liou said.

Paluru said that the goal of the tournament was to get more people to play Smash.

"I think people have tried and played, but a lot are like, 'I'm not that good.'"

Paluru, a Sid Richardson College sophomore, said. "We want to foster a beginner-friendly environment where people can come and feel comfortable playing Smash and hanging out."

According to Paluru, the club usually hosts smaller tournaments every other week and tournament watch parties. He said planning for the event started before spring break.

"I've never planned a tournament of this scale before, so it's super helpful having notes from last [year's event] … It's been super seamless," Paluru said. "In terms of communication, [Owls After Dark] is great to work with whenever we've had difficulties come up or issues that we need to resolve. Other people in the club are always super willing to help out, which makes it really easy to plan."

According to Paluru, the tournament had over 70 participants, starkly higher than the club's usual attendance of 20 at regular club tournaments and meetings. Paluru said that the most challenging part of planning the tournament was the advertising, which included flyers and GroupMe announcements.

"My favorite part has just been seeing it come along into a fully cohesive event," Paluru said. "[We'd have] spaces for people to hang out, eat food and mingle, so it [was] a pretty social event, atypical of Smash players."

Participant Ashton Lee said that the tournament was run professionally and that despite his lack of skill, he enjoyed casually playing.

"I would say I'm a regular, but not good, Smash player," Lee, a Martel College sophomore, said. "It was cool to see the games and see my friends do pretty well. I was there for the experience … and man, did I learn that Rice has some really skilled, top-tier players."

Justin Kim, a club board member, said that he played Super Smash Bros. in high school but wanted to get more involved in college, even going beyond Rice to play in collegiate tournaments.

"We're just a bunch of people wanting to play video games with a weird ambition to run a big tournament without any prior experience," Kim, a Baker College senior, said. "It's pretty exciting to play new people and also see friends who I didn't know play the game come out."

This year's commencement speaker is Rice alumna and "America's most experienced astronaut" Peggy Whitson '86, who has logged more days in space - 675, to be precise - than any other American astronaut. Whitson got her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Rice in 1985, finishing her dissertation just in time to apply for a position at NASA.

"I wanted to be able to write on my [NASA] application that I had a Ph.D. from Rice," Whitson told Rice Magazine in 2003.

As an astronaut, she contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and earth science. From 2009 to 2012, Whitson was the first woman and first civilian to serve as the Chief of the Astronaut Office.

Half a century after John F. Kennedy's "We choose to go to the Moon" speech at Rice Stadium, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson arrived on campus to speak at the university's 100th commencement. With him was Alice Young '79, Tyson's wife, making their trip more than an homage to Rice's relationship with space exploration, but also a "homecoming," he noted.

"We went to the moon to explore it, but in fact we discovered Earth, for the first time," Tyson said in his commencement speech.

"In the years since we landed on the moon, America has lost its exploratory compass," he continued. "Now is the time for the Class of 2013 to lead the nation as Rice graduates once again."

Tyson was chosen to speak by a commencement speaker selection committee, composed of undergraduate and graduate students, an associate professor, the Hanszen College magister and the senior assistant to then-Rice president David Leebron. Committee members told the Thresher in August 2012 they were seeking a commencement speaker with humor and a vibrant stage presence.

"We were looking for someone quirky and off the beaten track, like Rice students," committee member Alex Fernandez said at the time.'

Just a year before Tyson spoke, Rice hosted Salman Khan, founder of free educational video publisher Khan Academy, for their 99th commencement.

Shortly after Khan was announced as that year's speaker, the Thresher Editorial Board applauded the selection, deeming him a "solid choice."

"[Khan] lacks the star power typical of a commencement speaker, yet represents many of the aspects of an ideal Rice graduate," the editorial board wrote. "While Khan may not be a household name right now, he certainly represents the upcoming generation of leaders."

Khan delivered his speech on a rainy May morning in 2012. He spoke about empowerment, encouraged the graduates to "ask the naive questions" and advised them to keep their success in perspective.

"I want you to think about how you can leverage [your diploma] to increase the positivity in the world and to empower others," Khan said in his speech. "When your ego starts feeling a little bit large, keep in mind that the sun will supernova one day. We are these small mammals on this small planet. Just have peace in the little successes."

"[His speech was] a good reminder to help others so that our degrees are for the greater good and not just to make money," then-student Sophie Bonifaz told the Thresher after the address.

In 2003, Rice welcomed Shannon Lucid, an astronaut and scientist who held the record for the longest-duration spaceflight by an American woman at the time. In 1978, NASA announced Lucid, alongside Sally Ride, were selected as one of the first six female astronauts. In a full-circle moment, Whitson cited Lucid's career as a catalyst for her own entry in space exploration - and, four years after Lucid's commencement speech, broke her record for the longest-duration spaceflight.

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter's 1993 speech marked Rice's third consecutive year of hosting major political figures - then-president of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker spoke in 1992, and then-U.S. Secretary of State James Baker in 1991.

In his speech, Carter emphasized the role of students and activism, especially in a post-Cold War United States. He discussed his work with the Carter Center, the human rights organization he had founded a decade prior.

"When you are at the college level and age and have that experience behind you with an expanded mind and expanded heart … is the best time to say, 'What will I do with [my] life?'" Carter advised the graduating class.

Peter Howley, one of the Thresher's editors-in-chief at the time, wrote an op-ed in the May 14, 1993 issue of the Thresher describing Carter's address as a "speech even a conservative could love."

"Here was the man who paved the way for 12 years of Republican rule after blundering through his thankfully brief tenure," Howley wrote. "I was prepared to cry 'liberal' when Carter evoked class struggle and decried discrimination by the rich against the poor. But when he defined rich to include almost every American, I saw his point."

Founding president of Leland Stanford Junior University - now simply called Stanford, David Starr Jordan, delivered Rice's first-ever commencement speech, titled "Is War Eternal?" in 1916.

"Leland Stanford presents the closest analogy to Rice of any college in the United States, and no man could have been chosen who is in a better position to understand thoroughly what the Institute represents," the Thresher wrote in its Feb. 26, 1916 issue.

"It may be that kings and empires, privilege and exploitation, swords and cannon, dreadnaughts and Zeppelins must all pass away in one grand horror," Jordan said in his speech's closing remarks. "But the end must come. God is not mocked forever, neither is man."

Introduced by Provost Amy Dittmar in early March, the five-part series intended to facilitate difficult conversations about the Israel-Hamas war and the larger crisis in the Middle East. Five faculty members from four different departments - political science, history, sociology and religion - led sessions presenting their insights to undergraduate and graduate students.

"At Rice, our richly diverse, international community, deeply grounded in a culture of compassion and understanding, can serve as a model for having crucial conversations," Dittmar wrote in her announcement. "We are hosting a series of educational events where faculty members will present topics that provide background and perspectives on the current conflict and that are related to their scholarly work."

Abdel Razzaq Takriti, the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair in Arab Studies and an associate professor of history, will lead the final session, "Anti-Palestinian Racism and the Politics of Scholasticide," on April 17.

The first session, held March 21, introduced game theoretic models of deterrence and was hosted by T. Clifton Morgan, a professor of political science. Morgan discussed the balance between a country convincing its adversaries that it will respond to an attack while showing that it will not attack if not provoked.

A week later, Nathan Citino, the chair of the history department, led a talk about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Elaine Howard Ecklund, a sociology professor and the director of the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, ran a seminar the following week titled "Islamophobia and Antisemitism in the U.S." Instances of Islamophobia and antisemitism have increased dramatically since Oct. 7, 2023.

In the fourth session on April 9, Matthias Henze evaluated multiple definitions of antisemitism and offered guidelines for detecting it. After the talk, titled "What is Antisemitism?" Henze, the director of Rice's Jewish Studies program, told the Thresher that a first step in combating antisemitism is to recognize it.

The conversations about deterrence and foreign policy each had about 15 attendees, the faculty who led them said, while "Islamophobia and Antisemitism in the U.S." had approximately half a dozen. Two students attended Henze's talk. Students were required to RSVP for the talks in advance, and sign-ups were limited to 25 per session.

"I was very surprised by the low attendance," Henze wrote in an email to the Thresher. "I understand that the other Conversations were also poorly attended. Similar events at other universities were much better attended. Traditionally, Rice students have not shown much interest in politics, at least not compared to students at other university campuses. This lack of interest is disappointing, for so many reasons."

Dittmar said that the sessions were intended to be more intimate. The goal was to model the feel of a Rice classroom, she said, in which students could be comfortable asking questions and sharing their opinions on hot button issues. Each session ended with a question-and-answer period, which often took the conversation beyond the allotted hour.

There were many possible reasons for empty seats in the room, Dittmar said. Some are simple: the time of day and time of week of the session. Others are inherently related to Rice: one session was held two days before Beer Bike and another three days after. A few students also registered for sessions but did not attend. Broadly, Dittmar said, there were constraints when scheduling five sessions between spring break and the end of the semester.

"To me, it's engagement because it's offering the opportunity," she said. "Would I rather have had five sessions and lots of people? Maybe, but that's not where we are as a university. I wanted to offer this to the students. It's also possible that some of these spur students to sign up for the classes next semester. There's a lot of things that can produce engagement that might not be the people in the room.

"Obviously, two [attendees] is far from 25. Is 15 far from 25?" Dittmar added. "I don't know."

Citino said he was happy with the smaller group setting at his session. "That word 'conversations' is in the title, not 'lecture,'" he said.

"I actually think this kind of smaller setting was probably the way to go," Citino said. "I think it worked. Of course, the downside is you can only engage with relatively so many folks."

Dittmar said another benefit of the restricted attendance was respectful dialogue. Many other universities have faced heated dialogue surrounding the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"From the actual discussions, or the issues, you could imagine this could have gone very differently," Dittmar said. "And it didn't. People were quite engaged and interested in what they were talking about … I mean, it really speaks really highly of Rice students."

Rice's response to the Israel-Hamas war

The Conversations on the Middle East were the latest part of Rice's response to the Israel-Hamas war.

In her announcement of the conversations, Dittmar highlighted a November panel discussion with two fellows from the Baker Institute. Later in an interview, Dittmar pointed to a series of faculty- and student-led events over the last six months.

"I think it's added to the conversation," Dittmar said about Rice's administrative response. "I don't think it was ever meant to be the whole conversation, but I think it has added to the conversation."

The Conversations on the Middle East series came out of a faculty advisory group the president and provost formed in December 2023. Dittmar wanted to highlight the scholarship of Rice researchers and the content from classes offered by Rice faculty to students who may not want to take a full three-credit course, she said.

According to Citino, the university also wanted to show students how to engage academically with a "really difficult issue" like the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"For students, there's been a lot of conversation about rights, free speech, right to petition, right to assemble, right to be free from harassment and intimidation and things like that. All of those things are really important," Citino said. "With this series of conversations, it's also important to showcase the opportunities that students have on a university campus when dealing with an issue like Israel-Palestine … to see opportunities for understanding by engaging with different academic disciplines on campus."

"What can we learn from the debates that historians have had about the history of this conflict?" Citino added. "What can we learn from social sciences, from the conversations that are going on in philosophy or in the arts?"

The role of the university, Citino said, is to show students how to address difficult subjects from an academic perspective.

"I think that the job of the university is to give students tools, and I primarily mean intellectual tools, for understanding, for coming to their own educated engagement," Citino said. "To create and to foster a space where people can have intellectual pluralism … and to tend that environment is probably the most important thing that universities can do."

Dittmar said the Conversations on the Middle East can inform Rice's approach to contentious world events beyond the Israel-Hamas war, pointing to the upcoming 2024 presidential election that will likely see a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Series like these are part of an "ongoing commitment to developing an educated campus citizenry," she later wrote in a follow-up statement to Thresher.

"Thinking about how we make discourse in this way a part of the overall Rice experience and part of the fuller co-curricular curriculum is an important thing for Rice to focus on," Dittmar said. "I think it's important for every university to focus on."

"My real hope in being involved with that series of talks was to get students to see this as part of their education, not extracurricular … to see those issues not as outside or alongside what students are studying, but as an integral part of their education at the university," Citino added.

"If this kind of critical engagement doesn't happen at the university," Henze wrote, "then where will it happen?"

News Editor Sarah Knowlton contributed reporting.

"We hope that Rice can respect our academic freedoms, respect our freedom of speech and allow us to simply vote on a resolution without fearmongering the voting members, without having to block it because of frivolous claims, so we hope [this protest] builds pressure on administration," Rice SJP organizer Matti Haacke said.

Following recommendations from the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement, S.RES 02 proposed a divestment of Student Association-disbursed funds from Israel-aligned companies. The resolution was never voted on - it was tabled indefinitely by the Office of Access, Equity and Equal Opportunity following a discrimination complaint.

During the protest, students voiced their support for Palestinians and denounced Rice for tabling S.RES 02 and the threats of disciplinary charges for S.A. members who do not comply with the AEEO. Protesters specifically denounced President Reggie DesRoches and Richard Baker, director of the AEEO, for being "complicit in genocide."

Chris Stipes, executive director of news and media relations, declined to comment.

A Rice University Police Department officer estimated that about 20 people attended the hour-long protest. Rice SJP organizer Kathryn Jarjoura said she deemed the protest a success, despite lower turnout than she had hoped for.

"There were a lot of people here for Owl Days," Jarjoura, a Baker College senior, said. "I saw a lot of admin come out of the Allen Center and stand and watch or record us. A lot of people visiting [were] just standing and watching. People came out of Baker when we started and stood and watched. I think a lot of people saw and heard us, and I think that is a success."

A number of the protesters gave speeches, including a speech from faculty member Kamala Visweswaran, a professor of anthropology. In her speech, she applauded the protesters for their activism and encouraged them to continue being critical and informed about world issues.

"I am appalled at Rice administration interference in student governance by forcing the Student Association to table its recent divestment resolution," Visweswaran wrote in an email to the Thresher. "The SA should be allowed to proceed with the vote with no penalties … The pattern of bringing disciplinary charges against Rice students for exercising pro-Palestinian speech must stop."

Rice SJP's original Instagram post announcing the protest, and a number of the protesters present, made reference to ongoing student-administration conflicts at Pomona College and Vanderbilt University.

"We hope that this protest is a rallying cry for students to tell administration that we're not going to stand for suppression on this campus," Haacke, a Sid Richardson College junior, said. "Obviously this is not a unique situation on Rice campus - this is happening around the country with administrations even arresting their own students."

At Pomona, 20 students were arrested during a sit-in following the school's attempted removal of a "mock apartheid wall." During a sit-in at Vanderbilt protesting the university's removal of a divestment amendment from the student government's constitution, four students were arrested and, following a hearing, three were expelled. At the same protest, a local reporter was detained after making attempts to enter a locked building.

"I've always felt like it was important to be the best at my job," Whitson, a Rice distinguished alumna, said. "I worked with a bunch of people who are wicked smart … but I would say work ethic was my secret weapon."

Whitson grew up on a hog and soybean farm in a rural town near Beaconsfield, Iowa. She turned her gaze to the stars at age 9, when the Apollo 11 mission put men on the moon for the first time. Her dad flew planes for fun, and going on joy rides with him kept Whitson excited about the possibility of spaceflight, but the lack of an American female presence in space was discouraging at first. When Sally Ride and Shannon Lucid were announced as the first female and nonmilitary NASA astronauts in 1978, she realized a future in space exploration might be possible for her after all.

"It wasn't until I graduated high school, and they picked the first female astronauts, that the dream became … a goal," Whitson said. "That made it seem like a real possibility."

Motivated from a young age, Whitson graduated as salutatorian from Mount Ayr Community High School in 1978, and earned a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1981 before pursuing a Ph.D. and postdoctoral fellowship in biochemistry at Rice.

As she was nearing college graduation, Whitson was discouraged from pursuing a career in space by advisors who said her talents would be better put to use in medical school. One mentor even proffered a prediction that astronauts would have become obsolete by the time she reached her goals. But Whitson said her critics did little to deter her from the path she knew was right for herself. In fact, they only made her more persistent.

"It's great to have the mentors, but it was also great to have a little bit of criticism along the way," Whitson said. "It motivated me. I was going to prove that person wrong."

Whitson's Ph.D. advisor, Kathleen Matthews, was impressed with her from day one. She saw Whitson go above and beyond the discipline and drive required of most doctoral candidates, she said.

"[Some of] the experiments that needed to be done required a 48-hour time period … so she slept in my office for two nights with an alarm and got up and did what she needed to do, and then tried to go back to sleep," Matthews, a Stewart memorial professor emeritus of biosciences at Rice, said. "She's a very calm person, she has an easy laugh and she has an incredible ability to focus."

In 1986, Whitson began a postdoctoral research fellowship at NASA's Johnson Space Center, but it took 10 years for her to be accepted into their astronaut program. In the meantime, she worked on several research and development projects, including a bone cell experiment executed on a 1992 joint mission between the U.S. and Japan and the ISS's precursory Shuttle-Mir program; she served adjunct professor positions at the University of Texas and at Rice; and she held leadership roles such as deputy division chief of the medical sciences division at JSC and co-chair of the U.S.-Russian space science working group.

During her eight years of involvement in U.S.-Russian space activity, Whitson spent time in Moscow working in collaboration with what is now Russia's Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities. Her work in Russia paved the path for her eventually becoming an astronaut, considering the long history of space relations between the two countries.

"The years in Russia were hard because she didn't go knowing the language, but she listened, saw how things were done in Russia, [and] I think that was very helpful to her," Matthews said.

Whitson received a total of four rejection letters before finally being accepted to the program in 1996. By the time she had submitted her fifth and final application, she said she was an ideal candidate.

"Having all that leadership experience, showing that I worked [well] with international partners … made me more interesting to a selection board that was looking to hire astronauts to work on an international space station," Whitson said. "[Those] 10 years were pivotal in me [becoming] the first female commander, the first female chief of the astronaut office, the first nonmilitary chief of the astronaut office."

A six-month-long expedition to the ISS in 2002 was the first of Whitson's three flights with NASA. She spent another six months on the ISS in 2008, and a nine-month-long stay at the station in 2016 marked her final trip with NASA.

Whitson and her crews were tasked with a number of responsibilities while onboard the ISS, such as infrastructure assembly, space walks and life and microgravity sciences research. Whitson took advantage of space's unique environment to observe accelerated bone decay and cell proliferation.

"When you do experiments in space, you're using the lack of gravity to help you model or develop something," Whitson said. "We did a lot of really cool research when I was with NASA."

Several hours of resistive and cardiovascular exercise was required of each crew member in order to combat the deteriorative effects that living in space has on the human body. Whitson said that each time she came back stronger than ever, but that returning to Earth was always a big adjustment.

"Even though I could bench press my body weight when I got back, I still felt like a klutz," Whitson said. "We did 45 days worth of reconditioning to try and teach the little muscles how to work together [again]. Just jumping off of a step felt scary."

Whitson was barred from state-supervised spaceflight after her third expedition due to radiation limitations, but she was determined to find another way to return to zero gravity, waving off health concerns.

"I'm not worried about it," Whitson said. "I think [the limits] are too conservative, [and] it was particularly conservative for females."

After retiring from NASA in 2018, she joined private space infrastructure firm Axiom Space and spent another 10 days in low-Earth orbit in May 2023. Currently, as Axiom's director of human spaceflight, she helps engineer the space suits and stations of the future.

"I would probably say [I have] an addiction to space," Whitson said. "I really love the experience; I love being a part of something that feels bigger than me."

"When I left [NASA], I had no anticipation that commercial entities would be growing so quickly, but in less than five years, I was flying on a space mission [again]," Whitson continued. "The path isn't always a straight line right to your goals … You have to learn along the way."

Editor-in-Chief Riya Misra contributed reporting.

"The night was so much fun for me, full of love and camaraderie from everyone, and it was such a dream to see my vision and long-time love for performance actualized," Gina Matos, the 'Bruno Mars' singer of the band, said.

Matos, a Lovett College senior originally came up with the idea for the band: the other members joined after she reached out to the Rice Music Collective at the end of last semester to see if anyone else was interested in the idea.

Molly Kyles, the 'Anderson .Paak' singer for "Suede Hedgehog", expressed a similar feeling about their performance.

"[The] camaraderie is one of the most valuable things I will take from this experience. I hope that this show inspires people to bring people together and make their creative visions a reality," Kyles, a Lovett College senior said.

Although Kyles said that performing live for dozens of Rice students was beyond her comfort zone, she said that singing in "Suede Hedgehog" is very rewarding.

"[It's] one of the most meaningful things I've] had the chance to participate in during my time at Rice," Kyles said.

Through their practices, the band members grew more talented and confident to step into the shoes of Mars and .Paak, Ethan Perryman '23 said.

"[Silk Sonic's] songs may be lyrically lighthearted and simple, but they are musically quite complex. It definitely challenged all of our vocalists and instrumentalists to learn the songs," Perryman said.

The band also became tightly knit over the months of rehearsal, according to Carmen Lizarraga, a Martel College sophomore, another musician in the band. She said that working with all of the members has been an honor.

Many of the musicians are graduating this semester, making this both their first and last time performing for the Rice community. While "Suede Hedgehog" may not play again, its musicians hope that other students will be inspired by its example and bring their musical passions to life.

"I hope that [Silk Sonic] can help encourage more students to perform live music around campus," Miles Gantcher, a Martel sophomore, said.

"It's infectious to watch people perform something that they have a passion for or love so much," Matos said. "There's a lot of 'secret' artists at Rice, people who have randomly been playing an instrument or dancing or singing since they were little. All in all, I hope we've contributed to carving out the art scene at Rice just a little more, because I know there's insane potential."

"Opia" represents the culmination of a VADA degree at Rice. VADA majors embark on a yearlong senior seminar alongside an intensive independent curation of each student's art with the intention of being displayed in the annual spring exhibition.

"Especially over this [last] year, you bond with everyone … You're in class together for six hours every week, for the entire year," VADA major Natalie Pellette said. "I think art classes tend to be more intimate than your typical academic classes, because you're creating work that is based on your personal experience."

Pellette, a Hanszen College senior, plans to display two paintings and one larger installation piece in "Opia." According to Pellette, it's easy to distinguish between the works of the different artists in their small class, which she attributes to the deeply individual nature of the artistic experience.

"I think our art each has its own personality," Pellette said.

In addition to personality, this year's senior class also displays a diversity of mediums. The works displayed in "Opia" range from photography and film to painting and sculpture. The art will be organized into two sections: a communal space where the different artists will each display some of their works together and a section for individual displays of each artist's own work.

Sophia Rohlfsen, a VADA major concentrating in film and photography, plans to display a variety of both 35mm film and large format (4x5) photographs in the senior showcase. According to Rohlfsen, the resources and support she received within the art major at Rice were integral to her ability to express herself in less accessible mediums. With the help of faculty and specialized classes, Rohlfsen was able to use expensive equipment such as cameras, lenses, tripods and printers to create her large format photographs.

"I was able to produce work that I would probably not have had the resources to do for the rest of my life," Rohflson, a Baker College senior, said. "It's just insane … the support you will get if you're really interested in something in one of these smaller majors."

Beyond the increased access to the technology to express themselves with, seniors like Kexin Shen have also found an improved ability to engage with their cultural heritage and explore their identity through the VADA major. Shen, who grew up in China before coming to Rice, has been able to infuse her own experiences and feelings throughout her college experience with traditional Chinese painting techniques, in a body of work she calls her "Rice diary."

"I'm using the traditional materials, like the rice paper, the brushes, the Chinese color set … but the themes are different," Shen, a Brown College senior, said. "They're about my personal life as a Rice student … [and] reflecting these raw emotions I've had during my life."

The VADA program is unique in its ability to serve as an added dimensionality to the Rice experience for its diverse class of seniors. Most of the senior class is double majoring in another field - Shen is also a physics student, Rohlfsen studies electrical and computer engineering and Pellette's second major is civil and environmental engineering. The variety in knowledge and background brought to the class makes for an interesting artistic experience, according to Angela Chen, one of the instructors of this semester's senior seminar.

"As the majority of our art seniors are double-majors, they bring a unique perspective to their artmaking. Their creative practice is enriched by a diverse knowledge base that incorporates scientific observation, engineering know-how, and research in the humanities," Chen wrote in an email to the Thresher.

"Opia" will open with a reception this Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. in Provisional Campus Facilities tent 2. Following the reception, the gallery will be open for community viewing from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and noon to 6 p.m. on weekends, until the commencement ceremony on May 4.

"When you see the senior show, you'll see this is very serious academic work," Rohlfsen said. "It's the thing I'm going to take away most from Rice."

For Vishnu Sriram, a Will Rice College freshman, cricket was an essential part of his life growing up in India, and he wanted to play the sport even in a new environment.

"When I moved to the U.S. some years back, [cricket] was something that I wanted to bring and share with everyone," Sriram said. "I just played around and asked people if they had tried out cricket, or would like to try, and welcomed anyone who wanted to try the sport."

Sriram said the transition was not difficult when he arrived at Rice.

"Before joining Rice, I met some freshmen on Instagram who were also interested in cricket," Sriram said. "We started playing cricket around Rice, and as people passing by showed interest and joined in, our cricket community began to grow. Will Rice quad has been a great place for us to arrange some small games and get new people to try out cricket, and we also sometimes head over to Field 2 for bigger games."

For others, like Jones College senior Bikram Singh,their love for their sports didn't develop until after getting to Rice.

Singh began boxing after being taught by another Rice student and then transitioned to training in Muay Thai, leading him to compete in sparring scrimmages around Houston. After being introduced to martial arts, he, along with other undergraduates, founded the Rice Mixed Martial Arts club.

"I wanted to start an MMA club to give other Rice students the opportunity to learn different martial arts, regardless of their level or prior experience," Singh said. "I wanted to make a safe space for anyone to learn the fundamentals of different martial arts."

According to Singh, the process of starting this club at Rice was straightforward, and the club has been able to find space in the Recreation Center to hold practices. Getting equipment funding, however, has been more difficult.

"Rice hasn't fully been able to provide the resources we needed," Singh said. "I thought the process of getting club funding [was] really confusing [and] difficult. We've been using mats and some gear that the Rec Center already has, but we could really use funding to get gear such as shin guards, Thai pads, focus mitts or wrestling shoes for people to borrow during practice times."

Rice students have also found other avenues to stay active in a less organized manner. Some students at Wiess College recently competed in a milk mile race consisting of running four 400-meter laps while finishing a servery milk container before each lap.

"I got the idea for the milk mile from a few friends who had run milk miles in high school," sophomore Peter Stern, the event's organizer, said. "After some banter with friends about who would be the best milk miler, I thought it would be fun to go out and actually do it."

The event had 20 competitors and 15 spectators witnessing the spectacle. According to Stern, everyone completed the race, and the milk mile was a success overall.

"I think events like the milk mile are a great way to destress," Stern said. "Even though running a milk mile probably isn't most people's ideal form of relaxation, it gave me, and hopefully others, something to look forward to. Spontaneous, creative events like these are some of my favorite parts of Rice. I really appreciate how willing people are to show out for things like the milk mile, especially with all the different things people have going on."

When I first joined the Thresher as a wide-eyed freshman, I was filled with enthusiasm and eagerness to share my opinions with the greater Rice community. Writing my first article discussing the pandemic's impact on freshmen on the football team, I remember clumsily navigating the intricacies of AP Style as my article was littered with suggestions and comments from our editors. However, as I began to write weekly for the section, I overcame these initial challenges and found solace in the constant support that I received from all of the editors and fellow staff members. Seventy-nine articles later and having edited hundreds of articles, I am still by no means an expert in AP style. (Thank you Jonathan and Annika!)

Over the past four years, the Thresher has been more than just a student newspaper to me - it has been home to a strong community, where I have been able to forge strong relationships and connections with other writers and staff members who share the same passion for journalism and writing as I do. Whether it was discussing the amazing Trader Joe's haul at the Monday meetings or the InDesign struggles during our Tuesday design days, every moment spent in the Thresher office has been a cherished memory that I will carry with me long after graduation.

Not only has the Thresher provided me with a stronger community, but it has given me a great learning environment. As someone who has contributed to various sports publications since I was 15, the Thresher has provided me with various opportunities from discussing Rice baseball with a Hall of Fame baseball coach to interviewing potential future NFL wide receiver Luke McCaffrey. Furthermore, I am so fortunate to have gone to New York to attend the Collegiate Media Conference where I had the unique opportunity to build upon my skills as a journalist and attend and cover the Big East Conference Men's Basketball tournament as part of the conference.

As I look back on my time with the Thresher, I am filled with gratitude for the countless opportunities it has afforded me and the invaluable lessons I have learned along the way. I am grateful for the friendships forged and the bonds formed, for the mentors who have guided me and the peers who have inspired me, and for the chance to be part of a community that celebrates the power of words and the beauty of storytelling.

To Riya and Prayag, this year's editors-in-chief, thank you so much for your exceptional leadership and unwavering support throughout this journey.

To Alice, our InDesign god, thank you so much for putting up with my InDesign failures and helping me make the page every Tuesday.

To Kathleen, Diego and Andersen, I am very excited about the future of the sports section and have full faith that y'all will be incredible next year.

To Daniel, thank you so much for supporting me throughout my first three years at the Thresher. You taught me so many skills that I used as an editor and am so grateful to have learned under your mentorship.

As I bid farewell to the Thresher and embark on the next chapter of my life, I do so with a heart full of gratitude and excitement for the adventures that lie ahead. Though my time as a writer for the Thresher may have come to an end, the memories, lessons and friendships I have gained will stay with me forever.

So here's to the Thresher, the place where stories were told and memories were made. Thank you for everything.

Editor's Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Rice Thresher: Looking back at the season so far, what are some moments that stand out to you both personally and for the team?

Jack Riedel: Knowing this is possibly my last year playing baseball at the college level, the moments that stick out the most are not particularly on the field, but more with my teammates, my best friends, people in the dugout, people in the locker room, and just making the most out of every moment during the season.

RT: Over your years at Rice, how have you seen your skills on the field and your perspectives off the field change?

JR: I was a young sophomore when I first got here.

I didn't really understand too much about baseball, but I would just do my best to try to have fun. I feel like I've matured. Seeing older guys and becoming the older guy and the leader on the team, it makes you mature because you have to be a leader for the rest of the guys.

And as far as my game goes, I feel like I've improved a lot just being here with great coaching staff who wants all their players to improve, which is really beneficial.

RT: What have been your most challenging and rewarding experiences as a part of the Rice baseball team?

JR: I guess the most rewarding was when we played at Minute Maid. We beat Texas Tech last year. That was a really cool game. I told Chuck this, but I grew up going to those games at Minute Maid. with my parents, and I would skip school to go watch the college games at Minute Maid. So getting to go over there and actually do it was really cool.

RT: What preparations are you making for life after college, both in sports and outside of sports?

JR: Hopefully I get the chance to play at the next level.

If I do get the chance, I'm totally going to do it. And other than that, right now I'm just kind of meeting with people, interviewing and exploring my options.

RT: How do you and your teammates support each other during challenging times in the season and how do you all celebrate the victories and the upsides?

JR: So for this team, we're all really close and we all understand that baseball is a game of failure. We're all going to fail. We're all going to strike out. We're all going to make errors. We're all going to give up home runs.

But what gets us through it is, I would say, each other. It's really cool being on a team where everybody gets along so well and there's no outsiders, but everybody's going for the same thing.

RT: Looking back, what advice would you give to your freshman self about navigating the challenges and opportunities of college baseball?

JR: Oh man, that's a tough one. I would say, as a freshman, I was really hard on myself. Even as a sophomore, I was really hard on myself. Even as a junior, I was really hard on myself and I'm still hard on myself now.

I would try to give someone this advice. It's hard to take it. But I would say stop trying so hard. I would say stop pressing so hard. Stop being so hard on yourself. It's a game of failure and you're going to fail. The sooner you can figure that out the better.

RT: What are you looking forward to most this season and what are you most excited about?

JR: I don't know if you were at the game yesterday, but we all changed our walk-off songs to 2000s music. It was really cool, everybody on the team did it. It was cool to see everybody buy in for that. It honestly changed the entire energy in the dugout, and it's just things like that that other teams probably wouldn't do, but our team is close enough and we're gonna do it, and I'm just excited to see where that takes us.

Connors' strong performance Saturday offered just a glimpse into a greater point of emphasis for the Owls: dominate the running game. Redshirt sophomore Quinton Jackson rushed six times for 49 yards and one touchdown on the ground, and he played a key role in the receiving game. The Texas native caught three passes for an additional 21 yards, including a touchdown pass from redshirt junior quarterback Shawqi Itraish in the back right of the end zone that required Jackson to beat a defender. Redshirt junior Christian Francisco also demonstrated good burst, finishing the day with seven rushes for 46 yards and one touchdown. He and Jackson showcased their ability to both fight for yards at the line of scrimmage, bounce outside and break big plays.

"Jackson [was] making himself very hard to tackle even when the defender arrived at the same time at the ball," head coach Mike Bloomgren said, adding that Jackson is currently second on the running back depth chart.

Connors echoed his coach's praise for Jackson, placing emphasis on the running back's ability to handle big-bodied defenders who present a size mismatch.

"He doesn't look like he's going to step up there and hit someone, but that dude is an elite perimeter blocker when it comes to sweeps," Connors said. "He's very good at positioning his body and getting around guys. Sometimes, he's outmatched weight-wise, but he doesn't act like it."

Although the running backs led the way, all eyes were on quarterback E.J. Warner, a junior transfer from Temple University and the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. If confirmed as Rice's starter next season, Warner will take over the offense from J.T. Daniels, who medically retired prior to the Owls' 2023 bowl game.

Outside of Itraish's singular touchdown drive, Warner and redshirt sophomore A.J. Padgett split quarterback reps on Saturday. Notably, redshirt freshman Chase Jenkins played snaps at wide receiver but did not get involved at quarterback.

Warner and Padgett both had quiet starts to their days as Rice's first- and second-team defenses showcased their strengths early. Warner was not asked to throw deep very often as he averaged just 5.83 yards per completion. He finished the game with 105 passing yards and one passing touchdown. Padgett showcased more mobility than Warner but was also more trigger-happy, throwing into coverage and missing deep throws early in the contest. He began completing more passes as the game went on and ultimately threw for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Bloomgren said that the door remains open for either quarterback to win the starting job in 2024 but also suggested that Warner has the inside track, just months after transferring to Rice.

"I'm never going to be in a rush to announce anything," Bloomgren said. "I'm glad we don't have to decide today, but there's certainly [been] times this spring where you felt like E.J. really had an upper hand."

As the Owls look to replace NFL draft hopeful Luke McCaffrey in the wide receiver room, junior wide receiver Kobie Campbell built a firm rapport with Warner, catching five passes for 46 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Braylen Walker led the team with 78 receiving yards and one touchdown. Redshirt freshman Drayden Dickmann and graduate receiver Matt Sykes were both targeted often, and redshirt junior fullback Colin Giffen also found the end zone. Meanwhile, senior tight end Boden Groen stood out with a physical 17-yard reception against strong coverage over the middle.

Defensively, Bloomgren identified redshirt senior Josh Pearcy as a major contributor. The returning starter played with the first-team defense in the second half. On one of his first plays, he broke through the line of scrimmage to swat a Warner pass as it was released. He continued to make an impact rushing the passer and in coverage.

"He is playing off the ball as much as he's playing on it. That's been a good transition for him this spring and it's been fun watching that," Bloomgren said. "His positional flexibility right now is really exciting."

Another returning starter, senior cornerback Sean Fresch, made a ball-hawking impact as he broke up a deep pass from Padgett early in the game. Redshirt sophomore Demone Green recorded the defense's lone sack.

For the most part, Rice's defensive backs kept up with their receivers stride for stride. This took away options in the passing game and held the Owls' quarterbacks to a combined 61.1 % completion rate.

Pearcy, who watched the first-team defense dominate even when he was on the sideline, agreed with Bloomgren's assessment that the Owls are building a remarkable defense.

"All the weapons we've been able to add and guys stepping up, I think we're building something very special, and I think guys want to be a part of that, too," Pearcy said. "I see the coaches trying to find ways to use all of us. There's just so many of us to put out there, [and] it's a good problem to have."

Rice also experimented with different personnel on special teams, a unit that consistently struggled in 2023. The Owls used a different punter on each of their first three punts, ultimately giving redshirt freshman Reese Keeney the majority of the opportunities rather than graduate punter Conor Hunt. (Hunt's 35.9 average net yards per punt ranked ninth-worst among NCAA punters with at least 30 attempts in 2023.)

Redshirt sophomore Enock Gota and redshirt senior Tim Horn attempted several kicks as the Owls' kicking competition continued. Both players made all of their extra points, missed 38-yard field goals from the left hash, and converted 39-yard field goals from the right hash. However, Horn appeared to edge out Gota on the day as he converted a late 51-yard field goal with room to spare.

As the Owls' spring meetings and practices come to a close, Bloomgren said he has high hopes for the 2024 season. This optimism stems from the excitement he's felt while watching Rice practice as the clock winds down on the spring semester.

"We've worked really hard to get this team as talented as it is," Bloomgren said. "It's an exciting time. I can't remember a time [when] I've had more fun with spring ball."

It's a shame that I didn't know about Julio Torres' work before "Problemista" popped up on my radar. The Salvadoran comedy writer is a collaborator with many of the current best voices in comedy - he is a co-showrunner for the HBO show "Los Espookys" alongside Fred Armisen and was a writer on SNL from 2016 to 2019. "Problemista," however, sees Torres taking center stage as he directs, writes and stars. The inherent gamble of this immense level of authorship ultimately pays off, as Torres has created an intensely reflective coming-of-age story filtered through a surreal, kaleidoscopic sense of humor - a unique combination and subsequent balance that will leave you wishing you knew about Torres's work sooner.

The film follows Alejandro (Julio Torres), an immigrant from El Salvador who has moved to New York City to become a famous toymaker. After being laid off from his job at a cryogenics facility, Alejandro is then forced to find a new job; if he fails to, his work visa will expire and he will be forced to return to El Salvador.

This establishes one of the film's primary throughlines of satire. Alejandro is constantly bouncing between petty jobs and grimy New York subways, so he can support himself through the costly immigration process. As Alejandro continues, the premise leads to increasingly insane, humorous situations that escalate both comedically and tragically, as the absurdity plays to both. By making the moments of tragedy happen in psychedelic, surreal settings, Torres extracts the humor from bleak moments without undercutting the sharp frustrations created by America's border policy.

Simultaneously, Alejandro encounters Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), an eccentric, aggressive Karen-type married to the 'cryogenically frozen' artist under Alejandro's care at his prior job. Elizabeth is the vessel through which the film communicates Alejandro's growth, and the film heavily relies on the dynamic between the two characters. Elizabeth is confident, brash and harsh, a perfect foil to Alejandro's quiet, compliant and kind personality.

Swinton's performance, however, gives this character a surprising amount of complexity - her erratic gestures and booming line deliveries make her feel actively threatening yet totally incompetent, playing into the themes of manipulation the film explores. Swinton is usually limited to more quiet, reserved roles, so seeing her take a huge swing amplifies her moments of humor.

It feels weird making it this far without explicitly mentioning the comedy - much of the work is done by the premise itself, but each twist and turn of that premise is rendered in absurd terms. The film feels like a visualization of Torres's mind and his creative reimagining of what happened in his own life. Every joke is so specific while drawing upon such a wide array of cultural moments and personal feelings that it is clear that these metaphors have been brewing inside Torres's mind for a long time. If you don't find surrealist, oddball comedies funny, stay far away from this film.

The problem is, however, that I am unsure of how well the film balances all of this. Every sentence I have written seemingly introduces a new concept, and watching the film feels the exact same way. I haven't even mentioned Alejandro's mother, a recurring character, Isabella Rossellini's excellent narration, or the fact that both RZA and Greta Lee are in this film.

Each of these moments and concepts adds a new idea that contributes to vague thematic clouds that float around the movie, and there are only a few moments where everything crystallizes, which exhausts the viewer. This is not to detract from the personality Torres infuses into the film, but rather to note that I am unsure of what the film amounts to - by creating something so intensely personal, Torres may alienate those who can't get on the same wavelength.

Balance is the core concept of "Problemista," as Alejandro attempts to juggle the various pressures he faces and the harsh realities of living in New York City. Unfortunately, the film itself fails to balance its limitless creativity. Every moment feels carefully placed, but not all the pieces fit together. Thematically, this matches the film perfectly, but in practice, it feels uneven. Regardless, "Problemista" still has enough laughs to make it a worthwhile watch, and Torres' infectious energy should continue to spread.