New SA executive team strives for inclusion
(03/18/14 9:53pm)
The Thresher is happy to see the direction that the newly elected executive team is headed.
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The Thresher is happy to see the direction that the newly elected executive team is headed.
The Rice Thresher would like to commend the administration’s decision to make changes in the Economics department. Our staff feels like the department as it currently stands is understaffed and does not offer enough courses, both at the introductory level and at more advanced levels.
The search continues for Martel College senior Reny Jose, who went missing on Monday, March 3 while on vacation in Panama City Beach, Fla.
The Thresher would have liked to see the Rice administration put more effort into the preservation of the Art Barn on our campus (see story, pg. 1). The building is considered by many to be a historically and artistically significant structure, and we would like Rice to recognize the potential value it could continue to bring to our campus.
The Thresher is pleased to see the number of students applying to Rice has increased (see story, pg. 1). With this increase in applicants, the admissions office can potentially become more selective during the admissions process, which could improve Rice’s rankings.
The Thresher would like to acknowledge that the election rerun is a complicated issue. We understand the University Court’s decision, because certain aspects of the previous election were undoubtedly incorrect.
Despite initial confusion over how to interpret the results of the Student Association’s general elections, Trent Navran undoubtedly won the SA presidential election, SA Secretary Nathan Andrus said.
The Thresher staff hopes students will be respectful of Baker’s new lunch policy, which prevents non-Bakerites from entering the Baker College Kitchen at lunchtime until 12:15 p.m. (see story, p. 1). The heavy non-Bakerite traffic to Baker’s servery and commons intrudes upon the college’s social environment and culture. Compared to the commons of other colleges, Baker’s small commons exacerbates that problem, and the limited table space often prohibits multiple groups of Bakerites from eating together. Lunch is the most problematic mealtime, as many students might just want to grab a quick meal between classes. Allowing Bakerites ample time to occupy their own commons during lunch will nicely remedy this issue.
The Thresher staff is disappointed in both the voter turnout and the lack of seriousness displayed by some voters during the SA elections. Though other commitments to clubs, sports and residential colleges might prevent many students from being involved in the SA, students should at least be informed of the SA’s actions, especially during the SA elections. Students should be aware of changes on campus that likely affect their life at Rice.
Over half a century has passed since Rice last won a Conference USA football championship title. This year's team has a chance to change that. The 2013 Rice Owls tore a path through their competitors to become the C-USA West Division champions. With just one loss in the conference and just three overall, Rice football has proved to be a dominant force this year. Now our team will have a chance to win it all in the championship game against Marshall this Saturday at 11 a.m. at home in Rice Stadium.
As the fall semester comes to a close, the Thresher would like to encourage more transparency and communication from the administration in the coming semesters. There is a general feeling that the administration has been more closed towards the student body, especially on key issues like the future of the linguistics graduate program. Despite repeated attempts to reach out to members of the administration to give them an opportunity to present their perspective on the linguistics issue, the administration has continuously declined to comment.
Despite the divisive nature of the paper products debate, we commend Housing and Dining on its efforts to adapt to students' mealtime habits using a sustainable takeout container system (see story, p. 1). While Rice students love their paper plates, the addition of tupperware could help reduce the amount and cost of paper products used over the year, thus redirecting more funds to food quality.
The Faculty Senate Working Group on Grade Inflation presented preliminary recommendations to the Student Senate Monday, Nov. 11 meeting (see story, p. 1). While grade inflation may be an issue at Rice University, information on grade distribution and Latin honors are available online for employers and graduate schools. Employers and graduate schools already recognize that GPAs are calculated differently at different institutions and are accustomed to using this information to place grades in context or deflate them as appropriate. Students may also be reluctant to admit grade inflation is a problem, as fixing grade inflation - if indeed it needs to be fixed - would put their own GPAs at risk. For those applying to medical school or law school, changes to grading policies could damage their chances for admission by lowering grades. While this is an ethical issue of its own, it means that students are unlikely to advocate for changes in grading policies.
The power went out across campus around 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, and according to Facilities Engineering & Planning a cat could be to blame. Michael Tomongha, FE&P Lead Plant Operator, said that CenterPoint Energy told FE&P that a cat climbed up to a transformer and caused damage, resulting in the power outage.
iOS 7 makes my phone look like it belongs in a candy store.
The Thresher commends Rice University for selecting Joe Karlgaard as the new director of athletics (see story, p. 1). In choosing Karlgaard, a former student-athlete himself, Rice shows its devotion to student-athletes. The Thresher believes Karlgaard's experience at Stanford University, a top academic university also known for its competitive athletic program, will help to propel Rice forward athletically while staying true to its commitment to academic excellence.
The Thresher would like to emphasize the importance of 100 Days and Senior Gala (see story, p. 1) to the undergraduate students at Rice University, especially the current senior class. The student body values these two events as celebrations of students' time at Rice as they await graduation, and the events garner decent participation in the face of what most students recognize as general apathy toward non-college traditions.
To the Editor,
The Thresher would like to commend the administration for choosing to allocate a substantial portion of the $1 billion raised in the Centennial Campaign to endow 28 faculty chairs (see story, p. 1).
An article published on SportsIllustrated.com on March 29, 2013 reported that former Rice University basketball player Arsalan Kazemi claimed Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan made inappropriate comments about Kazemi's Middle Eastern descent to Kazemi, two other Middle Eastern players and former assistant coach Marco Morcos. The Thresher is currently unable to confirm these allegations.