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(01/29/10 12:00am)
Despite the Vision for the Second Century's plan to continually improve all aspects of the Rice experience, the newly released rankings from The Princeton Review hint that the opposite is happening (see story, page 1). Rice, while still ranked first in "quality of life," has gradually slipped in "best value" and now sits in seventh place behind a mix of small East Coast liberal arts schools and Ivy League powerhouses. While Rice is still in the top 10, we cannot be satisfied with continual downgrades. In the past, Rice sold itself on its "best value" reputation, with need-blind admission and an increasing no-loan income threshold. However, other schools have caught on to the needs of today's college students and their families, and are now leaving Rice in the dust with even more generous financial aid policies. Has the V2C pushed the university too far?
(01/29/10 12:00am)
Many students' first experiences at Rice consist of overnight visits as prospective students. The tradition lives on, even if over the past few years the names, dates and frequency of Rice's annual official prospective student visits have changed - from Owl Weekend to Owl Days to now Owl Days and Admit Days - to accommodate the growing class sizes (see story, page 1). Despite these changes, the idea has remained basically the same: Allow prospective students, who have already been admitted to Rice and are whittling down their final college choices before the May commit deadline, to stay on campus with a student host, sit in on classes of their choice and experience Rice culture as a whole. Unfortunately, the proposed dates for this year's Owl Days and Admit Days, sandwiching the last week of classes, threaten to undermine more than one Rice tradition. Admit Days' occurrence on the last day of classes, which is coincidentally College Night for both Hanszen College and Wiess College, guarantees that parents and prospective students alike will be eyewitnesses to some of the most widespread drunken antics on Rice's campus this side of Beer Bike. While the administration would like to flaunt Rice's social sphere along with its academics, this is not the angle to take - and one that seems almost antithetical to the administration's attempts to sweep all things Beer Bike-related (i.e., intoxicated and crazed) under the rug. The large majority of parents and prospective students will undoubtedly be perturbed by costumes and drinking games in the backs of classes; in turn, the Rice University Police Department will be keen on cracking down on underage drinking, which we fear will temper the merriment of certain revelers. Additionally, students interested in sitting in on a class or two will be shortchanged: Most classes on the last day will consist of exams, and those that don't will be dominated by drunken antics. And we're not even going to touch on the awkwardness of prospective students coming during the first day of dead period, when no classes are even in session.
(01/22/10 12:00am)
Last week's column by Patrick McAnaney read thatCatholic Charities in Washington, D.C. would cut off all services to the homeless if legislation legalizing same-sex marriage passed ("Catholic Church abandons social services for homeless," Jan. 15). Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl said that only some services would be cut off if the legislation passed. The Thresher regrets the error.
(01/22/10 12:00am)
You know how it is. Rice may boast legions of high IQs, but when it comes to politics or international causes, we just can't be bothered.So perhaps it speaks to the magnitude of the tragic Haitian earthquake that shook the world last week, but Rice students have been showing considerable support; even, might we add, a surprising lack of apathy (see story, page 1). In the first two days of their campaign, the Office of International Students and the Rice Student Volunteer Program raised more than $800, thanks to individual donations and funds from an anonymous donor who pledged $1 for each person who participated in the fundraiser. Duncan College also raised $1,000 for the Red Cross, and Wiess College organized a lunchtime fundraiser benefiting Project Medishare. We are truly impressed by the Rice community's charitable efforts; this time, political activism transcended Facebook status updates.
(01/22/10 12:00am)
Was there a basketball game last weekend? You tell us. Autry Army successfully enticed approximately 550 students - effectively one-sixth the size of the undergraduate population - to attend the Rice men's contest against the University of Memphis (see story, page 11). With an intact support system, the Owls nearly emerged victorious, and students enjoyed cheap pizza and the thrill of a successful athletic event.Considering typical student attendance at athletic events is abysmal, attracting hundreds of students for Saturday's game sounds spectacular. But what was the cost of the record attendance? Autry Army shelled out $900 for pizza and provided hundreds of free t-shirts to students. Given students' free admission to the game, the athletic department made no profit off the stellar attendance; instead, Autry Army went into the red with these expenses. And given the exponential increase in attendance - we estimate an average home basketball game sees 20 students - we can only assume it is a result of the effort Autry Army put forth. Taking into consideration the fact that college serveries are closed for Saturday dinner, this may have been a primary motivation for students to go to the game. After all, paying $1 per pizza slice results in a cheaper dinner than those available beyond the hedges. So then, why not stay close to one's college and partake in a cheap meal, even if it means going to a basketball game? Several students may have attended the game purely out of convenience rather than a desire to bleed blue and gray.
(01/15/10 12:00am)
Since Lance Berkman did not answer our calls for aid ("An open letter to Lance Berkman, concerning Beer Bike," Nov. 20), we applaud the necessary parties for taking it upon themselves to pony up the funds to construct the new Beer Bike track (see story, page 1). The annual event is unfairly shunned by the university, so the recognition of its inherent importance - to the tune of more than $100,000 - is a commendable feat.Alas, that is where our applause ends. We've looked over the proposed changes. We agree with sentiments - safety should be the preeminent concern of the organizers of the school-wide race. However, and we hesitate to sound like codgers opposed to any notion of change, the proposed shifts of the parade, both in location and logistics, are resoundingly incompetent.
(01/15/10 12:00am)
It was slated to be the biggest development Rice had seen since the advent of the college system. It was going to propel Rice into the upper echelon of educational institutions in terms of both prestige and research monies. It was going to create the intellectual and innovative center of the fourth-largest city in the world's wealthiest nation.Instead, the proposal to merge Rice and the Baylor College of Medicine was the biggest anticlimax our university has seen in recent memory (see story, page 1). The sound of the deal failing earlier this week was deafening, and reverberated across the university. We can't say we're not disappointed that the deal fell apart - everyone likes to be part of a historical occurrence, of course - and it is worrisome for those in the Rice-Baylor program, who will soon be attending a medical school whose finances are in such unsteady waters that the most logical course of action, merging with Rice, was torpedoed.
(12/04/09 12:00am)
In the Nov. 20 issue, the Thresher ran a column entitled "Dear Denver: Who to Trust?" in which the author addressed a personal matter. The column breached the boundaries of what is expected of both an advice column and our publication. The Thresher deeply regrets the error.
(12/04/09 12:00am)
With the end of classes (and the coming of Houston snow, surprisingly enough), the Thresher will be undergoing its annual winter break hibernation. But this won't be a traditional hibernation -- while our first issue of the spring semester won't be out until Jan. 15, there will be plenty of sports updates during the break while we keep tabs on the goings-on of the men's and women's basketball teams. So tune in early and tune in often, and keep tabs on the Owls' march to the Big Dance.
(12/04/09 12:00am)
In their short life spans, Duncan College and McMurtry College have already faced more than their fair share of challenges. The colleges opened with malfunctioning air-conditioning units, broken locks and virtually nonexistent cell phone reception. They encountered growing pains in meshing with Baker College and Will Rice College. There have been moments of triumph, to be sure - look no further than Monday's remarkable Powderpuff championship for McWill (see story, page 10) - but the moments of morass seem to outweigh the minor miracles.Yet another moment of chagrin seems to have come to pass over the past few weeks. The administration chose to forgo methods used to populate Martel College in 2002 (see column, page 3), instead sprinkling random transfer invitations to the new colleges among the original nine colleges, with a select number of guests attached to each invitation. The university purposely overshot the number of invitations, correctly anticipating a certain number of students would decline the invitation.
(12/04/09 12:00am)
As if you weren't sick enough of hearing about the economy, it appears Rice is instituting a 5 percent general fund budget cut effective in July (see story, page 4). Though no plans have yet been finalized regarding what budgets in particular are to be cut, we feel the need to both applaud and to warn the powers that be about the possible decisions facing them.Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman maintains that these cuts will not come out of the colleges' budgets - which are funded by the "student fees" portion of tuition - and we stand behind his decision. At the same time, however, cutting budgets from the college masters and resident associates might be problematic. The masters' budgets, for example, fund college courses, which are often some of the most unique classes one can find at Rice. Additionally, possible trips to symphonies and potential lectures may have to be shelved for fiscal reasons.
(11/20/09 12:00am)
Dear Lance,By now, we're sure you've heard the news: Beer Bike is changing (see story, page 1). This year, the first in which the number of colleges runs into double digits, the most sacrosanct part of Rice's culture will look . different. See, two new colleges have ridden in on their environmentally friendly horses and decided to crash the party, changing up the game plan and turning this year's Beer Bike into a cauldron of concern and confusion.
(11/20/09 12:00am)
In an article we published earlier this month ("NOD attracts whole new world of scantily clad," Nov. 6), the Thresher incorrectly reported that attendance at the annual Night of Decadence increased by 1,000 from last year. The attendance increased by 100. The Thresher regrets the error.
(11/20/09 12:00am)
Last Saturday, the football team won its Homecoming game against Tulane University (see story, page 14). This isn't a misprint. For those following the team's progress - even for those blissfully unaware - the win was an unexpected godsend. What better way to welcome hundreds of Rice alumni back to their former home? (And what better way to encourage them to donate money to the university than with a victory-infused pride?)The team hasn't had an easy season, by any means. Plagued by numerous injuries and a close loss to Southern Methodist University two weeks ago, Saturday's win energized present and former students alike.
(11/13/09 12:00am)
As the saying goes, "No news is good news." Which is why students, when contacted by the Honor Council, have always been stricken with fear. The Honor Council has established itself as one of the most mysterious entities on campus, and little of the reasoning behind its decisions have previously been available to students.This year's revision of the Council's Consensus Penalty Structure, however, is far more elaborate than in recent years and may alleviate this problem (see story, page 1). The Council upheld its previous minimum and maximum penalties, but added much-needed clarification. The governing structure now makes public the available penalties between these extremes (see honor.rice.edu).
(11/13/09 12:00am)
We know that the 50-year plan University Architect David Rodd showcased at Monday's Student Association meeting is little more than a contingency plan, but we can't help but express our excitement for some of the plans readied for the university's policy-makers (see story, page 1). It is comforting to know that Rice is looking with wide aspirations toward the first half of the century, and we commend Rodd on an informative and comprehensive speech to the student body.Some students seemed to think that Rodd's presentation incorporated only ideas set in stone, which, thankfully, couldn't be further from the truth. There are too many variables, too many factors, to know what life 50 years from now will entail. Automobiles may be obsolete. The Baylor College of Medicine may be the Rice College of Medicine. Rice football may be Houston's main pigskin attraction. No one can say otherwise. Thus, it is comforting to know that some of these ideas that Rodd has put forth are far from completion and are little more than gestating right now.
(11/06/09 12:00am)
As Duncan College and McMurtry College begin filling up with sophomores and juniors from across the nine other colleges, we tip our hats to the Dean of Undergraduates office, specifically Assistant Dean Matt Taylor, for making the process both smooth and transparent (see story, page 1). Through the entire process, Taylor has kept students informed of the ins and outs of transfer plans. Many projects across campus are either shrouded or clouded, but this system was a fresh change.That being said, we feel this process was not as seamless as it could have been, for two main reasons. First, we feel the selection process should have been limited only to rising juniors, not both rising juniors and rising seniors. We wonder what well-adjusted rising seniors, those not disenchanted with their current situations, would abandon their college for new pastures in their final year at Rice. Unlike the rising juniors, whose two remaining years provide enough time to create lasting improvements to the colleges, seniors will be one-and-done, flitting and flipping through the system in extraordinarily little time.
(11/06/09 12:00am)
Contrary to outward appearances - most notably, that we print thousands of copies of the paper each week, and the recycling bins in our office are often neglected - the Thresher supports environmental efforts. The latest of these, the Green Dorm Initiative, the brainchild of Rice's own Environmental Club, began this week for members of Brown College (see story, page 1). The initiative aims to increase awareness about the amount of energy and water needed to perform everyday tasks. Students will self-report the lengths of their showers, the number of times they've shut down their computers, their light usage and other aspects of their existence, sustainable or not.Raising awareness is great, and a monetary reward for those who, at the end of the competition, have been judged to live most sustainably is even better. But who's likely to participate in the initiative? Those who take two-minute showers in the first place. The people who drive Priuses and insist on setting their thermostat at 78 degrees during the long, brutal Texas summer. The Tetra Points reward may be an incentive to some, but those in it purely for the money are unlikely to keep up the sustainable efforts after the 20-day competition. We feel that the spirit of the competition comes from the right place, though it's nothing new or groundbreaking and may not legitimately change the behavior of those not already invested in the green movement.
(10/30/09 12:00am)
The Thresher has a long, tumultuous history with the Rice Program Council. They plan events, we complain about them, the animosity continues. Last week's staff editorial notwithstanding ("Esperanza planning proves problematic," Oct. 23), however, we've had generally good things to say about RPC in the past year. Last year, they booked a big-name band, The National, for Homecoming, and Ben Kweller for Willy Week, and the on-campus Esperanza impressed even the sharpest of critics. Forget about last year's Rondelet, and RPC seems to be getting better each year.As such, we feel that RPC's idea to step up accessibility is well-founded (see story, page 1). While club membership in previous years may have been somewhat limited, this year's application process allowed interested students the opportunity to join any of the committees. Since our blanket tax monies fund the club, it only makes sense that RPC publicize their organization more and that students, especially underclassmen, get involved.
(10/30/09 12:00am)
On Monday, President David Leebron spoke to nearly 100 students at the Student Association meeting, displaying his wit and charm to an attentive and concerned audience. After touching on Rice's rise through the rankings, Leebron reached the meat of his presentation: the discussion surrounding the proposed merger between Rice and the Baylor College of Medicine. He handily fielded the subsequent questions, and students left the meeting feeling confident their concerns had been answered.Unfortunately, one question remained: How did this speech and the ensuing discussion differ from the one that occurred just a few days earlier at his State of the University address?
