Gabe Baker listens to his heart on new Bachelor spinoff

Being on the screen isn’t new to Gabe Baker, a Rice alumnus (Brown College ’14) and cast member of The Bachelor franchise’s new music dating show: “The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart” on ABC, where contestants sing to and with each other. Baker has been on athletic competition reality shows before –– “American Ninja Warrior” and Netflix’s “Ultimate Beastmaster.” While the constant eye of the cameras did put him under pressure to perform on those shows, Baker said that being on “The Bachelor” brought a new kind of pressure.

RiceApps hatches Schedule Planner replacement with “hatch.”

When Rice announced that Schedule Planner, an online scheduling platform for students, would be shut down and replaced with Banner, a platform that combines schedule planning with registration, students were devastated. One went so far as to write a eulogy for the site, criticizing the university’s choice to spend millions of dollars on what was, in his opinion, a worse platform. 

Inflatable dome construction delayed once again

The construction of the inflatable dome has been delayed by at least one month after the company that manufactures and installs the air structure paused all construction operations, according to Rick Mello, the deputy athletics director. The company’s operations, which have been halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, are currently set to resume in mid-May. 

Hidalgo discusses pandemic management with the Thresher

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, announced a stay-at-home order for the county on March 24 which, originally scheduled to end on April 3, has been extended to April 30. Working alongside Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Hidalgo has been responsible for instituting these and other precautions for the city of Houston during the current pandemic. The Thresher recently sat down with Hidalgo to discuss next steps for the city.

Multicultural Center to relocate to H&D building

The Rice Multicultural Center is temporarily relocating from the Rice Memorial Center basement to the former Housing and Dining office. The move is scheduled to occur at the beginning of the fall semester, according to Kevin Kirby, vice president for administration.

Professor, RA, new parent: Lesa Tran’s journey in the midst of the pandemic

On a cool Saturday in March, Lesa Tran held her daughter Ophelia for the very first time. Throughout Ophelia’s life, her March 21 birthday will coincide with the vernal equinox — the beginning of spring — and signal the start of the season of renewal, hope and promise. This year, though, things were different: Spring came on March 20, and Ophelia was delivered amid a global pandemic.

Administration should be transparent about decisions for future semesters

On Monday, California State University, Fullerton became one of the first colleges in the country to announce that it will start the fall semester virtually. Rice is not CSUF — a 40,000-student campus in a state significantly more affected by COVID-19 than Texas — so we do not expect the Rice administration to announce contingency plans at this time. The status of the fall semester at Rice has not yet been announced, and the administration has not communicated their plans or decision to the Thresher or the student body at this time. But when they make plans about future semesters, which they will have to do eventually, we urge them to consider the following factors. 

Guggenheim Fellow Lacy Johnson talks climate violence and why she writes

Intricate plankton, jellyfish and corals fill the drawings of Ernst Haeckel, a 19th-century German biologist, philosopher and naturalist. The prints caught the eye of Rice’s latest Guggenheim Fellow Lacy Johnson, who took a deeper look into Haeckel’s life. In her research, she unearthed the biologist’s prominent work in scientific racism, work which has led some historians to conclude that Haeckel informed the eventual rise of Nazi ideology in Germany and fascism in Italy.

ImPROMptu: New students plan for prom at Rice amid widespread cancellations

As more and more social distancing guidelines were put in place over the past months, high school seniors across the country watched as prom slowly slipped out of their grasp. Instead of donning prom dresses and tuxes, they realized they would be donning face masks. Rather than spending the night dancing with their classmates, they would be staying home, only stepping out for groceries and medication.

Acquired Reading: A look into the lives and libraries of Rice’s faculty

Just as Rice students have found new ways to cope amid the general chaos, our professors have found themselves in the same unprecedented moment in history finding ways to muscle through their daily tasks: conducting research, teaching courses and attending to any children in need of attention.

From the managing editor’s makeshift desk: Saying farewell from afar

A couple weeks ago, I wrote nearly 900 words of eulogy for my loss of the final quarter of my final year at Rice. Like nearly everything I do, it was self-indulgent and entirely too in touch with my emotions. I submitted it to the Thresher (really I just sent our lovely opinion editor Elizabeth a Slack message) but very soon afterward, someone I love got sick and I decided not to go through with the editing process.

The Strokes’ ‘The New Abnormal’ brings the best of the past to the present

4-22-20 Crossword: "Amputated"

Weekly Screen: Week of April 20

For our lovely readers, you may know that “The Weekly Scene” is a regular fixture of the Thresher’s print arts and entertainment section that promotes local arts events both on campus and throughout Houston. However, due to campus and citywide restrictions on public gatherings amid the COVID-19 outbreak and our inability to print issues for the remainder of the semester, the Weekly Scene is sadly discontinued at the moment. Thus, to fill the gap in my heart left by my beloved little column, I’d like to present the Weekly Screen: a short list of TV programs, movies and videos to check out from the socially-distanced comfort of your home. 

375 minutes of music that defined my 3.75 years of college

I went to my first concert in college, first semester freshman year in September 2016. My high school friend Eric Shi came with me to see James Blake downtown at the House of Blues. There, under lights filled with haze and concertgoers way older than us, we listened to Moses Sumney over the chatter of the crowd. Eventually, the lights dimmed, and Blake took the stage. When the bass hit on “Limit to Your Love,” I knew I was hooked for a lifetime.

Cheesy movies to make you feel less lonely (or at least make you smile)

You know how a couple months ago I came out here to publicly shame the Academy for not sharing my impeccable taste in film? Over the past few years I’ve come out on the record on important cultural milestones, such as the second season of Narcos and this one boring movie that the Thresher got free passes to. But since I’m graduating, I thought I’d show my hand before I go with this confession: I love horrible, cheesy movies. Like, a lot. 

Moments alone: Another round of 50-word stories from isolation

As we all exist in isolation from one another, it can be grounding to take a moment to reflect on where we are and how we're doing, and hear the same from others. With that in mind, the Thresher asked for brief stories from the Rice community about what living in social isolation has been like. Here’s what people told us. 

Disappointing baseball season cut short

Though they did not know it at the time, the Rice baseball team played their final game of the 2020 season on March 10. A 6-2 loss to then-No. 22 Texas A&M University, their final game was representative of their 2-14 season as a whole in more ways than one. 

Erica Ogwumike drafted by Minnesota Lynx

Former Rice women’s basketball star Erica Ogwumike was selected in the third round (No. 26 overall) in the WNBA draft on Friday night. She was drafted by the New York Liberty, before having her rights traded to the Minnesota Lynx. 

Hanszen freshman continues sports podcast in quarantine

If you love sports and every topic surrounding the world of sports, being in quarantine may be pretty difficult. The sports world has ground to a halt, with the NBA and NHL suspending their seasons, March Madness being canceled and the MLB pushing back the start date of their season indefinitely. But don’t panic — Hanszen College freshman Sam DeCaprio has your sports addiction covered with his ongoing sports podcast, “The Roundabout.”