Features

FEATURES 9/26/23 11:52pm

Unconventional wisdom, unconventional purchases

By Rohan Palavali

Whether it’s College Night, Beer Bike or just another quad event, Rice’s residential colleges often shop for some unique items. From inflatable gorillas to 188 individual Squishmallows, the Thresher took a look at some of the colleges’ silliest acquisitions.

FEATURES 9/26/23 11:49pm

‘They do make a difference’: Rice registers to vote

By Juliana Lightsey

Another election season is upon us, with local candidates and amendments on the ballot. Rice’s civic engagement organizations are making an effort to amplify the voices of young adults and register as many students as possible in the coming months.

FEATURES 9/26/23 11:48pm

Rice athletes make an IMPACT on Houston community

By Kelly Guo

When they aren’t at practice or zipping to class on their scooters, Rice’s student athletes have been working to connect with the Houston community.

FEATURES 9/19/23 11:16pm

Quirky college traditions to sweeten your week

By Noah Berz

We all love Radio Free Sid and Baker 13, but are you feeling tired of the same old songs and shaving cream year after year? Here’s a list of lesser-known college traditions that might break up some of the monotony. Grab a snack while you’re at it.

FEATURES 9/19/23 11:14pm

Timothy Morton likes to find things in weird places

By Hadley Medlock

A well-known mind in ecological studies, pen pal of Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk and English professor at Rice, Timothy Morton is a modern-day philosopher. With over 15 books published and translated in over 10 languages, Morton said they’ve spent their career learning how to help people talk about environment, ecology and inherent meaninglessness.

FEATURES 9/13/23 12:36am

Museums & mission control: Rice students take on unconventional summer internships

By Hongtao Hu

From Christie’s to NASA, students took advantage of the myriad internship opportunities available at Rice. Fellowships and club connections helped these Owls to gain career experience and broaden their horizons this summer.

FEATURES 9/12/23 11:00pm

Hoot ‘em or hook ‘em? Houston covers the spread in fun and culture

By Gale Gai

Even though Rice football fell to the University of Texas, Austin on Saturday, Sept. 2, let’s not forget who’s boss in the Lone Star State. When it comes to the space race, size, sports, expenses and school, Houston has Austin beat.

FEATURES 9/12/23 10:57pm

Freezing cold takes with Chief and Justice

By Hamza Saeed

“Okay, so let’s say I have a gun to your head, because I just went ahead and robbed a bank … I need you to tell me who you are in 10 seconds.” (The Thresher always starts with hard-hitting questions.)

FEATURES 9/12/23 10:56pm

Mr. Worldwide: CLIC offers study abroad in eight countries

By Murtaza Kazmi

Dozens of Rice students traveled to eight countries in the past year to earn course credit through the Center for Language and Intercultural Communication’s Rice in Country program.

FEATURES 9/6/23 12:14am

Rice researchers talk media bias, nuance

By Juliana Lightsey

Sifting through the cacophonous jumble of information available at the tap of a screen can be a daunting task. Modern online socialization means the news we receive is never-ending, multifaceted and sometimes dangerous. What are the implications of the rampant accusations of biased journalism and misinformation in today’s academic climate? Researchers at Rice have some ideas.

FEATURES 9/6/23 12:09am

Hot clubs in your area

By Sejal Gupta

The Rice Memorial Center was packed with over 350 booths and crowds of students scanning GroupMe QR codes on Sept. 1. The Student Activities Fair boasted clubs of all kinds. The Thresher has compiled a list of new and returning clubs for anyone on the hunt for another extracurricular activity.

FEATURES 9/6/23 12:07am

Late-night dining at Rice is hard to come by. Sid Richardson College just made it easier.

By Paige Fastnow

With the serveries closed and the Hoot only open for some of the week, late-night dining at Rice quickly becomes limited. But a new initiative at Sid Richardson College has set its sights on changing that.

FEATURES 9/6/23 12:03am

Linsey Sainte-Claire wants to share her knowledge

By Sarah Knowlton

Linsey Sainte-Claire left home at age 15. She moved from her native French Guiana to attend school in Paris, France in hopes of receiving a better education than she could get in the Caribbean.

FEATURES 8/30/23 12:17am

Business is booming: major growth, two years later

By Adam Leff

Move over, engineers — there’s a new major in town. According to the Office of Academic Advising, 26.7 percent of new students are interested in the business major, surpassing all other potential majors.

FEATURES 8/29/23 11:50pm

Every theme, everywhere, all at once

By Paige Fastnow

As new students settle in after the largest Orientation Week in Rice history, it’s time to start asking the real question: Which college had the best theme? This week, the Thresher is taking a look at all 11 themes so you can decide for yourself.

FEATURES 8/29/23 11:44pm

‘Life is just a classroom’

By Sejal Gupta

With a Rice Swifties GroupMe exceeding 500 students and a dedicated Instagram page to boot, it makes sense that when COLL 167 ‘Miss Americana: The Evolution and Lyrics of Taylor Swift’ opened on Esther, the first section filled up within the hour.

FEATURES 8/22/23 11:04pm

Ryan Freidin, artist and networker

By Landry Wood

Sports media is ubiquitous. It is in every cable package, every newspaper and many Twitter feeds. In order for all that content to exist, organizations need videographers and curators, people who can exercise creativity and technical expertise at once; they need people like Ryan Freidin.

FEATURES 8/22/23 10:58pm

Started in the basement, now we’re here: Explore ktru’s history

By Hadley Medlock

From the infamous yellow bumper stickers with rearranged letters to the often eclectic and unique range of music they share, the ktru radio station is an institution well known among the Rice community and even beyond the hedges. Despite this, few know the expansive history behind the iconic radio station and how it came to be the ktru we know and love.

FEATURES 8/22/23 10:54pm

Unleash your discount detective with these savvy student savings

By Disha Baldawa

Calling all budget-conscious brainiacs. If you’re a student looking to stretch your dollar, you’ve come to the right place. This week, the Thresher is diving headfirst into a world of wallet-friendly wonders that’ll have you mastering the art of student discounts. Use all that saved-up money for extra Chaus.

FEATURES 4/18/23 10:59pm

‘The only catharsis that comes to mind’: Students open up about suicide

By Morgan Gage and Riya Misra

“The way that people view suicidal ideation is very interesting to me,” Gargi Samarth, a Brown College senior, said. “You tend to see the person who is dealing with them as less of a person, [like] they’re not as capable of understanding themselves, being self aware or as possessing rationality.”