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Monday, August 15, 2022 — Houston, TX

Features

FEATURES 4/19/22 11:15pm

Senior Spotlight: Isabel Sjodin talks chemical engineering and residential college leadership

By Nithya Shenoy

Even though McMurtry College senior Isabel Sjodin was raised in Houston, she didn’t know much about Rice until her junior year of high school. She said the first time she was scheduled to tour Rice she ended up chatting with a Rice student on campus and missing said tour. However, that conversation and a later overnight visit at Sid Richardson College made a strong impression on her. 

FEATURES 4/19/22 11:12pm

Leebron reflects on his time at the corner of Sunset and Main

By Tomás Russo

In his almost 18 years at Rice, President David Leebron said he’s never taken more than four weeks off at a time, despite having the option for a sabbatical every seven years. While he doesn’t know what his future career plans are after stepping down this summer, he plans to take full advantage of his delayed sabbatical.

FEATURES 4/12/22 11:08pm

Almost a year in, students and faculty discuss new business major

By Allison He

Last fall, the Jones Graduate School of Business added to its offerings for undergraduates by launching a business major. Rice undergraduates in the Classes of 2024 and 2025 can declare a business major with either a finance or management concentration, and many students have shown interest in it, according to the Director of Undergraduate Business Programs Natalia Piqueira.

FEATURES 4/12/22 11:06pm

‘I felt like I live to work’: students talk burnout

By Morgan Gage

​​Rice students are busy. Rice students are tired. Some Rice students are facing the mounting threat of burnout. Amid academic, extracurricular and social expectations, four students described their struggles with burnout at Rice. Agnes Ho, Director of the Student Wellbeing Office, defined burnout as “what happens when you are physically and emotionally stressed and exhausted to the point that your body and mind signal you to do something to either respond to it or to shut you down.” 

FEATURES 4/5/22 11:40pm

Looking at jacks from Beer Bikes past

By Nithya Shenoy

Jacks, or pranks pulled by residential colleges on each other, are time-honored traditions especially popular during the week of Beer Bike. The Thresher looked through the archives to rediscover past Beer Bike jacks, which have included everything from stealing Hanszen College’s swing to tie-dying the Will Rice College commons. 

FEATURES 4/5/22 11:32pm

Rice Children’s Campus: a home for young Owls

By Eliza Jasani

Every weekday at 7 a.m., the youngest Rice students wake up and head to school. Rice has many programs of study, but this one is not quite as well known as the others. The Rice Children’s Campus, sitting just west of campus between Rice Village and Rice Stadium, serves as a daycare and early learning center for the children of Rice faculty, staff and students. 

FEATURES 4/5/22 11:13pm

Senior Spotlight: Johnny Wang embraces life at Rice

By Allison He

Johnny Wang did not know much about Rice when he applied Early Decision. According to the Lovett College senior, he didn’t visit campus or speak with any current or former students before applying. What he did know were two things: one, that he wanted to pursue medicine, and two, that he had heard Rice was a great place for pre-meds. 

FEATURES 3/31/22 11:52pm

Beer Bike 2022 polls

 

Beer Bike is quickly approaching, and the Thresher wanted to know which college is likely to win (and get disqualified). These are the results of our polls.

FEATURES 3/29/22 11:22pm

Colleges celebrate Beer Bike Week

By Tomás Russo and Zoe Katz

In the week leading up to Beer Bike, each residential college hosts a variety of events for their students centered around their respective themes. The Thresher spoke to the Beer Bike Coordinators at each college to hear about their plans for the week.

FEATURES 3/22/22 11:13pm

Students talk first normal spring break after two years

By Riya Misra

As March ushers in the first official day of spring, it also marks the first normal spring break for Rice students since 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic sent students home in the spring break of March 2020 and last spring, student holidays throughout the semester replaced spring break. On these “sprinkle days,” classes were not held and assignments could not be due. 

FEATURES 3/22/22 11:10pm

Meet historic women from Rice University’s past and present

By Lauren Yu

Although Rice’s student body was predominantly white and male when the university was established in 1912, it has grown into the much more diverse community it is today. In honor of Women’s History Month, get to know some of the female pioneers throughout Rice’s nearly 110-year history. 

FEATURES 3/8/22 11:27pm

Rice Apps relaunches carpool mobile site

By Allison He

As school breaks and seasonal holidays approach, so does the need to travel to and from the airport. Previous years have seen a spreadsheet shared among students hoping to find rides. But the rereleased Rice Carpool site allows a simple way for the Rice community to find and coordinate rides on their phone. 

FEATURES 3/8/22 11:26pm

COVID, construction affect accessibility at Rice

By Nithya Shenoy

Ever since the pandemic started in 2020, classes, events and more were moved online. Learning virtually came with its own challenges, such as Zoom fatigue and monotony; however, the shift also increased accessibility to things like classes and social activities, a change especially helpful for students with disabilities. 

FEATURES 3/1/22 11:14pm

Volunteer opportunities within and beyond the hedges

By Zoe Katz

Community service can look different for everyone – on campus vs. off, remote vs. in-person, weekly vs. a one-time commitment  – and something great about Houston is that it has many opportunities that Rice students can partake in. From delivering meals to donating blood, volunteering is an enriching way to fill our time, step away from studying and get involved in the communities around us.

FEATURES 3/1/22 1:31pm

COVID-19 on campus: students talk isolation this semester

By Nithya Shenoy

As the Omicron variant led to record-high COVID-19 cases on campus in January, Rice adjusted its own policies, from the format of course delivery to the testing requirement after travel, in response. In anticipation of high case numbers among students due to the high transmissibility of the new coronavirus variant, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman announced late December that Rice may be unable to offer isolation housing to students living on campus. Should Rice run out of isolation space, students who tested positive for COVID-19 or are symptomatic would need to isolate in place.

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