Features

FEATURES 11/28/23 11:20pm

‘Read the room, Willy’: Students, alumni retrace the Down With Willy movement

By Riya Misra

6 to 7 p.m. It was one hour a day, nearly every day, rain or shine, that Shifa Rahman ’22 spent camped outside the Founder’s Memorial statue, often with signs and fellow protestors in tow. “Read the room, Willy,” one sign read.

FEATURES 11/28/23 11:32pm

Live your best dead days life

By Amelia Davis

Final exams begin Dec. 6 for many students. The Monday and Tuesday of that week are study days where no classes are held, christened the “Dead Days” because campus is devoid of much life outside of frantic revision. Here is a list of study breaks where you can regain a balance of emotional and mental health before diving into exams … not to mention the long winter break with family.

FEATURES 11/28/23 11:31pm

HART’s Roman holiday

By Hope Yang

Ten undergraduate Owls have flown back from a summer in Italy, unveiling their study abroad experience in the HART in the World: Rome exhibition. Located on the first floor of Herring Hall, the student-organized exhibition features a line-up of photographs, sketches and research projects on display until the fall of 2025.

FEATURES 11/14/23 10:54pm

RNASA reconnects with Indigenous community on campus

By Hadley Medlock

Rice currently has less than 10 Native-identifying students on campus, according to Catherine Clack, the associate provost for diversity, equity and inclusion. Houston, however, is home to over 80,000 people who identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native and is a city with a deeply rooted Indigenous history and culture — though it’s a history often forgotten and rarely spoken about.

FEATURES 11/14/23 10:52pm

‘A force of nature’: Elaine Howard Ecklund makes her mark

By Murtaza Kazmi

Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, director of the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance, sociology professor — Elaine Howard Ecklund has many titles to her name. However, she said being this year’s president of the Religious Research Association — a position to which she was recently elected — is among the most meaningful.

FEATURES 11/14/23 10:52pm

Socials committees plan for new memories without publics

By Amy Li

Since Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman’s recent decision to cancel public parties through spring break, colleges no longer hosting publics have been left with a large sum of leftover money.

FEATURES 11/7/23 11:07pm

Show me the money: Treasurers balance college funds

By Max Scholl

From massive public parties to “Board Boards” — committees focused on restocking whiteboards — there are many ways Rice’s residential colleges spend their budgets. However, the nuts and bolts of the budgeting process, like where colleges get their money from, is lesser known.

FEATURES 11/7/23 11:04pm

Turning trash into treasure: Eco Reps make colleges greener

By Sejal Gupta

Ever wondered if you’re more eco-friendly than your neighbor? At McMurtry College, Eco Reps will give you a badge for your door to flex your sustainability skills to your floor. Have a bunch of old problem sets laying around? At Lovett College, the Eco Committee offers opportunities to turn your trash into treasure at Eco Craft nights.

FEATURES 11/7/23 11:03pm

Housing & Dining culinary interns serve up life skills

By Gale Gai

From prepping gyros at the Mezze in West Servery to making mapo-tofu at the Wok in North Servery, culinary interns at Rice help serve up some of students’ favorite meal offerings. The internship program, offered by Housing & Dining, allows undergraduate students the chance to prep and cook food across various campus serveries.

FEATURES 11/7/23 11:02pm

Robert Englebretson pushes his comfort zone

By Shruti Patankar

Aunt or ah-nt, caramel or karr-mul, pecan or puh-kahn: These are debates that are essential to the American dinner table, dorm floor and lunch break conversations. Associate linguistics professor Robert Englebretson has built a career from these curiosities, seeking to understand what drives people to communicate the way that they do.

FEATURES 11/1/23 12:50am

CAAAS gets a makeover

By Noah Berz

One does not have to go further than Rice’s own website to learn about its 1891 charter, which originally designated the school for “the instruction and improvement of the white inhabitants of the City of Houston and State of Texas.” More than 100 years later, Rice has seen a surge in the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and Black scholarship, especially in the Center for African and African American Studies.

FEATURES 11/1/23 12:50am

Cin-Ty Lee keeps an eye on the sky

By Adam Leff

Cin-Ty Lee started birding when he was 9 years old. Now, he’s described as “one of the best birders in the Houston area.”

FEATURES 11/1/23 12:43am

New courses to explore this spring semester

By Amy Li

It’s already that time of year — students across campus are looking to craft the perfect spring semester schedule, one that satisfies both their interests and their graduation requirements. The Thresher has compiled a list of never-before-seen courses without prerequisites that any student can take to fulfill some graduation requirements — and to explore something interesting and new.

FEATURES 10/24/23 11:28pm

Philosophers go head to head on gender

By Jahnavi Mahajan

The question of what it means to be a woman is one of the most hotly disputed topics at the moment: Documentaries, research papers, books and hours of YouTube videos have been made on the subject. On the evening of Oct. 16, about 100 people — both Rice students and the greater Houston community — poured into the Hudspeth Auditorium in the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies to watch two philosophers debate gender and philosophy in a discussion titled “Ontology of Gender.”

FEATURES 10/24/23 11:27pm

Celebrating 50 years of Night of Decadence

By Lajward Zahra

While the atmosphere prior to Night of Decadence is always animated, this year’s energy is different: It will be the 50th anniversary of Rice’s arguably best known public. While event-goers look into grabbing hot pink outfits for this year’s “Cum on Barbie, let’s get NODy” theme, the Thresher will go over the history of the event.

FEATURES 10/24/23 11:25pm

Quiet country life: best ways to take a rustication vacation

By Amelia Davis

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, to “rusticate” is “to stay or live in the countryside; to live a quiet country life.” Rustication at Rice is a prohibition from living on campus and taking part in college life and activities — a softer cousin to expulsion. However, living “a quiet country life” is a serious blow to the social calendar and probably not most students’ idea of a perfect time at Rice. With that in mind, here are some ways to get rusticated for you to avoid … or not.

FEATURES 10/17/23 11:40pm

Students show their appreciation for H&D

By Shruti Patankar

When most of campus is in bed, recovering from Pub or a late night studying at Fondren, Sandra Salgado is preparing to leave her house at 4:15 a.m. Salgado, a cashier at North Servery, starts her shift at 5:30 a.m. and works six days per week. She was previously employed at a nearby warehouse and would visit campus during her breaks.

FEATURES 10/17/23 11:38pm

Show you grow: Houston’s best plant stores

By Margo Gee

Midterms got you seeing red? Go for green instead at these local plant stores.

FEATURES 10/17/23 11:37pm

Will Rice will plant

By Nishanka Kuthuru

When wandering through campus, it’s hard not to be captivated by the verdant stretches of lush green grass, the tapestry of trees and even the occasional mushroom sprouting in unexpected corners. But amidst this panorama, there is an absence of vibrant flowers.

FEATURES 10/4/23 12:08am

Alumni point future engineers towards the stars