Features

Black at Rice: Selase Buatsi finds her voice

When Selase Buatsi was a kid, she was just like every other kid her age — constantly fighting her parents. As a young girl, Buatsi argued with her parents so often that they told her she’d make a great lawyer. A decade later, Buatsi is now president of Rice’s Pre-Law Society.

2 Down: The paper’s pair of puzzle people

Rice students are great at finding ways to avoid doing their homework. But there are only so many shows available to watch — and rewatch — on Netflix. Luckily, McMurtry College seniors Grant Lu and Sam Rossum have discovered their ideal form of procrastination: writing crosswords when they should be writing papers.

Rice students, alumni channel creativity through YouTube

TikTok may be all the rage, but for students looking for entertainment that lasts longer than 60 seconds, there’s a growing presence of content on YouTube — produced by Rice students and alumni.

Englebretson tackles misconceptions with new Braille research

Although Robert Englebretson has been reading Braille since he was 5 years old, it didn’t occur to him to research Braille until he was selected to serve on a committee to study Braille in 2005.

1-29-2020 Crossword solutions

1-22-2020 Crossword solutions

Reginald DesRoches races towards provostship

Closing in at a swift one hour, 50 minutes and 34 seconds, Reginald DesRoches set a personal record at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon on Sunday, beating last year’s time by six minutes. Next summer, DesRoches will break another record. On July 1, the current dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering will become the ninth provost to take office — and the first Black provost in Rice’s history. 

Associate Vice Provost motivates students across the state

What exactly does an associate vice provost do? They drive over 4,500 miles across Texas to speak to high school students about building confidence, mental health and applying to college. At least that’s what Cortlan Wickliff (Wiess College  ’10), associate vice provost for academic affairs  and strategic initiatives, did last November. 

Ringing in the Lunar New Year on campus

In the United States, people often celebrate the new year with kisses at midnight, a champagne toast and resolutions. When countdown concludes and the ball drops in Times Square, the new year has officially begun — for some. However, many East and Southeast Asians celebrate Lunar New Year, which doesn’t take place this year until Jan. 25. Here’s a look at how Rice students celebrate the new year.

1-15-2020 Crossword solutions

Amongst “happiest students,” dissatisfaction persists

Last semester alone, students wrote over 35 op-eds and letters to the editor, addressing particularly controversial events at Rice and other salient issues facing the student body: from students donning ICE agent costumes to the use of the n-word at Rice to the university’s decision to let a student who was found guilty of assault graduate.

Booked: Day in the life of a Fondren librarian

When Joe Goetz’s 10-year-old daughter started learning to play piano a few years ago, he knew exactly what he needed to do: skim the Fondren Library stacks for a book written by a pianist.

Senior Spotlight: Freddy Cavallaro talks growth at Rice

Freddy Cavallaro reads a Bible verse daily. He has a 138-day streak on his Bible app, which he said would have been longer if not for a camping trip. He doesn’t take the Bible lightly, and yet his favorite Bible verse is from Romans 14:2, which goes, “For one believeth that he may eat all things. Another, who is weak, eateth herbs.” 

A Decade of Thresher: 2013 Recap

In February of 2013, over 1,000 Rice students gathered in the Academic Quad to do the most 2013 thing ever: the Harlem Shake. Just in time too, as 2013 was the year that infamous video-platform Vine took hold of popular culture with its seven-second videos. In 2013, indie-rock band Vampire Weekend released their hit album “Modern Vampires of the City and then waited six years to release their next one this year. It was also the year of the game-changing release of iOS 7, which introduced flat icon design and a control center, changes discussed by Thresher staffers. 

A Decade of Thresher: 2012 Recap

Outside of Herring Hall sit two massive humanoid figures composed of letters and numbers. A current staple of the Central Quad landscape, Jaume Plensa’s “Mirror” sculpture was installed in 2012, the centennial (100th) year of Rice. Another staple of campus, the James Turrell Skyspace, also opened in 2012. It was a year of celebrations but also of turmoil, as ten students were transported by Emergency Medical Services from Wiess College’s public party, Night of Decadence, prompting a permanent revision of the Alcohol Policy and a ban on hard alcohol consumption.

A Decade of Thresher: 2011 Recap

Editor’s Note: This is the second installment in “A Decade of Thresher,” a commemoration of another decade of Thresher coverage. BBC News called 2011 “the year when a lot happened,” highlighted by the fact its site received 15 million unique site visits in a day (in November 2019, BBC received 519 million visits). An earthquake rocked Japan, Osama Bin Laden was killed, protests in the Middle East became the Arab Spring and then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords survived a shooting in Tucson, Arizona. 

A Decade of Thresher: 2010 Recap

In 2010, most current seniors were in sixth grade or just about to graduate from elementary school. “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha topped the charts followed by its antithesis, “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum. An important technology benchmark, 2010 was the year mobile game Angry Birds began to gain popularity, coupled with the release of the iPhone 4.

12-4-2019 Crossword solutions

The power of clothing: how one student is spreading Culture of Care through T-shirts

People often say that clothing has power: what someone wears can send a message about anything from their personality to their belief system. Now, thanks to McMurtry College sophomore Mel Xiao, Rice students can wear a T-shirt that sends the message: “You R Welcome Here.”

Invisible burdens: students talk accessibility challenges

Each semester a Rice student will spend hours carefully crafting a course schedule that fills their major requirements, impresses future employers, and avoids that dreaded 8 a.m. section. But students with disabilities often have to worry about another factor: accessing their classrooms.