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Features

FEATURES 2/28/24 7:27pm

Melinda Spaulding Chevalier chases new storms

By Lajward Zahra

Melinda Spaulding Chevalier, Rice’s vice president for public affairs since August 2023, is more familiar with being the reporter than the story. Before working in communications, public affairs and higher education, she spent decades in journalism and was recognized by organizations like the Associated Press and the Emmy Awards.

FEATURES 2/27/24 10:36pm

Vivian Phillips ​​takes center stage

By Hongtao Hu

Vivian Phillips is polyphonic — whether writing a story, performing at the Riot Comedy Club or competing at the Miss Bayou City pageant, she knows just what to say. She first found her passion for English at Vassar College, a liberal arts college in upstate New York, before transferring to Rice her sophomore year.

FEATURES 2/27/24 10:33pm

Ruth Simmons stays true to herself

By Amelia Davis

Ruth Simmons’ career has taken her all across the country — from Houston’s Third Ward to Smith College in Massachusetts to Brown University where she became the first Black female president of an Ivy League School and back to Houston again. 

FEATURES 2/27/24 10:30pm

VADA explores Bay Area art

By Hongtao Hu

While many Rice students spent their midterm recesses studying, visiting family or lazing about, juniors majoring in Visual and Dramatic Arts  — now simply Art —  had an excursion to California’s Bay Area, exploring their prospective futures in the visual world.

FEATURES 2/27/24 10:29pm

Colleges go green recycling O-Week themes for 2024

By Kristal Hanson

Preparation for next year’s Orientation Week has already begun. Advisors have been selected and co-advisors have applied. Themes have been announced and, in one case, re-announced. Argue with your friends over which are fantastic and which shouldn’t have made it past the drawing board (or out of the recycling bin). 

FEATURES 2/20/24 9:54pm

Nancy Niedzielski shares her love for Lovett

By Shruti Patankar

While most universities have student resident assistants overseeing housing, Rice’s culture is defined by its rare residential college system, which features adult magisters and resident advisors. Lovett College’s current magisters, Mike Gustin and Denise Klein, are finishing their last year in the role.

FEATURES 2/20/24 9:52pm

Well, well, well: how Rice stays hydrated

By Rohan Palavali

Those who walk near the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science may hear the faint droning noise of machinery coming from the Central Plant, one of Rice’s two power plants that provide energy and water to the campus. Through the maze of pipes, wires and metal structures stands a fence door guarding one of the Rice’s lifelines — a water well. 

FEATURES 2/13/24 10:04pm

V-Day dates: studying, snacking, shopping

By Amelia Davis

Whether your Screw date has miraculously lasted into the second semester or you have a self-sourced partner to keep your spirits up during the stress of midterms, you may be prepared to scroll through innumerable Yelp reviews to ferret out the perfect Valentine’s Day date spot. Have no fear — whether your dream date is classy, casual or just plain crazy, options abound from Rice Village to Montrose and everywhere in between.

FEATURES 2/13/24 10:03pm

Owls celebrate all kinds of love

By Noah Berz

If you’re like me and get most of your valentines from your mom, then you know Valentine’s Day isn’t always about romance. From anonymous singing-valentines to tacos to a match-making Crush Party, student organizations and clubs across campus are pulling out all the stops to put on a diverse array of Valentine’s Day celebrations. According to Rice PRIDE co-president Cole Holladay, that’s why the organization started Pal-Grams, valentines for loved ones of any kind.

FEATURES 2/13/24 10:00pm

‘Not too shabby’: Rice professors with high h-indices

By Hope Yang

From pioneering new technologies to designing crucial teamwork models, Rice faculty members have gained renown in their fields. Though it can be difficult to quantify a researcher’s impact on an area of study, Rice professors have some of the highest h-indices in the nation.

FEATURES 1/30/24 10:20pm

Get fired up for the Year of the Dragon

By Shruti Patankar

With Lunar New Year approaching on Feb. 10, there are plenty of events happening both on and off campus. The 15 days following the new moon will be filled with delicious food, intricate lion dances, firework shows and gift-giving in auspicious red envelopes. Get ready to welcome the Year of the Dragon in style. 

FEATURES 1/23/24 10:42pm

01-24-2024 On this day in Thresher history

By Sarah Knowlton

Carefully cataloged by the University of North Texas’s Portal to Texas History and the Rice University Woodson Research Center, the archives of the Rice Thresher contain issues of the paper since its creation in 1916. Any Internet user brave enough to venture into over a century of reporting can uncover hidden bits from Rice’s history. From scientific breakthroughs to programming victories, the Thresher is proud to bring you a selection of newsworthy events from Jan. 24.

FEATURES 1/23/24 9:47pm

Deep dive into Rice Escape’s ‘Sub-merged Sea-crets’

By Hongtao Hu

Deep in the bowels of Sid Richardson College lies a chamber brimming with the stench of brine and brackish water. Of the 83 students who have ventured in, only half have managed to return within the hour. Rice Escape’s newest escape room, “Sub-merged Sea-crets,” which is running in the Sid Richardson Makerspace from Jan. 12 to Jan. 28, doesn’t take itself too seriously — the room does have a “handsome Squidward” drawing on the wall — but the story of the room is still airtight.

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