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NEWS 9/13/23 12:51am

Senate ignites Rice Fight

By Maria Morkas

The Student Association passed a resolution Sept. 11 congratulating the Rice Owls football team on winning the 2023 Bayou Bucket and reaffirming the senate’s support of Rice’s student-athletes.

NEWS 9/13/23 12:51am

Over 8,000 meal swipes donated in fourth year of program

By Arman Saxena

Housing and Dining, Student Success Initiatives and the Student Association have launched their fourth year of the meal swipe donation program to address food insecurity among students, especially for those living off-campus. According to Interim Associate Vice President of H&D David McDonald, 8,140 swipes were donated this year, in comparison to the estimated 4,400 swipes that were donated at the start of the spring 2023 semester and the 800 swipes that were donated when the program began in spring 2020.

NEWS 9/5/23 11:49pm

Rice Pride extends honorary membership to Texas public university students

By Hadley Medlock

As Texas closes the doors of queer resource centers at public universities across the state, Rice Pride is opening theirs. On June 14, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law banning diversity, equity and inclusion offices and initiatives at state-funded universities in Texas, as well as the hiring or assignment of an employee to conduct DEI office duties. 

SPORTS 9/5/23 11:46pm

Owls horned down by Texas, lose 37-10 in season opener

By Kathleen Ortiz

Rice football led the University of Texas Longhorns for exactly 2 minutes and 40 seconds on Saturday when the teams met for the 97th time. Being ahead may have been unfamiliar, but the final result was not — Rice lost to Texas again, this time by a score of 37-10, for the Owls’ 75th loss against the Longhorns.

SPORTS 9/5/23 11:43pm

A despondent fan’s guide to Rice football

By Landry Wood

On Sept. 2, the Owls played their first football game as members of the American Athletic Conference. They lost to their 109-year rivals the University of Texas at Austin, just like they have in every meeting but two since 1963. In that time, much has changed about how those teams relate to each other: Texas is in a “power five” conference, and Rice is not; Texas has won four national championships, and Rice has won none. The Owls have gone from playing the Longhorns in a mid-October rivalry match to being a season-opening tune-up game. 

NEWS 8/29/23 11:19pm

Rice responds to Supreme Court decision on affirmative action

By Brandon Chen

The Supreme Court rejected affirmative action at colleges and universities across the nation in a watershed decision on June 29. Following the decision, President Reggie DesRoches and Provost Amy Dittmar wrote in an email to the student body that they were “disappointed” by the ruling and that their commitment to diversity does not shift, echoing a statement from March.

SPORTS 8/29/23 11:12pm

Football prepares for season-opening game at Texas

By Pavithr Goli

Football looks to kick off their new season this upcoming weekend when they travel to Austin to take on the University of Texas Longhorns, who are ranked No. 11 in the nation. A year of new beginnings, the Owls will play their inaugural season in the American Athletic Conference after spending 18 years in Conference-USA. 

NEWS 8/29/23 11:05pm

It’s not just you: August sets heat records

By Prayag Gordy

This August has been the hottest in Houston since at least 1969, according to a Thresher analysis of weather data captured at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Through Aug. 26, daily highs have averaged 102.9 degrees, surpassing the previous mark of 101.4 degrees set in 2011.

NEWS 8/22/23 11:52pm

1,127 freshmen join Rice

By Riya Misra

This year, 1,127 new students joined Rice as the Class of 2027. This marks the most selective admissions year in Rice history, which saw a record-low acceptance rate of 7.7%. 

SPORTS 7/31/23 1:30pm

Tommy McClelland joins Rice as athletic director

By Riya Misra

Tommy McClelland will join Rice as its newest athletic director, following Joe Karlgaard’s departure in July. McClelland, currently the deputy athletic director at Vanderbilt, will start Aug. 14, according to President Reggie DesRoches’ July 30 announcement. 

NEWS 7/7/23 2:18pm

New student center’s architect accused of sexual misconduct

By Prayag Gordy and Riya Misra

David Adjaye, the founder and principal of the firm designing Rice’s new student center, has been accused of sexual misconduct by three former employees. The Financial Times reported on July 3 that the allegations “range from sexual assault to harassment.”  Rice chose Adjaye Associates to design the new student center in November 2020. The Moody Foundation has donated $100 million to support the project.

SPORTS 6/20/23 3:25pm

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard leaving Rice in July

By Riya Misra

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard will be departing Rice at the end of July, according to an email sent by President Reggie DesRoches on June 20. Karlgaard will assume a new position as CEO of GSV Summit LLC, a privately-owned investment company. “Joe Karlgaard has led and benefited our athletics programs across several periods of exceptional growth and challenge, including, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic,” DesRoches wrote.

NEWS 6/2/23 11:44am

Rice will build two new colleges between Sid Richardson and Wiess

By Prayag Gordy

Rice intends to build two new residential colleges with an accompanying servery, President Reggie DesRoches and Vice President for Finance and Administration Kelly Fox announced in an email sent May 19.  The old Sid Richardson College building will be demolished as part of this project. One of the new colleges will take its place, and the other will be positioned closer to Wiess College.

NEWS 5/25/23 3:51pm

‘Always laughing, always smiling and singing’: Family, colleagues remember Triny Carranza

By Diego Palos Rodriguez

María Trinidad “Triny” Carranza, cook III at the Cohen House, passed away May 7 at the age of 50. Carranza’s daughter said Triny’s cause of death was complications from blood clots. Hailing from the city of Chihuahua, Mexico, Triny visited Houston in her early twenties and chose to stay after meeting her future husband, Salvador Carranza, in the same apartment complex. Once settled, she began working in the cooking industry that, according to her husband, she was in love with.

NEWS 5/16/23 10:51pm

110th Convocation sees first joint ceremony, posthumous degree

By Riya Misra

Rice held its 110th Convocation ceremony on Saturday, May 6 at Rice Stadium. The graduating class of 2023 walked under the Sallyport prior to convening in the stadium. This year’s commencement ceremony marked the first year that all graduation proceedings, including the commencement speech, were condensed into one day. It also marked the conferral of Rice’s first-ever posthumous degree, awarded to Kamryn Sanamo, a Martel College senior who died in January from brain cancer. 

SPECIAL PROJECTS 4/18/23 11:33pm

Reassessing 2003: What Rice’s only national championship means 20 years later

 

Twenty years ago this June, Rice won its only national title in a team sport, the 2003 College Baseball World Series. In the 14 years that followed, the Owls made the NCAA regionals every season. But the six years since have seen the reign of long-time head coach Wayne Graham draw to a close and the short-lived tenure of his successor, Matt Bragga, come and go, as the Owls failed to qualify for even the conference tournament in Bragga’s final year.

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