Over the past two weeks, COVID-19 cases on Rice’s campus have been decreasing after a spike in positive tests from late December until the third week of January. In response to this decrease, undergraduates were allowed to move in on campus one week earlier, on Feb. 6 and 7, without needing petitions.
Love is in the air, but so is the novel coronavirus. Thus, everyone’s favorite Hallmark-sponsored holiday is going to look a bit different this year. It may seem like the only option for Rice students is to buy your special someone a fancy latte from Brochstein or take a romantic couple’s walk to Reckling Roost for a LAMP test, but we’re here to broaden your options. Whether you’re looking for a socially distant picnic date, cupid-themed photoshoots or even just sending yourself a well-deserved box of chocolates, there’s something for everyone this Valentine’s Day. Check out our guide down below for date ideas, local events, florists and chocolatiers.
Although many Rice seniors are eyeing their May 15 graduation date, Emily Duffus (McMurtry College '20) transitioned from student to alumnus sooner than she had expected. Instead of settling into a new semester’s schedule these past few weeks, she has been working full time at a mobile urgent care in Houston as a medical technician and part-time as a contact trader with Rice Crisis Management. She spends her time driving around in an SUV with a nurse practitioner to address patients’ medical concerns in the comfort of their own homes. Duffus is one of various Rice alumni who decided to graduate early last fall after the pandemic turned their senior year plans upside down. The Thresher checked in with three graduates to see how their transition out of Rice has gone.
Rice plans to increase the undergraduate population by 20 percent by 2025, according to President David Leebron. Leebron presented the preliminary plan for the expansion at the Jan. 27 Faculty Senate meeting.
The confirmation of Donald J. Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election set the stage for a political rollercoaster that lasted four years. It drove countless Americans to take a stand and voice their support for and opposition to the former president, whose controversial policies and actions sparked heated debates. On campus, those conversations served as fuel for movements and organizations that sought to politically engage and inform students. Rice saw a surge in voting rates in recent years and high engagement in the past election as a result of the efforts of various on-campus clubs and groups.
Following a hiatus of almost 15 months, the Rice women’s soccer team will start its season tomorrow squaring off against McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Owls will rely on a deep roster, with eight of 11 starters from the 2019 season returning, as they hope to put together a successful 2021 campaign.
As administration of the COVID-19 vaccine begins worldwide, Rice is working with the state of Texas to be designated as a vaccine site, according to Vice President of Administration Kevin Kirby, who chairs the Crisis Management Advisory Committee.
While the world watched the windows of the U.S. Capitol being smashed and offices of U.S. Congresspeople being vandalized with violent and unwavering conviction in the historic Jan. 6 riot, one of Rice’s own was on call with journalists and TV anchors for hours.
Undergraduate students will not be able to return to campus until Feb 15, according to an email from President David Leebron sent out this morning. The email also states that all classes this semester will begin in an online format and that Rice will move to Research Stage 2 in which essential on-campus research will be able to continue but with added safety protocols.
Shannon Walker, Baker College ‘87, MS ’92, Ph.D. ‘93 is one of the four astronauts on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon spacecraft launched on Sunday evening and arrived on Monday night at the ISS, where the crew will spend the next six months, according to NASA. This is Walker’s second space flight to the ISS.
The tower that used to house the Sid Richardson College community is quiet these days: hallways are bare and most floors are vacant. The only people living there are a handful of students from across the residential colleges, and they mostly keep to their rooms.
Rice’s Crisis Management Team reported 15 positive tests and a positivity rate of 0.31 percent from Nov. 3 through Nov. 9, the highest weekly positivity rate this semester.
A gap semester was always part of the plan for Neil Chopra, the Lovett College sophomore said, but he had previously planned on taking it later in college. Then, the pandemic cast its long shadow over the fall semester, and Chopra decided it was the ideal time to take a break.
2020 has been action-packed for everyone and Bryan Washington is no exception. For this acclaimed writer and Rice English professor, this year brought about great positive changes. His much-anticipated debut novel, “Memorial,” was published last month by Riverhead Books. Picked up for adaptation by entertainment company A24 prior to publication, the novel’s release made waves in literary and television communities alike. A native Houstonian, Washington published his award-winning short story collection, “Lot,” last year and was appointed Rice’s first Scholar-in-Residence for Racial Justice in July, a title he holds alongside his distinction as George Guion Williams Writer in Residence.
After 19 students tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, Rice Crisis Management discovered that 17 of these tests were inaccurate and false positives. The testing error, which is believed to be caused by equipment contamination, resulted in 80 people being quarantined and isolated.
Adjaye Associates, an architecture firm with offices in Accra, Ghana, London and New York, will design Rice’s new student center, which is expected to be complete by fall 2023. The winner was selected by a committee of Rice administrators and faculty, with input from the Student Association and Graduate Student Association.
This week, another prolific Houston artist is making their mark on Rice’s largest canvases in the next installation of the Moody Center for the Arts’ season of “Creative Interventions.” Through the week of Oct. 26, internationally acclaimed Houston-based graffiti artist GONZO247 is joining forces with Rice students, alumni and community members to create a mural in celebration of Owl Together, the first combined celebration of Homecoming & Reunion and Families Weekend.
This semester, non-Rice personnel and visitors have come to campus for several reasons varying from exercise to photoshoots, and students have noticed that these visitors are frequently maskless. Rice University Police Department is still enforcing the mask policy as it was originally announced, according to RUPD Chief Clemente Rodriguez.
The moment Shirley* decided that she wanted to attend Rice was during an event hosted by Christian club Chi Alpha at Owl Days in 2019. The event was an ice cream social and “large group” gathering — Rice Chi Alpha’s weekly event where members sing worship songs and their pastor, Josh Bell, goes over a message from the Bible.
