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FEATURES 5/31/20 12:29pm

Rice for Black Life encourages Rice community to financially support Black activism

By Ella Feldman

In the 2019 documentary “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am,” Morrison encouraged those looking to make change to ask themselves, “What can I do where I am?” That sentiment sparked Summar McGee (Hanszen College ’20) to found Rice For Black Life, she said. Rice For Black Life is a Black-led coalition of 45 Rice students, Rice affiliates and community members seeking to “support Black liberation, the affirmation of Black life and the abolition of white power structures,” according to a recent email from the group.

NEWS 5/26/20 8:19am

Rice mandates mask-wearing, shares vision to reopen campus

By Brian Lin

Rice announced the health protocols, which will be in place starting June 1 until further notice, in an email to students yesterday. Leebron had previously shared a $10 million budget gap caused by COVID-19 and the potential for full-time employees to be furloughed in a town hall on Friday.

NEWS 5/17/20 5:30pm

First-ever virtual commencement held for the Class of 2020

By Savannah Kuchar

With an in-person graduation ceremony indefinitely postponed, the class of 2020 was presented in a virtual commencement ceremony, livestreamed yesterday on the university’s YouTube and Facebook page. The undergraduate ceremony included footage of students and campus, messages from various community members, and a reading of all the graduating seniors’ names. 

NEWS 5/4/20 9:17pm

Leebron announces plans for fall semester: Shortened semester, dual in-person and online classes

By Rishab Ramapriyan

President David Leebron announced plans for reopening campus for the fall semester in an email to all faculty and staff on Monday evening. Rice plans to reopen for the fall semester in mid-August with its full population on campus, but there will be significant modifications to class and campus operations, according to Leebron’s email that was obtained by the Thresher.

NEWS 4/23/20 6:19pm

Rice accepts $3.4 million allocated for student financial relief under CARES Act, amid controversy

By Rynd Morgan

Rice University will accept the $3.4 million allocated to them through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, according to Kathy Collins, vice president for finance. The purpose of the fund is to provide emergency financial aid grants to students. The U.S Department of Education prohibited Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients and undocumented students from receiving the federal aid provided by the CARES Act.

FEATURES 4/14/20 10:39pm

Pipe cleaner chemistry kits and 13-hour time differences: Students adjust to remote classes

By Anna Ta

For some students, moving back home two months earlier than expected to finish out the semester has meant the mixed blessing and curse of home-cooked meals and navigating impossible time differences for Zoom class; for others, it has meant trying to focus long enough to pass courses amid unstable internet access and the burdens of financial stress. For all students, the pandemic has posed unique obstacles to obtaining the education they had hoped to get out of the semester. 

NEWS 4/14/20 10:24pm

Students, Faculty Senate propose and debate appropriate academic relief measures

By Talha Arif

After recently rejecting a proposal for the Double A grading policy, the Faculty Senate will deliberate over potential additional accommodations at their April 22 meeting. However, the Student Association released data from a survey of 34.6 percent of the student body on Monday which showed the majority of student support was in favor of the Double A policy.

FEATURES 4/14/20 9:07pm

Heroes on the front lines: Rice alumni fight against COVID-19 in hospitals

By Viola Yu

Rice students aspiring to become doctors do plenty of preparation in their undergraduate years  — prerequisite courses, Medical College Admission Tests and clinical experiences. But most students are likely not preparing to be on the front lines of the battle against a global pandemic. However, that’s exactly where a number of Rice alumni have found themselves in the face of COVID-19.

FEATURES 4/14/20 3:40pm

A look back into history: Rice in times of crisis

By Christina Tan and Ella Feldman

For the first time since our university’s founding in 1912, all instruction is taking place remotely and virtually. For the second time since our founding in 1916, the Thresher has stopped printing physical papers (the first break was during World War I, according to our records) and for the first time has transitioned to emailing a weekly online newsletter (which you can and should subscribe to here). And for the first time in its 64-year history, Beer Bike did not happen.

NEWS 3/30/20 2:40pm

On-campus commencement postponed, online ceremony to occur

By Christina Tan

In light of ongoing COVID-19 concerns, an on campus commencement is postponed until further notice, according to an email sent by President David Leebron, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman and Interim Provost Seiichi Matsuda. There will be an online ceremony on May 16, according to Gorman, where graduates names will be read out loud. 

NEWS 3/27/20 5:02pm

Rice accepts 10 percent of applicants for the Class of 2024

By Dan Helmici

Rice University accepted 10 percent of applicants to the undergraduate class of 2024, a slight increase in acceptance rate from last year’s record-low 8.7 percent acceptance rate. Due to Rice’s cancellation of all on-campus admission events in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, accepted students will be invited to virtual events in lieu of visiting campus during the traditional Owl Days and Admit Days.

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