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NEWS 9/25/24 12:25am

Lovett to permanently move into new building by fall 2026, adjacent to twelfth college

By Riya Misra

Lovett College will permanently move into one of the two new residential college buildings, President Reggie DesRoches said in a Sept. 18 email to campus. The buildings, initially intended to house new twelfth and thirteenth colleges, are projected to finish by fall 2026. Lovett will stand adjacent to the unnamed twelfth college, and there are currently no plans for the thirteenth.

NEWS 9/25/24 12:24am

Rice ranks No. 18 in U.S. News

By James Cancelarich and Riya Misra

Rice ranks No. 18 in the the U.S. News and World Report’s 2025 national university rankings tied with Vanderbilt University and the University of Notre Dame. Rice has also placed No. 8, 9 and 29 in the Niche, Forbes and Wall Street Journal rankings, respectively.

NEWS 9/25/24 12:24am

Financial aid settlement form released

By Belinda Zhu

Claim forms for the class action financial aid “cartel” lawsuit Rice settled were released Sept. 13. The suit alleged that Rice and 16 other top universities “illegally conspired” to restrict financial aid. Students can submit a claim on the court-approved settlement website https://financialaidantitrustsettlement.com/submit-claim by the Dec. 17, 2024 deadline. 

NEWS 9/18/24 12:37am

Academic quad officially opens with celebration

By Sarah Knowlton

The redesigned academic quad had its grand opening Sept. 12. The ceremony included speeches, a ribbon cutting and guided tours for attendees to learn about new quad features.  Speakers included President Reggie DesRoches, board of trustees chairman Robert T. Ladd, landscape architect Thomas Woltz and several alumni.

FEATURES 9/18/24 12:36am

Shifting the status quo: Campus activism, protests change over time

By Amy Li

Last week, the academic quad reopened after nearly a year of reconstruction, kickstarted by the decision to relocate the Founder’s Memorial statue. Protests for the statue’s removal began Aug. 31, 2020, and continued for a year and a half before the Board of Trustees announced their decision to remove the statue on Jan. 25, 2022.

NEWS 9/18/24 12:35am

Students, staff remember 9/11

By Maria Morkas

A memorial honoring the lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks was held Sept. 15 at the Rice Memorial Center Chapel. A flag-raising ceremony followed in Ray’s Courtyard. Guest speakers and attendees also placed small U.S. flags in a 9/11 formation to “honor the fallen.”

A&E 9/10/24 11:54pm

At home and in the studio with Do Ho Suh

By Hannah Son

Visitors strolled through rows of sketches, thumbtacks and sticky notes pinned to the gallery walls of the Moody Center for the Arts during the Sept. 6 opening of “Do Ho Suh: In Process.” The exhibition emulates the studio of world-renowned artist Do Ho Suh, featuring major works by the South Korean-born and London-based artist in an unprecedented presentation of Suh’s practice that emphasizes his methodology and process.

NEWS 9/3/24 11:22pm

Rice sees 44% yield for class of 2028

By Sarah Knowlton

With a 44% yield rate, 1,149 students joined the class of 2028 along with 74 transfer students. Incoming classes continue to increase in size ahead of the construction of two new residential colleges.

NEWS 8/30/24 2:50am

Rice gathers for vigil honoring Andrea Rodriguez Avila

By Riya Misra

Rice students and staff paid their respects to Andrea Rodriguez Avila in a candlelight service, held Aug. 28 in the Rice Memorial Chapel. Over a hundred attendees, including Andrea’s family, filled the chapel’s pews while dozens more stood to the side. The ceremony, hosted by community faith members, opened with remarks from Provost Amy Dittmar.

NEWS 8/26/24 7:07pm

RUPD, HPD investigating alleged murder-suicide at Jones College

By Riya Misra and Juliana Lightsey

Rice University Police Department is investigating a potential homicide on campus at Jones College, according to a Rice Alert sent at 5:39 p.m. to the Rice community. Students and faculty received a shelter-in-place notice, which lifted at 6:49 p.m. All classes and activities have been canceled for the remainder of the day, according to a 6:04 p.m. Rice Alert.

NEWS 8/21/24 10:34pm

MLFA files Title VI complaint against Rice, alleges ‘discriminatory treatment’ in university’s tabling of S.RES 02

By Riya Misra

The Muslim Legal Fund of America filed a complaint against Rice with the U.S. Department of Education, alleging the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through “discriminatory treatment of its Muslim and Jewish students advocating for Palestine,” according to an MLFA press release. The complaint was filed Aug. 12, on behalf of two unnamed Rice students, in response to the university’s indefinite tabling of S.RES 02, a resolution urging the Student Association to boycott and divest its spending from Israel-aligned companies.  The Department of Education has already opened a separate Title VI investigation into Rice, launched July 30, according to the OCR’s database of pending cases. The specific nature of the complaint is unknown. A spokesperson for the Department of Education denied a request for comment.

NEWS 6/5/24 7:37pm

NOD permanently canceled, Rice strips away decades-old campus tradition

By Riya Misra

After 50 years of decadence, Wiess College’s infamous underwear party is no more.  Born in the early 1970s after a group of Wiess students poured all their alcohol into a bathtub — creating a brew “so potent it removed the varnish” — Night of Decadence has spent years in the national eye. Allegedly recognized as one of Playboy’s top college parties in the nation, NOD has also been subject to mounting scrutiny over alcohol use and an “explicitly dangerous and sexual atmosphere.” Rice has now permanently canceled the public, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman and Wiess magister Flavio Cunha announced in a message to campus June 5.

NEWS 5/24/24 11:48am

Rice Mutual Aid partners with student organizations to fundraise for Gaza

By James Cancelarich

Rice Mutual Aid launched a fundraising campaign for Gaza on May 13 in partnership with 15 other student organizations at Rice, including Rice Students for Justice in Palestine, Rice Pride, the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice and the Rice Muslim Student Association. RMA will direct donations towards American Near East Refugee Aid, a non-governmental organization that provides humanitarian aid and emergency relief in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. A day after its launch, the campaign raised over $2,000 according to RMA’s Instagram.

NEWS 5/19/24 8:57pm

Jones School breaks ground on new expansion, final project to wrap up spring 2026

By Riya Misra

The Jones Graduate School of Business will expand its building, constructing an additional 95,000 square feet around McNair Hall. Rice Business announced blueprint plans for the new $54.5 million building at its groundbreaking May 9. The new building will include multiple large classrooms, lecture halls, dining facilities, event spaces and communal areas, designed to “blend seamlessly with the campus and its surroundings.”

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