Letters To The Editor

OPINION 2/21/23 10:17pm

ChatGPT is far from the villain it’s made out to be.

By Hamza Saeed

Last week’s issue of the Thresher included a letter to the editor that discussed the use of ChatGPT by Rice students. Felicity talks about how the reason we came to Rice was “to grow as a student and individual,” and I believe that in this regard, they are absolutely correct. Where she errs is when she implies throughout the article that this growth and intellectual stimulation are completely incompatible with the use of ChatGPT as an online tool. She is most certainly not the only one who holds that view. Many professors at Rice and across the world are currently grappling with how to handle the rise of A.I. I firmly believe that ChatGPT does have a place in academia and that the vast majority of Rice students are using ChatGPT in a positive manner that actually contributes to their educational pursuits.

OPINION 2/14/23 11:37pm

Letter to the Editor: When you talk about AI, remember what we’re in school for

By Felicity Phelan

Yes, this article was written by a real person. The most recent issue of the Thresher included an opinion piece about the use of the artificial intelligence technology ChatGPT in academic contexts. The article, which was generated by the program itself as a display of its writing capabilities, highlighted ChatGPT’s efficiency and usefulness for “students at Rice University who are short on time and need to quickly finish an assignment.” As Rice and many universities grapple with AI’s place in their classrooms and plagiarism policies, I want to contribute a perspective that I found absent in the original article: efficiency is not the point of higher education.

OPINION 1/17/23 11:45pm

Rice needs more streamlined democracy and less Ed. Board tabloidism

By Riley Barker

Last week, I quit my role as Student Association director of elections because I need to take more time for music and academia this semester, but there are two additional reasons I left the position relevant to campus politics that I want to share.

OPINION 1/10/23 9:48pm

Letter to the Editor: Rice isn’t pro-choice until it supports both choices

By Elisabeth Torres-Schulte

A choice, by definition, must be between two or more possibilities. As I read about Rice’s Reproductive Health Working Group in the Thresher’s Nov. 30 Special Project, I’m struck by the fact that only one response to student pregnancy was presented. Reproductive health is not limited to contraceptives and abortions, but also includes prenatal, postnatal and maternal care and it is critical that the RHWG include these elements in their priorities. For Rice to be pro-choice means that it supports students regardless of their choice, and while some might choose to procure an abortion, others may choose to keep their child.

OPINION 10/4/22 11:22pm

Letter to the Editor: Satire is not an excuse for discrimination

By Jasmine Hunter

Two Wednesdays ago, instead of ending my weekly Thresher reading with a laugh, I was shocked to see a piece that included the Bible and prayer in order to mock a Christian professor on campus. Turning to other Christian students and Rice parents, I found similar shared disappointment and sadness. Myself and others sent emails to the Thresher explaining why we found this piece distasteful and discriminatory. We were answered only with an editorial published Sept. 27 saying, in essence: it’s satire, so take a joke.

OPINION 10/4/22 11:22pm

Letter to the Editor: The Career Expo is not a one-size-fits-all

By Nicole Van Den Heuvel

The Center for Career Development thanks Wills Rutherford for his time as a Peer Career Advisor at Rice, providing students with career guidance, and we congratulate him on securing his job from the Rice Expo. Responding to his opinion piece, “The Rice career fair fails Rice students,” I’ll elaborate upon the factors employers consider when deciding whether to participate in Rice career expos, the overall recruiting environment and the process Rice students should pursue when seeking employment.

OPINION 3/22/22 11:07pm

Letter to the Editor: On fairness and trans-inclusivity in athletics

By Vinay Tummarakota

On Feb. 2, 2022, the Thresher published an opinion advocating for Seth Huston to undergo allyship training in response to his comments on trans-women’s participation in women’s sports. While I whole-heartedly endorse several of the authors’ key claims — such as their opposition to House Bill 25 — their interpretation of evidence regarding the effects of hormone therapy on trans-athletes lacks appropriate context, serving as a reminder to critically evaluate evidence in politically fraught discourse.

OPINION 3/1/22 11:07pm

Letter to the Editor: An invite to our new President to sit with us

By Gautam Nayer , KeShawn Ivory and Shifa Abdul-Rahman

Responding to the Rice Thresher reporter Bonnie Zhao reporting on the relocation of the WMR statue on January 25, 2022 “Rice to move Founder’s Memorial within Academic Quadrangle”

OPINION 3/1/22 10:59pm

Letter to the Editor: Transgressions go beyond the founder

By Leonard Chan

After reading the Thresher Editorial Board’s “Alumni: If the statue news upset you, think about why” from Feb. 1, 2022, I came to the realization that the discussion of Rice’s history and the history of its benefactors should by no means end there.

OPINION 10/19/21 10:26pm

Re-assessing the marketplace of ideas

By Vinay Tummarakota

On Oct. 5, 2021, the Thresher published a guest opinion written by David Getter lamenting the erosion of freedom of expression at Rice. In the interest of embracing Getter’s call for reasoned discourse, I would like to offer a response to the claims made in the piece.

OPINION 4/13/21 10:59pm

Letter to the Editor: What should we call “Willy Week”?

By Rob LaVohn

As the parade to Beer Bike 1992 devolved into a water balloon melee, I picked up a pink water balloon and flung it in the general direction of a group of Sidizens who had been pelting me and my fellow Wiessmen with them. As I did so, I felt my Rice ring slip from my finger. A moment later, in the distance, I heard the metallic ping as my ring fell to the pavement. “My ring! My ring came off!” I don’t know how I was heard over the din of laughter and yelling, but in a few moments, Rice students from three or four colleges paused their good-natured rivalry and helped me recover it, only a little worse for wear. I wore that slightly dented ring up until replacing it for my 25th reunion a few years ago.

OPINION 3/23/21 9:41pm

Letter to the Editor: An old alum joins the statue debate

By Thomas Moore

My class was 1957 — when President Leebron was two years old. Willy’s endowment paid for my Rice tuition. I have supported Rice generously in the past, but I've ceased at present. I am not pleased with the direction President Leebron is taking the university — I've written a couple of letters to him and the Alumni Association expressing my thoughts.

OPINION 7/28/20 2:06pm

Letter to the Editor: On “returning” to the classroom

By Helena Michie

“When we talk about a “return” to campus, we must be clear that it is not in any sense a return... The classroom to which about half the faculty has agreed to return will not be the classroom we left in March,“ writes English professor Helena Michie.

OPINION 7/24/20 7:57pm

Letter to the Editor: Re-evaluate return to campus

By Moshe Vardi

During the past couple of weeks, Rice faculty have received various messages from Rice University administrators that explain in detail how Rice is working to provide a safe and effective learning environment for students in the fall semester. These plans are premised on the physical return to the campus of a significant majority of the undergraduate population. While I am grateful for the efforts of our colleagues in administration, I am also deeply concerned that these measures are not sufficient to provide the level of safety that Rice students and employees should be able to count on. In keeping with Rice’s long-standing commitment to life-safety and the well-being of the community, I feel compelled to convey my concerns.

OPINION 5/12/20 3:55pm

Letter to the Editor: Keep standardized tests, but broaden them

By Sanat Mehta

The pandemic might justify making tests optional for the upcoming admission cycle, though I still think they should be strongly encouraged for those who can take it, but I don’t think de-emphasizing tests in the long term is the right approach.

OPINION 5/5/20 4:37pm

Letter to the Editor: Don’t sacrifice students to keep standardized testing

By Daniel Koh , Grace Wickerson and Anna Margaret Clyburn

On April 21, the Thresher reported on a Student Association resolution urging Rice to suspend standardized testing requirements for applicants who will matriculate in 2021. Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva makes statements in the Thresher article that do not reflect the reality of standardized testing or the obstacles marginalized students have been facing even before COVID-19.

OPINION 1/14/20 11:21pm

Invisible opportunities: Reframing accessibility at Rice

By Ling DeBellis

When I read last December’s Thresher news article, “Invisible Burdens,” and the accompanying staff editorial, highlighting the apparent lack of accessibility on campus, I was disappointed, a bit angered and saddened.

OPINION 2/12/19 10:36pm

Innovation district must make progress for all

By Alice Liu , Nia Prince and Mary Claire Neal

When asked about the inspiration behind the name “Ion”, President David Leebron described Rice’s planned innovation hub as “embodying the ever-forward motion of discovery.”

OPINION 10/17/18 7:58pm

LTTE: Don’t confuse College Republicans’ inaction with malice

By Juliette Turner

Two issues were recently brought to light by Maddy Scannell and Moses Glickman in their letter to the editor: my misstatement in my interview with the Thresher on Oct. 3 and Rice University College Republicans’ lack of voter registration on campus in the past weeks. Contrary to what Maddy and Moses insinuate, both issues are wholly unrelated in nature and intention.

OPINION 10/17/18 12:51am

Letter to the Editor: Rice College Republicans say they’re committed to registering voters. Their recent record indicates otherwise.

By Maddy Scannell and Moses Glickman

In the Oct. 3 issue of The Rice Thresher, the Rice University College Republicans claimed to support increasing voter turnout. RUCR President Juliette Turner claimed in her interview with the Thresher that her group has not been invited to participate in campus events to increase voter registration.