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NEWS 9/21/21 10:59pm

Mech lab renovated into Maxfield Hall for STATS department

By Viola Hsia

Maxfield Hall held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 13, following renovations beginning in fall of 2020 to convert the previous Mechanical Laboratory into a concentrated space for the statistics department. Its renovation was previously scheduled to be completed by May of this year.

NEWS 9/14/21 10:38pm

STRIVE, SAFE working to address possible double red zone

By Talha Arif

The SAFE Office and Students Turning Rice Into a Violence-Free Environment are currently creating a training schedule in order to provide a refresher bystander intervention workshop for College Teams and Student Leaders, according to Cathryn Councill, director of the SAFE Office.

NEWS 9/14/21 10:30pm

Rice cancels classes and activities due to Hurricane Nicholas

By Bonnie Zhao

All classes and instructional activities were cancelled on Sept. 14 due to widespread power outages caused by Tropical Storm Nicholas, according to an alert sent by the Rice Crisis Management Team. This follows an announcement originally requiring all classes after 5 p.m. on Sept. 13 to be taught remotely.

NEWS 9/7/21 10:52pm

Houston hospitals near capacity as delta variant spreads

By Hajera Naveed and Prayag Gordy

The rising number of COVID-19 cases at Rice so far this school year reflects the severity of the latest surge of the pandemic within the Houston area. According to data provided by the Texas Medical Center, August saw a record-high number of Covid patients hospitalized at the Texas Medical Center, along with 69,174 confirmed cases countywide — second only to the 71,996 cases in January, when less than three percent of Harris County residents were vaccinated.

NEWS 9/7/21 10:10pm

Local organizations prepare to welcome thousands of Afghan refugees

By Prayag Gordy

Thousands of Afghan refugees are set to arrive in Houston after fleeing the Taliban’s recent takeover of Afghanistan. Houston, which from 2017 to 2018 resettled more refugees than any other U.S. city besides Atlanta, is already welcoming new Afghan refugees, according to Elena Korbut, the community engagement manager at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston.

NEWS 9/7/21 10:07pm

Guest swipe program donations to return this semester

By Juliana Phan

The Guest Meal Swipe Donation program will return to Rice this semester as a collaborative effort between the Student Association, Student Success Initiatives and Housing and Dining. The program allows undergraduates with a Type A meal plan, required for all on-campus students, to donate some or all of their five meal guest swipes to off-campus students facing food insecurity. 

NEWS 8/31/21 10:57pm

Isolation space runs low as Rice reports 52 COVID cases in one week

By Prayag Gordy

Between Aug. 22 and 29, 52 people tested positive for COVID-19, according to Rice’s COVID-19 dashboard, with 40 testing positive on campus and 12 through off campus testing. Approximately 30 percent of cases were traced back to one campus event, according to a campuswide email from Kevin Kirby, chair of the crisis management advisory committee.

NEWS 8/31/21 10:52pm

Administration imposes indoor alcohol ban

By Julia Li

​​The Crisis Management Advisory Committee and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates have enacted an indoor alcohol ban, effective immediately until further notice, according to multiple emails from college magisters. This follows a previous recent transition back to wet campus after the announcement of false positive cases.

NEWS 8/24/21 10:32pm

Rice welcomes largest class, with highest yield rate

By Hajera Naveed

Rice’s incoming class had a record high yield rate, which represents the amount of students who choose to enroll after being admitted, at 44 percent compared with 39 percent last year, according to Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva. Romero da Silva said 37 percent of students in the incoming class are from Texas, 50 percent are from out-of-state, and 13 percent are international students. 

NEWS 8/24/21 10:29pm

Honor Council receives 64 cases in the spring 2021

By Talha Arif

The Rice Honor Council has received an elevated number of accusations for the past three semesters, ever since the majority of classes shifted to a virtual format. They pursued 64 cases of academic misconduct last semester, according to Honor Council Chair Kaitlyn Crowley. Seventy-one cases were received for the fall 2020 semester and 78 for the spring 2020 semester.

NEWS 8/19/21 11:31am

Classes delayed by two days, all online for two weeks

By Savannah Kuchar and Talha Arif

Classes will begin two days later than planned on August 25, and instruction will be all online for at least the first two weeks of the semester, according to an email from Provost Reginald DesRoches. This change follows a recent rise in COVID-19 cases on campus, as well as across the Houston area as the delta variant becomes more predominant, according to DesRoches.

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