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NEWS 5/29/21 8:47am

Rice announces student vaccine requirement for fall semester

By Prayag Gordy

All members of the Rice community are expected to return in person for the fall and all students who come to campus are expected to be fully vaccinated before the fall semester, President David Leebron announced in an email Friday. Students who receive a medical or religious waiver must continue to test weekly and wear a mask indoors, according to the email.

NEWS 5/27/21 8:27am

Leebron to step down in 2022, reflects on past years

By Talha Arif

President David Leebron announced that he will be stepping down from his role after this coming academic year on June 30, 2022 in an email to the Rice community Tuesday morning. Next year will mark Leebron’s 18th year as president after taking on the position in 2004. 

NEWS 5/17/21 8:51am

Commencement for Class of 2020 and 2021 occurs in stadium in historic first

By Talha Arif and Hajera Naveed

Class of 2021 undergraduates lined up on Friday evening to receive their degrees and Class of 2020 undergraduates received theirs on Saturday evening, both amidst a limited crowd due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions. Commencement was held for the first time in the Rice football stadium to allow for more physical distancing, after Rice administration adapted to allow for students to bring four guests to attend their respective ceremonies. 

NEWS 5/12/21 12:04pm

Students discuss STRIVE and the Whisper Network at Rice

By Talha Arif

Following an opinion piece by former Students Turning Rice Into a Violence-Free Environment liaison Sarah Park which called for organizational reform, the Thresher reached out to several STRIVE affiliates to further investigate the claims made and discuss STRIVE’s mission and the whisper network.

NEWS 4/23/21 3:56pm

Rice rescinds outdoor mask requirement, testing no longer required for fully vaccinated community members

By Hajera Naveed

Rice announced today that there will no longer be a mask requirement in outdoor spaces and that fully vaccinated individuals will not be required to take weekly COVID-19 tests, in an email sent to the Rice community by Kevin Kirby, chair of the Crisis Management Advisory Committee. The announcement follows the results of a community survey of vaccination status, which revealed that 74 percent of the Rice community members have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

NEWS 4/20/21 11:46pm

Students respond to RUPD messages regarding unhoused persons on campus

By Rynd Morgan

The Rice University Police Department has responded to several reports of unhoused persons seen on campus, with some of these instances involving the same individual, according to RUPD Chief of Clemente Rodriguez. Since late March, people who are homeless have been reported at Baker College, in the Wiess College alcoves, in Will Rice College commons and entering Herman Brown Hall and George R. Brown Hall, according to emails sent by RUPD to Baker College residents and a message sent by a Wiess College residential associate to Wiess College residents. 

NEWS 4/20/21 11:35pm

Updated Beer Bike results cause controversial first-place tie in men’s race, second-place tie in women’s

By Talha Arif

Hanszen College tied with Jones College for first place in the men’s race while also tying with Jones for second place in the women’s race, according to updated Beer Bike 2021 results posted by Rice Program Council. These times were adjusted following a petition submitted by Hanszen due to discrepancies in their own recorded time versus RPC’s time. McMurtry College won the women’s race by almost 40 seconds.

NEWS 4/20/21 9:43pm

MECH students and faculty express concerns about undergraduate expansion in town hall

By Nicole Lhuillier

If the mechanical engineering undergraduate population grows alongside the recently announced 20 percent student body expansion, the department will need more faculty, more teaching and grading support, greater classroom capacity and additional funds for equipment, according to the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Advisory Board. The Undergraduate Advisory Board discussed the state of the MECH department and its future at their town hall on April 14. 

NEWS 4/13/21 11:44pm

Owl House Properties excluded from campus housing website due to student feedback

By Hajera Naveed

At this time, Owl House Properties will not be included on the new housing website as a result of feedback from students, according to Elizabeth Leaver, Housing and Dining operations director for the South Colleges. Students who rented from Owl House Properties were recently asked to fill out a survey asking for their feedback on whether or not the company’s properties should be included on the website that H&D launched.

NEWS 4/13/21 10:53pm

Low vaccine survey response rate impedes fall semester planning

By Bonnie Zhao

Only about half of the student body has filled out the vaccine survey sent out in the COVID-19 Response Weekly Update, and the non-satisfactory response rate is preventing the administration from planning for a fully in-person fall 2021 semester, according to Kevin Kirby, vice president of administration. 

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