News

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 8/31/21 10:48pm

Student-Run Businesses manage reopenings amidst campus policy changes

By Bonnie Zhao

Rice Coffeehouse and Rice Bikes both fully reopened during the first week of class; Hoot will be opening on Sept. 12 or 13, and Willy’s Pub plans on reopening by the end of September, according to the businesses’ respective general managers.

NEWS 8/31/21 10:46pm

SA Diversity and Inclusion Committee plans for several initiatives

By Bonnie Zhao

The Rice University Student Association Diversity and Inclusion Committee plans to launch several projects for the school year, seeking to provide a central location for students to address diversity and inclusion issues, according to Committee Chair Hafsa Ahsan.

NEWS 8/30/21 10:02pm

Administration imposes indoor alcohol ban effective immediately

By Talha Arif

The Crisis Management Advisory Committee and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates have enacted an indoor alcohol ban effective immediately and until further notice, according to multiple emails from college magisters obtained by the Thresher.

NEWS 8/25/21 12:00am

New students struggle to enroll in core classes amidst class expansion

By Hajera Naveed

During Orientation Week registration, many new students faced difficulties securing seats in select core classes, according to Provost Reginald DesRoches. This issue was a result of a larger than expected enrollment for the Class of 2025, according to DesRoches.

NEWS 8/24/21 11:16pm

Rice reports around 50 students as positive due to test site error, disrupting O-Week activities

By Talha Arif

Rice reported around 50 cases that were mistakenly detected by a specific testing site as positive for COVID-19, according to an announcement sent by Kevin Kirby, chair of the Crisis Management Committee. This situation led to several students unnecessarily isolating or quarantining during Orientation Week.

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.

NEWS 8/3/21 12:30pm

Indoor masks, testing requirements reimposed and publics cancelled next fall

By Prayag Gordy

Rice will require everyone to wear masks indoors on campus, according to Kevin Kirby, chair of the crisis management advisory committee. Also, fully vaccinated people who come to campus must test at least once every two weeks, while unvaccinated people must test twice a week, Kirby wrote in a campus-wide email.

NEWS 6/30/21 11:41am

Task force calls for ‘bold change’ of academic quad, potentially relocating Willy’s statue

By Bonnie Zhao and Prayag Gordy

The Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice unanimously called for a competition to redesign the academic quad and for further campus-wide events and discussions to educate the Rice community about the university’s founder. Though the task force did recommend an end to the statue’s position as “an iconic image of the university in its publicity,” they stopped short of endorsing the removal of William Marsh Rice’s statue.

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 5/18/21 12:09am

Rice lifts indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals

By Prayag Gordy

Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask indoors on Rice campus, Kevin Kirby, chair of the Crisis Management Advisory Committee, wrote in an email to the Rice community Monday afternoon. This announcement comes three weeks after Rice removed the outdoor mask requirement.

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 4/28/21 12:59am

Rice planning to expand faculty with diversity in mind

By Bonnie Zhao

Alongside the student expansion, the administration plans to add around 50 faculty members with diversity in mind, according to President David Leebron.

NEWS 4/27/21 10:33pm

Abercrombye: Engineering Laboratory Building to be replaced by new engineering and science facility

By Talha Arif

The Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory will be demolished and replaced by a new engineering and science building beginning this May. Demolition will start mid-May and construction of the new building will be substantially complete in January 2023, according to Associate Vice President for Facilities Engineering and Planning Kathy Jones.

NEWS 4/27/21 10:28pm

SA Task Force pursues initiatives for trans and gender nonconforming students

By Savannah Kuchar

The Student Association’s transgender and gender nonconforming student support task force plans to update a map of bathrooms across campus as a part of their efforts to advocate for increased facilities accessibility. According to task force co-chair Gabriel Saenz, part of this project includes making the map available online for all students.

NEWS 4/27/21 10:11pm

Rice rescinds outdoor mask requirement, changes testing policy

By Rishab Ramapriyan and Hajera Naveed

Rice has rescinded its mask requirement in outdoor spaces and no longer requires that fully vaccinated individuals take weekly COVID-19 tests. The announcement follows the results of a community survey of vaccination status that revealed 74 percent of the Rice community members have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

News

Administration imposes indoor alcohol ban

Student-Run Businesses manage reopenings amidst campus policy changes

SA Diversity and Inclusion Committee plans for several initiatives

Administration imposes indoor alcohol ban effective immediately

New students struggle to enroll in core classes amidst class expansion

Rice reports around 50 students as positive due to test site error, disrupting O-Week activities

Rice welcomes largest class, with highest yield rate

Honor Council receives 64 cases in the spring 2021

Classes delayed by two days, all online for two weeks

Indoor masks, testing requirements reimposed and publics cancelled next fall

Task force calls for ‘bold change’ of academic quad, potentially relocating Willy’s statue

Rice announces student vaccine requirement for fall semester

Leebron to step down in 2022, reflects on past years

Rice lifts indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals

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

Students discuss STRIVE and the Whisper Network at Rice

Rice planning to expand faculty with diversity in mind

Abercrombye: Engineering Laboratory Building to be replaced by new engineering and science facility

SA Task Force pursues initiatives for trans and gender nonconforming students

Rice rescinds outdoor mask requirement, changes testing policy

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