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NEWS 11/15/22 11:46pm

Tech layoffs, hiring freezes hit Rice community

By Brandon Chen

As layoff and hiring freezes increase across the tech industry, computer science students and alumni are among those at Rice expressing concern for their current and future job prospects. In recent weeks, Elon Musk halved Twitter’s staff, Meta said it was firing 11,000 employees, Amazon announced plans to cut approximately 10,000 jobs and other tech firms such as Lyft and Stripe also announced layoffs.

NEWS 11/15/22 11:45pm

RUPD launches Food for Fines initiative

By Keegan Leibrock

The Rice University Police Department launched a “Food for Fines” initiative, during which students can donate food and hygiene items to cover unpaid parking tickets. From Nov. 15 to Nov. 17, students can bring products to PCF 1 anytime from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

NEWS 11/15/22 11:42pm

Campus prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving

By Sejal Gupta

As Thanksgiving break nears, students and faculty planning to remain on campus have begun preparations to celebrate the holiday at Rice. During the break, some colleges will host a Thanksgiving dinner organized by students and the college’s core teams. This year, all of the serveries are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Multiple serveries will be open on Wednesday and Baker Kitchen will be open on Friday and Saturday. 

NEWS 11/15/22 11:36pm

TEDxRiceU conference addresses climate change

By Viola Hsia

TEDxRiceU held its Countdown event this past Saturday, focusing on combating climate change. The event, composed of six talks given by both faculty and students, addressed the issue of climate change through wscientific, technological and social perspectives, according to TEDxRiceU President Nicholas Ma.

NEWS 11/15/22 10:18pm

Rice ends on-campus winter housing accommodations

By Hajera Naveed

Rice will not be offering on-campus housing for winter recess this year. Due to COVID-related travel restrictions, on-campus housing was available for the past two winter recess periods. Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman said that the decision to revert to pre-pandemic operations, when no on-campus housing was provided, follows the trend of various other aspects of campus life this year.

NEWS 11/9/22 12:39am

Two Rice professors among top 35 women in robotics

By Danika Li

Rice professors Lydia Kavraki and Marcia O’Malley were named among 35 Women in Robotics Engineering and Science honorees at the 2022 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Kyoto, Japan on Oct. 25. IROS is one of the largest international conferences in robotics and intelligent systems.

NEWS 11/9/22 12:34am

Sewall voting location sees hour-plus wait times

By Ben Baker-Katz

Rice’s Sewall Hall served as an Election Day voting location for around 900 voters on Tuesday. According to Vivian Zheng, the presiding election judge, people waited in line for one to two hours before casting their ballots, though wait times dropped off significantly as it got closer to 7 p.m.

NEWS 11/9/22 12:31am

Rice undergrads, alumni celebrate HACER 50th anniversary

By Keegan Leibrock

The Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice celebrated its 50th anniversary this past Saturday. The celebration included a gala with speakers such as Germaine Franco, an Academy-Award nominated Rice alumna and composer of the “Encanto” soundtrack, and Dr. Richard Tapia, the University Professor of Rice, who was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2011.

NEWS 11/9/22 12:28am

Biden appoints López Turley to National Board of Education Sciences

By Viola Hsia

Professor Ruth López Turley, director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute, was appointed to the National Board of Education Sciences by President Joe Biden. The National Board for Education Sciences is composed of 15 nonpartisan members, who advise and approve priorities for the Institute of Education Sciences, the research, evaluation and statistics branch of the Department of Education. 

NEWS 11/8/22 11:36pm

BISF debate canceled amid a variety of concerns

By Ben Baker-Katz

The debate between the Rice University College Republicans and the Rice Young Democrats hosted by the Baker Institute Student Forum was canceled over the weekend after both groups declined to participate. The debate was originally set for Monday, Nov. 7.

NEWS 11/2/22 12:23am

Rice prepares for Election Day

By Bonnie Zhao

Early voting for the midterm elections ends on Nov. 4 in Harris County. On Election Day, Nov. 8, Sewall Hall’s Welcome Center will be Rice’s on-campus polling location, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

NEWS 11/2/22 12:21am

COMP 310 students face burnout

By Hajera Naveed

Dozens of COMP 310 students took to Piazza to anonymously post about how the difficulty and deadline spacing of the class were impacting their mental and physical well-being last Friday. In the posts obtained by the Thresher students discussed feeling burnt out, not being able to spend time with loved ones and issues with self-esteem, as a result of the class. 

NEWS 11/2/22 12:18am

Faculty to expand by 200 in coming years

By Maria Morkas

Rice University will hire 200 new faculty members in the next several years, according to President Reginald DesRoches. He said he intends to grow faculty size to maintain Rice’s 6:1 student-faculty ratio, in light of a growing undergraduate student population.

NEWS 11/2/22 12:13am

Mental health statement required on future syllabi

By Hajera Naveed

The faculty senate passed a resolution mandating a mental health statement on all university syllabi at the Sept. 28 senate meeting. The resolution, which passed in the Student Association senate on Jan. 27, 2022, states that every syllabus must encourage students to reach out to Wellbeing and Counseling to discuss mental health concerns and should contain a list of related resources for students. 

NEWS 10/25/22 10:27pm

HBO Max to return in late November

By Nishanka Kuthuru

The free HBO Max subscription through Rice is set to return in late November after Philo, a streaming service utilized by the university to provide students access to HBO Max, exited the education market last spring. Housing and Dining provides Internet Protocol Television for on-campus students and graduate students living in Rice apartments as part of the room and board fees, according to H&D Director David McDonald. The access to HBO Max was a result of University Video Services, a company that provides IP TV to Rice students, partnering with Philo.

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