The Honor Council Working Group may consider major structural changes depending upon the responses gathered from the Survey of All Students, released on Monday, Nov. 2. According to Honor Council Chair Alex Metcalf, the working group hopes to hear from both student and faculty experiences to explore the Rice community’s understanding of the honor system.
Rice University students held a demonstration in the academic quad to show support for black females following an incident of a school sheriff throwing and dragging a black female student at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina. From noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, students held signs bearing statements such as “Black female lives matter,” and black women linked arms in front of Willy’s Statue. Several students also performed spoken word, sang and wrote cards to the student who was thrown by the officer, as well as her friend, who filmed the event and has been charged with disrupting school, a misdemeanor in South Carolina. About 80 students attended, including black males and females as well as other student and professor allies.The main organizers of the event were Martel College senior Chavonte Wright and Wiess College senior Blaque Robinson. At the close of the event, Robinson said a few words to summarize their goals.“We will not just be angry women,” Robinson said. “We will not just be your booty-popping party girl. We will not just be the girl you have sex with to see what black ass is like. We are black women and we are human.”Robinson said she wanted students in attendance to not walk away having just supported black women for the day but to continue to recognize black women.“Thank the black women who cook your food and clean your room,” Robinson said. “Don’t just walk by like they don’t exist. Smile and say hello. Thank the black women administrators and staff who work behind the scenes to make sure your Rice experience is all that it can be.”According to Director of Multicultural Affairs Catherine Clack, the Office of Multicultural Affairs provided the supplies for posters and cards but was not involved in organizing the event itself, which was part of Wright and Robinson’s Activism Initiative under the OMA.“This is a beautiful event [and] a worthy event,” Clack said. “I’m tremendously proud of Rice University for responding in the way that it has today because this issue affects all of us. We need to all be aware and all care about what’s going on.”Wright said she hoped the demonstration would not be seen as a response to an isolated case of police brutality.“The purpose of the Black Lives Matter movement is to call attention to underlying issues in this country that are produced by racism, capitalism and patriarchy, and how those come to victimize black people more than [they do] any other demographic,” Wright said.Videos of the incident at Spring Valley High School have gone viral since they were first released Oct. 26. According to reports, after the student refused the teacher’s request to leave the classroom, a white sheriff’s deputy who served as a coach on the football team, was called in. The officer wrapped his arm around the student’s neck, flipped her out of her seat and dragged her across the floor. The officer has since been fired with no charges; the charges against the two students have not been dropped. On Friday, approximately 100 students at the school staged a walkout in support of the officer.
The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), a controversial law guaranteeing various anti-discrimination protections, was voted down by a significant majority in the Nov. 3 election.HERO, a measure initially passed by the Houston City Council in 2014, prohibits employment, housing and public space discrimination due to many characteristics including race, marital or military status, sexual orientation and gender identity. The final two were additional protections beyond what is already established by federal law.After HERO opponents submitted a petition to the city against the ordinance, legal challenges ensued that culminated in a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court requiring Houston to either repeal the law or include it on the election ballot. The campaign surrounding Tuesday’s vote gained state and national attention.With all voting precincts reporting, a total of 100,427 citizens or 39 percent voted in favor of Houston Proposition 1, supporting HERO, while 156,882 or 61 percent voted against, according to the Harris County Clerk’s Office.Kathryn Hokamp, public relations representative of campus advocacy group Queers & Allies, expressed surprise at HERO’s defeat.“Even after hearing the results, even after talking to opponents, I still can’t process that so many people were against HERO,” Hokamp, a Martel College senior, said. “It’s extremely eye-opening to the amount of prejudice toward LGTBQ people in this city. HERO was a bill that should have helped everyone.”Hokamp, who served as Queers & Allies president last year, said the reason for HERO’s defeat was opposition to transgender rights. Campaign for Houston, an anti-HERO organization, widely distributed advertising during the campaign alleging that HERO could allow men to pose as trans women in order to gain access to women’s restrooms.“When the opposition to HERO became about bathrooms, it became about transphobia. We live in a hugely transphobic city, and the election results confirm that in a scary way,” Hokamp said. “I’ll probably end up leaving Houston because I am tired of hiding my sexuality and gender identity in professional contexts … in Houston, any of my employers could fire me if they find out I’m gay or genderqueer, and Houston voters made it that way.”David Cirillo, the campus leader of pro-HERO organization Houston Unites, said he believes the vote does not reflect Houston’s true values.“Houston turned out based on fear and based on lies, but I know Houston does not value discrimination,” Cirillo, a Sid Richardson College sophomore, said. “Equality is a Houston virtue and it will not be ended by a vote of ignorance.”Cirillo is also involved with the Rice Queer Resource Center and Rice affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union as well as serving as a communication director for the Rice Young Democrats. He said he was confident another version of HERO would be introduced to Houston’s City Council.“Thank you to every Rice student who voted,” Cirillo said. “I know, with the support of every Rice student, that an equal Houston will soon become a reality, regardless of any vote tonight that may say otherwise.”
Representatives of the Houston Unites coalition, a lobbying group supporting Proposition 1, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, were potentially violating Texas election code on Election Day at the Rice Memorial Center polling place. Two members of the group wearing shirts promoting HERO were situated within the RMC less than 10 feet from the entrance to Miner Lounge, where the polling stations were located. They asked passersby whether they were registered to vote and their stance on HERO and offered food to voters.According to Texas Election Code Title 6 Chapter 61.003, “a person commits an offense if, during the voting period and within 100 feet of an outside door through which a voter may enter the building in which a polling place is located, the person electioneers for or against any candidate, measure, or political party.” A violation is considered to be a Class C misdemeanor.Trevor Chandler, one of the coalition representatives situated within the RMC, said the group was hoping to get out the vote as much as possible in a race with a slim margin. When asked if he was aware of the legality of being located within the RMC adjacent to the polling place, Chandler said he would be happy to acquiesce if the election official requested they move.“We've been here and the polling officials have been here and no polling or election official has told us to move, so as of right now, we've been having a very uneventful time,” Chandler said.The presiding Election Judge Gwendolyn Claybon said she was unaware of the lobbyists or of the rules against electioneering for specific measures as opposed to candidates.“I was just told if [a lobbyist] didn’t have any candidate's name on [his] shirt, there’s no problem,” Claybon said. “All they have to do is turn it inside. Just go in the restroom and flip [the shirt] over.”Claybon, after being shown the Election Code and notified that the lobbyists were not Rice students, asked the individuals to move outside the RMC beyond the distance markers. The lobbyists were compliant."I have distance markers outside and they were like, 'I didn't see it,'” Claybon said. “How can you not see that big old sign?"
Rice students held a demonstration in the academic quad to show support of black females following an incident of a school sheriff throwing and dragging a black female student at Spring Valley High School.From noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, students held signs bearing statements such as “Black female lives matter” and black women linked arms in front of Willy’s Statue. Several students also performed spoken word, sang and wrote cards to the female who was thrown by the officer, as well as her friend who filmed the event and has been charged with disrupting school, a misdemeanor in South Carolina. About 80 students were in attendance, including black males, females and allies who were both students and professors.The main organizers of the event were Martel College senior Chavonte Wright and Wiess senior Blaque Robinson. At the close of the event, Robinson said a few words to summarize.“We will not just be angry women,” Robinson said. “We will not just be your booty-popping party girl. We will not just be the girl you have sex with to see what black ass is like. We are black women and we are human.”Robinson said she wanted students in attendance to not walk away having finished supporting black women for the day, but to continue to recognize black women.“Thank the black women who cook your food and clean your room,” Robinson said. “Don’t just walk by like they don’t exist. Smile and say hello. Thank the black women administrators and staff who work behind the scenes to make sure your Rice experience is all that it can be.”According to Director of Multicultural Affairs Catherine Clack, the Office of Multicultural Affairs provided the supplies for posters and cards, but was not involved in organizing the event itself, which was part of Wright and Robinson’s Activism Initiative under the OMA.“This is a beautiful event [and] a worthy event,” Clack said. “I’m tremendously proud of Rice University for responding in the way that it has today, because this issue affects all of us. We need to all be aware and all care about what’s going on.”Wright said she hoped the demonstration would not be seen as a response to an isolated case of police brutality.“The purpose of the Black Lives Matter movement is to call attention to underlying issues in this country that are produced by racism, capitalism and patriarchy, and how those come to victimize black people more than [they do] any other demographic,” Wright said.Videos of the incident at Spring Valley High School have gone viral since they were first released on Monday night. According to recent reports, the student refused the teacher’s request to leave the classroom, following which a white sheriff’s deputy, who also served as a coach on the football team, was called in. The officer wrapped his arm around the student’s neck, flipped her out of her seat and dragged her across the floor. The officer has since been fired, with no charges; the charges against the two students have not been dropped. On Friday, approximately 100 students at the school staged a walk-out in support of the officer.
Undergraduates and faculty of the computer science department are planning a campus-wide town hall and formation of an advisory board to address students’ concerns as increasing numbers of students enroll in the departments’ courses.
Students will hold a demonstration on Friday at noon in the academic quad following an incident of a school sheriff’s deputy throwing and dragging a black female student at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina.
The Rice Women’s Resource Center is celebrating its seventh annual consent awareness week with a new name, “I
Rice University has launched a brand new entrepreneurship initiative, dubbed Entrepreneurship@Rice, led by associate professor of finance and entrepreneurship Yael Hochberg. The initiative’s kickoff event, RECESS, brought nationally renowned businesspeople, including WordPress founder Matt Mullenwag, to campus on Oct. 22.
Students will have a new spot for relaxing in the sun, based on the winning design “The Hangout” from the annual School of Architecture mini-charrette competition. Wiess College sophomores Yoseph Maguire and Andrew Bertics, Baker College junior Eric Hsu and Brown College sophomore Ethan Chan envisioned their project as a field of hammocks at various heights for studying and relaxing in the academic quad.
Following the release of the Survey of Unwanted Sexual Experiences results, Rice Health Advisors are incorporating discussions on consent and sexual assault into the usual residential college talks preceding Wiess College’s Night of Decadence public party this Saturday.
All 1600 tickets for Esperanza were claimed in just over 11 hours, according to a Facebook post by the Rice Program Council.
Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research in collaboration with the City of Houston is examining the possibility of installing B-Cycle stations around campus to make the university an extension of Houston’s bike rental network. The initiative is an offshoot of a joint research project between Kinder and the city to study bicycle user trends with pooled data from Houston, Austin, Fort Worth and Denver. The report is due for release in November.
Rice University has identified experiential learning as the focus of its next Quality Enhancement Plan, according to QEP Planning Committee co-chair Robert Stein. Rice’s reaccreditation process occurs every 10 years and requires a five-year plan to improve all students’ academic experience. The previous QEP centered on civic engagement and resulted in the creation of the Center for Civic Engagement in 2006, which has since become the Center for Civic Leadership.Stein said a committee formed in the spring of last year developed two proposals; one centered on oral and visual communication and the other on experiential learning. President David Leebron chose to pursue experiential learning. Stein said while direct implementation of the program has not been determined, the goal is to give students real-world experience.“Students [should] have an authentic experience,” Stein said. “It could be from involvement in the community, part of a laboratory study, part of a scholarly project, [or] through an internship.” According to Stein, the QEP additionally aims to improve the pedagogy of the faculty.“Every four years they zero your group, you go from 18 to 21 [years old] and I just keep getting older,” Stein said. “It is hard for a faculty member like me to retool. I have probably retooled four or five times over the course of my career.”Brown College senior Amritha Kanakamedala was the undergraduate representative on the QEP Planning Committee. She said more than 85 responses were gathered from the Rice community online in March 2015. “We set up a blog page where students, alumni, faculty and staff could propose [and vote on] ideas,” Kanakamedala said.Stein said students must be involved with the implementation of the QEP and development of curriculum.“There is a need for the students to express a preference for that type of educational experience,” Stein said. “Students tend not to see themselves as customers but rather [as] receivers of education in a passive way, and this is only going to work if the students have input in the process.”Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson said the results of the QEP could be larger than initially anticipated.“[The Center for Civic Leadership] was not envisioned in 2006,” Hutchinson said. “As opposed to this plugging into the current curriculum, it’s possible [this QEP] could be the foundation for a very different curriculum.”The Faculty Senate will present a plan to President Leebron in November with the aim of full implementation by the 2016-17 academic year.
Rice launched a new program sponsoring meals between undergraduate students and all faculty members, no longer just faculty associates. Initiated by Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson, the goal is to create a platform for conversations outside the classroom.“We would like to make it easy for faculty to have lunch or dinner with a student from time to time if they are discussing some issue of professional development or academic advising or research interests or maybe something about classwork,” Hutchinson said.Currently, faculty associates are able to have lunch with students from their respective colleges. However, this new lunch program, which launched on Oct. 14, provides an opportunity for those members of faculty who might not be able to accommodate the responsibilities of being an associate.Hutchinson said the program’s success could influence its long-term trajectory. “If it turns out that this program is immensely popular and that the faculty and students are interacting with much greater frequency, then we will expand the program next year,” Hutchinson said.
The Rice Office of Admissions announced earlier this month that up to 30 students admitted early decision will be eligible to receive the new Lonestar Scholarship, a $10,000 scholarship renewable for four years.Vice President for Enrollment Chris Munoz said the scholarship aims to alleviate potential early decision applicants’ worries that they will not be considered for merit scholarships. Munoz said early and regular decision applicants are considered equally for merit scholarships.“We [want] to make it clear to students that they are not being disadvantaged by applying early,” Munoz said.Munoz emphasized that all applicants are automatically considered for merit scholarships, including the Lonestar Scholarship, and do not need to submit a separate application. Factors such as interest in research, experience in entrepreneurial activity and leadership may increase an applicant’s chances of receiving a merit scholarship.Funding for the new scholarship will come from existing resources.
In response to recent shootings, Rice University Police Department is hosting lunch discussions on responding to active shooters. RUPD is also continuing its active shooter training response programs, according to Chief of Police Johnny Whitehead.Whitehead said this program, developed three years ago, consists of a 20-minute instructive video on responding to an active shooter and what to expect from law enforcement. “It is much easier to plan ahead for what you need to do rather than make decisions when you’re in a panic mode,” Whitehead said. “We want people to understand the active-shooter concept, how to develop a survival mindset, and how to develop a plan of action. “Whitehead said more than 600 members of the community have been trained to date, consisting of mainly faculty and staff. RUPD will partner with student leadership, the Dean of Undergraduates and the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to promote trainings.“[An FBI report] shows that 45.6 percent of active-shooter incidents occur at places of commerce, like shopping malls,” Whitehead said. “Incidents at institutions of higher education account for 7.5 percent. I urge students, faculty and staff to take advantage of the very important training we have available.”The brown bag discussion luncheons will be in the Kyle Morrow Room on Oct. 21, Nov. 5, Nov. 19 and Dec. 3.
For hungry Owls waiting for a late-night food delivery, a car pulling up to campus is a welcome sight. What they might not expect is a Rice student behind the wheel delivering their pizza.Crowd-sourced mobile apps like Postmates and Favor can be found in most major cities, and in Houston where driving is a necessity, these services are highly popular. Several Rice students have taken advantage of the opportunity to work as drivers for these services, including Jones College junior Sam Carroll.Last semester, Carroll was saving money for an off-campus apartment and felt his job at the Rice Telefund was not enough.“I had gotten to the point where I said, ‘I will wait tables if I have to,’” Carroll said. “It wasn’t the most luxurious thing I’ve ever done ... but it was effective.”So he began working for Postmates and Favor in addition to the Telefund. Carroll said he found Favor paid better, since it guaranteed an hourly wage and better tips, while Postmates paid based on distance driven. Carroll said he enjoyed exploring the city, but felt that deliveries to fellow students at Rice were often uncomfortable.“It’s awkward because I have to do this, and you don’t want to look like you [are struggling financially],” Carroll said. “Everyone else seems to not struggle with money and financial situations, or at least it seems that way at Rice, like everyone seems to be doing everything perfectly.”Martel College senior JJ Allred said he decided to work for Favor during the summer because of the ease of entry into the position. Allred worked the late shift, from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. However, he found 3 a.m. to be an unreliable end time.“You don’t get off at three; you’re off whenever you’re done with whatever got ordered,” Allred said. “People on weekends get home at 2:40 [a.m.] and they order something, and there’s only 12 people on shift usually, so you get slammed with two orders at 2:40, and then you don’t get home until four in the morning.”He also said he was suspicious of Favor’s management. Favor deliverers report to their shift moderators when they have a problem with a customer. However, Allred speculated that moderators sometimes gave free orders to friends.“You can tell they know each other because if you have a problem with a customer, you just text the moderator ‘Hey, this person’s doing whatever,’ and then they say ‘Oh, he’s always like that, just leave it on the door, he’ll pay for it later’ or something,” Allred said. Payments are not well-documented, and deliverers are not paid until three days after the delivery. Many employees do hundreds of deliveries a week and forget to check specific payments.Allred said some customers never paid at all. He recalled one who ordered $200 worth of food. Allred was excited about the large tip he would receive, but the customer never paid.“People steal all the time,” Allred said.Nevertheless, Allred said he feels he was compensated fairly, averaging $10 to $11 per hour.Both Carroll and Allred said they would recommend their jobs to Rice students who want quick or extra spending money. However, for students who want a more substantial income, Allred recommends looking elsewhere.“I think I would do it again,” Allred said. “But only as a summer job.”
Rice University Student Association President Jazz Silva has proposed a mandatory sexual education class for first year students starting next year as a measure to reduce the prevalence of sexual assault on campus.
Rice University students were among the dozens of volunteers campaigning in support of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, a broad anti-discrimination law, on Saturday at the Rally for HERO. Early voting began on Monday, Oct. 19 and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.HERO is a measure to protect individuals from discrimination in employment, housing and public spaces based on several characteristics, including race, marital status, sexual orientation and gender identity. Saturday’s rally was organized by Houston Unites as part of a grassroots effort to pass Proposition 1, or HERO. Volunteers canvassed door to door and called voters, asking them to commit to voting in favor of HERO, as well as helping them plan when they would vote and secure free transportation to the polls. Martel College senior Kathryn Hokamp became heavily involved with the campaign after experiencing hostile reactions from HERO opponents while volunteering as a canvasser. On Saturday, Hokamp, a former president of Rice Queers and Allies, led a group of canvassers.“We definitely made some impact [by] educating people about the issues and helping people to remember to vote,” Hokamp said. “The impact may seem small, but we get votes one person at a time, so every little thing we can do matters.”According to Caroline Duble, Campus Outreach Coordinator for Houston Unites, volunteers spoke with over one thousand voters citywide on Saturday, exceeding the campaign’s goals for the day. Rice is part of the Greater Houston Partnership, an economic development organization comprised of over 1,200 companies and organizations that has supported HERO since 2014. Rice President David Leebron is among the 44 signatories of a series of full-page advertisements run in the Houston Chronicle paid for by the Business Coalition for Prop 1.“Rice supports equal rights for all Houstonians,” Rice spokesperson David Ruth said.According to the Houston Business Journal, Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, who recently donated $8 million to Rice, has donated $10,000 to a campaign against HERO. McNair said the proposition should be rewritten to encourage more unity within the community. McNair has since rescinded his donation.In 2014, the Houston City Council originally passed HERO by an 11-6 vote. Shortly afterwards, opponents of HERO delivered a petition with around 50,000 signatures to City Hall to repeal the ordinance or put it to a vote on the ballot. City Attorney David Feldman found several technical issues with the petition. Opponents of HERO filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming Feldman had “wrongly determined that they had not gathered enough valid signatures” to trigger a repeal or referendum.In January, a judge ruled HERO opponents had not collected enough valid signatures. The opponents appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, and the court ruled in July that the Houston City Council must either repeal the ordinance or include it in the November 2015 ballot.Although recent polls have found that a majority of Houstonians support HERO, Mark Jones, Chair of Political Science at Rice, said he warned against taking the polls at face value.“You have to be cautious when people say ‘I’m undecided,’” Jones said. “About three quarters of them actually are hidden ‘no’ votes. When you take that into account, the polls suggest that this is really neck and neck.”Edit: Noted how McNair has since rescinded his donation to HERO opponents.
