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NEWS 2/18/20 10:45pm

Anna Margaret Clyburn runs uncontested for president

By Savannah Kuchar

Anna Margaret Clyburn, current president of Martel College, will be the only candidate on the ballot this year for the role of Student Association President following Jones College senator Drew Carter’s withdrawal from the race. Current SA President Grace Wickerson and former SA President Ariana Engles have expressed concern over the implications of an emerging pattern of a lack of presidential candidates. 

NEWS 2/18/20 10:42pm

Candidates argue efficacy of SA and definition of roles within the organization at Debate and Town Hall

By Rynd Morgan

Student Association Internal Vice President candidate Kendall Vining and write-in IVP candidate Ashley Fitzpatrick debated the functions of roles within the SA and the SA’s relationship to the student body, and presidential candidate Anna Margaret Clyburn discussed similar issues in the SA Election Town Hall and Debate on Monday, Feb. 17, hosted by the Thresher.

NEWS 2/18/20 10:41pm

Accessibility issues affect first month of Kraft Hall use

By Sammi Johnson

Due to the delay in the installation of automatic doors at the Kraft Hall for Social Sciences, students with disabilities faced difficulties entering the building and getting to classrooms during the first four weeks of the semester. According to Larry Vossler, senior project manager at Facilities Engineering and Planning, the delay was due to an issue getting the permit for the lock on the door from the city of Houston. 

NEWS 2/12/20 6:56pm

2020 Blanket Tax Organization Candidates

By Savannah Kuchar and Rynd Morgan

The Thresher reached out to candidates running for election in all blanket tax organizations: Student Association, Rice Rally Club, Rice Program Council, the Rice Thresher, Rice Campanile, Honor Council, Rice Student Volunteering Program and KTRU Radio. Candidates marked with an * did not respond to requests for comment, and their statement is copied from the SA’s website. Currently, the only contested roles are: SA Treasurer, Honor Council Sophomore Representative and Rice Program Council President.

NEWS 2/5/20 12:21am

Pub reopens with new security measures

By Brian Lin

To prepare for its reopening this past Monday, Willy’s Pub implemented a camera and ID scanner system at the bar’s entrance. Pub was closed for the first few weeks of the semester following Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission violations in December at the “Last Pub of the Decade” event, according to Frank Rodriguez, board president of Valhalla & Willy’s Permits, which oversees the licenses of Pub and Valhalla. 

NEWS 2/5/20 12:18am

Rice halts China travel due to coronavirus concerns

By Rachel Carlton

Due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus, Rice Crisis Management suspended all university-sponsored travel to China by faculty, students and staff on Jan. 29, according to a universitywide email. The email also stated that there were no confirmed cases at Rice or in Texas at the time.

NEWS 2/5/20 12:15am

Ion Community Benefits Agreement shifts to City of Houston

By Rynd Morgan

The ongoing fight for a community benefits agreement between Houston community members and Rice Management Company for the Innovation District project continued on Monday, with a Student Association proposal to change language in their resolution supporting the CBA — the proposal was tabled after heated discussion. 

NEWS 2/5/20 12:13am

Y2K keeps students waiting despite wristband system

By Rishab Ramapriyan

Students expressed frustration over hour-long wait times for McMurtry College’s annual Y2K-themed public party, held on Feb. 1. Following unsafe line conditions that led to a student being hospitalized and Rice University Police Department shutting down the party last year, the organizers implemented a new wristband system for Saturday’s public. Some students, however, still reported wait times exceeding two hours, deterring them from staying in line to enter the public. 

NEWS 1/30/20 8:38am

International Holocaust Remembrance Day event features panel discussion and play

By Kavya Sahni

The Holocaust Museum Houston hosted a panel discussion and play commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest concentration and extermination camp operated by the Nazis during World War II. Rice University’s Program in Jewish Studies, Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance and Baker Institute for Public Policy were among the several sponsors for the event, which was also held in observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020 on Monday, Jan. 27. 

NEWS 1/29/20 12:58am

Wickerson's campaign promises remain unfulfilled

By Amy Qin and Rishab Ramapriyan

When Grace Wickerson ran for Student Association President in February 2019, they campaigned on a platform of multiple goals falling under the categories of education, student wellbeing, access and inclusion, sustainability and championing student ideas. Based on our analysis, Wickerson has only attempted one-third of their campaign promises. 

NEWS 1/28/20 11:09pm

Housing & Dining launches composting initiative at North Servery, attempts to reach 40 percent recycling goal

By Kelly Liao

In an attempt to increase campuswide sustainability, Housing & Dining has adopted a new composting initiative that includes a composting trial at the North Colleges Servery. Over the past two years, Rice has made multiple updates to the recycling system in order to try to meet a 40 percent recycling rate goal by 2020, according to Richard Johnson, director of the Administrative Center for Sustainability and Energy Management at Rice.

NEWS 1/28/20 11:06pm

Toxic Tour brings students to polluted sites

By Brian Lin

On a "Toxic Tour" of Houston, led by the Houston Air Alliance, 15 students visited gas-flares, a polluted section of the Buffalo Bayou and a neighborhood encircled by refineries. The event was hosted by the Green Dorm Initiative and wound through the Second Ward, crossed Galena Park, touched the Buffalo Bayou, circled back toward the Fifth Ward and ended at Manchester.  

NEWS 1/28/20 10:05pm

Rice Management Company defends Ion

By Rynd Morgan

Allison Thacker (Baker ‘96) and Ryan LeVasseur (Wiess ‘01, School of Architecture ‘03) from Rice Management Company gave a presentation to dissuade Student Association members from supporting Senate Resolution #8, a resolution advising that Rice and the Board of Trustees enter into a Community Benefits Agreement with the Houston Coalition for Equitable Development without Displacement at the Student Association Senate Meeting on Jan. 27.

NEWS 1/28/20 10:01pm

Wickerson to appoint interim parliamentarian

By Sammi Johnson

After the resignation of both the Student Association Parliamentarian Freddy Cavallaro and Deputy Parliamentarian Emma Donnelly and with elections around the corner, SA president Grace Wickerson has yet to appoint an interim parliamentarian for the remaining few weeks of the term. 

NEWS 1/28/20 10:01pm

Rice launches free Coursera courses for Rice students

By Hajera Naveed

At the beginning of this semester, Rice launched Coursera for Rice which provides students, faculty and staff with full access to all Rice courses on Coursera for free. This effort is part of the Coursera for Campus program, which provides campus-specific courses taught by professors affiliated with the school.

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