Rice's class rings have been a tradition since 1916; however, there is now a student push to create more of a tradition and culture around the ring itself. The committee involved with this initiative would like to increase student participation in ring purchases and would like to help make the ring more special by planning events around it.
In the Oct. 21 issue, "What's their secret" incorrectly stated that the professor's hometown had a population of one million; however, the population is actually approximately 100,000. Furthermore, the number of COMP 140 students has grown from 20 to 113, and the number of Computer Science majors has increased from 21 to 75.
Rice has expressed interest in accumulating monetary donations towards a new $40 million athletic facility to replace the current one adjoining Rice Stadium. The building would house football team locker rooms, coaching staff offices, a media room and a sports medicine complex.
Ron Paul is typically viewed in Republican circles to be little more than a minor nuisance – a libertarian crank who has no real chance at winning the GOP nomination and is generally unelectable. Paul ran as a Libertarian Party candidate in 1988 and a Republican Party candidate in 2008 with limited success.
The Thresher would like to congratulate Rice alumnus Lance Berkman (Will Rice '98) for his great season and for making the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. Berkman
It was a beautiful spectacle to behold last Friday in Anderson Hall.
Salman Khan has been selected as the commencement speaker for Rice's 99th graduation ceremony (See story, pg.1). The pick is an interesting one in that he lacks the star power typical of a commencement speaker, yet represents many of the aspects of an ideal Rice graduate. As the founder of the non-profit Khan Academy, Khan represents entrepreneurship, leadership, a focus on education and community conscientiousness. While Khan may not be a household name right now, he certainly represents the upcoming generation of leaders. Khan's vision has already created one of most effective open-source educational resources available, and he will likely continue to revolutionize education as his career progresses.
At a recent Baker Institute event, former Senator Alan Simpson said: "If the U.S. government is beholden to AARP and Grover Norquist, then we don't have a prayer, don't have a prayer, of getting anything done." His analysis, though dismal, is completely accurate — U.S. policy is paralyzed by moneyed special interests, and it is eating away at our democracy and hindering any chance at progress.
You'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't enjoy a good picnic. The idea of sitting outside and enjoying the nice weather, good company and a tasty meal has a particularly timeless and idyllic feel to it. These aspects of picnics and the bonding that they engender have led the university to pursue many of these events on various occasions throughout the year, from O-Week to Willy Week and other, more random times in between. While the intent is good and the idea behind the picnics is a great one, a growing number of students do not seem to enjoy the picnics as much as one would think. In fact, some students downright avoid them in favor of off-campus alternatives.
While Willy's Pub's financial woes are widely known, it seems that now the establishment is less fiscally viable than ever before (See story, pg. 1). With Little Willy's floundering, unsustainable operating costs, and the shift to hosting Pub Nights at home colleges, Pub is finding it more and more difficult to escape the red.
As we look to the next century, we at the Thresher believe that Rice should continue to grow and achieve in all aspects of the university. In particular, we encourage the Rice community to strive toward the following goals in the next hundred years:
During the past 99 years, Rice University has grown significantly while staying true to its core message of establishing an institution for the advancement of literature, science, art, philosophy and letters.
We hope you enjoy this special edition of the Thresher. Our regular publication will resume next Friday, Oct. 21.
The WIkiRice page has been live for several months now and is slowly expanding (see story, pg. 5). The concept is a brilliant one; essentially, anyone can update the Rice-related pages. As the website expands, there will be pages to represent Rice's most famous (and infamous) moments. Ultimately, WikiRice may serve as the archive for campus happenings. Unfortunately, this ultimate vision is hampered by the constant possibility of illegitimite posts. Without proper monitoring, the site could quickly degenerate into a medley of inside jokes and college rivalry.
As someone who aspires to promote peaceful interactions between the U.S. and the Middle East, I would be outraged over the killing of Yemeni-American radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki on Sept. 30, 2011 via drone strike. However, I feel quite the opposite; I am proud of our intelligence community for taking decisive action to neutralize a significant international threat.
