A friend called me up the other day asking, somewhat unexpectedly, if it was okay that he mentioned my experience with mental illness in his own session with a counselor. I agreed without thinking twice; after all, he was a close friend and I knew everything would remain in confidence.
Beer Bike is tomorrow, and while colleges will be celebrating with established traditions, the campus-wide coordinators and Student Judicial Programs are introducing several changes that will alter the dynamic of the event (see story, pg. 1). There are three significant changes being made to Beer Bike. However, not all of these changes are negative. First, the balloon fight will be held at two different stops. This change is supposed to get more students to the bike races. The second stop will be at the intramural fields and would therefore create a shorter walk to the races for students. The Thresher supports the new balloon fight structure and agrees that if students are willing to walk to the second stop and throw more balloons, they will also be willing to travel the short distance to the bike races.
In response to "A continuous rise in tuition decreases Rice's overall value" (Mar. 09, 2012):
Upon starting at Rice, some of us were told that we would "learn as much outside of the classroom as inside, if not more."
Housing and Dining has recently made the decision to extend its hours of operation for the South Cafe. This means that the cafe will open for 30 minutes (from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) after South Servery closes. The new changes are excellent for those who eat late, especially athletes, who have always had problems with getting to the servery before it closes at 7:30 p.m.
This year, Rice has seen some fantastic public parties thrown by incredible socials at different colleges. Sid Richardson College took students back in time for a retro '80s party, while Duncan turned up the volume with its neon white-out. Numerous students flock to public parties to either steal the pizza at 10 p.m. or dance the night away with their partner of choice. Either way, public parties are an essential part of Rice student life, and it's all a result of the efforts of the college socials.
The implementation of the new writing center in the fall of 2012 should help improve more than just writing on campus. First of all, it will hopefully help eliminate the age-old stigma on campus that taking a COMM class means you cannot write. With the requirement that everyone on campus has to take a writing seminar in his or her freshman year, we believe that the university will have leveled the playing field.
In response to "TCU drug scandal inflated" (Feb. 24, 2012):
There is an old New Mexican folk story about three chupacabras who encounter three goats. The first chupacabra bites off a goat's head, rips its legs off and sucks out its blood. The second chupacabra rips off another goat's head and then sucks out its blood. The third chupacabra tells the final goat, "You should say thank you; I am only going to suck out your blood."
Congratulations to baseball coach Wayne Graham for getting inducted into the Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame. He has been at Rice for the past 20 years, has amassed 900 wins in his career and got the Owls their only national championship in 2003. He has affected the lives of numerous athletes and has been a pleasure to have as part of the Rice community. Congrats to him as he keeps on trekking, trying to lead the Owls to their 18th straight postseason berth and their second ever national championship.
The New Orleans Saints have been busted for bountying: a system that gives monetary incentives for big hits and seriously injuring opposing players during games. Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator for the Saints, has been accused of orchestrating the affair, dubbed "Bountygate," while Head Coach Sean Payton was aware but did nothing to stop it. The Bountygate scandal was when Williams pooled money together to pay roughly $500-$1,000 for big hits and extra money if the opposing player was injured and/or taken off the field in a stretcher. Most people are disgusted by this bounty system, yet I believe it should be completely encouraged and even implemented throughout the league as soon as possible.
At Rice, many of us are career-driven. We strive to become society's next engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs and musicians. Having this ambition is the reason we want to excel in our classes, sacrifice the occasional party to study for the GRE or MCAT, and apply for summer internships. Imagine, though, if all your dreams and aspirations were shattered because you were diagnosed with a fatal illness. Could you maintain the positive attitude to persevere after realizing that rounds of chemotherapy might not even kill half of the cancer cells in your body? Could you bear living out your remaining days in pain knowing that there is only a slight chance a perfect donor will be found? Many of us avoid such thoughts and think that, while unfortunate, such a tragedy will not happen to us. We continue on with our daily lives, worrying about our next exam or that problem set due tomorrow. I urge all members of the Rice community to briefly consider how fortunate we are that we can even consider having a future career and the opportunity to impact the lives of others. Putting that consideration into action, we can all easily sacrifice a few minutes to help out those who are struggling just to survive the next few months, and a quick swab of the mouth is all it takes.
We would like to congratulate Sasha Cooke on winning a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for her performance as a cast member in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Dr. Atomic.
