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Opinion

OPINION 11/9/11 6:00pm

Housing and dining fails to back architecture proposal

By Staff Editorial

A competition held for Rice architecture students to design a community garden has fallen through. Although, the original plan was to have the winning architecture proposal become reality for a garden near Rice Village, H&D has since backtracked and decided that the winning proposal will contribute to the ultimate design to be implemented at some point in the future. Since the university has a distinct reason not to use valuable land in Rice Village for a community garden, it should have thought twice about committing to the terms of this competition in the first place.

OPINION 11/1/11 7:00pm

Rice professor shows great integrity amid censorship scandal

By Staff Editorial

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Professor John Anderson has become a local media focus since his censorship spat with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (see story pg. 1). The commission removed many facts that pointed toward human-caused global warming. However, Anderson refused to have his data presented in this manner. By revoking his publication from the state agency, Anderson exemplified the highest standard of integrity in his decision to withdraw his publication. In the cut throat world of academia, a professor's stature is determined in large part on his or her publications. Anderson, in his decision to choose no publication over a censored publication, represents exactly the kind of integrity Rice stands for. The decision was one which placed principles over prestige and the truth over fanfare, and this choice should be respected.

OPINION 11/1/11 7:00pm

Congratulations to Lance Berkman and the St. Louis Cardinals

By Staff Editorial

Congratulations to Rice alumnus Lance Berkman for his contributions to the World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals. Berkman followed his excellent season with an extraordinary playoff performance which included a game and series-saving single with his team down to its final strike. He was a key contributor to the World Series victory and is an accomplished veteran truly deserving of this victory.

OPINION 11/1/11 7:00pm

Erratum

By Staff Editorial

In the Oct. 28 issue, "Limelight: Campanille Orchestra" Trent Navran participated in the Shakila Tour in Chicago and the Bijan Mortazavi Tour in Los Angeles.

OPINION 11/1/11 7:00pm

Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements hurt independents

By Matt Kindy

In the midst of the past four years of political turmoil and partisan politics, we all have witnessed the rise of two particular movements that, while initially offering populist messages, have grotesquely transformed into influential and divisive partisan movements, corrupted by our two-party system just as every other political movement of recent times. What I'm referring to, of course, are the Tea Party and Occupy movements.

OPINION 11/1/11 7:00pm

New schedule planner assists students with rigors of registration

By Staff Editorial

A new schedule planning aid has been created in an effort to make the registration process a bit easier for students (see story pg. 1). The tool creates a calendar of potential courses in a Google Calendar format. The most significant addition is the feature which allows courses to be sorted by both professors and time slots. It also allows students to select multiple classes of interest, even those in the same time slot, and then narrow them down. Students will definitely benefit from being able to see a schedule overview laid out on a calendar.

OPINION 10/27/11 7:00pm

The Occupy Wall Street Debate: What does our country really need

 

I am the 40.9 percent. All throughout America, protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement heckle and carry signs proclaiming the disenfranchisement of the 99 percent those not in the so-called economic elite, but they focus on the wrong number. Those currently picketing in Zucotti Park, N.Y., claim that the system only works for the top one percent of the population and that most Americans are not represented in Washington. However, I find this claim hard to take seriously when most Americans didn't even make the short trip to the ballot box in the last midterm elections. I am the 40.9 percent, the portion of voting eligible citizens who went to the polls in 2010.

OPINION 10/26/11 7:00pm

Baker Blues surpasses expectations

By Party Patrol

Baker Blues definitely exceeded the expectations set by poor precedents from past parties. Baker Blues, which traditionally falls on Families' Weekend, is often deemed as lackluster and not worth attending. The cocktail tables full of parents and the subdued nature of the party place it in stark contrast with the other more traditional parties.

OPINION 10/26/11 7:00pm

New traditions could increase value of class ring

By Staff Editorial

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.

OPINION 10/26/11 7:00pm

Errata

By Staff Editorial

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.

OPINION 10/26/11 7:00pm

Ron Paul a viable candidate for the 2012 GOP nomination

By Matt Kindy

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.

OPINION 10/19/11 7:00pm

Congrats, Lance Berkman

 

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

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