Opinion

OPINION 10/29/19 9:13pm

Who told you about Africa?

By Grace Ishimwe

When I came to Rice, I was asked different questions by some students about Africa and Rwanda, my home country. “Does Rwanda still suffer from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi?” “How is life like in Africa?” “Do many people own cars?” and “Is it true that people are always fighting?”

OPINION 10/29/19 9:12pm

Response to ‘Call for a balanced narrative’: A no-nonsense narrative on Kashmir

By Daanish Sheikh

Three weeks ago, President Donald Trump attended Houston’s “Howdy, Modi!” event at NRG Stadium to advocate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration in India behind the facade of cultural celebration.

OPINION 10/22/19 9:33pm

Treat linguistic minorities equally

By Ivan Gamov

My mother country is home to more than 190 nations. Some nation-related incidents, especially concerning minority nations, have taken place this year.

OPINION 10/22/19 9:32pm

The Value of NOW

By Summar McGee

What if we treated our time at Rice like what it actually is — a convergence of the world’s greatest minds and four years of unfettered access to the intellectual pillars of the past and the promise of the future? Dear Rice, your Orientation Week friends could one day change the world, and many of your professors and mentors already have.

OPINION 10/8/19 10:11pm

What Black people hear when you use the N-word

By Gabby Falcon

As the semester starts and parties are in full swing, I want to speak out and be clear about one thing: Don’t use the N-word while rapping or singing along to songs. On a broader note, don’t use the N-word in your casual vocabulary. This is a demand, not a request.

OPINION 10/8/19 10:10pm

Call for a balanced narrative on Kashmir

By Anu Singh

Two weeks ago, I attended the “Howdy, Modi!” event along with over 100 Rice students and 2,000 students from universities across the United States. It was a proud moment as an Indian American, as I saw fellow students dancing in their colorful garb, musicians celebrating all of India’s spiritual traditions and politicians honoring the contributions made and unique place held by Indian Americans in the fabric of the U.S.

OPINION 10/8/19 10:09pm

Letter to the editor: mindful protesting

By Josh Hill

Last week, I was dismayed to hear that over the course of protests happening at the university, chalk was used to deface multiple buildings across campus. A desire to strongly express feelings is understandable; however, it seems the vandals paid little attention to the burden their actions placed on those responsible for removing the writing.

OPINION 10/8/19 10:07pm

The Task force on White Supremacy: Rice should do more

By Drew Carter

The Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice should contemplate its meaningfulness to our campus beyond being another public relations moment.

OPINION 10/1/19 10:52pm

Rethinking Orc Raids in the age of blackface scandals

By Cyrus Ghaznavi

In the past year, there has been a notable influx of blackface scandals among prominent politicians, such as Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and I cannot help but think of Sid Richardson College’s Orc Raids every time a new incident hits the press.

OPINION 10/1/19 10:51pm

Use your voices because Kashmir cannot

By Sanvitti Sahdev

More than 50,000 people gathered in NRG Stadium last Sunday and watched as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump held up their clasped hands on stage.

OPINION 10/1/19 10:50pm

Letter to the Editor: on being low income at Rice

By Lee Read

As a Rice alumna (Lovett College ’03) and a student who also attended Rice under adverse economic circumstances, I was inspired by Elizabeth’s bravery in writing about her financial situation and how foreign the Rice environment can be to those from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

OPINION 10/1/19 10:49pm

Letter to the Editor: Strive to do better

By Maddy Scannell , Laney Baker , Karen Qi and Snigdha Banda

Amid the Thresher opinion, protests and town halls, we have been in conversation with many of you about your concerns regarding sexual misconduct policies and the ways in which Rice handles previous and current cases. Many of you feel like your trust in the administration and Student Judicial Programs has been shaken.

OPINION 10/1/19 10:46pm

Dean Gorman responds to sexual assault conversation

By Bridget Gorman

It is my privilege to be a member of the Rice community, and to serve as dean of undergraduates. Every day, I come to campus and work with people who care deeply about our community and are committed to providing an excellent experience to all our students.

OPINION 10/1/19 10:46pm

Entitled students advocate for free toilet paper in bathrooms

By Krithika Shamanna

Students at Rice University are urging the administration to provide free and accessible toilet paper in all on-campus bathrooms. The students seem to think toilet paper is a human right and claim it is necessary for biological function.

OPINION 10/1/19 10:43pm

From the editors' desk: why we wrote 'in their own words'

By Anna Ta and Christina Tan

Realizing that the anonymous opinion writer is only one of countless survivors at Rice, we decided to open a call for students and alumni to share their own experiences for our feature, “In their own words: survivors’ stories of sexual assault at Rice.”

OPINION 9/26/19 5:19pm

Letter from the Dean of Undergraduates regarding recent Thresher opinion

By Bridget Gorman

First, I want everyone to know that we take these cases incredibly seriously. Cases that involve sexual misconduct or sexual assault are often difficult and complicated. Our reporting and investigative process, as well as our final decisions in these cases, are based on the best available information. We base our decisions on the evidence before us, our best judgment of what is fair to the individuals involved, and what we believe best protects the Rice community.

OPINION 9/24/19 9:27pm

Kavanaugh has to go

By Lila Greiner

Brett Kavanaugh should never have been nominated to be a Supreme Court justice. His confirmation tarnishes the office and its fight for justice.

OPINION 9/24/19 9:25pm

I reported. Rice and SJP still let him graduate.

The last time I wrote an opinion piece like this, I had just been sexually assaulted. I was in a terrible place, and I stayed in that terrible place for months and months, unable to break the walls that the sexual assault had put between me and my closest friends.

OPINION 9/24/19 9:24pm

Men Need to be More Involved in Climate Change Action

By Ezra Smith

In high school I was involved with an environmental networking organization, Maine Environmental Changemakers, that connects like-minded people across the state of Maine to the resources they need to actualize positive environmental change within their communities.

OPINION 9/24/19 9:22pm

Dear Rice’s Crisis Management Team: Do better

By Justin Bishop and Christina Rincon

You can do better. Safety should always be the number one priority. On Thursday, the flash flood event that occurred due to former Tropical Storm Imelda was predictable.