Special Projects

Rice Coffeehouse celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with new items

When walking from Fondren Library to Rice Coffeehouse on a Saturday afternoon, don’t be surprised by the vast number of students that pass by sharing bright neon orange drinks and pieces of delightfully warm, sweet dough. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Rice Coffeehouse is serving housemade mangonadas and locally supplied conchas through Oct. 15. A portion of the revenue from these new items will be donated to the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Series.

Black Art at Rice: A Conversation with Chavonté Wright

Chavonté Wright (Martel College ’16) works primarily in graphite and charcoal and draws from her personal experiences to depict realms ranging from Black literary figures to scenes reminiscent of her childhood as a native Houstonian. She reflects on how the Black experience inspires her work, particularly in the spaces within joy and suffering. Currently, Wright is a Ph.D. student studying sociology at Indiana University, and readers can explore more of her art at chavonte.com and @musemedit on Instagram.

Got Tetra? ​​Here’s Where to Spend Your Tetra Points

Anyone who has attended a Rice campus tour has heard stories about how students use their Tetra points, which are $1 points that can be used at on-campus restaurants and cafés. Some seniors spend their four years at Rice hoarding Tetra to save up for a dog from the Rice Farmer’s Market before graduation — so say the tour guides, at least. But not everyone is fortunate enough to conserve their Tetra for a full year, or even a whole semester. If your student ID is burning a hole in your wallet and you’re looking to (affordably) spend on meals outside the serveries, look no further than this list of Tetra-accepting food and drink options available on campus.

Amid COVID-19, HackRice11 is the largest ever

After more than a year of learning via Zoom lecture, Max Yu, Victor Song, Kaichun Luo and Lorraine Lyu were well-equipped to recognize flaws in this key component of pandemic education. Last Friday, they decided to make an improvement to the system. Together, the four students coded Thoth, a tool that makes both Zoom lectures searchable and manageable by condensing 40-minute recordings into pages of notes.

Rice Announces F1 Track Through Inner Loop

Bringing Poke to Rice Village

Tucked in the corner of Rice Village, Pokeworks recently celebrated their grand opening with an exclusive buy one, get one free offer on all poke bowls and burritos. The chain store quickly rose to popularity following their 2015 opening in Midtown Manhattan, attracting the attention of millions after a short video clip showcasing their delectable menu accumulated over 52 million views. From there, Pokeworks has expanded across North America with over fifty new locations. 

Review: MONTERO checks the boxes but fails to live up to the lofty expectations set by its singles

There’s usually so much to say about Lil Nas X. There’s not a lot to say about “MONTERO”, at least not in the way that I expected going into the album. Lil Nas X has always been the moment since his country-trap fusion went on a run of historic pop dominance. Lil Nas X justified his omnipresence with music just as dominant as his personality— tracks like ”MONTERO” and “INDUSTRY BABY” still have a headlock on every Rice party’s Spotify queue. However, Nas X’s debut album, “MONTERO”, proves that capturing the zeitgeist over the course of an album is much harder.

9-22-2021 Crossword Solutions

New students talk life after O-Week in isolation

Despite the high COVID-19 vaccination rate on campus, the pandemic has continued to disrupt life at Rice. Last month, new students matriculated anticipating a relatively normal year. Hopes were quickly dashed as on-campus COVID cases increased during Orientation Week, and some students had to isolate or quarantine. The Thresher spoke to three new students who spent part of O-Week in isolation.

Review: “My Fair Lady” is a satisfying return to live theatre at the Hobby Center

Live theatre returns to the Hobby Center on a high note this week with the touring production of “My Fair Lady,” which runs through Sept 19. Despite the pandemic, the house was almost completely full with masking policies enforced. “My Fair Lady” was a fabulous reminder of everything live theatre can be at its best. The technical elements were fantastic and the acting and staging were first rate.

9-15-2021 Crossword Solutions

9-8-21 Crossword Solutions

9-1-2021 Crossword Solutions

Review: “Shang-Chi,” a portrayal of the Asian-American experience

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Marvel’s “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is a stunning visual adventure that seeks to encapsulate the richness of Asian culture. Following in the tradition established by other Marvel movies like “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Black Panther,” the film represents an origin story that transcends the titular character and points to the greater significance of their cultural identity.

Five stars across the board for ‘star-crossed’

There’s a discomfort in talking about breakups, divorce in particular, that Kacey Musgraves refuses to shy away from. After her last record, “Golden Hour,” which detailed the singer’s beautiful, dreamy, sunshine-filled marriage, won album of the year at the Grammys in 2019, it was shocking to hear Musgraves announce her divorce from husband Ruston Kelly in 2020. The album, and thus the relationship, had such a cultural impact that it was hard to believe it could break down. At the time, Musgraves spoke very little on the subject. However, with the release of the album and film “star-crossed,” Musgraves is finally letting us in. All the way in.

Review: ‘The Melodic Blue’ embraces a wide range of styles for a strong debut

Baby Keem crafts a well-produced and enjoyable debut album with “The Melodic Blue,” incorporating a wide range of styles and emotions throughout the album to keep listeners engaged.

Rice ranked 17 in U.S. News’ 2022 best colleges list

Rice fell one place in the 2022 U.S. News and World Report’s Best National Universities list, tying with Cornell University for No. 17. Over the past five years, Rice has ranked as low as 17 and as high as 14.

STRIVE, SAFE working to address possible double red zone

The SAFE Office and Students Turning Rice Into a Violence-Free Environment are currently creating a training schedule in order to provide a refresher bystander intervention workshop for College Teams and Student Leaders, according to Cathryn Councill, director of the SAFE Office.

Rice cancels classes and activities due to Hurricane Nicholas

All classes and instructional activities were cancelled on Sept. 14 due to widespread power outages caused by Tropical Storm Nicholas, according to an alert sent by the Rice Crisis Management Team. This follows an announcement originally requiring all classes after 5 p.m. on Sept. 13 to be taught remotely.

Environmental writer Amitav Ghosh connects the history of imperialism to climate change

Decorated Indian writer Amitav Ghosh explored the connection between the history of Western colonial exploitation of the Indian Ocean’s resources and present-day climate change in a Sept. 13 lecture delivered on campus and via Zoom. Ghosh’s talk, entitled “Embattled Earth: Commodities, Conflict and Climate Change,” was a part of the Campbell Lecture Series hosted by the School of Humanities Dean’s Office.