Special Projects

Not because it’s easy: Rice heads to UT

It’s well established that Rice hasn’t beaten the University of Texas, Austin at football in a while – 27 years to be exact. You’d have to go back even longer, to 1965, to find the last time the Owls did what they’ll try to do on Saturday – beat the Longhorns in Austin. As they prepare, head coach Mike Bloomgren said that the Owls can’t afford to focus on the magnitude of the game.

Soccer tops UH, falls to SMU for first loss

Rice soccer split their two games last week, getting the best of crosstown rival University of Houston 1-0 on Thursday before dropping their first match of the year to Southern Methodist University by the same score.

Volleyball sweeps the weekend, records two wins at home

Over the weekend, Rice volleyball closed out their homestand in strong fashion, with sweeps of  Louisiana State University and Sam Houston State University in the Adidas Invitational II. On Friday evening, the Owls conducted a 3-0 performance over the LSU Tigers inside Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls followed this up with another home win over the SHSU Bearkats on Sunday afternoon for their second sweep on the weekend and their fourth consecutive win. These back-to-back sweeps bring the Owls’ season record to 4-3. 

Owls kick the Bayou Bucket against Houston

The Rice football team failed to take home the Bayou Bucket on Saturday in front of a home crowd of over 26,000 fans, losing to the University of Houston by a score of 44-7. The loss dropped the Owls to 0-2 on the season, while it capped off a big week for their crosstown rivals, who were recently invited to join the Big 12 Conference, with their first win of the season.

Organized Crime on Campus?

Houston hospitals near capacity as delta variant spreads

The rising number of COVID-19 cases at Rice so far this school year reflects the severity of the latest surge of the pandemic within the Houston area. According to data provided by the Texas Medical Center, August saw a record-high number of Covid patients hospitalized at the Texas Medical Center, along with 69,174 confirmed cases countywide — second only to the 71,996 cases in January, when less than three percent of Harris County residents were vaccinated.

Be patient with each other as we adjust to in-person classes

This week, we transition to (mostly) in person instruction after one and a half years of largely doing classes online. Half of the undergraduate population at Rice has never experienced traditional in-person classes here, and for the other half, that experience is a distant memory. 

Classes with over 50 students expected to remain virtual unless petitioned

Rice University announced last week that classes with over 50 students are expected to be delivered remotely unless instructors of those classes successfully request an exemption to teach face-to-face, according to an email sent by the Office of the Provost.

Suite Abandonment Coupon Kollection

Owls split on the weekend, get first win of the season in front of fans

Last week, Rice volleyball hosted the University of Oregon and Southern Methodist University in the Adidas Invitational I. On Thursday, the Owls fell to the No. 13 Ducks in four sets, their first game with fans in attendance in nearly two years. Later that weekend, the Owls recorded their first win of the season against SMU. The matches over the weekend brought the Owls record to 1-3 on the season. 

Soccer draws with UT, stays undefeated

Two overtime periods proved not enough to decide a winner between the Rice soccer team and the University of Texas, Austin on Sunday night at Holloway Field. The game went the full 110 minutes, but after the teams traded goals early in the second half, neither team was able to break the 1-1 tie. After the game, head coach Brian Lee said that he was happy with his team’s ability to go toe-to-toe with a strong Texas team.

The Bayou Bucket: The story behind the “ugliest trophy in sports”

David Bailiff cherished the two times that he won the Bayou Bucket during his tenure as the Rice head football coach from 2007-2017. But that doesn’t mean he has any misconceptions when it comes to the trophy’s appearance.

Owls fall to Razorbacks 38-17 after fourth quarter collapse

The Rice football team lost their first game of the season in a 38-17 defeat to the University of Arkansas. Playing away from home at Razorback Stadium in front of over 64,000 fans, the Owls kept up with the SEC team for a majority of the game, holding the score to a 17-17 tie at the end of the third period. However, at the start of the fourth quarter, the game shifted in the favor of the Razorbacks as they were able to capitalize on several Rice turnovers to run away with the game. 

Weekly Scenes and Screens: Sept. 8

Sip & Study: Here’s our four favorite coffee shops in Houston

While the Rice campus has its share of high-quality coffee options, including Rice Coffeehouse and Audrey’s Cafe, it’s also worth sometimes going beyond the hedges for your caffeine fix. So if you’re looking to switch it up from your usual Nutty Bee — which, let’s face it, is hard to beat — there are plenty of options outside the Rice bubble. 

Big Red Machine’s How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?’s promises meander into less than the sum of their parts

The last two times we heard the critical darling duo that is Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon, they helped Taylor Swift meditate on throbbing emotional pain over a simple piano instrumental. Reuniting again under their Big Red Machine moniker, Dessner and Vernon pursue a more sprawling, maximalist approach in their latest album “How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?” The sheer talent represented means the album can strike gold, but the overall project drags out, cuts its euphoric moments short and makes the listener wait for the duo to return to the bread and butter compositions that just work. 

Review: “Candyman” provides resonant social commentary in the slasher genre

Nia DaCosta’s reimagining of “Candyman” provides strong visuals, sound and social commentary for an excellent viewing experience. “Candyman” follows artist Anthony McCoy as he learns more about the legend of the Candyman, a monster that appears and kills people who say his name five times while looking in the mirror. The movie is a sequel to the original 1992 “Candyman” movie and ignores the two initial disappointing follow-up films, finally providing a worthy successor to Bernard Rose’s visionary original.

Review: ‘CLB’ is a good listen but nothing new

On “Certified Lover Boy,” Drake continues to prove that consistency is key — at least for him. Essentially delivering the same type of music that he has for years, Drake created a highly polished and enjoyable listen, even if he doesn’t really do anything new. “CLB” is drenched in Drake’s perennial themes of heartbreak and braggadocio, along with the strong features and glossy production typical of his work.

Design, cryptocurrency, and crochet: Student instructors talk college courses

Rice students have the chance to teach other students in college courses. The Thresher talked to four current student instructors to learn more about their courses and their experiences. Students can still add COLL courses — exploring topics like deep listening, cooperative storytelling, and Cleopatra — to their schedule before the add deadline on Friday, Sept. 10.

New Wiess magisters embrace the unexpected

Wiess College Magister Flavio Cunha had a plane ticket to Chicago when he met a girl in Ipanema, the famous beach in Rio de Janeiro. Cunha, who had already made plans to leave his home country of Brazil to begin a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Chicago, had no interest in sparking a relationship with a girl in Brazil — but that was before he met his future wife Fabiana Alves dos Santos.