Special Projects

Fall Chamber Music Festival shines

Serenades and sonatas rang through the hall as the Shepherd School of Music hosted its annual Fall Chamber Music Festival this past weekend. Students took the stage in small groups, performing on clarinet, piano and more.  

Students of conscience should boycott Local Foods

Local Foods has served, for many years, as a casual Houston restaurant option for Houston residents, including Rice students. Folks on campus will notice that this option has become more proximate, as a Local Foods location claims space on campus in the Brochstein Pavilion. 

Insurance options for Ph.D. students are overpriced and insufficient

Doctoral students at Rice are given insufficient health insurance options especially compared to institutions with graduate student unions. Aetna’s graduate student health insurance plan  leaves students with significant costs compared to the minimum annual stipend. Additionally, the available Aetna plan offers insufficient benefits when compared both to medical insurance plans at peer institutions and to the non-subsidized Wellfleet plan – Rice’s alternative option for international students.

Nets Katz on skipping grades and solving problems

Nets Katz has always liked numbers. As a child, he played with numbers in his head and quickly learned to add and multiply. Katz’s elementary school grouped students in classes based on test scores. However, Katz didn’t land on the top track.

Coordinating change: former and future coordinators on O-Week

After her Orientation Week experience, Alessa Elkareh knew she wanted to advise. However, when she told her friends, she was met with doubt.

A historical hangover: rating past party themes

Prepare to be horrified, amused and maybe a little concerned as Rice’s most cringe-worthy party themes are revisited. The past remains littered with themes tried and failed, yet necessary for the birth of the parties Rice now enjoys. 

Keep administrative hands off public parties

Emergency Management is hoping to implement a new system that has students swipe their IDs when entering public parties to cross-check their name with a pre-registered list. This idea is being touted as an effort to reduce check-in time and lines at publics. The thing is – we are tired. After bans on events, APAC and dramatic changes in party requirements, we want hands off the public party. 

SA bill introduced to extend undocumented student task force

Paula Gamino and Dayanh Rubio Gomez, co-chairs of the undocumented student task force, introduced a bill to extend the undocumented students task force to advocate for improved support services Nov. 18. 

Vaccine policy conference takes a shot at public health

The 2024 Baker Institute Vaccine Policy Symposium convened Nov. 15, focusing on current vaccine policy research and strategies to combat vaccine skepticism in Texas. Vaccine hesitancy is on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with a growing number of measles cases driven by declining vaccination rates among Americans. 

Sports Mini #5

‘No ballot, no vote’

Brad Joiner has requested three mail-in ballots from his home state of Georgia — one for the 2022 midterm elections, another for a runoff that same year and one for the 2024 presidential election.

Post election, students react with unease, hope

On the evening of Election Day, hundreds of students gathered in the Sid Richardson College commons, sitting chair-to-chair. They cheered when Rep. Colin Allred amassed votes, and again when Massachusetts went blue. 

SA referenda scheduled for December vote

Campaigning for the four Student Association referenda, targeting divestment and investment transparency, will begin Nov. 20. The voting period will begin Dec. 4 and end Dec. 11 at noon, with the results published Dec. 12. 

Intellectual brutality renewed: How Rice can still achieve bowl eligibility

Rice football lost another American Athletic Conference matchup last Friday, falling to the University of Memphis on the road, 27-20. The Owls’ defeat dropped them to 3-7 on the year, and with two games left, the best they can finish is 5-7.

Gun violence advocacy group Team ENOUGH starts chapter

Students walking between the Rice Memorial Center and McNair Hall may notice a collection of t-shirts on poles, labeled with names and phone numbers. The shirts were placed by a new Rice chapter of the national organization Team ENOUGH, a gun violence advocacy group started by Jasir Rahman and Abigail Zimmerman. 

Artsy courses offered this spring semester

Another course registration period has come upon us, but no worries: To help you consider your options, the Thresher has compiled a list of new, unique courses offered this spring semester. 

Sports Mini #5 Solutions

11-13-2024 Crossword Solution

11-13-2024 Crossword: "Hang Tite"

Hanszen College Night finds itself in students’ bad books