Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916
Friday, May 02, 2025 — Houston, TX

Special Projects

NEWS 12/1/15 5:34pm

WHAT’S HIP RIGHT NOW

By Kaylen Strench

TECH:Tech TatsIn a phrase: The one tattoo that won’t break your father’s heart.Where to find it: Not available yet, but should be released in outlets in January. I’m a huge fan of tasteful tattoos, but I know they’re not for everyone — at least, not right now. That could begin to change, however, with the release of Chaotic Moon Inc.’`  newest crazy innovation. “Tech Tats” are badass looking temporary tattoos: The invisible base makes it look like you literally have a circuit board attached to your arm. The creators, however, claim that these tats have more going for them than just their aesthetic appeal. They say that eventually the tats might be able to replace large, hunky medical devices — or even your annual trip to the doctor. They also say that (somehow) the tats could hold all your personal info to improve your cybersecurity. I think the latter seems a bit far-fetched, but the former is pretty believable. It looks like the future could, in fact, be tatted-out.  LIFESTYLE:Undertaking LAIn a phrase: The “natural birth” for death.Where to find it:  Currently the only service like this is in LA, but it’s a craze that should spread. Hundreds of years ago, people wanted to contract out the disgusting or extremely complicated things in their lives. For instance, women started giving birth in hospitals, not at home. If people needed furniture, they bought it at a store instead of making it themselves. Yet, in a weird twist, we’re now going backwards. With birth, with life(styles) and now, with death. That’s right, new funeral homes, such as famed Undertaking LA, are offering you the chance to prepare your dead relative for burial. They’ll come over and give you some pro tips, but essentially you, yes you, scrub down Mimaw’s corpse and take out her rotting organs. I understand the hands-on movement, I understand the intimacy of such an experience, but … can we just please agree, too far? FOOD:PiecakenIn a phrase: It’s self-explanatory.Where to find it: Pinterest. It’s everywhere on Pinterest.The glorious trend of stuffing food into other food continues. We started with turducken: a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck stuffed into a deboned turkey. That was incredible, but it is time for it to step aside for the real star of the holiday feast: the piecaken.The piecaken is a gigantic cake stuffed with three — yes three — types of pie stuck together (It seems like it would fall apart otherwise) with butter and iced all over. It usually consists of the classic trifecta: apple, pumpkin and pecan. But creatives across the web have explored other mouth-watering combinations, such as chocolate, Oreo and butterscotch pie. It’s gigantic, it’s adaptable and it’s heavenly delicious. Must we ever eat anything else, for the rest of our lives? BOOKS:All American BoysIn a phrase: Young adult fiction gets real.Where to find it: Bookstores, amazon.com. Young adult fiction is known for addressing cultural issues such as race, class and gender. (Didn’t we all have to read Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”?) Still, it typically doesn’t take it on as directly as Jason Reynolds’ and Brendan Kiely’s “All American Boys.” The novel takes on the intersection of police brutality and race through the perspectives of two high schoolers, centering in on an incident involving one of the students, Rashad. After Rashad is wrongly suspected of shoplifting and assault and is unjustly beaten by police, his life begins to crumble around him. The authors, who have written many other books independently, said they came up with the idea after they shared a room during the George Zimmerman trial and had many conversations about the obvious issues presented by the case. Though the book is considered young adult fiction, I think this is one many plain old regular adults could probably benefit from reading.

NEWS 12/1/15 5:19pm

Oscar projections for the layman and the snob

By Ryan Lee

The Oscars have always been a contentious bunch of awards. On one hand, there are the popular favorites that give rise to the cliched “Oscar genre” film — the deglamorized celebrity, true story-inspired biopic, orchestral score, the whole gamut. On the other hand, there are the art house films that no one else saw, but stole the hearts of film snobs everywhere. Even before nominations are announced, the fight between the layman and the snob has already taken off. To make it easy, here are my picks for films that could satisfy both sides of the aisle.Best PictureLayman pick: “Spotlight”Every once in a while the Best Picture frontrunner brings together the skeptical critic and stereotypic voter. Director Thomas McCarthy walks that fine line in “Spotlight.” The film follows the Boston Globe’s investigative team in uncovering the Catholic Church’s scandals during the early 2000s — a methodical film much like Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.” But “Spotlight” stands apart in its notable ensemble cast. Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo have all been submitted to the Best Supporting category. In lesser hands, this film could have easily stepped into excessive sentimentality and condescension. Instead, McCarthy takes a fittingly balanced approach: never exploiting the victims and victimizers, but never avoiding whitewashing events either. Snob pick: “Inside Out”It has always been a surprise to me that animated films have never been given the “Best Picture” treatment. To date, only three have even been nominated: “Beauty and the Beast,” “Up” and “Toy Story 3.” The notion that “Inside Out” is a snob pick still befuddles me; animation studios have long aligned with Oscar favorites — artistic approach, on-screen grievances, the loss of innocence, etc. My theory is that voters cannot take an animation piece seriously much like how voters annual snub comedies and comic book films.Best DirectorLayman pick: David O. Russell, “Joy”At this point, saying Bradley Cooper’s and Jennifer Lawrence’s names after David O. Russell’s is really only an afterthought. We have seen this trio (and let’s also throw in Robert De Niro) before in “Silver Linings Playbook” and in “American Hustle.” Although past nominations are not an indicator of actual wins, I believe Russell’s tastes are so Oscars-tempting that the third time might just be the charm.Snob pick: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”In many ways the Academy functions to hold up the most emblematic film of the year, and given that we saw a considerable number of good action films thus far — “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,” “The Martian,” “Star Wars: Episode VII” (fingers crossed) — George Miller’s dust-and-petroleum-fueled universe of “Mad Max” would not be such an outrageous prospect. For me, “Fury Road” represents the rare combination of auteur direction and blockbuster production quality when a major studio could just hand Miller a large wad of money to go do whatever he wants with it in the desert.Best Leading/Supporting ActorLayman pick: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”; Tom Hardy, “The Revenant”I should preface that I have always considered Best Supporting an equivalent to Best Leading in prestige. With that, Leonardo DiCaprio proves to the Academy with “The Revenant” that once again, he would do whatever it takes to get that elusive Oscar. I wonder if voters are just curious to see to what extent they can push DiCaprio to take on roles more outrageous than the last. My personal view on DiCaprio’s acting is mixed, but given the grueling production he has to suffer through on account of “Birdman” director Alejandro G. Inarritu’s insistence to film on location in Alberta, Canada, I would not be surprised if voters would finally concede. If not DiCaprio, then at least reward his supporting counterpart Tom Hardy, an actor who has never shied away from taking on interesting roles, such as this year’s “Legend.” However, I believe that Hardy has so much ahead of him that I would not be worried if he does not get an award this time around.Snob pick: Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”; Michael Keaton, “Spotlight”A lesser-known fact about the Oscars voting process is the political drama that happens off screen. Despite possessing an unrivaled filmography, Michael Fassbender has never been one to campaign for the media, an ironic contrast to the egomaniac he plays in “Steve Jobs.” At a time when Jobs’ posthumous reputation has spiralled into caricature, Fassbender manages to ground the film by making the legend (and Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue) seem relatable. The Oscars are also often criticized for rewarding the actors and actresses that chew up the most screen time. In “Spotlight,” a more insecure actor could have easily upended the entire film, but Keaton completely understands the movie he signed up for. As the head journalist, his character commands on-screen attention yet always plays to the strengths of his co-stars.Best Leading/Supporting ActressLayman pick: Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”; Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight” J-Law could be a shoo-in for best actress. If starring in a biopic with familiar colleagues David O. Russell and Bradley Cooper wasn’t enough, she has already had an outstanding year. Though it hasn’t even come out yet, if “Joy” delivers on the hype it’s already gathering, Jennifer Lawrence could easily ride her performance and wider popularity after “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2” to an Oscar. For Jennifer Jason Leigh, the challenge will be to stand out in a field of eight seasoned actors. With a director like Tarantino, the film will likely do well with critics and the public, so if Jason Leigh can shine as the only woman in Tarantino’s “Hateful Eight,” she could pick up the vote for best supporting actress.Snob pick: Charlize Theron, “Mad Max: Fury Road”; Marion Cotillard, “Macbeth” If you saw “Fury Road,” you probably already know, Charlize Theron stole the show. The film’s choreographed action is mesmerizing, and the plot is surprisingly moving, but it’s Theron’s performance that holds it all together. Convincingly hitting a range of emotions, Theron’s character is sometimes vulnerable, sometimes distance, but always the most magnetic, powerful character on the screen. As Lady Macbeth, Cotillard has a chance to reinvent one of literature’s most infamous villain. If she can pull it off, a win for her would be well deserved.

NEWS 12/1/15 5:18pm

Mental melodies: The science behind study music

By Lydia Dick

As much as we hate to acknowledge it, exam time is upon us. Soon every nook and cranny of Fondren will be full of students glued to their textbooks and laptops, maintaining a level of focus that is only possible when 30 percent of your final grade is on the line.While we all have different study habits, listening to music while studying is nearly ubiquitous among students. Who doesn’t like to put on their headphones and separate themselves from the outside world? Listening to your favorite songs lets you block out distractions while partially alleviating the monotony of endless problem sets and flashcards.Chances are you’ve discovered that music is not always conducive to studying. For example, lately I’ve been shamelessly blasting Adele’s new album, but if I tried to listen to it while trying to understand my organic chemistry textbook, her booming, heartfelt vocals would quickly drown out my reading on oxidation of alkenes with peroxycarboxilic acids. When trying to decide what music should you listen to this exam season, the answer depends a lot on who you are and what you’re trying to do.Let’s go back to trying to understand organic chemistry. The hardest part of sitting down to read a textbook is maintaining a sustained level of concentration. Reading and understanding a textbook passage involves a process called segmentation. Our brains segment information into logical chunks and boundaries. This is why your FWIS professor kept telling you to outline your papers. An organized paper “chunks” the information, making it easier to read and understand. A recent study from the Stanford University School of Medicine shows that when listening to symphonies, brain activity peaks during movement transitions. The ending of a movement cues your brain to start packaging the information it just listened to, keeping you alert.However, listening to a symphony might not work for everyone, particularly if you’ve spent a lot of time at Shepherd. Research shows that people who are classically trained in music tend to be distracted by symphonies. This also applies to any genre and instrument. If you spend a lot of time playing guitar, it might not be a good idea to listen to Jimi Hendrix when you’re trying to write a paper. If you’re a singer, listening to songs you tend to belt in the shower probably won’t help you concentrate either.I come from a family of violin players, so studying while listening to classical music tends to leave me staring at the same sentence in my textbook thinking about what life would be like if I were a Musi. So I dove a little deeper to see what are the best options for those of us who don’t jam to classical music.One universal aspect of listening to music that enhances cognitive functioning is positivity. Listening to happy music increases dopamine levels in the brain, which helps you focus. This means listening to a symphony in a major key might enhance your mood and help you study better than one in a minor key. Electronic artists like Teebs and Baths produce more upbeat and playful music that helps me get through some of my most dense reading. Two of my favorite albums to study to are Teebs’ “Ardour” and Baths’ “Cerulean.” The second component is lyrics. You probably already guessed that reading and listening to words at the same time doesn’t enhance productivity. Many people find that they can study to music with lyrics, as long as they are either incomprehensible or easy to tune out. For example, I find it pretty easy to tune out Morrissey when I’m listening to “The Smiths” since I can’t understand what he’s wailing about half the time anyway. I also often listen to Stereolab, an alternative band from London that has a French lead vocalist. The third aspect is familiarity — you’re best off with music that you know by heart. We are creatures of habit, and if you’ve found a playlist or an artist that works for you, chances are you’re best off sticking to what you know. Keeping a playlist that you only listen to while studying cues your brain to focus when listening to those songs.If you’re looking for more recommendations, I enjoy listening to electronic artists like SBTRKT, Four Tet and Bonobo. This kind of music tends to be upbeat enough to keep me engaged, but hypnotic enough not to distract me from what I’m doing. If you’re looking to steer away from electronic, El Ten Eleven is a post-rock LA-based duo with repetitive and catchy hooks and no lyrics to distract you if you’re trying to read. Hip hop beats and soundtracks are also great to listen to if you are looking for music without lyrics. A good place to start is Madlib’s “Shades of Blue,” and the instrumentals to J-Dilla’s “Donuts.”In the end, if you’ve got your headphones on in Fondren, nobody will be able to tell whether you’re listening to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” or Taylor Swift’s “1989.” Sometimes you just have to choose what will get you through that next chapter. 

OPINION 12/1/15 5:09pm

Rice needs a journalism program

 

At Rice we pride ourselves on being at the cutting edge of various fields and offering our students a diverse and talented community.  Rice’s undergraduate architecture program is ranked third in the country according to Architectural Record’s 2015 rankings. According to US News and World Report’s 2015 national rankings, many of our engineering disciplines are ranked in the top 20 and as an undergraduate institution we are ranked 18th. The process of adding diversity and talent to our community is ongoing, and I believe the next step in that process is to create a school of or program in journalism. As the reach of mass media becomes increasingly global, journalists are among the greatest influencers of the tides of change, and they have a responsibility to present unbiased information to the electorate. The cover stories of the New York Times and the main news story on NBC Nightly News dictate political agendas and public feelings regarding issues of global importance. Investigative journalism has ruined presidencies and celebrities’ careers. As journalism permeates every hour of our lives, the responsibility of journalists to report information accurately and illuminate important issues is more crucial than ever. As such, I believe that Rice students should have a greater opportunity to pursue careers in journalism. Rice’s status as one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country positions it to attract talented students interested in journalism and equip them with the skills to become leaders in the field. Rice has produced many great businessmen, lawyers, politicians and engineers, and has already graduated many accomplished journalists, such as David Rhodes, president of CBS News. If the university were to invest in developing either a school of journalism or a communications and journalism major, it would expand the talent of our student body and mold alumni who will have a positive impact on a potentially global level. The resources available to Rice would make this a feasible investment that would pay long-term dividends. In addition to the potential for the program as a major by itself, a school of journalism would allow students from all majors to develop skills crucial in almost all career fields. Scientific, engineering and policy reporting are potential interdisciplinary minors or classes that would add to the opportunities available to Rice students. Communication with media is a crucial aspect of the lives of many successful businessmen, professors and researchers. Interdisciplinary coursework in journalism and communications would equip students from all majors with the skills necessary to articulate their achievements and discoveries to the public and news sources. This would make the creation of a journalism program less costly as many current professors could teach journalism courses in addition to those hired specifically to teach within the major or school of journalism. Implementing the program would not require construction of new buildings specifically for journalism, though a broadcast studio would benefit those students studying broadcast journalism and provide them with invaluable experiential learning opportunities. The Thresher, KTRU and RVP would allow journalism students to develop their skills in real world settings. These organizations also illustrate that many students on campus are already interested in various forms of journalism, and their experience would be greatly enhanced by the availability of coursework in their area of interest. The main risk of creating a school of journalism would be the direct effect it could have on making Rice a more pre-professional environment. However, I disagree with this sentiment because the addition of journalism and communications classes would add to the breadth of our curriculum, allowing many students to explore for the first time into a completely foreign field or provide some students further education in a topic they are already passionate about. Creating opportunities for our students to learn and test new subjects will never be pre-professional as long as the students at Rice and the culture of the campus doesn’t change. Many peer institutions already have majors or schools in communications and journalism, such as the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication or New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. However, to maintain the intellectualism that defines a Rice undergraduate experience we should create the program in a manner unique to our school and student body. This will be accomplished by maintaining the admissions practices that admit students who are both ambitious and intellectually curious. I believe that the two qualities are not mutually exclusive and that these changes will add to everyone’s Rice experience. Rice must continue to expand its community and curriculum to maintain our spirit of intellectual inquiry and our reputation of educational opportunity. Through the creation of a major or school of journalism, Rice would take a significant step in building a diversity of talents in our student body and presenting our students with additional opportunities to learn and develop valuable skills that will serve them for the rest of their professional careers. Rice should make this investment. It will have a positive impact on our community for the foreseeable future. Maurice Frediere is a Duncan College freshman

OPINION 12/1/15 5:08pm

Let’s help launch commercial spaceflight

 

Just over 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy stood less than a mile from where you stand and galvanized a nation. His words, “We choose to go to the moon … not because [it] is easy, but because [it] is hard,” led to one of humanity’s crowning achievements and the 20th century’s proudest moments, and Rice is still known as the university where the space race began.Two weeks ago, Will Pomerantz, the vice president of Virgin Galactic, visited campus with a similar but fundamentally different challenge. He spoke of the coming commercial space race and very pointedly asked that Rice students join his team. I firmly believe Rice has the chance to continue its legacy as the national epicenter where extraterrestrial dreams are realized and challenges are answered. Rice alumni from all over the aerospace industry have sought to recruit more Rice students. Josh Earnest, a Sid Rich alumnus and the current  White House press secretary, ventured, “The United States is on an ambitious and sustainable path of space exploration, and the development of a commercial space industry in this country has had significant economic benefits for communities all across the country … The president continues to believe overall in the value of investments in our space program and in space exploration.” From the mechanical engineering department to the Baker Institute, professors and scholars from around campus recognize the growing importance of space policy and education. In 30 years, companies like SpaceX, Planet Labs and Blue Origin (all wildly successful start-up spaceflight companies) will stand as giants beside Boeing and Google, and a new kind of space race will be underway. Profit and nonmilitary competition will drive the industry instead of politicians, and costs of spaceflight will decrease sharply. When a company begins cutting corners and falters, another commercial venture will rise to take its place. Earnest has also said, “[The burgeoning private aerospace industry] also is something that has led to important innovation — that this kind of competition has yielded innovative results and advancements for the space industry.” Already in the last 10 years, the cost of putting one pound of technology in orbit dove from $10,000 to $3,000, with more savings on the way. In the next 50 years, human planetary exploration, space tourism and even asteroid mining will be within reach of our earthbound culture. Imagine being alive when the first human puts boots on the ground on Mars instead of Iraq, or Europa instead of Ukraine. Spaceflight is the act of discovery that inspires nations and the world to undertake missions that are seemingly impossible, missions that will captivate the our imagination.Although Rice already has a multitude of opportunities for those who are interested in joining the commercial space race, you can take three simple steps that would revolutionize the campus attitude and awareness. Firstly, look up the Rice Space Institute (many students have never even heard of it), an offshoot of the first space science department ever established in this country. It has an amazing staff who are filled with a passion for education. Secondly, reach out to more aerospace companies and alumni. Even if many aerospace companies do not visit Rice campus, a Rice education is one of the best in the nation, and many students every year graduate into the aerospace industry. Many alumni, from Josh Earnest to Peggy Whitson (one of our eight alumni astronauts), deal with the aerospace industry on a regular basis, and they can provide unique insight and motivation for developing Rice students. Lastly, find your passion. Rice is unconventional not because of any physical aspect, but because each and every student has a passion, and the passions of today lead to the dreams of tomorrow. When Kennedy spoke that warm September day, the world changed, and I cannot wait to see how Rice will respond to the changing space industry.Andrew Gatherer is a Brown College sophomore

OPINION 12/1/15 5:07pm

Athletes and nonathletes stronger together

 

Rice isn’t so big at all. It’s not the University of Texas, or Baylor, or Texas A&M. Rice is a small campus where you see the same people just about every day. Each semester we walk, skate and pedal past the same peers to and from the same classes. Because of this, Rice has the beautiful potential to build and cultivate a compassionate community that reflects the ideals of its conception. However, there exists a prevalent schism among our general student population that threatens the greatness of our community. At Rice, so many barriers and borders bleed together to create diversity that marks our university in almost every facet of campus life. Yet, the disunion between athletes and nonathletes persists and continues to infect the collective strength of our community. Obviously class schedules, practice times and extracurricular events create logistical clashes bound to occur between nonathletes and student athletes, but the simple virtues of kindness and amiability still play a crucial role in uniting the two groups. Support and participation should come from both sides. Nonathletes should support their athlete peers at sporting events and competitions, while athletes should strive to increase their visibility and participation in their residential colleges and the lives of their peers. Rather than viewing this as an exchange, it should be seen as a way of promoting the health of our community and improving our individual experiences here at Rice.Many students who don’t participate in Division 1 sports at Rice feel that athletes come off as intimidating and unapproachable. Likewise, athletes share similar feelings toward nonathletes. “Jock” and “nerd” stereotypes aside, the issue at hand is larger than insensitive labels. The issue isn’t a matter of two sides making amends, but that the two groups are ignorant of their commonalities and the little effort required to richly enhance the quality of the lives lived here on Rice’s campus. Here the phrase “culture of care” is thrown around in O-Week groups and informational sessions. While this maxim, simply put, refers to one’s citizen duty to aid in the care for his drunken brother or sister, the phrase in our ideal society should extend toward the overall atmosphere of compassion that ought to characterize our students, faculty and staff.Rice, like any great place, is made greater by the people who make up its body. Athletes and nonathletes are components of the body, not separate elements. We all are residents of Houston. We are students and Rice Owls. Rather than focus on how our course schedules, practice schedules, friend groups or hobbies make us different, we should focus on how they make us unique and how they help add to the story of Rice University. This may seem ultra-idealistic, or a tad bit cliche some would say, but amid the attempt to strive for this ideal, even in failing, we may land in a better place that still addresses the silent tension between nonathletes and athletes at Rice.Nahshon Ellerbe is a Wiess College freshman

OPINION 12/1/15 5:05pm

Drug education, transparency necessary

 

On a campus where both alcohol and drugs are a reality, we emphasize safe consumption of the former while all but ignoring the latter. From the allegedly drug-linked disappearance of a Rice student during spring break two years ago to the expulsion of Wiess’s president last spring on allegations of providing drugs, it is clear that this campus needs more discussion from both administration and the student body surrounding student drug usage.Every Rice student is inundated with information about alcohol use and its disciplinary consequences beginning in Orientation Week, but discussions of drug use are practically nonexistent. Silence about drugs, however, does not prevent them from affecting students. Although it is true that introducing new students to the punishments of dealing LSD on the second day of O-Week is inappropriate, it is necessary to dedicate time and resources toward preparing students to deal with the reality of drugs on campus, especially as some new students may be entering with prior experience using drugs. RUPD, UCourt and chief justices instruct new students during O-Week about the Rice amnesty policy with regards to alcohol to make them comfortable with calling EMS. If new students are unaware that drug overdoses also fall under amnesty in certain cases, they are unlikely to call for help or attempt to remedy their addiction through help from the Wellbeing Office for fear of administrative consequences. Abuse of hard drugs is a serious concern and affects the health of the overall campus, but students cannot get help if they do not know the resources available to them.Furthermore, the investigation and adjudication process for those involved with drugs remains poorly communicated. Regardless of whether students are guilty, the speed with which these cases are adjudicated is concerning, as the accused may not have the time they deserve to fully develop a defense. The fact that the accused can neither record the interview nor access Student Judicial Programs’ recordings has been a recurring concern.The alcohol policy, as a document created with student input and based on community values, clearly outlines the policies and punishments surrounding the consumption of hard alcohol on Rice’s campus. Students lack a comprehensive, oft-cited, analogous document for the usage of drugs, leaving a gray area in students’ minds. This degree of standardization of disciplinary procedures has downsides; for nuanced situations such as sexual violence, dealing with perpetrators on a case-by-case basis is the fairest course of action. But even sexual violence is easily outlined into different classes of violations: sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, sexual assault, etc. Drug use, however, lacks documented stratification; the vast majority of students, for example, would have no idea whether dealing marijuana merits the same degree of a violation as just consuming LSD. The Rice community deserves an open and honest dialogue regarding student drug use. Transparency and clarity are just the first steps.Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.

OPINION 12/1/15 5:04pm

Vote Sylvester Turner for Houston mayor

 

Sylvester Turner has dedicated his career to improving Houston, and on Dec. 12 Houston will have the opportunity to elect him mayor for the next four years. I have spent the last three months interning on his campaign and have encountered people of all ethnicities, ages and party affiliations who work long hours in hopes that Turner is elected the next mayor of Houston. His qualifications for office are unmatched, and his plan to carry Houston into its bright future is sound. However, to understand Sylvester Turner and his passion for this city, first you need to understand where Turner is from and the obstacles he overcame to become the man he is today.Sylvester Turner was born on Sept. 27, 1954. He grew up with nine siblings in a two-bedroom home in the Acres Homes section of Houston. The Acres Homes district is one of the poorest in Houston, where 37 percent of residents fall below the federal poverty line. His father was a commercial painter and his mother was a maid. He graduated valedictorian and was the senior class president at Klein High School, attended the University of Houston and graduated summa cum laude before going on to Harvard Law School. After graduating he returned to Houston and established his own law firm in 1983. Turner’s spent 26 years in the Texas House of Representatives fighting for Houston and fiscal responsibility. He is on the Legislative Budget Board, is the vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee and has directly overseen the balancing of the Texas State Budget twice. He secured funding to renovate a run-down park in the Acres Homes community that has provided 2,000 inner-city youth with access athletic facilities and recreational opportunities. Turner fought in the House for tax incentives for companies to come to Houston as well as increased funding for local schools and lower insurance rates for low-income Houstonians. He has spent his life fighting to make Houston better.Turner bases his vision for the future of Houston on three main initiatives. He plans to revamp our infrastructure, make our communities safer and invest in Houston’s educational system. Turner’s plan will carry Houston into the future and make opportunity a reality for all Houstonians. The Road to the Future Initiative would allocate $300 million to the infrastructure budget to expand highways, fill in potholes and smooth out sidewalks. These changes would make it safer and more comfortable for Houstonians to get to and from school and work as well as prepare Houston for further population growth in the immediate future.The Partners in Safety Initiative is a multi-step plan to improve relations between poor and minority communities and the Houston police force to make this city safer. The first step is to increase Houston’s police force by 540 officers to 6,000 total officers by 2020, the first increase in the police force since 2005. Turner would also reinstate the D.A.R.E. program to increase drug and alcohol awareness and personalize the relationship between police officers and students. Turner would also implement legislation to subsidize housing for officers in the communities they serve with the aim of increasing respect for police officers and for these officers to be wary of using excessive force, as they would be protecting their neighbors and friends. The last step in Turner’s Partners in Safety Initiative is to fund a body camera program for every officer in Houston. Increasing police accountability ensures that the communities historically affected by police brutality will feel safer in their neighborhoods, knowing that the officers protecting them will be held to the standard to which they should be.Turner’s last initiative is the Partners in Learning Initiative, aimed at providing opportunities for every young Houstonian to improve their lives and have access to a great education. His experience in the Texas State Legislature puts Turner in a strong position to secure the funding that Houston schools need as well as fight against potentially devastating school closures in the city’s most impoverished areas. His plan also includes after-school and summer programs so that students from single-parent households or households where both parents work can receive homework help and have structure in their lives to keep them off the streets and focused on getting an education. Sylvester Turner has been fighting for Houston his entire life. His campaign has been endorsed by the Houston Police Union, Houston Firefighters Union, Harris County Deputy Sheriff’s Union, the LGBT Caucus of Houston, the Houston Chronicle, conservative former mayoral candidate Stephen Costello, liberal former mayoral candidate Adrian Garcia and multiple other Republicans and Democrats throughout Texas who believe that his unparalleled experience and passion for improving this city makes him the clear choice to lead this city. On Dec. 12 get out and vote for Houston’s future. Vote for Sylvester Turner.Maurice Frediere is a Duncan College freshman and campaign intern for Sylvester Turner

OPINION 12/1/15 5:02pm

Don’t forget lives lost in tragedies like Paris

 

My hands shook as I held a lit candle, huddled among Rice students around Willy’s statue during the vigil organized by the Boniuk Council on Sunday, Nov. 15 to honor the victims of the tragedies in Paris and Beirut on Nov. 13. As my body trembled uncontrollably and I struggled to keep my composure, I realized I was responding to a very real and palpable fear: I am afraid of the global community’s tendency to forget. How long will it be until we forget about the attacks in Paris and Beirut? We are sensitive now because the pain and fear are fresh. I panic when I think of how disengaged the general public may become with the passing of time. When I first heard about the attacks in Paris, I recalled the tragedies on Sept. 11, 2001 in my hometown of New York City (as well as the Washington D.C. area). As time passes, 9/11 seems more like history and less a tangible memory. On the night of Sept. 10, 2015, while thinking about the tragedy, I broke down in tears in my dorm room. The next day at lunch, I decided to talk about 9/11. While I would be performing in the Rice Chorale’s Sept. 11 concert later in the week, I hadn’t heard anyone on campus discuss the concert or even 9/11 itself. I mentioned this fact to the table of people I was sitting with, and one of them responded, “Well, maybe it’s not as big of a deal here.” I was shocked and disgusted, especially since the speaker didn’t acknowledge the gravity of the historical events.So why do we forget about 9/11, or choose to think it’s not a big deal? The problem partially lies in how we react to tragedies. Thoughtless or politically motivated reactions distract us from the basics of the tragedies. After the Paris attacks, some politicians on Twitter used the attacks as propaganda for their own beliefs. For example, American politician Newt Gingrich tried to use the timing to make a case for the Second Amendment, tweeting, “Imagine a theater with 10 or 15 citizens with concealed carry permits. We live in an age when evil men have to be killed by good people.” How can anyone possibly think it acceptable to manipulate, twist and forcibly associate tragedy with ulterior motives, political or otherwise? In the direct aftermath of an attack, especially when limited details are available, the only appropriate response is compassion. Much like public responses, state responses to terrorism can also unintentionally distract from the loss of human life. Each state’s political push to show their resilience and unity, as well as a tendency to avenge their loss, has cultivated an international  “War on Terror.” The idea of a “War on Terror” groups terrorist attacks together, generalizing terrorist activity as a whole. The media typically covers the war as a cohesive idea so that we remember the general and forget the individual events. The media should certainly cover the political aftermath of terrorist attacks, but it must separately honor the innocent lives lost. We saw the shift to political ideals during the 2001 Iraq War after 9/11, and the shift can easily happen again with France’s bombing ISIS strongholds, unless the media changes its approach.May we always commemorate the date, Nov. 13, 2015. I challenge you, reader, in the recent aftermath of these events to hold those who died in the light, and remember to mourn them every year in the future. Regardless of how you think the international community should respond to terrorism, regardless of your ethnic background, regardless of how you even define the word terrorism, I challenge you to perform a simple task: Recognize the value of the lives of those who perished. It doesn’t require a revolution, or even a Facebook post. Remembrance is simple: Spend some time recognizing how lucky you are to still be alive, and think about how will use your gift of life to honor the innocent ones we have lost.Abagail Panitz is a Hanszen College freshman

NEWS 12/1/15 4:55pm

Bieber fever dominates Toyota Center

By Melody Yip

Bieber fever is real. I experienced it firsthand at the album release show he hosted in Houston on Nov. 19, an event where he attempted to have a heart-to-heart with thousands of screaming girls at the Toyota Center. I had made a rather impulsive decision by buying a ticket to see him, but in my defense, I believed that he has matured immensely since his days of long, shaggy hair and high-pitched vocals, and I just wanted to see this transformation myself.I would call myself a fan of Bieber’s music, but I’m sure I looked tame in comparison to the other girls who were climbing out of their seats at the Toyota Center. There was so much estrogen.  The shrieking terrified me the most. Bieber hadn’t even come out yet and girls were already hollering his name. The path to the stage was like a watering hole, and females swarmed around it with signs and phones at the ready. Some seemed just about to topple headfirst over the rails, while others stood on chairs in a desperate effort to catch a glimpse of the star. It died down when he failed to appear, then surged again in a raucous cry when his voice came over the intercom explaining that there would be a delay.  He finally emerged from backstage on a skateboard 40 minutes later, lazily boarding along while fans reached for him, wearing a maroon beanie hat and a long-sleeved black shirt underneath another black T-shirt, which perplexed me. Bieber sat down and the live Q&A began. He spoke in a clear, deep voice tinged with hints of swagger and confidence. When asked about his current life outlook, he replied that he believes in moving forward.“It’s about what you are, but you also can’t stay there. You gotta focus on how there are better days ahead.” More screaming ensued.However, the tone of the conversation changed when a fan used her one chance to lobby a question to him by asking if he would have her babies.“We’d have to get married first,” Bieber said. I think the audience groaned a little. To be honest, I think marriage to Bieber would be stressful.He moved on to perform a large number of his songs, all acoustic versions that his trusty guitarist deftly tackled. He sang his current popular hits like “I’ll Show You,” “Sorry” and “What Do You Mean?” then graced the audience with a couple of throwback hits like “Boyfriend” and “As Long As You Love Me.” He even serenaded a teary-eyed girl with “One Less Lonely Girl.” When he kissed her forehead at the end, I knew she wouldn’t be washing that piece of skin for a while.It was rather strange, actually, to be at a Justin Bieber concert as a college student. I felt like I had to be more mature. Or maintain some of my dignity. At first, I felt a twinge of sheepishness because I didn’t embrace Bieber with the same obsession of groupies clamoring for his attention. Everyone seemed to be on a sort of high, and I felt myself being pulled along to experience the same euphoria. But then I realized that maybe it was because I’m older and more jaded about people. Bieber is a human, a regular man. Yet when he took a swig of water, the audience erupted into shrieks. When he rolled up a sleeve and shook out his hair, I swear that some girls started sobbing. It made me wonder how it could be possible to idolize someone that much. However, I wouldn’t say that Bieber gives me purpose. That day, I was just a college student trying to escape the realities of the world for a while by going to his concert for some musical entertainment. He sounded brilliant live, and he did sing about some truths that resonated with me and probably many other Rice students. During “I’ll Show You,” Bieber sang these words: “Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing / When the pressure’s coming down like lightning / It’s like they want me to be perfect.” I was surprised that these lyrics jumped out at me. Who knew that Rice students and Justin Bieber somehow have a connection, and it shows that he’s not an idol, but a man. He’s one of us — although no one applauds me after I take a drink of water.

NEWS 12/1/15 4:45pm

SA Initiative Fund awards $10K to student groups

By Eric Gong

The Blanket Tax Committee granted over $10,000 to student organizations through the first Initiatives Fund process since the blanket tax system restructure, according to Student Association Treasurer and Blanket Tax Committee member Sai Chilakapati. Twenty-four organizations submitted applications for funding to the BTC. According to Chilakapati, of the $57,568.96 total requested, 11 applications were approved and $10,345 was granted through the Initiative Fund. From political activists, campus fellowships to sports clubs, this year’s applicant pool represents the full spectrum of student organizations and their interests. Only five clubs received the full amount that they requested. Among them are the Boniuk Council, which received $200 to hold a forum on the issue of religion and sexuality; Design for America, which received $300 for “prototyping supplies” for their various projects; the SA’s Campus Appreciation Committee, which received $1,400 to hold an appreciation dinner for the H&D Staff; the American Red Cross, which received $425 to “train volunteers and Rice students in disaster preparedness”; and the Rally Club, which received $3,870 to fund the various tailgates and events that they hold.  According to Chilakapati, the Blanket Tax Committee made decisions based on the following criteria, in order of importance: campus wide spirit and programming, student health and wellbeing, community engagement, activism at Rice and networking and mentoring. According to Chilakapati, this criteria was established in accordance to results from previous year’s Survey of All Students.Chilakapati said organizations that were not approved for Initiative funding were referred to the Student Activities Programming Fund. “[The Initiative Fund is] different in the sense that we hope to support student-related programming that enhance campus spirit, expand educational and cultural opportunities, and provide opportunities that otherwise seem valuable to students and also fall in the realm of initiatives,” Chilakapati explains. “SAPP, as well as other sources of funding on campus, and the Initiative Fund work hand in hand to ensure that there is no overlap in funding appropriation.”A number of organizations, spanning a wide range in amount requested, failed to receive any funding. For example, Pre-Dental Society requested $25 for a club tour of UT Health’s Dental School. Rice Eclipse, an engineering club, applied for $10,850 to finance the group’s effort to construct a hybrid rocket. According to Chilakapati, five organizations requested amounts exceeding $3,000; some were rejected and others were amended, with only Rally Club receiving the full funding exceeding $3,000. Activism@Rice was declined any funding of the $9,000 requested for a conference that aims to bring social justice activists together from across the Houston community. Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship requested $5,000 for the Evening of Elegance, a gala-style dance that was held on the same night as the Night on Decadence and was only granted $2,000, less than half of the funds requested. The SA Initiative Fund is a result of the spring 2015 restructured blanket tax funding structure. Each student provides $85 of his or her tuition towards the pot of gold and blanket tax organizations have priority on receiving the funding. Any remaining funds following this distribution goes toward the Initiative Fund. 

NEWS 12/1/15 4:44pm

Architecture alumni found startup to improve refugee living conditions

By Jaecey Parham

The United Nations recently reported that almost 60 million refugees have fled their homes in response to conflict or natural disaster. Rice School of Architecture graduate alumni Sam Brisendine (’14) and Scott Key (’15) are working to address the difficult living conditions refugees face. Brisendine and Key have designed a product called Emergency Floor, which allows refugee camp residents to live on an elevated floor. Brisendine and Key are the co-founders of the company Good Works Studio. By utilizing wooden pallets (initially used for food transportation) and plastic covering slides, the floor they designed offers a cost-effective and innovative solution to keep refugees from living off of the ground — protecting them from flooding waters, disease-infested dirt and cold temperatures.Good Works Studio and Emergency Floor have gained national recognition, being featured in publications such as Huffington Post, Forbes, ArchDaily and DesignBoom.Upon designing Emergency Floor, the duo launched Good Works Studio Inc. through OwlSpark, a program that assists the Rice community with their business startups.A crowdsourced funding campaign this summer on IndieGoGo raised over $52,000. The campaign’s success allowed Good Works to receive a grant from the United States Agency for International Development. Brisendine said pilot tests take up the majority of the company’s funds.  The first pilot conducted for Emergency Floor was installed in an uninhabited area of Sweden; after this preliminary pilot, the floor was cleared for inhabited areas. The next pilot will be domestically in Montana, which according to Brisendine, was selected because it can mirror a winter temperature similar to that which many refugee camps face abroad. “We wanted somewhere with a pronounced winter temperature,” Key said. “In colder climates, which happen to be where a lot of recent refugees are gathering, we believe our floors can have the greatest impact on health, not only physiological, but psychological as well.”According to Brisendine, the story of a certain Afghan refugee camp, which faced a combination of rainstorms and harsh temperatures, inspired the team to further pursue cold climate regions.“It froze [one] night, and a lot of people’s shelters flooded — they got wet, their stuff got wet,” Brisendine said. “A lot of people froze to death. There’s nowhere to go. It’s hard for us to imagine not having options and then just suffering at the level and not having somewhere to turn to. So, that was very motivating and definitely why we’ve targeted cold climates.” Key said that there is data supporting benefits of living on a clean floor rather than a dirt floor, but not on the benefits of a floor, from a thermal perspective, in a cold climate setting.“From the reporting that we read and news stories we consume, that seems to be really what’s plaguing a lot of these refugee camps — especially the combination of wet and cold,” Key said.According to Key, multiple pilots are also needed in order to collect data; pilots comprise of a conduction of pre- and post-installation surveys that report many variables, including overall user experience.“[We’re] really looking for changes in people’s health, their behavior — self-reported of course,” Brisendine said. “[We’re] looking for their feedback — how was it to install, how did this improve your life.”According to Brisendine, the results of the surveys allow the team to make improvements on their product. “Hopefully it’s going to put our product to the test [and] see where it fails,” Brisendine said. “[And] how we can best improve our product, maybe install it in a different way, or try new techniques to extend the life of the floor.”The next product from Good Works Studio will be a floor design similar to Emergency Floor, but designed for a more permanent solution. According to Key, refugees’ provisions in camps are not sustainable. He said the average duration of stay for a refugee in a refugee camp is 17 years.“They’re given shelters that are replaced one or more times a year — that kind of gives you an idea of the denial in terms of goods that are given over to refugees,” Brisendine said. “They don’t really acknowledge it being a permanent situation.”Brisendine said many countries will not admit their country’s situation is not a temporary one. This presents a challenge for Good Works Studio’s new and more permanent design.“Refugees’ host countries oftentimes have rules about how permanent dwellings can be, so our other flooring system, in some context, could be viewed as too permanent while in others, permanence is the goal,” Key said. Good Works Studio’s second product is hoped to be piloted in Ghana, summer 2016.“[We are] hoping the new product finds its way into more permanent dwellings that don’t have concrete floors — that’s a huge issue that’s out there and we think we have a clever solution for it,” Brisendine said.

NEWS 12/1/15 4:42pm

Rice senior selected as Rhodes scholar

By Andrew Ligeralde

Since a young age, Tom Carroll has cultivated a passion for both the sciences and humanities, which he will pursue next year through the Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford in England. Carroll is currently the president of Brown College and the president and co-founder of the Rice Classics Club. “I did a lot of Latin in high school, but I’ve also been a science fan,” Carroll, a Brown College senior, said. “My parents are both material scientists, so science was a pretty big part of my household growing up. Latin was kind of my rebellious phase, but it always stuck with me.” The Rhodes Scholarship, created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes, provides all expenses for two to three years of study at Oxford. One of the most famous academic awards for American college graduates, the Rhodes selects 32 applicants on the basis of intellect, character, leadership and commitment to service, according to the Rhodes press release. To apply, students must first seek endorsements from their universities. This year, 2000 students sought endorsements, and 869 were chosen by 316 different universities. The scholarship committees interview the strongest applicants in each of the 16 geographical U.S. districts and select two students per district.Carroll is the 12th Rhodes scholar from Rice University. The last Rice student to win the scholarship was Ye Jin Kang (Will Rice ’11) in 2011. Carroll, a biochemistry and classics double major, plans to complete a doctorate in clinical medicine, integrating his interests through the lens of cancer research.“I’ve done not only science research and classics, but also bioethics, mythology, just trying to get a taste of everything,”  Carroll said. “That’s really influenced how I do my science research, just different methods and trying the same problem from a lot of angles.”Carroll found overlap between different fields in their research methodologies. He is currently working in the field of tumor immunology, a crossroads between cancer and the function of the immune system. He is also researching his senior thesis, a study of Proto-Indo-European mythology and language. “People hypothesize it existed, but they’ve never seen it firsthand because it’s so old that there’s no written record of it,” Carroll said. “For something like this, when you’re looking at something you have so little information on, you have to take a lot of different angles to see the full picture.”By combining methods from various disciplines, Carroll hopes to be a part of the push to find a broad cure for cancer, rather than a specific treatment for a targeted therapy. “A lot of cancer researchers are doing great work in their own specialized field,” Carroll said. “But cancer is such a diverse entity, so heterogeneous, that it’s going to be difficult to arrive at a cure coming from one perspective.”Carroll, who has a family history of cancer, gets his motivation from helping the millions of families who are affected by cancer every year. “I’ve always had an idea that this is the direction I want to take with my career,” Carroll said. The Rhodes scholarship came to Carroll’s attention this summer. His interest in Oxford stemmed from its strength in cancer research, but also its other distinguished programs, particularly its classics department, which is the oldest in the world. “It’s a place where I can continue building on my set of broad perspectives,” Carroll said. “Continuing to challenge myself with ideas from a variety of fields is going to be key for my intellectual development, especially with the sort of research philosophy I’m looking to cultivate, and I think Oxford will be the ideal place to do just that.”

NEWS 12/1/15 4:38pm

Proposal impacts international student employment

By Amber Tong

In response to a proposed rule regarding the post-graduation employment program for international students, the Rice Chinese Students and Scholars Association started an online campaign encouraging students to participate in public comment submission to protect their career prospects in the United States. The proposed rule from the Department of Homeland Security would increase the temporary employment extension period for students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics from the current 17 months to 24 months.A court decision regarding the validity of the new proposal is expected by February 2016. If the proposal fails, students currently enrolled in the extension program may have to leave the United States as the 17-month program has been vacated. The public comment session closed on Nov. 18.  BackgroundOptional Practical Training is temporary employment directly related to F-1 students’ major area of study, F-1 being a nonimmigrant visa that applies to most foreign students. This counts as part of their education and allows them to remain in the U.S. before obtaining a work visa. Normally, students could apply for up to 12 months of practical training before or after completion of studies. Since 2008, students whose OPT was granted on the basis of a STEM degree are eligible for a onetime 17-month extension. According to the Office of International Students and Scholars Executive Director Adria Baker, this extension currently provides students more chances to enter the annual draw for an H-1B work visa, the total number of which is fixed and insufficient for an increasingly large number of applicants.According to a document prepared by National Association of Foreign Student Advisers, in March 2014, the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers filed a lawsuit against DHS, arguing that DHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it started the STEM extension rule in 2008. The district court ruled in August 2015 that the extension rule must be vacated or re-established within six months due to procedural deficiency. The new DHS proposal, titled “Improving and Expanding Training Opportunities for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students With STEM Degrees and Cap-Gap Relief for All Eligible F-1 Students,” is a response to the court order. The campaignIn an email sent out Nov. 11, Rice Chinese Students and Scholars Association urged its recipients to chime into the public discussion about the DHS’s proposed rule.“OPT Extension is in grave danger,” the email stated. “Every international student who wants to work in the U.S. is a direct stakeholder. Regardless of when you are graduating, please take a few minutes to give a supportive comment.” Computer science master’s student and recent alumni Maggie Tang (Lovett ’15) approached RCSSA early November in hopes that the organization, as a unified body, could call Chinese students to action. One of the main proponents of the campaign, Tang said the email was a response to a flood of negative, extremist and sometimes uninformed comments. “We couldn’t control what they say, regardless of how much it hurts,” Tang said. “But if they start a large-scale offense like this, at least we need to do what we should do, to fight for ourselves … America is a democratic country, so we are telling them we think this is a win-win situation.”Tang said the email is meant to be informative, as many international students seem unaware of the situation. Some even thought this proposal already passed.“International students know very little about American legal procedures,” Tang said. “So I think this is more about spreading the word. We are just telling them there is this channel. What they end up writing is not up to us.”Tang pointed out that people are talking about interrelated but distinct issues, such as F-1 visa, OPT, OPT STEM Extension, H-1B work visa and immigration as if they are the same thing. “These are completely different problems,” Tang said. “But now they are all mixed up.”RCSSA Co-President Xiang Zhang said he has been in touch with Chinese international student associations in other U.S. universities, but he doesn’t see as much enthusiasm from other groups at Rice.“I noticed that outside of the Chinese community, other international students didn’t seem to react too strongly,” Zhang, a PhD student in applied physics, said. “I sent emails to the presidents of international student clubs such as India, Iran, Korea and Taiwan, and only got [one reply].”Indian Students at Rice, the Rice Iranian Society and the Korean International Student Association could not be reached for comment.Zhang said despite the negative comments on the internet, he has found Rice is a friendly environment for international students with both collaboration and competition with U.S. students.“In my observation, international students at Rice get along quite well with local students since they collaborate closely,” Zhang said. “Of course competition exists, but not to the extent that they become exclusive.” Rice perspectivesBaker said people who leave hurtful comments don’t see the value that international students bring and are probably uninformed.“It’s easy to say, ‘Someone’s going to take my job,’” Baker said. “But it’s probably not a job they would be taking anyway.”Rice advocates for the proposed 24-month extension, according to Baker.“As a group, we are very supportive of giving international students more opportunities because they are our alums, they are our graduates, they are the ones that are going to get better jobs because the companies are going to see that there’s more longitude to it,” Baker said. Russell Kielawa, an office assistant at the OISS, said the extended OPT program is a crucial part of international students’ education.“I can see how some people can see it as making it harder for some people to get jobs,” Kielawa, a Martel College freshman, said. “[But] I think it’s kind of necessary to have so that people can really become well-trained and achieve as far as they want in their career.” Kielawa said companies will also benefit from international students staying longer.“It’s really good for businesses and everything too, because they are getting something who really cares about what they are studying [and] want to get the most out of their experience and be the best at whatever field they are in,” Kielawa said. Worst case scenarioGiven that the court has annulled the 17-month program, if the 24-month proposal does not go through, students currently on the STEM extension would have to apply for a change of status to another nonimmigrant visa, extend their F-1 visa, or depart the U.S., according to Baker.Baker said a failure to pass the proposed rule will have other ramifications for both students and companies.“From the student perspective, it would be terrible because there would be so many students who are assuming they can stay longer, and they can’t,” Baker said. “And it’s horrible for the companies because the companies are depending on these students. They hire them because they are the best people for that field.”Tang said if STEM extension gets cancelled, American universities may lose part of its appeal to international applicants.“The primary reason I chose the U.S. was exactly that it offers better opportunities than other countries, whose immigration policies may be stricter,” Tang said. “I knew I had a chance to stay here and work, to earn back some of that tuition and gain experience.”  Best case scenarioBaker said she expects the proposed rule to be approved. “I would be surprised if it doesn’t go through,” Baker said. “They went through the proper channels this time … And there’s a lot of vested interest that it goes through.” According to Baker, while the office is excited about the changes, a 24-month extension would mean a significant addition to the OISS’s work, which will require structural adjustments. “We will have to probably institute something that will help us with the [administrative] burden,” Baker said. “But we’re still happy because it’s going to help the international students.”

NEWS 12/1/15 4:34pm

Student expelled in drug incident seeks evidence of his incrimination

By Yasna Haghdoost

A former Rice University student expelled on drug-related charges last spring wants to retract the university’s allegations against him and filed a petition through the Harris County District Court to depose another student. The petition was dismissed.Matthew Keene was Wiess College president and on the verge of graduation when he was expelled in April 2015 following a Student Judicial Programs investigation. The allegation made in the SJP proceedings was that Keene supplied the painkiller fentanyl to a student who almost died from overdose. Fentanyl is an opiate hundreds of times more potent than heroin,  according to the Center for Disease Control. In August, Keene filed a petition to take the deposition of Daniel Warren, another former Rice student. Keene’s petition sought a pre-suit deposition of Warren, whose testimony might, according to the petition, prove Keene’s innocence.“Keene’s entire life is on hold and his future uncertain until he can learn whether Warren’s testimony can clear his name,” the petition reads. Another court document filed by Keene’s attorneys indicates that Warren did not appear at the pre-suit deposition on Oct. 21, and the court dismissed Keene’s petition on Nov. 16.Warren declined to comment. According to the petition, a Rice student overdosed on fentanyl on March 20. The petition states the student later claimed to SJP that he had taken the drug from Warren’s room. It also states the student speculated that Warren had gotten the drug from Keene. According to the petition, Keene was rusticated from Rice on the basis of these claims on March 27. In accordance with rustication policies, Keene was not allowed to be on campus for any reason other than to attend classes. In a letter signed by SJP Director Lisa Zollner, Keene was expelled from Rice on April 21 and his appeal of the decision was later dismissed. The petition also states that Keene was denied a due process hearing and that he was not provided with the names of any other witnesses (apart from the student who overdosed), or the witness statements. “My ‘file,’ which was told to contain all the evidence used in the judgment of my case, contained no incriminating evidence whatsoever,” Keene said in an email interview. “Rice rested their entire investigation on third-party hearsay, something that should be extremely alarming to Rice students.”While Rice does not comment on specific student cases, Associate Dean of Undergraduates Don Ostdiek said students are informed of the charges against them.“Students have knowledge, in their charge letter, of the information we have that we would use against them,” Ostdiek said.Rice’s Code of Student Conduct states the university’s judicial procedures do not include any rights to due process. According to Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson, due process is defined differently at Rice than in an outside court system. “We make decisions based on what’s in the best interest of our student body and of the individual students involved,” Hutchinson said.Ostdiek described the judicial system at Rice as a “fair process.”However, Keene disagrees. “The current judicial system at Rice is a joke,” Keene said. “It removes the self-governance Rice pretends to empower us with and acts as judge, jury and executioner in any and all situations that they feel the need to intervene.”Despite the petition’s dismissal, Keene is still pursuing the evidence that led to his expulsion.“[The] next [step] will be giving Rice the opportunity to reveal the actual evidence against me, if any, and for the administration to see the grave mistake made by SJP so that they may reverse it,” Keene said. ‘Culture of Care’This is not the first time in recent memory that Rice students have faced expulsion within weeks of graduation amid rumors of drug-related incidents. A 2014 spring break incident in which Martel College senior Reny Jose went missing after allegedly taking LSD was followed by a string of suspensions and expulsions. At the time, the Thresher reported on one student in those proceedings who came forward with allegations of SJP misconduct. According to Hutchinson, the last few years at Rice have been marked by the introduction of new illegal substances on campus. “I’m not sure we’ve seen an increase in the prevalence [of drugs], but I think we’ve seen a shift toward substances that cause us more concern,” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson and Ostdiek maintain that student drug use is treated as a medical issue and not a disciplinary one. “I’m not moralizing about individual drug use,” Ostdiek said. “Having grown up in the 70s, I have seen that experimentation first hand. I view this as a health issue first and foremost.”As such, Ostdiek urged students to not hesitate in calling Emergency Medical Services in incidents of drug use for fear of repercussions. “I can’t think of a time SJP has initiated a drug case from an EMS report,” Ostdiek said. “SJP doesn’t get the EMS reports of any EMS call.”However, the provision of dangerous substances, such as narcotics, hallucinogens and hard alcohol, is treated as a disciplinary issue. “If you are providing, and thereby facilitating, someone else’s dangerous behavior then you are putting them at risk and we won’t tolerate that,” Hutchinson said.  ‘Mark’If you ask Mark, he’ll tell you he’s not a drug dealer. Rather, Mark, a senior whose name has been changed, describes himself as “someone who’s just willing to help his friends out because it’s mutually beneficial for everybody.”He buys weed, cocaine, mushrooms, LSD and ecstasy and sells them on campus – but only to his friends.  “I know people that sell in large quantities for good rates, and I’m willing to bear some of the risk by going and buying some and sharing it with all my friends,” Mark said. According to Mark, his profits are minimal (“rounding to the nearest five or 10, usually”) and he hasn’t risked being caught (“never once”). Mark said he’s seen rising drug use and a more open drug culture at Rice since his freshman year. “I remember when I was a freshman there was the one guy you could go smoke weed with if you wanted to smoke weed,” Mark said. Despite claiming that none of the friends he has ever given drugs to has ever been in physical danger, Mark said he admits EMS would be the last resort in emergencies for students.“I don’t think students would make that call,” Mark said. “I think students would go as long as possible without making that call.”And yet, Mark said he thinks that Rice’s “culture of care” extends more to drugs than alcohol. “People pressure you to drink more,” Mark said. “People aren’t going to pressure you to smoke more weed or pressure you to do another bump of coke if you don’t want to. You don’t usually end up by yourself when you’re doing something. If you’re doing these, you’re doing these because you’re with a group. I don’t know anyone who does acid by themselves then sits around and watches the ceiling spin.”  ‘Derek’Derek occasionally dabbles with drugs, but he doesn’t deal.“It’s mostly just spliffs on spliffs,” Derek said, referencing cigarettes rolled with marijuana and tobacco. “It’s definitely not too experimental.”Derek, another senior whose name has been changed, described the drug scene at Rice as safer and more common than what outsiders may perceive, as well as a lot more harmless. “It’s rarely, if ever, a ‘Let’s get fucked up’ thing,” Derek said. “It’s never been an aggressive drug scene.” Derek said he believes that Rice creates a safe environment for students, who are given the opportunity to be smart about their choices .“Despite the fact that we always complain about SJP, we’re spoiled as hell,” Derek said. “When something happens, the first group of people to point your finger at is SJP. When you look at the role of SJP and the context of the university, it shouldn’t be a surprise to us that someone at the end of the day is slapping your hand.”He said if students want to engage in illegal activities, the burden falls on them to be careful in not getting caught.“If we do [something illegal] we should be aware that we’re not supposed to be doing that,” Derek said. “I think a lot of students here are very desensitized to that.”Like Mark, Derek said he sees a safer community of drug use at Rice compared to alcohol.“There’s more care with drugs,” Derek said. “Because it’s more like, ‘This is how you do it, this is how much you should do your first time,’ whereas with alcohol, no one ever really keeps track of how many drinks someone has. Everyone just assumes that everyone else isn’t dumb enough to cross the boundaries.”Derek also said he sees students are reluctant to turning to EMS for drug-related incidents. “[Students] feel they would no longer be protected from getting in trouble,” Derek said. ‘Jake’Jake is a little more out there. Aside from his daily weed (“a pretty big nightcap”), he dabbles in molly and coke (“for social events”), as well as the occasional “weirder shit.”Jake, who withdrew from Rice earlier this semester for reasons unrelated to his drug use, describes what he perceived as a “culture of silence.” “I don’t think the drug use here is a huge problem, at least compared to other schools,” Jake said. “I think the climate and the culture is the biggest problem.”While Jake describes himself as a casual drug user, he said he felt a lack of trust during his time at Rice in turning to the administration if he ever needed help.“I’d definitely be worried that they’d do a forced medical leave,” he said.Jake said he perceives the general social and academic culture at Rice as the biggest barrier to addressing student drug use.“The obsession with conventional success and happiness definitely can lead certain individuals to go off the rails in a way they don’t want to process or understand,” Jake said. “Kids have gotten kicked out. I don’t think that’s a productive way to tackle the issue.” Looking ForwardHutchinson pinpoints a “prevailing libertarian view” among students on their peers’ drug use as the most difficult part of addressing this issue. “We have taught students intervention processes and bystander training in cases where they are worried that a sexual assault might take place,” Hutchinson said. “We are not yet there with substance abusers. Students are more likely to view someone else’s substance abuse as that person’s issue, not to be intervened on. We are more often than not blind to a student’s substance abuse until it rises to a problematic level.”In attempting to create a safer campus, Hutchinson urges students to come forward and speak up on what he sees to be a pressing issue. “I’m reaching out to the student body to say, help us, help your friends,” Hutchinson said.For his part, Keene hopes the administration will address what he sees as mistreatment by SJP. “I have every faith that the administration will see the injustice done by SJP once everything is brought to light and will reverse their capricious and egregious actions,” Keene said.Nonetheless, Keene looks positively on his experience at Rice despite being expelled weeks before his expected graduation. “Being a part of the amazing community of individuals that is Wiess and giving back to it as president was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Keene said. “No official and no sanction will ever destroy those memories and friendships made.”** Dec. 2, 2015 11:21 a.m. Story updated

NEWS 12/1/15 4:33pm

Leebron rejects campus carry

By Drew Keller

Rice University will continue to prohibit all weapons on campus, opting out of a new state law allowing handgun concealed carry on college campuses, President David Leebron announced Monday.Texas Senate Bill 11, which was passed by the state legislature in May, legalized concealed carry in colleges throughout the state, but contained a provision allowing private universities to opt out after consultation with students, staff and faculty. Rice must post signs at its entrances explicitly prohibiting weapons, according to the legislation.According to Leebron, Vice President for Administration Kevin Kirby headed the working group in the consultation process. The group gathered input from the Student Association, Graduate Student Association, Staff Advisory Committee and Faculty Senate.According to the final report of the working group, 85 percent of the 544 responses to the SA survey of undergraduates were in favor of opting out, as were 82 percent of the 530 responses to the GSA graduate survey. 83 percent of the 178 staff polled and 95 percent of the 138 comments to the Faculty Senate also advocated opting out. Leebron said there were several reasons for the decision to continue weapon prohibition.“One was the overwhelming reaction from every constituency,” Leebron said. “We had numerical totals of 82 to 95 percent in every constituency we had. Second was the people who would be closest to dealing with issues arising from having weapons on campus – that is, the police and the mental health professionals – they opposed it. And third is, frankly, not seeing a good argument to have guns on campus.”One argument some expressed in favor of concealed carry was the possibility of an armed citizen using a concealed weapon to fight a hostile shooter on campus.One student criticized Rice’s current policy in his anonymous SA survey response.“This school’s weapon policy is ridiculous and does more harm than good,” the student said. “I don’t trust RUPD to respond quickly to a serious threat and I’d feel much safer knowing that students are allowed to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms. I believe many school shootings in this country could have been stopped or may not have happened at all had the student body been authorized to carry.”However, Leebron said the possible positive use of weapons to stop an active shooter is overshadowed by negative effects.“The role of having random guns on campus if there’s an active shooter is disputed, particularly by the people who are most concerned about it, the police,” Leebron said.In addition to campus police organizations, the Texas University and College Counseling Directors Association, which includes Rice, opposed concealed carry. The association wrote an open letter opposing S.B. 11 in April, which Timothy Baumgartner, the director of Rice’s Counseling Center, said was representative of the opinion of Rice counseling staff. “If factors such as alcohol and other substances, unfamiliar environments, social conflicts mixed with strong emotions and the absence of supportive familial relationships are considered, ready access to a firearm may prove lethal,” the letter said.Many of the students who responded to the SA survey agreed concealed carry would increase the risk of dangerous incidents.“Campus carry should not be allowed at Rice University, a haven of higher learning,” one student said. “Considering the shooting incidents that have happened at other college campuses and the rates of consumption of drugs and alcohol on college campuses, I am outraged that Texas would even consider passing a bill such as this one.”Leebron said the opt-out provision of the law was appreciated.“We’re happy when we have leeway to adopt policies that we think are appropriate and serve the interests of Rice University,” Leebron said. “For us, that’s a national and international interest. It was pretty clear from the information we received that [concealed carry] would be a disadvantage in our competitive position around the world.”Leebron said Rice’s response to the passage of S.B. 11 was similar to the rejection of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, a proposal prohibiting discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, in Houston’s November election.“I and the university were disappointed by the outcome of the [HERO] vote,” Leebron said. “That said, Rice University will continue to be a place that is fully inclusive of its GLBT students. In both [HERO and S.B. 11], we were given as a private institution the opportunity to adopt the policies that we think are most appropriate for Rice.”Leebron said he regretted the fact that public universities in Texas cannot opt out of allowing concealed carry. Debate regarding the law has taken place at universities across the state, including a high-profile student protest at the University of Texas, Austin.“We’re sympathetic to the situation of our fellow public universities, who do not have the ability to opt out,” Leebron said.

NEWS 12/1/15 4:29pm

Rice students in Paris reflect on tragedy

By Elana Margosis

The 13 Rice students studying abroad in Paris were safe following the Nov. 13 attacks in the city left over 130 individuals dead and injured nearly 400 more, according to Associate Dean of Undergraduates Don Ostdiek. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks that rocked the city’s 2.2 million inhabitants, including Martel College junior Beatriz Mesta and Will Rice College junior Megan Moore. The Islamic State also claimed responsibility for bombings in Beirut, Lebanon that took the lives of about 40 individuals one day prior. Rice does not have a study abroad program in Beirut due to pre-existing security concerns, Ostdiek said.Mesta and Moore are enrolled in a semester-long program through Sweet Briar College. The students live with French families close to the site of some of the attacks. When Moore and Mesta first heard about the attacks, they assumed they were isolated incidents. Moore was on a trip to Rome, Italy, during the attacks. It wasn’t until a friend connected to the hotel Internet several hours after the attacks that they learned there had been shootings in Paris. “Honestly, we didn’t understand what was going on,” Moore said. “We all connected to the Internet and started receiving tons and tons of messages from people in the U.S. asking if we were okay and it was really frightening. We didn’t know what was going on. No one knew what was going on.” Mesta had gotten off the metro to meet with friends at a karaoke bar relatively far from where the attacks happened when she received a message from a friend asking if she was okay. “[She said] there were three people dead in the 11th [arrondissement] near my house,” Mesta said. “I thought it was a bar fight or something, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.” When Mesta met her friends, they began receiving calls and messages from the U.S. asking if they were okay. Unsettled, Mesta checked the news: Paris had been attacked three times. They quickly decided to go somewhere private.“We didn’t know the gravity of the situation,” Mesta said. “We didn’t know how bad it really was. We just knew we had a bad vibe.”Fearful of public transportation, Mesta and two of her friends called an Uber to take them home. The driver told them that he could not drive into the 11th arrondissement, so Mesta stayed the night at a friend’s house.Le Petit Cambodge, a local restaurant, was attacked minutes before Mesta’s 24-year-old host sister arrived for a friend’s birthday party. She was running late, but her friends had already arrived. One of her host sister’s friends was killed in the attacks, and two others were severely injured and lost limbs. Mesta said her host sister is struggling with the loss.“She feels guilty for not having been there,” Mesta said. “I guess you go through the mentality of ‘Why me and not them?’”For Mesta and Moore, the attacks were, quite literally, close to home.“I was scared to go back to my house,” Mesta said. “The Bataclan, the concert hall where there were hostages, was 600 meters from my house.” Moore’s home was also close to one of the attacks.“One of the [attackers] who tried to blow himself up was about two, three minutes from where I live,” Moore said. “It’s very different hearing about it in the news and actually knowing where those places are, knowing you walk past there.”The normally bustling streets were all but deserted the day after the attacks. “Everything was empty,” Mesta said. “It was a complete ghost town in the middle of the afternoon.” Although the city is returning to normal, Moore said, people are more anxious now. Even the sounds of children playing can cause alarm.“Sometimes in the street there will be kids playing and one will scream with happiness,” Moore said. “They’re just playing, but people tense up or get ready to run suddenly because there’s fear that something else will happen.”Mesta said she observed the same anxiety on the metro, where she used to listen to music or read a book on her commute without fear.“Now, everyone sits in silence,” Mesta said. “A suitcase fell next to me and everybody jumped to their feet.”Despite the tension and fear in the city, the students have continued their lives as normally as possible in defiance of the terror attacks. Mesta and Moore’s classes met on Monday and Mesta went out with friends the Thursday after the attacks to the bars near her house. “You hear the phrase everywhere, ‘We can’t let them win,” Mesta said.When Mesta picked up one of the seven-year-old boys she babysits from his school the following Tuesday, he showed her a drawing he made that stuck with Mesta. “He drew the concert hall and red everywhere,” Mesta said. “It hit me really hard because little kids have to live through this and he understands what’s happening.”Mesta said that despite his age, he understood what had happened.“It was very innocent, and I think that’s how we all feel, like little kids,” Mesta said. “Why are they killing? No one really understands.”Although life in the city has changed and international students in other programs left the city following the attacks, Mesta  plans to stay for the duration of the program. “I have to remember why I’m here,” Mesta said. “I want to improve my French, expand my knowledge, immerse myself in the culture. And this is part of expanding my knowledge.”Moore said she decided to stay as well.“I didn’t want to leave,” Moore said. “This is my city right here, and I want to be in Paris.”

Editor's Picks

Most Popular

The Rice Thresher