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SPORTS 11/18/15 9:01am

Homecoming Heartbreak: Nine-year homecoming winning streak comes to an end

By Aniket Tolpadi

On Homecoming 2015, the Rice University football team fell to the University of Southern Mississippi in a 65-10 defeat. The Golden Eagles were led by 386 passing yards and five touchdowns from junior quarterback Nick Mullens. The Owls’ senior quarterback Driphus Jackson was sacked five times in the first half and replaced by redshirt junior Tyler Stehling at the end of the second quarter. The homecoming loss dropped the Owls to 4-6 (2-4) on the season and extended the team’s losing streak to three games.The Owls received the opening kickoff and were able to pick up a first down courtesy of a 16-yard run from redshirt junior running back Darik Dillard, though this would be their only first down of the opening quarter. The Owls and the Golden Eagles traded punts on their opening drives, after which Mullens hit sophomore running back Ito Smith for a 28-yard touchdown pass. While the Owls forced Southern Mississippi to punt on their following drive, the Golden Eagles would find the end zone on the following possession courtesy of a fake field goal. Junior punter Tyler Sarrazin found redshirt sophomore lineman Xavier Thigpen for a touchdown that was the turning point of the game. These scores initiated the beginning of a blowout. The Owls’ inability to get on track offensively and defensively eventually led them to a 58-0 fourth quarter deficit and a devastating defeat.The Owls did attempt to turn the blowout around. Redshirt senior quarterback Driphus Jackson was pulled out of the game with his team down 28-0, having just lost a fumble and not having completed any of his eight pass attempts. The Golden Eagles racked up 682 yards of offense to Rice’s 214, gained 26 first downs to Rice’s 15 and possessed the ball for just over 31 minutes of the game. Most notably, however, Southern Mississippi set a school record by putting up an impressive 35 points in the second quarter alone, effectively deciding the game long before the final whistle.Predictably, Head Coach David Bailiff was disappointed with his team’s poor showing, and said the team’s performance can be blamed on the coaching staff.“It starts with me,” Bailiff said. “This is an embarrassing loss. We’re going to keep analyzing everything that we do from top to bottom in this program. We didn’t get to three bowl games from being bad coaches, but every year is a different year and every year is a new set of problems and we’ve got to figure out solutions to what’s happening to us.”The Owls were penalized seven times for 67 yards in the game. Bailiff said he was upset with the team’s lack of discipline and eventually changed quarterbacks to try to light a spark.“We start the game with a penalty,” Bailiff said. “Then we get a nice run from [redshirt freshman] Austin Walter on the perimeter and we get a penalty. We can’t do that, we don’t have that margin for error. When I took [Jackson] out, I was hoping Tyler [Stehling] could stimulate it and get it going.”During the postgame press conference, Bailiff said he was particularly frustrated with his team’s poor tackling on defense. According to Bailiff, the Rice team wasn’t playing with a team mentality.“Some of those missed tackles tonight weren’t missed tackles,” Bailiff said. “It’s because we tried to hit them so hard we didn’t wrap up and tackle. That’s not what we work on. We work on tackling. And when we start to put this team first and tackling instead of trying to get the big hit, then we won’t have as many missed tackles. It’s not a team-first attitude, and that’s my biggest frustration at this time.”The Owls are now 4-6 on the season with upcoming games against the University of Texas, San Antonio and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte on the schedule. They will need to win both games to qualify for a fourth consecutive bowl game. While both opponents are not of Southern Mississippi’s caliber, it remains to be seen if Rice can recover from the 55-point loss in time to salvage what remains of their season.While Bailiff and his team are undoubtedly frustrated and unhappy with these recent performances, he said they are prepared to do whatever is necessary to rectify a turbulent situation.“We’ve been a winning football team around here,” Bailiff said. “We’ve got to take this frustration and anger in our stomach and turn it into something positive on the football field. We’re going to get this figured out as a team, as a coaching staff, and it’s something I believe we can do.”The Owls will look to snap a three-game losing streak and move to 5-6 (3-4) in a matchup against UTSA in the Alamodome on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m.

OPINION 11/18/15 9:00am

SA too hasty, did not represent students

 

Last Wednesday, the Student Association passed the Senate Bill #4 for the Critical Thinking in Sexuality class. “What? They voted already? It’s over?” were many students’ reactions. Many still had questions unanswered, concerns unexpressed and misconceptions unclarified. Given this bill’s controversies and implications, why was it voted on so quickly? The bill’s outcome and your stance on it aside, this legislative process reveals a more troubling issue that the student body needs to examine: Whom does the SA represent?Before I begin, I would like to point out that most college presidents and senators held information sessions to shed light on the bill. I applaud their efforts and commend the presidents and senators who voted in accordance with the majority stance of their college. However, I question whom the SA represents because students were given only two weeks to thoughtfully form and express their opinions on this bill. Moreover, many information sessions were not held until mere days before the vote. As a result, misconceptions ran rampant among the student body because people had little time to process the information. By the time people formed knowledgeable opinions, it was too late to voice them. Ongoing discussions were vibrant and the Thresher posted three op-eds about the bill the night before the vote. But all these voices were cut short by the actual vote. With many in the SA and the task force admitting that there was tremendous misinformation, why didn’t the SA postpone the vote to address the misinformation more attentively? Why was there not a school-wide town hall to address misconceptions and questions? By rushing to vote without hosting a town hall, the SA chose to ignore the problem of misinformation. Furthermore, there was little student body input throughout the whole legislative process. The SA president introduced and advocated the bill and later changed the amendment on it. She will also head the task force that already consists of five members she selected. Since this task force will represent the student body, shouldn’t the student body as a whole have more of a say in its member selection? While the SA can now choose task force members (due to a last-minute amendment before the vote), how many members can they add to the six already selected ones before the task force becomes inefficient due to overcrowding?Lastly, while the student body was divided on the bill, the vote did not reflect this. According to surveys, Duncan was 50 percent yes, 50 percent no; Wiess 66 percent yes, 34 percent no; Martel 60 percent yes, 28 percent no, 12 percent undecided; Sid Richardson 60 percent yes, 40 percent no; and Baker 43.1 percent yes, 49.4 percent no, 7.2 percent undecided. Yet, the vote last Wednesday was an overwhelming 73 percent yes and a meager 27 percent no.This is a rare time when “apathetic” Rice students are actually passionate and vocal about an SA bill. Unfortunately, the SA cut the debate short with the vote and failed to show us they believe every student’s opinion matters. This whole process started with the “It’s Up to Us” campaign, calling each of us to help solve the sexual assault issue. At this point, however, I am very doubtful that “Us” means the student body. In the end, the student body must consider: Who does the SA represent?Aaron Huang is a Baker college sophomore.

OPINION 11/18/15 8:59am

To be Woke and a Woman and Black

By Blaque Robinson

I woke up this morning thinking about last night. I woke up this morning thinking about what was going to happen at Mizzou today, what we needed to say about Mizzou, what was happening at Yale, what needed to be said at Yale, what was going to happen at Rice today, what we needed to say at Rice.Woke refers, in my definition, to those persons of color that are constantly plugged in. We know about the latest injustices. Some talk about the ails of a capitalistic society. Some talk about power structures meant to keep people of color down. Some talk about the effects of racism on their day-to-day life. Some speak out. Some have one-on-one conversations with the perennially ignorant on their college campuses. Some work to educate other people of color around them about how the injustices our brothers and sisters face in California affect us here in Houston. Some just cry in their rooms. Some have to take an information break. Some can’t even speak.Some cannot bear the weight of staying woke.Today, I rest here. I rest fed up, too sad, beyond angry, unable to do homework, can’t think about that thesis, wishin’ I could just go get some ice cream with the besties or cuddle up with the boo thang and pretend that the world is going just the way it should and injustice is not threatening to break down my door.But I can’t. Even when I’m fed up, I still come face-to-face with injustice because I am a Black female body that just doesn’t mix it up well all the time in a white male society. Every day, even without checking my Facebook feed for the latest on injustice in America today, I wake up “woke” and I can never go back to sleep.James Baldwin so aptly said, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.”What happens to that Black woman at the back of the classroom who is faced with so much violence by being at an institution of higher learning that she can’t bear to read the next assignment for class? What happens to that Black boy whose brother was shot and killed last week, yet his teacher is yelling at him for not turning in his paper and he can’t even manage an answer because all he will do is cry? What happens to that black girl who just lost her mother and grandmother, is depressed, doesn’t want to give up her cellphone and as a result gets slammed to the floor by a school police officer?What does this mean for the Black college student trying to get into DuBois’s esteemed Talented Tenth to lift up the community who walks into her residential college commons at Rice University’s Brown College to see “most likely to be a bitch ass nigga” posted on the wall?To live in a constant state of rage is also to live in a constant state of the unknown. It is necessary, but it is unhealthy. The Black body does not suffer from the disease of rage, rather, rage is the symptom of constant exposure to the toxicity of a racist, sexist, homophobic, elitist environment. We suffer because white middle-class cis-hetero able-bodied society has chosen to hate those who are not them. Yet I, not they, am forced to come face-to-face with the realities of injustice every day.We wake to the pathologizing of the bodies we inhabit for being perpendicular to “the privileged.”Our screams, yells, cries and demands that we be recognized as human are used against us to prove just how valid the claims to our inhumanity are and the necessity of our invisibility.We are in a constant state of rage.Some cannot bear the weight of constantly being “woke.”What happens then? Blaque Robinson is a Weiss college senior.Note: I identify as a cis black able-bodied woman. So, when I say “we” I am referring to those areas of my identity that are targeted and recognize those areas which are privileged from having to be perpendicular.

NEWS 11/16/15 5:34pm

Public speaking trainer software wins OEDK Elevator Pitch Competition

By Meghana Pannala

A total of 45 student teams – an all time high – presented 90-second pitches to an audience that included 99 judges from the Houston community in this year’s undergraduate Elevator Pitch Competition, held on Nov. 12 in the Shell Auditorium.Coming in first place, and the recipient of $1,500, was team SpeakEasy, founded by Brown College senior Abhipray Sahoo and Hanszen College senior Zichao Wang.According to Sahoo and Wang, SpeakEasy is “a software-based personal trainer to assist people during their preparations for public speaking.”The product uses speech analysis and computer vision to analyze body language and facial expressions. It also incorporates virtual reality to simulate the audience experience and help individuals get rid of public speaking anxiety.In second place, and the recipient of $1,000, was team Comfortably Numb, pitched by Jones College sophomore Matthew O’Gorman, whose product helps combat a different phobia: fear of needles. The device numbs the skin at an entry site by cooling it prior to the administration of a vaccine.“I found the pitch was a great opportunity to hone my delivery skills and get feedback on our product from judges,” O’Gorman said.Comfortably Numb already has a 3-D printed prototype of their device and would like to proceed to clinical testing soon.“The [Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen] has been very instrumental in the success of our product,” O’Gorman said. “With the 3-D printer there, we have been able to rapidly prototype our device.”Rounding out the top five were teams Tube Much, OutSTENTing and RevIVe, all of which created medical devices to make medical procedures either easier or less expensive.Director of Rice Alliance Brad Burke commended this year’s competition for including more independent teams than ever before.

NEWS 11/10/15 3:47pm

‘Benchmark Revue’ struggles with inconsistent tone

By Cannon Lewis

An improvisational comedy show, a one-act play, a short story and a theater revue all have something in common: They seek to entertain in a short period of time. In an improv show, the hilarity of a constructed situation is constantly exploited; in a one-act play, constraints on length keep the action moving for the play’s duration; in short stories, the plot is often structured like a joke, with tension building to a punchline. For theater revues, however, there is no set structure. Consisting of scenes from different plays, revues are naturally somewhat eclectic and should have a unifying theme of some kind. Taking into account that loose dictum, those who put together a theater revue still have the entire catalogue of theater to choose scenes from. The ability to select scenes that work well in the format of a revue is in large part what separates directors of enjoyable theater revues from directors of more mediocre productions. Unfortunately, Hanszen Theatre’s “Benchmark: A Theatre Revue,” directed by Hanszen College junior Rachel Buissereth, is marred by an absence of this selective ability.The intended theme of “Benchmark” is, somewhat cheekily, the very bench that its title suggests. A bench, however, is not enough of a unifying idea to tie together “Benchmark,” which is for all intents and purposes a mixture of scenes whose emotional tenor and content do not in any way flow. The revue begins with a scene from “Blondes” dealing with gendered experiences on college campuses, transitions all too quickly into a monologue about 9/11 and from there proceeds through scenes dealing with marital strife, prostitution, dystopian technocracy, the death of a loved one and a terrible first date. No scene prepares you for the experience of the next, and the jarring experience of transitioning from the screaming of a woman fighting an oppressive society to a mellow, contemplative song about past love is very confusing. It is worthwhile to note here that each scene in the revue has its own director, which may contribute to the lack of cohesion.Beyond its issues with scene selection and tone, “Benchmark” also suffers from a lack of effective emotional acting in its non-musical scenes. In every scene involving anger or intense emotion, the cast suffers from the common misconception that yelling or speaking loudly is equivalent to expressing strong emotion. The acting in other scenes of “Benchmark” was also somewhat flat and stilted across the board. In “Blondes,” Jones College sophomore Kevin Mullin and Baker College freshman Sriparna Sen are supposed to be engaging in a discussion about sexuality, but the scene comes off as two people giving individual monologues. The actors’ confident tones do not match their self-deprecating words. A similar effect occurs in a scene from “Closer,” where a conversation between Hanszen College senior Thomas Weinlandt and Baker College senior Katherine Gunn about the beginning an affair feels so cold and impersonal that they might as well be discussing the bench behind them. By far the best parts of “Benchmark” are the musical numbers. From the opening ensemble performance to the finale taken from “Rent,” the singing in “Benchmark” is phenomenal and powerful. Not only are the singers talented, the combination of live accompaniment and simple direction lend these musical scenes an emotional depth not matched in the remainder of the revue. Hanszen freshman Abigail Panitz singing “See I’m Smiling” and Wiess College junior Helen Gunn singing “I’ll Be Here” are notable standouts in this regard, as both women clearly understand what they are singing and convey their messages well in the minimalist setting. It is my hope that in the future Hanszen Theatre will spend more time directing such singing and less time on the influences that led to the underwhelming remainder of “Benchmark.” In broad strokes, this would involve more contemplative, understated acting and a focus on scenes that go well together and deliver a cohesive, effective message. A more substantive theme would have improved “Benchmark,” as well as the choice of fewer scenes involving raised voices in exchange for more complex, realistic emotional situations. Future theater revues could also benefit from the incorporation of additional musical acts, as there seems to be plenty of unexplored talent in this area. 

NEWS 11/10/15 3:47pm

Rice alumnus to headline show at Fitzgerald’s

By Lydia Dick

Four years ago, Rice University alumnus Nathan Bonnes (Brown ’15) wanted to create an outlet for amateur musicians to perform at Rice. An acoustic singer-songwriter, Bonnes had played sets at coffee shops around his hometown of Corpus Christi, TX but didn’t see an outlet for performing at Rice. Coffeehouse had just moved to its larger location in the Rice Memorial Center and Bonnes, a “Keeper of Coffee,” persuaded the former general manager Christine Cooper to use the space. Bonnes opened for the first “Coffeehouse Goes Acoustic” on a Wednesday night in spring 2012. Soon, the open mic nights, later called “Espresso Yourself,” became a regular Wednesday night tradition where students could come together to play and listen to music. It was here that Bonnes first started performing and songwriting on a regular basis, collaborating with other musicians from around Rice.Fast forward to today — Bonnes is now pursuing music professionally, performing regular gigs all over Texas and starting to make a name for himself in the Texas Country music scene. His first officially released single “Broken Again” recently made the Top 100 on the Texas Regional Radio Charts. On Nov. 13, Bonnes will be headlining at Fitzgerald’s, one of the oldest and most widely recognized live music venues in the Greater Houston Area.According to Bonnes, being at Rice and collaborating with musicians from the Shepherd School of Music had a large influence on Bonnes’ music.“I think the biggest and the best thing was getting to collaborate with really different and really talented people,” Bonnes said. “So yeah, that collaboration, that’s what a lot of Rice people say is that here you get to meet so many people that are so different than you and have so many different skills.”Bonnes entered Rice as a chemistry major, but like many students entering college, wasn’t sure what direction he wanted his life to take. After his first year, Bonnes took a gap year during which he worked as a tutor, led worship at a local church and played music. It was during this time that Nathan first discovered songwriting and recorded his first EP, “New View of the Sun.”“One of the main things that I’m most excited about for songwriting is that you can take an experience that wasn’t good and you can redeem it by helping others learn from it and maybe even learning about it for yourself by reflecting on it,” Bonnes said.By the time Bonnes decided to return to Rice to complete a degree in religious studies, he knew that he wanted to pursue music professionally.“I think at the end of my time off I could have come back and completed chemistry and have gotten a good job and that would have been a fine path … But I realized that I could make a living doing the things I enjoyed,” Bonnes said.Along with writing and performing music, Bonnes continues to tutor and lead worship at his church. Although he has met some success, breaking into the Texas Country scene has not been easy.“What I’ve been doing a lot since I’ve graduated has been trying to get in contact with venues and other bands and trying to connect with them,” Bonnes said. “It’s kind of a give and take thing where you really have to earn your presence in the scene to be respected.”This will be Bonnes’ third time performing at Fitzgerald’s, but his first time headlining. Fitzgerald’s features many up-and-coming artists as well as nationally recognized acts, but isn’t traditionally a country venue, which is part of the reason Bonnes is excited about his upcoming concert.  “It’s good to be playing at a place that has a little more overlap with other genres,” Bonnes said.You can listen to Bonnes’ latest EP, “To Love and Be Loved” on Spotify, and he is planning to go back into the studio next summer to record his first full-length album. 

NEWS 11/10/15 3:46pm

‘Speak Up’ offers victims a voice

By Kaylen Strench

Wiess College senior Vicky Comesanas boldly entered the campus conversation on sexual assault last winter when she directed “The Speak Up Project,” a series of monologues delivered by actors and written by student victims of unwanted sexual experiences. The project was so well received that an encore performance was included in the Houston Fringe Festival in September. Now, Comesanas is looking for submissions for this year’s production, leading to questions about the project’s future and how it fits into the recent discussion on campus about sexual assault.Comesanas said the production’s format will stay the same: Rice University students who want to participate can submit their stories. Shortly after, Comesanas will assign the monologues to actors, who will perfect their delivery over a couple of months. Then, the cast will perform the monologues to an audience of Rice students, followed by a group discussion of sexual assault on campus.Comesanas said the main change is that the performance will run two nights instead of one, and will take place at the end of Sexual Assault Prevention Week, Jan. 29-30. Comesanas said one benefit of this change is that the integration encourages audience members to engage with the topic before the show.“It will get people thinking about the issue before they even come to the Speak Up Project,” Comesanas said. “I think that it will facilitate really good discussion after the show.”Comesanas said this year’s show is even more important now in light of discussion surrounding the recent release of the Survey of Unwanted Sexual Experiences.“I think as a campus we’re moving forward, and it’s really, really great to see that people care about this issue, especially when it wasn’t emphasized as much in previous years,” Comesanas said. “But it seems like the voices of the victims are still missing.”Comesanas said she thinks the stigma associated with victimhood discourages people from coming forward. One problem with this, she said, is that energy is completely focused on preventing future assaults when current victims exist and need support now.“Everyone is so horrified at the thought of sexual assault on campus,” Comesanas said. “But the fact is, even though we’re trying to prevent it from happening in the future, it’s already happened. We need to think about how we support the people who it’s already happened to.”Comesanas also pointed out that policies intended to combat sexual assault on campus can be very triggering for victims.“Policy can backfire for the victims,” Comesanas said. “[For instance,] Sexual Assault Prevention Week is like, the most stressful week for victims. How do you make policy in a way that’s safe for the people that have had these experiences?”Comesanas said infusing victims’ voices into the greater conversation is the only way to ensure policy both helps prevent future assaults and supports victims.“The more we have victims’ voices available, the less harmful [policies] are going to be,” Comesanas said. “Even with all of these steps, you still need to have the victims’ voices in the conversations and you need to remove that stigma that comes with being a victim.”Comesanas said the Speak Up Project addresses this problem by allowing sexual assault survivors to share their stories with the community without having to come forward publicly. “You don’t have to raise your hand and say, ‘This happened to me,’” Comesanas said. “But by putting the story out there and saying this happened to someone on campus; that’s incredibly powerful in helping to remove that stigma.”Comesanas said she experienced the impact of the show firsthand when she directed it last year.“People came up to me after the show and said, ‘Wow I didn’t know this happened on campus,’” Comesanas said. “And writers came up to me afterward telling me how cathartic it was for them.’”Finally, Comesanas urged current students with stories to submit this year.“You need to write [your story],” Comesanas said. “You need to write it because, in the end, you’re the only person who knows your story. It’s good for you, and it’s good for the community to know that these incidents are out there.”To submit or get more information, visit http://on.fb.me/1PyVEKn or email director Vicky Comesanas at vcomesanas@rice.edu.

NEWS 11/10/15 3:42pm

Campus carry working group to survey students

 

The campus carry working group has released a survey available on their website to gauge student opinion on whether the university should allow the carrying of concealed handguns on campus, as per Texas Senate Bill 11. The survey is open to all undergraduates and closes at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15.The bill, signed into law on June 13, authorizes a concealed handgun license owner to carry a concealed handgun on university campuses effective Aug. 1, 2016. Private and independent institutions have until then to decide whether to set regulations prohibiting license holders from carrying weapons on campus after consulting with students, staff and faculty. The survey is a component of a long term consultative process to decide whether Rice will opt out of the provision for private institutions. The working group has also met with the Faculty Senate, Student Association, Graduate Student Association and Staff Advisory Committee for input and will present the feedback to President David Leebron, who will make the final decision. Vice President for Administration Kevin E. Kirby said in a letter to the Rice community that the working group hopes to complete the consultative process by the end of the fall semester. More information about the bill, Rice’s weapons policy and forums for discussion can be found at ugcc.blogs.rice.edu.

NEWS 11/10/15 3:42pm

Students weigh benefits, drawbacks of small majors

By Jaecey Parham

In the five years from 2009 to 2014, the number of undergraduate students with declared humanities majors decreased by over 200 students while the number in the natural sciences division has increased by a similar amount.Some students majoring in smaller academic schools and degree programs have expressed concerns about the repercussions of majoring in areas with few students. However, others said there are benefits to being part of a small community. The School of Humanities contains the fewest undergraduate majors, according to the Office of Institutional Research: The entire humanities division held only 157 declared majors in fall 2014; comparatively, the psychology major alone, a part of the School of Social Sciences, had 209 declared students and mechanical engineering had 163. After registering for Asian Religions in America (ASIA 230) in spring 2015, Asian studies major Radhika Sharma said she was concerned the course would be canceled due to lack of enrollment, since it only had three students after the first class.“I started to ask my friends to sign up for the class before the two-week add deadline passed because we needed at least five students to be registered or the class may be cut,” Sharma, a Brown College sophomore, said.Sharma said her friends added the course the day before the deadline and dropped it soon after so that the class would not get cancelled.Some departments may cancel courses with low enrollment, according to University Registrar David Tenney (Sid Richardson ’87), but unlike many institutions, Rice does not in fact have a policy requiring a minimum number of students to enroll in the course to prevent its cancellation.“I’ve heard that some academic departments closely monitor their course enrollments during registration in order to monitor and measure demand,” Tenney said. “Our office will see a few courses cancelled before the semester starts, but very, very few.”According to Sonia Ryang, director of the Chao Center for Asian Studies, there are 25 to 30 students majoring in Asian studies at any given time and roughly 15 students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in the major each year. Sharma said she feels the largest issue with the department is the relative lack of resources present for Asian studies majors, though she said the department was working to improve.“A lot of our peer universities ... have established opportunities for Asian studies students that help them gain real-world experience and a much deeper understanding of a culture, but we are lacking in [these opportunities], which is unfortunate,” Sharma said.Likewise, medieval and early modern studies major Henry Bair said the biggest drawback of being in a small major was the smaller number of opportunities offered.“Rice already provides very little for the humanities, and being a tiny major in the humanities certainly doesn’t help,” Bair said. “This lack of resources is manifested in the dearth of publicity, guest lectures, relevant material in the library, funds for students and variety in course offerings.”Medieval and early modern studies is Rice’s smallest major; the major is interdisciplinary and has only two to three declared undergraduate students each year, according to program director and art history professor Diane Wolfthal. In 2011, there was only one MDEM major. “The highly interdisciplinary nature of the major makes it easy to see how literature, art, history, linguistics, philosophy, religion and music are all interrelated,” Bair said. Asian studies is also interdisciplinary, which Ryang said allows for faculty in both the School of Humanities and School of Social Sciences to be affiliated with the Chao Center. French studies, another small interdisciplinary major, currently has only 20 declared undergraduates. French studies major Alex Mardock, a Lovett College senior, said a small major can sometimes actually increase the resources available to each student since there is less competition. “The department awards generous scholarships to several students who hope to study abroad in France,” Mardock said. “The small size of the student population makes such opportunities attainable for most people who apply.”Asian studies major Karen Resnick said the connections students can easily build with their professors is the another advantage for the divisions with so few students. “Classes are much smaller and the program itself cares a lot about each student individually,” Resnick, a Duncan College senior, said. “They are able to devote a lot more time and resources, as well as listen to student feedback.” Additionally, Ryang said the Asian studies B.A. is well-suited for double majoring with other subjects, including math, science and engineering. Double majoring is common in many small majors. According to Deborah Nelson-Campbell, a French studies professor, out of the 20 declared majors, most of the students are double majoring. “We have a large number of majors who are pre-med and enjoy their French courses because they are so different from science courses,” Nelson-Campbell said. “Many of our majors use French after graduation as a way to increase the options that they have in the job they get with their other major.”Mardock, who is majoring solely in French studies, said the stigma that French studies is an easy major or produces graduates with poor job prospects is a drawback to majoring in a less-popular major. “I was once asked, upon telling someone my major, ‘So, what’s your other major?’” Mardock said. “Personally, I’m truly passionate about my classes and my major.”Mardock said he felt that negative perceptions of many small majors may be preventing them from enrolling more students.“I will forever be grateful for the knowledge and perspective on the world that I’ve gained throughout my time at Rice,” Mardock said. “It makes me sad to know that many of my peers are turned away from smaller majors by the external pressure of these stereotypes.”

NEWS 11/10/15 3:41pm

SA considers support for climate change resolution

 

The Student Association will be voting on whether to add its name to the Resolution on Climate Change, a petition put forth by the Texas Drought Project. The SA’s endorsement would make it one of 120 organizations and groups who have signed the resolution, bringing the Texas Drought Project closer to its 250 signature goal. According to the Texas Drought Project’s website, the resolution calls for the U.S. government to take a stance against the emission of greenhouse gases and in support of the movement away from fossil fuels at the 2015 United Nations Climate Conference, to be held this December in Paris. The conference aims to arrive at a universal agreement on climate change, following a similar conference in Copenhagen in 2012 that postponed the signing of an agreement until this year, to go into effect in 2020.The SA legislation would also call upon the Faculty Senate and the Graduate Student Association to join the SA in their support of the resolution, as well as for the university as a whole to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The resolution would be in line with the 100-Year Sustainability Plan passed by the SA in its 2011-2012 session. According to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, that plan led to a series of actions and resolutions aimed at improving campus sustainability.

NEWS 11/10/15 3:41pm

Demand for boba spurs new student business

By Elana Margosis

Rice students struggling with bubble tea addiction can say goodbye to any chance of kicking their habit. The goods will soon be domestically produced: Five students are hard at work creating a boba business here on campus.Hanszen College senior David Cooper, Lovett College senior Tommy Bennett, Martel College senior Leo Meister, Martel junior David Warren and Jones College senior Drew Sutherland created, manage and own the still-unnamed business.The students plan to begin operations selling its tea in bulk to Rice clubs for club fundraisers at the beginning of the spring semester. These flavors include plain milk tea, thai tea, coffee, taro, jasmine, oreo and other monthly flavors.According to Sutherland, the business will sell boba tea to clubs at $2.25 and deliver the drinks 10 minutes before sales begin. The tea will be made the same morning for freshness. The business will sell teas to clubs at variable quantities, instead of in orders of 100, which according to Sutherland, is an advantage over other vendors of the Taiwanese drink when selling to Rice clubs.“The clubs currently buy tea from Teahouse at $2.50 per tea in bulk orders of 100,” Sutherland said. “That provides limited flexibility. They have to bring their own coolers to Teahouse, load it all up, take it back to the campus.”Retail sales are planned to begin later in the spring semester. Sutherland said the business will sell teas in college commons.“You don’t have to walk off campus,” Sutherland said. “We’ll bring [the boba] to you.”The business began as a project for their Marketing (BUSI 380) last March, and the students spent the summer and fall semester working on research and development. The business will be privately owned by the students and will not register as a Rice-affiliated student-run business.Jones College sophomore Wesley Yee helped with taste testing and gave positive reviews.“[The] boba tasted amazing,” Yee said. “I particularly noticed how the tea wasn’t overly sweet and how the boba was soft and tasted fresh.”Eileen Huang, vice chair of the Rice Asian Pacific American Student Alliance, said that convenience will be a major factor in deciding to which business’ boba the club will sell at fundraisers.“We have used boba sales as a way to raise money in the past,” Huang, a Martel senior, said. “Most of our boba right now is from Teahouse and we usually have to drive to pick them up. Recently, [Teahouse] has not been accepting orders and it has been very inconvenient for us.” Sutherland estimates that the business will employ five to ten additional students to make and deliver the tea. The business plans to lease one of Martel College’s kitchens to prepare the tea. Martel Vice President Itzak Hinojosa said the kitchen was identified as underutilized and that the college voted to lease the space in Parliament after discussing the proposal within the college.“The vote passed and we are currently working to build a contract and the terms in which Martel will rent the space to the business,” Hinojosa said. “So far, Martel does not foresee any potential problems.”Martel senior Jonathon Stach was initially concerned about noise and space issues arising with the business’ machines, but was informed that neither would present a problem.“[I] have been told that the noise level should be minimal, and that the machines would only be operational during specific hours.” Stach said. “So long as the information proves credible, I really shouldn’t have an issue, and would welcome the easy access to boba.”Warren said the students have enjoyed strong support from faculty and staff, including Vice President for Administration Kevin Kirby, Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson, Chemistry instructor Lesa Tran and Housing and Dining. “Their assistance along the way has made this possible,” Warren said. “We are very grateful for the opportunity to make our dream a reality.”

NEWS 11/10/15 3:39pm

Missed Meals: Plan Under Review

By Hannah Che

The Student Association is working with Housing and Dining to find ways to improve the current meal plan system, which has been criticized by some students for being inflexible, according to Wiess College Senator Hannah Todd. 

NEWS 11/10/15 3:37pm

Houston defeats HERO, split on mayor

By Drew Keller

The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, a proposition to guarantee various anti-discrimination protections, was voted down by a significant majority in the Nov. 3 election. In the mayoral election, out of a field of 13 candidates, Sylvester Turner and Bill King gained enough votes to advance to a runoff election to be held Dec. 12.Turner, a Democrat, won 31.5 percent of the mayoral vote and King, a Republican, won 25.4 percent, according to the Harris County Clerk’s Office. At 16.8 percent, Democrat Adrian Garcia was the only other candidate to capture more than 1/10 of the vote. Proposition 1, supporting HERO, was defeated 61 percent to 39 percent.HERO, a measure initially passed by the Houston City Council in 2014, prohibits employment, housing and public space discrimination based on 15 characteristics including race, marital or military status, sexual orientation and gender identity. The final two were additional protections beyond what is already established by federal law.After HERO opponents submitted a petition to the city against the ordinance, legal challenges ensued that culminated in a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court requiring Houston to either repeal the law or include it on the election ballot. The campaign surrounding Tuesday’s vote gained state and national attention, including comments in favor of the proposition by President Obama.According to the Houston Chronicle, Rice University had the highest percentage of voters in favor of HERO of any precinct, with nearly 95 percent of voters at the Rice Memorial Center polling station voting yes. However, Rice had relatively low turnout at 25 percent.Austin Bae, a voting liaison, said many Rice students focus on larger elections such as the presidential contest instead of local decisions.“It seems that university students mainly focus on the ‘bigger’ elections,” Bae, a Jones College sophomore, said. “I think a lot of students nationwide forget that there are many other opportunities, in some case, necessities, to participate in elections that are crucial to making that presidential election actually mean anything.”Sam Herrera, chairman of the Rice College Republicans, said he believed King was the better mayoral candidate. According to Herrera, the Rice College Republicans will soon make an official endorsement for the runoff.“[King] addresses the biggest problems for Houston [the pension crisis, crime and the state of the roads] with effective plans,” Herrera said. “He would bring a new vision to city hall in that he is a businessman and not a career politician.”Turner has served in the Texas House of Representatives since 1989. Sid Richardson College sophomore David Cirillo, an intern with Turner’s campaign, said Turner’s experience on the House’s appropriations committee would help him deal with Houston’s debt. Cirillo also pointed to Turner’s support for HERO.“Integration and equality are tenants of who Sylvester Turner is, and his policies reflect that,” Cirillo said. “King is opposed to an equal rights ordinance. He is for a Houston in the past. Houston can’t go back. It needs to move into the future and prove that it is the city of true opportunity. It needs Sylvester Turner.”Kathryn Hokamp, public relations representative of campus advocacy group Queers & Allies, expressed surprise at HERO’s defeat. “Even after hearing the results, even after talking to opponents, I still can’t process that so many people were against HERO,” Hokamp, a Martel College senior, said. “It’s extremely eye-opening to the amount of prejudice toward LGTBQ people in this city. HERO was a bill that should have helped everyone.”Hokamp, who served as Queers & Allies president last year, said the reason for HERO’s defeat was opposition to transgender rights. Campaign for Houston, an anti-HERO organization, widely distributed advertising during the campaign alleging that HERO could allow men to pose as transgender women in order to gain access to women’s restrooms.“When the opposition to HERO became about bathrooms, it became about transphobia,” Hokamp said. “We live in a hugely transphobic city, and the election results confirm that in a scary way.” The successful opposition to HERO has caused Hokamp to rethink plans of staying in Houston after graduation.“I’ll probably end up leaving Houston because I am tired of hiding my sexuality and gender identity in professional contexts,” Hokamp said. “In Houston, any of my employers could fire me if they find out I’m gay or genderqueer, and Houston voters made it that way.”Cirillo, who is also the campus leader of pro-HERO organization Houston Unites, said he believes the vote does not reflect Houston’s values. “Houston turned out based on fear and based on lies, but I know Houston does not value discrimination,” Cirillo said. “Equality is a Houston virtue and it will not be ended by a vote of ignorance.”Cirillo said he is confident another version of HERO would be introduced to the City Council.“Thank you to every Rice student who voted,” Cirillo said. “I know, with the support of every Rice student, that an equal Houston will soon become a reality, regardless of any vote tonight that may say otherwise.”

NEWS 11/10/15 3:36pm

CS town hall confronts growth issues

By Amber Tong

A town hall organized by computer science majors drew over 50 students and faculty members to address the opportunities and challenges associated with an increasingly large CS department. Students voiced concerns about discrepancies between expectations and the reality of the department, but also optimism about an undergraduate advisory board the Computer Science Club plans to form. The undergraduate population of the CS department has soared in the past six years, growing from 107 declared majors in fall 2009 to 282 in fall 2014, according to the Office of Institutional Research.Department chair and professor of computer science Vivek Sarkar said the entire school of engineering is growing but the speed and scale of the CS department’s expansion exceeds that of the other departments.“The change has been much more dramatic for CS,” Sarkar said. “The current seniors who matriculated in 2012 have seen our major more than double in just the last three years.”Students who attended the town hall formed small groups to discuss questions provided by moderator and Associate Dean of Engineering Education Ann Saterbak. The meeting culminated in a discussion about the issues that the advisory board should address, which range from collecting data from peer institutions to working with professors on course feedback mechanisms.Saterbak said that some of the problems raised are not unique to the department.“Class size is seen as an issue in several departments,” Saterbak said. “There are two other departments where enrollment in upper-level core courses is fairly high: [chemical and mechanical engineering].”CS Club External Vice President Raymond Cano, who organized the town hall, said the presence of faculty members broadened the scope of the conversation.“The professors all brought their own unique insights, definitely making the students think about what the core issues are,” Cano said. “They also helped to clarify many misconceptions that the student body had about the department.”Wiess College freshman and CS major Tim Skaras said he attended the town hall out of concerns for the future of the department rooted in his negative experience during registration. Skaras, who had hoped to enroll in Computational Thinking (COMP 140) in fall 2015, said he was forced into Introduction to Game Programming in Python (COMP 160) due to space constraints. Skaras said this scenario was alarming because it contradicted the advertised image of Rice.“I came to Rice expecting the often quoted 6:1 student to faculty ratio,” Skaras said. “It is troubling to know the CS department struggles to fulfill that image, in the introductory classes and the upper level courses.”Lovett College junior Karin Diamond said she participated in the discussion because the issues being addressed have a personal impact.“I am feeling the effects of this growth particularly acutely at this point in the semester as I try to figure out my schedule for next semester, because I do not have a major advisor,” Diamond said.Brown College senior and CS major Jake Kornblau said the meeting was not organized as a forum where students could discuss their grievances and potential solutions. Instead, participants created a list of both the pros and cons of growth and only shared one or two.“While I applaud Dr. Saterbak for attempting to create a discussion that was balanced... I found the organization of the meeting to almost stifle discussion,” Kornblau said.Kornblau said the way the town hall was organized also limited opportunities for professors to contribute, although their input was significant when they did participate. For instance, in response to students’ concerns about not getting into COMP 140, the class’s professor, Scott Rixner, pointed out that the lenient add-drop system is part of the problem.According to Kornblau, Rixner said so many students have dropped COMP 140 that there is now more than enough space for those who originally could not register for the class.In fall 2014, the Committee of Undergraduate Curriculum proposed a limit on the number of drops per semester, but the proposal was dropped due to opposition by the student body and the Student Association.Wiess College sophomore Ethan Perez said the meeting helped him comprehend the complexity of the issues faced by the CS department. “I got a better understanding of the problems CS at Rice faces... and some of the reasoning behind decisions the department and various professors have made,” Perez said.Sarkar said he encourages students to express the problems that they are facing, but to be more careful about proposing solutions.“In my opinion, students have more credibility when they focus on stating what issues they are facing, rather how those issues should be addressed.” Sarkar said. “Because [issues are something] nobody can argue with. Those are the facts. If we agree that the ‘what’ is a problem, then we have a basis to collectively figure out ‘how’ the problem should be addressed.”According to Sarkar, the solutions can take one of two approaches: either restrict the number of CS majors, or hire more faculty members. He said the current faculty is split between the two options, but he is hopeful about investment in faculty since it is a national trend among universities. “My position is that we need to find the teaching resources to meet the increased demand of Rice students, both majors and non-majors, who want to take CS classes, rather than cap our enrollments,” Sarkar said. “That’s what all the other leading computer science departments are doing. So why should we be left behind?”Kornblau said after talking to fellow students, he feels their real complaint is that they are not given the experience promised to them.“The administration tried to present a lot of facts and spin to make it seem like the growth in CS wasn’t bad by comparison,” Kornblau said. “[Meanwhile] the CS professors were staying way later than normal hours to try and figure out what students felt they were missing out on and how to best proceed going forward.”The administration will have to step in with the resources necessary for solutions, Sarkar said. “As a department, we are limited as to what we can do to address many of the issues brought up during the CS town hall,” Sarkar said. “I look forward to a dialog at other levels of the university to discuss what can be done.”Dean of the School of Engineering Ned Thomas said the student-faculty ratio in engineering has grown too high, and new resources as well as reallocation of existing resources are needed to balance students’ freedom to pursue their aspirations with Rice’s traditional strengths. “The Data Science Initiative that was endorsed by the Board of Trustees last May will help CS through some hiring of tenure track faculty and non tenure track instructors,” Thomas said. “But still more needs to be done in order to provide a superior educational experience here at Rice.” Sarkar said the advisory board adds a structural component to running the department, which he sees as a shared responsibility. Diamond said she is optimistic about the advisory board despite concerns that it will lack in momentum of power to affect real change.“I appreciate the efforts of the CS club to find a constructive way to address the students concerns instead of just complaining about the department,” Diamond said.

OPINION 11/10/15 3:33pm

Vulnerability an essential component of college experience

 

Avoiding the odors of a communal bathroom, side-stepping vomit or watching the defiant nakedness that is Baker 13 isn’t all that enjoyable. In fact, my list is relatively demure. Yet, we all manage to cope in this microcosm of the real world that is both extremely small and incredibly close. College seems to be a long-respected tradition of throwing together a group of freshly branded “adults” while they attempt to figure out life. I don’t doubt that the potion of Rice was prudently brewed by the admission council: a little chaos, stress, intellect, quirkiness, recklessness, impulsivity and a hint of sexual tension. I had already anticipated a lot of this from college, but it’s the other half of the equation that isn’t widely broadcast: the vulnerability when practically every part of your life is exposed. I remember the first time I awkwardly watched someone cry. The culmination of stress, frustration and even confusion as to the origins of the meltdown led to the depletion of an entire bag of dark chocolate and Kleenex box. I observed as a bystander, feeling both incredibly out of place and fascinated at how abruptly I had advanced from acquaintance to newly acquired friend. This wasn’t as enjoyable as the time I watched people I had met sober during Orientation Week dance decidedly less so as that first party progressed. However, in a way, both experiences are the same. It took one instance for their exterior to crack, but once the initial level of intimacy was broken they suddenly became more accessible.We all watch each other stumble through experiences, both pleasant and painful. The way we maintain sleep deprivation, inebriation, waking up late, heartbreak or a difficult problem set aren’t difficult to find. Unlike any other time in our lives, we no longer have the option to exist under a veil of formality and ignore basic truths about ourselves. I have yet to find a more effective way to expose the true nature of a human being than to watch them undergo midterms. It’s that formative stage in any budding friendship. Some people show a more caustic, aggressive side, others an unexpected resilience and control, and even better perhaps a warmth or empathy.However, it is increasingly difficult to vilify or idolize when the identity of our acquaintances and friends unravel a little further, as their imperfections, abilities, failures and fascinations are made clearer. It gives us an opportunity to be vulnerable that few people would willingly choose. And in these relatively extraordinary circumstances, we manage to adapt. Vulnerability is an awkward word, but it’s one of the few that seems to truly characterize college life.This is my justification for the importance of a real, illustrious and slightly flawed college experience. During this time in our lives, we manage to refine our understanding of what “living” is to so many people that are drastically different than us. Our experience here allows us to embrace a more accurate representation of humanity. Perhaps this is little consolation for having to do your own laundry, waiting in that long line at Coffeehouse, or having to tolerate that one dorm that won’t turn down their music. It seems like that’s the point.Eilzabeth Myong is a Hanszen College freshman. 

OPINION 11/10/15 3:33pm

Don’t let misinformation and uncertainty sway SB#4 vote

By Cristell Perez

As noted with the rejection of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance last week, fear, uncertainty and misinformation swayed the uninformed, resulting in a majority rejection of Proposition 1. The same can be said about the current climate surrounding the “Critical Thinking in Sexuality” course here at Rice. From conversations I’ve had with various individuals, many are not well-informed on CTIS, Senate Bill #4, or the legislative process of our SA Senate. With a few days left until the vote, let’s not let misinformation, fear and uncertainty drive the opposition for Senate Bill #4.Addressing misinformation about the vote for SB#4Voting on Senate Bill #4, “Recommendation to Support First-Year Critical Thinking in Sexuality and Charter Related Task Force,” is not a vote on the curriculum for “Critical Thinking in Sexuality.” I can’t emphasize this enough. The SA is not voting on curriculum. All SA voting members will decide whether or not to support the recommendation of this potential course to the Faculty Senate. The legislation proposes the creation of a task force representative of the student body that will present a detailed outline of the course to the SA before Faculty Senate’s vote and final recommendations of the course to all other appropriate stakeholders. It does not lay out the syllabus for such a course. It does not specifically mandate certain aspects of what will be discussed in this programming.This legislation is not simply recommending a course about sex nor one that encourages all students to start having sex. The recommended course discusses much more than consent and takes Texas state law into consideration. SB#4 is not recommending a course that disrespects your beliefs, religious or otherwise.SB#4 recommends programming that would tackle six problems with six proposed tactics (shown to the right).Tackling fear about student body representationThe passing of SB#4 creates a task force made up of student representatives to work with the Faculty Senate, the University Committee on Undergraduate Curriculum and the Office of the Provost to develop and implement such programming. The current unofficial task force is made up of individuals who reached out to the SA president prior to SB#4’s public presentation on Oct. 28. They would ensure all opinions are heard and ask critical questions relating to underage students, religious values and beliefs, survivors of sexual assault, the LGBT community and the international student population, among other important topics.At this stage, details such as who will teach this course, what the curriculum will entail and whether or not an opt-out will be available have not been finalized. That is why the task force would represent the student body by asking for feedback and opinions and working with different campus resources in addition to the necessary stakeholders.Uncertainty surrounding programming should not be a deterrentNo one has brought up a solution or idea that can tackle these problems until now. SB#4 gives us the opportunity to recommend a solution to the Faculty Senate and create a task force that represents the student body. SB#4 is legislation that supports the idea of a first-year seminar that focuses on fostering community values and sexual assault prevention.Discussing community values means addressing what comprises healthy and unhealthy relationships with one’s self, friends, family and intimate partners, learning about bystander intervention and being a part of a culture of care. This includes many aspects of well-being and critical thinking about diversity — where all voices, regardless of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, abilities and disabilities are valued and respected.  Focusing on sexual assault prevention necessarily addresses community values. In effective prevention programs, students address skills like conflict resolution, assertiveness and relationship equality. Such a program would reduce stigma and address myths surrounding dating and sexual violence. It would address norms that perpetrate domestic and sexual violence such as power over others (privilege and oppression), masculinity (gender norms surrounding the classic “boys will be boys,” violence, anger, “man up,” etc.), and femininity (objectification, women as passive and gatekeepers of sex, etc.). Addressing violence as common and pervasive (in the media, for example) and types of sexual and domestic violence that are not talked about (myths around blame) are included in the programming.A portion of the opposition believes that a semester is too long for such a course or that we should simply strengthen our current O-Week session on Project SAFE. The fact of the matter is that a single session is not enough. The Center for Disease Control’s Injury Center recommends the length of such programming to be nine to 12 sessions and facilitation should use interactive conversation and activities, hence the recommendation for the programming to be spread over a semester. Speak up about SB#4We don’t simply study at Rice University. We live here. We party here. We work here. We form lifelong bonds and communities. I want to be a part of a community that not only cares about issues like preventing sexual assault and misconduct, but also takes action. That is why I am asking you to reach out to your friends to vote “YES, I support this recommendation” in your college’s poll. Reach out to your college president and senator to vote YES, reach out to your friends to join you in supporting this legislation. It’s on YOU. It’s on ME. It’s on US. Be informed, express your opinions and uncertainties and get your answers questioned before the vote for SB#4 on Nov. 11.Cristell Perez is a Baker College senior and a director of the Women's Resource Center.

OPINION 11/10/15 3:32pm

We must reframe SB #4 discussion

By Justin Onwenu and Griffin Thomas

In recent days, debate has reached a fever pitch about Senate Bill #4, a bill recommending the creation of a mandatory “Critical Thinking in Sexuality” class to combat sexual assault on Rice’s campus. This debate has grown increasingly personal and centered on process over substance. Recently, many arguments have focused on petty attacks against individuals without substantive discussion of the bill itself. These personal attacks have no place in the arena of public discourse as they cheapen the debate and distract us from the goal of combating sexual assault.

OPINION 11/10/15 3:32pm

LinkedIn is not the place to look for potential dates

 

Looking to broaden your career network? Trying to connect with business partners? Searching for that special someone to take your company to the next level? These are all perfectly reasonable expectations to have on LinkedIn, a social networking site with the mission to “connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” Therefore, it should go without saying that LinkedIn is not the place to look for potential dates. Surprisingly, this is not common knowledge, particularly with older men. In fact, a recent article on Inc.com argues that LinkedIn is the “next online dating site” and actually encourages users to seek out dating partners on a website designed to facilitate career networking. While searching for dates on LinkedIn may seem relatively harmless, it can create quite a dilemma for individuals on the receiving end of the solicitation. For example, Charlotte Proudman reported in Independent that many young women, including herself, have recently been receiving sexist messages on LinkedIn from older men asking them out on dates and inappropriately commenting on their profile pictures. Proudman argues that like everyone else on the website, these women were looking to “improve their career prospects,” not to be approached by random strangers. When Proudman called these men out for their sexist remarks on LinkedIn, the men responded with antagonism. They were rudely interfering with these women’s chances for job success by commenting on their appearances and asking them for dates instead of building real career connections that could lead to job success. Furthermore, there could also be an element of danger to this type of interaction. The information people post on LinkedIn is often much more personal and publicly available than information they post on other social media sites, because they want to be easily sought out by companies. In the wrong hands, contact information and personal history on LinkedIn profiles can become more of a liability than a convenient online resume. I used to think behaviors like these were just isolated incidents until I also received a similar message on LinkedIn. I was talking to one of my mentors at a Rice Business School networking event, when a man in his mid-30s approached me and talked to me about the consulting company he worked for. Before leaving, he gave me his card and told me to email him my resume so he could see if I would be a good fit for the company. I was excited about having a possible job opportunity at an interesting firm. Therefore, I was shocked to receive the following message on LinkedIn later that week:“Hey, How’s it going? Congratulations on your job — good on you! I didn’t exchange contact details the other day, so glad I stumbled up on (sic) your LinkedIn. It was fun chatting with you the other night at the RICE event. Do you want to get a drink sometime? Let me know, and I’ll be sure to take your number :). Cheers, ______”After reading his message, I had multiple questions going through my head including: How did he “stumble upon” my profile? Why is he asking me out, when the only thing we talked about was his company and possibly working there? Does he expect me to accept his invitation in order to get a job?In my response, I tried to politely turn the conversation back to my interest in working for the company: “Hi, ______! Thank you for your well wishes! I’m sorry I took so long to email you. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks! I emailed you my resume today, as I am really interested in possibly working in environmental consulting after I graduate this May. Could you please let me know if you received my email? I’d love to meet up for coffee sometime and learn more about the company and how I can bring value to the team. Thank you, Komal.”Not surprisingly, I did not receive a reply. To the men asking women out on LinkedIn, they might view this interaction as a man harmlessly complimenting a woman. However, as an article in The Atlantic put it, “receiving a compliment is one thing, but being put in an awkward position by a powerful person in the same industry is something else entirely. The act of networking is plenty obnoxious enough already even without considering all the gender, age and status dynamics that go into seeking career guidance from another human being.” Hence, this type of behavior creates a dilemma for female job seekers, especially those of us who are just starting to enter the workforce as college graduates. We need support from men in powerful positions in a company in order to secure jobs and start our careers on the right foot. Getting asked out and catcalled on a platform intended to build relationships to further our careers is therefore not only inappropriate but also frustrating.Komal Agarwal is a Mcmurtry College senior.

OPINION 11/10/15 3:31pm

Don’t let voter apathy win

By Charlie Paul

During Orientation Week, I registered to vote twice in the span of two days. A little strange, but let me explain. As soon as I turned 18, I registered to vote in my home state of Connecticut. Sure, I’m not living there for a while, and don’t care too much about my town’s elections, but it was the best option I thought I had. Then the Rice Vote Coalition told me that, with my on-campus Rice address, I could register to vote in Houston’s elections, so I re-registered to vote here. After all, I’m going to live on campus for four years. I care about the elections that decide who’s going to govern it.That’s not to say that I’ve been a perfect voter. Unfortunately there’s no cheat sheet for new voters — I had to figure out where to find the list of races on the ballot, research all of the candidates and figure out who to vote for. That’s quite a challenge for the average student, what with tests and homework taking up time. Most challenging of all, I had to remember all of those names on election day! But I walked into the voting booth on Tuesday with a strong understanding of the elections for mayor and controller, and a solid position on Proposition 1.As you might’ve heard, as it did manage to take the national stage, Proposition 1 — the referendum on the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance — failed by quite a large margin. I’m not here to talk about the benefits it would’ve offered, or what the next step should be — we have Google for that. I’m here to talk about the interesting trend that I noticed amongst Rice students. Rice showed an overwhelming support of Proposition 1, both through the administration’s statements and the many hours spent by volunteers helping to raise awareness on the issue. But despite all the attention that this election received, there were still plenty of eligible voters who had either not registered or simply not voted. I understand that it’s difficult, and not everybody is interested. But voting is important. This certainly was an issue that will deeply affect many Houstonians for some time. There’s almost 12 months left to register for next year’s election. Go, register and make sure to vote!Charlie Paul is a McMurtry college freshman.

OPINION 11/10/15 3:31pm

Campus discourse requires your voice

By Thresher Editorial Board

For a student body that is often self-described as uninformed and apathetic, Rice has proven in recent weeks just how powerful and outspoken our voices can be. In light of the conversations taking place all over campus on Senate Bill #4, which would create a task force to develop a course for new students on critical thinking in sexuality, we call upon more students to join the conversation on these pages. If you feel your voice is not being heard, reach out to us and use the Thresher as a platform to challenge the status quo.  Recently, at Wesleyan University, students voted to cut the newspaper’s budget due in part to the publishing of an op-ed critiquing the Black Lives Matter movement, while at Yale University, hundreds of students protested following a master’s email questioning sensitivity in regards to Halloween costumes. Both events reflect the precarious balance on college campuses between promoting free speech, challenging traditional thought and maintaining empathy towards peers. The incidents at Wesleyan especially exemplify the importance of an undergraduate paper that stimulates ongoing conversation on sensitive topics and of students being able to critically differentiate between news and opinion.  The Thresher believes it is your responsibility to challenge your peers’ ideas, and it is our responsibility to provide you a platform to do so. In line with this belief, although we reserve the right to withhold submissions, we choose to publish any opinion piece that is sent to us. It is not our place to determine the validity of an individual’s opinion. Rather, students must understand the corresponding news behind an opinion piece, and formulate their own opinion after fully examining the nuances and perspectives of the story. Students who remain largely uninformed by choosing to use opinion pieces as their sole source of information do a disservice not only to themselves but to their entire community, especially if they go on to propagate these opinions as fact. That being said, while we do try our best to report unbiased, comprehensive news, we are not infallible. It is easy to miss the quieter voices of a news story and even easier to entirely neglect those that are silent. We work hard to prevent our personal opinions from influencing the news we report, but the topics and perspectives we cover are undoubtedly shaped by the networks and connections we hold. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of you reaching out to us if you feel we are neglecting to include your voice or provide coverage of news that matters to you.  This campus is more than capable of being informed, critically examining issues and engaging in debate, but we cannot allow the conversation to begin and end with SB#4. Together, the Thresher and the student body can ensure that pertinent issues garner the coverage and conversation they deserve. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.

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