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OPINION 11/4/15 4:15am

One student can’t decide for every student

 

Over the past two weeks, the Student Association, led by President Jazz Silva, has promoted an innovative mandatory class aimed to improve Rice’s culture of sexual misconduct. Although her efforts so far have been commendable, Silva’s decision to advocate for her own plans conflicts with her responsibilities as SA President. It is the SA president’s duty to convey the opinions of the Senate and of all students, not just her own, to the faculty and administration. While I believe this course could be beneficial, the current process proposed to create it shuts out many students’ opinions.Last week, Silva and the Duncan College President Colin Shaw introduced Senate Bill 4, which would create a task force to develop a curriculum for the Critical Thinking in Sexuality course. While introducing the legislation, Silva outlined details of the course not specified in the legislation’s content that should be left for the task force to determine. When the members of the Senate vote on this legislation, they will be forced to vote on the idea of the class regardless of its content. While many students support the idea of the course, far fewer support all of the technically undecided details. SA members must consider whether the task force will actually debate issues relevant to developing the course or simply accept the solutions Silva proposes.Silva first mentioned her idea for a mandatory first-year sexual education class to the SA Senate one week before receiving feedback from students at the well-attended “It’s Up to Us” town hall. Senators made numerous suggestions to Silva that, for the most part, were not addressed and did not make it into the proposal. Silva first informed the college presidents about the details of the class only after she released them to the Thresher, giving the presidents no time to offer her their feedback. Silva has dismissed others’ views while considering the course, revealing the problems inherent to her conflict of interest. As a result, Silva should limit her influence on the course development process. Creating a task force should help create a balanced solution so long as its members explore the breadth of student opinion. Accordingly, I support the creation of a task force to construct the curriculum. In order to increase the task force’s accountability, Senate approved an amendment proposed by Brown College President Tom Carroll requiring the SA’s vote of approval on the plan the task force produces before it is presented to the Faculty Senate. A vote of approval would indicate to faculty members if students support the class before they conduct their own vote. Surprisingly, Silva informed the Senators that she interpreted this amendment to allow the Senate vote to occur after the Faculty Senate had already approved the course for the curriculum, depriving the Faculty of an opportunity to gauge student support of the curriculum change.Still, in theory, a task force should resolve this issue by ensuring its product fairly represents student opinion. The Senate often votes to select members of task forces, but according to the legislation, only the SA president can appoint members of this task force, allowing Silva deep control over the legislation’s direction and making it possible to build a task force unrepresentative of the breadth of student opinion. If the Senate is able to appoint members to the task force and vote on the proposal for a curriculum change before the faculty vote, the final course will better serve the community.The SA president has served our community admirably by taking an aggressive stance against a culture allowing sexual assault on campus, but the Senate should not treat Silva’s proposal any differently than one proposed by another student. In order to ensure that one student’s voice does not dictate a policy that will affect generations of future students, Silva should separate herself and her strong opinions from the debate, planning and implementation of the course, and she should not be responsible for appointing members to the task force. Furthermore, Silva should allow the Student Senate to vote on the proposal for curriculum change before the Faculty Senate initially votes on it, staying true to the spirit of Carroll’s amendment. For this course to succeed and for students to engage its mission, all students must be invested and on board with the plan, not just one.Jake Nyquist is a Will Rice College sophomore, SA Senator and the Thresher Photo Editor

OPINION 11/4/15 4:15am

Letter to the Editor: #ThinkAbtWar

 

On October 22, we in the “Dear Rice Community” received an email notifying us that an Army Apache helicopter and Stryker armored vehicle would be on campus, inviting us to admire them and take advantage of the photo op. The idea behind this event, which coincided with a Rice v. West Point football game, was presumably to celebrate the work of the military in a time of ongoing war. As an anthropologist who studies the ramifications of war violence in the lives of American soldiers, veterans, and their families, I think acknowledging that hardship and labor, and thinking carefully about what it really entails, is extremely important. And this is exactly why I was profoundly disturbed by this stunt.  Treating these deadly weapons as an opportunity to snap a selfie simultaneously erases and glorifies the violent power of war. Were we to think about what happens when metal meets flesh, we might not treat it so cavalierly. If we are going to make a space on campus for acknowledging the work of war, we must do so as part of a public conversation. And we must think carefully about the violence that is the heart of that work. A campuswide email enjoining us to celebrate a sanitized image of war’s power with a “go owls” chant shuts such conversation down.  In this instance, evidence of this horrifying power is readily available. The notorious “Collateral Murder” videos released by Wikileaks in 2010 depict a 2007 US aerial assault in Baghdad in which at least 9 innocent Iraqi civilians, including a Reuters journalist, and dozens of others were grievously injured, including two children in a van whose driver was attempting to rescue the wounded. These videos were shot from onboard the Apache helicopters from Fort Hood’s First Cavalry Division who carried out the assault.If the Apache on our campus this weekend was one of those used in the 2007 attack, would we still be happy to pose for a picture with it? And if it was not, why should we feel any different?It is a disturbing irony that at the very same moment we are voicing our grave concerns, even our disgust, at the idea of guns on our campus, we seem willing to ignore, or even celebrate, the presence of these other weapons. In the campus carry conversation here at Rice, many have noted that weapons and the aura of violence they bring are incompatible with the environment of learning we seek to create. Surely, then, before inviting military vehicles onto our campus we would want to at least consider the effect of the presence of these behemoths armed with 30 mm and .50 caliber machine guns, hellfire missiles and rocket launchers.What might the spectacle of weapons of war on our college campus signify to the members of this community whose diversity we prize? What terrible histories might this reenact? For our Egyptian or Palestinian colleagues whose universities have been specially targeted for military oppression? For members of our community involved in #blacklivesmatter, catalyzed both by the state-sanctioned killing of young black citizens and also by the militarized violence that meets their protests? For those among us whose lives are marked by the threat and use of military weapons on the Texas-Mexico border?  For those who remember all too well that mere decades ago, military weapons on American college campuses threatened and took the lives of students? Or for those who have themselves fired these weapons, who do not have the luxury of glamorizing their violent power, or who know in their aching bones what it feels like to be blown up inside a Stryker (a vehicle that might save you, but not your buddy, or might keep you alive and shattered at the same time)? We owe it to our community to think carefully about such things. And if the aim of this stunt was indeed to acknowledge the work of the military in this time of ongoing war, let us please think carefully about that too. Now, in anticipation of Veteran’s Day, we have an opportunity to do just that. Between now and November 11, learn something new about lived experiences of war in America today. Share something you know about it with other members of the Rice community. Ask your students to consider what the military weapons on our campus this weekend showed, and what they hid. Talk to your friends about what they think. Share this letter on social media. And tweet your thoughts with the tag #ThinkAbtWar. Zoë H. Wool, Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Anthropology at Rice University

NEWS 11/4/15 3:56am

Rice club uses music to heal

By Minoti Kale

Rice has several clubs geared toward meeting the demands of many varied student interests, but few unite those coming from backgrounds as different as the humanities and medicine. Music MDs, a music therapy-based Rice club that was founded in fall 2014, does just that. Music MD’s roots lie in Florida where the club’s founder, Duncan College junior Varun Bansal, originally started the organization in high school.  The club consists of a group of student musicians, each highly proficient in their chosen area of music, who play music for patients at Houston Methodist Hospital. “What we basically do is go up to patient floors and play in individual patient rooms after asking the patients if they’d like to hear some music,” Bansal said. The members of the organization also have to meet the Methodist volunteer requirements and are a part of the general Methodist volunteer group.Though club members have not gone through formal therapy training, the club operates on the basic principles of music therapy. Though a relatively new health profession, music therapy has been proven to be very effective in assisting with physical therapy, and is also a positive motivator for patients who are undergoing intense medical treatments. The music session dates are organized by the club, in conjunction with the hospital, at the beginning of each month, and members sign up for the times when they are available. Usually a group of around seven people sign up and split into smaller groups of two or three people per room. Each group then plays a short selection of pieces for the patient.The pieces played are usually chosen by the students before they go to the hospital, based on their varying levels of experience. The repertoire covers a wide range of musical styles, though according to Bansal, it is more common for classical pieces and folk music to be requested.“We also have to make sure that the pieces we choose aren’t too long so we don’t interfere with medical care and other hospital protocols,” Bansal said. Though the pieces are generally selected by the students, patients can also request to have specific pieces played beforehand. Some more spontaneous song choices include playing “Happy Birthday” for the patients as a part of hospital birthday celebrations.“Patients in the hospital are out of their normal social  environment,” Bansal said. “What we’re trying to do is try to restore the normalcy of that environment and facilitate interaction with other people, which is something that several of these patients may miss out on.”According to Bansal and Jones College junior Julia Zhang, the music they play essentially serves as an icebreaker for conversation. “It allows us to engage with the patients. Bansal said. “Many times patients enjoy talking about famous musicians they’ve seen and they often have a child or a grandchild who plays an instrument, so playing music for them really helps with generating conversation.” Having such conversations has been clinically proven to help the patients feel happier and more socially connected, which is important to the healing process.Interacting with patients, however, isn’t always easy. According to Bansal and Zhang, students have to learn to not take rejection personally. Many of the hospital patients the students play for have been through long, difficult surgeries and are often in a lot of pain. “If a patient doesn’t want to hear something, you need to be understanding about that,” Bansal said. “Patients sometimes also have very strong opinions about things that you don’t necessarily agree with, but you have to be very sensitive to these feelings and ideas and must be very conciliatory in such situations.”Despite some difficulties, both Bansal and Zhang have found the program incredibly rewarding and several students in the club have received many positive testimonials and feedback from the patients they have played for. According to Bansal, his most memorable experience with the club came from a session with a patient who had recently had open-heart surgery. “She said that she felt like with the music that was played, every note was going right into her heart to heal it,” Bansal said. “That was very touching.”According to Zhang, the club also provides a distinctive experience for students and musicians to experience the medical environment in healthcare in a way that is very different from traditional shadowing. “It feels very involved,” Zhang said. “I think the program gives you a better idea of the empathetic side of what being a doctor would be like — interacting with them, caring for them, talking about their day and trying to help them feel better; and I feel like it is a really unique experience that you don’t really get  when you generally volunteer in the hospital.”Though the organization started in Florida, it already has a branch in Massachusetts, in addition to this newest one through Rice. “We might also try to expand our Houston program to Texas Children’s Hospital as well and to other public hospitals like Memorial Hermann,” Bansal said. “But we will definitely continue with Methodist as it has been a great experience.”

NEWS 11/4/15 3:53am

'The Altruists' blends experience, new talent

By Ryan Lee

Most protests are reactions against injustice, but sometimes, people protest for the sake of protesting itself. “The Altruists,” written by Nicky Silver, explores the lives of three such self-identified “professional protesters,” whose “sticking up to the man” mantra results in one of them being framed for murder. Directed by Rice alumna Susannah Eig (Jones ’14) and produced by Lovett College junior Mei Tan, the Rice Players Company’s performance of “The Altruists” captures the beating heart of a satirical and whimsical true story.The Rice Players chose “The Altruists” as their fall production for several reasons: First, the play is a comedy, and thus a unique departure from other works they have chosen in the past. In addition, the five-person cast and the 90-minute runtime suit their relatively small team. Finally, according to Eig and Tan, the show shares great thematic relevance to the Houston community.Eig explained that the plot, which centers on society pinning a crime on the wrong man, has special meaning in a city with one of the nation’s highest crime rates among the low-income and minorities. She said the show asks of its audience, “Are we just allowed to use people as scapegoats and say we’re good people at the same time?”Tan also noted that the play demands an examination of the way the criminal justice system affects individuals, and not just the world at large.“The play should resonate,  especially in a society where we can go on Facebook and share a cause, and we can hit ‘like’ on something that we feel is good for humanity,” Tan said. “‘Do we actually care about the people at the core of this?’ is the question that it asks.”Both directors have extensive backgrounds in theater. Eig started building her acting and directing experience in high school. Throughout her years at Rice, she continued to develop her skills by directing and assisting on plays such as “Baltimore’s Waltz” and “The Mystery Plays.” Tan’s participation in theater also began during high school and carried into college. Her freshman year, she acted in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” where she first met Eig. More recently, she has assisted with costume design for the Rice visual and dramatic arts department’s “Paganini” and “The Heidi Chronicles,” directed theater at Lovett College and assisted with a campus production of “Twelfth Night.” The Rice Players strive to achieve a professional production quality with a cast of unprofessional actors. For example, many students, including the stage manager, costume designer and set designer, had minimal to no production experience prior to “The Altruists.” To Tan, these limitations actually provide the actors and crew with more growth opportunities and freedom to develop their artistic vision.“One of the main pillars of Rice Players Company’s philosophy is that we want to be a teaching company,” Tan said. “You want [the team members] to see this as a place where they can experiment.”Tan and Eig said the production process has thus far been both plagued and blessed by surprises. At one end of the spectrum, various contractual and scheduling conflicts with professionals, including the prop and lighting designers, led to a scramble to fill gaps in the crew. At the other end, unexpected aid came in the form of an email from the playwright, Nicky Silver, who provided an updated version of the 14-year-old script, intended to fix some now-anachronistic details.Eig said she predicts that audience members will not pick up on the months of planning and preparation it took to pull off the play. She noted, however, that this is intentional.“[The audience members] literally sit there, and the lights come on, and they don’t have to think,” Eig said. “That’s our goal — to get the audience to be so lost in what’s happening in front of them that they forget their grocery list, they forget what they had for dinner — they’re just in this story.” Eig is currently working as actor and director in the theater business and applying for graduate programs in theater. As for Tan, after “The Altruists” ends, she plans to work on a production of Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice.” Rice Players will perform “The Altruists” from Nov. 12 to 21 in Hamman Hall.

NEWS 11/4/15 3:49am

Student health services issues warning on asp caterpillars following increase in EMS calls for venomous stings

 

Squirrels are no longer the only species on campus that students should watch out for. According to Student Health Services, Rice Emergency Medical Services has handled a large number of cases of asp caterpillar stings over the past week. Asps, also known as flannel moths, reside primarily in trees and shrubs during the fall months and are characterized by their teardrop shape and yellowish or reddish brown fur. But don’t be fooled by their furry appearance. Asps are coated with venomous spines that sting the skin upon contact, causing a painful rash. Health Services said that if stung by an asp, it is best to rinse the affected area with soap and water, use tape to pull out remaining hairs, apply ice to the area, take an oral antihistamine (such as Benadryl) and apply a topical hydrocortisone. If the symptoms persist or are more severe, such as shortness of breath, Health Services said EMS should be called immediately. Those with a history of allergies to insects should seek immediate care. Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson warned the Rice community about the asps on his Facebook page.“These things are quite unpleasant,” Hutchinson said.

NEWS 11/4/15 3:25am

Teaching consultations draw faculty interest

By Andrew Ligeralde

Rice’s Center for Teaching Excellence offers services such as teaching consultations, in class observations and workshops to help individual instructors develop effective teaching methods. According to CTE Director Joshua Eyler, 34 percent of instructional faculty utilized these services from the center’s founding in 2012 to March 2015. “We always want more, but we are very pleased with that figure,” Eyler said. “In comparison with our peers, that’s high. We are at least on the same curve as our peers like Northwestern [University], which has a very established center that’s been around for decades.”Faculty schedule appointments with the CTE on an individual basis and can have CTE members sit in on their classes to follow up. All consultations are confidential and operate independently of the university’s official evaluative structure, which deals with tenure, promotion and student evaluations, according to Eyler.“Faculty can come to us without any worry about how it will affect their career,” Eyler said. “For someone to talk about their teaching, that’s a very personal thing.” Due to the confidentiality policy, there is no public record of courses that have been changed or restructured through consultation services. Baker College sophomore Alex Hayes said he wants to see more transparency in how teaching consultations may improve courses. “I would like to know if utilization of CTE services actually results in improved courses,” Hayes said. “We have course review data, so this shouldn’t be difficult.” According to Eyler, there are no reliable ways to measure course improvement. “There are methods to measure effectiveness of our services but none are perfect,” Eyler said.Steven Cox, a CTE fellow, said the center does not gather data on course improvement. “The CTE is a resource for teachers at Rice,” Cox said. “Those that seek consultations with the CTE expect and deserve a consultation fitted to their unique station rather than to a generic rubric. As no metric is applied, no data is gathered.Baker College sophomore Emily Rao said she would like to see the effects of student feedback.“Increased transparency especially in large intro classes would be really helpful,” Rao said.Cox said student evaluations of courses are sometimes used in CTE consultations. “As each consultation is tailored to the individual, it is up to that individual to bring student evaluations into the mix,” Cox said.Student feedback has been incorporated into several of the CTE’s counterpart programs. Northwestern University’s Searle Center for Advanced Learning and Teaching, established in 1992, offers discussion groups for students to provide constructive feedback directly to their professors, according to the Searle Center’s website.Duncan College sophomore Manlin Yao said she is in favor of a dialogue between professors and students about the quality of instruction.“Even with the end-of-semester course reviews, there might not actually be a change in instruction,” Yao said. “Students would also be more honest if they knew that their reviews are actually being considered.Hayes said the faculty are inconsistent in considering  student evaluations.“I was frustrated to learn that one of my professors from last year didn’t even know she had received student feedback,” Hayes said.According to Eyler, the best route for a student is to raise concerns about a course directly with the professor first, with the department chair second and with the school dean third. “Because the CTE is not an evaluative office, we would not be involved with complaints in this way,” Eyler said. Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson said students have approached him with such complaints in the past. “There are a number of cases of students letting me know of their concerns about the teaching in a specific course, Hutchinson said. “Students do come to me for advice or assistance, and we are always able to work through a process that results in improvement.”All statistics available at the CTE are presented publicly at the annual Advisory Board Meeting in March. 

NEWS 11/4/15 3:24am

Senate bill raises concerns

By Drew Keller and Amber Tong

Student Association President Jazz Silva officially introduced a bill creating a task force to spearhead the design of a mandatory Critical Thinking in Sexuality course for incoming freshmen at the Oct. 28 Senate meeting. Since her presentation, an amendment to mandate a second round of SA voting has been added to the bill.  The vote, which was originally scheduled to Nov. 4, will now take place on Nov. 11. Students across campus continue to express concerns to their representatives before they vote on the bill. The task force created by Senate Bill #4 is charged with developing a course addressing healthy relationships, sexuality perspectives, safe sex, bystander intervention and sexual assault prevention. Silva, a Sid Richardson College senior, first announced her proposal on Oct. 21, following a campus-wide discussion of the results of Survey of Unwanted Sexual Encounters on Oct. 7.  Task ForceAccording to Silva, the task force will work with the Committee on Undergraduate Curriculum to develop the course outline, which will then be presented to the Faculty Senate for approval. The legislation names three initial members of the task force from the SA: Duncan College President Colin Shaw, who co-proposed the legislation with Silva, Hanszen College President Angela Masciale and Sid Richardson College New Student Representative Ramee Saleh. The initial task force also includes Women’s Resource Center Co-Director Cristell Perez and Brown College junior James Carter, referred to as a “General Student Body Representative.”“The task force members consist of students who are highly informed about the SUSE results, bring a variety of perspectives to the table, feel passionately about the program, and can think critically about the program,” Silva said. “Most of these people have been working on the proposal for quite some time.”Carter said Silva asked him to be on the task force for his perspective as a black male and role as a past Orientation Week Coordinator. “While I don’t have an official position that entitles me to have an opinion, I think that was something else Jazz wanted to have on the task force: someone who doesn’t have a pointed position, who wasn’t already on the SA, someone who’s just a community member,” Carter said. Recalling the task force’s first meeting, Carter said the five members brought different perspectives and opinions, though they were all appointed by Silva.“Everyone in the room was critical, not in a bad way – there was a lot of thought that went into the conversation we had,” Carter said. “It wasn’t like everyone in the room was on board with how everything was being presented already.”Perez, a Baker College senior, said she gave feedback as Silva was developing the class proposal, leading Silva to invite her to join the task force. “We kind of had the same visions for certain initiatives and approaches for addressing different issues,” Perez said. “I think I do bring a lot of different aspects to this task force, but definitely we still need more diversity. I think we need more people of color as well as more queer people.”Silva said the task force will add more members, though she said it could not add too many without losing effectiveness, with a hypothetical maximum of seven or eight members. She said students who are not on the task force can still get involved in the process by submitting feedback.“I’m going to make sure every single piece of feedback, whether it be completely in line with what I believe, or completely outlandish, it’s all on the table,” Silva said. AmendmentAfter the presentation of the bill, the Senate added an amendment requiring the task force to present a detailed course outline to the SA for approval before final approval by the Faculty Senate. The amendment was proposed by Brown College President Tom Carroll. Carroll, a senior, said the amendment’s goal is to allow students the opportunity to stand not just behind the spirit of the course but also its logistics, which he said seems to be many students’ major concern.“Some students are wary of giving final support before they know more about what the final structure of the class would look like,” Carroll said. “This amendment results in a proposal which better balances the urgency of getting this course implemented in a short time span with the critical need for student engagement and buy-in throughout the unprecedented process creating this course would involve.”Silva said while the task force may not be able to present a detailed course outline before meeting with the Faculty Senate, it will provide updates to the Senate later in the development process.“The spirit of the amendment is that throughout the process the task force will be reporting and [Senate] will have some sort of voice of whether they agree with how the process is going,” Silva said. “As a governing body that is trusting, we are just going to respect what the spirit was.”Carroll emphasized the function of additional voting by the SA under his amendment is simply to gauge student opinion, not halt the process of creating the course. “This final vote will not be a restriction for the working group going forward with the [Faculty] Senate,” Carroll said. “It would just be to get an idea of where the students stand on this.”Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson said in the meeting the administration is willing to support whatever initiatives the student body decides to implement. He said the language of the legislation is similar to the initial proposal to create First-Year Writing Intensive Seminars in 2012, which was also voted upon before the curriculum was completely outlined. DelayAt the Oct. 28 meeting, voting on the bill was planned for the Senate meeting a week later on Nov. 4. However, in an email distributing the agenda for the Nov. 4 meeting, SA Secretary Brianna Singh announced that voting would be delayed. According to a website created by Silva supporting the bill, voting is now planned for the Nov. 11 Senate meeting.“Timing is everything, and we wanted to make sure you all have adequate time and notice to discuss this at your colleges,” Singh, a Hanszen College sophomore, said in the email.Jake Nyquist, the Senator from Will Rice College, said minor revisions were made to the legislation before and after the bill’s presentation on Oct. 28, but a full copy of the revised bill was not distributed at the meeting or posted online immediately afterward. Nyquist, a sophomore, said he reached out to the Cabinet and SA Parliamentarian Annabelle McIntire-Gavlick, for a final copy but did not receive the final text for two days. The SA Constitution states that a full copy of a bill must be provided at a Senate meeting at least a week before voting occurs. So, according to Nyquist, the delay in voting was required because a vote on Nov. 4 would be unconstitutional. McIntire-Gavlick, a Lovett College junior, and Perez confirmed that the constitutional requirement of prior notice was the reason for the voting delay. ResponsesAt the SA meeting, Duncan College Senator Reagan Kapp said she is concerned about how to evaluate the course’s success. “We need to be concerned about the practical implementation and effectiveness of the course in the long run,” Kapp, a sophomore, said. “It is crucial that we be able to ascertain whether or not our response is helping fix the problem.”In response to Kapp’s question, as well as others regarding implementation, Silva said she would defer practical judgments to the task force.Silva also addressed the suggestion that the course should include general well-being topics.“What we have at Rice is a lot of catch-alls,” Silva said. “Right now what we’re trying to solve is this problem of sexual assault on campus. We are going to give that its own attention.”At the meeting, Wiess College freshman Avery Johnson questioned whether lack of knowledge is the real cause of sexual assault.“Are these high rates of unwanted sexual experiences at Rice University due to under-education about consent or due to Rice being a ‘wet’ campus?” Johnson asked. “This proposal, although having good intentions, may be unnecessary.” Carroll said he thinks solving sexual assault requires a novel and aggressive approach, which is why he supports the legislation and wants to ensure its smooth passing.“What we’ve seen around the country is that traditional programming has not been sufficiently effective at combating sexual [misconduct],” Carroll said. “This is the only potential solution I’ve heard of that brings everyone to the table in a way [to] allow for meaningful discussion and creation of a shared understanding of community values.”Senators from several colleges, including Duncan, Lovett, Martel, Wiess and Will Rice Colleges, have been seeking feedback from their constituents. According to Kapp, who initially believed Duncan to be generally in support of the proposal, results from the anonymous survey revealed an alarming split. Kapp said she is concerned the current discussion atmosphere is making dissenters reluctant to share their opinions for fear that their views will not be respected or considered seriously.“The conversations that we are having in public about the proposed course might not be representative of the opinion split of the entire student body,” Kapp said. “The fact that these results surprised me so much makes me worry that those who do not support the course do not feel comfortable sharing their opinions in public discourse.” Martel College Senator Marisa Hudson said she has received mixed responses from Martel. Hudson, a sophomore, said most concerns revolve around a few aspects of the class: enforcing mandatory attendance, finding appropriate teachers, course duration, inclusion of LGBT classes and  students who may be triggered by these topics.

NEWS 11/4/15 3:23am

Honor Council seeks student feedback

By Anita Alem

The Honor Council Working Group may consider major structural changes depending upon the responses gathered from the Survey of All Students, released on Monday, Nov. 2. According to Honor Council Chair Alex Metcalf, the working group hopes to hear from both student and faculty experiences to explore the Rice community’s understanding of the honor system.

NEWS 11/4/15 3:22am

Demonstration in solidarity with black women draws professors, students

By Anita Alem

Rice University students held a demonstration in the academic quad to show support for black females following an incident of a school sheriff throwing and dragging a black female student at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina. From noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, students held signs bearing statements such as “Black female lives matter,” and black women linked arms in front of Willy’s Statue. Several students also performed spoken word, sang and wrote cards to the student who was thrown by the officer, as well as her friend, who filmed the event and has been charged with disrupting school, a misdemeanor in South Carolina. About 80 students attended, including black males and females as well as other student and professor allies.The main organizers of the event were Martel College senior Chavonte Wright and Wiess College senior Blaque Robinson. At the close of the event, Robinson said a few words to summarize their goals.“We will not just be angry women,” Robinson said. “We will not just be your booty-popping party girl. We will not just be the girl you have sex with to see what black ass is like. We are black women and we are human.”Robinson said she wanted students in attendance to not walk away having just supported black women for the day but to continue to recognize black women.“Thank the black women who cook your food and clean your room,” Robinson said. “Don’t just walk by like they don’t exist. Smile and say hello. Thank the black women administrators and staff who work behind the scenes to make sure your Rice experience is all that it can be.”According to Director of Multicultural Affairs Catherine Clack, the Office of Multicultural Affairs provided the supplies for posters and cards but was not involved in organizing the event itself, which was part of Wright and Robinson’s Activism Initiative under the OMA.“This is a beautiful event [and] a worthy event,” Clack said. “I’m tremendously proud of Rice University for responding in the way that it has today because this issue affects all of us. We need to all be aware and all care about what’s going on.”Wright said she hoped the demonstration would not be seen as a response to an isolated case of police brutality.“The purpose of the Black Lives Matter movement is to call attention to underlying issues in this country that are produced by racism, capitalism and patriarchy, and how those come to victimize black people more than [they do] any other demographic,” Wright said.Videos of the incident at Spring Valley High School have gone viral since they were first released Oct. 26. According to reports, after the student refused the teacher’s request to leave the classroom, a white sheriff’s deputy who served as a coach on the football team, was called in. The officer wrapped his arm around the student’s neck, flipped her out of her seat and dragged her across the floor. The officer has since been fired with no charges; the charges against the two students have not been dropped. On Friday, approximately 100 students at the school staged a walkout in support of the officer.

NEWS 11/3/15 8:25pm

Houston voters reject equal rights ordinance

By Drew Keller

The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), a controversial law guaranteeing various anti-discrimination protections, was voted down by a significant majority in the Nov. 3 election.HERO, a measure initially passed by the Houston City Council in 2014, prohibits employment, housing and public space discrimination due to many 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.With all voting precincts reporting, a total of 100,427 citizens or 39 percent voted in favor of Houston Proposition 1, supporting HERO, while 156,882 or 61 percent voted against, according to the Harris County Clerk’s Office.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 trans women in order to gain access to women’s restrooms.“When the opposition to HERO became about bathrooms, it became about transphobia. We live in a hugely transphobic city, and the election results confirm that in a scary way,” Hokamp said. “I’ll probably end up leaving Houston because I am tired of hiding my sexuality and gender identity in professional contexts … 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.”David Cirillo, the campus leader of pro-HERO organization Houston Unites, said he believes the vote does not reflect Houston’s true values.“Houston turned out based on fear and based on lies, but I know Houston does not value discrimination,” Cirillo, a Sid Richardson College sophomore, said. “Equality is a Houston virtue and it will not be ended by a vote of ignorance.”Cirillo is also involved with the Rice Queer Resource Center and Rice affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union as well as serving as a communication director for the Rice Young Democrats. He said he was confident another version of HERO would be introduced to Houston’s 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 11/3/15 7:06pm

‘Space Puppets’ land in Matchbox Gallery

By Kaylen Strench

Space puppets have invaded Rice University. That’s right, for the next month, Matchbox Gallery’s latest exhibition, “Space Puppet Relay Team: Project Terra,” will feature a couple of eccentric puppets and various space and earth paraphernalia, including brightly colored samples supposedly derived from extraterrestrial soil and a handmade space capsule. The project was first initiated by Emily Link, a 2008 University of Houston graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio painting. Though Link said she has always been interested in space, when she encountered a grant for a space-art project, she immediately passed it along to her friend Nick Bontrager, an artist in Fort Worth, TX, known for his interdisciplinary focus.“Nick and I are both big space fans,” Link said. “So at first I sent the grant application to him. I said, ‘Nick, you’re a space nerd, why don’t you do this?’”Link realized soon after, however, that the grant applied only to projects within 75 miles of Houston. In order for Bontrager to contribute from afar, Link would need to be on the project and the artists had to establish a “relay” system such that they could work together despite the distance.“We had to use FedEx as our ‘mission control,’” Bontrager said. “We mailed a lot of things to each other: Emily would send me fabric, I would send her a lot of 3-D printed stuff. So that’s our space program right now; it kind of exists off the highways of Texas.”Both Link and Bontrager said this creation process helped inform their work.“We decided to each make a traveler and his or her vessel, and they would be shared between us,” Link said.“Travelers” is left intentionally vague, as these puppets represent both space voyagers and conduits between Link and Bontrager. “More than anything, they’re terranauts,” Bontrager said. “They don’t really leave the planet, but they have all these fun sci-fi influence and interplanetary artifacts and objects.”The travelers are felt, abstract creatures. One is purple, and one is small and green. Link said she and Bontrager drew their inspiration from the classic television show “The Muppets.”  “We’re both Muppets fans, having grown up in the ’80s,” Link said. “So we both had an interest in making puppets together, not necessarily functioning puppets, just forms that resemble them in figure and movement.”Besides the puppets, at least a dozen core samples are scattered throughout the exhibition in various shapes, materials and colors. All demonstrate incredible intricacy. Some feature minute, detailed carvings, while others have clearly been made from tedious paper cutting and folding.“We imagined these travelers were collecting core samples or surface samples,” Link said. “So it is very imaginary in a way, but also involves a lot of space travel references, especially early space travel.”Though the samples look abstract, Bontrager said they were inspired by information pulled from the NASA public domain and other authentic sources. “Many of my core samples are carved from publicly available data from NASA,” Bontrager said. “And Emily designed a lot of her little gem objects by looking at images online and doing thorough research.”In terms of materials, Bontrager and Link both said they used everything and the kitchen sink: brass, aluminum, felt, acrylic paint, oil paint and more. “It’s really hard to think of a medium we didn’t use,” Bontrager said. The same was true of the artists’ methods. Bontrager said he and Link utilized every technique from woodworking to laser cutting to sewing. He said their collaboration and the idea of small-scale sculpture allowed for an interesting melding of traditional practices and emerging technologies. “[Link] was gluing pieces of felt together at the same time I was waiting for a high-definition 3-D laser printer to finish,” Bontrager said. “And that allowed us to again, reference this idea of a burgeoning space program where you’re seeing what’s on the cusp of technology in the arts, but you’re also utilizing what’s well practiced and has a history.”Link said she did not choose Matchbox as the location for the exhibition, per se, but that it has turned out to be perfect for the show.“Through the grant, [Matchbox] was the space [the show] was programmed into,” Link said. “But it is nice that it’s a small space, because [in SPRT] you’re trying to think up and imagine these huge things, like rockets, on a small scale.”As for the intriguing name for the exhibition?“We wanted to choose a name that could create an interesting acronym,” Link said. “‘SPRT’ brings to mind ‘spirit,’ and honestly, that really informed the work.” “Space Puppet Relay Team: Project Terra” will be on display at the Matchbox Gallery in the Sewall Courtyard through the end of the month.

NEWS 11/3/15 12:42pm

HERO lobbyists risk violating Texas Election Code at RMC

By Anita Alem

Representatives of the Houston Unites coalition, a lobbying group supporting Proposition 1, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, were potentially violating Texas election code on Election Day at the Rice Memorial Center polling place. Two members of the group wearing shirts promoting HERO were situated within the RMC less than 10 feet from the entrance to Miner Lounge, where the polling stations were located. They asked passersby whether they were registered to vote and their stance on HERO and offered food to voters.According to Texas Election Code Title 6 Chapter 61.003, “a person commits an offense if, during the voting period and within 100 feet of an outside door through which a voter may enter the building in which a polling place is located, the person electioneers for or against any candidate, measure, or political party.” A violation is considered to be a Class C misdemeanor.Trevor Chandler, one of the coalition representatives situated within the RMC, said the group was hoping to get out the vote as much as possible in a race with a slim margin. When asked if he was aware of the legality of being located within the RMC adjacent to the polling place, Chandler said he would be happy to acquiesce if the election official requested they move.“We've been here and the polling officials have been here and no polling or election official has told us to move, so as of right now, we've been having a very uneventful time,” Chandler said.The presiding Election Judge Gwendolyn Claybon said she was unaware of the lobbyists or of the rules against electioneering for specific measures as opposed to candidates.“I was just told if [a lobbyist] didn’t have any candidate's name on [his] shirt, there’s no problem,” Claybon said. “All they have to do is turn it inside. Just go in the restroom and flip [the shirt] over.”Claybon, after being shown the Election Code and notified that the lobbyists were not Rice students, asked the individuals to move outside the RMC beyond the distance markers. The lobbyists were compliant."I have distance markers outside and they were like, 'I didn't see it,'” Claybon said. “How can you not see that big old sign?"

NEWS 10/31/15 8:15am

Rice students hold demonstration in solidarity with black women

By Anita Alem

Rice students held a demonstration in the academic quad to show support of black females following an incident of a school sheriff throwing and dragging a black female student at Spring Valley High School.From noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, students held signs bearing statements such as “Black female lives matter” and black women linked arms in front of Willy’s Statue. Several students also performed spoken word, sang and wrote cards to the female who was thrown by the officer, as well as her friend who filmed the event and has been charged with disrupting school, a misdemeanor in South Carolina. About 80 students were in attendance, including black males, females and allies who were both students and professors.The main organizers of the event were Martel College senior Chavonte Wright and Wiess senior Blaque Robinson. At the close of the event, Robinson said a few words to summarize.“We will not just be angry women,” Robinson said. “We will not just be your booty-popping party girl. We will not just be the girl you have sex with to see what black ass is like. We are black women and we are human.”Robinson said she wanted students in attendance to not walk away having finished supporting black women for the day, but to continue to recognize black women.“Thank the black women who cook your food and clean your room,” Robinson said. “Don’t just walk by like they don’t exist. Smile and say hello. Thank the black women administrators and staff who work behind the scenes to make sure your Rice experience is all that it can be.”According to Director of Multicultural Affairs Catherine Clack, the Office of Multicultural Affairs provided the supplies for posters and cards, but was not involved in organizing the event itself, which was part of Wright and Robinson’s Activism Initiative under the OMA.“This is a beautiful event [and] a worthy event,” Clack said. “I’m tremendously proud of Rice University for responding in the way that it has today, because this issue affects all of us. We need to all be aware and all care about what’s going on.”Wright said she hoped the demonstration would not be seen as a response to an isolated case of police brutality.“The purpose of the Black Lives Matter movement is to call attention to underlying issues in this country that are produced by racism, capitalism and patriarchy, and how those come to victimize black people more than [they do] any other demographic,” Wright said.Videos of the incident at Spring Valley High School have gone viral since they were first released on Monday night. According to recent reports, the student refused the teacher’s request to leave the classroom, following which a white sheriff’s deputy, who also served as a coach on the football team, was called in. The officer wrapped his arm around the student’s neck, flipped her out of her seat and dragged her across the floor. The officer has since been fired, with no charges; the charges against the two students have not been dropped. On Friday, approximately 100 students at the school staged a walk-out in support of the officer.

OPINION 10/29/15 7:51am

Will you allow legal discrimination in Houston?

 

Despite the fact that Houston is the fourth-largest city in America with one of the most diverse populations in the country, it remains one of the only major cities without a nondiscrimination ordinance. Our rapidly growing city does not provide its millions of citizens with comprehensive, local protections to discrimination.The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance was enacted with the support of Mayor Annise Parker in 2014, then petitioned by opponents and suspended until a public vote, and now will appear on the ballot this Nov. 3 election as Proposition 1. This election is your chance to help Houston affirm and protect the rights of all its residents to live, work and raise families without fear.Houstonians experience discrimination based on many characteristics, which include sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity and pregnancy. HERO provides everyone in Houston city-level recourse in these unjust situations without forcing people who have suffered discrimination to file lengthy and expensive federal lawsuits which may not go anywhere.We see repeatedly in the news and hear from our friends and loved ones that discrimination continues to be an issue in our city. During the 232 days HERO was in effect, 58 percent of reported cases of discrimination were based on race or national origin, 17 percent were gender based, 15 percent were based on age, 4 percent were based on disability, 4 percent were based on sexual orientation or gender identity and 2 percent were based on veteran status. This information provides more evidence that Houston needs a nondiscrimination ordinance because the absence of one affects a broad range of Houstonians.Though the federal government identifies certain characteristics of humans as protected classes, such as religion, ethnicity, national origin and pregnancy, and allows people to counter discrimination based on these classes, these laws do not protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Moreover, the laws protecting these classes require people to file complaints or lawsuits through expensive, lengthy, understaffed and overworked federal or state agencies to find recourse.Opponents of HERO mainly attack it based on claims that it will allow men to pretend to be transgender women and enter women’s restrooms to assault them. This claim has no basis in reality. Since 1972, the Houston city code made it illegal for anyone to knowingly and intentionally enter a restroom of the opposite sex “in a manner calculated to cause a disturbance”. HERO does not contradict this law, and in fact, does not mention bathrooms anywhere in its text. Furthermore, passing HERO and allowing people to express their gender identity via the corresponding restroom would not contradict established laws.Since HERO was proposed its opponents have insisted it will increase assaults, of transgender people in particular, using restrooms corresponding to their gender identity. The data strongly contradicts this fear-mongering. Over 19 states and 180 cities and municipalities have enacted non-discrimination laws protecting gender identity, some of which have been in place for decades with  absolutely no increase in assault in bathrooms in any of these places. In fact, some reports show that 66 percent of transgender people have experienced assault, and overwhelmingly these people have been proven more in danger of being harmed by others by using bathrooms corresponding to their birth assigned sex than they are in danger of being possible threats to cisgender (non-transgender) people.Finally, it is important to note HERO will change nothing for college students, postdocs, faculty and staff. Because Rice University falls under both Title IX, Title VII, and follows Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines, we are all already protected from discrimination based on the 15 classes protected by HERO. This ordinance would extend the safety we currently enjoy to the entirety of Houston.Your vote matters in this tight election. HERO has been surrounded by controversy and unfortunately poll numbers are very close. Early voting began on Oct. 19, and you can vote early at any polling location. On election day, if you live on campus you can vote in the Rice Memorial Center. If not, please check your polling location at www.harrisvotes.com . Remember, in order to vote you must bring a valid form of identification such as a Texas driver’s license, Texas state ID, Texas voter ID, passport or concealed handgun license.Help give Houston the same protections we enjoy on campus and on Tuesday, Nov. 3, support equality and vote Yes on Proposition 1.Sarah Grefe, on behalf of the Gender and Sexually Diverse Graduates & Postdocs Club Officers. 

OPINION 10/29/15 7:50am

Equality only matters because we don’t have it

 

Of the most populous 200 cities in the United States, Houston is the only without a non-discrimination ordinance, despite being the fourth largest. That means millions go unprotected in America’s fastest-growing economic hub. This is why the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance was enacted by the City Council with the support of Mayor Annise Parker in 2014. It was reversed by the City Council and put on the ballot this August due to a Texas Supreme Court decision giving the option of full repeal or referendum. However, I see this as a chance for Houston to prove it affirms the rights and protections of its residents. HERO protects 15 characteristics of every Houstonian: sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity and pregnancy status. Each of us falls into one of those categories and knows others who do too.

OPINION 10/29/15 7:49am

HERO would directly impact all of us

 

On Nov. 3 Houston will decide whether it will maintain its status quo as the only city of its size without an equal rights ordinance that goes beyond the protections of federal law. I believe the passing of HERO, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, is crucial to the economic development of Houston and the protection of Houstonians from discrimination.

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