Special Projects

A beginner’s guide to the Austin City Limits music festival

Want to hear “Good Luck, Babe!,” “See You Again” and “Don’t Start Now” performed live at energetic concerts in the same weekend? At this year’s Austin City Limits you can check out the artists behind those iconic tracks and so many more including Reneé Rapp, Chris Stapleton and The Marías. Whether you’re venturing out to Austin’s Zilker Park this weekend or the next, here’s a helpful guide to survive the biggest music festival in Texas. 

Review: ‘Intermezzo’ is like a toxic relationship

There is something degrading about reading “Intermezzo.”  You’ll find it unpleasant, and Sally Rooney tries her best to make it unenjoyable, yet you won’t put it down. Notably, the author writes about someone else for a change (avoiding the long-held autobiographical accusations) while maintaining her distinctive narrative voice, and an uncanny ability to capture how, and why, we hurt the people we are supposed to love.  

‘Layers of complexity’: SPAN 406 explores Latin American cinema

Latine Heritage month is in full swing, highlighting Latin American culture and contributions — but one class at Rice isn’t limiting its celebrations to just one month. In SPAN 406: Latin American Cinema, students engage with Hispanic culture through cinema, saying they gain important insights as they do.

From Scratch to Sups, Samir Walji innovates

When Samir Walji first started coding Scratch games in middle school, he never imagined he’d run a startup used by students in over 138 countries one day. Now studying computer science at Rice, Walji has turned his passion for building things into Sups, an award-winning, AI-powered college application platform.

Venturing into residential college vending

Late-night snackers might wander unaware of the hidden gems (or absolute duds) lurking throughout their colleges. Fear not, for today, we unveil the winners of the ultimate automated snacking showdown.

Students talk CCD amid recruitment season

As students settle into the fall semester, the hustle and bustle on campus is not just limited to midterms, club applications and football games — it’s also marked by recruitment season. The race for internships and positions of employment has officially begun.

Rice bends to Zionist propaganda

In the last several weeks, Rice University held three events — both openly and behind closed doors — that, taken together, demonstrate its commitment to advancing a Zionist ideology on campus, which serves as the foundation for Israel’s increasingly psychotic expansion of its genocidal violence into Lebanon and Yemen. 

Innovation is good, responsible innovation is great

Those sitting in their college commons last Tuesday may have watched between two and twenty minutes of an ad promoting the student-developed food-tracking app Diagnos. We’re glad Diagnos provides that nutritional data — absent from servery menus —  for free. However, we encourage the developers of Diagnos and other app developers, especially those that involve artificial intelligence, to address ethical concerns and user-test these apps prior to launch. 

Rice SJP critiques antisemitism training

Administration, staff and faculty participated in a half-day antisemitism awareness training Sept. 13, sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The seminar was led by the Academic Engagement Network, a nonprofit organization that “mobilizes networks of university faculty and administrators to counter antisemitism [and] oppose the denigration of Jewish and Zionist identities,” according to its website.

Fondren unveils fresh technology

Fondren Library revamped their ‘how-to’ Canvas module and website and soundproofed the audio and photography rooms after student suggestions. Smart locks and preferred name displays are currently under beta testing and could launch as early as January.

Hidden in plain sight: New wasp species discovered on campus

A new wasp species, Chrysonotomyia susbelli, has been identified by a Rice research team in a ZooKeys research paper published Sept. 18, over two years since the discovery of the Valhalla wasp on campus. Chrysonotomyia susbelli is the 18th new species found on campus.

Alumni team wins big at biomed competition

A team of Rice bioengineering alumni recently  won first place — and $20,000 — in a nationwide biomedical engineering competition, organized by the National Institute of Health.

SA senate proposes review of demonstration policies, student wage increases

The Student Association senate asked the president’s office to review the new demonstration and postering policies with a commission including students Sept. 30. The labor commission also discussed raising the minimum wage of undergraduate student workers from $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum wage, to $15 an hour.

Owls in Recovery creates a safe space for students

Owls in Recovery, an addiction support group for Rice students, began holding meetings this semester. Erin Timmerberg, the group’s advisor, said that OIR was created due to changes in the university’s alcohol policy.

Lovett to permanently move into new building by fall 2026, adjacent to twelfth college

Lovett College will permanently move into one of the two new residential college buildings, President Reggie DesRoches said in a Sept. 18 email to campus. The buildings, initially intended to house new twelfth and thirteenth colleges, are projected to finish by fall 2026. Lovett will stand adjacent to the unnamed twelfth college, and there are currently no plans for the thirteenth.

Rice ranks No. 18 in U.S. News

Rice ranks No. 18 in the the U.S. News and World Report’s 2025 national university rankings tied with Vanderbilt University and the University of Notre Dame. Rice has also placed No. 8, 9 and 29 in the Niche, Forbes and Wall Street Journal rankings, respectively.

Financial aid settlement form released

Claim forms for the class action financial aid “cartel” lawsuit Rice settled were released Sept. 13. The suit alleged that Rice and 16 other top universities “illegally conspired” to restrict financial aid. Students can submit a claim on the court-approved settlement website https://financialaidantitrustsettlement.com/submit-claim by the Dec. 17, 2024 deadline. 

09-25-2024 Crossword Solutions

09-25-2024 Crossword: "Play Ball!"

Backpage Asks: New Lovett Toaster