Major RecommendationsCampus climate survey (aligned with federal regulations)Student extension to Title IX and Clery Act programs, may be similar to RHAsRisk-reduction education beginning with O-Week 2015 along with Project SAFEThree-hour faculty training every two years for Title IX/sexual violence, sexual harassment, cultural competencyMontrose Center to provide LGBT education, off-campus resources in addition to HAWCClery act training and discussion between RUPD, Title IX, General Counsel and Dean of UndergraduatesSJP processes recorded, officers trauma-trainedImprove reputation of SJP and publicize Title IX personnel through student programmingEvaluation of SJPSJP’s processes are trauma-informed and fair to accuser and accusedStudents may view SJP as insensitive and intentionally intimidatingStudents reported knowing peers who decided against reporting due to fear of losing control over handling of caseEssential for administration and students to partner to correct misinformationAfter seven months of evaluation and discussion, the Working Group on University Response to Sexual Assault Initiatives has compiled its review into 28 recommendations. A survey created in conjunction with Stanford University and the University of Chicago will be administered to all undergraduates this semester to determine the prevalence of sexual misconduct at Rice.Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson released the working group’s 15-page report and announced the renovated safe.rice.edu website in an email to the undergraduate student body on Tuesday.“This was an incredible amount of work for this group to seek the input of every member of the community over a very extended period of time, and to do so under some pressure,” Hutchinson said. “They responded in Rice fashion to do well and above what was expected.”Working Group GoalsAssociate Vice Provost Matt Taylor, the chair of the working group, first convened a meeting in summer 2014 in light of the federal report “Not Alone” by the White House Task Force. The group outlined four areas of focus, including disciplinary policies, training of faculty, staff and students, student resources and web communication.Representatives from Student Judicial Programs, Rice University Police Department, the Student Wellbeing Office and the Counseling Center were members of the working group. Former Lovett College president Meghan Davenport served as an undergraduate representative.The recommendations of the group encompass many topics, according to Davenport.“[There’s everything] from staff training to student advocacy to climate surveys,” Davenport said. “I think that when people read our recommendations, they will be almost guaranteed to learn something new. Our recommendations are detailed, thorough, and I think they reflect a deep commitment to creating a better Rice community, when it comes to these issues.”Davenport said she believed the working group accomplished what it set out to do. She said she hopes the recommendations will help teach the Rice community about the available resources.“The goal was to examine and improve our policies and practices, not just getting them in line with Title IX guidelines but going above and beyond them,” Davenport said. “Hopefully, when the recommendations are implemented, we will have a more educated community of staff, faculty, and students, more clearly defined and helpful resources, and an ongoing, informed conversation about sexual assault that will create a safer environment for survivors.”Climate SurveyThe federal government recommended universities complete a campus climate survey studying the prevalence of sexual misconduct before the end of 2015. Taylor and the working group referred to a government template, worked with peer institutions and studied a climate survey administered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create Rice’s five-minute survey. “One of the key motivations to collaborate with our peers is, if we can, to ask questions that are the same,” Taylor said. “In addition, we’d like to draw on more academic knowledge and expertise in order to create a survey that generates useful data.”According to Taylor, he and Davenport, who gathered student input, met with Director of Sexual Violence Prevention Allison Vogt to discuss the suggestions from students.“We’re asking what kinds of things happened without your consent and what might have led to a person assaulting you and about your connection to the person assaulting you,” Hutchinson said. For continuing undergraduate students, the survey will be released in conjunction with the Survey of All Students, although the responses will be completely confidential. Graduating seniors will take the survey in conjunction with the Senior Exit Survey, with similar provisions of confidentiality. An independent body will then analyze the aggregate data, which will also be released to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. “We are doing this [principally] because the working group recommended it,” Hutchinson said. “The recommendation turns out to be consistent with that of the Department of Education. This is a response to a community issue.”Web Resources UpdatesHutchinson announced the updated safe.rice.edu website, which went live last Wednesday. Kate Hildebrandt, the Title IX navigator, and Kate Noonan, director of the Student Wellbeing Office, solicited student feedback for the content and format of the website. Student representatives from Rice Health Advisors, the Women’s Resource Center and the Student Association Wellbeing Committee all worked on programming or legislation in conjunction with the Office of Student Wellbeing. Hildebrandt, Noonan, Vogt and Hutchinson all visited residential colleges to discuss the sexual assault policy.The new site succeeds in following the “two clicks or less” roadmap to resources directly addressing student inquiry, as mandated by federal guidelines. The site features drop-down menus, including tabs for survivors and students looking to support friends who have been through a sexual assault. RecommendationsThe working group’s 28 recommendations also spanned beyond the sexual misconduct policy, survey and web resources to include training for faculty, staff and students, as well as disciplinary procedures with SJP.Several faculty members have already undergone a three-hour training, which will be renewed every two years. The Montrose Center will now be partnering with the Houston Area Women’s Center and Rice to provide training and act as an off-campus resource for students seeking help. Project SAFE training during Orientation Week will now, in addition to bystander intervention training, include risk-reduction information on sexual and domestic violence, in accordance with the Department of Education’s updates to implementing the Clery Act.There are also plans to create a new student arm for the office of Title IX support. Student input from the Student Association Wellbeing Committee led to this idea since there was no independent student-led body committed solely to sexual assault prevention on campus. “It could be helpful for the Office of Sexual Violence Prevention and Title IX to have students to help them connect with campus,” Taylor said. “It could be like RHAs, but it shouldn’t have to be.”RUPD will work with the Title IX Coordinator, the Dean of Undergraduates and the General Counsel to discuss the Clery Act and sexual violence.Taylor said the working group was impressed by SJP’s policies and procedures for handling cases of sexual assault. However, SJP made several changes to its policies as well, which were included in the new student Code of Conduct released in January. Students may now bring a support person into meetings with SJP in cases of sexual assault or sexual misconduct, although this individual may not act in the capacity of a lawyer. Additionally, SJP now records student meetings.“[The support person] is there for advice or comfort in what might be a stressful period,” Hutchinson said. “In general, every substantive meeting of a student for any purpose with SJP will [also] have two people from SJP in the room at the same time, whether a person is coming in for an inquiry or a complaint. [SJP is] now recording all student judicial process meetings and, in general, every conversation that takes place.”“Comprehensiveness and Sensitivity”Taylor and Hutchinson agreed that the findings of the working group reinforce the measures Rice has already implemented.“In reviewing this, all members of the working group were impressed by the comprehensiveness and the sensitivity of the processes and resources already in place,” Hutchinson said. “Although the recommendations of the working group are many, that is not a reflection that the working group thought we were broken, but rather that there was much strength that could be built upon with input from the community.”Taylor said Rice has been ahead of peer institutions in several areas.“We’ve either been following federal recommendations, or [the changes] were already in the works before the recommendations had even been published,” Taylor said.
Following the Student Association meeting last Wednesday, the SA facilitated a student forum on creating a healthy campus climate. Over 70 students were in attendance at the event, which, according to SA President Jazz Silva, was closed to higher administration to ensure students felt safe sharing their thoughts.Silva facilitated the conversation with a series of questions, such as those concerning Rice values, avoiding bad situations and how to proceed when campus values are violated. At the start of the event, Silva said the forum was created to facilitate conversation, as opposed to a question-and-answer session or a panel. Silva said the event fostered a constructive environment and was not hosted by the SA itself. However, the event was listed on the SA meeting agenda. “I’m sure there’s a little bit of confusion about what this event is,” Silva said. “You should feel confident to say exactly how you feel — it’s just a very safe conversation.”A wide variety of sources of an unhealthy campus environment was discussed, including negativity toward the administration, the alcohol policy and academic and personal stress.Students continued to share concerns regarding the relationship between students and administration as well as campus resources, including Student Judicial Programs and the Wellbeing Center. Some believed a negative outlook toward administration’s actions fostered an unhealthy environment, but others said the administration must reach out to students constructively, as it has not done so in the past.The SA presented the question, “To what extent should administration have a say in creating a standard of values?” Martel College President Rachel Sterling said the administration should foster a more consistent, trusting relationship with students.“I don’t think everything needs to go to the students first,” Sterling said. “But there isn’t a regular form of feedback right now — [we] wait until there’s such a loud outcry that we need to deal with it. I’m sometimes worried about the way administration addresses situations, especially very recently. Sometimes, it feels that [administration doesn’t] trust us.”Students suggested the formation of a feedback system with SJP through the colleges’ chief justices. However, some students said the administration’s current feedback systems were ineffective because they elicited student opinion without responding to it.Attendees were again polarized on whether the relationship between the student body and the administration should be treated as a privilege or a right. Students disagreed on whether they had the right to protest the application of Title IX to the McMurtry College stripper incident when they had failed to provide enough feedback to the administration’s Sexual Assault-Free Working Group.In response to the question of “In what situation is it reasonable for students to seek permission?” students raised doubts on the distinction between defining a public event versus a private one, and the necessity of permission in each case. Some feared that events such as Beer Bike could be deemed offensive and result in change or punishment if students did not seek permission for themes or float ideas.“At what point does someone’s offense constitute or necessitate change?” Lovett College President Griffin Thomas said. “Is it when one person comes forward and we have a discussion about it?”As the forum came to a close, students agreed that they desired transparency and consistency from administration.Silva said the forum was successful as a platform for students to challenge each other respectfully.“Student leaders have the responsibility of being unbiased and acting in a way that is cognizant of all spectrums of the student body,” Silva said. “This forum gave student leaders an opportunity to better understand these varying student concerns.”Silva declined to comment on the SA’s plans to move forward with the concerns expressed at the forum.
A new express shuttle route service to the BioScience Research Collaborative began on March 2. The bus runs every weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., approximately every 10 minutes. The shuttle that currently stops at the BRC also continues into the Texas Medical Center will continue to run every half hour. The express shuttle route aims to help researchers and students reach labs and classrooms more quickly. The shuttle travels along half of the inner loop, remaining on the side closer to the BRC.
Mengjia LiuThresher StaffThe Rice Annual Fund Student Initiative has launched sophomore and junior class gifts for the upcoming fall in addition to the pre-existing senior class gift.According to Sean Cowan, associate director of the Rice Annual Fund, the new class giving projects will function similar to the senior class gift. “They will run concurrently each fall, led by volunteers,” Cowan said. “We envision volunteers from all three classes working together in colleges, educating their classmates about the importance of philanthropy and facilitating participation.”Cowan said the undergraduate class gifts were not created in previous years because RAFSI wanted to ensure significant participation in the giving project before expanding the program. However, with increased student interest in recent years, the RAF staff, volunteers and campus partners decided to establish class gifts for underclassmen and encourage students to participate in philanthropy earlier on in their college careers.“People often do not realize until graduation that every class of alumni has Annual Fund volunteers who lead class giving projects each year,” Cowan said. “When students learn about these programs and opportunities while on campus, they become more informed and effective alumni volunteers and philanthropists.”According to Cowan, student contributions to the RAF have a lasting impact on Rice’s future, regardless of gift amount. “Every gift is important to Rice University as smaller gifts add up to make a real impact,” Cowan said. “For example, this year alone, hundreds of members of the Class of 2015 collectively contributed nearly $10,000. That's a remarkable demonstration of their passion for Rice.”Cowan said the RAF also created The Parliament, a new giving society that acknowledges loyal supporters, to encourage juniors and sophomores to donate.“The Parliament recognizes those in the Rice community who make gifts [for] the university each and every year,” Cowan said. “To be inducted, you simply give for three years in a row and then continue to give yearly to stay in the society.”According to Cowan, a freshman class gift has not been created so new students may gain a deeper understanding of the university before giving back, although they can give through Jar Wars and National Philanthropy Week.“Freshmen should experience Rice's unique culture and traditions so they truly appreciate what their future gifts will support,” Cowan said. Nick Thorpe, a fall 2014 Senior Gift Campaign volunteer, said he believes student contributors are crucial to the functioning of the RAF.“These students eventually become lifelong donors and once again give back to the university where they received a quality education,” Thorpe, a Lovett College senior, said.Carmella DeSerto, a class gift representative, said she supports the expansion.“These gifts give students a chance to give back, especially when they are students like myself who benefit from the charity of the university in financial aid,” DeSerto, a Jones College sophomore, said. “I feel it is my duty to pay it forward.”Rachel Bowyer, a Hanszen College freshman, said juniors and sophomores should not be expected to give.“It is very unrealistic to expect sophomores and juniors to donate because their own financial situations are not yet stable,” Bowyer said. “They will lack motivation to give because they have not completed their college experience yet. They are the ones who should still be receiving the benefits from the funds.”
Rondelet, Rice’s annual spring formal hosted by the Rice Program Council, has seen an increase in demand and popularity this year, according to RPC President Aisha Jeeva. This year’s Rondelet will feature a ballpark theme, swing dancing and a live band, and will be hosted on March 20 at Minute Maid Park.“This Rondelet holds the record for fastest ticket sale in RPC history — all 1,400 tickets were signed up for in a record five hours and 43 minutes,” Jeeva, a Martel College senior said. Jeeva said RPC had taken steps to ensure the ticket distribution method would remain functional. The ticketing website for last semester’s Esperanza had crashed within 10 minutes of opening due to high internet traffic, forcing RPC to distribute tickets through a random lottery drawing.“We worked incredibly hard to ensure that there were no issues with this new ticketing system, including moving away from using Rice servers, which were obviously unable to handle the huge amount of traffic caused by high ticket demand,” Jeeva said.According to Jeeva, the college demographics for ticket sign-ups differed between the two formals. For Esperanza, each college had between 110 and about 150 sign-ups, with Jones and McMurtry having the most at 153 each. For Rondelet, Jones, Lovett, Baker and Wiess each had more than 70, with Wiess having the most at 92.In addition, the number of total ticket sign-ups were around half of Esperanza’s. A total of 1,507 people signed up for the random drawing for Esperanza tickets. For Rondelet, a total of 761 people signed up to purchase 1400 tickets. According to Jeeva, around 1,100 tickets have been paid for. The 300 remaining unclaimed tickets were sold on a first come, first served basis on Thursday, Feb. 26. RPC will host a final round of sales on Thursday, March 12 after students are given a chance to refund their tickets before then.“Students who do not return their tickets [before the 12th] will no longer be able to receive a refund for their tickets whether or not they can attend,” Jeeva said. “As tickets are non-transferable, they will be unable to sell them to other students. This method has been implemented to avoid any instances of unfair ticket scalping.”Jeeva emphasized the importance of student participation in events such as Esperanza and Rondelet.“We do not make any profit on these formals, and all ticket sales are used to cover event costs,” Jeeva said. “[We] hope students understand that if they wish for us to continue to have Esperanza and Rondelet, then it is in their interest to attend the events and support us.”
For undergraduate students considering a future in medicine, the application process and requirements for medical school can be daunting. A new course is currently being developed, which will have Rice students shadow physicians at Methodist Hospital and will be offered next year to help those going through the process.Gia Merlo, the new Vice Dean for Health Professions, said the course comes from a task force she created to strengthen the affiliation between Rice and Methodist Hospital to provide opportunities for students pursuing medicine. “Students will shadow physicians at Methodist and will attend a didactic component that places emphasis on professionalism, ethics [and] reflection on the shadowing experiencing,” Merlo said.According to Merlo, the program’s first goal is to develop an intensive physician shadowing program available exclusively to Rice undergraduate students, beginning in fall 2015. This new course will provide students considering the medical field an assortment of 25 physicians to shadow. The three-credit course will include three to four hours of shadowing and one to two hours of coursework and reflective seminars per week. Currently, the course has 164 slots for undergraduate students. In order to gauge student interest, Merlo’s team sent out a poll, which received 246 responses. The details of the program’s shadowing structure are still being finalized.Merlo said the mission of the program is not to increase the number of medical school applicants accepted, but to enhance the students’ experiences and help them determine if a medical profession is the right fit.“Medical education is undergoing a major transformation for the first time in over 100 years,” Merlo said. “Historically, the focus of medical colleges was almost exclusively on science competencies. Now, the new holistic approach includes focusing on understanding human behavior and the needs of an increasingly diverse patient population.” The medical school application process requires more than just research and a strong GPA, and applicants’ lack of clinical exposure and reflection of experiences is noticed during the interview process, according to Merlo.Christian Capo, a Jones College freshman looking to go into medicine, said he was eager for the new course, but was doubtful he would be able to register for it.“I think more courses should have [a reflective aspect], as it lets students think personally about their courses,” Capo said. “I just fear that the course would be too heavily desired and that many won’t be able to get [medical] perspectives.”The Rice Premedical Society currently runs Doctors Offering Shadowing Experience, a student-run program that connects select RPMS members with a physician willing to be shadowed. Merlo said the new course would provide shadowing opportunities to more students.“Last year, [DOSE] had over 150 applications and only were able to match about 20 students,” Merlo said. “Therefore, the program was not very effective recently.”DOSE co-coordinator Caroline Zhu said the new course originated from and will replace DOSE.“We were notified last semester that the university would take over the shadowing program and build formal affiliation with hospitals so that eventually all interested students can get spots,” Zhu, a Martel College junior, said. “Now the shadowing course has a different format than DOSE, so essentially DOSE doesn’t exist anymore. We already handed over all DOSE information to Dr. Merlo, and are currently assisting her in planning the shadowing course next year, along with the task force.”
Soon, there will no longer be a French studies department, Spanish and Portuguese department, German studies department, Latin American studies department or classical studies department. Effective July 1 for the 2015-16 academic year, the School of Humanities is merging its smallest departments into two larger ones: the department of classical and European studies and the department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies. This merger will combine German studies, French studies and classical studies into the department of classical and European studies. Latin American studies and the department of Spanish and Portuguese will similarly combine to make the department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies. The majors within the departments will remain as they are now. According to Dean of Humanities Nicolas Shumway, all majors and major requirements will remain unchanged, and students’ transcripts will continue to state “French studies” or “classical studies.”“Students will hardly notice,” Shumway said. “As far as students are concerned, the ATM has another bank behind it, but it will still look same.”According to Shumway, the only change for students with these majors is the new interdisciplinary opportunities the larger departments will be able to provide students.One such opportunity, a new minor in politics, law and social thought, will become available next year through the department of classical and European studies with elective courses in departments such as philosophy, political science and anthropology. Shumway also noted the possibility of a program in comparative literature.German professor Christian Emden, one of the professors leading the new minor, expressed interest in a film program.The ability to breach the divisions between majors in the form of new majors and minors is, according to both Shumway and Emden, one of the largest benefits of the new departments.“Small departments … are obviously not able to pull that off by themselves,” Emden said. “In fact, I would even go so far to argue that classical and European studies offers the opportunity to think outside traditional departmental structures. Students and faculty alike often forget that departments are nothing but administrative units that are not coextensive with the research questions we all work on.”In addition to creating a space for interdisciplinary opportunities and administrative efficiency, Shumway said the merger makes sense for intellectual reasons.“People have more and more questioned the existence of the nation state, or that culture is somehow based in the nation state,” Shumway said. “There’s a lot of cross-pollination. The Enlightenment doesn’t just happen in one place; it’s something that engulfs all of Europe.”Emden also said the merger will increase student awareness of how vast and interdisciplinary many of these departments are.“German studies or French studies shouldn’t even be called ‘language departments.’ After all, we don't call mathematics the ‘numbers department’ or engineering the ‘gadget school,’” Emden said. “What students really become involved in when they opt for German studies, for instance, is the study of literature, politics, film, history, philosophy, intellectual history and so on — all in a setting that is much more interdisciplinary than what happens in many traditional departments.”Laurel Bingman, a Duncan College senior majoring in biological sciences and Latin American studies, said the interdisciplinary aspect of her Latin American studies major is what interests her.“I’ve personally enjoyed the freedom to be able to mold my major into whatever I wanted it to be, so I could see a lot of benefits in pooling resources from already established departments in that way,” Bingman said. “On the other hand, I can also see potential disadvantages if priority is given to other subsets within the department purely because they are more established.”
The Rice University administration announced Friday that undergraduate tuition for the 2015-16 school year will rise to $41,560, an increase of 4.2 percent from this year’s cost of $39,880. Next year’s total cost will be $55,903. The cost of Rice’s graduate programs will also increase, keeping doctoral and undergraduate tuition equal.Rice’s records show that tuition will have risen 135 percent in the last 15 years from the average annual price paid by undergraduates in 2000-01, $17,720. Over the same period, the United States has experienced 36 percent inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.The tuition of many peer institutions has also increased faster than inflation over the same period, according to their archives. Vanderbilt University’s tuition rose 110 percent since 1998; Duke University and Northwestern University saw tuition increases of 91 percent and 69 percent since 2000, respectively. In absolute terms, Rice’s tuition is still less than Vanderbilt’s, Duke’s and Northwestern’s, though the gap between the prices has decreased since the beginning of the century.According to data gathered by the College Board, the average yearly cost of a four-year private college was $31,231 for 2014-15. The cost of such colleges has risen 41 percent since 1999, slightly faster than inflation. The Princeton Review currently names Rice No. 12 on its list of “Colleges That Pay You Back,” and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked Rice No. 4 for best value.According to Kathy Collins, vice president for finance, tuition increases help cover the costs of educating students, faculty salaries, library resources and other operational expenses. Additionally, Collins said tuition should be compared between schools in terms of real dollars.“Tuition at Rice has been about $5,000 to $6,000 less than at its peer institutions, so comparisons should be based on the dollar amount of increase rather than the percentage,” Collins said. “To generate the same dollar increase in tuition, Rice has to increase its rate at a higher percentage than its peers.”
Rice recently announced they will increase undergraduate tuition by 4.2 percent for the 2015-16 school year (see p.1). The announcement came in a press release that touted Rice’s status as a Kiplinger’s “best value” education and its relative affordability compared to peer institutions. The Thresher believes the press release ignores the reality of Rice’s consistent tuition-raising. Under President David Leebron’s tenure, Rice has justified outsized tuition increases as the cost of business rising, seemingly turning its back on a history of affordability to become more like its peers for its own sake. These consistent increases would be more understandable if the administration clearly communicated the purpose of each one. At one point, Rice was free for all students, and for most of its history tuition was significantly lower than that of other high-ranking, small, private research institutions. Before 2010, Rice even increased tuition at lower rates each year for undergraduate classes that had already matriculated, but that too has unfortunately changed. In 2000-01, when Rice’s average tuition per student was $17,720 — compared to Duke’s $24,890 and Northwestern’s $24,648 — Rice could claim significantly lower tuition than that of its peers, being on average 28.5 percent lower. However, Rice’s proposed tuition for the 2015-16 school year — $41,560 — is not as significantly lower than other school’s tuitions. At $47,488 and $46,836 respectively, Duke’s 2014-15 tuition (2015-16 numbers have not been released yet) and Northwestern’s 2015-16 tuitions are not as proportionally high as they once were — Rice’s tuition is on average 11.9 percent lower. It is the administration’s duty to explain why it needs to raise tuition by a comparably higher rate than its so-called peers. A circular argument that invokes notions of “becoming more like our peer institutions” won’t do. At a certain point, becoming similar to other like-institutions dilutes the aspects of a Rice education that make it pleasantly unlike peer institutions, such as its cost. Maybe the cost of doing business is simply going up, or maybe Rice has used the increases to fund new opportunities for students. Either way, Rice News’ press release does not show the student body anything along those lines — only tired rankings and comparisons. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.
There’s a musty hint of hay and grease in the air. An occasional whinny may be heard in the distance. The streets are packed with more hats and pairs of cowboy boots than usual. It can all mean only one thing — it’s Houston Rodeo time in the city. Especially for Houston newcomers, Rodeo can be a bit overwhelming. Dozens of performers, food vendors and other entertainment will all vie for your hard-earned pennies and attention. While you’re sure to have a good time no matter what you do and see, the Thresher has narrowed down your options a tad to let you know which are actually the best concerts and treats being offered. BEST MEALS:For the BBQ fan: Triple J’s SmokehouseLocation: NRG Park, KC501What to get? Big J Potato, $15 — A baked potato stuffed with butter, cheese, sour cream, chives and your choice of beef, sausage or rib meatMeat Combo, $9.99 — Two meats (ribs, beef or sausage) with barbecue sauce and breadFor the Vegetarian: Stump’s Wood-Fired PizzaLocation: NRG Arena, AR600What to get?The Jimmy Buffet, $10 — A nine-inch hyper-fresh margherita pizza; San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oilFor the Adventurous: Belgian WafflesLocation: KC306What to get?Fried sriracha balls — Shredded chicken, tomatoes, green chiles and sriracha encrusted in tortilla chips and then deep-friedStrawberry waffle balls — Like cake balls, but waffles that come with strawberry dipping sauceFor the Tex-Mex Fan: Tad’s Bodacious BurritosLocation: NRG Park, RP65What to get?Chipotle beef burrito, $8.50 — Enormous burrito filled with shredded beef rubbed with chipotle, black beans, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses; coated with chipotle cheese sauce and garnished with pico de galloBEST TREATS:For the Fried Food Lover: Aunt Edmoe’s Homemade CookiesLocation: NRG Park, CD205What to get?Fried cookie dough on a stick, $7 — Real, delicious cookie dough deep-fried and put on a stick, can also be dipped in chocolateCookie dough parfait, $7 — Ice cream, cookie dough, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry and two warm cookies on topFor the Cinnamon-aholic: Stubby’s Cinnamon RollsLocation: NRG Arena, AR903; NRG Center, L259What to get?Cinnamon roll with “the works,” $5 — A cinnamon roll as big your head topped with rich icing and pecansBacon-wrapped cinnamon roll, $5 — Huge cinnamon roll coated in juicy baconFor the Popcorn Fan: Kettle Corn of TexasLocation: NRG Park, KC506What to get?Small bag of kettle corn, $3 — Decent helping of fresh-popped kettle corn made in 100 percent corn oilFor the Intense Dessert Fan: Granny’s Cheesecake & MoreLocation: NRG Center, L255What to get?Chocolate-dipped cheesecake with Oreo, $7 — Means what it says; a delicious cheesecake dipped in chocolate and served with Oreos on top EVENTS:Mutton BustingMutton busting is everyone’s favorite rodeo event. Like bull riding for children, kids between ages five and six must grab hold of a sheep and attempt to stay on as long as possible. While everyone in mutton busting is declared a winner, the child who stays on the longest is awarded a champion belt buckle and serious bragging rights.Calf ScrambleThe calf scramble is arguably the most chaotic rodeo event. Officials release 15 calves into the arena that 30 4-H and Future Farmers of America youth must race after and try to catch with nothing but a rope halter. Each successful student is given a $1,500 voucher to purchase his or her own beef heifer or market steer to show in next year’s rodeo. This event is intended to encourage agricultural enterprise in the state of Texas by supporting students’ interest in ranching and farming.Tie-Down RopingThis rodeo sport, inspired by traditional ranch-hand practices, tests skills necessary for any good rancher. The event starts when a calf is released and crosses a trip lever that frees the mounted roper. The team must race after the calf and quickly lasso its neck. The horse must then maintain tension on the rope so the calf does not escape as the roper dismounts and ties the calf’s legs. The fastest roper to complete the task wins. CONCERTS:If traditional country’s not your thing:Zac Brown BandTime: Thursday, March 12, 6:45 p.m.Hits: Chicken Fried, Colder Weather, KneeDeepSummary: Melodic, slower-tempo country with deep lyrics and some nice harmonies If you like to sing along:Luke BryanTime: Sunday, March 22, 3:45 p.m.Hits: Crash My Party, Play it Again, I Don’t Want this Night to EndSummary: Strong beat, authentic country — mostly feel-good tunes and love songs Brad PaisleyTime: Saturday, March 21, 3:45 p.m.Hits: Perfect Storm,Whiskey Lullaby, Beat this SummerSummary: Classic songs that tell stories — rich with nostalgia, humor and heart If you want a pop/country mix:Florida Georgia LineWednesday, March 18, 6:45 p.m.Hits: Cruise, This is How We Roll, DirtSummary: Fast-paced music that sounds best on a road trip, windows down, wind blowing The Band PerryFriday, March 20, 6:45 p.m.Hits: If I Die Young,Better Dig Two, DONE.Summary: Strong female vocals, soft melodies and powerful, belting choruses If you want something TOTALLY different:La Arrolladora Banda El LimonTime: Sunday, March 15, 3.45 p.m.Hits: ?Summary: Traditional Mexican regional music. You can’t help but dance along. If you want straight-up Top 40:Ariana GrandeTime: Tuesday, March 17, 6:45 p.m.Hits: Love Me Harder, Break Free,One Last TimeSummary: Belting pop ballads, choruses that always manage to get stuck in your head PitbullTime: Friday, March 13, 6:45 p.m.Hits: Timber, Fireball, Time of Our LivesSummary: High-bass tracks that make you wish you were in a downtown nightclub
When my friend told me we were going to meet her uncle, the artist, I didn’t know what to expect. For instance, I didn’t expect him to live in a whitewashed minimalist mansion or have an eccentric collection of cats and dogs with names like “Baron” and “Google Earth.” Nor did I expect that he would speak with a slight British accent and serve us three glasses of wine, homemade lamb pastries and fresh-out-of-the-oven lava cake.Don’t get me wrong — I’m not complaining. The experience was practically royal. But it wouldn’t have surprised me if, instead, the uncle lived in a basement, collected human embryos and subsisted on a diet of malt liquor and canned tuna fish. “Artist” is the most vague career definition imaginable. It takes a certain type of person to be an artist, but who are artists? What unites them? Although artists vary in almost every possible way, there are a few defining characteristics: pride, creative prowess and most importantly, an extraordinary perspective. All great artists, or at least all successful ones, take great pride in their work. When people think of artists, they think vanity: “People tend to think he’s a bit … self-righteous,” my friend said of her uncle when introducing him. Self-righteousness may be unacceptable ordinarily, but the art world demands it. As a commercial artist, you are marketing yourself — something people don’t automatically value — and winning dedicated admirers requires more than confidence; it requires that the artist love his or her work unconditionally. Artists are delighted with everything that they create, so much so that admirers can’t help but worship it also. The artist is dedicated to creation. All endeavors, even ordinary household activities, become opportunities to design and perfect. When the uncle served us fried fish, for instance, he insisted on making it himself (even though there was a cook in the house) because it was part of his “special recipe.” His is an attitude of artistic license. If everything has the potential to be art, the artist has the ability to harness that potential and trademark it. Most importantly, successful artists have extraordinary perceptive capabilities. This is no secret, but it is essential to their character. Part of this capability is hallucinatory: Artists have the ability to detect things that normal humans cannot. But sometimes this vision doesn’t add to objects; it reduces them to their simplest and most essential qualities. They pick up a piece of rusted metal, partially oxidized, and hold it like a holy sacrament, marvelling at the oblong shape, the uneven patches of blue and the mechanical potential. We admire artists because they invite us to be a part of their mysterious world, if just for a second. When they stop to smell the trash cans, or decide to empty 1,000 tubes of paint on a blank canvas, we feel a rush of excitement. What do they see that we do not? Are they crazy, or prophetic? Perhaps artists really are deranged, or otherwise mentally disturbed, but there’s no denying their vision. They stop to smell the flowers that we pass by without a glimpse. They seize opportunities we didn’t even know existed. They find beauty in every small gesture of human and nature, and though we may be incapable, they invite us to see it too.
