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NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Albums and Abominations

By Benjamin Huber-Rodriguez

Innovation in music is strikingly hit-or-miss. Most bands possess a new sound in the release of their initial records, which as they mature, they decide either to push in a new direction or continue working with the already-established formula. While the former can help a band achieve new musical heights, it can also backfire and alienate former fans. Mechanical Bull, the sixth proper studio album by Nashville, Tenn. family band Kings of Leon, is the rare album that does both, bringing the band back to its Southern-rock roots without sacrificing the new artistic dimensions it has acquired over the years.Kings of Leon burst onto the scene in 2003 with its debut album Youth and Young Manhood and was immediately praised for a Southern-rock style reminiscent of Creedence Clearwater Revival. By the time Only By the Night was released in 2008, the band had achieved a complete reversal from its previous sound, trading in rollicking rock 'n' roll licks about dive bars and loose women for grandiose, arena-rock glory. After the critical and commercial failure of 2010's Come Around Sundown, it appears the Kings listened to their criticism, as Mechanical Bull comes back to all those Southern belles and rowdy bar fights it never should have left.  Lead single and opening track "Supersoaker" is a straightforward rock track about girls, guns and the good old delta, while "Rock City" hits with a bluesy riff so smooth it could make Jack White blush. Together, the two tracks put away any doubts that the Followills were born and raised in the land of Dixie.No Kings of Leon album has ever been as self-aware as Mechanical Bull, with lines detailing the band's return to its roots, "Picking up the pieces in the world I know / With one in the fire and one in the snow / It's a comeback story of a lifetime." At times, though, the group overdoes it, as on the arena-ready ballad "Tonight," on which lead singer Caleb Followill wails as if Kings of Leon's rebirth were some prophetic event. The band is better when it sticks to fast tunes about fast times, songs in which the subject material never gets too heavy. Particularly catchy are the bouncing, 12-bar boogie of "Family Tree" and the boyish "Temple." These songs are by no means groundbreaking - or even contenders for the best songwriting Kings of Leon has done - but the band knows what it is, and it does Southern rock right.While Mechanical Bull finds Kings of Leon at its oldest and most self-reflective, it still fits canonically somewhere in 2005 or 2006. The band has given up its more innovative rock attempts, but the Followills still play the straightforward approach remarkably well, sounding simultaneously youthful and like seasoned professionals. The subject matter of the record may leave some longing for more, but the catchy tunes and the teased-out wordplay make Mechanical Bull a fine comeback for a band blinded by its success. The cover of the record depicts a dive bar called The Mechanical Bull, where presumably drunken daredevils hop on the back of a robotic beast in the hopes of winning admiration. While Kings of Leon may have been thrown off the bucking bull a few times, it has put a few more drinks away and gotten right back on. So give it the respect it deserves, and see how long it can last this time.

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Players take on tragedies of Rabbit Hole

By Sophie Newman

Tragedy is a familiar theme in the realm of theater, but few plots center on the aftermath of tragedy, rather than the action of it. Rabbit Hole, a 2005 play written by David Lindsay-Abaire that both won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was turned into a hit 2010 drama starring Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!), achieves just this. The Rice Players' Rabbit Hole, directed by Rice Players alum Rob Kimbro and produced by Hanszen College senior Michael Hollis, opened Thursday, Oct. 3.

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

More hot food at the Hoot

By Rice Thresher Staff

The Thresher would like to corroborate the general feeling among students that hot food at the Hoot is running out too quickly. While the Hoot must, of course, first have the capital and stable consumer base in order to purchase more food, the general feeling on campus appears to be that there is enough demand among Rice University students for the Hoot's hot food to justify purchasing additional food, especially given that the Hoot's food is often sold out by 11 p.m. or midnight, which is only about halfway through the Hoot's hours of operation (see story, p. 4). 

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Wi-Fi issues need to be addressed

By Rice Thresher Staff

Recently, the Rice University community has experienced a decrease in the quality of on-campus Wi-Fi, specifically with regard to the Rice Owls Wi-Fi network available to students, faculty and staff (see story, p. 5). The Thresher urges Rice Information Technology to make improving the campus Wi-Fi network a priority.The extra access points that IT has added in areas on campus where Wi-Fi connection is particularly poor are appreciated. However, because the issue is so widespread, it seems necessary to find another solution. Many students are having trouble finding a functional wireless connection all over campus, not just in specific places like their rooms in the colleges.On a university campus, students, faculty and staff rely on Wi-Fi to do much of their work. A lack of an Internet connection should not be an impediment to getting our jobs done. We therefore urge IT to look further into the causes of the problem and potential solutions. The explanation that an increase in wireless devices on campus resulting from students bringing more laptops, smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles to campus is a contributor to this year's increased connectivity problems does not appear to tell the whole story; the extent to which this year's student body has more electronic devices than last year's seems, without supporting data, minimal at best. IT should consider whether other factors may be better able to explain the increased issues this year.Lastly, students need to be patient with IT. IT has been accommodating and understanding about the Wi-Fi issues. If people experience issues with their wireless connection, they can and should email helpdesk@rice.edu or call the IT Help Desk at 713-348-4357. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece's author.

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Renowned jazz duo makes U.S. premiere

By Skye Wang

German jazz musician Peter Broetzmann and Japanese instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Keiji Haino make their North American debut as a duet in a series of performances this week, culminating in their joint performance on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. in the Rice University Media Center. The performance will promote Broetzmann's exhibit, "Peter Broetzmann Graphic: Design Work 1958-2013," which is on display at the Rice Media Center's Visual and Dramatic Arts Main Gallery from Oct. 8 to Nov. 14. The Wednesday performance will be the last in the series of performances by both artists this week.

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Rice outlasts Tulsa for first time since 2006

By Michael Kidd

The Rice University football team traveled to Oklahoma last Saturday to take on the University of Tulsa. The Owls got off to a quick start, and the offense rolled throughout the first half of play. With five minutes, five seconds left in the first quarter, Rice had jumped to a 14-3 lead over Tulsa courtesy of senior running back Jeremy Eddington and redshirt freshman running back Darrion Pollard, who each scored from four yards out. The Owls took a 24-10 lead into halftime.In the second half, the Owls' offense failed to put up any points. With the game on the line, Rice's defense forced Tulsa to settle for a 36-yard field goal, sending the game into overtime. After Tulsa scored a field goal to start overtime to take a 27-24 lead, redshirt senior quarterback Taylor McHargue connected with redshirt freshman running back Darik Dillard on the second play from scrimmage for a 25-yard touchdown that won the game for the Owls. The 30-27 victory is Rice's first win against Tulsa since 2006.Head Coach David Bailiff said he was thrilled with the effort his players gave against Tulsa and that he was pleased with the offense's execution in the first half of the game."It's hard to go on the road and win anywhere, especially since Tulsa was the preseason pick to win the conference," Bailiff said. "[I'm] thrilled that we went on the road and did it, and even more so that we did it the hard way. I thought offensively in the first half ... we had great execution. We had great effort."Bailiff said this win was big for the Owls, who move forward with an overall record of 3-2, (2-0 in Conference USA play). He said he is proud of the way Rice competed with Tulsa but said the Owls must execute better in the second half in order to beat the University of Texas, San Antonio next week."I'm proud of the way we went toe-to-toe with them," Bailiff said. "We are a good team and just have to work harder at the little things. We've got to come out and have a better offensive plan in the third quarter. That's one of our woes. We [have] got to make sure we execute if we want to win next week."Junior defensive lineman Stuart Mouchantaf, coming off of a 13-tackle game against Tulsa, said he is excited to play UTSA and keep the momentum going. "I think we played well against Tulsa ..., and [I'm] happy in the fact that our defense is keeping us in all the games. But with all the work we put in, I'm not surprised. I'm excited for the next game and for the rest of the season to come."Dillard said that even after losing their lead, the Owls kept their poise during overtime, and the defense stepped up to keep Rice in the game."The offense was struggling, but our defense was able to suppress Tulsa's comeback and halt them at the end, which shows a lot," Dillard said. "We came out with a lot of confidence in overtime, and we knew that we were given this chance to win the game, so we had to win the game."Looking ahead to next week, the Owls will head to San Antonio to play UTSA on Saturday, Oct. 12. The Roadrunners are 2-4 this season and 1-1 in conference play. Bailiff said that although Rice won 34-14 over UTSA last year, the team should not be taken lightly."UTSA is a formidable opponent," Bailiff said. "For us to go out on the road to get a win, we have to play how we did against Tulsa for both the first and second half .... They're good; they are a much-improved football team than what we saw a year ago ..., but the good news is we [have been] playing hard. They can run and are an extremely fast football team. They play so hard every down."

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Hoot changes ordering process for hot food

By Christen Sparago

The Hoot has changed its hot food ordering process, according to General Manager Mattie Pena.Pena, a Martel College junior, oversees the Hoot North and South restaurant managers in placing hot food orders and said it is hard to predict the amount of hot food the Hoot might sell on any given night."The process [of deciding how much hot food to order] is extremely difficult," Pena said. "We know customers get disappointed when we run out of food, but the Hoot is proving itself to be a sustainable business as we continue to adjust our hot food sales and reduce waste."Hoot South Restaurant Manager Allison Connell said she is responsible for ordering Papa John's pizza for both the North and South locations."I decide how much to order based on historical data of hot food sales," Connell, a Sid Richardson College senior, said. "Major factors include what day of the week it is, what other events are occurring on campus and nights before major tests."According to Connell, the Hoot had previously lost a significant amount of profit due to unsold hot food."Before last year, ordering was done with the thought that the Hoot should have hot food available until closing," Connell said. "However, this was not a feasible business model. Food that had not been sold by closing was a straight loss. Our [new] goal is to run out of hot food around 12:45 [a.m.] each night."Hoot North Restaurant Manager Carey Skinner said she and Connell make sure to also take data from previous years into consideration when deciding how much hot food to order. Skinner, a Duncan College junior, said she is in charge of ordering Chick-fil-A for both the north and south locations of the Hoot."There are definitely other factors that contribute, like weather and study breaks," Skinner said. "We look at the order history from the past week and [from the current] week of school the past year."Skinner said losing money from not selling out of hot food is problematic for a business as small as the Hoot."There is a break-even point of an amount of each hot food item we must sell every night in order to pay employees and make any profit," Skinner said. "Having leftovers means we paid for a lot of wasted product, which decreases our profit."Duncan College junior Jake LaViola said he wishes the Hoot had hot food available later at night."I've gone to the Hoot a few times around midnight or 12:15 a.m., and they have frequently been out of hot food," LaViola said. "I would love for them to have more hot food since I do not get out of rehearsals and meetings until 11 p.m."Lovett College junior Daniel Imas said the Hoot has been sold out of hot food roughly half the times he has visited."The Hoot exists to serve as a late-night food option for Rice students who have few options without having to drive off campus," Imas said. "When they run out of food early on a consistent basis because of under-ordering, they aren't serving their purpose or the Rice student body."Connell said the Hoot offers many other options for purchase so that students will not have to go hungry in the event hot food is sold out."We want to have something for customers who come later in the night, [so] we offer items such as ramen, chips, pop tarts and candy bars," Connell said. "Additionally, this week, we are running a special on hummus and pretzel cups, which we may add permanently to the menu if they do well."Pena said the Hoot's new hot food ordering process is just one example of the opportunities student-run businesses give students to learn about management."Three years ago, Hoot managers were just beginning to experiment with sales and products and were unaware of the trends," Pena said. "Now, the business has grown to the point where we are able to predict market trends and adjust accordingly. I hope Rice leadership can understand how much hard work and learning goes into making the Hoot a successful business."

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Powderpuff Roundup: Will Rice ends Hanszen's winning streak

By Dan Elledge

Baker vs. HanszenIn a game that had been rescheduled from week three, Baker College played Hanszen College on Saturday afternoon. In a defensive struggle, Hanszen outlasted the Bakerites with a 9-0 win. Hanszen Head Coach Nehemiah Ankoor said the defense came up with clutch stops when they needed them."We made just enough plays on offense to get the lead, and the defense, despite giving up a lot of yardage, never let them cross the goal line," Ankoor, a senior, said. "We bent but didn't break and made big stops when it counted.  Hanszen vs. Will Rice Hanszen came out flat in the second game of its doubleheader weekend, falling to Will Rice College 20-0 in its first loss of the season. Hanszen now has a record of 3-1, and Will Rice is 2-2. Ankoor said Will Rice dominated Hanszen and that he was upset with the performance."Will Rice kicked our ass on both sides of the ball," Ankoor said. "We were on the cusp of scoring four times and just did not finish." Duncan vs. Brown On Sunday afternoon, Brown College shut out Duncan College 12-0 thanks to a strong defensive effort. Brown is now 3-2 this season, and the Duncaroos are winless at 0-3. Brown Head Coach Miles Wilson said he was proud of Brown's performance."We had a good game, we executed well and played good defense," Wilson said. "Duncan played well and in the end we were able to make a few more plays." Jones vs. Martel Jones College and Martel College were tied for most of the game until the Fast Women scored a late touchdown to give Jones the 7-0 win. Jones now has a record of 2-3, and Martel fell to 2-2. Jones Head Coach Nicholas Semon said he was proud of the team's effort."The defense came through big with a shutout, and the offense was able to move the ball pretty consistently throughout the game," Semon, a senior, said.  Sid Rich vs. Baker On Sunday afternoon, Sid Richardson College's offense was running on all cylinders in a 24-6 win against Baker. Baker is now 1-3 this season, and Sid Rich improved to 2-1. Sid Rich Head Coach Drew Travis said Sid's offense is finally starting to click and that the entire team gave a well-rounded performance."Sid is still really struggling to pass the ball after the season-ending injury to our senior quarterback Rachel Tenney, but fortunately we have been able to run the ball up the middle effectively," Travis, a senior, said. "The defense is playing so strong that they are giving us the chance to win games."

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Feminism campaign promotes gender equality

By Maha Aziz

The "Who Needs Feminism?" project was brought to Rice to help eradicate gender inequality and misconceptions about feminism, according to campaign organizer Anastasia Bolshakov."The [project] is pretty much a [public relations] campaign at Rice for feminism," Bolshakov, a Duncan College junior, said. "It's to show the campus that feminism is not this radical, crazy thing but that it's about equality and human rights - at least to me."The project was conceived at Duke University by a group of female students after they learned that many students thought feminism was dead, according to the project's national website, whoneedsfeminism.com.Bolshakov said students at Rice could always improve their understanding of the feminist movement."In our discussions, we talked about the definition of feminism and why Rice needs it," Bolshakov said. "Many people were able to bring up concrete examples of gender inequality on campus."Bolshakov and fellow campaign organizer Clara Roberts said they worked together along with Duncan senior Rachel Poppers and Duncan Master Luis Duno-Gottberg to initiate the project."This is not as much of an organization as it is a movement," Roberts, a Duncan junior, said. "We really want people to get thinking critically about [feminism] and to bring in people who don't really think about this."According to Poppers, the project was given a test run at Duncan before it was brought to the rest of campus."You interact with people who are unlike you every day while you are here at Rice," Poppers said. "It's necessary to learn how to embrace those differences."Duno-Gottberg said he has high hopes that change can be achieved at Rice."My wish is that Rice students come away with a deeper understanding of the many forms [in which] inequality manifests," Duno-Gottberg said. "This project illustrates a method of activism around urgent social issues."Poppers said feminism is a misunderstood and uncomfortable topic in today's society."I hope more people will embrace the 'f-word,' " Poppers said. "Feminism has bad stereotypes associated with it that simply aren't true."The project held an event at the Rice University Women's Resource Center this past week to give students an opportunity to speak their minds by providing whiteboards for students to complete the statement, 'I need feminism because ... '"We didn't provide a definition of feminism [because we wanted] to get people to think about how feminism applies to them personally," Roberts said.According to Roberts, the organizers frequently upload the photos of students and staff posing with their reasons for needing feminism to the project's Facebook page, "Who Needs Feminism at Rice," in order to raise even more awareness.Martel College sophomore Audrey Smith said she identified instances of inequality better after she participated in the project."I had always assumed that women had reached a point of being treated the same as men," Smith said. "Being around and interacting with people who were more conscious of feminist issues made me start to notice them as well."Lovett College junior Daniel Imas said he wrote on his whiteboard, "I need feminism because they shouldn't be called women's rights - they're human rights.""It is important that males send a message that reinforces female equality," Imas said. "If I can lend my voice to a movement that fights to give my mom, my female friends and my female role models a voice, it seems like a no-brainer to me that I should support it."Bolshakov, Roberts and Poppers said they will continue the "Who Needs Feminism?" project at Rice and try to eliminate inequality based on gender, race and other factors here."It's important for young people not to forget how far the U.S. has come in terms of equality, but also how far we have left to go," Imas said.

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Beats & Beer: Rice is 'bout that life

By Taylor Britt

KTRU hosted its first "Beats and Beer" event at Willy's Pub last Thursday night. It was not the first rap show I had seen at Willy's Pub (a young Fat Tony played there a couple of years ago), but it was definitely the wildest.Thanks mostly to the high energy brought by headliner Rai P, who has been turning up Houston's clubs since 2006 with songs like "Ain't Bout That Life," the atmosphere was chaotic, and the event was definitely a success.DJs and twin brothers Siddiq and Jay Smith started things off with some cool tracks, culminating in Future's new menacing single "Sh!t." Local rapper Quinn took the stage next and played a few jams before being joined by Rai P for their songs "Booty Springs" (produced by  June James) and "Do it like Maliah," which is about the famous Houston stripper, Maliah, who was once Drake's girlfriend. Rai P played a couple of songs solo before finishing his set with "Swagged Up I Be Killin" (also produced by James), which he was joined in rapping by a surprisingly talented Rice student, Martel College junior Danny Connolly, who came out of the crowd.Rap shows do not commonly come to Rice, but the event's crowd seemed to enjoy the experience nonetheless. By the end of the night, the initial divides between the normal Pub crowd, non-Rice people who came for the show, and KTRU members experiencing the music on a mobius strip of self-awareness dissolved, and Pub became the dungeon of twerking that Rai P demanded."Beats and Beer" offered Rice a great opportunity to witness Houston's underground rap scene, which continues to innovate and create exciting new styles even as demand for the traditional screwed Houston sound has grown dramatically nationwide. None of the performers bothered catering to this expectation: Siddiq and Jay played hits from Atlanta and from Los Angeles producer DJ Mustard, while Rai P sounds a lot more like Dallas' Young Nation than anything one would expect from Houston. KTRU has been forced to grapple with redefining its identity in recent years after the deeply unfortunate sale of the 91.7 FM radio frequency, but its ability to throw fun, small shows like this that expose students and Houston residents to the vibrant local music scene is a great indication that the station continues to be a relevant and vital fixture at Rice.

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Volleyball continues to struggle in C-USA play

By Julie Doar

Rice University women's volleyball lost two away games this past weekend in Conference USA play. The University of Tulsa beat the Owls 3-0 on Friday, and the Owls fell 3-2 to the University of Southern Mississippi in a close contest on Sunday, bringing Rice's conference record to 1-3. The Owls will now look to improve that record with their upcoming home games this weekend. They will play Marshall University this Friday at 7 p.m., then play the University of Charlotte Sunday at 1 p.m. in the annual Dig Pink event to support breast cancer. Head Coach Genny Volpe said the biggest reason for the loss against Tulsa was the team's difficulty with finishing strong. Volpe said this has been an issue throughout the season. "Against Tulsa, we were ahead most of the time and couldn't finish," Volpe said. "We had some key errors at key times, and this led to Tulsa gaining confidence and coming back to defeat us. We had a great game plan for Tulsa, and the team was executing it very well. We just didn't finish when we had the chance."Volpe said the team did not take full advantage of certain opportunities against Southern Miss. "We were given some opportunities that we didn't take advantage of," Volpe said. "We have to do this to win these tight matches."Senior outside hitter Mariah Riddlesprigger agreed the team needs to build its ability to finish strong. Riddlesprigger said the team can play with the best. "I think the biggest thing we need to work on is finishing a game," Riddlesprigger said. "I feel like this whole season we have all the tools necessary to win, but we just need to be able to go in there and finish. We were up by eight points at one time, and we weren't able to capitalize on that and finish the game, so I think our biggest weakness right now is the capability to finish a game."Volpe said the team will face tough competition as conference play keeps going, but the team is focusing on itself rather the opponent."Marshall is solid and will play hard," Volpe said. "Charlotte, we have never played, but we are more focused on our side of the net than the other side to start practice this week."Riddlesprigger said she is not deterred by recent losses and looks forward to next weekend with confidence. She said the team learned a lot this past weekend and has some advantages in the upcoming games. Riddlesprigger said that since the Owls have never played Charlotte before, they have no intimidating pre-existing notions of the team. She said she thinks a quest for redemption will invigorate the Owls against Marshall."I'm feeling pretty confident," Riddlesprigger said. "I think we learned a lot from this past weekend on what we need to work on in conference. Charlotte is a new opponent, so we have no clue what they look like. I think with Marshall, we've lost to them a few times in the past and we're out to redeem ourselves."During the Charlotte game, the team will be collecting donations and selling T-shirts for its Dig Pink campaign for the Side-Out Foundation to support breast cancer. Riddlesprigger said this is a meaningful event for the team."Dig Pink is something really big to our team," Riddlesprigger said. "We've raised a lot of money for it in the past, and I think it's a great cause, and I'm happy we are continuing to do it."The Owls head into this weekend with anticipation for success. Volpe said the team is on an upward climb, as indicated by the near-win against Southern Miss. The team's next goal is to finish a game with a victory under its belt."There certainly was progress made over the weekend," Volpe said. "But until these turn into wins, we won't be satisfied."

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Soccer team stuck at .500 in conference play

By Luke Samora

Returning home for the weekend, Rice women's soccer played the University of North Texas on Friday night, winning 4-0, and lost 1-0 Sunday to the University of Tulsa in a game aired on national television. The team looks to improve its conference record, now at .500, with a win on the road this Saturday, when it faces the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss. In Friday's contest against UNT, Rice scored only one goal in the first half, but increased its scoring output in the second half, making three more goals. The team relied on contributions from junior midfielder Gabriela Iribarne, who scored two goals, and from sophomore midfielder Jasmine Isokpunwu and junior forward Quinny Truong, who each scored a goal. Junior goalkeeper Amy Czyz also contributed to the defensive shutout with five saves. Head Coach Nicky Adams said she had nothing but high praise for the win and the team's consistent play."I was really proud of the way we played," Adams said. "I thought we came out and played as a collective unit, and the scoreboard showed it."On Sunday, the Owls played Tulsa at home, falling to the Golden Hurricane 1-0. Although Rice had 10 shots, with five on target, Tulsa senior goalkeeper Hayley Harryman recorded five saves to preserve the shutout. The first and only goal came in the 38th minute, when Tulsa sophomore midfielder Alexa Sidorakis scored off an assist from freshman forward Annette Sohmer for her first goal of the season. Notable contributions came from Czyz, who recorded four saves, and sophomore forward Lauren Hughes, who recorded three shots on goal.After both games, senior defender Hayley Williams said the defensive effort of both teams was outstanding and felt that even with the loss, the Owls have been making progress.  "I was really proud of our defensive effort," Williams said. "We started our season kind of rough, but I think we have started to figure it out."Adams said the team needs to put this loss behind it and focus on its road matches ahead."We need to focus on the now and what we have," Adams said. "We're going to come out with the same mentality against a very good Southern Mississippi team."This Saturday, Rice will play Southern Miss. The Owls are 2-2 in Conference USA to start the season and will look to jumpstart their record against the Golden Eagles. In last year's matchup, also in Hattiesburg, the Rice Owls put away Southern Miss in a 1-0 shutout. Then-freshman forward Holly Hargreaves scored the game-winning goal to become the first Owl to score the game-winning goal in four straight games.Adams said if the team wants to repeat the historic night from last season, it needs to be prepared because the teams in C-USA are only getting better."We have to be ready," Adams said. "Everyone in this league is improving, and Southern Mississippi is definitely one of them."

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Future tennis stars shine in USTA tournament at Jake Hess Stadium

By Dan Elledge

Even though Rice men's tennis team is on hiatus right now, there is still some high-level tennis action going on at Jake Hess Stadium with the United State Tennis Association Futures event, which started Oct. 5 and ends Oct. 13. The main draw, which starts Wednesday, will feature 32 of the best young players in the world, ranked from 300 to 800 in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings. The winner of the event will take home $15,000, along with ATP points that will help boost the winner's international ranking and chances at entering future events.Rice men's tennis Assistant Coach Bojan Szumanski said Rice was excited to hear it could host the event after a site in Austin dropped out as a host earlier this season."For some reason, Austin did not want to host anymore, so we jumped on it," Szumanski said. "USTA said that the facilities looked good, and we wanted to bring good tennis to Houston and get our guys exposed to more international players and get a chance to compete on the court."Szumanski said the tournament could be important for improving Rice's status on both a national and international level. He said he hoped hosting the tournament would increase Rice's prestige."It can help improve the visibility of Rice on a national level, and [it's important to] bring some good tennis to the community, too, and maybe help promote Futures tennis," Szumanski said.Two Owls won wild card spots into the main draw. Sophomore Tommy Bennett won a wild card spot at a qualifying tournament earlier in September and sophomore Adam Gustafsson won the second spot by winning an inter-team competition. Szumanski said Bennett and Gustafsson have played in major tournaments before and will be prepared to face highly talented competitors in the tournament."Both of these guys have played these kind of events before," Szumanski said. "[Gustafsson] has played in Europe, and [Bennett] played in junior Wimbledon two years ago."Szumanski said this could be remarkable experience for Bennett and Gustafsson before the collegiate tennis season gets going. Even with their previous experiences in Europe, any match against elite opponents is crucial for their development. "For them to win a round or two in this tournament, that would be a great confidence booster, and their hard work would come to fruition because they have both made a great deal of progress," Szumanski said.The rest of the team participated in the qualifying portion that lasted from Saturday through Monday. Junior Srikar Alla won all three of his matches to earn a spot in the main draw, joining Bennett and Gustafsson.On the team with Alla are three new tennis players on Rice's roster: freshmen Max Andrews, David Warren and Zachary Yablon. Szumanski said this team seems to work better as a cohesive group compared with previous squads. Szumanski said he and Head Coach Efe Ustundag are excited for the upcoming season. "I think our energy overall has been better than last year," Szumanski said. "I think [we have] very good team chemistry this year. Everybody is working hard, and the level of talent will definitely [give us more depth] than last year. In the tournaments, I've seen some good results." Szumanski said hosting Futures events is not a one-time thing. He said especially with the George R. Brown Tennis Complex on the way next year, Rice has the facilities to showcase events like this and will hopefully be welcoming the future stars of tennis for years to come.  "That's our plan, especially with the new facility that will be ready next June, so next year, we will have 14 courts at our disposal with locker rooms," Szumanski said. "We are hoping to keep this, if we could, every year and give our guys a chance to compete."

NEWS 10/8/13 7:00pm

Rice Wi-Fi complaints increase

By Anita Alem

In recent weeks, Rice University Information Technology has seen an increase in the number of complaints associated with the Rice Owls Wi-Fi network, according to Director of Networking, Telecommunications and Data Center Operations William Deigaard. Deigaard said IT tracks the number of complaints through a ticketing system, in which patrons who contact the IT Help Desk can open a ticket so that their case is properly managed."We have noticed a general trend toward a larger number of tickets coming in, with people saying that [they] can't get connected or [their] signal is weak," Deigaard said. "There are lots of causes that all sort of converge at the same time."The reasons for the Wi-Fi difficulties include power failures, interfering devices and old drivers on computers, according to Deigaard. However, Deigaard said the main issue was a large influx of wireless devices."Everybody's showed up with a laptop, an iPhone or an Android device, [or] a tablet of some sort," Deigaard said. "One of the big problems is the sheer number of devices competing for the shared space. Think of the wireless as a fixed-size freeway. With four cars, everybody gets all the lanes they want. [With] 500 cars on it, they're still moving, [but] it's just a lot slower, and your experience is not as good."Senior Network Architect Danny Eaton said there are several devices that connect to the same radio frequency as that of networking devices, resulting in interference."Microwave ovens, Xbox controllers, Bluetooth keyboards, wireless speakers - all of that can contribute to interference and very poor performance," Eaton said. "[With] an Xbox 360, communication from the controller to the bay station is all in the 2.4 gigahertz. So if you have an [access point] in your room, you could be causing anybody using the 2.4 gigahertz on that access point ... to have problems."Martel College senior Denis Leahy said he recently had a new access point installed outside his dorm room."I've been having poor connection, and [the Internet] has been randomly disconnecting pretty frequently," Leahy said. "I haven't had any problems since [they installed the access point]."Deigaard said IT has made several improvements by adding access points in particularly problematic areas where students reported having connectivity issues. He said IT will be able to make the most effective adjustments if students report their connectivity issues along with where and when they occur. However, Deigaard said there is a limit to the effectiveness of adding access points in easing the connectivity issues."We are always looking for ways to advance the wireless network," Deigaard said. "Just about every enhancement requires money. Every time you add additional access points, you use up some of the [radio frequencies], and sometimes there isn't enough [radio frequency] to make that work. So one thing to do is to add more wireless."Deigaard said students also have another option besides wireless: an Ethernet connection."[A patch cord] is more inconvenient, but if you want to have a very, very good connected experience, you've got to think about using it," Deigaard said. "It takes you off the wireless road and pretty much gives you your own personal HOV lane. We're not saying that's the fix, but it's not like wireless is your only choice."Users can report issues with connecting to the Internet by emailing helpdesk@rice.edu or calling the IT Help Desk at 713-348-4357.

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