Many Houston area children received a special gift this Christmas season. From Nov. 4 to Dec. 12, the Rice University Police Department sponsored a toy drive for Shriners Hospital for Children.
Last semester, my classmates and I harvested vegetables at the Hanszen College community garden. Some of the students had never harvested before, and we were all smiles as we pulled up radishes from the ground and gave them to the Baker College Kitchen. The class, EBIO 204, was a lot of fun, and I got to keep a bag of radishes (and later added some sweet basil to the mix).
Online note: The pdf's of the following article are included in this week's news section. The pdf's contain additional information.
On Jan. 3, local news swarmed Rice campus to report that an employee was rescued from the attic of Rayzor Hall. According to Houston Fire Department Public Information Officer Jay Evans, around 10:45 a.m, an electrician who was called to check on the air conditioning vent in the ceiling of Rayzor Hall fell through the ducts and required the fire department to remove him from the walls.
Olivia Hansen's op-ed in the Nov. 30, 2012, issue of the Thresher made serious allegations about the administration's conduct in handling her case but also created a dialogue about an important campus issue. The article was a controversial one about an uncomfortable issue; however, in order to be a productive public forum, it is essential that the Thresher continue to print content such as Hansen's op-ed - regardless of how contentious it may be.
Do you know how to drive a stick shift? Chances are, the answer is no. I polled more than 75 Rice students, and the overwhelming majority (more than 70 percent) said that they did not know how to drive a manual transmission car. According to Jalopnik.com, manual transmission cars have gone from approximately 45 percent of cars on the road in 1990 to less than 7 percent today as consumers and automakers alike increasingly view the manual transmission as technology from the bygone era. Interestingly, the decline in manual transmissions seems to be a distinctly American trend: According to the automotive market analyst company CSM Worldwide, around 75 percent of the cars in Europe still have manual transmissions.
The closing of one of Houston's oldest department stores has sparked a discussion about its historic home and the future of retail downtown.
In response to "Rice maintains 'happiest students' status by ousting unhappy students" (Nov. 30 2012)
Rice University's highest governing authority, the board of trustees, is getting a change in leadership as Bobby Tudor III (Hanszen '82), namesake of the Tudor Fieldhouse, succeeds Jim Crownover (Hanszen '65) as its next chairman.
Approximately 150 students, masters, administrators and staff members gathered for a sit-in and rally against the university's treatment of mental illness and sexual assault cases on campus. Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson spoke at the sit-in and addressed student questions.
Are you dreaming of a white christmas? Just because there's no snow in Houston doesn't mean that Houstonians can't appreciate a winter wonderland. Whether you're looking for a fun study break to spread some holiday cheer or wondering what you'll do with all your free time after those pesky finals are over, Houston has plenty of events to offer this holiday season.
In the past month, students may have heard talk of an art panel, a new thrift store in the Rice University Memorial Center, or even a fabled "zine." Hipsters may not be infiltrating Rice, but Art Lab is.
Fisher v. The University of Texas has revived one of the most polemical debates in America: whether race can be used as a factor in admissions to institutes of higher education. This issue undoubtedly resonates at Rice University, which, like most American universities, factors an applicant's ethnicity when selecting its freshman class. While the arguments concerning affirmative action are widely known, a true understanding of the issue requires both legal and historical background.
Explosions burst when reactive substances combine, producing bright lights, loud sounds, vibrant colors and blazing heat. Dhamaka, the Hindi word for explosion and the name of the Rice South Asian Society's annual fall cultural show, was nothing less than an explosion in every sense of the term.
This is a response to Olivia Hansen's column.
Rice Dance Theater's fall 2012 production, Louder Than Words, was one of its best shows to date and truly a remarkable performance. Building on the momentum of its spring 2012 production, Dancing Between the Lines, the show demonstrated that RDT is continuing to move in the right direction and is gaining more of a following. In the past, RDT had incorporated some modern elements of dance and performance that, while innovative, have not always made the show very approachable to the average attendee. Its latest production, however, featured performances and music spanning a variety of time periods and genres.
