Special Projects

Players to watch

Senior middle blocker Lademi Ogunlana called this year’s volleyball team “stacked,” but in case you are already too busy with classes to learn the whole roster, here are five players all Rice fans should know going into the home opener Aug. 29 against No. 9 Texas A&M University.

Volleyball aiming for NCAA tournament after close miss last season

​​Middle blocker Lademi Ogunlana said she has no choice but to win when she lines up against No. 9 Texas A&M on Friday.

Owls in business: Student founders to watch out for

Sree’s Tiffin feeds a community of cravings

Of all the common sicknesses Rice undergraduate students face, none is more widespread than homesickness. Trisha Rangi said she understands what it’s like to miss things that feel like home, and she decided to do something about it.

Rice announces Chao College as 12th residential college

Rice announced that the 12th residential college will be named Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao College Aug. 19. The college, set to open in fall 2026, will contain nearly 300 on-campus beds. 

Dining access fund announced following on-campus unlimited meal swipes

Rice announced new food assistance programs on Tuesday to account for the controversial change in the on-campus meal swipe plan. 

Rice disaster prediction model discussed at hearing on deadly Central Texas floods

The House and Senate Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding held a hearing on July 31 in Kerrville to address the deadly July 4 flooding in Central Texas. The flooding along the banks of the Guadalupe River killed 108 people, including 37 children. In the charged hearing, Texas lawmakers and flood survivors criticized the local response to the disaster.  

NetID replaced by WhooRU

The Office of Information Technology launched WhooRU.rice.edu to replace MyNetID.rice.edu, the current online account management system, on August 1. 

NetID replaced by WhooRU

The Office of Information Technology launched WhooRU.rice.edu to replace MyNetID.rice.edu, the current online account management system, on August 1. 

Despite what H&D's new plan may claim, meal swipes were already unlimited

Imagine an on-campus student moves into their dorm the Saturday before classes start and stays three full days after the latest possible final exam. Imagine this student eats three meals a day, every day, at a servery. Imagine this student never orders Uber Eats, never goes to a restaurant, never gets a meal from a college or club event and never sle eps through breakfast. Imagine this student never travels during weekends, mid-semester recess or Thanksgiving break. Over the course of the semester, this student would eat 354 meals.

On-campus meal plan changed to unlimited swipes, with 10 guest swipes per semester

Housing and Dining recently revealed a new dining plan for the upcoming semester. The required on-campus meal plan now has unlimited meal swipes, compared to 375 meal swipes last year. H&D said the previous on-campus meal plan was for students who intended to eat on campus 15 to 25 meals a week. 

Review: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” in Concert with Houston Symphony

I was too young to catch the Harry Potter films in theaters when they first came out, but I still remember my earliest encounter with the series. After racing through the books in second grade, I ran straight to the library to check out the DVDs, clutching them like they were sacred artifacts. Even on a small screen, they felt magical, like the world was opening a secret door just for me.

A Texan’s Lollapalooza survival guide 2025

Unfamiliar with public transit or walkable streets? Terrified of skyscrapers taller than any medical center building? Fear not. This lifelong (for all intents and purposes) Texan was technically born in the Chicago area and is here to keep you alive, hydrated and — ideally — in possession of all your belongings during Lollapalooza. Grant Park opens its gates July 31 through Aug. 3 for Lollapalooza’s annual marathon of music, heat and inevitable port-a-potty searching. Pack your reusable bottle, channel some “Culture of Care” and hit the rail.

7 lesser-known artists to check out at Lollapalooza!

Grant Park’s headliners will draw the masses, but the real bragging rights come from catching tomorrow’s favorites before your roommate has added them to the group Spotify. There are so many great artists performing, and if you float from stage to stage, you just may find your next musical obsession. Here are some possible contenders: 

Scholar, mentor, cyclist: political scientist Bob Stein remembered

Robert  “Bob” M. Stein, Rice professor emeritus and prominent political scientist, passed away July 18 of cancer at 75. 

Rice community, experts lend support to Kerrville after deadly floods

In the early hours of the morning on July 4, flood waters rapidly rose the Guadalupe River to 30 feet above its normal height. One of the few gauges on the river failed. Young girls sleeping in the cabins of Camp Mystic on the banks of the river had no phones to receive the flood warnings.  

Tea Nook to close after 9 years of business

Rice’s student run boba tea shop will likely shutter its doors after managers were informed that they could no longer operate out of Sammy's Cafe in the Rice Student Center. 

Summer indie staples serenade House of Blues on Peach Pit and Briston Maroney’s “Long Hair, Long Life” tour.

A crowd gathered at House of Blues Houston on June 18 to hear the upbeat bedroom pop that got many of them through high school. Titled the “Long Hair, Long Life” tour (see the band members), this collaboration between Peach Pit and Briston Maroney felt like a time capsule to 2017: a setlist teeming with both original songs and music from their latest albums, “Magpie” and “JIMMY”, and an unspoken dress code of cargo shorts, graphic T-Shirts and backward caps.

Summer indie staples serenade House of Blues on Peach Pit and Briston Maroney’s “Long Hair, Long Life” tour.

A crowd gathered at House of Blues Houston on June 18 to hear the upbeat bedroom pop that got many of them through high school. Titled the “Long Hair, Long Life” tour (see the band members), this collaboration between Peach Pit and Briston Maroney felt like a time capsule to 2017: a setlist teeming with both original songs and music from their latest albums, “Magpie” and “JIMMY”, and an unspoken dress code of cargo shorts, graphic T-Shirts and backward caps.

Worth the wait: Andrew Thomas Huang practices patience

Andrew Thomas Huang says that patience is essential to being an artist. His proof? A film that has spent a decade in production, a career shaped by years in the music industry and a lifelong commitment to exploring queer identity and environmental themes — the kinds of stories, he said, that take time to tell right.