Special Projects

SPORTS 4/9/24 11:54pm

The Dahlins turn Beer Bike into a family affair

By Kathleen Ortiz

As Marla Dahlin finished her first lap around the bike track early Saturday afternoon, she could hear chants coming from the Wiess College tent.

A&E 4/9/24 11:49pm

Museum fellows talk art, academia and experiential learning

By Noah Berz

On Monday mornings at 8 a.m., Ella Langridge walks upstairs to her desk at the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens and gets to work, sifting through photocopies of Americana and decorative arts with pasts unknown. Langridge’s job, as this year’s Jameson Fellow for American Painting & Decorative Arts, is to research these artifacts, uncover their histories and communicate their uniquely American stories to the collection’s thousands of annual visitors.

A&E 4/9/24 11:48pm

Review: ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ is Peak Cinema

By Hamza Saeed

There is no easy way to quantify a film, much to the chagrin of lazy film critics and lazier audiences. We may try to force a movie to fit into a box labeled ⅗ or ⅘ , but occasionally, there appears a work of art that refuses such indignity. A breathtaking fabrication that rejects the premise of a “rating,” whatever that monstrous practice might entail. These magna opera simply are. Along this line of thought, it makes sense to characterize this film for what it is, rather than lambast it for what it is not. This movie is about giant monkeys and lizards fighting.

A&E 4/9/24 11:47pm

Review: “Bryson Tiller re-envisions genre on self-titled album”

By Ashley Wang

Seasoned R&B singer Bryson Tiller has returned with his fourth studio album, a self-titled record that infuses cyberpunk aesthetics into both its visuals and its sound. On the eponymous album, Tiller, best known for hits like “Don’t” and “Exchange,” takes on the challenge of deconstructing his own artistic journey. “Bryson Tiller” is a multi-genre departure from Tiller’s comfort zone. It features pop, dancehall, neo-soul and drill elements next to his signature combination of hip hop and R&B.

A&E 4/9/24 11:44pm

Senior Spotlight: Orion Miller spins his own tune

By Chiara Moretti

Orion Miller began playing classical instruments before most toddlers refine their motor skills. Now a bass performance major at the Shepherd School of Music, Miller’s passion for music began during his childhood in New York. Both of his parents are musicians and encouraged their children to play instruments — Miller began playing the cello at age three and bass at 11.

A&E 4/9/24 11:43pm

Huberman and Hugetz observe American empire

By Arman Saxena

For around 30 years, filmmakers Brian Huberman and Ed Hugetz have been working on their seven-part series “Once I Moved Like the Wind: Geronimo’s Final Surrender to the American Empire.” The two present the fourth part of their film, titled “Carcosa” at Rice Cinema April 13 at 7 p.m.

A&E 4/9/24 11:42pm

Wiess Tabletop to perform ‘Hello, Hamlet!’ this weekend

By Chiara Moretti

The Wiess Tabletop performance, “Hello, Hamlet!” is returning to Wiess College commons this weekend after four years. The show, according to members of the cast and crew, is a comedic parody of the original Shakespeare production. There will be three performances from April 12 to 14, each starting at 7:30 p.m. and free for all students and alumni.

FEATURES 4/9/24 11:37pm

Rice professors tackle teaching, tenure

By Noah Berz

Jamie Catanese stands outside the Anderson Biological Laboratories with his students as they present research posters for his BIOS 211 class. With his hands down at his sides, he snaps his fingers and throws out questions to familiar students passing by. One student comes to him with an empty major declaration form, and he fills it out without hesitation, laughing and cracking jokes as he signs his name.

FEATURES 4/9/24 11:32pm

Abdel Razzaq Takriti reasons with revolution

By Amy Li

At 16, Abdel Razzaq Takriti already knew two things: he wanted to be a humanities scholar, and he wanted to teach. He was inspired by his mother, a high school teacher; his grandfather, a university professor, dean and prominent academic; and many of his teachers.

NEWS 4/9/24 11:10pm

Student workers matter

By Denise Maldonado and Sarah Sowell

It is commonly accepted at Rice that our plates are always full. Beyond keeping up with our demanding coursework, Rice students are involved in a variety of research opportunities, administrative work, community advocacy and so much more. Our classmates are integral to our favorite student-run businesses and world-class research, and you can even find them giving tours to prospective students all around the year. In short, undergraduate employment is a core aspect of the Rice experience.

OPINION 4/9/24 11:09pm

Honor at Rice is in jeopardy

By Rodolfo Gutierrez

I decided to go to Rice in part because I was told that this university had a unique culture of honor, trust and freedom. The honor system is one of Rice’s longest-standing traditions, created by the first class in 1912. I joined the Honor Council four years ago because I believed that students, rather than faculty or administration, should keep other students accountable and that their cases be heard by their peers.

OPINION 4/9/24 11:04pm

Two-faced Rice administration undermines university values

By Ibrahim Al-Akash

The recent tabling of S.RES 02 showcases the blatant hypocrisy of the Rice administration and sets a dangerous precedent of silencing students’ intellectual discussion. The resolution called for the SA’s creation of an Ethical Advisory Board, which would monitor Blanket Tax spending on companies deemed complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

OPINION 4/9/24 11:03pm

Overly stringent public capacity limits harm Rice traditions

By Thresher Editorial Board

At 7 a.m. sharp on Beer Bike morning, students gathered in a line (if one can call it that) stretching nearly to McMurtry College commons, in hopes of attending Martel College’s iconic morning party. Upon entry, students would discover that the historically packed public boasted the attendance of, well, a large FITQ.

OPINION 4/9/24 11:02pm

Letter to the editor: In defense of the Honor Council

By Pedro Ribeiro

Recently, the Thresher Editorial Board published an editorial criticizing the Honor Council's decision to allow confidential accusations by students. While their editorial does bring some valid points, it is in many ways misinformed about the Honor Council process.

NEWS 4/9/24 10:57pm

Philosophers debate the problem of evil

By Hongtao Hu

The Houston Institute hosted a debate on “The Problem of Evil” at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies April 2. Rice students and Houstonians filed in to listen to Rob Koons from the University of Texas at Austin and Luis Oliveira from the University of Houston debate how evil could be present assuming God exists.

NEWS 4/9/24 10:55pm

HACER keeps name after student vote

By Sarah Knowlton

The Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment has voted to keep their current name after announcing that it would be changing in October. Club members voted on different name options throughout the semester, culminating in a final vote alongside HACER’s executive board elections, co-president Melissa Cantú said.

NEWS 4/9/24 10:55pm

Historian Avi Shlaim gives talk on Gaza

By James Cancelarich

Avi Shlaim, a historian of Israel and Palestine, spoke April 6 at Rice in a talk titled “Gaza in Context: Reflections of an Arab Jew.” The event was a collaboration between the Rice history department, Jewish studies program and Arab-American educational foundation chair of Arab studies Abdel Razzaq Takriti.

NEWS 4/9/24 10:54pm

Spectra, LGBTQ+ mathematician organization, launches Rice chapter

By Amelia Davis

A new chapter of Spectra is being introduced at Rice this spring semester. Spectra is a professional association for LGBTQ+ mathematicians, originating as a protest after the 1995 Joint Mathematics Meeting conference was scheduled to take place in Colorado, which had recently passed a state amendment prohibiting anti-discrimination laws for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

NEWS 4/9/24 10:53pm

Professors honored with 2024 George R. Brown awards

By Viola Hsia

The Center of Teaching Excellence announced the winners of the George R. Brown Teaching Awards. Ten professors were awarded, with nine winning the Superior Teaching Award, and one winning the Excellence in Teaching Award.

OPINION 4/3/24 12:32pm

Keep war criminals off our campus

By Erica Augenstein

This February, current director of the Baker Institute, David Satterfield, invited former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to speak on Rice’s campus. Condoleezza Rice is infamous for her central role in launching the illegal U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. After an introduction by President Reginald DesRoches — where he celebrated Condoleezza Rice’s bloody legacy — Satterfield and Condoleezza Rice sat together as two never-elected bureaucrats with decades of experience directing colonial violence between them to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza and “the delicate balance between free speech and incitement.”