Engineers can play the violin, psychologists can play the guitar, linguists can play the clarinet. Trent Navran, a McMurtry College freshman and a member of the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program, plays the flute. Non-music majors like Navran are encouraged to foster their musical passions via the Rice University Campanile Orchestra.
Rice's class rings have been a tradition since 1916; however, there is now a student push to create more of a tradition and culture around the ring itself. The committee involved with this initiative would like to increase student participation in ring purchases and would like to help make the ring more special by planning events around it.
This year's theme of "Harry NODder: Slytherin to My Chamber of Secrets" has generated a considerable amount of buzz since it was first announced. In the weeks leading up to NOD, Rice University girls have been searching for the perfect garters to match their Gryffindor ties, Rice boys have been Googling things like "Hufflepuff boxers" and everyone has been working on that "NOD bod." In honor of this year's theme, it seems appropriate to look into Dumbledore's pensieve and review the origins of NOD.
Houston's elite gathered to admire and acquire the latest works by contemporary artists last weekend at the Texas Contemporary Art Fair. How much did it cost many of these collectors to take home a brand new, original painting? Five dollars.
Being a trailblazer takes on a whole new meaning as Martel College freshman Elle Eccles and Wiess College junior Henry Gorman both show how to perfectly execute the classic blazer. Eccles gives a youthful perspective to a mature, business-appropriate navy blazer by pairing it with a plaid skirt and simple accessories. By adding the blazer, she demonstrates her personal style in an updated yet classic way. The simple bow on the skirt gives a feminine touch to the structured staple. With her ballet flats and basic white shirt staying within the same color palette as her blazer, she allows the other elements of her look to seamlessly blend into her outfit.
More than 1 billion people do not have access to clean water, 925 million are malnourished and 22,000 children die every day due to poverty, according to Nourish International's website. However, Rice University Nourish International club plans to change this for the better by fundraising for a summer service project.
When Rice Program Council was handing out free tickets to the 2009 Tony Best Play nominee "Dividing the Estate," it seemed to bode well for a great night of theater. This production did not live up to its Tony nomination, though, making the fact that tickets were free a lucky deal. The generally circular plot, repetitive dialogue, and frustrating characters made for a mild, easy play that may appeal to older audiences, but came off as dry.
A new interactive teaching format known as SCALE-UP premiered in two Rice courses this semester and is set to expand to more classes next semester.
In a matchup of the two schools who have combined to win the last 15 Conference USA championships, the swim team proved they still have a lot to learn from Southern Methodist University. The SMU women's swim team won 156-106 in a C-USA dual meet, the first of the season for both teams, on Oct. 15 at the Rice Aquatics Center. It was just last spring when Rice ended SMU's winning streak of 14-straight conference championships in women's swimming by claiming the 2011 C-USA title and it is clear from Saturday's match that the Mustangs were out for revenge. Rice showed that it was still out to contend this season, as sophomore Chelsea Fong set a facility record with a time of 2:05.64 in the 200-yard individual medley and senior Alex O'Brien took the top position in the 1,000-yard freestyle, but, possibly seeking vengeance from their loss last season, SMU won 12 of the meet's 14 events while setting seven facility records.
Salman Khan has been selected as the commencement speaker for Rice's 99th graduation ceremony (See story, pg.1). The pick is an interesting one in that he lacks the star power typical of a commencement speaker, yet represents many of the aspects of an ideal Rice graduate. As the founder of the non-profit Khan Academy, Khan represents entrepreneurship, leadership, a focus on education and community conscientiousness. While Khan may not be a household name right now, he certainly represents the upcoming generation of leaders. Khan's vision has already created one of most effective open-source educational resources available, and he will likely continue to revolutionize education as his career progresses.
At a recent Baker Institute event, former Senator Alan Simpson said: "If the U.S. government is beholden to AARP and Grover Norquist, then we don't have a prayer, don't have a prayer, of getting anything done." His analysis, though dismal, is completely accurate — U.S. policy is paralyzed by moneyed special interests, and it is eating away at our democracy and hindering any chance at progress.
You'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't enjoy a good picnic. The idea of sitting outside and enjoying the nice weather, good company and a tasty meal has a particularly timeless and idyllic feel to it. These aspects of picnics and the bonding that they engender have led the university to pursue many of these events on various occasions throughout the year, from O-Week to Willy Week and other, more random times in between. While the intent is good and the idea behind the picnics is a great one, a growing number of students do not seem to enjoy the picnics as much as one would think. In fact, some students downright avoid them in favor of off-campus alternatives.
While Willy's Pub's financial woes are widely known, it seems that now the establishment is less fiscally viable than ever before (See story, pg. 1). With Little Willy's floundering, unsustainable operating costs, and the shift to hosting Pub Nights at home colleges, Pub is finding it more and more difficult to escape the red.
Suffering from an ongoing financial decline since the drinking age in Texas changed from 18 to 21 in 1986, Willy's Pub is now close to going under.
What do you get when you combine some new students with three chimpanzees, two atomic bombs and one awkward reference to bestiality? You have the 2011 production of Wiess Tabletop's Freshmen One-Acts! A long lasting Wiess College tradition, the show stars 24 new Wiess students performing in short plays directed by Wiess upperclassmen. As usual, Wiess again delivers an amusing, varied performance guaranteed to make anyone happy.
Three Hanszen College seniors have begun developing an Academic Cup competition similar to the athletic competition provided by the President's Cup to encourage scholastic rivalry. Head Academic Fellows and seniors at Hanszen College Raymond Verm and Apoorv Bhargava and Hanszen college senior Travis San Pedro, think this idea will be instrumental in raising awareness of the fellows program campus wide.
Few can attest to learning the entirety of Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" dance in less than seven minutes, or only two viewings of the YouTube sensation. Among this small denomination is Jarvis Sam, Hanszen College junior and employee at Music World Entertainment, a local record label in Houston representing Destiny's Child and Beyonce Knowles.
