Special Projects

Baseball looks to gain consistency in San Francisco

With nearly a quarter of the season in the books, many pundits would wave off any sweeping generalizations about what the 9-6 record of the baseball team bodes for their postseason hopes. But while it may be optimistic to ignore such prognostications, it's clear to anyone who has paid a visit to Reckling Park this year that the Owls are still in search of the consistent play that is a hallmark of any Omaha-bound squad. Rice began their slate of spring break games with a series against the University of Southern California on Feb. 25-27. The Owls got off to a quick start with a 10-7 victory on Feb. 25. After USC took a 3-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, the Rice bats woke up, with the Owls scoring three runs before the Trojans recorded an out. Eleven batters later, the side was finally retired but not before a two-run home run by redshirt sophomore right fielder Ryan Lewis and a two-run single by junior center fielder Jeremy Rathjen had made the score 7-3. While junior pitcher Matthew Reckling was pulled after four innings, a four-hit, four-run combined effort from junior Taylor Wall, redshirt sophomore Andre Benak, and senior Abe Gonzales helped preserve a Rice lead that ballooned to 10-7 after a two-run home run from junior designated hitter Anthony Rendon. Saturday's contest was different in that Rice took a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning, courtesy of a Rendon home run and two one- RBI singles from Rathjen and freshman shortstop Derek Hamilton. The Trojans stormed back in the sixth inning, sending freshman pitcher Austin Kubitza packing after giving up a two-run home run to right field from Alex Sherrod and then hitting a batter with the bases loaded. Still, the bullpen provided some semblance of order for Rice as senior pitcher Tony Cingrani tossed two scoreless innings, giving the Owls time to collect three runs in the eighth inning, ultimately ending in a 6-5 victory for Rice. While the series victory had been clinched, Rice looked to earn the sweep on Sunday with freshman John Simms on the mound. Simms went 5.2 innings, allowing just one run on an inside-the-park home run.

Last week's online poll results

Owls soar over Memphis Tigers

Sitting within arms reach of the players warming up at halftime on Saturday night in Tudor Fieldhouse, Athletic Director Rick Greenspan's message to the men's basketball team was a short one. "Finish it!" Greenspan yelled emphatically to each player that walked past on the layup line, with just 20 minutes separating the Owls from their first ever win against the University of Memphis (21-7, 9-4 C-USA).

Online-only: Grande-Allen elected to AIMBE

The Thresher sat down with Bioengineering professor Jane Grande-Allen, who was recently elected a fellow for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.How do you feel about being elected a fellow for AIMBE?

IT survey deadline extended

Rice Information Technology stated that it will probably be keeping its annual survey open for two more weeks after falling short of desired response levels. To gather feedback on the campus's technology resources and usage from undergraduate and graduate students, staff and faculty, IT has conducted this survey for almost six years and incorporated incentives to motivate more responses.Carlyn Chatfield, the manager of IT communication, said that the survey was created through Rice's Inquisite software. IT published the link through Twitter, Facebook and a Thresher ad. It also sent three or four e-mail messages to students, faculty and staff members and through college and employee mailing lists. In addition, fliers were distributed to be posted in common gathering areas.

Alcohol: Probation announced

Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson sent out an e-mail yesterday placing the residential colleges on alcohol policy probation, effective immediately. Hutchinson cited the abuse of hard alcohol - which he defined as anything other than beer, wine or ale - and the danger it was creating for students as the impetus for this decision.Martel College president Kevin Tran said that each college will enforce a probation on serving and providing hard alcohol to minors. However, the exact policy enforced by each college and the method of enforcement will vary by college.

Sports notebook: Women's tennis splits matches in desert

With the desert winds whipping up to nearly 20 miles per hour at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., it seemed that Mother Nature was providing enough competition for the women's tennis team to deal with. Unfortunately for Rice (7-3), the Wildcats and the wind proved to be too much for the team to handle on Saturday, as Arizona (8-2) notched a dominating 6-1 victory over the Owls. The doubles matches were no indicator of the lopsided nature of the match, as Rice and Arizona split the first two matches before the Owls succumbed in the final doubles matchup. Senior Jessica Jackson and sophomore Daniela Trigo provided the only Owls' victory in the doubles round. The singles matches started off well for Rice, as freshman Kimberly Anicete had a quick 6-2, win over Arizona's Jane Huh, bringing the score to 2-1 Wildcat lead. The tide turned in Arizona's favor from there on out, as they tallied two straight two-set victories to clinch the match. The remaining matches were played out, but with no different results for Rice as Sarah Landsman defeated senior Rebekka Hanle in three sets in the top-seeded contest and Susan McRann took out junior Alex Rasch in two sets (6-3, 7-5). Hanle had battled back to win the second set 6-4 after a 6-4 defeat in the first set, but the third set was all Landsman, who made quick work of Hanle by winning the third set 6-0. While Arizona was ranked 59th compared to Rice's ranking of 48th in the nation, the match was not considered an upset due to the unfavorable weather conditions and home-court advantage enjoyed by the Wildcats.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Muslim-Americans still face social dissent

In the past year and a half, public anti-Muslim sentiments have become increasingly toxic and vitriolic. A Florida pastor threatened to burn Qurans, gaining worldwide media attention. The proposed mosque in Nashville, Tenn., has faced protests, arson, graffiti and even gunshots. The great state of Oklahoma has even passed an overwhelming referendum that banned the use of "Sharia law" in the state. Nationally, overall Gallup poll data shows that American impressions of Islam have decreased in favorability in the last five years. Muslim-American claims now comprise 25 percent of discrimination claims to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Tea Party-leaning politicians increasingly argue that Muslims will never be able to assimilate into America, some even stating that all Muslim-Americans are a threat to ?"normal" Americans.

Classic Flicks: Best Years

If you're one for Oscar trivia, check out a list of winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture from decades ago. The Academy has always had a knack for either failing to nominate or failing to choose from the nominees the truly best films of the year, a grand tradition which continues to this day. I have noticed a correlation in the context of these films: commercial success and artistic quality are quite often inversely related. For both of these reasons, I have always been skeptical of William Wyler's 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives, which became the highest grossing film in the United States since Gone with the Wind. In addition, it received seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay. But seeing The Best Years of Our Lives on so many great films lists annoyed me into setting my Oscar and commercial success prejudices aside and at least giving the ?film a watch.

James Brown: Getting Funky

Last week, Radiohead dropped their new album along with a video of Thom Yorke's bizarre dancing to their single "Lotus Flower." While watching Yorke dance is interesting, his moves are nothing compared to the godfather of soul and king of feverish dancing, the one and only James Brown. While younger people mostly associate James Brown hits like "Get Up Offa That Thing" or "I Got You (I Feel Good)" with cover bands at bar mitzvahs and weddings, James Brown's place in our cultural landscape cannot be underestimated; through his music he pioneered the new genre of funk, became a symbol for the civil rights movement and had a profound effect on hip-hop. It's fun, easily accessible music that, on a superficial level, sounds like one big party. It wasn't really until I started doing research into the history and origins of all the hip hop music I liked so much that I realized just how influential and important Brown was.Brown grew up extremely poor in Augusta, Georgia. Alternating between living with his father and his aunt, Brown was largely unsupervised as a child and dropped out of school in the seventh grade. He learned how to play various instruments from friends, most notably blues musician Tampa Red. Brown was frequently in trouble, and while playing on a detention center's inmate baseball team at the age of 16, he befriended musician Bobby Byrd. When Byrd noticed Brown singing to other inmates, he arranged for his family to oversee Brown's parole and his career began.

Pigging out at Feast

We all remember falling in love for the first time: the rush of blood to the heart, the feeling of excitement, the sense that the world is right. This past weekend I fell in love at first sight and my life will never be the same. I have eaten a Chicken Onion and there is no turning back.My romantic tale happened at Feast, a truly unique restaurant at 219 Westheimer. You can tell that Feast is different the moment you walk in the door. The wood paneling and intimate positioning of the tables give the sense of a home more then a restaurant. However, the vast watercolor still-lifes of food and dining remind you of the business that is at hand.

Letters to the Editor

Online Comment of the WeekIn response to "Culture of care extends to aiding peers with mental health issues," Feb. 4:

Beyond the hedges: Wisconsin governor stands firm, Unrest continues in Libya

National

Cardinals' rule imposed to start season at Reckling Park

In a technical sense, the 2011 edition of the baseball team has improved over last year's, with a current 2-3 record being preferred to an 0-4 record that the 2010 squad boasted at this point in the season. Still, a tough series defeat to Stanford University (3-1), ranked eighth by Baseball America, and an even more perplexing loss to Lamar University on Tuesday has many Owls fans attempting to make comparisons between the lackluster start of this year's squad and the disastrous first week that the 2010 team had. With Rice starting two freshman pitchers on opening weekend, the casual fan may believe inexperience had much to do with the Owls' mediocre inception in 2011. But the starting pitchers were the highlight of the weekend, allowing just three earned runs in 17 innings of work (1.58 earned run average).Opening day on Feb. 18 began with a masterful first NCAA appearance from freshman pitcher John Simms. The right-hander allowed one run in five innings of work and tallied four strikeouts. Unfortunately for him, Stanford pitcher Mark Appel was equally on point, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings of work, easily reaching 98 mph on the radar gun. With freshman designated hitter Keenan Cook and sophomore first baseman J.T. Chargois providing two RBIs during the bottom of the fifth inning, it appeared that Rice could be in control of its inaugural game of 2011. However, Simms ran into trouble after hitting a batter and allowing a single in the sixth inning, but sophomore right-hander Chase McDowell luckily put out the fire by stranding two runners. The bats didn't produce much for Rice in the bottom half of the inning, but McDowell lost command of his changeup in the seventh inning and allowed four hits and two runs to give Stanford a 3-2 lead.

Alcohol policy probation a necessary intervention

We, as a student body, stepped over the line in the sand and now the consequences have arrived (see story, page 1). There was the alcohol forum, there were the alcohol talks at the residential colleges, there were the Thresher articles, there was the formation of a Student Association task force, there was the discussion all around campus - all addressing the issue of massive alcohol abuse around campus over the past year. Ignoring all of these endeavors, the student body has continued to consume alcohol with a total lack of responsibility; the recent abuse of alcohol has justifiably forced the university leadership to shift from idle threats to concrete action. The alcohol policy probation will cause a sweeping change to the party scene of campus; punch, a common staple of private parties will no longer be a legal choice of beverage. Ultimately the decision for this probation came at a time when forgoing intervention was an invitation for tragedy. Despite the calls for a return to our Culture of Care, alcohol abuse has yet to cease. It is unacceptable to have three or four students transported for hospital care from a single party on consecutive weekends; however, the lack of alcohol responsibility has made this sickening scenario an actuality. Therefore, it is difficult for us as a student body to strongly debate this decision. The administration has a definitive responsibility to protect its students and its university's reputation. This decision by the university leadership was not a tough one or even a controversial one. If the status quo remains, students will continue to endanger themselves to the point of injury and inevitably death.

Women get double-digit wins over UTEP, Southern Miss

This season has been all that women's basketball Head Coach Greg Williams could have ever hoped for. He never would have imagined, after losing its leading scorer from the year before, that his team would be tied for second in Conference USA, winning seven of its last eight games and on the verge of clinching a first-round bye in the C-USA Tournament.The Owls had two key games this past weekend, with a home game against a tough University of Texas-El Paso team (13-12, 5-8 C-USA), and then an away game at a very beatable University of Southern Mississippi squad (10-16, 5-8 C-USA). In order to have a shot at staying in the top three of the conference standings, it was no secret that Rice would have to win both of these games.

Photo: Eyes on the prize

Freshman Dominique Harmath plays against Texas State on Feb. 13. The Owls' next matches are against the University of Colorado and the University of Arkansas this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.

100 Days succeeds despite bus delays

Students attending 100 Days who went to the Sallyport at 11 p.m. Tuesday night for the planned shuttle service were in for a long wait or ended up having to get to Rich's Nightclub on their own thanks to a transport miscommunication.Senior Committee Member Darren Arquero said the shuttle service arrived around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. The service, the Houston Wave, is owned by Jones School alumna Lauren Barrash ('08).

Rice alumnus writes speeches for Obama

President Barack Obama's foreign policy speech writer - and a Rice University alumnus - Benjamin Rhodes came to Rice on Monday to describe working for the president to a student-filled James A. Baker III Institute Doré Commons.Primarily, Rhodes demonstrated how he thought writing for Obama was like writing for the entire world.