NEWS
2/24/11 6:00pm
Letters to the Editor
Online Comment of the WeekIn response to "Culture of care extends to aiding peers with mental health issues," Feb. 4:
Online Comment of the WeekIn response to "Culture of care extends to aiding peers with mental health issues," Feb. 4:
National
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
The Thresher speaks with 4 of the 10 Rice Students selected to participate in the upcoming Clinton Global Initiative University conference. Held in April at UC San Diego, the program will allow participants to learn about relevant modern issues like Climate Change while networking with like-minded students.
Just across from the Preston light rail stop, Martell's Video Lounge stands sandwiched between the former site of GrumBar, windowed law offices and the neon flashing lights of Clark's dance club. Above the hushed sidewalks of a tranquil Friday night in Houston, there's a buzz of excitement on the second floor of 308 Main Street downtown. Last Friday, February 18, poets gathered to spectate and perform at the 2011 Houston Grand Slam Final in the small red carpeted loft on Martell's second floor. The Grand Slam Final was the last event of Houston Super Slam Week which began February 12 and included four nights of poetry bouts at across the city. The week was a celebration of a unique art form, highlighting Texas slam poets, and culminated in the final selection of a Houston team which will travel to Boston, Mass. this August to compete in Poetry Slam, Inc.'s National Poetry Slam.
The Thresher interviewed Bioengineering Professor Jeffrey Jacot, who recently received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. Note: All answers are paraphrased for clarity unless otherwise noted.How did you get involved with NSF?
I am 19 years old. The United States drinking age is 21. Needless to say, I come up short of being able to legally drink alcohol in the U.S. So, since it is illegal for me to drink, I do not. But, if I did drink, then I would be responsible about it. If I drank alcohol, then first, I would be mindful of the dangers of the "pre-game." The pre-game usually involves drinking rapidly to achieve a desired level of intoxication prior to a party. What many do not consider is that they will probably drink more at the party, and thus should take this fact into consideration. I would realize this fact, and not pre-game to the point of endgame intoxication. If I drank, then I would include in my pre-game food and water. I would understand that drinking on an empty stomach can lead to an increased rate of intoxication, and thus many problems could arise.
A few days ago, I went on a hunt for British policemen. Not only did I want to examine those stereotypical, unique British police caps in greater detail but I also wanted to get an inside look of the interesting crowd of student activists they surrounded. Passionate crowds of students and concerned citizens alike have been rallying around the UK for months demanding a repeal of a controversial education reform bill passed recently. The bill calls for a dramatic cutback of federal funds to British universities. Government officials have cited the economic crisis as grounds for cutting the funds. To make up for lost sponsorship, Parliament has raised yearly university tuition fees from 3,000 to 9,000 pounds. This bite to the wallets and threat to academic integrity has caused thousands of members of the British populace to take to the streets.
On Tuesday, February 15, Dr. Shawn Michelle Smith, an artist and writer, gave a talk on the African American photographer Augustus Washington, who worked during the aftermath of the Civil War. Washington worked in American and Liberia, claiming himself as a free American citizen and declaring his desire for African-American Manifest Destiny through Liberia's colonization, where newly freed slaves could enjoy full citizenship.Her talk, "Augustus Washington and the Civil Contract of Photography," examined Washington's American and Liberian daguerrotypes as speculations on what it means to be a citizen. According to Smith's analysis, Washington and other leaders of Civil Rights movements define citizenship as the ability to participate in all aspects of society.
Under sunny skies and with an uncharacteristically calm wind at Westwood Golf Club, the golf team posted their best finish of the season thus far.Coming off a disappointing performance at last week's UTSA Oak Hills Invitational that saw the Owls finish their rounds poorly, Rice looked to bounce back strongly at a tournament they have had success at in the past. Rice took the team title in 2010 at their only home event, while Christopher Brown (Brown '10) was able to take the individual title in windy conditions that kept score high.
Anthony Pinn, Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies, has taught a course on religion and hip-hop since the Spring of 2007. The class has always been among the most popular in its department, with around 150 students enrolled each year. This spring's course, however, filled to its capacity of 240 students during the first day of registration. The reason behind the sudden increase in student interest is no secret: Pinn is now co-teaching the course with a very popular guest. A tangible cross-campus buzz began to spread when Pinn announced late last spring that Port Arthur, Texas rapper Bernard Freeman, known more commonly as rapper Bun B, would be joining him in Duncan Hall each Tuesday and Thursday morning.Freeman, known simply as "Prof" to Pinn and his students, explained that his vast career experience as a rapper and his intimate connection with the city of Houston make up for his lack of a background in academia.
We're pretty into President David Leebron and his Vision for the Second Century, so we went to eat at the Biosciences Research Collaborative last weekend. It was a poor choice. Dan swallowed something in a flask and had to be hospitalized, while Siegfried got lost in all of the empty office space. To cheer ourselves up, we grabbed a whole bunch of dudes and went to check out a different BRC, located in the Washington area, which was in the New York Times once, so it has to be cool. The BRC, which stands for Big Red Cock (ha!) is not a gay bar - it's a gastropub! Gastropub is one of the pretentious words you learn when you pretend to be a food critic for your school's paper, and it means "a place that serves really nice (expensive) burgers and fries and stuff." While the BRC is a great gastropub, it's comparable to similar restaurants in the area, and it wouldn't be our first choice among them in terms of food, although the service is by far the best we've had in Houston.Upon arriving, the host asked us if we had any reservations. Not expecting to need any, he told us we would probably have to wait about half an hour. Suddenly he said "Hold on a minute, let me see what I can do," and briefly disappeared. Before Siegfried could inform our party that we might have to wait, the host had managed to find a table for all six of us. We also had an extremely pleasant waitress, who was helpful, funny and knowledgeable.
For a team whose two leading scorers are both underclassmen, the Rice men's basketball team has not looked like a young and inexperienced team on the road in the conference this season. After a turbulent 0-4 start to conference play, the Owls impressively bounced back with consecutive road wins against University of Central Florida and Tulane University after trailing in the second half of each game. But if this past week of basketball taught us anything, it's that this young Rice team still has room to improve when matched up with experience-laden teams in the heat of conference play.