Special Projects

Cross country places 31st at Nationals

On Nov. 22, seniors Nicole Mericle and Britany Williams and juniors Becky Wade and Allison Pye reached the goal they had been training for for two years: compete at the national meet one final time. The group brought the team a 31st-place finish and Mericle finished higher than any Owl ever, at 46th overall. However, the results do not tell the whole story, as reaching the national meet was quite the accomplishment considering the past 24 months. Rewind to Nov. 24, 2008 - the last time these ladies raced together at Nationals. Pye and Wade were upstart sophomores, contributors to the team despite their youth. Mericle and Williams were juniors in the prime of their careers, both used to competing with the best week in and week out.

Administration, students at disconnect in 2010

With 2010 coming to an end, the Thresher would like to reflect on the plethora of incidents over the last year which have hindered the success of the administration in terms of its relationship with the student body. As a small university, we have the rare opportunity of having administration and student body present a unified, synchronized front in which the desires of each party are mutually understood. However, over the past year it seems that a great disconnect has emerged between the administration's actions and the students' desires.Needless to say, this shift toward disconnect is epitomized by the KTRU debacle. The nature of secrecy and lack of communication surrounding this business deal which dealt a severe blow to a major student organization was simply unprecedented. The administration could have, quite frankly, not cared about student desires less than they did during the KTRU sale. There was no student input in the decision because they was simply no opportunity to contribute at all. While President David Leebron said the unilateral process of the KTRU decision was simply a one-time happening, other occurrences around the university suggest a potentially dangerous trend forming to the contrary.

Happy Birthday, Coffeehouse

The Thresher would like to wish Coffeehouse a wonderful 20th birthday (see graphic, page 1). For the last 20 years, Coffeehouse has done everything from providing the setting for Rice students' awkward first dates to providing the only thing that could get an engineer through the late nights of finals. We've seen the menu expand from just coffee to a lineup that includes just about every nuance of caffeinated beverage possible (minus Four Lokos). Coffeehouse has shifted from just a place to refuel to one of the eminent student groups on campus. We at the Thresher certainly hope that the administration will soon reward Coffeehouse's loyalty and service to the Rice community with a new and improved home in the Rice Memorial Center.

Swimming falls at UH, still posts season-best times

In its longest meet of the year, the swim team posted more than 30 season-best performances at the Phill Hansel Cougar Classic Invitational, hosted by an old foe in the University of Houston. The three-day meet featured five other teams, including Louisiana State University (4-1) and last year's Conference USA champions Southern Methodist University (4-1) - both ranked top 25 of the CollegeSwimming.com/CSCAA poll. Yet the challenging match-ups failed to subdue the Owls' performances, as the team went on to finish what would be their best meet of the season.

Currency war looms as G-20 delays issue

In light of the recent G-20 meeting in Seoul, it is worth examining one central, much talked-about, yet certainly unresolved, issue: exchange rates, or more specifically, the undervaluing and overvaluing of certain currencies and the impact of such policies. Of late, there has been much discussion about the U.S. policy of quantitative easing (QE) - which involves the Federal Reserve buying medium and long-term treasury bills to increase the money supply so as to decrease interest rates - as compared to the Chinese policy of intervention. Many people have suggested that the U.S. QE is simply a latent means to devalue the dollar, similar to Chinese ?currency manipulation.

Decoded reveals meaning of Jay-Z's lyrics, identity

Shawn Carter's aptly titled book, Decoded, is a deep exploration into his monumental rap identity, "Jay-Z," and the lyrics behind his work. His significant influence not just as a rapper, but also as a businessman, entrepreneur and media mogul is juxtaposed with his violent, drug-ridden beginnings.The book's design, with Carter as the art director, is consistently beautiful. Clean lines and images correspond with the constantly changing topics, and the front cover is a striking all-gold reproduction of Andy Warhol's "Rorschach." Unfortunately, Decoded's excellent design definitely overshadows the storytelling.

Colleges to close Dec. 16

For the second consecutive year, undergraduates living in the residential colleges will have to find another place to stay as the colleges shut down for winter break.The colleges will close from 4 p.m. Dec. 16 until 2 p.m. Jan. 8. During this time, students will not be allowed in the colleges without an escort from Housing and Dining or Rice University Police Department. Resident associates

Moral equivocation of Third World radical groups excessive

As if it weren't obvious already just how far behind the United States the Third World lags in respect for individual rights, two recent events should make it clear.Earlier this month, a Pakistani woman was sentenced to death for blasphemy after neighbors accused her of defaming Muhammad in a dispute over water. Shortly thereafter, a Chinese woman was sentenced to a year of re-education and labor for "disrupting social order" after she mocked anti-Japan protesters on Twitter.

Sports Notebook: Clement, Sendejo shine in pros

When asked the identity of the last Owl to play at Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium, most Rice devotees will reply with names such as Rick Hague (Lovett '11), Ryan Berry (Hanszen '10) or Diego Seastrunk (Will Rice '10), trying in vain to remember which baseball player was the last to run off the diamond after Louisiana State University's comeback win eliminated Rice in the 2008 College World Series. However, these answers would all be incorrect, as former Owl quarterback, Chase Clement (Brown '09), led his Las Vegas Locos to the United Football League Championship over the Florida Tuskers on Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium. While Rosenblatt will soon be demolished, it's clear that Clement's memories of his MVP-winning performance will live on. While Clement began the season as the Locos' third-string quarterback, an injury to starter Tim Rattay helped him elevate himself over unproductive backup Drew Willy as the Locos moved into the playoffs. In the battle with the Tuskers, Clement threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns.

SPAN 101 class reads to children

Students who signed up for Spanish 101 with lecturer Luziris Turi this semester may have expected to just learn introductory Spanish, but they were also given the opportunity to take their Spanish skills out into the community. On Nov. 23, Turi and several of her students went to Dow Elementary to present six short stories they had written to elementary school children in Houston's Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts after-school program."I wanted [the students] to see what they learned in action and, at the same time, to reach out to the community in Houston," Turi said.

Duncan inaugurated

The cheers of Duncan College students filled the air Nov. 19 as members of the Rice community gathered to celebrate the official inauguration of Rice's 11th residential college. Charles Duncan ('47) and his wife Anne attended the formal ceremony which recognized their $30 million contribution which the made Duncan's construction possible.Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson introduced the event and a procession of the presidents of the other 10 colleges, accompanied by members of their respective colleges. Chairman of the Rice Board of Trustees Jim Crownover introduced President David Leebron, who said a few words of thanks to the Duncans and emphasized the importance of the residential college system to the university.

Classic Flicks: Reiner's This is Spinal Tap

When talking about my favorite comedy films with friends, I sometimes forget that not everyone has seen This is Spinal Tap. Only grossing $4.5 million when it was released in 1984, This is Spinal Tap has been awarded a so-called "cult" status. However, This is Spinal Tap has had tremendous influence on the current generation of comedy. A world without This is Spinal Tap would mean a world without other "mockumentary"-style movies or TV shows like "The Office" (both the U.K. and U.S. versions), "Flight of the Conchords" or Borat. Since their film debut, the band Spinal Tap has released albums, played sold-out concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena and appeared on "The Simpsons." At least among comedians, the cult of Spinal Tap is a large one. David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean, "Laverne and Shirley"), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer, Godzilla) and Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest, Waiting for Guffman) form the musical trio Spinal Tap, who believe they have finally found their niche in the heavy metal genre after starting out as a 1960s folk group. A documentary crew follows Spinal Tap in their attempt to make it as a band. It is a journey riddled with mishaps, misunderstandings and miscommunication.

Wikipedia truly deserves your donations

Every year around this time, a banner appears on Wikipedia's page, usually reading something along the lines of "A message from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales." Over the past four or five years, I have clicked on it, read Wales' appeals to donate to Wikipedia and then proceeded to look up my information without giving it a second thought. I can imagine others have done the same and I hope that this year, we will change our ways and not simply ignore Jimmy's request. Being asked for money from fundraisers can often be uncomfortable and sometimes even downright annoying. It often feels like you're being accosted or that people are relying on guilt in order for you to support their cause. In Wikipedia's case, however, guilt or pity are not the feelings that entice me to donate.

Transformed Night Market attracts

Red hand-painted lanterns and white fairy lights dotted the sky above the annual Rice Taiwanese Association Night Market, which was held at the Farnsworth Pavilion and the adjacent Brown Garden Nov. 20. More than 300 students participated in the Night Market, which required $5 for admission for the first time this year."We wanted to recreate the noisy, bustling, sensory-rich atmosphere of a real Taiwanese night market," Rice Taiwanese Association Co-President Allen Liao said. "We didn't want it to just be a take-food-and-leave kind of event, so we really changed it up from previous years to encourage people to stick around."

This week's Editorial Cartoon

EWB founder lectures

Engineers without Borders founder Bernard Amadei, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, came to Rice as the first guest in the President's Lecture Series to talk about engineering for the poorest 90 percent of the world."The kind of engineering I'm going to talk about focuses on the needs of 5 billion people," Amadei said. "Five billion people whose job is to stay alive."

Students attend TSA

For the first time, a delegation of Rice students was invited to a meeting of the Texas Student Association in Austin Nov. 6. SA President Selim Sheikh, Student Life Committee Chair Ben Chou and Baker College Senator Maria Pickett comprised the delegation. TSA has brought public university student associations from across the state together since 1948, but has been inactive since the early '90s, Sheikh said.

Men's basketball falters against top squads

If the men's basketball team hopes to improve upon its 2009-2010 win total, the turnaround will have to begin in the games that come down to the final possessions. After going just 1-5 in games decided by five points or fewer a season ago, the Owls can begin to turn around their overall fortunes by closing out games with better play. But after three road losses by a combined seven points, Head Coach Ben Braun's squad is yet to buck the trend of late-game struggles.

Rice scholars impress

The Thresher would like to commend three graduating seniors, Will Rice College seniors Ye jin Kang and Anthony Austin and Sid Richardson College senior Jingyuan Luo, for achieving an array of academic honors never received by one graduating class (see story, page 8). For Rice to have two Marshall Scholars and one Rhodes Scholar in the same year is a testament to Rice's academic prestige, and these three students have certainly made this university and its students proud. They have bettered Rice in their time here and the Thresher wishes them the very best going into the future.

1 Rhodes, 2 Marshall scholars win

Three seniors will head to the United Kingdom next year to pursue graduate studies on Rhodes and Marshall scholarships. Will Rice College senior Ye jin Kang is one of 32 American Rhodes Scholars this year. Will Rice senior Anthony Austin and Sid Richardson College senior Jingyuan Luo are two of the 31 students nationwide who have been selected as Marshall Scholars."This is really an exciting year," Caroline Quenemoen, director of Fellowships and Undergraduate Research, said. "I believe this is the first time that we've had two Marshall Scholars in one year, and I believe it might be the first time that we've had a Marshall Scholar and Rhodes Scholar in the same year."