Special Projects

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:I was disappointed to read Falan Mouton's opinion piece ("Rice just a business; donations are purely optional for graduates," Oct. 8) on alumni donations. While she and her parents no doubt worked hard to pay for her education, not everyone can afford to pay for college on their own. My mother's income was not enough to cover the cost and so I was fortunate to receive need-based scholarships, which are mostly funded by donations. Some believe, as Mouton does, that with Rice's sizeable endowment, an individual's donation does not make a difference. If we all thought that, students who cannot afford to pay the full tuition would miss out. I now work as a fundraiser for a small nonprofit organization and I have a quote by John D. Rockefeller Jr. posted in my office that says, "Never think you need to apologize for asking someone to give to a worthy object any more than as though you were giving him an opportunity to participate in a high grade investment." When Rice asks us for a donation, they are not asking for a handout or because they think you owe them. They are asking you to invest in the current students and many of us have benefited from that. To me, my education was not a mere product that was purchased. It was an experience that has shaped my career, my relationships, and my life. I am grateful for those who contributed to my Rice experience and I donate because I want others to have the same opportunities.

Beyond The Hedges

National

Photo: Hypnotized

Comedy hypnotist Daniel James hypnotizes 16 audience volunteers during Homecoming week.

Rice, UH sign final KTRU sale deal

Two months after the university announced KTRU's pending sale, the University of Houston and Rice signed a deal that will transfer control of Rice's student radio station's transmitter and FCC broadcasting license to KUHF, so long as the FCC approves the sale.President David Leebron sent out an e-mail to the student body Oct. 13 announcing that the deal had been signed.

Leebron talks about five Cs of Rice at Town Hall

President David Leebron spoke Oct. 12 in his semiannual Town Hall Meeting to an audience of faculty and staff members about the university's past achievements and present challenges, dividing his presentation into what he called the five Cs: Cash, Contributions, Community, Campus and Celebration.Cash

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Senior Committee appointed

Senior parties: They're classy, they're off campus and they're some of the last haphazard mementos of college life before seniors graduate and go off into the real world. In charge of organizing these grown up public parties: the newly selected seniors of the Rice Senior Committee.Jones College senior Skyler Johnson, Hanszen College senior Cristina Halliburton, Wiess College senior Darren Arquero and Wiess senior Siegfried Bilstein were selected as this year's executive group of the Senior Committee. While they make up the primary leadership of the group, the Senior Committee will eventually have one senior from every college in its mix, resulting in a minimum of 11 members.

Palestine-Israel dispute: Israel deserves more respect

Any negotiations concerning limitations to Israeli settlement activity in Gaza and the West Bank should by preceeded by a reasonable demonstration of regard for Israel.The belligerence of many of Israel's opponents - particularly their violent targeting of civilians - never ceases to amaze me. But what amazes me more is that amid such relentless belligerence these same parties (and many in the rest of the world) suggest that Israel ought to make concessions before the good faith of its neighbors has been demonstrated. Really?! It's like telling a victim of domestic violence to change to avoid "setting off" future abuse.

Beyond The Hedges

National

Cooper takes over as Baker pres

Baker College junior Christine Cooper took over as Baker president Wednesday. Former president Megan McSpedon stepped down a week ago citing personal reasons. As president, Cooper hopes to continue helping Baker students get used to their new building, improve interactions between freshmen and upperclassmen and rewrite the bylaws and constitution.

Mashup DJ a welcome change from previous tamer homecoming shows

The Thresher would like to commend the Rice Program Council for venturing outside the average college student's musical comfort zone with their choice of DJ Earworm for this year's Homecoming Concert (see story, page 1). Rather than continuing the trend in recent years of playing it safe by catering to mass appeal, the decision to host a more experimental artist shows that RPC's goals lie not only in maximizing attendance but also in providing an interesting and memorable experience. Plus, if the guy ends up being even half as good as Girl Talk, the Grand Hall could easily turn into one massive dance party.The decision to charge a nominal admission fee is an unfortunate change to the show's format. However, the Thresher understands the necessity of covering the associated costs and finds the $5 in advance and $10 at the door to be affordable prices. The Thresher hopes that the event's price-tag does not dissuade any Owls from putting down their textbooks for a couple of hours to shake their tail feathers to juxtapositions of top pop hits.

Relish: Beaver's icehouse-style barbecue is 'dam' delicious

Beaver's is not a strip club: This cannot be emphasized enough. Beaver's is more like going to a friend's house for a barbecue, if that friend's dad happens to be a world-class chef. Holding true to the menu's claim that "Fat equals Flavor," Beaver's is an indulgent place to get your fill of icehouse-style dining with expertly crafted food. When we arrived at Beaver's, we were greeted by the combination of the smell of barbecue in the air and the sound of The Decemberists on the radio. The music playing continued to be excellent yet too mainstream for us KTRU fans, so a waitress led us and a few of our friends to a picnic table outside. The atmosphere was casual, and the crowd around us was full of people of all ages. Our waitress was friendly and kicked off the night by asking us if we wanted the special: fried shrimp, New York strip steak and 80/20 mashed potatoes, which are 80 percent mashed potatoes and 20 percent butter. It sounded tasty, but we're pretty bad at math, so we ordered some appetizers instead.

Getting over the hedges

The hedges surrounding Rice University seem to wall in students, despite the university's location within America's fourth-largest city. A microcosm forms on the Rice campus where students almost never have to leave the hedges unless they feel compelled to, but on-campus programs are working to change this. 1. HedgeHopper

Hobby discusses book

In celebration of the publication of his book, How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics, former Texas Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby (Wiess '53) returned to his alma mater to discuss his new book and his life in politics. On Wednesday at the Baker Institute, Hobby and longtime friend Saralee Tiede, who is currently director of communications at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin, discussed changes in Texas government, the major accomplishments during Hobby's term and Hobby's legacy.

Debate starts strong season

Rice's speech and debate team, the George R. Brown Forensics Society, found success in their first tournament of the year and looks ahead to a big season.This year, the team's numbers have doubled compared to last year, increasing to 20 members from 10.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Earworm to DJ homecoming

Rice students asked for bigger artists on campus, and the Rice Program Council Concerts Committee has responded. DJ Earworm is coming to Rice for the Homecoming Concert, which will take place Oct. 22 in the Grand Hall at the Rice Memorial Center from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Tickets are on sale for $5 in advance and $10 at the door. They can be purchased from RPC college representatives and at the information desk in the RMC. Due to the venue's fire code restrictions, only 550 tickets will be available.

Palestine-Israel dispute: Permanent moratorium essential

Two weeks ago, the Israeli freeze on new settlement construction in the West Bank expired. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instituted the freeze 10 months ago in a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinian government.With its expiration, the flood gates are reopened for Israeli settlers to continue encroaching on Palestinian land and in some cases razing and completely replacing Palestinian towns, forcing the Palestinians out.

The Social Network

High school and college students are quite familiar with how much of their free time is consumed by social networking websites, and whether you love or hate its constantly changing de- sign and layout, Facebook has earned the distinction of being one of the most important communication tools of this generation. With its spectacular cin- ematography, dialogue and actors, The Social Network reveals the story behind the creation of the social networking behemoth and the minds that made it a reality.From the get-go, the audience is made aware of the fact that Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland) is a nerd. After breaking up with his girlfriend, Zuckerburg creates a website out of spite called FaceMash, which allows students at Harvard to view and rate pictures of female students. His creation of FaceMash brings him to the attention of Cameron Winklevoss (played by Armie Hammer, 2081) and his friend Divya Narendra (Max Minghella, Syriana), who hire Zuckerburg to help them create a networking site for Harvard students. Instead, Zuckerburg decides to create his own social networking site, The Facebook, and the rest, as they say, is history.