Special Projects

Campus bookstore begins selling new fair trade products

Since the beginning of this year, the campus bookstore has been selling a new brand of clothing known for paying their workers a livable wage. Created by the American company Knights Apparel, the Alta Gracia brand uses workers from the Dominican Republic who are paid wages approximately three times more than the minimum wage earned by other workers of the same industry and country.Like the fair trade coffee sold at Coffeehouse, the Alta Gracia products reflect Rice's efforts to address student concerns about the origins of the products sold on campus.

Photo: Dance dance dance

Partygoers at Esperanza don their finest dresses and suits and dance at the FiveSeven Grille in Minute Maid Park.

Golf plagued by late-round scores; Whitehead shines

While finishing strong is a mantra echoed by any and all mentors in the sports world, the Owls failed to heed this piece of advice last weekend in Baton Rouge, La. Looking for a solid performance at the David Toms Intercollegiate to generate some momentum into their season's winter break, the golf team was unable to build on a solid first round and finished in last place.With their two hardest events of the fall marking the end of the first half of their season and the beginning of their midseason break, the Owls knew their performance in Durham, N.C. at the Rod Myers Intercollegiate and the Toms Intercollegiate would be crucial. Despite senior Michael Whitehead's second-place finish at the Rod Myers Intercollegiate, hosted by Duke University, the team finished in 11th place, making this past week's event, hosted by Louisiana State University, that much more important.

Students' response to servery issues overplayed

There is a seemingly growing trend of discrepancies present in the food being served across different campus serveries (see story, page 1). While McMurtry College and Duncan College students are privileged with some of the best food and most options on campus at West Servery, other students are left with smaller kitchens that have less capacity to produce great food. To make matters worse, students at Will Rice College and Lovett College are burdened with catered food from West Servery as they await the completion of East Servery. This catered food inevitably offers a less fresh and less varied menu. The fact that all students pay the same amount of money - an ever-increasing number - for meal plans aggravates this harsh discrepancy of food quality even further. Students of Will Rice and Lovett took matters in their own hands

Sports Notebook: Swimming shines at home versus UH, Fall Ball starts with competition

Swimming shines at home versus UH

Football jump-starts excitement with dramatic win

It all played out like a movie script on Saturday. A battered football team, struggling through their season, comes face-to-face with their much more talented rival on homecoming weekend. Their embattled quarterback, who had seen the bench only a few games before, storms forward to take control of the team along with the emergence of the running game that had been hiding all season. A third-quarter blowup, a perfectly choreographed go-ahead touchdown, a defensive stand on fourth down, fans storming the field; basically everything college football is meant to be. The Owls were struggling after their game over fall break at the University of Texas-El Paso (5-2, 2-2 C-USA), in which they fell to the Miners by a final score of 44-24. The final score ended up being closer than the game actually was, as the Owls were dominated from the start and were held hostage by the Miners' passing attack. Miners quarterback Trevor Vittatoe broke three career passing records in the game, moving into first place on the Miners' all-time list for touchdowns, passing yards and total offensive yards.

Victories keep volleyball in thick of hunt for first place

Going into this week, the Owls had been soaring through conference play, compiling a 6-1 record. After picking up two victories against Tulane University (5-15, 2-6 C-USA) on Oct. 8 and 9 in which they dropped only one game over the two matches, Rice vaulted themselves near the top of Conference USA. However, the Owls' flight isn't as strong at the moment, as they have put themselves in a small hole in the race for the regular season conference championship.The team suffered a tough loss last Friday at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (5-15, 2-6 C-USA), which had only one conference win coming into the match. The Owls lost 3-2 as they dropped a hard-fought fifth set 15-12. Freshman outside hitter Mariah Riddlesprigger led the team with 16 kills while sophomore middle blocker Nancy Cole added 14. Senior setter Meredith Schamun had 49 assists while senior libero Tracey Lam had 32 digs. Junior outside hitter Ashleigh McCord only played briefly in the first set as she suffered some stiffness in her legs and had to sit out for the rest of the match.

Soccer saddled with first conference loss

Though the last couple of weeks have neither damaged Head Coach Nicky Adams' confidence nor strained her of her usual enthusiasm, they have revealed some soft spots in the Owls' armor, which had appeared impenetrable in the opening games of conference play. The Owls met their first challenge, the first road conference game of the season, by handling the University of Southern Mississippi (3-11-2, 0-7-1 C-USA) 2-0 on the strength of goals by junior forward Annie Kadota and blue-chip freshman forward Jessica Howard, who was playing in her first game since returning from injury. The win moved the Owls to 5-0 in conference and, coupled with the University of Houston's loss later in the day, secured the Owls' position atop Conference USA.

Online only: Nobel Prize winner Geim speaks at "Year of Nano" conference

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the buckyball. On Oct. 12, in spirit of the celebration, Buckyball Discovery Conference guest speaker Andre Geim, the 2010 Nobel Prize winner in physics, discussed the importance of research and building on current knowledge to explore the possibilities of science. Geim was awarded the Nobel Prize Oct. 5 for his work on graphene, which has many possible applications in the field of nanotechnology. The conference was held to commemorate the buckyball discovery and discuss the impacts and possibilities of nanotechnology. The three major topics chosen for the conference were buckyballs, nanotubes and graphene.Director of the Smalley Institute Wade Adams said Geim was not able to be at the conference in person because he had been called into a meeting with the British prime minister and minister of finance. Adams said that despite this, Geim was determined to honor his commitment and made his speech through Skype.

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

test

test

test123

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.