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NEWS 10/7/10 7:00pm

Sid Rich claims defensive battle against McMurtry

By Ryan Glassman

Wrapped up in their second defensive struggle in as many weeks, Sid Richardson College held McMurtry College scoreless in the first quarter but were unable to produce any points of their own. In the second quarter, Sid Rich senior quarterback Bianca Santos capped off a drive into the red zone, finding sophomore wide receiver Julianne Roberson on a flag pattern in the end zone to take the lead. Sid Rich converted the extra point, taking a 7-0 lead into the half.The second half was more of the same, as both defenses held their ground and kept their teams in the game. The Game of the Week became a field position battle, with both punters backing up the opposition in their own territory to keep the scoring down. Sid Rich and McMurtry exchanged possessions in the third quarter, with the Sid Rich offense on the field to begin the fourth quarter.

NEWS 10/7/10 7:00pm

SCS building announced

By Ami Dave

Plans for the new School of Continuing Studies are moving forward thanks to a donation made by Houstonians Susanne and Melbern Glasscock. The School of Continuing Studies offers courses for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate teachers, English as a second language and foreign languages, philanthropy and nonprofit research and a master's degree program, as well as other courses for personal development.

NEWS 10/7/10 7:00pm

Golf grabs sixth place in Louisiana; looks to N.C. next

By Paul Fitzgerald

Needing a solid final-round performance, senior Michael Whitehead delivered for the Owls, moving the golf team into a tie for sixth place on Tuesday at the Squire Creek Intercollegiate hosted by Louisiana Tech University in Choudrant, La. The Sugar Land native started off with an opening-round 66, the second-lowest round recorded by any Rice golfer since the mid-1980s.Rice shot a cumulative three-round score of 912 to tie the team with Sam Houston State University. The Owls' final-round score of 304 was the third lowest during Tuesday's third round of play and moved Rice out of a tie for eighth into sixth.

NEWS 10/7/10 7:00pm

Owls' secondary torched by SMU air attack

By Teddy Grodek

If football games only consisted of the first and fourth quarters, Rice would have tied or won every game this year. For some reason, the football team has not come up with the same sterling results in the second and third quarters of their contests, including last weekend's game against Southern Methodist University (3-2, 2-0 C-USA), which the Owls lost 42-31. Whether it is conditioning, coaching or something else, Rice simply cannot continue to be so soundly defeated on the bookends of halftime if the team hopes to win games. With the predictability of the rhythm of the games, this season almost seems scripted. Rice plays great in the first quarter, giving up an average of 4.8 points - a pretty respectable number with its difficult schedule.

NEWS 10/6/10 7:00pm

2014 rep announced

By Kaleb Underwood

Jones College freshman Stephanie Tzouanas has been selected by the Rice Centennial Commission to represent the class of 2014 in the planning of Rice's Centennial Celebration that will take place Oct. 10-14, 2012. "I was definitely ecstatic and thrilled," Tzouanas said. "I am incredibly honored to have been chosen."

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Women take 12th in race featuring nation's top teams

By Natalie Clericuzio

While the state of Texas boasts wide-open spaces, down-home barbecue and the best two-steppin' this side of the Mississippi, the Lone Star State has yet to attract top-tier teams to collegiate cross country races. In search of stiff competition, the women's cross country team traveled to the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minn. In Minnesota, the Owls ran against eight nationally ranked schools as well as regional foe Baylor University. Rice finished 12th overall in the field of 29 schools, led by senior Britany Williams' 32nd place finish in 21:51 minutes, beating Baylor, who placed 14th.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Prez reflects on college

 

The Thresher sat down with President David Leebron to find out what he was like as a college student. Leebron received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1976.Ruby Gee: How is college different now in comparison to when you attended as an undergrad?

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Esperanza dance venue announced

By Kevin Lin

Tired of waiting for that special guy to make the first move, ladies? Well, with Esperanza around the corner, it is up to you to take the initiative and ask him to "Take me out to the ball." "It's a Cinderella-esque baseball theme," Esperanza organizer and Rice Program Council Social Co-Chair Libby Ulman said. "We're really excited about it."

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Classic Flicks: Flaherty's Nanook of the North

By Joseph Allencherril

How often does the first of anything stand the test of time? We don't see too many people driving around in Model-T's these days, nor do we see anyone carrying textbook-sized cell phones except in 20-year-old films. American director Robert Flaherty's silent documentary, Nanook of the North, the first nonfiction feature of its kind, remains surprisingly fresh today, nearly 90 years after its release.Flaherty is not a household name, but if you have ever seen a documentary, you have seen one of his great-grandchildren. Filmmakers of old and of new have long sung the praises of Flaherty's films: Nanook of the North was a favorite of Orson Welles, and contemporary director Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, Man Push Cart) said the film "is a visual poem that challenges how we live and how we see, and all the while accepting life for what it is."

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Student courses praised

By Joey Capparella

Rice has recently acquired various buzz-inducing rankings, including #1 Quality of Life from The Princeton Review, #1 in Materials Science from Times Higher Education, and #17 among national universities from U.S. News & World Report. However, Rice's student-taught course program has been steadily gaining a different sort of national reputation over the past two years.The student-taught course program at Rice started in fall 2007 with three courses at Wiess College and has since grown to include courses at Brown College, Hanszen College, Jones College, Lovett College, Martel College, McMurtry College and Will Rice College. In all, 30 classes are being offered this semester, with subjects such as North Korea, casino gaming and witches.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Qur'an burning pastor deserving of free speech

By Eric Harrison

Two police agencies in Florida recently announced that they've billed Pastor Terry Jones a total of $180,000 for police security related to his abandoned plan to burn copies of the Qur'an on Sept. 11. The reaction to this news has been alarmingly tepid at best and borderline sadistic at worst. A post on New York Magazine's Daily Intel blog, for instance, offered this take: "Seems kind of strange and unfair for Jones to be charged for that ... but who cares, the guy's a jerk."There's something very ugly about the fact that the police are treating this man as if he were not entitled to expect them to do their jobs simply because he had the gall to draw attention to himself and his unpopular views. The barely concealed message is as clear as it is chilling: Your right to free expression is protected, and if people try to harm you as a result, the police will do their jobs and keep you safe - that is, unless they don't like what you have to say, in which case you'll get a fat bill and some indignation for making them do their jobs.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Provost plans year

By Kaleb Underwood

Provost George McLendon has already made his spacious corner office on the fourth floor of the Allen Center his own. The decorations include many things that might seem unexpected in an administrator's office. There is a wide variety of art on the walls and several paintings are still in bubble wrap waiting to find their place on the wall. A baseball collection adorns the bookshelves and several bottles of wine sit on a shelf for potential guests. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, McLendon returned to his home state to become Rice's provost July 1 after spending the last six years at Duke University. He said he is proud of his Texas roots that can be traced back to the 1830s and his extended family still calls Texas home.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Rain puts damper on football's offensive attack

By Teddy Grodek

There really could not be a better time for the football team to start playing Conference USA games. After one of the most punishing non-conference schedules of any non-BCS conference team in the country, Rice (1-3) is looking for a little bit of relief. Outside of their win against the University of North Texas, the Owls have consistently gone up against teams that were bigger, faster and stronger. "It's been a tough stretch all four of these games," Head Coach David Bailiff said. "The good news is we're getting into conference play. I think we're continuing to get better, even if we're not winning."

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Facebook vastly underappreciated

By Shamsa Mangalji

Everyone's been griping about Facebook these days. Mothers shed tears when they realize the disgusting amount of time their kids spend on the site. We've all been warned to "privatize" our accounts so future employers can't see our sloppy, inebriated pictures. People keep tabs on their clients by policing Facebook photos - one health insurance company stopped covering a woman's depression medications ... because she looked "happy" in photos. But something must be working for the site, or we wouldn't use it so much, right?Contrary to what people say, it's NOT "sooo distracting." I see Facebook as a fun, fulfilling study break that'll force me to keep my head in front of the computer screen. Getting up to "take a quick walk" is much more dangerous. More often than not, my "walks" turn into a series of more questionable activities, like stealthy people-watching through Brochstein windows, badgering my busy friends and playing with that automatic stapler by the library printers.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Sid RAs to leave in a year

By Ami Dave

Sid Richardson College is saying goodbye to four members of its family at the end of this year: Nick and Kate Pascuzzi, one-year-old baby Lluisa and their famed DVD collection.The Pascuzzis are moving to Boston to be closer to family. Students agree that they have offered a great support system during their three years at the college. Sid Rich President Mary Johnson said that she has noticed a definite positive change in the dynamic at Sid Rich since the Pascuzzis' arrival.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Welcome, Provost McClendon

By Staff Editorial

This week, the Thresher was given one of the first looks into the thoughts and life of our new provost, George McClendon (see story, page 1). We would like to take this time to officially welcome him to our community and share the parts of his vision that excite us the most.First, we were happy to see that McClendon places such emphasis on understanding the traditions and unique attributes of this university. His three points of emphasis exhibit willingness and desire to continue pushing forward toward goals that the student body wants to achieve.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Soccer makes strong statement in conference play

By Ross Michie-Derrick

When people make the common claim that optimism is contagious, they are often thinking of a certain kind of optimism, one that is prevalent among teams hovering around .500 or facing a slew of easy games in the near future. For teams that are 3-5 coming into conference play, coming off one of the worst seasons in club history, missing their star player with no timetable for her return and undergoing an unprecedented midseason change at the coaching position, optimism tends to be buried where it was born, never having learned to walk far enough to spread its beliefs.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Rats, ants infest Hanszen, Wiess

By Brooke Bullock

Rice students are accustomed to rodents prowling the quads and walkways, but mostly in the form of squirrels. When rats began invading Hanszen College, Rice rodents became much less appealing. Hanszen and Wiess College have both given reports of rat sightings around their residential and common areas. Ransacking trash cans and haunting hallways, rats have become a noticeable pest for the south colleges, Hanszen and Wiess in particular. However, Manager of Communications for Facilities, Engineering and Planning Susann Glenn said the rat problem has not actually worsened in the past two years.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Veg Out: Sampling Mi Luna's tasty tapas

By Abigail Dock

Upon entering Mi Luna, you are hit by a sheer wall of sound - the place reverberates with echoes of conversations, clinking of dishes from the kitchen and, above it all, the ever-present live music. Once seated, you have to shout across the table to be heard and calling a waiter over must be done through elaborate gesturing, as using your voice is almost ineffective. If you're looking for a quiet night out where you can sit and talk with friends, look elsewhere. But if you want great food at low prices, Mi Luna is the place to go.The menu is divided into cold and hot tapas dishes, with a small section at the bottom for paellas and rice dishes. Unfortunately, Mi Luna is not equipped with a separate vegetarian menu, forcing the vegetable-inclined to hunt through the menu for the veggie dishes. However, once found, there prove to be a good dozen vegetarian options with seven or eight vegan dishes as well - the beauty of Spanish cuisine being that it relies on olive oil far more than butter.

NEWS 9/30/10 7:00pm

Ostrom explains research

By Ellen Liu

Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in economics, visited Rice Sept. 23 to speak at the biennial Social Dilemmas Conference, held in the Baker Institute for Public Policy by the School of Social Sciences. The program featured presentations by prominent social speakers on causes and solutions for today's collective issues. Ostrom's lecture was entitled "Cooperating for the Common Good: Challenging Supposed Impossibilities and Panaceas." During her speech, Ostrom addressed the research she had done on the management of common resources. Ostrom said that humans can work together to combat the tragedy of the commons - the belief that people, being self-interested, will deplete a shared resource - and instead ensure resource sustainability. Ostrom's findings contradict the popular belief that this phenomenon is inevitable. Ostrom said that communities which utilize common resources can devise regulatory systems that help prevent resource exhaustion. In fact, she said that when people communicate, they manage natural resources with 92 percent optimality.

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