Special Projects

Fast start propels WBB past Charlotte on Senior Day

Starting an all-senior lineup, the Rice women’s basketball team never trailed on their way to a 64-52 win over the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Saturday. The Senior Day win improved Rice to 20-7 on the year and marked their eighth consecutive home win. 

Baseball sinks at Sunken Diamond, swept by No. 2 Stanford

The baseball team was swept by Stanford University, the No. 2 team in the country, last weekend. Despite the sweep, however, the Owls kept the first and third games of the series close, showing glimpses of what they hope to be a turnaround under second year head coach Jose Cruz Jr. According to Cruz, the opportunity to play against a top-ranked team this early in the season gave the Owls a spotlight to show what they have been building.

The case for letting the SA burn

In his 1995 essay “The Case for Letting Malibu Burn,” historian Mike Davis advocates for a “controlled burn” of the opulent — and wildfire-prone — California city. Continuing to pour resources into attempts at shielding Malibu from the natural fire cycle, Davis argues, is an unsustainable practice with numerous opportunity costs to the greater community.

It’s time for Rice to be serious about its climate pledges

Rice is not serious enough about its climate pledges. On February 11, when Rice’s campus was enmeshed by the Rice Marriage Pact, Rice’s 2030 Carbon Neutral pledge celebrated its one year anniversary. Rice hasn’t yet published any progress towards emissions reduction or other sustainability metrics. Missing data is not just an administrative inaction, but reveals how the pledges are actually built on flawed “net zero” frameworks and problematic “carbon offsets.” What counts as carbon emissions? Do historical emissions count? How about the increasing social cost of carbon? Rice must make a public commitment to publishing measurable sustainability goals and data and supporting student-led sustainability initiatives. 

Beer Bike accommodations are common sense

During the Student Association senate meeting on Monday, Feb. 27, student leaders shot down a proposed resolution calling for the Faculty Senate to prohibit midterm exams or major assignments being scheduled during both the week of and after Beer Bike. Though we agree with the SA that this proposal is far too unrealistic to ever get through Faculty Senate, there is some merit in the intentions behind it. As part of the Rice community, faculty should understand the cultural significance of Beer Bike as the ultimate Rice tradition — for all of campus — and consider avoiding scheduling exams or major deadlines immediately after it.

Dining Jack

Baseball heads to No. 2 Stanford twenty years after CWS final

Twenty years ago, Stanford University was the second-best team in college baseball. The Cardinal finished that season as runners-up in the College World Series, falling short to a team from a small Texas school – Rice. Two decades later, Stanford is once again the No. 2 team in college baseball – this time according to the weekly D1Baseball poll and not postseason results – but the Owls haven’t sniffed the rankings in over half a decade.

Bellamy’s career night leads WBB past second-place WKU

With the conference season winding down, the Owls cemented their spot in the top half of Conference USA by taking down second-placed Western Kentucky University on the road.

Karine Jean-Pierre announced as commencement speaker

Karine Jean-Pierre, current White House press secretary and presidential advisor, will be the 2023 commencement speaker, President Reginald DesRoches announced in an email to the Rice community on Wednesday morning. 

02-22-2023 Crossword Solutions

02-22-2023 Crossword: "Making a Racquet"

2-22-2023 Sports Cartoon: "Owl-American"

Rice out-swims new-look AAC at conference, still finishes fourth

If it was only the American Athletic Conference swimming championships, Rice’s would be bringing home a championship trophy. Despite starting 369 points behind first place because they don’t have a diving team, the Owls claimed the most points in the pool and took fourth place overall in the first AAC meet in school history. The Owls tallied 1,136 points, behind first place University of Houston (1,311.5), second place Florida International University (1,300) and third place Southern Methodist University (1208.5). After the meet, head coach Seth Huston was happy with the Owl’s performance.

Simpson-Sullivan, Slinkman break conference records at C-USAs

This past weekend, both of Rice’s track and field teams traveled to Birmingham, Ala. to compete at the Conference USA Indoor Championships, where several athletes broke Rice and C-USA records and many others recorded personal bests. The women’s team, who had its best showing in three years, placed second in the conference and took gold in three events. The men’s team also had a strong performance, winning four events and placing third overall.

Baseball drops fireworks-filled opening series to Louisiana

Rice baseball lost their first two games against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette last weekend, winning the third to avoid the sweep. Rice was defeated 5-4 on Friday and 11-2 on Saturday, then overcame an early deficit to beat the Ragin’ Cajuns 12-8 Sunday afternoon.

After years of trying, Bloomgren finally landed JT Daniels

While he was in Mobile, Ala., preparing his team for Rice’s first bowl appearance in eight years, head coach Mike Bloomgren was also working on another project. JT Daniels, a former five-star recruit who started three games for the University of Georgia’s 2021 national championship team, had just entered the transfer portal and Bloomgren wanted to lure the then-West Virginia University quarterback to South Main.

‘Evolving daily’: Rice athletes navigate the NIL world

Since the NCAA introduced a new policy allowing student-athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness more than a year ago, Rice athletes are increasingly agreeing to sponsorships with a variety of businesses. Student-athletes have had the opportunity to partner with everything from clothing stores, to food and drink brands, to restaurants. According to Quincy Olivari, a junior guard on the men’s basketball team, he’s used the new NIL rules to sponsor companies to which he feels a personal connection.

Imaje Harvey conducts uncontested write-in campaign for SA secretary

Imaje Harvey, a freshman at Sid Richardson College, will be conducting a write-in campaign for Student Association secretary — a position for which no candidates were previously vying. Solomon Ni, presumptive SA president-elect, announced her write-in candidacy on Monday evening, though there will be no candidates listed on the ballot for the position of secretary. 

Board of Trustees announces architecture firm for academic quad redesign

Rice University Board of Trustees recently announced they’ve selected the architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz for the redesign of the academic quadrangle. 

SA town hall features slate of uncontested candidates

Student Association candidates Solomon Ni, Alison Qiu, Crystal Unegbu and Yuv Sachdeva outlined their goals for the SA and addressed questions about their candidacy platforms at the Rice Thresher’s SA Town Hall on Monday, Feb. 22. The town hall was in lieu of the traditional presidential debate, as every SA executive candidate is running uncontested this year.