Special Projects

For fourth year in a row, Rice improves sustainability

Rice ranks first in Texas for sustainability for the second year in a row, according to the Green Report Card, a measure released annually by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. Rice was also designated a campus sustainability leader, Communications Fellow for the SEI Cameron Bruns said. Rice received a B on the Green Report Card, the highest score it has received over the past four years, Director of Sustainability Richard Johnson (Will Rice '92) said.

A celebration of memories

Family and friends gather to remember the lives of Stone and Holt Weeks at their memorial service in the Rice Chapel Monday. The brothers, who died in a car crash July 23, were active members of the Rice community, and leave behind a legacy of service and inspiration.

Pair of losses eliminates soccer from postseason

What do you tell a team that, after a pair of weekend defeats, now has seven 1-0 losses? What do you say to a team that was eliminated from postseason play after losing their fourth straight conference game? What do you say? What can you say?

The Hardest Hit

Dale Lloyd was only 19 years old when he collapsed on the Rice Stadium turf in 2006, dying the next morning from sickle cell complications. His tragedy left a new coach, an untried athletic director and a transitioning program reeling, but his legacy has assured that his death, however preventable, was not in vain. YOU'RE EXHAUSTED, and you're beaten. Your head throbs. Your throat feels like it's been scrubbed with steel wool. Rice Stadium is glinting in the heat, microwaving a mirage as you sprint along the grass.

First live broadcast of Shepherd Orchestra successful

The best-kept secret in Houston's classical music scene is, without a doubt, the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra. I have two good reasons for believing this to be true. First, though the Houston Symphony has greater technical ability, our Shepherd orchestra routinely outdoes the professionals in passion and flair. Second, the Shepherd School of Music does a very good job making sure its orchestra remains a secret.Yes, they perform a few concerts each year, and yes, most of those concerts are free to the public. But after the magic of the live performance is over, we have to wait another month to hear our orchestra play again. Every concert is carefully recorded, but CDs are made only as gifts for donors, and radio broadcasts have long been out of the question because of the royalties demanded by music publishers.

New Matchbox Gallery ignites artistic discussion

Viewing artwork in a museum or professional gallery can often feel like a massive, collective standardized test. The Louvre holds some of the most timeless artwork on the planet, but when standing in front of the great Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo and hearing the myriad languages being spoken by viewers, one finds that the cacophony is often little more than regurgitated phrases from the latest or most popular art history textbook.People often have preconceived notions about "correct" or "acceptable" comments that should be said about art when in actuality, and especially with postmodern work, art is created to incite discussions in multiple directions.

Listening Post offers cookies, piece of mind

Upon entering the Rice Memorial Center, students are often tempted with items to be purchased, causes to be supported or boba teas that can accomplish both. But one table stationed at the entrance of the RMC stands out from all the rest, selling no items, advocating no ideology and offering no Listserv to be added to your already flourishing collection. The small table, manned every Wednesday from 1-3 p.m. by 72-year-old Philip Hardy, simply offers the passersby a free plate of cookies, an open seat and a welcoming ear to listen. Its title is as straightforward as they come: The Listening Post.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Commentary: Magnolia League's potential too good to pass up

Editor's Note: This article's original content has been modified.Let's be honest: The Rice-University of Houston rivalry is pretty lame. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy swiping the Bayou Bucket from the Cougs. It's just that, well, the Rice and Houston match-up is a little one sided, especially considering how well our football team did last year.

Concerns voiced over BCM merger

A recent survey of Rice faculty, conducted by Computer Science Professor Moshe Vardi, suggests that Rice's Board of Trustees may have more than finances to deal with when considering a possible merger with the Baylor College of Medicine. The survey, conducted Sept. 11, indicates that more than 56 percent of the 295 respondents viewed the possible merger as either a somewhat or very bad idea, a significant increase from the 38 percent of the 314 respondents who agreed in a similar survey Vardi conducted in April.

Former biology professor Meffert dies

Lisa Meffert, a former biology professor at Rice, died suddenly on Tuesday at the age of 49, Howard R. Hughes Provost Gene Levy announced Friday in an e-mail. After graduating from the University of Houston with a degree in biological sciences in 1982, Meffert earned her Ph.D. from Houston in 1988. She then served on the biology staff at Houston until 2000 before moving to Rice's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where she served until 2008.

Moore returns with sensationalist take on loving Capitalism

In no way is Capitalism: A Love Story your average love story. Nor is it a love story that anyone should be prepared to take too seriously.Michael Moore, one of the film world's most notorious creators of blatantly biased commentaries, "uncovers the secrets of capitalism" in a highly affected 127-minute film altogether too ludicrous to be seen as the message Moore intends. Capitalism follows Moore around the country as he explores the exploited masses of America - the hardworking middle-class whose houses are being foreclosed, the unpaid factory workers and the thousands of people who have had their jobs cut due to capitalism.

Volleyball opens C-USA slate with wins

The volleyball team entered the season with the self-proclaimed goal of winning Conference USA. With two victories in their first two conference matches last weekend, the Owls (10-3, 2-0 C-USA) may very well be on their way to the C-USA crown, something the program has never accomplished. Rice continues conference play tonight when it hosts the University of Texas-El Paso at Tudor Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. UTEP currently sports a 9-7 record and swept their first two conference games last weekend, beating the University of Tulsa (10-5, 0-2 C-USA) and Southern Methodist University (10-6, 0-2 C-USA). The Owls will then take on Tulane University on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., also at Tudor. Rice has not had much success in recent years against Tulane (7-4, 3-0 C-USA), as it has not defeated the Green Wave since 2005.

Four BB shooters arrested, two await trial

Last week, four suspects involved in the Labor Day weekend BB shootings on the Rice campus and surrounding area were identified by Rice University Police Department. Arrests have been made for three of the suspects, and the fourth, a Rice student, turned herself in to authorities late last week.RUPD identified the suspects as Caitlin Barnett, 19; John Michael Chargois, 22; Paul Helton, 18; and Bonnie Mugg, 21. All four are charged with aggravated assault, a felony, Police Captain Dianna Marshall said. Harris County Jail set bond at $30,000 for each individual. Only Barnett and Chargois are accused of being involved in every reported BB incident.

Losing by inches, soccer ends weekend with two tough losses

In the sports world, inches define everything. A putt can miss the hole, a football can fall short of the goal line or a soccer ball can nail the crossbar and miss moving the game into overtime, all by inches. The soccer team played two of their best games this weekend, but the score told a different story, a story of inches and of the minuteness with which games can be lost. The Owls (2-6-2, 0-2 C-USA) fell first to East Carolina University Friday night by a score of 1-0. They then traveled to Marshall University and, in a nauseating sense of déj? vu, lost 1-0.

Faculty seek federal research funds

The endowment may be down, but funding for sponsored projects keeps going up. The proposal activity for sponsored research projects over the past two months is up 60 percent from two years ago, and a little under 200 more research proposals were submitted in Fiscal Year 2009 than in FY 2008, Research Provost James Coleman said. In total, Rice received $93.5 million for sponsored projects in FY 2009. Federal stimulus money accounted for a large proportion of the new funding, particularly under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Coleman said.

Photo: A meeting of the minds on the gridiron

Former Owls football stars, James Casey (86) and Jarett Dillard (87) catch up after Sunday's matchup between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. Dillard's Jags were victorious by a score of 31-24.

Beer in Hell distilled down to movie form

"My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole."So begins the now-infamous blog of Tucker Max, a former law student who decided to chronicle his sexual exploits and soon found himself an Internet icon as a result. In the film I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, Max has taken his blog - which he started in 2002 on a bet with his friends and made into a book in 2006 - and tried his hand at screenwriting. What he develops may not hold true to the original blog, but the film's entertainment value is as apparent as Max's bluntness.

IT encourages cyber security

Phishers beware: This October marks the sixth-annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month, an initiative started by the Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division. This is the fourth year Rice has participated in this event, which includes weekly discussions led by guest speakers at the residential colleges.

Archi student dies

Lovett College senior Jay Townsend died Monday of health problems stemming from a weakened heart caused by a childhood battle with cancer. He was 26 years old. Townsend was scheduled to receive his B.A. in Architecture next January and was working on his professional Bachelor of Architecture degree, Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman said in an e-mail Wednesday afternoon.