It was late 2006, a few weeks into classes at Rice, and I had no idea what I was doing. I was crisping on the metal seats at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium, the courts splayed in front of me, empty. I was a freshman, out on my first assignment. Men's tennis beat reporter. Old-fashioned and metallic gray tape recorder in my pocket, my notebook on my lap and 20-odd questions scribbled in the margins: "Biggest surprise last year? Toughest match this season? Postseason predictions?" All that was missing was my fedora and a tweed jacket. Also missing was any semblance of what my job entailed.
As a reward for students who have worked tirelessly this semester, the President and Dean's Study Break will offer an opportunity to relax this Sunday from 9-11 p.m. The study break will be held at the Rice Memorial Center, the Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center and the Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion and will feature breakfast food and stress-relief games. Attendees can expect free drinks from Coffeehouse and Dirk's Coffee, ice cream sundaes, fresh fruits and cookies at the RMC, free massages at the Wellness Center and breakfast food from Sammy's Cafe. Sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates and planned primarily by Rice Program Council, this year's theme is inspired by Food Network's TV show "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives."
Since dropping two of three games at Memphis at the start of its Conference USA slate, the baseball team has gone 5-1 in consecutive series against C-USA foes to take possession of first place in the standings. Entering the weekend, the team threatening Rice's position atop the conference was the University of Central Florida, a dominant offensive team carrying momentum into the weekend after sweeping the University of Southern Mississippi. As fate would have it, the Owls (23-16, 8-4 C-USA) and Knights (25-14, 6-6 C-USA) faced off this past weekend in Orlando for three crucial games, as the conference schedule nears its halfway point.
As the men's outdoor track team attempted to compete in Waco last Saturday at the Michael Johnson Classic, it was clear that "outdoor" was the operative word for the outcome of the meet, as rain fell intermittently throughout the day, eventually causing the meet to be suspended with the final heats of the 400-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 5,000-meter run and 1,600-meter relay still to be run. While the conditions prevented Head Coach Jon Warren (Jones '88) from gleaning too much from the meet's results, he was still pleased with several performances, including freshman Donte Moore's sixth-place finish in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at a Rice season-best of 47.87 seconds. "He ran great in the 400, and his run in the 4 by 100 looked really good," Warren said. "Overall, the handoffs were clean in the relay and the group ran well."
Understanding is perhaps the most valuable skill the modern citizen can possess. We no longer live in an isolated world, but in an interconnected network. An avid learner by nature, I spent my last four years at Rice fine-tuning my understanding of people by observing how they were shaped by a phenomenon that is too often overlooked: culture. Culture shapes a person's character, behavior and personality. This is the main reason why I find Japan so fascinating. I want to understand a specific aspect of the Japanese culture - their diet.Japan has the lowest rate of obesity in the world - only 3 percent. It also has the highest life expectancy worldwide, reaching an average of 81.2 years for the population. Acªcording to the book The Okinawa Program, the highest ratio of centenarians - roughly 35 centenarians for every 100,000 islanders - lives on the Japanese island of Okinawa.
Extra space - previously a rare phenomenon in terms of on campus housing - is apparently abundant for the fall of 2010.McMurtry College and Duncan College are still not filled to capacity, even with a high number of freshmen assigned to them for next year, Associate Dean of Undergraduates Matt Taylor said. The colleges should be fully occupied for the fall of 2012, he said.
Rice Dining Services has slowly but steadily been reducing salt, saturated fat and added sugar in our servery food for the last half of the semester (see story, page 10). Although the shift has been all but imperceptible in terms of taste, it represents a drastic change for student health.We at the Thresher will readily admit that as students, we all eat poorly. We drink too much, snack too much and gorge ourselves late at night on junk food. Although we all know we should eat better, our general eating habits are not likely to change any time soon.
You score a dinner date with that hottie from your D-II psych class, but when you slide into your 1989 Dodge Diplomat, the damned thing doesn't start. It's damage-control time: Dinner's gotta be special but not overbearingly so. You want to keep it private, so the Rice Village is out. Think fast! What do you do?Take charge and suggest a relaxing walk up the beautifully shaded and opulently appointed Mandell Street. Prepare to impress with your knowledge of architecture as you pass by the big houses, discuss how eco-friendly it is to walk to dinner and watch the apprehension on your date's face build as the greasy Lucky Burger comes into view, only to be replaced by grateful relief as you approach and enter the giant palapa-styled patio of Maria Selma.
When unmarried 40-year-old hip-hop mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs gets out of bed every morning, he probably doesn't have much to worry about. After all, Combs made over $30 million last year and employs a staff to take care of his six children, make him breakfast, dress him and most likely bathe him.23-year-old Kesha Rose Sebert, more commonly known by her stage name, Ke$ha, probably has more difficult mornings. Yet, when she uttered the words "Wake up in the mornin'/ Feelin' like P. Diddy," she used Combs' sunrise routine as a muse for her hit single "TiK ToK." The subsequent Facebook statuses and tweets from "look at me, I drink!" females around the world were soon to follow.
After navigating a season filled with peaks and valleys, the women's tennis team reached the finale of its four-month spring schedule in the final week of competition with a match against the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Before the matches started, Rice honored its departing seniors, Julie Chao and Rebecca Lin. Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt said a few words about them and presented each with a photo album chronicling their years on the team.
Incredibly, another year has come and gone, and with it, another group of seniors moves on to life beyond the hedges. We wish all the best to the Class of 2010. Though jobs are still a bit scarce, we are confident that all of your time and hard work at Rice will put you ahead of the rest. We know that you will all make great names for yourselves and for our university.Most importantly, when you head off into the great beyond, don't forget about us. Come back to visit when you're missing the warmth of Houston or the zaniness of your former home. We'll miss you!
Seniors Rebecca Lin (left) and Julie Chao were honored before the team's final regular season match against UAB on Saturday, which the Owls won in decisive fashion, 7-0. Rice will face either Tulane or UAB today in the C-USA tournament.
We knew it was going to be bad, but we did not expect this. The Houston Astros blasted off with the worst start in baseball, going winless for their first eight games but sitting, as this newspaper went to press, at a nicer record of 5-9. Already four games behind in the National League Central Division, the Astros are looking for answers. What went wrong?
We'd like to take the time to say a special goodbye to some seniors of our own. We're grateful to these Thresher staffers for sticking it out for four long years and helping our paper earn All-American and Best in Show rankings year after year.We wish the best to senior editor Catherine Bratic, who was always willing to do a little bit extra for the Thresher, whether it was going for a Whursday night dessert run or verifying the facts for an article. Catherine's attention to detail and talent for writing made her a valuable member of our staff. We'll miss her passion for French and food (and French food). Bonne chance!
For next year's incoming class, summer nights might be less about strolling through an arcade and more about turning the pages of a book. This year's common reading, Work Hard. Be Nice.: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America, by Jay Mathews, will be sent to new students over the summer. The book follows the story of two college graduates as they participate in the Teach for America program and ultimately create the Knowledge is Power Program in Houston.On March 4, Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman and Associate Dean of Undergraduates Matt Taylor selected Work Hard. Be Nice. from two suggestions made by the Common Reading Program Selection Committee. The other suggestion was Six Months in Sudan: A Young Doctor in a War-torn Village by Dr. James Maskalyk. Taylor said Work Hard. Be Nice. fit the general criteria the committee aims to meet - it is under 400 pages, has paperback availability and relevant subject matter - but had the added benefit of featuring the city of Houston.
