Special Projects

KTRU true to students' needs and desires

It's no secret that quite a few Rice students feel their radio station doesn't accurately reflect the campus. The recent rejection of KTRU's blanket tax proposal is proof. In my two years of working for KTRU, I've received a lot of questions from friends about our programming. What I've learned to say in response is, "If you feel so strongly, why don't you make it happen?" That's where the conversation usually ends.So please spread the word: KTRU isn't an untouchable beast; it's a fluffy bunny. If there are changes you'd like to see in the programming, then with a little bit of effort, make them happen. Otherwise, stop complaining.

Phils enter new Epoch

It's hard to believe that it's almost been two years since the Rice Philharmonics released Phils So Good, but rest assured, the Phils haven't been twiddling their thumbs since. In addition to hitting the road twice last year to compete at the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, the Phils also spent the last two years in the studio recording Epoch, their next album. Brace yourself: it's better than good: It's Phantastic.Featuring ten tracks and clocking in at a hair longer than 40 minutes, Epoch covers a range of songs from different genres - oldies like The Zombies' "Time of the Season" and Don Henley's "Boys of Summer," R&B hits like Jordin Sparks' "No Air" and alternative rock hits such as Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" find spots in the track listing, as well as the classic "Africa" by Toto and the infamous "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley.

Commentary: Online streaming: one worthwhile innovation

No matter the march of time, the game of baseball will always be stuck in 1930. Grandstands, newsreels, games of pepper - the game has an old soul, an ingrained essence that taps into a different era, a different mentality. Through the waxing and waning of exploding scoreboards, cookie-cutter stadiums and uniforms with shorts - White Sox, I'm looking at you - the game has always had a streak of staidness run through it. It was of our fathers, and it will be of our children; this much is certain. So when a new technology is introduced, or some type of change swirls around the sport, a pushback is inevitable. Look no further than the QuesTech debacle of 2003 or the debate over video replays in last year's playoffs. (Full disclosure: As a lifelong baseball fan, this conservative streak runs through me - only three years ago I wrote that "instant replay belongs in baseball just about as much as Mick Jagger needs to lose weight."

Photo: Bollywood or bust

Aaja Nachle, part of Saturday's South Asian Society's show, Rangeela, dance to lively music from the Bollywood film by the same name.

Kristof highlights global gender inequality

The New York Times journalist and op-ed columnist Nicolas Kristof brought many personal accounts of suffering he has seen among women throughout the world to a filled Doré Commons at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy April 8. Kristof is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and has traveled to 140 countries. Much of his work focuses on the Darfur region and human trafficking. In addition to his journalistic work, Kristof has devoted efforts to advocacy, in the belief that helping and educating women will help fight extremism and worldwide poverty.

Photo: The Fabulous Four take the floor

Online only: Men's track continues to improve at UTEP Invitational

The venue may have changed, but the success in multiple personal and team bests remained the same for the men's track and field team last weekend. The team's three-part westward journey across the Lone Star State concluded last Saturday at the University of Texas-El Paso Invitational where the Owls competed against the likes of UTEP, the University of New Mexico, the University of Juárez and the University of Nebraska.Rice started off the day with a sweep of the medal podium in the shot put: Sophomore Alex Zinchenko captured his first career victory with a throw of 51' 7", followed by juniors Will Meyers and Clay Baker, with marks of 51' 4" and 50' 10", respectively. Meyers had a team-best toss for the 2010 season of 156' 9.5" in the hammer throw to earn fourth place, while Baker threw a personal best of 151' 9" meters. Baker also captured the bronze medal in the discus with a mark of 156' 7" meters.

News in brief: H2007, Campus-wide power outage

H2007

This week's crossword

Complete this week's crossword in this pdf!

Men's and women's tennis win one, lose one over weekend

Oscar Podlewski was struggling. He was hammering through the third set against the University of Tulsa's Alastair Barnes, trying to break him to no avail. The Tulsa players hung over the fence behind him, pricking him with not-so-friendly banter. Rice (11-10) was up 3-2 against its Conference USA rival, but sophomore Christian Saravia, battling a rough cold, was running on fumes at No. 6 and about to fall. All hopes of a victory lay at court No. 3, where Podlewski looked tired, shirt sweated through, Barnes snarling across the net. A 4-3 loss wouldn't have been the team's first, and it certainly wouldn't have been an upset - when the two teams met last Friday, Rice was 11 spots lower in the rankings than No. 31 Tulsa (14-8). But a loss here might have been the most disheartening of the year. At the home match, Rice was in a position to finally beat a higher-ranked team for the first time in more than two months. But Tulsa is the team that has kept the Owls from the C-USA crown four years in a row. In fact, Rice hadn't beaten the Golden Hurricane since the end of the 2006 season - before anyone on the current team was in the program.

"Spirituality" arbitrary, losing meaning

Most people agree that spirituality is a good thing - even essential to our human experience. Pundits worry that people are not satisfying their spiritual needs, and the Rice Student Association recently hopped on the bandwagon with a survey assessing resources for students' spiritual health.And, for the first time, there is now a distinction between faith and spirituality: More and more people tell researchers, "I'm not religious, but I am spiritual." Elaine Ecklund, a sociologist at Rice, conducted a study and found that 20 percent of atheist scientists still describe themselves as having "spirituality."

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Kellems' album rocks

Four years after his last release, Beowulf: Epic of the Grendelslayer, computational and applied mathematics graduate student Anthony Kellems (Hanszen '05) has released his newest album, Out of the Depths. Combining heavy-rocking guitar tracks with more laid-back rap jams, most of the nine-track album's lyrics are tinged with a decidedly Christian flavor; however, Kellems stated that his "goal is not to be preachy, but rather to deal with certain issues and topics in a positive way ... I also want the stuff to rock."And rock it does. The album starts off strong with "Afterburner," an instrumental track featuring high-flying sonic guitar riffs laid over a driving drum beat and steady rhythm guitar. If there is one thing Out of the Depths does well, it's the diverse instrumentation on each track. From hard-hitting guitar work that really jams to softer, more introspective guitar tracks to custom-made beats, Kellems demonstrates his sheer musical talent with this record. In fact, he plays all the piano and keyboards on the album, in addition to the rhythm and lead guitars, and handles drum arrangement as well.

Fondren unveils real-time computer availability map

Tired of walking to Fondren only to find every computer unavailable? Fondren has the solution. In the wake of the launch of the mobile Fondren site, the library released the Fondren Real-Time Owlnet Computer Availability Map last week to let students check which computers are available for use at any given time. Diane Butler, assistant university librarian for Information Technology, was one of the chief proponents of this project. The original idea behind the Computer Availability Map came out of the Student Advisory Committee to the Library, which helps Fondren make improvements based on student recommendations, Butler said.

Baseball finds winning ways

In what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Conference USA races in recent years, the margin for error is extremely slim for the baseball team. Entering a C-USA tilt last weekend in New Orleans, the Owls (20-14) were tied atop the conference at 4-2 with a group of teams including their opponent, Tulane University.

El Paso provides women's track with prime record-setting conditions

With only a week of classes remaining, many students are trying to ace that last test or paper to bring up their grade before finals. With only two weekends remaining in the women's track season, many members of the team have a similar goal: finally hit the mark that has eluded them all season in time to get on the national list. Head Coach Jim Bevan said this weekend's meet at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, will give them a chance to do just that.

Rice ranked 22nd most stressful college

Schiller probably didn't have stress in mind when he wrote his "Ode to Joy," but for many Rice students, some degree of stress apparently means happiness. On April 4, The Daily Beast, an aggregated news Web site, ranked Rice the 22nd most stressful college in the nation, yet the fourth happiest. Michael Winters, director of the Rice Counseling Center, said he was skeptical of the criteria used to create the rankings.

Going green requires new sustainable dining options

"Going green" is a popular trend in today's society, though many fail to realize what this truly means.It's not just about recycling. Instead, what and how we choose to eat is one of the most fundamental ways we interact with the environment on a daily basis. Our food consumption reveals a direct relationship between humans and the Earth. The problem, however, is that this has become a long-distance relationship, which many can agree is difficult and detrimental to both parties.

Baker enters final stage in search for RA

Baker College will select a new Resident Associate by April 23, as current RA Jessica Logan is leaving at the end of this year.Baker President Megan McSpedon chose eight Baker students to form a RA search committee, Liz Young, RA search committee co-chair, said. McSpedon hoped to choose students who had not been previously involved with Baker's student governing body, Young, a Baker sophomore, said.

Dean Forman a unique character, devoted leader

At the end of June, Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman will leave Rice to accept the position of Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University in Atlanta (see story, page 1). This announcement, which was made at the beginning of the week, came as a shock to many of us. We'd assumed that Forman, who seems a veritable campus fixture, would be around for years to come, and though we're saddened to hear the news, we wish Forman the best in his future endeavors. We know Emory will gain a dedicated academic and leader with their pick.Forman has served at Rice for 23 years as both an educator and dean, and he leaves behind an extensive legacy. During his five-year tenure as Rice's first dean of undergraduates, he helped to establish the Center for Civic Engagement and interdisciplinary minors. In addition to his role as dean, Forman generally teaches a math class each semester, which offers him a multidimensional approach to the student experience: as an administrator, as an academic and as a mentor to students. His investment at Rice has extended far beyond the academic, however, and he has consistently made a point to reach out to students. He served as Jones College master from 2002-05, and despite taking on a heavier role in the administration in recent years, his dedication to students hasn't waned. Go to just about any home football game, and you'll see Forman hanging out in the bleachers. He regularly eats at serveries and may even know your name: In short, he's much more in touch with students than most other members of the administration.