In the words of Isis frontman Aaron Turner, heavy metal has "long been unjustly maligned as solely the province of knuckle-dragging meatheads." Although Isis keeps intact the dark lyrical themes, heavy guitar riffs, aggressive percussion lines and high levels of feedback that have made metal a somewhat disreputable genre, the band has managed to craft a distinctive sound that demonstrates metal's extraordinary versatility and artistic strength.Though the band is rooted in the sludge and hardcore styles of bands such as Neurosis, Godflesh and the Melvins, Isis' 2002 release Oceanic has been called a progenitor of the art metal, post-metal and metalgaze subgenres. Turner himself has been resistant to categorizing Isis in interviews, and once dubbed their sound "thinking man's metal."
Two games, zero goals. Not exactly how the soccer team was expecting to complete its first road trip. It was a scoreless weekend for Rice's offense over the weekend as the team dropped a pair of 1-0 games, first to Marquette University and then to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. But Head Coach Chris Huston believes there was plenty of good that came out of the tough roadtrip.
Houston has a lot going for it: late-night dining options, world-class museums and, of course, Rice University. But let's face it - Houston ain't exactly hip. So when over 20,000 Houstonians came out of the air conditioning to dance under the blazing sun in a weekend jam-packed with both big-name and local bands, the city had a reason or two to celebrate.
Last season, Rice's football team reached its highest high since the days of Eisenhower and leather helmets. Everyone knows the list of accomplishments: the second bowl game in three years; the first bowl victory in over 50 years, coming only three miles from campus; a pair of talents drafted into the NFL, one to Jacksonville and one to Houston. It was a magical season. No one is debating that. But that was then. As the 2009 season beckons, the questions swirling around the team are too numerous to count. Graduation wreaked havoc on the team, and the Owls are more untested as it has been in the last four years, especially on offense. The defenses' eight returning starters are comforting, but Rice has had more than its fair share of struggles on that side of the ball. Nonetheless, Conference USA, without a clearcut favorite, looks to be open to whoever wants the title the most. Here, in a position-by-position breakdown, are the reasons Rice might just make it back to the postseason.
It is difficult to imagine Rice without the influence of Provost Eugene Levy (see story, page 1). Once upon a time, Rice students were notoriously wary of venturing beyond the hedges. Then Levy fronted the Passport to Houston program, which began in 2005, and the city's doors were thrown open. Likewise, when President David Leebron arrived on campus, his Vision for the Second Century was nowhere near the fleshed-out agenda it now represents. It was with Levy's backing that a pair of new colleges and an increased student body now call Rice home.Levy's influence has been heavy over the last decade, and it is readily apparent to see that the programs and ideas he has pushed have reaped dividends for both students and faculty. His presence was always behind the scenes - most mistook him for the eponymous star of American Pie - but without him, Rice would be nowhere near the leading institution it is today. After a decade's worth of work, Levy deserves this upcoming sabbatical as much as anyone. He will be missed over the next year, but we hope he finds the relaxation and revitalization his work merits.
Despite the economic downturn, the Office of Financial Aid has increased the amount of aid it is offering students by several million dollars this year, Student Financial Services Director Anne Walker said. Though the office is awarding more aid than it did last year, Walker said students do not have a significantly greater need for aid than in years past. Instead, more families have special circumstances due to the uncertain economy that are causing more students to apply for aid, she said.
With more than 175 million copies printed every year, the IKEA catalog is the world's most-published non-fiction work, outpacing the Bible by more than three times. It showcases clean, modernist design at affordable prices, and for five decades not very much about the catalog has changed.Until now.
Abbreves (or abbreviations) have consumed the world of speedy communication, from e-mails to instant messages to text messaging. However, even if it's possible to say "I love you" in three characters (ilu), that does not make it any safer to text while driving, no matter how proficient your no-look keypad skills may be.Fortunately, lawmakers feel the same way, as media outlets have recently been clogged with an influx of stories about legislation banning texting while driving. Several states have already made texting while driving illegal. In Utah, for example, mixing texts and driving could get offenders up to 15 years in jail if they hit someone. In addition to bans at the state levels, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York is pushing a bill outlawing the practice nationwide.
Without Howard Hughes Provost Eugene Levy's influence, Rice, as both a university and a campus, would be noticeably different. Levy's work with the Passport to Houston program, the Vision for the Second Century and the BioScience Research Collaborative has shaped Rice into the institution it is today. As such, his announcement Tuesday that he will be stepping down at the end of this academic year marks the end of a remarkable and prolonged career, President David Leebron said.
Two dollars will not buy you a latte from the Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion, but it will be the per-diem budget for a group of students next week who will mimic poverty firsthand. In a simulation of Third World shanty towns, dozens of Rice students will be encamped in makeshift housing near Brochstein Pavilion next week. This past summer, students from Engineers Without Borders and Rice MicroFinance tackled logistics for the $2 A Day Challenge, working with a number of administrative organizations: Housing and Dining, Rice University Police Department, Facilities Engineering and Planning and Vice President for Administration Kevin Kirby.
Twitter's simplicity welcome
By now, the consensus among reasonable people is that modern science indicates the theory of evolution was, at best, a misguided effort. Most contemporary theorists agree that evolution does not explain the fact that the universe is so perfectly adapted to our needs. And if even a single step in the alleged "evolutionary" process had gone wrong, we would be completely different creatures. We probably would not even be able to think.That is why there is increasing acceptance among the scientific community of intelligent design theory, or the theory that life is best explained as the product of some kind of prior plan, sketched out by an all-encompassing being far cleverer than we are. Intelligent design explains why the universe was designed for us and why our incredibly complex physical systems became what they are now. It also accounts for the usefulness of our brains, which would be mush had they just been left to random natural processes.
Andrew Sendejo recognizes that the beauty of college athletics lies in the turnover. Not the interception, per se - though as a defensive back he wouldn't be opposed to snatching one - but the personnel. Every year, roles are vacated and new, untried blood takes over. The constant rotation, year in and year out, can throw a team out of whack or a role into question. For some, it does - look no further than Rice's quarterback quandary if you want proof. But for the forward-looking, the new role does not quire a mile-long leap, but an inch-long shuffle.
Amidst all the financial constraints swirling in 2009, students are looking to cut costs at every corner. For most, that entails pinching pennies in textbook fees.From scouring online marketplaces, to turning to the Student Association, to settling for the stacks at Fondren Library, students like Erica Herris have gone to many lengths to save money on their books.
ESTHER may not be the self-aware joint project of a conspiracy between the government and Rice administration, but it nevertheless came to a screeching halt on the Friday of Orientation Week when the system slowed down so much it prevented some students from being able to register for classes at all. To accommodate the largest class in Rice's history, the Office of the Registrar designated two registration time slots based on the last six digits of a student's Rice ID. The first group registered at 8 a.m. and the second at 8:30 a.m. However, both groups encountered difficulty registering when a bottleneck in one of the system processes caused requests to cluster and impede the flow of oncoming requests. For students, this manifested as dropped connections and time-out errors.
Make no mistake - we are glad that the printed word lives. But with the way that textbook prices have skyrocketed in recent years, something must be done to make these books available to all those who both need and want them. Because if the prices stay the way they are, we will soon all be outpriced.Rice, unfortunately, is no exception to the trend (see story, page 4). Classes across the board have seen prices go through the roof for books and course packets alike. And because a public option is available only in health care - or so we hope - we are forced to settle on private-sector options for our literature.
