In response to the Student Association's revamped HedgeHopper program, providing discounts for Rice students at 16 restaurants around Houston, the Thresher embarks upon a journey to review participating establishments. This week: Swirll Frozen Yogurt in the Rice Village. which now provides a 15 percent discount for Rice students.Swirll, located at the corner of University Blvd. and Kirby Dr., right next door to Half Price Books, is a dainty little hole-in-the-wall frozen yogurt shop that captures the eyes of people passing by. Despite its unimposing appearance, it boasts wireless Internet and two huge plasma-screen TVs. One screen displays all of the items Swirll offers, while the other is locked on premier products. For an outing, the atmosphere is a four out of five, because while the ambiance is good, it feels a bit cavernous. Go in a group or go alone, as Swirll will accommodate any group size with room to stretch out. If the weather is beautiful, the patio provides another place to kick up feet. Customers can pick something up to go or bring their own board games to kill time, and people who have work to do should not hesitate to bring it. Walking or taking a bike from campus is appropriate transportation to a health-conscious place like Swirll, which claims that all of its frozen yogurts are 25 calories per ounce with zero grams of fat, without sacrificing taste - quite the temptation for those who are watching their figures. Cone and cup sizes are five, 14 and 28 ounces, and Swirll offers free samples of all of its flavors. With a Rice discount of 15 percent on top of the already student-affordable prices, Swirll is almost giving away all of that delicious frozen yogurt. Tried all of the flavors before? Why not add some mixings? Play it conservative by adding cereal, granola or fruit to an order, or take a note from the reviewer's book and go with chocolate chips, coconut, gummy bears, M&Ms or Oreos. Experi-menting is definitely worth it. Swirll is a welcome alternative for on-campus kids tired of Smoothie King, and if Jamba Juice is not satisfying anymore, a trip to Swirll provides that smoothie fix. While it has a much smaller variety of smoothie flavors - with only blueberry, blackberry, cafe latte and cappuccino - Swirll makes up for it in quality taste.
The Rice University campus is abuzz as the football team prepares for its home opener against Southern Methodist University on Aug. 29. After a disappointing 3-9 season, all indicators suggest that the Owls will be stronger as long as the team can avoid last year's cascade of injuries.A large crowd is expected for the nationally televised rematch of last year's shootout. The 43-42 win in 2007 featured a striking but telling juxtaposition of the team's explosive offense and its struggling defense.
Over 700 freshmen got their first taste of the academic life Monday when they crammed into the Stude Concert Hall for the Orientation Week faculty address. Director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Edward Djerejian spoke to the new students about better understanding international conflict, tying in global politics to this year's common reading, Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea.Djerejian began his speech by men-tioning the beginning of the common reading, in which Mortenson writes to the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan had close military ties to Al-Qaeda, a situation worsened by the Taliban taking over the Afghan government, Djerejian said. And while the U.S. primarily focused on Iraq in the War on Terror, it should instead have focused on Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said.
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Though Houston may be a good city for concerts, multi-ethnic cuisine and shopping, it is not for cheap energy. At the end of fiscal year 2007-'08, which ended in June, Rice's total energy costs rose $4 million, from $12 million to $16 million. Director of Sustainability Richard Johnson (Will Rice '92) said this jump is attributed to the rising costs of energy and not to increased consumption. For students, this jump in energy prices may show up in future on-campus housing costs, Johnson said.Energy includes electricity; chilled water, for air conditioning; and steam, for heat, which service most of the buildings on campus. Johnson said Rice is not using any more energy per square foot than it has in the past, though due to the rising energy costs the school is under more pressure to reduce its energy consumption.
After losing close match after close match last season, the volleyball team ended the season feeling they fell short of their potential. After a whole summer stewing on their numerous missed chances, this season's squad has plenty of motivational fire to finish the season at the top of the conference. A big part of the team's transfor-mation will come from the incoming freshman class. The three freshmen - Ashleigh McCord, Megan White and Yuan Lin - each contribute to the team in a different way. McCord, with her extremely competitive nature, adds power to Rice's already strong set of middle blockers. She also has the ability to play multiple positions, giving head coach Genny Volpe more versatility with her lineups. Additionally, McCord comes in with a raw athleticism as impressive as any player on the team.
Students and faculty are accustomed to seeing flora and fauna around campus, but green roofing on four Rice buildings will give landscaping an entirely new dimension. Rooftop gardens, designed to improve buildings' sustainability and expand roof lifespan, will be installed on Duncan College, the Collaborative Research Center, the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen and the South Utility Plant.Rice Sustainability Director Richard Johnson (Will Rice '92) said green roofing provides a variety of sustainable and economic advantages.
Graduation is a lot like death. Students run around the material world of college, preparing for the inescapable end that awaits among the relentless march of time, spew-ing forth souls into an afterlife based on one's actions in the first. Do well in college, and you may find yourself in an Elysian Field of high-paying jobs. Do poorly, and suffer in the Tartarus Pit of the public sec-tor. Of course, there are those who refuse to leave - ghosts, if you will - who continue to haunt the land of the living. Beware, Valhalla is the most haunted place on campus.I find myself in the purgatory that is a New York City law school, attempting to atone for my previ-ous sins of putting way too much time into the Thresher. So expect my surprise when the current edi-tors held a s_ance, or just sent an e-mail, to hear some ghostly advice from beyond the grave. Just remem-ber, don't cross the streams.
The perpetually popular student pastime of spending hours on the Internet toggling from e-mail to social networking sites has certainly caught the eye of the public affairs department, given last month's debut of the official Rice fan page on www.facebook.com."Right now there are at least 10,000 users affiliated with the Rice University network," Director of Web Development in Public Affairs Sean Rieger said. "There's a large market for us to connect to them and keep them in touch with Rice."
Some may think that college students do not need cars and that living on campus enables them to have access to most necessities. But who's to say when the urge to go exploring off campus will strike? There will be times when the sterile, dead atmosphere of Fondren Library just doesn't cut it as a late-night study spot; only the 24-hour Starbucks will do. There will be times when students want to go to Katz's at 3 a.m. to indulge in a smorgasbord of artery-clogging delights. And there will be times when students may simply want to go for a drive to clear their thoughts. For many students without cars or parking spots, these off-campus options had not been available to them. That is, until this year.With rental car system ZipCar available to students (See story, page 6), students will be able to rent a car for $7 per hour - with a $35 annual fee - to drive to their heart's content. The models available to students include a Toyota Prius and a Volvo S40, and there is one of each. Unfortunately, two cars for about 50 percent of carless undergraduates seems to be low, which could lead to some problems, especially if a student walks to Baker Lot only to find that neither the Prius nor the Volvo were there.
On Aug. 10, Michael Phelps began his quest to winning his record eight Olympic gold medals at one Olympiad. President David Leebron saw it happen in person."Overall, the atmosphere generally at the Olympics was kind of a very enthusiastic, positive atmosphere," Leebron said. "The significantly Chinese audiences were appreciative of strong performances regardless of the nationality of the participant. They were very supportive of Michael Phelps."
For the past two years, the Owls have been knocking on the door of the NCAA tournament, and after a slight decline in 2007, the squad is hoping that the third time is the charm.While sheer misfortune led to a series of injuries and upsets last year, the players know that they cannot rely upon luck to carry them to success. They each went through a vigorous workout schedule over the summer to enhance their fitness levels and prepare themselves for a run at a conference championship and NCAA tournament berth.
This, matriculants, is your new beginning. Doubtless before today you have been told of the formidable ride ahead. Independence, midnight food runs, walks of shame, all-nighters, lectures, dorm rooms, freedom, flip-flops, keg stands, new friends, books, class. As if swallowed into the depths of another dimension for four years - give or take - to slosh in the presence of anarchy before being spat out into some vanilla society, this is your college experience. The Real World awaits with its system, its responsibilities, for the day you stumble defenselessly from behind the protection of the Sallyport. And when you do, let there be no mistake: Playtime is over; you are an adult.Don't buy it.
While in Omaha for the College World Series in June, Rice (47-15) struggled to find consistency on the mound and in the field. Key fielding errors and a struggling bullpen proved costly for the Owls' hopes for a second national title.After dropping the first game to eventual champion Fresno State (47-31), the Owls lost in heartbreaking fashion to Louisiana State University (49-19-1) and were eliminated from the NCAA tournament.
In addition to the outward changes to the Rice Athletic Department after the hiring of Athletic Director Chris Del Conte, most notably improvements to Reckling Park and Autry Court, changes are also occurring from within the Athletic Department, as Suzanne Boué (Wiess '91) has been named Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development. This new position will consolidate several tasks aimed toward Rice student-athlete support previously accomplished by various athletic department members. "Pieces of what I'm doing have been done in the Athletic Department before, but all by people who have an awful lot on their plate already," Boué said.
Computational Engineering Professor Moshe Vardi received the Association for Computing Machinery Presidential Award June 21, in recognition of his contributions both to the field and the association. Vardi, the director of the Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology, led the ACM Job Migration Task Force, which studied the phenomenon of offshoring and its effects on the U.S. job market. In 2006, the task force published its report, "Globalization and Offshoring of Software." The study concluded that while offshoring is a major phenomenon, the computer technology industry is still growing and thriving in the U.S. and will continue to do so, as long as an effort is made to keep up with global trends and to continue to be innovative in a global setting.
Former Rice student Matthew Wilson was found Aug. 13 at the University of California, Berkeley campus. According to the Houston Chronicle, the prosecution dropped all charges - which included trespassing, lying to a police officer and possessing stolen property - against Wilson.Wilson, then a Hanszen College junior, had been missing since December. Police found no clue of Wilson's whereabouts until June, when members of the Berkeley Police Department located his car in a Berkeley neighborhood after it was tagged as an abandoned vehicle. After finding Wilson in a UC-Berkeley classroom Aug. 13, BPD took him into custody. Currently, Wilson is being held in a San Francisco mental hospital on suicide watch, the Houston Chronicle reported Wed.
The Rice Annual Fund raised an all-time high of $6.35 million last year, providing more money for a variety of undergraduate programs including scholarships, fellowships and residential college life.The money raised by the annual fund is classified as unrestricted funds, meaning the entirety of the money raised in a given fiscal year is spent on programs that will directly impact students, such as scholarships, fellowships, residential college life and books and subscriptions for Fondren Library. The Annual Fund also donates to Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman's budget, which provides funds for the Student Association and Rice Program Council, as well as study breaks. Large-scale donations for construction of new buildings or residential colleges are not part of the Annual Fund, Rice An-nual Fund Director Ginger Nash said.
