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NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Inadequate health plan needs greater improvements

By Eileen Meyer

Ed. note: This article has been changed from the printed version.In a 2008 study of graduate students on the Rice-subsidized health plan, 97 percent of over 400 respondents were unhappy with the plan coverage and cost. Indeed, a comparison of the plan with other similarly-sized schools in the top 50 US News and World Report rankings shows that our current plan is well behind our competition in almost every way, such as co-pay percentage and out-of-pocket maximum.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Kissinger, Baker discuss future of Chinese-American relations

By Josh Rutenberg

What was once a cool relationship between the People's Republic of China and the United States is now an open relationship, helped, in part, by Rice. To honor the 30th anniversary of full diplomatic relations between these two nations, Rice's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy hosted a conference on April 3 entitled, "America and China: The Next 30 Years." The event consisted of a panel of distinguished guests, including former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and James A. Baker III, and China's Ambassador to the U.S., Zhou Wenzhong.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Teamwork integral to cancer awareness

By Erica Soltero

Cancer is a devastating disease that has affected over 10.8 million Americans. The American Cancer Society estimate that approximately 565,650 Americans died of cancer in 2008. That means that across the nation, 565,650 families experienced the loss of a son, daughter, mother or father to cancer in the year 2008 alone.Now, imagine this devastation happening every year.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Lovett's The Visitors is welcome to stay

By Garrett Schumann

The famed American composer Aaron Copland once wrote of being "overwhelmed" by theater, sometimes to the point of resentment. Clearly, he was writing of the great tragedies, loves and disputes that have been born on stages across the centuries. Lovett College's currently running drama, The Visitors, would not overwhelm Copland, but it has a well-constructed story, a strong cast and unique staging, which all compensate for its few narrative and thespian weaknesses.The Visitors follows a wealthy Manhattan couple who relocate to the Caribbean because of the husband Barry's (Lovett senior Nathan Bledsoe) heart condition. Once there, they are visited by aging rock star Azure Ray (Lovett junior Viren Desai), who tries to start a charity with Barry as the spokesperson, among other shenanigans.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Track teams travel to Austin for Texas Relays (Men's)

By Jonathan Myers

The past two weeks held some mundane results for the men's track team, but there was one result that left everyone, if not speechless, then at least in awe. First, the typical. Over the last few weeks, the Owls stayed in the Lone Star State to compete in the Victor Lopez Bayou Classic, held at Rice Track Stadium, and the 82nd Annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas. During a fifth-place finish at the Bayou Classic, Head Coach Jon Warren (Jones '88) spotted some star performances, as senior Simon Bucknell took first place in the 1500-meter run and freshman Collin Shurbet finished third in 400-meter hurdles.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Losses drop women's tennis' winning record

By Prem Ramkumar

The women's tennis team, it appears, cannot catch a break. Despite breaking their four-match losing streak against University of Texas-Pan American with a 7-0 sweep, the Owls began another losing streak against formidable opponents University of Tulsa and University of North Texas, running their record to 10-11. On March 27, Rice faced off against unranked UTPA, which had lost 7-0 against Lamar only a day earlier. Coming off a pair of 4-3 losses to the University of Louisville and the University of South Alabama, the Owls desperately needed a convincing victory against this less-talented squad to start fresh and put the past behind them.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Tuesday's Sports Update: Owls unable to clinch win over Aggies

By Meghan Hall

Pitching and hitting woes plagued the Owls Tuesday night, and under the watchful eye of former president George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara, the second-ranked Owls fell 7-3 to unranked Texas A&M.Sophomore Travis Wright got the ball for the 25-9 Owls and only lasted one inning, giving up one run on two hits. Rice immediately got that one back in the bottom of the frame, when a double by freshman third baseman Anthony Rendon scored Holt. Both players finished the night with a team-high three hits.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

New kid on the block

By Meghan Hall

Anthony Rendon has been an unyielding force in the Rice lineup this season. He has started all 30 games, often batting clean-up in the lineup. He has played a solid third base, filling the wide gap left by junior Diego Seastrunk, who moved to catcher after Adam Zornes (Baker '08) was drafted last June. He leads the Owls in seven statistical categories, and he ranks second in four more. The freshman arrived on the scene this season as a fresh, local product of Lamar High School, singled in his first career at-bat in Rice's opening win against California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and has not looked back since.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

New Lovett masters prepare for college life

By Josh Rutenberg

The search is finally over: Lovett College will be welcoming Professor Matteo Pasquali and his wife Marie- Nathalie Contou-Carrere as its new masters next year. Pasquali and Contou-Carrere will replace current masters Bernard and Carolyn Aresu. Pasquali and Contou-Carrere said although they were initially hesitant about the job, they quickly warmed to the opportunity.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

At bat with Rookie of the Year's Ryan Dunson

By Josh Levin

On April Fools' Day, The Rice Thresher had a phone conversation with Ryan Dunson of the North Carolina-based pop-rock band Rookie of the Year. Currently on their third album as a band, Sweet Attention, Rookie of the Year are playing at Java Jazz tonight. Their music can be heard at www.purevolume.com/rookieoftheyear.Rice Thresher: How did Rookie of the Year get started?

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Inconsistent play brings men's tennis tough losses

By Casey Michel

If you heard a crashing sound last week, it was not Rice's new electric car taking a spill but the men's tennis team's season starting its tumultuous final stretch. After coming within a breath of downing then-No. 18 Pepperdine University at home on March 27, the then-35th-ranked Owls dropped a gut-wrencher against then-No. 41 University of Oklahoma last Sunday. But these losses - the Owls' seventh and eighth by a score of 4-3 - did not hurt nearly as much as a 5-2 face-plant against the then-No. 29 University of Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane, which had been reeling with three losses in its last four games against ranked foes, showed Rice that it was still the team to beat in Conference USA.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Prospies flood campus

By Jocelyn Wright

On Wednesday, approximately 450 students admitted to the class of 2013 - 20 percent of the total - participated in Owl Day, the annual event that hosts admitted students overnight on campus, Head of Overnight Hosting Alex Wyatt said. April 8 was chosen for Owl Day because the event had to occur after April 1, when admissions decisions were sent out. Wyatt, a Lovett College sophomore said they did not want to have Owl Day later during finals week, because students would be too busy.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Mikhalkov's dirty dozen

By Brian Reinhart

It takes guts to remake one of the greatest movies of all time, but 12, a new Russian retelling of the classic 12 Angry Men, brings interpretive daring to a new level. The plot is the same as the original - a jury votes on a suspect who appears to be guilty, but a lone dissenter changes all their minds - yet the movie bursts out of the confines of the American original, throwing in battle scenes, drug addictions and contemporary political statements to make a film that is thoroughly entertaining.Some film critics are unhappy with the changes, which take a classic movie where the camera almost never left the jury's deliberation room and turns it into a big, long, loud epic. But these critics fail to understand that this is not a remake; rather, it is a start from scratch, from a distinctly Russian point of view dealing with distinctly Russian problems. Although 12 does lapse into cliché and heavy-handed symbolism at times, it is as powerful as the American classic on which it is based.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Erratum

By Staff Editorial

In the March 27 article "Bikes-for-cars for grad students," the Thresher incorrectly stated that the retail prices of the Giant Boulder-brand bicycles sold to the Rice Village Apartments retail for $735. They actually retail for $330. The Thresher regrets the error.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Track teams travel to Austin for Texas Relays (Women's)

By Natalie Clericuzio

While their classmates enjoyed the long weekend, the women's track and field team went to work at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas last week. Their work paid off as the team medaled in three out of the six relays at the meet and qualified two more runners for regionals. The distance medley relay led the way for Rice as the foursome of senior Lennie Waite, junior Brittany Washington and freshmen Keltie John and Sophie Peters placed second in 11:26.01 on Saturday. The sprint medley relay team of juniors Shakera Reece and Vicki Walker, sophomore Alex Gibbs and Washington finished third in 3:59.72. Rice's impressive relay performance was rounded out by a third-place finish by the 4x800 meter relay, run by Waite, Peters, Walker and John in 9:03.56.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

High testosterone highly disadvantageous

By Carl Hubbard

Last year, I discovered that my testosterone levels are nearly three times that of a normal man. For those who know me, this fact probably comes as no surprise. But to me, it was like discovering my race or gender for the first time at the age of 23.The explanatory power of testosterone levels, I soon discovered, is at least equal to that of any other sociological category. Testosterone levels can predict what type of job you are likely to work, how often you've been injured in your life, your criminal history, your sexual promiscuity and even how often you smile. And these are just some of the dozens of traits that correlate with the presence of this hormone in one's body; the list could be extended to fill this entire article.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Student assaulted near academic quadrangle

By Jocelyn Wright

A male student was physically assaulted while walking past the academic quadrangle on College Way with a female student at 2 a.m. Tuesday, Rice University Police Department Captain Phil Hassell said. The assailant was described as a 20-25-year-old black male, about 5'7" and 150 pounds with "big eyes," short hair and a medium complexion. Hassell said the assailant stepped out of his vehicle, yelled at the student and then struck the student. At that point, another member of the assailant's vehicle dragged him back to a dark four-wheeled car before departing.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Making the big time

 

Former Rice tight end James Casey works out for scouts from 28 NFL teams during Rice's pro day on March 26 in preparation for the NFL Draft held in New York City April 25-26.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Students look for explanations, solutions to genocide

By Cindy Dinh

One week after Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, announced he would expel 13 humanitarian aid groups in the country, three scholars fielded student questions on ethnic conflict and genocide at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy on March 31.Michael Emerson, Professor of Sociology; Gale Stokes, past chair of the History Department and Dean of Humanities; and Mary Lee Webeck, Director of Education at Holocaust Museum Houston, spoke to students on the commonalities of ethnic conflicts and the factors that lead to genocide.

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