Special Projects

Emergency alert system requires updates

Not long ago, a member of the Rice staff had been violently assaulted and the perpetrator, a man with a clear description, was on the lam, putting the entire Rice campus at risk for another attack. We wrote - nay, pleaded - with the Rice University Police Department to properly implement and utilize the Emergency Alert System that was put into place almost two years ago ("Safety measures need revamping," Jan. 30). We asked RUPD to alert us whenever the information was pertinent to our safety and well-being. We didn't mind having our inbox full or text messages eaten up, so long as the information sent kept us free from harm and our belongings safe at hand.After all, that's what the system was created for. And while we were eventually alerted of the assault, the details of the situation escaped in an infuriating trickle.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

I Love You, Man: Best bromance ever

The 21st century has ushered in many things: iPhone, text messaging, blogs and ... bromantic comedies? This new genre has been spearheaded by comedic guru Judd Apatow, who has brought us a slew of smart and funny films with a dash of love such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Apatow has also made stars such as Paul Rudd (Role Models), Seth Rogen (Superbad) and Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) household comedic names.But when Apatow is not involved in that comedic vein, it can show. Such is the case of I Love You, Man.

Art around Willy's statue to honor donors

The statue of William Marsh Rice in the academic quadrangle may be getting a new neighbor. Construction has been planned in the academic quad to honor the members of the Rice University Legacy Society, a group of approximately 50 corporations, foundations and individuals who have contributed at least $4.6 million to the university, the amount Rice gifted in his will to establish Rice University. Construction may be completed in 2012, Rice President David Leebron said.

No change in parking lot prices

If the current economic situation has a silver lining, it is next year's on-campus parking rates, which will not increase for the 2009-'10 academic year, Director of Administrative Services Eugen Radulescu said. "Everything stays the same," Radulescu said. "Everything is frozen ... for everyone: for faculty, for staff, for students, for visitors."

News in Brief: 30Nights canceled, April Fools' Day email hoax, Rice, Baylor merger update

30Nights Canceled

30Nights cancellation ruins excitement

If you're reading this right now, it means that we're unhappy - 30Nights is still cancelled (see story, page 6). What was shaping up to be a great Wednesday night - senioritis-laced seniors mixed with Element is always a good concoction - has now turned into another typical, paper-churning slog. Yes, we're complaining, and here's why:30Nights, with its marketing blitz and higher sales of tickets, was set to go off without a hitch. People were excited about this party, and rightfully so. In a week that people needed to blow off steam, the team behind the party's planning was doing an excellent job, and with an expected 350 attendees - 200 pre-sold and 150 more expected, according to an e-mail - the club Element was due to be hoppin'.

KTRU Pick of the Week: Siamese Sailboats

Every week at KTRU, eager DJs write out short reviews of music's cutting-edge albums. KTRU's Music Department uses these reviews to judge the quality of the albums it receives and to provide information for the DJs who play them. Each week, a DJ polishes one of these reviews so that KTRU's riches can shine for the larger Rice community.Hailing from Baytown, Texas, Ghost Mountain is an up-and-coming duo that plays a nice little mix of electro-pop that is quite reminiscent of MGMT, with influences from of Montreal, YACHT and other bands. Ghost Mountain has a certain quality to their music that makes it feel exuberant and alive, which is more than evident in its new Siamese Sailboats.

Wednesday's Sports Update: Rice Baseball Team Holds On For 10-9 Win Over Lamar Wednesday Night

The Rice baseball team scored 10 runs on 14 hits, but had to hold off a Lamar rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to claim a 10-9 victory over longtime rival Lamar Wednesday evening on the road in Beaumont.The Owls led 9-2 early in the contest, but Lamar chipped away to get the margin down to just three, 10-7, with two innings left to play. The Cardinals scored two in the eighth on just one hit to make it a one-run game and set the stage for the ninth.

Wednesday's Sports Update: Dallas Baptist falls under Rice's offensive surge

One more game, one more huge offensive effort for the baseball team. The Owls posted 16 hits in an 11-8 comeback victory over visiting Dallas Baptist University Wednesday night at Reckling Park, marking the 8th time in the past 10 games the Blue and Grey have racked up 13 or more hits.Redshirt sophomore Travis Wright picked up the first win of his Rice career with 2.2 innings of solid relief pitching. He allowed just one unearned run and had four strikeouts on the day.

After Zombies consideration, RPC sticks with Assassins

Put on your best camouflage suit and prepare yourself - Assassins: H2 Double-O-7 is back.Assassins, an annual event hosted by the Rice Program Council, pits student against student in an effort to become the last assassin standing and the last one dry.

Saturday's Sports Update: Owls take down Tigers in rematch

Ryan Berry's absence from the pitching mound was conspicuous at the start of Saturday's game against the University of Memphis, but by the end of his seven-inning outing, freshman Taylor Wall had made the game uniquely his. Filling in for the injured Berry, Wall allowed just four runs and struck out six in seven innings of work - his longest outing of the year.Assisted by a Rice batting order that collected 14 hits and 12 runs - including six runs in the first two innings - Wall improved to 3-2 on the season.

A plywood mindscape

This week Henrique Oliveira arrives at Rice for his first solo exhibit in the U.S., and with him he brings most of the salvageable plywood siding from his neighborhood construction sites in Sao Paolo, Brazil.Oliveira, only 35 years old, has found an ingenious and altogether stunning way of presenting the found object medium, plentiful in the surroundings in which he lives. Gathering it at construction sites or among the refuse of shantytown housing, known in Portuguese as favelas, the piles of painted and weathered plywood strips, organized by color, size and texture, covered the floor of the gallery in the weeks preceding the opening. At the audience's feet are what Oliveira calls "the fractured image of a painting" that he began to assemble during the days preceding the exhibit's opening.

Here there be Pirates ... of Penzance

These last two weeks have been crazy as far as college theater is concerned, and Rice Light Opera Society has only added to the number of quality shows opening this week with its production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance.The basic premise of the play is that Frederic (Geoff Copper, Sid Richardson College '07) has completed his indentures with a ragtag group of pirates and is looking for some loving. He falls for the beautiful Mabel (Sid senior Quinn Shadko) but is soon caught up in a conflict centered around his duties to his former masters and his newfound love.

Week-long support of protection for women well-received

After five days of promoting female safety, the Stop Violence Against Women Week ends today with a lecture by Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú at the Rothko Chapel. Rice Amnesty International Vice President Julia Lukomnik coordinated the week, which combined events hosted by Rice Amnesty International and the Rice Women's Resource Center to promote awareness and prevention of violence against women. According to the UN, one in three women is abused sometime in her lifetime.

Sunday's Sports Update: Reckling leads Rice past Memphis

Freshman Matthew Reckling got the start in the rubber game of Rice's conference series against Memphis this weekend. After a loss on Friday and a win on Saturday, the Owls came out on top Sunday 9-5 to take the series, improving their record to 17-7 (4-2).Reckling threw a career-high 5.1 innings and also notched the first win of his Rice career. He had a no-hitter through three innings and didn't allow Memphis to score until a solo home run by junior Shawn Ablett to lead off the fifth.

Bikes-for-cars for grad students

Trees are not the only thing spring has turned green around Rice. A new green initiative spearheaded by Graduate Housing Manager Abeer Ali Mustafa and Associate Vice President of Housing and Dining Mark Ditman has brought 35 bicycles to graduate students living at the Rice Village Apartments.Students who sign up for a 12- month housing agreement and agree not to register a car at the apartments are eligible to receive one of 33 free bicycles. The other two bicycles have been set aside for temporary use by those students who have a car but still want to bike occasionally, Mustafa said.

Tuesday's sports update: Homestand ends with Sam Houston shellacking

The third-ranked Owls finished up a nine-game homestand Tuesday night with a 9-3 win over Sam Houston State University. The Owls currently sit at 22-7 (7-2 Conference USA) and are second in the C-USA standings behind East Carolina University, which they face this weekend on the road. The Owls struck first in the bottom of the second, when back-to-back singles by freshman Daniel Gonzales-Luna and junior Jimmy Comerota prefaced a sacrifice fly by sophomore Michael Fuda.

Bikes-for-cars program almost perfect

Since the Thresher's main mode of communication still takes place via dead trees, it may seem a touch ironic that we would espouse the Rice Graduate Apartments' attempt to go green (see story, page 1). With the installation of the bikes-for-cars program, Rice has taken the environmental ball and run with it, all the way to a sustainable future.The meat of the program is commendable - trading cars for bikes will eliminate both congestion and carbon emissions - but a few details need to be tweaked in order for this program to reach its fullest potential. First, the cost of the bikes, $750, is an exorbitant amount. As we are all aware, we are in the midst of the Great Recession, meaning that any inordinate expenditures should be axed before they reach their final stages. While we understand that the bikes are LEED certified, there are times when you must make sacrifices for the health of the pocketbook. If you halve the price tag of these bikes, you will still receive a quality bicycle and double your potential consumer base. You could even consider giving the tenants a voucher for a bicycle instead of selecting one for them, although that may limit discounts.

Knowing Review

If given the opportunity to sit in the DeLorean from Back to the Future, I wouldn't go back in time to bet a million dollars on the Giants winning the Super Bowl, and I wouldn't tell my dad to invest stock in Google. Heck, I wouldn't even warn people about impending national disasters. What I would do is gun that baby to 88 mph to the year 1996 and assassinate Nicholas Cage. Why 1996, you ask? That was the year The Rock was released, the last decent movie ever made by the over-the-hill loser. Since then, Cage has unleashed a torrent of crappy films, ruining comic book franchises (Ghost Rider), forcing us to acknowledge horrible hairstyles (Con-Air, Bangkok Dangerous ... dude, you're bald, get over it) and worst of all, making hot women look like coked-out hookers (Angelina Jolie in Gone in 60 Seconds). It's been thirteen years, dammit! Enough is enough, Cage. Either you retire from acting, or I call a national boycott on your garbage movies.Seriously, America. When will you learn? Knowing actually was No. 1 in the box office this past weekend, raking in over $24 million. The only thing I know about Knowing is that it sucked. That's my entire review. I wasted $8.50 - thank you, student discount - and almost two hours watching this steaming pile of crap that vaguely resembled cinema. But believe it or not, the first twenty minutes of the movie really was not that bad.