Special Projects

Men's cross country finishes first at HBU

The underclassmen may have carried the bulk of the men's cross country tournaments thus far this season, but the seniors, nagged by injuries, appear to finally be coming around. Seniors Simon Bucknell and Scott Zivick finished first and fifth, respectively, at the Oct. 10 Houston Baptist University/ Puma Invitational. Redshirt sophomore Michael Trejo and redshirt freshmen Gabe Cuadra and Matt Carey filled in the middle to grab the win over HBU by 10 points. Lamar University and Texas Southern University filled out the remaining spots in the lineup of teams.

Serveries offer better options

West Servery is not the only novelty in Rice's dining options this year. Money saved from last semester's removal of trays from the college serveries is being put toward more expensive, higher-quality and healthier beef and seafood options. The new menu choices this year include all-natural, antibiotic- and hormone-free Angus beef, as well as seafood that follows the Monterrey Bay Seafood Watch Program guidelines, a set of recommendations for purchasing seafood from sustainable sources to promote thriving oceans.

Campus sustainability calls for individual effort, collective awareness

As a sophomore pursuing a minor in Energy and Water Sustainability, I was ecstatic when I found out I would be living in a building unlike any other - Duncan College, the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold-certified building at Rice. However, after living in Duncan for two months, I am beginning to question not only the structural design, but also whether or not these residential colleges are actually any more environmentally conscious than the others.The university took a firm stance on its commitment towards sustainability by constructing these buildings according to LEED standards, but it is not enough to just erect these two structures and expect that they will carry the whole campus towards sustainability. For example, even though Duncan and McMurtry College have light sensors in their bedrooms, it does not mean that an extensive amount of electricity is being saved across campus. The solution does not reside in installing high-tech light sensors in every single dorm, classroom and office - it resides in becoming conscious and taking a personal initiative to turn off the lights when leaving a room. The practices and mindsets of the members of the Rice community need to change in order for the university to become worthy of "gold."

KTRU Top 35: Week of 10.18.2009

Soccer grabs first C-USA win

Apparently, all it took for the soccer team to blow past weeks of frustrating 1-0 losses was the unfortunate promise of a lack of postseason. After being eliminated from contention two weeks ago, the Owls (4-10-2, 2-6-0 Conference USA) started to win the tightly contested contests that dogged them in the past. Over the last 14 days, the team went 2-2, scoring a total of six goals to match their total over the previous nine games. The stretch saw them play four straight home games, including a nationally televised game on Sunday, Oct. 11, against conference powerhouse University of Memphis (11-5-0, 6-2-0 C-USA), which Rice won in impressive fashion 2-1. Junior midfielder Kate Edwards scored a pair of goals, giving her three for the season, enough to claim victory over Conference USA's third-best team.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Sid bounces back with pair of wins

Following fall break and a weekend washout, powderpuff was set for a full slate of weekend games as the regular season nears the final stretch. And while a few teams seem destined to clinch a spot in the semifinals, there are still plenty of teams in the running to reach the illustrious final four. The Game of the Week highlights two teams who have had up-and-down seasons to this point. Sid Richardson College, a consistent powderpuff force in recent history, suffered a pair of close losses after an opening-game victory. Lovett College, on the other hand, has erased last year's struggles with strong performances on a weekly basis but still has work to do if the team hopes to secure a playoff spot.

Parking fees discourage students, campus visitors

Police and ambulance sirens screeching through the heavy Texas air, the blaring roar of news helicopters hurtling to capture the latest development, the blinking lights of state-of-the-art medical buildings, the scent of freshly-ripped construction lumber wafting through the city stench - the metropolitan symbols perpetually resounding through the Rice campus make it easy to forget that the school is immediately surrounded by a residential community. All you need for a reminder, though, is to simply see the people milling about campus. Those in the residential community jog around the outer loop, attend sports events, use the library, come to art shows and populate summer programs with their children, some of whom may eventually go to college here. A few of the neighbors are alumni who loved Houston so much that they got jobs nearby and stayed in the area.

"Let the wild rumpus begin!

Despite its origins as a children's book, the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are is not a kid's movie. It's dark and deep, melding haunting images with equally haunting themes. Yet the film reminds us of what it was like to be a child - both the good and the bad - and touches audiences in a way that few films can. Based on the children's picture book by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are is the coming-of-age story of a young boy named Max (The Brothers Bloom's Max Records). He struggles in a world in which his mother (The Soloist's Catherine Keener) doesn't understand his "wildness" and his sister (Blue Heelers' Pepita Emmerichs) starts to make new friends and ignore him.

Rice's shot at first victory plundered by Pirates, Navy

After a 63-14 thrashing at the hands of the United States Naval Academy and a 49-13 loss to East Carolina University, Rice has officially hit rock bottom. And with their 0-7 record, the Owls (0-3 Conference USA) have no more excuses left to use. Injuries and inexperience have plagued this team, but the tides are slowly turning in those areas. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Fanuzzi now has two games under his belt after his shoulder injury, while the patchwork offensive line has played three consecutive games together.

Tale of two matches as Owls blank UCF before losing to USM

With their goal of winning Conference USA in mind, the volleyball team entered the weekend looking for two victories to put them near the top of the conference standings. Instead, a five-set loss to the University of Southern Mississippi left the Owls in need of some help if they are to attain a conference championship. Rice (14-6, 6-3 C-USA) enters this weekend again needing a pair of victories to keep alive their hopes of winning C-USA. The Owls will travel to Dallas to take on Southern Methodist University, currently fifth in the conference, this evening. The Owls downed the Mustangs (15-7, 5-3 C-USA) in three sets earlier this season. The team will then head to Tulsa, Okla., to face off against the University of Tulsa. The Owls dropped a home match against the Golden Hurricane (17-5, 6-2 C-USA) two weeks ago and will look for better execution this time around to defeat C-USA's third-place team.

Online-only: Golf team places 9th at Lone Star Invitational

The golf team's run was impressive, recording their first victory since Head Coach Drew Scott was still in school while also finishing fourth at the Squire Creek Invitational.But the run, it appears, is over. With a disappointing ninth-place finish at this past weekend's Lone Star Invitational, the Owls must now look up and down the roster to determine whether or not their hot start was a once-in-a-decade fluke or if their recent falter was just a stumble on the ascent toward respectability.

Letters to the Editor

Online Comments of the Week

Pre-National meet brings another challenge to young women's squad

In atypical fashion, the women's cross country team elected to have the bulk of its runners forgo having their first meet at a small event. Instead, six out of the seven runners ran their first 6,000-meter race at the largest meet in the country last weekend, the Pre-National Meet held at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. Fifth-year senior Claire Shorall was the only Owl competing who had run a 6,000 for Rice previously, meaning that sophomores Halsey Fowler, Marie Thompson and Michaela Reynolds and freshmen Heather Olson, Johanna Ohm and Katherine Zebrowski ran the longer distance for the first time in their collegiate careers.

New Moon album brings surprisingly unique flavor

Last month, a news item popped up in my Pitchfork RSS feed that made me do a double-take. The headline read, "Grizzly Bear to appear on The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack."For those who haven't gone outside in the last year, lest the sun reveal their sparkly-diamond vampire skin, Twilight is the popular and poorly-written book series that became an even-more-popular book series after the movie adaptation came out last November. Millions of pubescent girls - and some of my college-aged female friends - fawned over Robert Pattinson, wrote terrible fanfiction and made their own playlists for each book.

Pub incident rouses need for responsibility

Two weeks ago, an incident at Willy's Pub presented the institution with a quandary. The self-imposed decision to keep Pub dry for a week was, we believe, a sound decision, one that allowed Pub to both educate and take responsibility in a successful and obvious manner. While the incident was not necessarily their fault, their response should be commended (see story, page 1).That being said, we are worried that the hesitancy to see the incident repeat itself will push security at Pub beyond reasonable enforcement. As it stands, Pub plans on installing a large sign near the entrance denoting what the possible penalties for infractions entail, which is fine in and of itself. So too are the plans to reinforce checks on drinking ages - including those who already have a wristband. But plans are also in motion for security to check bags upon entering Pub.

Photo: Snagging the last bite

The Rice Taiwanese Association hosted the annual Night Market Oct. 10, featuring food from Chinatown and Asian-inspired games.

Dear Denver: Advice on Poaching, The Man

Dear Denver,

Erratum

In Alex Bonnel's column in last week's Thresher, "Magnolia League's potential too good to pass up," the attribution of information to Wikipedia was unclear. Background information from Wikipedia began with the start of the column and concluded with the sentence "SMU and Rice were not willing to give up the Cotton Bowl income, and Duke was already heavily entrenched in its rivalry with the University of North Carolina." The two sentences following this section are the opinion of Bonnel, not content from Wikipedia, though there is a reference to the Magnolia League entry in the following paragraph.

Online only: Youthful squad gains valuable experience at Notre Dame Invitational

When the women's cross country team had their first practice in August with 11 new runners, no one predicted that six of them would be among the team's top nine. However, after last week's redshirting of upperclassmen Britany Williams, Becky Wade, Nicole Mericle and Allison Pye, Head Coach Jim Bevan turned to the numerous fresh faces to step up. Bevan tested the young runners immediately, running five freshmen, three sophomores and one senior at last weekend's Notre Dame Invitational. Not only was the meet highly attended, with 22 schools competing, but it also boasted the most elite competition in the nation last weekend. Ten ranked schools were in the field, including top-ranked University of Washington, No. 5 Princeton University and No. 9 University of Florida.