Special Projects

Men's tennis finds groove in doubles

The men's tennis team has not always had the best luck playing doubles. Despite owning a singles set that has clinched top 30 rankings throughout the decade, the doubles teams have consistently hung like a cloud over the beginning of each match, creating question marks that always mocked Rice's progress. But this year seems to be different. After one of the Owls' top players, 49th-ranked junior Bruno Rosa, faltered early on, and junior Chong Wang, the third-best Owl, departed due to off-court issues, Rice's singles play has been marked by relative struggles.

Students helm investment group

In these times of economic crisis, the safest place to invest your money may be the newly-formed Owl Investment Group. Founded by Martel college sophomore Chris Kopczynski, the Owl Investment Group seeks to give Rice students hands-on experience in investing and provides financial news to students.

Correction

In the Feb. 27 issue, a graphic on page 8 mistakenly listed Jackie Ammons, Kelsey Zottnick and Andrew McElroy Patterson as Honor Council winners in their respective years. However, Honor Council Representatives are not selected based on the one with the highest votes. The elections were uncontested and allowed for multiple winners. The Thresher regrets the error.

Former Rice professor dies in Kenya

Atieno Odhiambo, groundbreaking African history scholar and Rice professor of History for nearly two decades, died Feb. 25 after being diagnosed with a degenerative illness. He was 63. A contributor to 14 books as author, co-author and editor, Odhiambo also wrote countless articles and chapters concerning African historiography, colonialism and various aspects of historical development in East Africa.

Students devote spring break to serving others

Instead of basking in the tropical sun, over 100 students volunteered at various non-profit organizations throughout the country as part of Alternative Spring Break (ASB), which was sponsored by the Community Involvement Center. Eight groups of approximately 12 students worked in Colorado, Virginia, Mississippi, California, Washington, South Dakota, Illinois and Costa Rica, and one group of 40 volunteers visited Galveston. With an application pool twice the number of available spots, the selection process was highly competitive. Though participants were asked to pay a $250 registration fee, the rest of the money for the trips was raised by each team through special events and personal solicitations. Some groups chose to fundraise by holding a raffle for gift cards at nearby restaurants and stores, while others held bake sales or sold Valentine's goodies.

Taking a ride on the West Side ... Story

With tremendous productions like Urinetown (2007) and Hello, Hamlet! (2008), in recent years Wiess Tabletop Theater has established itself as the annual college musical theater powerhouse. But the reputation is double-edged: this year's production, West Side Story, carried with it fantastic potential and extraordinary expectations. When the stars align and all the gears within the production synchronize, the product is riveting. Unfortunately, these moments are spread too thin across the production's two-hour runtime. Wiess may have bitten off more than it can chew.West Side Story, written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, is a 1957 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that replaces the feuding Montague and Capulet families with two Hell's Kitchen street gangs: the all-Anglo Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. The show has become one of the more influential works in the history of American musical theater, largely because of the unprecedented complexity of its choreography and innovative music. Producing the show necessitates a fastidious attention to the details of its dancing and its music, and for the most part Wiess's production succeeds with only a few lapses.

MSA hosts Irish Muslim convert

If she were not wearing her hijab, most passersby might not notice that Fidelma O'Leary was a devout Muslim. O'Leary, who teaches neuroscience at St. Edward's Universtiy in Austin, spoke on campus last Tuesday, not about the intricacies of neurons, but about religion and her struggle as a converted Muslim. The lecture, entitled "A Muslim Woman's Jihad," is the first in the Islamica series sponsored by the Muslim Student Association.

Getting the most out of Houston's music scene

With culturally explosive Austin a three-hour drive away, Houston's music scene has never quite taken off the way it potentially could.The main problem, as anyone who's seen Houston's sprawl can attest, is that the scene is way too spread out. Unlike Austin, where you can jump from venue to venue relatively easily and see multiple bands for cheap in one night, Houston requires a bit more effort.

Wednesday's Sports Update : Owls Thump Houston Wednesday At U.H., 8-1

HOUSTON -- Freshman third baseman Anthony Rendon went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI to lead a 15-hit Rice attack as the No. 4-ranked Owls baseball team defeated crosstown rival Houston 8-1 Wednesday night at UH's Cougar Field.The contest was not a Conference USA regular season game between the league rivals, but it did give the Blue & Gray a 2-0 lead in the annual best-of-five series for the Silver Glove Trophy as the city's collegiate champion. Rice won the first meeting between the teams by a score of 9-2 back on Feb. 25. The series resumes with three C-USA league games to be played at Cougar Field in early May.

Women's track earns three-peat

They say good things come in threes. That maxim rings true for the Rice women's track team as the Owls won their third consecutive Conference USA Indoor championship Feb. 27-28 at University of Houston's Yeoman Fieldhouse. Not only did Rice win the meet, but the Owls scored more points (148) than in the previous two championships, beating out Houston (108) and the University of Central Florida (86).

Shopaholic film missing a left shoe

Product placement is the name of the game in the recently-released Confessions of a Shopaholic, which attempts to mimic 2006's The Devil Wears Prada and its fashion-focused world. Based on the bestselling novel by Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic produces only a fraction of Prada's intelligent plotline, resulting in a watered down and fluffier - but still entertaining - version of the story of a charming woman in the realm of haute couture.In Shopaholic, Rebecca Bloomwood (Horton Hears a Who!'s Isla Fisher) has an addiction. She faithfully goes to her support group meetings and unfailingly tries to get rid of her bad habit with the support of her best friend (What Happens in Vegas' Krysten Ritter) and her parents (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl's Joan Cusack and Speed Racer's John Goodman).

Natural diversity would benefit campus

Let's have a frank discussion about the ecological desert Rice has become. I refer to the lack of native biodiversity on campus that has only increased with the new construction. The most frightening thing is that for the most part, we don't even notice the absence of life. We simply assume that shorn grass, oak trees, and fat squirrels are Mother Nature in all her glory, when in fact a healthy environment should overflow with insect, amphibian, reptilian, avian, aquatic and mammalian presence.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Letters to the Editor

Open's blanket tax unfairly dismissed

Women trying to improve as season comes to close

With its win over the University of Tulsa on Friday, the women's basketball team put together consecutive home wins for the first time since the beginning of the season. It is difficult to say, though, if the Owls (7-20, 2-11 C-USA) have accomplished the main objective that most coaching staffs carry throughout the year: Be better when you finish than when you started.

Refurbished Fondren lounge thrives

During the fall semester, Fondren Library's Sarah Lane Lounge, previously an open study area, was renovated into a place where students could relax and snack. The library added colorful beanbag chairs, posters of book covers and snack and soda vending machines to the lounge, Assistant University Librarian for Information Technology Diane Butler said."Our idea was for something kind of fun and colorful, a room where students could come in and do whatever they wanted to do: hang out, or talk, or study," Butler said.

Great story or The Greatest Story

During the first scene of The Greatest Story, when the commencement speaker begins to sing his address, viewers may think to themselves, "Is this really what the entire show is going to be like?"Luckily, no sooner does that thought form than the song abruptly halts, and one of the characters onstage asks aloud, "Who sings at commencement?"

Sunday's Sports Update: Owls start strong at Houston Baseball Classic

Friday's Sports Update: Owls start strong at Houston Baseball Classic

In Friday's game at Minute Maid Park, the starting second baseman for the home team (number seven) led off the bottom of the first inning with a double that hugged the foul line and rattled in the left field corner.But this team was not the 2007 Astros and the player was not Craig Biggio. Rather, it was junior Brock Holt and the 2009 Rice Owls playing UCLA in the annual Houston College Classic Tournament. Despite getting outhit 14-9, Rice came out on top in the tenth inning.

Congratulations deserved

After a record-high turnout in the Student Association elections, we cannot commend the student body enough for making its voice heard (see story, page 1). The SA debates were widely-watched, the messages of potential candidates were widely-dispersed, and the poetry of the election was widely-versed, if a bit full of rage.We would like to extend our congratulations and gratitude to all candidates, especially those who had never been involved in the SA before. It was a breath of fresh air to hear new voices, see new faces and learn new ideas from those who had not been involved in the SA from Day 1. We also admired those who had previously given their time to the SA, and we hope that those in both camps who did not win will remain involved in the SA. A variety of ideals and ideas make an institution more representative of the student body, which, after all, should be its main focal point.