Special Projects

Two comedians spotlight interfaith differences

"Comedy's Odd Couple," a show featuring nationally known comedians Rabbi Bob Alper and Muslim Azhar Usman, came to the Baker Commons Tuesday as part of an interfaith event to promote tolerance on campus. The comedians' routines covered their family backgrounds, current lives, religious experiences and the elephant in the room, as Alper referred to it: Their separate faiths.Usman, a Chicago-born Indian Muslim has served as a lecturer and lawyer, community activist and co-founder of the Allah Made Me Funny Comedy Tour. He told the audience of his experiences with religious and racial intolerance.

Welcome, Ben Braun

Roughly three weeks after announcing the release of head men's basketball coach Willis Wilson (Will Rice '82), Athletics Director Chris Del Conte announced at a press conference Monday that Ben Braun would be his successor (see story, page 1). Braun is welcome here as a new spark who we hope can rekindle a slow-burning program. We hope he keeps in mind, however, that he can certainly find winning players who also have academic abilities to match their athletic talents. Basketball honors at Rice are attainable, despite our academic standards, and we wish Braun the best of luck in winning them.

Commentary: In the end, it's 'Rock, Chalk, Thank you, Jayhawks'

To the University of Kansas: Thank you.Thank you for doing what previously only the University of Tennessee was able to do - knock off an overrated team that kept getting lucky.

Commentary: Basketball blends brains with Braun to bring back buzz

The first thing I noticed about Ben Braun during the press conference announcing his hiring last Monday was his clothing. Usually, new head coaches are dressed in their finest suits, trying to make a good first impression on skeptical alumni and fans. But Braun, the new men's basketball coach, walked into the media spotlight in a Rice polo shirt and sweat pants. He made it clear he was already hard at work rebuilding a somewhat broken program."Excuse my working clothes," Braun said. "Today is my first day on the job."

Sport Management students host charity bowling event

The Rice Sport Management program teamed up with the Athletic Department to host the first Rice Owl Bowl fundraiser on March 31 at Dave and Buster's on Katy Freeway. Over $11,600 in event proceeds will benefit the new Rice Tickets-for-Kids charity and the Sport Management Program.The inaugural event was produced by Sport Management students in Kinesiology 366: Event and Facility Management. At the beginning of this semester, the students were prompted to organize an event to raise money for charity and the department. Kinesiology Professor Tom Stallings provided support, but the students were responsible for the planning and execution of the event.

ESTHER changes to prevent overscheduling

A series of registration changes began taking effect this week as ESTHER was modified to reduce schedule overlap. Alana Lemay-Gibson, associate registrar for technology, said when students add courses that are scheduled at the same time, ESTHER now notifies them of the conflict. Next fall, ESTHER will be further modified so that it not only warns students, but bars them from enrolling in overlapping courses. The former version of ESTHER was not equipped with this feature, Gibson said.The aim of the new ESTHER feature is to reduce the incidence of accidental schedule conflict, she said.

Regional poll tests Rice recognition

Students from outside of Texas may not be surprised to learn that about half of the professionals from the East and West Coasts have heard of Rice, according to a recent market survey by the Office of Public Affairs. The survey, which Vice President for Public Affairs Linda Thrane said is the first to ask about Rice's recognition, polled 800 people and found Rice to be best-known in Texas, with awareness dropping along the East and West Coasts. Thrane said the survey found that among those who recognized Rice, the majority had a favorable impression of the university. The majority of those surveyed surprisingly did not have a negative view of Houston, Thrane said. The Office of Public Affairs conducted a phone poll of 800 opinion leaders -- affluent people over 35 who are active in their communities - in Houston, greater Texas, New York, Washington D.C., Miami, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Participants were asked about their familiarity with Rice, what attributes they associated with the university, whether they had heard or read about Rice in the news, whether they had a personal connection with Rice and whether they had visited Houston. Thrane said the survey was intended as a benchmark for future surveys on Rice's reputation as part of President David Leebron's Vision for the Second Century.

Rondelet draws 350 students

After a year of absence, the spring formal Rondelet returned in the form of "Midnight Masquerade" with approximately 350 attendees. Rice Program Council hosted Rondelet on Friday, March 28 at Trevisio Restaurant in the Texas Medical Center. Compared to last semester's fall formal, Esperanza, which drew about 550 attendees, the spring formal was smaller in size. RPC President Michelle Kerkstra said they had anticipated a traditionally smaller turnout for the spring formal and had hoped to have at least 300 attendees.

Massengale ends illustrious career with All-America honors

Walking out onto the pool deck at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion at Ohio State University, without any of her swimming teammates to stand beside her, senior Brittany Massengale was determined to not be intimidated by the bigger squads and their visible fan support. But as Rice's sole NCAA qualifier, Massengale had reason to be nervous.Fortunately for Massengale, one of the most decorated swimmers in Rice history, the butterflies in her stomach could not slow her down on collegiate swimming's biggest stage. After placing 32nd in the 200-yard freestyle preliminaries, she qualified for the championship finals in the 1650 and 500 freestyle, where she placed 12th and 13th, respectively. Her two finishes in the finals were worth a cumulative score of nine points, which put Rice in a tie for 39th place. Massengale is the first Owl to score in two individual events at the national meet since Mandy Mularz (Wiess '04) accomplished this feat at the NCAA Championships in 2002.

Self-proclaimed gadfly:Superficial intelligence no substitute for true learning

Since I have spent the last three years working at the Rice Thresher, I had forgotten what it is like to open the paper Friday morning and not know what the news is going to be. Last week was a great week to start. In case you missed it, students from Will Rice College strung fishing wire around campus as part of a jack. Some students tried to take it down after a girl was caught across the neck while riding her bike and thrown to the ground. But never fear, the Will Ricers wasted no time putting the wire back up - only at knee level though, because it is not like that could possibly hurt anyone.At the risk of sounding elitist or judgmental, this whole event was a great example of one of the many lessons that nearly all Rice students learn by the end of their four years: Rice students are dumb.

Brown to receive new masters at semester's end

Like its 2008 Beer-Bike theme proclaimed, this semester marks Brown College's last round with their masters, the Hutchinsons. Chemistry professor John Hutchinson and Paula Hutchinson have completed their five-year term as Brown masters. They will be replaced by mathematics professor Steve Cox and Laura Cox. The Coxes served as Sid Richardson College masters from 2000-2005.Chair of the Masters Search Committee Jessica Simon said she will miss the Hutchinsons but is eager to welcome the new masters.

Tiny dancers

Members of the Chinese Student Association perform a Taiwanese fusion ribbon dance Friday at the Culture Fair in the Rice Memorial Center. The group previously performed this dance at CSA's Lunar New Year show.

Decrease parking fees

After several months spent gathering research and statistics on parking and transportation at Rice, the University Standing Committee on Parking is expected to release its findings and a proposal to the administration as early as next week (see story, page 1). We urge President David Leebron to accept the committee's recommendation that parking rates be decreased overall, and that a more tiered system of fees be implemented.Houston is a big city, and as Rice students know, there is plenty to see and do. Unfortunately, the majority of activities off campus require the use of a car, which, as we know from our current experiences can often be a burden when it comes to paying parking fees.

Children's campus set to open in August

Construction around campus is not limited to the benefit of just college students anymore: some new buildings will now attract students under the age of five. Next August, Rice will open a Montessori school, Rice Children's Campus, for the children of faculty and staff members. The school will be located at 5504 Chaucer Dr., between University and Rice Blvd. RCC will enroll 84-86 children from six weeks old through five years old. The acceptance period for applications for enrollment this fall began Mar. 17. Projected monthly tuitions range from $950-$1,100, depending on the age of the student.

Women's tennis' streak hits nine with victories over TSU, UTA

At a school where the number of Rhodes Scholars outnumbers the number of national championships, athletic victories never get old. Therefore, the women's tennis team's nine-match winning streak is quite impressive from Rice's point of view, even considering the lowly stature of its opponents. Last weekend, the Owls extended that streak by annihilating Texas State University and the University of Texas-Arlington 4-0 at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.With the wins, Rice jumped to 55th in the nation with only one match remaining in the regular season. The Owls travel to Dallas, Texas, on April 5 to take on Southern Methodist University, their second Conference USA foe of the year. The Mustangs are streaking as well, but in the opposite direction: Having faced a tough array of opponents in the last month, SMU will look to rebound from a five-match skid.

PIN eliminated in advising changes

Starting next fall, students and faculty may at last be happy to find something missing at Rice - the RDA Personal Identification Number previously needed to register for courses. After presenting his plan to the Faculty Senate at its March 12 meeting, Director of Academic Advising Brian Gibson found himself with an 83 percent approval rating to abolish the RDA PIN process, which has existed since 2003.Currently, students must visit an academic advisor to receive the PIN needed for registration. Gibson said this system will stay in place for the fall 2008 registration which begins April 7, but starting with next year's incoming freshmen, the PIN will be dropped. Gibson said students will instead be encouraged, though not required, to visit academic advisors for course guidance. He said the removal of the PIN will improve upon the current faculty advising system because over the years, many students have visited academic advisors to gain their PIN rather than to ask for academic advice.

Editorial Cartoon: RPC Calendar

News In Brief

Wiess Road reopensWiess Road, which is located between Wiess College and Autry Court, will officially reopen today. The road has been closed since the summer because of construction on the South Plant - Rice's new energy efficient source of power.

Decision to drop PINs a very good choice

We said it before, and we will say it again: One of the great things about Rice is that students are treated like adults ("End PIN paternalism," Nov. 16, 2007). With the recent overhaul of the registration process and the removal of PIN requirements and mandatory advising sessions, Rice has taken another big step in making that statement true across the board (see story, page 1). The old system was a broken one. Standards for major advisors varied greatly across departments, and with tension between independent-minded students and busy professors, actual advising often got lost in the shuffle. A system without PINs changes this. The forced aspect is removed, meaning students have the opportunity to act with the responsibility they have, keeping on top of major and graduation requirements of their own accord.

Women's track continues success at TSU Relays

The downside of reaching the top is that, theoretically, there is no room for improvement. Nevertheless, as the outdoor season commences, the women's track and field team will be looking to improve on its early-season finish: first place at the Conference USA Indoor Championships.Rice's first attempt at improvement took place last weekend at the Texas Southern University Relays on the University of Houston campus, where the Owls earned no fewer than four first-place finishes. Senior Desarie Walwyn and junior Jenny Glover both posted NCAA-regional qualifying times in the 100 meter dash and triple jump, respectively.