Special Projects

Review: ‘Luv 4 Rent’ is uncategorizable

Smino creates an uncategorizable and unique album centered around the many forms that love can take on “Luv 4 Rent.” Unconstrained creativity is nothing new to Smino, as it’s been visible in his work since his exceptional debut “blkswn.” Smino is an artist who sounds like no one else and trailblazes his own combination of neo-soul stylings and an off-kilter form of rap.

Senior Spotlight: Kenzie Pickett brings life to museums

Kenzie Pickett accomplishes the impossible — she revives centuries-old artifacts for the modern world. As a Camfield fellow at the Museum of Fine Arts, she spends 10 to 15 hours each week researching historical objects, preparing for the museum’s new traveling exhibit and writing tombstones, which are 100-word labels that describe each artwork. At Rice, Pickett is double majoring in art history and ancient Mediterranean civilizations and double minoring in museum studies and cultural heritage. Her interest in curatorial work and museums was first ignited as a child, when she watched “Jurassic Park” and “Night at the Museum,” in which characters are magically resuscitated, reentering the 21st century as new beings.

Fall into these autumn activities this season

As November begins and the weather finally stays cool, the time to get out and explore Houston is upon us. Events listed below range from one day events to month long festivals, each with lots of fun, food and entertainment promised. Whether you want to hop on the metro to explore downtown or take a day trip outside of Houston, there are upcoming activities catered to all interests. 

H&D whips up a new culinary internship

Rice Housing and Dining has recently launched the Culinary Internship, a student internship program aimed at teaching students cooking and other skills while simultaneously expanding student employment opportunities on campus.

Exchange student Paulina Quiros finds a new community at Rice

While thinking about the American college experience, popular media may call to mind movies such as “Legally Blonde” or “Gossip Girl.” For Paulina Quiros, a Lovett College junior and exchange student from Costa Rica, it was these pop culture depictions that pushed her to study abroad in the United States. She said she first discovered Rice while searching for specific study abroad programs in the country.

Senior Spotlight: Katherine Wu shoots for gold

Despite sometimes seeming otherwise, Rice does not have a shortage of good athletes. Take Katherine Wu, an Olympic archer and McMurtry College senior.

Rice prepares for Election Day

Early voting for the midterm elections ends on Nov. 4 in Harris County. On Election Day, Nov. 8, Sewall Hall’s Welcome Center will be Rice’s on-campus polling location, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Car seen driving on north campus sidewalks

An unidentified driver was reported for reckless driving on campus and in the surrounding areas off-campus just before midnight on Friday, Oct. 28. 

COMP 310 students face burnout

Dozens of COMP 310 students took to Piazza to anonymously post about how the difficulty and deadline spacing of the class were impacting their mental and physical well-being last Friday. In the posts obtained by the Thresher students discussed feeling burnt out, not being able to spend time with loved ones and issues with self-esteem, as a result of the class. 

Faculty to expand by 200 in coming years

Rice University will hire 200 new faculty members in the next several years, according to President Reginald DesRoches. He said he intends to grow faculty size to maintain Rice’s 6:1 student-faculty ratio, in light of a growing undergraduate student population.

Mental health statement required on future syllabi

The faculty senate passed a resolution mandating a mental health statement on all university syllabi at the Sept. 28 senate meeting. The resolution, which passed in the Student Association senate on Jan. 27, 2022, states that every syllabus must encourage students to reach out to Wellbeing and Counseling to discuss mental health concerns and should contain a list of related resources for students. 

New climate justice mural at Rice’s Solar Studios

A year ago, Aaron Ambroso and Tiffany Jin co-founded the Houston Climate Justice Museum with a mission: to challenge conventional museum ideals and address climate change within spaces that do not traditionally acknowledge it. This Friday from 6:30 to 9 p.m., the museum will be unveiling their newest project at Rice’s Solar Studios, an experimental exhibit titled “Creosote Stories: Seeding Planthroposcenes in Northeast Houston.”

Backpage Reports On The Latest Campus Scandals

Faculty must do more to accommodate mental health

Rice faculty must include a mental health statement in their syllabi going forward after the faculty senate adopted part of a Student Association recommendation Sept. 28. Specifically, professors must include a list of mental health resources on campus compiled by the Wellbeing and Counseling Center and encourage students to use them as necessary. We applaud the faculty senate’s actions as a step in the right direction, but it is truly the bare minimum that they could have done to address students’ mental health. 

Unsafe drinking is a cultural problem, not a policy problem

Party culture is back, babes. We’ve got publics nearly every weekend, Pub every Thursday and freshmen scoping out the best (read: most awkward) parties on campus. While we’re excited to welcome back a “return to normal,” there’s been a concerning increase in dangerous drinking habits on-campus. In the wake of consistently high numbers of alcohol related transports and students being found passed out drunk and alone, we’re calling on Rice students to think about what it means to be a good friend and community member in situations where alcohol is involved.

Review: The Rock brings his best in action-packed ‘Black Adam’

“Black Adam” truly feels like a Blockbuster from start to finish. Though the movie is by no means earth-shattering and in fact borrows a lot of tropes from the comic book film genre, “Black Adam” presents an engaging narrative and truly feels like a superhero movie. I was entertained throughout by stunning visuals, a well-written script and strong direction. Most importantly, the movie is fun, with back-to-back action scenes that ensure audiences will never be bored.

10-26-2022 Crossword Solutions

10-26-2022 Crossword: "Alakazam"

HBO Max to return in late November

The free HBO Max subscription through Rice is set to return in late November after Philo, a streaming service utilized by the university to provide students access to HBO Max, exited the education market last spring. Housing and Dining provides Internet Protocol Television for on-campus students and graduate students living in Rice apartments as part of the room and board fees, according to H&D Director David McDonald. The access to HBO Max was a result of University Video Services, a company that provides IP TV to Rice students, partnering with Philo.

DesRoches inaugurated as Rice’s eighth president

Reginald DesRoches was officially inaugurated as the eighth president of Rice University on Saturday, Oct. 22. The ceremony, which followed a two-day series of events leading up to the investiture, included student and faculty representatives, in addition to delegates from around 150 universities and organizations.