Special Projects

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. 

Rice hosts COVID booster clinic for campus community

Rice partnered with the Houston Health Department to provide the third bivalent booster vaccine against COVID-19 to the Rice community. The two past clinics, held on Oct. 11 and 18, vaccinated a total 493 individuals, according to Director of Institutional Crisis Management Jerusha Kasch. The final clinic will take place on Oct. 27.

Rice’s largest Design-a-thon levels up

Hosted by Rice Design for the first time, a three-day Design-a-thon titled “Level Up!” was held entirely virtually this past weekend. Students from universities across the country participated in the competition, which challenged them to create a web or mobile application in response to a prompt in financial technology or health and lifestyle. The event also offered practical workshops about design principles from local industry professionals. 

Halloween Costumes to die for

Are you still looking for a costume for that Halloweekend party? Check out these quick, easy costume ideas that can be created with your own closet (and maybe a little help from Amazon).

Looking back at Rice presidents

In light of Reginald DesRoches’ inauguration this past Saturday, the Thresher looked back at past Rice presidents and their respective inaugurations.