Spotlight

Hidden treasure: Rice Escape Room brings adventure to campus

Imagine this. After hearing rumors of a treasure hidden somewhere on campus by William Marsh Rice, you and your friends decide to venture down into the storied steam tunnels to search for it. While you’re down there, you realize that the place is booby trapped. You and your friends have one hour to unlock a series of puzzles to find the treasure without setting off any traps.

‘The Bachelor’ builds unlikely community at Rice

In 2002, the first episode of the Bachelor aired, capitalizing on the elements that made romantic comedies such a big hit. Eighteen years later, the show still has a captive audience. Although some of the watchers have stayed with the Bachelor since its inception, the show has also gained new watchers along the way — including students all across Rice, many of whom attend weekly Bachelor watch parties at their residential colleges to keep up with this season’s bachelor, Peter Weber. 

Basmati Beats overcomes challenges to win first place at national competition

Basmati Beats’s journey to the top hasn’t been easy — along the way, they’ve struggled to find resources on campus similar to those available to groups at other universities. But on Feb. 22, the group worked past these challenges to win the first place prize at Gathe Raho, the University of Iowa’s national South Asian a cappella competition.

Growing up on campus: when Rice is a personal playground

College students often consider their university to be their home away from home. But Rice is also home to a unique set of residents even younger than freshmen. Introducing some of the children living at Rice: Eleanor, Olivia, Owen, Mae, Carter and Ellery.

Senior Spotlight: Debora Kim finds home in Houston

When Debora Kim arrived at Rice’s international student orientation in 2016, it wasn’t her first rodeo. Although she grew up in South Korea, the Sid Richardson College senior was born in Houston while her parents were doing research right across the street at Texas Medical Center. 

Housing guide: What to expect when you’re expending — typical living costs beyond housing

If you’ve never lived on your own before, budgeting for living expenses on top of rent can seem overwhelming — especially if the closest you’ve come to budgeting at Rice is planning out how to spend your Tetra. The main costs you can never really escape are food and utilities.

Housing guide: Meal plan options

Feeding yourself for the first time can be the one of the most daunting parts of living off campus. Just ask me, who lived almost completely off frozen meals last year. Luckily, I’ve asked a few people who have fared much better for their advice on eating healthily and well while living off campus.

Housing guide: How to get a house

Congrats! You’re going off campus! Even if you’re not actually amped about this decision (or had the choice taken from you), look on the bright side: it’s (likely) cheaper, you’ll actually get to know the city you’ve been living in and no one will ever declare a fire drill, come into your house and throw out your candles. 

Housing guide: Legal tips for off-campus students

With students beginning to search for off-campus housing and anticipating the housing draws at their residential colleges, the Thresher decided to ask a lawyer about common legal rights and concerns that students might face when moving off campus. We spoke with Rick McElvaney, former clinical associate professor at the University of Houston Law Center, about the legal rights that tenants have.

Housing guide: Places to metro to!

Memorial Hermann Hospital: This is the stop closest to the South Colleges, across Main Street from Sid Richardson College. A lot of quick food options are available, such as Chipotle, the Halal Guys and the newly-opened Juiceland. 

Housing guide: A Love Letter to Montrose: A beginner’s guide to the eccentric Houston neighborhood

I have a theory that you could live an entire academic year on campus without having to leave once. Think about it. Every single meal is provided, and the options for food outside of the serveries are numerous: 4.Tac0, The Hoot, bites from Coffeehouse and Willy’s Pub, snacks at the campus store. Even boba cravings can be satisfied on campus. We have a gym, laundry services, kitchens, clothing swaps, concerts, sporting events, art galleries, a movie theater and student-run haircutting business. Why leave?

Getting out the vote: students prepare for primaries

Next Tuesday, voters across Texas will head to the polls to select party candidates for the presidency and several statewide and local races. They’ll be joined by voters from 13 other states, making March 3 this election year’s Super Tuesday. However, not a single one of those voters will be headed to the Rice Memorial Center, much to the dismay of leaders of political organizations on campus.

From admirers to friends: Students discuss African & African American Studies steering committee

Taylor Crain and Zubaidat Agboola have known each other for a while. They’ve run into each other at Rice African Student Association and Black Student Association meetings and even took a religion and hip-hop class together. But it wasn’t until the two were selected as student members of the African and African American Studies Steering Committee that they really got to know each other.  

Natural disasters, voting and environmental justice: Catching up with Al Gore

Three years ago, former vice president Al Gore visited Rice and sat down with the Thresher to discuss a future marked by the climate crisis. Gore came back to Houston this week to speak at a rally organized by the Climate Reality Action Fund at Texas Southern University on Feb. 19. The Thresher and other local news organizations sat down with Gore before the rally to talk about our rapidly changing world. 

Fear, discrimination, support: Chinese international students talk coronavirus outbreak

As Chinese families around the world prepared for the Lunar New Year, the Chinese city Wuhan, with a population of 11 million, prepared for something darker: announcing a quarantine to contain the unexpected outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Fears for family back home put a damper on celebrations at Rice.

Black at Rice: Black students reflect on Black History Month

This February marks a year of Black at Rice, a features series created with the intention of highlighting and celebrating Black voices on and off campus. For the anniversary and for Black History Month, the Features staff decided to do something a little different with the series. 

2-19-2020 Crossword solutions

An orientation to this year’s O-Week coordinators

In a week jam-packed with social activities and academic sessions, a thousand nervous and enthusiastic freshmen are accepted into the warm embrace of the Rice community. Throughout Orientation Week, students are introduced to countless Rice traditions, given an O-Week group and are inducted into their residential colleges. With next year's class of coordinators already drafting plans, one from each college shared their views on the magic of O-Week.

2-5-2020 Crossword solutions

Trimming feathers: Perch becomes home to haircutting business

On the Perch, a large balcony on the fourth floor of Will Rice College’s Old Dorm which overlooks the quad and New Dorm, Dyllon Schmehl operates his business: a pop-up barber shop.