Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Thursday, March 28, 2024 — Houston, TX

Spotlight


FEATURES 9/7/21 10:12pm

New Wiess magisters embrace the unexpected

Wiess College Magister Flavio Cunha had a plane ticket to Chicago when he met a girl in Ipanema, the famous beach in Rio de Janeiro. Cunha, who had already made plans to leave his home country of Brazil to begin a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Chicago, had no interest in sparking a relationship with a girl in Brazil — but that was before he met his future wife Fabiana Alves dos Santos. 


FEATURES 8/31/21 11:06pm

Rice students navigate post-consumer composting

Housing and Dining has implemented a new post-consumer composting program for waste generated by servery patrons. Gloves, utensils, plates and any other items marked as compostable are provided so that composting is as convenient as possible for students, according to Ashley Fitzpatrick, the president of the Rice Environmental Society and an intern at Rice’s Sustainability Office. 



FEATURES 8/24/21 11:25pm

New Student reports: O-Week 2021

Whether in-person or virtual, Orientation Week, the traditional rite of passage for incoming students, provides them their first taste of life at Rice. This year’s Orientation Week may have been closer to normal than last year’s, but it was no less unique, as changes occurred mid-week in response to the tenuous conditions of COVID-19 on campus and in Houston. 





FEATURES 4/27/21 10:39pm

Looking back and looking forward: lessons from the pandemic

The Rice community is eagerly anticipating a return to some kind of normal in the fall semester. Still, it’s clear that not everything will be the same as before the pandemic — but maybe for good reason. While the past year has been undeniably difficult, the Rice community can leave it with important takeaways. We asked administrators, faculty and student leaders what they have learned and what they envision for Rice when distancing, masking and virtual interactions are not the default procedures of the campus experience.


FEATURES 4/27/21 10:33pm

The state of energy in Texas: A conversation with Daniel Cohan following ERCOT’s energy conservation appeal

On April 13, a mild spring afternoon, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced they may begin emergency operations and called for energy conservation from Texans. Four hours later, ERCOT ended the appeal, but questions about Texas’s energy situation remain. Since extreme weather and an ensuing power crisis struck the state over two months ago, many media outlets, including the Thresher, have gone to Rice civil and environmental engineering professor Daniel Cohan for an expert explanation. The Thresher caught up with Cohan for a follow-up conversation.


FEATURES 4/27/21 10:31pm

Muslim students talk observing Ramadan amid classes and finals

During the month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar, Muslims fast for 30 days, eating and drinking only before sunrise and after sunset. Since the Islamic calendar is lunar-based, the month of Ramadan falls earlier every year. This year, Ramadan, which lasts from April 12 to May 12, lands in the midst of midterm season and continues through finals. The Thresher caught up with students observing Ramadan right now to find out how they’re navigating the fast during school. 


FEATURES 4/27/21 10:27pm

Practicing polyglots: Rice students talk speaking multiple languages

Learning a second language is never easy, let alone learning a third, fourth or beyond — especially in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 20 percent of Americans can speak two or more languages — but some Rice students are up for the challenge. The Thresher spoke with four Rice students who speak four or more languages to learn their secrets for success. 








FEATURES 4/13/21 11:44pm

“Untold histories” get told in this year’s Rice Historical Review

Last semester, when McMurtry College senior Joy Wang was researching the bubonic plague in medieval Spain, she started by looking for cross-century comparisons and insight into how people experienced and moved on from a pandemic. According to Wang, she found parallels between the attacks on the Jewish community during the Black Death and xenophobia and hate toward the Asian and Asian-American community during the COVID-19 pandemic. 



FEATURES 4/13/21 11:06pm

‘Love doctors’: Rice Missed Connections plays matchmaker for students

“To the guy on the 2nd floor at Brown, you’re cute but I’m too scared to talk to you.” “To the hot shawty in Duncan 5th floor, u can ride me over when u do ur beer bike practice.” “To the guy who emerged from fondy wearing a blue&red flannel w Addidas sweatpants - u single?” These are just a sample of the student submissions featured on Rice Missed Connections, an Instagram account that gives students a platform to shoot their shot anonymously with other students.