Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 — Houston, TX

Ella Feldman



FEATURES 3/16/21 10:57pm

‘It’s just brutal’: Two students reflect on losing loved ones to COVID-19

Baker College sophomore Lily Sethre-Brink’s grandfather was named Willis, but she called him Grandpa Will. He was stern but witty, she said, and they would always make blueberry pie together. He did a mean Cookie Monster impression, and when Sethre-Brink was a little kid, she would pretend to fall asleep in his lap so that she could stay in his arms longer. And he always loved to hear her sing. 


FEATURES 3/16/21 10:03pm

A year of grief: Students share stories of severity of COVID-19 sinking in

The past few weeks have been marked by harrowing anniversaries. Feb. 29 marked one year since Rice Crisis Management alerted the Rice community that a staff member had possibly been exposed to COVID-19 during overseas travel. March 3 was the anniversary of Rice canceling international travel over spring break and suspending all other foreign travel, and March 8 marked a year since classes, Beer Bike and other major events were initially canceled. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.



FEATURES 2/2/21 9:38pm

Fresh Air: Five more outdoor destinations perfect for a socially distant semester

Last August, as students were bracing for their first full semester in the pandemic, the Thresher brought you a roundup of nine outdoor destinations perfect for a life defined by social distancing. Five months later, with the spring semester unfolding and social distancing measures very much still in place, we’re back with more. Close your laptop, grab your mask and check out these five outdoor spaces in Houston — your brain will thank you.


FEATURES 1/26/21 9:08pm

‘Solidarity, not charity’: Rice Mutual Aid encourages community to support itself

The beginning of a semester can get costly. There’s the gas or the plane ticket it takes to get to campus. Sometimes there’s moving, which can mean lease application fees, security deposits, furnishing and more gas. Then there’s the cost of textbooks, school supplies, technology, granola bars, coffee and anything else that students need to get through the semester. These costs — and the immense barriers they can pose to some students — aren’t always talked about. Rice Mutual Aid, a student-organized mutual aid network, is trying to change that. 



FEATURES 10/30/20 9:46am

Drive-thru ballots and ‘finger condoms’: Students talk voting in the 2020 general election

Two days after the early voting period started in Texas on Oct. 13, Katimah Harper got in a car with her boyfriend and drove down the street to NRG Stadium. They pulled up behind a line of cars and waited for about 10 minutes, then pulled into a tent, where a poll worker checked their IDs and gave them a tablet to fill out their ballots for the 2020 general election.


A&E 10/20/20 10:06pm

Seven spooky movies to stream this spooky season

A spooky movie list? In this economy? Though I doubt that anything on this list will scare you more than the horror movie we are currently living through (an exquisite mélange of “Contagion,” “Get Out” and select episodes of “Black Mirror”), these films might get your heart racing just enough to temporarily subdue your existential dread.