Cult behavior from residential college system crosses the line

By Margie Diddams     3/26/09 7:00pm

More about the residential college system at Rice upsets me than I could fit in a single article. Treasonous words, I know. But look, for a moment, beyond the "just like Harry Potter" nonsense.Though dorm assignments are arbitrary, students are immediately encouraged to favor their college above others. During O-Week, incoming freshmen run around campus in hoards, chasing, insulting and screaming at fellow students for their new college identity. "Jacks," midnight pranks determined by college leadership, inconvenience, humiliate and often injure residents of other colleges.

Cliques develop as students seek grounding in their new, narrow social environment. Room, floor, hall and O-Week group placements often yield exclusive social circles.

A heightened collective consciousness stifles creativity and originality in both social interaction and downtime. Though college parties and traditions can be absurd, repetitious and offensive, they reaffirm group identification and reinforce participants' social status in the college.

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As a result, many students blindly engage in such activities, despite disinterest, in order to be social. This minimizes recreational time for personal hobbies and discourages participation in club and Houston-wide events, both notoriously under-attended by Rice undergrads.

During college decision-making, a majority of residents merely observe the process. Thousands of dollars in college funds are spent on beer and party decorations, while students' genuine financial needs, such as tuition, travel, research and support for campus clubs go unnoticed or grossly underrepresented in the college budget.

Unfortunately, many students privately express concern about college activities but suppress these views in order to maintain their image in the system. Such behavior results from the power of groupthink.

With rare exception, the college to which you are assigned is the college to which you will belong for the duration of your stay at Rice. Most Rice undergrads can expect to spend up to four years of their lives working, sleeping and eating with the same group of students, whether they like it or not. Memories of dinner conversation and party bustle help peers elect one another to a hierarchical governing body that communicates with the administration and oversees dorm policy.

Many university-wide student positions filter through the college, including Student Association Senators, RSVP representatives, Eco-Reps and peer academic, social, health and career advisers. With so much hinging on acceptance within a small group, it's no wonder students succumb to pressures to conform.

This Willy Week, Lovett, the college that supposedly represents my interests, demonstrated exactly how far students are willing to go for intercollegiate pride. In the dark hours of the morning, a group of Lovetteers dumped live goldfish into toilets at Jones College. As you can imagine, only a few of the fish made it out alive. In the past, pranks have been obnoxious, dangerous and occasionally racist, but now they are abusive toward animals.

When does the absurdity stop? According to Rice University's official student handbook, "Students are expected to govern their conduct by standards of considerate and ethical behavior." Let such basic principles be the minimum standard by which we live!

Thought-provoking signs throughout Wiess College remind students to save energy: "Turn off the lights, do it for Wiess!" While I encourage you to reduce your energy consumption, by golly, don't do it for Wiess, Lovett or Martel, or any college for that matter. Do it, whatever "it" may be, because you believe in it. Stand up against Willy and O-Week shenanigans that go too far. Speak up when college budgets don't match student concerns. Don't be afraid to demand of your peers respect and the right to individuality.

This university educates over 3,000 unique undergraduates, individuals with their own opinions and ideas. It's time we start acting like it.

Margie Diddams is a Lovett College sophomore.

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