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(03/30/12 12:00am)
Beer Bike is tomorrow, and while colleges will be celebrating with established traditions, the campus-wide coordinators and Student Judicial Programs are introducing several changes that will alter the dynamic of the event (see story, pg. 1). There are three significant changes being made to Beer Bike. However, not all of these changes are negative. First, the balloon fight will be held at two different stops. This change is supposed to get more students to the bike races. The second stop will be at the intramural fields and would therefore create a shorter walk to the races for students. The Thresher supports the new balloon fight structure and agrees that if students are willing to walk to the second stop and throw more balloons, they will also be willing to travel the short distance to the bike races.
(03/30/12 12:00am)
The Thresher believes that it is unfortunate that the Marching Owl Band and non-major music classes are being left out in the cold and forced to gather in a room that is less than suitable for their needs (see story, pg. 6). The university needs to provide a space, such as the old swimming pool room in Autry Court, for these groups that have been a part of the campus culture for years.
(03/14/12 12:00am)
This year, the Beer Bike blanket tax has been proposed to double in cost from $5 to $10. While at first this may seem like a jarring amount to charge students, this change will help Beer Bike attend to its annual budget deficits. The proposal needs 20 percent of the student population to participate in the vote and a two-thirds majority vote in its favor for it to pass. The Thresher endorses the proposed increase in tax and encourages students to vote in its favor.
(03/14/12 12:00am)
Housing and Dining has recently made the decision to extend its hours of operation for the South Cafe. This means that the cafe will open for 30 minutes (from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) after South Servery closes. The new changes are excellent for those who eat late, especially athletes, who have always had problems with getting to the servery before it closes at 7:30 p.m.
(03/07/12 12:00am)
The implementation of the new writing center in the fall of 2012 should help improve more than just writing on campus. First of all, it will hopefully help eliminate the age-old stigma on campus that taking a COMM class means you cannot write. With the requirement that everyone on campus has to take a writing seminar in his or her freshman year, we believe that the university will have leveled the playing field.
(03/07/12 12:00am)
We would like to congratulate Sasha Cooke on winning a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for her performance as a cast member in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Dr. Atomic.
(03/07/12 12:00am)
Congratulations to baseball coach Wayne Graham for getting inducted into the Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame. He has been at Rice for the past 20 years, has amassed 900 wins in his career and got the Owls their only national championship in 2003. He has affected the lives of numerous athletes and has been a pleasure to have as part of the Rice community. Congrats to him as he keeps on trekking, trying to lead the Owls to their 18th straight postseason berth and their second ever national championship.
(02/23/12 12:00am)
Lovett College was filled with the smell of gasoline last week, forcing students to evacuate out of both fear and, in some cases, watering eyes (see story, pg. 1). The open grate in front of the college that connects directly to the buildings' ventilation system shed light on what is clearly a safety hazard.
(02/23/12 12:00am)
The Thresher commends the implementation of a standardized process for establishing food representatives in each college. Currently, the colleges have varying numbers of food reps who often have different jobs. Now, each college will have one food rep who is an elected cabinet member (see story, pg. 1).
(02/23/12 12:00am)
The 2012 Student Association General Election had its lowest turnout since 2002. The bleak 28 percent student participation portrays the undergraduate student body in the unflattering light of apathy, but the problem of low voter turnout lies with the SA as well.
(02/23/12 12:00am)
In the Student Association General Election results, Clinton Willbanks, not Will Banks, is one of the junior class Honor Council representatives-elect, and Nick Ryder, not Mark Dudley, is the KTRU station manager-elect. The Thresher regrets these errors.
(02/15/12 12:00am)
After more than a year-long attempt to switch from Rice Webmail to Gmail, Information Technology and Google have finally signed a contract, meaning Rice students will begin using Gmail next semester (See story, pg. 1). University administrators decided to switch to Gmail because of student interest and the perceived usefulness of the Google applications associated with Gmail, such as Google Documents.
(02/15/12 12:00am)
The Lifetime Physical Participation Activity Program has proved itself to be about as inefficient as its burdensome name. Fortunately, some much-needed change is forthcoming to the program (See story, pg. 1). Four proposals have been offered to the student body to vote upon, and these ideas range from abolishing the program to maintaining the status quo.
(02/08/12 12:00am)
The SA election does not simply concern elected positions; there is also an important amendment that Rice students can vote on. One of these concerns the University Court requirements for office. As the rules currently stand, a U-Court judge can also sit on a college court. This inherently creates conflict of interests if U-Court heard a case from college court on its appellate jurisdiction, especially if the student
(02/08/12 12:00am)
Last week's article entitled, "New syllabus policy sets out standards" stated that Administrative Systems was having technical difficulties with putting syllabi archives on Esther. However, according to Administrative Systems Technical Manager Robert Truscott, there are no technical difficulties with the project, but instead the beta version is developed and awaiting institutional approval to go into production. The Thresher regrets this error.
(02/08/12 12:00am)
Until recently, the system for housing on campus had no uniform policy regarding co-ed living on campus (See story, pg. 6). Students had to appeal to their masters and parents for approval. Fortunately, the Committee of Masters and Presidents has approved a campus wide initiative to institute a uniform policy of gender-neutral housing. This policy will put the power of choice with the student population, letting them choose with whom they will be more comfortable with. While the Thresher supports this new policy, we urge students to exercise this right judicially, as with any roommate. College relationships are in no way set in stone, and choosing to room with someone you are dating could lead to disastrous results.
(02/08/12 12:00am)
This year's Student Association presidential debate featured a great performance by all the candidates, proving the stereotype that Rice students are engineers lacking any charisma at least partially false. However, after viewing the competitive verbal sparring, in the eyes of the Thresher editorial staff, Sanjula Jain is the clear choice for our next SA president.
(02/01/12 12:00am)
A new rule has made syllabus distribution a requirement for professors on the first day of classes (See story in NEWS). Syllabi are the roadmap that professors and students follow in their journey of higher learning. Most professors do their due diligence and post their syllabi on Owlspace before their classes, but some do not. Rice University and the Student Association widely standardized this practice by mandating it across all departments. Rice plans on archiving these syllabi online.
(02/01/12 12:00am)
The new O'Yeah Cafe is diversifying food choices in the RMC (See story in NEWS). Little Willy's and the O'Yeah Cafe might have funny names, but these two restaurants tell an informative tale about how to operate a successful business on campus. Little Willy's served the same food Willy's Pub does, satisfying a nonexistent demand and subsequently floundering. Simply because a business is student-run does not make it a good one, and Little Willy's proved that Pub must make the hard, smart decisions that every business faces. It might sound harsh, but the Thresher is glad that Pub has finally cut its losses and now focuses on the primary business downstairs from their failed venture.
(02/01/12 12:00am)
Hanszen College could be seeing new construction begin on its building in the near term (See story in NEWS). One would expect Hanszen's "New Section" to be the nicest in the college, but this name is in fact a misnomer, as the building has stood since 1955 without major renovations or changes, making it the oldest part of Hanszen and one of the most decrepit structures on campus.
