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Guest Opinion

OPINION 4/9/24 11:04pm

Two-faced Rice administration undermines university values

By Ibrahim Al-Akash

The recent tabling of S.RES 02 showcases the blatant hypocrisy of the Rice administration and sets a dangerous precedent of silencing students’ intellectual discussion. The resolution called for the SA’s creation of an Ethical Advisory Board, which would monitor Blanket Tax spending on companies deemed complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

OPINION 4/3/24 12:32pm

Keep war criminals off our campus

By Erica Augenstein

This February, current director of the Baker Institute, David Satterfield, invited former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to speak on Rice’s campus. Condoleezza Rice is infamous for her central role in launching the illegal U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. After an introduction by President Reginald DesRoches — where he celebrated Condoleezza Rice’s bloody legacy — Satterfield and Condoleezza Rice sat together as two never-elected bureaucrats with decades of experience directing colonial violence between them to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza and “the delicate balance between free speech and incitement.”

OPINION 3/26/24 11:00pm

Now is the time to understand religious diversity and discrimination at Rice

By Elaine Ecklund

In the midst of a nationwide increase in religious discrimination and hostility, particularly following the events of Oct. 7 in Israel and ensuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, there is a need to examine how Rice University students have been impacted, how they are responding and the degree to which religious tolerance, religious accommodations, and perceptions of religious discrimination at Rice have changed. 

OPINION 3/26/24 10:59pm

We need to diversify Rice’s foodscape

By Megan McDonald

Rice students have lots to say about access to food while on and around campus.  Rice’s unique foodscape lives and breathes the school’s motto of unconventional wisdom by helping accommodate a diverse group of students.  But to a certain extent, it could benefit from a taste of conventional wisdom.  Implementing other universities’ foodscape features at Rice would benefit our students.

OPINION 2/13/24 9:58pm

Keep the Sabbath Holy

By Samuel Barton

Rice students are no strangers to burnout. Optimism at the start of a semester turns into dread as the grind wears us down and we wonder how we will fit all our weekly commitments into a mere 168 hours. 

OPINION 1/30/24 10:17pm

The burden of tradition: NOD 2023 was the fault of systemic issues, not the students

By Nathan Horton

Student discourse in the aftermath of Night of Decadence has frequently taken a defeatist character. A muted “I guess that’s what we get” has risen in response to the cancellation of publics, without any form of organized protest. This passivity in the face of blatant paternalism ignores a major systemic issue: the loss of student autonomy in maintaining traditions.

OPINION 1/24/24 7:00am

We will not wait until the next school shooting

By Jasir Rahman

Despite calls upon lawmakers to do something about this epidemic of violence, our cries for action fall upon deaf ears. We are tired of being ridiculed as “radical” by lawmakers for championing common-sense gun reforms like expanding background checks, which are supported by a majority of Texans. What is radical is the status quo, where gun violence is the leading cause of death among Texas youth — more than cancer and more than car accidents. Year after year, Texas loosens restrictions on guns, and year after year, the rate of youth gun deaths increases. 

OPINION 1/9/24 11:06pm

Bridging the digital divide

By Abhi Jain , Carolyn Suradejvibul and Jiya Bhatia

Access to the internet plays a central role in almost everyone’s lives, especially as we enter an increasingly digitized world. Unfortunately, however, 170,000 households in Houston lack access to the internet. While many of these individuals are adults, a significant portion comprises students of college age. 

OPINION 11/14/23 10:42pm

Desolation does not entail peace

By Adel Iqbal

We have lost sight of the bigger picture in the Middle East. Intensification of violence over the preceding month has shattered the veneer of an international rules-based order, promulgating the precariousness of ascertaining global prosperity, stability and peace through sui generis multilateral frameworks devised to avert the perpetuation of such hostilities. Notably, the conflict has laid bare the alarming moral calculus precluding meaningful discourse across America’s college campuses, including our own. 

OPINION 11/7/23 10:54pm

NOD reveals a public health crisis. Admin should treat it like one.

By Anonymous

Last fall, I was one of the “dumb and irresponsible people” to wake up in a hospital bed after drinking an entire bottle of rum.  In the midst of a panic attack, I recalled memories of my ex-boyfriend sexually assaulting me, resenting my inability to ever get closure. For some reason, I convinced myself that chugging hard liquor would calm me down. I didn’t care about the consequences. Frankly, I was suicidal and too distressed for them to matter. I started to realize, half-conscious, the terrible mistake I’d made as soon as I saw my body on a stretcher. I begged emergency medical technicians not to take me to the hospital, all the while delusionally screaming at my ex-boyfriend thousands of miles away. 

OPINION 11/1/23 1:34pm

A case for publics blacklisting

By Santi Parra-Vargas

There’s been a worrying trend in Rice publics. The talk of the town is the recent issues at Night of Decadence, where a recent email from Wiess College explained that caretaking resources were so stretched thin that the public was shut down entirely. This isn’t the first time this has happened — recent Pub nights have also gotten so bad that Halloweekend Pub was restricted to 21+. Medical resources at these events have faced high numbers of calls multiple times now, and as much as I want to say that NOD was a one-off instance that won’t happen again, I would not be surprised if NOD isn’t the only canceled public this year. What about Martel Beer Bike or Murt Y2K or Inferno?

OPINION 11/1/23 12:38am

Speak out against antisemitism

By Noah Berz

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 6 p.m.: Dozens of Rice students and community members gather in the Graduate Student Bubble for an anti-war teach-in because the Basker Institute has plans to celebrate former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton and James Baker at an upcoming gala. The flyer for the event calls the former secretaries “architects of war and imperialism”; intrigued, I, too, make my way there.

OPINION 10/3/23 11:55pm

Students’ silence on antisemitism scares me

By Louis Scheinfeld

There has been a lot of discourse regarding Rice Pride’s decision to cut ties with Houston Hillel. Yet, throughout this controversy, I’ve noticed an unsettling sense of reluctance to denounce this underlying fact: The precipitating resolution is itself antisemitic. 

OPINION 4/26/23 2:07pm

Beware of dissenters, reinvestigate the real Israel

By Sydney Rodman

Israel is a special place and arguably the most misunderstood in the world. We will be celebrating Israel’s 75th birthday at Rice, commemorating the occasion with a conference hosted by the Baker Institute on April 27, 2023. It is important to understand that the Jewish connection to the land of Israel goes back thousands of years. Jews were always in this land before Israel was created. As I prepare to graduate, having founded a Students Supporting Israel chapter at Rice, I want students to be informed about Israel and Palestine. There are many people who spew misinformation and will not want to listen to facts because of the false narrative they love to believe.

OPINION 4/18/23 10:05pm

Rice must expand resources for student performance groups

By Katie Kirkpatrick

When prospective students apply to Rice, they undoubtedly value the academic rigor and research opportunities the university provides. However, many students ultimately choose Rice based on the assurance of a vibrant community and campus culture, where they can also pursue hobbies and interests outside of their university curriculum. As someone with a lifelong passion for dance, Rice Dance Theatre has filled this niche for me, allowing me to continue my dance education and nurture my artistic creativity as a member, leader, and now as outgoing president. This is true not only for me: RDT receives emails and direct messages from prospective students saying their college decision rests on available options to continue performing and learning dance. Unfortunately, growing constraints in space and resources have led RDT and other student performance groups to grapple among themselves for what Rice has available. Rice must increase the accessibility of practice and performance space and funding opportunities for all student performance groups that draw enthusiastic student interest on campus.

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