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NEWS 2/15/22 11:15pm

Willy’s Pub rebrands as The Pub at Rice

By Prayag Gordy

Willy’s Pub is formally changing their name to The Pub at Rice, according to Sophie Call, Pub’s marketing manager. Pub has considered renaming since the racial justice protests of summer 2020, Call said.

SPORTS 2/15/22 11:14pm

Powderpuff season set to start after long delay

By Kaitlyn Crowley

After the cancellation of the 2020 women’s flag football season due to COVID-19, students across Rice have been looking forward to the return of powderpuff this year. According to Vaidya Parthasarathy, a Powderpuff coach at Wiess College, the coaches and players are just excited to be back on the field.

A&E 2/1/22 11:00pm

Rice PRIDE hosts first Open Mic Night

By Michelle Gachelin

To many, Rice PRIDE events are just that — capitalized and in technicolor. Last Thursday, the undergraduate club’s Open Mic Night offered students a more intimate setting to express themselves and connect with listeners, who received them with earnest applause and words of support. Throughout the night, the energy ebbed and flowed as students presented their art with topics ranging from sobering to inspiring. Guidelines were purposefully left open-ended, since the event was intended to provide a communal space for performers to make the night their own.

FEATURES 2/1/22 10:53pm

Outgoing presidents look back on their terms

By Zoe Katz

Rice’s 11 college presidents began their terms last spring, in the midst of a pandemic and an unsure school year. Since then, they have had to lead their residential colleges through many changes, from Constitutional rewrites to relaxed or heightened public health regulations. As their terms near their end, the Thresher invited the presidents to reflect both on themselves and their important role.

SPORTS 1/25/22 10:56pm

From conference championships to coaching Olympians: Victor Lopez reflects on his track & field journey

By Cadan Hanson

Fifteen years after retiring as the women’s track and field coach at Rice, Victor Lopez heard his name called during the induction ceremony for the Texas Track & Field Hall of Fame. As one of the seven members in the 13th class of inductees, Lopez now stands among the likes of nine-time gold medalist Carl Lewis and other Texas track and field legends. Although it is the most recent accolade for the retired track and field coach, it is just the latest of numerous awards and accolades that he earned throughout his career.

A&E 1/11/22 10:24pm

Senior Spotlight: Alfonso Pelaez Rovalo explores what it means to be unique

By Michelle Miao

From watching his mother paint and sculpt to aspiring to become a National Geographic photographer since childhood, Alfonso Pelaez Rovalo has always seen art as an integral part of his life. Rovalo entered college majoring in architecture and later double majored in studio art after being inspired by his fellow classmates to explore art at Rice. Art in Rovalo’s life has a solid foundation, but as of yet, no definite ending.

NEWS 1/11/22 2:38pm

Rice named as one of 16 schools in financial aid lawsuit

By Ben Baker-Katz

Rice is one of 16 universities alleged to have broken federal antitrust laws by violating the terms of an exemption which allowed universities to use a shared method of calculating applicants’ financial needs. The plaintiffs allege that this shared method resulted in price-fixing and unfairly limited aid to students, according to a lawsuit filed Sunday.

SPORTS 12/2/21 9:37pm

Volleyball sweeps San Diego in NCAA tourney, set for rematch with Texas

By Daniel Schrager

Rice volleyball will get another shot at No. 2 University of Texas, Austin after they swept the University of San Diego on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Owls took all three sets against the Toreros by at least five points, en route to the second victory in an NCAA tournament game in program history. After the game, head coach Genny Volpe said she was confident from the get-go. 

FEATURES 11/30/21 11:34pm

From provost to president: DesRoches talks road to new role

By Ivanka Perez

Until an earthquake struck northern California, Provost Reginald DesRoches intended to be a mechanical engineer. While studying for his Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley, DesRoches said he was used to feeling tremors in the ground — but this earthquake, approximately a 7.0 on the Richter scale, was different.

NEWS 11/30/21 11:15pm

Rice implements $15 minimum wage for employees

By Morgan Gage

Rice University will institute a $15-per-hour minimum wage for regular and temporary staff as announced in President Leebron’s address to the faculty senate on Oct. 21. This change will be implemented in the upcoming 2023 fiscal year, taking effect on July 1, 2022. 

SPORTS 11/16/21 11:43pm

Forbes wins regionals, Women’s XC qualifies for NCAAs

By Daniel Schrager

Sophomore distance runner Grace Forbes followed up her conference title with a first-place finish at the NCAA South-Central Cross Country Regional on Friday in Waco, TX, helping the Rice women’s team to a second place finish. The result earned them a spot in this Saturday’s NCAA championships for just the seventh time in program history. 

NEWS 11/11/21 2:48pm

BREAKING: Provost Reginald DesRoches to be first Black president of Rice

By Prayag Gordy

Reginald DesRoches, Rice’s current provost, will be the next president of Rice University, Chair of the Board of Trustees Robert Ladd announced at a press conference Thursday afternoon. DesRoches will become Rice’s eighth president and the first person of color to hold the role, succeeding current president David Leebron who will step down on June 30, 2022.

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