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NEWS 8/24/21 10:32pm

Rice welcomes largest class, with highest yield rate

By Hajera Naveed

Rice’s incoming class had a record high yield rate, which represents the amount of students who choose to enroll after being admitted, at 44 percent compared with 39 percent last year, according to Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva. Romero da Silva said 37 percent of students in the incoming class are from Texas, 50 percent are from out-of-state, and 13 percent are international students. 

NEWS 8/24/21 10:29pm

Honor Council receives 64 cases in the spring 2021

By Talha Arif

The Rice Honor Council has received an elevated number of accusations for the past three semesters, ever since the majority of classes shifted to a virtual format. They pursued 64 cases of academic misconduct last semester, according to Honor Council Chair Kaitlyn Crowley. Seventy-one cases were received for the fall 2020 semester and 78 for the spring 2020 semester.

NEWS 8/19/21 11:31am

Classes delayed by two days, all online for two weeks

By Savannah Kuchar and Talha Arif

Classes will begin two days later than planned on August 25, and instruction will be all online for at least the first two weeks of the semester, according to an email from Provost Reginald DesRoches. This change follows a recent rise in COVID-19 cases on campus, as well as across the Houston area as the delta variant becomes more predominant, according to DesRoches.

NEWS 6/30/21 11:41am

Task force calls for ‘bold change’ of academic quad, potentially relocating Willy’s statue

By Bonnie Zhao and Prayag Gordy

The Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice unanimously called for a competition to redesign the academic quad and for further campus-wide events and discussions to educate the Rice community about the university’s founder. Though the task force did recommend an end to the statue’s position as “an iconic image of the university in its publicity,” they stopped short of endorsing the removal of William Marsh Rice’s statue.

NEWS 5/29/21 8:47am

Rice announces student vaccine requirement for fall semester

By Prayag Gordy

All members of the Rice community are expected to return in person for the fall and all students who come to campus are expected to be fully vaccinated before the fall semester, President David Leebron announced in an email Friday. Students who receive a medical or religious waiver must continue to test weekly and wear a mask indoors, according to the email.

NEWS 5/27/21 8:27am

Leebron to step down in 2022, reflects on past years

By Talha Arif

President David Leebron announced that he will be stepping down from his role after this coming academic year on June 30, 2022 in an email to the Rice community Tuesday morning. Next year will mark Leebron’s 18th year as president after taking on the position in 2004. 

NEWS 5/17/21 8:51am

Commencement for Class of 2020 and 2021 occurs in stadium in historic first

By Talha Arif and Hajera Naveed

Class of 2021 undergraduates lined up on Friday evening to receive their degrees and Class of 2020 undergraduates received theirs on Saturday evening, both amidst a limited crowd due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions. Commencement was held for the first time in the Rice football stadium to allow for more physical distancing, after Rice administration adapted to allow for students to bring four guests to attend their respective ceremonies. 

NEWS 5/12/21 12:04pm

Students discuss STRIVE and the Whisper Network at Rice

By Talha Arif

Following an opinion piece by former Students Turning Rice Into a Violence-Free Environment liaison Sarah Park which called for organizational reform, the Thresher reached out to several STRIVE affiliates to further investigate the claims made and discuss STRIVE’s mission and the whisper network.

NEWS 4/23/21 3:56pm

Rice rescinds outdoor mask requirement, testing no longer required for fully vaccinated community members

By Hajera Naveed

Rice announced today that there will no longer be a mask requirement in outdoor spaces and that fully vaccinated individuals will not be required to take weekly COVID-19 tests, in an email sent to the Rice community by Kevin Kirby, chair of the Crisis Management Advisory Committee. The announcement follows the results of a community survey of vaccination status, which revealed that 74 percent of the Rice community members have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

NEWS 4/20/21 11:46pm

Students respond to RUPD messages regarding unhoused persons on campus

By Rynd Morgan

The Rice University Police Department has responded to several reports of unhoused persons seen on campus, with some of these instances involving the same individual, according to RUPD Chief of Clemente Rodriguez. Since late March, people who are homeless have been reported at Baker College, in the Wiess College alcoves, in Will Rice College commons and entering Herman Brown Hall and George R. Brown Hall, according to emails sent by RUPD to Baker College residents and a message sent by a Wiess College residential associate to Wiess College residents. 

NEWS 4/20/21 11:35pm

Updated Beer Bike results cause controversial first-place tie in men’s race, second-place tie in women’s

By Talha Arif

Hanszen College tied with Jones College for first place in the men’s race while also tying with Jones for second place in the women’s race, according to updated Beer Bike 2021 results posted by Rice Program Council. These times were adjusted following a petition submitted by Hanszen due to discrepancies in their own recorded time versus RPC’s time. McMurtry College won the women’s race by almost 40 seconds.

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