NEWS
2/26/14 9:58am
SA Meeting Minutes
The following were noted at the meeting of the Student Association on Feb. 24.
The following were noted at the meeting of the Student Association on Feb. 24.
Five college presidents and three college senators were removed from office at the Monday, Feb. 24 Student Senate meeting for failing to comply with the attendance policy as determined by the Student Association by-laws.
Hanszen College freshman Emma Bravo suffered an accidental death off-campus on Saturday, Feb. 22 according to an email sent to the Rice community by Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson.
This round of the Student Association general elections elections will forego Owlections and instead use the online survey software Qualtrics for which Rice has an institution license, SA secretary Nathan Andrus said.
Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives Caroline Levander spoke at the Student Association senate to continue a conversation about the Moody Center for the Arts, SA External Vice President Ravi Sheth said.
640 Rondelet tickets went on sale last Friday and sold out in 10 hours and 17 minutes, according to RPC socials committee member Jodie Nghiem.
Five college presidents and three college senators were removed from office at the Monday, Feb. 24 Student Senate meeting for failing to comply with the attendance policy as determined by the Student Association by-laws.
Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives Caroline Levander spoke at the Student Association senate to continue a conversation about the Moody Center for the Arts, SA External Vice President Ravi Sheth said.
The Student Association Election Committee will rerun the General Elections and merge them with the previously scheduled SA Internal Vice President Elections running through Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. after the University Court found the 2014 SA General Elections partially invalid in a public hearing, according to a letter sent by University Court Chair Evan Austin on Feb. 23.
The Rice Management Company, a division of Rice University that is responsible for managing the school’s endowment, is in the process of acquiring the Village Arcade Shopping Center, located in Rice Village, from current owner Weingarten Realty Investors, according to company president Allison Thacker (Baker ’96).
The following were noted at the meeting of the Student Association on Feb. 17.
Texas state senator and gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis visited Willy’s Pub Wednesday, Feb. 12 to talk about grassroots campaign efforts and interact with students in an informal setting, according to event organizer Anastasia Bolshakov.
Despite initial confusion over how to interpret the results of the Student Association’s general elections, Trent Navran undoubtedly won the SA presidential election, SA Secretary Nathan Andrus said.
Baker College Kitchen is considering limiting non-Baker students from accessing the servery at peak lunch hours, according to Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson.
A petition has been submitted contesting the results of the Student Association’s general election, according to a letter sent to University Court Chair Evan Austin.
Preliminary results of a survey of over 10,000 Americans presented at an American Association for the Advancement of Science symposium on Feb. 16 indicate that Americans have mixed perceptions of the relationship between religion and science, according to study conductor Elaine Howard Ecklund.
The University Committee on Undergraduate Curriculum, the Office of the Registrar, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and the Student Association collaborated during the fall semester and over winter break to create a survey that evaluates current academic policies and will lead to recommending specific updates to these policies, according to Student Association External Vice President Ravi Sheth. John Cornwell, the associate vice president of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, said feedback from undergraduate students will be sought in the decision-making process. "There's an interest in each of these groups and the constituency they represent [regarding] students dropping courses after add/drop deadline and international study-abroad credit transfers," Cornwell said. "Similarly, we'd like to know more about student experiences with transferring credit from summer school. We'd like to find out the facts and the opinions of the entire undergraduate population here."According to Sheth, the CUC has discussed these issues internally with several undergraduate representatives, including college senators and SA Academics committee chairs. Some of the changes currently under consideration include the difficulty that students have with registering for their required courses due to students who drop classes after the add/drop period. Sheth also identified transfer credit issues that undergraduate students face."With regards to transfer credit, the university needs to understand barriers to receiving transfer credit and how this process can be streamlined," Sheth said. "All of these changes need to be informed by students, and that is why the survey and student response is such an important part of this process."John Haug, a Martel College freshman, said he experienced trouble with registration this semester."The most difficulty I faced was with registering for FWIS courses, because when there are a lot of people who are not getting their first or second choice, the process becomes inefficient and frustrating," Haug said. "I also only had two classes by the time registration ended, so I ended up having to struggle with add/drop, and luckily, one of my courses added spots."According to Registrar David Tenney (Sid '87), the survey is uniquely designed to be highly specific and relevant to individual students."Instead of just sending a survey that's extremely general, [these groups are] working together and providing data so that the survey will be targeted to each student individually," Tenney said. "Each student will be able to answer questions about their specific academic history, why they could or could not get a course to transfer in, and why they have dropped courses after the add deadline. It will give students the opportunity to speak specifically, and it'll give us the opportunity to understand this at a much more relevant level."Due to the specificity of the survey and the improvements that students could see, Sheth, Tenney and Cornwell encouraged student participation."I would ask students to definitely complete the survey," said Tenney. "It's a wonderful opportunity to be heard. We're all working on this to make the survey as streamlined, [user-friendly]and as relevant as possible."According to Cornwell, the survey will be sent out at the end of this week and will be conducted for approximately two weeks. After this period, the CUC will analyze the data to identify any relevant issues and consider potential solutions. Some changes may take longer than others to implement and may lead into the fall 2014 semester.
On Jan. 25, 2014, the Facilities Engineering and Planning celebrated Arbor Day by planting 26 trees around Rice's campus, FE&P's Manager of Communications Susann Glenn said.
The cold weather that caused the closure of the Rice University campus also resulted in the cancellation of the Startup Career Fair.
The convenience store RechargeU violated five city ordinances during a routine health inspection on Jan. 15, with one employee caught opening a coffee bag with his or her teeth, according to the City of Houston website. These violations are: employees failed to wash their hands, soap was unavailable at washing stations, food was unprotected from contamination, single-use containers were used more than once and food contact surfaces had a greasy or dusty crust.RechargeU is located in the Rice Memorial Center and is operated by Barnes & Noble Inc., according to the Rice dining website. Beath Leaver, the contract administrator for Rice and Barnes & Noble operations in the students center, released a statement on behalf of the company."The behavior of the Barnes & Noble employee violated the city of Houston health code as well as Rice University standards as expressed in our contract," Leaver said. "Barnes & Noble understands this and has taken responsibility and appropriate action. We appreciate and value the contributions Barnes & Noble offers to the campus community in the student center."According to the City of Houston website, the dusty or greasy food service violation was corrected on-site. The comment under food contamination stated that an employee had opened a coffee bag using his or her teeth, and the comment for the food contact surface with a greasy or dusty crust indicated that a food thermometer was not properly sanitized. The strongest violations were that of an employee failing to wash his or her hands and the employee opening the bag with his or her teeth. The Houston Health Department weighted both violations weighted a four out of five, with five being the highest violation.According to Bureau Chief of Consumer Health Services Patrick Key, restaurants that are found to be in violation of health codes are then directed to correct the violations, and given a time period within which to comply. "[The time period] depends on the violation," Key said. "An imminent health hazard must be corrected immediately, and it often depends on the officer as to how long the restaurant owner is given. Violations [such as those of RechargeU] should be fixed right away."Duncan College freshman Cylaina Bird was unaware of the health code violations at RechargeU and said she found these violations disconcerting."I would never expect for any place on campus that sells hot food to display such a blatant disregard for the health of the student body," Bird said. "Though I cannot say whether or not I will completely stop shopping there, it will definitely make me pause before I make any food purchase at RechargeU again."Martel College freshman Jaskeerat Gulati said he frequently shops at RechargeU and has previously purchased hot food items from the store."I didn't know that this happened," Gulati said. "Now I don't think I'm going to purchase anything from there, even if it's not hot food. "[RechargeU] should publicize this, but emphasize how they are changing and making things safer for consumers. Everyone deserves to know the truth."