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Opinion

OPINION 11/4/15 4:15am

Letter to the Editor: #ThinkAbtWar

 

On October 22, we in the “Dear Rice Community” received an email notifying us that an Army Apache helicopter and Stryker armored vehicle would be on campus, inviting us to admire them and take advantage of the photo op. The idea behind this event, which coincided with a Rice v. West Point football game, was presumably to celebrate the work of the military in a time of ongoing war. As an anthropologist who studies the ramifications of war violence in the lives of American soldiers, veterans, and their families, I think acknowledging that hardship and labor, and thinking carefully about what it really entails, is extremely important. And this is exactly why I was profoundly disturbed by this stunt.  Treating these deadly weapons as an opportunity to snap a selfie simultaneously erases and glorifies the violent power of war. Were we to think about what happens when metal meets flesh, we might not treat it so cavalierly. If we are going to make a space on campus for acknowledging the work of war, we must do so as part of a public conversation. And we must think carefully about the violence that is the heart of that work. A campuswide email enjoining us to celebrate a sanitized image of war’s power with a “go owls” chant shuts such conversation down.  In this instance, evidence of this horrifying power is readily available. The notorious “Collateral Murder” videos released by Wikileaks in 2010 depict a 2007 US aerial assault in Baghdad in which at least 9 innocent Iraqi civilians, including a Reuters journalist, and dozens of others were grievously injured, including two children in a van whose driver was attempting to rescue the wounded. These videos were shot from onboard the Apache helicopters from Fort Hood’s First Cavalry Division who carried out the assault.If the Apache on our campus this weekend was one of those used in the 2007 attack, would we still be happy to pose for a picture with it? And if it was not, why should we feel any different?It is a disturbing irony that at the very same moment we are voicing our grave concerns, even our disgust, at the idea of guns on our campus, we seem willing to ignore, or even celebrate, the presence of these other weapons. In the campus carry conversation here at Rice, many have noted that weapons and the aura of violence they bring are incompatible with the environment of learning we seek to create. Surely, then, before inviting military vehicles onto our campus we would want to at least consider the effect of the presence of these behemoths armed with 30 mm and .50 caliber machine guns, hellfire missiles and rocket launchers.What might the spectacle of weapons of war on our college campus signify to the members of this community whose diversity we prize? What terrible histories might this reenact? For our Egyptian or Palestinian colleagues whose universities have been specially targeted for military oppression? For members of our community involved in #blacklivesmatter, catalyzed both by the state-sanctioned killing of young black citizens and also by the militarized violence that meets their protests? For those among us whose lives are marked by the threat and use of military weapons on the Texas-Mexico border?  For those who remember all too well that mere decades ago, military weapons on American college campuses threatened and took the lives of students? Or for those who have themselves fired these weapons, who do not have the luxury of glamorizing their violent power, or who know in their aching bones what it feels like to be blown up inside a Stryker (a vehicle that might save you, but not your buddy, or might keep you alive and shattered at the same time)? We owe it to our community to think carefully about such things. And if the aim of this stunt was indeed to acknowledge the work of the military in this time of ongoing war, let us please think carefully about that too. Now, in anticipation of Veteran’s Day, we have an opportunity to do just that. Between now and November 11, learn something new about lived experiences of war in America today. Share something you know about it with other members of the Rice community. Ask your students to consider what the military weapons on our campus this weekend showed, and what they hid. Talk to your friends about what they think. Share this letter on social media. And tweet your thoughts with the tag #ThinkAbtWar. Zoë H. Wool, Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Anthropology at Rice University

OPINION 10/29/15 7:51am

Will you allow legal discrimination in Houston?

 

Despite the fact that Houston is the fourth-largest city in America with one of the most diverse populations in the country, it remains one of the only major cities without a nondiscrimination ordinance. Our rapidly growing city does not provide its millions of citizens with comprehensive, local protections to discrimination.The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance was enacted with the support of Mayor Annise Parker in 2014, then petitioned by opponents and suspended until a public vote, and now will appear on the ballot this Nov. 3 election as Proposition 1. This election is your chance to help Houston affirm and protect the rights of all its residents to live, work and raise families without fear.Houstonians experience discrimination based on many characteristics, which include sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity and pregnancy. HERO provides everyone in Houston city-level recourse in these unjust situations without forcing people who have suffered discrimination to file lengthy and expensive federal lawsuits which may not go anywhere.We see repeatedly in the news and hear from our friends and loved ones that discrimination continues to be an issue in our city. During the 232 days HERO was in effect, 58 percent of reported cases of discrimination were based on race or national origin, 17 percent were gender based, 15 percent were based on age, 4 percent were based on disability, 4 percent were based on sexual orientation or gender identity and 2 percent were based on veteran status. This information provides more evidence that Houston needs a nondiscrimination ordinance because the absence of one affects a broad range of Houstonians.Though the federal government identifies certain characteristics of humans as protected classes, such as religion, ethnicity, national origin and pregnancy, and allows people to counter discrimination based on these classes, these laws do not protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Moreover, the laws protecting these classes require people to file complaints or lawsuits through expensive, lengthy, understaffed and overworked federal or state agencies to find recourse.Opponents of HERO mainly attack it based on claims that it will allow men to pretend to be transgender women and enter women’s restrooms to assault them. This claim has no basis in reality. Since 1972, the Houston city code made it illegal for anyone to knowingly and intentionally enter a restroom of the opposite sex “in a manner calculated to cause a disturbance”. HERO does not contradict this law, and in fact, does not mention bathrooms anywhere in its text. Furthermore, passing HERO and allowing people to express their gender identity via the corresponding restroom would not contradict established laws.Since HERO was proposed its opponents have insisted it will increase assaults, of transgender people in particular, using restrooms corresponding to their gender identity. The data strongly contradicts this fear-mongering. Over 19 states and 180 cities and municipalities have enacted non-discrimination laws protecting gender identity, some of which have been in place for decades with  absolutely no increase in assault in bathrooms in any of these places. In fact, some reports show that 66 percent of transgender people have experienced assault, and overwhelmingly these people have been proven more in danger of being harmed by others by using bathrooms corresponding to their birth assigned sex than they are in danger of being possible threats to cisgender (non-transgender) people.Finally, it is important to note HERO will change nothing for college students, postdocs, faculty and staff. Because Rice University falls under both Title IX, Title VII, and follows Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines, we are all already protected from discrimination based on the 15 classes protected by HERO. This ordinance would extend the safety we currently enjoy to the entirety of Houston.Your vote matters in this tight election. HERO has been surrounded by controversy and unfortunately poll numbers are very close. Early voting began on Oct. 19, and you can vote early at any polling location. On election day, if you live on campus you can vote in the Rice Memorial Center. If not, please check your polling location at www.harrisvotes.com . Remember, in order to vote you must bring a valid form of identification such as a Texas driver’s license, Texas state ID, Texas voter ID, passport or concealed handgun license.Help give Houston the same protections we enjoy on campus and on Tuesday, Nov. 3, support equality and vote Yes on Proposition 1.Sarah Grefe, on behalf of the Gender and Sexually Diverse Graduates & Postdocs Club Officers. 

OPINION 10/29/15 7:50am

Equality only matters because we don’t have it

 

Of the most populous 200 cities in the United States, Houston is the only without a non-discrimination ordinance, despite being the fourth largest. That means millions go unprotected in America’s fastest-growing economic hub. This is why the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance was enacted by the City Council with the support of Mayor Annise Parker in 2014. It was reversed by the City Council and put on the ballot this August due to a Texas Supreme Court decision giving the option of full repeal or referendum. However, I see this as a chance for Houston to prove it affirms the rights and protections of its residents. HERO protects 15 characteristics of every Houstonian: sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity and pregnancy status. Each of us falls into one of those categories and knows others who do too.

OPINION 10/29/15 7:49am

HERO would directly impact all of us

 

On Nov. 3 Houston will decide whether it will maintain its status quo as the only city of its size without an equal rights ordinance that goes beyond the protections of federal law. I believe the passing of HERO, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, is crucial to the economic development of Houston and the protection of Houstonians from discrimination.

OPINION 10/28/15 5:29am

Sexual assault should not be associated with NOD

 

This year, the release and discussion of the Survey of Unwanted Sexual Experiences results have bled into talks that precede the yearly Night of Decadence party. As a coincidence, in the week leading up to NOD, residential colleges are simultaneously discussing sexual assault and consent in both SUSE and NOD talks.

OPINION 10/28/15 5:27am

Halloween night can be fun for everyone

 

One of the biggest reasons I love Rice University is its value of diversity. As Halloween approaches, what to do on one of the semester’s biggest nights dominates dinner table chatter. Since many of us come from different backgrounds and have varying ideas of fun, it is important to embrace each other and the decisions we make.

OPINION 10/28/15 5:26am

‘It’s Up To Us’ SA meeting problematic

By Sam Love

“Rice students are apathetic.” We’ve heard this lamentable statement in a thousand different contexts, from social justice movements to Student Association elections. I disagree. I’ve seen incredibly passionate student-led dialogue and action. However, the examples that come to mind — Baker lunch restrictions, college president resignations or the changing Alcohol Policy — are immediate issues, with immediate consequences to members of the Rice campus. It’s much more difficult to incite a population of busy college students to address systemic racism in the criminal justice system than to limit a servery’s hours. Yet sexual assault is equally an immediate issue directly affecting all of us — the statistics from the Survey on Unwanted Sexual Experiences results represent real humans in our campus community. They are us, our roommates, our classmates and our peers.

OPINION 10/28/15 5:22am

The measure of measures? A critical eye toward grades

 

So many of us Rice students have an interesting, almost masochistic, relationship with grades. We burden ourselves immensely with them and even claim to enjoy doing so. It’s disturbing how readily our grades shape our self-esteem. Somehow, we’ve convinced ourselves a good grade is a statement on our value, in a moral or metaphysical sense. Good grades lead to good postgraduate schools, which lead to high-paying or world-shaking jobs. This haunting sense of having our lives dictated by a fraction of a digit constantly lingers on the edge of our consciousness. Compounding to this encumbrance is our distorted perspective of what “doing well” means. For many Rice students, “doing well” equals nothing less than an A-, perhaps due to relativism: Last semester, more than 30 percent of all students obtained a GPA greater than 3.88. That’s an absurdly high number. If many of those around you are getting A’s, then getting a B, a very good grade at almost any other school (especially considering that most Rice courses are more rigorous than their counterparts in other colleges), doesn’t seem like much of an achievement. 

OPINION 10/20/15 8:13pm

I know how you can find your soulmate

 

I recently came across a book called “When God Writes Your Love Story,” which I found funny mostly because it conjured the image of God as a hopeless romantic typing up people’s love stories at Brochstein Pavilion. To be fair, “How do I find my soulmate?” is an interesting question — one that I never get asked. I’m the scrawny computer science major who likes to play ping pong, Sudoku and nonograms, so I’m not surprised. But it is a shame because I have the perfect solution, one that I’ve tested personally.As my COMP 140 professor would say, there are several subproblems you have to address first. Regardless of your religiosity, prayer is a must. Write down all the things you want in a soulmate: smart, funny, attractive, not gullible, etc. Meditate on these attributes and chant, “Leeeeeebs,” under your breath 83 times with increasing tempo and with your eyes closed, obviously. If you start to see visions of a middle-aged Jewish man, you’ve gone too far. Never, ever go full Leebron. The last person to go full Leebron founded monotheism.After becoming spiritually prepared for your soulmate, you must become physically ready. To demonstrate your commitment to your future soulmate, plan on working out at the Rec every free second of your week, as unrealistic as that may sound. As you know, we Rice students blow off most of our workouts anyway, so you have to overcompensate. Also, don’t think that because you walk to all of your classes, you can skip leg day. Don’t skip leg day, ever.You will also need mental preparedness. Taylor Swift’s classic “You Belong With Me” is the perfect soulmate primer because if you really believe you are that guy or girl next door, you will be. To mold your mind even more, watch a few hours of Dean Hutch’s Gen Chem video lectures. Hutch’s godly voice will warm your heart, and his chemistry knowledge will help you and your soulmate bond over some terrible chemistry puns. Finally, read the Communist Manifesto because that’s apparently what marriage is like.If you’ve solved these subproblems correctly, there is one final step before you meet your soulmate. Before the big day, you must collect the tail of a Rice University squirrel or Donald Trump’s toupee (They’re really the same thing right?), a dozen homemade cinnamon rolls from West servery and the tears of all the freshmen who failed their first midterm. Mix these in a boiling cauldron until you have a neon green slime. It will smell like cinnamon, salt and The Donald’s bank vault. Paint your forehead with this concoction.Have a few drinks, if you haven’t already, and make your way to the nearest public party. Dance with everyone you meet because as far as you know, these will be the last moments of your single life. At half past 12, you will meet your soulmate. A slow song will come on. Take a deep breath. Turn around. Your soulmate will be the one with a neon green forehead.Kenneth Li is a Duncan College freshman.

OPINION 10/20/15 8:12pm

Let me choose my major in peace

 

My friend told me a while back that he encountered an “astounding ass.” He was returning a textbook at a UPS station, and the man assisting him asked him his major, to which my friend responded that he wasn’t sure yet.“Well, let me give you some advice,” UPS Man said. “Whatever you do, don’t become an English major. I mean, why would you major in a language you already speak and know?”My friend relayed this experience to me with righteous rage and frustration — probably half of which was for my benefit.I wasn’t even upset by the story. I mean, recently a Rice administrator literally said on the record, with extraordinary nonchalance, that our incoming humanities majors this year had lower test scores than STEM majors.I’ve come to expect this attitude, at this point. It’s so easy to feel the projected stereotypes — English majors aren’t good at math, English majors have it so easy in school, English majors want to publish a novel and become the next J.K. Rowling. It’s always a surprise if someone says, in response to my “confessing” that I’m an English major, “That’s really cool, I don’t think I could ever do that!”How many times have people I barely know asked me what I was going to do with an English major? How many times have people asked me why I wanted to be an English major? How many times have people asked me if I’m also pre-med or pre-law, as if that’ll somehow justify “what” I am? Why can’t I just be an English major?Every first club meeting, every casual introduction during which we detail name, college, major, I flinch when I have to follow “CHBE” or “kinesiology pre-med” with plain old “English.” It’s a knee-jerk reaction of feeling, like I have to explain myself, because apparently being an English major is intrinsically confounding. It’s not just others’ perceptions; I’ve begun to believe the prejudice myself. I won’t lie — I’ve had more than my fair share of moments of inferiority. When I hear that someone, especially a girl, is majoring in computer science or bioengineering, I feel awe and a strong pinch of jealousy. I always ask myself, “Why couldn’t I do that?”And I think this feeling of inferiority is especially prevalent at Rice, a school so obviously focused on STEM students, that every English major I meet is a treasure to behold, a rare sympathizer and genuine peer.Some people think we sit on our butts all day and ponder fictional characters uselessly, that we don’t actually do anything while other students are at lab or research or the OEDK. Yes, the STEM students are incredibly busy — I respect that. They’re brilliant and they do so much in school and the real world. But the fact that English (and really any humanities) majors have shockingly fewer class requirements does not invalidate what we do. We make sure we’re busy, and we choose what makes us busy. Trust me, we’re loaded on the extracurriculars, and our classes take time too, in a different way. Such critics should be ashamed for shaming us and what we love. What right do they have to criticize the choice we’ve made? Maybe we know something they don’t — something hidden in the (literal) hundreds of books we have to read in school, our analyses, the millions of words we’ve written.Language built this world. Who cares if we all already know it? In the Old Testament, when the people grew too arrogant and tried to build the Tower of Babel with an intent to reach the heavens, God only had to take away their ability to communicate, and they fell apart, just like that.English teaches us about people and how to understand them. It teaches us about experiences we have yet to encounter. It teaches us about the many facets of the world about which we would otherwise have no idea.So before you assume English majors had no other choice and that they are literally incapable of everything else, ask yourself if you’re able to analyze the hell out of a seven-word sentence the way we can, or turn a three-second encounter into a 16-page short story, or even begin to comprehend the world in all its layers and people and confusions. And before you take to criticism, ask yourself if you love your major as much as English majors love theirs. Very few people these days can boast they truly know their passions. In the millennial world, where instant gratification (not to mention instant moneymaking) is all the rage and ladder-climbing is considered an absolute necessity, many have lost sight of what they genuinely love. If there’s one thing I know about English majors, it’s that we all love what we’re studying.English majors aren’t the lackadaisical, last-resort people some might assume them to be. We didn’t swivel around looking for anything but this and find that we had no choice but to sigh, settle for English. And so what if being purely an English major without a pre-____ track sometimes means having to “wait and see”? There’s nothing wrong with that. People jump from job to job in their 20s anyway, sometimes later than that.I’m tired of defending my life choice to people. I’m tired of having to cite people like Mario Cuomo, Sting (ha), Diane Sawyer or Steven Spielberg. Do I really have to justify my major based on celebrities’ successes?I’m not going to make it my mission to critique your or anyone’s major because it’s not like mine. Major in whatever the heck you want. The point is, don’t shit on *insert major here* because you probably have no idea what you’re talking about. Trust that it’s nearly the same across the board for any major: If we work hard, we’ll get somewhere. Simple as that. Even if our “somewhere” is not as concrete as “I’m going to be a pediatric oncologist” or “I’m going to be a software engineer,” doesn’t mean it’s not valid. We’ll figure it out. There’s nothing wrong with giving it a little time.Julianne Wey is a Jones College sophomore and a Thresher Copy Editor.A version of this article appeared in The Odyssey.

OPINION 10/20/15 8:12pm

Sexual education should include general wellness

 

Student Association President Jazz Silva has created a proposal to implement a mandatory sexual education course for new students in light of the results from the Survey of Unwanted Sexual Experiences (see p. 1). The Thresher commends Silva for positioning Rice as a leader in the national discussion on sexual assault. It is certainly true that the prevalence of sexual assault on campus demands major change, not simply a doubling down on current policies. However, Rice should use this opportunity to address other student health issues as well.As proposed by Silva, the course will help close the knowledge gap regarding sexuality for incoming students; however, it may be less useful for and thus taken less seriously by students who are already well-informed, especially given its semester-long length. Furthermore, many students may face pressing personal wellness questions not related to sexuality.Instead of mandating a course about only sexual education, the proposed course should address general well-being. This would maximize the benefit of the class to a wide range of students: Every student can gain something from a course on well-being within the realms of mental, physical or emotional health. This kind of course would serve to destigmatize conversations about not only sex and sexuality but also about topics such as depression and eating disorders that are equally concerning to college students. While it is critical to address questions relating to healthy relationships, consent and sexual assault, other health issues should also not be ignored once Orientation Week ends. A mandatory first-year course is an opportunity to effectively combat both sexual misconduct and other serious personal health problems on campus.Attendance should be mandatory to ensure students do not have gaps in their knowledge. However, for students to truly take the class seriously, it is necessary that instructors emphasize that every student’s commitment to well-being directly affects their peers’ health. It may be harmful to place a letter grade on this course, as students should be motivated not by the desire to succeed academically, but rather by the chance to contribute to and learn from a meaningful discussion with their peers. A satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade could be a better measure. The course’s grading should reflect that it is not intended to be academically rigorous.Cementing any sort of reactionary measure without considering all possible options could result in a haphazard solution. As Silva has said, her proposal is a starting point; we encourage students to remain open-minded and continue the conversation about how to create tangible ways to improve overall student wellness.Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.

OPINION 10/6/15 9:33pm

Club registration must verify sustainability

 

Rice has too many clubs, apparently. This semester alone, Rice approved 49 new clubs, bringing the grand total to 316 (see p. 1). The more troubling matter is that, if past trends hold true, nearly half of those clubs won’t renew. Clearly, the ratifi cation process for clubs does not thoroughly verify whether they’re serving an unmet and persistent need in a sustainable manner.

OPINION 9/30/15 5:09am

The scholarly self: A case for research

 

Rice proudly promotes itself as a research university while, according to the Office of Institutional Research, 68 percent of Rice University undergraduates do independent research during their time here. But why? What’s the point of spending so much time in the lab, running assays to determine how mTOR or HER2 (or some other protein of the month) is regulated in breast cancer? What benefit do we get pulling all-nighters in the library, poring over mountains of books to characterize Roman Campana reliefs, or finding new ways to deconstruct Tolstoy?

OPINION 9/30/15 5:06am

Procrastinating work is procrastinating life

 

College isn’t really that different from high school. So far, the only two things that have surprised me about Rice are how well refrigerated Fondren Library is and how warm it is in Fondren Library’s men’s restroom. (I’m not telling y’all which one!)

OPINION 9/30/15 5:05am

Economic diversity requires support, not silence

 

Last week, the New York Times published a ranking of top colleges based on their efforts to promote economic diversity, and Rice’s College Access Index ranking was only slightly above average (see this article). The ranking, which was based on the proportion of students who receive Pell Grants, the graduation rate of those Pell Grant recipients and the price of college for middle- and low-income students, placed universities on a scale from 0 to 2. In the rankings, a score of 1 was considered average in terms of economic diversity; Rice scored 1.16.

OPINION 9/23/15 5:08am

Sexual misconduct survey results call for action

By Thresher Editorial Board

On Monday, the Survey of Unwanted Sexual Experiences results were released (see “Sexual Misconduct,” pg. 1), providing the first concrete quantitative insight into this campus-wide issue. The Thresher concurs with the statement President Leebron released in his email to Rice: These numbers are completely unacceptable.

OPINION 9/23/15 5:06am

Service as a habit, not an extracurricular

By Henry Bair

As Rice students, we are repeatedly reminded of the degree to which the university serves the local community. And for the most part, we embrace that reputation happily enough. The barrage of notices about service opportunities and large number of students who volunteer in some form conveniently provide an illusion that perhaps we do all care for those we perceive as disadvantaged and disenfranchised.

OPINION 9/23/15 4:58am

RetrOspective-Week continues: More gratitude than grievances

By Makenzie Drukker , Seth Berggren and Leah Topper

After reading last week’s articles from other Orientation Week 2015 coordinators, we hope to share another perspective of coordinating in order to provide the student body with an alternate opinion of the experience. Ultimately, we think this article will help provide a more comprehensive and multi-faceted understanding of coordinating. As the 2015 McMurtry O-Week coordinators, we had an overwhelmingly positive experience and learned a lot from the position.

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