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Opinion

OPINION 4/19/12 7:00pm

An open letter to candidate Mitt Romney

By Myles Bugbee and Kevin Bush

Congratulations, former Governor Romney. After flirting with a man whose name shall remain un-Googled, your party has decided to settle down with a candidate whose own press secretary compared to an Etch A Sketch, ready to "shake up and restart all over again" to appeal to voters outside the Fox News universe. You may not have secured the majority of delegates, but your remaining primary opponents are a gadfly with ideas plucked straight from science fiction - and Newt Gingrich. The nomination is yours. Send your unaffiliated Super PAC an anonymous thank-you note. After six years in beta testing and a quick deletion of your health care file, you only need one more reboot for the general election. Before you trigger the political reset button, we respectfully offer our advice on how to re-program yourself to swoop up persuadable Rice Owl voters.

OPINION 4/19/12 7:00pm

Entreprenurial opportunities severely lacking

By Staff Editorial

The Thresher would like to congratulate the students who participated in Three Day Startup for holding a successful conference. The program is designed to help students expand their entrepreneurial education. Students who have great ideas but lack resources can apply to participate in the program and have the opportunity to launch their potential business. It is programs such as these that motivate students to achieve a high level of success at the undergraduate level. Unfortunately, there was a deficiency in support for the program this year due to the event's timing. Since it was scheduled between Beer Bike and the Rice Business Plan competition, Three Day Startup had difficulty in receiving a large amount of funding. We commend the program for finding creative means of exploring external connections to fulfill itsfunding requirements.

OPINION 4/12/12 7:00pm

Dean's Cup both petty and redudant

By Staff Editorial

To eliminate the unfair advantage the Graduate Student Association has in college sports, the idea of establishing a Dean's Cup has been proposed. In this new Dean's Cup, the GSA would be eliminated from the running.

OPINION 4/12/12 7:00pm

An increased size means increased opportunities

By Christian Neal

Since I came to Rice University, many students have blamed everything from the waitlist system to the alcohol probation on the increased size of the student body. Increased enrollment is the favored scapegoat of the Rice community because it is a large change to Rice that has occurred in a short period of time. We, as a whole, have not emphasized the positive changes that this increased size can bring to Rice in both the present and future. The Vision for the Second Century student body goal of 3,800 students offers the Rice community more career, international and alumni opportunities.

OPINION 4/12/12 7:00pm

Will Rice approval unnecessary for cohesion

By Graham West

For a moment, reading Eddie Reyes's editorial "Will Rice Stays Strong During Beer Bike" reminded me of an episode from NBC's "The Office" entitled "Conflict Resolution." In the show, office prankster Jim Halpert reads through an HR file of complaints made against him by the perpetual butt of his jokes, co-worker and pseudo-nemesis Dwight Schrute. As the list of hilarious shenanigans trails on, the audience notices a tinge of discomfort in Jim's voice as he mutters to the camera, "You know, these actually don't sound that funny one after another." I very honestly caught myself asking myself: "Is it all too much?" Are we too excessive in our mock loathing of the good men and women of Will Rice College during Willy Week?

OPINION 4/12/12 7:00pm

What does the Centennial mean for us

By Georgia Lagoudas

As students sat munching on 2,012 pies during Willy's birthday celebration, I wondered about what action we, as students, are taking to commemorate the upcoming momentous occasion of Rice's 100th anniversary. Do we just enjoy the free lunch handed to us? Cheer along with the celebration songs? Pump our fists and drink more beer? Perhaps we can do something more.

OPINION 4/4/12 7:00pm

Freshmen LPAP reserves ludicrous

By Staff Editorial

While the changes in the Lifetime Physical Activity Program are a move in the right direction by the Student Association, there are still problems with the program (see story, pg. 1). New students will have priority with half of the available spots reserved in a given LPAP. While the Thresher endorses the decision to give new students a chance at registering for an LPAP, the SA needs to reconsider giving away 50 percent of the seats to new students over rising seniors.

OPINION 4/4/12 7:00pm

Changes to Beer Bike '12 need further alterations

By Nupur Jain

Let's get one thing straight: You can't kill Beer Bike. Even if the administration, Rice Program Council and the entire Beer Bike Committee put their heads together and actually tried, they'd be hard-pressed to destroy what has been described as Christmas, New Year's and (insert all things good here) all rolled into one. So looking back, it seems a little ludicrous that everyone following the Beer Bike planning process, myself included, acted as though they were canceling Beer Bike altogether every time even the smallest of changes was proposed. As we saw last weekend, Beer Bike was a roaring success, even if it was slightly diminished by the altered form.

OPINION 4/4/12 7:00pm

Beer Bike noise complaints raise concern

By Staff Editorial

Last Saturday morning, Martel College and Duncan College were visited by the Rice University Police Department as the result of noise complaints from neighboring residents (see story, ricethresher.org). Although no students' identification was actually examined, the situation frightened students enough to send them running toward their rooms and other colleges. There was massive confusion between the students, coordinators, chief justices and RUPD: If officers and the chief justices communicate better, there will be no need for officers to interfere with college activities unless it is absolutely necessary.

OPINION 4/4/12 7:00pm

Erratum

By Staff Editorial

In the March 30 issue of the Thresher, Ryan Robertson should have been named as the brewmaster in the "From Baker to brewer" feature.

OPINION 4/4/12 7:00pm

Owl Days: A chance for students to give back

By Graham West

On Thursday, April 12, 2012, be prepared to see more than a few unfamiliar faces wandering around campus. If you find yourself shocked by the number of excitable, eager and occasionally confused high school students roaming the quads, colleges and academic buildings of Rice, have no fear: It's simply time once again for Owl Days!

OPINION 4/3/12 7:00pm

Will Rice stays strong during Beer Bike

By Eddie Reyes

Will Rice Will Sweep! As Beer Bike approached at Will Rice College, the cheer had its usual rise in popularity. Surprisingly, it had a new popularity at other colleges too. For two weeks these colleges shared in our elevated levels of obsession for Will Rice. The sentiments were different. The obsessions, however, were the same.

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