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Opinion

OPINION 3/6/12 6:00pm

NFL bountying: A blessing in disguise

By William Beasley

The New Orleans Saints have been busted for bountying: a system that gives monetary incentives for big hits and seriously injuring opposing players during games. Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator for the Saints, has been accused of orchestrating the affair, dubbed "Bountygate," while Head Coach Sean Payton was aware but did nothing to stop it. The Bountygate scandal was when Williams pooled money together to pay roughly $500-$1,000 for big hits and extra money if the opposing player was injured and/or taken off the field in a stretcher. Most people are disgusted by this bounty system, yet I believe it should be completely encouraged and even implemented throughout the league as soon as possible.

OPINION 3/6/12 6:00pm

A cotton swab could help save a life

By Tiffany Chen

At Rice, many of us are career-driven. We strive to become society's next engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs and musicians. Having this ambition is the reason we want to excel in our classes, sacrifice the occasional party to study for the GRE or MCAT, and apply for summer internships. Imagine, though, if all your dreams and aspirations were shattered because you were diagnosed with a fatal illness. Could you maintain the positive attitude to persevere after realizing that rounds of chemotherapy might not even kill half of the cancer cells in your body? Could you bear living out your remaining days in pain knowing that there is only a slight chance a perfect donor will be found? Many of us avoid such thoughts and think that, while unfortunate, such a tragedy will not happen to us. We continue on with our daily lives, worrying about our next exam or that problem set due tomorrow. I urge all members of the Rice community to briefly consider how fortunate we are that we can even consider having a future career and the opportunity to impact the lives of others. Putting that consideration into action, we can all easily sacrifice a few minutes to help out those who are struggling just to survive the next few months, and a quick swab of the mouth is all it takes.

OPINION 2/22/12 6:00pm

Proposed early Beer Bike starting time will have negative effects

By Christoph Meyer

If you had the choice, would you want to wake up an hour earlier? I'm guessing that for most of us, the answer to that question is "no" and wouldn't be any different on Beer Bike. Regardless, Beer Bike coordinators are proposing a 9 a.m. start time to the water balloon fight in an effort to allow sufficient time for the two stops of the water balloon fight before the start of the alumni race. As an added incentive for increased race attendance, they are suggesting the colleges bring kegs to the track to increase participation and involvement. While increased focus on the "bike" aspect of our legendary event is a positive ambition, moving the schedule up is not the solution. This proposal fundamentally changes Beer Bike for participants and detracts from the greatness of this grand tradition.

OPINION 2/22/12 6:00pm

Student Association's voting procedures lacking

By Staff Editorial

The 2012 Student Association General Election had its lowest turnout since 2002. The bleak 28 percent student participation portrays the undergraduate student body in the unflattering light of apathy, but the problem of low voter turnout lies with the SA as well.

OPINION 2/22/12 6:00pm

Baker Institute to launch new program

By Graham West

The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy provides excellent opportunities to Rice students, including paid internships during the school year and the chance to discuss policy with prominent guest speakers. In the summer, the institute funds internships for a select group of students in Washington, D.C., or Paris, France. This semester, one of the institute's newest initiatives, the student-led Public Diplomacy & Global Policymaking in the 21st Century Program, is offering an even more incredible experience for 12 undergraduates: a weeklong trip to Qatar, where students will attend a conference with their counterparts in Education City.

OPINION 2/22/12 6:00pm

Lovett gas scare puts college safety into question

By Staff Editorial

Lovett College was filled with the smell of gasoline last week, forcing students to evacuate out of both fear and, in some cases, watering eyes (see story, pg. 1). The open grate in front of the college that connects directly to the buildings' ventilation system shed light on what is clearly a safety hazard.

OPINION 2/22/12 6:00pm

Food rep changes will lead to better communication

By Staff Editorial

The Thresher commends the implementation of a standardized process for establishing food representatives in each college. Currently, the colleges have varying numbers of food reps who often have different jobs. Now, each college will have one food rep who is an elected cabinet member (see story, pg. 1).

OPINION 2/22/12 6:00pm

TCU drug scandal inflated

By Michael Lauck

Last week, Americans were exposed to the horrible fact that college students engage in illegal activities while on campus. Even worse, football players commit the same sorts of crimes that the general student population does. Who knew?

OPINION 2/22/12 6:00pm

Errata

By Staff Editorial

In the Student Association General Election results, Clinton Willbanks, not Will Banks, is one of the junior class Honor Council representatives-elect, and Nick Ryder, not Mark Dudley, is the KTRU station manager-elect. The Thresher regrets these errors.

OPINION 2/14/12 6:00pm

Older colleges not meeting Rice's standard of living

By Theresa Masciale

Rice University is known for offering the best quality of life to its undergraduate students. Students admitted to Rice pay up to $34,900 on tuition and about $12,000 on room and board annually. While Rice has upheld its standard of living in most colleges across campus, some of the older colleges are severely lacking, namely Hanszen College.

OPINION 2/14/12 6:00pm

Rice Quidditch: Not just a dream anymore

By Sophie Bonifaz

The player rushes forward, the ball tucked securely under his arm as he bolts towards the hoop, seeing an opening. The opposing team is catching up with him, and he barely manages to avoid a tackle when out of nowhere, another ball comes flying toward him. It hits him squarely in the arm and he skids to a stop, groaning as he is forced to drop the ball and go back to his own goal to tag back in; luckily, his teammate is ready, and she scoops the ball up before the goalkeeper can get his hands on it. All that's left now is a clever spin out and a good arm to get the ball in the hoop, scoring her team 10 points before a yellow-clad player comes cartwheeling onto the pitch.

OPINION 2/14/12 6:00pm

Slow Gmail switch protects best interests of students in long term

By Staff Editorial

After more than a year-long attempt to switch from Rice Webmail to Gmail, Information Technology and Google have finally signed a contract, meaning Rice students will begin using Gmail next semester (See story, pg. 1). University administrators decided to switch to Gmail because of student interest and the perceived usefulness of the Google applications associated with Gmail, such as Google Documents.

OPINION 2/14/12 6:00pm

LPAP program in need of addressing overcrowding issues

By Staff Editorial

The Lifetime Physical Participation Activity Program has proved itself to be about as inefficient as its burdensome name. Fortunately, some much-needed change is forthcoming to the program (See story, pg. 1). Four proposals have been offered to the student body to vote upon, and these ideas range from abolishing the program to maintaining the status quo.

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