Special Projects

From conference championships to coaching Olympians: Victor Lopez reflects on his track & field journey

Fifteen years after retiring as the women’s track and field coach at Rice, Victor Lopez heard his name called during the induction ceremony for the Texas Track & Field Hall of Fame. As one of the seven members in the 13th class of inductees, Lopez now stands among the likes of nine-time gold medalist Carl Lewis and other Texas track and field legends. Although it is the most recent accolade for the retired track and field coach, it is just the latest of numerous awards and accolades that he earned throughout his career.

01-19-22 Crossword: "Something's Fishy"

A Probe into Leebron’s Emails

Men’s basketball gets outmanned by WKU

On Thursday, the Rice men’s basketball team faced off against the reigning Conference USA regular season champions, Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Despite holding a halftime lead, Rice fell 80-66 for their seventh consecutive loss to Western Kentucky.  The loss brought their record to 9-6 on the season, and dropped their conference record to 2-2.

Women’s track indoor season gets off the blocks this weekend

Next Saturday’s FasTrak Collegiate Challenge at the University of Houston’s Yeoman Fieldhouse will mark the start of the Rice women’s indoor track season, and head coach Jim Bevan said that he is looking forward to what is shaping up to be a great year. 

Men’s indoor track and field season starts to heat up

This past Friday, the Rice men’s track team opened up their indoor season at the Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational at the University of Houston. As a small meet, only 10 athletes represented the Owls at the competition last weekend. Despite the small number of participants, four Owls reached the podium. According to head coach Jon Warren, the meet was a perfect way to kick off the season. 

Women’s club ultimate talks nationals, upcoming season

Following cancellations due to COVID-19 that altered women’s club ultimate frisbee’s 2020 and 2021 seasons, they finally got a chance to play out their previous seasons this past fall. According to Hanszen College senior Amanda Lopatin, one of the team’s two captains, their participation in regionals this October was the first chance to play together as a team again for quite some time. 

Review: FKA Twigs showcases dazzling candy-pop on ‘Caprisongs’

“Hey, I made you a mixtape / Because when I feel you, I feel me / And when I feel me, it feels good,” breathes FKA Twigs in “ride the dragon,” the first track on her latest album, “CAPRISONGS.” Released on Jan. 14, “CAPRISONGS” is a love letter to friendship, music, adventure, collaboration and, most of all, to Twigs herself. A drastic departure from the divine, heartrending emotion of “MAGDALENE,” its follow-up is a blitzy, feature-filled mirage of candied pop. Described by Twigs as “bronzer in the sink, alco pop on the side, a cherry lolly… a club pre-game, meeting a friend at the airport, just togetherness,” the album is studded with plastic rhinestones. Though “CAPRISONGS” sporadically falls prey to underdeveloped interludes and forgettable songs, its otherworldly synth frenzy renders it a respectable recovery mixtape. 

Review: Hanya Yanagihara’s 'To Paradise' — It took me there

The first man will never have to work in his life, in fact he is so wealthy he can leave everything to chase love. The second man is a broke paralegal who fled from his homeland and is now dating his wealthy boss. The third is a successful virologist, whose very success has trapped him instead of freeing him.

Review: Earl Sweatshirt embraces lush production and a newfound openness on ‘SICK!’

Earl Sweatshirt’s “SICK!” sees him use his shortcomings as fuel for a personal rebirth and desire for self-improvement. A lot has changed for Earl since his 2019 EP, “FEET OF CLAY.” At that time, he had been struggling with alcohol addiction and “an endless loop of self-harm and isolation.” Now, he has been working towards recovery by reducing alcohol and drug use while trying to be a good father to his young son.

Review: The Lumineers embrace an undercurrent of hope on ‘BRIGHTSIDE’

In late 2019, The Lumineers released one of the best albums of that year, “III,” an intimate portrayal of the long-reaching effects of addiction on a family. Accompanied by a video series, the album was deeply cinematic and emotional in a way that stayed with listeners. As the title might make you guess, “BRIGHTSIDE” is a very different animal. Their new album always has an undercurrent of hope and redemption, even in its darkest moments. It also veers from the conceptual nature of “III,” while still having a unity and focus that leads to a consistent listen.

Change your scenery: study spots a short trip from Rice

Tired of never finding a seat at Chaus and always losing your favorite study spot at Fondy to someone else? Don’t want to study in your room but don’t know of places outside where you can do so? Look no further for a list of cafés, restaurants and more near Rice to explore for a change of pace while attempting to get through work this semester. 

Black Art at Rice: Talking with one-man band David Ikejiani

David Ikejiani, a Duncan College senior, is a one-man band — he sings, plays instruments from the saxophone to the ukulele, and writes his own music. On top of all this, he has also forged his own community of fellow musicians and artists in the Rice Music Collective and works tirelessly to ensure that students can come together in a shared creative space. He reflects upon his own musical journey, the challenges he has faced in balancing rigorous academics with music and his advice for other Black students to find support and community. Ikejani is currently working on releasing an EP.

01-19-2022 Crosword Solutions

Nearby parks and nature

As school gets back into rhythm and back-to-back Zoom meetings tire out our eyes, places to unwind and be immersed in nature are needed now more than ever. Rice students are lucky that Houston has a variety of parks and gardens right outside the hedges of campus, as easy as a walk or Metro ride away. With plenty of walking trails, beautiful flora and fauna and special events, these parks offer a chance to relax and unwind – and enjoy the weather before it gets humid again!

GSA and SA work toward greater schoolwide student interaction

For the past few months, the Graduate Student Association and the Student Association have been discussing how to facilitate a more cohesive Rice student body. A proposed graduate student meal plan at the campus serveries would open undergraduate spaces to graduate students to address potential food insecurity. Another initiative is geared explicitly toward interaction between the two student populations: mentorship-focused meals would bring together undergraduate students who are interested in graduate (or possibly even professional school) with Rice graduate students who are willing to provide mentorship over several meals a semester.

First two weeks online: Students talk pandemic changes, online classes

The fall 2021 semester began with online classes amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in the Houston area, attributed to the Delta variant. As the semester progressed, though, restrictions were gradually lifted, allowing for a nearly normal semester. Now, given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, classes are online for the first two weeks of the semester once again. This change, along with the administration’s request for students to delay their return to campus, has prompted some students to change their plans for the beginning of the semester.

Pre-med no more: Rice students talk leaving pre-med

Thirty to forty percent of incoming students at Rice indicate an interest in pre-health studies. But only around 200 students end up applying to medical school each cycle, according to John Fierst, the assistant director of the Office of Academic Advising. 

White-washing language: ‘Academic’ writing perpetuates division

As is the case with most aspects of our reality, professionalism and academia have been defined by whiteness to a degree that is obvious in their customs, codifications and subtleties. Whiteness is often defined as a latent, systemic ideology in which the customs of the white majority are normalized to a degree that alienates others, sometimes unbeknownst to the white people benefiting from it. Over time, white majorities have established a monopoly on communication, prioritizing their culture-specific vernaculars and language structure, thus creating norms of communication. Through the expansion of this construct, marginalized communities have been actively excluded from academic and professional spaces institutionalized by whiteness. 

In responding to camera concerns, claiming ignorance makes it worse

Last Monday, Rice announced that a live video feed of the Academic Quad was available online. Two days later, in response to students raising concerns, Rice announced on Twitter that the camera would be disabled during Baker 13 runs. The next day, at nearly 11 p.m., three days after the initial announcement, Rice again took to Twitter to say that the camera would be disabled as the university reviews student concerns.