Special Projects

Low SA election turnout reveals need for better campus engagement

With only 24 percent participation, this year’s Student Association presidential election had the lowest voter turnout in the past five years. While student apathy towards the SA Senate and its leadership can easily — and perhaps fairly — be attributed to recent events such as the pandemic or the recent winter storm, SA election turnout has consistently declined over this five-year period.  

Faculty Senate approves new undergraduate Business major

The Faculty Senate recently approved the undergraduate business major, which will start offering courses in fall 2021 according to Jeff Fleming, deputy dean of academic affairs at the Jones Graduate School of Business. Undergraduates in the class of 2024 and beyond will be eligible to declare the new business major.  

Rice Management Company discusses contentious CBA at SA meeting

Rice Management Company attended last week’s Student Association meeting, updating the Rice community and sparking debate about Rice Management Company’s ongoing development in Houston’s Third Ward. The Ion, a centerpiece of the 16-acre Innovation District, is slated to open later this year, according to Rice Management Company’s manager of strategic initiatives Samuel Dike. 

Baseball drops three straight at Louisiana

Rice baseball lost all three games played against the University of Louisiana this past weekend. After opening the season 2-1 in their series against Houston Baptist University, the Owls traveled to Lafayette, where they were promptly swept by the Rajun’ Cajuns. The Owls fell 7-3 in the Friday night game, and followed that up with 5-3 and 6-3 losses over the weekend,  dropping their overall record to 2-4. Head coach Matt Bragga took a somber tone in describing the weekend, pointing to the lack of offensive production as a big reason for his team’s struggles. 

Rice Announces Business Major To Increase Number of Students With Lives

Guest meal swipe donation program reinstated

Rice University reinstated their Guest Meal Swipe Donation Program this semester after a pause during the Fall 2020 semester. The program serves to mitigate food insecurity by allowing on-campus undergraduates with a Type A meal plan — 20 meals per week — to donate their unused meal swipes to off-campus peers, according to the Student Success Initiatives website. According to David McDonald, approximately 1,443 meal swipes have been donated this semester leading to the reimplementation of the program. 

Women’s basketball sweeps LA Tech

Rice Women’s Basketball improved their record to 15-2 with back-to-back victories against Louisiana Tech University this weekend. The Owls outscored the Lady Techsters by a combined 34 points as they earned their tenth and eleventh conference wins of the season. Head coach Tina Langley said she is proud of her team’s performance, especially given their stop-and-start season due to the pandemic. 

Out of the shadows: “Electrifying Design” celebrates century of light

Just days after the city of Houston was in its most desperate need of light, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston unveiled an unparalleled beacon of brilliance. “Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting” opened last week as the first large-scale U.S. exhibition to examine both the technological and artistic innovations in international lighting design. Through three thematic galleries, audiences are invited to see lamps, chandeliers and the humble bulb in a whole new light.  

‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’: Andra Day shines while others are left behind

It can be hard to imagine that Andra Day, who plays legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” has never played a leading role before. Better known for her success in the R&B music scene than on the silver screen, Day beautifully captures the spotlight and Holiday’s essence: her swagger, her love for gaudy jewelry and clothes and especially her voice. The same success, however, cannot be said for the rest of the movie, directed by Lee Daniels and written by Suzan-Lori Park. Though it boasts a talented star-studded cast, "The United States vs. Billie Holiday" largely fails to do justice to Holiday's life and legacy due to shallow writing and confusing plot development. 

Top 10 Best of Daft Punk

On Feb. 22, electronic duo Daft Punk unexpectedly announced their retirement after 28 years of prolific influence on the music industry with a short video featuring one of the duo's robots dramatically exploding. Emerging in 1993 out of the Paris underground rave scene, Daft Punk’s music effortlessly combined influences from disco, funk, R&B and even the Chicago house genre. The duo’s enigmatic robot personas allowed them to avoid the media and uniquely transcend the limitations of age, relevance and appearance to continuously create musical masterpieces. By choosing anonymity, Daft Punk maintained a focus on their creative freedom and musical quality, managing to evade the corrupting forces of fame and ego.  

KTRU Cozy Show brings local talent to student screens

Last Friday, Feb. 26, KTRU held its fourth annual Cozy Show, and it was unlike any year before. Instead of going to see and hear the featured artists perform live on Rice campus, this year’s audience was invited to enjoy the show from the comfort of their homes as the artists’ performances were streamed on KTRU’s Facebook and YouTube pages, marking the radio station’s first completely virtual concert.  

The life and work of filmmaker Ya’Ke Smith

Ya’Ke Smith, filmmaker and associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication, channels his powerful prose and uncompromising storytelling to rewrite traditional narratives of Black Americans in film. 

Weekly Scenes and Screens: Mar. 3

Vining wins SA presidential election, Sethre-Brink wins EVP race amidst low voter turnout

Kendall Vining will serve as the next Student Association president after winning the election against Jarrett Prchal. Vining received 56.8 percent of the vote (545 ballots) while Prchal received 41.4 percent (345 ballots). A total of 959 ballots were cast for the SA presidential election for a voter turnout of 24 percent, the lowest turnout in the past five years. 

Rice launches new graduate programs in psychological sciences and data science

Rice plans to launch a two-year professional master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology and a 31-credit professional master’s degree in data science. Both programs will begin their classes in Fall 2021.

Scroll less, live more: My experience quitting social media

We’ve all heard that expression before: if it's not on social media, then it didn’t happen. It seems like nowadays we can’t do much for the fun or the joy of it without feeling that urge to take a picture or video, upload it to the web, and tag our friends in it. In trying times like these, we need to realize that number of likes and retweets aren’t a healthy measure of social affirmation. We need to consider taking a serious break from social media (maybe pick up a hobby) and re-examine our relationships with these platforms. 

Predicting the 2021 Golden Globe Awards

 The Golden Globes, often described as the precursor — and sometimes inferior sibling — to the Oscars and the Emmys, are happening this Sunday, Feb. 28 and I will be taking you through my predictions for the biggest categories in film and (some) television. Buckle up … because, once again, it is very beige. 

“Meet Houston’s Artists” docuseries and group exhibit to reflect on empathy

Houston artist MoNique LeRoux opens her docuseries “Meet Houston’s Artists” by acknowledging the upheaval of normal life in the past year in the past year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn and Black Lives Matter protests. The tumultuous events of 2020 were key motivations for LeRoux to produce her docuseries, which highlights 14 local artists and how they were impacted by the pandemic. The docuseries culminated in a physical art exhibit, which opened Saturday, Feb. 13 at Sabine Street Studios.  

Weekly Scenes and Screens: Feb. 24

Rice Bikes, Hoot & Coffeehouse prepare for Spring semester

Three of Rice’s student-run businesses — Rice Coffeehouse, The Hoot and Rice Bikes — are all expected to reopen in the coming week for the spring semester. There have been no updates released regarding the reopening of Willy’s Pub and East-West Tea.