Special Projects

Rice hires Harris County Emergency Corp for weekend ambulance services

Following concerns that the university was putting a strain on Houston’s resources, beginning this spring semester, the Harris County Emergency Corp will be hired for a trial period as the campus’s ambulance service from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night. 

Ion Community Benefits Agreement shifts to City of Houston

The ongoing fight for a community benefits agreement between Houston community members and Rice Management Company for the Innovation District project continued on Monday, with a Student Association proposal to change language in their resolution supporting the CBA — the proposal was tabled after heated discussion. 

Rice Women’s Resource Center begins offering free pregnancy tests

The Rice Women’s Resource Center began offering free pregnancy tests last week to all students. These tests are located in the center in the Rice Memorial Center, alongside other previously-offered resources like condoms, tampons and pads. 

Y2K keeps students waiting despite wristband system

Students expressed frustration over hour-long wait times for McMurtry College’s annual Y2K-themed public party, held on Feb. 1. Following unsafe line conditions that led to a student being hospitalized and Rice University Police Department shutting down the party last year, the organizers implemented a new wristband system for Saturday’s public. Some students, however, still reported wait times exceeding two hours, deterring them from staying in line to enter the public. 

Women’s basketball playing strong in midst of Conference USA season

The Rice women’s basketball team, now riding a nine-game win-streak, has reached strong mid-season form. Through its first 20 games, Rice has posted an impressive 14-6 record, and is 8-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse, where its only loss came at the hands of No. 5 Texas A&M University. This week, the Owls look to continue their strong stretch when they take on the University Alabama, Birmingham on Thursday, and Middle Tennessee State University on Saturday.

Africayé 2020 Preview

Hosted by the Rice African Student Association, “Africayé 2020: Coming to Africa” will immerse the Rice community in the sights, sounds and tastes of African culture this Sunday. The annual showcase will feature music, dance, fashion, comedy, skits, food and a newly added art gallery. 

Biggest snubs in the Oscars 2020 nominations as relayed by a bitter old hag

I’m not sure why we still care about an awards ceremony that continues to be #sowhite and once gave “Lord of the Rings” 11 Oscars (the same number of nominations that “Joker” somehow received this year) — but here we are! As “Green Book” taught me last year with its unexpected win for Best Picture, there’s no point in trying to predict this year’s big winners ahead of the ceremony, which will air this Sunday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. So, I’ll settle for pointing out the most painful snubs instead.

Don’t miss these artists at Rodeo Houston 2020

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo offers more than just rollercoasters, mutton bustin’ and fried twinkies - this year, the world’s largest rodeo returns with an impressive lineup of musical performers.

Shepherd School professor Robert Simpson talks Grammy win with Houston Chamber Choir

Although Billie Eilish may have been the star of this year’s Grammy awards, the ceremony was a success for another, more local musician: Robert Simpson, a Shepherd School professor who won Best Choral Performance for his role in conducting the Houston Chamber Choir’s recording of “Duruflé: Complete Choral Works.”

A call to remember what the SA is for

We, as active participants in the Student Association Senate, feel that the SA is currently operating by a top-down model, with the chain of communication beginning with Rice administration and ending with the students. But the intent of an organization like the SA should be the opposite.

Y2K sets dangerous precedent

Saturday night, hundreds of Rice students paid $2 to stand in line for one of the most popular publics of the year, Y2K, with some waiting over two hours only to not get in. Despite claiming that they based the number of wristband sales on statistical “models” that would allow entry to everyone, McMurtry College refused to release this data publicly, leaving the logic and intent behind this new system unclear.

Niche sports provide unconventional experiences for students

On any given Saturday, Jorge Zepeda can be found working up a sweat. But instead of hitting the gym or getting on the field, Zepeda has chosen a different way to exercise: Dance Dance Revolution. Zepeda is just one of many students at Rice who find their exercise, stress relief and mental agility in sports not found on traditional college rosters. 

2-5-2020 Crossword solutions

Trimming feathers: Perch becomes home to haircutting business

On the Perch, a large balcony on the fourth floor of Will Rice College’s Old Dorm which overlooks the quad and New Dorm, Dyllon Schmehl operates his business: a pop-up barber shop. 

Future for refugees in Texas remains unclear

Saniya Gayake and Spoorthi Kamepalli have not had many lazy Saturday afternoons in the last year.  As co-presidents of Houston Empowering Refugees, the Baker College juniors travel once a week to an apartment complex in Houston’s Hillcroft neighborhood and teach lessons on health literacy to 14 refugee women from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Owls fly the nest: students discuss study abroad experiences

When Serra Sozen decided to study abroad at University College London, she expected the experience to be different from her time at Rice. The enrollment at UCL is about 31,500, they offer a wide variety of courses and the university is all the way across the Atlantic. But there was one difference that Sozen didn’t expect: the clubs. 

International Holocaust Remembrance Day event features panel discussion and play

The Holocaust Museum Houston hosted a panel discussion and play commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest concentration and extermination camp operated by the Nazis during World War II. Rice University’s Program in Jewish Studies, Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance and Baker Institute for Public Policy were among the several sponsors for the event, which was also held in observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020 on Monday, Jan. 27. 

Olympic qualifying matches bring national women’s soccer teams to campus

While the Rice women’s soccer team is used to taking on respectable competition, the team took it a step further and opened their spring training program by taking on Costa Rica’s national women’s team this past Friday, Jan. 24. The Costa Rican team won the exhibition match 3-0, with senior midfielder Lianne Mananquil nearly scoring with a close miss at the 67th minute. 

Wickerson's campaign promises remain unfulfilled

When Grace Wickerson ran for Student Association President in February 2019, they campaigned on a platform of multiple goals falling under the categories of education, student wellbeing, access and inclusion, sustainability and championing student ideas. Based on our analysis, Wickerson has only attempted one-third of their campaign promises. 

'Modern-day Genocide': Houston Uighur Society speaks on detained Uighurs in China

Members of Houston Uighur Society spoke at Rice last Thursday on the recent events regarding the Uighur population in China. In their talk, the members presented on the internment of the Uighurs in Chinese ‘re-education’ camps that are being implemented allegedly to erase Uighur religious and cultural identity.