Special Projects

NEWS 1/22/20 12:09am

O-Week PAAs will no longer be affiliated with O-Week groups

By Serene Lee

Beginning the fall of 2020, Orientation Week Peer Academic Advisors will no longer also serve as O-Week advisors. The Office of Academic Advising instituted this change to lower the mental and physical strain for students chosen for those positions, according to Aliya Bhimani.

NEWS 1/21/20 11:59pm

First week of school: Campus has no cool

By Talha Arif

Due to ongoing construction at the Central Plant, the campus has experienced disruptions in air cooling at both residential and academic buildings over the past week, exacerbated by a heat wave that culminated in a record-high 83 degrees on Wednesday.

NEWS 1/21/20 11:55pm

Owl House Properties draws controversy over new building

By Ivanka Perez and Brian Lin

Owl House Properties, a local property management company, plans to combine, or replat, lots 1933 and 1937 Dryden Road, in May 2020 into a one-lot, a four-story apartment complex, according to company president Ben Bahorich (Will Rice ’10), drawing backlash from some Southgate residents.

NEWS 1/21/20 11:52pm

Students demand community benefits agreement for Ion

By Rynd Morgan

In response to continued development on Rice’s Innovation District on the border of Midtown and the Third Ward, members of a student coalition and 16 student organizations published a letter asking Rice to sign a community benefits agreement with Houston community members on Monday, Jan. 20.

FEATURES 1/21/20 11:49pm

Reginald DesRoches races towards provostship

By Ella Feldman

Closing in at a swift one hour, 50 minutes and 34 seconds, Reginald DesRoches set a personal record at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon on Sunday, beating last year’s time by six minutes. Next summer, DesRoches will break another record. On July 1, the current dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering will become the ninth provost to take office — and the first Black provost in Rice’s history.

FEATURES 1/21/20 11:48pm

Associate Vice Provost motivates students across the state

By Serene Lee

What exactly does an associate vice provost do? They drive over 4,500 miles across Texas to speak to high school students about building confidence, mental health and applying to college. At least that’s what Cortlan Wickliff (Wiess College ’10), associate vice provost for academic affairs and strategic initiatives, did last November.

FEATURES 1/21/20 11:11pm

Ringing in the Lunar New Year on campus

By Kelly Liao

In the United States, people often celebrate the new year with kisses at midnight, a champagne toast and resolutions. When countdown concludes and the ball drops in Times Square, the new year has officially begun — for some. However, many East and Southeast Asians celebrate Lunar New Year, which doesn’t take place this year until Jan. 25. Here’s a look at how Rice students celebrate the new year.

NEWS 1/21/20 10:21pm

Candlelight Vigil honors, reinforces Dr. King’s legacy

By Rachel Carlton

Over sixty people gathered Sunday evening in the Rice Memorial Chapel for the annual Martin Luther King Vigil, put on by the Rice Black Male Leadership Initiative with the theme “Keeping the Dream Alive”.

OPINION 1/21/20 10:07pm

DesRoches’ appointment promising for the future

By Thresher Editorial Board

As undergraduates, we are far more likely to be familiar with the everyday work and initiatives that come from the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates than those from the Offices of the Provost or even the President.

OPINION 1/21/20 10:06pm

Deadly shooting at Bellaire High School highlights need for tighter gun control

By Alexa Thomases

Fourteen days. That’s how long the U.S. went before its first fatal school shooting of 2020. Two weeks into the new decade, 19-year-old César Cortés was shot and killed at Bellaire High School, about five miles southwest of Rice. He was a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corpsmember who was enlisted in the Army and had aspirations of serving his country. His death is heart-wrenching. It was also preventable.

OPINION 1/21/20 10:02pm

Not in our name will the Ion perpetuate injustice

By Taylor Crain

The spring of 2019 I heard whispers and read snippets about the Innovation District, which I understood, initially, to be an innovative tech and consulting hub for venture capitalists, startups and big corporations. Immediately, I wanted to be involved out of fear the development would exclude the interests of creative students at Rice and of communities vulnerable to displacement and cultural erasure.

OPINION 1/21/20 10:00pm

Stop saying the r-word: Sincerely, someone on the spectrum

By Josiah Jones

One evening last semester, I sat down at a table with the most familiar faces in my college commons for dinner. We had a lot of scattered conversations about classes, the food and, for some, the past weekend’s late-night escapades. It was during the discussion of this final topic that I heard that word: “Retarded.”

A&E 1/21/20 9:53pm

Audrey’s opens in Jones Business School

By James Karroum

Highly anticipated campus coffee shop Audrey’s officially opened on the first day of spring semester classes last week after permitting issues delayed its initial September launch date.

A&E 1/21/20 9:51pm

Serge Attukwei Clottey talks migration, upcoming Moody exhibit

By Katelyn Landry

“Softening Borders” invites you to step into another’s shoes, no matter where in the world they may be standing.

A&E 1/21/20 9:49pm

Predicting the 2020 Grammys: Winners, losers and snubs

By Jacob Tate

It’s that time of the year! Houston continues to deny us a winter and the Grammy Awards continue to deny any representation to rap music! Even as I gripe to my friends about snubs of my favorite artists, I will still inevitably tune into the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards this Sunday, January 26.

A&E 1/21/20 9:48pm

“The Realistic Joneses” fails to satisfy

By Morgan Gage

Surrounded by the audience at three sides, “The Realistic Joneses,” a play by 4th Wall Theatre Company, is an intimate production of Will Eno’s script. The play follows two couples with the last name Jones that have moved in next door to each other as they work through similar issues at different stages of life and in their relationships.

SPORTS 1/21/20 9:46pm

Women’s Basketball should still be considered C-USA favorites

By Madison Buzzard and Michael Byrnes

There’s no denying it: Rice women’s basketball had a rocky start to the 2019-20 season. Coming off a historic season last year in which the team won 21 straight games and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005, this year’s team registered a middling 5-6 record against non-Conference USA opponents to start the season.

SPORTS 1/21/20 9:45pm

Men’s Tennis springs into 2020 season

By Spencer Moffat

The last time the Rice men’s tennis team took the court for a match was almost three months ago, on Nov. 3, when sophomore Campbell Salmon and junior Mohamed Abdel-Aziz picked up a pair of doubles wins to close out the Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge and the Owls’ 2019 tournament season.

SPORTS 1/21/20 9:43pm

Men’s basketball gears up for home games against C-USA foes

By Ben Baker-Katz

Rice men’s basketball will aim to pick up its second Conference USA win of the season this week when the team faces the University of Texas, El Paso on Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.

OPINION 1/21/20 9:03pm

Facing the STEM Superiority Complex

By Anson Tong and Sarah Silberman

The modern world doesn’t know how to integrate STEM, the humanities and the social sciences. We’ve come to the point where our society values technological innovation as the best way to solve any and all problems that arise.