Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Saturday, November 23, 2024 — Houston, TX

Special Projects



A&E 11/12/24 10:17pm

“Songs of a Lost World” feels like The Cure’s farewell

Having released their last proper album in 2008 — the largely panned “4:13 Dream” — few would’ve expected the legendary ’80s British alternative rock band The Cure to release an album that feels like a late-career peak. But that’s exactly what “Songs of a Lost World” is - a rebirth, even though it's simultaneously a somber meditation on death. 


A&E 11/12/24 10:16pm

Review: “LOST IN HEAVEN” stays true to Chase Atlantic’s successful formula

Students could have kept their Halloween night spooky with the midnight release of Australian alt-pop band Chase Atlantic’s fourth album “LOST IN HEAVEN”, heavy with dark, pulsating melodies overlaying darker themes. Tackling vulnerable subjects such as drug abuse and mental health with catchy grooves is a much-repeated Chase Atlantic move, but “LOST IN HEAVEN” does it well.



A&E 11/12/24 10:13pm

Review: ‘Anora’ marries comedy, class consciousness

“Anora” isn’t a traditional romantic comedy, though parts of it may play like one: its protagonist is an erotic dancer, its meet-cute is in a strip club, and the central couple’s romance takes them on a whirlwind of sex, money and drugs. Still, the scenes of the couple dancing in the neon-lit streets of Vegas are some of the most romantic of the year thus far. 


A&E 11/12/24 10:12pm

Altered Origins architecture festival breaks boundaries

A one-of-a-kind festival was hosted by Rice’s School of Architecture Oct. 22 to 26, in collaboration with the department of anthropology, Houston Climate Justice Museum and Moody Center for the Arts. The festival, titled “Altered Origins: Emergencies, Experiments and Environment,” included workshops, conversations and performances challenging the norms of architecture. 


A&E 11/12/24 10:11pm

Festival season: These fall film picks bring drama, intimacy

With the Houston Cinema Arts Festival right around the corner, we’re in the midst of fall film festival season. Many of the biggest film festivals in the world — such as Venice and New York —  have already happened, and some of their most acclaimed selections are being released in the next couple of months. Check out these movies, which are some of the best of the fall festival season.



FEATURES 11/12/24 10:03pm

The post on compost: The latest of composting at Rice

Heavier than a commercial plane: Rice has composted one million pounds of food waste in total since May 2024 through the Moonshot Compost program. More bins were added due to demand at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, according to sustainability coordinator Kristianna Bowles. 



FEATURES 11/12/24 10:01pm

Robots do the brewing at CERĒS coffee shop

It’s 8:45 a.m., and you walk into Rice Coffeehouse to find the line wrapped around the hallway of the student center. Begrudgingly, you skip out on your morning coffee and start estimating the perfect time to return when they might not be as busy. As you leave Chaus empty-handed, you realize you could go to Dandelion Cafe if you really wanted a morning drink. But that would mean going into debt. 


OPINION 11/12/24 9:58pm

Why the Democratic Party keeps failing us - and what we can do

In the wake of the 2024 general election, many of us are grappling with frustration, disappointment and even anger toward the Democratic Party — and that’s okay. This isn’t about campaign strategy or a single election loss; it’s about the party’s choice to take a once-promising, potentially transformative nominee and reduce her to a hollow vessel for corporate donors and backers. 


OPINION 11/12/24 9:57pm

LPAP courses need wide-ranging change

Picture this: You’re a senior. After four years of churning out every major requirement and elective known to man, you’re ready to graduate. You eagerly submit your spring semester courses in Esther (who asked for a redesign, by the way?), only to be stopped in your tracks by the last, looming task on your plate: the LPAP.



NEWS 11/12/24 9:51pm

Jewish Network provides non-religious community, discussion

Faculty and staff established the Rice Jewish Network this semester. Moshe Vardi, Lisa Geda, Anatoly Kolomeisky, Rebeca Kalontarov, Lisa Birenbaum and Yael Hochberg were all involved in the creation of the organization, which aims to create a support system for Jewish people on campus, according to Vardi.



NEWS 11/5/24 11:40pm

First-ever election block party draws crowds

A line stretched across the academic quad this Election Day. In contrast to previous years, however, the line was not for voting at the Sewall Hall polling location — it was for the first-ever election block party hosted by the Center for Civic Engagement.  The event aimed to encourage student voting and engagement in politics, complete with a bouncy castle, free food and a DJ.



NEWS 11/5/24 11:40pm

Waits drop after morning voters crowd Sewall polling place

On Tuesday, 1,094 voters flocked to Rice’s Welcome Center to cast their ballots in the presidential, state and local elections. Wait times climbed to an hour shortly after the polling center’s doors opened at 7 a.m., with many hoping to beat the crowds during Rice’s first-ever non-instructional Election Day. The lines calmed down around noon, when students began congregating in the academic quad for the election block party. 


NEWS 11/5/24 11:39pm

IGNITE pushes for women in politics

A new chapter of IGNITE, started under the national organization of the same name, was founded at Rice by Aleena Ahmad and Carmine Steiner this semester. The organization is dedicated to closing the gender gap in the political sphere by encouraging civil and political engagement for women and nonbinary people, according to their website.