Special Projects

From South Africa to the Willy statue, admin and SA conflict

When the Office of Access, Equity and Equal Opportunity instructed the Student Association to table a resolution adopting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement for Blanket Tax funds, the authors of the resolution called it “a direct violation of [their] freedom of expression” and an “overstep of [administration’s] power.” SA President Jae Kim called the action unprecedented.

Newly admitted students met with expansion, support

Jazmin Mendoza, one of the 7.5% of applicants admitted to the Rice class of 2028, fell in love with campus at first sight.

Pub goes cashless after two burglaries

The Pub at Rice announced that it will be going cashless via Instagram on April 1 following two incidents of burglary. The first burglary occurred between March 19 and 20 and the second on March 30, according to Rice University Police Department crime logs.

SA must revert to old constitution until formal hearing takes place, UCourt rules

The Student Association will temporarily revert to its old constitution, dated March 8, 2023, University Court chair Hugo Gerbich Pais announced March 29.  UCourt is currently investigating allegations that the SA “acted improperly” by failing to disclose the new constitution’s elimination of voter turnout thresholds on their ballot.

7.5% acceptance rate marks lowest in Rice history

Rice admitted 2,439 students from 32,459 applicants March 26, according to Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva. With a 7.5% admit rate, this is the third consecutive year of record-low acceptance rates. The Thresher previously reported 7.7% and 8.56% acceptance rates for the Class and 2027 and 2026 respectively.

Public parties to resume, Martel sundeck off-limits for morning party

Campus-wide public parties will resume in time for Beer Bike and Brown College’s Bacchanalia, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman announced in an email to students March 22. The sundeck will permanently be off-limits for Martel College’s morning party, and colleges will not be allowed to reschedule or host additional public parties this semester. 

Senate debates resolution to boycott, divest SA funds from Israel-aligned companies

A student resolution calling on the Rice Student Association to participate in the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement was presented at the Senate meeting March 25. The resolution is titled “Student Association Boycott and Divestment from Corporations Complicit in the Ongoing Genocide in Gaza.”

‘They weren’t afraid of the stage’: Owls fall 70-60 to LSU in close March Madness opener

In an arena with more than double the capacity of Tudor Fieldhouse, Rice women’s basketball forward Malia Fisher admitted that at one point the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.,  was so loud she couldn’t hear herself think. “It was a different environment, but you get used to it fast and then you just kind of acknowledge it and put it out of your mind,” Fisher, a junior, said. “That's what we did.”

Rob Lanier named men’s basketball head coach

Less than two weeks after parting ways with head coach Scott Pera, Rice Athletics announced they have hired Rob Lanier as the program’s 26th head coach. Lanier was previously the head basketball coach at Southern Methodist University, a position he was dismissed from three days ago, on March 21. 

RUPD investigates three separate incidents of assault across campus

A male suspect followed a student into Will Rice College Feb. 21 and entered a student’s unlocked room while she was sleeping, according to Clemente Rodriguez, Rice University Police Department chief of police. When she woke up, she found him touching her leg. The student reported the incident to RUPD.

BRC Express shuttle expands to off-campus population

Rice is piloting three shuttles that will transport undergraduate and graduate students to high-density residential areas off-campus free of charge starting March 18. The three lines will expand the BioScience Research Collaborative Express route to South Braeswood residential areas, the Rice Graduate Apartment shuttle for students living north of Hermann Park and the Rice Village shuttle for the North Bissonnet area. Currently, only the BRC Express route has been expanded. All routes are available on the apps TransLoc and Ride Systems.

Hayon, Dyson make waves at NCAA Championships

Junior Arielle Hayon and sophomore Ella Dyson represented the Rice swim team at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga., this past week from March 20-23. The two swimmers competed in five events.

03-27-2024 Crossword Solutions

03-27-2024 Crossword: "Miss Americana"

Connections: March 27, 2024

03-27-2024 Owl-American

UFL Roughnecks discount tickets for Rice students, faculty

The Houston Roughnecks, one of eight teams in the newly-merged United Football League, begin their inaugural season at Rice Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Standard tickets start at $22 for the public but are available for university students and faculty at $10. 

Men’s and Women’s T&F finish strongly at Victor Lopez Classic

Last weekend, the women’s track and field team hosted the 41st Victor Lopez Classic track meet at Rice’s own Wendel D. Ley Track. Following the high school division of the competition, the men’s and women’s collegiate track teams started their events on Friday, March 22, and competed through March 23. The Rice men’s team posted 14 podium finishes with four event titles while the women’s squad finished the meet with 12 top-three performances and another four event titles.

Review: Matt Champion navigates love and other intimacies in ‘Mika’s Laundry’

The end of the “best boy band since One Direction” (i.e., BROCKHAMPTON) was especially sad for the insufferable people who spammed their songs in high school, but equally exciting as it inevitably presented the opportunity for solo projects. Among the prospective solo projects, perhaps the most exciting — for me, anyway — was that of the former-collective member, Matt Champion.  

Review: Waxahatchee gives all growl, no bite in ‘Tigers Blood’

Indie darling Waxahatchee first earned her country stripes on “Saint Cloud,” a resounding critical favorite of 2020. Her sixth studio album, “Tigers Blood,” fixes up new folktales of heartbreak in the same genre-defying signature.