Special Projects

Divide between academs and ESCIs apparent

Within the first month of my time at Rice, I became familiar with the reputed, and often very real, divide between students majoring in science and engineering and those in the social science, humanities and arts. In my day (two years ago), they were called ESCIs and academs. I, a political science and environmental policy major, was planted firmly on the side of academs and passionately sparred many a time with my science-oriented friends. But always in my mind was the assumption that this poor communication and lack of understanding about the content and culture of the two sides was a product of the college existence. I figured that life beyond the hedges had a convenient bridge over the divide. As it turns out, folks, I was totally and completely wrong. After spending two years on the outside, I've discovered the same lack of communication and coordination exists between these realms in the working world. It also turns out that if you find a job that helps bridge the divide, you'll be on a path to making change.

Controller's Office burden on treasurers

It's almost changeover season on campus - clubs, organizations and college governments are all getting ready to hold elections or tryouts before handing over the reins to a new group of students. Among these new electees, a fresh batch of treasurers across campus will be inheriting the ledgers and piles of receipts that come with the position. More than likely the majority of the new treasurers will also require training from the Controller's Office to be authorized for form signatures and the use of purchasing cards and the electronic BANNER and TouchNet systems.

Willy's Pub celebrates 35th Birthday

Willy's Pub commemorated its 35th birthday by hosting a four-day celebration this past weekend. Although the ladies' night event was ultimately canceled, the Pub experienced two of its top sales days during its Smoking Section concert and birthday party."I think the birthday party was a great success," Inventory Manager Avery Marcus said. "We're definitely very pleased with the outcome."

Photo: SpoCo Bowl Sunday: Black v. Green

Wiess College senior Adrian Frimpong and Sid Richardson College sophomore Adrien Pellerin compete for the black and green teams, respectively, in SpoCo's Super Bowl show on Sunday.

DTF: Drinking task force considered

Following the alcohol policy forum four weeks ago, Student Association representatives introduced a proposal at the SA meeting last Monday to create a committee called the "Drinking Task Force." This group's responsibilities include collecting student opinion on the current alcohol policy and suggesting possible improvements.Hanszen College Senator Spencer Boucher said that he, SA External Vice President Carl Nelson, Jones College Senator Steven Boswell and Will Rice College Senator Renee Dudley wrote the proposal after seeing how successful the SA's alcohol forum was because they wanted to move forward with the alcohol policy discussion while student awareness of the issue was high.

"Black List Project" inspiring, evocative documentation of strength

Historically, the term "blacklist" referenced people that were denied privileges and opportunities because of a social standard or prejudice. "The Black List Project," a photographic exhibit and documentary program currently showing at the Rice Media Center in honor of Black History Month, attempts to embody what Elvis Mitchell, co-producer of the project, calls the "black ability to put a positive spin on what has happened." By documenting prosperous and strong African-Americans that have risen to their status from various professions and backgrounds, Mitchell, who is a National Public Radio correspondent and former New York Times film critic, and artist Timothy Greenfield-Sanders attempt to redefine the word "blacklist," which African-Americans have historically occupied.

SA's drinking task force faced with great burden

While it is important for the campus to assemble itself in a centralized structure to deal with the recent onset of alcohol abuse at Rice, we at the Thresher believe that the SA has a lot of work ahead to tailor its response to the problem in an optimal manner (see story, page 1). The minuscule scale of this task force is a matter of concern; the committee is slated to have five slots. Of these five spots, it's possible that one or two will go to prominent SA members or at least to the senators involved with the alcohol issue up to this point. The remaining spots could filled by college leaders such as chief justices and college presidents, leaving very few spots for at-large students who wish to contribute to this task force. We at the Thresher feel that it is important to have both chief justices and at-large students who may be social leaders at their college on the task force, and we urge the SA to consider all of these groups when choosing candidates.

Teach-in panel discusses source of unrest in Egypt

More than 100 people crowded Keck Hall 100 to listen to three panelists speak about the riots in Egypt and Tunisia Tuesday. The teach-in, called "Witness to Revolution: A Teach-In on the National Protests in Egypt and Tunisia," began with speeches by History Professor Ussama Makdisi, Mark Bebawi, founder of the radio program "The Monitor" on KPFT 90.1, and Economics Department Chair Mahmoud El-Gamal, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.History graduate student David Getman introduced the speakers and the situation in Egypt and Tunisia. He said most Americans' immediate reactions to the images of the protesters was one of immediate sympathy.

Women's track powered by Pye's and Ince's feats

With only two weeks remaining in the indoor track regular season, the women's team will travel to College Station, Texas this weekend to leave behind any remaining rust from winter break and shift into high gear just in time for conference. The team could not have picked a better meet for their final tune-up, so to speak, according to Head Coach Jim Bevan.

International SOS

Students preparing to study abroad will have one less thing to worry about starting this semester. The Rice University Risk Management team has announced that they are partnering with International SOS in order to provide emergency medical assistance to any students who are abroad.ISOS is the world's leading international healthcare and medical assistance company, with clinics and facilities all over the world. Based on their website, their aim is to deliver the highest level of service and customer care to clients across the world.

Chaney and Zinchenko set personal bests

In the sporting world, there are nearly as many coaching types as there are teams. There's the proverbial player's coach; there are the stoic coaches that rarely let a word of praise escape their lips, and then there are coaches whose vocabulary consists of entirely of four-letter words, among others. Normally men's track Head Coach Jon Warren (Jones '88) makes a point to laud his athletes, bringing forth optimistic views on nearly every situation in every event, but for once, Warren strongly downplayed the magnitude of success of an Owl, namely redshirt sophomore Clayton Chaney, who set a personal best of 5,204 points in the heptathlon in his winning effort at the Frank Sevigne Classic held at the University of Nebraska. "He had an OK seven events as far as I'm concerned," Warren said. "A personal best was good for him, but that was by no means the best he could do."

Campus Reaction: Rice students must avoid apathy (Batoul Abuharb)

Rice students take on a thousand extracurricular activities and struggle to juggle school, friends, family, activities and sleep. Our motivation to be the best academically and the most well-rounded candidates for our future careers has created a culture of apathy. I transferred to Rice after completing my associate's degree in science from Houston Community College and immediately became aware of the huge difference in the student body. One of the biggest things that stood out to me was how the intensive focus on academics at Rice often prohibited students from engaging in other activities. Students hesitated to give an opinion or to advocate for something controversial, sticking to mainstream values that limit conflict and confrontation. Last spring, I went to office hours for one of my favorite professors at Rice and I asked her if she had also noticed this behavior to make sure I wasn't just over-analyzing. Her answer surprised me. She said that she had a hard time even getting students to participate in class when they needed to share an opinion about an issue, even if it wasn't that controversial.

James Blake serves up counter-intuitive simplicity and minimal dubstep in soulful debut album

It seems strange to call something "post-dubstep" when the original genre's overwhelmingly wobbled subbass, complex syncopated downtempo percussion and characteristically suspenseful bass drops have only been around for about a decade. Nevertheless, it's the best way to describe, in a single word, what Londoner James Blake has produced in his eponymous debut album, which was released on Monday.The 11 songs are, in fact, quite against the grain of the genre's harsh maximal stereotype: Avid dubstep purists, those who crave the filthy intensity of dubstep-proper exclusively, are already quick to discount the release, despite its similarly lurching rhythms with occasionally wonky time signatures. This distinction is crucial to understand: Blake's album certainly is not music for dancing with friends at the club but for listening at home in introspective solitude.

Feature: "Joke candidates" are no laughing matter

Martel College seniors Erik Tanner and Daniel Hays entered the Student Association presidential debate Monday night as "joke candidates," allowed to participate in the forum for their comedic value over their presidential merits. As the debate came to an end and candidates were afforded the opportunity to give a closing statement, Tanner and Hays turned to a more serious tone, offering thoughtful remarks on the state of the university. "There's something amazing at this university - there's a bold, irreverent and funny nature to it, and there's a freedom here that doesn't exist anywhere else," Tanner began. "Unfortunately, that side is starting to die for us - that spirit is starting to wane."

Relish: Lankford Grocery no longer tasty

You know when that sitcom you really, really like starts getting crappy? Like when Jim and Pam got married on "The Office," or when Jessica Biel moved out of her house on "7th Heaven"? We experienced a moment exactly like that when we decided to go review Lankford Grocery, a burger place located in a secret corner of Montrose. Having been there several times before, we were excited to share the experience with the dudes we pay to live with us because we have no friends. Yet, for reasons we don't understand, Lankford wasn't at the top of its game last week. Lankford Grocery, not to be confused with Langford Market (that place that sells women's clothing in The Village), is a hole-in-the-wall burger joint located in what appears to be a condemned house. With floors that curve like waves in the Pacific breaking on the beach in front of you during a beautiful sunset, walking around the restaurant feels a bit topsy-turvy. The overall vibe is like you've been placed in a Norman Rockwell painting, if Rockwell dropped enough acid one day to decide he was M.C. Escher. Actually, the warped floors are a little disconcerting the first time you visit, but after a while they're all part of the charm of this decidedly ?unhealthy establishment.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Photo: Ice fairy

The statue in the fairy fountain between Jones and Brown Colleges iced over Feb. 3. Classes starting after 1 p.m. on Feb. 3 were cancelled, and the university was closed Feb. 4 due to dangerous weather conditions.

Meet the new Jones masters

Three colleges have picked new masters, who will start their five-year term in the 2011-2012 school year. Will Rice College chose Associate Professor of Sociology Bridget Gorman and Mike Reed; Wiess College chose Associate Professor of History Alexander Byrd and Jeanette Byrd; Jones College chose Associate Professor of Linguistics Michel Achard and Melanie Achard. Each week we will feature the new masters of an individual college.

Women move into tie for second in conference

In a conference known for its parity among the 12 schools, the women's basketball team has not won four straight regular season conference games since 2007, a large reason for its Conference USA struggles the last few years. It is hard to rise above .500 - and gain any traction in the standings - if it is impossible to string together victories. The Owls had the chance to get their fourth straight win this weekend, as Southern Methodist University (11-11, 4-5 C-USA), a team in the middle of the pack in the C-USA, came to town. In the last two weeks, the Owls' three straight wins had catapulted them into third in the conference, leaving people talking about the young team that had started playing like seasoned veterans.

KTRU goes HD through KPFT

While the FCC continues to contemplate KTRU's analog future, on Monday morning Rice's radio station will begin broadcasting on KPFT's HD2 channel using KPFT's 100,000-watt transmitter in northwest Houston. The university announced the seven-year agreement with Pacifica Radio, which runs KPFT, on Saturday. KTRU will continue to broadcast on 91.7 FM through its own transmitter until the FCC reaches a decision on whether or not it can be sold to the University of Houston, and it will also continue to broadcast online.KTRU Station Manager Joey Yang said that although HD radio is not currently a widespread technology, the same was originally true of FM radio.