Special Projects

Decoded reveals meaning of Jay-Z's lyrics, identity

Shawn Carter's aptly titled book, Decoded, is a deep exploration into his monumental rap identity, "Jay-Z," and the lyrics behind his work. His significant influence not just as a rapper, but also as a businessman, entrepreneur and media mogul is juxtaposed with his violent, drug-ridden beginnings.The book's design, with Carter as the art director, is consistently beautiful. Clean lines and images correspond with the constantly changing topics, and the front cover is a striking all-gold reproduction of Andy Warhol's "Rorschach." Unfortunately, Decoded's excellent design definitely overshadows the storytelling.

Colleges to close Dec. 16

For the second consecutive year, undergraduates living in the residential colleges will have to find another place to stay as the colleges shut down for winter break.The colleges will close from 4 p.m. Dec. 16 until 2 p.m. Jan. 8. During this time, students will not be allowed in the colleges without an escort from Housing and Dining or Rice University Police Department. Resident associates

Moral equivocation of Third World radical groups excessive

As if it weren't obvious already just how far behind the United States the Third World lags in respect for individual rights, two recent events should make it clear.Earlier this month, a Pakistani woman was sentenced to death for blasphemy after neighbors accused her of defaming Muhammad in a dispute over water. Shortly thereafter, a Chinese woman was sentenced to a year of re-education and labor for "disrupting social order" after she mocked anti-Japan protesters on Twitter.

Sports Notebook: Clement, Sendejo shine in pros

When asked the identity of the last Owl to play at Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium, most Rice devotees will reply with names such as Rick Hague (Lovett '11), Ryan Berry (Hanszen '10) or Diego Seastrunk (Will Rice '10), trying in vain to remember which baseball player was the last to run off the diamond after Louisiana State University's comeback win eliminated Rice in the 2008 College World Series. However, these answers would all be incorrect, as former Owl quarterback, Chase Clement (Brown '09), led his Las Vegas Locos to the United Football League Championship over the Florida Tuskers on Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium. While Rosenblatt will soon be demolished, it's clear that Clement's memories of his MVP-winning performance will live on. While Clement began the season as the Locos' third-string quarterback, an injury to starter Tim Rattay helped him elevate himself over unproductive backup Drew Willy as the Locos moved into the playoffs. In the battle with the Tuskers, Clement threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns.

SPAN 101 class reads to children

Students who signed up for Spanish 101 with lecturer Luziris Turi this semester may have expected to just learn introductory Spanish, but they were also given the opportunity to take their Spanish skills out into the community. On Nov. 23, Turi and several of her students went to Dow Elementary to present six short stories they had written to elementary school children in Houston's Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts after-school program."I wanted [the students] to see what they learned in action and, at the same time, to reach out to the community in Houston," Turi said.

Duncan inaugurated

The cheers of Duncan College students filled the air Nov. 19 as members of the Rice community gathered to celebrate the official inauguration of Rice's 11th residential college. Charles Duncan ('47) and his wife Anne attended the formal ceremony which recognized their $30 million contribution which the made Duncan's construction possible.Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson introduced the event and a procession of the presidents of the other 10 colleges, accompanied by members of their respective colleges. Chairman of the Rice Board of Trustees Jim Crownover introduced President David Leebron, who said a few words of thanks to the Duncans and emphasized the importance of the residential college system to the university.

Classic Flicks: Reiner's This is Spinal Tap

When talking about my favorite comedy films with friends, I sometimes forget that not everyone has seen This is Spinal Tap. Only grossing $4.5 million when it was released in 1984, This is Spinal Tap has been awarded a so-called "cult" status. However, This is Spinal Tap has had tremendous influence on the current generation of comedy. A world without This is Spinal Tap would mean a world without other "mockumentary"-style movies or TV shows like "The Office" (both the U.K. and U.S. versions), "Flight of the Conchords" or Borat. Since their film debut, the band Spinal Tap has released albums, played sold-out concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena and appeared on "The Simpsons." At least among comedians, the cult of Spinal Tap is a large one. David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean, "Laverne and Shirley"), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer, Godzilla) and Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest, Waiting for Guffman) form the musical trio Spinal Tap, who believe they have finally found their niche in the heavy metal genre after starting out as a 1960s folk group. A documentary crew follows Spinal Tap in their attempt to make it as a band. It is a journey riddled with mishaps, misunderstandings and miscommunication.

Wikipedia truly deserves your donations

Every year around this time, a banner appears on Wikipedia's page, usually reading something along the lines of "A message from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales." Over the past four or five years, I have clicked on it, read Wales' appeals to donate to Wikipedia and then proceeded to look up my information without giving it a second thought. I can imagine others have done the same and I hope that this year, we will change our ways and not simply ignore Jimmy's request. Being asked for money from fundraisers can often be uncomfortable and sometimes even downright annoying. It often feels like you're being accosted or that people are relying on guilt in order for you to support their cause. In Wikipedia's case, however, guilt or pity are not the feelings that entice me to donate.

Transformed Night Market attracts

Red hand-painted lanterns and white fairy lights dotted the sky above the annual Rice Taiwanese Association Night Market, which was held at the Farnsworth Pavilion and the adjacent Brown Garden Nov. 20. More than 300 students participated in the Night Market, which required $5 for admission for the first time this year."We wanted to recreate the noisy, bustling, sensory-rich atmosphere of a real Taiwanese night market," Rice Taiwanese Association Co-President Allen Liao said. "We didn't want it to just be a take-food-and-leave kind of event, so we really changed it up from previous years to encourage people to stick around."

This week's Editorial Cartoon

EWB founder lectures

Engineers without Borders founder Bernard Amadei, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, came to Rice as the first guest in the President's Lecture Series to talk about engineering for the poorest 90 percent of the world."The kind of engineering I'm going to talk about focuses on the needs of 5 billion people," Amadei said. "Five billion people whose job is to stay alive."

Students attend TSA

For the first time, a delegation of Rice students was invited to a meeting of the Texas Student Association in Austin Nov. 6. SA President Selim Sheikh, Student Life Committee Chair Ben Chou and Baker College Senator Maria Pickett comprised the delegation. TSA has brought public university student associations from across the state together since 1948, but has been inactive since the early '90s, Sheikh said.

Men's basketball falters against top squads

If the men's basketball team hopes to improve upon its 2009-2010 win total, the turnaround will have to begin in the games that come down to the final possessions. After going just 1-5 in games decided by five points or fewer a season ago, the Owls can begin to turn around their overall fortunes by closing out games with better play. But after three road losses by a combined seven points, Head Coach Ben Braun's squad is yet to buck the trend of late-game struggles.

Rice scholars impress

The Thresher would like to commend three graduating seniors, Will Rice College seniors Ye jin Kang and Anthony Austin and Sid Richardson College senior Jingyuan Luo, for achieving an array of academic honors never received by one graduating class (see story, page 8). For Rice to have two Marshall Scholars and one Rhodes Scholar in the same year is a testament to Rice's academic prestige, and these three students have certainly made this university and its students proud. They have bettered Rice in their time here and the Thresher wishes them the very best going into the future.

1 Rhodes, 2 Marshall scholars win

Three seniors will head to the United Kingdom next year to pursue graduate studies on Rhodes and Marshall scholarships. Will Rice College senior Ye jin Kang is one of 32 American Rhodes Scholars this year. Will Rice senior Anthony Austin and Sid Richardson College senior Jingyuan Luo are two of the 31 students nationwide who have been selected as Marshall Scholars."This is really an exciting year," Caroline Quenemoen, director of Fellowships and Undergraduate Research, said. "I believe this is the first time that we've had two Marshall Scholars in one year, and I believe it might be the first time that we've had a Marshall Scholar and Rhodes Scholar in the same year."

Honor council changes parts of CPS

The Honor Council met Nov. 21 to discuss and ratify the Honor Council Consensus Penalty Structure that will take effect in the spring semester.Honor Council External Vice Chair Kaleb Underwood said that the Honor Council included "in violation" and "not in violation" as one of the factors that the Honor Council cannot consider in order to prevent charges held against a student pleading in violation, because the accused should always be allowed to make a defense. Underwood said that historically, a student's plea had been looked at in different ways, but as recent as in the past four or five years, it has become an unwritten rule that it should not be considered in determining the penalty.

RIP, Dobby

Watching Harry Potter is a lot like going back home for the holidays and seeing old friends. Our generation has known and followed the adventures of Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) as they have made their way through Hogwarts and the magical world at large. The newest installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, is not perfect, but it is a solid addition to a series that has helped define our collective childhoods. For the three of you reading this that don't already know the plot by heart, the movie follows Harry, Ron and Hermione as they skip their seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to search for and destroy dark objects known as horcruxes, fighting the evil Voldemort in what has become an all-out magical civil war. Being a Harry Potter film, the three must also contend with their budding teenage lust in some of the film's weakest scenes. Unlike the earlier films, the mood of the movie is mostly somber and several sympathetic characters die. Audience members unfamiliar with the other movies or books will find the plot incomprehensible, as director David Yates does not waste any time on establishing background knowledge.

EMS calls increase

This semester, Rice Emergency Medical Services saw a significant increase in the number of calls for help they received. According to REMS Captain Hashim Zaidi, this increase included alcohol-related episodes and general incidents across the board. Representatives of REMS and RUPD said that certain aspects of this rise have raised concerns about Rice's alcohol culture and their own resources.According to Zaidi, a Will Rice College senior, the number of intoxication incidents has grown, from public parties to crawls to private parties, and REMS Senior Lieutenant Amir Nikahd said that most of the calls occurred on weekends. REMS Lieutenant Wilhelm Kienast said that there was a 15 percent increase in calls this academic year, and Zaidi attributed the increase in call volume to a variety of causes, from the larger student body to more on-campus visitors to the popularity of Four Lokos, caffeinated alcoholic beverages that received attention in the media for causing the hospitalization of multiple college students.

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

Women's basketball grabs two wins over break

Despite playing two of the top teams in the country, the women's basketball team is above .500 seven games into the season, giving Head Coach Greg Williams a big reason to be happy with the play of his team. Despite a setback against Texas A&M University (5-0) the weekend before, the Owls came out storming in the Georgia State Thanksgiving Tournament, winning the event and returning both the championship and MVP trophies to their locker room.