Special Projects

Women knock off first top-20 foe in ten years

The women's tennis team's matches against No. 4 University of California-Los Angeles (9-1) and Pepperdine University (3-5) two weeks ago - matches in which the Owls (5-3) won a total of just two points - seem to have been exactly the kind of wake-up call the team needed. After seeing what it's like to play championship-caliber teams, Rice has been on a roll: the Owls have won their past three matches, two of which came over ranked opponents.

Tuition hike inflicts financial burdens

Rice recently announced that it is perpetuating a disheartening trend in tuition hikes, increasing undergraduate tuition by 5.4 percent for the 2010-11 school year to reach a whopping $33,120 (see story, page 1). This continues the university's decades-old pattern of steadily increasing tuition year after year, often without regard to the national economic picture or external considerations of its students. In the past 10 years alone, the increases have combined to entail more than a doubling of undergraduate tuition. The latest increase is, frankly, insensitive. The administration has spent the past year preaching about the difficult economic situation in justification of multiple budget cuts. Since the fall of 2008, we have endured cuts in academic departments, budget reductions in the residential colleges, staff-wide hiring freezes, the non-renewal of contracts and the elimination of many courses. Times are hard, we're told, so we simply must learn to do without luxuries such as newspapers and college courses taught by professionals.

Late-night Hoot turns quick profit

Late-night munchies beware: The Hoot has its target set on after-dark hunger. Since the student-run late-night eatery opened Jan. 11, it has become the go-to spot for night-owl students to buy food and drinks. Open Sunday through Friday from 10 p.m.-2 a.m., the stand sells subs from Jersey Mike's, fountain drinks and full or half-portions of large pizzas from Domino's.

Men last in conference

All young teams are plagued with the unwelcome guest of inconsistency, and the men's basketball team has been no exception throughout its 13 conference matches this season. On any given night, its rebounding can be dominant or pathetic, its posts can be unstoppable or asleep and any team member can put up 15 points or put up goose eggs in every statistical category. Yet the one thing that has come in unwaveringly long streaks has been a plethora of losses. And while on any given night the players can point to poor transition defense, lack of concentration or uninspired offense as the culprit, the constancy of losing beckons Head Coach Ben Braun and his staff to find the underlying missing piece of the puzzle.

Last week's online poll results

Online only: Faculty Senate minutes

The following were noted at the most recent meeting of the Faculty Senate Feb. 24.

Return to Rapture

Let me preface this review by saying that the original BioShock, released in 2007, is one of my favorite games. Of all time. I was completely caught up in the game's creepy art-deco atmosphere, the hostile beauty of the underwater city of Rapture and the engaging, thought-provoking and moralistic plot.So when BioShock 2 was announced less than a year later, I had every right to be skeptical. The original BioShock garnered Game of the Year awards from dozens of media outlets - how could the sequel improve upon perfection? The fact that the sequel's production was being handled by a different developer and the addition of a seemingly superfluous multiplayer mode did little to convince me that BioShock 2 wasn't just riding the coattails of its predecessor in an attempt to make some quick cash.

Saturday Sports Update: Baseball continues to roll with 4-3 win over Nebraska

The Rice baseball team opened its season on a four-game losing streak, but the Owls rebounded last night with a 7-2 win over Elon in the Rice Invitational. They continued their success into tonight's came against Nebraska, coming away with a 4-3 win.The Cornhuskers got their bats swinging early against sophomore starter Taylor Wall. The southpaw looked to be working his way out of a first-inning jam, but with two runners on, two outs and a 3-2 count, catcher Patrick Tolentino lined a single into center to score two.

Tuesday Sports Update : Fazio gets Rice win over Sam Houston State

With eight wins in its last nine games, the baseball team is on a roll. Tonight marked the start of a six-game homestand, and the Owls (8-5) kicked it off with a bang, quickly disposing of Sam Houston State University 8-1. Rice was efficient both in time and in scoring, besting the Bearkats (3-10) with nine hits and eight runs in just over two hours.Redshirt freshman Anthony Fazio (1-1) got the ball for ninth-ranked Rice for his second start of the year and picked up his first career win. Entering tonight's game, Fazio had previously forfeited five earned runs over 0.2 innings in three appearances, including a shaky first start against Lamar University Feb. 24.

East Coast woes beset tennis

Two weeks ago, the men's tennis team thrashed a pair of ranked opponents at home by a combined score of 12-2. Last weekend, on the road, Rice (5-3) ended up on the other side of the 12-2 score against another pair of ranked foes. What a difference a weekend can make.

Owl Bowl offers opportunity to assist the visually impaired

When I graduate in a few months, my mom will be bringing baked treats for my masters, embarrassing me in front of my friends and smiling in pride when I receive my degree and skip through the Sallyport. She'll be doing the things that a mother of a 22-year-old should be doing, and better than I ever could have asked.But she won't be seeing me in the same way as the rest of my family.

Photo: Find me some body to love

Martel College junior Noemie Levy performs an original piece at the "Love Your Body Monologues" at Willy's Pub Wednesday.

Women finally shake off years-long road struggles

On Feb. 23, 2008, George W. Bush was still president, half of the undergraduates at Rice were still in high school and Duncan College and McMurtry College were mere glimmers in Leebron's eye. That date was also the last time the women's basketball team won a Conference USA road game, a streak that had to be reversed if the Owls were to have any hope of climbing into the top half of the C-USA standings. Rice (12-14, 6-7 Conference USA) had two prime opportunities to break the 15-game losing streak this weekend, facing two struggling teams. The Owls began the swing with a contest against the University of Central Florida, then heading to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on the University of Southern Mississippi.

Owls' opening weekend dampened by Cardinal rule

Head Coach Wayne Graham took his team out to Stanford University last weekend in hopes of presenting his squad with a good early-season challenge. But after a disappointing sweep at the hands of the Cardinal (4- 0) and a 13-7 loss to a mediocre Lamar University team, Graham is suddenly the one facing a number of challenges. Following a weekend of poor starting pitching, inconsistent offense and shaky defense, the Owls (0-4) are off to their worst start since 2000. The Owls' season opener started with a bang, but the success for Rice was short-lived. In the first at-bat of the season, freshman second baseman Mike Ratterree drove a 3-1 offering over the left field fence, giving the Owls the early 1-0 lead.

Search begins for first McMurtry RA

After narrowing down its search for new master candidates, McMurtry College is now looking for a Resident Associate to join its growing community. The candidate selected will join the soon-to-be-determined masters and Lisa Balabanlilar, McMurtry's current Head Resident Fellow, in providing leadership for McMurtry.

Saturday Sports Update: Owls fall to UCF in nail-biter

Senior Cliff Ghoram stood as Rice's only senior today in the team's final game at Tudor Fieldhouse against the University of Central Florida. He put up 13 points in a nail-biting 66-59 loss. Sophomore Connor Frizelle led both teams with 19 points. The first half showed why they say that basketball is a game of runs. Unfortunately for the Owls, none of their runs could be sustained for long enough to grab a lead. UCF got out to an early 11-4 lead thanks to a medley of errors coming from the home team. Turnovers came from junior Suleiman Braimoh and freshamn Arsalan Kazemi. Freshman Tamir Jackson set the dismal tone of the game with two missed free-throws, and no one could seem to put the ball in the net.

Letters to the Editor

Online Comment of the Week

Online only: Leebron holds town hall, discusses budget cuts, tuition increase

In an address to over 500 people during his Town Hall meeting Thursday, President David Leebron spoke about budget cuts, tuition raises and the decision not to merge with the Baylor College of Medicine.Though citing the fact that the endowment lost approximately $1 billion during the recession, it has started to recover, leaving Rice still on track for Vision for the Second Century mission, Leebron said.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Renovations finally set to begin on Huff House

Sitting under the shade of oak trees, Huff House has been awaiting renovation since the start of the academic year. Plans have been delayed due to a change in contractors, but with the recent approval from the City of Houston, construction can now begin and is still expected to be completed by mid-summer, the original construction deadline. The original plan was to begin renovations in December, according to Joujou Zebdaoui, project manager for Huff House construction. Facilities, Engineering and Planning first submitted their proposal for Huff House, formerly O'Connor House, to the City of Houston Plan Review Division in September to work with Miner-Dederick Construction Ltd. However, when Miner-Dederick came back to Rice with the projected cost for the renovation, it was greater than the budget for the project.