Special Projects

Budget cut committee formed

The Student Association is forming a Budget Planning Committee to make sure students have a voice in the fiscal process and to ensure highly valued programs stay despite budget cuts. According to its charter, passed at the March 22 SA meeting, the Budget Planning Committee is charged with "representing the interests of the student body to the Dean of Undergraduates and the Office of Finances on matters having to do with departmental budget planning."

This week's crossword

Complete this week's crossword in this pdf!

Last week's online poll results

Spirituality poll gauges religiosity

The Student Association put faith in its most recent poll, which opened March 8 and surveyed students about perceptions concerning the availability of spiritual resources on campus.Fifty percent of the poll's 250 respondents said they felt spiritual resources at Rice were sufficient, and 40 percent said that they had no problems fulfilling their spiritual needs. However, 80 percent said they would like more online resources available. Currently, there is a database of books and Web sites students can refer to for guidance, but SA Internal Vice President Selim Sheikh said he would like to see these resources expanded.

Adam earns Shirley Crowe Decathlon title

Beer Bike was not the only sporting event that fell victim to last weekend's torrential downpours. Last Saturday's events at the Texas Southern Relays were canceled due to inclement weather, leaving many of the members of the men's track team still searching for their first chance at outdoor track-and-field action of the season. Despite this misfortune, the Owls still competed in the first day of events Friday and put up strong marks in the shot put, hammer throw and 400-meter hurdles.

Last week's online poll results

Health-care reform not immune to flaws

On Tuesday, with the strokes of 22 different pens, President Obama signed into action the Senate's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act in tow. In an era characterized by issues with global implications that can only be solved by the concerted efforts of the world's governments, the passage of this legislation has demonstrated the ill effects of a breakdown of consensus within government, with the winning Democrats resorting to forcing through their desired changes, and the opposing Republicans steadfastly declaring that they will continue to "just say no." The conservative voter base has been whipped into a blind rage by political pundits; liberals seem able only to wring their hands and hope for the best.

Letters to the Editor

Online Comment of the Week

Bounty Hunter fails to capture action aficionados

The good news, ladies, is that your boyfriend might willingly accompany you to see The Bounty Hunter. The title suggests a testosterone-fest packed with action sequences, but The Bounty Hunter is actually a chick flick that features a few guns and a splash of suspense. Granted, the movie's marketers should get credit for using a title that might scam reluctant boyfriends into seeing the film, but be warned: The Bounty Hunter is not an action film.Nicole (He's Just Not That Into You's Jennifer Aniston) is a successful investigative reporter whose sleuthing is cut short when a warrant for her arrest is issued for a minor traffic accident. Bounty hunter - and Nicole's ex-husband - Milo (Law Abiding Citizen's Gerard Butler) re-enters Nicole's life to bring her in for the reward, but on their way back to jail, they begin to fall for each other all over again and unravel Nicole's original case in the process, with some help from Nicole's lounge singer mother (Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife"), Nicole's nerdy co-worker Stewart (Jason Sudeikis, "Saturday Night Live") and local bartender Jimmy (Up in the Air's Adam Rose).

Duncan selects Head Resident Fellow

After months of searching, the Duncan College Head Resident Fellow Search Committee selected History Professor Kathryn de Luna from a pool of 12 applicants as the college's new head residential fellow. De Luna will replace current HRFs Luis Duno- Gottberg and Marnie Hylton, who will become the first Duncan College masters. HRF is a new college position created specially for Duncan and McMurtry College. Although the position is similar at both colleges, with HRFs meant to help masters both administrate and help students, Duncan's HRF will have a special focus on working with new students.

Photo: Jacks are for kids

Houston Mayor Annise Parker (Jones '78) greets members of the audience who were assembled for what turned out to be a jack by Jones.

Cooler talk with Office Party

Fresh off their victory at KTRU's Battle of the Bands last month and in the midst of preparations for their slot in the 2010 KTRU Outdoor Show on April 10, Jones sophomores Shawdon Molavi, Ryan Oringer and Jesus Cortez, and freshman Daniel Sprinkle took a moment from their busy schedules to sit with the Thresher and talk about important topics ranging from eagles to dinosaurs to chinchillas while still leaving time to ponder the band's future.Rice Thresher: So how did you guys form up?

HERE celebrates hip hop in Houston

Rice rolled out the red carpet Tuesday to honor the first recipient of the Houston Enriches Rice Education Project Legacy Award. Students, professors and Houston rappers gathered March 23 in Keck 100 for the ceremony, where a panel discussed the significance and contribution of hip hop in Houston over the last 25 years. Houston Enriches Rice Education, known as the HERE Project, began in 2007 as an effort to help immerse students in culture under the direction of Humanities Professor Anthony Pinn.

Beer Bike rescheduled for Sunday

The biggest player at this year's Beer Bike was not a college, a biker or even one of the coordinators - rather, nature has dominated this year's parade and races. Thanks to Saturday's inclement weather, all of the races but the alumni race have been rescheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.Beer Bike Coordinator Brian Henderson said he and the other Beer Bike coordinators made the decision to postpone the student races because of concerns about safety and how enjoyable the event would be.

Baseball bested by San Diego twice, Texas once

The baseball team traveled to the University of San Diego this past weekend in hopes of extending its three-game winning streak. But the Owls (12-10) were unable to continue their winning ways, dropping the first two games before winning the finale thanks to a late-inning rally on Sunday. However, the biggest result of the week for Rice cannot be found in the standings. Senior pitcher Mike Ojala made a successful pitching return on Friday afternoon, almost exactly nine months after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow.

Women dominate Broncos, look to rematch with Buckeyes

While most of Rice's student body was still in their beds last Sunday, recovering from Beer Bike the day before, the No. 44 women's tennis team had to be up and ready to face old rival Western Michigan University. After a bump in their season last week versus Wichita State University (5-8) and No. 33 University of Tulsa (12-5), the team worked on problems that showed the week before in practice and met to revisit team goals in order to focus the team for the rest of the season.

Despite rain, Will Rice dashes to victory

Thanks to last Saturday's inclement weather, most students participating in this year's Beer Bike parade were soaked even before balloons started flying. Although all of the student races were rescheduled for this Sunday (see adjacent story), the alumni participated in a beer run, which Will Rice College won. Will Rice finished just seconds ahead of Brown College, whose penalties put them behind 16 seconds.

KTRU Top 35: Week of 03.22.2010

Time, schedule management necessary for increased sleep

A social life, good grades or sleep: The joke is that in college, you can only pick two out of three, or you'd exhaust yourself trying to achieve it all. To a college student, sleep is one of the most precious commodities and at times, a temporarily unnecessary luxury.One of the most important things to learn in college is how to manage time effectively. There are so many opportunities that are thrust your way: research opportunities, internships, athletics, being a part of the dozens of clubs on campus or just making the most of the classes you take at Rice with faculty who are at the top of their field. If you are one of those people who want to do it all, you need to know how much you can take on and to what capacity. But in the midst of all your efforts, you need to find time to sleep.

Eater's Digest:Vegging out

There are many reasons people may choose to become vegetarian. They may become vegetarian for health-related reasons, for animal rights, to protest practices in the farming business or simply to try something new. This week, we'll focus on whether or not being a vegetarian is healthier than an omnivore's diet. Although there are different types of vegetarians - pescatarians eat fish, pollo-vegetarians eat chicken, and even so-called "flexitarians" occasionally eat meat - the most common form of vegetarianism is lacto-ovo-vegetarianism, which allows eating eggs and dairy, but no animal protein. This type of vegetarianism will be our focus.