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NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

Parking fees discourage students, campus visitors

By Emily Nichol

Police and ambulance sirens screeching through the heavy Texas air, the blaring roar of news helicopters hurtling to capture the latest development, the blinking lights of state-of-the-art medical buildings, the scent of freshly-ripped construction lumber wafting through the city stench - the metropolitan symbols perpetually resounding through the Rice campus make it easy to forget that the school is immediately surrounded by a residential community. All you need for a reminder, though, is to simply see the people milling about campus. Those in the residential community jog around the outer loop, attend sports events, use the library, come to art shows and populate summer programs with their children, some of whom may eventually go to college here. A few of the neighbors are alumni who loved Houston so much that they got jobs nearby and stayed in the area.

NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

"Let the wild rumpus begin!

By Jackie Ammons

Despite its origins as a children's book, the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are is not a kid's movie. It's dark and deep, melding haunting images with equally haunting themes. Yet the film reminds us of what it was like to be a child - both the good and the bad - and touches audiences in a way that few films can. Based on the children's picture book by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are is the coming-of-age story of a young boy named Max (The Brothers Bloom's Max Records). He struggles in a world in which his mother (The Soloist's Catherine Keener) doesn't understand his "wildness" and his sister (Blue Heelers' Pepita Emmerichs) starts to make new friends and ignore him.

NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

Rice's shot at first victory plundered by Pirates, Navy

By Meghan Hall

After a 63-14 thrashing at the hands of the United States Naval Academy and a 49-13 loss to East Carolina University, Rice has officially hit rock bottom. And with their 0-7 record, the Owls (0-3 Conference USA) have no more excuses left to use. Injuries and inexperience have plagued this team, but the tides are slowly turning in those areas. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Fanuzzi now has two games under his belt after his shoulder injury, while the patchwork offensive line has played three consecutive games together.

NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

Tale of two matches as Owls blank UCF before losing to USM

By Paul Fitzgerald

With their goal of winning Conference USA in mind, the volleyball team entered the weekend looking for two victories to put them near the top of the conference standings. Instead, a five-set loss to the University of Southern Mississippi left the Owls in need of some help if they are to attain a conference championship. Rice (14-6, 6-3 C-USA) enters this weekend again needing a pair of victories to keep alive their hopes of winning C-USA. The Owls will travel to Dallas to take on Southern Methodist University, currently fifth in the conference, this evening. The Owls downed the Mustangs (15-7, 5-3 C-USA) in three sets earlier this season. The team will then head to Tulsa, Okla., to face off against the University of Tulsa. The Owls dropped a home match against the Golden Hurricane (17-5, 6-2 C-USA) two weeks ago and will look for better execution this time around to defeat C-USA's third-place team.

NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

Online-only: Golf team places 9th at Lone Star Invitational

By Paul Fitzgerald

The golf team's run was impressive, recording their first victory since Head Coach Drew Scott was still in school while also finishing fourth at the Squire Creek Invitational.But the run, it appears, is over. With a disappointing ninth-place finish at this past weekend's Lone Star Invitational, the Owls must now look up and down the roster to determine whether or not their hot start was a once-in-a-decade fluke or if their recent falter was just a stumble on the ascent toward respectability.

NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

Pre-National meet brings another challenge to young women's squad

By Natalie Clericuzio

In atypical fashion, the women's cross country team elected to have the bulk of its runners forgo having their first meet at a small event. Instead, six out of the seven runners ran their first 6,000-meter race at the largest meet in the country last weekend, the Pre-National Meet held at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. Fifth-year senior Claire Shorall was the only Owl competing who had run a 6,000 for Rice previously, meaning that sophomores Halsey Fowler, Marie Thompson and Michaela Reynolds and freshmen Heather Olson, Johanna Ohm and Katherine Zebrowski ran the longer distance for the first time in their collegiate careers.

NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

New Moon album brings surprisingly unique flavor

By Eric Doctor

Last month, a news item popped up in my Pitchfork RSS feed that made me do a double-take. The headline read, "Grizzly Bear to appear on The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack."For those who haven't gone outside in the last year, lest the sun reveal their sparkly-diamond vampire skin, Twilight is the popular and poorly-written book series that became an even-more-popular book series after the movie adaptation came out last November. Millions of pubescent girls - and some of my college-aged female friends - fawned over Robert Pattinson, wrote terrible fanfiction and made their own playlists for each book.

NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

Pub incident rouses need for responsibility

By Staff Editorial

Two weeks ago, an incident at Willy's Pub presented the institution with a quandary. The self-imposed decision to keep Pub dry for a week was, we believe, a sound decision, one that allowed Pub to both educate and take responsibility in a successful and obvious manner. While the incident was not necessarily their fault, their response should be commended (see story, page 1).That being said, we are worried that the hesitancy to see the incident repeat itself will push security at Pub beyond reasonable enforcement. As it stands, Pub plans on installing a large sign near the entrance denoting what the possible penalties for infractions entail, which is fine in and of itself. So too are the plans to reinforce checks on drinking ages - including those who already have a wristband. But plans are also in motion for security to check bags upon entering Pub.

NEWS 10/22/09 7:00pm

Photo: Snagging the last bite

 

The Rice Taiwanese Association hosted the annual Night Market Oct. 10, featuring food from Chinatown and Asian-inspired games.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

Erratum

By Staff Editorial

In Alex Bonnel's column in last week's Thresher, "Magnolia League's potential too good to pass up," the attribution of information to Wikipedia was unclear. Background information from Wikipedia began with the start of the column and concluded with the sentence "SMU and Rice were not willing to give up the Cotton Bowl income, and Duke was already heavily entrenched in its rivalry with the University of North Carolina." The two sentences following this section are the opinion of Bonnel, not content from Wikipedia, though there is a reference to the Magnolia League entry in the following paragraph.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

Online only: Youthful squad gains valuable experience at Notre Dame Invitational

By Natalie Clericuzio

When the women's cross country team had their first practice in August with 11 new runners, no one predicted that six of them would be among the team's top nine. However, after last week's redshirting of upperclassmen Britany Williams, Becky Wade, Nicole Mericle and Allison Pye, Head Coach Jim Bevan turned to the numerous fresh faces to step up. Bevan tested the young runners immediately, running five freshmen, three sophomores and one senior at last weekend's Notre Dame Invitational. Not only was the meet highly attended, with 22 schools competing, but it also boasted the most elite competition in the nation last weekend. Ten ranked schools were in the field, including top-ranked University of Washington, No. 5 Princeton University and No. 9 University of Florida.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

Rice-Baylor merger promises unparalleled opportunities

By David Ouyang

On March 26, Rice students received an e-mail formally announcing discussions of a possible merger between the university and Baylor College of Medicine. As the Houston Chronicle noted, these were "serious discussions that could lead to a merger of the state's top private university and one of the country's best medical schools." Roughly two weeks ago, President David Leebron and BCM's Interim President William Butler issued a second e-mail detailing an extension of the initial memorandum of understanding to continue the possibility of a merger.In the intervening six months, a report on academic possibilities was released by a joint committee of Rice and BCM faculty, concluding numerous points. From a research perspective, the proposed merger offers many advantages. The Academic Committee Report highlights the potential for collaborations between BCM's pharmacology department and Rice's chemistry department, a concentration of expertise in neuroscience at both institutions and a possibility of exploring fields previously outside the scope of each individual institution. With significant public interest in national health policy and large federal investments in health information technology, there are many possibilities at the interface of engineering and healthcare beyond the capabilities of individual faculty members.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

Saturday's Sports Update : Football remains winless after 63-14 trouncing by Navy

By Meghan Hall

If at all possible, the Owls seem to have hit a down point in their season. Rice entered the game without a win in its first five games but sunk to a new low after losing to Navy, 63-14.Rice (0-6, 0-2 Conference USA) had possession first, and the Owls' seven-play opening drive ended with a blocked field goal off the foot of Clark Fangmeier. Navy (4-2) took control and within two plays was in the end zone. Quarterback Ricky Dobbs took the first snap and fired off a 51-yard pass, surprising everyone with a counterpart to Navy's run-heavy offense. Dobbs then took the ball in himself from the two-yard line, giving Navy a 7-0 lead it would never relinquish.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

Volleyball earns weekend split with UTEP, Tulane

By Paul Fitzgerald

Since the opening round of the 2005 Conference USA tournament, the volleyball team has had a score to settle with Tulane University. In 2005, Rice swept Tulane 3-0 in both regular-season matches. However, come conference time, the Green Wave pulled out a five-set win over the Owls, knocking Rice out of its first C-USA tournament.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

Rainy weather, Golden Hurricane wash away Owls

By Meghan Hall

Playing though the driving rain in front of a sparse crowd, the football team's Saturday game against the University of Tulsa was about as cheerful as the cloudy skies. When the final seconds ticked off the clock, Rice (0-5, 0-2 Conference USA) had not fallen as easily as it could have, but it still suffered its fifth-straight loss, this time by a score of 27-10 against the Golden Hurricane (4-1, 2-0 C-USA). Yes, Rice's efforts may have prevented the bottom from falling out of the season. But that doesn't mean it's not getting close. Opportunities for wins are dwindling, and as the season reaches its midway point, the contest with Tulsa served as a microcosm for all the problems plaguing the team - plus potential causes for hope.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

Lying leaves much to be desired

By Jackie Ammons

Imagine a world where no one lies; where everyone says exactly what is on their minds. Everyone knows what their friends, bosses and significant others are thinking, making day-to-day activities simple and predictable.And, in the case of The Invention of Lying, exasperatingly unexciting. Despite its efforts at humor, the film, disjointed and bland, becomes as trite and boring as the world it tries to depict.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

Defending champion Martel continues win streak

By Ryan Glassman

Sometimes even the grittiest women must deal with the elements. Of the six scheduled powderpuff games last weekend, Sunday's heavy rain washed out four. But even with a shortage of games, there was still plenty of powderpuff played. Martel College, the defending league champions, entered the weekend at 2-0 coming off a layoff of nearly three weeks. Cast in the spotlight of our Game of the Week, Martel (4-0) faced Will Rice College-McMurtry College as they looked to cement themselves as the favorites to defend their title.

NEWS 10/8/09 7:00pm

The sights and sounds of Austin City Limits

By Maggie Sulc

The Austin City Limits Music Festival, held annually in Austin's Zilker Park, has always been an event for hardcore music lovers. In the past, festival-goers have braved dehydration, September heat and the dust kicked up by thousands of feet bustling to the next stage. Fortunately, ACL's bigwigs decided both of these problems could be fixed: This year, the three-day event was pushed into October in hopes of cooler weather and the city of Austin spent $2 million to cover the historically-dusty Zilker Park in a layer of fresh green grass.As I'd never been to ACL before, the entire concept, to say nothing of the new changes, sounded fantastic. I had heard my friends recount horror stories of the dust clouds and witnessed their horrible coughs upon their return to school.

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