Special Projects

Transition to online journalism inevitable

The world of print journalism is evaporating. The paper versions of The Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer are gone forever; my hometown newspaper in San Antonio, the Express-News, now has a staff roughly the same size as that of The Rice Thresher. Time reports that the Boston Globe is losing $1 million dollars a week, and rumor has it that even the The New York Times is burdened by enormous debts.Many news outlets, like the Post-Intelligencer, are switching to online-only formats. Those print media sources lucky enough to survive write columns about the inferiority of Internet news sites. An April article by Atlantic Monthly reported, "In a poll of prominent members of the national news media, nearly two-thirds say the Internet is hurting journalism more than it is helping." One anonymous respondent told Atlantic that the Internet "has blurred the line between opinion and fact and created a dynamic in which extreme thought flourishes while balanced judgment is imperiled."

Sports Staff Soundboard: Do you think Brett Favre will make it through the full 16-game NFL season

Online only: Denver dishes out Screw Date ideas and parent problems

Dear Denver, I love my roommate, but she always brings her boyfriend to our dorm and that bothers me because I'm trying to study. I know that the best way is to communicate with her, but I am afraid that she would be unhappy about it and I would be uneasy whenever I am around her boyfriend. Please help me.

Erratum

In the Aug. 28 article, "New BRC opens OC," the Thresher reported that architect Michael Graves designed the BioScience Research Center. The BRC was designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill LP and FKP Architects, Inc. The Thresher regrets the error.

Volleyball picks up early wins at Mizuno

If the first weekend of the volleyball team's season is an indication of the rest of the season, the Owls can mark their calendars for the NCAA tournament. Rice (4-1) opened its season with a bang, winning three of its first four matches in its own Mizuno Invitational, with the lone defeat coming at the hands of the University of Oklahoma. The Owls tacked on a victory against Sam Houston State on Tuesday. Rice played stellar defense throughout the matches, notching 32 blocks and 340 digs in the five matches. Furthermore, their hitting efficiency was on target with what they expected. Nonetheless, the Mizuno Invitational gave the team some areas they need to work on. In addition to their communication and movement, the Owls will look to improve their service game and blocking in practice before they head to San Francisco to continue their season this weekend.

More weekly news photos

Sports Staff Soundboard: What is your prediction for the Rice football team's 2009 season

KTRU Corner: Isis' Wavering Radiant

In the words of Isis frontman Aaron Turner, heavy metal has "long been unjustly maligned as solely the province of knuckle-dragging meatheads." Although Isis keeps intact the dark lyrical themes, heavy guitar riffs, aggressive percussion lines and high levels of feedback that have made metal a somewhat disreputable genre, the band has managed to craft a distinctive sound that demonstrates metal's extraordinary versatility and artistic strength.Though the band is rooted in the sludge and hardcore styles of bands such as Neurosis, Godflesh and the Melvins, Isis' 2002 release Oceanic has been called a progenitor of the art metal, post-metal and metalgaze subgenres. Turner himself has been resistant to categorizing Isis in interviews, and once dubbed their sound "thinking man's metal."

A Closer Look: Scouting the schedule

Road trip leaves soccer still scrounging for victory

Two games, zero goals. Not exactly how the soccer team was expecting to complete its first road trip. It was a scoreless weekend for Rice's offense over the weekend as the team dropped a pair of 1-0 games, first to Marquette University and then to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. But Head Coach Chris Huston believes there was plenty of good that came out of the tough roadtrip.

Houston Summer Fest a hot, sweaty success

Houston has a lot going for it: late-night dining options, world-class museums and, of course, Rice University. But let's face it - Houston ain't exactly hip. So when over 20,000 Houstonians came out of the air conditioning to dance under the blazing sun in a weekend jam-packed with both big-name and local bands, the city had a reason or two to celebrate.

Letters to the Editor

Online Comment of the Week

Rice Football 2009: After best season in a generation, Owls bring plethora of questions in search of postseason repeat

Last season, Rice's football team reached its highest high since the days of Eisenhower and leather helmets. Everyone knows the list of accomplishments: the second bowl game in three years; the first bowl victory in over 50 years, coming only three miles from campus; a pair of talents drafted into the NFL, one to Jacksonville and one to Houston. It was a magical season. No one is debating that. But that was then. As the 2009 season beckons, the questions swirling around the team are too numerous to count. Graduation wreaked havoc on the team, and the Owls are more untested as it has been in the last four years, especially on offense. The defenses' eight returning starters are comforting, but Rice has had more than its fair share of struggles on that side of the ball. Nonetheless, Conference USA, without a clearcut favorite, looks to be open to whoever wants the title the most. Here, in a position-by-position breakdown, are the reasons Rice might just make it back to the postseason.

Farewell, Eugene Levy

It is difficult to imagine Rice without the influence of Provost Eugene Levy (see story, page 1). Once upon a time, Rice students were notoriously wary of venturing beyond the hedges. Then Levy fronted the Passport to Houston program, which began in 2005, and the city's doors were thrown open. Likewise, when President David Leebron arrived on campus, his Vision for the Second Century was nowhere near the fleshed-out agenda it now represents. It was with Levy's backing that a pair of new colleges and an increased student body now call Rice home.Levy's influence has been heavy over the last decade, and it is readily apparent to see that the programs and ideas he has pushed have reaped dividends for both students and faculty. His presence was always behind the scenes - most mistook him for the eponymous star of American Pie - but without him, Rice would be nowhere near the leading institution it is today. After a decade's worth of work, Levy deserves this upcoming sabbatical as much as anyone. He will be missed over the next year, but we hope he finds the relaxation and revitalization his work merits.

Financial aid increases while applications surge

Despite the economic downturn, the Office of Financial Aid has increased the amount of aid it is offering students by several million dollars this year, Student Financial Services Director Anne Walker said. Though the office is awarding more aid than it did last year, Walker said students do not have a significantly greater need for aid than in years past. Instead, more families have special circumstances due to the uncertain economy that are causing more students to apply for aid, she said.

IKEA changes font, image

With more than 175 million copies printed every year, the IKEA catalog is the world's most-published non-fiction work, outpacing the Bible by more than three times. It showcases clean, modernist design at affordable prices, and for five decades not very much about the catalog has changed.Until now.

Texting while driving idiotic, dangerous

Abbreves (or abbreviations) have consumed the world of speedy communication, from e-mails to instant messages to text messaging. However, even if it's possible to say "I love you" in three characters (ilu), that does not make it any safer to text while driving, no matter how proficient your no-look keypad skills may be.Fortunately, lawmakers feel the same way, as media outlets have recently been clogged with an influx of stories about legislation banning texting while driving. Several states have already made texting while driving illegal. In Utah, for example, mixing texts and driving could get offenders up to 15 years in jail if they hit someone. In addition to bans at the state levels, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York is pushing a bill outlawing the practice nationwide.

This Week's Editorial Cartoon

Levy leaves provost post

Without Howard Hughes Provost Eugene Levy's influence, Rice, as both a university and a campus, would be noticeably different. Levy's work with the Passport to Houston program, the Vision for the Second Century and the BioScience Research Collaborative has shaped Rice into the institution it is today. As such, his announcement Tuesday that he will be stepping down at the end of this academic year marks the end of a remarkable and prolonged career, President David Leebron said.

Rice's shanty town: from riches to rags

Two dollars will not buy you a latte from the Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion, but it will be the per-diem budget for a group of students next week who will mimic poverty firsthand. In a simulation of Third World shanty towns, dozens of Rice students will be encamped in makeshift housing near Brochstein Pavilion next week. This past summer, students from Engineers Without Borders and Rice MicroFinance tackled logistics for the $2 A Day Challenge, working with a number of administrative organizations: Housing and Dining, Rice University Police Department, Facilities Engineering and Planning and Vice President for Administration Kevin Kirby.