Special Projects

Online only: First women's XC meet cancelled

After eight months of preparation, the women's cross country team will have to wait another week to get their season underway. Rice's plans for the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas, were washed out last Saturday, pushing back the team's opening meet to tomorrow's Rice Invitational.Tomorrow's race - the only home meet of the year - will feature Houston Baptist University, Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University. The meet will begin at 8:20 a.m. at O'Connor Fields near the Jones School.

Men's tennis shows promise for spring

While Assistant Coach Efe Ustundag (Baker '99) was busy firing off "50-year-old" guns as part of his mandatory Turkish military service, the rest of the men's team used the summer as an opportunity to train. Fortunately, Ustundag's conscription lasted only three weeks, so the coach was able to help his players through the varied, though not necessarily difficult, competition at last weekend's Rice Fall Invitational. The Owls netted an impressive showcase at the Invitational, a mixture of singles and doubles draws. Bumped out of Jake Hess Tennis Stadium because of a weekend of rain, Rice sent all but one of its players - senior Bruno Rosa, arguably the most talented of the bunch - to face off with athletes from Louisiana State University, Southern Methodist University, Tulane University and Prairie View A&M University.

Borlaug's legacy leaves lasting lessons

When we think of great humanitarians, we often think of saints. We think of doctors, political activists and retired software tycoons. Many of these people grace the covers of our magazines and promote their causes on talk shows.But the greatest humanitarian to ever live did not sell microchips, did not appear on our televisions and, indeed, never became famous for his work. His name was Norman Borlaug, and he died last Saturday in Texas at the age of 95.

Red Raiders' offensive buzzsaw cuts down Owls

At halftime in last weekend's contest against Texas Tech University, the football team's chances of a comeback looked, if not quite promising, then at least decent. The Owls (0-2) were down 14-3 to a team that finished the 2008 season with the fourth-best offense in the nation, battling amidst the red-swathed sea at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Owls felt good about their odds.

Construction causes cable outages

Duncan College and McMurtry College are not the only colleges which have faced construction troubles this semester. In the past two weeks, the south colleges have encountered issues that include cable and electricity outages and noise and water problems. According to both Project Manager Larry Vossler and Manager of Communications for Facilities Engineering and Planning Susann Glenn, Sid Richardson College and Lovett College have suffered the brunt of the construction discomforts, as they are located near the Baker College and Will Rice College renovations. On the other end of the south campus, both Wiess College and Hanszen College have also run across issues from construction.

Powderpuff opens with Sid win, Martel shutouts

During the long offseason, fans across the Rice campus have resorted to the filler entertainment of professional sports. Thankfully, last weekend provided deprived fans with their wishes: powderpuff. The newest installment of intramural women's flag football officially began last Saturday, but aside from the first use of "tandem teams" - Baker College pairing with Duncan College, Will Rice College pairing with McMurtry College - there were few surprises. Defending champions Martel College shut out both matches of their double-header weekend, but neither of their contests were games of the week. That honor went to the South College Showdown, which saw Sid Richardson College throttle Hanszen College.

Emotions swing for soccer after weekend's games

Only in the sports world can you have your best performance one night and leave slightly disappointed, then give a sub-par performance a few days later but leave the field perfectly content. This is exactly what happened to Rice's soccer team this week. The Owls (2-4-1) suffered a demoralizing defeat Friday night against Oklahoma State University, only to rebound and experience the thrill of a Sunday afternoon victory against the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Longing for home possible to alleviate

No one else seemed to be having a problem. It was as though everyone was okay with living on, what seemed to me, an alien planet - a world devoid of everything I had ever known and loved. I am not exaggerating. College made me feel miserable and terrified, but most of all, alone in my misery and terror.Showing up at Rice was one of the most heart-wrenching moments of my life. And I know you're probably re-reading that sentence to make sure I had written it correctly. Did she say "heart-wrenching?" Is she insane?

Commentary: Robinson's dedication cements heroic status in San Antonio

While most people's TV time this weekend centered on Sunday's 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, I instead turned my attention to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday evening. And while nearly everyone's Facebook and Twitter feeds were clogged with cries of outrage as Kanye West stole Taylor Swift's moment, the NBA world was abuzz following Michael Jordan's speech.In contrast to his Hall of Fame classmates - David Robinson, Vivian Stringer, Jerry Sloan and John Stockton - who focused on thanking the people who had helped them rise to this moment, Jordan used his moment to taunt those who had motivated him during his playing days. As Jordan's speech was the finale for the evening, all who watched were left with a bitter taste in their mouths.

New bike policy aims for safety

Zivick runs into Rice's much-needed leadership role

Like any sports team, class project or '80s hair metal band, Rice's men's cross country team is defined by its leaders, the guys who make the engine run and fix it when it's broken. Senior Scott Zivick is one of those guiding forces for this year's edition of the team. Even before Zivick, 21, stepped through the Sallyport in fall 2006, the Houstonian had shown flashes of what this year had in store. His sixth-place finish at the Texas 5A state cross country meet his senior year of high school, as well as his eighth-place finish in the 1600-meter run at the state track meet were just a few of his prep accomplishments. However, Zivick freely admits that the team experience at Humble High School was nowhere near to the camaraderie and unity he has experienced with the cross country team at Rice.

Online Only: Denver provides relationship advice

Dear Denver, I just realized I like a guy for very superficial reasons. I think he's honest, but I can't tell. After he called me open and straightforward, I started thinking the same about him, but there's nothing to justify that. He's so loyal to, and defensive of, his possessions, and I want him to have that same attitude about me. I admire his social interactions, but I ignore how he acts around other girls, and I ignore the fact that he doesn't make me feel special in any way.

Erratum

In last week's article, "RUPD forced to cut number of officers," the Thresher incorrectly reported that two Rice University Police Department officers were cut due to the 5 percent budget cuts. Only one officer was cut. The Thresher regrets the error.

New bicycle policy necessitates new racks

In early 2008, the Bicycle Safety Committee came together to hammer out a bike policy that would keep bikes moving and pedestrians safe. Eighteen months later, the plan is out, with details finalized and policy enacted (see story, page 1). We look at this new policy as a necessity, for obvious reasons - there have been one too many times when we've been traipsing along the sidewalks, minding our business and chatting with friends on the phone, when a blur flashes in our periphery and, our life flashing before our eyes, we realize just how close we came to eating pavement, at no fault of our own. It's not that the passing bikers carried any malicious intent; rather, they were either distracted or saw themselves as a bit more skilled at maneuvering than we pedestrians perceived.The new policy's stipulations are both sensible and well-known. The bell-and-yell policy is nothing more than common sense, and the bike registration policy, now mandatory, has been on campus for years. The quiz that has been added is a nice touch, reminding students of the requirements before they can endeavor to ride their two-wheelers.

Cleaning staff deserve fair treatment

The two new colleges have gotten off to a bit of a stunted start, with sinks falling off and motion-sensing lights going awry. Now, we have learned that the cleaning staff assigned to the new colleges has put the entire North College cleaning staff in a bind (see story, page 1). No new staff members were hired for the new colleges, straining the current staff and, with the H1N1 virus making its rounds, potentially putting the student body in increased danger of contracting a disease that, as we've seen, has made itself readily apparent.We understand that this was, and always has been, a temporary measure. However, members of the staff claimed they were not told of the plan, meaning that the reshuffling came as a surprise once Duncan College and McMurtry College opened. And while we understand that the process is already well underway to fill the ranks, we feel it necessary to say "thank you" to those who are already chronically underappreciated. Some type of recompense should be in order. After all, if this is to remain one of Houston's best places to work, it would behoove the university to treat its current employees with the respect, and admiration, they deserve.

Students head to D.C. for solar house competition

Decathlons, it seems, are not solely for athletes. In December 2007, the United States Department of Energy selected Rice as one of 20 teams, including international competitors, to compete in the Solar Decathlon, a competition that is designed to prove that solar technology is a viable solution for homes in the future. Rice's entry, the 15-by-50-foot ZEROW House finished last week by a team of students and professors, will be judged by professionals in architecture and engineering during the main event, held Oct. 8-21 at The National Mall in Washington D.C.

Phishing attacks bedevil unwitting new students

The next time you decide to supply a grammatically-challenged Internet stranger with your Rice e-mail password, think twice. Otherwise, you might become yet another victim of a recent string of phishing attacks. Last weekend, a widespread phishing scam netted 14 Rice accounts, 12 of which belonged to new students. Phishing, the practice of trying to obtain personal information by posing as a legitimate entity, is nothing new to Rice, but the past week's incident far exceeded the usual success rate for such scams.

On the Origins of Rice: the Travels of Edgar Odell Lovett

Just over 100 years ago, in the summer of 1908, Edgar Odell Lovett began a journey to "search among the universities of the two hemispheres for the educational and architectural ideas to be incorporated in the new university to be planned in Houston." The university to which Lovett alluded would come to be known as the Rice Institute, renamed the William Marsh Rice University in 1960. Lovett, then head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at Princeton University, was selected by the Rice Board of Trustees to lead the new institute. Assisted by his wife, Mary, and his secretary, F. Carrington Weems, Lovett planned to circumnavigate the world and draw on the knowledge of universities from different international backgrounds. During the trip, Lovett recorded his trip in two blank bound volumes that he brought with him, with carbon-copy pages so he could keep a copy and send the original to the trustees back in Houston, who anxiously awaited his return.

Sprucing up the Pavilion

Opened in 1986 as part of the Ley Student Center expansion, next to the existing Rice Memorial Center, the Farnsworth Pavilion Art Gallery has become best known as a meeting space. Home to countless luncheons, Student Association meetings, dance classes and other random events, few people think of it as a true art exhibition space, especially when there are already two established art venues at either end of campus in Sewall Hall's Rice Gallery and at the Rice Media Center.However, two students are out to change that perception. Hanszen College junior Amy Lin and Lovett College junior Teresa Lee have paired up as the Visual Arts Program Coordinators for the Student Center, responsible for any and all artwork you see hanging throughout the building, from the splatter paintings hanging by Disability Support Services to the "big polystyrene white thing near Coffeehouse." By increasing the amount of student artwork being put on display in Farnsworth this year, both Lee and Lin hope that they can in turn increase the visibility and viability of the pavilion as another venue for exhibits at Rice.

Men win Johnny Morriss Invite

The men's cross country team knew it was going to have to rely on its newcomers for success this season. It just didn't expect their ascension to come about so quickly. The youths on the squad served up an important victory at the Johnny Morriss Invitational last Friday, as sophomore Michael Trejo and redshirt freshman Gabe Cuadra teamed with senior Scott Zivick to lead Rice to a first-place finish on the University of Houston intramural fields. Rice's 31 points defeated Houston's 43, Sam Houston State University's 58 and Houston Baptist University's 81.