Special Projects

Skyspace gladly received

As part of the Vision for the Second Century, President David Leebron recommended the addition of creative, memorable and impressive art onto Rice's campus, a way of expanding the aesthetic and vibrant aspects of a campus that is relatively lacking, at least compared to peer institutions. Now, with the donation from Suzanne Booth (Hanszen '77), this part of the V2C will see its first major thrust (see story, page 9).Since design specifications are not yet available, we cannot fully throw our weight behind the proposed skyspace. However, from the descriptions made available, we are thoroughly enamored with imagining watching the LED light shows as the Houston sun sets behind Fondren library. James Turrell is a highly-accomplished artist, and we are thrilled that he has selected Rice as his next canvas.

Freshman class largest in Rice's history

Rice welcomed its largest class ever this week as approximately 900 first-year students participated in Orientation Week, 50 more than anticipated and 121 more than in 2008, Vice President for Enrollment Chris Muñoz said. In addition to the influx of extra freshmen, the number of transfer students was also slightly greater than anticipated, with 69 transfers instead of the expected 60 having matriculated this fall, Muñoz said. The larger numbers meant that only two students came off the waitlist this year.

KTRU Top 35: Week of 8.28.2009

Proposed health plan to expand coverage

In the last few months, a Congressman from Maryland was hanged in effigy, a recent GOP vice presidential nominee forecast impending "death panels" - in apparent reference to a provision in a Senate bill written by a fellow Republican - and the eminent physicist Stephen Hawking was drawn into the tumultuous health care reform debate, which has been enveloped by a political black hole of misinformation.Beyond the misleading rhetoric and hyperbolic charges of a "government takeover of health care," our ailing health care system currently faces three central challenges: soaring costs, shrinking coverage and quality of care disparities.

Commentary: One sport untouched by others' transgressions

The priorities of professional sports need some tweaking. When the NFL's biggest off-season story involves the return of a player after completing a prison sentence for cruelty to animals, when the NBA's heir apparent storms off the court without even an interview following his team's elimination, when even the seemingly-untouchable Big Papi comes out as a 'roider, I have to ask myself, "Are there no honorable athletes left?"

A Word With Your Wardrobe: Rice's Fashion Frustrations

I know I'm not the first to say it, but welcome back! I trust that your summers were well spent, lounging about in your best hobo shreds, splashing around half-naked while soaking up some sun or like most of us, pasty as usual in our lab coats. Many of you will, without a doubt and for whatever reasons, continue to sport such uniforms well into the school year. Most of you will do so purely because it's college and you believe no one will care.

Political indifference still pervades Rice

I love Rice. Whenever the Princeton Review rates us as No. 1 for "quality of life," I am thrilled to see our great little Sunbelt secret get such positive national recognition. I am convinced that through the residential college system, we really do have a social structure superior to the traditional Greek or dorm systems.However, there is one thing that really holds us back as a university. Given how dedicated we are to college politics at Rice, we remain somewhat apathetic to national politics and current events. My parents always stressed being well informed and opinionated, but I am embarrassed by the apathy I've acquired here.

RUPD reminds students to be cautious with belongings

In the first few weeks back at school, new classes, friends and social gatherings are most students' top priorities. However, safety and crime prevention should also be on top of the list. The first six weeks of the school year are when students, especially freshmen, are most vulnerable to crime and personal theft, Rice University Police Department Chief of Police Bill Taylor said, adding that this pattern applies to college campuses nationwide."First-year students are the most vulnerable, since they're distracted by social gatherings, classes and situations that they have not dealt with before," Taylor said. "When students come back to school they may be unfamiliar with their surroundings and don't pay enough attention to what they do with their personal property, [such as] new bikes, laptops and iPods."

Letters to the Editor

Online Comment of the Week

Commentary: Aardsma finally finds rhythm in majors

In 2003, Rice reached Shangri- La. The Owls brought home the 2003 NCAA baseball championship, showcasing the unreal pitching of the most talented trifecta college baseball has ever seen. The Big Three - Wade Townsend, Jeff Niemann and Philip Humber - catapulted Rice onto the national scene with their unabashed talent and unashamed verve. Everything they touched, every horsehide-and-stitched ball they burned by hitters, was gold.

New colleges promise growth, opportunities

It's been nearly four years since President David Leebron first unveiled his plans to bring a pair of new colleges into Rice's fold. It's been two years since students first began noticing the signs of construction, from the green fences to the towering cranes. It's been a year since we first began seeing the skeleton of the structures thrown up, beam by beam, mortar and brick and wood alike.At long last, five days ago, McMurtry and Duncan Colleges finally opened their doors to their first classes and began their first foray into the incomparable Rice college system (see story, page 11). They represent the spearhead of Leebron's Vision for the Second Century, a plan to expand Rice's girth and reputation. Sure, there's a tent outside McMurtry that tends to leak when the sprinklers are a bit too strong. And yes, Duncan may have a couple other projects awaiting construction - namely, a servery, but also a fountain (that will hopefully not spray over McMurtry's tent).

Brothers remembered for community service

Stone Taylor Weeks, 24, and William Holt Weeks, 20, died in a car crash July 23 en route to Washington, D.C. The brothers, both researchers at the Baker Institute of Public Policy, were traveling to visit family and friends, and to attend a party celebrating the release of history professor and Baker Institute fellow Douglas Brinkley's new book, The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. Within the history department, Stone worked for Brinkley as a research assistant after graduating with a B.A. in History from the University of Delaware in 2007.

Commentary: Rice sports need and deserve support

Orientation Week and the start of a new school year takes me back to when I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go to college. I was so unsure what I wanted from a school that I didn't make my final decision until the absolute last minute, April 30 of my senior year. At that point, I had pro-con lists galore for my two final schools, a la the decision techniques of Rory Gilmore. While the residential college system was definitely one of the bigger pros for Rice, so was the Owls' NCAA Championship-caliber baseball team.

Baseball's amateur draft takes two former Owls

As the Rice baseball team walked off the field at Alex Box Stadium on June 13, reeling from a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Louisiana State University in the NCAA Super Regionals, the players were already thinking to the arrival of the 2010 season and the new freshman class. However, because the Major League Baseball amateur draft had already taken place, the Owls knew that they stood a fair chance of losing several key components of the team who had fallen to the eventual national champions in two closely contested games.

Financial aid simplifies job search with new board

Finding work in this economy can be a job in itself, from scouring classified ads and bulletin boards to relying on word-of-mouth or random online postings. Finding a job on campus, however, has been streamlined to a single Web site on the Rice Financial Aid Student Job Board. Students can now go online to search for jobs on campus such as office assistants, research assistants, lifeguards or class graders.Students can access the job board at jobs.financialaid.rice.edu by signing in with their NetID under the tab "Applicants."

McMurtry is in tents!

McMurtrians and their advisors mingle outside of their tent commons, waiting for a dodgeball game to begin on Wednesday. To find out how the McMurtrians and their rival Duncaroos are being welcomed into the college system, turn to our four-page spread on Rice's two newest members.

Campus Reaction

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Streep, Adams whip up a winner with Julie & Julia

Two generations parallel each other in the new film Julie & Julia, where two real lives from different times find a connection in the world of cooking. Talented screenwriter Nora Ephron has produced one of her best works, transitioning from her more chick-flick screenplays (You've Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally) to a more historical - yet still lighthearted - film that is as enjoyable as it is clever.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Rice ranks top in quality

We're number one! As detailed in the Princeton Review's new The Best 371 Colleges, Rice ranked at the top in the "best quality of life" category. The rankings were based on a survey of 122,000 students attending the 371 colleges featured in the book. The quality of life ranking was an aggregate of students' assessment of food on- and off-campus, dorm life comfort, campus beauty, ease of getting around campus, relationship with the local community, safety on campus and the surrounding area, interaction between students, friendliness and happiness of students and how smoothly the administration is run.