Special Projects

Campaign messages marked by typography

Eight months ago, I stood on the floor of the Toyota Center, less than 50 feet away from the man who in 10 short weeks will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. The aura that then-Senator, now-President-elect Barack Obama exuded was astounding, not unlike the famed "reality distortion field" that surrounds Apple Inc.'s charismatic Steve Jobs, except instead of making you believe that the AppleTV is a worthwhile product, Obama makes you believe that he is capable of bringing about real change.The stands were filled with people from all walks of life, from all races, from all religions, and they were all chanting "Yes, We Can" and occasionally "Sí, Se Puede" and cheering at his speech. That night, I sent an e-mail to my family that said, "This man needs to be our next president. Don't you think we could use a little bit of idealism, a little bit of hope, in the White House?"

Man on the Street: Thoughts on Obama and more

1. Obama has been referred to by national newspapers as the first "global president." What does this term mean to you, and how should it factor into his presidency?2. What do you think about Obama's ability to bring the United States out of economic recession?

Prepare to relax in The National's post-election glow

For the past month, red, white and blue have covered everything around me. I don't respond well to anything that's shoved down my throat, including elections, and come late fall, compulsory patriotism in the form of flags, American eagles and the words "vote," "maverick" and "change" seem to have replaced the flu as the thing I can't escape.Perhaps that is why I waited so long to listen to The National, the internationally acclaimed indie band playing at the All Rice Picnic today in celebration of Homecoming. Their name sounds so uber-American I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to handle as the election drew closer. While I'd watched a fair share of their YouTube videos and read their Wikipedia article, my exploration of their identity came nowhere near my usual Pitchfork/Spin/Vice/Paste/Rolling Stone review-reading obsession, which involves gauging what the rest of the world thinks of a band and trying to marry those ideas to my own.

Owls are bowl bound again after third win in a row

For only the ninth time since 1961, but the second time since 2006, the football team is bowl eligible. Unlike the 2006 campaign, however, the team did not have to wait until the season's waning moments to qualify. Accomplishing the task after only nine games, the Owls will enjoy a much deserved homecoming celebration tomorrow afternoon at Rice Stadium. The Owls' 49-44 victory over the University of Texas-El Paso last Saturday night in the Sun Bowl gave them the minimum of six victories necessary to play in a bowl game, and gave the senior class a chance at redemption after losing to Troy University 41-17 two years ago in the New Orleans Bowl.

A collaborative feast for your Private Eyes

Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts shows, which have tremendous financial and professional backing, have traditionally suffered low audition turnout because most experienced or talented performers are wooed or pressured into joining their friends' or college's shows months, even semesters, before auditions. On the other hand, the student-run Rice Players are sometimes able to pull a significant amount of talent to auditions but have never been blessed with beaucoup budgets.For the first time, in an effort to bridge the performance gap on a campus already saturated with shows, the two groups collaborated for the first time to produce Ted Dietz's Private Eyes. Hopefully, this is only the first collaboration of many.

Fallout 3: The future's so bright, it glows in the dark

After four long years in development, Fallout 3 finally emerged from the vault last week. Was it worth the wait? Hell, yes.In the game's alternate history, technology after World War II evolved at an incredible pace while American society remained rooted in the idyllic, Leave it to Beaver-esque 1950s, similar to Disneyworld's Tomorrowland, only with the imminent threat of nuclear holocaust on everyone's mind. Nuclear war eventually broke out between the United States and China, and scores of people across America took shelter in giant underground Vault-Tec fallout shelters to escape the destruction and wait for the radiation to clear.

Comic: Cingle Cellularity

Men's XC places third again

The 2008 election was about choosing a new leader for our country. Thankfully, the men's cross country team does not need the Electoral College to let them know who their team leaders are. Rice's strong core of upperclassmen carried the team to a third place finish at the Conference USA Cross Country Championships in Memphis, Tenn., this past Saturday.Senior Aaron Robson finished 11th overall, followed by junior Simon Bucknell, senior Brett Olson, junior Brad Morris and senior Justin Maxwell, for a total of 84 points. The University of Tulsa took the C-USA title with the help of top finisher John Beattie. The University of Texas-El Paso followed in second, despite having only the minimum of five runners on their roster. Head coach Jon Warren (Jones '88) was pleased with the team's overall effort, and said that UTEP and Tulsa simply ran their best races of the season.

Lovett College alum wins seat as Harris County Judge

Republican Ed Emmett (Lovett '71) won Harris County judge on Tuesday, defeating Democratic candidate David Mincberg. Emmett was appointed to Harris County judge in March 2007 by the Harris County Commissioner's court. In 1978, Emmett ran for the legislature and served four terms in the Texas House of Representatives.

''Styrobot'': Michael Salter's new exhibit is too much

Every conceivable size and shape of packing Styrofoam covered the floor of the Rice Gallery on Wednesday in a confusion of cultural refuse, from which Michael A. Salter sought to create order and beauty.His exhibit too much, which opened yesterday in Sewall Hall, consists partly of the gray walls covered in a sea of yellow graphic icons that resemble warning signs with isolated and abstract messages. One icon is an anthropomorphic ice cream cone with the grimace and gloves of a boxer. Another is a gumball machine containing an infant in utero. These images are adaptable to viewers' unique personal interpretations.

Golf surprises pack with third-place finish

This week in California, the Pacific Invitational turned out to be the tournament the golf team was waiting for. The Owls' fall season has been markedly weak despite high hopes after a productive summer and a promising transfer arrived on campus. But on Friday before the team left for California, head coach Drew Scott said he was only waiting for a spark to ignite their fire. "We need to have a good week," he said. "We need to have one good tournament that sparks us. We are on the cusp of breaking through."

Sports Notebook: Baseball finishes preseason play

The baseball team finished the exhibition season undefeated and with a combined batting average of .348 over the four 14-inning games. The Owls' 21-2 win over McNeese State University last Saturday at Reckling Park was the last in a series of two wins over the University of Texas and one over Texas State University.New players continued performing well during this exhibition, as junior Brock Holt, freshman Anthony Rendon, junior Steven Sultzbaugh and freshman Jeremy Rathjen each had three hits. The offensive star of the day, however, was junior Jimmy Comerota. His seven hits and five RBI included one home run and a stolen base. The other Owls who collected multiple hits were freshman Dave Peterson and sophomore Michael Fuda, who had three and four RBI, respectively.

Support not tantamount to blind approval

After months of uncertainty, the longest election in history has come to a close and the country can now accurately identify the next leader of the free world. President-elect Barack Obama, having run a brilliant campaign, deserves all the victory and praise going his way. His triumph was indeed historic, and I will be proud to look to him as my country's leader. But although I am enthusiastic, I do have concerns.Throughout the last two years, Obama promised many things and raised our expectations extraordinarily high. Despite the ostensible closure of his campaign, many Americans still do not know for sure where Obama plans to take this country. Yes, we have heard that he is for hope and change, but, as a newcomer with a short resume, voters approached Obama much like a Rorschach inkblot, seeing what they wanted to see, not necessarily what he is.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Running Baker 13 requires good judgment

While participating in the Halloween edition of the twice-monthly Baker 13 run last Friday, Martel College sophomore Will Meyers won a fight with a Fondren Library window, shattering the entire pane in an enthusiastic effort to make his mark (see story, page 1).While we lament the ordeal Mr. Meyers had to endure while partaking in one of Rice's more notorious traditions, and we cringe at the thought of what his injuries could have been had he jumped facing forwards instead of sideways, we feel we must issue a word of caution to all of those who aim to emulate Meyers in the future.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Sports Notebook: Baseball beats UT

The baseball team continued their preseason success with a 13-6 home win over the University of Texas last Sunday. Rice has now won all three of its preseason games, having already defeated Texas State University 8-4 at Reckling Park last weekend and UT 13-6 in Austin. The Owls will go for an undefeated preseason when they play McNeese State University tomorrow at Reckling Park. After that game, the team has a break until their first regular season contest at California Polytechnic State University on Feb. 20. Rice was able to showcase several of its new players in the scheduled 14-inning exhibition. Coach Wayne Graham sent eight pitchers to the mound in total- freshman Taylor Wall, junior Ryan Berry, junior Mike Ojala, sophomore Matt Evers, junior Zack Harwood, freshman Andrew Benak, freshman Anthony Fazio and senior Jordan Rogers. The lefty Wall started the game and threw two innings, striking out two. Berry tossed three scoreless innings, while Ojala, Evers and Harwood completed two apiece.

Grove dedicated as an escape for students

Warm sunny weather drew students and donors alike out into the open Friday for the formal dedication of the John and Anne Grove. The grove, which covers the area bounded by Will Rice, Hanszen and Sid Richardson colleges and College Way, is the result of a gift by John and Anne Mullens (Hanszen '63 and Jones '64, respectively). The grove is meant to be a place for student interaction, echoing the experience of the Mullens, who first met in the grove while they were students at Rice, John Mullens said at the ceremony. Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman began the dedication by labeling the grove as a place for students to escape from the stresses of school.

Leebron shares faculty hiring plan

President David Leebron spoke to a packed crowd in Duncan Hall last Thursday while delivering his fourth State of the University Address.Citing Hurricane Ike and its aftermath, Leebron said the year has turned out to be a historically different year for Rice. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, classes resumed after the hurricane with 75 percent of faculty and staff on campus. Leebron said this showed resilience and compassion in responding quickly to the storm. After Ike, the campus suffered $3 million in damage.

Swim team falls short in double-dual at Oregon State

Jet lag makes us all a bit cranky and tired, but most of us plan time into our trips for our bodies and minds to recover. For the swim team, relaxation time was not an option as they traveled to Oregon State University this past weekend. The evening they arrived they dove in headfirst and by the end of Friday's meet, they were trailing 56 points behind the rested Beavers. After a night of sleep, the Owls came back out to face OSU for a second day of competition in an additional eight events. Ultimately, though, OSU took first in 13 out of the 17 events and beat Rice 181-136. Tomorrow, nine Rice swimmers will be traveling to Austin, Tex., to compete in the American Swimming Association Open Water Championships. Last year was the inaugural meet and Rice took home the first place title, clinching five of the top nine spots.