Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Tuesday, April 01, 2025 — Houston, TX

Special Projects



SPORTS 2/4/25 11:13pm

Seniors named semifinalists in NFL’s sports analytics competition

The NFL Big Data Bowl attracts thousands of participants annually. Sponsored by the NFL, the competition provides player tracking data and challenges participants to develop insights to inform real-world football decision-making. This year’s competition focused on pre-snap movement — how players move before the ball is snapped and its impact on gameplay. The competition took place virtually from Oct. 10, 2024 to Jan. 1, 2025.





A&E 2/4/25 11:03pm

Review: “Nickel Boys” is an intimate and potent masterpiece

Oscar season might have crowned Brady Corbet as the new “great American director” for his ambitiously sprawling “The Brutalist,” but with Nickel Boys — his adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel — RaMell Ross stuns us all, staking a bold claim as a visionary, essential voice in American filmmaking. 


A&E 2/4/25 11:02pm

Oscar snubs and surprises

On Jan. 23, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for their annual much-anticipated Academy Awards. Like every year, this slate of nominees was full of snubs and surprises; here are some that the Thresher believed were especially notable.





FEATURES 2/4/25 10:53pm

Dancing with the Owls

It can feel hard to fit in exercise as a student outside of joining an intramural sports team or running Baker 13 in an effort to recoup some high-school sprinter glory. However, though the dance community at Rice may be subtle, its offerings are vast and diverse. 


OPINION 2/4/25 10:46pm

Help undocumented students close to home

President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders increasing border security measures and altering the daily lives of undocumented immigrants. The orders include expanding the use of immigration detention, bypassing immigration judges to fast-track deportations and auditing current federal programs that support allegedly removable immigrants. 


NEWS 2/4/25 10:42pm

Late-night car thief runs from police near OEDK

Students received an alert Feb. 2 near midnight from the Rice University Police Department regarding an active investigation. According to the email, RUPD and the West University Place Police Department were pursuing a male suspect driving a stolen vehicle who then ran, barefoot, to evade police near the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen. The area is no longer being investigated. 




NEWS 1/28/25 11:43pm

In the shadow of NOD: New Wiess public met with mixed reviews

Wiess College hosted Masks After Dark on Jan. 25, its inaugural new public, which debuted months after administration permanently canceled the Night of Decadence. NOD, Wiess’ themed underwear party, had run for five decades — and was so risqué, it allegedly garnered Playboy attention — before excessive drinking and hospitalizations drove the party to its early death in October 2023.


NEWS 1/28/25 11:42pm

Proposed amendments revamp constitution

The Student Association Constitutional Revisions Committee announced four potential constitutional amendments at a Jan. 27 Senate meeting. The amendments include correcting typos, restructuring the blanket tax allocations process, clarifying election rules and potentially reshaping the power structure of the Senate. 




NEWS 1/28/25 11:41pm

Rice Marriage Pact returns for third year

This year’s iteration of the Rice Marriage Pact opened Wednesday, Jan. 22 via email. Matches will be released later this week, according to Allison He, Marriage Pact coordinator. The questionnaire closed at 5 p.m. on Tuesday after a one-day extension due to a “lopsided” respondent pool that would leave 52 heterosexual men unmatched. According to He, 2217 students filled out the survey total.