Special Projects

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. joins Rice Carbon Hub research initiative

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, also known as Aramco, recently joined Rice University’s Carbon Hub research initiative, a program that focuses on the development of sustainable uses of hydrocarbons to further the energy transition.

NESB construction remains on schedule amid other delays

The New Engineering and Science Building construction remains on schedule despite the recent disruption of multiple construction projects at Rice caused by pandemic-induced supply chain and inflation issues.

University Court rules in favor of SA president Gabby Franklin

The University Court verdict regarding the Student Association presidential election unanimously found Gabby Franklin not in violation of any campaign bylaws, UCourt Secretary Shivani Kulkarni announced at the April 4 Senate meeting. 

Beer Bike 2022: Hanszen wins women's, Jones wins men's, crash raises track safety concerns

Beer Bike 2022 polls

Beer Bike is quickly approaching, and the Thresher wanted to know which college is likely to win (and get disqualified). These are the results of our polls.

03-30-2022 Crossword: "Beeeer Biiiiike!"

03-30-2022 Crossword Solutions

Rice, Methodist join forces for research center in Tudor

Earlier this month, Rice announced a partnership with Houston Methodist to create a center for athletic performance at Tudor Fieldhouse where physicians, researchers and students will study athletic performance from a scientific lens. According to Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Dean Miller, the plan for a performance center has been a part of Rice’s long-term vision.

Beer Bike shirt designers talk inspiration

The festivities of Beer Bike pick up and will continue throughout the week, and Beer Bike itself quickly approaches this Saturday, April 2. Students will don their college Beer Bike as their college teams race around the track and vie for one of the most hotly contested titles at Rice — champions of Beer Bike 2022. For the first time since Beer Bike 2019, eager students will be able to not only wear their college’s shirt but will be able to display the designs with pride while they cheer on their college biking and chug teams. The artists and designers behind the Beer Bike shirts emailed the Thresher about their inspiration for the shirt as well as the thought that went into the design process.

Acappellooza raises vibrations in this year’s showcase

Last Saturday, March 26, Rice’s five a cappella groups combined forces for an evening of performances that couldn’t have been more pitch perfect. The Philharmonics, Basmati Beats, Nocturnal, the Apollos and Low Keys each took the Grand Hall stage to perform their sets featuring creative arrangements and mashups of popular hits. The groups came together at the end of the evening for a joint performance of Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open,” with singers from the featured groups alternating solos.

Black-owned beauty: Explore these brands owned by Black women

The beauty and wellness industries are worth billions of dollars, but despite their massive consumer base, there has been a lack of dialogue surrounding inclusivity in product design and marketing up until very recently. Many Black women-owned beauty businesses are working to make the beauty industry more inclusive. Here are just a few beauty and skincare brands owned by Black women to invest in after Women’s History Month is over, including those that call Houston home. 

Heard around campus: Beer Bike 2022

The Thresher asked students from across campus for their thoughts, predictions and preparations for the full Beer Bike since 2019. Here are some things they said.

Colleges celebrate Beer Bike Week

In the week leading up to Beer Bike, each residential college hosts a variety of events for their students centered around their respective themes. The Thresher spoke to the Beer Bike Coordinators at each college to hear about their plans for the week.

Women’s tennis suffers dry spell over weekend in the desert

The No. 49 Rice women’s tennis team could not pull off two upsets during their west coast trip, losing to No. 48 University of Arizona 4-3 and No. 32 Arizona State University 4-0 last weekend. According to junior Maria Budin, while the results were not what she and the team wanted, learning from this road trip can move the team forward. 

Rice hosts Lopez Classic for first time in three years

Athletes from nine colleges and over 25 high schools took over the Ley Track at Holloway Field over the weekend, as the Victor Lopez Classic returned to campus after a two year hiatus. The event, which was the first hosted by Rice this season, started on Thursday afternoon and ran nearly all day Friday and Saturday. According to Jim Bevan, head coach of the women’s team, it was great to race in front of a home crowd. 

Y2K Review: Not enough trifling, tomfoolery, or other mischief

‘The Lost City’: A Crowd-Pleasing Comedic Hit

“The Lost City” is a well-crafted adventure-comedy perfect for casual viewing. Though by no means transcendent, “The Lost City” lives on the excellent timing of its jokes while giving surprisingly insightful commentary on the adventure genre. Though not a full parody, the film’s self-awareness allows for moments of true hilarity while leaving room for heartfelt scenes. Throughout the film, there were genuine moments of laughter from the audience in the theater. I believe this movie is one of the best comedies of the year so far and one that I would highly recommend. 

Y2K Style: Check out these 2000’s inspired outfits

It has been two long years since the last public, but after much waiting and anticipation, McMurtry finally held the first public of the year this past Saturday March 26: Y2K. Donning butterfly clips and fishnet, jerseys and glitter, Rice students drew inspiration from decades-olds trends for the party. The Rice community submitted their best 2000’s-inspired outfits from the weekend to the Thresher for us to compile.

War in Ukraine: Blame America’s oligarchs as well as Russian counterparts

While life at Rice seems to return to normal, we must all comprehend that Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed hell on Ukraine. Countries including the United States are sanctioning Russia's oligarchs, whose concentration of immense wealth suffices to fund Putin’s war. But those rich Russian terrorists have not acted alone. Decades of wrongdoing by America’s oligarchs, due to our failure to control their greed and power, have also enabled Putin’s present holocaust in Ukraine. 

Unclear election rules hurt everyone

As it stands under the Student Association election rules, candidates are not allowed to send mass campaign emails, and included in this rule is anyone campaigning on behalf of the candidate. During this year’s SA presidential race, Rice PRIDE endorsed candidate Gabby Franklin, a choice they then shared with their members via an opt-in Listserv. This is now the subject of the recent complaint by former Will Rice College senator William Tsai who claims that the endorsement email was a violation of SA election rules. The case will be brought to University Court this upcoming Thursday, March 31.