Special Projects

Review: Like Big Daddy, ‘American Horror Story’ doesn’t disappoint

Admittedly, anticipation was not high for "AHS: NYC," season 11 of "American Horror Story," Ryan Murphy's critically acclaimed horror anthology series. Coming off the heels of "Dahmer" and "The Watcher," both chart-topping Ryan Murphy productions, "AHS: NYC" felt more like a whisper of an afterthought. Devoid of any trailers or promotional material, save for a handful of posters featuring inert and glossy models, limbs splayed, decked out in leather and bondage gear, many fans feared that "AHS: NYC" would mark the final pitstop of the show's downward plummet. 

Review: Declan McKenna concludes U.S. leg of ‘Zeros’ tour with a bang — literally

What I anticipated to be a concert full of unfamiliar fans — myself included (though I hate to admit it) — ended up being quite the opposite. “Brazil” singer Declan McKenna made his final stop on the U.S. leg of his “Zeroes” tour this past Thursday at Warehouse Live here in Houston. The night began with confused fans packed into a separate part of the venue because “soundcheck was taking longer than expected,” and concluded with fans cheering as McKenna completely demolished his guitar on stage during the final song in his set, “British Bombs.” 

Scream for these Haunted Houses

With Halloween right around the corner, here are some of the best haunted houses around the city, from family-friendly frights enjoyable for your most faint-hearted friends to the ultimate horror experience that will have you jumping around every corner. Every owl can find a fun time at one of these haunts, no matter if they shriek at the sight of a monster or are scare connoisseurs who fear nothing. All of these haunts are open through the weekend leading up to Halloween — but be warned, not all are for the faint of heart.

New MFAH exhibit aims to redefine Black power

The Museum of Fine Arts’ new exhibit “Gordon Parks: Stokely Carmichael and Black Power” explores race and power through the lens of Gordon Parks’ camera. The exhibit, which opened to the public on Oct. 15, features a diverse range of Parks’ photographs, which all aim to offer a nuanced perspective of civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael and his advocacy work. 

‘Pride and Prejudice’ adapted for today

Last weekend, Rice Theatre performed Kate Hamill’s unique adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, “Pride and Prejudice.” While the show stays true to the main themes and plot of the novel, it revives the source material through a modern comedic lens. Each member of the small cast gets a chance to shine, often playing multiple characters with hilarious results. Additional performances will be featured Oct. 27 to 29 at 8 p.m. in Hamman Hall.

Support Rice football at homecoming, they’ve earned it

The last time Rice football made a bowl game, the world was singing “Let it Go,” Ebola cases were in the headlines and it had been a mere 52 years since a certain president spoke at Rice Stadium about going to the moon. Yes, 2014 was the last time Rice played postseason football. In the seven full seasons since, the Owls won a grand total of 20 games. But seven games and four wins into this season, they find themselves on the precipice of their first bowl game appearance under head coach Mike Bloomgren. Let’s make sure to show them the support they deserve this weekend.

10-25-2022 Editorial Cartoon

President DesRoches' Vision for the Second Century, Second Decade, Second Year

10-19-2022 Crossword Solutions

10-19-2022 Crossword: "Pretty Neat!"

Student vendors and artists talk first Archi Market

From enamel bunny pins to possum t-shirts to glass earrings, Archi Market has it all. Created by students from the Rice Architecture Society, Archi Market is a monthly marketplace in Anderson Hall featuring pop-up shops where students can sell their artistic creations. On Oct. 17th, the first-ever Archi Market was hosted in Anderson Hall.

Laymon’s terms: Writer, Rice professor named MacArthur Fellow

Last week, celebrated author and Rice English professor Kiese Laymon was announced as one of the 2022 winners of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. According to the MacArthur Foundation’s website, the fellowship provides a five-year grant and a no-strings-attached stipend to a selection of exceptionally creative individuals. A self-described Black Southern writer, Laymon has authored works such as “Heavy: An American Memoir” and “Long Division.”

In the booth with KTRU student DJs

Whether a 24/7 listener or just a fan of the stickers, you’re probably familiar with KTRU, Rice’s student-run radio station. In addition to general broadcasts that play a mix of music, KTRU hosts a wide array of specialty shows devoted to specific genres and musical themes. The Thresher talked to the Rice student DJs behind some of the KTRU shows — both decades-old and brand new — that you can tune into this semester.

Campus reacts to first EOE, NOD in three years

Wiess College’s public party, Night of Decadence, and Chi Alpha’s Evening of Elegance returned after three years this past Saturday. An estimated 1,100 people were in attendance at NOD this year, according to Wiess Social Vice President Christina Chen, and around 350 went to EOE, according to Robin Whitehead, an Evening of Elegance organizer. 

TABC investigation of Pub prompts new policies

Pub was recently notified by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission about possible violations of Texas state law pertaining to underage drinking and the overconsumption of alcohol according to Miles Sigel, the general manager of Pub. 

COMP 378k: Composting continues in serveries, on campus

Since its introduction in 2020, Rice’s composting, in partnership with Moonshot, has diverted 378,005 lbs. of food waste from landfills from its 12 locations on campus and the Rice Graduate Apartments. Starting at just two serveries, the Rice and Moonshot initiative quickly expanded to collecting compost from all the serveries by January 2021. However, the beginning of this composting initiative only collected pre-consumer food waste from the kitchen during meal preparation, and students did not have the option to compost after meals.

RPC finalizes original Beer Bike date after consideration

Despite previous conversations to move Beer Bike to avoid overlapping with Ramadan, during which those participating abstain from eating or drinking during daylight hours, the date is now finalized as the original April 1 date. 

Ryan Dullea, Jones sophomore, remembered

When Ryan Dullea visited the Cockrell Butterfly Center with their friend, they sat on a bench for nearly two hours. As they watched the butterflies’ wings flutter around them, they talked about biology, the beauty of life and what they wanted from their time at Rice. As they sat, each of the butterflies landed on Ryan, pulled towards them just like the many people in their life. 

Ben Rhodes knew he wanted to write; he ended up in the White House

As a member of former President Barack Obama’s senior staff during his eight years in the White House, Ben Rhodes had a hand in crafting many historic foreign policy achievements, from normalizing the United States’ relationship with Cuba to signing the Iran nuclear deal. But according to Rhodes, who spoke on campus Oct. 13 as part of his book tour, one of the administration’s most important foreign policy achievements is rarely discussed: cleaning up unexploded munitions — known as “bombies” — leftover from the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia.

Cross-country tunes up for conference at A&M meet

Their sport may be called cross-country, but the Owls long-distance runners traveled a fraction of that distance on Saturday when they made the hour-and-a-half drive to College Station for the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Rice’s women’s team took 14th place out of 37 teams, while the men’s team took 20th out of 41 at the Texas A&M University-hosted meet, their last before conference. According to men’s head coach Jon Warren, injuries kept his team from performing as well as he would have liked in their tune-up race.