Maddy Scannell

OPINION 4/14/20 3:57pm

Believing survivors is not a political convenience

By Maddy Scannell

I said I wouldn’t write another opinion for the Thresher after the Facebook comments I received for a submission about Brett Kavanaugh. Kind of feels like shouting into the void, anyway — am I really going to change someone’s mind who doesn’t want to listen to folks who say they’ve been sexually assaulted? But I’m back! Facebook comments be damned!Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee following Bernie Sanders’ endorsement, has been accused of sexual assault. Tara Reade, a former Senate aide who worked in Joe Biden’s Senate office, claimed that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. The details are disturbing. Reade allegedly told multiple friends and her brother about the incident. 

OPINION 11/12/19 10:19pm

Our votes, our rights

By Meredith McCain , Maddy Scannell , Hannah Kaplan , Tessa Schreiber , Anthony Saliba and Carolyn Daly

This past Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters across Harris County went to the polls to cast ballots in local elections. Here at Rice, 851 individuals voted at the Rice Memorial Center. Many important municipal positions were on the ballot, including the Houston mayoral and city council races, along with Texas constitutional propositions. However, a number of Rice students who tried to vote at the RMC did not have an equal opportunity due to gross violations of one of our most essential rights.

OPINION 10/1/19 10:49pm

Letter to the Editor: Strive to do better

By Maddy Scannell , Laney Baker , Karen Qi and Snigdha Banda

Amid the Thresher opinion, protests and town halls, we have been in conversation with many of you about your concerns regarding sexual misconduct policies and the ways in which Rice handles previous and current cases. Many of you feel like your trust in the administration and Student Judicial Programs has been shaken.

OPINION 10/17/18 12:51am

Letter to the Editor: Rice College Republicans say they’re committed to registering voters. Their recent record indicates otherwise.

By Maddy Scannell and Moses Glickman

In the Oct. 3 issue of The Rice Thresher, the Rice University College Republicans claimed to support increasing voter turnout. RUCR President Juliette Turner claimed in her interview with the Thresher that her group has not been invited to participate in campus events to increase voter registration. 

OPINION 10/2/18 11:52pm

Confirming Kavanaugh sends wrong message

By Maddy Scannell

The #MeToo movement was supposed to be a national reckoning, an exposure of the frequency of sexual violence across America — from Hollywood to government to college campuses. Rice, to its credit, has attempted to reduce the frequency of assaults in a number of ways. The Critical Thinking in Sexuality program is a strong step beyond our peer institutions, and Rice is reportedly reevaluating the practices of Student Judicial Programs after the departures of Donald Ostdiek, the former associate dean of undergraduates, and Lisa Zollner, the former director of SJP. But we, as students, have to acknowledge that Rice is an outlier. In much of the country, this issue is largely swept under the rug.

OPINION 4/17/18 10:06pm

​Response to Anson Fung: No reconsideration necessary, Rice stands with Dreamers

By Franz Brotzen , Blake Coleman and Maddy Scannell

It is impossible for a university’s policies to align with every individual’s beliefs. But if we truly desire to uphold our university’s mission statement, it is crucial that we embrace every Rice student, documented or not, as integral and valuable to the Rice experience.