Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Thursday, November 28, 2024 — Houston, TX

Margie Diddams


NEWS 11/5/09 6:00pm

Academic communication format ineffective, outdated

In less than two months, I will graduate with a bachelor's degree in ecology. Shortly thereafter, if graduate school applications go as well as I hope, you'll find me in a Ph.D.-track program for conservation biology or environmental science. Like most seniors around this time, I'm as excited as I am nervous. However, I have a secret. It's not much of a secret for those who know me, but considering you probably don't, and in light of what I've just told you, this may come as something of a surprise.


NEWS 3/26/09 7:00pm

Cult behavior from residential college system crosses the line

More about the residential college system at Rice upsets me than I could fit in a single article. Treasonous words, I know. But look, for a moment, beyond the "just like Harry Potter" nonsense.Though dorm assignments are arbitrary, students are immediately encouraged to favor their college above others. During O-Week, incoming freshmen run around campus in hoards, chasing, insulting and screaming at fellow students for their new college identity. "Jacks," midnight pranks determined by college leadership, inconvenience, humiliate and often injure residents of other colleges.