The Student Association opened discussion on guaranteed on-campus housing proposal for Rice Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps midshipmen at its meeting on Jan. 14.
By August 1, 2014, Jones College will have undergone several renovations and will have a new set of rooms on the first floor of the south building, according to Project Manager for Facilities Engineering and Planning Anzilla Gilmore.
This Saturday, Oct. 26, crowds of people wearing underwear and not much else will flood the Wiess College Commons.The occasion: Night of Decadence, Rice University's famous Halloween lingerie party. As reported in the Oct. 9 issue of the Thresher, the party's theme this year is "196NOD: Come Together, Right Now (All) Over Me."The Wiess socials could not be reached for comment regarding the theme or preparations for the event.According to Rice legend, the inaugural NOD occurred in the early 1970s when Wiess students poured all their alcohol into a tub and mixed it together; since then, the party has grown from a small, impromptu gathering of Wiessmen to a campuswide tradition featuring a different risque theme every year.In light of last year's negative publicity following the hospitalization of 11 partygoers, Rice Emergency Medical Services has rethought the location of its triage area, according to REMS Captain Patrick McCarthy."After consulting with physicians who specialize in the medical management of large events, we realized that our new position would facilitate better patient flow and assessment, as well as allow easier access if an ambulance crew is needed," McCarthy, a Baker College senior, said.According to McCarthy, REMS' primary goal is always safety for everyone involved."The general idea behind providing medical care at NOD is to quickly and efficiently triage patients and provide them with the appropriate level of care," McCarthy said. "Regardless of the alcohol policy changes, our job remains the same: to keep students and visitors safe."Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson said he expects partygoers to respect university policy and cooperate with safety officials at the party. "A large number of students work very hard to make this event fun and safe," Hutchinson said. "We expect every member of the community to cooperate with these student leaders, as well as [with] RUPD and REMS, to support these efforts and to comply with university policy and state law. On all occasions, all students are expected to take care of each other and to make choices which are reasonable, responsible and respectful."NOD's reputation for unrestrained debauchery and sometimes-excessive intoxication does not appeal to everyone.Jones College sophomore Sofi Hebert said she does not plan on attending."I have friends who love going to NOD, and it's a lot of fun brainstorming potential costumes with them, but it's personally not for me," Hebert said.Sid Richardson College President Caitlin Devereaux said her college would again be hosting Night of Innocence, an alternative to NOD. NOI will take place during the same times and is designed for those not interested in drinking."The people setting [NOI] up this year are the same from the past two years," Devereaux said. "[The event is] a movie marathon in your [pajamas] with some baked goods from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. [It's] usually Disney movies."There are still many students looking forward to the party despite its polarizing nature.Brown College freshman Claudia Kann said she is eager to experience her first NOD."I'm excited to be a part of this Rice tradition," Kann said. "It seems like a real bonding experience."Martel College senior Kenneth Misner said he has attended in past years and is ready for one last NOD."For better or worse, NOD never disappoints," Misner said.
A new Facebook page called Humans of Rice University went live this week, joining the ranks of other Rice student pages such as Rice Missed Encounters and Rice Confessions.The page, inspired by Brandon Stanton's often-emulated Humans of New York blog, has gained hundreds of "likes" in the past few days since its administrators shared their project publicly.The five photographers asked to remain anonymous and agreed to be referred to by only their first initials.J., a sophomore, said he believes withholding the photographers' identities will help respect their privacy while also increasing curiosity about the project."I think Rice students will pay more attention if we place the focus [on] our photos rather than on those that take them," J. said.C., also a sophomore, added that the photographers hope anonymity will help them avoid requests to be featured on the page."We would rather approach subjects and have our identities be a surprise than have people ask us to put them on the page," C. said. "That would defeat the purpose."C. said the team's goal is to give students a chance to share their personalities and opinions with the Rice community."There are a lot of very intriguing people on campus who don't have an outlet to express their ideas," C. said. "We want to tap into that unseen part of Rice."C. said he started the project and enlisted the other four photographers. He said he got the idea after talking to a friend who had started a Humans of Northwestern Facebook page."I know there are a lot of adaptations to the original Humans of New York, but I thought it would work here, so I contacted other photographers I thought would be interested," C. said.According to J., although the team plans to eventually use strangers as subjects, for now the members are choosing friends, as was the case with the first picture posted on the page.The subject, Brown College sophomore Larisa LaMere, said her friend C. asked ahead of time whether she would be interested in modeling and addressing the Rice community."After he had snapped me a few times, he asked if there was anything I wanted to say to Rice, something I felt was important to me," LaMere said. "I talked about how it's easy to get overwhelmed and stressed, but I don't want my emotions to define me anymore."LaMere said she has high hopes for the project."I hope that the Humans of Rice project really takes off," LaMere said. "It's an amazing opportunity to get a different perspective on Rice life."
On Saturday, March 9, 2013, an unusual combination of families, students dressed in their hipster best and a man in a head-to-toe bunny costume invaded Rice University's central quad.
