The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 9, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 6, 1963 Page: 11 of 16
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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6, 1963
THE THRESHER
Eleven
Chapel Provides An 1' " *__!
Impetus In The Religious Field
THE RMC IN CONTEXT
Student Unions Have Vital Role
By RICHARD BEST
Dominating the Student Cen-
ter is the Bell Tower and Chapel,
erected to the glory of a God who
no longer dominates the thoughts
of the average student.
While the importance of the
structure is overlarge with re-
spect to the current status of
religion in this academic com-
munity, the Chapel does manifest
the University's concern that all
intellectual endeavor might be
justified in terms of its ultimate
aims and final accomplishments.
AS RICE was by charter es-
tablished as a non-sectarian in-
stitution, the Chapel program is
intended to supplement rather
than supplant local parish sched-
ules.
N o denominational services
other than marriages are ever
held. All worship is led by stu-
dents and, significantly, speak-
ers (not "preachers") are vested
in academic rather than clerical
garb.
THE CHAPEL complex was
constructed through the generous
gifts of Mr. and Mrs. J. Newton
Rayzor and other interested
friends. Their fund included an
endowment for the maintenance
of the building.
The unusual Chapel architec-
ture was modeled in part after
the Church of St. John Lateran
in Rome, the official papal ca-
thedral. The Chapel, illogical as
it may seem, was designed "with-
out religious symbolism."
NEVERTHELESS the shape
of the edifice is not only Chris
tian but certainly Catholic. The
centrality of the altar implies
that it w£s designed for the
celebration of high Mass. The
descending dove on the choir loft
is manifestly a Christian symbol.
The music of the Chapel is one
of its greatest assets. Roland
Pomerat presides at the seven-
teenth century style organ, con-
sisting of two manuals, pedal,
and seventeen stops. The elec
tronic carillon punctuates the oth-
erwise silent passing of hours at
the Marsh.
THE RICE CHORALE under
the direction of Wayne Bedford
together with the Freshman
Choir intone the hymns at most
services.
Amply supplied with Universi-
ty funds, the Chapel has been
abl....e to bring to the campus the-
ologians of the greatest distinc-
tion. Paul Tillich, Herbert But-
terfield, Hans Kung, Bishop Di-
belius of Berlin, and the existen-
tialist Gabriel Marcel have all
spoken at Rice in the last three
years. This fall there was a mag-
nificent exhibit of Rouault's
paintings of the passion of Christ.
The Chapel has seen its ups
and downs, with pickets of Dean
Pike when he visited here, to the
splendid receptions accorded such
luminaries as Hans Kung, to the
expulsion of the religious organi-
zations from their offices in the
cloister. But its program has been
educational, sometimes lively and
always important.
By CHUCK KING
The Rice Memorial Center has no swimming
pool, hotel rooms, or barber shop. Yet many uni-
versity student centers throughout the nation pro-
vide these services and many others, for diversi-
fication has reached the campus student union.
The Memorial Union of Indiana University pi-o-
vides two hundred hotel rooms for weary guests.
The Tulane University Center (which cost about
the same as the RMC) features an Olympic-size
swimming pool. The Union at the University of
Wisconsin has a beer garden.
A STUDENT UNION is essentially a place
where all students of a university may relax and
get together. So, at Kansas State, the students
may relax over a friendly drink at the student cen-
ter night club.
At Mississippi State, the most popular means
of relaxation at their College Union are the weekly
bingo nights. The Oklahoma State Student Union
adds a nice touch to their set-up with a valet
service.
MOST STUDENT CENTERS, however, provide
certain common facilities and services. A central
lounge, a snack bar, and offices for some student
organizations are typical. Book stores and barber
shops are almost universal. Some larger univer-
sities, notably Indiana, Oklahoma State, and Pitt,
offer hotel rooms in connection with their unions.
Music rooms, libraries, and gaming facilities are
usually associated with the campus student cen-
ters.
The student centers are usually financed by fees
from the student body, income from the facilities of
the union, and donations from a fund established
for the center. The Rice Memorial Center employs
all three methods.
THE TEXAS UNION at the University of Texas
is a typical example of a large university's student
center. The Union building is a four story complex,
featuring an auditorium, an art gallery, three
ballrooms, a library, and extensive indoor sporting
facilities, sixteen bowling alleys and three restau-
rants.
The Texas Union is governed by a council com-
posed of four officers, three members-at-large,
and the chairmen of the fourteen committees con-
cerned with the Union.
EACH YEAR the Union sponsors a number of
events and exhibits at the university. This year,
•Joan Eaez and Dave Brubeck (among others) will
appear in Austin under the aspices of the Union.
Working under the theory that its student union
should be a dynamic center of a college, Tulane
University recently opened a new University Cen-
tex'. It features a swimming pool, cafeteria, book-
store, and music rooms.
THE TULANE UNIVERSITY Center is directed
by a salaried professional and is subject to the
dictates of a student co-ordinating committee.
The Rice Memorial Center, of course, features a
lounge, snack bar ,ballroom, bookstore, and stu-
dent office space. In services and student responsi-
bility, the RMC l-esembles the Tulane University.
Student fees and prices are also considerably
lower at the RMC than at other comparable stu-
dent unions.
AS A WHOLE, the student union is playing an
important role in today's changing university. The
one criterion for a university student center today
is that it be fluid and able to adapt to a changing
system.
Along with the central library, the student
union at a university is the center of life at the
university. And these centers are growing today
as the whole of higher education in America ex-
pands.
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Keilin, Eugene. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 9, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 6, 1963, newspaper, November 6, 1963; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth244898/m1/11/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.