The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 25, 1972 Page: 2 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
the rice thresher
Thresher turns 60; still kicking
editorial
"The true function of the University" is a phrase
that gets kicked around a lot, mostly in editorials. Speak-
ers looking for a topic can always fall back on "re-exam-
ination of the fundamental principles of education." But
any questions about the purpose, if any, of Rice are more
meaningful when phrased simply:
What are you doing here, anyway?
Everyone at Rice is here because he expects to bene-
fit from it. The anticipated advantages are of three
types, and an honest recognition of which advantage you
seek is vital if this situation is to be worth $2100/year.
The question is not philosophical; it is practical.
First is the academic viewpoint; that there is in-
formation and experience to be gained here which will
be necessary for success in your chosen career. If you
believe this, you must take the most challenging courses
you can find and work at them very hard, accepting oc-
casional low grades and trusting that, when you gradu-
ate. your competence in the field will be obvious enough
to get you the post you want.
Second is the cynical viewpoint, coupling a question-
able opinion-that very little taught at a university is of
value with an unquestioned fact—that a college diploma
is necessary before you can even be considered for most
prestigious professional or academic jobs.
For the student with this philosophy, strategy is
obvious. The easy course leading to a good grade is to be
preferred to the difficult and chancy one. The end result
will be an impressive-looking record, and a student with
excellent "qualifications". This student trusts in these
"qualifications" to get a job, and relies on native ability
to learn what he really needs while he works.
The third viewpoint, and the one most fashionable to
profess, is the humanistic one; the idea that four years
of living in a college community is an end in itself. A
humanist believes that the experiences of college life
are more valuable than either the education or the diplo-
ma. He will spend his time talkii% to people, "doing things,
taking interesting courses, and looking for experience.
Hopefully, he will avoid the experience of flunking out.
While this doesn't matter to the true humanists,
there are no pure types on any campus. Eveityon^js moti-
vated by a combination of purposes, but one is usually
predominant. To get your money's worth from Rice, you
will have to honestly examine your motives for coming
here. You must determine what you need from the next
four years, and then go after it. No one who truly knows
what he wants is part of a faceless mass; this is a time
for introspection and self-direction. And that is the pur-
pose of the University.
thres
STEVE JACKSON
Editor
MALCOLM WADDELL
•v Business Manager
H. David Danglo Assistant Editor Lew Hancock Advertising Manager
Morty Rich Assistant Editor Virginia .lee Assistant Business
Manager
Dean Ornish Head Photographer
Staff: Charles Cluhb, Andy Hurley, Chip Lansdell, Charles Pau, Frank
Presler, Mike Ross, Lee Silverthorne, Gary Brewton
The Rice Thresher, official student newspaper of Rice University, is pub-
lished weekly on Thursday except during holidays and examination periods by
students of Rice University, Houston, Texas 77001 ; telephone 528-4141 x221 or
(>45. Tho opinions hereni are not necessarily anyone's.
by STEVE JACKSON
The Thresher turns sixty this
year. It was established in 1912,
with the University, and it has
somehow survived.
The Thresher is no ordinary
college newspaper. To start
with, it is a wholly volunteer
organization. Rice has never
had a journalism department;
the Thresher has no advisors
and no outside censorship. It is
wholly student-staffed and di-
rected.
Each year the editor and
business manager are chosen in
a general election; they are ac-
countable to the SA and
through them, the student body.
Other staffers are appointed
by these two. In the past, only
the editor and business man-
ager were salaried; under pro-
posed by-law revisions, more
workers will be paid, with sala-
ries being based on output
rather than profits.
I feel this will be an improve-
ment. A newspaper has an obli-
gation to its clients. Since
$2.70 of your blanket tax goes
to the Thresher, you have a
right to a good publication, and
we have a responsibility to
maintain one.
Primarily, a newspaper is a
collection of information. While
it contains opinion, in the form
of letters and editorial matter,
it should never become a soap-
box for any one philosophy or
view; to call such a propaganda
organ a newspaper is the raw-
est sort of hypocrisy. News
should be sifted on no basis ex-
cept that of its value and in-
terest to the readership; opin-
ion on no basis but its coher-
ence; writers on no basis but
their ability.
Journalistic responsibility is
only half the battle; we have
not only got to do things right,
but do them well. The main
item, of course, is accurate
coverage of campus affairs;
the second is reporting of world
events as they affect the aca-
demic community. The third is
feature-style coverage of note-
worthy institutions, both on-
and off-campus.
Art work, both graphic and
photographic, is an asset to
any publication, and a necessity
in one of this type. The
Thresher will use such material
as much as possible.
An innovation for the Thresh-
er this year is the misclassified
ad department. This is meant
as a service to the Rice com-
munity, to provide a cheap way
for anyone to get a message
to everyone else.
A weekly newspaper can only
rarely achieve the immediacy
of daily or radio reporting.
However, it can attain a bal-
ance and accuracy impossible
to such tight-scheduled media.
The Thresher does not intend
to be what it can't but to make
the most out of what it is.
The staff meets every Mon-
day for a planning session. If
you're interested in working
with us, or just want to know
more, come by the Thresher
office about 7:30. We'd like to
talk to you.
Moneyman tells it like it is
by MALCOLM WADDELL
Welcome to Rice University.
Having been here now for al-
most a week, you have prob-
ably been flooded with all
kinds of information by every-
one on campus about how this
place works and what makes
it tick. Hopefully you'll remem-
ber at least a fraction of what
you've been told when you start
classes on Monday. You have
also undoubtably started formu-
lating some opinions, attitudes,
and feelings about Rice from
your experiences on campus so
far. This week has most assur-
edly stimulated your thinking,
but many intricate questions
about your new home have not
yet been answered. Maybe this
article and the rest of this
paper will provide some of the
answers to those questions.
What is Rice University?
What have you just been wel-
comed to?
Rice is . . .
a private controlled coeduca-
tional university offering
undergraduate work in arts and
sciences, engineering, architec-
ture, and physical education,
and granting master's and dog-
tor's degrees in most depart-
ments.
a lot off hard work—pulling
all-nighters; reading unbelieve-
able, never-ending amounts of
assigned material both from
your texts and books on reserve
in the library; working prob-
lems that have completely
baffled such people as Einstein
and Newton and, worst of all,
the friend you're trying to get
help from; sweating exams and
grades; getting 3's, 4's, and
even 5's when you used to make
all l's and 2's.
a lot of good times—drinking,
etc.; "A DATE!" or "oh, a
date" depending on whether
you are a member of the
".2987012 to 1" sex or the
"3.347826 to 1" sex; plays:
many performed by the Rice
Players, some by the colleges,
and a few by the football team;
movies galore, and parties,
football, basketball, baseball,
track, tennis to name only a
few; and in a few we actually
do well.
apathetic, provocative, dead,
friendly, lonely to ag&in men-
tion only a few; and in a few
of these we do quite well.
This could be a never-ending
list you might think; but actu-
ally when it boils right down
V
f
%
to it, Rice is just a three-letter
word—YOU. How you work is
how it works and what makes
you tick makes it tick. Rice
can be all of the above things,
whether good or bad, and more
or it can be none of those
things depending on you.
Your intellect and desire for
academic excellence makes Rice
one of the finest, most respect-
ed educational institutions in
the country. Because you have
signed your body and soul over
to Coaches Conover and Knodel,
Rice is also an athletic estab-
lishment and if you wonder
why Rice is stimulating, dead,
apathetic, friendly, or lonely,
the reasons lie within you.
Do you like Rice the way it
is? Would you like to change
it? Strive to make Rice what
you want it to be and it will be.
Remember that the University
is a mirror image of you and
what you reflect. To be content
with Rice is to be content with
at least a part of yourself.
Help! asked
in updating
information
The Rice University Business
Office has announced that all
students should update their
current information forms with
their correct local address and
telephone number next week.
Tables will be set up in the
Rice Memorial Center from
8:30 to 5:30 Wednesday
through Friday, August 30, 31
and September 1 for students to
update the information forms.
The correct updated informa-
tion is needed for the new Rice
student directory, which is ex-
pected to be published soon.
VOTER
REGISTRATION
daily in RMC
9am-4pm.
Through September 8.
the rice thresher, august 25, 1972—page 2
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Jackson, Steve. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 25, 1972, newspaper, August 25, 1972; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245135/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.