The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 7, 1974 Page: 2 of 16
sixteen 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 campign tactics of Governor Dolph Briscoe and the Rice
democratic Caucus are an insult to the intelligence of Rice students.
It is probably that they know something about Southern voters that
I as a Yankee don't yet understand, but it seems to me that some of
Briscoe's literature is obnoxious by anyone's standards.
"Why would anyone in his right mind vote for Dolph Briscoe?"
asks the gold-colored leaflets the Caucus has plastered everywhere
on campus. The answer is not a sincere discussion of the Governor's
achievement, honety, or goals — the author even refers to Briscoe's
"inaction as governor." Instead we were expected to vote for Briscoe
so that we can nave a choice—one actual vote!—in the 1976 Texas
Democratic Convention.
What an appeal to blind self-interest! By promising us that we can
have a seat in some smoke-filled room two years from now, the
Caucus is actually encouraging us to vote without reviewing the
candidates — without taking into account the personality,
background, ideology, and integrity of each of them. Yet to vote for
a candidate solely for a seat in a convention is a wasted vote, one
which could have been used to elect the best-qualified candidate to
office. Democracy vitally needs a well-informed and thinking
electorate to be successful—not an electorate well-informed on all
the political loopholes, but on the people who are seeking public
office.
In this age we need to take serious and definite action to purge
closed-minded partisanship from our political process. Often in
America's history unnecessary hostility between parties has resulted
in poor government; the events of the past five Nixon years
represent the most recent and one of the most bitter examples. We
can never rid public offices of corrupt politicians or incompetent
administrators by retreating into the protective custody of
partisanship—it is precisely because they know that they're "going
to win anyway" (as the Caucus concedes of Briscoe) that they know
they can get away with just about anything.
Literature like Briscoe's ad in last week's Thresher and the
Caucus' leaflet encourage this climate of bitter partisanship. They
seem to reassure us that the one-party system is a natural and
effective way to achieve good public administration. While I am not
qualified to judge the merits of Governor Briscoe or any of his
opponents in the now-cast election, I strongly condemn the
approach that he and the caucus have taken to politics. If Briscoe
was the best candidate for Governor, why couldn't the Caucus
emphasize his merits? If he was not, why couldn't the Caucus
perform a public service and encourage intelligent voters to vote
intelligently?
And if the Democratic party is so grossly pompous as to punish
those precincts whose voters are exercising care and discretion and
happen to vote Republican o Socialist, wh^ can't the Caucus and
the public have the guts to stand up for its right to think freely?
—ron miller
* * *
It's November again. Sometimes, when the warm
southeast wind still comes, one can smell the Nabisco
plant. That happens less now. People pass each other
without talking. They listen to Tommy or their Moody
Blues more often. The days are grayer, the nights dark-
er. Even the big mercury lamps are intimidated by the
dark. The birds are already returning, somehow reminis-
cent of finals.
Students settle into a strange mood of desperation,
trying to keep up with the work. People start thinking
about finishing the semester. The football team tries to'
pull together a decent season, S.E.'s worry about home-
work and Academs about papers. Everyone worries
about tests.
Some people give up. Suicide rates go up this time of
year. Some relationships break apart, some people cling
to each other for support. Some people stand on the
edge of the University and scream, comforting them-
selves in their intellectualism. A lot of people get drunk,
if there's time. Everybody looks exhausted.
In some ways this is Hell, or more likely Purgat-ory.
As long as the educational system is set up as it is now,
the cycle will continue repeating itself. In the meantime,
to all those crammed in Fondren or bent over type-
the rice thresher
writers: Good Luck.
thres
m
Nancy Taubenslag . . Associate Editor
Jo Simpson Production Manager
Debbie Davies News Editor
Philip Parker Sports Editor
Doug Peck Head Photographer
Forest Davenport . .Back Page Editor
Editorial Staff: Ron Miller, Randy Kelley, Wiley Sanders, Mike McClure,
Shannon Vale, Linda Eichblatt, Rachelle Smith, John Anderson, Jim Asker.
News Staff: Shannon Vale, Brian Buchanan, Ron Miller, Beth Quarles, Susan
Goodson, Deby WyaU, Barbara Evans, Laura Opitiemez..
Fine Arts Staff: Vaughan Johnson, Elaine Bonilla, Thomas Zimmerman,
Andrew Blakeney, Paul Alley, Hannes Vogel, Ted Anderson, Barbara
Morris, Carol McKinney, Debbie Osterman, Glen Radcliffe, Rosine Wilson.
Sports Staff: Cheapshot Williams, Wiley Sanders, Linda Eichblatt, David Au,
Gary Vyas, Manu Hinduja, Asuka Nakahara.
Business Staff: Carolena Houze, Susan Goodson, Carla McFarland, Cynthia
Hudson, Mike Hindman .Rachelle Smith, Mary Craig, Janet Doty, Margaret
Nabors.
Production Staff: Connie Dressner, Ruthie Melton,David Strong, Dennis Abbe,
Claude Sisson, Bonnie "Gershon, Gary Preuss, Michael Thannisch, Adelaide
Moorman, Ted Anderson.
The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper of Rice University
since 1916, is published weekly on Thursdays during the school year
except during examination periods and holidays be the students of Rice
University, Houston, Texas, 77001, telephone 528-4141 ext. 221. Adver-
tising rates available on request. Subscription price $15 per year, mailed
out first class. The opinions Expressed herein are not necessarily those of
anyone except the writers. Obviously.
the rice thresher, november 7, 1974—page 2
lhreshing-it-i
Honor Council "breaks" students
To the Editor:
There was a person who
wanted to be a doctor. They
wanted to work for other peo-
ple, their parents just wanted the
M.D. This person was having
trouble, they enjoyed being
human, which often conflicted
with being a pre-med. They were
driven to frustration, then to
desperation. They cheated, they
were clumsy, they were caught.
They lost all credit for the
course, but this was not enough.
It was rubbed in their faces that
this person was a Cheat. The
Honor Council member assigned
as council sniffed that "Some of
us don't do that kind of thing."
The one thing this person wan-
ted was to escape the past, to
forget that they had done what
they knew was wrong. But this
wasn't enough, either. A letter
was sent to their parents, and
they were to drop all formal
positions in the University.
It seemed as if the world were
collapsing around them, and this
person collapsed. There seemed
nowhere to turn for support.
They couldn't concentrate on
their other work. It suffered
accordingly.
They cried at minor disturb-
ances.
—randy kelley
GARY BREWTON
Editor
DALE PAYTON-ENGLE
Business Manager
Kevin Campbell .Advertising Manager
Cathy Egan Assistant
Business Manager
Dana Blankenhorn Circulation
Emily Coffman Legal
They carried an air of very
quiet horrow.
They occupied themselves
with small games and puzzles to
keep from thinking about what
happened.
Eventually they went beneath
the wheel, and they have taken a
year away from the University.
For what reason, to what pur-
pose did this happen? I can find
none. If the purpose of the Hon-
or Council is to detect cheating
and prevent it from recurring,
then they have failed, I say they
have failed because I have cheat-
ed, and I have not been discover-
ed. Perhaps I'm clever. I can't
say.
It's hard to explain the situa-
tion that leads to cheating, but I
have stopped. I found the set of
pressures that leads to dropping
my honor for a grade and learn-
ed to circumvent them. One
question still disturbs me. If I
don't believe that a grade
reflects my ability, then why
shouldn't I cheat? I think that as
long as these pressures and this
question exists in anyone's
mind, cheating will exist. If
you're smart, or lucky, you
won't get caught.
Perhaps because of its inabili-
ty to really control cheating,
when the Honor Council
pounces, it destroys. I wonder
what benefit there is in virtually
excommunicating a member aof
the Rice community. As an ex-
ample? I think it just makes
sneakier cheats. Mainly the
blindly desperate make the er-
rors leading to exposure. To pur-
ify the group? The disease,
though, is still with us. The Ho-
nor Council only deals with a tri-
vial sympton. Moral outrage? It
seems then that the Council
could better spend its time not
in breaking human beings, but
in working to prevent situations
in which the desire to cheat
would exist. This destruction of
individuals is stupid.
There are new freshmen rep-
resentatives to the Honor Coun-
cil. I hope they realize the power
at their disposal, and use it care-
fully. Very carefully. And let
this be a demonstration for
them. Will the Council embark
on a fruitless search-and-destroy
mission looking for me, or will
they look to themselves and
destroy the need for letter like
this one? It's in their hands.
Name Withheld,
For obvious reasons
Trough feeding plan to cut costs
To the Editor:
For the last few weeks, there
has been a lot of heated contro-
versy about the college Food
Service. Most people that I have
talked to think that the Food
Service is grossly inefficient. I
am inclined to agree and there-
fore offer this simple but effec-
tive solution.
Basically, the plan consists of
replacing the tables in each com-
mons with a group of long stain-
less steel troughs. The food
could then be trucked in and un-
loaded with snow shovels direct-
ly into the troughs. Students
could still reserve places for their
friends by simply hanging a bib
(which of course would replace
both napkins and table cloths)
over the desired section of
trough.
This plan would have several
advantages. First, the food
would bypass the kitchen entire-
ly. Also, freshmen freed from
serving would only have to assist
with the shoveling every other
month or so. Finally, only one
grub would be required to walk
up and down the troughs with a
hose after every meal to wash
out any leftover rubash.
0 The money and space saved
could be recycled into the pro-
gram by building a twelve place
regurgitation pool at one end of
each commons. This would al-
low convenient expulsion of any
inedible matter inadvertantly
eaten by a student. Also, oxygen
tanks could be kept nearby to
prevent the needless suffocation
deaths caused each year when
the victims' air passages are
blocked by solidifying apple
crisp. Any money left over after
these two expenditures could be
used by buy more soybean,
thereby preventing the needless
slaughter of whatever poor, ran-
cid, animal they killed and
cooked last Monday.
Edwin M. Stone
Richardson College
CORRECTION
Last week, the Tresher re-
p6rted "that the Rice Democratic
Caucus did not endorse incum-
bent U.S. Representative Bob
Casey because he was "too radi-
cal." This was an error, as Casey
if far from being radical. The
Caucus believed that none of the
candidates in the race were well-
qualified, and was the Socialist
Workers' Party candidate who
was described as "too radical"
for the Caucus' image.
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.
Brewton, Gary. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 7, 1974, newspaper, November 7, 1974; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245208/m1/2/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.