The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 25, Ed. 1 Monday, November 17, 1975 Page: 1 of 8
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Aggie game: an anticlimax
by GARY BREWTON
The Aggie game (including
pre-game and post-game
hostilities) was a letdown,
albeit a carefully planned one.
Even the usual "spirit"-
rousing activities seemed more
subdued than usual as Rice
went to almost unbelievable
efforts this weekend to avoid
offending the Aggies.
Not that the hostility wasn't
there. Two signs at Lovett
("What's the difference
between an Aggie and a bucket
of shit? The bucket." and "Pop
the Baggies") were taken
down by Campus Police but a
third at Richardson ("Reveille
was frigid"), out of reach,
stayed up. Those feelings,
though, were carefully
masked.
Policemen and security
guards were evident every-
where at the game, although
according to Chief of Campus
Police Harold Rhodes, the
number was no more than for
any large crowd. Since many
regular police officers were on
vacation ("deer hunting," said
Rhodes), the University had to
bring in khaki-uniformed
constables to take their place.
The MOB arrived under
(continued on page 3)
the
uce
thresher
volume 63, number 25
When their mascot dies, what do the Aggies do? Haul it around to
monday, november 17, 1975 games? No, this dog is just asleep. More Aggie photos on page 3;
football story on page 5; MOB story at left. —wiley sanders
After testing delays
New phone system ready for switchover Wednesday
by GARY BREWTON
After several weeks of
testing, the switchover to
Rice's new phone system will
come this Wednesday. If all
goes as planned, it should
involve just the flip of a single
switch—but, according to Rick
White of the Campus Business
Office, the old system will not
go dead until the new one is
working correctly, in case the
change isn't that simple.
For the past several weeks,
the new system has been
operating for calls inside the
campus. Southwestern Bell's
trunks coming into the
campus have also been tested,
but the two have not been
tested together. Another
feature of the new system, the
Direct Inward Dial trunks, can
not be tested until the system
is actually working.
DID trunks work the same
as regular, extensions for on-
campus calls and for outgoing
calls. However, a person on the
outside may reach a DID
extension without having to
go through the switchboard by
dialing the prefix 527 plus the
DID extension. All DID
extensions begin with the digit
4.
There are 300 DID exten-
sions on campus, but only 15
DID trunks coming into
the campus. Calls coming into
Bell's switching office for DID
numbers are recognized,
encoded, and sent down one of
the DID trunks to Rice, where
the call is decoded and sent to
the proper extension. Thus 15
DID trunks can adequately
serve 300 DID extensions.
Colleges offer unusual courses
From "Introductory Arabic"
to "Money and Politics in
Texas," next semester's
college courses cover a wide
range of topics outside the
regular curriculum.
Jones College is sponsoring
the most courses, four,
including the Arabic course
(Jone 112b, three hours credit),
Modern Greek (Jone 316b, 3-0-
3, permission of instructor
required), a one-hour course in
Rice governor
tapped to sell
Coors locally
Coors beer is coming to
Houston this spring, and
Ralph S. O'Connar, a member
of the Rice Board of
Governors, has been selected
as one of the seven local
distributors.
This popular light, unpas-
teurized beer has been
available in the northern parts
of the state for many years, but
the company did not begin
expanding into this area until
August.
O'Connor is also the son-in-
law of Rice benefactor and
former Trustee George R.
Brown.
Transactional Analysis (Jone
314b), and Beginning Guitar
(Jone 212b, 1-0-1, limited to 15
students).
If you enjoy or are intrigued
by Tolkein's writings, you
might try Lvtt 302b, taught by
Jane Nitzsche, but watch
out—this is an intensive
survey, and a full three-hour
course.
Brown is sponsoring two
one-hour courses, Manual
Communication (Brow 212b)
and Intermediate Bridge
(Brow 214b).
"Money and Politics in
Texas" is the title of Chandler
Davidson's course (Will 312b)
for students interested in
doing a serious investigation v
of the wonderful things money
can do for you in Texas
politics. (Doubtless the Rice
connection will pop up from
time to time here, too.)
Permission of instructor is
required; it's a three-hour
course.
Will Rice will also sponsor a
course in Conversational
Spanish (Will 204b, 3-1-3),
taught by WRC master James
Castaneda. Enrollment is
limited.
Wiess College will sponsor
"Mexico" (Wies 306b), a three-
hour course investigating the
culture and history of pre-
Columbian and colonial
Mexico. An optional field trip
to historic sites in Mexico is
planned as a basis for term
papers. Again, permission of
instructor is required.
Richardson will continue its
jazz course taught by Chad
Gordon. "Advanced Jazz
Interpretation" (Rich 312b) is
a three-hour course.
Registration forms must be
turned in by tomorrow,
November 18, to the Regis-
trar's Office. Times for class
meetings have not been set
(except Will 204b, Conversa-
tional Spanish, which meets
Wednesday from 7 to 9pm).
Another feature of the new
system is that it will
automatically keep track of
long distance calls. This
computer-controlled system
will not be installed for
another several weeks,
though, "until the accounting
department is satisfied,"
White says. That part must be
"tested under use." Until then,
users must go through the
campus operator to place long
distance calls.
The new system has been
built up from scratch,
including new phones, new
cable, and new switching
equipment. The total cost,
including labor, is about
$880,000, but it could be as
much as $100,000 less than
that. This cost should be
recovered very quickly,
though, through savings on
the University's phone bill. In
the past, the monthly phone
bill (excluding long distance)
has been about $14,000; under
the new system it will be about
$4000. Thus, according^to
White, the switchover will
bring "improved service at a
lower cost. We're killing two
birds with one stone." Also,
since the new trunks will
connect with Bell's ESS
(Electronic Switching System)
equipment, service from the
central office should be much
faster than in the past.
While the switchover is in
progress Wednesday, both the
old and the new switchboards
will be staffed. Once installers
are satisfied that the new
phones are working as they
should, Bell's people will "pull
the plug" on the old system
which will simply go dead. All
that remains then is for Bell to
collect its hardware from all
across campus.
The new system also has
number of features, including
automatic call transferring.
Effectively, this means the
campus will have a 24-hour
operator: when the switch-
board is closed, the campus
police automatically receive
incoming calls on the
University's main number.
Unlike under the old system,
though, the campos will now
be able to transfer calls to the
desired extension. (Only a
small number of calls are
received after hours, but the
new system should be very
helpful in case of an
emergency.)
The only disruption which
will come with the switchover
is that a number of direct-line
telephones will be temporarily
cut off in the process of
changeover.
Here are some of the extensions on the phone system being put into full operation Wednesday.
Extensions which begin with the digit "4" can be dialed directly using the prefix 527. For example,
the Thresher's direct line is 527-4801 (also 527-4802). For other extensions, call the
main
num-
ber, 527-8101.
Admissions
4037
Lovett College
3512/
3522
Baker College
3530/3540
Media Center
4854
Brown College
3612/2496
President's Office
4041
4042
Campanile
2427
Program Council
4079
Campus Business Office
2514
Psychiatric Service
2526/
4867
Cashier 6>
4946
Registrar
4999,
3229 •
Dean of Undergraduate Affairs
2713/4996
Rice Police
3333
3334
Financial Aid
4958/2569
Richardson College
2579
Gym (reservations)
4059
Student Association
4099
Hanszen College
3211
Thresher
4801/
4802 !
Health Service
4966/2326
Wiess College
2313'
2318 j
Jones College
2430
Will Rice College
2307
2317
KTRU
4088/4093
J
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Brewton, Gary. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 25, Ed. 1 Monday, November 17, 1975, newspaper, November 17, 1975; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245265/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.