The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 18, 1983 Page: 1 of 20
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Wiess welcomes 29 transfers, prepares for coed life
by Derek Smith
Wi^ss College gained its first
female members as of March 14,
1983. Letters were sent to 29
female students from the other
Rice residential colleges,
informing them that their transfer
was complete and that they are
now officially in Wiess.
Most of the transfers seem
confident. Junior Susan Aldrich,
formerly a Brown member stated,
"1 expect that there will be a lot of
camaraderie among the girls in
Wiess. We'll catch a lot of flak
from the guys but it will all be in
fun."
Junior Julie Free, also of
Brown, remarked, "I don't think
there will be any big changes in the
spirit of Wiess. I'll be comfortable
there."
Currently running for the office
of secretary, Free explained, "I'd
like to show the guys that females
can have a sense of humor too. The
Wiess minutes have a reputation
prudish as some think. I'd say
many of the girls coming to Wiess
are rather androgynous."
C. Reining
Julie Free —C. Reining
for being funny and I plan to keep
it that way."
She added, "Not all girls are as
Susan Aldrich
Wiess president H.R. Phillips
seemed very pleased with the
success of the transition thus far.
"Of course at first it was a shock,"
he said, "but we have had 12
months to swallow the idea, so
most of the steam has been let out.
There are not strong negative
feelings now."
"It's a dynamic time for us,"
Phillips noted. "We have had
many college meetings and
everyone has had their say. I feel
that our treatment of the incoming
women will be morejust tothe men
than has been the case in other
colleges which have gone coed."
Phillips pointed out, "We have
not guaranteed rooms to the
transfers, they'll be part of the jack
just like everyone else. We also will
not make the mistake that Lovett
did by giving the incoming
freshman girls undue attention,
while ignoring the young men."
Of the women transfers Phillips
said, "They have a positive
attitude; they see it as an
opportunity to be an important
part of a college. It's a dynamic
time for us. The girls are well-
suited and enthusiastic."
Among the reasons that the
women offered for transfer to
Wiess are boredom with their oid
college and an opportunity to be
involved in an important way.
They also see a chance to try
something new, a way to get to the
other side of campus and a chance
to get into a young coed college.
Some commented that they were
badly informed about the
proceedings of the transfer, but the
welcome to Wiess was a good one
Perhaps the two remaining single
sex colleges can learn something
from the Wiess experience, as
Phillips predicts they will go coed
by 1985.
LU
THRESHER
Volume 70, Number 24
Friday, March 18, 1983
INSIDE:
* Qu£ es la vida? Un frenesi.
Qud es la vida? Una ilusidn,
• una sombra, una ficcidn,
y ei mayor bien es pequerio:
« que toda la vida es suerio,
V los suenos suenos son.
Faculty approve grade proposals
by Chris Ekren
The Rice Faculty Council last
Thursday approved three recom-
mendations from the Committee
on Examinations and Standing
concerning changes in Rice's
grading policy despite petitions
from several colleges opposing
some of the proposed changes. A
fourth proposal calling for the
display of grade point averages on
transcripts was left tabled.
The Faculty Council had earlier
tabled all four recommendations
when the Student Association
requested that the changes be put
off until student input could be
gathered.
The Council voted that, effective
for the class admitted in 1983, a
minimum grade point average of
1.67 be set for all courses taken at
Rice. If a student's grade point
average falls below 1.67 —on a
scale where four points equals an
'A'— he will not be allowed to
graduate.
Students will also be required to
maintain a 'C or 2.0 average on all
courses which are major
requirements. To prevent
confusion allegedly caused by the
current grading system, letter
grades will replace number grades.
Dr. William Walker, Chairman
of the Committee on Examina-
tions and Standing, feels that the
Faculty Council's decision will
lead to a "definite tightening of
Rice's academic standards."
Walker believes that the use of
letter grades will make it easier for
the outside world to interpret Rice
transcripts.
Baker freshman Darryl Burke,
an organizer of the petition drive,
suggests that the difficulty in
reading transcripts is a virtue. Said
Burke, "The argument 'everyone
else does it' is not a reason to
change Rice's system. Our grading
method forces employers and
graduate schools to realize that
Rice is different, that Rice has
different scholastic standards than
comparable schools."
He continued, "The registrar
sends a conversion sheet with every
transcript requested so one can
convert on an individual basis if
necessary. It was unfortunate that
the Faculty Council voted in the
changes so quickly, because there
was substantial student concern.
This student concern has been left
unsatisfied."
According to observers, Dean of
Undergraduate Affairs Katherine
Brown presented only fragments
of resolutions passed by Baker,
Hanszen, Jones, and Wiess against
the changes before the vote.
The proposal to change grading
policy was introduced in
November in response to a belief
expressed by Brown and others
that Rice's present policy was
anachronistic. At the time, no
student input was solicited.
Parents' Day activities cover weekend
by Sian Min The
Parents' Weekend, formerly
known as Parents' Day, will open
its activities with a wine and cheese
reception for parents and faculty
this .afternoon. Student
Association external vice president
Karen Travis expects about 500
guests, mostly parents of
freshman, to participate in the
weekend.
In addition to traditional
parents' day events, Travis
explained that there will be an
experimental parents' workshop
on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in
Sewall Hall 301. Dr. Stan Deen,
director of Psychiatric Services,
will lead a seminar on "Student
and Parent: A Changing
Relationship."
Other Saturday activities, which
students are welcome to attend,
include a student panel discussion
on life at Rice at 8:45 a.m. in
Hamman Hall. President Norman
Hackerman will give the opening
speech. Later in the day, parents
will join students for lunch and a
reception in the residential
colleges.
To coincide with the day's
events, the SA will conduct an
open house and will sponsor two
seminars. City councilman George
Greanias will speak on "Making
Houston in the Eighties" at 2:30
p.m. in Anderson Court. Leslie E.
Greenberg, of Deloitte Haskins &
Sells, and Dr. Ed Williams of the
Jones School will lead a seminar
on tax and investment at 3:15 p.m.
in the Chemistry lecture Hall.
Also as part of the open house,
the No Name brass quintet band
will perform in the academic
quadrangle at 4 p.m. Travis hopes
that the extended format will make
Parents' Weekend "more of a
learning experience than it has
been in the past and beneficial to
everyone involved."
UC reps, Sammy elected
In Tuesday's Student Associ-
ation election for undergraduate
representatives to the University
Court, Brown junior Heather
Campbell^ and Hanszen junior
Kathy Batho captured the two
positions. Campbdl received 562
votes of the 1961 ballots cast and
Batho received 332.
The SA election committee had
declared a previous election
invalid when there were 96
Last Friday, 949 students received measles vaccinations from city health
officials in the residential colleges. R'ce sponsored the free inoculations to
reduce the potential of a measles outbreak. —C. Reining
Student visits Capitol
by Patty Cleary
Hanszen senior Norman
Furlong visited Washington D.C.
over spring break representing the
Rice chapter of United Campuses
to Prevent Nuclear War (UCAM),
Furlong delivered 300 proxy forms
to Senators John Tower and Lloyd
Bensen and Representative Mike
Norman Furlong
-C. Reining
discrepancies ^>e,tween the number
of ballots and signatures.
Although there were 21
discrepancies in this week's ballot,
that number w^is not large enough
to effect the election's outcome.
In the rerun of the Sammy the
Owl election, Brad Borgand Doug
Mischlich, juniors in Sid
Richardson College, won the
preferential election with 469 votes
of 1107 ballots cast.
Andrews, urging them to vote for
the nuclear freeze resolution.
During the week prior to break,
UCAM members distributed the
forms at most of the residential
colleges.
Furlong presented the proxy
forms, statements of support for
the resolution, to Andrews and to
Tower's and Bensen's aides. He
also spoke to numerous
representatives and aides in an
effort to maintain an open
dialogue on the issue.
"Although it was a citizens"
lobby, I felt it more important to
approach the legislators with an
open mind. 1 spoke to them
individually," said Furlong, "and
asked them what they heard from
their constituents about the
freeze. I told them I felt strongly in
favor of the resolution and urged
them to vote for it."
Furlong further remarked,
"Also, in personal contact, 1 teit
more meaningful dialogues were
possible than in meetings with
large groups. I also spoke with
armed forces personnel and
nuclear weapons experts in an
attempt to see the arms issue from
their point of view.
"They expressed concern over
the resolution, which they see as
potentially detrimental to the
U.S.," he continued.
On Tuesday, Furlong attended a
Citizens' Lobby for a U.S./Soviet
Nuclear Weapons Freeze rally on
the capitol's steps. Among the 5000
concerned citizens at the rally were
numerous congressmen who
support the freeze, including
Senator Ted Kennedy, who
introduced similar freeze
legislation in the Senate.
Furlong explained that a revised
see Vote, page
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Cooper, Jeanne. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 18, 1983, newspaper, March 18, 1983; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245526/m1/1/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.