The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, December 7, 1984 Page: 6 of 20
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Rice grad De Silva overcomes handicap to be lawyer
by Kimberlee Barrett
Kathleen De Silva, legal in
house counsel for the Institute for
Research and Rehabilitation at the
Medical Center and a Rice
graduate, was recently recognized
by Esquire Magazine as being
among the most influential people
of her generation.
L.ast week the Thresher ran an
article listing those associated with
Rice who were included in this
special December issue of Esquire
entitled "The Best of the New
(feneration." P r o lessor o 1
Chemistry Michael Berry and
alumni John Casbarian, Danny
Samuels and Robert Timme were
recognized, but DeSilva was
unintentionally left out.
De Silva has surmounted
incredible barriers in order to gain
her position as in-house lawyer at
the Institute. Perhaps acting as
legal counsel for a hospital does
not sound overly impressive, but
DeSilva has a handicap that might
have prevented many from
attaining this position. A
quadraplegic, DeSilva is paralyzed
from the neck down and requires a
machine to even be able to breathe.
At the age of sixteen DeSilva
suffered a catastrophic injury in a
gymnastics accident. Falling from
parallel bars, she broke her neck
between the first and second
cervical, injured her spinal cord,
and was left paralyzed from the
neck down.
To finish high school, gain a
degree from Rice University, and
complete her training as a lawyer
at the University of Houston took
an incredible amount of courage.
determination and character.
"I never really considered not
finishing school. 1 didn't think
of any other alternative," DeSilva
said.
Her parents, DeSilva said, were
extremely supportive.
"My parents moved so 1 could
be at the Institute. My mother took
me to Rice each day and went with
me to class to take notes," DeSilva
said.
She also said that at Rice
students often aided her. 'When 1
was going to Rice and at the
Library testing computerized research catalogs
by Carl Hoefer
The Fondren Library has been
testing computerized catalogue
systems this semester in hopes of
finding a more efficient alternative
to the present card catalogue.
At the present time, students
may test the I OM l;S sy stem in the
main lobby of the library. I'OMUS
is one of four systems under
consideration for the |ob of
computerized card catalog.
Curly le Systems. Incorporated,
maker of TOM US, was the only
company placing a bid which
agreed to install a test sy stem using
l-ondren's cata log for students and
faculty to test. The other systems
are: NOUS, which uses' IBM
equipment; PALS, which uses
Univac; and GEAC, which uses
(if-AC mainframe.
Students and faculty w ill be able
to test both NO I IS and PALS
systems through phone line hook-
ups running to operational systems
at other universities. This should
give the user some idea about how
these other systems work. GEAC
can be tried only if the student is
willing to go to the University of
Houston, where the system is
already installed.
The library personnel say they
welcome comments from anvone
The Fondren Library is now testing the
who tries any of the systems, as
user preference will be a major
factor in the final decision as to
which system is finally installed.
Anyone trying the TOM US system
should bear in mind that the
current database is far from ■ mm mm • wmmm ■ I
complete and ,ha, some he R|Ce WtlO S WIlO tlOIIOreeS 3111101111060
system s search functions are not
TOMUS catalog —P. Truzinski
catalog. The second feature is
"Rnolean combinations." wherebv
the researcher can use commands
such as "and." "or," and "not" to
make the term-search more
specific. The NOTIS system is
simply alphabetical, not much
more sophisticated than the
current card catalog, though it
should have the above features in
about year.
The administration will make a
final decision based on
recommendations from the
library. The decision will take into
consideration based on cost,
system usefulness, and equipment
reliability. The bids are close
enough that cost should not be the
deciding factor.
Regardless of which system is
chosen, library officials hope to
install the computer system over
the summer so that it will be ready
by next August.
Institute, my parents put up
notices for people to come over
and turn pages for me. Students
would come over and help," she
said.
Although her physical handicap
is great, DeSilva said that people's
attitudes toward the handicapped
are often an even greater barrier.
"The hardest things you face are
not the physical barriers, though
those are outstanding, but the
attitudes society has toward you,"
DeSilva explained. She went on to
say that society tries to put limits
on what the handicapped can
achieve.
Awarded the 1983
Handicapped Professional
Woman of the Year, DeSilva
shows the fallacy of such
limitations. As legal counsel for
the Institute, De Silva deals with
legal matters that arise within the
hospital such as contracts, real
estate, insurance, third party
reimbursement, business law and
other matters. She is considering
the possibility of later establishing
an independent practice.
The Institute for Rehabilitation
and Research itself is a small non-
profit hospital which "supplies
restorative care to severely
disabled people. It is for those who
have suffered catastrophic injuries
and have to readjust to a new way
of life," DeSilva said.
vet operational.
Both TOMUS and PAL.S have
two search functions which make
them a much more useful than the
card catalog. The first is called
"term searching," which allows the
user to search the entire
description of an entry for certain
special items. This is considered an
improvement over simple subject-
heading entries in the old card
Fifty Rice students have been
selected to appear in the 1985
edition of Who's Who in American
College and Universities. They
were chosen from a sizable number
of juniors, seniors, and graduate
students nominated by masters,
departments, administrators, and
other students. The recipients were
notified of the honor this week;
certificates will be awarded
through the colleges and the Office
of Advanced Studies and Research
in the spring.
The recipients represent all eight
colleges; three are graduate
students. They are:
THRESHING IT OUT
SOME COURSES
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Jan. 26 EXAM
l| Call Days, Evenings & Weekends
J, 988-4700
7011 S.W. Freeway Suite 100
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TEST PREPARATION SPECIALISTS SINCE 1938
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CENTER
continued from page 4
Then there is the question of
need. It may be hard to fathom
that people who are relatively well
off may need financial aid to go to
college, but it is true, and 1 can
suggest several reasons for this to
happen: other dependents
increasing the financial burden on
the family; unwillingness on the
part of the parents to provide any
or all of the financial support for
one's college career (this is
reasonable; it is. after all, their
money to dispose of as they
please); and a lack of desire (to
protect pride or privacv) or ability
to fill out financial aid forms. All
of these can lead to a need for
financial aid that will not
necessarily show up on a form.
As long as universities are
providing money for scholarships,
I see no reason why some of them
cannot be given out strictly on the
basis of merit. Don't we still want
to reward excellence?
N. Lynn Williams
Will Rice 87
P.S. Havlak is right about one
thing. Requiring a 3.5 GPA to
keep a scholarship promotes
extreme wienerism and a general
missing out on other important
aspects of college life.
Jeff V, Abbott
Scott H. Bauman
Garrett Trent Bichlc
Matthew H. Brown
Charles Tynan Buthod
Raymond Lee Chilton. Ill
Charles Christopher Claunch
Todd Anthony Cornell
Wendy Covey
Richard Glenn Covington
Boyce Andrew Crocker
Charles Frederick Caldwell
Marcella Butte Dawson
Elizabeth Annie-T. Gross
Shannon l ea Halwes
.loan Ann Hastings
Paul Howard Havlak
Terry Howard Hildebrandt
Gregory Steven Jumper
Garland Aycufl K el ley
Robert Christopher Kreidler
Kenneth F.dward Kurt/man
Jessica I.andisman
Donald Daniel Lee
Sara Elaine Levenson
Elizabeth Ann l ittle
Kathy l.u
Andrea Charlotte Martin
David Paul McClain
Kathrvn McKinley
Rita Mendez
Kristin Alanna Merrigan
Dana Marie Mischlich
Jeffrey C. Matthews
James Wesley Mediord
Willeam Hume Moore
Thomas Nikolaus Pajeuski
David Michael Phillips
Geoffrey Charles Orsak
Neal William Quimby
Geri Gesele Richardson
Gregory L. Roberts
Anuraag Hari Singhal
David Clayton Shrader
Eugene Lawrence Shrock
Pamela Ann Truzinski
Vincent William Uher
Sandra Lynn Weist
Tracy Louise Winn
Wend\ Wood
ENCORE HAIR DESIGN
A STUDIO FOR MEN & WOMEN
795-0100
20% Discount to Rice
students with school
I.D.through Dec. 31.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIII
Main at
University
iiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiUiiiimmiimimiim
Directly across from
Rice on the second floor
of Scurlock Tower.
iiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiMMiimmiiiiiimiiiiiiii
Manicures and
Pedicures
Errata
In the story concerning teacher
evaluations printed in last week's
issue, the Thresher misprinted a
comment made by Professor of
History Thomas Haskell. Teacher
evaluations are not required of the
professor but are strongly urged by
the University Council.
Also, the Thresher neglected to
note that John Casbarian and
Samuels, who were recently
honored by Esquire, teach in the
School of Architecture.
The Rice Thresher, December 7, 1984, page 6
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Havlak, Paul. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, December 7, 1984, newspaper, December 7, 1984; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245577/m1/6/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.