The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, October 14, 1988 Page: 1 of 20
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SINCE 1916
VOLUME 76, NO. 7
NO SEX ON THE BUSINESS MANAGER'S DESK
OCTOBER 14, 1988
Faculty approves major,
academic calendar
by Kurt Moeller
On Monday, October 10, the Rice
faculty approved academic calen-
dars for the next three years, the
creation of a new interdepartmental
medieval studies major, and tighter
restrictions on area majors. The fac-
ulty meeting also heard a report
about student-athletes' and musi-
cians' academic performance.
Academic calendar
The faculty approved the Univer-
sity Council's recommendations on
academic calendars for the next
three years. The administration will
publish the calendars in a few weeks
when details are finalized.
Each semester will be fifteen
weeks in length. The fall semester
will have 70 class days and the spring
semester will have 68 class days.
Currently, both semesters have
70 class days. Two days have been
eliminated from the spring semester
because the faculty noticed many
students did not return for the first
two class days, a Thursday and Fri-
day, after winter break. The spring
semester will start on a Monday next
year.
Medieval Studies
History professor Katherine
Drew said the new Medieval Studies
major was inspired by the new Early
Mediterreanean Civilization major
and by the establishment of the
Center for Cultural Studies. She said
it was a good idea because Rice offers
many courses dealing with the
Medieval period.
Drew said there had been suffi-
cient student interest for the major.
There is a general movement
among students against highly voca-
tional subjects, such as engineering,
the social sciences and business,
toward more basic studies—studies
which have no direct impact on get-
ting a high-paying job," she said.
Drew said an Asian Studies major
may be designed if there is interest.
English professor Jane Chance
first proposed the major. She and
Drew have been designing the major
intensively for the past year. Medie-
val studies will formally be available
next year, but students may declare
the major as early as this spring.
At the meeting, Drew and Chance
outlined requirements for the medie-
val studies major. To complete the
major, a student must have finished
at least 36 hours of classes focusing
on the medieval period, 18 hours or
more of which must be at the 300 or
400 level.
Required classes will include
SEE FACULTY, PAGE 9
Meal plans insufficient,
food pricing inconsistent
by Elise Perachio
Students have expressed con-
cern about food price discrepancies
in different residential colleges and
on-campus meal plans which may be
insufficient to cover food costs for
the semester.
Several members of the Thresher
staff ordered exactly the same lunch
at each of the eight colleges to com-
pare prices. The meal consisted of a
cheeseburger, french fries, and a
medium soft ^rink. Brown, Hanszen,
and Will Rice Colleges' headwaiters
FOOD COSTS
Hie following represents the prices
ts aiding the Tkmher
food costs at each of
represents the
r, freneh fries,
Jones*
0.00 1.00 ,2.00
Price
price paid J>y two or
charged the correct price of $2.25.
Other colleges charged the follow-
ing prices: Jones College, $1.80; Sid
Richardson College, $1.90; Wiess
College, $2.15; Lovett College, $2.30;
Baker College, $2.50.
Food prices are not consistent
within the same college either. An-
other Brown College member, who
went through the lunch line later
than the previous Thresher staffer,
was charged $2.05 for the very same
meal. Another Jones College mem-
ber paid $2.20 two days later for the
same meal.
Food and Housing Director Mar-
ion Hicks and Will Rice headwaiter
Mike Raphael said price discrepan-
cies are due to human error.
Raphael said he believed such
errors should not create a huge prob-
lem because "the prices are not too
complicated." He said prices are
standardized for all headwaiters in a
price list provided by Central
Kitchen. Portions are determined by
the colleges' kitchen staff.
Hicks said he believed the human
error was "very significant."
"In the colleges, there's a judge-
ment call so often as to whether the
meal is a special or not One college
will say it is; one will say it isn't,"
Hicks said.
Hicks said CK may lose money
and would seek to correct the prob-
lem if the current system was evalu-
ated unfavorably at tlife end of the fall
semester.
*A second problem Raphael found
more significant was that students,
especially those who attend every
meal, might run out of credit on their
meal plan before the semester is
over. Raphael added up possible
charges for the year to see if a typical
student would run out of money.
In his calculations, Raphael set
charges arbitrarily at $2 for break-
fast, $3 for lunch, $3 for dinner, $3.25
for brunch and $1.25 for continental
breakfast. These prices are the owl
plate per-meal prices.
Hearing
discusses
teen clubs
'Why are clubs
being singled out
as a source of the
problem?"
by Anureet Bajaj
The Drug Enforcement Com-
mittee of the Houston City Coun-
cil held a public hearing Tuesday,
October 11, to discuss the possi-
bility of banning 18-to-20-year-
olds from nightclubs where alco-
hol is served.
Some speakers on the five-
page list of scheduled speakers,
including Numbers owner Bruce
Godwin, and Club 6400 co-own-
ers Mike Steinman and Jeff
Beneke, argued against in-
creased regulation of nightclubs.
Members of Young Adults .in
Numbers owner Bruce Godwin speaks at Tuesday's City Council hearing
discussing teen nightclubs and a proposed city ordinance.
Action also spoke against the increased regulation of nightclubs.
Several members of Parents in Action, a vocal group which has pushed for tighter regulation on nightclubs,
also spoke.
Several Rice students, including Student Association Internal Vice-president Dennis Abbott and Will Rice
College sophomore Chris Briggs, attended the hearing but did not participate.
Abbott described those in attendance at the hearing as a wide variety of people.
, "There were people in nice clothes; there were people in everyday clothes; there were people who had their
heads shaved; and there were people in dance clothes. The people represented every variety of young adult
who like to go to these clubs," he said.
PIA has accused the nightclubs of providing easy access to alcohol and drugs for teenagers.
One woman from Spring, Diane Gates, told the Houston Chtonicle, "Each person in this room knows what
is happening in these clubs. How can you in good conscience allow these vermin to operate these havens that
allow our children to break the law by using drugs and alcohol?"
Nightclub owners have argued that the problems cannot be solved by greater regulation and that nightclubs
are not the only source of the drug problem
In the Houston Chronicle, Numbers owner Bruce Godwin asked, "Why are clubs being singled out as a
SEE PIA, PAGE 9
CK labeled Plan I as the full meal
plan. Plan II is called the partial meal
plan.
^ -Plan I includes a base cost of $425
per semester to cover labor and
other costs. Students may spend the
remaining $575 during the semes-
ter. This remaining sum pays for raw
food costs.
Plan I's total cost is $1000. Plan II
costs $825. Both include the $425
base cost which does not apply to
credit on the card. Even were a stu-
dent not to eat a single meal on
campus, the meal plan would cost
$425.
Every student living on-campus
must purchase either Plan I or Plan
II.
Raphael said he thought prices
for food should be much more
competitive because he found base
costs high. He said he thinks some
current prices are not fair.
According to Raphael's figures, a
student who attends every meal for
the above prices would pay $758 by
the end of the semester, which
means a student with a full plan
SEE PRICKS PAGE 7
Spring teacher evaluations released
by Leslie Raneri
Student evaluations of course
quality and teaching effectiveness
from spring 1988 were compiled and
released. Based on a five-point scale
with 1.00 as the maximum score, the
university-wide averages for courses
were 1.86 for general course quality
and 1.77 for effectiveness.
Last year's spring semester re-
ceived means of 1.90 for course
quality and 1.80 for teaching effec-
tiveness.
Twenty-eight undergraduate
courses received scores of 1.00 for
course quality, while 41 received
scores of 1.00 for effectiveness.
Among the divisions, the School
of Humanities had the highest rat-
ings, scoring an average of 1.70 for
course quality and 1.61 for course
effectiveness. It had 15 scores of 1.00
in undergraduate course quality and
23 scores of 1.00 in course effective-
ness.
The School of Architecture fol-
lowed Humanities with average
scores of 1.76 for course quality and
1.83 for course effectiveness. It had
one rating of 1.00 in undergraduate
teaching effectiveness.
The Shepherd School of Music
received average scores of 1.87 for
courses and 1.75 for teaching effec-
tiveness, with 2 scores of 1.00 in
undergraduate course quality and
one score of 1.00 in teaching effec-
tiveness.
The School of Natural Sciences
received an average score of 1.94 for
course quality and 1.95 for teaching.
It received five perfect scores of 1.00
in courses and five in effectiveness
on the undergraduate level.
The School of Engineering re-
ceived average scores of 1.98 in
course quality and 1.90 in effective-
ness. It received no perfect scores in
undergraduate course quality or
teaching effectiveness.
The School of Social Sciences
received average scores of 1.99 for
course quality, including 6 scores of
1.00, and 1.88 in teaching effective-
ness, with 11 scores of 1.00.
The Jones Graduate School of
Administration fell last, with course
quality averages of 2.08 and teaching
♦effectiveness averages of 1.92.
Courses and faculty were evalu-
ated in 13 different areas: organiza-
tion, assignments, challenge and
learning, which combined to evalu-
ate the course in general and prepa-
ration, presentation, responsibility,
responsiveness, knowledge, inde-
pendence, and stimulation, which
SEE EVALUATIONS, PAGE 9
OPINION
Rupp receives high
marks for his first three
years at Rice.
page 4
FINE ARTS
Rich Hall talks about
SNL, NNTN, and clubs,
page 11
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McGarrity, Patrick & Sendek, Joel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, October 14, 1988, newspaper, October 14, 1988; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245703/m1/1/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.