The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, April 7, 1989 Page: 2 of 16
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FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 1989 THE RICE THRESHER
Opinion
The Good: Rondelet
exceeds expectations
This year's Rondelet was one of the best Rice formals in recent years, and
it showed that despite all the criticism the 77jresher and others have dealt the
RFC this year, members of the outgoing RFC administration know what they
are doing as far as organizing formal dances is concerned. As a veteran of
several Rice formals, I feel 1 am qualified to judge the event relative to
previous ones.
The Houston Decorative Center was particularly well suited for a formal.
There were enough tables to accomodate any couple who wanted to have a
place to share a sinful selection from the tempting desert bar. And at the same
time, despite attendance that exceeded expectation, there was still ample
room on the dance floor, which has been a rare occurance in recent years.
There were also plenty of bartenders, and hardly any lines for drinks.
One down side involved inefficient service by the bus company which was
hired to shuttle people from the dance to Rice; still, the RPC cannot be directly
faulted for this, except for choosing a poor-quality company.
Many have been interested in "reforming" the RPC this year. Clearly',
steps did have to be taken toward tightening up the RFC somewhat; however,
regardless of whether the RPC has its own constitution or whether the
representatives are appointed or elected, the success of the RPC hinges on
the success of the formals.
Tremendous effort is involved in organizing a formal dance. A location
must be found; price and security factors must be negotiated. A band or DJ
has to be hired, a theme has to be determined, and the event must be
publicized. Every step of the way involves a great time commitment. The fact
that this year's Rondelet came off so smoothly shows how thorough and
meticulous the effort was on the part of the RPC in general, and former
Presidents Alex Flennerand Rachel Gicsber in particular.
I^et's hope next year's RFC under the leadership of Steve Cantrell will be
able to continue the success.
— Joel Sendek
The Bad: SA turnover
bash funding excessive
The $750 which the Student Association has approved for their turnover
banquet is cause for concern, especially since it is more than twice last year's
expenditure, which was twice that of the year before. In 1986, less than $100
was allocated for the turnover celebration.
Outgoing SA President Andy Karsner maintains that the cost is justified,
and is hopeful that such extravagence in future years will serve as an incentive
for SA members to work hard all year with the banquet as a meager reward
for a thankless job.
Indeed, members of the SA are not paid. They volunteer their time and
energy to serve their fellow students. It is hoped that the reason the SA
members do this in the first place is because they receive satisfaction that no
paycheck could match.
In addition, there are few fringe benefits that go along with being on the
SA. Aside from a refurbished office, there has been little extravagance,
either. In fact, a number of cost-cutting measures have been undertaken by
the SA this year, including a substantial reduction in long-distance telephone
usage and foregone trips to conventions in the Northeast Unquestionably,
this year's SA is much more fiscally sound than in the past
But is a $750 expenditure for a turnover banquet consistent with the ideals
set forth by this year's SA? One might agree, simply on the basis that the SA
members deserve it for the outstanding job they have done. But it is
dangerous to think that the banquet might set a precedent, for there is no
guarantee that future administrations will be as deserving as this year's is.
There is also the question of whether the expenditure has to be so high,
even this year. What would be wrong with a banquet where dinner and
activities were subsidized, and not paid for in full? This would free up a few
hundred dollars that could be used for the benefit of all students. For
example, the airport shuttle service could be subsidized, or the activities fair
at O-Week could be free for participating organizations. What's your opinion
on the matter? Decide, and tell your SA representative.
The Ugly: Beer-Bike
procedures unclear
In the minutes of the most recent RPC meeting, the secretary recorded
l hat Beer-Bike went "smoothly." In a superficial sense, this statement is true:
no one was hurt, no major protests were filed, and the concessions stands
made enough profit to help fund the repaving of the bike track. But on the
other hand, there were significant problems.
For instance, the women's race marked the first time in recent history that
a race had to be restarted. Since a false start happens so infrequently, there
are no provisions in the Beer-Bike rules about how to deal with it. When itdid
occur, it led to chaosand confusion in the pits. Can an alternate be exchanged
for the first rider? Must the first chugger chug again? How much time before
the race is restarted? The point is not that the answers to these questions are
crucial to the race, but rather that a lack of planning for a situation like a false
start can lead to mass confusion, or even injury.
In the alumni race, most teams rode without the minimum three women
riders. This established minimum is not awrittpn rule, for there are no written
rules for the alumni race, but rather a mutual agreement between thccollcges
and the Beer-Bike Chairman. Once again, there is a need for clearly written
rules and procedures.
Another problem with Beer-Bike procedures stems from a lack the
communication between the college Beer-Bike coordinators and their team
members. Forexample.oneofthe Brown College riders had a blowout on her
second lap. Although a crash bike was within reach, she had no idea that she
could use it Furthermore, the Brown team did not realize that the alternate
rider who was immediately sent out only had to finish the remaining lap.
These problems are not difficult to solve. The organizers of next year's
Beer-Bike should simply put more emphasis on clarifying race procedures,
as well as understanding and abiding by them. Only then can Beer-Bike run
"smoothly."
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Tuition increases again top inflation
by Kurt Moeller
In recent issues the Chronicle of
Higher Education reported a con-
tinuation of one financial trend and a
reversal of another. Early reports
indicate tuition at most colleges will
rise 7 to 10%, marking the ninth
straight year tuition will have risen
faster than the rate of inflation.
College endowments grew only
1.3% from July 1,1987 to June
30,1988, the smallest percentage
since 1983-84.
National figures on tuition will not
be ready until August, but many
schools are reporting 7% to 10% in-
creases, with a few like Rice report-
ing increases of 15% or more. At Rice
tuition will increase 15.1%, from
$5300 to $6100.
I.ast year tuition rose an average
of 7%, while the Consumer Price
Index rose 4.4%.
Over the past 10 years, tuition at
private 4-year institutions has risen
154%, an average of 9.8% a year. Tui-
tion at public ones has risen 139%, an
annual average of 9.1%.
"It's another big year for tuition
increases," said A. Lee Fritschler,
president of Dickinson College, a
highly-regarded liberal arts college
in Carlisle, Pa Tuition there will rise
9.5%, to $13,300.
The Chronicle reports analysts of
tuition trends are not surprised and
expect tuition to increase faster than
inflation for the next few years.
So far the public has accepted the
increases without much uproar. Few
states have effective student lobbies
and increasingly fewer state legisla-
tors see themselves as guardians of
low tuition, said James R. Mingle,
executive director of the State
Higher Education Executive Offi-
cers association.
Mingle said these are the only
pressures to keep tuition down.
Unlike his predecessor William
Bennett, who lambasted colleges for
the continual above-inflation in-
creases in tuition, Secretary of Edu-
cation I>auro Cavazos has spoken in
more quiet tones.
In late February Cavazos, who
was President of Texas Tech, ex-
pressed concern and said colleges
should "make every effort" to keep
tuition down.
At 4-year private universities and
colleges this year, tuition averaged
$7693; at 2-year ones, $4564. At 4-
ycar public universities, it averaged
$1566; at 2-year ones, $767.
Many big state university sys-
tems will see large tuition increases
this year.
At the twelve senior institutions
in Texas, tuition and fees for state
residents will rise 12.5%, to $540. At
the University of California, tuition
and fees will rise 9.3 percent, to
$1697, for residents and will rise
17.9%, to $7496, for non-residents.
Some schools are planning to
raise revenues by charging fresh-
men more than returning students.
AtSeton Hall University in New Jer-
sey, freshmen will pay $8900, a 19.6%
increase, while upperclassmen at
the university will pay $8250, an in-
crease of 10.8%.
At George Washington Univer-
sity in Washington, D.C., freshmen
will pay $11,500, a 20.1% increase,
and upperclassmen will pay $10,530,
a 10% increase.
Meanwhile, schools with endow-
ments greater than $1 million saw
theirendowmentsgrowbyonly 1.3%.
From July 1, 1984 to June 30, 1987,
these grew 82%, an average yearly
rate of 22%.
"Might this be marking the end of
an era?" asked Robin Jenkins, direc-
tor of the National Association of
College and University Business
Officers' Financial Management
Center.
With an increase of 3.8% in the
Consumer Price Index over the
same time period, endowments' real
value declined by 2.4%.
Since 46% of schools' investment
portfolios are domestic common
stocks (versus 51% in 1986-87), Octo-
ber 1987's stock market crash was a
major contributor to the loss of real
value.
Schools diversified their portfo-
lios, adding more bonds (from 29.2%
to 33% of their portfolio), real estate,
and foreign securities. Venture capi-
tal (-15.9%) and domestic common
stocks (-7%) showed the lowest re-
turns.
leveraged buyots showed the
highest returns (20%). In December
1988, Rice's endowment grew by
than $6 million when Kohlberg,
Kravis, and Roberts bought out RJR/
Nabisco in the largest leveraged
buyout ever.
Rice earned more than $50 per
share on its 116,000 shares.
In another trend reversal, the
largest endowments performed
more poorly than the smaller endow-
ments.
Endowments of greater than
$400 million increased by only 0.5%
this year, while endowments under
$25 million increased by 1.5%.
Over the last five years, the larg-
est endowments at these universi-
ties grew by 13.6% annually while the
smallest endowments grew by only
11.2%.
In fact, of the fifteen largest en-
dowments, only four increased,the
ones belonging to Harvard, Prince-
ton, Rice, and Northwestern. Of
those fifteen, only Harvard's (3.42%)
and Northwestern"s (3.07%) outper-
formed Rice's. Stanford's endow-
ment, the fifth largest, performed the
worst of the fifteen, losing 8.05% of its
value.
The market value of Rice's en-
dowment, twelfth largest in the na-
tion, grew from $857,155,000 to
$873,149^,000, a 1.87% increase. Har-
vard ($4.16 billion), the University of
Texas System($2.78 billion), and
Princeton ($2.31 billion) have the
largest endowments.
Princeton has the largest endow-
ment per student in the country,
$372,690. Rice has the fourth largest
endowment per student in the na-
tion, $218,396 per student (counting
3,998 students). Second is Harvard,
third is Cal Tech.
Thompson
thanks
students
To the editors:
On behalf of the men's basketball
team and staff I would like to thank
the Rice students for the terrific
support throughout the season.
Starting with last October at
Midnight Madness through our last
home game against Arkansas you
made Au try Court the greatest home
court in the Southwest Conference.
You helped us make it into the con-
ference tournament for the first time
in many years. We won many games
that we weren't supposed to and
people are beginning to realize that
Rice basketball is improving.
We are proud to be representing
the greatest students in the country.
Scott Thompson
Men's Basketball Head Coach
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JAY (18) HAROLD(23)
KURT (20)
GREG (21)
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McGarrity, Patrick & Sendek, Joel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, April 7, 1989, newspaper, April 7, 1989; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245719/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.