The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, September 3, 1993 Page: 2 of 16
sixteen pages : ill. ; page 19 x 15 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
2 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1993 THE RICE THRESHER
OPINION
Enabling
Efforts to accommodate the disabled
should be sensible and economical
The issue of access for the disabled is a difficult one because it
raises such a wide range of questions. The most central of these
questions is also the most complicated: What does society owe to
its disabled? To what extent must society level the playing field for
those who need more elaborate access, greater services, and more
care? From where does society's moral obligation spring, and at
what point is this obligation met?
It is now established in American law that universities and other
public institutions must make plans to accommodate the disabled
in all future construction and must create plans to update earlier
buildings in the near future for basic access. The university must
carefully consider its future plans and cautiously adjust its budget
accordingly. More importantly,itmustconsidertheuniquenature
of the institution itself.
While laws can be followed in letter, only those within the
university know what access really means on this campus: what
buildings
« « l—j people most
piniOng '"luently
X £Zr« use, what
rooms they re-
O ally need to
£2. reach, and
P where they
hold the most
popular par-
ties. These are
tilings that the federal government cannot dictate, yet which
strongly condition the quality of life for a disabled Rice student or
faculty member.
It is for this reason that the university must make it its business
not just to follow the law, but to search out those particular ways
in which access can be enabled without great expense, but with
great effect. The university should not spend exorbitant amounts
to make every room of every building accessible. But efforts
should be sensible so that key destinations are fully accessible, not
left just beyond the reach of the disabled by incomplete renova-
tions or partial solutions dictated by vague federal regulations.
While we at Rice are determined that our architecture reflect
the spirit of the university, so too should we see to it that our new
buildings reflects our sense of priorities about the disabled. The
university's ability to accommodate the disabled reflects in some
sense the community's ability to cope with the future.
f m The MM 1 since i9ie
Rice 1nresher
Kraettli Epperson, Peter Howley
Editors-in-Chief
Shane A. Speciale
Business Manager
Melissa Williams
Sei Chong
David Hale
Vivek Rao
Kraettli Epperson
Peter Howley
Torrey Folk
Amy Jeter
Jason Katz
Terzah Ewing
Eric Stotts
Eric Shamp
K.N. Mistry
Monica Weinheimer
Haley S. Robertson
Kathy O'Steen
News Editor
Assistant News Editor
Opinion Editor
Assistant Opinion Editor
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Sports Editor
Sports Editor
Assistant Sports Editor
Assistant Features Editor
Backpage Editor
Backpage Editor
Production Manager
Photography Editor
Ads Manager
Assistant Business Manager
The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper at Rice University
since 1916, is published each Friday during the school year, except during
examination periods and holidays, by the students of Rice University.
Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor of the Ijey
Student Center, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas, 77251. Phone 527-4801.
Advertising information available on request Mail subscription rate per
semester $20.00 domestic, $40.00 international via first class mail. Non-
subscription rate: first copy free, second copy $1.00.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher
Editorial Staff. All other pieces represent the opinion of the author.
Obviously. © COPYRIGHT 1993
UCFT^OO$fc,T*AR-
AWBOWElflEVm
Response to disruption mistaken
Discussion reveals deeper problems with O-week rape
To the editor
On August 27, a letter appeared in
the Thresher regarding Mixed Signals,
the rape awareness presentation at-
tended by most freshmen, transfers,
and their advisors during Orientation-
Week. We believe that the presenta-
tion itself could use some improve-
ment to prevent such disruptive be-
havior in the future.
First there is the issue which
prompted the Thresher letter. A male
made the previous comment must
never had been raped because, "When
men are raped, it's by other men, and
it's not fun." The response which met
the comment was no more construc-
6 Students need scenes
they can identify with, not
THE EDITOR
Letters
member of the audience said some-
thing about feeling as though he had
been raped because, according to him,
the presentation seemed to point a
gun at men. At least two students tried
to respond to what was said, but the
crowd was out of control, and their
voices were lost However, a woman
from a Houston women's aid center
stood up and addressed the comments
directly. She said that the man who
laugh at.
tive than what the "disruptive student"
himself said.
In order for it to be taken seriously,
much needs to be done to Mixed, Sig-
nals. First, it must be understood that
the play itself fits poorly into O-Week.
This is no one's fault It is difficult,
perhaps especially for young adults,
to be asked to participate in a serious
situation after several days of fun and
craziness. Extra effort ought to go into
making the presentation palatable.
The potential uneasiness was wors-
ened this year by the high melodrama
ofthepresentation.Forinstance,there
was the blue light blinking every seven
awareness program
minutes to remind everyone that some-
one had just been raped. It has be-
come a joke among the freshmen to
point out the blue Campus Police
phone box lights and say, "Oh! An-
other rape!" There is no doubt in
anyone's mind that the subject matter
is indeed very grave, but the exces-
sively formal, melodramatic style cho-
sen by the two presenters lent itself
too easily to ridicule.
The presentation also lacks coher-
ence and clarity at times. The play
opens with a situation in which a hos-
tile lawyer examines a man who has
been mugged. It was difficult to deter-
mine what exactly was meantby show-
ing this situation before the four rape
scenarios. Some students may have
thought, "Look, it isn't the man's fault
he was mugged; they are trying to
point out that it is not the woman's
fault that she was raped." Others, in-
cluding members of our group,
thought, "He was out late at night in an
expensive suit; it's like walking with
money hanging out of your pocket-
It is not his fault he was mugged, but
he was being really stupid." One might
even say he was asking for it
Thefour rape vignettes alsopresent
SEE RAPE. PAGE 3
Anti-prayer letter reflects intolerance
To the editor:
In the August 27 issue of the
Thresher, Bradley Monton expressed
in a letter how uncomfortable he felt
during Rabbi Marc Brownstein's
prayer at last year's graduation. Be-
cause he is nonreligious, he felt dis-
criminated against by being "com-
pelled into expressing subservience
to some supreme being." He declared
that, "This ostensibly secular univer-
6The problem.. .remains
that the logical conclusion
of Mr. Monton's mind-set
is that any expression of
beliefs which conflicts with
other beliefs should be
repressed. 9
Mr. Monton talked of the rabbi
"forcing about four-tenths of the stu-
dents to be hypocritical," but the fact
is that the students were not forced to
agree with any part of the graduation.
As college students, we know that we
are free to disagree with what we hear,
and furthermore, that part of a college
education involves being exposed to
and learning from different ideas. Mr.
Monton, however, feels that because
his non-religious beliefs conflict with
the rabbi's religious beliefs, the rabbi
should not be allowed to speak. In
other words, solely because of the
rabbi's religious beliefs, Rice Univer-
sity should prohibit him from speak-
ing. This mind-set is religious discrimi-
nation. It is intolerance. It is the
narrow-mindedness ofthe type I men-
tioned earlier which masquerades as
open-mindedness. The focus has
merely shifted away from more well-
known, publicized, and berated forms
of narrow-mindedness to a prejudice
against that which is perceived as
narrow-minded.
As a solution to the problem of
discomfort, Mr. Monton suggests that
the prayer be replaced by a student-
written poem. Except to the extent
that a poem is not as readily stereo-
typed and focused on by this new
breed of narrow-mindedness, this re-
placement will not solve the problem.
If students feel uncomfortable when
beliefs not their own are expressed, a
SEE PRAYER, PAGE 3
UWSA criticism undeserved
'Crock' comment dismisses efforts of miUions
sity should Mop forcing us to partici-
pate in these irrational prayers to a
non-existent god." I feel that Mr.
Monton is misguided in hiscomplaints
of discomfort and in his proposed so-
lution of prohibiting prayer at gradua-
tion. I feel he is calling Rice University
into a trap where so-called
open-mindedness becomes nothing
more than narrow-mindedness with a
new focus, as I shall explain.
To the editor:
While we certainly did not expect
all the responses to the founding of
the Ijead or Ixave/United We Stand
America chapter at Rice to be enthusi-
astic, the vitriolic tone of (Rice Young
Democrats President) Joe Grinstein's
comments in the August 27Thresher
demands some response.
First of all, Grinstein criticizes our
group on the basis that it is merely "a
ploy to get politicians elected." We
take it that's an activity the Demo-
cratic Party never takes part in.
Next, he criticizes the centralized
nature of the UWSA organization. To
be sure, UWSA is very centralized, as
would be any modern political organi-
zation that attempts to be a mass orga-
nization overnight What's more, even
most long-established mass political
organizations are, to a large degree,
organized and led from the top down,
with grass-roots input coming in only
at conventions or elections (if even
then). We are hardly unique in this
respect
last, Grinstein refers to the orga-
nization as a useless "crock." By do-
ing so, Grinstein dismisses the activi-
ties of millions of average Americans,
many of whom have, until now, felt
completely alienated and forgotten by
SEE POLITICS, PAGE 4
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Howley, Peter & Epperson, Kraettli. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, September 3, 1993, newspaper, September 3, 1993; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245845/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.