The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 27, 1995 Page: 4 of 20
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4 FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1995 THE RICE THRESHER
OPINION
Racism
FROM PAGE 2
Our white opponents were
awarded a frightening advantage in
foul-calling, prompting more than
one of them to confess to us during
the game that the calls were unfair.
One specific example sums up
the behavior I have witnessed on
many occasions in many games.
It is a violation to take too long to
substitute players. Normally, offi-
cials police this by politely warning
the team that it is taking too long.
l^ast year, our team had some
confusion over a substitution, and
the officials became very angry at
I still see many
students unable or
unwilling to
communicate with the
black people, on staff at
our college. ... '
the delay, gave us a warning, and
generally gave us way too much atti-
tude.
Ixist week, the official who ex-
pected us to have a white team cap-
tain on a predominantly black team
c almly held the ball and waited for
our opponents while they took a long
time sorting out their substitution.
The treatment was different, and the
reasons were at least partly because
of race.
The whole tenor of the game was
very disturbing.
The feeling I got from watching
this guy in action was that our team
of mostly black players were in need
of instruction and guidance, because
we tended towards one-on-one play
and street ball-learned defense. In
contrast, our opponents were a group
of sporting white (with one excep-
tion) guys who played as a team and
played clean, honest defense. Albeit
extreme, this was the feeling one
got from watching this referee in
action.
I would like to be clear about my
intentions. I am not saying the ref
cost us the game. We were out-
manned, having only one substitute
against their waves of fresh legs, so
1 didn't expect to win.
But I also didn't expect the offi-
cial to become intimidated by our
players' frightening "blackness," and
resort to bullying my team with his
small authority.
Power is a dangerous thing, and
a little power is even more danger-
ous.
I have played with the same guys
for several years in intramurals, and
1 am tired of watching the officials
play out master-slave scenarios
against my teammates.
It is an official's job to objectively
call the game as he sees it, and it is
an absolute necessity that a ref stay
above the emotional tides of the
game in order to maintain a calm
game. Officials who bring their egos
onto the court with them exacerbate
volatile situations.
I^ast week is another in a series of
games that shall go down in infamy.
In these games, it has not been
enough that we have lost, but the
officials have also felt compelled to
put us in our place.
I have cussed and thrown minor
tantrums in past games, as have
many of my white opponents, but as
soon as one of my black teammates
does so, he gets called for a foul,
disrespected and often thrown out
of the game.
What bothers me most about this
is that while the refs will respect my
anger as being with myself or the
frustration of the game, the official
last week took any anger from my
black teammates personally, and felt
the need to use his power over them
to "defend" himself.
It all may sound piddling, espe-
cially to non-sports fans, but for me
it is something that has gone on too
long.
I expect Rice to be less racist
than the rest of the country, and in
many overt ways it is.
Yet stories of black students be-
ing harassed by campus police to
show student ID's are still very re-
cent in our school's memory. And I
still see many students unable or
unwilling to communicate with the
black people on staff at our college,
from which my friends and team-
mates came.
And now, I see one small-minded
person at this prestigious institution
for higher learning disrespecting my
black friends.
It angers me especially in light of
the sentiments voiced days earlier
' It angers me especially
in light of the sentiments
voiced days earlier in
memory of Dr. King. ?
in memory of Dr. King.
The official challenged my team-
mates' dignity by meeting their
sports frustration with anger and
opposition, reducing the game to a
stand-off of egos. He did not give
them justice, but meted outhisgrace
only where he saw fit.
In this small event at a small
school, I suddenly understood the
tremendous rage that being treated
differently creates in blacks.
Even worse, I understood that
there are still people whose unjust
behavior justifies and perpetuates
this anger.
*
Stuart Krohn
WRC '95
Renovations
FROM PAGE 3
them to go all out. Being a civic-
minded person, I thought I should
do my part by presenting my own
wish list:
• First on my agenda is a food court.
Student surveys have shown that
students definitely are interested in
seeing one at Rice. Since the estab-
lishments could prepare the food
elsewhere and bring them to the
Student Center, space requirements
would be minimal.
• A game room would also be nice.
A video room in the basement is an
interesting concept, but we already
have a TV in the Student Center. I
therefore suggest that the video
room be replaced with a game room
containing video games and pool
tables. The game room outside the
Pub right now.is pathetic. If enough
students were interested, bowling
lanes could also be added.
• Another change, one that could
be done right now at minimal cost, is
to open the Student Center 24 hours
a day. If the administration won't
spend the money to keep the library
open past 2 a.m., the least they could
do is keep the Student Center open
longer.
• Building room for a bank would
be another good way of addressing
student needs. Both staff and stu-
dents would much rather prefer to
make a short walk to the Student
Center during their lunch breaks to
deposit or cash checks rather than
rush to the bank at the end of the
day. While Rice has apparently tried
(and failed) once to bring a branch
to campus, the idea is surely worth a
little more administrative energy.
• I^ss vital, but nevertheless a
welcome addition, would be a water
fountain in front of the bookstore.
Besides making the Student Center
a much more pleasant place to hang
out, it would also drown out the
screams emanating from fhe book-
store as customers discover how
much their textbooks cost.
• Students would definitely take
advantage of a dance floor/
rollerblading rink.
• A mini-amusement park would
complement the game room nicely.
It could contain such items as a tram-
poline, a Velcro™ wall and an indoor
roller coaster, for instance.
• If we were to expand the second
and third floors sufficiently, we
would be able to attract a retail store
much larger than the convenience
store envisioned by the architects. A
Wal-Mart, for instance, would almost
undoubtedly jump at the chance to
open an outlet on campus. Wal-Mart's
strategy in recent years has been to
target small communities. And Rice,
with a population of only a few thou-
sand, would be a logical place for the
corporate giant with a friendly face.
If lucky, we might even get a Wal-
Mart Supercenter, but first we would
need to raze the biology, geology
and space physics buildings to make
room for a Supercenter parking lot.
• With Wal-Mart, a bank and a food
court present, we could then lure
other retailers so that students with-
out cars have access to department
stores such as Sears, The Gap and
Dillards. The Campus Store might
even get some competition from a
Bookstop or Barnes & Noble.
• Finally, we need a spiral escala-
tor in front of Academic Advising so
that people actually will go to the
second floor to see what is there.
The Student Center renovations
are by no means a done deal. I'm
sure that the administration would
be open to suggestions, especially if
people shout loudly enough. The
purpose of modifying the Student
Center is to improve the quality of
student life, so the university won't
be too interested in making this hap-
pen if sftidents seem to not care.
If we want a better Student Cen-
ter, now is the time to say so. Let
student officials know what you like
or dislike about the proposals. Or
better yet, send us a letter to the
editor and present your ideas to the
entire campus.
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Hale, David. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 27, 1995, newspaper, January 27, 1995; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246501/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.