The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, April 12, 1996 Page: 2 of 20
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2 f RIDAY, APRIL 12. 1996
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Strategic Plan proposes changes that
could drastically alter campus.
When Rice went public with its 1996 Strategic Plan for improving the
university, it actively encouraged students togive their comments about the
proposals presented in the plan. Because many of these proposals have the
potential, if enacted, to dramatically alter student life here, we feel obliged
to contribute our views regarding a few of these proposals. .
Ninth College w
Perhaps the most interesting proposal in the Strategic Plan is the
suggestion that a ninth college be built. Many students appear to be in favor
of a ninth college. Each year, a significant number of students are forced to
move off-campus due to a shortage of rooms. A ninth college would address
this problem. In addition, the ninth college could be useful as a temporary
home for Wiess College residents while Wiess, whose foundation has been
sinking, is demolished and rebuilt.
O Unfortunately, the proposal has a few prob-
pinionS
&
• ^ I ems. For instance, it suggests an increase in
the undergraduate enrollment, which con-
^ tradicts the idea of building a ninth college to
accommodate a greater percentage of stu
<7T dents wishing to live on campus. Although
the proposal is careful to state that any increase should be minimal so that
it docs not "seriously compromise" the qualities that make Rice what it is,
even a small increase should be questioned. Students are attracted to Rice
because it is a small university; people here feel that they know a large
percentage of their peers. Rice would become less of a community. True, an
increased enrollment would probably translate into the hiring of more
professors and availability of more varied courses. But are these benefits
great enough to offset the negatives.
Graduate Education
Although we welcome Rice's efforts to improve the quality of its graduate
program, we strongly disagree with the plan's proposal to allow graduate
students to teach undergraduate courses, One of Rice's strong points in
recent years has been the quality of undergraduate teaching. A major
selling point for Rice is that almost all of its undergraduate courses — even
introductory-level classes — are taught by professors rather than graduate
students This is a small university. Why should we adopt one of the
classroom weaknesses of larger research universities?
Financial Disclosure
The Thresher fully supports the plan's suggestion that the university
increase the disclosure of financial records to the Rice community. By
withholding this information. Rice prevents students, faculty and staff from
fully comprehending the university's financial situation, thus making it
difficult for those outside the administration to come up with practical
solutions to many of the university's problems. Furthermore. Rice creates
the impression that it has something to hide by withholding information.
Rally
Letter Policy
TO SUBMIT — Letters may be senhri by ... *
e-mail: lingjjWowlnet. rice.edu
campus mail: Letter to the Editor, c/o The Rice Thresher
U.S. Mail. Letter to the Editor, The Rice Thresher,
6100 Main St., MS-524, Houston, TX 77005-1892
in person: Thresher Office, Second Floor, Student Center
DEADLINE - Deadline for all Inters is 5 p.mon Monday.
m
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Letters to the Editor
Affirmative action operates on
double standards, eye for an eye
Students should he commended for
taking action to preserve diversity.
Kudos from the Thresher to both the Black Student Association and the
Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice.
Both organizations should be commended for their excellent job in
assembling the rally on April 2. The BSA and HACER have set a strong
example for Rice students by doing something and not just standing there.
These clubs' rally is a strong statement that this rally is the kind of
rallying we need to see more of at Rice The "unofficial statement" of Rice
I Inited for Diversity is a positive statement for multiculturalism — directly
from the students who best understand the importance of diversity.
By enlisting such high-caliber supporters and speakers such as Con-
gresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee and State Representative Garnet Coleman,
these groups-have confirmed the fact that Rice students actually care,.By
attracting media attention (beyond, of course, that of the Thresher), these
groups have made it public that Rice Students will not sit idly by as changes
are planned that they do not agree with.
Hie fact that BSA and HACER made public their opposition to the 5th
Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Hoptvood v. University of Texas Law School
and Rice University's decision indicates that there is a "Strategic Plan" for
students, too: vocalization and action
So take the BSA and HACER as examples. Keep demonstrating that Rice
students won't take "no" for an answer. .
To the editor:
1 am a frequent visitor to your
campus with neither a present nor
past affiliation who is sorfiewhat flab-
bergasted by your editorial's unquali-
fied criticism of the Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals' decision regard-
ing affirmative action (Thresher,
March 29).
Let us not beat around the bush:
This awkward debate revolves
around the intellectual deficiencies
of many Afro-American and Hispanic
students — and not minority stu-
dents per se. Minority Orientals with
their overall high grades and qualifi-
cations do not need to rely on favors
to gain admission to our nation's
centers of higher learning.
The latter group never perceived
themselves as "victims" deserving
of compassion and special breaks,
while so many members of the
former groups wallow in self-pity and
excuse-making.
It is not racist to strongly declare
that some cultures are more condu-
cive than others in encouraging the
intellectual virtues mandated for our
Future Shock world.
Many whites, who comprise the
majority student body of elite educa-
tional institutions like , their prede-
cessors of the more radical '60s, are
inclined to indulge in flippant feel-
good, low-cost virtue.
They rely on self-righteous, lazy
responses to difficult issues, eschew-
ing the arduous intellectual labor
that truly needs to be done.
Some tacitly consider controver-
sial social matters, such as affirma-
tive action, as mere sideshows to
entertain themselves while pursu-
ing the ultimate goal of attaining an
overclass income and lifestyle.
There are indeed schools like
Rice University who have much to
be ashamed of regarding their past
injustices toward racial minorities.
And yes. they often hypocritically
practiced a form of racial and class
preference when sanctioning easier
admission standards favoring the
sons and daughters of the affluent
white establishment.
Two wrongs, however, do not
make a right — and will do little in
addressing today's problems. 'Hie
politics of bitterness and retaliation
only wocsen the situation,
I vPHi; though, strongly suggest
that when everything else is equal a
good argument can be made to justi-
fying giving the nudge to someone
from a disadvantaged background.
Affirmative action, rightly under-
stood and implemented, may well
play a legitimate role in our society.
What really bothers me is not the
abstract philosophical claims of af-
firmative action remedies, but what
has actually occurred in practice.
One must not avoid the unpleas-
ant reality that a naive demand to
increase minority enrollment at any
cost has inevitably resulted in the
lowering of academic standards.
It is one thing to offer remedial
help to someone who merely needs
to round out their high school edu-
cation to become able to handle uni-
versity work.
Unfortunately, well-meaning sen-
timentalists refuse to admit that
many minority students require a
Quantum leap of further instructions
before they even begin to handle
serious scholady challenges. This
usually proves to be impossible.
Too much has been made of the
statistical-aberration student who,
through extraordinary efforts, has
overcome the deficiencies of his past
inferior education.
The empirical evidence; however,
overwhelmingly shows that most of
these students never come close to
achieving intellectual competence.
Ultimately, we have no moral
right to ignore the harsh reality that
a credent ial is either earned or is not
worth the paper it's printed on.
How comfortable would any of us
be if a surgeon, pilot or any other
alleged professional performed a life-
or-death service for someone dear
to us who has not mastered the skills
and knowledge that should be taken
for granted?
Utopia is nof attainable within
this frustrating universe of quiet
desperation. When well-meaning
human beings attempt to alleviate
social problems by employing inap-
propriate remedies, they are likely
to make matters worse. 1 do not
employ euphemistic language.
No one should hold his breath
waiting for me to shy away from°a
colloquial and brutal discourse.
1 have no respect for the weak-
kneed, anti-intellectual mindset that
has for too long inhibited the discus-
sion of controversial matters.
This sad state of affairs must not
be allowed to continue. It does no-
body any good — least of all our
minority brothers and sisters who
must be genuinely aided in becom
ing full participants of the American
experience.
David Thomson
Houston, TX
To the editor:
After learning of a prospective
student's unfortunate experience
while spending the weekend at Rice.
1 feel compelled to stress both the
importance of and the responsibili
ties associated with hosting visitors.
Especially with Owl Day occur-
ring next week, 1 feel that this issue
deserves tremendous attention.
In this particular incident, a Jew-
ish high school senior was paired
with a non-Jewish student who hap-
pens to1)e an active member of a
Christian group on campus.
Even though this match alone
raises no unresolvable problems, the
host was never told that the visiting
student was Jewish, and the Jewish
student did hot object to attending
the religious group's meeting be-
cause she thought it was purely a
social event with no religious ele-
ments.
At the meetings however, the Jew
ish student experienced extreme
discomfort and left Rice fueling that
students here are completely insen-
sitive to Judaism.
As a Jewish student who has
served on the Student Admission
Council as a member of both the
Overnight Hosting Committee and
the On Campus Programs Commit-
tee (the group responsible for plan-
ning Owl Day), 1 believe that this
incident should encourage all of us
to consider the responsibilities we
assume when we agree to host pro-
spective students. v
We must remember that many
students feel quite vulnerable .when
visiting Rice and want to do nothing
that might inconvenience their hosts.
Even if the student had not been
Jewish, she still may have felt un-
comfortable. at a religious meeting
yet never acknowledged such feel-
ings because of a desire to conform
to her host's behavior.
Therefore, those of us who host
students must make every effort to
accommodate visiting students and
dispel any fears they may have of
being burdens to us. We must be
certain that visiting students feel
comfortable at all times.
Especially in such personal mat-
ters as religion, we must show the
utmost sensitivity and exercise ex-
tremely cautious judgment.
Next week, April 18-20, the Stu
dent Admission Council will spon-
sor Owl Day, an opportunity for us to
convince over 300admitted.students
to attend. To attract these students,
we must show them that we want
them to be at Rice.
Above all else, we must remem-
ber that they are the nervous visi-
tors «vhereal¥i we are the comfort-
able, confident hosts. If we do so,
this year's Owl Day weekend will be
as successful as all the previous ones
have been.
David Grossman
WftC'97
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Beard, Marty & Rao, Vivek. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, April 12, 1996, newspaper, April 12, 1996; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246539/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.