The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, March 14, 1997 Page: 3 of 24
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Since
Court beL.
the organ
to revise the
Ust year.
sa
w<i1r,ri,u,i"D'
Hoard of Governors ap-
proved the university's
new Code of Student Con-
duct, replacing the Code
of Judicial Procedure, IJ.
Court had to change its
own constitution in order
t< make the document
consistent with the lan-
guage of the new code.
The revised constitu-
tion is now on the ballot
for the spring election and
must be voted on and approved by
the student body for II. Court to
operate under the new document.
There are no major changes to
the constitution. The only signifi-
cant difference is in the language of
the document, which has changed
because of new terms and defini-
tions now in the code.
The students, professors and ad-
ministrators who served on the com-
mittee that created the Code of Stu-
dent Conduct refrained from using
John
Strickland
UNIVERSITY
COURT
u k
the U
judicial Vroo
stituted mor
and definitions. ,
For example, the old
Code of Judicial Procedure
referred to a student
charged with a violation as
"the accused." Such a stu-
dent is now referred to as
"the student charged."
In addition, the univer-
sity no longer refers to inci-
dents as "cases," but rather
as "matters." Students are
no longer found "guilty" or
"not guilty," but rather, "in
violation" or "not in viola-
tion" of the code.
Subtle warding changes have
resulted in modifications to virtually
every arti^fe of the U. Court Consti-
tution. It is for this reason that the
student body must vote on a revi-
sion of the entire document.
live University Court has also
tried to explain better many of its
policies and procedures. In the past,
the organization has operated by
simply relying on previous mem-
bers to delineate for new members
how U. Court operates
he new constitution explicitly
states many of U. Court's proce-
I easier for all new
members elected at each term to
become oriented to how the organi-
zation works. A more concise and
comprehensive constitution will also
allow for a greater degree of consis-
tency from term to term with regard
to procedure.
Students are encouraged to re-
view the new const it ut ion, now avail-
able on Kiceinfo. ti"Court members
will remind students to vote by mak-
ing announcements in each college
throughout the voting period. In or
der for the constitution to pass, a
minimum of 20 percent of the stu-
dent body must vote, with at least
two:thirds approving the changes.
Questions concerning the consti
tutional revision should be ad-
dressed to the University Court
chairman, John Strickland,. at
johnmstr@rice.edu, or any other
member of the University Court.
John Strickland is University Coi^rt
chairman and a Will Rice College
senior.
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Student officers should respect jobs
Candidates run for university
or college offices for a variety of
reasons. Although most of them care
about the position for which they
are running, some seek
offices in hopes of pad-
ding resumes, feeding
power trips or guarantee-
ing themselves a room on
campus. There isnothing
wrong with running for
these reasons, assuming
that, once electetl, each
candidate takes his or her
job seriously.
Unfortunately, this* is
not always the case. This
year 1 was sad to observe
elected individuals, particularly at
the college level, who seem to con-
sider their office to be a title only,
with few or no responsibilities.
As the newly elected college and
university officers begin to settle
into their positions, I would like to
remind them that regardless of their
VlKKI
Otero
FEATURES
EDITOR
reason for running for office, they
have a responsibility at least to try to
fulfill the duties of their position. If
making announcements to your col-
lege is part of your job,
you owe it to your college
to do so. If you are a col-
lege president, you
should attend Student As-
sociation meetings.
College secretaries
should do their own min-
utes. O-Week coordina-
tors should look out for
the best interests of the
new students.
While clearly some
conflicts are unavoidable
and it is OK for an official to del-
egate responsibilities on occasion,
making a habit of having someone
else do your work is unacceptable.
It is unfair to those who elected
you, it is unfair to the other people
who ran for your position, it is un-
fair to whoever does your work for
you, and it is unfair to the people you
are supposed to be serving.
If, after being elected, you find
that you cannot or simply do not
want to do your job, resign.
If you cannot do the work, you do
not deserve the title. Doing a poor
job only denigrates the organization
you represent and causes people to
Jose respect for you personally.
And, for those who observe offic -
ers in their organizations are shirk
ing their responsibilities, I urge you
to invoke what 1 call the A. Johnson
rule (named after impeached United
States President Andrew Johnson)
Remind them of the duties of their
position and give them a chance to
improve. If they don't, get them out
of office.
They are in office to serve you
and they owe it to you to do a good
job. Demand it.
Vikki Otero is the features editor and
a Will Rice College senior.
Backpage
FROM PAGE 2
restricts good satire.
There is "enough meanness and
stupidity in the world to supply le-
gions of satirists with material daily.
Should material from anonymous
sources be used, ^s is now the
Backpage policy? I doubt it, but I'iy
open to argument. Admittedly, ano-
nymity can occasionally provide a
needed protection for the satirist.
But anonymity is also a cloak for
irresponsible, thoughtless accusa-
tions of the kind that may well have
played a role in causing a gentle and
much loved English professor, John
Parish, to Commit suicide several
years ago shortly after an anony-
mous Backpage attack on him.
Should humor be directed only
against people of one political ten-
dency? Should liberals be let off the
hook? Or conservatives?
The obvious answer is no. A free
press should be truly free to cast
well-aimed barbs against any politi-
cal, religious or philosophical ten
dency, as well as against asinine
behavior of every sort, so long as
the laws against libel are observed.
Where, then, does one draw the
line? My view is that, at minimum,
no ridicule should be directed
against an ascriptive group — one
which people are born into or do not
voluntarily join, such as a gender,
disability or racial group — that has
traditionally been the object of cruel
stereotypes.
- You don't ridicule women for be-
ing women, crippled people for be-
ing crippled, or African Americans
for being African Americans, ufless
you are a bully.
On the other,hand, the Thresher
should be free to satirize anybody,
any group or any tendency — from
the National Organization of Women
to the National Rifle Association,
from professorslo administrators,
from the Religious Right to libera-
tion theology — whose actual words
or behavior the writer considers wor-
ldly of ridicule.
Freely chosen actions and words
are fair game, although editorial
judgment stiH has a role to play.
Admittedly, there may be gray
areas and special cases, as there
always are when guidelines are
drawn.
But it is essential for the Thresher
editors to make clear that1 certain
things are beyond the pale of re-
sponsible journalism.
Does such a policy deny the right
of free speech? Not at all. Every
responsible newspaper •places lim-
its on what its staff may write. The
Thresher itself doesn't permit
"nigger" or "kike" on its pages.
Is this thejmposition of political
correctness? Not unless you define
p.c. as the requirement that newspa-
pers treat people with basic respect.
At first glance, the requirement
of basic respect rrtight seem to con-
flict with a policy that allows satire,
which can hurt the target. 1 would
argue, however, that one can sati-
rize and make angry without insult-
ing.
My attempt to suggest a policy
guideline is admittedly rough-hewn
and is meant more as a provocation
to Rice students to think seriously
about what should not be permis-
sible in their newspaper than as a
finished proposal.
Finally, I welcome the opportu-
nity to discuss my views with any-
one in any forum on campus.
1 would particularly welcome a
chance to discuss them with stu.
dents who believe that a policy of the
sort I have suggested, imposed by
the Thresher editors themselves,
trammels students' right to free
speech.
Chandler Davidson
Professor
Department of Sociology
after
away, I
that
has gone in when
it cornea to freedom.
What's worse, Rice stu-
dents are allowing the
university to slowly re-
move more of their
freedoms in the name
of "security."
When I matricu-
lated in I977,this place
waa what a university
was supposed to be: a
wide-open academic
free-fire zone in which
some ideas won and
some ideas lost, but at least both
sides were eventually discussed.
Now the university acts more
like "Big Brother" than in loco
parentis, and the current stu-
dents, raised believing that
Ronald Reagan was Ike and that
the 1980s were the 1950s, naively
believe that the powers that be
will be looking out for their inter-
H14,1997 3
Ben
Alcala
By now you may be saying,
"So what?" That comes from
never having experienced true
freedom here at Bice. Maybe free-
dom from your hometownor free-
dom from your parents, but not
the true freedom that comes with
responsibility.
Asaseniorin political science,
I was issued a Rice ID, but I find
it is practically useless asiar as
building access goes. While get-
ting into Mudd Building, Ander-
son Half or Fondren Library is no
problem, the other bu ildings are
much more problematic.
For example, I went to Sewall
Hall at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night
process of locking the office 1
needed to get into, and I was
able to get the articles. (Is it still
OK to call the help around here
gnomes or has that,
like the Thresher
Backpage, become
politically incorrect?)
The same goes for
the Rice Media Cen-
ter. After being "RE-
JECTED," I went to
the Campus Police,
who assured me that I
should be able to get
in. Wrong. I had to go
to thfc Campus Police
again the next day to
get them to fix my ID so that I
could get into the building to
work on my video project Can
you say annoyed?
And it is the same with the
cotleges. I tried to get into the
Will Rice College old dorm for
chug practice, and again thecard
reader said "REJECTED" even
though my ID says Will Rice on
the front When I tried to get the
students' attention outside by
yelling, they looked at me like I
was from Mars.
Supposedly someone was to
going to let me in. but after wait-
ing for five minutes I left be-
cause I was afraid that someone
was going to call the Campus
Police because I was an "out-
sider" loitering near Will Rice.
Again I got upset—just because
I am 38 years old with gray hair
doesn't mean that I don't belong
at Rice.
My questions are: What the
hell good is that damn ID if it
doesn't let you into buildings to
accomplish needed academic
taak ? Why should \ have to con-
with a pocketful oi change, Wait-
ing to copy some articles before I . «form to a daytime schedule if I
went to Valhalla. When I got to feel like working at 2 a.m.? And
Sewall and tried my ID, I got
"REJECTED."
Your current Rice student will
shrug and say, "111 try again to-
morrow," because they have ac-
cepted the university ^argument
that a high-level of security some-
how makes them safer. I, on the
other hand, used to 24-hour ac-
cess of nearly the whole campus
because that was the way it was
when I got here in 1977, un-
leashed a torrent of obscenities.
My freedom was heedlessly
restricted, and I sure as hell was
not feeling any safer, only ticked
off at being treated like a child.
Fortunately, a gnome was in the
what is the point of paying seven
grand a semester in tuition and
fees if it doesn't give you access
to needed buildings?
To tell you the truth, I am
really glad that this is my last
semester here. A couple more
semesters here at Stalag Rice
would drive me nuts. But for
those of you who recendy ar-
rived at Rice, all I can say is that
if you allow the university to
emphasize "security" over free-
dom, then you deserve being
treated like the children you are.
Ben Alcala is a Will Rice College
senior.
since im
Marty Heard, Vivek Rao
Editors in Chief
Anne Kimbol
business Manager
news
Angelique Siy, Editor
Kelisa Yang, Assoc. Editor
Maya Balakrishnan, Ass/ Editor
Michael Castillo, Editor
opinion
Nick Welter. Editor
Jeff iJjjjsmeister, Ass I Editor
features
Vikki Otero, Editor
David Gordon! Assoc Editor
arts a entertainment
Noeile Berry man, Editor
Peter Debruge, Editor
Michael Uruisey, Asst. Editor
Eric Mufioz, Asst Editor
•sports
Jeff Mercer. Editor
Kathleen Corr. Asst Editor
calendar
Chris Strathmann, Editor
Andrew BflKlcy
Advertising Manager
backpage
Nate Blair, Editor
Chuck Whitten, Editor
photography
Stephen Benning. Editor
Dave Herman. Asst. Editor
graphics
Christof Spieler, Editor
copy
Kalhy Fishei. Editor
Rose Wilde. Editor
Joe Billiard, Ats/, Editor
Susan Egeland, Asst Editor
online
Jace Frey, Editor
Packy Saunders./WZ-Vw/w/xm Manager
David Lyons, Asst Ad Manager
(iinger Mills, Business Manager
David Gordon, Distribution Manager
Eric Mtirtoz, Macintosh Manager
Charles Klein. Senior Editor
......... ■ • a
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'.Ml
The Hue Thresher, the official stiid<-nl
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C'COPYRIGHT 1997.
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Beard, Marty & Rao, Vivek. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, March 14, 1997, newspaper, March 14, 1997; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246563/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.