The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, October 10, 1997 Page: 3 of 20
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1997
[figured
some. I donl
know what 111
them — perhaps they
will never be more
than room decoration
— but that's fine.
I called up Fondren
to find outs little more.
Four years ago, 1 re-
member being told
that a few old books
might not be in the
computer catalog, but by now all
the books are indexed on the com-
puter.
So the old catalog is redun-
dant, besides taking up space and ,
requiring too much time for it to
be kept up to date.
In a practical sense, I won't
miss it. I don't think I ever did use
it, and besides, LIBRIS is more
convenient But I regret the pass-
ing of the object that, more than
any other, represented what a li-
brary was,
In Its day, the card catalog was
the height of information technol-
ogy. It was powerful, accessible
and democratic. It delivered the
world to anyone who would spend
the time to peruse it.
"by. Most of us would see it as athe
Christof
SpfRIPB
COMLUMNIST
relic of a past age. As it l
waning a uxttoial cawl
dexed by author only
ise some people at the
university still like it that
way. I imagine most of
those are older faculty
members who will prob-
ably retire in a few years,
paving die way for the
total elimination of the
catalog.
But those holdouts
may haveapoint; If you're
not su re of the spelling of
an author, a librarian
pointed out to me, it's
easier to flip through a card cata-
log than guess at what to search
for online. Just because UBRIS
represents progress does not
mean it's better in all respects.
I'm not b^ing nostalgic here; I
won't try to say that the card cata-
log represented a better, more in-
nocent time. I won't even say that
they don't make dovetail joints like
they used to. I just think it's worth
remembering what a wonderful
thing the card catalog was as we
watch it disappear.
Well probably have to do the
same for UBRIS in a few years,
when it's replaced by something
newer and better, the text-based
version I first used four years ago
has already given way to a WWW
interface, and the half-life of tech-
nology is only getting shorter. ..
'■ >'« "i L ' "V
to
purpose. In the
MIA LM(a ^ftiiiii m
wc nave 9on«v
In its day, the card
catalog was the
height of
information
technology.
In 1985 or so, those computers
were the newest, best thing, and
Rice bought them by the dozen.
The Thresher bought six.of them
as surplus three years ago for a
penny each, and we can't think of
anything to do with them.
Thosecard rawers, at least, are
still functional boxes. If you want
some, go in the front door of
Fondren and look at the stack to
your left Your grandchildren will
be am (used.
Christof Spieler (Sid '97) is the
desig* consultant and a first
year graduate student in civil
engineering.
I J), cards fall short of miraculous potential
Rice University identifica-
tion cards—those easy-to-misplace,
off-white pieces of plastic with your
name, college and year of gradua-
tion. Some cards, like
mine, also come with an
unrecognizable or unflat-
tering mug shot of the
owner. (Like the Thresher
head shots?)
However, IDs are use-
ful for more than just hu-
mor at the holder's ex-
pense. They open up
worlds of culinary possi-
bilities thanks to Central
Kitchen. Your ID provides
access to Fondren library
for a quiet escape from room-
mates. At least that's how my
roomates use their cards.
You can use an ID to check out
badminton equipment from Autry
Court to let off some steam. And,
freshmen, did you know that you
can pay for the higher quality food
and drink from Sammy's and the
CoffeeHouse by simply presenting
your card? When 1 first went to the
CoffeeHouse, I was amazed that my
card was sufficient payment.
Although they have some good
qualities, there are some instances
in which the need to use a Rice ID
becomes a serious hassle
The card readers that protect
communal bathrooms in some col-
leges are a particular pet peeve of
mine. At first, I could not compre-
hend any rationale for their pres-
ence; now I think I understand the
(flawed) argument.
Brian
Stoler
DISTRIBUTION
MANAGER
easy for any person to get someone
to let them in. Therefore, some '$ad"
non-Rice person could get into any
of the colleges with relative ease.
Bathrooms are agood way
for criminals to catch po-
tential victims unaware
and alone, so they might
want to hide in one.
Even though someone
would likely open a bath-
room door for a "bad" guy
(or gal), if a crime did then
transpire in that bathroom
at around that time, the
door-opener would have a
good chance of remem-
bering the characteristics
of the person they let in.
Is the possibility of a slightly
higher chance of getting caught
going to deter a potential criminal?
Is it really more likely for a crime to
occur in a bathroom than in say, a
stairwell? And if bathrooms are such
a security hazard, why don't we have
some kind of protection on bath-
rooms in public buildings such as
the Student Center?
What's really funny about this
situation is that access to the bath-
rooms is not even limited by gender
— I can just walk up to a women's
restroom, insert hiy card, and walk
in! What kind of security is that?!
Removing the card readers from
the bathrooms would have little ef-
fect on safety and would make them
more user-friendly. Can you imag-
ine how many carpet cleanings could
be avpided if dru nken students were
able to get into the bathrooms be/ore
they threw up?
. Gripes about bathrooms aside,
there many possibilities for the ex-
pansion of the use of IDs. Standard
room door locks could be replaced
with card readers, like in some ho-
tels. This would give us one less
thing to lose, and if someone were to
lose his or her II) card, all the ID
card department would have to do is
invalidate the previous card and au-
thorize a new one, as opposed to
having to re-core a lock and grind
new keys, an expensive and time-
consuming process. Similarly, ac-
cess to college commons' should be
restricted by card, not by key.
More services should accept 11)
cards as payment: If the mixing of
meal plan charges with other
charges offends Food and Housing,
portion of the colleges, it "is "very why not nilke aHfyttveV balancr that
works off of the same card? This
balance would, in my idealistic world,
be consumable at the Campus Store,
at vending machines and even for
pizza delivery.
Sounds far-fetched? Other uni-
versities across Che -nation have a\-
■feadyjmpJemertted card plans such
as these. If these services could be
paid for with the invisible money of
IDs, their use would likely go up.
(Paying with plastic, the purchase
seems free!) TTiese cards would also
allow cash withdrawals from a bal-
ance, giving students an easy way to
get quick cash on campus.
So maybe you think that this col-
umn is nothing more than an idealis-
tic rant from a whining freshman.
But the n"t*xt time you are standing
outside the bathroom with your legs
crossed watching the little red light
deny you, or when you are a nickel
short of liquid refreshment, this
column's significance will become
apparent.
ELrian Stoler is the distribution
manager, a page designer and a
Hanszen college freshman.
I M MAD. No, actually I am be-
yond mad. I just got off the phone
with the people at Continental Air-
lines' Live Animal Cargo desk, who
met my request with dis-
crimination at its best (or
worst, depending on your
viewpoint).
Like many other stu-
dents, I am desperately
waiting for a vacation, and
I called to see if I could
bring my wonderfully ador-
able Sch neider Sk i n k, Win-
ston, home with me via
Continental. When I called,
I assumed 1 would be told
that it was no problem. Af-
ter all, I have a carrying case for him
which fits the carry-on size limits,
anfl he is fairly small and always
quiet. In fact, he would be less of a
hassle to fly with than most people I
know. He would happily sleep the
entire time.
Continental, however, has a dif-
ferent take on this subject. They
have a "warm-blooded only" policy
for the cabin. If I had a cat or dog,
who would undoubtedly make lots
of noise and bother people who are
afraid of animals, there would be no
problem. I would be able to bring
him on board. However, since Win-
ston is cold-blooded, he has to be
sent as cargo, brought to the freight
department two hours prior to flight
time for "any chance," as they told
me, of his being on the same flight
as me.
This, my dear reading public, is
discrimination, pure and simple. In
a society that discriminates against
Blacks, Hispanics, women, the poor
and many different religious groups,
a little discrimination is not enough.
Even the animal kingdom outside of
the human population is not safe.
My disease-free, quiet, adorable little
pet cannot come with rne onto an
airplane simply because of the tem-
perature of his blood
Anne
Kimbol
OPINION
EDITOR
In addition to this, treating cold-
blooded animals as freight basical .
entails signing their death sen-
tences. Somehow, 1 doubt the freight
section of the airplane is
well-heated. 1 can just
imagine my first glimpse
of Winston (assuming, of
course, that he actually
made it onto the same
plane as I did): My beauti-
ful baby would be a
popsiele, and Continental
would have hell to pay, as
anyone who has seen me
truly angry can confirm,
Personally. I find this
policy outrageous. I
would prefer that the airlines
brought their rules out against par-
ents who cannot control their chil-
dren and pet owners who bring loud
and scared animals on board. In-
stead, they have decided to take their
small-mindedness out on the rep-
tiles, who do not have the voice to
fight back. This may seem like a
petty complaint to some of you. but
just imagine what this situation says.
If the airlines can decide which ani-
mals are acceptable and which are
not, the question of where the line
epds comes to mind.
I challenge the airlines to update
their policies and address their own
discriminatory practices. 'Hiey have
no right to dictate travel, for humans
or for pets, and their regulations
need to reflect this. Segregation of
all .forms is wrong, whether based
on race, gender or species. In the
wake of the anniversary of ththnte-
gration. at Central High School in
Arkansas, finding the continued
mentality that a system of regula-
tions should decide who can sit
where appalls me. And frankly, Win-
ston looks a little angry himself
Anne Kimbol is the advertising
manager, an opinion editor and a
Baker College senior
Winston, pictured above, faces a possibly life-threatening situation. He can
either freeze in Continental Airlines' freight hold or be left, unattended, when
his owner visits her hometown. This problem comes from an airline policy
which prohibits cold blooded anitaals from acting as carry on baggage
Can you imagine how
many carpet
cleanings could be
avoided if drunken
students were able
to get into the
bathrooms before
they threw up?
Let me explain the logic behind
bathroom card readers, as I under-
stand it. Although card readers re-
.strict access to the entire residence
since mi
Joel Hardi, Antfelique Siy
Editors in Chief
Summer Durham
Business Manager
NEWS
Maya Balakrishnan, Editor
Michael Schwartz, Asst. Editor
OPINION
Joseph Blocher, Editor
Anne Kimbol, Editor
FEATURES
Susan Egeland, Editor
ARTS A ENTERTAINMENT
Hemmy So, Editor
Eric Muftoz, Editor
SPORTS
Timothy Werner, Editor
PHOTOGRAPHY
Austin White, Editor
CALENDAR
Amy Krivohbyk Editor
Anne Kimbol
Advertising Manager
BACKPAGE
, Terry Cartter, Editor
Packy Saunders. Editor
COPY
Rob Prentice, Editor
Rose Wilde, Editor
ONLINE
Jace Frey, Editor
Zach Bonig, Asst. Editor
Christof Spieler, Design Consultant
Carter Brooking, Page Designer
Harsh* Vaswani, Page-Designer
Brian Stoler, Page Designer
p
Jill Thompson, Asst Ads Manager
Packy Saunder s, Ad Production Manager
Erk* Mttftoz. Macintosh Managm \
Brian Stoler. Distribution Manager
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Hardi, Joel & Siy, Angelique. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, October 10, 1997, newspaper, October 10, 1997; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246603/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.