The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 14, 1997 Page: 2 of 22
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■ HEHE
THE KICK THRESHKR
iS
IB
—
i, Angelique Siy
in Chief
i
Hie staffidf the Thresher challenges you
to a game of croquet.
We'd like to meet some of Rice's most
powerful people, and see how well the best of
you can handle a croquet mallet.
We discussed this prospect at our weekly
meeting, and concluded that croquet might be
more fun than helping us insert 5,000fliers into
a week's Thresher run. And not as awkward as
you inviting us to a board meeting to take notes.
Besides, posing as journalists has made us
hungry. We hunger for the questionable glory
that would result from beating you in croquet.
This is an open invitation to a friendly game, for
as many of you and as many of us as can
make it. Any time, any place
your choice, (iive it a little
thought at the next board
meeting and drop us a line.
iMmm
FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 14,1997
*
ucu iiiK/
r
■.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Veterans Day
Tuesday was Veterans Day, but by taking a look at the Rice
campus you hardly would have known it. To the best of our knowl-
edge, November 11, 1997 saw no ceremonies, speeches or other
commemorative events. Students, professors and staff went about
their daily routine, many perhaps without sparing a thought to those
Americans who died for their country (of whom many had been Rice
students), to the lessons of World War I, or to the legacy of war and
the case for pacifism.
Veterans Day is a federal holiday which the government origi-
nally established to mark the end of World War I. Celebrated
worldwide under other names, it is humanity's most universal
commemoration of sacrifices made in time of war, many of which
were made in the hope that they might help bring about the end of
war.
Who are we, then, to ignore it?
It is arrogance of the most dangerous kind to presume no remem-
brance need be paid to the actions taken and lessons learned by our
parents and grandparents, many of whom were changed utterly by
their experience, in Vietnam, Korea or World War II.
It means disrespect also to those Rice students and alumni who
have fought for their country. The Rice Memorial Center was
originally dedicated to Rice students who lost their lives in war. Its
construction was spearheaded in part by the Memorial Committee
established by the class of 1955 after 11 of its number were killed in
the crash of a navy plane in 195*3.
To this day at Texas A&M University, students remove their hats
as a gesture of respect and remembrance when they enter their
school's Memorial Student Center.
At Rice, no such practice exists. The plaques and photographs
that line the RMC lobby are dedicated to the memorial of those who
have given money to Rice, not those who died in war. The only
reference to the RMC's sacred role is on the cornerstone of the
building, which reads "In memory of the students of Rice who have
brought honor to the Institute through their contributions to the
welfare of mankind, and of those who have given their lives in the
service of our country."
Perhaps, for a university that chooses not to honor Washington or
Lincoln's birthday or Columbus Day, and only recently, and with
some reluctance, extended the observation of Martin Luther King
Jr.'s birthday to staff, the question of whether or not to observe
Veterans Day is a technical rather than moral one.
Our purpose in this editorial is not to admonish, but to suggest
that Veterans Day deserves greater respect. Its observance should
not be a political issue, either. Whether one believes that war is
sometimes necessary or that it must be avoided without exception,
remembrance of previous wars and recognition of their costs will
only bring us greater understanding.
Rice should officially recognize Veterans Day, We should find a
good way to distinguish the RMC's original purpose, at least once a
war. Tipping our hats or wearing poppies on November 11 are good
ways of remembering, but so long as raising consciousness is the
result, any means is sound.
Continuing to overlook Veterans Day would be a mistake.
Cast your ballot for
apathy by not voting
To the editor:
hist week, during the local Hous-
ton election, voter turnout among
Rice students was 10 percent. One
hundred sixty-nine people showed
up to vote. When this was an-
nounced. there was much outcry
and gnashing of teeth. "People must
vote!" they shouted from the hill-
tops. But, alas, few voted. I.for one,
did not. And I'm proud of it.
I believe that fewer people should
vote.
Now, those of you who read my
last letter should know that I'm not
joking. I'm being compk-tety seri-
ous. Too many people vote.
So, if you feel you must
vote, that's great... If
you don't want to vote,
even better.
In the last presidential election,
fewer than 50 percent of the voting
population showed up at the polls.
Now why is that? Were those people
who did not vote somehow restricted
from voting by some nasty regime?
Were they stuck taking some lit-
eracy test? Did they care so much
about the value of their decision that
they decided to watch one more hour
of CNBC in order to be that much
more informed and then got stuck
in the last minute traffic jam on the
way to the polls?
Of course not. They didn't care.
They just didn't go.
When it was announced that only
10 percent of Rice students voted,
among the consternation and up-
roar was one lingering sentiment:
We're college students. We must
vote, for we are smarter, and our
vote improves the lives of all those..
around us.
Well, that's a bunch ok hooey.
The only thing needed to be a good
voter is the ability to read. Once a
person has access to written news
material, that person can make a
decision about policies and candi-
dates just as well as any high-falutin'
Rice student
Truthfully. Rice students prob-
ably make for poor voters. College
students have the ability and the
tendency to withdraw completely
from the outside world. Compared
to studying and weekends, the out-
side world ends up rather low on the
priorities list.
Ask yourself these questions: '
• How many of you actually, read
written, impartial coverage of local
elections?
■ How many of you voted for the
sake of voting and not because of
any interest in the actual issues?
■ If voting were not a multiple
choice test, would you still give the
same answers?
To have the hubris t® think that
your vote is better than someone
else's is plain arrogance. To have
the ignorance to think that voting
for its own sake betters society is
plain wrong.
I don't understand programs like
MTVs Rock the Vote that actively
pursue the apathetic and beg for
their vote. Frankly, if you don't care,
I don't want your vote. A vote with-
out thought is just another vote for
apathy and, regardless of your views
or educational background, that's
the last thing I want elected.
So, if you really feel you must
vote, that's great. Study up, discover
the issues, change the world. If you
don't want to vote, even better. Ex-
ercise your constitutional right to
say "I screwed up my constitutional
right to vote, and now I'm not going
to screw it up for all those who cared."
Then sit back, relax and take heart
in knowing that the country is not
run by uncaring schmoes like your-
self. The only person you're letting
down is you, and if you didn't care in-
die first place, then you're not losing
much.
Gordon Wittick
Hanszen freshman
RSVP flier encourages
anti-beef propaganda *
To the editor:
One of the Rice Student Volun-
teer Program's fliers advertising
Rice's Hunger and Homelessness
Awareness Month contains a sensa-
tionalists misstatement: "Because
Americans eat a diet heavy in beef
and other animal protein, U.S. per
capita grain consumption is four
timers higher than that of developing
countries."
can per capita grain consumption
ranks so high is actually not selfish
gluttony of "bad-for-you" foods, but
agricultural efficiency. It does not
reflect on the American diet.
Over half the land mass of the
United States is unsuitable for culti-
vation. No crops can be grown on it
because of topography, soil type and
climate. Were it not for grazing, one
of the largest renewable, sustain-
able resources of America — grass
and weeds — would be entirely
wasted. The grain that farmers and
ranchers feed to cattle is "feed grain,"
which is unsuitable for human con-
sumption. Milo, a grain fed to live-
stock, is grown where corn or wheat
will not grow with success* and the
only corn or wheat that is fed to
livestock in the United States is the
rejected, poorer-portion of the corn
or wheat crop that would otherwise
either be thrown away—yes, wasted
— or converted to ethanol.
Simply put, grain consumed by
cattle and livestock is not sent to
needier countries because humans
cannot digest it. It is true that cattle
are fed grain in feedlots to make
beef more palatable to humans, but
the animals are not eating any
See BEEF, Page 4
The grain that farmers
and ranchers feed to
cattle is ' feed grain,"
which is unsuitable for
human consumption.
With this flier, RSVP has pre-
sented the Rice community hype,
not hard fact. RSVP is not to blame
for this oft-circulated "truism." But
RSVP, and the media at large, should
check their facts more thoroughly
before acceptittg hype arid present-
ing itas truth. The reason that Amerj-
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Hardi, Joel & Siy, Angelique. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 14, 1997, newspaper, November 14, 1997; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246607/m1/2/?rotate=270: accessed June 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.