The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, November 21, 1997 Page: 1 of 16
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Vol. 1.XXXV, Issue No. 12
SINCE 1916
Friday, N
avembcr21,'1997
'Judicial Affairs office levies $400fine, warns Brown that
one more infraction will result in loss of alcohol privilege
by Maya Balakrishnan
TMKt SHKH K'DITOKIA! HTAH
If one more complaint regarding a Brown
College alcohol policy violation reaches As-
sistant Dean of Judicial Affairs Patricia Bass,
Brown will go dry.
Monday afternoon, Brown College presi-
dent Kevin Graham received this news in a
memo from Bass stating that Brown has been
placed on an indefinite probation and given a
$400 fine. According to the memo. Brown had
not fulfilled its responsibility as a residential
college to prevent violations of the university's
alcohol policy.
This punitive action comes after a series of
complaints from both inside and outside
Brown about alcohol violations at the college.
"Brown's violations included multiple viola-
tions of* the Alcohol Policy, particularly with
regard to underage drinking. These viola-
tions put students in harm's way," Bass said.
A private party thrown Friday on the sev-
enth floor was the climax of these violations
and might have, triggered this" action, both
Brown College president Kevin Graham.and
Brown Chief Justice Lauren McGafity said.
"On Friday night there was a private party
that became too large to he contained behind
a closed door, despite the admittedly minimal
actions of thejrourt to try and contain the party
—because only one of our justices was around.
It was an unfortunate situation," McGarity
said. "[Bass] considered (Friday's,ftarty] an
unregistered public party. Because of its size,
it was equivalent to the size of public parties
on the Rice campus," McGarity said.
One student had to be transported to the
hospital Friday for alcohol poisoning. This
same student had been taken to the hopitai for
similar reasons earlier in the semester.
In another situation, Brown master Robert
Haymes had* to pick up a student from the
Harris County jail for reasons the masters
refused to comment on.
"The atmosphere that was created by
I Friday's] party was not a safe one (according
to Bass], because there were so many people
there and because the authority there, in what-
ever form, was being virtually ignored. It was
a situation that was conducive to danger for
students," McGarity said.
Many say this dangerous environment may
have induced Bass to levy the hefty fine against
Brown.
This year's looser college government and
court might have led to Brown's present situ-
ation, Internal Vice President and senior Caro-
lina Duran said. Alcohol policy violations have
been a growing concern for Resident Associ-
ates, cabinet members and individual student s
alike.
Friday's incidents reflected a "breakdown
in self-government, one that has been build-
ing up over the semester," RA Vicki Sefeldt-
West said. Duran said, "I've been concerned
that there might have been" an excess (of
alcohol 1 in the halls."
In order to remedy this situation, Brown
See BROWN, Page 7
^ #*«r
[]
The house is based on six lO'-S"
squares, as seen In these floorplans.
The first floor (left) Includes a living
room, kitchen and bedroom; the second
floor (above) Includes another bedroom,
a bath and a small study.
low-cost house for 3rd Ward
by Jessica Yu
THRKSMKK STAFF
Forensics team wins state.
SUM n.*RXr/fHHPSHF«
Debate team coach Dan West, at right, prepares Lauren McGarity, Amir Brown and other
team members for the Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association Championship.
Story, Page 5.
Through participation in the Rice Building
Workshop, architecture students can observe
the metamorphosis of their paper designs to
tangible, three-dimensional, life-size
structures.
This year-old program gives students the
opportunity to experience the aspects of ar-
chitecture thatare unattainable in an ordinary
classroom curriculum.
The first part of the workshop provided an
assignment for the second class, Architecture
428/628, "Building the U)w-Cost House." Stu-
dents in this class are constructing a house in
the 3rd Ward, a low-income area southeast of
downtown Houston, for the Project Row
Houses program.
Project Row Houses began by transform-
ing a double row of shotgun houses - long,
narrow, one-story houses — into art galleries
Seeking to develop a community on Division
Street, the program-turned the remaining
houses on the block into habitable living quar-
ters for single mothers and their children.
In exchange for shelter, Project Row
Houses requires mothers to take courses in
child-rearing and budget-balancing. The
houses are not intended to become perma-
nent residences, but they are meant to pro
vide shelter while the mothers get back on
their feet.
"it's really great to be working on such a
project and (know] it's for someone who re
ally needs it," third-year graduate.student Tim
Gordon said. "Project Row Houses is an im-
portant asset to the Houston community."
Project Row has no predetermined floor
plans for its houses, so it allows the workshop
not to constructand design the house.
The students in the first class in the two
part sequence, Architecture 427/627, "De-
signing the Ix)w-Cost House." created the
plans for the house. The only restriction was
to keep the structure under 800 square feet.
The design includes a kitchen, a living/
dining room, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a
study and screened porches TVie house de-
sign folio ws a relatively simple (2x3) six-square
pattern.
Particularly unusual for a house of such
small area, designers opted for a two-story
building, first year Civil Engineering gradu
ate student Christof Spieler (Sid '97) said
Despite the necessity for simplicity,, the
aesthetics of the house display the architec-
tural training of the designers.
Such items include a wall of tiled glass
intended not only to allow natural light to
enter but also to add artistic value to tlx-
edifice.
The building class made many modilira
lions to refine the original denign.
( lass members, about 20 upper level an in
lecture majors and architecture graduate slu
dents, work through such issues coopera
lively, administering themselves in small
groups with guidance from course instruetoj
and visiting critic 1 >anny Samuels. Iln-se stu
dents are the sole executors of the construc-
tion of the house,
"The students pretty much run things."
Gordon said. "Of course, Danny Samuels
makes sure we stay on track, but we are
See HOISF. l'aKr 7
iTv Greg E. Norman
IIIKkSW.K I IHTUKIAI. STAI I
The Women's Resouroe Center
created a hotline to provide Rice
students with confidential, anony-
mous counseling on a variety of
sexual health issues.
The Peer Health Information and
Support service began Oct. 27, PHIS
is a student run crisis intervention
service that provides information
and support in four main areas;
■.Sexual health issues, which in-
clude information about sexually
transmitted diseases, contraception
and crisis pregnancy options.
• Sexual violence and sexual ha-
rassment issues such as rape* pros-
ecuting a perpetrator of sexual as-
sault and dating violence.
vey of over 400 resulted in the cre-
ation of the hotline, student coordi-
nator and Hans/en College junior
liana Getter said. The survey indi-
cated that Rice students wanted an
anonymous counseling outlet to
supplement the College Assistance
Peer Program and the Rice Coun-
seling Center.
"We found out that there weren't
any anonymouscounsellug services.
There are confidential outlets... but
there was nothing that was com-
pletely anonymous," Gefter said.
"Nobody knows what you look like,
"what your name is—we don't ask
any of those things."
Nineteen student volunteers staff
the hotline, which is available at
(713) 569-4000 Monday through
Friday from 12 to 1 p.m. and 8 to 12
i Hating disorders and disruptions, p.m and Saturday and Sunday from
including Bulimia Md irmnrxra noon to 4 p^m Although hatlinevol-
■ Sexual orientation issues. unteers are not certified counselors,
A Women's Resource Center sur- each volunteer participated in ap-
proximately 30 hours of training
sessions. "We're not professional
counselors, but we are crisis inter
vention workers and resource pro
vi'ders," Gefter said.
Professional counselors from the
Houston area conducted the train-
ing sessions, which covered a vari-
ety of topics related to sex and gen
der issues, including rape, suicidal
depression and crisis pregnancy
counseling. Volunteers also prat
ticed fielding crisis phone calls.
Hotline volunteer and Jones Col-
lege senior Frances Louie said em-
pathizing with callers' problems is
crucial when dealing with crisis situ-
ations. "We're jtot looking to solve
people's problems—we're just look-
ing to give them a way to get through
this rough situation to put them in a
position where they can get help for
Amselves later on," Louie said.
The ^otline lias helped six stu
See HOTLINE, PaK<' 7
Women 's basketball
sets point record
The women's basketball
team piled up 115 points in a
runaway 115-35 victory over
Texas Southern University in
its Friday season opener to set
a team record for most points.
The Owls also set Rice
records for most point s in a first
halffwith 66 in the first 20 min-
utes), most three-pointers (11)
and most turnovers by an oppo-
nent (42).
Story, Page 10
No 'Thresher'issue
next week
The next issue of the Thresher
will appear December 5. Have a
happy Thanksgiving!
A&E Page 8
Jane's Addiction reunites
SPORTS Page 10
Football team s WAChopes dim
Weekend Weather
Friday
Cloudy, 44-6?*'
Saturday
Partly cloudy, 48 69
Sunday
Partly cloudy, 52-72
S<: orHtoard
Football
Utah 31, Rice-14
Volleyball
Rice 3, Southwest Texas 1 f
Hawaii 3, Rice 0
San Diego 3, Rice 0
Man'i Basketball
Kansas 88, Rice 61 / «
Florida State 65, Rice 53
WoMtn'a Basketball
Louisiana State 78. iRipe 64
RirnrfiSr
X*
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Hardi, Joel & Siy, Angelique. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, November 21, 1997, newspaper, November 21, 1997; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246608/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.