The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, February 19, 1999 Page: 4 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1999
Student Association
Referendum could improve
the undergraduate experience
By voting for the referendum
included on the Spring Election
ballot, students will have the op-
portunity to take two big steps to
improve the under-
graduate experience at
Rice. If it passes, this
referendum will shake
loose two substantial
sources of money and
go a long way to ensure
the success of Rice
Broadcast Television,
the next student media
group.
For the last few
students have
Bill
Van Vooren
years,
paid $1.55 a year to Jund two
projects which have been basi-
cally dormant. Several attempts
to reti;rn live owl mascots to the
Rice campus have failed, and all
indications point to continued fail-
ure in the future. And the escort
cart service run by the Student
Association has been rendered
obsolete by the Campus Police
Department's similar service.
Unless students vote to do
away with these taxes, they will
continue to spend $ 1.55 a year to
have their money sit in an ac-
count which earns no interest and
can't be spent. I doubt that any-
one disagrees with the conclu-
sion that this must end.
So the two questions are,
"What happens to the approxi-
mately $32,000 that has accumu-
lated in these -accounts?" and
"Should the $1.55 annual tax be
redirected to another worthwhile
project?" The SA believes it has
come up with answers to both.
Student organization funding
has been a big issue on campus
for several years. President
Malcom Gillis responded to the
lack of funding by creating the
President's Programming Fund.
This fund adds $20,000 per year
to the appropriations pot. Stu-
dents voted to chip in $8 each
year to create the Student Activi-
ties Fund, and Envision Grants
have gone a long way to put an-
other piece of the Ryzzle in place.
In the opinion otthe SA com-
mittee that worked to make sense
of this situation, these three ele-
ments put us very close to an
answer. These funds create 1) a
situation in which there is enough
money to fund the projects of
club sports teams, student orga-
nizations and individuals, and 2)
a simple process for getting that
money.
In addition to a possible reor-
ganization and redefinition of all
appropriations organi-
zations at Rice, the cre-
ation of an endowment
for student funding is
essential to the solu-
tion.
With this endow-
ment, we can ensure a
long-term, growing
source of funds for stu-
dents. We also believe
this is a responsible
way to return this
money to students. It benefits our
current students by "supporting
projects which enhance Rice life,
and it repays our alumni by con-
tributing to the long-term excel-
lence of the university.
After dealing with the money
sitting in the bank, the future of
the annual taxes is the only ques-
tion that remains. After consider-
ing all of the options available,
the Student Association has rec-
ommended that the taxes be di-
verted to fund RBT on a perma-
nent basis.
The SA believes that RBT
could provide a remarkable ser-
vice to the university if only it had
a reliable source of funding to do
so. Clearly, this is a "chicken or
the egg" problem. Students may
not appreciate RBT's potential be-
cause it doesn't have the funding
it needs, but students are not
likely to give RBT money if they
don't see the potential.
The SA took on this impos-
sible question and decided that
RBT has a legitimate shot at be-
coming a viable student media
organization analogous to the
Thresher or KTRU. If is not an
easy decision, but we think we
made the right call. If RBT gets
this funding, look for some great
things from them.
After considering a wide ar-
ray of possibilities for using these
funds and discussing them for
countless hours, the Student As-
sociation has recommended this
referendum as the best way to
proceed. Please vote on the refer-
endum in March and do what you
think is best for Rice.
Bill Van Vooren is Student /4sso-
ciation president and a Baker
College senior.
UNIVERSITY AT GREENBRIAR
664-5700
Bring this Coupon
for our pick up special!
ONE LARGE PIZZA
w/One Topping, $6
t
TAKE OUT ONLY, NOT VALID WITH DELIVERY.
NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFER. EXPIRES 2/26/99.
Guest column
I don't care, and I feel very strongly
The best pizza in town ... Honest!
Wiess College President Ethan
Schultz feels very strongly. He told
me so himself.
Yep, anyone the Feb. 8 Student
Association meeting dis-
tinctly heard the Wiess
president say, "I feel very
strongly." And just in case
you forgot, he said it again.
And again. And he even
ended his remarks with it:
"I feel very strongly."
Now I, for one, think
that's admirable. Too of-
ten- we students, when
confronted by a major
campus issue such as cur-
riculum reform or the legitimacy of
our SApresident, are almost entirely
apathetic. It's time that someone
voiced his opinion, got involved and
decided that he's pissed off and he's
just not going to take it anymore.
So I was very happy to hear
Schultz's remarks at that SA meet-
ing. I only had one nagging ques-
tion: Just what the hell was it that
Ethan felt so strongly abofit?
• Fortunately for me and similarly
unaware people, last week's Thresher
arrived that Thursday night. I was
amazed to discover that concern for
campus issues had exploded practi-
cally overnight: A normally reserved
student body had produced a full
two pages of letters and commen-
tary, and there was no doubt in my
mind that each and every one of the
writers "felt very strongly."
And my question was answered:
What does it take to make my fellow
students "feel very strongly"? Why,
Wiess's own Night of Decadence, of
course.
Apparently, many students and
faculty have become outraged at the
great monstrosity of sin that is NOD.
"Well, isn't the Night of Decadence
a perfect setup for men to take ad-
vantage of women?" charged one
angry student in his letter.
I agree, but I think Wiess could
do a better job. Those asking that
James
Dallal
Yes, I see a new NOD, a NOD
where hordes of raving hedonists
sacrifice innocent puppies at their
altars to Satan, a NOD where every-
one must sign a pledge
stating "I promise to sexu-
ally harass members of
the opposite sex," a NOD
where we all run with scis-
sors and deliberately
spray ozone-depleting
CFCs into the atmo-
sphere.
I read on. In the other
corner, a Wiess sopho-
more demanded, "If we
sit back and let the adults
of our university sanction our free
speech and cancel NOD, what might
be next? Will we lose our right to
create awareness of sexual issues or
view art?"
Again, I agree, but our adminis-
tration needs to come clean as well.
We've had enough of minor limita-
tions on our freedom.
Instead, I think Grand Wizard
Camacho and his army of foot sol-
diers should suspend freedom of
expression altogether. I say execute
every 10th student (just to keep 'em
in line) and subject those who speak
out to a public tickling. Better yet,
who needs students? By noon to-
morrow, we could eradicate the spe-
cies, fortify the entrances and leave
the professorslo live amid splendid
architecture and their own oratori-
cal brilliance.
But beautiful as these aspirations
are, I still didn't understand what all
this concern was about. Why has
the NOD debate come to ahead now
and not earlier?
At long last, I stumbled across a
passage written by two of the mas-
ters who signed the newly infamous
letter. It read: "The spirit of 'free
love' of the early 70s, when NOD
originated, has now been replaced
with concerns about sexual abuse,
AIDS and other grim reminders that
are associated with loveless and
the party be changed are damn right, decadent sex implicity linked to
NOD themes."
Or to reiterate: We object to
"[something] associated with [some-
thing else] implicitly linked to NOD
themes." I'd hate to think what would
happen if they ever got their hands
on the people responsible for the
Big Bang.
So I finally understand why
people "feel very strongly." And J
feel very strongly too. I feel very
strongly that I don't give a shit.
Yep, I don't care. And you
shouldn't care either, because in the
end we're not talking about freedom
of expression, and we're not talking
about the merits of loveless and deca-
dent sex (they should be apparent).
We're talking about the right to put
up a big silver papier-mache penis in
your commons.
Regardless of whether or not
Wiess is allowed to continue its NOD
tradition, I think a good referendum
for this coming SA election would
be "No big papier-mache penises in
the colleges' commons." There's an
issue I could stand behind.
But in the meantime, I urge you
all to proudly not care with me. Our
problem in campus politics is not
apathy, but rather misplaced apa-
thy.
Today, with this column, I begin
a great crusade, a noble campaign to
solemnly harness this great apathy
and use it for the good of the masses.
We start now. Go to NOD in a tux-
edo or full, evening gown — your
choice — and streak through
Rondolet (none of that icky shaving
cream, please). Distribute posters
that proclaim "I think Dale Sawyer
is probably a swell guy." Go to your
college cabinets, debate NOD pas-
sionately and vote "I don't give a
shit."
But never, under any circum-
stances, spray ozone-depleting CFCs
into the atmosphere. I feel very
strongly.
James Dallal is a Lovett College fresh-
man. m
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
NOD. from Pijge 2
choose, and 2) we are responsible
enough to wear our underwear, get
drunk, have fun and still remainsafe
and harmless to ourselves and oth-
ers. We strongly urge everybody to
go to Casino Night in traditional
NOD attire. And we even more
strongly urge everyone to be safe
and to respect themselves and oth-
ers. I. mean, hell, why only have
NOD once a year when we can have
it twice, right?
(This letter is excerpted from a
longer manifesto. Ifyou'd like a copy
of the full thing, send me an e-mail at
darkkman@rice.edu)
Steven DeGennaro
Baker senior
NOD's critics need to
act their age
To the editor:
I have two daughters who are
currently attending Rice. Let me
begin by saying that I am absolutely
appalled by the issues involved in
the debate over the Wiess College
Night of Decadence. The thought
that a social event — a party that is
supposedly for the sheer fun of it —
can cause such controversy amazes
me. I have encouraged both of my
daughters to attena the event as
part of their college experience.
There will be few times in their lives
where they will be able tp let loose
and have a spontaneous great time
while still b£ing protected behind
the hedges.
Whoever is organizing the resis-
tance should just plain grow up. You
remind me of the 1973 Aggies who
freaked out when the MOB made
fun of their marching band by goose-
stepping out on the field and playing
the "March of the Wooden Tin Sol-
diers" using kazoos. I thought Rice
was supposed to have the intellec-
tual capacity to rise above such in-
significant melodrama. There are
plenty of injustices in this world that
need to be rectified. Why don't you
do-gooders go fight world hunger,
educate third-world children, spend
time solving the drug issue or even
actually hold our elected officials
accountable for their promises and
ethical behavior. Quit picking on
young adults who are trying to have
a good time. If anyone is offended,
they do not have to attend — there
are plenty of other, less obnoxious
activities. To me the only upsetting
thing about NOD is that I was not
invited to the golden anniversary
NOD last year as I was one of the
original organizers.
Charlie Robinson
Wiess '75
Organizer, Night of Decadence
1973, 1974
Attendee (as alumnus), Beyond
Night of Decadence 1975
Vision Weekend makes
Rice a better place
To the editor:
February is usually recognized
for Mardi Gras and Black History
Month, but here at Rice it is also
known for Vision Weekend.
Since its beginning, tjje Vision
program has been a successful tool
in recruiting underrepresented mi-
nority students to the Rice campus^
This year promises to be no differ-
ent.
Since the 1996 Hopwoo'd vs. Texas
decision, the importance of Vision
Weekend as a recruitment program
has increased significantly. Unlike
Harvard University, which can offer
minority-based scholarships, Rice is
at disadvantage in the matriculation
of a highly talented and diverse stu-
dent body.
As we all know, an excellent col-
lege visit can greatly influence a
student's choice when selecting a
university. Vision provides prospec-
tive students with an opportunity to
see Rice's many advantages, among
them top-notch faculty and students,
successful alumni and generous
need-based financial assistance.
The weekend of Feb. 25-28 is
Vision Weekend. The Minority In-
terests Council and the Admission
Office have planned an exciting ar-
ray of events, including dinner with
Rice faculty and alumni, a tour of
Houston and dinner with their hosts
in the Rice Village. The Black Stu-
dent Association and Hispanic As-
sociation for Cultural Enrichment at
Rice are planning events for the
whole Rice community to give our
guests a taste of Rice's and Houston's
social life.
To ensure Vision Weekend is a
success by showing that Rice is a
great university, it is necessary for
the Rice community to come to-
gether and cast a positive image of
our school. During Vision Week-
end, use that free hour in your sched-
ule to attend a Vision activity, eat
lunch with a VIP (Vision Partici-
pant) or share ybtif tJwn experiences.
With the cooperation of all Rice stu-
dents, Vision will truly be a
success.
Alma Maldonado
Baker sophomore
Frankie Vasquez-Harris
Baker junior
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Stoler, Brian. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, February 19, 1999, newspaper, February 19, 1999; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246640/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.