The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, October 8, 1999 Page: 2 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8,1999
the Rice Thresher
Jett McAlister,
Mariel Tam
Editors in Chief
Brian Stoler
Senior Editor
James Dallal,
Gordon Wittick
Opinion Editors
Say'No'to
useless spending
The $32,000 left over from defunct blanket taxes should be put
toward a single project that would substantially affect many stu-
dents.
None of the current proposals fit the bill. So vote no on all three.
We shouldn't carelessly spend money just because no one can come
up with a good idea.
Moving our masters
One of the fundamental features of the college system is interac-
tion between members of a college-and the college's masters. The
point of having tenured faculty living next to a college is so that
students can easily access these intelligent, responsible people for
advice and support.
The decision to move the Hanszen College masters into the
current Wiess House would locate them quite a distance away from
Hanszen College itself. Instead of having masters in a house directly
adjacent to the college, Hanszen would have masters living even
further away from parts of their college than they are now.
While this may seem trivial, such a removal of masters from a
college renders distant the relationship between the masters and the
members of the college. This could significantly hinder the masters'
very purpose in the college system.
Members of Wiess College have already complained that the
construction of the new Wiess in a location different from the current
Wiess will create a sense of displacement for the college. Surely
Wiess' dislocation will increase when its masters' house is attached
to another college.
But .why create this same sense of displacement for yet another
college — Hanszen — in the wake of the campus' construction
boom?
The "university should take another look at the idea of switching
masters' houses between colleges and consider building a new
Wiess House alongside the new college. It may be costly and
unbudgeted, but the emotional and practical benefits gained by both
colleges would make the financial cost of building a new house well
worth it.
Goodbye, Vicki
Some people reccive a lot of acknowledgment for the work they
do for students. Others just quietly do their jobs, invisible to most of
the students for whom they are working.
Vicki Seefeldt West may not have the name recognition of some-
one like Dr. Camacho. But her work as Student Organizations staff
assistant for the past five years has substantially benefited Rice
students. She has provided student organizations with the neces-
sary training and support to enable them to flourish and work better
together. As a result of her efforts, we now have treasurer training,
a student organizations manual and an outstanding activities fair.
So it is with a combination of congratulations and sadness that we
note Vicki's acceptance of the position of Study Abroad adviser.
Though we are excited to see her receive a well-deserved promotion,
we are very sorry to see her leave the office she has so transformed
during her tenure.
Winning two-ply
The recent announcement that two-ply toilet paper will appear in
the colleges illustrates an important but oft-forgotten fact about
students at Rice — that beyond our status as students, we're basi:
cally customers paying a great deal of money for a specific set of
services.
The announcement also shows that Rice, the provider of these
services, is willing to listen to its customers' requests and actually do
something about them..
Sure, the quality of toilet paper isn't an issue of earth-shattering
importance. But toilet paper is something that, trivial as it seems,
affects the quality of life for all on-campus students.
We're happy to see that the university listens to its customers. It's
good to know that Rice is willing to take steps that could be very
expensive to improve what is a small, but constant, aspect of living
and going to school at Rice.
3#
a
lO-fl
it peseFwes a Rep caupeT.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Rock climbing wall
has many advantages
To the editor:
You know those days when you
go to bed and all you can dream
about is the next day? You have that
once in a lifetime date — you need
sleep, you need to look good or be
rested — but what's this? You just
don't remember how to sleep. It
happens to the best of us, and it's
happened to me for the last three
weeks.
I've got this dream about how
much we all wan t that rock wall, how
much we need that rock wall and
how we can get that rock wall. We
are on the edge and we can either
jump in all the way or turn around
and limp home.
It's been four hard years to get
this wall proposal to its refined
stages, and now we just need to
ensure that we still want it. This
Friday you can vote for something
great. Not for something selfish that
will last only one year and will come
in the form of beer, but for a butt-
kicking indoor rock climbing wall.
Climbing is the most dynamic sport
ever^it is the only sport in which
men and women complement each
other.
Using the Student Association's
money to build such a structure
would satisfy the high demand for
this activity. Building a student-run
wall in Autry Court would give stu-
dents, faculty and the community
the means to get involved. Rice
would open the doors to community
service with Inner City Outing.
Students would be able to climb
for free when HPER classes are not
using the wall. Thus, a new alterna-
tive activity would be given to the
Rice community. The wall would
create work-study programs and
part-time employment.
Students would not pay a climb-
ing fee; faculty and surrounding com-
munity members would pay a small
fee, compared to costs at commer-
cial climbing walls. The revenues
would go to maintaining the wall
and ecftiipment; any profits will be
redirected back to the SA to benefit
future organizations.
The Kinesiology Department
cannot build the wall with its own
money; this has been discussed for
the last four years. The liability is
too high.
Other schools such as the Uni-
versity of Houston, Texas A&M
University and U.S. Military Acad-
emy already have their rock walls,
which were built and managed by
the student body. We need a wall
too.
The $32,000 would not get a big
wall, but it would give us something
that would keep making you go back
and find new challenges. With the
wall in place, we could have new
intramural competitions and tour-
naments. The Outdoors Club would
maintain the rodtes and the gear to
ensure safety.
My dream is to get this wall for
us. I need every one of you to help
me give you something you deserve.
So this weekend, starting Friday,
please vote—for more information,
visit the Outdoor Club's Web page
at http://www. ruf. rice. edu/~roc.
Let's get that wall.
Gabriel Garcia
Baker senior
Columnist ignores the
underprivileged
To the editor:
It was with tremulous trepida-
tion, questionable querulousness
and, finally, rapacious relief that I
read James Dallal's Oct. 1 column
("Campus Police quash a pointless
rebellion").
I was quite heartened to learn
that a member of today's youthful
generation, when faced with a moral
dilemma, chose to "follow his heart"
and "do the right thing."
Dallal's decision to return his ill-
gotten and, dare I say it, illegal ac-
quisition was unequivocally the right
one, not only for him, but for soci-
ety, God, you and me, and the birds
and the bees and the flowers in the
trees.
Get real. First of all, there is no
major fnoral dilemma involved in
receiving a useless piece of refuse
that happens to be "state property."
The theft of a non-regulatory street
sign, though technically illegal,
causes very little harm to anyone.
Just because something is illegal
(sodomy) doesn't mean it's immoral.
"Rejection of the institutional
structure of society"? Is there some-
body out there who actually believes
this? Civil disobedience is putting
oneself in a position to accept the
wrath of a perturbed society in or-
der to protest that wr^th. It is not
stealing junk to put on your wall as a
bragging pofnt (oops, I mean "con-
versation piece").
And, in any case, true rebellion
seeks no "legitimate grounds," be-
cause its reason for existence is the
Siere presence of an authority that
bs the power to oppress; whether
that power is exercised is irrelevant.
TTiis is not to suggest that I am
somehow more "on the fringe" than
Dallal; much like him (an assump-
tion), as well as many other Rice
students, I am privileged by pater-
nity, if not by skill or desire.
But at least I know that "the insti-
tutional structure of society" is about
student loans, public works and po-
lice protection only for the rich.
It's no surprise that people who
are arrested for skateboarding and
graffiti, who go to jail for prostitu-
tion and possession with intent, and
who are assumed to be criminals
before they even know the law are
not privileged university students.
Of course, it's only sane to get
along with the police; those things
are illegal, right?
Daniel Mee
Baker sophomore
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McAlister, Jett & Tam, Mariel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, October 8, 1999, newspaper, October 8, 1999; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246657/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.