The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, August 29, 2003 Page: 2 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, AUGUST 29,2003
the Rice Thresher
Cutting the BJS.
Civil Engineering majors were more than a little concerned when
they discovered that the Bachelor of Science degree in their field is
missing from the 2003-2004 General Announcements. (See Story,
Page 1.) While the department has so far done a good job of
addressing many of the students' concerns, it has also made a
number of serious mistakes.
The department eliminated the degree, hopefully for this aca-
demic year only, partially because of a shake-up in the faculty. The
B.S. program must now be reconstructed.
To their credit, faculty in the department are allowing junior and
senior CIVI majors to graduate under the old requirements and
receive a B.S. Some classes may not be available because the
former department chair left the university, but the department
seems willing to work around these inconveniences and graduate
everyone who deserves to graduate on time with the major and
degree they want.
Underclassmen who later declare themselves to be a CIVI major
will graduate under the new requirements, which are a part of the
department's amalgamation with the Environmental Engineering
department.
However, eliminating a B.S. degree from its offerings — even if
only for a year and in name only — is hardly indicative of proper
planning on the department's part, and should not happen at a highly
selective university such as Rice.
Further, the department seriously erred in not informing incom-
ing freshmen of the change. Although freshmen are not expected to
have a declared major, many of them came into Rice with the hope
of pursuing the old CIVI degree — a possibility now open only to
current upperclassmen. Such a change could have factored into
these freshmen's choice of university, and for that reason we wish
the department had been more upfront with them.
Finally, the seeming disarray in the department reflects poorly on
Rice's reputation as a whole. While juniors and seniors will get their
B.S. degrees, they can only hope prospective employers have not
paid much attention to the chaos in the department.
Having said all this, we do support the changes the civil and
Environmental Engineering departments are making, and arc look-
ing forward to the improved program. We just wish it could be
improved in a more systematic, less agonizing way.
Lack of opening weekend
food is a safety issue
We were disappointed and concerned to see a total lack of food
service on campus last weekend. If the weekend before school starts
isn't an official part of our meal plan, we would be willing to foot
another $10 to make it so.
Besides the usual inconveniences, the dearth of food could have
been a health risk, given the amount of drinking that inevitably
occurs the weekend before the first day of classes. Do we really want
students drinking on-campus on empty stomachs? Worse yet, do we
want them driving intoxicated to get food off-campus?
Providing on-campus food for two extra days before the start of
school will not only make Rice a more convenient place to be but also
a safer one. And the same applies to the weekend before the start of
the spring semester.
Parking appeals system
needs conveniences
We support the decision to make students pay $10 to appeal a
parking violation. (The money will be returned if the appeal is found
legitimate.) (See Story, Page l.)The idea makes a great deal of fiscal
sense and should decrease the number of frivolous appeals. How-
ever, the process needs to be made a little more student-friendly.
When filing an appeal at the police station, a student is unable to
pay his $10 in cash; he must either write a check or route the
transaction through the Cashier's Office. Further, if the appeal is
upheld, the $10 deposit is not returned directly to the student;
instead, it is deposited into the student's Cashier's Office account.
So if a student writes a check from her personal account and then
wins her appeal, the money won't go back to her; it will be credited
to a bill that her parents are likely to be paying. Besides, what student
really wants her parents to know about her parking violations,
justified or not?
Allowing students to pay and receive their appeals deposits in
cash will make what is inevitably a hassle run a little more
smoothly.
Jip*1
w
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher
editorial staff.
Some feminists are
'hedging their bets'
To the editor:
1 would like to reply to Laura
Bornstein's column from last week
on feminism ("Feminism is only
dirty to close-minded," Aug. 22). I
do not disagree with most of what
she wrote in her article, but one
line struck me as not being entirely
true: "In fact, striving for equality is
intrinsic in all human beings." In
fact, this statement is simply false.
Most human beings strive not for
equality, but instead for domination.
If people are disadvantaged, they
will strive for equality, but advantaged
people will always try to give them-
selves a larger advantage.
The truth is that women are
disadvantaged in some areas, while
they are advantaged in others. To
many, it seems that the women's
movement strives to make women
equal in areas where they are dis-
advantaged. while trying to keep
the advantages they do have. For
example, I don't see women buy-
ing engagement rings for their
fiances.
I'm not saying that the feminist
movement is bad. I agree that where
women are disadvantaged, they de-
serve to be equal. But as a result of
their disadvantages in political, le-
gal and economic terms, women
have been granted advantages in
other domains.
In my opinion, if one truly seeks
equality of the sexes, one must elimi-
nate both the advantages and disad-
vantages of each sex.
Errol Summerlin
Physics graduate student
Speech has its share of
national champions too
To the editor:
Congratulations on fine coverage
of the Rice Owls' win at the College
World Series in Omaha!
However, it is important to note
that this is Rice's first athletic team
national title. The George R. Brown
Forensics Society, Rice University's
Speech and Debate Team, won the
team title at the National Parliamen-
tary Debate Championships in both
1997 and 1998, and also won the
team national championship in both
speech and debate at the Pi Kappa
Delta National Championships in
2000 and 2001.
Dan West
Rice University Director of
Forensics, 1993-2003
Admission criteria
better than race needed
To the editor:
There has been a lot of discus-
sion recently about race being used
as a criterion for admission into a
university, and since Rice Univer-
sity is currently dealing with a com-
plaint on this topic ("Rice faces
post-Hopwood complaint,"Aug. 22),
I thought I would throw in my two
cents.
I think the reason minority races
need affirmative action is not be-
cause they are a minority. African-
Americans, for example, don't have
trouble getting into university be-
cause they are black.
The real reason they have
trouble getting into a university is
because they went to a poor school
in a poor neighborhood, and they
didn't have the money to afford a
private school education. Yet this
problem isn't just restricted
to African-Americans.
White kids who grow up in poor
towns with poor schools have just
as many difficulties getting into
universities.
Everyone tries to make race an
issue in university admissions
when really it is an economic is
sue. Race should not be used as a
factor, but the level of education
one received from one's public
school should. After all. it's not an
applicant's fault the education sys-
tem at home sucked.
Imagine a poor white kid grow-
ing up in an inner city school where
he got a poor education. This kid is
truly desperate. He not only can't
get into a university — he also
doesn't get the benefits of affirma-
tive action.
Now imagine a wealthy African-
American family growing up in
suburban America where there is a
great high school. Their child will
surely get into college. First, he got
a good education; second, he gets
the benefits of affirmative action.
Both of these problems persist
so long as we use race-based admis-
sions policies. Instead, universities
should use location-based admis
sions policies. Students who receive
a poor education should not be
punished for the inability of their
state governments to provide equal
public education for all students.
Errol Summerlin
Physics graduate student
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Berenson, Mark. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, August 29, 2003, newspaper, August 29, 2003; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398428/m1/2/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.