The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, March 12, 2010 Page: 3 of 16
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Op-Ed
Clique behavior pervades college system
I'm another new face on cam-
pus: I transferred to Rice this se-
mester, and I'm a member of Martel
College. While learning about the
university's traditions during ori-
entation, I had no idea the college
system would force me to experi-
ence the many trials and tribula-
tions made famous by 2004's Mean
Girls — that is to say, the trauma of
a stereotypical high school with a
preordained, hierarchical cafeteria
seating system.
Nadia Khalid
Maybe I'm naive. I was certainly
unaware that such a lifestyle, domi-
nated by what most counselors
across the nation have dubbed the
"clique syndrome," could continue
to exist within universities. Take
lunch at Martel, for example. At first,
it was an adventure: I would sit at a
different table each day, attempting
to meet as many students and learn
as many Rice customs as possible. It
was exciting at first, but I soon found
that my plight was similar to that
of Goldilocks as I failed to find my
niche. Each chair was either too big
or too small.
One day, I accidentally sat down
at the athletes' table. (Yes, there is
such a thing.) The conversation did
not go so well: I am only slightly ad-
ept at badminton, so I felt especially
like an outsider. But trying again, I
sat down with the self-proclaimed
"cool" kids the next day. The intel-
lectual topics of conversation ran the
gamut from "I can't believe I drank
that much last night," to "How much
are we going to drink tonight?" Need-
less to say, my chair at that table was
just not right.
Now, I'll admit that part of this is
because I'm new; part of it is because
I don't have a group, a "clique," that
I can as of yet call my own. But, as
a fairly objective viewer of the social
system here, I would argue that the
much-beloved college system under-
mines any fair chance newcomers
have of integrating into the system.
In my hope to acclimate to these
new surroundings, I recently de-
cided to run for an executive posi-
tion within the college government.
What followed was both extraordi-
narily humorous and depressing.
As students signed my petition for
nomination, they would sigh as if
they were signing their consent for
an organ donation.
"Hey, I'll sign this," they said.
"But just letting you know, you have
no chance of winning." Stunned by
such boosts of confidence, I asked
why my chances of winning spanned
from "never" to "no, really, never."
The answer, I found, was rooted in
the clique system I had observed at
lunch: Since a certain group of kids
had made the executive board at the
college their own "group," it was
impossible and socially unthink-
able for someone outside this pre-
ordained group to attempt to run.
I was praised for my "audacity of
hope," to borrow Barack Obama's
words of wisdom, and I marveled at
the fact that the tiny hope I had of
victory was considered audacious.
So while all of this might seem
like a very long, convoluted rant, if
you take nothing else away, consid-
er this: When we transfers arrived
at orientation, one of the deans told
us this transition would be difficult,
no doubt about it. But he also said
it would be even more difficult if
we did not try to immerse ourselves
into our surroundings and experi-
ence new things. In trying to break
this strange collegiate electoral sys-
tem, hardened and blockaded by
few and rather old faces, I realized
one thing: Try as we might, we do
not have the outlets available to al-
low us to prosper and succeed.
Sure, you can continue to go
to your college government meet-
ings, and you should definitely get
involved in organizations outside
of your college. But when it comes
to the college itself, I cannot help
but wonder: Have we lost our abil-
ity to discern? Have we become
so simple-minded that we choose
our leaders merely based on their
popularity? It is both a sad and very
telling feature that students, from
what I've seen, run for positions
because they know they are likely
to win. (On the other hand, I have
decided to run because of the tiny
smidgen of a chance I have to attain
name recognition.)
My advice to those of you in simi-
lar positions? Take heart and keep
trying, because while those select few
who run the system are not by any
means poor or incompetent leaders,
they do not constitute, to be sure, the
entirety of Rice. In any event, if Mean
Girls has taught us anything, it's that
people like Regina George get hit by a
bus at the end of the day anyway.
Nadia Khalid is a Martel College
sophomore and transfer student
from Bryn Mawr College.
On-campus dining options inadequate
The Hoot is the best thing that has
happened to this university since it
introduced co-ed housing.
o
Ryan Gupta
Yes, I love food — and it turns
out I'm not the only one. As news
of this magical late-night food joint
spreads across campus, the West
Servery has quickly surpassed Club
Fondren as the place to be at 1 a.m.
on weeknights. The Hoot's easy
success proves one important fact:
Rice students are always hungry.
The servery system isn't flawed
per se: Each student has access to
a servery near his or her college,
lines can be long but are rarely ri-
diculous and students can easily
meet up with friends at peak hours.
Yet when I take a step back and
look at the system, I still see much
is lacking.
First, the campus servery hours
of operation (or the lack thereof)
are horrendous. Between practic-
es, tutorials and meetings, people
can't always make a 7:30 dinner,
and the relatively early breakfast
hours don't always work out on
Saturday mornings that follow par-
ticularly "eventful" Friday nights. 1
don't want to have to plan my day
around limited servery hours. Oth-
er universities like the University of
Texas have multiple cafeterias and
dining halls open from 7 a.m. to
it p.m. Yes, I know UT is a bit bigger
than us, but I feel it's reasonable to
request at least one campus servery
be open at off-peak hours.
Even when the serveries are open,
however, the variety of food is medi-
ocre at best. The hot food line could
use an upgrade, especially in terms
of vegetarian food. A mundane veg-
etarian rotation of grilled cheeses,
pasta, salads, and veggie burgers
leaves us counting down until Satur-
day night dinners.
Speaking of choices, how about
some flexibility in our meal plans?
I am motivated to wake up for a full
breakfast about twice a semester,
so it only makes sense that I get
the choice to pay for what I want
to eat. Aside from the off-campus
food plan, give me more than one
option: many other universities of-
fer a variety of different meal plans
which include buying fewer meals
per semester or replacing meals
with more Tetra Point equivalents.
There's plenty to bash about the
servery system, but Tetra Points
do help alleviate the situation a
bit. The points expand flexibility,
help accommodate visitors without
making them dig into their wallets
and allow you to walk confidently
around campus without cash. But if
I had more places to use them, that
would be ideal. The Hoot, as I men-
tioned before, is a quality start, but
its menu is limited and it is quite a
walk for South College inhabitants.
The Rice Memorial Center is decent
in its dining options during the day.
and it would be great if we could
build up from Smoothie King, Cof-
feehouse and 13th Street and add
even more franchises. Unfortunate-
ly, late-night RMC food is limited to
Willy's Pub. And to be honest. I'm
not going to be that clown that goes
up to the bar at midnight trying to
buy a sub.
It's about time that Rice
changed its ways and expanded its
on-campus food options. More often
than not, the servery can get old.
Maybe the university can consider
adding another Hoot on the other
side of campus or expanding its
food options.
A large barrier to these addi-
tions would obviously be finding
money for the expansion. How-
ever, with the current success of
the Hoot, I'm confident that these
additions would essentially pay
for themselves and quickly begin
turning profits.
It's about time that
Rice changed its ways
and expanded its
on-campus food
options. More often
than not, the servery
can get old.
99
The other problem with adding
such fast food on campus would
be the health concerns. But, as
Rice students, we understand the
surprising paradox that tasty junk
food is bad for the body. As matur-
ing adults, we deserve to have op-
tions and the right to make deci-
sions about the tvpe and amount of
food we consume.
After all, complimentary con-
doms are served in fruit bowls all
over campus — just because vou
have access to them doesn't mean
vou have to enjoy them every night.
Ryan Gupta is a
Baker College freshman.
3
Rice drinking culture fosters
respect, shared responsibility
College students drink alcohol.
Not all of them, by any means, but
many, including those who are under-
age. So instead of creating dormitories
replete with teetotalers and closet al-
coholics by merely punishing alcohol
offenders, Rice embraces an uncon-
ventional approach: teaching these
students how to drink responsibly
in the first place. The result is a safer
party environment and sounder uni-
versity policy and attitude than one
might see at other schools.
Katie Jenson
One of the most important facets of
Rice's drinking culture is its emphasis
on peer responsibility. Rice University
Police Department and the threat of
punishment are seen as the last resort
for alcohol episodes. On a university
campus where many of the drinkers
may not be of legal age, this environ-
ment promotes drinking in the safety
of students' rooms rather than driving
off campus to binge-drink.
In addition, students are able
to actively seek training about safe
alcohol consumption through the
CHOICES program, available at
wellness.rice.edu/choices. The program
is a requirement for public party hosts,
organizers and alcohol servers.
"While it is important to recognize
the illegal nature of any underage
alcohol use, it is equally important
to provide students with accurate
information and strategies for reduc-
ing their risk if they choose to drink
alcohol," the Web site states. Instead
of ignoring the blatantly obvious —
that many college students, whether
of age or not, will drink — honest
education like this helps to create a
healthier, safer party environment on
campus by acknowledging the facts
and planning accordingly.
More underage students, in my
experience, stay on campus to drink
rather than venturing to off-campus
parties. Though this may initially seem
like a bad choice, as it isn't conducive
to exploration beyond the hedges, I
encourage you to think about the net
good that results from this. Students
who stay on campus to drink with
their friends are at much lower risk
of being hurt, hurting themselves or
hurting others. A student stuck off
campus may feel trapped and pres-
sured in a drunken spectacle. They
may enlist an impaired friend to drive
them home, walk through dangerous
streets to get back to campus or submit
to peer pressure. Students on campus,
on the other hand, have more power
to leave dangerous situations. At Rice,
peers set and enforce the social norm
of responsible drinking, so students
have a larger support network than
they would at an off-campus event. If
problems do arise on campus, many
students are well-versed in rudimen-
tary care for intoxication, and can
call the nearby Rice Emergency Medi-
cal Services if needed. As an added
safety measure, colleges are also re-
quired to provide security volunteers
at their parties, providing the first line
of defense in protecting their peers.
Because these volunteers effectively
ward off many instances of reckless
drinking and care for those who have
exceeded their limits, fewer incidents
require RUPD intervention.
Giving students the responsibility
to protect their fnends in a commu-
nal manner, instead of forcing obedi-
ence through fear of authority, has the
added b enefit of encouraging students
to be more cautious with their alcohol
consumption. Drinking at Rice is rarely
an act of rebellion against authority,
and thus it does not adopt the danger-
ous rhetoric and ideology that leads to
self-destructive behavior. Drinking is
instead viewed as a social activity, and
you know what they say: Friends don't
let friends hurt themselves.
In addition to the campus' social
network, the Rice Health Advisors
help to disseminate information about
the responsible use of alcohol. As stu-
dent representatives at the colleges,
the advisers help set the standards
for both healthy drinking and non-
drinking cultures. Without exposure
to these peer standards, the only con-
trols on student alcohol-related behav-
ior are set by the need for emergency
responses. Law enforcement officers
have their hands tied; they cannot ad-
vocate responsible behavior and can
only punish irresponsible behavior.
Health advisers, on the other hand,
can inform students about safe behav-
ior and model that behavior to encour-
age responsible drinking habits.
a
Giving students the
responsibility to
protect their friends
in a communal
manner, instead of
forcing obedience
through fear of
authority, has the
welcome effect
of encouraging
students to be more
cautious with their
alcohol consumption.
99
But safety aside, one need not fear
becoming a social pariah for abstain-
ing from alcohol, as the often vastly
different approaches to partying at
Rice coexist peacefully. When I came
to college. I decided to abstain from
alcohol and found that other stu-
dents respected my choice. Alcohol is
certainly a major component of most
campus parties, but it is by no means
a requirement for participation. I had
no trouble making friends or having
fun without alcohol, and I never felt
pressured because of my choice. My
experience is not shared by everyone,
but the respect individuals receive for
their decisions is much more prevalent
at Rice than it is at other schools. Here,
the drinking culture is largely shaped
by the absence of Greek life, which
helps encourage a communal sense of
belonging and friendship and largely
denies alcohol its all-too-common role
in other universities as a peer-pressure
tool. Though people have occasionally
joked about my non-drinking behav-
ior, I have never felt pressure to modi-
fy this behavior to fit in: Rather, it has
helped define me as a person.
Here at Rice, students are smart
about staying safe and protecting
their peers, thus encouraging respon-
sible drinking behavior. This student
support, with law enforcement poli-
cies, provides the backbone of the
university's safe, respectful drinking
culture. And I hope Rice retains this
culture, for the benefit of both ma-
turing students and concerned law
enforcement officers.
Katie jenson is 0
Lovett College sophomore.
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Wilde, Anna. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, March 12, 2010, newspaper, March 12, 2010; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398447/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.