The Rice Thresher, Vol. 98, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 21, 2011 Page: 1 of 16
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op-ed
This one's on the house
Opinions Editor Ryan Gupta writes open letters to the adminis-
tration, RUPD and the student body about drinking at Rice.
P. 9
a&e
Can you give a movie negative stars?
We're usually nice to bad movies, but Season of the Witch is
a curse on humanity.
sports p. 12
Pool party for swim team
Swim team dominates highly ranked North Texas in the team's
last home meet.
1
the Rice
VOLUME XCVIII, ISSUE NO. 16
Rondelet back
after two years
by Ruby Gee
Thresher Editorial Staff
Rondelet returns tomorrow at
10 p.m. after a two-year hiatus.
While the location of the dance
remains at the Trevisio restau-
rant in the Texas Medical Center,
several changes, such as the ad-
dition of a winter theme due to
a change in event timing, have
been implemented in an effort to
revive the formal dance.
Rice Program Council Social Co-
Chair and Interim Vice President
Libby Ulman said that they had
hoped to bring back the tradition in
a slightly different way while main-
taining the spirit of Rondelet.
"In the past few years, Ron-
delet has just kind of died out
because of low popularity," Ul-
man, a Sid Richardson College
sophomore, said. "This year,
the idea was to revamp it, bring
it back at a different time and
hope to get people energized
about it."
Tickets sales for the formal
dance began Jan. 12, with a regu-
lar ticket costing $15. For $25,
attendees can get a ticket and
wristband for alcohol if of age.
Wristbands may be purchased
at the door. According to Ulman,
RPC had sold approximately 520
tickets out of the allotted 600 as
of Wednesday.
Ulman said that a strength
of past Rondelets was the prox-
imity of its location at Trevisio,
which is located on top of a
building in the Texas Medical
Center. Trevisio is an award-
winning restaurant that is
known by locals for its fine din-
ing and event catering.
"It's a really cool venue
within walking distance of Rice,
with a really pretty view of the
med center and a nice little bal-
cony area as well," Ulman said.
"Compared to Esperanza, it's
sort of a fancier venue itself, so
people should feel comfortable
dressing up."
O see Formal, page 8
FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2011
STUDENT-RUN
SINCE 1916
tm,
M'm
*
Wrm- <&
Ms:**
BRIEF HISTORY^
■MnrmrlLETi
May
1947
May
1959
Rondelet, in the
form of a festival,
occurs for the first
time. It replaces
May Fete, which
started in 1921 as a
spring celebration.
In addition to a
springtime ball,
Rondelet weekend
now includes a
Songfest musical
competition, an
informal dance at
the Student Center
and a picnic.
The Rondelet
Pageant is held at
the residential
colleges, while the
Rondelet Ball is
held in the Texas
Room of the
Houston Club.
Tickets cost $1 per
person.
The tradition of
electing a Rondelet
queen and court
officially ends.
With the theme of
"Night in Old
Houston," Rondelet
is held in the Crystal
Ballroom at the
historic Rice Hotel,
which is known for
its ceiling murals
and wide balconies.
The price of
Rondelet tickets is
lowered from $20 to
$10 in hopes of
increasing student
attendance. Three
hundred and fifty
students attend the
masquerade themed
dance at the Trevisio
restaurant.
RPC cancels
Rondelet after only
selling 60 tickets.
The Moulin
Rouge-themed spring
formal would have
taken place in the
February Grand Hall.
2009
Remembering Martin
Luther King
Students and other Rice community members at the Rice Memo-
rial Center Chapel participate in a Martin Luther King Day vigil or-
ganized by the Black Student Association.
5A alcohol forum
DUUlL' discusses safety
April
1964
April
1970
March
2000
March
2008
by Bob Chen and
Hallie Jordan
Thresher Staff
After an influx of calls to Rice
Emergency Medical Services for
excess alcohol consumption, the
Student Association held a panel to
discuss what can be done to reduce
the number of intoxicated students.
The panel, held Wednesday eve-
ning, included seven panelists whom
the SA felt represent and are informed
about Rice's alcohol policy, Will Rice
College Senator Renee Dudley said.
"We had more ambulance trans-
port to the hospital last semester
than we had in any other semes-
ter year in the EMS history," REMS
Captain Hashim Zaidi said. "That's
just last semester."
The number of calls to EMS is
something that cannot be over-
looked, Dean of Undergraduates
John Hutchinson, a panelist, said.
"We are sitting at a moment of
crisis," Hutchinson said. "The sta-
tus quo cannot stand. We can't wait
for this to go away. Crisis presents
itself as an opportunity. We need to
collectively stand up as a commu-
nity to say this cannot go on."
Though the panel discussed what
the policy actually says, Hutchinson
emphasized that the most effective
way to combat alcohol-related prob-
lems is for students to care about
each other and their community and
not about law enforcement.
"The driving force of the policy
is about care, not about legal issues
at a private gathering," Hutchinson
said. "Rice liberalized its policy
with the belief that students would
pick up the slack by taking care of
each other."
One way students can work on
supporting and looking out for
one another is by notifying college
chief justices of private parties,
Wiess College Chief Justice Jon En-
dean said. According to the policy,
if a party has a keg, it must be reg-
istered as a private party.
"If you host a party, you are taking
responsibility for all who consume
alcohol," Hutchinson said. "Tell your
chief justice for support."
Communication between stu-
dents does keep the level of EMS
calls significantly lower, Zaidi said.
"Public gatherings that are
planned will see a distinct decrease
in EMS calls," Zaidi said. "Howev-
er, people from private parties are
found in a state when they need
hospitalization immediately."
Several students in the audience
questioned if more EMS calls could
signify more faith in the service and
not a rise in overly drunk students.
"More EMS calls do show that
our community cares, but we also
know that some people have been
found abandoned, suggesting that
we have a ways to go," Hutchinson
said. "For a culture
of care, we must
help people
not to go too
far and inter-
vene. We need
to feel empow-
ered to help
people, wheth-
er or not we are
the host."
Crawls, along
with private par-
ties and the drink
Four Loko, have
contributed to high
drinking levels,
Hutchinson said.
"It is physically
unrealistic to have
not just a little bit of alcohol but a
lot of alcohol of 11 [one per college]
kinds in a very short course of an
evening," Hutchinson said.
Lovett College Chief Justice Jay
Patel said he thought more than
just discussion needs to happen to
bring change.
"A lot of the issues were said,
but we have not established what to
do next, and I think we really need
to do that," Patel said.
The intent of the meeting was
to promote communication and re-
ceive input from the student body,
Dudley said.
Associate Dean of Undergradu
ates Donald Ostdiek made sure to
emphasize this idea.
"The policy was written by and
large by the students," Ostdiek
said. "It is not something that is
imposed on you but something the
community has made. Everyone
should have input."
GRAPHIC BY DAVE
1
l
Watch it, Sam.
Casablanca is playing tonight and tomor-
row night at 7 at the Rice Media Center Film
Auditorium. Never seen it before? Of all the
auditoriums, in all the towns, in all the world,
walk into this one.
Happy Birthday!
If your birthday happens to be this week.
Also, today is the last day to add classes.
Still under 20 hours? We are unimpressed.
Are you 20 years old now? Awesome.
'[...]sondern durch Eisen undBlut." index
The Gulf Regional Blood Center is having a blood
drive in Farnsworth Pavilion from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
on Wednesday. Don't worry, you'll make more —
and you'll help other people get back to making
their own.
Opinion 3
News 4
Arts & Entertainment 9
Sports 12
Calendar 15
Backpage 16
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Wilde, Anna & Rutenberg, Josh. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 98, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 21, 2011, newspaper, January 21, 2011; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398484/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.