The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, February 8, 2008 Page: 2 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2008
the Rice Thresher
The students have spoken:
Change PIN procedure
Two weeks ago, the Student Association held an online poll
about Registration, Drop/Add PINs and academic advising, and
the results were not surprising (see story, page 12). The overall
student opinion seems to be that advisors are just a step to getting
an RDA PIN, with the current advising and registration process
being nothing more than an inconvenient bureaucracy.
The vast majority of students polled stated that they only saw
their advisors to get their PINs, rather than for any actual advis-
ing. And to further highlight the current system's failures, there
were more students who believed that the meetings are not a
worthwhile experience than those who did. Given these views,
it is no wonder that a majority of students would not meet with
their academic advisors if it were not required.
We have previously supported updating the advising system,
and we stand by those recommendations, and judging by com-
ments from the poll, students agree ("End PIN Paternalism,"
Nov. 16, 2007).
Beyond freshman year, meetings with advisors should be vol-
untary. After all, Rice's course structure is not so complex that
it requires more than one year of hand-holding from an advisor.
And as expressed in the poll, students often know more than
advisors. Students are smart enough to register on their own if
they want to.
We know that some faculty and administrators are worried that
eliminating mandatory advisor meetings will result in a horde of
senior students stopped at the Sallyport because of unfulfilled
graduation requirements. But we feel these fears are unfounded.
If the poll results show anything, it is that students are not get-
ting anything out of their advisors besides unnecessary stress.
Instead, ESTHER should employ an active checking system to
show students which requirements they have met and which
ones they have not. Advisors are already just doing the job of a
computer, so why not use a real one? This would save students
and faculty a great deal of time and effort.
Undergraduates are allotted a great degree of trust from the
university, from college governments to the alcohol policy to
the honor code. It is time to extend this trust to classes and let
students dictate their own lives without the currently required
PINs from mommy Rice.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
FE&P ensures July showers
won't threaten April rock
The Brochstein Pavilion is, rather obviously, a project under
construction. But by April 13, the green fence wrapping paper
will be removed, giving students the gift of a new campus center
in a grand opening marked by KTRU's annual Outdoor Show.
Unfortunately the show has been cancelled on account of rain —
nine months ago (see story, page _). Heavy summer rains have
delayed completion of the Pavilion project and forced the KTRU
Outdoor Show to relocate, probably to the Intramural fields north
of the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.
This latest construction inconvenience is a cherry on top of
the sick, inverse sundae that has been served to students over
the last few years, where the stomachache comes before any
sweet delight.
After months of early-morning construction, those ubiquitous
green fences and promises of a wonderful new campus, students
are finally feeling the effects of construction on a macro scale.
But Facilities, Engineering and Planning is also beginning to
recognize the massive burden placed upon students, working
with KTRU to help relocate the concert, even helping to cover
some of the costs.
We are very glad to see FE&P help out students deal with the
severe construction inconveniences, actively contributing rather
than holding forums that, while playing an important role, could
be dismissed by jaded students as being too passive. FE&P could
have just considered the issue a weather-related inconvenience,
something out of their hands and ignored it, but instead they
took responsibility, letting campus know that, yes, Rice does care
about undergraduates.
So to those about to rock come April, and FE&P, we salute you.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher
editorial staff,
Sid Rich apologizes
for 40 s Party fiasco
To the editor:
As Sid Richardson College Presi-
dent, I would like to apologize on
behalf of my college for the hurtful
events that occurred during the Martin
Luther King, Jr.weekend. Sidin noway
condones racism, and we share the
concerns of the Rice African-American
community, which felt personally tar-
geted by the events.
In addition to the disgusting rac-
ist comments and vandalism in our
college coordinator's office, a group
of students gathered in the Sid base-
ment and held "40s Party." While I
do not believe it was the intention of
these students to attack any group
of people or make a racial statement,
our community now understands the
insensitive timing and substance of
the party. These actions deeply hurt
many in the Rice community, and for
that I would like to apologize to each
individual affected.
Over the past two weeks, Sid has
partnered with university resources
and organizations, such as the Black
Student Association and the Office
of Multi-Cultural Affairs to address
cultural insensitivity and diversity is-
sues. As a result of our introspection
as a college, I do not believe that any
Sidizen will condone another event like
40s Party in the future. It is my hope
that we can make positive changes as
a result of this experience, and that
Rice University will join Sid in moving
forward as one united community.
Sean Monks
Sid Richardson senior
Sid events provoke
presidential response
To the editor:
As proud Sidizens and former col-
lege presidents, we wanted to express
our shock and sadness over the events
that took place during the week of the
Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The
vandalism that occurred is highly out
of character for any Sidizen that we
ever knew and we are confident that
it is not a true reflection of the major-
ity of attitudes within the present Sid
family.
College traditions are fed to us
without much thought to their origin
or intended meaning. Unfortunately,
one of the weak points of a tradition
is its lack of ongoing examination.
We assume that because something
has taken place before that it should,
without question, take place again.
Sadly, the 40s Party has fallen victim
to this lack of examination.
Sid now has the opportunity to
abandon an offensive and lackluster
tradition and create a new one that
embraces die dynamism of its diverse
Sidizenry. Beyond tiiat, all of the col-
leges on campus have the occasion
to take a closer look at their tradi-
tions and evaluate the impact they
have on their student membership.
In the end, we hope tiiat Sid will not
continue trying to defend a tradition
that reflects so poorly on what Sid
really is. Rather, Sid should focus on
its richest tradition, namely the one of
upholding and supporting each other,
especially in our differences. Sid Rich
Rules! Deatii from Above!
iMura Sawyer
former Sid president
Sid Richardson '05
Becca Schendel Norris
former Sid President
Sid Richardson '04
Charlotte Albrecht
former Sid president
Sid Richardson '03
Students mistakenly
attack, critique RUPD
To the editor:
Last week's letter of complaint
to the editor on Rice University
Police Department's bike policy was
unnecessary and simply childish
("RUPD bike policy not part of job
description," Feb. 1).
The arguments made were equiva-
lent to arguing that because shootings
and robberies occur, the police should
not worry about speeding and DWI
tickets. After all, by the same logic,
how an individual decides to use his
personal property, i.e., the car, is up
to him.
While RUPD is under attack for
implementing certain measures
recently in response to the thefts and
assaults on and near campus, we seem
to have forgotten one important detail.
We live in Houston — in the heart of
a large metropolitan area. Few people
can deny that if we were to walk a block
off campus, we would be a great deal
less safe than we are on campus. Why
not take a minute to stop and think
why that is?
Campus crime statistics for die
2006calendar year show a total of 4 sex
offenses, 1 aggravated assault, 47 bur-
glaries and 6 motor vehicle thefts on
campus. Nowcompare these statistics
to those of our cross-town rivals, the
University of Houston, in which there
had been 6 sex offenses, 4 robberies,
4 aggravated assaults, 27 burglaries,
and 29 motor vehicle thefts reported
in 2006. We find that comparatively
Rice is doing much better. This does
not seem to me to be speaking nega-
tively towards the "competency" of
our police department.
We as students complain that RUPD
is not doing its job when our bikes
are stolen by drug dealers wanting a
quick high. We then turn around and
complain when our bikes are taken as
a preventative measure.The only right
I see being violated here is my right to
be a victim of theft, and tiiat is one right
I am okay with relinquishing.
That being said, while I encourage
cooperation from die student body,
I also encourage RUPD to be more
receptive with the Student Associa-
tion's proposed resolution, specifically
in establishing an online database for
confiscated items. While it may be ar-
gued such a database would encourage
laziness on die part of the student, this
is simply not the case. Just as one's car
would not be towed witiiout some indi-
cation of wrongdoing, bikes (amongst
other possessions) should not be con-
fiscated without due warning.
Liang Liu
Brown sophomore
See LETTERS, page 4
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Whitfield, Stephen. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, February 8, 2008, newspaper, February 8, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443000/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.