The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, January 26, 2007 Page: 4 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
LETTERS, from page 2
This forum was a true conversa-
tion in which the most important
and insightful remarks were con-
tributed by the students. The article
introduced a number of topics with
"Forman said..." or "Forman said
he wants to..." when, in fact, in just
about every case the topic was first
raised, and eloquently supported,
by a student, and I simply agreed
with, and sometimes expanded upon,
their analysis. By focusing on—and
occasionally misrepresenting—my
comments, the reporters missed
a wonderful opportunity both to
showcase and support the valuable
contributions to this important
process that are being made by
their peers.
Robin Forman
Dean of Undergraduates
Prof misses value
of varsity sports
To the editor:
History Chair Martin Wiener
made several claims about Rice's
athletic program in his letter that
show his absolute misunderstand-
ing of athletics in general and
ignorance concerning Rice athletes
("Graham flop shows L)-l fails for
Rice," Jan. 19). Let's get one thing
straight: There are sports other
than football at Rice. We have great
basketball, tennis and track teams,
and it should go without mentioning
that Rice's baseball team is consis-
tently one of the best in the nation.
Wiener's claim that we are trying
to buy winning teams is an insult
to all athletes.
We cannot buy the talent that
comes to Rice. It is a product of
those students' hard work and dedi-
cation to a passion. If Weiner took
a minute of his self-absorbed time
to actually attend a Rice sporting
event, he would see the fellowship
and support of students cheering on
their classmates in an environment
that is rare for D-l schools: Athletes
know and mingle with "regular"
students. If he had attended the
men's basketball game against the
University of Houston, he would
have seen the large number of ath-
letes being commended for making
the Commissioner's Honor Roll. Our
athletes are not a waste of time. In
fact, they are role models for all
collegiate athletes. Using Coach
Graham's departure as a fayade to
attack the Athletic Department is
weak and thinly veiled. Academia
and athletics coexist on the student
level, and it is time for some of the
faculty to open their minds.
Jacki Craig
Lovett senior
Academic needs to do
athletics research
To the editor:
I have a research assignment for
Dr. Martin Wiener:
Understand what our student-
athletes do for Rice's prestige. Open
the last Sallyport and read about the
little league coach in Iowa whose
players proudly wear their Rice hats
because our guys took the time to
sign autographs, pose for pictures
and chat with them — hardly the
work of Division I athletes as you
characterize them.
Call our trustees who were once
Rice student-athletes. Ask them if
they credit their time as Rice stu-
dent-athletes for the virtues that led
to their success. Ask them if they
attended Rice on an athletic scholar-
ship, the most dominant expenditure
of the Athletic Department.
I .earn what it means to be a do-
nor institution. When Rice Stadium
needs upgrades, the Athletic Depart-
ment is told to find the money. It is
time for academic departments to
face this same reality. If the History
Department needs money, you, as
ti.2 department chair, should go
find it.
Come out to a ballgame. Watch
student-athletes, students and fans
alike stand "For Rice's Honor." Strike
up a conversation with non-alumni
who have brought their family to
campus for a ballgame and ask them
how they can subject their kids to
"money-ridden Division I" sports.
I can only imagine the blank stares
you'll receive.
If nothing else do what you've
spent years doing: Stick to history
and leave athletics and the stew-
ardship of this university to those
who understand what the Rice way
really is.
Steven Herce
Will Rice '03
Rice baseball player 2000-03
Division 1 benefits
university, Houston
To the editor:
History Professor Martin Wie-
ner takesTodd Graham's economic
opportunism and puzzlingly uses
it to trumpet the cliche that Divi-
sion I-A athletics is necessarily at
odds with Rice's academic integ-
rity. Rather than being a zero-sum
proposition, the dynamic between
athletics and academics at Rice is
much more interdependent and
nuanced. While Wiener speaks of
"money" going to either athletics or
academics—as if such money were
already booked and fungible — he
overlooks the fact that athletic suc-
cess often spurs school pride, which,
in turn, broadly energizes alumni
giving, and that many alumni donate
to the athletic department and to
the Wee general fund separately.
Thus, ridding Rice of its athletic pro-
grams does not necessarily equate
to the direct enrichment of its
academic ones.
Wiener also overlooks the
positive effect Division I athletics
can have on Rice's academic mis-
sion. Athletic achievement can
bring instant, invaluable attention
to smaller schools such as Rice.
Northwestern University expe-
rienced this phenomenon when
it leapfrogged Rice and broke
into U.S. News's top-ten ranking
in 1996 — on the heels of a surge
in applications that occurred di-
rectly after its Rose Bowl appear-
ance. Similarly, Duke University's
popularity among applicants owes
much to its successful basketball
program. These schools, along with
Stanford University and the Uni-
versity of Notre Dame, have long
understood the value of Division I
athletics for non-Ivy private schools
with small alumni bases and high
academic standards.
Sports have long been an en-
ergizing and unifying force in our
society. As a member of the Harris
County-Houston Sports Author-
ity, I have seen the unique and
profound impact — psychical and
economic — that sports can have in
our community. Within that segment
of society known as higher educa-
tion, and within that even smaller
segment occupied by schools that
are truly committed to excellence
in all fields, Rice's participation in
Division I-A serves not to divert
from its academic and philosophical
mission, but rather, in very tangible
ways, to advance it.
Ha Nguyen
Lovett '96
Red campaign has
corporate confutation
To the editor:
I appreciate Julia Bursten's
article on Bono's Red campaign
to light AIDS in Africa ("Cause
marketing leaves consumers
inspi(red)," Jan. 19). Ethical shop-
ping is an important part of being
socially responsible citizens, and
the campaign provides an easy way
for consumers to do such.
However, while I admire both
Bono and Bursten's efforts to
encourage people to buy Red, I think
it is a mistake to use consumerism
and big business to try to solve a
social problem. Lives may indeed
be saved by the campaign, but if
our "convenience-driven world of
luxury consumerism" is already
the cause of so many injustices,
are we really helping much in the
big picture by buying Red? What
if those Red iPods and Motorola
phones are made in sweatshops?
There are no easy ways to solve
AIDS and poverty, but if we focus
our attention on small, perhaps
even counter-productive solutions
like Bono's campaign, we distract
ourselves from finding genuine
ones. In my mind, any solution that
feeds off of our excessive consum-
erism cannot lead to meaningful
social change, even when it comes
to AIDS.
I sincerely believe that social and
economic justice will never happen
until those with privilege make
sacrifices for those with none. iPods
and GAP T-shirts should not be our
way of helping the 25 million people
in Sub-Saharan Africa with AIDS.
We should expect more from our-
selves to help those disadvantaged
by our political economy, even if
that means forsaking our luxuries.
Buying things to make ourselves
feel good about saving the world is
not enough.
Karen Leu
Wiess junior
To fellow students in
Fondren: Shh!
To the editor:
Recently, Fondren Library has
undergone renovations that allow
for a more open, social atmosphere
in what was once an uninviting,
dull space. Soon after entering the
main entrance, one is now greeted
with the soothing colors of white
and gray, two lounging spaces
with comfortable chairs, personal
cubicles and fancy mood lighting.
Many students feel that as a result
of these modifications the first two
floors of Fondren — the renovated
floors — have become more active.
Students frequently will answer
their cell phones in their "outside
voices," groups of individuals will
gather around a computer and at
laugh at Internet jokes and people
working on group projects will
discuss their ideas aloud.
Why do people feel the need to
discuss projects aloud next to five
persons studying when they could
easily check out a study room? Why
do I have to listen to Guy X talk
about how he got wasted Friday
night while I study at Fondren
on Saturday?
Does this new spatial change
justify deviating from the conven-
tional norm of being quiet when in
the library? I was always taught that
when you enter a library it is "quiet
time." You respect the space and
others by not disturbing persons'
willingness to learn. Why should
Fondren be any different? Why do
people feel the need to not shut up?
Multiple warnings are plastered
around the cubicles and the en-
trance of the main foyer — there
is no excuse for being rude.
Are you really that important of
a person that you cannot go down-
stairs and outside to answer it? I
say that next time when ignorant,
rude library attendees answer their
phone, angered persons should walk
over and hang it up for them.
Alley Lyles
Martel junior
Guest column
Athletic renaissance puts
Rice in the vanguard
How much respect does Rice
athletics command nationally?
It's a question that I never gave
much thought until recently, but
it has been a pleasant
surprise for me to
learn that the national
reputation of Rice ath-
letics is quite strong.
Yes, the recent bowl
berth helps, but repu-
tation requires a lot
more than one winning
season in one sport.
As a former Rice
athlete now outside the
hedges and at the Uni-
versity of Chicago med
school, I would like to provide a
glimpse of what individuals and
groups outside of the hedges
think about athletics at Rice.
Thomas
Ring
A strong argument
could be made
right now that
Rice is the flagship
for student
athletics nationally.
This being my final year of
school, 1 spent several weeks
interviewing for residency posi-
tions around the country. One
of the things 1 noticed was that
people with no ties to Rice al-
ready know it is a good school
academically, but it is the addition
of a successful athletics program
that really impresses them.
Repeatedly, I found myself
chatting with fellow residency
applicants between interviews.
During casual conversation I
would hear, "Rice, didn't they
make it to a bowl game this
year? Who'd they play again?".
Of course, that is in addition
to, "I watched them in the Col-
lege Worlds Series", and an
occasional comment about "...
buckyballs-or-something-like-
that." You can't buy that kind of
good publicity.
And all of that publicity is
good for Rice's future. These
were graduates of Ivy League
and similar quality schools and
not unlike typical Rice graduates
in that they are highly intelligent
and value education heavily. In
the next two to three decades,
they will raise children with the
potential to make up the next
generation of Rice students.
These are exactly the people
Rice needs and wants to reach
as it builds on its proud tradition
of excellence.
One interview, in particular,
stands out in my memory. ITiree
weeks ago, I interviewed at Har-
vard , where a lot of pressure is pu t
on one particular interview. The
school's executive committee con-
sists of five of the biggest names
in the field of orthopedic surgery.
Four were department chairmen
from the major academic hospitals
in Boston, and the fifth was the
program director.
Five-on-one. You have to know
every word of your application be-
cause they scrutinize it. They are
known to fire questions quickly
and change topics rapidly. You
must keep pace. You must be suc-
cinct, thorough and fast.
Here's how they began my
interview: Tell us about your
experience as a student athlete
at Rice. They could have asked
me anything, but that is where
they wanted to start. I briefly
described what I had done dur-
ing my athletic and academic
career at Rice. It set the tone
for what turned out to be a very
positive interview.
The history of ath-
letics at my current
school provides an
interesting contrast.
University of Chicago
used to have a great
college football team.
A founding member of
the Big Ten, the school
holds an undefeated
record against Notre
Dame. But in the late
1930s, President Rob-
ert Hutchins dropped the foot-
ball program and the athletics
program never recovered.
As I write this, I have no idea
how the University of Chicago's
football team, reinstated in 1969
in Division III, did this year.
While Chicago's undergradu-
ate academic resources rival
those at Rice, its athletics pale
in comparison.
Ironically, the entrance to the
University of Chicago's athletics
facility proudly displays the first
Heisman Trophy, awarded to Jay
Berwanger in 1935.
Indeed, the golden age of
athletics at U. Chicago is long
gone. The focus is on the past,
whereas at Rice, the focus is on
the future.
Few, if any, other schools can
claim the same levels of integ-
rity and athletic and academic
excellence. Rice should continue
to lead and be an exemplar for
other collegiate athletics pro-
grams. Indeed, a strong argument
could be made right now that
Rice is the flagship for student
athletics nationally.
One of the things
I noticed was
that people with
no ties to Rice
already know it
is a good school
academically, hut it
is the addition of a
s u ccessfu I at hi etics
program that really
impresses them.
Even the recent departure of
Todd Graham as head football
coach places Rice in a positive
light. Athletic Director Chris Del
Conte and President David Ix'-
ebron responded appropriately.
When head coach Todd Graham
wanted more money, they took
the high road. See ya, Todd. You
aren't one of us after all... We'll
go find someone who is.
Rice athletics continues to
impress me and make me proud.
To the former student athletes
who have made Rice athletics
what it is today, thank you. To
the current student athletes who
strive to maintain and further
elevate that heritage, you make
this alumnus proud. Keep up
the good work. It will serve you
well when you enter life outside
of Rice. You are getting more
attention than you realize.
'Thomas Ring graduatedfrom Jones
College in 2002 and was on the
track and cross country teams.
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, January 26, 2007, newspaper, January 26, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443012/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.