The Rice Thresher, Vol. 92, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, February 18, 2005 Page: 6 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER NEWS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18,2005
ERIC WILLIAMS/THRESHER
You schmooze, you... win
Gay married couple
speaks at PRIDE event
by Sarah Taylor
FORTHE THRESHER
President David Leebron speaks to seniors Tuesday at the third of four senior dessert receptions at his home on
the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Main St.
141 sign up for Vision Weekend
by Lauren Murphy
FOR THE THRESHER
As of Wednesday, 141 high
school seniors had reserved spots
for Vision Weekend. Rice's annual
recruiting weekend for members of
underrepresented minority groups,
Assistant Director of Admission
I-aura Villafranca (Sid '95) said. The
weekend, which is organized by the
Student Admission Council's Minor-
ity Interests Committee, will be held
from Feb. 24 until Feb. 27.
"It's our most significant effort
to recruit some of the most talented
students of color in the nation," Vil-
lafranca, the coordinator of Hispanic
recruitment, said.
In past years, the weekend has
drawn between 130 and 150 attend-
ees. Last year, 143 students attended,
and 66 of those accepted offers of
admission.
"This is a very high yield for top
students who have so many choices,"
Villafranca said.
Of this year's attendees, 73 per-
cent have been admitted to Rice,
and the rest are strong applicants,
Villafranca said. As in past years,
Rice has offered to pay for the plane
tickets of attendees who live outside
the Houston area.
The first Vision Weekend was held
in 1995, when Rice's peer schools
began hosting similar programs.
The program is one of several ways
the Admission Office recruits highly
qualified minority students, Vil-
lafranca said.
This year's Vision Weekend
chairs are Martel College junior
Luis Arandia and Martel senior
Raffi Belizaire.
"Vision [Weekend] was the rea-
son I came to Rice, and that's why
I wanted to be a part of it this year,"
Belizaire said.
This year's program includes a
few changes from last year's. 'Ilie
Passport to Houston will be made
available to the visitors, allowing
them free access to the MLTRORail
and admission to the Museum of
Fine Arts, Houston. In addition, a
new study abroad student panel will
be held Friday afternoon.
Other aspects of the weekend
will remain the same. Attendees will
arrive on campus Thursday between
3 and 6 p.m.. and leaders of various
cultural organizations will welcome
the prospective students with a recep-
tion that evening.
The prospective students will
attend classes and meet with
representatives of the various
academic disciplines Friday. In the
evening, they will attend a formal
dinner with Rice alumni and faculty.
Baker College is once again hosting
the "Rhythms" dance party Friday
night, where current and prospec-
tive students may compete in a
dance contest.
On Saturday, the prospective
students will have the opportu-
nity to talk with representatives of
Student Financial Services and
will be encouraged to explore
Houston or attend the Rice baseball
game against the University of
Nebraska at Reckling Park. A
catered dinner will be held at the
North College Servery.
Currently, 99 Rice undergradu-
ates have volunteered to host
the prospective students. The
Minority Interests Committee
hopes to recruit enough volunteers
to host the students, as well as
help with registration, ride along
on airport shuttles and set up for
various activities.
"These are the most highly
recruited students in the country,"
Villafranca said. "Let's show them
what we have to offer."
Owl Weekend, Rice's general
recruiting weekend for admitted
students, will be in late April. Owl
Weekend is put on by the SAC
On-Campus Programs Committee.
Last February, the city of San
Francisco began issuing marriage
licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
The decision, made by San Francisco
Mayor Gavin Newsom, brought the
issue of same-sex marriage to the
forefront of American politics.
'We wanted to put
a face on same-sex
marriage.'
— Matt Oertli
PRIDE co-president
About 4,000 same-sex couples
were married in San Francisco before
the California Supreme Court voided
the marriages four weeks later. But in
a speech in Miner Lounge Tuesday,
activist Bruce Smith said there is no
going back.
"You can't put the toothpaste back
in the tube," Smith said.
Smith and his husband, Tony
Carroll, were one of the first same-
sex couples to be married in North
America. They married in Canada
in 2003.
The speech was one of sev-
eral events on campus recognizing
National Freedom to Marry Week,
which began Monday. The event was
sponsored by PRIDE, one of Rice's
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgen-
der groups.
"We wanted to put a face on
same-sex marriage," PRIDE co-Pres-
ident Matt Oertli, a Martel College
senior, said.
PRIDE, which is led by Oertli and
co-President Daniel Lenhoff, a Han-
szen College senior, observed the
week by distributing purple ribbons
to supporters of same-sex marriage
equality. Hie group also collected
350 signatures opposing the ban on
same-sex marriage currently pro-
posed in the Texas Legislature.
Smith and Carroll talked about
their efforts to legalize their long-
time union.
Smith, a dentist, and Carroll, a
psychotherapist, met 10 years ago
through I»g Cabin Republicans, a
political action group that advocates
gay rights. Within six months of
meeting each other, they were liv-
ing together, had combined their
property and had taken advantage
of all their legal rights as a same-sex
couple in the United States. After
eight years together, Carroll said he
and Smith felt they were as estab-
lished in their partnership as most
married couples.
"We were about as married as any
couple ever is, and we were treated
as a couple by everyone we knew,"
Carroll said.
In 2003, Smith and Carroll flew to
Toronto at the invitation of another
gay couple and were married. Only a
few months before, a panel of judges
in Ontario had ruled that the defini-
tion of marriage must be broadened
to include gay men and women.
The couple said they felt comfort-
able and accepted in Canada.
"Everyone was just so welcom-
ing," Carroll said.
Because the United States does
not recognize same-sex marriages
performed in Canada, Smith and Car-
roll cannot file taxes together or reap
other Social Security benefits.
Smith said he has been forced to
become conversant in the laws and
policies related to same-sex partner-
ships in the United States and to
navigate a maze of legislation and
attorneys to obtain as many rights
as possible.
"There's no package that you can
download with points A B and C."
Smith said.
PRIDE secretary Stina Salazar, a
Wiess College senior who attended
the speech, said she was inspired by
the couple's perseverance.
"It's encouraging that [Smith
and Carroll | haven't let up, and
have put a lot of time and energy
into their cause," Salazar said.
"It's also not as common for me to
encounter homosexuals in long-
term relationships, who are es-
tablished in their communities, so
I appreciated that."
PRIDE co-Vice President Laura
Bellows, who helped plan the event,
agreed but said she is disheartened
by the recent elections, in which
II states passed constitutional
amendments banning same-sex
marriage.
"It seems like same-sex marriage
may not happen any time soon,"
Bellows said.
Bellows, a Brown College junior,
said she had hoped for a larger
crowd. About 20 students attended
the speech.
Why is the equality of women
and men a prerequisite
to World Peace?
<<o*' x\2>V
.sji® VN&
Are you worth it?
MARCUS ROMAN/THRESHER
CAoN?VeA S°f1h0m!rl!?1yan and WieSS CoMege senior Les,ie McAhre" acquainted during
Tuesday night s Archi Auction at Willy s Pub. The event raised money for the sophomore architecture majors'
annual spring break trip to Paris.
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Gilbert, Lindsey & Yardley, Jonathan. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 92, No. 19, Ed. 1 Friday, February 18, 2005, newspaper, February 18, 2005; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443019/m1/6/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.