The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 11, 2009 Page: 1 of 20
twenty pages : ill. ; page 19 x 15 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
OP-ED P. 3
The pursuit of happiness
Why factoring in your own interests is the most important
facet when choosing a major.
A&E P. 11
There's art in there?
ignore the meetings and check out the art that Farnsworth
Pavilion is showcasing in the upcoming weeks.
SPORTS
The first step is the hardest
Women's cross country season opens its season tomorrow as
the Owls attempt to steal back the C-USA crown from SMU.
the Rice
VOLUME XCVII, ISSUE NO. 4
STUDENT-RUN
Campus safety
suffers setbacks
SINCE 1916
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
RUPD forced to cut
number of officers
by Yan Digilov
Thresher Editorial Staff
Last year, each department at
Rice was forced to cut its budget by 5
percent. No area was left untouched,
and the Rice University Police De-
partment was no exception.
However, RUPD was not sim-
ply forced to make cuts in both
materiel and personnel — it was
forced to scrap plans of expan-
sion, made all the more neces-
sary by the fact that Rice now has
the largest student population its
campus has ever held.
Glaring vacancies
Before being faced with the
required cutbacks, RUPD had
initially planned to expand its
department to keep up with the
addition of Duncan College and
McMurtry College. RUPD hoped
to allocate three additional spots
in its force for the projected in-
crease in student population.
However, RUPD instead did
just the opposite. Last year saw
four slots vacated on the force,
Chief Bill Taylor said. Two of the
four officer slots cleared were
part of the university-mandated
budget constriction. Due to these
economic cutbacks, an increase
in the police force necessitated
waiting for economic times to
improve before taking action.
"We put together a plan two
or three years ago that would add
significantly more officers," Tay-
lor said. "It is just that the econ-
omy being the way that it is, it is
hard to do [that]. It has been set
back a little bit, but it is not off
the table. It is just that we have to
wait and see how things go."
With the combined lack of ex-
pansion and the loss of the offi-
cers, the force's net loss grew to
seven officers. Of the 31 officers
RUPD planned, before staff cut-
backs, to have active this year,
Just 24 are out in the field.
Additionally, of the active
officers, even fewer can work
alone. Several are still learning
the process and are shadowing
another officer.
This strain has been felt
across campus, Taylor said. In
previous years, an officer would
be assigned to work with a single
college; now, several officers find
themselves patrolling two col-
leges. The posts added to monitor
the two graduate student apart-
ments have been reduced to a
single officer moving back and
forth from the Shakespeare Street
O see RUPD, page 8
Students attacked
on the outer loop
by Josh Rutenberg
Thresher Editorial Staff
This weekend, eight incidents
were reported on or near the Rice
campus in which people were at-
tacked with air-propelled pellets
from BB guns, airsoft guns or a
similar type of weapon.
Rice University Police Captain
Dianna Marshall said two of the
attacks took place Sunday, while
the other six cases occurred Mon-
day. Although four of the attacks
occurred on the perimeter of
campus near entrances 3, 4 and
17, another four cases occurred
in the areas surrounding Rice:
two similar instances occurred in
Rice Village at the intersection of
Morningside Drive and University
Boulevard, one at 1815 Bissonnet
Street and another on Interstate
45 South at Scott Street.
Typically, the victims were
joggers, and the suspects shot
at their targets from moving ve-
hicles. In one instance, the as-
sailants shot a Rice student on
foot and proceeded to push the
student to the ground.
In one instance, the
assailants shot a Rice
student on foot and
proceeded to push the
student to the ground.
Victims described the weap-
ons used as BB guns, but the
pellets could also have been
fired from an airsoft pistol, Mar-
shall said. While the victims did
sustain minor injuries, medical
treatment was not required.
Varying descriptions of the sus-
pects were reported, Marshall said,
ranging from three white males to
three Hispanic males to several
males. One victim saw the suspects
driving a white pickup truck, while
another indicated a gray SUV.
Marshall said RUPD advises
students to always be aware of
their surroundings and to look for
crises management e-mails. RUPD
also suggests students have an un-
derstanding of campus emergency
phone locations, and asked stu-
dents to report suspicious activity
immediately. If you have any infor-
mation that could assist RUPD in
their investigation, call ext. 6000.
i
w
Welcome to
the shanties
Students participating in the $2 A Day Challenge moved in to their shanty town
on Tuesday, laying out blankets and spray-painting their shacks. To see what
else the students did while living in the Central Quad, turn to page to.
Swine flu reaches Rice, infects
over 20 percent of student body
by Seth Brown
For the Thresher
Swine flu has officially hit Rice.
The H1N1 flu virus, commonly known
as swine flu, has infected an estimat-
ed 20 percent of the student popula-
tion, Director of Student Health Ser-
vices Mark Jenkins said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 123 stu-
dents had sought medical attention
at the Health Services Center. Jenkins
said this number may not reflect the
actual number of infected students,
however, as more likely stayed in
1
their dorms or apartments instead of
seeking a medical opinion.
Although students have not been
testedtodeterminethestrain.viraltest-
ing performed throughout the country
by the World Health Organization
suggests that the overwhelming num-
ber of cases in which flu-like symp-
toms are exhibited are due to the
H1N1 virus.
National statistics, collected by the
Center for Disease Control, show there
have been 9,079 hospitalizations and
593 deaths so far in the United States
due to H1N1; by comparison, the CDC
notes an average of 36,000 people
died in flu-related deaths
in the United States
each year from 1993
to 2003.
There has not
been a fatal case
ofHiNiat Rice so
far, and Dean of
Undergraduates
Robin Forman
said the univer-
sity's goal was
straightforward.
"We want
to keep healthy
people healthy,"
Forman said.
In order to do
this, Forman en-
couraged frequent
hand washing, the
1 use of the re-
/ | cently
installed hand sanitizers throughout
campus and the continual practice
of other good hygiene habits in those
still healthy. For those infected with
the virus, Forman asked them to pre-
vent the further spread of the virus.
"Those already infected should
practice social distancing, and wear
masks, of the sort that is provided by
Health Services, if possible when in
public spaces," Forman said.
In response to a campus rumor
that the university is dealing with the
current outbreaks by quarantining en-
tire college floors or sending sick stu-
dents home, Forman denied that any
formal quarantines are in effect. Local
students who have fallen ill, however,
are advised to spend time at home.
The upcoming fall and winter
are expected to be seasons with
high incidences of both the H1N1
virus and seasonal flu strains. For-
man said for this reason, uninfected
students are encouraged to get both
H1N1 and seasonal vaccinations as
they become available.
"Our first priority is to minimize
the impact of any flu, and we are
making every effort to obtain the vac-
cines," Forman said. "The best case is
that not much genetic drift will have
occurred so that those who are infect-
ed now will not get sick again, should
the H1N1 virus return later this fall."
The vaccine for the seasonal flu,
which was originally expected to
be available yesterday, will not be
available for several weeks due to
widespread delays.
Jones College sophomore Ste-
ven Boswell said he was upset by
the delays.
"I think the administration
has generally done a good job re-
sponding to the outbreaks, but I
wish there were normal flu vac-
b see h1n1, page 5
A night to remember
Rice Night at the Houston Symphony is
Thursday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. in Jones Hall. En-
joy a night of music conducted by Hans Graf,
who, we believe, has no relation to Steffi,
though we hope Andre Agassi will still come.
Salt 'n Peppa
Screw Yer Roommate is next Friday, Sept.
18, at 6 p.m. in the Academic Quad. Who
knows, you might find the peanut butter
to your jelly, the Barack to your Michelle...
the hammer to your nail?
Back to Europe
Getcheroxoff: Eurotrashed Part Deux is the Saturday
at Lovett. Bring your flashiest, trashiest clothes from
across the Atlantic and prepare to get randy, baby.
INDEX
Opinion
3
News
4
Arts 8i Entertainment
11
Sports
15
Calendar
19
Backpage
20
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 11, 2009, newspaper, September 11, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443024/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.