The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 27, 2009 Page: 1 of 24
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OP-ED
iP* 3^
How much to put on Free Parking?
After mishandling the spaces In West Lot last weekend, the
administration is abandoning students.
A&E p. 12
Gotta catch 'em all!
My first time I took my gun and vanished Into the complete
works of William Shakespeare and saw Pirates of Penzance.
SPORTS P. IS
And here's to 100 more
Wayne Graham wins his 800th game with the baseball team.
David Bailiff remains only a couple behind.
the Rice
VOLUME XCVI, ISSUE NO. 24
STUDENT-RUN
SINCE 1916
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2009
Will Rice rides record times to Beer Bike sweep
Despite jones rid-
er's spill, race goes
off without hitch
Margeux Clemmons
Thresher Editorial Staff
The results of Rice University's fa-
vorite event of the year, Beer Bike, are
out, and Will Rice College broke the
women's track record at 16 minutes
flat. The record-setting time helped
Will Rice seal a sweep of the men's,
women's and alumni races.
This is the fourth time that Will
Rice has swept. Will Rice is the only
college to have won all three races in
the same year in the over fifty-year-
long history of the intercollegiate
biking and chugging relay race. Will
Rice's last sweep was in 1999, and
its previous two sweeps were both in
the 1980's.
After the Will Rice men clinched
the sweep, the members of the col-
lege promptly rushed onto the track,
chanting and holding up four fingers.
"We're no longer doing high
fives," Will Rice Beer Bike coordina-
tor Matthew Dahlgren said. "We're
doing high fours."
Dahlgren, a senior, said Will Rice
has been on the brink of winning for
several years, but a malfunction in an
alumni biker's bicycle last year kept
the team from having a shot at taking
all three races. He said the college's
dedication to training, tight-knit com-
munity and the chemistry of return-
ing team members, all of whom felt it
was their duty to sweep, contributed
to the accomplishment.
Campus-wide Beer Bike coordina-
tor Mark Eastaway said that by win-
ning, Will Rice has painted a target
on its back for next year's Beer Bike
and that he expects someone to step
up and prevent another sweep.
"I think its clear that since it
has taken them [Will Rice College]
10 years to get another sweep, they
need to start ignoring Orientation
Week, as that's another week off
their training regime," Eastaway, a
Brown College senior, said. "[Mary
Chapman, fellow Campus-Wide Beer
Bike coordinator,] and I are thinking
of adding a clause to the rules that
states if Will Rice sweeps ever again,
then they have to throw a public par-
ty. And not show up."
Dahlgren responded to Eastaway
and other college members by saying
he understands their jealousy.
"I really just don't think [the other
colleges] know how to love some-
thing," he said. "They really don't
know what it's like to feel so passion-
ate about Beer Bike, to feel the phoe-
nix coursing through their veins."
Brown came in a close second in the
women's race, with a time of 16:24.
Jones College won second in both
the alumni race and the men's race.
"Jones had some of the fastest
splits," Eastaway said. "It's a shame,
because once you get pushed back in
S3 see BEER BIKE, page 6
r
i
Take that, Guiness
Although it may not have made it into the record books quite yet, Rice's annual Beer Bike parade sure
knows how to draw a crowd. To see if you made this year's Beer Bike spread, check out p. 6-7.
Bikes-for-cars for grad students
New green initiative gives 35 bikes in exchange for parking
spots in hopes of cutting costs, congestions, carbon emissions
by jaclyn youngblood
Thresher Editorial Staff
Trees are not the only thing spring
has turned green around Rice. A new
green initiative spearheaded by Grad-
uate Housing Manager Abeer Ali Mus-
tafa and Associate Vice President of
Housing and Dining Mark Ditman has
brought 35 bicycles to graduate stu-
dents living at the Rice Village Apart-
ments.
Students who sign up for a 12-
month housing agreement and agree
not to register a car at the apartments
are eligible to receive one of 33 free
bicycles. The other two bicycles have
been set aside for temporary use by
those students who have a car but still
want to bike occasionally, Mustafa
said.
He said the project is modeled af-
ter similar projects at the University
of New England and the University of
Colorado and has three main goals.
"The first goal is environmental
sustainability," Mustafa said. "[The]
second goal is the wellness of the grad-
uate students and third would be to be
competitive to other universities."
Director of Sustainability Richard
Johnson agreed with Mustafa.
"The free bicycle program makes
graduate programs at Rice more com-
petitive," Johnson said in an e-mail.
Ditman said the City of Houston set
building criteria for the construction
of the apartments, including a reduc-
tion in the number of parking spaces
at the apartments. One way the uni-
versity encouraged graduate students
not to register cars at the apartments
and prevented the construction of ad-
ditional parking spots was by modify-
ing the shuttle service schedule.
The bikes provide another option,
Ditman said.
if
We actually gave bike
lessons to one student
who doesn't know
how to drive a car or
ride a bike.
Abeer Ali Mustafa
Graduate Housing
Manager
"The bike program ... was in the
spirit of creating a housing operation
[where] you didn't have to have a car if
you didn't want to have one," he said.
The apartment complex has 137
units for graduate students but only
100 parking spaces. Ditman said pur-
chasing the bicycles cost less than
building additional parking spots.
"It was a very productive business
decision," Ditman said.
The funds used to purchase the
bikes came from the rent proceeds of
the apartments, Ditman said.
The Giant Boulder-brand bikes
were purchased at Bicycle World and
Fitness and usually retail for $735.
However, Mustafa said the university
received a discount on the bikes from
the store. The Giant Boulder brand
was chosen for its adherence to Lead-
ership in Energy and Environmental
Design specifications.
"[Giant Boulder] has an environ-
mental program that supports the
LEED-certification specifications,"
Mustafa said.
Once the students receive the bikes,
they are theirs to keep, Mustafa said.
To ensure security of the bicycles,
students will be able to park and lock
them in a storage facility in the build-
ing that has approximately 130 bicycle
parking spots.
Mustafa said that if prospective
residents show interest in obtaining
bicycles in the future, accommoda-
tions will be made to ensure the pro-
gram continues.
Ditman said there are no current
plans to bring this project to the oth-
er graduate housing areas, such as
the apartments on Bissonnet. How-
ever, he said it could be considered
in the future.
"As the university goes in a more
sustainable direction, [the pro-
gram] would be a benefit," Ditman
said. "To see Rice getting a little
more [sustainably] oriented ... is a
great thing."
All 33 bikes have already been
claimed by graduate students. Mus-
tafa said the students are very excited
and happy that the initiative is avail-
able to them.
"We actually gave bike lessons
to one student who doesn't know
how to drive a car or ride a bike,"
Mustafa said.
SA passes
new bylaw
Margeux Clemmons
Thresher Editorial Staff
The Rice Student Association vot-
ed to pass a by-law amendment to the
SA Constitution Monday, instating
the SA president as one of two under-
graduate representatives to Universi-
ty Council beginning in the 2009-'i0
academic year.
The University Council, one of
Rice University's advisory groups for
the university president, serves as a
method of communication between
President David Leebron and the
rest of the university. The University
Council is comprised of Faculty Sen-
ate members, the faculty speaker and
deputy speaker of the Faculty Senate,
two graduate representatives and two
undergraduate representatives.
Prior to this appointment, both
representatives were voted onto the
council during the SA's two spring
election rounds. Lovett College soph-
omore Alex Wyatt was voted into the
first undergraduate position during
the former election, and Will Rice
College junior Michael Rog was voted
into the second position in the SA's
supplementary spring election.
However, after members of the
Office of the President realized last
year that the SA president does not
serve on the council even though the
Graduate Student Association presi-
dent does, they made a recommen-
dation to the SA to put the amend-
ment to vote, former SA President
Matt Youn said.
Youn, a Brown College senior,
S3 see BYLAW, page 5
Spring Recess
Spring Recess begins next Thursday. There will
be no Thresher next week to honor the break, but
we promise to totally not think of you when we're
partying our bikinis off in Cancun. Wait, what's
that. State Department?
Can you paint with all the colors of
the wind?
If so, consider doing a portrait of the Rice Native
American Student Association's 11th annual Pow-
wow tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the field by Autry.
Lights out at 8:30 p.m.!
INDEX
Opinion
2
Enjoy an hour of darkness this Saturday as over
News
A
one billion people throughout the world will turn
Arts & Entertainment
12
off their lights and conserve energy this Saturday,
Sports
18
March 28 for Earth Hour. May we suggest a power
Calendar
23
hour during Earth Hour?
Backpage
24
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 27, 2009, newspaper, March 27, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443031/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.