The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 10, 2006 Page: 1 of 24
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Rice University Woodson Research Center.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
the Rice Thresher
Vol. XCIV, Issue No. 11
SINCE 1916
Friday, November 10, 2006
Humanities considers department merger
by David Brown
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAKE
Dean of Humanities Gary Wihl has asked
the Classical Studies, French Studies, Ger-
man and Slavic Studies, and Hispanic Stud-
ies Departments to propose a procedure
to consider changes to the departments,
including possibly merging them.
Wihl made the request at a meeting with
the departments' faculty Nov. 1, Hispanic
Studies Department Chair Maarten van
Delden said. The meeting came in response
to faculty complaints following an e-mail
sent by Classical Studies Department
Chair Harvey Yunis to the faculty of the
four departments. The e-mail stated Wihl
had asked Yunis to chair a new depart-
ment joining the four departments, van
Delden said.
"The e-mail provoked an immediate
response," he said. "There were objections
about the procedure that had been followed,
about the fact that there had been no formal
process of consultation, neither about the
proposed merger nor the selection of the
department chair."
Van Delden said that he had heard
rumors about a possible merger for sev-
eral years but that Wihl never asked him
for input.
Wihl, Yunis and Provost Eugene Levy
declined to comment.
In the meeting, van Delden said, Wihl
acknowledged and listened to faculty con-
cerns. Van Delden, who is leaving Rice to
take a position at the University of Southern
California following the spring semester,
said the entire Hispanic Studies Depart-
ment is opposed to a merger.
"There has been some backtracking,
so now things are up in the air ... but it's
pretty clear [Wihl | would like to see such
a merger," van Delden said.
Van Delden said some faculty in the
involved departments have suggested
that the dean organize an external review,
which would be completed by a commit-
tee of non-Rice-affiliated academics in the
related fields.
Speaker of the Faculty Marj Corcoran
said deans have the authority to organize
departments but the Faculty Senate must
approve any curricular changes, such as the
addition or removal of a doctoral program.
Corcoran, a physics and astronomy
professor, said when the Physics Depart-
ment merged with the Space Physics and
Astronomy Department in 2000, there were
many discussions between the dean and
faculty — and an external review — before
the decision was made.
The Process
In addition to opposing the merger, van
Delden said he was disappointed in the way
the idea was raised. There was no official
announcement of the idea prior to Yunis'
see HUMANITIES, Page 5
Diedrich Coffee
awarded Fondren
Pavilion contract
by Alex Dinur
THRESHER STAFF
MARSHALL ROBINSON THRESHER |
Traveling troubadours
Rice band Moxie, which just released the EP Fight the Monochrome, perform at last year's 91.7 KTRU Battle of the Bands. From left, Brown
College senior Andy Whitten, Brown junior Evan Davies, Sid Richardson College junior Jordan Allen and Sid junior Aaron Taffet piay original indie rock
with an emphasis on eclectic rhythmic influences and insightful, off-the-beaten-path lyrics.
See story, Page 12
Students, faculty and staff looking for
a caffeine fix will have a new option when
the new Fondren Pavilion opens in January
2008. Rice recently signed a contract with
California-based Diedrich Coffee to serve
food and beverages in a kiosk in the pavilion,
to be located behind Fondren Library in the
central quad.
Director of Housing and Dining Mark
Ditman said Rice selected Diedrich, which
has locations on Westheimer Road, Montrose
Boulevard and Bay Area Boulevard, after
hiring a team of consultants to analyze coffee
companies and conducting taste tests with
students and faculty.
After several rounds of elimination, Died-
rich Coffee's business plans and products
were the best fit for the new building project,
Ditman said.
In September, Starbucks Coffee bought
Diedrich cafes, but Diedrich will remain a
wholesale supplier of coffee products.
Coffeehouse General Manager Mara
Courtney said she first heard about a
bidding process for a space in the pavilion in
September when Student Center Associate
Director Pamelyn Shefman told her Rice had
begun negotiations with Diedrich.
"We were not asked to make a bid (to
be in the pavilion] nor made aware of the
bidding process," Courtney, a Baker College
junior, said.
Dirk Smith, president of the Dn l.ich
Coffee franchise in Houston, said the kiosk
will not be called "Diedrich Coffee" and will
not carry the Diedrich logo. However, it will
serve Diedrich Coffee products.
Diedrich is aiming to make the kiosk
at Rice one of many college campus fran-
chises, Smith said. The Rice location will
be independent from the main franchise in
California.
Director of Housing and Dining Mark Dit-
man said Diedrich is working with architects
to design the coffee house.
"We're working very well together on mak-
ing | Diedrich | compatible with the overall
pavilion," Ditman said. "For example, the
see COFEEHOl SE Page 5
Rice Election Day turnout 32 percent
by Gary Johnson
I'jRIHI I'llRKsHkR
Rice students and faculty went
to the Rice Memorial Center's
Grand Hall Tuesday to vote on city
propositions and for national, state
and county officials in the general
midterm elections.
In Precinct 361, where Rice
staff and students who used their
college mailbox address when
registering to vote cast their bal-
lots, 418 people voted between
7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Election Day.
Since approximately 1,300 voters
are eligible at the precinct, turnout
was roughly 32 percent.
This figure is comparable to
past county, state and national
turnout averages. In the most
recent midterm elections ot
2002, 34.1 percent of Harris
County voters, 32.8 percent ol
Texas voters and 39.7 percent of
U.S. voters went to the polls.
Rice College Republicans
chairman John Stallcup said
the turnout was normal.
"418 [voters] is a very
acceptable number at Rice,"
Stallcup, a Brown College
junior, said.
Stallcup said although Rice
turnout is comparable to the na-
tional average, there has been
an increase in political activity
on campus since last year.
"Something is changing at
Rice," Stallcup said. "I think we
are seeing a lot more people
who want to get involved in the
political process."
In last year's November
election, the Rice turnout was
19 percent.
Claire Randall, the Precinct
361 election judge and president
of the Rice Vote Coalition, said
turnout increased this year but
did not reach the turnout level
of 2004 — 64 percent. Randall,
a Brown College junior, said
students vote more in years
with major issues at stake and
showed more interest this year
seeTlRNOlT Page 5
Students vote Tuesday in the Grand Hall of the Rice Memorial Center. 418 of about
1,300 eligible voters cast ballots at the Rice precinct.
INSIDE
OPINION
Blacks in politics
page 2 It's that time again Into the Woods
A&E Page 9
College theater in season
SPORTS Page 20-21
Men's basketball preview
Registration for the Spring 2007
term begins at 8 a.m. Monday for
students with 90 credit hours, 8 a.m.
Tuesday for those with 60, 8 a.m.
Wednesday for those with 30 and 8
a.m. Thursday for everyone else.
Friday marks theopeningnightof
the Rice Players' Into the Woods. The
play will be showing Friday and Sat-
urday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in
Hamman Hall. Next week, the Fri-
day and Saturday times repeat.
Scoreboard
Football:
Rice 37, UTEP 31
Volleyball:
Houston 3. Rice 1
Golf:
6th place in Pacific Invitational
Weekend Weather
Friday
Partly cloudy, 58-86 degrees
Saturday
Mostly sunny, 47-68 degrees
Sunday
Partly cloudy, 60-72 degrees
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.
Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 10, 2006, newspaper, November 10, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443040/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.