The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 25, 2006 Page: 3 of 32
thirty two 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:
THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, AUGUST 25,2006
Guest column
Jones theme change averts racial tension
According to the 0-Week Web
site, the purpose of O-Week is to
"assist new students in the transi-
tion to academic and social life at
Rice University, with the
two primary functions be-
ing: to provide academic
advising and to introduce
and incorporate new
students into their resi-
dential colleges."
There is also an
underlying assumption
that advisers should foster
inclusiveness, comfort and
camaraderie. New stu-
dents' O-Week activities
are their introduction to
their home for the next four years.
Considering these goals, it is a
wonder so many months passed
before anyone contested the con-
troversial material in Jones Col-
lege's originally proposed O-Week
theme — Hustle and Flo-Week:
Everybody Gotta Have a Dream.
Jones' Hustle and Flo-Week
had potential to be quite a clever
handle, especially if students had
taken it as a paean to hip-hop, as
the Jones coordinators intended.
But the message got lost, and the
coordinators changed this theme
and, most importantly, the group
names, to avoid embarrassment
and student alienation.
Monikers like Baby Daddies, 25
to life, Gold Diggers, Grillz and My
Lovely I^ady Lumps were some of
those original groups. Certainly some
names were fittingly clever and fol-
lowed the parodic custom of previous
O-Weeks. Butaship-hopcultureoften
implies black culture, others struck
a nerve. And what many may have
thought cute and clever was, in fact,
offensive and hurtful.
As one Hanszen junior poignant-
ly wrote, "Embracing prison life,
sexual promiscuity, degradation
of women and exalting other social
problems related to socioeconomic
status is not embracing hip-hop
culture, and by extension, black
culture and values."
From June 21-26, many people
at Rice, especially the black com-
munity, advocated changing the
' t
Kenitra
Brown
Jones theme to prevent alienating
students of color and those from
lower socioeconomic levels.
For some, the subtitle "Everybody
Gotta Have a Dream" and
the group names "25 to
life" and "Baby Daddies"
hit close to home. These
may seem funny, but they
comment on actual social
problems plaguing black
and Latino communi-
ties. Furthermore, these
themes made it seem like
Rice students aspire to a
life in prison, to own grills
for their mouths or to be-
come gold diggers.
As people recognized the
problem with the theme, they rec-
ognized potential consequences.
New students would have received
a negative first impression of Rice's
social tolerance. New students of
color may have had to spend their
first days on campus defending
their culture or themselves against
unwarranted attacks. And every-
one would have had to sit by and
uncomfortably watch non-black
students act out what they think
black culture is in some resurrected
form of blackface minstrelsy
The voiced concerns were
not personal attacks on the Jones
coordinators or advisors. Rather,
the buck stops at the administra-
tion. While administrative cen-
sorship is never desirable, some
oversight is necessary to guarantee
that the university does not sponsor
deeply offensive activities.
I sympathize with the Jones O-
Week personnel. Planning O-Week
is excruciating and time-consum-
ing, and having to redo most of
that work mid-summer could not
have been cheap or pleasant. But
I fervently believe that calling at-
tention to the theme was the right
thing to do. As current students at
Rice, we must improve Rice culture
for all who come after us. We have a
responsibility to incoming students,
to make them fee' -velcome and ac-
cepted. Whatever work we must do
to ensure that is a small price to pay
for their peace of mind.
Calling attention to Jones'
original O-Week theme sparked
the kind of dialogue that students
concerned about diversity have
hoped to have for years. With the
start of the fall semester, hopefully
the dialogue will grow and the uni-
versity can notice issues minority
communities experience every day
at Rice. The dialogue needs to hap-
pen, if for no other reason than to
give minority students, especially
black students, the feeling that they
belong on this campus — and not
just among other minorities.
Jones'Hustle and
Flo-Week had potential
to be quite a clever
handle, especially if
students had taken
it as a paean to
hip-hop} as the Jones
coordinators intended.
It will be hard for current
students to be committed to their
alma mater — either financially or
through recruitment — if they do
not think Rice is invested in their
interests and well-being. Rice
already has enough trouble recruit-
ing students of color, if discrepancy
between the number of students
who come to Vision Weekend and
the number who come to O-Week
is any indication.
If the administration is at all con-
cerned about prospective minority
interest in Rice, it must actively
engage current students, alumni
and future students with sincere
attempts to make sure the activi-
ties, dialogue and opportunities on
campus are friendly for all.
Kenitra Brown is a Lovett College
senior and Black Student Association
president. Phillip Moore, a Lovett
senior, contributed to this article.
Guest column
Counseling, riflery provide fulfilling summer
This summer, while my peers
found "real jobs" or resume-building
internships, I went to summer camp.
For seven weeks, 1 worked as a coun-
selor at Camp Mystic, first
for 14-year-olds, then for
8-year-olds. I didn't do
it for the prestige, and I
certainly didn't do it for
the money. I did it because
I feel camp provide more
life lessons and experienc-
es than an ordinary job
or internship.
Before working as a
counselor, I was a camper
at Camp Mystic for many
years. Those summers
helped mold me into the person I
am today. That is why 1 signed up to
be a counselor—to be able to help
little girls get the same amazing
experience out of camp that I did.
For a few weeks every year, camp
takes children out of their comfort
zones and, through fun activities
and a very consistent daily routine,
helps them learn to be at ease away
from the familiar.
Teaching eight-year-olds to keep
their cabin clean, much less to clean a
shower or mop a floor, is like herding
cats. But parents really appreciate it
when campers return home making
their own beds and cleaning up after
themselves. Camp teaches discipline
and independence to the campers,
as weli as the counselors. Hanging
out with a bunch of little girls, I was
able to get back in touch my inner
child. But being the one responsible,
I grew and matured as an adult.
When your primary responsibility
Sarah
Mitchell
is taking care of children, you have
to put personal comfort aside and
focus on the needs of others.
In addition to being a coun-
selor, I was a riflery
instructor—not the usual
role for your average Jew-
ish Austinite. By showing
campers how to use a rifle
and respect firearms, I
taught skills that campers
probably would not get
anywhere else. Ai id in our
ADD-addled world, noth-
ing helps teach teenage
girls concentration like
taking careful aim at a
target 25-yards away.
Camp also helpschildren meet dif-
ferentkindsofpeople. My Louisianan
cocounselor brought a certain Cajun
flair to our otherwise subdued cabin.
The friendships I had as a camper
were some of the strongest, longest
lasting friendships I have ever had.
While mosquito bites and messy
campers are their own reward, it
doesn't hurt to have an impres-
sive grad school or job application.
Graduate school admissions of-
ficers and employers love seeing
camp counselor on a r£sum£. It
shows responsibility, creativity
and the ability to manage a room
of people who act like children — a
skill necessary in many offices.
Working at camp also shows the
ability to do something different
and defy pressure to work at intern-
ships. Getting coffee and answering
phones just isn't for everyone.
Overall, the camp experience
is truly invaluable. I recommend
that everyone give counseling
a try. While a hefty paycheck
or air-conditioned office may
be nice, camp gives the oppor-
tunity to have a real impact on
children's lives.
Sarah Mitchell is a Hanszen College
sophomore and classified ads and
payroll manager.
Guest.column
Bed, Bath and Beyond
explains 0-Week cult
Six days before the start
of O-Week, my older brother
passed on to me some necessary
college knowledge — the rules
of the game popularly
known as beer pong
or beirut
"Absolutely vital
information," he in-
sisted. I didn't get it.
Oh, but how clue-
less I was. Although
several months ago
Rice admissions
deemed me prepared
to attend their institu-
tion, as my summer
drew to a close I real-
ized I was far from ready.
First, I would have to spend
the greater part of July learn-
ing the peculiar Rice lexicon.
What my other friends knew
as orientation, registration or
fish camp was O-Week to me.
Residential halls were colleges.
Cafeterias were serveries. And
pure, unadulterated torture was
referred to as the English Lan-
guage Composition Exam.
My O-Week book, a 124-
page long manifesto courtesy
of Brown College, guided me
in my efforts to understand
what I would experience a few
weeks hence. The manual was
a perverse, though artfully
assembled, hybrid of campy,
rah-rah enthusiasm and just
plain creepy propaganda.
The more I read, the more
confused I became. O-Week was
lauded as the best time of every
Rice student's entire undergradu-
ate stint A current Rice student
spoke to me about O-Week as
though she were a veteran soldier
reminiscing about a tour of duty
in peacetime Thailand.
This blew my mind. How
could one week of what sounded
more like a seven-day cult retreat
be my most enjoyable collegiate
experience?
It was not until August that I
began to understand the appeal
of O-Week. It was really very
simple: The few days preced-
ing O-Week were so incred-
ibly anxiety-inducing that, in
comparison, O-Week could be
nothing but awesome.
I was absolutely sure of this
when I first walked through the
doors of Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Don't let the cute alliterative name
fool you. If kitchen, bedroom
and bath accessories could die.
this would be their hell. I am
convinced that Bed, Bath and
Hajera
Blagg
Beyond is designed to test con-
sumer intelligence and willpower
against buying useless shit A
bottle of brush shampoo, an
iPod pillow and a cap
rack later, my mother
and I failed those
tests miserably.
Luckily, the Face-
book juggernaut
helped temper the
anticipation of start-
ing college. Thanks to
Facebook, my room-
mate was my "friend"
weeks before we were
even paired. I knew
exactly what she
looked like, where she lived
and what music she listened to.
I "met" dozens of fellow fresh-
man, all as excited and curious
about Rice and its idiosyncrasies
as I was.
A current Rice student
spoke to me about
O-Week as though she
were a veteran soldier
reminiscing about
a tour of duty in
peacetime Thailand.
Facebook and official Rice
correspondence answered
many of my questions, but
plenty of college unknowns still
lay ahead. My brother attempted
to fill one of these blanks — the
inscrutable beer pong. But it
wasn't until I actually played the
game that it clicked. Employ-
ing the basic arc technique, I
felt invincible when I made my
first shot. Things become much
clearer once you apply the infor-
mation you're being fed.
As the pingpong ball flew
through the air, all my reserva-
tions about starting at Rice dis-
appeared. I knew once Sunday,
Aug. 20 rolled around, everything
would instantly make sense.
O-Week would be a blast. My
college would be the best col-
lege, and I would believe it too.
Community bathrooms would not
shatter my naive, pre-frosh no-
tions of personal hygiene. Heck. I
might even use my cap rack.
Hajera Blagg is a Brown College
freshman.
the Rice Thresher
David Brown
Editor in Chief
NEWS
Risa Gordon, Editor
Sarah Baker, Asst Editor
Beko Binder, Asst. Editor
Matt Youn, Designer
COPY
Carl Hammarsten, Editor
Ryan Stickney. Editor
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Julia Bursten, Editor
Bryce Gray, Asst. Editor
LIFESTYLES
Julia Bursten, Editor
Margaret Tung, Asst Editor
PHOTOGRAPHY
l>iana Yen, Editor
Taylor Johnson, Editor
Marcus Roman, Asst Editor
CALENDAR
Nathan Bledsoe, Editor
OPINION
Evan Mintz, Editor
Schuyler Woods, Asst. Editor
SPORTS
Matt McCabe, Editor
Stephen Whitfield, Editor
Dylan Fanner, Editor
BUSINESS
Sawyer Bonsib, Business Manager
Adam Benaroya, Asst Business Manager
Charlie Foucar. Subscriptions Manager
Sarah Mitchell. Payroll Manager
Sarah Taylor, Office Manager
Daniel Holman. Distribution Manager
Brian Wolf, Distribution Manager
ADVERTISING
Matt Osher, Ads Manager
Joseph Ramirez, Asst. Ads Manager
Sarah Mitchell, Classified Ads Manager
BACKPAGE
Evan Mint*. Editor
Marshall Robinson, Design Director Dan Derozier, Cartoonist
The Rice Thresher, the official student
newspaper at Rice University since 1916,
is published each Friday during the school
year, except during examination periods
and holidays, by the students of Rice
University.
Editorial and business offices are located
on the second floor of the Ley Student
Center, 6100 Main St., MS-524, Houston,
TX 77005-1892. Phone (713) 348-4801. Fax
(713) 348-5238. E-mail: thresher®rice.edu
Web page: www.ricethresher.org.
Annual subscription rate: $50 domestic,
$125 international. Nonsubscription rate: first
copy free, second copy $5.
The Thresher reserves the right to refuse
any advertising for any reason. Additionally,
the Thresher does not take responsibility
for the factual content of any ad. Printing
an advertisement does not constitute an
endorsement by the Thresher
Unsigned editorials represent the majority
opinionofthe Thresher editorial staff. All other
opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of
the author. The Backpage is satire.
The Thresher is a member of the
Associated Cottegiate Press. My summer was
a Woody ADen movie.
© COPYRIGHT 2006.
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. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 25, 2006, newspaper, August 25, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443059/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.