The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 26, Ed. 1 Friday, April 21, 2006 Page: 1 of 24
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Vol. XCIII, Issue No. 26
SINCE 1916
Friday, April 21, 2006
E-mail system nears capacity
IT to install new system with more storage space over summer
by Risa Gordon
THRESHER EDfTORIAI. STAFF'
Rice's undergraduate e-mail
system neared 100 percent capacity
this week, prompting Information
Technology to post flyers around
campus asking students to clean
out their e-mail. If the e-mail system
reaches capacity before IT switches
to a new system in July, there will
not be space for additional e-mails
to be saved, and new mail will not
be delivered.
Barry Ribbeck, the systems, ar-
chitecture and infrastructure direc-
tor said as of Wednesday morning,
the five-year-old mail system was
about 96 percent full — a decrease
because students deleted e-mails
since receiving ITs warnings. ITs
goal is to keep the system below 95-
percent of its capacity for the rest of
the semester, Ribbeck said.
Ribbeck said IT will not delete
anyone's e-mail messages, even
if an account is clearly not being
used. Ribbeck said if the system
reaches capacity, another system
will store messages for 30 days,
which then will be delivered when
space becomes available. Users will
still be able to send e-mails even if
capacity is reached.
Vice Provost for Information
Technology Kamran Khan said IT
plans to move student, faculty and
staff e-mail accounts to a new e-mail,
storage and back-up system around
July 15. Khan said the $1.5-million
system will allow 1 GB of storage
space for each undergraduate. The
system is currently being piloted,
but IT does not want to begin using
it until the semester is over.
Ribbeck said about 70 percent of
the e-mail sent through the e-mail
system is spam, and it accumulates
because some students do not
delete their junk mail. Also many
students automatically forward
their messages to other systems
and never delete email in their
Rice accounts.
"If people cleaned out their mail,
we could easily survive the next few
weeks," Ribbeck said.
Each student is allotted about 50
MB for inbox storage and 100 MB
for folder storage.
Ribbeck said the actual amount
available to each student depends on
the storage limit theoretically avail-
able to each user and the number of
people the system serves. Ribbeck
said either of those variables could
have changed, allowing the system
to reach capacity without all students
using 150 MB of space.
Ribbeck said shifting e-mail to
the new system will take about an
hour for an e-mail account near
capacity.
"Working to get the connection
between the [off-site] data center
and campus has taken longer than
expected, but it is in place now,"
Khan said. "We feel confident that
the new e-mail system will be ready
when students come back."
Khan said capacity should not
be a problem with the new e-mail
system, not only because of the extra
storage, but also because adding
additional storage will be easier.
Ribbeck said IT has monitored
the increase in e-mail storage for six
to eight months. In January, the sys-
tem was at about 90-percent capacity,
but there is usually an increase in
storage utilization around the end
of the semester, Ribbeck said.
IThas used clean-up procedures
to clear up space on the system. In
the summer, a policy change allowed
graduates only one month before
their e-mail accounts would be
deleted, in contrast to the previous
one-year allowance.
11 -"j. •'
TIFFANY YEH/THRESHER
Pure Bollywood
South Asian Society members perform a dance at the SAS Night 2006 — Law and Order: Strictly Vegetarian
Unit April 15. The dance was part of the medley entitled Pure Bollywood.
DIANA YEN/THRESHER
Athletic Director Bobby May (Will Rice '65) announces his retirement
at a press conference Tuesday.
Athletic director to
leave after 17 years
by Matt McCabe
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Athletic; Director Bobby May
(Will Rice '65) will end his 17-
year tenure at the helm of the
athletic department July 15. May
announced his retirement at a
press conference Tuesday.
President David Leebron
said a national search will be
conducted to lind a new athletic
director. Leebron will form the
search committee — which will
likely include athletic depart-
ment staff, coaches and Board
ofTrustees members—after he
consults with the board about
what to look for in applicants and
when to make the hiring.
"Ideally, we'd like to have
somebody in the fall," Leebron
said. "But if we determine that
that is not a good stretch to be
on, we could appoint an interim
director. 1 think the most im-
portant thing is that Bobby was
here a long time and did a great
job. It's better for us to take the
time we need to get the right
result than to just put someone
in place."
May, who has spent 45 years
at Rice as a student, coach or
administrator, said the decision
was difficult.
"Retiring now will give me a
chance to recharge, regroup and
relax," May said. "AD jobs are
24/7 and provide little free time
if you do the job right."
Leebron said May's depar-
ture comes at a high point in
Rice athletics.
"[We have had] spectacular
seasons in many of our sports
and the hiring of a new football
coach," Leebron said. "It is an
announcement of transition. For
those of us at Rice University, it
is an announcement of apprecia-
tion and gratitude."
May's administration
See RETIREMENT, page 7
New college options considered
by Beko Binder
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
At its May meeting, the Board ofTrustees
will attempt to decide how to add 900 beds
to campus.
The targeted increased in on-campus hous-
ing is a result of President David Ijeebron'splan
to increase undergraduate enrollment by 30
percent while raising the percentage of students
living on campus from 71 to 80 percent
The Housing Steering Committee is tasked
with crafting and proposing a plan to the board.
Assistant to the Dean of Undergraduates
Matthew Taylor (MS '01) said at the Student
Association meeting Monday that two of the
options the committee is considering call for
two new colleges. One plan calls for one north
college and one south college—and the other
for two new north colleges.
Leebron said the idea of two north col-
leges came from student input into the Call
to Conversation.
"The clearest effect on planning [from the
C2C1 was the majority student view that we
ought to try to build colleges in the north,"
Ijeebron said.
Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman
said many options are on the table and
that the only certainty is that there will
be a combination of new construction and
renovations to existing buildings.
"Most of the options involve two new col-
leges, but the board has not yet addressed in
any direct way any precise plan for construc-
tion," Forman said.
Whether two colleges will be built — and
their location if they are built — are still
uncertain, Forman said.
Another idea the committee is looking at
would connect Lovett, Sid Richardson and
Will Rice colleges to a common servery,
Taylor said. The plan includes a new wing
and commons for Sid that would connect to
the servery.
Taylor said at the SA meeting that a new
south college could be constructed where
Wiess College used to be located—between
Hans/en College and Herring Hall — and
that Abercrombie Parking lot is a possible
location for a new north college.
Forman said the proposal will also include
plans for renovating existing colleges.
" [We intend to] renovate some of the 1950s
wings of the [south] colleges," Forman said.
See COLLEGES, page 5
INSIDE
Registration deadline
Today at 5 p.m. is the deadline to reg-
ister for Fall 2006 classes without having
to pay a failure to register fee.
Wiess Jamfest
Check out the Wiess Acabowl with
your Owl between 4 p.m. today and 2
a.m. tomorrow for a showcase of Rice
band talent.
Research symposium
The Rice Undergraduate Research
Symposium is today in Baker Hall. There
will be two sessions: a morning session
from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and an afternoon
session from 1-3 p.m.
Welcome Owls!
Tell the prospective members of
the class of 2010 what you think of
Rice.The second Owl Weekend for
admitted students began yesterday and
ends tomorrow.
OPINION Page 3
Commencement needs a student speaker
LIFESTYLES Page 12
Housing beyond the hedges
SPORTS Page 21
New helmets and other football changes
Scoreboard
Baseball
Rice 3, Oklahoma 15
Rice 19, Memphis 8
Weekend Weather
Friday
Isolated thunderstorms, 65-85 degrees
Saturday
Mostly sunny, 64-88 degrees
Sunday
Scattered clouds, 67-87 degrees
Upcoming Pages
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 26, Ed. 1 Friday, April 21, 2006, newspaper, April 21, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443062/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.