The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 26, Ed. 1 Friday, April 21, 2006 Page: 3 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, APRIL 21,2006
Rice Voices
Commencement deserves student speaker
Rice has never had a student
speaker at commencement, and
unfortunately this year will be no
different For the 93rd time in a row,
the university president
will address degree can-
didates. So will an invited
speaker—a tradition with
aspottyhistorybut whose
commencement partici-
pation has remained con-
stant since 1991.
Not having a student
speaker at commence-
ment is like having free
tuition in 2006: It is shock-
ing and grossly archaic. I
polled a few students for
their reactions to this, and most
responded with some variation of,
"We don't have a student speaker?
I just assumed we did."
But according to the Board of
Trustees' newly adopted mission
statement, Rice is "a leading re-
search university with a distinctive
commitment to undergraduate
education." Keeping this in mind,
inviting a student or two to share
anecdotes about their Rice experi-
ences would fall in sync perfectly
with the undergrad-centric goal of
the university.
So what exactly is holding Rice
back from unveiling a refreshing
and long-overdue twist on com-
mencement? Over the past year, I
discovered that there are a number
of administrators, faculty and alumni
who oppose the idea of a student
speaker lineup every Mayforeither
flimsy or outdated reasons.
Most people said picking a
student speaker would be political
and therefore unfair. A selection
M
Jo
Kent
process via committee or elec-
tion would be inadequate, they
say. Simply granting the Student
Association president a few minutes
to speak might not be fair
either, given the voter
turnout or lack thereof.
With this logic, they claim
no student should speak
at all.
So.ifeveryonedoesnot
agree on who the U.S. pres-
ident should be, we should
just forgo the presidency
altogether. Brilliant
Another major point
of contention is whether
a student speaker would
jeopardize a controversy-free cer-
emony. Heaven forbid we ignite
any controversial dialogue on this
campus. And for those who are wor-
ried about streakers and protesters,
do not forget that commencement
fallson May 13thisyear. Nudity will
inevitably be front and center.
A student would most
likely deliver a message
that would best honor
and celebrate the four
years of scholarship,
dedication and life of
Rice students.
And if protesters are a worry,
tell me about a time when you have
seen enough protesters at Rice to
disturb an event, and I will show
you a pre-med who does not obsess
about organic chemistry.
And finally, my favorite argu-
ment: An additional speaker would
force commencement to last too
long. Well, if that is a problem,
switch on a handheld mini-fan and
enjoy the show. The 10 — albeit
possibly sweltering — minutes of
a student's reflections and perspec-
tives should be considered one of
the most important elements of the
commencement program
An undergraduate speaker would
be asymbol ofthe thriving intellectual
life at Rice and affirm the university's
foremost commitmenttoundergrads.
Regardless of majors, such a student
would be able to discuss the experi-
ences of a diverse audience.
If my arguments so far do not
sway you, consider that Rice stands
virtually alone among prestigious
universities without at least one stu-
dent speaker at its commencement.
Just to nameafew, Amherst, Brown,
Duke, Emory, Harvard, Wellesley,
University of Chicago and the
University of North Carolina all
offer opportunities for graduating
student orations.
Last but not least of all the speak-
ers at commencement a student
would most likely deliver a message
that would best honor and celebrate
the four years of scholarship, dedica-
tion and life of Rice students.
In the meantime, if Houston
Mayor Bill White would like to allot
a few minutes of his time for a stu-
dent speaker, I would be honored
to share the podium with him.
Jo Kent is a Baker College senior.
Self-proclaimed gadfly
Rice research trumps red-state ridiculousness
Ah, Owl Weekend. l ime for the
campus to put its best face forward
as students and faculty attempt to
convince hundreds of wide-eyed
owls to attend Rice. We
sweep away the percep-
tions of cactuses and
cowboys, emphasizing
that just because Houston
is i n Texas does not mean
we are overrun by Bush-
loving Bible beaters.
Like it or not, popular
perception paints the
Lone Star state as an
oil-drenched wasteland
where twangy yokels
claim that on the third
day, God created the Remington
bolt-action rifle so that man could
fight the dinosaurs and no man's
uncle is a monkey. But with a cam-
pus in the middle of the museum
district, a few miles from downtown
and Montrose, Rice actually seems
rather progressive. This is until you
browse publications in the Student
Center, where lies a pamphlet from
the Institute for Creation Research.
If only this Bible-belt byproduct
actually did any research.
The pamphlet features a routine
attack on the big-bang theory and
its ties to evolution. While scientific-
models do need to be constantly
tested and doubted, any cosmolo-
gist worth her red-shift will tell
you the big-bang theory is pretty
well-established. Furthermore,
the article repeatedly quotes the
Bible to dismiss the big-bang
theory, destroying any credibility
the article may have had as a sci-
entific argument.
If anyone has new evidence
to create a unique cosmological
paradigm, I hope Rice's cam-
pus will be the first place it is
published — but Biblical rants
should remain in Bible studies. Reli-
gious beliefs are personal, sensitive
issues, and these creationists wish
to strap theirs to faulty pseudosci-
entific arguments, sullying what
should be sacred tenets.
litis is not the Rice I know.
Besides occasional advertise-
Evan
Mintz
ments, we do not force our religion
on others. Besides the occasional
religious group's free dinner, we
do not try to sneak religion into
secular activities. And
besides the occasional
rushed paper, we do not
do poor research. Unfor-
tunately, that is what this
pamphlet does best.
A second article in
the pamphlet attempts
to refute that birds
evolved from dinosaurs.
It asserts that birds are
warm-blooded while all
dinosaurs were cold-
blooded reptiles — but
anatomical structure indicates oth-
er wise. And it argues that birds have
hollow bones while dinosaurs' are
solid—but Dromaeosauridae have
bird-like skeletal features. It says
birdshave wings and feathers, which
contrast with dinosaurs' arms and
scales — but Archaeopteryx and
similar species match this respect
of avian anatomy.
All it takes to prove this petty
pamphlet wrong is a METRORail
ride down to the Houston Museum
of Natural Science. In fact, that
sounds like a great activity for
visiting students: Take one of the
Institute for Creation Research
pamphlets and correct all the errors
using resources from Rice and the
surrounding area — a great way to
explore Houston.
If you want to believe in creation-
ism, that is a personal matter. But
if you want to make a scientific
argument about it, that argument
better be well-researched. And
here at Rice, we take our research
seriously. Heck, here in Houston
we take our research seriously.
From the Texas Medical Center
across the street to the Johnson
Space Center in the David Brook-
sian exurbs, Houston is a place of
serious research.
Rice's location may lead some
Yankee yahoos to doubt our com-
mitment to serious academics, with
that drive down highway 59 past
I akewood Church and the 1070
AM radio station sign — "Because
liberals hate it!" — serving as a
reminder that Houston is a purple
metropolis in red ainted Bush coun-
try. But people should note that their
Il-89s have a bigTexas Instruments
logo on the front... yall.
So when students peruse the
publications in the Student Center,
they will see lots of different per-
spectives on life in Houston and at
Rice. The Houston Press exposes
Houston's indie hipster countercul-
ture. The Texas Observer records
Texas' political circus. The 'Ihresher
shows our own campus news, opin-
ion and whimsy. But the pamphlets
from the Institute for Creation Re-
search illustrate the exact opposite
of what Rice should be.
Evan Mintz is a Hanszen
College sophomore and opinion
and Backpage editor.
Mindless communist filth
Thresher incorporation
would free the Backpage
Last month I retired from the
Thresher for a life of sleep and
television. It was a tumultuous
year—hurricanes, the end of the
Hatfield era and an ar-
ray of university policy
changes. Throughout
I heard comments that
were constructive, flat-
tering and sometimes
downright irritating.
Among the most irri-
tating. The Backpage
isn't funny."
I personally think
the Backpage is funny
and will continue to
be so as long as the
current Backpage editor works
here. But the comment mainly
irritated me because I consid-
ered myself the cause of any
alleged un-funniness.
Like all good humor, the
Backpage walks the line between
edgy and tasteless. Each week, the
editor in chief and I sat down with
a preliminary Backpage and our
respective pens to decide where
this line fell. We both wanted the
page to be funny—otherwise, it
served no purpose. But we had a
competing constraint We didn't
want to be suspended. Since I
was the more paranoid, I usually
ended up striking large amounts
of what the average student
reader would find humorous.
I can hear you saying now: "So
he's taken the blame for the un-
funny Backpages, but who cares?
He's retired. N ow, the Backpage is
free to do what it wants." Wrong.
I can promise you that as long as
the current relationship between
the Thresher and the university
persists, the Backpage will never
be as wild and crazy as many
students seem to want it to be. If
students find the Backpage bland
and want it funnier, they should
pressure the administration give
the Thresher full independence.
The Ihresher is a blanket-tax
organization, subsidiary to the
Student Association. After the
1997 edition of the Rice Trasher
allegedly sexually harassed a
student and drew threats of legal
action, a committee was created to
evaluate the Thresher-Riee relation-
ship. It proposed that the Ihresher
fully sever itself from the univer-
sity and become an independent
corporation — Thresher, Inc.
In theory, the idea creates
a win-win situation. Thresher
editors would get full freedom
of the press, subject only to
the law, and the administration
would be absolved of any sins the
Nathan
Black
newspaper, as an independent
corporation, committed.
But the actual proposal did
not reflect such an arrangement
The General Counsel's
office held that Thresh-
er staff would still be
subject to the Code
of Student Conduct
while performing their
journalistic duties.
Thresher leadership
decided incorporation
wasn't worth it under
these conditions. So
Thresher, Inc. died.
The impasse has
persisted to this day.
Currently, the university does
not review the Thresher prior
to publication and the student
media adviser is just an adviser,
uninvolved in the editorial pro-
cess. In that sense, the Thresher
is independent But the university
could be held liable in a lawsuit
related to the newspaper — as
could the editors. And editors are
accountable to the university in
the on-campus discipline system
for anything that might be consid-
ered sexual harassment libel or
otherwise discipline-worthy. Rice
and the Thresher are locked in an
embrace for better or worse.
So when the Ihresherprinls an
offensive Backpage, the editors
face both legal and disciplinary
consequences. We were unlikely
to be sued given our petty student
incomes, but we sure as hell could
have been suspended, which
has been threatened in previous
years. Of course, there has still
been offensive Thresher content
since 1997. Not all editors were as
conscious of the Code of Student
Conduct as we were.
But as long as the Thresher
remains under the disciplinary
thumb of the university, there
will be an incentive to play it safe
with the Backpage. Editors will
respond to that incentive in dif-
ferent ways, but I promise that
every editor would print bolder
Backpages and endure fewer
anxiety attacks if the Thresher
were truly independent and its
staff immune to Thresher-rehted
prosecution by the university.
By all means, keep giving the
Ihresher staff your comments.
We may grumble, but we need
to hear them. Just realize that if
you think the Backpage is bor-
ing, you should encourage the
university to cut us loose.
Nathan Black is a Lovett College
senior and former senior editor.
the Rice Ihresher
David Brown
Editor in Chief
OPINION
Evan Mintz, Editor
Schuyler Woods, Asst. Editor
Stephanie Zimmerman, Cartoonist
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Julia Bursten, Editor
Bryce Gray. Asst. Editor
SPORTS
Matt McCabe, Editor
Stephen Whitfield. Editor
Dylan Farmer, Editor
PHOTOGRAPHY
Diana Yen, Editor
Taylor Johnson, Editor
Marcus Roman, Assf Editor
LIFESTYLES
Julia Bursten, Editor
Margaret Tung, Asst. Editor
Marshall Robinson, Designer
CALENDAR
Nathan Bledsoe, Editor
NEWS
Risa Gordon, Editor
Sarah Baker, Asst. Editor
Beko Binder, ,4m/. Editor
Matt Youn, Designer
COPY
Carl Hamniarsten, Editor
Ryan Stickney, 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, Am/. Ads Manager
Sarah Mitchell, Classified Ads Manager
BACKPAGE
Fvan Mintz, Editor
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Associated Collegiate Press, Commodore
McBoob had better hang up his hat.
<r COPYRIGHT 2006.
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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/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.