The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 12, 2007 Page: 2 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY. JANUARY 12,2007
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Early Decision data has
no excuse for secrecy
President Leebron's Call to Conversation and the resulting Vi-
sion for the Second Century emphasize open dialogue as a key to
improving the Rice experience for students and faculty. Which is why
we are perplexed by Vice President for Enrollment Chris Munoz's
decision to withhold statistical information about the demographics
of Early Decision applicants and acceptees — information that has
historically been made public information. (See story, page 4.)
Such ignorance is no one's bliss. Realistically, the vague feedback
we do have is more likely to lead to detrimental distortions of demo-
graphic facts than releasing hard statistical data would. We understand
Munoz's concern that releasing Early Decision data, which is not
necessarily reflective of overall admissions data, has a potential to
mislead careless readers. But the data is certainly reflective of Rice
applicants' responses to the changing trends in early decision pro-
grams, and so bears directly on an issue central to the future of Rice
admissions. We believe informing the community on such issues in
a timely manner is a duty of informed university administrators.
As the university prepares to expand in 2009, it seems obvious that
administrators, faculty and students alike are all committed to maintaining
the integrity of our campus population. This commitment can be seen in
the recent prominence of discussion on the Undergraduate Experience,
and a vital part of that experience should be interaction with a uniquely
diverse community of peers. We believe strongly in the importance of
this issue, and without access to the relevant data, there is no way of
knowing what sort of community we will face in the near future.
Our campus community should be committed to reaching rea-
sonable demographic goals. But we will be unable to make that
commitment if we do not know the situation at hand. We can only
hope the Office of Enrollment's tight-lipped policy does not extend
to prospective students who may have demographic concerns.
The V2C sets a standard of open dialogue on campus — a standard
the Office of Enrollment is failing to uphold. In our era of growth and
change, administrators should be contributing to the conversation.
Instead, Munoz is hindering it.
Rice Athletics scores
with Graham contract
Head football coach Todd Graham recently received a contract
extension through the 2012 season. (See story, page 1.) Following
the Athletics Department's usual protocol, the financial terms of the
extension were not released, leaving fans in the dark as to Graham's
compensation. Nevertheless, Rice should be commended for locking
up the Conference USA Coach of the Year to a long-term commit-
ment. Although as of now Graham's coaching reputation is still in
the realm of "up-and-coming," a few more successful years at the
Rice's helm should be more than enough to make him one of the
more alluring coaching prospects in college football.
We are glad the Athletics Department recognb.es Graham for the
valuable asset he is, and we hope it continues to work actively to keep
coaches of Graham's caliber around — especially in light of the unstable
college coach turnover rate nationally. In return, Graham should honor
the faith placed in him by the university. It's not difficult to predict that
Graham's coaching value will continue to increase, and we applaud his and
the Athletics Department's commitment to the future of Rice Athletics.
Web grade entry deserves
A-plus, course evals fail
We are glad to see IT and the Registrar's Office collaborated so
successfully in implementing online grade entry last semester after
just one pilot run. (See story, page 5.) The punctual return rate was
very satisfactory and we were surprised — and only occasionally
suicidal — that most of us found all our grades on ESTHER before
the New Year.
Hopefully, the new system was as much a relief to professors as
it was to students. We expect it allowed everyone a little more free
time during the break, and the overdue improvement seems to be
more convenient for everyone.
Unfortunately, not all of last semester's Web-centric academic
bureaucracy produced such fine results. Course evaluations suffered
grossly low returns for the second semester in a row. (See story,
page 1.) We hope the Registrar's Office will take this as a clear incentive
to change evaluation policies next semester, and we hope next time
the administration leaves inter-college competition to Beer Bike.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher
editorial staff.
WAIT. THERE'S
actually
TREASURE AT
rice?!
uouj much
is there?"
is it golv,
or silver,
OR JEWELS,
OR \NHAT?
and lyey'fie^
UlNb TO
F/NV THAT BY
t>!bC>lN(y?
I VVNNO,
T/n A
STATUE
NO, No.
it is the
uhmmer in
a bot'i eye as
he learns, find
the smile oN his
mother's face as
he GRovOS UP.
PUtASE
PON'T PooP
V ON WE.
1
/n
Keepin' It Real... Mean
Criticism of Oprah's school unwarranted
Recently, media mogul Oprah
Winfrey announced the opening of
a school in South Africa for under-
privileged girls. Critics lambasted
Winfrey for forgetting
about American children's
education and donating
her money to a foreign
nation. Initially, I could not
help but agree.
I was at first frustrated
with Winfrey's decision to
build a school that was not
in the United States.There
remains much work to be
done in our urban areas. To
saythatourhelpwasneed-
ed more elsewhere drove
me to a level of disdain that reminded
me of my sentiments about the Iraq
war — why help other nations cap-
ture freedom when many groups are
still fighting for it domestically?
However, when I looked at
Winfrey's responses to her critics
and debated with friends about the
idea of seeding money into a school
that was not homegrown, I began to
understand Winfrey's stance. And
even agreed with the talk show host's
latest project.
There are several reasons why
Winfrey's actions should not be
criticized. First, it is her money,
and she may spend it as she pleases
given that she has broken no laws.
It is bold to suggest that observers
of the Oprah phenomenon have the
right to tell her what to do.
Schuyler
Woods
Secondly, if one were to make a
xenophobic argument, then a simple
comparison of the average American
student to the students in Winfrey's
school demonstrates why
she opted to invest in
them rather than us. The
primary difference is
desire. After an extensive,
two-year long interview
process, Winfrey hand-
picked only the most
driven young girls to be
enrolled in her school.
The girls were selected
for their assiduousness,
vision, aspirations and,
most of all, their desire
to improve their society. Winfrey
argues that these characteristics are
somewhat deficient in our society.
Although we Americans have the
the best educational resouces in
the world at our disposal, we do not
always take advantage of them.
Conversely, the South African
girls, who did not have the compul-
sory education we take for granted,
greatly appreciate the opportunity
to step inside of a school, which
Winfrey is benevolently offering.
However, this is not to say that the
American system of education is not
flawed—it is. But someeducation.no
matter how imperfect, is better than
no education at all. which the South
African children had to face..
Even when I look at such a
prestigious university as Rice, 1 can
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Committee welcomes
undergrad concerns
To the editor:
A recent editorial ("What Rice has
is a failure to communicate," I)ec. 8)
noted that the Committee on the
Rice Undergraduate Program is so-
liciting ideas and information on the
undergraduate experience from the
university community. The opinions
put forward in the editorial concerning
interdisciplinary studies and the lack
of intellectual environment outside
classes are welcomed by our commit-
tee and will be among those discussed
at one of our future meetings.
In holding forums on campus,
we have been struck by the wide-
spread interest among students,
faculty, staff and alumni in discuss-
ing undergraduate education and, in
particular, ways to improve both the
curriculum and other aspects of the
Rice experience. Any Rice person
can give views on this subject via
our Web site at http://cnhesion.rice.
edu/adm inistration/crup.
So far, wo have received several
hundred responses to a series of
questions we have posted on the site,
and we hope to receive even more.
Chandler Davidson
Chair, Committee on the Rice
Undergraduate Program
see why Winfrey would choose to
send her money abroad. 'Hie sheer
political apathy that overwhelms the
majority of our campus is dismaying.
We take our basic rights to vote, to
petition, to even speak, as well as
our overall ability to affect change
in society, for granted. Who are
we to criticize Winfrey for helping
others — who want to do better but
do not have the means — when we
do not even help ourselves?
I am not suggesting a wildly
radical revolution on the national
scale or even on the small scale of
Rice University. Rather, I suggest
Winfrey's critics keep their mouths
shut unless they plan on moving our
feet about America's own domestic
education issues.
Schuyler Woods is Lovett College
sophomore and assistant opinion editor.
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 12, 2007, newspaper, January 12, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443068/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.