The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 20, Ed. 1 Friday, February 15, 2002 Page: 2 of 28
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15,2002
Leslie Liu, Robert Reichle
Editors in Chief
One place in Texas where
your vote does count
Student Association General Elections begin today at
noon and end Wednesday, and every undergraduate
should go to sa.rice.edu and vote.
It's easier than ever to be informed on campus these
days, and we're not just patting ourselves on the back for
bringingyou the news. The SA presidential debate, held
Monday, was broadcast on RBT for those students who
didn't want to brave the cold to get over to the Student
Center (See Story, Page 1).
The SA president is the one student that will represent
the entire undergraduate population for a year, so ifs
important that you get to know the candidates and make
an informed decision.
Remember, as an undergraduate student, you are part
of the Student Association.
Other positions contested in the election include SA
internal and external vice presidents, treasurer and
secretary, and leadership positions in other blanket-
tax organizations like RSVP and the Thresher (See
Blurbs, Pages 5-8).
There's also a small but important referendum to
increase the Honor Council's blanket tax to $2 from $1
(See Story, Page 1), the first increase in the history of the
organization. Given that the $1 the council got from
each student back in 1916 is worth $16.56 today, we
think the request is quite modest.
So vote "yes" for the increase to allow the Honor
Council to stay in the black while upholding the Honor
System at Rice.
Learning from
previous mistakes
Last week at the Rice Program Council's Feb. 5
meeting, the formals committee reported that the
venue possibilities for Rondelet included Rice's very
own Autry Court.
RPC members also discussed holding the event at
the Radisson (the eventual selection — See Story, Page
1), the Children's Museum or in tents. Yes — tents.
At this same meeting, members tossed around the
idea of moving the date of Rondelet to a week later, the
evening of Beer-Bike. The meeting's minutes also said
the theme for the spring formal would be "A Masquer-
ade Ball."
Themes are fun and can attract ticket-buyers, but
what good is a theme if you have no place to decorate?
Though we're glad to see that RPC managed to book
a hotel for the formal, we are alarmed at the lack of
planning we've seen this year from this blanket-tax
organization.
At Esperanza in November, formals chairs said Space
Center Houston, was chosen partly because they began
searching for a venue late. Why didn't they learn their
lesson after one planning fiasco?
Lines of accountability should be made clear in any
club that takes money from the student body. RPC
provides the service of planning and coordinating
important university-wide social events. Though RPC
might point to one or two individuals who weren't on
the ball, the formals committee is after all only a
subset of an organization that should be accountable
to its leaders.
So while cool-looking shot glasses are fun keepsakes,
we ask that RPC first concern itself with the bigger
details, like making sure shuttle service is adequate,
directions to the venue are correct, and that there is a
suitable venue.
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Guest column
Rice takes low road with Enron blood money
Given what has happened in
recent months regarding the col-
lapse of Enron from its shady deal-
ings, former Enron CEO Kenneth
Lay's concerted efforts to
skirt the U.S. government,
and the American people's
attempt to uncover the
truth behind the fiasco, it
seem highly distasteful for
Rice to accept a
contribution reeking of
corporate black money ac-
cumulated from the work
of those betrayed by
Enron's leadership.
In reading the Feb. 1
Thresher ("Enron recinds
donation"), I was extremely disap-
pointed to learn that Rice has de-
cided to willingly, if not eagerly, ac-
cept Lay's personal contribution of
$3 million to the university for the
creation of the "Ken Lay Center for
the Study of Markets in Transition."
How can those at Rice's top so
nonchalantly turn a blind eye to not
only business ethics (which I hope
the new business school intends to
teach), but also human ethics, all for
the sum of $3 million? It is an embar-
rassingly shameless act of want. Has
Rice finally put a price on its
principles?
Guilty or not, Lay and the shady
dealings at Enron have ruined the
lives of countless people, from
ex-Enron employees to John Q. In-
Johnny
So
vestor. Those who hoped to retire
must continue to work as their in-
vestments have been wiped out; par-
ents are struggling to put their chil-
dren through college with
their jobs and financial se-
curity gone. It just seems
unfathomable for Rice to
shrug these facts off in
favor of rows of LCD
monitors.
The ultimate hypoc-
risy of Rice's decision lies
in the fact that Rice has
championed its aid to
alumni laid off in Enron's
fall—"EnronOwls," they
have been dubbed. But
not 50 yards from Career Services
and the alumni offices, the univer-
sity is choosing to herald the person
that epitomizes their sorrow and an-
guish with an institution named in
his honor.
This is blatantly preposterous and
a slap in the face to those at the short
end of the stick. We should be up in
arms because of this "selling out of
Rice" at their expense.
If Rice wants to take the high
road on this issue, and I admit I am
skeptical that it does, the school
should accept the donation only un-
der the precondition that it be used
toward such ends as providing fi-
nancial aid to those laid off at Enron
(alumni and non-alumni alike) or
establishing a scholarship fund
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Insurance subsidy
inadequate aid
To the editor:
I am pleased that the university
has acknowledged the burden that
the cost of health insurance places
on graduate students. The recent
announcement of a $500 annual sub-
sidy for health insurance premiums
for doctoral students is certainly wel-
come news.
However, 1 do not believe this
fiat subsidy goes far enough to help
graduate students with health care
costs. Contrary to the Thresher's
numbers, the individual plans for
the 2001-'02 school year cost either
$845 or $996 a year, according to the
Student Health Insurance Web site.
ITiese costs typically rise annually.
Therefore, Rice will now pay ap-
proximately 50 to 60 percent of an
individual graduate student's health
insurance premium. In the Sept. 28
issue of the Chronicle of Higher Edu-
cation, the magazine surveyed
graduate programs on stipends and
benefits for graduate student em-
ployees. Of the 45 universities that
replied, 33 paid 75 percent or more
of graduate student health insurance
premiums. Eleven paid 50 percent
or more of the premium for spouses
or dependents.
In light of this data, the new sub-
aimed at rekindling the progress
Lay and Enron have destroyed. To
do otherwise would cheapen not
only Rice's reputation, but also its
mores.
Therefore, I challenge the stu-
dents, administration and alumni of
Rice to ensure that this contribu-
tion, if accepted at all, be rejected for
its current designated purpose.
How can those at
Rice's top turn a blind
eye to not only
business ethics, but
also human ethics?
As I already mentioned, I am not
optimistic that the powers that be
will heed this call — Rice may be
loath to give up its seat next to corpo-
rate bigwigs at the banquet table.
Please prove me wrong. In the battle
between principle and the "Ken Lay
Center for the Study of Markets in
Transition," there should be no ar-
gument.
Johnny So (Will Rice '01) is a geo-
science technologist at BP in
Houston.
sidy does not compare favorably to
other institutions or to Rice staff,
who receive about a 75 percent pre-
mium subsidy. I believe the univer-
sity should pay a set percentage —
at least 75 percent — of graduate
student health care premiums. They
should offer some subsidy toward
the premium for adding a spouse or
dependents.
I applaud the university for finally
doing something about the high cost
of health insurance for graduate stu-
dents, but in my opinion they can and
should do much more.
Marcos Huerta
Physics and astronomy
graduate student
Acceptance of Lay's
donation unethical
To the editor:
Pushed into a small corner of
page six of the Feb. 1 edition of the
Thresher v/as an article about Enron
being unable to complete the $5 mil-
lion donation it had pledged to Rice
University ("Enron rescinds dona-
tion") . Given the current news about
that company, this is not surprising.
More surprising is the fact that Ken
Lay will be completing his $3 million
donation to Rice.
See DONATION, Page 4
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Liu, Leslie & Reichle, Robert. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 20, Ed. 1 Friday, February 15, 2002, newspaper, February 15, 2002; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443080/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.