The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, September 21, 2007 Page: 3 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21,2007
Guest column
Sid socials overlook Jewish students
Tonight is Sid Richardson Col-
lege's '80s Party. It also happens to
be Yom Kippur, the most important
day of the year for observant Jews.
That these two events
coincide is, to me, an
enormous affront and a
blatant lack of respect for
Jewish students at Rice.
From what I have
heard, and I acknowledge
that it is all hearsay, Sid
Socials had originally
planned for '80s Party to
be the weekend of the
15th but moved it to the
20th when it became clear
that many people would
be away at Austin City Limits. While
I respect their desire to include as
many people as possible in their
party, I feel that it is extremely
disrespectful to make adjustments
on behalf of those leaving town for
a concert at the expense of those
celebrating a major cultural and
religious event.
And believe me, it is major:
Yom Kippur is the annual Day of
Judgment. Tradition holds that it
is the day on which God writes
down the names of people to live
and people to die within the com-
ing year. Heralded by the shofar
blowing on Rosh Hashanah, the ten
days leading up to Yom Kippur are
a time of reflection when observ-
ing Jews ask for forgiveness for
their misdeeds from the previous
year. In other words, it is kind of
a big deal.
The night of Yom Kippur—Jew-
ish holidays start at sunset and end
at sunset the following day — be-
Julia
Lukomnik
gins a 24 hours of fasting, solemnity
and repentance. Those observing
the holiday are supposed to avoid
all distractions that could prevent
them from fully reflecting
on and working to amend
their misdeeds, hence
the fasting. Consensus
from prominent Rabbis
has since clarified that
all sexual activity, drug
use and any other form of
revelry is not acceptable
given the somber attitude
of Yom Kippur. Thus, it
is clear that observance
really cannot coexist with
a party environment. In-
deed, it is impossible to fully respect
the tenants of Yom Kippur and at the
same time attend '80s Party.
It is extremely
disrespectful to make
adjustments on behalf
of those leaving town
for a concert at the
expense of those
celebrating a major
religious event.
It is true that the Jewish popu-
lation on campus is small. But
by placing '80s Party on such an
important holiday, Sid has inadver-
tently excluded a major part of this
population.
In addition to leaving us out, '80s
Party has the potential to make the
solemn day very difficult, creating
a distraction for students trying to
observe the holiday. While they
sit in synagogue Jewish students
may not be thinking about how
they can make themselves better
people this coming year, but what
their roommates will be wearing,
what music will be played and,
more likely, all the fun they will be
missing. Some migh t say that this is
what Yom Kippur is about — mak-
ing sacrifices to prove that you are
dedicated to reforming yourself.
But I would counter that there are
already enough sacrifices built into
the holiday without Sid throwing
one more on top of the pile.
This is not just an idle rant, and
I would ask those of you who think
it is to consider how you would feel
if a major event were placed on an
obvious religious or cultural day
that you felt it was important to
observe. It is true that '80s Party
is, in reality, just a party. But that is
not the point. It is about religious
and cultural sensitivity, and the
importance of making a group that
is already a clear "other" on campus
feel even more isolated.
In the future I would ask that Sid,
and all colleges, take into account
all major religious and cultural
events that would preclude some
group on campus from attending.
A formal apology or change of date
might be nice, too.
Julia Lukomnik is a Baker College
sophomore.
Guest column
Dinner departure reveals miscommunication
Without an audible or visible
herald, the Saturday experiment has
ended. The world has become more
uncertain to me. Life seems harsh
and cruel. My stomach's
secret weekend bastion,
open from four to six
o'clock on Saturdays, ex-
ists no longer — my dis-
covery came at the hands
of a desolate commons and
an empty stomach.
Where in years prior
there had been naught to
consume after 1:30 p.m.
in the afternoon, last year
the university's Saturday
experiment began—early
on-campus dinner from
four to six. A modest yet hearty
delight offering hamburgers, sand-
wiches and assorted chotchkes, the
Saturday experiment was a meeting
point for those on-campus who were
not venturing outside just yet that
evening. It was new, it was reliable,
it was safe. Now, it is gone. Alas.
Those who felt similarly were not
in the majority, for the university
chose to use its money and the
time of their employees in efforts
elsewhere.
Surely, others posit, this is a
grand opportunity to venture be-
yond the hedges with friends. Why
not simply take an extra morsel at
lunch on Saturday, if not Friday's
dinner? Reasonable, logical proposi-
tions, perhaps. How it sounds to my
gut, not so. Venturing beyond the
hedges with friends is a fun way to
spend a Saturday evening as well,
but it is not consistent, time-efficient
or cheap. This is Rice University.
Many of us are studious enough to
spend our Saturday evening at home
doing organic chemistry. Many
of us are too socially awkward to
find a consistent movie date each
Saturday. Many of us lack cars. For
us, a three-hour endeavor beyond
the hedges is impractical, as is a
seven-dollar turkey sandwich at
13th Street.
Nicolas
Morrison
Pilfering extra sandwiches and
hamburgers to compensate are an-
other contested point, though. 'Hie
fundamental problem when people
take extra food from the
server y is the destruction
of trust. One might be an
off-campus student mak-
ing the absolute most of
their five meals a week
or one may merely wish
for a midnight snack. It
matters not. Although
convenient, when we take
more than is allotted to us
this destroys the validity
of the only way the serv-
eries know how much to
cook. They make enough
food for the number of card swipes,
not the number of servings people
deem fit for themselves.
It is a guessing game enough
for both the chefs and the students
as to what will be on the menu and
whether there is enough for the
evening alone — forcing students to
stock up servery goodies muddles
the process even further. I find it dif-
ficult to show up in time for popcorn
shrimp on Fridays especially if oth-
ers take second servings. Our loss of
Saturday dinners simply confounds
the situation further.
I still possess a pestering con-
cern: I certainly do not recall telling
the university to not feed me on
Saturdays. What avenue of com-
munication does the university have
to reach us students regarding the
success of the Satu rday experi men t,
or any other policy? I do not recall
polls or surveys, nor a picket cam-
paign from servery workers.
This problem comes from the
fact that there is currently no easy
way to notify the students of such
subtle changes to social aspects of
Rice University. The Rice News e-
mails are more press release than
undergraduate communication.
The Rice Ihresher, though avail-
able campus-wide, still requires the
reader to first obtain the publication
then actually search within its enthu-
siastic journalism. And there are the
expected grumblings regarding the
confusingly laid out and outdated
Web pages of each department.
Indeed, I bump into many off-
campus students who were com-
pletely unaware that Saturday dinner
existed in the first place. A listserv di-
rected solely to the undergraduates
already exists and should be used
to coordinate campus happenings
and developments such as this. A
listserv brings news to students both
on-campus and off, allowing greater
communication and unity.
My stomach's secret Saturday
bastion will be sorely missed, but
I ache for a better method for the
university to inform students of its
bureaucratic changes.
Nicolas Morrison isHanszen College
junior.
Guest column
Pavilion should reflect
campus culture, waffles
I am not too upset about the big
glass box being erected in the
quadrangle behind Fondren Li-
brary. Really, it's okay. I'm aller-
gic to open spaces. And
like all engineering
majors, I thrive on the
smell of concrete and
glass and air condition-
ing. I'm not pounding
my fists on the dinner
table because I have to
walk around said con-
struction about twenty
times a day, either —
better exercise than
the elliptical machines
at Autry Gym, that's
for sure.
Heck, I do not even have
the right to be mad about those
things, so I guess it is good that
I am not. I just happen to be at-
tending Rice University during
a transitional period, sort of like
being an Iraqi in Baghdad right
now. And just like in Baghdad,
it is selfish and unrealistic for
Rice students to feel like they
are getting shafted by this tran-
sition. At least that is what we
are all told. And like the people
of Iraq, Rice students stand to
benefit from their respective
transition — at some point after
we all graduate.
However, construction
should not be the biggest issue
on campus. Construction comes
and goes, but glass boxes are
here to say. And here is my
problem: If you are going to
stick a business inside the big
^lass box, it should be a 24-hour
establishment rooted in the very
culture of the American South.
This establishment should offer
a variety of delicious breakfast,
lunch and dinner items at all
hours of the day for reasonable
prices. It should be a haven for all
types of campus-dwellers, from
the shaggy and tired-looking
physics grad student to the
prim-and-proper Jones School
executive with the Bluetooth
headset and the horn-rimmed
glasses. Brace yourselves,
because I am talking about a
Waffle House
Hear me out. Waffle House
might as well be Rice's Vision
for the Second Century. Like
any typical Rice student, Waffle
House is cheap, kind of sketchy,
but really fun on the weekends
after a couple of drinks. And
like the Rice administration.
Waffle House is staffed by ca-
pable and hard-working normal
folk who care about their jobs
Kyle
Barnhart
but deserve to be paid more
money. If any chain of diner-style
restaurants is a microcosm for
this proud university, Waffle
House is it.
WhataboutDiedrich
Coffee? Starbucks? It's
a Grind Coffeehouse?
They are not Rice. They
are fascist corporate
entities headquartered
in places like New York
City and Seattle — the
kinds of places that
produce really great
bands but really cor-
rupt business. Why
do you think people
from New England and
America's West Coast come to
Rice, anyway? Waffle House is
based in Atlanta, Ga. When was
the last time you felt threatened
by anything from Atlanta? Heck,
Atlanta and Houston are like sister
cities, blue-collar to the core and
chock full of bad drivers. I would
contend that putting anything but
a Waffle House in our new big
glass box puts Rice one more step
out-of-touch with Houston.
Like any typical
Rice student, Waffle
House is cheap, kind
of sketchy, but really
fun on the weekends
after a couple of
drinks.
By the end of this academic
year, the green fences will come
down, the two most important
sidewalks on campus will re-open
and Rice will be the proud owner
of an oddly-shaped, giant, trans-
parent but otherwise ideal glass
box. The question comes down
to this: does Rice want to garnish
this beautiful glass box with an
offensive and destructive chain
of businesses that actually closes
at night? Or does Rice want to
take a step towards reinforcing
the homey charm that we all love
about this campus?
Next time you're craving an
All-Star Special Breakfast at
3 a.m. after finishing that egre-
gious last-minute assignment,
you will know the answer.
Kyle Barnhart is a Will Rice
College junior.
the Rice Thresher
Stephen Whitfield
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Whitfield, Stephen. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, September 21, 2007, newspaper, September 21, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443102/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.