The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 24, 2007 Page: 2 of 32
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, AUGUST 24,2007
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the Rice Thresher
Management Ph.D. must
meet university standard
The Jones Graduate School of Management proposed a doctoral
program in management to the Graduate Council last semester (see
story, Page 1). While we greatly applaud this step of increasing
research on campus, we have a big reservation about the courses
associated with the doctorate.
Generally, introducing a doctoral program affects little outside the
program's department — Ph.D. students take most of their classes
from their department alone. But the Jones School's proposal does
exactly the opposite: In the typical proposed management Ph.D.
student's schedule, 75 percent of the courses listed are graduate-
level courses from departments outside the Jones School, including
economics, statistics and political science.
Currently, the relative isolation of the Jones School from the rest
of the university permits its admissions office, which will handle man-
agement Ph.D. candidate applications, to consider applicants based
on the Jones School's standard — which is markedly lower than the
university's. If management Ph.D. candidates are considered on par
with Jones MBA candidates, departments outside the Jones School
will suffer the consequences: Lower-caliber graduate students will
flow from the Jones School to other university departments, take
up space in classes and lower the quality of class discussions. And
this will hurt the university.
If management Ph.D. candidates are allowed to take mostly
non-Jones School classes, their admissions standards must match
those of the rest of the university, and there must be regulations
imposed to ensure that those standards are being met. We urge the
Faculty Senate to take this issue into account when they consider
the proposed doctoral program.
Outer Loop needs
blue light special
In case the massive fences and mud pits did not make the fact obvi-
ous, Rice is undergoing a surge of construction (see story, Page 1).
But beyond the large-scale additions of the pavilion, new power
plant and two new colleges, there are also subtler improvements
in campus life — notably, replacing and upgrading the emergency
phone system (see story, Page 13).
The old phones looked like leftover props from Doctor Who, and
they were about as functional. The new blue-light speakerphones
will work better, and we applaud the Crisis Management Team for
spearheading the program. However, the effectiveness of the upgrade
is limited: Students still do not have phones along the Outer Loop,
where they are most needed to protect against criminal threats.
The Outer Loop is the most exposed and most poorly-lit location
on campus. It is also where people — often in runners' trances or
listening to iPods — are least aware of their surroundings. Given
these circumstances, emergency phones are a necessity. If CMT
is going to emphasize the phones' utility in emergencies, it should
install phones where they will be used.
We know the Rice University Police Department does a great
job, and safety on campus is never a concern to be losing sleep over.
But the dull blue glow from the emergency phones would reassure
runners that, even on the Outer Ix>op, they are only a button away
from help.
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Guest column
Work hard, play hard: a dangerous myth
Two big things hit Rice's caffeine radar at the beginning of the
semester, and both deserve a hot, steaming mug of appreciation:
■ The serveries started brewing fair trade coffee and iced
tea from Katz Coffee (see story, Page 11). The socially conscious
grounds warm our souls, but the real kicker is we can actually drink
the coffee without getting suicide notes from our tastebuds. Thank
the coffee gods, we may actually have a chance of staying awake for
8 a.m. CAAM lectures — the first one, anyway.
■ The Student Association bought reusable mugs for all
incoming students (See SA Briefs, Page 12), so they can down
huge quantities of java without raising Rice's trash volume. But the
scheme will not work unless students actually use the mugs — so
we encourage guilt trips over throwing away Styrofoam coffee cups.
Feel it yourself; tell a friend. Or just reuse from the beginning and
avoid the pain.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher
editorial staff.
During college, most under-
graduates undergo a process of self-
actualization, of becoming who they
want to be. This week another class
of talented, resourceful
students began this jour-
ney through Orientation
Week. Some of the nation's
best and brightest become
part of the Rice family
every August, and before
long they will become
beloved members of the
Rice community.
There is an annual cam-
pus ritual, however, that
concerns many of us within
the Rice family, especially
since it follows on the heels O-Week,
of one of the best things Wee does as
a university. The ritual I'm referring
to is the Dis-Orientation party.
Dis-0 happens on Saturday night
following O-Week. Newly matricu-
lated students often express shock
at the amount of alcohol consumed
at the party, and since they are new
members of the Rice community,
many do not know whether they
should voice outrage, quietly disap-
pear as the party unfolds or join in
on the fun. As this informal event
has become a Wee tradition, new
students become oriented to a way
of life that is not something the uni-
versity should be proud of.
Of course, college life has never
been just about classes and books.
Everyone needs the chance to blow
off some steam, but since when
did relaxing with friends become
equated with binge drinking and
reckless behavior? Obviously, the
problem goes much deeper than
a single event. Peer pressure re-
mains long after middle school, and
social science research shows that
today's college students face even
greater pressure to excel, despite the
unprecedented financial, social, and
personal challenges many of them
face. But the institutional nod Rice
gives to Dis-0 by allowing it to be-
come a tradition is not good, and its
timing is particularly problematic.
Dis-0 is only a part of a larger myth
many Americans live by, especially at
places like Rice. Many people justify
risky behavior under the mantra of
"Work hard, play hard." New York
Times columnist David Brooks has
written about this in his perceptive
essay "The Organization Kid," in which
he describes the incredible achieve-
ments of students at Princeton who
have accomplished much intellectually
and personally. 'Hie downside of lead-
ing such successful lives, however, is
the need to "let loose" every once in
a while. Brooks wrote that with time
being limited, students have to capital-
D. Michael
Lindsay
ize on the few hours they reserve for
sowing wild oats.
Herein lies the premise of the
work-hard-play-hard myth: Stu-
dents feel they must play
with similar degrees of
intensity that they work.
For many Rice students,
that is a high standard
to meet.
Binge drinking, ca-
sual romantic liaisons
and occasionally smoking
marijuana are the most
common activities that oc-
cur under the "play hard"
paradigm. What's wrong
with this, many will ask,
especially at a place like Rice where
so many institutional safeguards
exist? It's true that EMS, the Rice
Counseling Center and the norm
of taking care of one another make
Rice a safer place if risky behavior
is going to occur. But the illusion of
playing hard comes clearly into focus
when you realize how habit-shaping
these activities can become. We are
what we practice.
not often made in grand, sweeping
fashion: the most formative choices
occur incrementally. Like layers of
sedimentary rock, one decision gives
way to another. Small decisions can
make a big difference.
Hie goal is not to become a cam-
pus of teetotalers or moral prudes.
But it is a bit troubling that the class
of 201 l's Eacebook group descrip-
tion — created by Rice's incoming
students themselves—is "For t hu^
admitted to Rice University, Class
of 2011: The place where you work
hard — but play harder!" It appears
that the myth has already begun to
spread. Wee ought to be a place
where all forms of socializing are
valued, and the university ought to
encourage a spectrum of fun and safe
party options. I urge campus leaders
to pursue alternative activities for the
Saturday night following O-Week in
the years ahead, in the meantime,
make choices this weekend that
reflect who you are and who you
want to become.
D. Michael Lindsay is a sociology
professor.
Binge drinking, casual
romantic liaisons and
occasionally smoking
marijuana are the
most common activities
that occur under the
"play hard" paradigm.
In the Wellness Center's 2004
Rice Health Survey, over 9 in 10 Rice
students said alcohol is a problem at
their residential college. Thirty-five
percent of students in the survey
admitted to having more than 5
drinks in one silting within the past
two weeks, and 10 percent admitted
to having more than 10 drinks within
a single sitting.
Moral courage, while not the lone
solution, is part of the answer. Per-
sonal leadership—something to be
valued in our students — is not just
about organizing campus groups or
scoring points in competition. It also
entails making the right choices and
refusing to bow to peer pressure
when activities conflict with norms
you want to live by.
One of the luxuries students
are afforded during college is the
chance to consider who they want
to become and to make decisions
that move them closer to becoming
that person. These decisions are
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Bursten, Julia. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 24, 2007, newspaper, August 24, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443109/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.