The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, September 4, 2009 Page: 2 of 36
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2 EDITORIAL
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the Rice Thresher
Friday, September 4,2009
the Rice ^hresher
Shanty towns laudable
At some point next Friday, around dinner time, a truck
full of deodorant will stop by Rice, unload and make a heavy
profit. Why? Because that is when Rice's shanty town will
shutter its doors and leave its inhabitants, as it were, home-
less, letting loose a week's worth of un-showered masses to
roam the campus (see story, page l).
Ok, the part of the truck may be wishful thinking. But the
shanty town is real. If all goes according to plan, those in the
shanty town will be able to relax after spending a week admi-
rably raising both awareness and funds in the hopes of ame-
liorating the lives of those who have to actually live under such
conditions. They will have gone four days without showering,
eating nothing more than rice and beans and forgoing all the
modern comforts we take for granted.
If any of us were to go without e-mail for even more than a few
hours, the structure of our lives would crumble, so we freely admit
our approbation for those involved in the shanty town. We dis-
cussed whether or not all the money, all the effort, all the man- and
woman-hours poured into the project were worth it, whether or not
they could be put toward directly bettering the lives of the impov-
erished — and we determined that this effort, spearheaded as it is,
was the best method of raising awareness. Rice will be hosting tours
of the shanty town, and it is our highest hope that it will be easy
for both the groups coming through and the students passing by to
donate and converse with the inhabitants.
The only thing we ask is that the members of the project re-
main dedicated enough to make their time, and our donations,
worth every penny. We hope that they will stay during nights,
eat nothing but the minimum and forgo showers even when
Fondren beckons. We have every reason to believe they will.
This project will be aesthetically displeasing, but its message
should be shouted, loud and clear.
And, if possible, smelled.
Book costs skyrocketing
Make no mistake — we are glad that the printed word lives.
But with the way that textbook prices have skyrocketed in recent
years, something must be done to make these books available to
all those who both need and want them. Because if the prices
stay the way they are, we will soon all be outpriced.
Rice, unfortunately, is no exception to the trend (see story,
page 4). Classes across the board have seen prices go through the
roof for books and course packets alike. And because a public op-
tion is available only in health care — or so we hope — we are
forced to settle on private-sector options for our literature.
Aside from calling for greater discounts at the campus book-
store, we must also propose a secondary option. Brown College
began a commendable trend two years ago with the inception
of the Huge Fuckin' Booksale, an event where students can go
to swap books for fantastic deals. We would like to see the sale
expanded both in time, perhaps once each of the first two weeks,
and space, perhaps to a more centralized location like the Rice
Memorial Center. The name might have to be changed — some-
thing less abrasive may work — but the student body would be
greatly indebted. Which is better than being in debt, any day.
Farewell, Eugene Levy
It is difficult to imagine Rice without the influence of Provost
Eugene Levy (see story, page 1). Once upon a time, Rice students
were notoriously wary of venturing beyond the hedges. Then
Levy fronted the Passport to Houston program, which began in
2005, and the city's doors were thrown open. Likewise, when
President David Leebron arrived on campus, his Vision for the
Second Century was nowhere near the fleshed-out agenda it now
represents. It was with Levy's backing that a pair of new colleges
and an increased student body now call Rice home.
Levy's influence has been heavy over the last decade, and it is
readily apparent to see that the programs and ideas he has pushed
have reaped dividends for both students and faculty. His presence
was always behind the scenes — most mistook him for the epony-
mous star of American Pie — but without him, Rice would be no-
where near the leading institution it is today. After a decade's worth
of work, Levy deserves this upcoming sabbatical as much as any-
one. He will be missed over the next year, but we hope he finds the
relaxation and revitalization his work merits.
Erratum
In the Aug. 28 article, "New BRC opens OC," the Thresher re-
ported that architect Michael Graves designed the Bioscience Re-
search Center. The BRC was designed by Skidmore Owings & Mer-
rill LP and FKP Architects, Inc. The Thresher regrets the error.
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letters to th e editor
thresher-ops@rice. edu
Online Comment
of the Week
To the Editor:
A government-subsidized "pub-
lic option" for health insurance
would likely decrease competition
("Proposed health plan to expand
coverage," Aug. 28).
Public schools demonstrate how
public options decrease competi-
tion and choice. Parents prefer the
tax-funded schools over non-subsi-
dized private options because they
are forced to pay taxes but not pri-
vate tuitions. That is why nearly 90
percent of American children attend
the public school chosen for them by
government administrators.
The public option has effec-
tively monopolized the school
market by crowding out private
options. Why allow a "public op-
tion" for health insurance to also
decrease competition?
Anonymous
Increased health
spending harmful
To the Editor:
1 found it ironic that last week's
opinion piece supporting the cre-
ation of a government health in-
surance option ("Proposed health
plan to expand coverage," Aug. 28)
listed Medicare's impending insol-
vency as one reason the public op-
tion is so necessary. The solution to
not being able to pay for our cur-
rent government health program is
to add another, even more costly,
government program? I'm not a
math major, but I know that if the
government can't afford to spend
$632 billion a year on Medicare
and Medicaid, it sure can't afford to
spend $1.2 trillion a year on a pub-
lic health plan.
Elizabeth Fudge
Will Rice sophomore
More physicians
to lessen costs
To the Editor:
Myles Bugbee may be overly
optimistic about increasing tax-
payer funding of preventive care
("Proposed health plan to expand
coverage," Aug. 28).
Preventive care is not a silver
bullet. The authors of a 2008 New
England Journal of Medicine article
reviewed hundreds of cost-effec-
tiveness studies. They found that
80 percent of preventive services
examined cost more than treatment.
So, unfortunately, most of the time
an ounce of prevention is not even
worth an ounce of cure.
The explanation is simple. Pre-
ventive care costs must apply to
many people, most of whom will not
suffer the illness, while treatment
keeps costs low by targeting a small
number of people.
Even if the government targeted
cost-saving preventive services,
it might not have a strong impact.
As the Congressional Budget Office
wrote in a recent letter, "[A] new
government policy to encourage
prevention could end up paying
for preventive services that many
individuals are already receiving
— which would add to federal costs
but not reduce total future spend-
ing on health care."
To really reduce spending, issues
left out of current reform proposals
should be addressed.
State licensing laws restrict
competent nurses and physician
assistants from doing many tasks,
which results in higher physi-
cian salaries. Limits on the num-
ber of approved medical schools
means fewer new doctors, con-
tributing to further increases in
physician compensation.
Costs will go up as long as health
care demand increases and the
supply of those providing medical
services is limited. Easing licens-
ing restrictions and approval for
new medical schools could make
health care less expensive and
more accessible.
David Splinter
Economics graduate student
news
Cindy Dinh Editor
Josh Rutenberg Editor
Jocelyn Wright Editor
Jaclyn Youngblood Editor
op-ed
Christine Pao Editor
Kay Fukui Cartoonist
sports
Natalie Clericuzio Editor
Yan Digilov Editor
Jonathan Myers Assistant Editor
arts & entertainment
Joe Dwyer Editor
copy
Anna Wilde Editor
Rose Cahalan Editor
Media
Lauren Schoeffler Photo Editor
Ariel Shnitzer Asst. Photo Editor
Logan Beck Asst. Photo Editor
Casey Michel
Editor in Chief
Sarah Rutledge
Senior Editor
David Rosales Multimedia Manager
Stephen Wang Web Editor
Dennis Qian Asst. Web Editor
Eric Doctor Design Director
Zach Castle Head News Designer
business
Yvette Pan Manager
Jessie Huang Subscriptions Manager
Charlie Ary Distribution Manager
Gustavo Herrera Distribution Manager
Sergio Jaramillo Distribution Manager
advertising
Cathleen Chang Ads Manager
Molly Slattery Ads Manager
Tiffany Kuo Classified Ads Manager
calendar
Brian Reinhart Editor
backpage
Kyle Barnhart Editor
Cristina Tortarolo Editor
The Rice Thresher, the official student news-
paper at Rire University since 1916, is pub
lished each Friday during the school year,
except during examination periods and holi-
days, by the students of Rice University.
Letters to the F.ditor must be received by
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 3, Ed. 1 Friday, September 4, 2009, newspaper, September 4, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443128/m1/2/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.