The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 26, 2008 Page: 2 of 20
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EDITORIAL
Friday, September 26,2008
the Rice (Ihresher
Venue change first step in
reviving Esperanza
Last week, the Thresher wrote a staff editorial encouraging Rice Pro-
gram Council to increase its visibility and relevance in light of its massive
budget increase for the 2008-'09 school year ("With great budget comes
great responsibility," Sept. 19). This week, we are reporting on Esperan-
za, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 8, at the end of homecoming week
(see story, page 1).
RPC revealed this week that Esperanza will be held on campus in an out-
doc: cent between the Shepherd School of Music, Jesse H. Jones Graduate
School of Management and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy,
but more than just an average tent, this particular locale will boast walls, a
hardwood floor, bathrooms and ice sculptures.
We feel this is a major step for RPC in adopting a more student-friendly
approach. Unlike the venues chosen in previous years, an on-campus loca-
tion nullifies any transportation problems and should vastly improve atten-
dance. Instead of being an event only for those who plan well in advance,
this year's dance will even be an attractive option for those thinking of go-
ing at the last minute, provided RPC sells tickets at the door.
Also, RPC made a good choice in avoiding a higher-cost off-campus
venue. Now, more money can be put towards decorations and music, and
perhaps even towards ticket subsidies. There is no reason the dance cannot
be as classy or elegant as it would be in any other place.
In short, we think RPC has pursued a worthy new approach to Esper-
anza. Better attendance, better location, better ambiance — we hope it all
adds up to a better dance.
Rice fumbles graduate
student issues during Ike
When Hurricane Ike headed towards Houston last weekend, Rice did
a great job communicating with undergraduates about shelter and food.
However, graduate students seemed to be left out of the ioop (See story,
page 1). It wasn't until Thursday evening that graduate students received
any definitive word about plans for Hurricane Ike from Dean of Graduate
Students Paula Sanders, who e-mailed graduate students notifying them
that they could not seek shelter at Rice because the school would be closed
Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Students housed in the Rice Graduate Apart-
ments were told they may be able to find shelter at Rice. Unsurprisingly, this
e-mail threw a wrench into the plans of everyone who had made an evacu-
ation to Rice part of their safety plans.
Then, the Crisis Management Tram e-mailed graduate students Fri-
day morning to inform them that Rice would provide shelter in the Janice
and Robert McNair Hall and the Rice Memorial Center until Monday, but
it would only be provided for students living in the Graduate Apartments,
who were under mandatory evacuation.
The notification of shelter was not the only piece of information lost in
the storm. Graduate students said they did not receive an e-mail informing
them of the dry-campus policy during the storm. Some blame Valhalla's
closure on this miscommunication.
Furthermore, one of the points of the Vision for the Second Century con-
cerns an aim for growth in Rice's graduate programs. If Rice hopes to build
a graduate program here, first it needs to prove that it cares about its gradu-
ate students.
All in all, the question of whether or not graduate students would receive
shelter should have been a no-brainer: absolutely. Rice should take care of
its own by providing shelter at the very least, just as the city of Houston pro-
vided shelters around town to its own. If Rice officials didn't question this,
they might have been able to communicate earlier (and more clearly) with
graduate students and inform them of the university's evacuation plan.
SAC changes risk misleading
prospective students
Recently, the student-led tour program facilitated by the Student
Admissions Council has undergone several changes (See story, page 1).
"Professional" polo shirts, optional visors, applications, training manu-
als and paychecks are in; flip-flops and a number of veteran tour guides
are out. The admissions office itself has been renovated, and plans are
even in the works for a model dorm room to become part of the standard
tour package.
What strikes us as the principal effect of all of this change is standard-
ization, stagnation and, with that, sterility. With the push to make Rice's
tour program more centralized and overseen (faculty replaced students as
the principal selectors of new tour guides this year), we fear the consequen-
tial result could be a bland shell of its former self.
Student-led tours should be given the freedom of expression necessary
to provide an accurate glimpse of Rice life for any interested parent or stu-
dent. Too many restrictions have the potential to blur this picture, which
can lead to nothing but problems in the future. For one, a run-of-the-mill
tour could fail to grasp the interest of a prospective student, who might then
be less inclined to identify Rice as a unique institution with a special oppor-
tunity to offer. For another, a student who receives a glimpse of an experi-
ence dimmed by administrative hands might base his decision to attend on
a false vision, and his eyes could be quite rudely opened by a situation he
did not expect when he arrived.
For these reasons and others, we feel that it would behoove the Admis-
sions Office to reconsider exactly how much of the prospective student
experience it would like to direct. Tours can be an integral part of any stu-
dent's application decision, and while it might be a well-intentioned aspi-
ration to ensure some sort of all-encompassing standard of measure, we
feel the aforementioned risks outweigh the envisioned benefits.
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letters to the editor
thresher-ops@rice. edu
Praise for Bush's
policies misplaced
To the editor:
Caroline May's opinion piece re-
ally has me puzzled ("Bush's security
policies deserve praise," Sept. 19). I
felt as though I were reading an ar-
ticle from The Onion. If she really
is sincere then, wow, look out Ann
Coulter. She argued that "the wars
abroad have had the added bonus
of acting as a magnet for terrorists
previously gunning for the Ameri-
can homeland. Instead of fighting
these violent extremists on U.S.
soil, American heroes are able to
kill them on external battlefields."
This is simply insane. War and
"added bonus" do not belong in the
same sentence. Also, the last time I
checked, the terrorists are still most
certainly "gunning for the Ameri-
can homeland."
Let's take Caroline's idea one
step further: We could move Ameri-
can prison inmates to the Middle
East and set up a county fair-style
dunking booth. We could charge
terrorists one dollar for a chance to
blow up Americans. "Step right up,
win a giant stuffed bunny rabbit!"
Then we could use the money gen-
erated to bail out banking firms.
Or invade more foreign countries.
The president's job description
is supposed to be along the lines
of upholding and defending the
Constitution. Any sane person,
regardless of party loyalty, can only
give George and company an F in
this department.
Chris Hamilton
Chemistry graduate student
Sport restaurant
incident dismaying
To the editor:
I read Yan Digilov's article titled
"BWi's steals wings from football
Owls" (Sept. 12). The thesis of his
article is right on. However, 1 was
there as well, and, unlike him, I
stayed there for the entire game,
and his facts were a bit off. Indeed,
promptly at 9 p.m. (just after Rice
scored a touchdown to bring the
score to 14-10), Buffalo Wild Wings
turned every single big screen in the
restaurant to the Ultimate Fighting
Championships but they did change
the channels of two small TVs to the
Rice game.
As such, those of us at my table
sat for the next hour and a half
watching one of the most thrilling
second halves I've ever seen on a
dinky little TV. The irony is that we
were watching the game at a sports
bar — it shouldn't be that way! I
was not about to give up my seat
for the organization replacing the
Rice game with some pay-per-view
fighting show. For those of us who
stayed, we were vindicated by a
Rice win.
However, like Yan, I'm disap-
pointed one of the closest sports
bars to Rice refused to show the
Rice football game for the fans and
patrons of the restaurant.
The orchestrated boos by the
remaining Rice students were defi-
nitely well-deserved, and I'll think
twice before eating there for anoth-
er Rice football game.
Jon Endean
Wiess College sophomore
Column brings to
mind voter's roles
To the editor:
In a time when it's cliche to
trash the president, when 1 routine-
ly hear bus-stop remarks of "worst
president ever," and "change" is
the best ticket our presidential
hopefuls can come up with, it's
novel to see a show of support for
our commander in chief. Yet, Caro-
line May's article ("Bush's security
Lily Chun & Dylan Farmer
Editors in Chief
NEWS
Sarah Rutledge Editor
Rachel Carlson Asst. Editor
Cindy Dinh /Issf. Editor
Jocelyn Wright >4ssf. Editor
Catherine Bratic Designer
Kylie Klein Designer
Tiffany Kuo Designer
OP-ED
Amanda Melchor Editor
Neel Shah Cartoonist
SPORTS
Natalie Clericuzio Editor
Yan Digilov Editor
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Julie Armstrong Editor
COPY
Nick Schlossman Editor
Ryan Stickney Editor
Anna Wilde Editor
CALENDAR
Sean McBeath Editor
PHOTOGRAPHY
David Rosales Editor
Lauren Schoeffler Asst. Editor
Ariel Shnitzer/lsst. Editor
WEB
John Michael Cuccia Editor
Stephen Wangdssf. Editor
BUSINESS
Sarah Mitchell Manager
Yvette Pan Payroll Manager
Jessie Huang Subscriptions Manager
Gustavo Herrera Distribution Manager
Sergio Jaramillo Distribution Manager
ADVERTISING
Joseph Ramirez Ads Manager
Thomas Yeh Ads Manager
Tiffany Kuo Classified Ads Manager
BACKPAGE
Timothy Faust Editor
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Associated Collegiate Press. Finally Fri.!
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Chun, Lily & Farmer, Dylan. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 26, 2008, newspaper, September 26, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443129/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.