The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 6, 2009 Page: 1 of 20
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OP-ED F.J
A dose of the right medicine
What financial and academic opportunities will the Rice
community forfeit if the Rice-BCM merger falls through?
P. 10
Confection connections
Follow up your fine dining with our cheap (and yummy)
desserts map.
SPORTS W
The longest yard
With a Kiwi and some youth, the men and women's cross
country teams finished third in the conference this year.
the Rice
VOLUME XCVII, ISSUE NO. 11
STUDENT-RUN
SINCE 1916
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009
Ministers
reunite
Twenty years later,
dignitaries reminisce
over Berlin Wall
by Seth Brown
Thresher Staff
While students prepared for
Night Of Decadence weekend, a
group of suited men reunited around
the piece of the Berlin Wall in front
of the James A. Baker III Institute for
Public Policy Friday afternoon, near-
ly 20 years after the fall of the wall
on Nov. 9, 1989.
The former foreign ministers of
France, the Soviet Union, and East
and West Germany, as well as the
former private secretary to the Brit-
ish prime minister, joined former U.S.
Secretary of State James A. Baker III
in a panel Friday evening at the Baker
Institute. The panel spoke to a mixed
audience of more than 200 Rice fac-
ulty, students and alumni on the fall
of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent
quest for German reunification.
History Professor Douglas Brin-
kley moderated, asking each speaker
about their roles in the events as well
as the historical significance of each.
Baker said though many believed
the fall of the wall to be inevitable,
the reunification process and results
were far from clear.
"There were a number of ques-
tions which had to be answered,
such as how the merger [between
East and West Germany] would take
place, and the relationship of the
united Germany with NATO and the
European community," Baker said.
Roland Dumas, French foreign
minister during the end of the Cold
War, noted that the reunification
Osee Wall, page 6
■'W'
logan mck/thre
The early bird gets
the bookworm
Lovett College junior Julie Duong and Baker College freshman Nicole Ho cel-
ebrate the 60th anniversary of Fondren Library on Wednesday with arts and
crafts. The library hosted several events, including a panel of speakers.
Second round of transfers begins
by Diane Ramirez
Thresher Staff
With the transfer process moving at
full speed, McMurtry College and Dun-
can College are one step closer to ob-
taining an upperclassman population.
As of last Friday, which was the
transfer deadline for the first round of
invited students, both new colleges
received a total of 130 new members.
McMurtry received 68 acceptances and
Duncan received 62.
Two hundred thirteen students re-
ceived invitations, and 65 total students
accepted. The rest of the students are
transferring as guests of the students
invited to transfer.
Each of the nine other colleges was
limited to 35 transfers, and all colleges
stayed within the limit. Lovett College
boasted 25 transfers, the highest num-
ber among the nine original colleges,
Lovett President Erin Finn said.
Associate Dean of Undergradu-
ates Matt Taylor said that while these
numbers were lower than his office's
earlier surveys had predicted, he
wasn't surprised.
"It's definitely an imperfect pro-
cess," Taylor said.
Fifty-eight percent of the sur-
vey's original respondents said they
would consider transferring, and
the number of invitations sent re-
flected these results, he said. Invi-
tations were extended to randomly
selected students in October, and
the number of guests each student
was allowed to bring was also ran-
domly chosen, he said.
The exceptions to this randomized
NOD attracts whole new world of scantily clad
by Seth Brown
Thresher Staff
While some partygoers may en-
joy fond memories of Wiess Col-
lege's Night of Decadence, others
are still trying to figure out what
exactly happened — or at least wish
they were unsure.
Approximately 1,300 Rice stu-
dents and their guests — 1,000 more
than last year — descended on the
Wiess quad and commons for the
four-hour Disney-themed party last
Saturday.
Wiess Social Vice Presidents
Charlie Dai and Molly Bryan de-
scribed the party as a success, de-
spite some minor hitches.
"Like any party, there were small
things, but security was successful
at keeping everything in control,"
Dai, a Wiess sophomore, said.
Unlike last year, there were no
malicious fire alarm pulls.
Bryan, a Wiess junior, said most
of the issues arose with those unfa-
miliar with NOD's rules.
"A few local people not affiliated
with Rice tried to get in but weren't
let in," Bryan said.
A handful of ticketholders, once
at the party, were turned back at
Rice University Police Department's
discretion, Dai said.
"Very intoxicated individuals
were ... sent back to their own col-
leges," he said.
RUPD Captain Dianna Marshall
said there were 11 referrals to Stu-
dent Judicial Affairs, nine of which
were alcohol violations and two
of which were trespassing infrac-
tions. Marshall said there was also
an assault citation made to the City
O see NOD, page 6
1
ft:
Brown set
to go green
by Cindy Dinh
Thresher Editorial Staff
In a push for more sustainable liv-
ing, students will now have another,
less scandalous reason to turn off their
lights. The Green Dorm Initiative, which
launched Wednesday, is a way for stu-
dents to rate their dorm and receive
incentives based on their levels of envi-
ronmental friendliness.
The Green Dorm Initiative commit-
tee, part of the Environmental Club, is
working in conjunction with EcoReps
and the Rice Student Green Building
Initiative to encourage students to as-
sess their current behavior and reward
them for adopting more environmen-
tally friendly practices, GDI committee
leader Nicole Kwan said.
it
process was with the Orientation Week
advisers and other affiliates of the new
colleges, who could ask for an invita-
tion. However, if they requested invita-
tions, they were allowed just one guest.
The random selection process,
coupled with the percent of eligible stu-
dents who failed to respond to the sur-
vey, led to a slightly lower turnout than
expected, Taylor said.
However, since the Office of the
Dean of Undergraduates hopes to
add a total of 120-150 upperclassmen
to each of the two new colleges, ap-
proximately 240 invites were sent out
Wednesday evening in the second
round of invitations. The number of
invitations sent to each college de-
pended on how many were accepted.
Hanszen College received the most
Osee Transfer, page 6
The concept is to
recognize individual
green efforts and give
an incentive for people
to change their life-
style to be more
environmentally
friendly.
Nicole Kwan
GDI Committee Leader
Wiess hosted NOD, its annual public party, last Saturday. Attendees
dressed as their favorite Disney character, such as WALL-E or Woody.
99
"The concept is to recognize individ-
ual green efforts and give an incentive
for people to change their lifestyle to be
more environmentally friendly," Kwan,
a Baker College EcoRep, said.
The pilot program launched
Wednesday for students at Brown Col-
lege lasts until Thanksgiving Break. If
successful, the program will expand
to other colleges next semester. Envi-
ronmental Club co-President Becca
Sagastegui said. Sagastegui, a Sid Rich-
ardson College EcoRep, said Brown was
chosen based on diversity of room type,
which includes doubles and quads, and
general interest from the student body.
Brown EcoRep Denver Greene said
he is looking forward to motivating more
students to take up this initiative.
"I want the students of Brown to
make an attempt to be more environ-
mentally friendly," Greene, a Brown
senior, said. "I personally talk to people
about easy things they can do around
campus, like making sure to use reus-
able dishes and cups in the servery and
to throw waste in a recycling bin where
applicable, rather than the trash."
Students who sign up for the
program will rate their dorm room
by filling out an online form at
www.ruf.rice.edu/~enviclub/gdi.html
that assesses their current use of elec-
tricity, recycling, disposable materials,
laundry practices, air conditioning
controls, water usage and types of ap-
pliances in the room. Within each area,
see Green, page 6
And the winners are ...
Don't forget to vote for Homecoming King and
Queen this weekend! Illustrious winners from
the past include the sexy Rainbow Building
and the charming Kathy Collins. Who will
it be this year? The muscular Rec Center or
the commandeering crane by Baker College?
Only you can decide!
Dirty dancing
Need a date for Esperanza, or just want to get
some dance practice in? Wiess College's Salsa
Night is tomorrow from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. in
the Wiess commons. There will be margaritas
for those over 21, and there's no better way
to help dispel the false rumors that Rice men
can't dance.
Ravetastic
What's black and white and neon all over? The
Archis' annual media party is held tonight from
10 p.m. to 2 a.m. in Anderson Hall. Get your apse
into gear and shake your buttress, because this is
one party you won't want to miss.
INDEX
Opinion
3
News
4
Arts & Entertainment
8
Sports
12
Calendar
19
Backpage
20
sBs? r
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 6, 2009, newspaper, November 6, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443152/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.