The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, April 11, 2008 Page: 1 of 24
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e
resher
Vol. XCIVII, Issue No. 25
SINCE 1916
Friday, April 11, 2008
Braun chosen as new men's basketball coach
by Casey Michel
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
PHOTO COURTESY RICE SPORTS INFORMATION
Ben Braun will be the new men's basketball coach starting next fall. He succeeds Willis Wilson
(Will Rice '82) who was coach for 16 years before he was fired March 14.
When the 2008-'09 men's basketball season
opens, the completed renovations to Autry
Court will not be the only new sight for fans.
On Sunday, Ben Braun was announced as the
new head basketball coach at Rice, replacing
16-year coach Willis Wilson (Will Rice '82),
who was released March 14.
Athletic Director Chris Del Conte said Braun
brightens the program's future prospects.
"This is an exciting moment for Rice athlet-
ics," Del Conte said. "Braun is an established
coach who shares our vision in the potential
that exists in the opportunity to coach at Rice.
He has demonstrated again and again the abil-
ity to not only produce quality teams on the
court, but also quality student-athletes who
can excel in the classroom as well."
Braun's resume includes Division I experi-
ence with coaching the men's basketball team
at the University of California-Berkeley since
1997. Prior to his stint at Berkeley, Braun
coached Sienna Heights College from 1977-85
and led the Saints to a 148-103 record. He then
moved on to Eastern Michigan University for
11 seasons, where he led the Eagles to four
postseason berths and the NCAATournament
Sweet 16 in 1991.
At Cal, the Chicago native compiled a 219-
154 record in 12 seasons, the second-highest
win total in the school's history. As he enters
his 32nd season as a head coach, Braun has
552 wins to his name, llth-most among ac-
tive coaches.
In his first season with Cal, Braun led the
team to the Sweet 16, his first of five NCAA
Tournament appearances. The Golden Bears
also won the National Invitation Tournament
Championship in 1999 and advanced to the
second round of the NCAA Tournament in
2002 and '03. Besides his teams' results, Braun
also received 1997 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
honors and was a finalist for the 2003 Naismith
National Coach of the year.
The Golden Bears missed the postseason
from 2005-'07 before falling to Ohio State Uni-
versity in the second round of the 2008 NIT.
Cal fired Braun on March 26, two days after
their loss to the Buckeyes.
Braun said coaching has become more than
just creating plays and teaching fundamentals
over his career.
'To me, coaching is making a difference in
see BASKETBALL, page 20
ESTHER changes to
prevent overscheduling
by Rachel Carlson
THRESHER STAFF
A series of registration changes
began taking f ffect this w^ek as ES-
THER was modified to reduce sched-
ule overlap. Alana Lemay-Gibson,
associate registrar for technology,
said when students add courses
that are scheduled at the same time,
ESTHER now notifies them of the
conflict. Next fall, ESTHER will be
further modified so that it not only
warns students, but bars them from
enrolling in overlapping courses.
The former version of ESTHER
was not equipped with this feature,
Gibson said.
The aim of the new ESTHER
feature is to reduce the incidence
of accidental schedule conflict, she
said.
"This [feature] will assist students
during registration so that they don't
inadvertently end up in a situation
where their schedule overlaps,"
Gibson said.
However, Gibson said a by-
product of the changes might be
less "class shopping," which is the
practice of attending several classes
experimentally during the first two
weeks of the semester. She said the
see ESTHER, page 7
Demands strain on-campus housing
by Catherine Bratic
THRESHER STAFF
An increased demand for
on-campus housing led to panic
for many students at room draw
this year. At some colleges, room
draw coordinators were forced to
change their plans to deal with
the increased demand for an ever-
smaller number of spaces.
At Jones College, students
are normally bumped off-campus
according to their seniority, with
juniors and seniors at the highest
risk of being bumped. Students
get an exemption if they move
off campus early.
"We have been doing many
things differently [this year),"
Stephen Goggin, who is in charge
of room draw at Jones, said.
Goggin, a junior, said Jones
had to bump off two rising
sophomores this year. He said
Jones was asked to reserve 93
beds for incoming freshmen next
fall, which is an increase from 85
this year.
Enrollment for the class of
2012 will increase from 742 fresh-
men last fall to a projected 775
next fall. The number for next
year is still uncertain because
prospective freshmen will have
until May 1 to inform Rice of their
enrollment decision.
Overall, the freshman :lass
has increased from 628 in fall
2000 to 775 in fall '2008, a 23
percent increase.
To meet the guidelines set
out in President David Leebron's
Vision for the Second Century,
the Office of Enrollment plans
to increase the freshman class
by an additional 20 percent by
2011, reaching 930 freshmen.
This is up from the 628 freshmen
in fall 2000.
Some room draw coordina-
tors feel that a larger freshman
class is one reason for this year's
see HOUSING, page 10
Construction projects updated
Recreation Center construction begins, pavilion to open
by Dale Swartz
THRESHER STAFF
As the academic year draws to a close, some
familiar construction fences are coming down,
with new ones soon to appear in other parts
of campus. 'Hie Brochstein Pavilion will be
completed on Thursday, April 24, south plant
construction will end July 31 and construction
on a new Recreation Center will begin in ear-
nest next week. Meanwhile, the Collaborative
Research Center celebrated the completion of
its tenth story last month.
Recreation Center
Construction of the Rec Center is slated to
begin after April 15, with an estimated comple-
tion date in August 2009. The new building will
be located at the current site of intramural field
4 on the northern side of the Inner Loop, across
the street from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate
School of Management.
Facilities, Engineering and Planning Project
Manager Joe Buchanan said the site work has
already begun, and crews have moved six large
trees and have almost reached a negotiation
with the contractor to begin construction. In
the next week, with building permits in hand,
construction fences will go up and foundation
work will begin.
Buchanan said the first order of business will
be to construct a service road for construction
see CONSTRUCTION, page 1
I'll be your candle on the water
IVY ASHE 'THRESHER
Lovett College freshman Margaret Diddams lights a candle Wednesday during the annual Take
Back the Night ceremony sponsored by the Women's Resource Center.
INSIDE
The 7th Annual RTV5 24-
Hour Show
1 )on't missouton tonsofstraight-to-air shows
and events: Top Cocktail, a live turntable group,
SpoCo and more! Watch RTV5's annual 24-hour
show, which ends tonight at 10:00p.m.
Baker 90s Prom Party
The '90s are back with a vengeance with
tacky fashion, awesome music and the awkward-
ness ofhigh school culminating in the best prom
you've ever been to! Tonight at Baker College
at 10:00pm.
*
Passion: A Nigh of Dance
and Dessert
Hanszen College Theatre presents an eve-
ning of dance performances and dessert in the
Haszen Lower Commons tonight from 8pm to
10pm . Admission (including dessert) is $3.
KTRU Outdoor Show
Come listen to great local artists at KTRU's
17th annual outdoor show Sunday April 13 from
Noon to 9pm. It's at the field between RMC
and Herring Hall, and it's free!
OPINION Page 3
College system needs more pranks
A&E Page 12
Q & A with The Social Insects
SPORTS Page 18
Club baseball feature
Quote of the Week
"People see me and they can't help but think, 'Bin
Laden ... Saddam ... Obama?'"
—Muslim comedian Azhar Usman, who performed
alongside Rabbi Bob Alper in "Comedy's Odd Couple-
in the Baker College commons Tuesday. See story,
page 4.
Scoreboard
Men's Baseball
Rice 13, Lamar 5
Men's Tennis
Rice 4, Texas A&M 3
Women's Tennis
Rice 7, SMU 0
Weekend Weather
T-riday
Isolated thunderstorms, 58-80 degrees
Saturday
Sunny, 51- 77 degrees
Sunday
Sunny, 50-75 degrees
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Chun, Lily & Farmer, Dylan. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, April 11, 2008, newspaper, April 11, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443166/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.