The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 25, 2009 Page: 3 of 20
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Op-Ed
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Houston lacks grandeur of New York life
There are some things a New
Yorker inherently misses when
transplanted thousands of miles
from home and left to cope in a new
college environment. The hectic
buzz of a new life chapter — in my
case, residing at 1601 Rice Boule-
vard — seems at once marvelously
invigorating and sadly lacking in
the comforts of home.
Johanna Ohm
After my first month at Rice, I can
assuredly say, "Houston, you are not
New York."
To be fair, the servery has cooked
us some stellar meals, I've managed
to grow accustomed to the idea of
Duncan's paper plates and perpetu-
ally-flooding showers, and I've taken
pride in the concept of being "LEED
gold-certified," even if this means we
may always have to keep our windows
locked and our elevator MIA.
In short, I see myself, you know,
"adjusting well."
But Texans, my new neighbors,
I must say that you are missing out.
Life here is great as one slowly gets
accustomed to the ins and outs of
Southern culture, but it lacks a cer-
tain vibe that makes me nostalgic
for home.
Firstly, your bagels suck. In New
York, circularly-shaped bread does
not constitute a bagel. Bagels are
beasts of their own. If you don't un-
derstand, then I am sorry for you.
Second, "you" and "all" are
unique, separate words. I've tried the
slur, but it's like mixing servery soups,
and it sounds absolutely disgusting.
Third, biscuits and gravy should
never be eaten first thing in the
morning, especially when innocent
Northerners can easily confuse the
white gravy for a hot, runny cereal.
Gravy and granola, somehow, just
isn't the sort of confusion one wants
to deal with before a 9 a.m. class.
Fourth, Rice seems to have only
one type of tree. Forget the ever-
greens and sugar maples — all I've
ever found are miles of the same
oddly-shaped oaks. Gorgeous, sure,
but where's the diversity?
One last point, perhaps the most
shocking observation I've made
since my arrival: We don't live in a
city. Despite what Rice tour guides
say, Houston is not the fourth-larg-
est city in the United States. Hous-
ton is not even a city. It is a sprawl-
ing conglomerate of houses and
businesses that just mesh into one
giant place. A city is supposed to be
crowded and bustling, with build-
ings on top of one another, stores
on every corner and cars waiting
in traffic (maybe we have that one
concession). Where is the conve-
nience of living in a city if you need
a vehicle to get to Target or a GPS to
find a restaurant?
Though I have other concerns,
(hese cover the main issues. How can
fall be starting in less than a week
with no change in weather, no apple
cider and no orange leaves? Don't
get me wrong — I'm not complaining
about the warmth. But without the ci-
der, how can fall possibly subsist?
Houstonians, if you've never trav-
eled to New York, savor your blissful
ignorance. You may have great parks,
fantastic winter weather, Southern
hospitality and a fantastic school I
will hate to leave for winter break,
but no place can have it all.
All right, I've had my rant. Hous-
ton, I'm counting on you to tell me
what I shouldn't miss, to awaken
a new loyalty in the freshman mi-
grants, to make me love what this
city has to offer, to show me that
Texas pride. I have four years, and I
don't want to be missing cider every
time October rolls around.
Johanna Ohm is a Duncan College
freshman who grew up
in Albany, New York.
Honor Council flaws highlight
need for further modification
Capitalism polarizes education, society
As capitalism moves ever closer
toward cultural universality, it is im-
portant to discuss whether our adop-
tion of this particular socioeconomic
system has brought the gains and ad-
vancements it is often credited with.
Rodrigo Flores
It is generally agreed that capital-
ism is an effective means to economic
growth, keeping innovation-breeding
competition fervent while maintain-
ing government regulation at mini-
mum levels. Less consensus exists
regarding the direct cultural effects of
the world capitalist system; for exam-
ple, when discussing the appearance
and growth of capitalism in Asian cul-
tures, there is debate as to whether the
local culture facilitates and dictates
the eventual implementation of capi-
talism, or the other way around.
Whatever the case may be, it is
clear that economic and social chang-
es go hand in hand, though it may not
always be clear which is the chicken
and which is the egg.
We can safely say the economic
world system has played a role in en-
abling our development into today's
modern, enlightened human race.
The past few centuries have witnessed
the decline of beliefs and practices —
such as racism, slavery, ritual sacrifice
and anti-intellectualism at the same
time that revolutions in labor practic-
es, production methods and economic
policy have taken place.
We live in a time of unprecedent-
ed intellectual understanding, when
people can become learned and cul-
tured to a degree completely unfeasi-
ble fewer than 100 years ago. Millions
of students graduate from the world's
thousands of educational establish-
ments every year.
Many proponents of capitalism
argue that the available wealth of the
world is not a finite "pie," but that
we all have an opportunity to get as
much pie as we want. I adopt a more
cynical view that I believe is sup-
ported by the current human situa-
tion: There is only a certain amount
of pie, and eating more pie means
that someone else will get less.
Ergo, capitalism is an economic pol-
icy that stratifies society by polarizing
the distribution of wealth. We cannot
all be the wealthy capitalists. In fact,
most of us will be the poor workers.
If society is stratified through the
polarization of wealth, its stratifica-
tion is preserved through the polar-
ization of education. By not allowing
the working class access to education,
we are effectively acknowledging that
the present social stratification is ap-
propriate, while denying ourselves
the benefits of a more enlightened,
intelligent society.
The demonization of working-
class life by the privileged classes
those with the opportunity for
education — only serves to widen
the rift between the two. Though we
are increasingly aware of the power-
ful mechanisms that drive contem
porary society, we continue to place
the burden of labor upon those least
able to cope with the responsibility.
As justification, we use the pretense
that it is not worthwhile to supply
an education to one who, even with
a fully-realized intellectual poten-
tial, will never use this to increase
economic productivity.
Therein lies the reason for igno-
rance, an ignorance that allows the
lower classes to be easily persuaded
by political campaigns feigning con-
cern with their needs, an ignorance
that advertisers successfully target to
sell them products they don't need at
prices they can't afford.
Central to capitalism is the ethos
that the only right amount of work that
you can do is the most that you can do.
As an example, if a technology comes
along that allows a farmer to perform
his work in half the time it took before,
he should now do twice as much work
in order to compensate. It is often nec-
essary to increase productivity, or com-
petition might overtake the farmer and
put him out of business.
Your parents, when encouraging
you to go to college, think in much
the same way: If you're able to go to a
good school and get a high-paying job,
why would you work a job that would
I was extremely pleased when I
read about the recommendations of the
Working Group on the Honor Council in
The Rice Thresher two weeks ago ("Hon-
or Council working group presents find-
ings," Sept. 11). The council has had
trouble keeping up with its caseload for
a while, and the measures suggested
could greatly alleviate the pressures
on the council, allowing things to run
much more smoothly.
not make use of your full intellectual
capacity? Why would you want to be a
plumber with a comprehensive knowl-
edge of medieval empires? Did you ever
have a choice?
While it may seem that I am criticiz-
ing the effects of capitalism in order to
segue into a promotion of socialist ide-
als, as my portrayal of the "working
man's ordeal" would suggest, I am not.
I would simply prefer to limit the dis-
cussion to the current and future state
of the educational-professional duality.
As people with heightened intellec-
tual curiosity and the talent to pursue
it. it shouldn't be the case that the only
acceptable professions are those which
necessitate a high level of academic
proficiency because they place us closer
to profiting in the capitalist equation. Is
it so difficult to imagine engaging your
mechanic in an educated discussion
about the latest developments in phys-
ics research, or listening to your hair-
dresser's carefully researched opinion
on current and future fair trade agree-
ments? What isn't difficult is guessing
what you might ask them afterwards:
"Why didn't you go to college?"
I hope it isn't too far-fetched to be-
lieve that if more of the college-educat
ed chose to perform roles for which they
would normally be considered "over
qualified", we would be abk t< inspire
many of those around us to partake in
the abundant knowledge that our time
on earth has left us. Is it impossible to
inhabit a world where the majority of
people are able to make conscious deci-
sions about their choice of government,
instead of having their vote bought with
a free T-shirt and a bumper sticker?
Of course, all the imagination in the
universe cannot change the fact that
the financial and time commitments
required to pursue a higher educa-
tion remain beyond the reach of the
overwhelming majority of the world's
population. As graduation rolls around
for the senior class, and many of us —
myself probably included — prepare to
enter the world capitalist system, 1 find
myself wondering where our continued
skewing of the social distribution of
educated individuals will lead us, and
if capitalism is in this case the egg, or
more likely, the chicken.
Rodrigo Flores is a
Martel College senior.
Paul Anzel
These changes, however, do not
address some other major procedural
problems with the Honor Council.
Before I begin, let me state that I
agree that the Honor Code is an in-
tegral part of Rice — treating us as
adults as we go about our studies —
and I would like to thank everyone on
the council for their time and service.
Trying to ascertain whether or not a
violation has occurred and deciding
on the appropriate response is diffi
cult and time consuming, especially
when judging one's peers.
But with this in mind, some of the
council's current policies run counter
to the honor system's "rich tradition of
trust and mutual respect," as described
in the blue book. The council must
adopt further changes if they wish to
more fairly serve the student body.
The first change would be to ad-
dress the method by which the coun-
cil informs students that they have
been accused of a code violation. For
those who have not gone through the
process, let me describe to you what
takes place: You will receive a terse
e-mail to the effect of, "You have been
implicated in a possible Honor Code
violation in [class name]. The date for
your investigative hearing is [date].
Here is the contact information for
your ombudsman. Be there." You're
then left to wait for the investigative
meeting to learn anything more.
Crucially missing from the e-mail
is the actual charge levied against
you — you must wait until the meet-
ing to find out.
This is both unfair and with-
holds due process from students. We
should not require anyone to deduce
their crime, real or not. Does honor
require surprise in order to be en-
forced? If it did, it wouldn't strike me
as "honor" any longer.
This flaw is made exponentially
worse by the delay of several days,
weeks or sometimes months between
when you are informed about the accu
sation and the date of the investigative
hearing. I can tell you from personal
experience that waiting for the hear-
ing and not knowing your charge is
nothing short of hellish. Others I have
spoken to who have gone through the
same process have described the pro-
cess as "agony," "torture" and "cruel
and unusual punishment" — all for
the period of time before the council
even decides whether there is suffi-
cient evidence for a full investigation,
let alone whether or not someone is
guilty. While the Working Group's
recommendations should quicken the
ordeal, we must do what we can to
make sure the experience is no more
unpleasant than it needs to be.
Moreover, under the current system,
the innocent are harmed more than are
the guilty. There is a whole range of po-
tential code violations one could face
in a given class — plagiarism, collabo-
rating or flat-out cheating — and while
guilty students will know the exact case
held against them and be able to pre-
pare from there, innocent students will
be left to divine what possible types of
violations they could be facing, making
it all the more difficult for them to prop-
erly defend themselves.
The second major problem with
the council is that while their posted
case abstracts list which members were
present at a specific hearing, they do
not record how each member individu-
ally votes in each straw poll - whether
or not they find someone in violation,
and their votes for the appropriate pen-
alty. As such, each member as a whole
has no real record to speak of, which
makes the election of members to the
council a rather silly exercise. How can I
re-elect someone to the council in clear
conscience if I have no understanding
of their record? Are they fair? Overly
harsh? There's no real way to know.
The American judicial system pub-
lishes the individual opinions of its
judges in its case abstracts, and while
the council needs not remake itself in
the mirror image of the American sys-
tem, it would be good to consider fol-
lowing this example. Such records of a
judge's opinions are crucial for any of
that judge's future appoints. Meanwhile,
with no record of each member's votes,
the only information left to impartially
evaluate each Honor Council candidate
is a short Student Association election
blurb and a few other short statements
they may make at other functions — all
of which tend to express similar senti-
ments and have no concrete bearing on
any actual practice.
The final issue the Honor Council
must deal with is something it has
been trying to kill off for the past few
years. This issue is Article XII, which
many on the council have taken to
calling this the "loophole clause" be-
cause it allows a student to essentially
plead nolo contendere to a charge and
accept the second-worst punishment
the council can mete out — a year of
suspension from Rice — in exchange
for not having a violation listed on
their external transcript.
Article XII serves many important
purposes. It provides a check on the
power of the council; should it grow
too dictatorial with its decisions,
students will be able to better pro-
tect themselves from any abuse of
power. For the guilty students, it is
tantamount to immediately making
a good-faith acceptance to one of the
worst punishments the council can
give, taking the social and academic
disruption that comes from leaving
for a year. And, as proof of current
enrollment is necessary for many
internships, study programs and
the like, it's a willing resignation to
take up a more menial pursuit in the
meantime. For the innocent, it's the
offer ol a gamble — you're unlikely
to be hit, but note of a (wrongfully
found) violation can completely kill
numerous potential careers.
I would like to close by saying
that if you agree with the sentiments
here or have other issues you'd like
to discuss, you should contact the
council yourself. You can e-mail
them at honor(g)rice.edu 01 attend
their public meetings throughout
the semester: The council will meet
to discuss the Consensus Penalty
Structure sometime in October and
Honor Council college representa-
tives will host study breaks in their
respective colleges throughout the
year. Both occasions will give you
the chance to discuss any concerns
about procedures with the council.
That way, you'll be more informed
about how the council actually runs
- or at least more informed than
when it summons you to a hearing.
Paul Anzel graduated from
Will Rice College in 2009.
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 25, 2009, newspaper, September 25, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443170/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.