The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 5, 2010 Page: 1 of 16
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op-ed P. 3
Back to basics
What did the president's recent State of the Union address
reveal about the fate of his agenda?
A*E p. 7
Order another round
Taco Trek continues with Doha Maria's and beans delicious
enough to make Yan cry.
Sports
No upper limit. Still.
Shakera Reece ran the second-fastest 60-meter in the
school's history. Or did she?
P. 10
the Rice
VOLUME XCVII, ISSUE NO. 18
STUDENT-RUN
Rice set to
refocus after
merger
falls through
by Josh Rutenberg
Thresher Editorial Staff
Reasons have begun to trickle out why
Rice University and BCM failed to reach com-
mon ground under their Memorandum of Un-
derstanding last month.
The two institutions ceased considerations
of a merger Jan. n, in advance of the Jan. 31
deadline set by the MOU. An e-mail notified
the Rice community of the developments
Jan. 12, while announcing the two schools
would maintain a mutual commitment to col-
laborative efforts.
Responses from the Rice community have
been mixed. Rice President David Leebron ex-
pressed dissatisfaction at the outcome while
saying he remained optimistic about the fu-
ture of Rice.
SINCE 1916
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010
a
I still believe the vision we
had was a good vision, but
the truth is, we could not find
a good way to implement
that vision at this time.
David Leebron
President
99
"I'm personally disappointed we were not
able to achieve a merger," Leebron said. "I
still believe the vision we had was a good vi-
sion, but the truth is, we could not find a good
way to implement that vision at this time."
Ending negotiations
The university has not stated its reasons
for ending the merger talks with BCM, though
notions have been posited based on the
stipulations of the MOU, such as BCM's lack
of association with a private care hospital
for adults.
Other theories have also cropped up.
Following the end of the MOU, KWTX-TV in
Waco speculated that the Rice-BCM merger
had been influenced by an offer of a merger
from Baylor University, which separated from
BCM in 1969. However, Leebron said external
offers did not play a role in the final deci-
sion, citing financial concerns as a key factor
instead.
"We would not merge without protecting
the financial health of Rice," Leebron said.
"Taking on a significant amount of debt
would have had a consequence."
Leebron cited the Subcommittee for Aca-
demic Matters and the Subcommittee on Col-
laborative Activities of the Faculty Senate as
being especially crucial in determining the
feasibility of the merger.
During the course of the negotiations,
students and faculty alike raised budget-
ary concerns. In an unsuccessful attempt
O see BCM, page 4
Jump on the soul train
If you're looking for entertainment, head
to the RMC Grand Hall tonight from
6-9 p.m. for the Black Student Associa-
tion's Soul Night 2010: The BSA Awards.
$5 gets you dinner and endless opportuni-
ties for soulful socializing.
College course budgets face cuts
f
J*
ILLUSTRATION BY DAVE ROSALES
Colleges to absorb fiscal
burden to fund courses
by Josh Rutenberg
Thresher Editorial Staff
Student-taught courses may soon want
to include a lecture on thriftiness, because
the pocketbooks of Rice University are rap-
idly shrinking.
As the latest victim of the 5 percent uni-
versity-wide budget cuts, college courses will
have to work with a yearly budget of no more
than $250 per college next semester, down
from the initial $5,000 per college allotted in
spring of 2008. After determining that most
colleges did not use up their college course
budget, the Dean's Office reduced funding
for college courses to $3,000 for the cur-
l rent academic year. The subsequent re-
I ductions will go into effect next year.
■ Concurrently, the number of
A student-taught courses offered
has risen from seven courses with
K 105 students enrolled in spring 2008,
to 46 courses with 730 students en-
rolled in spring 2010. When student-
■ teachers and academic committee
chairs are included, roughly 25 percent
of students have some level of involve-
ment with the college courses. ,
Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman
said the responsibility of maintaining the
college courses will ultimately rest with the
individual colleges.
"Expenses beyond the budget will have
to be supported by student budgets in the
colleges," Forman said. "Students will have
more responsibility to pick up the slack, and
colleges may have to contribute to the [col-
lege course] budget."
Rice's only introductory law course,
LOVE 237: Introduction to Law I, is among
the courses that will have to find new sourc-
es of funding. The course, which originally
used all $5,000 of its budget to pay a prac-
ticing professor to teach the course, will be
unable to continue paying the same amount
without additional resources.
BROW 114: Easy French Cooking with
Sous Chef Thierry applied for and received a
0 see BUDGET, page 5
Proposed Beer Bike parade changes fail
by Seth Brown
Thresher Staff
Come March 20, students sober and inebriated
alike will accompany a caravan of trucks around
the Inner Loop toward the Beer Bike track, water
balloons at the ready. Because recent changes pro-
posed to the parade route were voted down, most
of the participants will be familiar with the route,
as this year's Beer Bike parade will hold the same
format as last year's.
The college Beer Bike coordinators voted Mon-
day against the proposed changes, the majority
electing to maintain the current parade format.
The result of the vote matched the results from a
recent poll conducted by the Student Association,
which showed student support for maintaining
the parade's current format.
The college vote, held by secret ballot among
the Beer Bike coordinators, yielded a 10-1 majority
to keep the current format of the parade. A second
vote to research alternatives for the future pro-
duced a 7-2 majority, with two abstentions.
Impromptu ignition
Ever the merrymakers, Rice's improv group,
Spontaneous Combustion, is teaming up with
Rice's a cappella group, the Philharmonics, for
a night of fine arts fun. Head to Lyle's tonight
(in Lovett College's basement) at 9 p.m.
While some colleges saw differing degrees of
merit in the proposals, others were staunchly op-
posed to altering the current format.
"People were overwhelmingly against the
changes — Sid was definitely very against," said
Sid Richardson College Beer Bike Coordinator
Chris McClure.
The changes would have reverted the parade
to a format similar to that of the late 1970s and
the 1980s, with various floats for each college,
and moved the water balloon fight to the football
practice field. The parade first began to include
water balloons in 1991, while earlier parades fo-
cused on making the most impressive or bizarre
entry to the race, according to the Rice Program
Council Web site.
Campus-wide Beer Bike Coordinator Brian
Henderson said he was not surprised by the re-
sults, though he had hoped for the proposed
changes to succeed.
"It's encouraging that people have said they
will consider future plans," Henderson, a Jones
College senior, said.
He noted that although previous coordinators
had discussed changes, they had never made any-
concrete proposals.
"This year we actually got something talked
about," Henderson said. "I think that's some
progress."
According to some college Beer Bike coordi-
nators, some students felt the proposed changes
emerged too late to be implemented this year.
"Logistically, there isn't enough time," Brown
College Beer Bike Coordinator Philip Tarpley said.
"Changes need to be made, but thev need to be
gradual while keeping safety a concern."
Assistant Dean of Students Boyd Beckwith
said he had concerns about the safety of the
current format.
"The proposed changes were a reaction to the
concerns of those involved: the drivers of the vehi-
cles." Beckwith said, explaining that many masters
and resident associates have expressed safety con-
cerns after driving the trucks during the parade.
The SA poll, which had nearly 500 responses,
ifl see PROPOSALS, page 5
Shake what your mama gave you
If you think you can dance (and can't find anyone to
go off campus with you for dinner), mosey your way
over to the RMC Grand Hall at 5:30 p.m. for Dance Mar-
athon's "So You Think You Can Dance!" Tickets are $5
and proceeds will go to the Texas Children's Hospital's
Children's Miracle Network.
INDEX
Opinion
3
News
4
Arts & Entertainment
7
Sports
10
Calendar
15
Backpage
16
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 5, 2010, newspaper, February 5, 2010; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443208/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.