The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Toward a great late night

Save the Shipmen

Learn about the best late-night food options in Houston, from Mexican to deli fare to an old-fashioned diner see A&E p. 4

INSIDE

Back with a vengeance

New Student Representatives make an argument for guaranteed on-campus housing for NROTC students see Ops p. 3

Sophomore guard Maya Hawkins returns from ACL injury to provide solid defense and scoring outbursts See Sports p. 7

Hanszen College senior Chris Chu lives among the homeless See P. 2

student-run

volume ic, issue no. 15

Reallocation roundup

A new Student Initiative Fund will support miscellaneous campus events requiring funds and potential new proposals in the future.

Rice Bikes

$1,000

General Manager Brian Barr said SA funding would be used to increase the storage available to the business, as well as to develop a mobile app.

Student Initiative Fund

$10,000

The SA40K survey given to the student body in the fall indicated many students are in favor of using the money to support the environment.

Rice Environmental Society

$22,000

RES will use funds for projects such as subsidizing the sale of reusable containers at Coffeehouse and installing new water bottle fillers.

Rice Queer Resource Center

$5,000

REMS

$1,800 Rice Emergency Medical Services plans to use its share of the funding to buy three specific pieces of medical equipment: two compact suction units and one Reeve’s Litter.

Members of Rice’s Query club decided to establish a QRC at Rice in response to the lack of a campus institution specifically aimed at supporting Rice’s queer community.

“All of the top-20 universities have a QRC except Rice. Providing resources to this community [must] be a priority of any institution that values diversity,” Sid Richardson junior Nick Hanson-Holtry said.

40K comes from unapproved RESET blanket tax funds The Student Association Senate approved Resolution #7 at its meeting last Wednesday regarding the distribution of $40,540.92 in unused blanket tax assets.

The SA originally collected the funds to establish the Rice Endowment for Sustainable Energy Tech-

nology, but the student body did not re-approve the endowment in the 2013 general elections. The SA decided on the final recipients of funding after a deliberative process throughout the fall. In addition to the four campus organizations receiving money, the SA also chose to

establish a new Student Initiative Fund for future student events.

The SA treasurer will review the use of all the distributed funds to ensure compliance with proposals made by each organization. Any unused money will be returned to the SA after two years.

since 1916

wednesday, january 21, 2015

NROTC midshipmen request on-campus housing Natalie Koonce Thresher Staff

The Student Association opened discussion on guaranteed on-campus housing proposal for Rice Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps midshipmen at its meeting on Jan. 14.

The proposal, introduced by Jones College Senator Chris Sabbagh and midshipman Second Class Weston Ruths, cites the intensity of the NROTC program as a central reason for requesting guaranteed oncampus housing.

“Midshipmen dedicate significant amounts of time and effort to develop the life-preserving skills necessary for a Navy or Marine Corps officer so that they can serve a grateful country,” the proposal states.

According to the proposal, midshipmen may be called at any time to stand watch over the naval science building over the course of a 24-hour period of time, and start every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 5:30 a.m. with earlymorning warfare seminars, physical training and combat drills. The proposal recommends reserving on-campus housing for all midshipmen to facilitate their completion of the program at Rice and honor their commitment to the country.

Ruths, a Jones College junior, compared the proposal to similar policies guaranteeing housing for EMS and athletes.

“What distinguishes a group that gets on-campus housing is a demanding lifestyle and a service to the Rice community,” Ruths said. “EMS is on call 24/7, athletes have to be up in the morning working out, and both are an integral part of the Rice

community. The same can be said for midshipmen. We live a different lifestyle involving early morning workouts and lectures and adherence to certain rules, and we serve Rice and the country as a whole.”

However, Duncan College senior Brian Baran said he sees a distinction between NROTC students and those involved in EMS, who reside on-campus as a direct benefit to public safety in maintaining fast response times.

“I absolutely respect the service of students in the NROTC program and recognize that their participation comes with a demanding time commitment and schedule,” Baran said. “However, my position on guaranteed on-campus housing is that it should be reserved for those students who would be unable to fulfill the obligations of their office or position without living on campus. While it would be convenient for NROTC midshipmen to live on campus, they are able to fulfill their duties even if they live off campus.”

Baker College Senator Nitin Agrawal said he faced similar concerns during debates over the REMS guaranteed on-campus housing bill.

“As one of the main writers for the REMS In-Charge/In-Charge Trainees Guaranteed Housing legislation, I faced similar issues that the NROTC legislation is currently facing,” Agrawal said. “One thing I was asked about during the REMS legislation revolved around specific time commitments of IC/ICTs. I did not feel that I was able to grasp the true time commitment from the NROTC presentation during the SA meeting.”

Ruths said Rice’s NROTC students 7890see NROTC, page 2

Student Judicial Programs revises Code of Conduct Sapna Suresh

For the Thresher

Student Judicial Programs released an updated student Code of Conduct that went into effect beginning Jan. 12. According to their website, they aim “to articulate and enforce standards of conduct behavior among all students.” The new code includes several key updates that provide details on many aspects of student behavior.

SJP made several minor technical updates to the code, including a section emphasizing that academicrelated conduct is “addressed by the University’s Honor Code” and that non-academic conduct is SJP’s focus. Details on the situations in which students are eligible for medical amnesty reflect explicitly state students are required to call REMS or RUPD when faced with a drug or alcohol-related emergency.

Additionally, the updated code of conduct contains more information on the procedures students undergo once they have been charged with wrong-

doing as well as the appeals process.

“These adjustments improve the Code’s structure, make it clearer and remove anachronisms,” University Court Chair Brian Baran said.

A major addition is the detailing of three versions of rustication. Baran, a Duncan College senior, said the updated Code delineates between three levels of rustication — social, college and campus — to create a consistent framework for applying these sanctions while allowing for flexibility to fit specific circumstances.

Social is the least severe form of rustication, and students are permitted to participate in all activities other than large public events where alcohol is served; students are also not permitted to host private gatherings or attend major university-wide public events. College rustication includes the parameters of social rustication plus an effective banishment from all college facilities. Campus rustication involves removal from all aspects of the university except for academic ones.

SJP also made several updates to clarify Title IX policies that were introduced in fall 2014, especially those concerning sexual discrimination and assault. Several prominent campuses across the nation including Harvard University, Princeton University, Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago are currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for sexual assault viola-

tions. The federal government also released a new task force report for addressing sexual assault, a factor which may have spurred greater emphasis on Title IX policies in Rice’s own Code of Conduct.

In particular, the document states “while all [sexual misconduct] behaviors are abhorrent and damaging, Rice views sexual assault as particularly so and will sanction that behavior most se-

CODE OF CONDUCT CHANGES å Distinctions between social, college and campus rustication å Title IX procedures concerning sexual misconduct å Separation between University Court and Student Judicial Programs responsibilities å Codification of Dean Hutchinson’s 3 Rs: Responsible, reasonable and respectful å Clarification of SJP’s right to oversight of college infractions å Explanation of grounds for amnesty å Clarification of the appeals process through college masters, college court, University Court and SJP å Update of disciplinary action surrounding alcohol policy violations

verely.” A Title IX investigation may now be considered as grounds for expulsion, suspension, or proscription. The updated definition of sexual assault misconduct now includes sexual harassment and other gender-based misconduct in addition to relationship violence and stalking.

Duncan College freshman Monica Bodd said she appreciated the greater detail included in this section.

“It is great to see these amendments being made on the Title IX policies, and with these changes I can be confident in a safe campus during my time here at Rice,” Bodd said. “It’s imperative to include these policies in the Code of Conduct because sexual assault and women’s equality are such critical issues that need to be addressed and exposed to the student body.”

Students are not required to electronically sign the new Code, as they have agreed to it by virtue of registration. Discussion within colleges also helped disseminate information to the students.

2

NEWS

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

the Rice Thresher

Rice Education of the Future report reveals need for leadership, entrepreneurship opportunities Jieya Wen

Thresher Staff

The Rice Education of the Future initiative’s final report suggests that students’ experiences outside the classroom, such as entrepreneurial, mentorship and leadership experiences, need the most improvement, based on results from the Student Association’s campus-wide survey and a separate survey of 400 students.

“Basically, students are pretty happy with the academic experience they get,” SA executive vice president Trent Navran said. “What they see that’s lacking in their experience is opportunities to be entrepreneurs, opportunities to be leaders and opportunities to be mentors. I’m particularly interested in how do we get those three things to be in a bigger part of our learning experience.”

The final report has made seven recommendations under the categories of “resource intensive” and “low resource.” Entrepreneurship organization and space is one of the resource intensive recommendations, according to Navran, a McMurtry College senior.

“When it comes to entrepreneurship, we don’t want to just give people money, or have a course or two,” Navran said. “Those things are great. But what we really want is eventually a space where students can yearly go there, have legal and financial resources, can have mentors, entrepreneurs and leaders who are there to support them, a little incubator space.”

Navran said another recommendation is to offer courses that provide students more ap-

plied, direct and experiential learning. “[We suggest creating] new courses that take this design process you see for engineers that bring into social science setting, going out into communities, taking field trips, whatever it is to make things more real, more tangible, more relevant,” Navran said.

Other recommendations include strategies to improve alumni-undergraduate relations and teaching quality. Details are available on the Student Association website.

Navran said the first stage after the final report is communication, making sure everyone knows the survey results.

“The results have been shared with the Board of Trustees,” Navran said. “We are circulating it with different participants of our initiatives. We have a bunch of focus panels, where we have students, faculty staff, [and] the administrators talk about certain issues, whether those are entrepreneurship or teaching excellence. So across those 10 panels, we are going to be sending these results.”

After the communication stage, REF is going to determine the specific actions for implementing the survey result and set up action teams, according to Navran.

“We want these action teams to be students who will be at Rice for the next couple of years, who care about those specific issues and [are] able to drive forward with the administration and fellow students,” Navran said.

Madhuri Venkateswar, a member of the REF task force, said action teams will be crucial in keeping the REF initiatives sustainable.

What components of the Rice experience do you derive value from?

International?

14.40% 8.41%

Being Mentored

Entrepreneurial

Classroom

courtesy chris chu

Anita Alem News Editor

“Homeless but not hopeless. Happy holidays!” read a sign held by Hanszen College senior Chris Chu while panhandling in Washington, D.C. Chu slept outside of Metro stations, panhandled and contemplated stealing food during a 27-day period in which he lived among the homeless in Washington, D.C. as part of an effort to better understand their living conditions.

Chu chose to spend his winter break completing the Homeless Challenge and lived on the streets of New York City and Washington, D.C. and spent about $100. Chu said he has drawn from his experiences to continue a dialogue with several organizations battling homelessness.

According to the National Coalition for

Homelessness, which is situated and runs the program in Washington, D.C., the Homeless Challenge is a program “to familiarize and sensitize people with the realities and hardships of homelessness.” The organization’s website states that the goal of the project is for individuals to “gain both an understanding and recognition of the homeless community.” The challenge is typically set for a length of 48 hours, but Chu said he chose to extend it to nearly a month.

Chu said he was inspired to become more involved with the homeless population after visiting Peru and working in a slum in Brazil.

“I saw a lot of street children everywhere, kids trying to get anything they can monetarily,” Chu said. “It was just shocking to see that, and I realized I was ignoring a lot of what I saw in the United States, which is the homeless. While we don’t have as many vis-

Research?

Civic & Comm. Engagement?

11.78%

9.70%

Civic & Community Engagement

International

14.40% 16.07% Research

Leadership?

25.24%

Entrepreneurial?

Being Mentored?

Leadership Needs Improvement

More than adequate

*3871 students, 99.07 % of undergrads, participated in this survey. Courtesy REF

“Action teams are going to be multi-year,” Venkateswar, a McMurtry College sophomore, said. “We are looking into creating action teams this semester and having them [carry] over into next semester as well. Putting people on the project is a very important facet of [REF survey results]. [They are] just to make sure that it doesn’t dissipate.”

Navran said he also plans to pass legislation on the final report in the next two weeks.

27-day homeless challenge pushes student to self-reflection, policy efforts

Hanszen College senior Chris Chu holds up a sign as he attempts to hitchhike from Houston to Washington, D.C. as part of a 27-day Homeless Challenge he undertook over winter break.

How satisfied are you with: Classroom?

ible street people, there is a very large homeless population of over 600,000 people.”

Chu said he returned and began volunteering with Healthcare for the Homeless in Houston. Chu was initially co-site-leading an Alternative Student Break with the National Coalition for Homelessness, until it was canceled for being too high of a liability.

Chu decided to complete the challenge on his own and left behind all of his belongings except $36 and his phone and hitchhiked to Washington, D.C. According to Chu, homeless people often have their phone in order to follow through with job applications, as applications with shelter numbers are largely discarded.

Chu described his typical routine for a day as being controlled largely by schedules of soup kitchens.

“You can get breakfast, lunch and dinner from soup kitchens for free, but to do that, you have to travel from place to place because most soup kitchens have only one meal or two meals a day,” Chu said. “It totaled almost seven miles of walking back and forth. Already your day is spent walking or waiting in line for food or for a shower.”

Chu said he slept near a Metro station but several obstacles prevent the homeless from experiencing restful sleep. Chu said he experienced sub-30-degree temperatures and was almost inevitably kicked out by security at some point, in addition to being awoken by anti-loitering devices.

“There are sound boxes in D.C. set up by restaurants, [maybe to keep away] pigeons, [or] homeless, but I don’t know — it does both,” Chu said. “It’s a very high-pitched noise that sounds around 2 a.m. and goes on all night until 6 a.m.”

Chu said he eventually stopped going to soup kitchens for lunch because of exhaustion from walking while carrying all his belongings and began to understand why the homeless may turn to theft, although he did not.

“I would go into Whole Foods sometimes and just stare at food,” Chu said. “It was very sad in [retrospect]. I’d look at food and have this huge temptation [to steal] all the time. I’d think, ‘I could so easily slip that apple into my pocket and walk out and be so happy.’”

Chu said he recognizes some of the issues others take up with his experience, including the fact that he had a home to return to at the end of his challenge.

Read the rest online at ricethresher.org.

“I want to pass legislation that supports the efforts and the ideas that have come out of the initiative,” Navran said.

Venkateswar said legislation is a way to institutionalize REF’s final report.

“We want to make sure that there is student support,” Venkateswar said. “Especially for things in the long term, it’s on file. If the students support this, that can be referenced in the future.”

0NROTC FROM PAGE 1 spend roughly eight to 10 hours per week performing NROTC duties.

Midshipman First Class Ricardo Marquez said the issue of scholarships further complicates the situation.

“There is a new scholarship fund that covers room and board for midshipmen that demonstrate financial need,” Marquez, a Baker College senior, said. “This is the first year it [has been] implemented and it does not cover off-campus housing.”

While it would be convenient for NROTC midshipmen to live on campus, they would be able to fulfill their duties even if they live off campus.

Brian Baran Duncan College senior

As the NROTC program consists of roughly 10 students each year, the proposal would only guarantee housing for three to six individuals across campus, according to Ruths.

Sabbagh, a sophomore, said on-campus housing is an appropriate means of recognizing NROTC students’ service to the country.

“They are providing a dangerous and important service to the country and we should thank them accordingly,” Sabbagh said. “These ‘thank yous’ are present in the real world. For example, uniformed military members board commercial airplanes first.

This is an analogous situation.”

Ruths said he hopes those who have questions or feel strongly about the legislation will discuss the issue with him, Sabbagh or their SA representative.

“No matter if the legislation passes or not, I know the Rice community will always be supportive of our endeavors and appreciate men and women who serve in our nation’s defense,” Ruths said.

3

NROTC deserves housing Student Association should not have to handle housing issues At the most recent Student Association meeting, the SA senate discussed legislation guaranteeing on-campus housing for Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps members (see p.1). Supporters argued that the midshipmen’s earlystarting, rigorous schedule and service to the nation justified the guarantee. Those in opposition felt on-campus housing was not required for NROTC students to fulfill their training, as it might have been for Emergency Medical Services in-charges to perform their duties. Ultimately, neither side understood the others’ argument, and the two sides could not reach a middle ground, underscoring the fact that cases like these cannot be legislated by the entire student body.

The Thresher believes that, while both those for and against the proposal have valid concerns, the best solution for this and future housing issues is a formalized process that can evaluate requests for guaranteed on-campus housing on a caseby-case basis.

Many students can argue for guaranteed on-campus housing on the basis of providing a service for the Rice community or a tough schedule. A non-scholarship athlete or the University Court Chair could make such a request, claiming that since only one bed would be affected, housing should be guaranteed. To decide between a non-scholarship athlete, a blanket tax organization president, an athlete or a disadvantaged student requires difficult value judgements that should not and cannot be codified into legislation.

Binding legislation guaranteeing housing sets precedent for other small groups to make similar claims on the basis of convenience or service to the campus. Although some individual cases might warrant guaranteed housing, the SA should not make these decisions in the long run.

A standardized system evaluating requests for on-campus housing could account for factors such as schedules, financials and the availability of beds in a given year to result in more objective decisions. This system might give priority to certain groups, such as NROTC members or athletes, but would be open to all students in order to provide an official process for guaranteeing on-campus housing regardless of organizational affiliation.

Currently, the processing and logistics of such requests are unclear. At some colleges, housing requests are left up to the masters, who then must make arbitrary judgments. An official process could take individual student needs into account and provide infrastructure for guaranteed housing requests in future years, whereas SA legislation would set a larger precedent than necessary.

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.

Last Wednesday at Senate, two Rice Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps midshipmen brought forth their request for on-campus housing to voting members of the Student Association. They presented what Elliot and I considered a logical argument, and yet they were met with opposition and doubt. Weston Ruths, a junior midshipman, explained their rigorous morning routine, which requires them to report to training at 5:30 a.m. most days of the week. He also explained the ROTC requirement for all midshipmen to choose a STEM major, and as a result, the majority of the midshipmen have extensive engineering coursework on top of their ROTC training. Ruths pointed out that there are currently 10 midshipmen in the ROTC program at Rice, two to five of whom would ordinarily be kicked off campus on any given year. Given their difficult and demanding training schedule, being off campus proves to be challenging and leaves them with an unhealthy amount of sleep deprivation.

Despite these facts, SA members were critical of the resolution. Recently, EMS was guaranteed housing all four years to reduce response time in the event of an emergency — a tangible benefit for the Rice community. In response, the ROTC presenters aligned themselves more closely with athletes in terms of morning routine, to which the SA responded that several athletes voluntarily choose to live off campus; nevertheless, the option still remains for these athletes.

One of the greatest concerns of the SA was that this resolution would set a precedent for other groups to request guaranteed housing. In our opinion, to oppose this bill as a potential slippery slope situation is an unreasonable and specious argument. We should instead view this bill as a distinct case with specific goals rather than a general trend of groups that seek hous-

Editorial Staff Miles Kruppa* Editor in Chief news Andrew Ta* Editor Yasna Haghdoost* Editor Anita Alem* Editor Drew Keller Assistant Editor Justin Park Designer opinions Mitch Mackowiak* Editor

sports Maddy Adams Editor Evan Neustater Editor Sarah Nyquist Designer art Claire Elestwani Art Director Marcel Merwin Photo Editor arts & entertainment Sophie Newman Editor Kaylen Strench Editor Carrie Jiang Designer

ing. Furthermore, without a direct benefit, the SA do not believe ROTC deserve guaranteed housing any more than any other organization.

We were surprised by the lack of appreciation on the SA’s part for the service that the ROTC provides for the Rice community and nation.

With so few members in this organization, the impact of this resolution would be minimal.

In truth, the only affected parties by this resolution would be two to five sophomores or juniors who are supposed to be kicked off campus and are randomly selected to reclaim oncampus status. We would be shocked to find a student unwilling to give up his or her spot for a year for the future military heroes who will protect this country. While we understand that there is no immediate benefit for the Rice community, these men and women deserve the best training possible, as they will one day protect our lives. Letting them live on campus is the least we can do considering they will be fighting for our country eight years after graduation.

This resolution is an opportunity for the Rice community to thank ROTC and the military for their unwavering service. We hope that our opinion inspires other Rice students to mention this issue to their college presidents and governments.

Marisa Hudson and Elliot Baermann are Martel College freshmen and New Student Representatives

ASK THE STAFF How would you update the Student Code of Conduct ?

“Solve breaches of Code of Conduct through gladatorial combat .”

– Marcel Merwin, Photo Editor

“Harsher punishment for sexual harassers.”

– Claire Elestwani, Creative Director

“Dean Hutch should personally serenade every student before making an unpopular decision.”

– Yasna Haghdoost, News Editor

“Reformat it as a slam poem.”

– Maddy Adams, Sports Editor

“Making an exemption for throwing things off Lovett second floor would have a negligible impact on their living conditions/safety.”

– Miles Kruppa, Editor in Chief

“Allow coffee wherever the @#!^ we want.”

– Sarah Nyquist, Sports Designer

“!@*$ @|# \$?^( +_!>%$@ ~)<@*~* ##?”

– Carrie Jiang, A&E Designer

“Punishment is expulsion if you take the berries out of the servery’s fruit salad.”

– Kaylen Strench, A&E Editor

“Students can pee on Will Rice between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.”

– Sophie Newman, A&E Editor

“Promote roof-hopping as a form of recreation. Everyone needs to get out more.”

– Anita Alem, News Editor

“Include a key for decoding.”

– Mitch Mackowiak, Opinions Editor

“Automatic rustication for anyone who lives off campus.”

– Evan Neustater, Sports Editor

“Banning people from using other school’s top Yik Yaks .”

– Justin Park, News Designer

copy Jasmine Lin Editor Julianne Wey Editor backpage Reed Thornburg Editor business William Byers Manager advertising Cynthia Bau Manager * indicates member of the Editorial Board

The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper at Rice University since 1916, is published each Wednesday during the school year, except during examination periods and holidays, by the students of Rice University.

Letters to the Editor must be received by 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication and must be signed, including college and year if the writer is a Rice student. The Thresher reserves the rights to edit letters for content and length and to place letters on its website.

Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor of the Ley Student Center: 6100 Main St., MS-524 Houston, TX 77005-1892 Phone (713) 348-4801 Email: thresher@rice.edu Website: www.ricethresher.org Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.

The Thresher is a member of the ACP, TIPA and CNBAM © Copyright 2014

arts

ENTERTAINMENT courtesy bbs cafe

4

Belle & Sebastian – Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance

courtesy katz’s deli

Cby Benjamin Huber-Rodriguez Thresher Staff

alan zeng/thresher

courtesy go time

courtesy matador

Available on iTunes for $9.99

courtesy voice places

It’s late at night and you’re hungry...

For the Tex-Mex Fan

Kaylen Strench A&E Editor

It’s a Saturday night, you’re covered in sweat and beer, and the thought of dancing anymore at the Duncan public party makes you want to puke. More importantly, however, you are starving — like willing-to-eatdog-food starving. Fortunately, you made the decision to go to school in a big, concentrated city instead of some northeastern college planted in a rural Pennsylvania field.

And that, my friend, means you have access to some truly superb late night bites. These places have everything you could ever want in a 2 a.m. meal — grease, flavor and enormous portions. Remember, calories don’t count between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. (It’s scientific.)

For the Sandwich Lover Katz’s Deli Hours: Open 24 hours Location: 616 Westheimer Food: Like ridiculously stuffed sandwiches. They’re beautiful. Also breakfast, pasta, soup, salad and some entrees like chicken, beef and fish.

The appeal: Katz’s is a Houston favorite — it’s been around for over 30 years and is completely locally based. You’re probably going to have to Uber it, because it’s off Westheimer, but it’s about a 10-minute drive max.

THE WEEKLY SCENE The editors’ picks for this week’s best events. Time to explore the wonderful world of Houston.

Chacho’s Hours: Open 24 hours Location: 6006 Westheimer Food: Tex-Mex. They have all the Mexican staples, but they’re known in particular for their nachos and awesome margaritas — they won awards for both a couple of years back.

There’s also a humongous salsa bar.

The appeal: Chacho’s is a sketchy upgrade from Taco Cabana. It’s definitely a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but the food’s really good and you get huge portions for super cheap. A nice option if you want to eat Tex-Mex on a plate rather than out of an aluminum foil wrapper.

For the Adventurous One

BB’s Cafe Hours: Open until 2 a.m. on weekends Location: 3139 Richmond Food: They call it “Tex-Orleans,” which essentially boils down to Cajun food with a twist. They pride themselves on staples like shrimp and grits, po-boys and late-night favorites like fried pickles and nachos.

The appeal: First, BB’s is one of the few places that offers a unique late-night food experience. They have standard options like burgers and fries, if that’s what you’re in the mood for, but their enormous menu offers much more. Second, they’re incredibly accessible — there are locations on

Kirby and Montrose, and they also offer takeout and catering.

For the Traditionalist

59 Diner Hours: Open 24 hours Location: 3801 Farnham Food: All the wonderful, greasy, bad-foryou stuff that is never more appealing than at 2 a.m. The malts and milkshakes are surreal, as are the generous breakfast options.

The appeal: 59 is not only a Houston institution, it’s a Rice institution. If you haven’t been, it’s an experience you need to have before you graduate. The authentic diner vibe and old-fashioned shakes make you feel like you’ve stepped into a 60s movie, and it’s super close to campus — only a short walk or bike ride away.

For the Karaoke Singer

Genji Hours: Open until 2 a.m. on weekends Location: 11124 Westheimer Food: Top-notch Japanese at a good price.

Main attractions are the noodles, the sake and the kabobs.

The appeal: Genji’s ideal for cheap and fast late-night without the fuss of a more upscale place. It boasts a karaoke bar, straightforward, good service and everything you’ would expect food-wise from a mid-scale Japanese place.

FRIDA

ARTOPIA

Calling all Frida fangirls. MECA performing arts premieres a multimedia theater production portraying the tumultuous life of Mexico’s iconic artist, Frida Kahlo. El entrecejo runs Friday through Sunday, Jan. 23-25. Tickets are $5 for students and unibrows.

If you missed the preview party, get ready for the real shabang.

Houston’s seventh annual Houston Press Artopia kicks off Saturday, Jan. 24. Expect a food, drink, art and fashion sensory overload.

Must be 21 and over to attend.

MECA 1900 Kane St. meca-houston.org

Winter Street Studios 2101 Winter Street microapp.houstonpress.com/ artopia/2015

If you were a teenage outcast circa 1996, holed up in your room, writing the name of your crush over and over in your diary, staring at yourself naked in the mirror and covering your walls with posters of your favorite indie movies and bands, then Belle & Sebastian would have been your best friend. Bursting onto the Glasgow scene out of nowhere in 1995, the group of seven poor, lanky, awkward 20-something outcasts filled two albums with stories about high school kids who were too smart for their own good, attempting to make sense of the feelings and emotions that plagued their everyday lives. But the same teenage outcasts in 2015 would have nothing to do with our present-day Belle & Sebastian; those 20-somethings are now in their 40s and their new record, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, is riddled with slickly produced synthpop dance tracks while the highlydetailed stories have been replaced by wilting cliches (with a few blatantly political forays thrown in for good measure).

Lead singer, chief songwriter and founder Stuart Murdoch has always been a talented writer and lyricist.

His airy voice, lighter than a feather, has a knack for picking out beautiful melodies, and his lyric sheets demonstrate a rare ability to express painful, repressed emotions through the creation of characters and their experiences with the mundane. So when he uses the slow, burning, delicate and string-filled “The Cat with the Cream” to explain his mystification with British politics, using lines like “Down in the old city chambers, men in frocks debate the policy changes,” it makes you start to wonder if maybe the guy’s running out of ideas.

But Belle & Sebastian hasn’t written any string of particularly 0see GIRLS, page 5

PANCAKES ’N BOOZE

NICE CARS

Warehouse Live presents a party you could not imagine in your wildest dreams. For a mere $5 cover fee, you gain access to an all-you-caneat pancake bar, live body painting, a local art show, live music, “art battles” and tons of booze.

You may not be able to afford a nice car now, but it is always fun to window shop. To see some of the nicest rides getting ready to hit the market, head to the Houston Auto Show, running Jan. 21-25. For only $12, you can see and test drive over 500 vehicles.

Warehouse Live 813 Saint Emanuel pancakesandbooze.com

NRG Park One Reliant Park houstonautoshow.com

the Rice Thresher

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

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A&E

0GIRLS from page 4 resonant songs in over a decade. And that was only half of their formula; the group is still a seven-piece, their members having remained largely intact over 20 years and their style of light, catchy twee-pop has always sounded like a group of people who know exactly which melodic turns their bandmates will make at any given moment, who know when to add more and when to add less. And although 2000s Belle & Sebastian has added more synthesizers, more string sections and more computers, they will never be mistaken for anyone else; their sound is uniquely theirs and instantly recognizable.

But Girls in Peacetime goes in an entirely new direction: dance music. And not 2015 dance music, but more of an 80s new wave style. Lead single “The Party Line” is a bumping, late-night lounge burner featuring jazz flutes straight out of Night At The Roxbury. And it’s really catchy. The chorus of “Jump to the beat of the party line!” repeated over and over is a bit of a drag, but the funky guitarwork and dark, minimalist verses give the song a mysterious, smoky edge that can be difficult to capture. Unfortunately, the other dance tracks on the album are truly awful. “Enter Sylvia Plath” is seven minutes of glam-pop reminiscent of the soundtrack to some low-budget 90s sci-fi film. “Perfect Couples” tries to be cute with bongos and spoken word sections, but the song is ultimately forgettable save the obnoxious chorus jingle of “Perfect couples — they’re breaking up!”

Notable Tracks 1. “Nobody’s Empire” Decent pop song with detailed, thoughtful lyrics 2. “Allie” Sinister stomper piece with crunchy guitar work 3. “The Party Line” Catchy, edgy dance song with funky guitarwork and dark lyrics 9. “Ever Had a Little Faith?”

Classic Belle & Sebastian track with beautiful violin feature Sarah Martin, the band’s violinist and assistant songwriter, contributes two rather boring pieces of filler: the mundane, synth-drenched dance track “Power of Three,” alongside the rollicking “The Book of You.” The latter isn’t too bad a love song, but features such cringeworthy lines as “I want the world to see that I’m the one for you and you’re the one for me.” Often the value of a Belle & Sebastian record can be gleaned by how many tracks are written by someone other than Murdoch, and with three out of twelve, Girls In Peacetime doesn’t hold up well.

The best song on the album, the beautiful strummer “Ever Had a Little Faith?” is classic Belle & Sebastian; the pattering drums and the lilting, interwoven guitar lines behind Murdoch’s soft vocals are a wonderful change of pace after “Perfect Couples” and “Enter Sylvia Plath,” and Martin’s violin line is truly gorgeous. Of course, in an interview, Murdoch explains that this song was written in 1995 and forgotten until now. Go figure.

Not all of these tracks are so bad; opener “Nobody’s Empire” is a decent piece of pop with some nice, detailed lines from Murdoch’s life as he reflects on his younger self, and the stomper “Allie” is reminiscent of Belle & Sebastian’s transition period, a sinister track with some crunchy guitar work by the underrated Stevie Jackson, who pulls more than his weight on this record when given the opportunity. But the four or so decent tracks fail to stand out against the five or six repetitive pieces of fluff that grace this record. Belle & Sebastian sounds like a group of close friends who still enjoy making music together but have ultimately run out of ideas. The record sounds exactly like what it is: dancepop made by aging 40-something indie musicians. By attempting to blend dance and electronic music with the classic Belle & Sebastian sound, both aspects are severely compromised, and the result is an unfortunate mixture of that is both mediocre and annoying.

courtesy yelp

E Tao offers pan-Asian food made to satisfy Walden Pemantle Thresher Staff

Nestled in the Galleria between a Roman Delight pizzeria and a shoe store, E Tao aims to be a mid-priced alternative to the Galleria’s many low-end chains and pricier restaurants which, like Oceanaire and Del Frisco’s, are frequently also chains. E Tao itself is technically a chain too, but with other restaurants located in Canada, the Galleria location functions mostly as a stand-alone restaurant.

On the whole, E Tao offers a range of satisfying pan-Asian creations. Where it falters — and often where it shines — is where it tries to appeal to too many people, taking on more influences and less-bold flavors. It is a problem encountered by countless other full-service chains, and while E Tao would benefit from a more adventurous kitchen, its menu does boast some delicious Americanized updates of traditional Asian cooking. The extensive menu claims to offer “authentic flavors from regions of Thailand, Japan, Philippines, India, China and more,” but is predominantly made up of standard Americanized versions of classics like orange chicken, fried rice, pad thai and tom

yum. While many of these dishes are quite good and come artistically displayed with blossom cut carrots, ginger and pyramids of rice, those looking for the traditional spice of Szechuan or Thai cuisine will likely be disappointed.

Yet, whether intentionally or not, many of the toned-down dishes actually create a delightful kind of fusion that is significantly ahead of other American-style Asian restaurants in taste. The dim sum is highly recommended for anyone, but especially for those disinclined to try more adventurous dishes like chicken feet found in traditional dim sum. The xiao long bao soup dumplings, which literally burst with flavor, are definite highlights, as are the buttery and pungent shrimp shumai and tender chicken wings stuffed with glutinous rice.

The crispy eggplant in spicy Szechuan sauce is just as mild and un-Szechuanese as it is delicious. Dotted with peas and kernels of corn, the eggplant is deep-fried and drizzled with a tangy black bean sauce. The dish makes for a filling and indulgent vegetarian entree, the likes of which can be hard to come by in Houston.

Other entrees that depend more on their authentic cooking methods like the hot pot and sizzling plate dishes, however, are generally

less fulfilling. The beef sizzling plate is a prime example. At first, the dish is perfectly good, but as the sizzle plate cools, the sweet glaze thickens into an overbearing and almost gelatinous sauce. By far, the best hot pot option is the Hong Kong sliced chicken with ginger and scallions in honey garlic sauce. Of all the flavors mentioned in the dish’s title, the scallion comes to the forefront, adding a light, fragrant and savory flavor to balance the sweet backdrop of the honey garlic sauce.

The dessert and drink menus both benefit from the wide array of cuisines that E Tao attempts to emulate. The range of specialty drinks includes Thai iced tea, coffee and fruit smoothies, bubble tea and the requisite Asian beers such as Tsingtao and Asahi. The dessert menu is a bit more limited, but contains some Filipino flourishes like the fresh fruit pancake with ice cream that supplement the fried banana and other common options.

If nothing else, E Tao runs very well as the above-average mall restaurant that it is. It may not be the pan-Asian destination restaurant that it aspires to be, but it is certainly among the best options for those looking for a sit-down meal in the Galleria for under $30.

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Men’s tennis opens at home Juan Saldana thresher Staff

The newly constructed George R. Brown Tennis Center hosted its first official matches this weekend as the Rice men’s tennis team begins its 2015 season.

On Friday, the Owls (1-1) lost 4-3 to the University of Texas, San Antonio (1-1). On Sunday, the Owls defeated Cornell University (1-1) 4-1.

At the beginning of Friday’s game, the UTSA Roadrunners won the doubles round and the Owls were unable to come back. Sophomore Zach Yablon, freshman Jamie Malik and sophomore David Warren won their singles matches, but senior Srikar Alla could not hang on to a 4-1 lead in the third set against UTSA senior Thomas Stillman. Stillman went on to win the match 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (8), and the Roadrunners clinched the 4-3 victory.

On Sunday, the Owls faced off against nationally-ranked No. 60 Cornell University. The Owls took control and won the match when Alla delivered the clinching point against Cornell senior Sam Fleck.

Head coach Efe Ustundag said the Owls were disappointed after losing their home opener in Rice’s new venue.

“The nerves just got too much out of us,” Ustundag said. “The energy that was built up since last semester just came out differently than we had hoped for.”

According to Ustundag, the team was able to rebound on Sunday by focusing less on previous mistakes and more on what could be improved.

“We got better at not letting those opportunities that got away from us affect us,” Ustundag said. “Today, having that first match out of the way, we could come out and focus on the small details like the energy and intensity.”

According to Ustundag, the Owls have a long a way to go before they can consistently compete with teams like Cornell’s.

“We still [need] a lot of improvements,” Ustundag said. “I think this was a nice preview of how good we can be when we are clicking on all cylinders.”

0see Tennis, page 7

Basketball wins in overtime Kevin Mohanram thresher Staff

courtesy rice athletic communications

Senior Natalie Beazant hits a backhand during a 7-0 shutout victory against Lamar University Saturday, Jan. 17. Beazant, a three-time member of the Conference USA singles first team, won her 96th career singles match against Andrea Ivanovic during the win. Rice is now 1-0 in the season.

Women’s tennis looks to defend title Sean Youn

thresher Staff

Following a successful 18-7 record last year and an NCAA Championship Regional Round berth, the Rice women’s tennis team adds two new faces but continues their vision for excellence.

From last year to this year, there have been several personnel changes including a new assistant coach, Taylor Fogleman, who joined Rice after spending the past few seasons at Tulane University.

Finally, the team has added two Americanborn players who have continued to impress their upperclassmen teammates throughout the preseason and heading into the first match. Senior Natalie Beazant said the two players, Lindsey Hodge and Savannah Durkin, fit in with the team early on. According to Beazant, Hodge and Durkin being American does not negatively impact the team’s dynamic,

which consists of five international players out of eight total.

“They fit into the team really well, but they are great girls to be around and work hard every day so the team respects them for that,” Beazant said. “Besides them and one more girl, the rest of the team is international mainly because tennis is an international sport, but even with this team makeup, everybody has the same goal so it all works out.”

The women’s tennis program believes the closeness between the players themselves and with the coaching staff will be a defining characteristic. With four upperclassmen taking the helm and mentoring the younger players, combined with joint offseason workouts and team activities such as Top Golf, those teammate bonds will carry them far into the season.

Beazant said the team’s success will be derived from their chemistry off the court.

“Knowing how close we are already is wonderful,” Beazant said. “Having [Fogleman] as

an assistant coach and especially [Schmidt] as a head coach [whom] you can trust both on and off the court and wants the best for you in life, makes us some of the luckiest student athletes in the world.”

According to Beazant, playing in the new $8 million dollar George R. Brown Tennis Facility is an exciting prospect and will motivate the team throughout the season.

“I think it is simply amazing being at a school ranked as high as it is academically and also have brand new facilities that we have now,” Beazant said. “I remember when I was told a few years ago that the school was planning on building new courts, so it has been really exciting to see that entire process take place.”

The Owls shut out Lamar University 7-0 last Saturday, Jan. 17, and hope to continue that momentum into next weekend’s matchup against the University of Kentucky. The match will take place in Evanston, Illinois on Jan. 24 at 2 p.m.

Men’s basketball won their fifth game of the season, defeating the University of North Carolina, Charlotte 66-63 on Jan. 17 after losing to Old Dominion University 63-53 on Jan. 15.

Trailing by six points with 80 seconds remaining in the game, the Owls defense held the 49ers scoreless in the final three and a half minutes of regulation to force overtime.

Rice never trailed in the extra period, hitting four of five shots from the field and going four for four from the free throw line en route to securing the 66-63 victory. Senior forward Seth Gearhart scored 16 of his 18 total points in the second half, and sophomore guard Marcus Jackson led the team with 20 points in the game.

Head Coach Mike Rhoades said the team performed well in the final minutes when the game’s outcome was in doubt.

“We were down [by] six with about 1:20 left, and we just did a really good job fighting back,” Rhoades said. “I was really proud of our guys.

They played with a level of toughness and resolve late in the game that really helped us.”

According to Rhoades, the team’s strengths cannot be measured by the team’s 5-11 overall record.

“We really think we could play with anybody in the league,” Rhoades said. “The biggest thing is not the standings and the records.

[It’s that] with six minutes on the clock we want to be in the game and give ourselves a chance to win.”

The victory against UNC Charlotte marked the first win following a three-game losing 0see bball, page 7

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the Rice Thresher

SPORTS

0from BBALL page 6 streak for Rice. According to Rhoades, the team has been steadily improving throughout the year and should compete better in the second half of the season.

“We’re excited; we’re moving forward,” Rhoades said. “We’re getting better, and we have a lot of guys contributing and improving here. It’s confidence play, and we’re excited about that.”

The Owls have two home games coming up next week against the University of Southern Mis-

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

sissippi and Louisiana Tech University. Rhoades said he is excited to return to Tudor Fieldhouse and hopes the home field advantage will energize the team. “[They’re] two very good basketball programs,” Rhoades said. “We will definitely have our hands full, but we’re excited to be back home with the students here. We really want the students to get out and really support our team. Let’s have some fun.”

The game against Southern Miss will tip off at 7 p.m Thursday, Jan. 22 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Owls will play their second straight home game Saturday, Jan. 24 against Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m.

courtesy rice athletic communications

Junior Adam Gustafsson rallies during a victory against Cornell University on Sunday, Jan. 18.

courtesy rice athletic communications

Sophomore guard Maya Hawkins has emerged as a leading scorer for Rice after coming back from an ACL injury, Hawkins scored 25 and 23 points, respectively, in her first two games back.

Hawkins emerges from injury Michael Kidd thresher Staff

Wearing a highly protective metal brace on her surgically repaired left knee, sophomore guard Maya Hawkins has overcome adversity to become one of the central players on the Rice women’s basketball team.

Hawkins has spent much of her first two seasons at Rice recovering from an injury to her anterior cruciate ligament. In the first two games of her return from injury, Hawkins posted career-high scoring performances of 25 and 23 points to carry the Owls at the start of conference play.

Whether it’s consistently diving on the floor for a loose ball or wrestling with the opposing team for possession, Hawkins said she has a tendency for making the “hustle plays.”

“My favorite aspect of the game has to be defense [because] I believe defense is one of the few things in basketball that you can control the entire game,” Hawkins said. “Sometimes, your shot might be off, or you might have a few turnovers, but you can always sprint back and make a stop on defense and play with that edge if you really put your mind to it.”

Hawkins has impacted her team in her limited time on the court with her leadership ability.

Hawkins said she takes great pride in constantly motivating her teammates and said she attributes this to the perpetual support she received while sidelined with a torn ACL in her left knee.

“My teammates have shown me nothing but support throughout the entire process of my rehabilitation,” Hawkins said. “They really showed me what it means to be a part of a team, and their support and confidence in me helped me regain confidence in myself. [My teammates] and other family members really push me to work hard every day so that I can show them that their investment was well worth it.”

According to Hawkins, the ACL injury she sustained entering her sophomore year was not her first severe injury.

“My first major injury was my freshman year at Rice when I fractured my tibia,” Hawkins said. “Thankfully, it did not require surgery of any kind, but I had to miss [most] of the season. The hardest part about coming back from that injury was coming back with confidence that I could perform well and compete at the college level.”

The Owls return to Tudor Fieldhouse Feb. 1, where Maya Hawkins and the rest of the Owls will be in action against the University of North Texas in a nationally-televised game. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

0from TENNIS page 6 The $8 million George R. Brown Center differs in its design from the Owls’ previous home at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. Instead of having a concentrated seating area around the center court, the new center allows fans to move from one court to another as dictated by the play.

Ustundag said the fan-friendly design contributed to the Owls’ success.

“I think it’s phenomenal,” Ustundag said.

“Just being able to turn around and have four guys and three roommates of each [player] just standing right behind them and supporting and pushing, I feel like it makes a huge difference.”

The Owls now go on to face another two games next weekend against Incarnate Word University on Friday and Old Dominion University on Sunday.

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