The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Professorial projects

Time is totally a construction, man

Faculty in the department of visual and dramatic arts showcase their artwork see A&E p. 6

Imagine a world with no clocks on iPhone lock screens, a world with no analog clocks at all see Ops p. 5

INSIDE

Clark attack Senior swimmer Casey Clark reflects on her career, her post-graduation plans and the possibility of returning to the Olympic trials See Sports p. 9

Faculty Senate discusses making spring break two weeks long See P. 2

volume 99, issue no. 17

student-run

since 1916

wednesday, february 4, 2015

LGBTQA+ advocacy finds home in Queer Resource Center Isabella Bender Zevallos Thresher Staff

After a kick-off party and first official meeting, the Queer Resource Center has been newly inaugurated at Rice University. The launching event was held on Jan. 29 and attendees included LGBTQA+ community members and allies from the undergraduate and graduate student bodies, as well as staff members.

According to QRC co-founder Nick Hanson-Holtry, the event served as a thematic continuation of the Queer State of the Union event hosted by Queers and Allies, which occurred the day before the inauguration.

marcel merwin/thresher

Shacking up

Architecture students and Assistant Professor Jesus Vasallo collaborated to create a structure inspired by Houston’s historic row houses. The exhibit, entitled “Shotgun,� is on view at the Rice Gallery until March 15.

Blanket tax crack team finalizes proposal for ballot Jieya Wen

Thresher Staff

The Blanket Tax Crack Team is currently collecting student signatures for a petition to bring the “pot of gold� blanket tax proposal to a vote, according to Nick Cornell, chair of the BTCT. The petition requires the signatures of 200 students, or 5 percent of the student body, to be included on the General Election ballot. The proposal requires a 20 percent referendum and two-thirds in favor to pass.

Under the proposal, current blanket tax organizations would become subsidiary organizations. The estimated total blanket tax fee will be $85 per student, not including a $20 intramural fee. Subsidiary organizations would have their budgets approved by the standing committee and would not be allocated less than 75 percent of its budget from the previous year. Organizations could apply for further funds from the “pot of gold,� which would consist of unallocated funds. If funds are not used in their entirety, surplus above 125 percent would be returned to the pot of gold. “The biggest risk is we don’t have enough turnout at all,� Cornell, Sid

Richardson College president, said. “The Crack Team will be visiting college government meetings to talk to students who want to know more or have questions about the system.�

The BTCT presented details of the proposal at the SA meeting on Jan. 28, including the timeline of the blanket tax process, the composition of the blanket tax standing committee and ways to handle blanket tax surplus. “The standing committee is chaired by the SA treasurer, [who is a voting member,]â€? Cornell said. “The voting members [also include] two student members that are oďŹƒcers, treasurers or presidents of blanket tax organizations, two students in at large positions who are not oďŹƒcers of blanket tax organizations, a college president or senator and one sta advisor to a blanket

tax organization. Two members of the committee are non-voting: a SA parliamentarian and the SA advisor, who advises on the process.�

The standing committee would review subsidiary organizations’ budgets in April. Initiative funding applications will be available in late September for fall semesters and late February for spring semesters.

On Jan. 21 and 22, the Crack Team held sessions to answer questions and gather feedback on the proposal. Cornell said students were interested in how new organizations could become a subsidiary organization under the new system. Under the current blanket tax system, organizations must petition through the General Election in order to gain more funding.

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The QRC has a threepronged mission statment [including] activism, visibility and support. We want to establish something more permanent.

Nicholas Hanson-Houltry QRC founder

“The purpose of it was to get everybody on campus who [might not] usually come to events on campus to come out and give us input,� Hanson-Holtry, a Sid Richardson College junior, said. “We are a resource center and we want to be getting at what resources people care about and which ones they don’t.�

To conclude the initial activities of the QRC, the QRC task force held its first official meeting on Feb. 3.

Hanson-Holtry said the purpose of the meeting was to organize committees and allow any interested members to get involved — as facilitators to a committee or solely as members who contribute with their presence and opinions.

Hanson-Holtry also said the QRC aims to work with as many diversity groups on campus as possible, but their closest relationship will most likely be with the Women’s Resource Center. While the QRC is officially located in an office in the Rice Memorial Center basement, members of the QRC will volunteer with the WRC in its more visible office. “The QRC has a three-pronged mission statement [including] activism, visibility and support,�

Hanson-Holtry said. “Visibility is huge, and if we are underground,

no one is going to see us, no one is going to know who we are. [But we will] start doing speaker events and start doing activism and more — and having a space is kind of a secondary concern.�

Hanson-Holtry said the QRC is not a completely new initiative; another Queer Resource Center was founded about 15 years prior, but, upon merging with the current Queers and Allies group, eventually disappeared. HansonHoltry said the QRC aims to remain a part of Rice just as the WRC has in past years. “We wanted to make sure that queer activism [doesn’t] go away on campus,� Hanson-Holtry said. “Maybe four years from now Query will disappear, maybe four years from now Q&A will disappear, but we wanted to establish something more permanent.�

Hanson-Holtry said the QRC will be sustained through direct oversight from both the OďŹƒce of Student Wellbeing and the OďŹƒce of Multicultural Aairs, who will provide them with $1,000 each year if they hold an annual event aimed at promoting diversity on campus.

According to Hanson-Holtry, the $5,000 awarded to the QRC from the SA40k will be used to bring in speakers and host events that relate to activism, although the plans have not been completely finalized.

Nonetheless, Hanson-Houltry said he is thankful for the support and reaction from the student body. “It’s amazing that the student body has supported us and given $5,000 and [been] on board with everything,� Hanson-Holtry said. “I think it’s really exciting, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the course of the next semester.�

Rice is so progressive [that] people assume tere aren’t still queer issues that need to be addressed.

Maria Emilia Duno Duncan College Sophomore

Duncan sophomore Maria Emilia Duno said the creation of the QRC impacts the discussion on queer issues on campus overall. “I think that because Rice is so progressive in so many ways, people assume that there aren’t still queer issues that need to be addressed,� Duno said. “This space gives people who need their voices heard a platform from which to speak.�

2

NEWS

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

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Committee considers two-week spring break Isabella Bender Zevallos Thresher Staff

ningxin cheng/thresher

Hacking away

McMurtry College freshman Tim Van Baak codes at Rice University’s annual hackathon held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.

0BTCT FROM PAGE 1 “An organization can become a subsidiary organization without necessitating a funding increase,” Cornell, a senior, said. “Simultaneously, a funding increase can happen without adding any new organization or tying that funding increase to a specific organization. So, now the blanket tax funding serves student interests.”

The Crack Team addressed how current blanket tax organizations would apply for more funding. Cornell said the standing committee can sign off on organizations’ requests for more money.

“In the case that it’s a significant increase, they would meet with the standing committee to discuss [the budget],” Cornell said. “The committee’s job is to evaluate the proposed increase and how well it serves its missions and the mission of blanket tax, in line with Rice’s spending policies as well. So it’s not a competitive process.”

Cornell said subsidiary organizations have priority on funds, and any other student organizations requiring funding for events can apply for funds from the remaining initiative fund.

Julie Neisler, advisor of Rice Program Council, said RPC is excited about the new blanket tax proposal and is confident that RPC’s budget will receive full funding under the new blanket tax model. Neisler said RPC does not get enough funding under the current blanket tax process and that it is hard to convince students to vote for an increase in their blanket tax.

According to Neisler, RPC requires extra funding beyond blanket tax in order to provide sufficient programming, but the proposed model will make funding requests easier for subsidiary organizations.

“With the opportunity for additional funding, RPC would be able to bring back some programs that were cut, create new programs and not need to depend on Student Activities President’s Programming funding for late-night substance-free programming,” Neisler said.

After gathering student opinions regarding possible calendar modifications, the Committee considering the 2017 academic calendar now contains a subcommittee considering the possibility of a two-week-long spring break.

President David Leebron first presented this idea at a Faculty Senate meeting in November.

The Academic Calendar Committee, which consists of student representative Lovett College Senator Aishwarya Thakur and several faculty members, was appointed by the Faculty Senate in early November, according to Thakur, a sophomore. Initially, the committee was told to consider a two-week spring break, but was later told to consider one-week options in which Rice’s spring break would align with that of the Houston Independent School District.

Thakur said she sought feedback from college senators, then briefed the Student Association to include student feedback in the decision. Thakur said the general student feedback reflected a preference for starting on a full week in order to not shorten class time.

The Committee reported its three options of calendars to the SA on Jan. 14.

“I heard that people really like the midterm break we have in April, so if we did move to the 10th week, we would have to put a break in February around the fourth or fifth week to break up those 10 weeks,” Thakur said. “[The 2017 Spring Calendar Committee] decided that we would get rid of that April break and just have a two-day break in February and then move spring break to the tenth week, start on a Monday [and] end on a Friday.”

According to Thakur, the Committee has decided on a calendar, based on student responses, to propose to the Faculty Senate, and the Committee made their suggestion to the Faculty Senate, although the vote was not

unanimous. The Faculty Senate then recommended the Committee return to considering a two-week spring break.

Thakur said an extended break could potentially allow for more frequent and extended learning experiences outside the classroom, including internships and Alternative Spring Breaks.

“Would we just expand these programs?”

Thakur said. “You could go on the service trips in week one and have a break in week two, or have a break in week one and go on a service trip in week two. Or we could have programs that run one and a half weeks or two weeks, such as international trips, which require more time.”

Thakur said the Committee is considering the possibility of providing academic credit for programs completed during spring break as well. However, the Committee may not begin or end the calendar earlier.

Professor of mathematics and Faculty Senator Michael Wolf said students should see the positive aspects of moving spring break.

“Particularly, one should not imagine that the situation is we align these spring breaks at the cost of many other things,” Wolf said. “Unlocking spring break from where it is moored between two apparent chronological halves of the class schedule provides all sorts of opportunities beyond the lining of spring breaks.”

Wolf said he hopes the calendar will be finalized by March, and the Committee recognizes that the decision is important to multiple groups at Rice.

“It affects everyone, and [all affected feel] they’re an expert because they live it — and they are,” Wolf said. “[We must] take all of the effects of the calendar on student life, on pedagogy, on family life for the workers, and try to weigh each factor in terms of its importance and in terms of the importance of the mission.

There is no formula for that, but we’re sincerely trying to do an honest job.”

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

NEWS

the Rice Thresher

3

SA releases presidential WRC publishes monthly candidate statements magazine “Engender” Three Rice University students, two juniors and a sophomore, will compete for Student Association President in the General Election starting Feb. 9. The candidate who receives the most votes will lead the SA through the

end of the current school year and into 2016, replacing current SA President Ravi Sheth.

The three candidates will participate in a debate at 8 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Kyle Morrow Room of Fondren Library.

Aishwarya Thakur | Lovett Sophomore òExperience: Lovett SA Senator, former Lovett New Student Representative ò3URSRVDOV Keep student body informed, respect college system, support student initatives

Jazz Silva | Sid Richardson Junior ò([SHULHQFH Sid Richardson SA Senator, Economics Initative Committee member, University Parking Committee member ò3URSRVDOV Increase campus representation and rebuild student confidence in SA

Sandra Blackmun | Jones Junior ò([SHULHQFH Jones College government, Blanket Tax Contingency Committee member ò3URSRVDOV Strengthen connection between SA and colleges, implement Rice Education of the Future and blanket tax reform, increase Rice pride

Andrew Ligeralde Thresher Staff

The Women’s Resource Center released the first issue of its new monthly publication, Engender magazine, last week. Referred to as a “zine,” Engender features original content such as personal reflections, music and movie reviews, surveys, research papers and original artwork.

According to Editor-in-Chief June Deng, the content in current and future issues will represent a diverse set of backgrounds and perspectives.

“The goal of a lot of these articles is really broadening the definition of feminism and feminist issues so that it’s more inclusive,” Deng, a Duncan College senior, said. “We are emphasizing the fact that there’s more than one definition of feminism and you should identify with whichever one you feel comfortable in. That’s why we’re reaching out to a lot of different departments, hoping to get stuff from different majors, not just people involved with the [WRC].”

The writing in Engender spans a variety of disciplines, including a study of changes in Rice’s campus architecture due to the university’s shifting demographics and a personal essay regarding the author’s experience in the class Gender and Transnational Asia (ASIA 452). The zine also features several pieces of artwork concerning the influence of pop culture in social view of gender.

“There [aren’t] really hard and fast rules about what can and can’t go in,” Micaela Canales, a Will Rice junior and this month’s guest editor, said. “It’s not like only students can submit. We’re really interested in what’s coming out of the whole Rice community.”

According to Canales, the zine originally began as a monthly newsletter for volunteers only. However, the coordinators saw the publi-

cation as an opportunity to inform the community about today’s gender-related issues.

“Some people hear feminism and they get a negative emotion, or they think about historical things, like how the women’s rights movement took place a long time ago,” Canales said.

“There are current movements happening right now that people are unaware of.”

According to Canalaes, the goal of the magizine extends beond simply presenting the issues; the WRC seeks to promote involvement as well as an ongoing community discussion through the publication.

“While one of the purposes of the magazine is to inform people, it also provides a platform to share their thoughts,” Canales said. “It was much more like, we were having these cool ideas — why not write them down and share them with other people?”

As the publishers prepare to release the March issue, they are already planning to expand the zine’s circulation and further the discussion. According to Deng, the WRC is considering adding an online blog along with the print publication to make it more accessible.

Canales said the coordinators also want to increase their funding to support future efforts.

“This was published using funds that come out of the [WRC]’s operating budget,” Canales said. “Our account used to be under student activities, so now our account is under well-being. But this funding is limited, given the scope of things we want to do, so we’ve recently applied for Student Activities President’s Programming funds.”

For now, however, the primary aim is raising awareness of the magazine, Canales said.

“Let people know that it’s there,” Canales said. “That’s the goal this semester, to hopefully increase submissions.”

The zine is now available for free at the Women’s Resource Center and online at issuu. com/ricewrc/docs/engender_2015feb_page

4

NEWS

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

the Rice Thresher

Six-floor parking garage to be built Baker Institute among premier on Lovett Lot within three years think tanks Amber Tong

Thresher Staff

A 500-spot, six-floor parking garage will be built on the Lovett Lot within three years, according to Student Association Parking Committee members Jazz Silva and Jacob Hernandez. The new parking garage offers a net gain of 350 spots over the current 150-spot Lovett Lot. The garage will benefit both faculty and students by providing more spots in a prime location, Silva, Sid Richardson College Senator, said.

“The goal is to move parking toward the front of the campus,” Silva, a junior, said.

“Because right now it’s pretty focused on the back, which is really inconvenient for faculty and staff — and also a lot of students. Greenbriar lot has 1,800 spots, and it’s only 32 percent full right now.”

According to Silva and Hernandez, a Sid Richardson senior, the new garage is part of a plan to reorganize parking space on campus.

“With the addition of the new tennis court, and possibly the opera house, we are just looking at a change in the distribution of parking,” Silva said. “Rice doesn’t have a shortage of parking spots; we just need to restructure the location and pricing of the spots.”

According to Hernandez, the administration is in the design stage, and it is expected that most of the construction will be done in one summer, at most three years from now.

“It’s a little bit more than just putting in a lot; you have to change the road by Lovett College, you have to widen the entrance, so there’s a couple logistical things that they have to do as well,” Hernandez said. “But I think the plan is to do it in just one summer.”

Meanwhile, Silva said the Parking Committee is looking to recruit student consultants to work on restructuring the prices of

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Sapna Suresh Thresher Staff

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The parking garage will be constructed on Lovett Lot and be completed in one to three years. each parking lot in a way that will be both convenient to students and economically viable for the parking office. “[The parking office is] actually in a deficit right now that they are slowly pulling themselves out of,” Silva said. “So whatever models students come up with [are] going to have to make economic sense.”

Citing a previous unexecuted proposal of building a garage under the new tennis court as an example, Silva said discussion about adding parking spots has been going on for a few years, but this year the SA gave particular attention to the issue.

“Parking has been an issue on campus for as long as I can remember,” Silva said. “But I’d say in the last year and a half it’s really taken off.”

Hernandez said it is important for the

student body to keep up the commitment to parking issues.

“I think we may face a problem with lack of student involvement,” Hernandez said.

“Since parking is an issue that crosses over year to year, the SA needs to make it a point for members to stay involved. Without making parking an undergraduate priority, it could be overlooked in the future.”

Silva said she is confident that as long as SA takes the lead to stay on top of parking issues, other stakeholders will also do their part to make things work for students.

“The administration [wants] to help so long as it is a priority for the student body,” Silva said. “If there’s one message I think the students should know, it’s that everyone wants to help, and being optimistic is the best way to get things done.”

Rice University’s Baker Institute ranked 18th-best think tank in the United States, rising two spots since 2013, according to the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank survey.

“Despite our small size, [in addition to the U.S. ranking,] we have succeeded in being ranked in the top 10 of universityaffiliated think tanks in the world,” Baker Institute Founding Director Edward Djerejian said.

The Baker Institute is a 22-year-old nonpartisan public policy think tank focusing on domestic and foreign policy issues.

Ranked the fourth-best global think tank on energy studies, the Baker Institute’s competitive advantages are mostly linked to its Houston location because most top-tier think tanks are located on the east and west coasts of the U.S., according to Djerejian.

“We do health policy because right across the street from Rice is the Texas Medical Center,” said Djerejian. “[We do] the Middle East largely because of my experience as a former American diplomat and Secretary Baker’s experience in the Middle East … We do space policy because NASA is just to the south of Houston and George Abbey [senior fellow in space policy] is the former director of the Johnson Space center.

We just created a Mexico center because ... we think location, location, location.”

The Institute engages in cutting-edge policy research, but Djerejian emphasized the importance of Rice’s undergraduates becoming more engaged with the think tank.

“We call ourselves Rice University’s Baker Institute,” Djerejian said. “We have always wanted to gravitate toward being part of the education role of Rice with the student body. We just like to get students as fully engaged as possible. We have created this thing not just for the decision makers, but also for the students.”

Rice students are involved with the Baker Institute through the Baker Institute Student Forum, internships with fellows and scholars, internships through the Jesse Jones Washington, D.C. intern program and as students in courses taught by Baker Institute fellows. In addition, this year, the Baker Institute will begin to offer a graduate Masters of Global Affairs, according to Djerejian.

“The Institute has always been very supportive of us and always very supportive of students engaging with public policy,” Nathan Joo, president of the Baker Institute Student Forum, said. “[They] do a lot on student outreach and student support.

They offer really great internships; they offer other great opportunities for students to do policy work ... [Fellows are] enthusiastic about meeting students.”

SA passes 40K, splits on NROTC Drew Keller

Assistant News Editor

The Student Association Senate finalized the allocation of $40,540.92 of blanket tax money at the Senate meeting last Wednesday and rejected an initiative that would have granted NROTC midshipmen guaranteed on-campus housing. Following a deliberative process starting in the fall, the SA unanimously approved Resolution #7, which distributes the funds to the Rice Environmental Society, Queer Resource Center, Rice Emergency Medical Services, Rice Bikes and a Student Initiative Fund.

The second piece of legislation the Senate considered was “Midshipmen Housing.” This bill proposed reserving oncampus housing for Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps midshipmen in a similar manner as EMS’s housing guarantee. The legislation received an equal number of votes for and against. However, the SA constitution requires a two-thirds majority for resolution approval, and the legislation was not passed.

5

Why keep time when others do?

Blanket Tax Crack Team proposal remedies current system’s failures The SA Blanket Tax Crack Team has petitioned a revamp to the existing blanket tax system with a new “pot of gold” proposal. 200 student signatures are required for the petition to be included in the General Election ballot, where a 20 percent referendum and a twothirds majority vote will put the measure into effect (see p.1). The Thresher strongly supports the Crack Team’s new proposal and encourages students to sign the petition and to vote for it in the General Election.

Currently, organizations petition to qualify for blanket tax status and specify a requested amount of annual funding through a ballot in the General Election. If a blanket tax organization’s budget appears questionable in the Annual Review, they are brought to a Contingency Committee, which can determine if the organization has violated blanket tax laws and if a decrease in funding is warranted.

The existing process has proven inefficient at and inconducive to encouraging fiscal responsibility among blanket tax organizations.

Since a Contingency Committee must find three violations within a four-year period to decrease a violating organization’s blanket tax, it currently takes years to effect any change in funding, even if an organization demonstrates excessively large surpluses or fiscal irresponsibility. Fleeting institutional memory coupled with a bureaucratic quagmire renders the process infeasible; no subsidiary organization has ever seen a decrease in its funding.

The “pot of gold” proposal, which calls for a standing committee, provides a welcome change to a broken system. The standing committee, to be comprised of students and advisors to subsidiary organizations, would predetermine which organizations qualify for priority funding and would conduct annual reviews on these organizations’ budgets. Additionally, new organizations can petition to become subsidiaries and qualify for priority status through the general ballot as before.

The proposal also calls for surpluses higher than a predetermined amount to return to the “pot of gold” for use by other student organizations. The mechanisms outlined in this proposal will encourage fiscal responsibility in subsidiary organizations and will ensure student governance can preemptively address issues in blanket tax funding instead of undergoing a cumbersome process.

Previous ballot measures have been defeated by a lack of quorum. The Thresher strongly encourages students to voice their support for the proposal by signing the Blanket Tax Crack Team’s petition and by voting for it in the upcoming General Election. If passed, the new measures usher in much-needed blanket tax reforms that promote greater fiscal responsibility and accountability among blanket tax organizations.

Editor in Chief Miles Kruppa and Faculty Advisor Kelly Callaway are members of the Blanket Tax Crack Team. They did not contribute to this editorial.

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

After lunch I walked to the central quad to work in the fine weather. I found a seat and checked the phone to see what time remained before class at one o’clock.

The phone was dead.

The unlit screen brought me slight panic.

I’ll be late! Should I move within sight of a public clock? No, I realized after a moment, I do not have to move. The campus is a clock. When steady streams of students stride by my table, I would know the time.

Ignorance of the time left me buzzed. I felt vulnerable but enlivened, as you do when biking without a helmet to further relish the velocity as the wind plays your hair. I could not track the dwindling minutes, so they did not dwindle. The campus clock is accurate within two minutes.

After class I left the phone dead and returned to the quad to read. I carried no power but felt empowered. This will be an afternoon without time, I silently declared. I felt like I was getting away with something. Shouldn’t you regularly consult a clock? After who knows how long some nearby church bells tolled me the hour. Not long ago no one owned clocks, and cathedrals or clock towers kept everyone’s hours.

My jaunt without time ended after dinner. But should it remain a jaunt? I only check the time frequently because it sits, imprisoned, on the phone’s lock screen. The phone forces time on me. Why does a clock hog the lock screen? It is not a clock screen. No option exists to free it, so it remains.

The phone should not advertise time! Let the

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

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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

lock screen greet me as a clean slate. Or, if the clock must stay, let it represent time without numbers. Digital time gives you temporal tunnel vision.

When you see 1:25, you do not see 1:24 or 1:26, as you would on an analog clock. 1:25 anchors you to a too-precise, quickly obsolete present. If you watch the screen change from 1:25 to 1:26, do you see the present? On New Year’s Eve, New York watches a ball descend, not a digital clock blink from 11:59 to 12:00.

New York watches a ball descend, not a digital clock blink from 11:59 to 12:00.

You see the deficiency of digital clocks when you reduce their accuracy. You could erase the minute-markers from an analog clock face and it would still work well. What if digital clocks only registered the hour?

If the phone clock told me only the hour, it is no better than the church bells, but for time that ambiguity is good. Unchecked time is free time. It allows you to perceive time however long or short it may feel, because everyone perceives time differently. When you establish a standard time and check it, so too do you check your experience of time, keeping it from wandering like a dog constantly tugged by the impatient master.

So my phone frequently forces me this most segmented and abstracted time, and on that day in the quad, when I was denied it, I was freed. In that afternoon all moments stretched and shrank, breathing, not contained in the empty vessels we call minutes.

If you want time to live, do not entomb it in minutes and seconds. Tower bells oblige the hours.

Mitch Mackowiak Like the New Year’s Eve ball, analog clocks display the space in between time’s divisions. You can see the gap between 1:25 and 1:26 even though it has no name. This is why the time lapses you see in movies or TV work better with analog clocks.

Sundials trump analogs (except on clouded days) because they mark time in tangible form. You can feel the cool cast of time’s shadow.

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.

is a Lovett College sophomore and the Thresher opinions editor

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

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Aladdin offers budget-friendly buffet satisfaction Walden Pemantle Thresher Staff

marcel merwin/thresher Duncan College senior Lauren Bingman participates in the Sermon Slam at Willy’s Pub, part of Rice’s Annual Interfaith Week. Students were required to present a monologue, poem or story that speaks to their relationship with their respective religious beliefs.

Slammed

Faculty Slide Jam opens VADA season Kaylen Strench A&E Editor

When class is dismissed for the day, the Rice visual and dramatic arts professors are far from packing up and heading home. Though devoted to their students, these faculty members are not just teachers. In fact, they are all talented artists in their own right, putting in long hours to construct creative pieces worthy of national and international acclaim.

Slide Jam

This Thursday, Feb. 5, they will get a chance to show what they’re made of at the fourth annual Visual and Dramatic Arts Faculty Slide Jam, a rapid-fire presentation of faculty art.

The event, organized by VADA professor Christopher Sperandio, will showcase recent research, paintings, drawings and other projects created by Rice professors in a series of rapidfire presentations. “[The visual and dramatic arts department] is comprised of a really diverse and exceptionally talented group of people,” Sperandio said.

“However, we’re often exhibiting nationally or internationally, very rarely in Houston. So this is a fun and informal way to get to see what we’re all up to.”

Each professor will have only five minutes to present their latest creations, some of which are colossal projects spanning over multiple months. Therefore, the event is fast, exciting and necessarily accessible to students, regardless of major or background in art.

“It’s really a snapshot of what the faculty are working on when they’re not in the classroom working with students,” Natasha Bowdoin, an-

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

other VADA professor, said. “I think in a span of five minutes you can really only give a general overview. There’s no time to get into a lot of heavy art speak.”

Sperandio said the event is intended for all Rice students and that it has something to offer those of all art backgrounds.

“If you’re studying art, if you’re taking an art class or interested in taking one, or even if you’re just interested in what’s going on in the [visual and dramatic arts department], this is a great way to get information quickly,” Sperandio said.

Once the presentations conclude in Sewall Hall, VADA will serve sliders from Little Big’s and the night will continue with other art-centered events at the surrounding Sewall galleries.

A Description of the Sun

8-10 p.m., Rice alumnus and emerging artist Logan Sebastian Beck will be introducing his new piece, “A Description of the Sun,” in the Emergency Room Gallery, located inside Sewall Hall. Sperandio said the piece, a sculpture that tracks the position of the sun as it moves across the sky, will have particular appeal for engineers.

Everything All at Once

At the same time, in the student-run Matchbox Gallery, located in the Sewall courtyard, new artist Melinda Laszczynski will be opening her new exhibition, “Everything All at Once.” Laszczynski’s work is an intriguing amalgam of painting, sculpture and installation that features bright colors and diverse textures and materials.

She said the paintings in her show are inspired by cakes she saw at Wal-Mart.

FILM FEST Rice Cinema returns with the Iranian film festival Feb. 6-7. This year’s selections are Profession: Documentarist, in which seven female directors discuss women in Iranian society, and What’s the Time in Your World, a drama that combines romance, memory and personal history. Don’t miss an oppourtinity to catch internationally renowned cinema for free.

Rice Media Center ricecinema.rice.edu

“I liked how, though I wasn’t interested in eating the cakes, they still made bright and interesting sculptures,” Laszczynski said. “So when I started these paintings over the summer, I used the same color palettes and pipetted out of pastry bags to create that cake aesthetic.”

Laszczynski’s work will also feature a variety of mixed materials, including everything from hair clips to glitter.

“I’m very interested in this contradiction between materials,” Laszczynski said. “I wanted to combine low-craft materials — things found around my studio, or purchased in hardware or dollar stores — with high-art aesthetics. The effect, I hope, ends up being this immersive, playful thing you want to explore.”

Laszczynski also said that although she is a graduate student at the University of Houston, she thought Matchbox was a perfect place to display her work.

“Since I’ve been working more with installations and sculptures [versus two-dimensional paintings], I’ve been much more interested in the space where my work is being shown,” Laszczysnki said. “The small scale of Matchbox is really appealing, especially that windowfront, because when you’re looking at the work from the courtyard it flattens out the view and makes the installation look like a painting, but when you’re inside the space it makes the work larger-scale for the viewer, it pulls them in. It’s just a really nice little space.”

Along with the exhibition openings, a DJ will be playing live music in the courtyard and food and drinks will be served.

The Faculty Slide Jam will start at 7 p.m. in Sewall 301. Matchbox Gallery will open at 7 p.m. and Emergency Room will open from 8-10 p.m.

SAM HUNT He’s a heartthrob, a country superstar and he’s the former quarterback for the University of Alabama football team. What’s not to love?

Come get down with Sam Hunt Feb. 6, 7 p.m, at House of Blues. It’s only $15 to get in, and you can even catch the Metro to get there.

House of Blues 1204 Caroline houseofblues.com

Compared to other Mediterranean restaurants around Houston, Aladdin Mediterranean Cuisine can feel like an entirely new kind of restaurant. There are no glass vials of complimentary tea, no spinning spits of doner meat; in fact, there are hardly even menus. Instead, patrons walk through the noisy dining room picking any combination of meat and sides from a vibrant display of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern salads, meats and dips. The experience can be hectic, especially for those visiting on a Friday or Saturday night, when the dining room is likely to be packed with a lively dinner crowd taking advantage of Aladdin’s BYOB policy. But Aladdin’s rotating cast of authentic meats and sides more than justifies braving the crowded dining room and sometimes confusing menu.

While some entrees can be ordered a la carte, the standard order at Aladdin is a $10-$14 combo meal that includes a meat and two or three sides. The combo meal format may remind customers of airport meals or unappetizing Chinese buffets, but it works quite well at Aladdin, where the food turns over quickly enough to avoid certain dishes sitting unordered over tepid pans of water. The system actually allows Aladdin to incorporate many less-common dishes like eggplant with spinach pesto and Turkish meatballs that other restaurants aren’t always able to keep on the menu. The most significant problem with the system is the confusion between what counts as a side and what’s complimentary.

Recommended Dishes Chicken kebab Tenderized char-grilled chicken with a lemony marinade, served with garlic sauce Lamb kebab Smoky lamb, served with a tangy dill tzatziki sauce Tabbouleh Salad with tomatoes and lemon-vinegar dressing

The menu changes nightly based on what meats are available and what salads are fresh, but some standouts and classics tend to be available more consistently. The chicken and lamb kebabs are exceptional. The smoky lamb is served with a tangy dill tzatziki and the chicken is tenderized with a lemony marinade before being char-grilled and served with garlic sauce. The chicken shawarma is also quite satisfying, but lacks the tender succulence of other shawarmas cooked using the traditional rotisserie method.

The numerous sides are delightfully fresh and range from ubiquitous Mediterranean sides like tabbouleh, at which Aladdin strikes a great balance between sweet, juicy tomatoes and astringent lemon-vinegar dressing, and less traditional salads like button mushrooms with olive oil, lemon and sweet peppers. The fresh vegeta0see aladdin, page 8

TIPHANIE YANIQUE Bookpage and the Boston Globe have listed Yanique as one of the top women to “watch out” for. Her writing has earned countless awards, including the prestigious Academy of American Poet’s Prize. The best part?

Yanique is coming to Rice Thursday, Feb. 5 at 5:30 p.m. for a special reading.

Rice University Chapel tiphanieyanique.com

ART STROLL Surprise your Valentine early with Silver Street Studio’s Valentine Art Stroll in the Washington Avenue Art District. The studio’s artists will host the walk 5-9 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 7, featuring live music, sweet treats and, of course, some great creative work.

Silver Street Studios 2000 Edwards silverstreethouston.com

A&E

the Rice Thresher

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

7

The pick list: Netflix indie gems to satisfy every taste Sophie Newman

lime, Nebraska offers unique perspectives on aging, morality and the ties that bind.

A&E Editor

For the lonely and angsty:

Indie films can be a bit of a gamble for the avid Netflixer. Fortunately, the Thresher has done some of the grunt work for you in sorting through the Netflix filler to find some high-caliber (or at least highly entertaining) titles to fill your beginning-ofthe-semester free time. If you’re tired of watching Mean Girls or Friends reruns for the umpteenth time, check out these obscure yet worthy picks.

For the jokester: with REM sleep behavior disorder, his career as a stand-up comedian and his relationship with his girlfriend.

For the hopeless romantic: courtesy magnolia pictures

Prince Avalanche (2013): Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch star in ... need I say more? Catch these two veteran actors as they set off into the Texan wilderness to repair a road in the summer of 1988. Though the film may plod along at first, the quick dialogue, quirky characters and unusual setting create a hilarious, curious and strangely touching story.

Copenhagen (2014) A washed-up millennial takes a trip with his college buddy to Europe, only to be ditched for a girlfriend. Bored and wandering the streets of Copenhagen, William (Gethin Anthony, Game of Thrones) meets a young girl who forces him to come to terms with his age and maturity. Copenhagen is not for the indie-fainthearted, but if you can get past the strange relationship dynamic, this film has a lot to say about the ironies of love and experience.

For the philosopher: courtesy ifc films Frances Ha (2012): Frances, or “Frances, undateable,” as her roommate calls her, is a 20-something aspiring dancer, whose questionably stable personal life and career don’t stop her from embracing a youthful carpe diem spirit. Starring Greta Gerwig, this black-and-white unconventional rom-com provides solace for those passionate yet unsure of where their future may lead.

courtesy ifc films Sleepwalk with Me (2012): Mike Birbiglia is a one-of-a-kind comic and character. In a live show he once described himself as “niche,” but his jokes rival anything Louie C.K. might say (and I am a fan) while keeping offense and crudeness to a minimum. Sleepwalk with Me is a strange biopic that juggles Birbiglia’s struggle

courtesy fidelio films

WRITE FOR THRESHER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT kes11@rice.edu

courtesy paramount vantage

Nebraska (2013): Nebraska isn’t exactly chock full of Hollywood eye candy, but what it lacks in youth it makes up for in superb acting and Midwestern charm.

Misunderstanding a piece of mail, Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) sets off with his reluctant son in tow to claim what he thinks is a lottery prize, meeting a slew of eccentric small-towners along the way. If you’re looking for a drama with a hint of the sub-

courtesy music box films

Keep the Lights On (2012): While Keep the Lights On won’t exactly lift your spirits, you may at least find solidarity in others’ sadness. This film chronicles the relationship between a gay filmmaker and his lover as they struggle with substance abuse, distance and the accompanying perils of complex desire. No promises of a kumbaya ending here, but if you’re looking for a no-BS chronicle of a relationship, this film is your friend.

For the thrill-seeker:

courtesy open roads films

Side Effects (2013): Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Side Effects is a rare psychological crime thriller in a world of comedy and drama. You may even recognize some familiar faces with the acting of Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum and Jude Law. Like any good thriller, Side Effects earns the trust of its audiences only to revoke its promises at the last second.

8

A&E

the Rice Thresher

0ALADDIN from page 6

walden pemantle/thresher

bles make nearly all the salads worth trying, but even the salads made with dry ingredients like lentils or rice can also be outstanding. The lentil salad is cooked perfectly al dente and the saffron rice pilaf has warm and comforting touches of cumin and cinnamon that offer a pleasant contrast to the other salads’ more acidic flavors. The dips are not as uniformly good. The caramelized onion hummus is overly sweet and the occasional slimy sliver of onion gives it an off-putting texture. Yet, the more traditional spicy roast pepper hummus is better, with just enough cayenne and charred pepper to give it a bold edge.

The fresh and filling meals make Aladdin an ideal spot for Saturday night dinners. Its atmosphere may not be well suited for an intimate date or a special event, but for the money, it’s hard to get a better meal with as much authenticity and flavor.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Tasting Hong Kong one dish at a time Melody Yip

For the Thresher I visited Hong Kong this past winter break, a bustling hubbub of activity. I would step out into the streets and hear Cantonese chatter everywhere. I dodged red taxis that veered past and surrendered to the mercy of the hordes of people cramming the trains.

Nevertheless, if there is anything that stuck with me most, it was the culinary experience — Hong Kong is a true haven of stellar cuisine. Even the McDonald’s boast sleek, sophisticated cafes with latte art and macarons. If you are looking to study abroad in Asia or you just catch a whiff of wanderlust, Hong Kong is a wonderful place to explore some of the finest and most unusual eats in the world.

The cooking culture varies from casual, hearty comfort food to exquisite banquet fare that includes suckling pig, roast goose and Alaskan king crab. There are numerous restaurants that serve typical comfort foods, such as variations of fried rice, chow mein and wonton noodles (pork or shrimp dumplings bobbing in a rich broth and mixed with thick egg noodles). Iconic drinks like lemon tea, milk tea and yin yeung (“phoenix and dragon,” a mix of milk tea and coffee) can be added to most meals for less than $1. HongKong-style milk tea also differs from British tea. Instead, people whip out evaporated and condensed milks to concoct a smooth, creamy texture that enhances the notes of black tea.

Even the McDonald’s boast sleek, sophisticated cafes with latte art and macarons.

Little food carts hover on many street corners as well. These serve all sorts of steamed snacks like pork intestines, curry fish balls and gelatinous rice crepes dipped in a sweet, dark oyster sauce. My favorite snacks are these egg puffs called “gei dan zai” that taste like waffles but are shaped in honeycomb-like molds with round hollows so that the finished product looks like bubble wrap. I always eat them piping hot, and they never disappoint.

Dim sum is another significant part of Hong Kong food culture. It sort of defines leisure dining. Elderly people love to wake up at the crack of dawn and head to restaurants to feast on little plates and metal tins of dumplings and steamed meats. Many people also opt to sit down for dim sum at teatime as well. Some of the most popular options are “siu mai,” “ha gao” and “cheung fun.”

“Siu mai” are pork, shrimp and mushroom dumplings often dotted with bright orange crab eggs on top. These are my favorite; I love the rich and savory flavors of the hot meat juices that spill over with the first bite.

“Ha gao” features shrimp dumplings where the dough is a soft, opaque-colored rice flour. The dumpling shell has a rather bland flavor, but that allows the salty and strong shrimp taste to shine. “Cheung fun” are gelatinous rice flour crepes stuffed with meats from barbecue pork to shrimp, then doused in soy sauce. The soy sauce adds a slightly sweet and salty flavor to the dish, which is often what makes it so popular. The steamed chicken feet, an interesting alternative, are served in a rich red sauce and have a rather fatty texture. Other iconic items are sticky rice covered in lotus leaves, fried squares of Chinese turnip cakes and steamed barbecue pork buns.

For dessert, the bakeries offer rich, mouthwatering treats. The celebrated egg tarts melt in the mouth when fresh out of the oven and are baked in buttery, flaky tart shells with a hint of vanilla. Pair these bites of heaven with a hot milk tea; welcome to the breakfast of champions.

Bakery shelves are also loaded with heaps of coconut-stuffed buns and soft breads topped with savory bits of dried pork or baked pineapple crust. They just do not taste the same in Houston’s Chinatown.

Sports is on Twitter. Get the scoop at twitter.com/ThresherSports

9

Making waves Casey Clark qualifies for US Olympic Trials courtesy rice athletic communications

Juan Saldana Thresher Staff

Casey Clark excels in both the classroom and in the swimming pool. The Baker College senior will be graduating in May with a degree in civil and environmental engineering and already has a job lined up with Shell. With her friendly personality and relaxed conversational style, anyone speaking with her would not expect her to be the same person whose competitive drive and skill makes her one of the most accomplished swimmers in Rice history.

Clark began swimming competitively yearround at the age of nine, but in about two months, her demanding schedule of two-a-day practices and traveling for meets might be over. She says the reality of the impending shock of not swimming competitively again has not hit her yet. “[Swimming] has been such a large part of my life,” Clark said. “Swimming takes so much time and it becomes your identity. People know me as ‘the swimmer.’”

From the moment she came to Rice as a graduate of Klein High School, 45 minutes north of Rice, she took the pool by storm and made an immediate contribution to the Owl’s swim team.

She shared the team’s Rookie of the Year award, won three individual bronze medals and broke a Rice record in her first season as an Owl. That summer, Clark competed in the United States Olympic Team Trials. Commonly referred to as “Trials,” the meet is held every four years before the Summer Olympics to select the participants for the U.S. swim team. Clark competed in those Trials in both the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter freestyle.

According to Clark, her goal was to achieve Olympic Trials cuts in order to compete in more events at the meet and simply enjoy the experience.

It was just cool to be in a setting in which swimming was getting the attention that I feel other sports get.

Casey Clark Rice swimmer

“Obviously, going into Olympic Trials, I didn’t think I was going to make the team,” Clark said. “It was more about the experience of going and trying to maximize the amount of swims there.”

Clark said despite not placing very highly, she recalls the thrill of competing on one of the highest stages.

“It was really cool to just be at that high-profile meet,” Clark said. “They had fireworks on the pool deck and everything. It was just cool to be in a setting in which swimming was getting

the attention that I feel other sports get.”

In a long-course meters (Olympic-size 50meter pool) meet in Austin two weeks ago, Clark posted two lifetime best marks in the 100-meter freestyle (57.08) and the 100-meter butterfly (1:00.42), the latter being an Olympic Trials cut.

Despite qualifying for the Olympic Trials once again, Clark is leaning toward not competing in the meet once again in 2016. According to Clark, going to the Trials would require her to train rigorously for over a year more than she would otherwise.

“It is kind of a tricky situation because I am graduating in May and I accepted a job in New Orleans,” Clark said. “With that, I don’t think I would be able to train or compete at the level that I need to be at.”

However, Clark said she has not completely shut the door on swimming in Omaha with the nation’s best once again in July 2016.

“I am just going to start working, but I could take a couple months off and then train again,” Clark said. “If I decide that it is something I can do, then I might.”

Clark’s current focus, however, remains her college meets which take place in a shortcourse yards competition pool. While international meets such as the Olympics take place in 50-meter pools, most meets in the United States occur in 25-yard pools, which make for faster times due to the differences with the metric system and the larger number of turns in the races.

Right now, Clark is working on tapering, or gradually beginning to rest, for the Conference USA Championship Meet in Knoxville, Tennessee on Feb. 18-21 and for the NCAA Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina a month

later. As possibly the only Owls swimmer to compete in both meets, Clark said she has to find a way to be rested yet prepared.

“I am sort of half-tapering for conference and half-tapering for national,” Clark said.

“Just points-wise, it does not make sense for me to not be rested and conference and not try to swim at the top level, but at the same time, I can’t put all of my eggs in that basket and not do well at nationals.”

Clark is looking forward to bringing back a second consecutive conference championship to Rice. In last year’s meet where she was named the Swimmer of the Meet, the Owls won the conference. This year, she said it will be much more difficult to attain that level of success.

“Our conference is going to be way more challenging,” Clark said. “Last year we won it handily by about 300 points. It is going to be a lot more challenging, but we are definitely a stronger team this year.”

With a conference championship meet, NCAA championships and even possibly another Olympic Trials left for her, she currently sits atop the Rice swimming record books with individual school records in the 100 yard freestyle (49.26), 100 backstroke (53.86), 200 freestyle (1:45.69), 200 butterfly (1:57.28) and in her favorite event, the 100 butterfly (52.70). In addition, she has been a member of four of the school’s five record setting relays. Clark said it might take another record-breaking swim for her to attain her goal of reaching the finals at the NCAA championships this year.

“I’ve been twice before but I didn’t make finals,” Clark said. “My goal is to final and score points at NCAAs.”

2015 football schedule contains six home games Evan Neustater Sports Editor

The Rice University Athletic Department released the school’s 2015 football schedule on Feb. 2. The schedule features six home games, the most since 2010. In addition to the home games, the schedule features 11 total games in Texas, with the only out of state game coming against Florida Atlantic University on Oct. 10.

Highlighting the schedule are two road games against the University of Texas at Austin and Baylor University, the 2014 Big 12 co-champion. The schedule features three first-time opponents for Rice in Wagner University, Western Kentucky University, and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

The schedule also features five 2014 bowl teams in Texas, Baylor, WKU, the University of Texas, El Paso and Louisiana Tech University.

Wagner

Western Kentucky

@UTEP

Sept. 5

Oct. 3

Nov. 7

@Texas*

@Florida Atlantic

Southern Miss

Sept. 12

@North Texas Sept. 19

@Baylor* Sept. 26

Oct. 10

Nov. 14

Army

@UTSA*

Oct. 24

Nov. 21

Louisiana Tech

Charlotte

Oct. 31

Nov. 28 * ROAD TRIP

10 SPORTS

the Rice Thresher

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Baseball sweeps Conference USA preseason awards Michael Kidd Thresher Staff

The Conference USA coaches’ poll unanimously announced Rice as the favorite to be crowned 2015 C-USA champions on Jan. 28.

Additionally, Rice junior pitcher Blake Fox was named the preseason Pitcher of the Year and senior catcher John Clay Reeves was named preseason Player of the Year.

The Owls are currently ranked no. 13 in the nation on d1baseball.com and no. 15 on Perfect Game.

Reeves made an immediate impact last season in his first year with the Owls. He was named CUSA Newcomer of the Year after starting 56 of the

62 games as catcher and designated hitter, and was among the top players in the Conference in multiple hitting categories with seven home runs, 41 RBIs and a .439 slugging percentage.

Reeves said the seniors on the squad are focused on teaching the younger players what it means to be a part of Rice baseball and have a drive to win in the postseason.

“I think like every other year you want to win, and not just our conference, but go deep into the [NCAA] tournament,” Reeves said. “With this great group of guys and multiple seniors on the team, we want to lead by example and teach the younger guys how to uphold the Rice baseball name.”

Reeves said individual awards are nice but do not take away from preparing and working hard

BLAKE FOX (left)

Preseason Pitcher of the Year Rice Career Record 18-0 In 2014: 1.46 ERA 1.10 WHIP: 12-0 in 15 starts

JOHN CLAY REEVES (right)

Preseason Player of the Year .317 AVG, .360 OBP, 6 HR ,41 RBI

photos courtesy rice athletic communications

day in and day out.

“It’s always nice to be recognized, but every year is different, so we [have] to remain focused and keep working hard daily,” Reeves said.

Fox earned first team all-American honors last season after going 12-0 on the mound with a 1.46 earned run average. He was named one of three finalists for the College Baseball Hall of Fame National Pitcher of the Year award.

Fox said he believes his teammates and coaching staff this season must have a competitive mindset to be successful.

“As a pitcher, my goal is to get out there and compete to the best of my ability to give my team a chance to win,” Fox said. “I believe that if we all go out there and have that same goal then we will

be very successful by [maximizing] all the talent on this team.”

Fox said he was honored to be named as a finalist, but keeps things simple in terms of his approach to the game.

“It was an honor to be named as one of the finalists, [but] just like my past two years … I want to go out there to compete, do my best and have fun,” Fox said.

Head Coach Wayne Graham said Fox and Reeves are key players both on and off the field.

“They are definitive leaders on the team and high citizenship, hard working men,” Graham said. “Obviously Fox has been a great pitcher for us and Reeves is a good catcher who can call his own game and is probably our best hitter.”

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

SPORTS

the Rice Thresher

11

Basketball drops two conference games The Fifth Quarter Kevin Mohanram

Evan Neustater

The Rice University men’s basketball team suffered two consecutive losses on the road this week to the University of Houston 48-59 and the University of North Texas 65-75.

Although Rice and Houston were tied 22-22 at halftime, Houston managed to pull away in the second half, outscoring the Owls by 11 points despite Rice shooting 55 percent from the field. Head Coach Mike Rhoades said loss of focus was an important factor in the defeat against Houston.

“Once again we got off to a good start,” Rhoades said. “I thought it was one of our games where we just lacked enough focus to continue through the game. We did some good things early, got it going a little bit, but we just allowed Houston too many extra shots. We weren’t as aggressive on both ends of the court as we have been in the near past.”

Rhoades also said the team came out strong against North Texas, but once again played a weaker second half. Despite scoring a season-high 15 three-pointers and recording their highest-scoring first half of the season, Rice’s offense stagnated in the second half. Rice led 45-37 at halftime, but was held to only 20 second-half points on 21 percent shooting while the Mean Grean scored 38 points.

“We played a great first half, but they are a very talented team,” Rhoades said. “Our defense was just okay. We had a lot of confidence going into the second half … We just did not get off to a good start [in the second half]. Then it became a dogfight, and we just allowed them too much confidence [and too many easy scores] throughout the second half.

The Owls have two upcoming road games against Marshall University and Western Kentucky University. Rhoades said the team needs to improve its practices to win key road conference games.

“We just [have] to have a really good week of practice and prepare to pull these games out,” Rhoades said. “They’re both good programs, but you know it’s league play, so you have to find a way to win on the road.”

Rice’s next home game is on Thursday, Feb. 12 against Middle Tennessee State University.

The Fifth Quarter is a column written by Sports Editor Evan Neustater. The opinions expressed in the column are solely his.

As I sat in the McMurtry Commons watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of camaraderie in sports that Rice students rarely experience.

The commons’ lights were dimmed and the big game was displayed on the projector screen in HD, large enough for anyone in the room to see. Fans of both the Patriots and the Seahawks sat in the commons and glued their eyes to the screen as the servery made chicken wings, beans and nachos.

Even fans of neither team, including myself, packed the commons to watch the game. After any big play the crowd either erupted with approval, disappointment or both. Watching the game with all those people gave us all insight on how sports can bring a community together and unite people with a common cause.

In the future, I believe Rice or the individual colleges should put in a greater effort to replicate events like this. Not just for the Super Bowl, but especially for Rice athletic events. This past football season it was almost impossible to find a group watching a Rice football game.

Willy’s Pub hosted a watch party for Rice’s game against the University of Notre Dame. Pub was packed with screaming fans who were all united around a desire for Rice to pull off what would have been one of the biggest upsets in school history. Even though Rice ended up losing the game, it showed that Rice students can come together under the banner of athletics and share a common interest in a goal that unites us as Rice Owls.

If Rice athletics has an away game that is televised, Rice or the colleges should show them in a common place where everyone and anyone can watch it. Far too often the student body shows apathy toward sporting events, and perhaps this can be a solution to that problem.

A little school spirit can go a long way in improving our quality of life and community.

Thresher Staff

courtesy rice athletics erik williams

Junior point guard Max Guercy dribbles the ball upcourt during a 48-59 loss to the University of Houston. Guercy currently leads the team in assists, averaging 3.5 assists per game.

Sports Editor

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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

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CLASSIFIEDS @rice.edu WANTED I am very interested in acquiring 1-2 tutors 3-4 days a week. We have 3 eleven year old girls who could benefit from math and science tutors. Please call Marlene Aungier 832-754-3138. Email: Maungier2003@yahoo.com.

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Need tutor for science and math and homework 5-7 hours per week in rice village area for fourth grade student. Contact khuranas@bellsouth.net

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