The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Writing On The Wall

Novel Nudity

Sumi Ink turns community members into artists working toward an unpretentious common goal see A&E p. 4

Stripper incident shows need for clarification of Title IX, increased dialogue with administration see Ops p. 3

INSIDE

0.07 Off Swim team comes in second place at C-USA championship to Florida International after false start penalty costs them points See Sports p. 6

Rice buys 7,500-sqft property, its third Village purchase this year See P. 2

student-run

volume 99, issue no. 20

since 1916

wednesday, february 25, 2015

Students to develop new Rice apps

by Isaac Schultz For the Thresher

Strippers, Title IX and a president-elect: A community reacts

by Yasna Haghdoost News Editor

Editor’s Note: The identities of students involved in the incident have been protected to ensure their anonymity.

Amid rumors of strippers, alleged Title IX violations and entanglements with Student Judicial Programs, an individual recently elected to the office of McMurtry College president stepped down from his position in an email sent to McMurtry on Feb. 20.

This individual admitted in the email that a group of his friends hired a female stripper for him without his prior knowledge in order to celebrate his victory in the McMurtry presidential race.

The individual cited “numerous complaints received on a multitude of levels” as the reason for his resignation, as well as alleged violations of Title IX as they relate to the college’s public image, a safe sexual environment and the respect of its members.

“No gender, race or ethnicity should ever be objectified in any manner, and I fully admit to violating this ethical standard,” the student wrote. “We have a zero-tolerance policy on this type of behavior, which can lead to things such as sexual harassment, and I definitely made a mistake.”

According to the individual, his resignation came with the knowledge that consequences from SJP would have resulted in him having to step down anyway.

“Though this is my decision and [I] have not been pressured in any way to take this action, this outcome is inevitable because repercussions by SJP would have resulted in a disciplinary infraction which would have caused me to lose my presidency anyway,” the individual wrote.

“Ms. Oscar” at McMurtry: Polarizing Perspectives According to sources, a stripper going by the stage name of Ms. Oscar entered a private room at McMurtry fully clothed at approximately 2 a.m. The McMurtry president-elect was not previously informed of the celebrations: “We just all wanted to support him and celebrate together, and we had no idea that we’d be breaking any rules or that anyone would be harmed by this,” one female partygoer said.

This partygoer estimates that there were around 20 attendees and that Ms. Oscar’s dancing lasted for 30

minutes. Then, according to two attendees, she put her clothes back on, chatted with students for a bit, told them to “stay in school” and walked out of the room fully clothed.

Videos and images of the McMurtry president-elect receiving a lap dance from Ms. Oscar quickly circulated around the college, according to one female McMurtry student who did not attend the festivities and who felt the incident was highly distasteful.

“I just found it totally inappropriate that, on the campus of an educational institution, a woman is being paid to take her clothes off,” the student said. “That wasn’t something I was comfortable with and was made worse by the number of college leaders involved.”

This student complained that the celebrations were loud, widely publicized before and after and did not create an appropriate environment.

“It was loud, lots of people were there and a number of pictures were floating around,” the student said. “It isn’t just about the stripper. It is about the constant minimization and sexualization of women on this campus.

The stripper is just one example of behavior from a small but significant number of boys that I find demeaning and offensive.”

However, one male partygoer argued that Rice has a tradition of sexual expression and that these incidences are appropriate if they are consensual.

“I think there’s a precedent of strippers and sexuality and body acceptance [at Rice],” the partygoer said.

“There are obviously very universally supported public events that have to do with nudity, like Baker 13 and [Night of Decadence]. Any sort of consensual sexual act with adults in a private space is inherently not harassment to others.”

The female partygoer agreed that other events at Rice seem to imply that their celebration was not inappropriate.

“By having those things going on at Rice, it did not make it clear to us that there was something that was inherently wrong with what happened,” the partygoer said.

But the student who opposed the celebration believes that others must be sensitive to community members.

“I think what everyone’s not understanding is that all of us students come from different backgrounds,” the student said. “Just because it doesn’t upset you doesn’t 0see TITLE IX, page 2

On Rice University’s campus, mobile apps have been welcomed with open arms, as Yik Yak and Snapchat have become some of the major forms of quick connection with society. However, there is little in the ways of practical mobile apps. Imminently, this issue will be resolved due to the newest development on Rice’s campus: the mobile app revolution.

Student Association Director of Technology Xilin Liu said a team is developing mobile and web apps that will help with searching for restaurants, tracking inner loop buses and voting on election ballots. Liu said three separate apps might be created: a petitions app, a well-being app and a student life app, the last of which will eventually take the place of the dated Rice app.

The new petitions app will expedite voting for elections, according to Liu, and simplify the acquisition of signatures for petitions. “[The petitions app] has already been released and can be found at upvote.riceapps.org,” Liu said. “Everything works, and we’ll hopefully have it ready by second-round elections … We just need to make it look better.”

Liu said the well-being app will be released by the end of the spring semester, and the student life app by the end of the calendar year.

“The Wellbeing Committee of the SA requested the well-being app, and it was also directly [requested by SA President] Ravi Sheth … and [Dean of Undergraduates] John Hutchinson himself,” Liu said. “Two important features [will be] the blue button system … [and] the Uber[-esque] night escort.”

According to Liu, the blue button system will help the Rice University Police Department track students’ movement using their mobile device if they request aid, rather than students having to stop at blue button kiosks. The Uberinspired night escort service will simplify the process of requesting the night escort bus.

“We aren’t changing anything about the Night Escort bus itself, but simply providing a more accessible, easier way to make reservations,” Liu said.

The student life app will institute features including, but not limited to, a map, servery menus, an events calendar, live updates on the Hoot’s inventory and stock as well as the time, place, opponents and amenities featured at Rice sporting events. “[The student life] app would be targeted for undergraduates,” Liu said. “Our goal is to conglomerate a lot of our apps into one mobile app and replace the current Rice app … We’re hoping to have more functions.”

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NEWS

the Rice Thresher

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

OIE surveys to Rice invests in more Village property gauge academic, career resources Ellen Trinklein Thresher Staff

Andrew Ligeralde Thresher Staff

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness is administering three surveys to Rice University undergraduates this spring. According to John Cornwell, associate vice president of the OIE, the Survey of All Students, Senior Exit Survey and Consortium on Financing Higher Education Enrolled Students Survey will be used to gauge student satisfaction with current academic and career resources.

“Documenting what students currently are doing with internships, externships, research and such is very important to these initiative as Rice plans to increase these experiences and learn from our current best practices,” Cornwell said.

The SAS, which was also released in fall 2014, asks about the university’s teaching, learning and research opportunities to help formulate a plan for the Student Association’s Rice Education of the Future Initiative. Cornwell said he hopes this round of the SAS will expand on the fall results and help the OIE meet the demand for extracurricular learning.

“The results supported the president’s view that undergraduate students value experiential and other out-of-classroom experiences and see them as very important to their Rice education,” Cornwell said. “With the new SA Initiative on the educational experience at Rice and the Office of Development’s ‘Initiative for Students,’ the interest in students’ out-of-classes learning has increased substantially.”

In addition to the SAS, which will be sent to all undergraduates, the OIE will release the SES to all students graduating this spring. According to OIE Senior Survey Administrator Angela Thompson, the SES will ask, among other questions, whether students would still choose to come to Rice if they were entering college today and if there are any changes they would have made to their experience.

As with any survey process, a barrier the OIE faces is student apathy. According to Thompson, the OIE has eliminated this problem by placing holds on student accounts until they complete the surveys.

“Overall, we typically receive between a 96 to 98 percent response rate for the Senior Exit Survey and the Survey of All Students,” Thompson said.

However, not all students are comfortable taking mandatory surveys. Joelle Whyte, a Baker College freshman, said she finds the practice problematic.

“I think there’s a better way for them to convince us,” Whyte said. “They could bribe us with incentives like gift cards, like I’ve seen been done before. I’d definitely take it then.”

Unlike the SAS and SES, the ESS is not mandatory and sent only to a representative sample containing 33 percent of Rice undergraduates. According to Thompson, the responses measure student satisfaction and are compared to those from several peer institutions, including Stanford, Duke and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“We generated a list using a stratified sample method based on gender, ethnicity and matriculation year,” Thompson said.

“This ensures the sample is reflective of the university.”

While all students are guaranteed to receive at least one survey this spring, not all students are clear on their purpose. Becca Hsu, a Jones College sophomore, said she has not been satisfied with the undergraduate survey process.

“The surveys would be nice if we actually knew what they were used for,” Hsu said. “I don’t feel that invested in them because I don’t get how they are being used in the decision making.”

Thompson said that while the results are not available to individual students, they are sent to the departments that use the data for program improvement.

“Program-level reports are provided to each program chair regarding how their students answered the major specific questions from the Senior Exit Survey,” Thompson said. “Copies of the reports are also sent to the Dean of Undergraduates as well as the Center for Teaching Excellence.”

Rice recently closed on its third Rice Village purchase within the last year. In February, Rice acquired the 7,500-square-foot retail building on the corner of Kelvin Drive and Times Boulevard that holds stores such as Miss Saigon Cafe, Yum Yum Cha Cafe and GraceAnne’s Boutique. The Houston real estate website Swamplot estimates the building sold for a little under $4 million.

The Rice Management Company, the group responsible for the management of the Rice endowment, bought two other Rice Village properties in the past year. The first was the multi-building, 193,000-square-foot Village Arcade for an estimated $55 to $60 million, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The second was the 15,273-square-foot Urban Outfitters store.

The Rice Management Company has partnered with Trademark to increase their Village properties’ values. Trademark is a real estate development firm that focuses on outdoor retail and regional malls. In the past, this company has worked on project such as that of Market Street in The Woodlands, TX.

0TITLE IX FROM PAGE 1

mean it doesn’t upset those around you, and you need to respect those around you.”

The President-Elect Social media outlets such as Yik Yak have been buzzing in recent days as a forum for student outrage, discussion and confusion. In an interview with the Thresher, the former McMurtry president-elect said he understood the the perspectives of students and administrators, but voiced concern for the lack of dialogue.

“A lot of students don’t get to hear [the administration]’s side, and so then maybe they don’t understand why the university goes through certain ... things they do,” the individual said.

“Also, the administration might not understand why students have the complaints that they do.”

He said creating a safe environment, citing the Code of Conduct as a general guideline, is of utmost importance.

“Nothing literally went against any sort of written down rule, but it comes down to a question of culture,” the individual said. “Even though we might want to say that strippers are legal, it’s no doubt that for some it’s very demoralizing.

Maybe not everyone agrees with that, but that’s something to be understood.”

But the individual also said the celebration was a new experience and that he can’t imagine having acted any differently.

“I’ve never been to a strip club,” the individual said. “It’s not anything I’d ever seen or done or even contemplated doing. So looking back on the events, it was just so unexpected. I was so surprised by the whole act that I can’t imagine it reasonably, as having proceeded in a different way.”

Ultimately, though, he said this incident can be used as an opportunity to start an important discussion on campus.

“I think it’s good that people are talking about it,” the individual said. “If I can take the blow for this, but prevent [misunderstanding] in the future, I think it’ll all have been worth it.”

Alleged Violations of Title IX, Code of Conduct Under Title IX, if students feel harassed because of their gender or if a hostile educational environment has been created, then they may file a complaint which the administration must respond to and investigate.

According to Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson, equal access is an important component of Title IX and Rice’s Code of Conduct.

“We want to make sure that all of our students have equal access to all the programming, all the faculty, all the facilities,” Hutchinson said.

Don Ostdiek, Associate Dean of Undergraduates and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, emphasizes that determining the existence of a hostile environment is not related to sexual expression. “[Title IX] isn’t the law outlawing everything to do with sex,” Ostdiek said. “In general, if student sexual behavior is consensual all the way around and does not create a hostile environment, then it is not a violation of our standards or of Title IX.” According to Hutchinson, the administration purposely does not produce explicit lists of appropriate or inappropriate behaviors and instead judges incidents on a case-by-case basis.

“We try not to produce those lists because we want our students to learn judgment,” Hutchinson said. “It falls to [the administration] to decide,

geneva vest/thresher

The 7,500-square-foot retail building, which features stores like Miss Saigon Cafe and GraceAnne’s Boutique is Rice’s third purchase of Rice Village property in the past year .

Rice has not yet made any statements on intentions for the purchased properties. In an email statement to the Thresher, the Rice

Management Company stated it made real estate investments to benefit the university’s endowment.

‘Do we believe that the activities that are taking place on campus, or any individual behavior or any individual event, [have] created an environment that produces discrimination on campus?’”

Ostdiek said the discomfort of complainants is not sufficient for an incident to be deemed a violation: A hostile environment must have been created, and this is largely dependent on the context.

“It’s not whether or not [students are] comfortable,” Ostdiek. “It’s whether or not it creates a hostile environment that denies you access to education. The context may change, and the same behavior may create a hostile environment in some situations and not in other situations.”

Hutchinson said it is important that students can opt in or opt out of a behavior .

“If the environment is such that people who would like to opt in to that can opt into it and people who don’t want to are just not there, that’s one thing,” Hutchinson said. “If, instead, it becomes the onus on the individual to decide, ‘I have to get out of this environment in order to opt out of it,’ that’s when we’re in the wrong area.”

ing their performance. The performers are mostly girls, while one or two male students participate mostly as a joke. A prize for the winners generally ranges from $50 to $300. Hanszen provides the stripper pole. “[The contest is] very positively received,” Chu said. “[It’s a] fun, kind of quirky, kind of ‘out there’ event that happens at a party.”

Chu also said that, as a public party with alcohol, the socials submit a form outlining the details of the event to SJP. According to Chu, the socials include “dancing entertainment” as part of the information submitted in the form, but this has never presented an issue to SJP. A female student who won Hanszen’s stripping contest for the past three years said she believes stripping empowers female sexuality.

“It’s indescribable being up on a stage, and it’s just you, and you’re just being marveled at,” the student said. “I think it’s totally empowering.

I don’t see it as demeaning to women.”

This student also said she does not believe there is a difference between students and paid professionals stripping on campus.

“I really don’t think there’s a difference, because I can do on a pole what a professional can do on a pole,” the student said.

Chu agreed stripping is a form of expression and that those offended by Hanszen’s contest have the choice to opt out by not attending.

“It’s a form of entertainment; it’s a form of dance,” Chu said. “Stephen Colbert says it’s a work of art. If people didn’t want to see it, they wouldn’t go to the party.”

Stripping On Campus: Baker College This is not the first time that stripping has occurred on the Rice campus. Last year during the Friday of Willy Week, students at Baker College hired a male stripper to perform in their college commons, which is considered a public space, as part of their Beer Bike celebrations.

If I can take the blow for this, but prevent [misunderstanding] in the future, I think it’ll all have been worth it.

Former McMurtry College president-elect

An email correspondence between a Baker Beer Bike coordinator and Rice’s Purchasing Card Administrator indicated that not only did Baker use college funds to pay for the stripper, but also that the administration was notified of the event.

“As an anti-jack for a sit-in at Baker for lunch, we hired a male stripper to dance,” the coordinator wrote in the email. “Only consenting parties were involved, and he just danced a bit. We ran it by Baker’s adult team before we did it as well.”

According to this Beer Bike coordinator, administration never followed up when the email was sent as clarification.

“There was no other information needed and no repercussions given,” the coordinator said.

“They heard about it multiple times, and they didn’t punish us or try to stop it.”

Stripping on Campus: Hanszen College For as long as his institutional memory can recall, former Hanszen College social Chris Chu cites a stripper contest as a tradition that is part of Hanszen’s annual Mardi Gras party in the spring.

According to Chu, at around midnight, the stage is cleared and students who wish to participate submit a minute-long song to be played dur-

Title IX Interpretations: Damaging or Crucial?

Student response to the application of Title IX to this incident has ranged from enthusiasm to uncertainty. Duncan College senior Anastasia Bolshakov said she sees the incident as beyond the scope of the legislation.

“If this decision was made under the guise of Title IX ... it hurts the enforcement of Title IX,” Bolshakov said. “Title IX was passed to do a lot of good things, but I think this is outside its scope.”

However, Jones College sophomore Jackson Tyler said victims of these incidents are often not taken seriously, including in cases where the incident creates an unsafe senvironment.

“I’m mostly weary of this culture of suspicion of people who file sexual assault or harassment complaints, and I feel like this could be just another situation in which people want to place blame on the victim and not take accountability for themselves,” Tyler said.

Hanszen College senior Thomas Weinlandt said this incient devalues the Title IX legislation.

“By Title IX being used in the case, it cheapens Title IX and makes it all that much harder for people to take it seriously,” Weinlandt said. “It’s probably one of the most important piece of legislation out there for equality on campuses.”

One of the two partygoers interviewed said a large failure has been a lack of dialogue.

“What’s really missing is some sort of dialogue about the whole situation,” the partygoer said. “I think that’s really key, and something that the school has failed on is allowing some sort of avenue to have a real discussion about the events.

If we want to increase our empathy or understanding of others and make real change, there needs to be an interaction.”

As for the other partygoer?

“I think he would have made an amazing president.”

Thresher Staff Member Ellen Trinklein contributed to the reporting of this article.

3

Stripping incident muddles purpose of Title IX A recent incident at McMurtry College involving a stripper and the college president-elect has set into motion a debate about Title IX’s application and the sexual climate on campus (see p.1).

Behind closed doors, the future college president was surprised by a stripper that a friend had hired for him and did not turn her away. According to an email sent to McMurtry on Feb. 22, multiple students filed complaints under Title IX alleging harassment after the circulation of photos and a video of the event. The president-elect announced his resignation in an email to McMurtry on Feb. 20.

In the course of these events, Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson has explained that students must use good judgement when engaging in potentially harmful or harassing practices. Accordingly, the administration cannot and should not outline how students should behave in specific situations, as the vague nature of policies governing student conduct allows for flexibility.

However, the Thresher believes student reaction and confusion in response to this case has shown a need for more robust communication of what it means to act in good judgment. Considering the recent complex applications of Title IX, it is unreasonable to expect those involved at McMurtry to have understood how to act in good judgment in this situation.

The recent federal updates to the Title IX policy have led to the release of an updated student Code of Conduct and the sexual harassment policy, but an unacceptable level of mystery still surrounds this broadly applicable standard. Title IX is an extremely important piece of legislation, and its purpose should not be misunderstood.

Among other things, it has ensured the safety of survivors of sexual harassment by requiring that accommodations be made for their well-being.

It has also provided scholarships for female athletes commensurate with those for male athletes.

In short, it has fought against institutional structures that have prevented women from realizing their right to education.

To prevent Title IX from becoming the focus of student hatred as an excuse to ban all forms of potentially sexual traditions, the administration must clearly communicate the policy’s purpose and implications. Part of Title IX’s purpose is to prevent the creation of a hostile environment that constitutes sexual harassment; some would argue that this incident constitutes such a hostile environment. According to Don Ostdiek, Associate Dean of Undergraduates and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, a hostile environment is not related to sexual expression, but results from preventing students equal access to educational opportunities.

Previous events involving strippers have set a common-knowledge precedent of appropriateness for sexual entertainment. Baker College used college funds to hire a stripper to perform in their commons for Willy Week, and Hanszen College has consistently incorporated a student strip show into their Mardi Gras party. Even Baker 13 and Night of Decadence, both of which occur in highly public spaces, can be construed as stripping.

Considering Student Judicial Programs was made explicitly aware of the funding source and the activity involved in the Baker event, it was

not unreasonable for the students at McMurtry to assume they could hold a similar event behind closed doors. Hutchinson has made clear that “opt-in” environments are acceptable under the policy. Considering those who attended the closed-door event were aware of the proceedings and were not forced to attend, this incidence seems to constitute an “opt-in” environment. If anybody in that room was unable to opt in or opt out, it was the president-elect himself.

Previous events involving strippers have set a common knowledge precedent of appropriateness for sexual entertainment.

The administration should be sensitive to the novelty of this application of Title IX and the precedents set by other incidences of sexual entertainment when determining punishment for those involved. Title IX makes provisions for the survivors of sexual harassment; in this specific case, considering its relationship to sexual harassment, it is unclear if punishing the students involved constitutes an accommodation for the harassed.

Moving forward, SJP can use this case as an example of when students did not use their good judgment, but it seems unfair to punish students from acting based on precedents of approval.

Hutchinson cited a need for students to act as adults would in the real world and use their good judgment. However, in this case, students did act on their good judgment by holding the event behind closed doors and making it opt-in.

The administration has the ability to set precedents for potentially sexual events, like NOD, Baker 13 and other events involving stripping through its adjudication of this incident. In order to gain students’ trust, SJP and administration must recognize student investment in this particular case and engage them in dialogue about the proceedings.

What started as a private celebration of a student’s achievement has become a complicated discussion about what constitutes harassment on a college campus that is regularly home to sexually charged events. This is an important conversation to have, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that multiple individuals’ lives have been unexpectedly altered in the process. The administration and SJP should now work to ensure that students understand what good judgment and the consequences of not exercising good judgment entail.

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

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

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

Students, administration must start Title IX dialogue The Student Association exists so that students can connect with the administration. Right now, students feel completely disjointed from the administration, and now it’s our place to bridge the gap. It’s time that we take the conversation about McMurtry College out of the private realm, off of social media and into the open.

The Student Association has a duty to advocate for student needs. However, if students aren’t aware of the conversations that are occurring behind closed doors, students can never trust that they’re being advocated for. This was written after spending hours meeting with college presidents, members of administration and college masters and talking to students first hand.

Due to student confidentiality, no outside party can ever truly talk about the specifics of the case. However, if you look at this situation very broadly, it can serve as a learning experience for the every single member of the community: Students, students leaders, administration and RAs and masters.

One of the biggest questions being asked among students is, “How does Title IX apply to the situation at McMurtry and to our campus as a whole?” Title IX is a federal civil rights act that prohibits discrimination in educational programs. This includes, but is not limited to, discrimination based on sex or gender. If a student feels that they have been excluded from a campus-wide resource as a result of their gender, and after an investigation this appears to be true, this can be considered a violation of Title IX. The next logical question is, “What resource was being denied in the specific situation at McMurtry?” In order to answer this, we need to understand that student leaders are resources. With an open mind, honestly answer this question: “If a male public figure hypersexualized or objectified a woman, and this knowledge became known to me, would I, as a female, feel as comfortable approaching this same leader with issues regarding my own sexuality?” As reasonable observers, we can say that this answer is no.

Currently the undergraduate population is arguing about what is legal and illegal, when really this situation is much more complex. As a student body, we need to be reminded of why we elect student leaders.

Student leaders are elected to foster a community of acceptance, equality and safety.

Furthermore, they should behave in such a way that does not contradict the values and principles that Rice University holds.

However, this rationale highlights a much bigger problem. We need to know exactly what values our community holds.

We should never be in a situation where, as students, we are surprised about a value or standard that the administration has. While we will never have a written list of what is wrong and what is right, it is clear that we need to be given some sort of guideline to help us. Our community is not malicious. No student on campus wants to offend someone or make them feel excluded. No student has the intent to embarrass the university or jeopardize their own academic career. We need more resources to help us avoid these situations.

What is important now is not what has happened, but what are we going to do.

We are not going to go on a witchhunt for the person(s) who complained. This sets a dangerous and unfair precedent for other students who want to use SJP as a resource in the future. We are not going to demonize any single party in this situation because, as humans, we know that no story is black and white.

The SA is currently planning an open campus forum for the week after spring break to be attended by members of administration and students and moderated by the Student Association. This will be a place to clarify and build a common set of goals within our community in a safe environment. We can’t undo what has already happened, but we can prevent future situations by continuing the conversation.

- Student Association Executive Team

Letter to the Editor:

Conflict was not my intent The Feb. 18 edition of the Thresher ran a front-page article describing a walkout of an event I organized. I do not believe the article fully explained the original intent of the event, which is crucial for its context. The event was focused on Jewish students who would enjoy the opportunity to hear personal stories from reserve soldiers in the Israeli Defense Force.

The event was advertised as such until I became aware, the day before, that the audience would include more than just Jewish students. With this new knowledge, I tried to change the event into more of a questionand-answer where the soldiers would speak for only a few minutes and the remaining

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.

time would be allotted for members of the audience to ask questions. I never believed, which may be a little naive, that the original intent of this event would ever spark a conflict among the Rice community. My favorite thing about this university is that all students are allowed to have different views, and that we can appreciate one another’s views and engage in civil conversation. Peace takes conversation from differing views, and I strongly believe Rice is a campus where this can happen.

Jeremy Reiskind Duncan College Class of 2017

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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Society self-destructs in ‘Black Mirror’ Sophie Newman A&E Editor

“The world’s bloody broken,” says a nurse in the first episode of “Black Mirror” as he prepares to watch the prime minister have sexual intercourse with a pig on national television. This comment, in essence, is the message of “Black Mirror,” a British television anthology that has been dubbed the modern day “Twilight Zone.” If we all have at least a subconscious fear of the way that technology changes society, “Black Mirror” is here to validate our worries. Although each episodes presents a clear cultural critique, the creator, Charlie Brooker, artfully sidesteps condescension in his haunting exposé.

‘Black Mirror’ What it’s about: A British sci-fi anthology series that features speculative fiction with dark and satirical themes that examine modern society, particularly with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies. marcel merwin/thresher

Number of episodes: Six

Students and Houstonians gather to celebrate the opening of Sumi Ink at the Rice Media Center during the week of Feb. 15. Sumi Ink is a Los Angeles-based organization that attempts to bring communities together and foster social interactions through group drawing events.

Where to find it: netflix.com, channel4.com

Writing on the wall: Sumi Ink Kaylen Strench A&E Editor

Last week, Rice students and Houstonians could be found fulfilling every 4-year-old’s fantasy: drawing on the walls. Specifically, they were participating in a unique collaborative art project that involved covering the Rice Media Center with a beautiful and eclectic amalgam of personal expression.

The scheme was planned by Sumi Ink Club, a Los Angeles-based organization established by artists Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara, as part of a movement using group drawing to bring communities together and positively impact social interactions.

The event was organized by the Rice visual and dramatic arts department and spearheaded by Rice professor and artist Natasha Bowdoin. Bowdoin secured an Arts Initiative Grant, offered by Rice to support projects that open people up to the arts, and used it to bring Sumi Ink to Houston.

“I really liked that [Rara and Fischbeck’s] idea is based on the premise of reaching out beyond an art-centric crowd, to all ages and backgrounds, and the concept that everyone can do art, it’s not just an elitist activity,” Bowdoin said. “I thought it would excite both people within the arts department and those outside of it as well.”

The group, which started in 2005, hosts events around the world at institutions, conferences and even casual public spaces, like parks. The group is nonhierarchical and highly participatory; all drawings must be created in the same black Japanese “sumi”

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

ink of uniform consistency, anyone can add to someone else’s drawing and everyone must agree when the drawing is finished.

Every event is free and open to the public, allowing the piece to truly rise from the community consciousness.

At every event, Fischbeck and Rara host multiple drawing sessions at various times during the week and weekend to maximize the variation in participants. At Rice, the drawing sessions took place at varying times throughout the week of Feb. 15.

Everyone can do art, it’s not just an elitist activity.

Natasha Bowdoin VADA professor

“The idea is to get as many people in the community as possible to come out and draw — everyone from little kids to students to seniors,” Bowdoin said. “It’s truly collaborative; everyone works on the same drawing and adds to each other’s pieces, as opposed to just getting a little space to fill with your own work.”

After the event, there was a community-wide celebration with food and drink and an unveiling of the final piece, accompanied by walkthroughs and a talk by Fischbeck and Rara.

The Rice Media Center creation, which closely follows the installation of the Baker College mural and Soundworm projects in the fall, is part of a larger movement in “public art” at Rice. Bowdoin argues, however, that this project not only fits the standard definition of public art, but takes it a step further.

For instance, she points out that all of the work resulting from Sumi Ink events may be freely disseminated. Images of the work are uploaded to a public domain and can be accessed by anyone and used for any purpose.

“Everything that is created in Sumi Ink events, held around the world, is open source,” Bowdoin said. “After the event, people can take photos, make T-shirts, make books. There’s no copyright or individual ownership.”

Bowdoin also notes that Sumi Ink projects are much more community-oriented than traditional public art projects, which involve an artist being invited to a city to construct a work based on their personal vision.

“This project is completely sight-responsive; it uses the people who will later view the work,” Bowdoin said. “It is made by the people and for the people in every respect.”

Though the drawing sessions are over now, the final piece can be viewed at the Rice Media Center. More information about Sumi Ink Club may also be found at their website sumiinkclub.com.

Similar to: The Twilight Zone, Tales of the Unexpected

The first season aired three years ago, but it became available for streaming on Netflix in December. Each episode (of which there are only six) features an entirely different narrative and cast of characters. The show explores everything from political scandal to capital punishment to failing romances, and doesn’t shy away from cringe-worthy issues (i.e., bestiality). That being said, “Black Mirror” is by no means fantasy. While the characters may live in a virtually unrecognizable world, they are at least not unfeeling. The technology they have to respond to those feelings, however, warps their moral judgments in unprecedented ways.

Let’s look at the episode “The Entire History of You.” In this world, citizens have access to all the memories of a lifetime via a “grain” implanted in their heads. A couple, far into their relationship, recalls earlier memories of more passionate times while having sex, each watching his or her own private screen. It’s a haunting scene, to say the least, with the lovers’ eyes inhumanly glazed over. Booker seems to be mocking couples who complain, “I wish we could just go back to the beginning,” or at least asking them to reconsider their point.

In this episode, Booker also considers adultery. The jealous husband questions his partner’s actions, leading to suspicion and irrational behavior — a familiar story. But in this world, the jealous lover is able to exact revenge by forcing his wife 0see Mirror, page 5

RODEO PARADE

ANDY GRAMMER

GOOD EATS

DANISH DANCE

Grab your boots and hats — it’s rodeo time again. The festivities kick off this Saturday, Feb. 28, with the rodeo parade. Starting at 10 a.m., decorative floats and men and women on horseback will come through Bagby, Louisiana, Travis, Bell and Walker streets spreading music and spirit. Get a taste of a true Houston tradition.

Spending spring break on campus doesn’t have to be lame. If you’re staying in Houston, hop on the metro Tuesday, March 3 and catch Andy Grammer at House of Blues. The California pop king will perform songs from his latest album “Back Home.” Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets are around $27.

Kick start your Rodeo celebration the Texas way — with heaps of barbecue. The world championship barbecue contest is three days of music, cooking, eating and competition. With more than 250 teams in the cook-off, you don’t want to miss out on this Texas-sized pregame from Feb. 26–28.

Turns out you don’t have to fly across the Atlantic ocean to see a Danish dance performance. ORBITA, the National Danish Dance Performance Team, will be at Discovery Green on Saturday, March 1, performing a combination of acrobatics and gymnastics. This event is free.

House of Blues 1203 Caroline houseofblues.com

NRG Park One Reliant Park rodeohouston.com

Discovery Green 1500 McKinney St. discoverygreen.com

Downtown Houston rodeohouston.com

A&E

the Rice Thresher

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

5

0MIRROR from page 4

walden pemantle/thresher

Moon Tower Inn is a meat lover’s dream Walden Pemantle Thresher Staff

Don’t try Googling the Moon Tower Inn. Their website www.damngoodfoodcoldassbeer.com simply instructs visitors to “get off the damn internet and get your ass to 3004 Canal St.” There’s no phone number or menu — just a black background and very plain instructions. But even though the website seems unhelpful and unwelcoming, anyone who visits the outdoor bar in the Second Ward is in for a pleasant surprise. The bar itself is every bit as irreverent as the website would lead one to believe, but it’s not unwelcoming; it’s simply unpretentious to the extreme. It’s certainly the only place in Houston where customers can buy a “Fuck Foodies” T-shirt while ordering a venison hot dog with red wine and blueberries to go with one of 66 beers on tap.

It’s hard to describe Moon Tower Inn. On one hand, it’s an outdoor bar that specializes in hot dogs and beer. On the other, the hot dogs come topped with foie gras, marsala and berries; its beer list includes limited-edition brews with names like Clown Shoes Blaecorn Unidragon and Southern Star Black Crack. Moon Tower’s biggest specialty is their wild game pretzel dogs, which are among the most creative and delicious hot dogs in Houston. The wild boar dog, with garlic marsala and provolone, and the duck dog, with white wine and foie gras, are especially impressive and come

heaped with toppings ranging from feta cheese to creole mustard for only $6.96.

Moon Tower Inn Address: 3004 Canal St, 77003 Price range: $ Website: www.damngoodfoodcoldassbeer.com

Recommended Dishes Wild boar dog, $6.96 Hot dog with garlic marsala and provolone Duck dog, $6.96 Hot dog with white wine and foie gras The sandwiches and burgers are also excellent. The Cheech is a satisfying half-pound burger loaded with roasted poblano peppers, bacon and sambal mayo. Its counterpart, the Chong, is also satisfying, and comes with pickled jalapeños, creole mustard and a sunny-side-up egg that make for an odd mix of salty, sour and spicy.

However, the sandwiches are more consistent than the burgers. The Orgasmatron isn’t as filling as the other burgers and dogs, but it’s an espe-

cially tasty mix of flat-ironed ham, pancetta and bacon served with chèvre and pepper compote.

The Morning Wood, maybe the only burger or sandwich whose name relates to what’s on it, is a greasy but delicious mix of bacon, egg, cheese, hash brown bits and onion marmalade.

While Moon Tower Inn is definitely not vegetarian friendly, there is one vegetarian option, the Infamous East Side Vaggieburgler. The only item on a portion of the menu marked “For The Damn Hippies,” the patty is made of black beans, beets and rice and is topped with cilantro, chèvre, onions and sambal mayo. As good as the cooks at Moon Tower are with meat, it feels lacking compared to the other items on the menu. But as a vegetarian option, it’s still better than many other less-inspired veggie burgers.

Aside from its sandwiches and hot dogs, Moon Tower’s biggest asset is its impressive “tap wall,” which boasts 66 different craft beers at any time.

The beer list leaves no stone unturned as far as style goes: Hefeweizens, nitro beers, ciders, lagers, Belgian styles and IPAs can all be found in abundance for between $4 and $7 a glass. For a little more money, plenty of limited edition Christmas ales and high-ABV barley wines are available as well.

Despite what their “Fuck Foodies” T-shirts suggest, Moon Tower Inn is a paradise for foodies, beer enthusiasts and anyone who gets excited about good eating. All that matters is that customers enjoy the food and leave their pretension at the door.

to replay her memories. Is he any better off knowing the truth? Is he justified in such an invasion of privacy? The audience is left with the choice to either sympathize with him or question his moral character.

In “Be Right Back,” a woman grieves over the abrupt loss of her husband. She isn’t coping well, until her friend suggests a service to recreate her husband through bits of information he left in the virtual cloud. She shuns the idea at first, but succumbs in a moment of desperation. While we can identify with the protagonist up to a certain point, her coping mechanism seems outrageous and even a little gross.

Her grieving is clearly justified, but there’s something disturbing about not being able to let go — especially if it means turning the memory of your husband into a machine.

If “Black Mirror” is paranoid about societal judgments, this anxiety reaches a high point with “The Waldo Moment.”

This episode focuses on the campaign tool of Waldo, a talking bear cartoon, whose crudeness is reminiscent of Ted. Waldo “speaks the truth” about politicians and “exposes” their lies and false promises (I speak facetiously, of course, because he is a bear, although he is controlled by a human with a legitimate point).

In any case, citizens respond overwhelmingly positively to his presence in the political world, and even go so far as to support his candidacy. Is Booker hinting that the populace is idiotic enough to elect a talking bear to office, or rightfully outraged at political corruption? It’s hard to say. But the end of the episode, in which the man who voices Waldo becomes a homeless man and victim of police brutality, seems telling.

“Black Mirror,” as its title suggests, presents an interesting paradox: While characters still have recognizable feelings, their ability to reason disappears with the influences of technology and politics. In these dystopian visions, morality vanishes in the face of progress. The end result? Humanity self-destructs.

6

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

Men’s hoops splits games in South Florida Kevin Mohanram Thresher Staff

Rice vs. FIU

56-60 Rice vs. FAU

76-69

After splitting a pair of road games in South Florida this weekend against Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University, the men’s basketball team are in second place in the West Division of Conference USA. After starting the season 6-15, the Owls have won four of their last five, improving their record to 10-6 overall and 7-7 in conference play.

Despite getting outscored on the bench 0-14, FIU ended Rice’s three-game winning streak by defeating the Owls 60-56. The Owls, however, rebounded to defeat Florida Atlantic 76-69 to give the team its 10th win of the year.

Against FIU, the Owls found themselves down 10 late in the game, but came back to lead by four points with two minutes remaining. FIU, however, was able to come back and secure the victory with two late three-pointers.

Head Coach Mike Rhoades said inconsistency on defense and unnecessary fouls ultimately led to the team’s loss.

“We weren’t consistent on defense today and we didn’t get stops,” Rhoades said.

“You’ve got to go earn a victory, and we didn’t do that today. We can’t have our guys that play a lot of minutes picking up silly fouls. Our bench is getting better, and we’ve seen that over the last couple weeks.”

Senior forward Seth Gearhart, who was named Conference USA’s Player of the Week, had his second straight double-double against FIU with 13 points and 11 rebounds, matching his career-high in rebounds. Sophomore guard Marcus Jackson contributed 10 points and junior guard Max Guercy had five assists against FIU. Going into halftime against FAU, the Owls held a 39-32 advantage, a lead they maintained for the remainder of the game. Guercy scored a career-high 25 points on 69 percent shooting from the field, adding six assists.

Gearhart scored 24 points and also shot 4-6 from behind the three-point line.

Rhoades said he was proud of the way the team, especially Guercy, performed against FAU. Rhoades said he was especially excited after the win brought Rice to .500 in conference play.

“I’m really excited we found a way to gut it out,” Rhoades said. “I was really proud of our guys the way we handled the last few minutes. On the road, sometimes you’ve got to win ugly, and tonight was ugly, but we’ll take it.

I know [Guercy] had a couple turnovers late, but he played a great game. He really brought us some energy, and it went a long way.”

The Owls have two home games this week on Thursday, Feb. 26 against Old Dominion University, and on Saturday, Feb. 28 against the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

The tipoffs for both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse.

courtesy donald page

Senior Erin Flanigan swims the mile freestyle during the Conference USA Tournament in Knoxville, TN, winning her third straight individual title. Rice placed second in the tournament behind Florida International University, just falling short of winning their third consecutive conference title.

Swimming finishes second in C-USA Tournament Juan Saldana Thresher Staff

Under the lights of Allan Jones Aquatic Center at the University of Tennessee, the Rice University women’s swimming team competed in the Conference USA championships Feb. 18-21. Aiming for their third straight title victory, the Owls fell short to Florida International University, who won their first C-USA title.

Florida International finished with 765 points, followed by Rice with 661.5. Western Kentucky University placed third with 645, followed by Marshall University, North Texas University, Florida Atlantic University and Old Dominion University.

Rice Head Coach Seth Huston said his team improved from last year’s championship, but simply could not keep up with FIU’s team this year.

“Florida International really had a great team this year,” Huston said. “They just had a lot of firepower. I thought we swam awesome, and in a lot of ways better than last year, but it just wasn’t good enough.”

In the 200 medley relay, the first event of the meet, Rice began with a first place finish and new school record in 1:38.11, only .61 seconds faster than the second-place Western Kentucky relay. The next morning, after Thursday’s prelims session, the relay swam a time trial to attempt to get an NCAA “A Cut” and automatically qualify for the National Championship Meet. The same group of four broke the same record they had set the night before, and clocked in at 1:37.04. The relay qualified for the first time since 2001.

Huston said the victory was significant for Rice’s swimming legacy.

“We’ve had some individuals go [to NCAAs] over the years, but not relays,” Huston said.

“For a small or mid-major school, it is pretty hard to have four high-end swimmers get together and qualify for NCAAs. Not too many

schools this size achieve that.”

Individually, several Owls swam career bests. Senior Casey Clark broke her own school record to win her third straight individual title, swimming the 100-yard butterfly in 51.93 seconds. The time automatically qualified her for the NCAA Championship meet.

Her fellow senior teammate, Erin Flanigan, also won her third consecutive individual title. Flanigan won the mile, or 1650, freestyle.

Huston said senior Madison Livingston performed better than ever before. She finished sixth in the 400-yard individual medley (4:21.27), fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.92) and seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:16.72) “I was really happy with Madison Livingston,” Huston said. “She had the best meet of her career.”

Several underclassmen also contributed to the Owls’ second-place finish. Freshmen Alicia Caldwell and Kiley Beall highlighted the strong performance of the freshman class in the meet. Caldwell’s highest finish was second in the 100 backstroke (53.48). She was also fourth in the 100 freestyle (50.07) and sixth in the 50 freestyle (23.06). Beall also reached the finals in all three of her events, including a school record in the 200 backstroke (1:57.39).

According to Huston, Caldwell and Beall deserved special recognition.

“Alicia Caldwell was just really good,” Huston said. “Every time [Beall] got in the water, she seemed to get faster.”

This year, the Owls performed well in a group of relays — especially the 200- and 400-yard medley relays, which consist of all four strokes. Alicia Caldwell swam the backstroke leadoff leg; Rachel Moody then swam the second breaststroke leg followed by Casey Clark swimming butterfly. Marissa Konicke anchored the relays with her freestyle swim.

The 400 medley relay was disqualified due to an early start in the backstroke-to-breast-

stroke transition. By diving in .07 seconds early, Conference USA automatically disqualified the relay and the Owls lost 40 points.

Huston said the 40-point loss was unfortunate, but did not take away from the Owls’ performance.

“From an emotional standpoint, it was definitely a bummer, but I think we moved on real quick,” Huston said. “You can’t take away how absolutely incredible they swam, and we weren’t going to let a 0.07 of a second early departure ruin what was otherwise one of our best sessions. So the next day we came back and were just as good or better.”

The Owls also competed without a diving team, which cost the team points. Florida International accumulated 79 points from the diving competition.

The Owls plan to continue swimming in postseason meets. Much of the team will be swimming next weekend in a time trial meet to attempt to make qualifying cuts for meets such as the NCAA Championships. Usually, the top 36 swimmers in the country make the NCAA Championships in individual events.

Swimmers such as Moody and Flanigan are looking to swim well next week to join Clark in the individual events.

Following the NCAA Championships and the CSCAA National Invitational Meets, both of which will be held in late March, the team will look to rebuild after losing its senior class.

However, the freshman class, which scored approximately a third of the Owls’ points at the meet, looks to continue Rice’s recent history of success. Huston said the loss of seniors will hurt the team, but the future is in good hands.

“We graduate almost half of our points,” Huston said. “Even though we have our work cut out for us, I feel really good about the swimmers coming back and the passionate commitment that they bring. I’m not worried.”

Baseball takes non-conference series against Arizona in extra innings Michael Kidd Thresher Staff

Rice vs. Arizona

2-1

Following a 5-2 home victory over Houston Baptist University on Feb. 17, the Rice University

baseball team traveled to Tucson, AZ to face the University of Arizona. Rice won both the Friday and Sunday games, giving them the series victory and improving Rice’s record to 5-3.

Junior pitcher Kevin McCanna started Friday night, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing three runs on four hits. The Owls’ offense connected for fourteen hits and drove in eight runs. Rice senior duo of Ford Stainback and John Williamson led the charge offensively. The two combined for five hits and three RBIs on the afternoon. Owls junior

closer Matt Ditman came into the eighth inning with the bases loaded in an 8-5 ballgame and secured a crucial two-out strikeout. He went on to pitch a scoreless ninth inning to clinch the victory by the same score and grant McCanna his first victory of the season.

Saturday’s matchup featured a similar start to Friday’s game when the Owls scored two runs on a bases-loaded single by junior Connor Teykl in the top of the first inning. The Owls later tacked on one more run in the third inning off an error to

take a 3-0 advantage. With a 6-5 lead headed into the ninth inning, the Owls committed four errors in the inning and conceded a steal of home plate to lose 7-6.

On Sunday, back-to-back doubles by Stainback and junior shortstop Leon Byrd helped manufacture two runs for Rice in the first inning for the third straight game. In the seventh inning, a costly error by senior catcher John Clay Reeves allowed the tying run to score, and the game was 0see Baseball, page 7

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

the Rice Thresher

SPORTS

7

0from BASEBALL page 6 even at 4-4 through seven innings. In the top of the 10th inning, freshman Ryan Chandler hit a leadoff double and scored after a throwing error by Arizona at third base. Reeves added an insurance run in the inning, giving Rice a 6-4 lead. Junior Austin Orewiler earned the win for the Owls, shutting down the Wildcat offense for the final 3.1 innings, allowing one hit and walking zero batters.

Despite the loss in Saturday’s game, assistant coach Pat Hallmark said the Arizona series was important for Rice’s ranking. “[Road wins are] the best kinds of wins you can get,” Hallmark said. “Anytime you can go on the road and win a series it’s a huge boost in terms of where our RPI will be. We understand that it’s just one weekend … but it was a major boost for the team.”

Hallmark said the team’s habit of trying to do too much led to the 10 errors over the weekend.

“On defense, we need to play more relaxed and a bit more confident,” Hallmark said. “We know physical errors are part of the game, and we have to forget [them] as soon as they happen. They do not come from a lack of talent, because I feel we are super talented at every position.”

Rice totaled 43 hits in the series, keeping the streak of averaging double-digit hits to start the season. Williamson said having a complete lineup that can drive the ball is a huge advantage for the Owls.

“Hitting is contagious and … having a stacked lineup from start to finish is huge for us,” Williamson said. “If we ... get people in scoring position and execute the way we are taught to, we have been hitting the ball real well and driving guys in.”

As a senior, Williamson said this team has the best team chemistry he’s seen.

“We’ve faced some adversity in terms of having close games,” Williamson said. “That is really going to pay dividends in the postseason.”

The Owls host Stephen F. Austin University on Feb. 25 at 4:30 p.m. before hosting a four-game series this upcoming weekend at home against Stanford University. First pitch is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Games vs. Stanford

Feb. 27, 6 p.m.

Feb. 28, 12 p.m.

Feb. 28, 4 p.m.

Mar. 1, 1 p.m.

Reckling Park

marcel merwin/thresher

Senior captain and handler Nichole Kwee looks to pass during a 7-6 victory over Texas State University in the Houston Antifreeze Tournament on Feb. 21. Torque, the women’s club ultimate team, won the Division III championship last year and looks to repeat after winning the Antifreeze Tournament.

Women’s club ultimate continues history of success Romil Patel

Thresher Staff

Rice University’s club women’s ultimate frisbee team, Torque, competed in and won the Houston Antifreeze Tournament this weekend. After winning the Division III national championship last season, Torque hopes the victory in the tournament is the first step in repeating in 2015.

Rice placed first in the tournament after posting an undefeated 7-0 record. The other teams represented at the tournament were the University of Texas, Austin, Carleton College, Trinity University, University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas A&M University and Texas State University.

On the first day of the tournament, Texas State proved to be the hardest match of the weekend. The game was close throughout, going back and forth between the two sides until Rice won on the deciding point, 7-6.

One of the more anticipated matchups for Rice was against the Carleton Eclipse. They were Rice’s opponent last year at the 2014 USA Ultimate Division III College Championship, in which Rice defeated Carleton 15-9.

During this match, Rice was able to close the gap with a score of 11-5.

On the second day, Rice played Texas State in the finals. Although the game remained tight until halftime with Rice leading 6-4, Rice gained momentum and shut out Texas State in the second half to beat them 13-4.

Senior captain and handler Nichole Kwee said the team’s improvement on defense during the second half led to the team’s victory in the championship round.

“We used halftime to really refocus,” Kwee, a Baker College senior, said. “We made adjustments to have smart matchups on their key players and shut down their deep game.

The whole team really stepped it up on defense.”

The team hopes to continue with their dominant play and hopefully repeat at this year’s College Championships as well.

According to senior deep Erika Danckers, the team’s season goal is to perform to the best of their ability, even if it means not repeating as champions.

“I think there’s a lot of success that can’t be defined by winning or losing at a tournament,” Danckers, a Hanszen College senior, said. “My goal for the team this season is to reach our full potential as a group and really learn to play well with each other.”

Danckers said she hopes to see the team improve over the next few years and possibly advance to higher levels of competition.

“I hope to see our program continue to grow in size and increase our level of play,” Danckers said. “It’d be amazing if in five to 10 years from now we can support multiple teams that are competitive at both the [Division I] and [Division III] level.”

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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

the Rice Thresher

CLASSIFIEDS @rice.edu WANTED Teach for Test Masters! Dynamic and Energetic teachers wanted. Starting pay rate is $20 to $32 per hour. Flexible schedules. We provide all training, all training is paid, and we pay for travel. Email your resume to ricejobs@testmasters.com.

Looking for reliable babysitter to work a couple of days a week, with reliable car and a clean driving record. Preference for spouse of a graduate student. Provide references. oussar7@me.com Looking for a student who has a few hours to spare & help with after school transportation on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays 3pm-4pm. This involves picking up my daughter from school and taking her to gymnastics. $10/hour. Will pay for gas. Call or text Rose @ 281-785-9943. Can give more hours if interested.

School Pick-up and after care needed for two girls (3 1/2 and 2 1/2) from same school, near Memorial Park. Need play time, dinner time, and bath time. Hours: 3-730. Pay $15/ hr. bbtruxillo@yahoo.com

A physician family is looking for a part-time nanny from 6:30pm to 8pm during weekdays.

Girl is 1 yo, boy is 3 yo, both in Daycare right next to Rice campus. Responsibilities: picking up from daycare at 6:30pm, and preferably feed them dinner afterwards (our home is inside TMC right on Holcombe). putao123@ yahoo.com Experienced LSAT tutor, Experienced LSAT tutor, 98 percentile scorer, Georgetown Law graduate. Individualized high-level tutoring. Go into test day confident and ready.

Accepting students for June exam at special rates. Email LSATpro123@gmail.com for details.

Paid intern position. Law office near campus. Part-time now and through summer. Please send resume and letter of interest to freddietrich@msn.com.

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

SPRING BREAK- SOUTH Padre Island, TX. Sleep 6 ppl. Next to water park and all the action. Cell: 956-459-4806 condorental@border-tech.com for rental and details.

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