volume 100, issue no. 1
student-run
Hungry Hungry Owls
60
A guide to the best dining opportunities of Houston’s ongoing Restaurant Weeks
see A&E p. 9 Flags, fashion & first-years Leebron, Hutchinson offer advice while students react to Taiwan flag removal
see Ops p. 6 Hitting the ground running 2014 Conference champion women’s soccer team looks to continue success
see Sports p. 16
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New students reassigned colleges
11
since 1916
26% Asian American
students come from
CHINA
13% Hispanic 6% African American <1% Native American <1% Pacific Islander 4% Multiracial 12% International
students come from
SOUTH KOREA
&
43 students represent 26 other foreign nations
37 % Caucasian
WELCOME TO
RICE
Andrew Ligeralde Assistant News Editor
Several new students faced lastminute changes to their living situations due to a higher than expected number of students committing to Rice University this fall. According to Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson, as of the beginning of August, 11 new students were initially scheduled to share rooms with upperclassmen in order to secure a spot on campus. “We are seeking to provide incentives to upperclassmen to overcrowd their rooms, some financial incentives for them to do that to make spaces for new students,” Hutchinson said. “I would prefer not to overcrowd the rooms of new students since they don’t have a context for knowing what they’re volunteering for if they do that.” Mark Ditman, associate vice president of Housing and Dining, said the incentives work in such a way to prevent students from taking advantage and overcrowding just to save on room and board. “What we don’t want to do is incentivize people to overcrowd a room to save money,” Ditman said. “We think that can have some bad consequences over time. ... Once a bed became available in the college, you had to unwind the overcrowd, and that person would go in the open bed. If they wanted to overcrowd instead of the open bed they could, but the financial incentive would terminate once a bed became open.” However, according to Hutchinson, in cases where colleges could not accommodate any more students, new students were transferred from their original assigned colleges to other colleges where extra beds opened up over the summer. 0see H&D, page 5
wednesday, august 26, 2015
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SAT CRITICAL READING SAT MATH SAT WRITING ACT COMPOSITE
Drew Keller News Editor
Just under 34 percent of the 2,865 students admitted to Rice University in 2015 have enrolled in the class of 2019, according to Vice President for Enrollment Chris Munoz. “We’re really selecting on a national level, the best from the best,” Munoz said. “So you can’t even
760 800 770 35
969 BABY OWLS
& 405 are from
TEXAS
EARLY DECISION 20.4%
15.6%
REGULAR DECISION
imagine what that must be like for Harvard or Stanford. We’re in that world of the students who apply to Rice.” Munoz said the wide range of nationalities, races, languages and extracurricular interests among the matriculating class shows that Rice students do not fit a specific stereotype. As an example, he pointed to the fact that 44 percent of the ma-
triculating class were involved with varsity athletics in high school. “When you think of Rice in terms of image, they always think our students are a bunch of geeks,” Munoz said. “And they may be, but that doesn’t mean they can’t throw a football. … Our geeks are diverse, they have other things they bring to the table.” According to Munoz, an impor-
design by justin park
tant characteristic of Rice students is their flexibility. “Our students often are agile,” Munoz said. “We’re not [the California Institute of Technology], this is not Caltech. Our students often may be outstanding in terms of their quantitative skills, but they can maybe write a novel.” Munoz said all segments of Rice’s 0see 2019, page 3
Hoot, Whoo Deli, Droubi’s shift locations Amber Tong
Assistant News Editor
Hungry Owls returning in the fall may be in for a surprise. The Rice Memorial Center is undergoing renovations to accommodate significant changes in the campus food scene. 4.TacO and The Hoot will be located in what was formerly the window of Droubi’s Mediterranean Grill in the RMC, Droubi’s will move into South Servery and Whoo Deli will move into Sammy’s. According to Susann Glenn, man-
ager of communications for Facilities, Engineering and Planning, the changes are in response to a survey. “We sent out a retail dining survey [to] check in with faculty, staff, graduate students — the people who would most frequent our retail operations,” Glenn said. Glenn said Whoo Deli, a brand owned by Rice and the campus’ top food seller, is moving from its current location at South Servery into Sammy’s lounge in the RMC to increase its visibility and accessibility.
“The deli has a loyal following, and moving it to this location centralizes it [in] the campus,” Glenn said. “It also exposes it to some people who may not have ventured down to the south part of campus to eat. With the number of visitors that travels through the student center, it’s just an excellent option.” Chef and Dining Director Johnny Curet said he expects Droubi’s move to the South Servery where the Whoo Deli was located will benefit the restaurant’s operation.
“We wanted to give Droubi’s a solid location for some dining,” Curet said. “Some of the things that you as an operator have to deal with is sometimes we [have] to close this area down based on the RMC schedule for events. … [In the future they can] operate more successfully, more consistently.” A.J. Droubi, owner of Droubi’s, said while the interior design has improved, customers are still getting used to its new location. 0see RMC, page 5