Choose to #StandwithPP Support Planned Parenthood despite unfair attacks
“
Defunding Planned Parenthood attacks the poor, people of color, young folks and LGBTQ individuals”
See “Intersections,” Rice Gallery’s new installation
see Ops p. 4
volume 100, issue no. 6
SUSE results prompt discussion Anita Alem News Editor
The Rice Women’s Resource Center hosted a discussion on the results of the Survey on Unwanted Sexual Experiences, drawing undergraduate and graduate students as well as members of the administration. RWRC Co-Directors Cristell Perez and Sam Love organized and moderated the event on Wednesday, two days after the results were released. Participants shared concerns over the culture of care, Orientation Week programming and sexual assault education. According to Perez, a Baker College senior, the discussion had three goals: to assess how the campus feels about the results, the current state of initiatives at Rice and steps that need to be undertaken to enact change. “We [hoped] to create a safe space to foster the necessary dialogue and discussion on preventing sexual assault and supporting survivors the best way we can,” Perez said.
Un-bear-able
Think outside the cube
Football team looks to recover after loss to Baylor
see A&E p. 6
student-run
Graduate Student Association President
Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson, Title IX Resource Navigator Kate Hildebrandt and Wiess College Master Alexander Byrd attended the event. Hutchinson said he was present to answer any administrative questions that might arise during the discussion. “I stand with all of you,” Hutchinson said. “This is a problem that affects every one of us on campus deeply and emotionally and we really have to come together as a community.” The discussion began with a reflection on the expansiveness of Rice’s culture of care. Several students, including Student Association Internal Vice President Peter Yun agreed that the strong focus on alcohol can overshadow other aspects of student health. “The culture of care that Rice students talk about is too centered on alcohol,” Yun said. 0see RWRC, page 2
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Visit our website at ricethresher.org
see Sports p. 8
since 1916
wednesday, september 30, 2015
KTRU returning to air after four years Drew Keller News Editor
Rice University’s student-run radio station, KTRU, will begin broadcasting on 96.1 FM on Friday, Oct. 2, according to a station press release. KTRU has been on 90.1 HD2, a digital format, since the sale of its previous FM frequency in 2011. The station will celebrate its return to FM radio with a day of special programming on Friday and a concert held at Rice Memorial Center on Thursday night starting at 7:30 p.m., according to Mike Hua,
one of the event’s organizers. The free concert will feature three local artists: Robert Ellis, Buxton and Deep Cuts. “FM launches right after the concert ends, at midnight,” Hua, a Duncan College sophomore, said. “We have special programming for the first 24 hours of FM on Friday, featuring many of our specialty shows in hour-long segments.” According to an email sent to KTRU DJs, the lineup for the first day of FM includes Hip-Hop, World, Downtempo, Chickenskin, Kids, Americana, Funk and Soul, Elec-
tronic, Local and Mutant Hardcore shows spread throughout the day. Other special features will continue on FM throughout the weekend: For example, Saturday’s Navrang show will include performances by student a capella group Basmati Beats, according to a member of the group. Station Manager Emily Meigs said Friday marks the culmination of a multi-year effort. “Years of work have been put into this project since the sale,” Meigs, a Martel College senior, said. “To see the result of this is awesome. KTRU
These are real folks that we know – these are us, these are our friends. Lynn Fahey
.org
is a great part of Houston’s culture and I think moving back to FM will give students another opportunity to be part of that.” KTRU disc jockey Sunny Sharma, a Brown College senior, also said the station’s return to FM will be beneficial for Houston. “KTRU has had a long and rich history in the Houston music scene, and I think it’s great that we now have the visibility to reach more listeners and grow our organization,” Sharma said. “We’re pretty excited for what the future holds.” 0see KTRU, page 2
sean chu/thresher
Battle of the Owls
Junior right side hitter Chelsea Harris attacks Florida Atlantic University’s double block during a 3-0 victory against FAU. Harris recorded 13 kills in the match as Rice picked up their fifth weekend sweep of the season, also defeating Florida International University earlier in the weekend. Rice has begun C-USA play with a 2-0 start.
Rice ranks 28th in low-income accessibility Maurice Frediere & Meghana Pannala For the Thresher
Rice ranked 28 out of 179 top colleges, both liberal arts and research universities, in an index of the best colleges for low-income students published in the New York Times last month. The New York Times article was based on quantitative factors such as percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, the graduation rate of low-income students and the average net price for low- and middleincome students. Vice President of Enrollment Chris Munoz said he disagrees with the methodology of the ranking. According to Munoz, many parts of the Rice experience that make it egalitarian are not quantifiable,
and therefore discounted the ranking. For example, he said the residential college system makes the social environment much friendlier and less stratified than traditional Greek life. “You’re not competing for a social position,” Munoz said, in reference to the placement of students in residential colleges. “[The college system] creates a more open environment where students with different stripes and interests might find us more appealing.” Student Association President Jazz Silva said she believes Rice has an inclusive social environment. “I don’t think you get a lot of class stratification blatantly out in the open,” Silva said. “I don’t think that people are ostracized for being low-income.” Rice placed first in an August
ranking of race and class interaction by the Princeton Review. However, Rice ranks outside the top 50 for the factor “Pell Grad Share,” the number of students who receive Pell Grants, a form of governmental financial aid, multiplied by recipient graduation rate According to the National Review, low-income students nationwide are not proportionally represented at top colleges and are less likely to achieve high grades. Overall, 20 percent of high-income students qualify as high-achieving while that number is less than 5 percent for low-income students. Lovett College freshman Gunny Liu offered a contrasting viewpoint to those of the other students. “Kids from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t really make it here [to Rice] because of their poor educa-
tional opportunities,” Liu said. Program Director of the Center for College Readiness Sonya Ramirez pointed to Rice’s many resources, including peer advisors, the Center for Written, Oral, and Visual Communication, and the Center for Career Development in helping low-income students achieve their goals. “Rice has one of the highest graduation and retention rates for its students, and much of this can be attributed to the supports available to Rice scholars,” Ramirez said. According to Ramirez, who also serves as the advisor for Generation College, Rice’s mission of engagement with the local community is helping to combat the challenges facing low-income students coming to Rice. 0see DIVERSITY, page 2
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NEWS
0DIVERSITY FROM PAGE 1 “Through the various K-12 opportunities available at Rice, Houston area students are getting to know Rice early in their academic careers,” Ramirez said. “There are opportunities for all students to engage ... with the Rice community.” According to Munoz, campus involvement helps integration into the Rice community. “My advice for any student is to be in-
wednesday, September 30, 2015
the Rice Thresher volved,” Munoz said. “The involvement can take place in ways not based on financial requirements.” Silva offered a contrasting viewpoint to the idea that low-income students can always get involved on campus. “You’re not going to find a lot of economic diversity in terms of the people working at student-run businesses or people who are holding positions of power and have a lot of free time,” she said. “Low-income students have to work.” Lovett College President Griffin Thomas proposed a Student Access and Success Work-
ing Group to the Student Association. “Rice already does a tremendous job of supporting all students and fostering inclusivity and diversity,” Thomas, a junior, said. “Yet more can always be done. My goal for the working group is two fold: to reach out to the student body to create a comprehensive list of the specific challenges low income and first gen[eration] students encounter and work with relevant administrators and faculty members to begin to address these challenges.” The Student Access and Success Working Group will be launched on Wednesday at the SA Senate meeting.
sarah nyquist/thresher
John Lennox, professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, addresses students at a lecture entitled “Has Science Buried God?” on Monday, Sept. 28. Lennox discussed the nature of religious faith in the context of modern scientific advances.
0RWRC FROM PAGE 1 “Currently, it does a poor job of emphasizing the importance of mental health care and sexual assault prevention. We shy away from these topics because they’re hard to talk about, but well-being involves all of it.” Attendees suggested Night of Decadence as an example of an event where emphasis on the culture of care may center around alcohol rather than sexual health. Some students said Rice Health Advisors at certain colleges that hold informational sessions on approaching NOD should instead emphasize the latter. Some students expressed surprise with the statistics present in the survey results, while others said the results were as expected. The survey showed that on average, 18.9 percent of female and 4.9 percent of male undergraduate and graduate students have experienced unwanted sexual contact in their time at Rice. Graduate Student Association President Lynn Fahey said she found it interesting that the graduate student rates were not altogether different from those of undergraduates, although the latter has more preventive programming in place. Fahey said she found the statistics sobering. “These are real folks that we know — these are us, these are our friends,” Fahey said. “It’s so important not to forget what these numbers represent.” Although approximately 40 students were present at the discussion, only about five of the students were male, a fact that attendees SA President Jazz Silva and SA Wellbeing Committee Chair Sanjana Ranganathan raised as problematic. Some attendees also said they felt male students may be less engaged in the issue and feel less inclined to pay attention to sexual assault prevention programs. Ranganathan said she felt the gap between male and female engagement in the issue of sexual assault could be solved institutionally. “New students should have to take a test on Project SAFE and the definition [of] consent,” Ranganathan, a Wiess junior, said. “We take tests on the Honor Code to make sure students understand its importance and complexity, why don’t we take a test on sexual misconduct?”
0KTRU FROM PAGE 1 KTRU, which is staffed by Rice students and volunteers from the local area, received its FM broadcast license in 1970, but switched to the HD2 format in 2011 after the university administration decided to sell its FM frequency and 50,000 watt transmitter to the University of Houston for $9.5 million. UH is currently putting that frequency up for sale again. Kelsey Yule (Hanszen ’11) was the station manager when the administration decided to sell the previous FM frequency and transmitter, a move she said was a serious mistake. “The administration’s sale … was an irreparable breach of the student body’s trust,” Yule said. “The station was built on 40 years of student effort and support from the Houston community, but was sold through a secretive and deceitful process without consultation of the stakeholders.” The new KTRU frequency, which has already been tested, will be broadcast from a new antenna on Rice Stadium at a power of 41 watts and corresponding range of around 5 miles, according to emails sent by station directors. The station’s official call sign will be KBLT-LP, though it will continue to call itself KTRU. In addition to FM radio, KTRU will continue to live stream on the web, on TiVo and Next Gen Radio and on various mobile services including its own app, according to the press release. Jeff Horowitz, KTRU’s station engineer, said the wider audience of FM radio will help KTRU but also places DJs under greater pressure to maintain high standards. “I’m a little anxious about the pressure associated with so many new listeners, but mostly I’m excited we can reach out to more people,” Horowitz, a Brown College sophomore, said. Yule said the move back to FM is a step in the right direction, but the lower range of the new transmitter does not make up for the loss of the old FM frequency. “I am hopeful that the new frequency … will restore some of KTRU’s previous influence, but the majority of the original listening audience will remain unable to access this signal,” Yule said. “Unfortunately, the new frequency and transmitter will not restore what has been lost.” Ranganathan said she acknowledged this wouldn’t solve the problem of sexual assault, but said it would show new students that Rice takes sexual violence prevention seriously. She said the SA Wellbeing Committee is discussing creating a video outlining the key aspects of Rice’s sexual misconduct policy to help students work through complex information, and lend the human aspect of sexual misconduct more visibility.
I stand with all of you ... This is a problem that affects every one of us on campus deeply. John Hutchinson
Dean of Undergraduates
“All of these numbers represent people who have had these awful experiences,” Ranganathan said. “A crucial first step to solving the deeper problem at hand is to show students just how much these experiences affect the people that go through them.” However, Love said it is important not to view Orientation Week as a fix-all for changing campus culture. Perez and Love said moving forward, they will meet with Hutchinson and Title IX Coordinator Don Ostdiek to discuss this issue further. They will also collaborate with student organizations across campus, including the Queer Resource Center and Resident Health Advisors, and graduate students. “As impactful as whatever new initiatives and programs Rice implements, the reality is that sexual assault has roots in the wider culture of the United States,” Love said. “We have to dismantle the patriarchy — and the strict expectations of femininity and masculinity it upholds — if we want to make sexual assault completely disappear.” The SA Senate meeting on Oct. 7 will be held exclusively to discuss the results of the SUSE. The college with the most attendees at the meeting, held in the RMC Grand Hall, will win a television.
wednesday, September 30, 2015
Breakfast opens 15 minutes early Charlie Paul
For the Thresher
Students trying to fit that most important meal of the day in before an 8 a.m. class can now enjoy a more relaxed breakfast thanks to a change in servery hours. West Servery and Baker College Kitchen have begun opening at 7:15 a.m. for continental breakfast, according to Student Association Senator Hannah Todd. “I have a lot of student ideas that I hope to achieve, and this one just seemed really important to me,” Todd, a Wiess College sophomore, said. “You should get your breakfast and start your day right.” Though only Baker and West Servery currently offer these early hours, Todd said there is a possibility of expanding the new hours if students show significant interest. “It’s sort of like a trial run, to look and see how many people are going to this,” Todd said. “It could be something [campus-wide].”
NEWS
the Rice Thresher
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New college application set for 2016 Amber Tong
Assistant News Editor
Rice has joined 80 other U.S. universities and colleges in the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, a new group aiming to make the college application process more accessible and personalized for high school students, particularly those coming from low-income backgrounds, according to Vice President for Enrollment Chris Munoz. “[Low-income] students may not always be aware of all their options,” Munoz said. “So this Coalition is for that primary purpose: to enable [and] encourage students to think about applying to universities much earlier than they have in the past.” As a new organization, the Coalition’s first project is to build an online platform within the next year that has three functions: a brand new online application system, an online portfolio that students can develop from ninth grade through graduation and an interactive interface where students can seek advice from community educators, according to the Coalition’s website.
The new system being developed by the Coalition is meant to be more customizable for colleges and less daunting for applicants than the 600-member Common Application. While the application will have questions for all applicants, the majority of the application will be personalized to each school. The Coalition encourages admissions officers to draw from students’ portfolios. Munoz said the idea behind building a new application system dates back to two years ago, when Rice started to encounter logistical problems with the Common App but had no alternative. “Applications were delayed, processing was delayed, and there was just a whole lot of significant consequences,” Munoz said. “One of the big learning consequences for us at Rice ... was to realize it is not wise to rely on one vehicle for students to be able to submit the applications.” However, Munoz said he does not see the Coalition’s application replacing the Common App entirely. Rather, Rice will continue to use the old system to appeal to a large applicant population. “There are universities who do not meet the requirements to be a member of the Coalition and can be very good choices for students,” Munoz
said. “So we want that student to be in a position to choose to use the Common App.” In addition, having two options instead of one will benefit both the administration and applicants, according to Munoz. “I think that the students and their families as well as universities will be best served by having two viable processes,” Munoz said. Other members of the Coalition include public and private institutions, according to its website. The website states that the basic threshold for membership is a six-year federal graduation rate of 70 percent. To join, public institutions need “affordable tuition along with need-based financial aid for in-state residents,” while private colleges must “provide sufficient financial aid to meet the full, demonstrated financial need of every domestic student they admit.” Munoz said the membership threshold means students can approach the Coalition knowing all participating institutions are committed to economic accessibility. The portfolio and interactive functions of the website will be available in January 2016. The Coalition application will open that summer .
Rice to invest $150 million in tech research initiatives Elana Margosis For the Thresher
Rice University President David Leebron announced a $150 million investment in strategic research initiatives last week. The three-part investment will fund Rice’s molecular nanotechnology research, establish a program in data sciences and promote a broad range of research competitiveness across the university, Leebron said. The investment draws from a combination of endowment, philanthropy and reallocation of resources. Leebron said Rice faculty and alumni, along with leaders in industry and the Texas Medical Center, identified areas to invest where Rice could excel over the next five to 10 years. Criteria included the ability to secure outside funding, access interinstitutional support and achieve national
prominence. According to Leebron, nanotechnology and data sciences best fit these criteria. $49 million of the investment will go to the chemical and biomolecular engineering department, as well as Rice’s programs in materials science and molecular technology. According to Provost Marie Lynn Miranda, this will give Rice a strategic advantage in competing for federal grants. The investment will also further Rice’s reputation as a pioneer in nanotechnology, which began in 1993 with the founding of the world’s first nanotechnology institute. James Tour, a member of Rice’s Smalley-Curl Institute, agreed that the investment will bolster Rice’s standing in the field. “This investment will keep Rice among the premier institutions in nanotechnology, the very place that Rick Smalley and his colleagues had
envisioned when he so pushed for the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, which became the Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology [the nation’s first nanotechnology center] upon his passing,” Tour said. Miranda said Rice will also invest in data sciences, an emerging field with a broad impact. “Data science extends to almost every school, institute and department,” Miranda said. “Name a department and I can tell you ... how data sciences can be helpful, from processing and interpreting digital humanities collections, to understanding voter turnout patterns, to improving cybersecurity.” $43 million will establish a program in data sciences, which Miranda said will focus on developing statistical methods and algorithms and apply them to solve real-world problems.
The initiatives for nanotechnology and data science will also fund 21 new faculty positions, technical staff positions and startup funds. $58 million will be designated to enhancing the postdoctoral candidate program, starting a research venture capital fund for high-risk, high-return initiatives, bolstering resources for grants and facilitating faculty networking. “The most valuable resources of any research university are the time, ideas, initiative and leadership of its faculty and students,” Miranda said. “These initiatives ... support the extraordinary faculty who are already here in each department ... and fill critical gaps that will allow us to achieve our aspirational goals.” Assistant News Editor Andrew Ligeralde contributed to this article.
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Procrastinating work is procrastinating life Economic diversity requires support, not silence Last week, the New York Times published a ranking of top colleges based on their efforts to promote economic diversity, and Rice’s College Access Index ranking was only slightly above average (see p. 1). The ranking, which was based on the proportion of students who receive Pell Grants, the graduation rate of those Pell Grant recipients and the price of college for middle- and low-income students, placed universities on a scale from 0 to 2. In the rankings, a score of 1 was considered average in terms of economic diversity; Rice scored 1.16. We are troubled by the Office of Admissions’ casual dismissal of these rankings as inaccurate on the grounds that Rice’s efforts towards economic diversity can’t be quantified. It was only two weeks ago when the university lauded Rice’s rankings in the U.S. News and World Report, another metric that doesn’t necessarily capture every aspect of the Rice experience. Admissions cannot pick and choose which rankings to uphold and which to disparage. We are quick to validate rankings when they suit us. Students are equally culpable of this. The lack of concern reflects a broader issue of complacency with regards to addressing economic disparity at Rice. Whether these rankings present a holistic view or not, we should reflect on why our economic accessibility score is only slightly above average. Administration must examine whether we are consistently reaching out to students of lower economic backgrounds to learn how we can best support them. Admitting an economically diverse student body is not enough; we must provide additional academic and social support to ensure all students can begin their Rice career on a level playing field. Often, our community makes assumptions. Our peers, professors and administrators often assume a degree of economic luxury that is certainly not applicable to every Rice student. The price of textbooks, lab equipment, Saturday night dinners and various extracurricular opportunities such as Alternative Spring Break are all ubiquitous examples of college-related expenses that many take for granted, but that present a very real burden for others. Some of these issues are relatively easy to tackle; for instance, more professors accept older textbook editions or avoid one-time online access codes. Rice lacks open discussion on economic diversity and accessibility, which go hand in hand with the social issues of race and gender. Although it is easy to say the college system presents an environment in which students are less inclined to divide among socio-economic lines, we may as well be divided if we lack awareness and sensitivity to each other’s backgrounds. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.
Errata In the Sept. 23 issue of the Thresher, the article “Professors reflect on distribution classes” incorrectly states the enrollment of “Greek Civilization and its Legacy” as 5. The enrollment is 14.
Editorial Staff Andrew Ta* Editor in Chief Yasna Haghdoost* Managing Editor Miles Kruppa* Senior Editor news Anita Alem* Editor Drew Keller* Editor Andrew Ligeralde Asst. Editor Amber Tong Asst. Editor Justin Park Designer
College isn’t really that different from high school. So far, the only two things that have surprised me about Rice are how well refrigerated Fondren Library is and how warm it is in Fondren Library’s men’s restroom. (I’m not telling y’all which one!) For me, the biggest difference between high school and Rice is the fact that I have not procrastinated at all in my first few weeks here. So now I will, admittedly prematurely, declare myself an expert on the subject. “Why do we procrastinate?” I say, channeling my inner psychology professor voice. We all know procrastination is bad, and we have all been lectured about it at least once. Simply put, we let ourselves get away with it. The mind of a procrastinator can rationalize almost anything. If I put off my Gen Chem reading, it’s okay, because I can stay up until an ungodly hour to finish it. And if I get a C on a Gen Chem test because of sleep deprivation, it’s okay, I’m not pre-med anyway! Or, as my roommate says, I’m not pre-med anymore! We also tell ourselves that we “just don’t feel like it,” as if in order to be productive we must first be in perfect harmony with the universe. We tell ourselves that sometime in the near future we will be in shape to study
or work out, which is funny because we don’t need to be in shape to study, and the whole point of working out is to get in shape. I contend, as a self-proclaimed expert, that when we say we don’t feel like it, we simply lack self-motivation. We let ourselves off the hook, just like children creating false excuses to escape responsibility. Children are motivated by parental punishment and peer pressure, among other factors. We have become motivated by heartless deadlines instead of self-interest. We are slaves of a self-imposed clockwork deadline machine which, for schoolwork, kicks in at approximately 12:30 a.m. the day something is due. This machine pushes us to a point of sheer desperation where learning loses its joy and definition. It becomes “learning.” Working out becomes “working out.” Don’t succumb to the machine. Fight it. For most of us, procrastination works. We rationalize its consequences and make excuses. In the short term, there seems to be nothing to worry about. But procrastination is not okay in the long run because you can’t procrastinate on life. There is no life after life, in the sense that you cannot relive your college years from the grave. You can’t write for the Thresher from the grave, so I’m told. You can’t relive a late night of frantic study-
ing with your pals. To the upperclassmen especially, you can’t get buzzed off 50-cent Frio beer from the grave, either. Deadlines shouldn’t be heartless; they are purposeful and meaningful. Life is a medley of fleeting deadlines. Your homework deadlines are chances for you to learn a concept. The time before you graduate is time for you to explore your interests, master a subject and live the college life. And the time before you die is time you should savor to the best of your ability. Every deadline, however challenging, is an opportunity to make that bigger picture better. Be aware of deadlines. Confront them with all you’ve got, not with your last-minute grind. Don’t procrastinate on life.
Kenneth Li is a Duncan
College sophomore
The scholarly self: A case for research
Rice proudly promotes itself as a research university while, according to the Office of Institutional Research, 68 percent of Rice University undergraduates do independent research during their time here. But why? What’s the point of spending so much time in the lab, running assays to determine how mTOR or HER2 (or some other protein of the month) is regulated in breast cancer? What benefit do we get pulling all-nighters in the library, poring over mountains of books to characterize Roman Campana reliefs, or finding new ways to deconstruct Tolstoy? Credentialism aside, many undergraduates do research with the prime intention of impacting their fields. Yet this is ill-considered. It’s very difficult to make significant contributions to oncology, classical archaeology, literary theory or any other discipline within three or four years as a part-time undergraduate researcher. So let’s set aside the desire of making contributions, for the proverbial journey in undergraduate research is much more important and enriching than its destination. We need a feasible goal to maintain momentum, but constant fixation on it blinds us to the great rewards of the journey — lengthy, taxing and filled with uncertainties it may be. Save the discovering and breakthrough-ing for when you reach postgraduate school. This journey’s most immediate advantage is the praxis of classroom knowledge. Our remembrance of course material after the final exam perpetually causes much handwringing among professors. That shouldn’t surprise us, seeing as the traditional lecture format renders us passive recipients of an incessant stream of information bordering on the soporific. Research, in contrast, transforms us into active critics and synthesisers of knowledge. Researching lets us take composite ideas in textbooks and lectures, and
opinions Mitch Mackowiak* Editor sports Maddy Adams Editor Evan Neustater Editor Sarah Nyquist Designer art Carrie Jiang Director Jake Nyquist Photo Editor Jessica Kelly Asst. Photo Editor arts & entertainment Kaylen Strench Editor Walden Pemantle Editor Samantha Ding Designer
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apply them in terms that align with our personal interests, beliefs and values. The ideas we play with become part of our identity, taking on new interpretations firmly grounded in our world-views. More significantly, research transmutes our approach to learning. In classrooms, we meet course objectives and learn specific concepts, while in research, we set our own objectives and decide what concepts are even worth learning to begin with. In research, we learn that asking questions is just as important as answering them. Moreover, research teaches us that we can learn from failure. In the classroom, an all-consuming fanaticism for the almighty A often limits, if not outright quashes, our courage to take risks, diminishing any possibility of failure. Research helps us see that we gain more by asking why we failed than asking why we succeeded. It encourages us to challenge the seemingly inscrutable and impenetrable, and ultimately instills in us the intrinsic joy produced by such intrepid scholastic exploration. The most compelling justification for research, still, argues it as an instrument to develop one’s scholarly self. Professors Anthony Grafton (Princeton University) and James Grossman (University of Chicago) describe the scholarly self as “intolerant of weak arguments and loose citation and all other forms of shoddy craftsmanship; a self that doesn’t accept a thesis without asking what assumptions and evidence it rests on; a self that doesn’t have a lot of patience with simpleminded formulas and knows an observation from an opinion and an opinion from an argument.” The qualities of a scholarly self apply to all academic disciplines. When a student makes an independent leap into research, he must pose questions, design experiments, challenge his suppositions and consider evidence
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.
from divergent perspectives. He must then formulate coherent arguments (via countless rounds of revision) and present them in an articulate and compact manner that engages and enlightens the audience. The student emerges a more rigorous and mindful thinker, less apt to make assumptions and more so to develop his own conclusions. He becomes less dogmatic and pedantic, and more conscientious and passionate. To the early humanists, the ideal education created active, productive and ethical citizens out of students. Research fulfills this legacy beautifully. It is, in an epistemic sense, very practical. The student develops sound habits of mind and cogent means of communication, skills necessary to lead a meaningful life that advances understanding of the human condition. This may all sound like fanciful thinking. And maybe it is, just a little bit. But these lofty ideas, at least to me, form the raison d’être of our time here. So to those who are researching, research away; to those who aren’t, give it a try. You might not, in the end, produce any enduring or “useful” results. But why should that matter? In losing yourself amidst your research, you might just discover yourself — your scholarly self. And that, in itself, is a marvelous thing.
Henry Bair is a Baker College junior
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 2015
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
OP-ED
the Rice Thresher
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Support Planned Parenthood funding, ignore mudslinging Rice for Reproductive Justice held an event Tuesday, Sept. 29, entitled #StandWithPP Pink-Out Day. RRJ photographed students holding up signs in support of Planned Parenthood, collected petitions and talked with students about the services Planned Parenthood provides and Congress’ recent efforts to defund the organization. I spoke with Regina Aleis and Bridget Schilling, co-presidents of RRJ, who thought the event was necessary to combat political apathy and misconceptions of Planned Parenthood. “I think the event was important to have because it demonstrates actual support for an organization that positively affects millions of people. Even though a lot of people at Rice support Planned Parenthood and reproductive justice, that does not always translate into action of any kind,” Schilling, a Lovett College junior, said. Aleis, a Lovett College senior, told me many students were unsure about what has happened in Congress. “Some people seemed informed, but others assumed that ... Planned Parenthood had lost the fight and it was over,” Aleis said. The back and forth in popular media combined with partisan politics may make the whole matter confusing to students. The reality of the situation is less confusing than it might seem, and Rice students need to pay attention and take action to support Planned Parenthood. This summer, a controversial pseudoscience anti-abortion organization, misleadingly called the Center for Medical Progress, released a number of heavily edited “sting” videos accusing Planned Parenthood of profiting off illegal abortion procedures. At least six states investigated the CMP’s claims, but none found evidence of illegal activity. Since then, several politicians capitalized on the not-so-coincidentally-timed videos to garner political support from voters. Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz, R-T.X., has made defunding Planned Parenthood a central goal of his campaign and in Congress, in a seriously misguided attempt to appeal to constituents and voters.
Cruz has tried to frame his arguments against funding Planned Parenthood from an anti-abortion standpoint, but the Hyde Amendment already bars any federal funding of abortion, except in the rare case of rape, incest or life endangerment of a Medicaid patient. A recent poll commissioned by Planned Parenthood and conducted by Hart Research Associates showed that a majority of registered voters oppose defunding the organization, including 52 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of Independents. Pushing to defund Planned Parenthood will also likely hurt candidates in the elections: The same poll showed that nearly six in 10 voters said they were more likely to vote for a candidate who did not support efforts to defund Planned Parenthood.
The reality of the situation is less confusing than it might seem, and Rice students need to pay attention and take action to support Planned Parenthood. Similarly, under pressure from politically motivated anti-abortion organizations, many other presidential candidates also pledged to defund Planned Parenthood. Members of Congress followed their lead and proposed legislation to do so. President Barack Obama announced he will veto any legislation that defunds the organization. The House of Representatives and Senate proposed the defunding legislation anyway. The House passed a bill to defund Planned
Parenthood for a year, but Democrats and a few Republicans blocked the Senate version. Congress’ attempt to defund Planned Parenthood was a symbolic attempt to appease interest groups and, quite simply, a waste of time. No matter how extremists try to demonize the organization, the reality is that Planned Parenthood provides life-saving healthcare. Planned Parenthood’s contraceptive services prevent an estimated 515,000 unintended pregnancies each year, which prevents an estimated 216,000 abortions — something we can all support, whether we identify as pro-life or pro-choice. As if preventing unintended pregnancies and abortions wasn’t enough, in 2010, taxpayers saved over $7 for every $1 invested in family planning services. But the scope of care Planned Parenthood provides is far wider than pregnancy prevention. The organization is instrumental in screening for and treating conditions like cervical cancer, breast cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease and endometriosis — conditions which can lead to potentially fatal complications. Planned Parenthood also diagnoses and treats sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and is essential in preventing widespread outbreaks of infections. Defunding Planned Parenthood attacks the poor, people of color, young folks and LGBTQ individuals. Their clinics provide affordable, high-quality care to people who need it most and who would otherwise go without care. These economically vulnerable populations are the most impacted when family planning facilities like Planned Parenthood, often the only affordable source of healthcare, are closed, according to a report by the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. Opponents of Planned Parenthood argue that other publicly funded clinics could meet the demand left by a defunding of Planned Parenthood. However, in states like Texas, where the legislature has slashed family planning programs, alternative family planning clinics have been hit hard. In 2011, the Texas legislature cut family planning fund-
ing by two thirds, which caused 76 clinics (including dozens unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood and that did not provide abortion services) across the state to cut staff, reduce services, increase prices and, in some cases, close altogether, according to the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health’s 2013 Nuestro Texas report. It’s not just Texas. The U.S. simply lacks the public health infrastructure to serve patients who would need care if Planned Parenthood became unaffordable for lowincome individuals or closed its clinics. Not only do existing clinics lack the capacity to handle a greater volume of patients, but the resulting unintended pregnancies, cancers, infections and other health concerns Planned Parenthood previously addressed would result in astronomical costs for taxpayers. There’s good news, though — your individual actions can have a massive impact on public health. Register to vote if you haven’t already, vote for candidates who value people over politics and publicly stand with Planned Parenthood. Although it might be a little uncomfortable, talk about Planned Parenthood with your friends and let them know why you support funding the organization. Promoting public health, preventing unintended pregnancies and saving taxpayers’ money? Those are reasons for us all to #StandWithPP. Will Rice College senior Micaela Canales contributed to this op-ed.
Elana Margosis is a
Duncan College freshman
Future Alumni Committee Update paid for by the student association
The Life after Rice Lunch series will provide current students the opportunity to have lunch with members of the Association of Rice Alumni (ARA). The inaugural lunch event will be hosted by two members of the ARA board Jason Perlioni ’94 and Michol Ecklund ’97 on Oct. 8 at 12:10 p.m. Eleven students will have the opportunity to have lunch with Jason and
Michol at Cohen house and discuss what life looks like on the other side of the sallyport. This event is open to all students. This event will occur once a month, so be sure to keep a look out for Future Alumni Committee Events by liking us on Facebook! Register online at this link: https:// goo.gl/Tn7mRG
Be sure to put these upcoming Senate meeting & locations in your calendar! All meetings are Wednesdays, 8-9 pm.
SEPT. 30
courtesy rice student association
Member of the month: Hannah Todd The Student Association Member of the Month for October is: Hannah Todd! Hannah is the SA senator from Wiess College. in the past few weeks, she has been working with Housing and Dining on meal plan flexibility, and her most recent accomplishment is collaborating with Julie Bogar to have earlier breakfast times available at West servery and Baker College Kitchen. Keep it up, Hannah!
Introducing Open SA The Student Association has recently made a huge push toward transparency with an initiative called “Open SA,” and we are establishing a new internal standard for openness and collaboration. In the past, the SA has had incidences of duplication of efforts. We want to eliminate this, and instead, combine common interests rather than having multiple groups working separately on the same proj-
ect. Open SA is also a tangible way to show the general Rice community the inner goings-on of the SA, as well as a way for the community to hold us accountable for what we do. To see what we’ve been up to, Open SA is accessible on our website (sa. rice.edu) under the governments → projects tab.
Lovett Commons
OCT. 7
Grand Hall
OCT. 14
Brown Commons
OCT. 21
Jones Commons
OCT. 28
Wiess Commons
SA Initiave Fund applications open! Applications for the Initiative Fund are out! The Student Association Initiative Fund was established through a vote of the student body to increase opportunities on campus. The purpose of the fund is to further the interests of the student body and the Rice University community in general by providing a funding source for organizations. We hope to support
student-related programming that enhance campus spirit, expand educational and cultural opportunities and provide opportunities that otherwise seem valuable to students. Applications are due Oct. 7 at 11:59 p.m. Check sa.rice.edu/initiatives/initiativefund for more details.
arts
ENTERTAINMENT
6
Rice Gallery debuts shadowy new exhibit
Agha’s new piece welcomes viewers from all walks of life
vidya ghiri/thresher
Anila Quayyum Agha’s “Intersections,” which opened Sept. 24 at the Rice Gallery, plays with shape, light and shadow to create a powerful viewer experience.
Lenna Mendoza Thresher Staff
A six-foot cube hangs from the ceiling in the center of the gallery, with a single light bulb suspended in the middle of the box. Together, they manage to fill the entire space, from ceiling to floor, with patterned shadows that are composed of lines and geometric shapes. The details of the cube are defined and delicate, but they become distorted as they fill the rest of the room; the patterns are stretched and expanded on the walls. It is impossible to step into the gallery without becoming yet another piece of the art: The light and shadow from the center of the room are cast onto the viewer’s body, while the viewer’s shadow is thrown to the floor and the wall behind them. Artist Anila Quayyum Agha’s piece, “Intersections,” opened the evening of Sept. 24, and is currently on display in the Rice Gallery with the support and collaboration of the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance. The previously mentioned interaction between viewer and piece was one of the most important elements of “Intersections.” “I wanted to make a space that would actually welcome people from all walks of life,” Agha said. “So if you look at your shadow, it becomes anonymous, and it also becomes a part of the space.”
For Agha, “Intersections” is a culmination of many themes she has worked with over the years, such as gender, religion, race, light, history and cultural appropriation. She spoke about the relationship between decree and tradition, gender and literacy, East and West. The piece’s simplicity, contrast and size all contribute to its ability to bring together many different facets and topics into one intersectional piece, hence the name “Intersections.” Agha grew up in Pakistan, where her interest in gender originated. “As a young woman and an adolescent growing up in Pakistan … I spent a lot of time inside rather than outside in public spaces,” Agha said. “Women in Pakistan often are discouraged to go to school, or the parents usually have no money for the girls [to] go to school and they end up almost being like servants to the family.” The original conception of the piece, however, came during her 2011 trip to Spain when she visited the Alhambra, a Moorish palace and fortress located in Granada. She was struck by the way the beauty of the Alhambra put tourists in a state of awe. “I noticed that there was a hush in the audience, they were all talking very softly, even amongst themselves,” Agha said. “I’d seen these types of things in mosques in Pakistan, in India, in the Middle East, so it wasn’t an unfamiliar space, but it seemed to welcome everybody.”
As she further contemplated the space, she found even more fascinating connections. The palace, which is centuries old, is filled with new tourists. The palace was built in Spain during the rule of the Moors, and Jews and Christians worked on it as well.
In my mind it all kind of coalesced to create a moment where you can … bring history, concepts, light, literacy, everything together to create this moment of intersection. Anila Quayyum Agha Artist of “Intersections”
“In my mind it all kind of coalesced to create a moment where you can … bring history, concepts, light, literacy, everything together to create this moment of intersection,” Agha said. “It’s almost like enlightenment. So, all of the threads that I work with … came together in that moment.” The Alhambra is filled with Islamic geometric patterns, which Agha photographed and later sketched when she returned to the United States. She then cut the patterns out of paper and stitched these pieces together, noting the way light filtered through the paper. Agha was amazed by the shadows that the patterns created and set out to create a piece which could do something similar on a grander scale. The piece is made of wood, which she painted black after using a laser-cutter to cut out the delicate, intricate patterns. It took Agha a year to complete the piece, due in part to her simultaneously teaching a full load as an associate professor at the Herron School of Art and Design. “Intersections” won the Public Vote Grand Prize and tied for the Juried Grand Prize at the 2014 ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Be sure to check out “Intersections,” and bring a friend or two: The patterns are especially fascinating when they’re projected onto other people. The piece will be on display at the Rice Gallery until Dec. 6, and the gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday each week.
Local artist surrounds viewers with media at Matchbox Gallery Esther Kim
For the Thresher
Matchbox Gallery’s latest exhibition, “Surrounded by Searching,” covers the interior of the small gallery, overwhelming the viewer from all sides. The piece’s creator, Chris Henry, is an emerging Houstonian artist with connections to the San Francisco and New York art world. According to Claire O’Malley, a Baker College senior and co-director of Matchbox,“Surrounded by Searching” is meant to represent the way media envelopes and forces itself upon the user. O’Malley said that Henry, who himself maintains an active Internet presence through Tumblr and other social media websites, uses the inter-
action between the user and the web as his primary inspiration. “Henry takes image searches from things that are Rice-related, and then abstracts them in the same way that a computer glitches,” O’Malley said. The intended effect is to convey the experience of slow and searching connections, regressing to the point in which all that remains are solid plates of color. As the title suggests, Henry’s work also explores the experience of being “surrounded by searching.” “[Henry expresses] the imagery and the bombardment that we deal with everyday,” O’Malley said. “He creates paintings in a huge scale so that when you walk into the gallery, you are sort of engulfed by the digital imagery that is abstracted.”
Artists who wish to have their art displayed at Matchbox must apply to O’Malley and CoDirector George Hewitt. According to O’Malley, their decision to accept Henry’s application was influenced by the fact that he was willing to engage with the space and a context that fit into Rice: His work was “site-specific,” and he is a contemporary emerging artist. Once Henry was selected, O’Malley and Hewitt had to start the task of putting the show together, which O’Malley referred to as a “whirlwind.” She said there was even some slight controversy. Though she said viewers most likely would not have noticed, she felt that some of the artists ideas presented in the work were intentionally critical of Rice.
“[They critiqued] college culture, [addressing] the idea that the privilege and power and responsibility that students possess here come from being an elite, educated person from an elite university,” O’Malley said. O’Malley said these themes put her and Hewitt in a difficult position: As representatives of the visual and dramatic arts department at Rice, they have a responsibility to present work that facilitates interesting discussions, but also which is not political to the point of being counter to campus values and culture. O’Malley noted that fortunately, Henry was very responsive to feedback, and that the issues were able to be resolved. “Surrounded by Searching” is currently on display at the Matchbox Gallery in Sewall Courtyard.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
WHAT’S HIP RIGHT NOW APP:
TECH:
Tap Slash
OLED TV Screens
courtesy tap slash
In a phrase: “Siri meets keyboard.” Where to find it: tapslash.com If you’re anything like me, you’re pretty tired of the fact that every time you want to show your friend a hilarious new video over text, you have to open your browser, find it in YouTube and copy and paste the URL. Fortunately, now you need to look no further than Slash Keyboard — a new app that offers an intelligent way to toggle between other apps by simply using your phone’s keyboard — to complete this task. When you install the keyboard, a new “forward slash” icon will appear by your spacebar. Pressing this slash will allow you to search a variety of applications and embed content which would otherwise require you to close your current application. For example, if you want to share a Kendrick Lamar song with a buddy, you need only text “/ Spotify Kendrick” and the app will automatically search through Spotify, allowing you to quickly find and send the song. The app also includes auto-complete features that will recognize certain phrases and automatically open applications, just like Siri. Hopefully, if Slash makes a big enough splash, the classic frustrations of constantly cycling between apps and yelling at your phone’s voice recognition system will become a thing of the past.
A&E
the Rice Thresher
7
by jacob saldinger
MUSIC:
Happy Birthday
courtesy samsung
courtesy public domain
In a phrase: “An entirely new viewing experience for those with a little extra cash.” Where to find it: Various TV stores
In a phrase: “This was illegal?” Where to find it: At birthday parties around America
Let’s start with a quick lesson on screens. Most of the TV and computer screens we run into on a daily basis are Liquid Crystal Display screens, which rely on light to illuminate an image. A higher end version of this screen is the Light Emitting Diode screen, which is nearly the same, but offers better lighting control and contrast. The name LED (just like the LED lights in our house) is actually misleading, as these LED screens are really just the old LCD screens with LED backlights. Now, however, there’s something truly new: OLED, or organic LED. OLED screens operate in an entirely different way from their predecessors. They feature thousands of tiny individual light pixels that emit a much higher quality of color. One of the key features of the OLED screen is when showing the color black, it can have a complete absence of color by turning off the pixel rather than trying to block out the backlights like other screens, resulting in truer blacks and a better viewing experience. Right now the major drawback to OLED is the price tag: A 65” screen costs about $7,000. But if this technology becomes more widespread, the price may drop so it will become more than a pipe dream for the average cash-strapped college student.
Some people on this campus choose to listen to music legally while others get their music from more … questionable sources. What might shock most of us, however, is that up until last week we have all been infringing on music copyright since we were in diapers. Last week, a judge in Los Angeles ruled for the first time that the song “Happy Birthday” — yes, the one with the “chacha-chas” that you sing while grouped around the cake — is no longer copyrighted material. Yes, that’s right — you may not have realized it, but since 1935, Warner/Chappell Music has had the rights to this popular celebratory song. While copyright lawyers may not have shown up to your seventh birthday party, this copyright was taken rather seriously. Movies and TV shows would often sing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” in place of “Happy Birthday” while restaurants such as Applebee’s had their own special birthday songs so as not to invoke the wrath of the copyright owner’s legal department. Thanks to the LA judge, the trademark is now said to cover only the specific musical score and not the overall song and tune. So next time you become a year older, sing “Happy Birthday” and sleep comfortably knowing you can do so without legal consequences.
FOOD:
Pumpkin Spice Kahlua
courtesy kahlua
In a phrase: “Traditional fall treat with a kick.” Where to find it: At your local adult beverage store As the temperature drops from hot and humid to just humid, it’s apparent that fall is upon us. In addition to red leaves and overcast afternoons, we are about to be inundated with a flood of pumpkin-flavored fall goodies, such as pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie and, of course, the pumpkin spice latte. Now, however, those who enjoy the pumpkin spice flavor (and are over the age of 21) have something new to look forward to: Pumpkin Spice Kahlua. This beverage is similar the traditional Kahlua coffee liqueur with an added tang of pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg. Like the Kahlua most of us are familiar with, this beverage contains 20 percent alcohol and offers a variety intriguing of mixing combinations. Enjoy this seasonal beverage with milk, over ice cream or in your favorite cocktail, and know that they really do have a flavor for everything.
Sports is on Twitter. Get the scoop at twitter.com/ThresherSports
8
Soccer looks to repeat C-USA title photo courtesy megan stearman/wku athletics
Sophomore midfielder Samantha Chaiken defends against Western Kentucky University’s possession during a 3-1 victory over the Hilltoppers. The Owls followed the win with a 0-1 loss against Marshall University, the second time Rice has been shut out in their last three matches. The Owls, who were projected to finish first in Conference USA, are now 5-4-1 on the season including a mark of 1-1 in conference play.
Michael Kidd Thresher Staff
Rice vs. Western Kentucky
3-1
Rice vs. Marshall
0-1
As the Conference USA portion of the 2015 season begins, the Rice University soccer team will look to make a run towards securing back to back championships. Before the season began, Rice swept all preseason accolades and was tabbed by the C-USA coaches’ poll as favorites to repeat. With senior Lauren Hughes (Preseason Offensive Player of the Year) and junior Jenny Fichera (Preseason Defensive Player of the Year) at the helm, the
Owls began play this weekend with a pair of road matches at Western Kentucky University and Marshall University. The Owls went on to win the league opener on Friday by a score of 3-1 but fell to Marshall 1-0 later on in the weekend. The 1-1 week took the Owls to 5-4-1 (1-1 in C-USA) on the season. The defending champions got off to a quick start in Friday afternoon’s rain-filled matchup against the Hilltoppers. The scoring began in the eighth minute when Hughes fired a shot directly at goal that was saved but was not cleared out of the penalty area. Senior forward Holly Hargreaves quickly redirected the ball into the back of the net to give Rice the early 1-0 advantage. In the 30th minute, the Owls struck again when sophomore defender Aliza Wolfe played a cross into the 18-yard penalty area. Hughes ran up to receive the ball and calmly fired a shot passed the goalkeeper for the 37th time of her Rice career. The Owls took 14 shots in the first half and took a 3-0 lead into the break. Rice won by a final score of 3-1 as the Owls improved their unbeaten record to 13-0-1 when both Hughes and Hargreaves score in a match. The Owls’ next opponent on the schedule was the Marshall Thundering Herd, who were
riding a nine game unbeaten streak into the matchup. In similar fashion to Friday night’s game, the Owls controlled the offensive side of the ball for the majority of the first half but were unable to come up with any goals to show for it. Despite out-shooting Marshall 8-3 to start the game, the two teams were tied at 0 goals apiece headed into the break. In the 66th minute of the match, Rice conceded a goal after a deflection off the crossbar that hit right back to the Marshall player. The defensive pressure applied by Marshall intensified following the goal to the point Rice was able to only get off one shot from the 66th minute onward. The Owls lost by a final score of 1-0 and were shutout for the second time in the last three matches. Head Coach Nicky Adams spoke about the way Rice battled to a Friday night victory and said the team shook off the 0-2 performance from two weeks ago. “This is what I love about my team … the fact that we can let things go,” Adams said. “They have a huge expectation for themselves on winning championships and I was so proud of them for the way they focused the last two weeks after what happened in Ohio.”
Adams said she was disappointed with the Sunday loss but gave full credit to Marshall for the way they stifled the Owls’ opportunities. “I thought in the first half we created tons of opportunities and were unlucky,” Adams said. “I am very disappointed we didn’t get any goals in the first half. Kudos to Marshall for continuing to fight. Marshall is known for being a blue-collar, hard-working team … that was no surprise [to us].” 0see Soccer, page 11
Upcoming Games vs. Florida International
Oct. 2, 7:00 p.m. Holloway Field at Wendel D. Ley Track
vs. Florida Atlantic
Oct. 4 , 1:00 p.m. Holloway Field at Wendel D. Ley Track
Volleyball overcomes illness to defeat Florida teams Andrew Grottkau Thresher Staff
Rice vs. FIU
3-0
Rice vs. FAU
3-0
The Rice Owls volleyball team faced an unanticipated foe this week when 11 Owls fell victim to a contagious stomach virus. Before this major setback, the week was already scheduled to be a difficult one with three Conference USA matches. On Tuesday, however, the team was forced to postpone their match against the University of Texas, San Antonio Roadrunners because of the team-wide illness. The match will be rescheduled for a date to be determined. The Roadrunners were picked to finish second in Conference USA in the preseason coaches’ poll behind Western Kentucky University. The Owls were picked to finish third.
The next scheduled match between the two teams is on Oct. 16 in San Antonio, but the rescheduled match may occur before then. The Owls played both of their scheduled matches later in the week. Rice swept Florida International University 3-0 and Florida Atlantic University 3-0 to open their Conference USA season. Following the victory against FIU, Head Coach Genny Volpe said she was proud of the team’s perseverance. “It was definitely a challenging week,” Volpe said. “But [the team] came out today and looked much better than I expected.” After playing two matches in three days following the illness, the players were physically
drained. Senior Noelle Whitlock said mental toughness was the key to their success during the weekend victories. “We definitely were physically a little exhausted after everything we’ve been through this week,” Whitlock said. “But the mental side for us was strong and it helped us get through it.” Volpe also commended the team’s mental fortitude following the victory over FAU. “I think what stood out to us today was just the mental toughness of the team once again,” Volpe said. “They showed it early in the preseason and they continue to show it in spurts.” 0see Volleyball, page 10
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
the Rice Thresher
SPORTS
9
Baylor’s top ranked offense too much for Owls Aniket Tolpadi Thresher Staff
Rice vs. Baylor
17-70
Led by six touchdown passes from Baylor University junior quarterback Seth Russell, including three first-half strikes to junior receiver Corey Coleman, No. 5 Baylor dominated Rice en route to a convincing 70-17 victory, dropping the Owls to 2-2 on the season. The game was close early, as the Owls scored on two of their first three possessions and had the ball at the end of the first quarter, trailing 14-10 but with a chance to take the lead. At the end of an 18-yard scramble, redshirt senior quarterback Driphus Jackson fumbled near midfield and Baylor recovered, giving the nation’s No. 1 ranked offense strong field position. The Bears would then proceed to score 28 unanswered points, showing their offensive mettle and putting the game out of reach. What was considered to be a mismatch turned out to be just that. In addition to Russell’s six touchdown passes, Baylor junior running back Shock Linwood and redshirt freshman running back Terence Williams both eclipsed 100 yards on the ground. The Bears also had 793 yards of offense to Rice’s 246, in addition to earning 39 first downs to Rice’s 20. Perhaps most impressively, ten different Bears caught a pass, further illustrating how smoothly the Baylor offense performed. Rice Head Coach David Bailiff mentioned the respect he has for Baylor, and said the team would have needed to play a perfect game to defeat them. 0see Football, page 11
photo courtesy carl henry/ rice athletic communications
Redshirt freshman running back Walter Austin fields a kick return during a 17-70 loss against Baylor University. Austin had a 74-yard kick return in the first half that set up Rice’s first touchdown of the day, a 24 yard pass from senior quarterback Driphus Jackson to senior wide receiver Dennis Parks.
10 SPORTS
the Rice Thresher
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
0from VOLLEYBALL page 8 The Owls are currently 12-4, their best start to the season since 2009 when they won the Conference USA championship and qualified for the NCAA tournament. If Rice wishes to replicate the success of that season, the team will have to perform strongly over its next stretch of matches. Each of the Owls’ next 13 matches are against Conference USA opponents, not including the conference tournament and the rescheduled match against UTSA. The Owls’ next match will be against the University of North Texas Mean Green (10-8, 2-1 Conference USA) on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.
Upcoming Games vs. North Texas Oct. 2, 7:00 p.m. Denton, Texas
vs. Charlotte
Oct. 4, 12:00 p.m. Charlotte, North Carolina
vs. Middle Tennessee Oct. 11, 1:00 p.m. Tudor Fieldhouse
sean chu/thresher
Redshirt senior outside hitter Noelle Whitlock attacks Florida Atlantic University’s double block during a 3-0 victory on Sept. 27. Rice opened its conference schedule by shutting out both its opponents over the weekend. The Owls are now 12-4 overall, including 2-0 in Conference USA play.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
0from FOOTBALL page 9 “Baylor’s definitely an elite team in college football right now,” Bailiff said. “We knew in order to give us the best opportunity to win we’d have to come in here and play our best, play flawless football offensively, flawless football defensively and flawless special teams. We didn’t, though; we struggled offensively, had too many drive-stopping penalties, and had some busts defensively.” Jackson said Baylor’s top-five ranking is well deserved. “They were as advertised,” Jackson said. “We just got beat physically, and that’s just what it was. We were able to put together some drives but physically we just weren’t able to matchup with them. It’s nothing against our guys, they were just the better team today.” Two of the trademarks of Baylor football over the years have been speed and pace: With skill-position players such as Robert Griffin III, Bryce Petty, Lache Seastrunk, Kendall Wright and Josh Gordon coming through the program over the years, the Bears have boasted incredible speed on offense and taken full advantage of it by playing fast. While some of the names of this year’s team may not be as recognizable, Bailiff said the same principles are intact. “Baylor is just an incredible offensive machine,” Bailiff said. “They just have great players, they can beat you anywhere. They can beat you down the field, they can beat you with a quick dig, just with the type of athletic ability
0from SOCCER page 8 Wolfe, who played 90 minutes in both weekend contests in the defensive backline, said Rice needs to play a full 90 minutes of quality soccer if they want to continue winning games. “Throughout the game we can’t allow any dips in our performance,” Wolfe said. “Conference USA teams are too good to not play our best for a whole game … They will capitalize on our mistakes.” Hargreaves, who scored her first goal of the
the Rice Thresher that they have. That’s where you have got to tackle in space, and we just didn’t.” Bailiff was, however, able to find some positives to take away from this game. According to Bailiff, the defense gained experience from playing against a great quarterback and against a high-tempo offense, two things the Owls will see as they begin Conference USA play. “Hopefully you play games like this and they help you play up-tempo in conference,” Bailiff said. “This game is not about how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you can get back up, and we’re going to have to get back up quick.” The Owls will transition into Conference USA play next week with a matchup against Western Kentucky University, a team Bailiff dubbed as the favorite to win the conference in the preseason. The Hilltoppers are 3-1 this season with the only loss coming at the hands of the Indiana University. Sixth-year senior quarterback Brandon Doughty, the reigning Conference USA MVP, leads their offense. Jackson said Western Kentucky will pose a tough challenge, but they are looking forward to returning home to face another tough opponent. “We’ll flush the film and get ready for Western Kentucky,” Jackson said. “I know we’re going to get some healthy guys back next week and I’m looking forward to playing Western Kentucky.” The Owls will look to get a key conference victory next week at home against Western Kentucky University at 2:30 p.m. at Rice Stadium.
season on Friday, said she is excited to return to Rice next weekend to play a home game for the first time since Sept. 9. “We are really excited to be back at home in front of our fans once again,” Hargreaves said. “Playing under the lights on our own field is one of the greatest feelings in the world.” The Owls will return to Holloway Field this upcoming weekend to continue Conference USA play against two opponents from Florida. On Friday, Oct. 2, the Owls will take on Florida International University. Following this matchup, Rice plays Florida Atlantic University on Sunday afternoon.
SPORTS
11
Yogi Berra, widely considered one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game, died Sept. 22, 2015, at the age of 90. Berra played 19 seasons, 18 of which were with the New York Yankees, and was an 18-time All-Star and 10-time World Series champion. Additionally, Berra won three more titles as a coach and manager. During his career, Berra developed a reputation for his paradoxical quotes, which came to be known as “Yogi-isms.” The following is a student’s open letter to Berra, featuring his quotes and honoring his legacy as a player and interviewee. Dear Yogi, Thank you for making this day necessary. I know you would never answer an anonymous letter, but you don’t have to answer this one. You can observe a lot by watching, and watching you play ball from old reruns on Sportscenter, I can observe that you were pretty special. With 358 home runs and three MVPs, you were proof that baseball is 90 percent mental and that the other half is physical. You made too many wrong mistakes, but hey, even Napoleon had his Watergate. Besides, you never said most of the things you said. It ain’t over till it’s over, so I’m sad that you took that final fork in the road. With you gone, the future ain’t what it used to be. It sure is a good thing you went to other people’s funerals because now, sadly, they’ll be coming to yours. You will be dearly missed, and in a perfect world you’d still be with us. But if the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.
Daniel Russel, Will Rice College freshman
12
BACKPAGE
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
the Rice Thresher
(Read in your best Michael C. Hall [of Dexter fame] voice) It’s 9:00 on a Saturday. No, I’m not talking about the timeless Billy Joel ballad. It’s 9:00 on a Saturday here at Rice, and you’re now faced with the cold reality that you will be going to a Public Party tonight. All week it was in the back of your mind, but you ignored it as you distracted yourself with work. Or maybe you thought, “This weekend it’ll be different. I’m going to have a good time at _____!” But now you’re here, in that all-too-familiar state of despair, bracing yourself for what is to come… 10:30. You try to coolly suggest to your friends that you just take it easy or stay in tonight, but they laugh it off as they stride into the pregames. You make the rounds, maybe have some drinks and try to get into the mindset. Oh hey, there’s that guy from your physics class! And wouldn’t you know it, that’s the girl from your Rice group. Neat-o! You think to yourself, “You know what, this isn’t so bad! Let’s do this!” 10:50. Shotgun Frio Lite. 10:52. Keg stand for 45 seconds. (Not bad, kid.) 10:54. Boot 10:55. Altoid 10:56. Rally 12:15. Now that you’ve had your fill of rage cage and tapped a keg you suspect was really just foam all along, you mobilize to the party. You can hear the music, and you’re feeling loose. As you open the doors and cross the point of no return, you see the writhing mass of sweaty, awkward and sexually frustrated students in front of you. Time to dive in. 12:25:18. You slide to the left. 12:25:21. You slide to the right. 12:25:25. You cha cha real smooth. 12:26. You question the life decisions that have led you to do this for the fifth time in five weeks. 12:30. It feels like it’s been hours. You thought you heard a bleating goat, but you realize it’s just Fetty Wap coming through the speakers. You want to do anything but continue to dance in a small circle, reminding yourself and all of your peers of how uncoordinated you are, but a combination of social pressures and intense FOMO keep you firmly rooted in this groovy hell. 1:30. It’s finally time. At this point, everyone left casts their best “bedroom eyes,” and hoping to avoid the mistake you made that one time at that other public, you decide it’s best to leave. Stumbling back to your room, in a daze from everything just witnessed, you climb into bed and weep gently in your bed and think, “At least I have a week before the next one. Never again.”
Please, don’t let this be you. Together we can change the current social climate of Public Parties at Rice University. You can do your part by sending donations to the Backpage United Traditions Trust (BUTT) as we fight to increase public awareness of important issues like these around campus. We accept Snapcash and Bitcoin, but wire transfers are preferred. The Backpage is satire and written by Joey McGlone and Riley Robertson. For comments or questions, please email thresher@rice.edu.
CLASSIFIEDS WANTED
TEACH FOR TESTMASTERS! 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 jobs@ testmasters.com. AV SPECIALISTS NEEDED: Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church (6221 Main across from Rice University) is looking for technologists to help control AV systems during worship and other events. Live theatre or church AV experience is a plus, but not required. If you enjoy working with technology, all the necessary AV training will be provided. Students will be paid for their time. Contact Steven Patterson at spatterson@palmerchurch.org or 713-529-6196. DRIVER NEEDED TO pick up two kids from elementary school (Galleria area) to Rice campus. Pick up times are mid-afternoon, two days a week. Call 713 348 4094 and leave a message. TUTORS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY! Rice Alum hiring tutors for Middle & High School Math, Natural & Social Science, Foreign Language,
Humanities, and SAT/ACT prep. Reliable transportation required. Pay $30/hr+ based on experience. Contact 832-428-8330 and email resume to siyengar777@gmail.com
å (** '21256 :$17(' å Give a family the chance at happiness. Receive $6,000 per cycle. Qualify for FREE Egg Freezing & Storage. Apply at donate-eggs.com
LOOKING TO HIRE a part time person to take care of my 6 and 10 year old children after school and help out with errands M-Th, help with homework, take to swim lessons, etc. $10/ hour. Located in Bellaire. 10 minutes from Rice. dsternthal@seyfarth.com or 832-570-7081.
SOUTHAMPTON FAMILY NEEDS occasional after school and weekend/evening care for children, 11 and 13. Kids are friendly and well-behaved. Applicant must be okay with
$12 HOURLY. RICE Prof looking for student to transport 12-year-old boy/girl twins from school to afternoon activities & home & help with homework. Must have dependable car. Noon availability on Wednesdays preferable. 3 pm other weekdays. Contact: heinken@rice.edu. EARN MORE THAN $22/hr as a private tutor at Rice alumnus-owned General Academic. You’ll benefit from flexible hours, great clients, and a bike-able office just north of the Rice Village. Apply online at GeneralAcademic.com/Careers.
ADVERTISING
We accept display and classified advertisements. The Thresher reserves the right to refuse any advertising for any reason. Additionally, the Thresher does not take responsibility for the factual content of any ad. Printing an advertisement does not constitute an endorsement by the Thresher. Display advertisements must be received by 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication. First copy free, second copy $5.
dogs. Previous experience working with children preferred. Must have car and references. If interested, call 713-248-5713. PHYSICS/CALCLUS TUTOR needed for neighborhood high school senior. Walking distance from campus. Call - 713-823-5050
Cash, check or credit card payment must accompany your classified advertisement, which must be received by 12 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication. Juan Saldana Business Manager thresher-biz@rice.edu P.O. Box 1892 Houston, TX 77005-1892 (713) 348-4801