The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, January 25, 2017

VOLUME 101, ISSUE NO. 16 || WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2017 RICE UNIVERSITY WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

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Inauguration spurs student activism Lizzie Bjork

Thresher Staff

RESIST

Rice students join over 4 million across the globe in activism following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

christina tan/thresher

courtesy amber tong

yutian liu/thresher

top: rice students hold signs in protest during the houston women’s march at city hall. bottom left: duncan college freshmen areli navarro and elaine hennig participate in the women’s march in austin at the texas state capitol. bottom right: will rice college freshman will grimme recites poetry by w.b. yeats at the inauguration day read-in held in the academic quad.

Rice students among thousands of protesters marching for women’s rights in Houston, Austin Yasna Haghdoost Editor-in-Chief

Rice University students and faculty joined thousands marching in the Austin and Houston Women’s Marches last Saturday to show support for women’s rights in light of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Following the marches, the female residential college presidents launched a Rice for Women campaign to mirror the follow-up activities promoted by the organizers of the Women’s March in D.C. A group of faculty and staff calling themselves themselves the “Posse of the Positive” organized and partially

subsidized charter buses to take students to Austin on the day of the march. Two full buses of graduate and undergraduate students, in addition to several faculty members and their families, made the trip.

Both the Austin march at the Texas State Capitol and the Houston march at City Hall were sister marches to the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. Local news media estimated attendance for the Austin and Houston marches at 50,000 and 22,000, respectively.

McMurtry College President Madhuri Venkateswar, who helped faculty spread the word about the bus trip and attended the Austin march, said she saw the event as an

important step in political advocacy.

“This sort of event brings the community together and helps

We are not going back to the ’50s.

Margaret Beier McMurtryCollege Master people find allies and change. I’m hoping Rice gets less apathetic and moves to advocate for something,”

Venkateswar, a senior, said. “That’s my reason for being here.”

According to Will Rice College master and sociology professor Bridget Gorman, the idea for organizing the trip arose early on during discussions between 12 faculty members on how to increase student involvement.

“For me, anything involving women’s rights is super important, and so I had a hard time deciding even what to put on my sign because there were so many things that have just been really wrong,” Gorman said. “I’m very nervous in the next four years about what it’s going to mean for women’s well-being.”

0see MARCH, page 3

As Donald Trump was sworn in as United States president last Friday, some Rice students gathered for a teach-in addressing current social issues, others congregated in the Academic Quad for a read-in of works of protest and a few flew to Washington D.C. to witness the inauguration.

The teach-in, which was organized

by English professor Lacy Johnson and anthropology professor Zoe Wool, was open to the public. Hundreds of people attended, according to Johnson.

“Each session was either well-attended or full to bursting, which makes it clear to me that there is a hunger for these sorts of conversations and this type of engagement here at Rice,” Johnson said.

The read-in, hosted by the English Undergraduate Association, also accomplished its goal of filling every timeslot and providing four hours of continuous readings, which ranged from literary essays to poetry to political speeches, according to Wiess College sophomore Steffannie Alter, who organized the read-in.

“It was wonderful to see so many people expressing their activism and passion through art, Alter said. “I loved seeing people stop in the quad to sit and listen, or just pause to hear a piece as they walked through — it really convinced me that we were able to bring attention to the sentiments of solidarity we were trying to express.”

In a previous interview with the Thresher, Johnson said she did not consider the teach-in a protest, but when introducing the day’s events, Johnson said she had changed her mind.

“I said no [previously] because it seemed like the right thing to say, but if I’m being honest, yes, of course it is a protest,” Johnson said in an email explaining the change. “But not in the way that you might think. In that jumble of emotions in the days after the election, I landed on despair. I walked through campus and saw that many of us were united in that. For me, if this event is a protest against anything, it is a protest against despair.”

Not every student saw the inauguration as a cause to protest, however. The Rice University College Republicans hosted a watch party in the Duncan College commons. A few Rice students, including Jones College sophomore Jed Greenberg, traveled to Washington to attend the inauguration.

“I’m not the biggest Trump fan, but it was a great experience,” Greenberg said. “We flew into Philly because it was cheaper, and on the drive to D.C. we saw a convoy of RVs with Trump flags, real America converging on D.C. The inauguration itself gave off some very historic vibes — the crowd looked like a sea of red [‘Make America great again’] hats.”

Brown College freshman Carly Frieders said it seemed everyone who attended the teach-in was opposed to Trump’s policies.

“However, I don’t think that means the event was unfairly biased,” Frieders said. “When a president rises to power by attacking already marginalized groups and blatantly distorting fact, I think students and academics have a right and a responsibility to lend their expertise to the discourse and respond without having to equivocate about the dangers that the leader presents.”

The morning session consisted of panels focusing on histories of dissent, immigration laws and climate change.

0see TEACH-IN, page 4

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NEWS

the Rice Thresher

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Students face collapsing roof, scalding water in dorms Emily Abdow, Biz Rasich & Anna Ta News Editor & Assistant News Editors

Across campus, students have been experiencing partially caving ceilings, potentially scalding water and other structural problems at various residential colleges.

Rice University Housing and Dining has implemented temporary fixes and is working on long-term solutions, according to H&D Senior Business Director David McDonald, who said the weather related damage seen at Will Rice College is often unpredictable “To have a few issues in a few hundred square feet out of a million and a half is not unheard of and we hate when it happens, obviously, but we can’t predict everything and we respond to it in kind,” McDonald said.

Will Rice Students were forced to evacuate parts of Will Rice’s old dormitory early last Wednesday morning after parts of the fourth floor ceiling fell in and leakage occurred throughout the building during a heavy rainstorm. H&D permitted students to return to their rooms the same day and expects repairs to be finished by the end of the week.

McDonald also said H&D is looking into installing a device to prevent future drain blockage.

“Will Rice, that was just a perfect storm,” McDonald said. “We believe this occurred due to a clogged drain outside on the deck of the fifth floor. Once this was cleared, water was draining normally. We are going to have a roofing consultant take a look at the deck.”

Students were evacuated by Rice University Police Department around 7 a.m., but leaking had begun by 5:30 a.m., according to Will Rice freshman Jake Lesher, who lives on the fourth floor.

“I woke up to the sound of what I thought was rain, but after a moment, I realized it was coming from inside the room and the roof was leaking,” Lesher said. “I got out of bed and started cleaning it up with a towel when chunks of plaster started falling from the ceiling. Mud and dirt covered everything.”

According to H&D, the heavy rainfall also caused leaking in the commons of Jones College.

Lovett One of Lovett College’s buildings, colloquially termed “Stinky Leebron” by some students, experienced extreme water temperatures for a week last semester. Daniel Faraldo, a Lovett junior and a resident of “Stinky,” measured the water temperature with a thermometer and found that it was 151.7 degrees Fahrenheit. According to a report prepared by professors at Harvard Medical School, two seconds of exposure to 151-degree water can cause second- and third- degree burns. According to McDonald, 125-130 degrees is the standard range for maximum water temperature.

Faraldo, one of 28 residents in the building, said the water ranged from extremely hot to extremely cold. He also said that the hot water problem was not fixed for a week and the scalding heat made showers unsafe.

H&D prides itself on being very transparent.

We try not to hide anything from you.

If we did, it’s not on purpose.

“[My suitemates] set up a meeting with head H&D people last week and they are planning to run a new water line out to Stinky and the problem should be fixed by the end of the month,” Faraldo said. “However, this is after we sent [around 40] work orders over the course of four months that were largely ignored. Only once the masters go involved did anything get done.”

However, McDonald said the delayed response was due in part to the extensiveness and difficulty of the problem, and that the timing of the student complaint to the Lovett master was coincidental.

“We were acutely aware of the problem in the building, but it simply took this long to figure out what the problem is,” he said. “Four months is a long time ... and we’re the first department to be upset and trying to figure out how to fix this thing.”

Duncan On Friday, Duncan College also had problems with its water when there was a drop in water

pressure and black sediment came out of the showers.

Jackson Stiles, a Duncan freshman, said he experienced the issue firsthand.

“After showering I still felt dirty so I tried to wash my face, but the sink water was milky looking so that was a no-go,” Stiles said. “All in all I was fairly annoyed, but not as much as some of my friends whose water was much worse than mine.”

Nick Theisle, student maintenance representative for Duncan, said that nothing similar had occurred in the fall semester.

H&D Senior Operations Manager Brad Thacker wrote in an email that the sediment in the water was the result of computer control, in which Duncan’s redundancy pumps failed to turn on. “[T]here is a temporary solution in place right now, but you may continue to see some discoloration in the water in the colleges for the 0see FACILITIES, page 4

David McDonald H&D Senior Business Director “After numerous emails to H&D, they stabilized our water temperature but to where it would just be scalding hot all the time, reaching temperatures that we could not be exposed to for any length of time, making showering impossible,” Faraldo said.

According to Faraldo, one H&D worker was burned during the repair. He said that although the building’s water pressure issue is being resolved, H&D did not respond quickly despite repeated attempts to contact them.

courtesy dan faraldo and edward liew

Left: A student at Lovett College holds a thermometer under running water, indicating a scalding temperature of 151.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Right: Parts of the roof of a room in Will Rice College’s old dormitory collapsed and leaked last Wednesday following a heavy rainstorm.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Famed author returns to Rice Emily Abdow News Editor

We interviewed Justin Cronin, New York Times best-selling author of The Passage Trilogy. Cronin previously taught at Rice from 2003 until 2012.

This semester he returned to teach “Narrative Design in Long(er) Fiction.”

What advice would you give to students pursuing more creative paths?

Have no plan B, because plan B has a way of becoming plan A the minute the waters get choppy, which they are bound to do. Making art of any kind can’t be accomplished unless you donate your life to learning how to do it. Hard advice, but there it is.

NEWS

the Rice Thresher

0MARCH

from elected officials and representatives that actually give a shit.”

FROM PAGE 1 McMurtry master and psychology professor Margaret Beier said the event is an important first step in encouraging the Rice community to create impact on various social issues.

“What I like about [the march] is that it’s symbolic, and we can take pictures and we can maybe engage our community to do other things after this, because it’s going to take more than just this march,” Beier said.

McMurtry senior Michael Robinson said he attended the Houston march as a way to involve himself in a broader social movement outside of campus.

“It’s very easy to get trapped in Rice,” Robinson said. “And it’s awesome to see Houston get engaged because we also see the progress that could happen next and [hear]

I was really pissed off [at] how many people referred to our students as snowflakes.

Bridget Gorman Will Rice College Master McMurtry senior Olivia Lee said she felt the Houston march organizers made an admirable effort in promoting intersectional feminism and including diversity.

“I’m here and I think a lot of people are

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here because we want to stay angry, and I think that’s the biggest thing right now,” Lee said.

“Never let what’s happening over the next four years or next eight years seem normal because that’s when you slip into this complacency.”

Gorman said she believes student turnout for the marches is an indication of students’ desire to create changes within their community.

“I was really pissed off following the election [at] how many people referred to our students as snowflakes,” Gorman said. “You all are not weak little snowflakes. You guys are very strong, and I found that deeply offensive.

The response that we’ve had from all of you all — I mean those buses were full, almost all of it was students, and so you guys are great and you are so much more than that. ” Beier said she expects the march to be part of a broader movement for women’s rights.

“That genie’s not going back in the bottle,” Beier said. “We are not going back to the ’50s.”

Managing Editor Anita Alem and former News Editor Amber Tong contributed to this report.

Why did you return to teaching?

I missed it. Writing is enormously solitary, because it has to be, but all those hours in the company of one’s own mind can be burdensome. I was a teacher for 25 years and always enjoyed it — the time with students, talking about books and writing. Writing a novel can come to feel a bit abstract. You put in your 1,000 words for the day, pick up your son at school, make a casserole, go to bed and then get up to start it all over again. What are you accomplishing? Something, probably, but it’s often hard to know what it is. But if you teach a class well, you can feel that right away. You’ve made yourself useful, and it’s a good thing, a satisfying thing, to be useful.

How did your undergraduate experience shape your writing?

I was an English major. This was a long time ago, when college was a lot cheaper and many people went there to form a philosophy of life, rather than to train for a specific career. I had some vague notion that I might like to write fiction but no real idea how to go about this, and in the only creative writing class I took, I got a C+, my worst grade in college. But I read a ton, and that was helpful, and somehow the C+ didn’t demoralize me completely. (To be fair, the stories I wrote in the class were absolutely terrible. Cringe-worthy, would be how I’d describe them now. But I worked very hard on them, and everybody writes bad stories at the start.)

I didn’t take any more creative writing courses in college, but I wrote other things, putting sticks into the fire so to speak, and when I graduated and the time came to apply to law school, which everybody expected me to do, I decided to wait a while, to see what else might come up. (I also didn’t have any money for law school.) I ping-ponged around for a bit, teaching at high schools in Hawaii and Los Angeles, traveling on the cheap and living for a little while in Italy, and eventually ended up at graduate school at the University of Iowa, where everybody spent every hour of every day talking about writers and writing and books, and that was it for me.

What is one book that had an impact on you?

Asking a writer to name one favorite book is like asking a dog to name one favorite smell.

How many years of serious writing did it take before you published your first novel?

I published my first book when I was 37. But of course there were many dark moments when the whole thing seemed like a huge mistake.

Here’s one: In the fall of 1998, I submitted a manuscript to my agent. I’d been toiling over it for many years. She called me back a week later and she said, “I don’t want to be your agent anymore.” Just like that! Boom, pow, game over! But the story ends well; within just a few months, I had a new agent (I’d sent her the same manuscript that my first agent pitched into the flames), and she sold it to Random House.

There’s a moral to this story, obviously, but I’ll let other people decide what it is.

Rudolfo Helen Fernandez, the first Asian-American student to matriculate into Rice, stands at the top left. The Rice University Community of Asian Alumni is hosting several events celebrating Asian-Americans’ legacy at Rice over the past 100 years this Friday.

courtesy campanile

Art show, food sampling, film screening to celebrate 100 years of Asians at Rice Sarah Smati and David Yang Thresher Staff

Rudolfo Hulen Fernandez, a Filipino who entered with the first Rice University matriculating class in 1912, was the school’s first AsianAmerican. 100 years later, the Rice University Community of Asian Alumni will commemorate the history and evolution of the Asian community over the past century with a celebration at the Rice Media Center on Friday.

Today, according to Rice’s Office of Institutional Research, Asians make up approximately a quarter of Rice’s student body.

The commemoration will start with presentations by Rice alumni Anne Chao (Ph.D History ’09), who will display clips from her inprogress movie “A Treasured Heritage: Stories from the Houston Asian American Archive,” and Ed Chen (Baker ’59), who will discuss the history of Asians at Rice. After the presentations, there will be a screening of “Off the Menu: AsianAmericans,” a documentary about Asian cuisine in Houston, co-presented with the Houston AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander Film Festival.

Following the presentations and film, there will be a reception with a sampling of Asian foods provided by local vendors, along with a display of work by current Rice students that include research posters, study abroad videos, and works of art.

The student works exhibit was Wiess College senior Thu Nguyen’s idea, who is co-hosting the event. Nguyen is a student board member of Asian Pacific American Advocates-Greater Houston, an Asian-American nonprofit organization, and was asked by a board member of RUCAA to be a part of the event.

“Rice’s Office of Alumni Relations and the RUCAA both expressed doubt at student interest in hosting an event on campus in celebration of 100 Years of Asians at Rice,” Nguyen said. “I had suggested an exhibit of student work in order to pull student interest as well as show the alumni what cool things we kids are up to these days.”

Nguyen said she hopes the event will build better networking systems for Asian alumni and students, particularly for Asian students on international visas for study in the United States.

Chao is now the manager of the Houston Asian-American Archive and will present an update on the progress the archive has made over the past few years.

We have defied the odds traditionally stacked against communities with high racial and religious diversity.

Francine Di RUCAA President “The archive’s main purpose is to document, preserve and honor the deeds and artifacts of the Asian-American immigrants to Houston,” Chao said. “By creating a rich archive of the oral histories of the multi-ethnic Asian-American

community, we are recovering lost history and providing primary materials for an inclusive history of the South and of the U.S.” According to RUCAA President Francine Di (Wiess ’03), one of the delegates attending Rice’s opening celebration was from Japan. “[First Rice President Edgar Odell] Lovett established an early relationship with Japan, which I think is unusual for [leaders of] American institutions at the time,” Di said. “It was an early seed of growing Rice’s relations with Asian institutions.”

Wiess junior Dana Smith, who plans to attend the celebration, said she was looking forward to attending the event.

“As an Asian-American, I’m excited to see a celebration of representation and diversity, which is one of my favorite things about Rice,” she said.

McMurtry College junior Mishi Jain also said she plans to attend.

“I’m attending because this event represents an opportunity for two committees I’m a part of to come together, my Asian-American community and the Rice community,” Jain said. “It’s great to see such an event is happening, and I look forward to meeting alums!”

Di said her personal experiences as an AsianAmerican make the celebration significant.

“As a Rice alum raised in Houston, I have always been extremely proud of how both my university and my hometown have nurtured an incredible environment of diversity,” Di said.

“Marking 100 Years of Asian students at Rice is a fitting punctuation to that sentiment. In many ways, we have defied the odds traditionally stacked against communities with high racial and religious diversity, and I feel very fortunate to be part of it.”

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NEWS

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

the Rice Thresher

NEWS IN BRIEF

0TEACH-IN FROM PAGE 1

Faculty Senate to make recommendations to distribution system Anita Alem, Managing Editor The Faculty Senate will establish a working group to study Rice’s distribution credit system at its meeting this Wednesday.

According to Student Association Senator Rushi Bhalani, the group will create recommendations for the Committee for Undergraduate Curriculum.

Bhalani, a Baker College sophomore, said the group, which includes professors, administrators and two student representatives, will discuss topics such as the approval process by which courses are allocated as Division I, II or III and consider implementing thematic course requirements serving a similar purpose as the First-Year Writing Intensive Seminar program.

Bhalani said the group is considering decreasing the distribution requirements

from the current 36 hours to 30 hours.

“Obviously, with the institution of the 18-hour credit cap, the distribution system requirement might need a few changes,” Bhalani said.

SA President Griffin Thomas said the process of examining the distribution system typically occurs every 5-10 years. According to Thomas, the current recommendations could take years to be perfected before all the members of the Faculty Senate held the final vote for approving any changes.

“One of the last times Rice went through this, it took three years to complete before the recommendations were ultimately voted down by the faculty,” Thomas said.

Thomas and Bhalani said they encourage any student input to the working group.

SA to study student-athletes’ challenges with campus life Drew Keller, News Editor The Student Association Senate voted to establish a Student-Athlete Inclusion Working Group at its Monday meeting with the aim of identifying and finding solutions for challenges which student athletes face at Rice.

According to the legislation, Senate Bill #4 of the school year, the Working Group will be chaired by an undergraduate student chosen

by SA President Griffin Thomas and will include both SA representatives and representatives from the existing Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

The group will deliver a report and presentation by May. SAAC President Ellen Diemert was one of the co-sponsors of the legislation, along with Will Rice College President Ankush Agrawal and Sid Richardson

College Senator Justin Onwenu.

The bill notes that the group is intended to be similar to previous SA efforts such as the Student Access and Success Working Group, which was introduced by Thomas last year.

“There’s been a growing discussion within the SA about how we engage all students at Rice, especially those who are often left out of discussions,” Onwenu, a junior, said.

Onwenu said the group is a natural extension of existing SA initiatives, which have aimed to increase outreach to underrepresented groups.

“As the SA has started advocating for low-income and first-generation students I felt expanding this advocacy to other groups was the next logical step,” Onwenu said.

The lunch break, which featured student groups like HACER and the Women’s Resource Center, gave students an opportunity to connect with activist groups. In the afternoon, there were 10 breakout sessions facilitated by faculty and graduate students.

McMurtry College senior Madhuri Venkateswar said the event was more content-heavy than she had expected and not as focused on emotions or partisan politics.

“Just by function of the university that we’re in, we’re going to have liberal students and liberal professors, which is going to color everything,” Venkateswar said.

She said she felt the event focused on objective evidence rather than partisan sentiments.

Martel College senior Kyra Neal said she attended the teach-in because she wanted to continue conversations on social justice and to distract herself from the inauguration.

“It was simultaneously less preachy and more of an echo chamber than I expected,” Neal said.

Neal said the overwhelming sentiment in each of the three sessions she attended was liberal, which concerned her because she felt that talking to people of similar beliefs does not seem likely to generate change.

christina tan/thresher

FROM PAGE 2 immediate future,” Thacker said.

Stiles said the water issue was resolved quickly.

“I appreciate the speed with which a temporary fix was put in place and I hope that this computer malfunction does not occur again,” Stiles said.

Left: At Duncan College, water from the showers contained sediment. Right: Scaffolding was erected outside Brown College after the grout behind some brick panels started to fail.

courtesy anson fung

Left: The Rice University College Republicans hosted an inauguration watch party in the Duncan College commons last Friday. Right: Jones College sophomore Jed Greenberg and Hanszen College sophomore Anson Fung attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C.

0FACILITIES

christina tan and emily abdow/thresher

McMurtry sophomore Ella Matsuda said she went to the teach-in because she hoped that it would direct future action.

“After the election, I felt kind of powerless and wasn’t really sure how to go forward,” she said.

By learning about social movements ranging from the evolution of the alt-right to the abolitionists, Matsuda said she gained new perspectives on other ideologies and the pace of social change.

“We are so young, so we haven’t seen the arc of these movements before,” Matsuda said. “Our perspective of how long it takes to accomplish change is kind of skewed.”

Neal said it is easy to think of everything as being immediate, especially in our age of social media and rapid communication.

“Today gave me a lot of perspective about the long game,” Neal said.

For Frieders, the biggest impact of the teachin was witnessing the turnout.

“My biggest takeaway was just realizing how many people on Rice’s campus care about social justice issues and have some sort of skills they can contribute to defending them in light of the new administration,” Frieders said.

Wool said the presence of Rice staff was especially notable, suggesting unity within an engaged community.

“I’ve received a number of emails from students, faculty and staff describing how grateful they were for the event, and for the conversations that it sparked,” Wool said. “This is clearly only the beginning.”

Brown Brown College is undergoing renovations after a consultant for H&D determined the grout behind the brick panels on the East and West side of the tower was starting to fail.

“We decided [the panels were] a high enough capital priority that we weren’t going to wait until the summertime to erect scaffolding and take on this project,” McDonald said.

The panel replacement efforts began on Jan.

11, according to an email sent by Brown President Santiago Avila to the college’s residents. In addition to replacing panels, Avila said workers have installed a scaffolding for safety and are adding insulation and water sealing window frames to improve energy efficiency.

According to McDonald, the panel replacements will be completed by the summer, but because Brown is the subject of H&D’s capital project, renovations will continue over the summer with a focus on room renovations. “[A capital project] most likely means we take a building offline,” McDonald said. “We can go around building to building and we have 11 of them, and so we’re basically at an 11 year cycle.”

McDonald said H&D strives to be open with the Rice community about renovations and repairs.

“H&D prides itself on being very transparent about what’s going on in your spaces — whether it be repair maintenance or your food,” McDonald said. “We try not to hide anything from you. If we did, it’s not on purpose.”

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Women’s marches important step in activism For many Rice students, the Women’s Marches were the first time they were involved in such broad-scale, politically minded activism that took place outside of the voting booth (see p. 1). While some critics may argue that the march does not represent meaningful change, the Thresher believes the demonstrations that occurred across the country were a crucial first step in showing solidarity and emboldening those who are angry, upset or disillusioned to effect longterm change.

We especially hope that this momentum continues within the Rice community.

The female college presidents’ initiative in launching the Rice for Women campaign and organizing events in the coming months represents admirable strides toward increasing greater engagement. Centered around the notion that women’s rights are human rights, these forms of activism should not be exclusive to a single political party or ideology. The words and actions of President Trump with respect to women and minorities has further normalized violent rhetoric against these groups. Regardless of political affiliation, such discourse and behavior ought to stand as a universal affront to basic human decency.

If you attended the march, carry on the momentum and stay active in your community; do not let your first experience with activism be your last. And if you did not attend the march, it’s never too late to get started. For the many students who were hoping for an alternate outcome to the election, it is easy to become jaded and disengaged. However, as many brace for what they fear will be a bleak four years, Rice students have a responsibility to engage with and serve the community beyond the hedges.

Let them eat art I saw a cheesed bread-triangle from a pizza chain the other day and thought, “That’s not food. That’s abstract art.”

Dr. Seuss landscapes would welcome the outlandishly bulbous proportions and vibrant colors of today’s eggplants, peppers, corn, tomatoes and berries. Cultivated watermelons beg to be opened so much they sometimes explode when ripe.

It would be a shame to ignore the monumental effort spent crafting the ingredients you eat.

Slice their taut, smoothed skins to find a more dazzlingly uniform inside. The war on seeds is almost complete. One finds them an annoyance instead of a fact in fruit.

Uncultivated bananas are half rock-hard seeds, half inedible flesh wrapped in a fat, squat package with a thick rind. You hardly think of seeds when eating a cultivated banana, its more lithe proportions all the instruction you need to know how to grasp and eat it the way us monkeys do. The careful ritual of eating a banana is performance art worthy of a museum.

Wayne Thiebaud is right to deny himself as a pop artist. His diner counters serrated with cake and pie slices are totally naturalistic. Of course you paint fruit and vegetable still life arrangements in novice art classes. You can track the fascinating feedback loop of fruit cultivation and the painterly still life tradition back to ancient

Roman wall painting and mosaics. You probably rarely see wax fruit nowadays because people eat it by mistake.

Was green eggs and ham visionary?

Dan Barber feeds his chickens red peppers so they lay eggs with red yolks. Would it surprise you if factory egg farmers lay paint swatches beside randomly sampled yolks to ensure the ‘perfect’ golden yellow? Several regions in Europe each prefer a different shade of orange-yellow yolk.

Where else did Walter de Maria get the idea for his High Energy Bar than a stick of butter? Candy bars are admirable but crudely assembled compared to the real candy, cultivated fruit.

Grocery stores are so much more popular than museums because you can touch the art. Maybe art museums would grow crowds if they offered carts and baskets you could reverently carry or wheel around with you, and grocery stores could display their art better if they encouraged their patrons to be quiet.

It would be a shame to ignore the monumental effort spent crafting the ingredients you eat. Out of many strategies for savoring, I often default to eating slowly to contemplate each food’s bland, one-note flavor and texture. Tastes like art.

ASK THE STAFF What’s your favorite alternative fact?

“The Doerr Institute is making valuable contributions to our community.”

– Yasna Haghdoost, Editor in Chief

“I only buy what I need off Amazon.”

– Jennifer Fu, Illustrator

“Electrons go around the nucleus in nice, round orbits.”

– Charlie Paul, Web Editor

“Lightning follows the path of least resistance which is why France has the most lightning storms on the planet.”

– Juan Saldana, Business Manager

“Juan didn’t get that joke from Reddit.”

– Andrew Grottkau, Sports Editor

Mitch Mackowiak is

“The 2.5 million attendees at all the Women’s Marches are headed to Black Lives Matter protests next.”

a Lovett College senior and the Thresher Opinions Editor

– Anita Alem, Managing Editor

“I shave my legs in the winter.”

– Emily Abdow, News Editor

“Humanities majors are valued at this university.”

– Anna Ta, Assistant News Editor

“I’ve done all my readings.”

– Biz Rasich, Assistant News Editor

“I’m going to the Rec today.”

– Katrina Cherk, Sports Designer

“Using incognito actually hides your porn history.”

– Christina Tan, Art Director

“Some quadratic field extensions are Galois extensions.”

– Riley Robertson, Backpage Editor

“Aliens aren’t real.”

– Jasmine Lin, Copy Editor

“The curved yellow fruit is spelled ‘spananny.’” cartoon by jennifer fu

– Lenna Mendoza, A&E Editor

Brown (and Will Rice and Lovett and Duncan) have poorly maintained facilities.

STAFF Yasna Haghdoost* Editor in Chief Anita Alem* Managing Editor Juan Saldana Business Manager news Drew Keller* Editor Emily Abdow* Editor Anna Ta Asst. Editor Biz Rasich Asst. Editor

opinions Mitch Mackowiak* Editor

copy Jasmine Lin Editor

sports Andrew Grottkau Editor

backpage Riley Robertson Editor Joey McGlone Editor

arts & entertainment Lenna Mendoza Editor design Christina Tan Director Sydney Garrett News Designer Katrina Cherk Sports Designer Ellie Mix A&E Designer Jennifer Fu Illustrator photo Sirui Zhou Editor Charlene Pan Asst. Editor

business operations Shannon Klein Ads Manager Sarah Evans Distribution Manager Jennifer Lee Ad Design Manager Sara Lopez Marketing Manager online Charlie Paul Editor *Editorial Board member

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.

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 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 The Thresher is a member of the ACP, TIPA and CMBAM © Copyright 2016

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‘Elle’ earns R rating thanks to its jarring provocation Maddie Flavin Thresher Staff

courtesy hypebeast & pitchfork

The xx bores with ‘I See You’ Ali Wilt

Thresher Staff

British indie trio The xx have returned from a five-year hiatus with the recent release of their third studio album, 2017’s “I See You.” Slated to play at huge summer music festivals such as Bonnaroo and Primavera Sound, the band’s new material will likely draw large crowds. But it isn’t deserved.

“I See You” opens with the track “Dangerous,” although it is anything but. The pounding bass and unaffected singing create an atmosphere that neglects the unexplored menacing lyrics. The album receives a boost from the lush synths on “Say Something Loving,” but drum machine interludes create a fragmented, jarring tone. The single “On Hold” is the messiest song by far, sampling Hall and Oates’ 1981 hit “I Can’t Go for That” as a mutilated screech between verses. Although the idea of taking the bright, bubbly pop of Hall and Oates and twisting it into something completely alien is laudable, the execution is weak. Incessant drum beating on the track “I Dare You” builds up to a lovely melody, but disappoints by cutting out everything except the annoying rhythm.

Most of the tracks seem like rehashing of old xx material, with just a different drum beat or synth lick thrown in. Some track names evoke fervor, like “A Violent Noise,” “Test Me” and “Brave for You.” However, the music is largely disaffected, leading to an almost comical contrast.

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

“I See You” has a few tracks that rise above the din. Album standout “Lips” seductively taps into the dark, sultry singing of vocalist Romy Madley Croft, with a pseudo-medieval chant of “Just your love/Just your shadow/ Just your voice/And my soul.” The mellow track “Replica” evokes the atmospheric soundscapes of indie band Beach House while adding complex drum beats that make the sound their own.

These bland songs could easily play as background music in a Forever 21; the uninspired lyrics are no longer revolutionary, but lazy.

However, these two bright spots can’t save the album’s overall unevenness. While the beginning of “I See You” emphasizes heavy beats and electro influence, the second half slows down to almost ambient music. Unlike nuanced progressions of style seen on their earlier albums, this recent release feels like thrown together halves of two separate

A TASTE OF CHERRY

releases. Jamie xx, the group’s main producer, has previously stated that the album would have “a more expansive sound”; there is a distinct difference between having a wider scope and being unfocused.

At just under 40 minutes, “I See You” feels strangely drawn out. Many tracks are repetitive, using the same verse ad infinitum.

Although the tracks easily fit into the R&B, electronic style of The xx’s previous albums, they seem less memorable. These are bland songs that could easily play as background music in a Forever 21; the uninspired lyrics about love set against a pounding backdrop are no longer revolutionary, but lazy. For many tracks, the singing seems unpassionate and forced, ruining the beautifully arranged soundscapes that are present in the second half of the release.

When I Googled The xx, many hits were lists about the best bands to hook up to.

Sadly, “I See You” would put me to sleep even before the action begins.

Top Tracks

LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL

Part of the Houston Iranian Film Festival, “A Taste of Cherry” follows a man as he drives around a suburb seeking to hire somebody to bury him.

The screening is at 7 p.m. on Jan. 25, free of charge.

To celebrate the start of the Year of the Rooster, this festival will feature over 20 cultural performances and Asian street-style food. The event lasts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.

Entry is free.

Rice Media Center film.rice.edu

Chinese Community Center 9800 Town Park Dr. ccchouston.org/lunarnewyear

‘Lips’ ‘Replica’

In an era of increased sexual consent awareness and trigger warnings, Paul Verhoeven has produced a film that walks a fine line between nonconventional empowerment and graphic exploitation in its storytelling.

Now that the French-language film “Elle” has opened stateside, it’s time to see if American audiences will either try out or reject such an in-your-face, sensitivity-ignorant production.

Anchored by a magnificent performance from Isabelle Huppert, “Elle,” French for “her,” is an unfathomably messed up yet fascinating take on what strong independent 21st century women can go through.

After a man in a ski mask breaks into her house one day and rapes her, Michele Leblanc’s (Isabelle Huppert) immediate response is not to call the police. Instead, Michele, the boss of a video game company, focuses on what she believes to be the more pressing issues of her everyday life. Her father, a serial murderer, is in the news again due to his upcoming parole hearing. Her slacker son is in an emotionally abusive relationship with a cheating, pregnant girlfriend. Underneath her slow-to-warm exterior, Michele remains deeply haunted by the sexual assault. As a woman who finds it hard to trust people, she becomes the lead investigator of the crime committed against her, ramping up her arsenal of protective gear while trying to figure out the assailant’s identity. All the while, Michele quietly plots her sweet revenge against him — whoever he is.

In Huppert’s hands, Michele is sometimes assertive, other times frightened, sometimes callous, other times vulnerable.

With its touchy subject matter and bleak outlook, “Elle” would not work without the caliber of Huppert. A telltale sign of a truly talented actor is the ability to play personality contradictions and make such a challenging task look easy. Michele’s frigid exterior is just one layer of many within her character.

In Huppert’s hands, Michele is sometimes assertive, other times frightened, sometimes callous, other times vulnerable.

The multiple sequences of sexual violence at the hands of her rapist are truly stomach churning and almost impossible to watch.

Her nonchalant, sarcastic, morbidly funny one-liners (“Nutjobs, I can handle. My specialty.”) provide wonderfully off-kilter comic relief. But regardless of the situation, Michele’s always several steps ahead on the 0see ELLE, page 7

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME

ORIGINS OF SELF

This highly lauded play is based on the novel of the same name, and follows a very intelligent young boy who has difficulty in his day-to-day life.

It’s running daily from Jan. 24 to 29.

Tickets start at $30.

Organized and curated by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Teen Council, this group exhibition features pieces that explore personal identity by Houston-area teen artists. The opening reception is 6:30 to 9 p.m. Jan. 27. Entry is free.

Hobby Center 800 Bagby St. curiousonbroadway.com

Contemporary Arts Museum 5216 Montrose camh.org

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

the Rice Thresher

Riding through the Hill Country Lauren Heller Thresher Staff

This article is the second of a two-part series, the first of which covered a weekend in Big Bend and Marfa and this week, I will cover some cool places to stop during the drive. There are two major routes you can take to get to west Texas: One passes through San Antonio and the other passes through Austin and the Hill Country. Although I wanted to visit the Alamo so I too could agree that it’s disappointing in person, we ultimately decided to pass through the Hill Country to maximize our sightseeing.

While it is still pretty far from Austin, Hruska’s is a great rest stop. Besides having bathrooms and snacks galore, this location blew my mind with its kolache selection.

We’re talking about pans upon pans of flavors that you probably haven’t envisioned before, like cream cheese cherry and cottage cheese with cinnamon and coconut, as well as the classics like pan sausage and cheese.

Even better, they only set me back less than two bucks apiece.

Cooper’s looks like a standard barbecue joint, but is famous for its thick-cut pork chop.

The best part is that the meal feeds two for $20.

As we continued on our merry way, we of course noticed the hills that distinguish the Hill Country from the flat wasteland that is Houston. But some other things that became increasingly noticeable were the wineries, lavender farms, goats and peaches scattered among small towns — a combination that only Texas could have.

One small town that we recognized from a country music song dating back to the 1970s is Luckenbach. Only 15 minutes from Fredericksburg, Luckenbach’s downtown is basically a dance hall and a post office, preserving its reputation as a sleepy old town. If you haven’t heard of it or the song, call your grandparents; we noticed that the other visitors were all members of that generation.

After the slight detour to Luckenbach, we arrived in Fredericksburg just in time for lunch (although this depends on when you leave, since it’s about four hours away from Houston). Fredericksburg is a town founded

by German immigrants in the 1800s, similar to others in the Hill Country.

Its German heritage is obvious, as there seems to be a German restaurant on every block, one such being Old German Bakery and Restaurant. Besides having the usual schnitzel, this restaurant offers specialties like German pancakes and homemade baked goods. The German pancakes are like crepes that were literally the size of a large plate, making for a very affordable and filling meal. The baked goods include pastries and breads; we opted for the apple strudel, which we were told normally sells out fast.

Another dining option is Vaudeville, housed in a building that dates back to 1915. However, with its home gallery on the upstairs level and New American bistro on the bottom level, the vibe was more Los Angeles than central Texas. That said, the pricey French dip sandwich was one of the best I’ve ever had, with nice touches like an herbed french roll, fresh horseradish cream and crispy herbed capers. From Fredericksburg, it’s another four to five hours to Big Bend on relatively empty roads with fast speed limits.

Coming back from Big Bend is a different story. Four hours into our drive, we chose to stop at a branch of Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, conveniently located next to a gas station in the town of Junction. Cooper’s looks like a standard barbecue joint, but is famous for its thick-cut pork chop that pairs well with a homemade vinegar-based sauce and some free pickles. The best part is that the meal feeds two for $20.

The final stop of our sightseeing tour was the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch located in Stonewall, east of Fredericksburg.

Permits to drive around the ranch and visit different attractions, like his birthplace and schoolhouse, are free and the visit is only about 30 minutes long. For $3 per person, you can take a half-hour guided tour of his home, called the Texas White House, that includes cool memorabilia, Air Force One Half (the plane President Johnson would take to get to his ranch) and his car collection.

The drive to Big Bend does not have to be a straight shot whose only stops are to get gas. There are a lot of cool places to see (for free!) and restaurants to stop at that you can use to craft a journey that truly isn’t just about the destination.

lauren heller/thresher

0Elle FROM PAGE 6 chessboard. In this regard, Michele feels like a real person from the real world, someone who takes on different colors depending on the situation.

It is resoundingly clear why she won the Golden Globe Award over Natalie Portman’s “Jackie.” Michele is a ballsy, nothing-heldback role, and Huppert grips its reins with an unabashedly nonjudgmental command.

“Elle,” the film and the woman, knows that it won’t get the seal of approval from those who prefer more refined films, and that doesn’t seem to bother it at all. Whether or not the film is to your liking, “Elle’s” jarring intensity guarantees that you won’t be able to shake it off.

Box Office Running time: 130 minutes Rating: R Showing at: AMC Studio 30 River Oaks Theatre (Coming soon) Genre: Thriller

A&E

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A&E

the Rice Thresher

Local artists put up pop-up galleries as part of the annual Pancakes and Booze Show, a nationwide movement aiming to highlight original talent.

The show features live DJs and painting, body painting and infamous free pancakes.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

christina tan/thresher

POKÉOLOGY IS A FAILED EXPERIMENT Franklin Shen Thresher Staff

For my loyal followers: I realize that in all of my past reviews, I have decided to write about sandwiches. Whether it be a hot dog, burger or a biscuit, I have given the Rice community my honest and expert opinion on the quality of Houston area meat-in-bread fare. However, this week, you should prepare yourself for a departure from the norm, as I have had the displeasure of partaking in what can only be described as the temporary disabling of all my taste bud functionality.

The culprit of this heinous crime was an overly aggressive poké bowl, courtesy of Rice Village’s new offering, Pokéology. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with poké, the best description I can come up with is that it’s much like deconstructed sushi. Instead of pieces of raw fish or shellfish wrapped with some vegetables in rice and seaweed, the poké bowl offers a bottom layer of rice, with the ingredients of a sushi roll constituting a top layer.

While this unique culinary offering is still somewhat new to the Houston dining landscape, poké is a common Hawaiian dish, and has penetrated the West Coast food scene in recent years.

If you would like to dive into a deeper analysis of the spread of poké popularity in the continental states, feel free to do so in your own time, as I have limited real estate in the Thresher. As for now, it’s time to get back to the restaurant in question: Pokéology.

Well, when I say “restaurant,” I’m being liberal.

Located at 5555 Morningside Drive, Pokéology is more of a bar than a food destination. Seating is quite limited, which coupled with the fact that the poké is served

in plastic disposable cups, indicates that their main target market is for people on the go. So, if you are looking for a nice restaurant to take a date, this probably isn’t the best place.

Furthermore, instead of traditional tables, customers who desire indoor seating are subjected to sitting at barrels with a table top attached. While this may improve the aesthetics of the establishment and make for a fun play on Hawaiian and Texan cultural fusion, it is quite awkward to sit at the barrels; I felt more like I was straddling the table than sitting at it. And if it is a date, especially a first one, I highly doubt that whoever you are with would like to see any sort of straddling (although I may be wrong and it’s not my place to judge if you do).

There is outdoor seating as well, but given the unpredictability of Houston weather, I would not recommend it either.

I felt more like I was straddling the table than sitting at it.

You can select a poké bowl from their specialty list, which consists of traditional options like classic tuna or salmon bowls, or you can build your own bowl from a variety of fish and garnishes like seaweed, sesame seeds or ginger. I opted for the tuna yuzuviche specialty bowl, which consisted of a base of hot white rice, pieces of tuna, onions, jalapenos, seaweed salad, cucumber, walnuts and cilantro. The regular size is 3 scoops of fish for $8.95.

franklin shen/thresher

First, the good points. The rice was neither hard to chew nor too soggy. The combination of the walnuts and cilantro also made for a surprisingly nice bite of flavor. The nuttiness of the walnuts complemented the sweet yuzu vinegar flavor of the rice and tuna, which was well marinated. For those of you who are wondering, yuzu is an Asian citrus fruit similar to a grapefruit in appearance and a lemon in taste that is typically used in vinegar form or for zests.

However, while the tuna was very flavorful, the cucumbers were bland. They didn’t really even taste like cucumbers. The only value they added was a slight crisp bite. This isn’t the worst part of the dish. By far. The raw

onions ruined my entire experience. They were so overpowering that even 30 minutes after I had left the establishment, their sharpness was still burning on my tongue.

Not even some mints could defeat the power of those onions. I had to really search for all of the pros of the dish mentioned above; it was difficult to pick up the marinade of the tuna unless I used a completely clean fork and picked up a piece that had no contact with any onion.

My experience at Pokéology could have been amazing and refreshing, however, due to some overpowering onions, I felt like my mouth attended a WWE smackdown instead of a day spa. What a shame.

9

THE KINGS AND QUEENS OF RICE’S COURTS

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EGOR KOULECHOV Men’s Basketball Junior

This week, the Thresher feature three of Rice’s top winter athletes. Each of their respective teams has high expectations and has met those expectations thus far. Junior guard Shani Rainey has helped the women’s basketball team exceed last season’s win total through just 18 games. Junior guard Egor Koulechov is leading the men’s basketball team in points and rebounds in a breakout season for both him and the team. Senior Katherine Ip is coming off an All-American season and is hoping to guide the women’s tennis team to its fourth conference championship in a row. Below, read the stories of these star Owls.

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KATHERINE IP

3

SHANI RAINEY

Women’s Basketball Junior

Women’s Tennis Senior

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sean chu/thresher

courtesy neal trousdale

Koulechov spearheading basketball resurgence Craig Broadman Thresher Staff

As a seventh grader, Egor Koulechov quit his soccer team in Volgograd, Russia.

His family had moved to a new house, and without a car, practice was too far away.

Forced to pick a new sport, Koulechov simply chose the closest available option. That day, the future Conference USA star began his basketball career.

Koulechov’s basketball career was taken to the next level when his family moved to Israel and he joined the under 18 national team. Then, he spent a year at Arizona State University before transferring to Rice in 2014.

Now in his second year of playing for Rice, Koulechov has helped to transform the men’s basketball team into legitimate contenders.

He leads the team in points and rebounds, while ranking fourth and third respectively in Conference USA, with 19.2 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Koulechov has certainly had his share of memorable moments as an Owl, but none have been sweeter than the Dec. 19, 2015 matchup at the University of New Mexico. In a game that went down the wire, the former Israeli National Team member saved his best for crunch time, scoring 24 of his 32 points in the second half to erase a 17 point deficit. With 0.1 seconds left, Koulechov sealed the deal by draining a free throw to complete the upset.

He said he felt the game was more than just a win, as the team showed mental toughness in the victory.

“We just showed what we were capable of,” Koulechov said. “We were a young team, and coming back from that 17-point deficit was a great experience. Things just seemed to click.”

His play has continued to improve — the former Sun Devil is averaging 21.5 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting to go along with 12 rebounds in his last six games. Koulechov said he attributes his play to teammates and coaches.

As a team, we’re improving our game.

As everybody gets better, I get open looks and better shots.

Egor Koulechov Junior Guard “My teammates and coaches are so important,” Koulechov said. “As a team, we’re improving our game. As everybody gets better, I get open looks and better shots.”

Koulechov has fit in nicely with the team since transferring from Arizona State, and he said he feels his relationship with his teammates is like a family.

“Everybody on the team is tight,” Koulechov said. “There’s a good feel.

Sometimes, it doesn’t always translate as well on the court, and we’re upset about it because we love each other.”

Koulechov said he also maintains a great relationship with Mike Rhoades, the third0see Koulechov, page 10

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sean chu/thresher

All-American Ip leads tennis into title defense Michael Kidd Thresher Staff

Since senior Katherine Ip first stepped onto the courts at Rice, she has been a constant in the lineup for the women’s tennis team. A native of Hong Kong, Ip qualified for the junior championships in the Australian Open, French Open and U.S. Open before she came to Rice. She posted a career-high No. 35 ranking in the 2013 International Tennis Federation junior rankings before coming to Rice.

Tennis has always come naturally to Ip. She began playing at four and began competing in tournaments at six. She continued to pursue her passion all the way through high school. She was then recruited

by Rice and came to campus in 2013.

Ip has had a knack for stepping up in crucial matches throughout her career with the Owls. The first of these matches was in the 2014 Conference USA championship when Ip, then a freshman, provided the clinching point for the Owls over the No. 19 ranked University of Tulsa.

Ip said that moment stands out as one of her best achievements in college.

“It was a very dramatic match [because] Tulsa was very good at the time and we always had to fight to beat them,” Ip said.

Following that performance, Ip was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year and earned a No. 91 national ranking in singles.

Her 18 wins during her freshman spring were tied for the lead on the team and she provided the clinching point in eight of her 18 wins.

From that moment forward, Ip continued to improve her game into her sophomore years and junior years, solidifying the No. 2 role

on the team in singles.

During her time at Rice, Ip has won numerous accolades, including C-USA Singles First Team honors for all three years. Ip is also an established doubles player. She played on the No. 1 team for Rice last year, and earned First Team All C-USA honors for that, too. Ip has also been a model student as a member of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and recipient of the Commissioner’s Academic Medal in both 2015 and 2016.

I knew [Austin] was an incredible player and it was even hard to believe that I won.

Katherine Ip Senior Tennis Player

Her greatest accomplishment, however, came in the postseason last year when Ip earned All-American status by reaching the round of 16 in the NCAA championships.

In order to reach the round of 32, Ip had to knock off the No. 4 player in the nation, Brooke Austin, of the University of Florida.

She then won her next match to earn AllAmerican honors.

According to Ip, defeating a top college 0see Ip, page 10

10 SPORTS

0KOULECHOV from page 9 year head coach of the Owls.

“Since I got here, he’s done nothing but look out for us and take care of the guys on the team,” Koulechov said. “I appreciate it a lot and I respect him a lot.”

This season, Koulechov has excelled at getting to the rim, converting numerous layups and the occasional dunk. Of course, every basketball player can remember the first time they dunked: For Koulechov, the memorable event occurred during a game in the seventh grade.

“But I didn’t dunk again until the 10th grade,” Koulechov said. “I think the rim was lower or something in that game.”

Off the court, Koulechov’s favorite movie is “Big Daddy” featuring Adam Sandler, his celebrity crush is Katy Perry and his favorite video game is Madden. Koulechov said that he always plays with the same team.

0IP from page 9 player was thrilling.

“I didn’t know too much about [Austin] going into the match but I knew she was an incredible player and it was even hard to believe that I won.” Ip said. “She had earned All-American status the previous year and was very tough [but] I just wanted to go out there and compete the very best I could.”

Ip is just the third women’s tennis player in school history to earn All-American status. She joined Wendy Wood (1986) and former teammate Natalie Beazant (2013 and 2015). As a result, Ip skyrocketed up the Oracle/ITA national Tennis Rankings rising from No. 104 to No. 44 to finish her 2016 campaign.

Coming off that historic season, Ip looks to make a strong impact once again at the presumed No. 1 position in singles and continue her excellence in doubles also at

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Wednesday, January 25, 2017

the Rice Thresher “The Dolphins,” Koulechov said. “They’re my squad.”

As for the funniest player on the team, Koulechov said the title goes to junior guard Bishop Mency.

“He’s a little bit messed up in the head,” Koulechov said. “I live with him.”

If he couldn’t play basketball, Koulechov didn’t hesitate to say he’d play soccer. His pump-up songs differ, but Russian music and Jason Derulo were both top choices.

With over half of the season complete, the Oklahoma City Thunder fan is looking to help guide the Owls to a conference championship and an NCAA tournament berth. According to Koulechov, the team needs to get better at closing games.

“We [have to] work hard in practice every day,” Koulechov said. “Some of the guys have to step up. Some guys have to mature quicker. [We have to] close out those close games because they’ve been hurting us.

The difference has been communication, execution, and maturity. We’re 3-4 but could easily be 5-2.” the No. 1 position. Although sidelined with concussion symptoms at the moment, Ip looks to make her return to the court in a few weeks and has already begun practicing once again.

For the team, Ip said she has set her sights on getting a fourth conference championship and hopes her team can advance in the NCAA tournament.

“Of course I would like to win conference again, and for Alison [Ho] and I it would be nice to get that fourth ring,” Ip said. “As for the team, I’d like to make Sweet 16 and continue to play for one another all season long.”

Off the court, Ip wants to continue to be a good example for her fellow teammates as one of the two seniors on this squad.

“Our team this year is great and they are playing really well,” Ip said. “This year I just want to set a good example for them and be able show them what it means to be a good teammate. I want them to learn how to play our [style of] tennis and realize how lucky we are to play for such a great school.”

Rainey pouring it on in junior season

Madison Buzzard Sports Editor

Playing in her third year on the Rice women’s basketball team, junior guard Shani Rainey has proven to be a crucial component of the Owls’ success.

After Rice’s victory against the University of Southern Mississippi on Saturday, Rainey held season averages of 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.9 steals per game. She has also posted career highs in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage.

What happened in the past few games we cannot change, but we are learning and improving.

Shani Rainey Junior Guard Rainey’s versatility and overall contributions have helped the Owls surpass last season’s total win mark just over halfway into the season, and she said that her development has been part of a team effort spearheaded by head coach Tina Langley.

“Coach Langley has stressed individual player development in the offseason,” Rainey said. “We had meetings to determine what each player needed to work on. I needed to work on my field goal percentage and our coaches helped me improve my shot.”

As the Thresher outlined in a November

article, many Rice athletes have struggled to balance life, academics and athletics. Rainey said her ability to juggle Rice’s academic vigor with athletics made a key difference in improving her performance from last year to this year.

“This year it has gotten a lot better,” Rainey said.“Coming into Rice it was difficult to manage academics and athletics. But we have amazing coaches who work with us on and off the court, and it has really helped.”

Whether she is focusing on her shot, balancing academics and athletics, or watching Netflix (which she frequently does before games), Rainey has continued to improve alongside the women’s basketball team.

The Owls marched to a 9-2 clip during their nonconference season, easily higher than their 2-11 nonconference record the previous year. The team has dipped during the conference season, however, holding only a 2-5 mark thus far. Rainey said it is important to remain mentally tough after recently losing two games in overtime.

“We know that we are right there in all of our games, and we can beat all of those teams,” Rainey said. “We have to get locked in, remain focused, and trust in the process.”

Rainey also said the players need to trust in their coaches and teammates.

“We have to get together and learn how each player can help us win,” Rainey said.

“We have to trust our coaches and believe in what they teach us.”

No matter the outcome of a few recent games, this Owls’ basketball team is replete with heart and grit. According to Rainey, Rice students and fans should be confident about the prospects of their team.

“I think we can win the [C-USA] tournament championship,” Rainey said.

“What happened in the past few games we cannot change, but we are learning and improving. I am very excited about our upcoming games and the rest of the season.”

Men’s Tennis Recap UT Rio Grande Valley Jan. 14 Win 7-0

Lamar University Jan. 14 Win 6-1

Texas A&M Jan. 21 Lose 3-4

UT Arlington Jan. 22 Win 4-2

Prairie View A&M Jan. 22 Win 4-0

Sophomore Jake Hansen hits a backhand at a Sunday afternoon match against the University of Texas, Arlington. yvonne carrillo/thresher

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

SPORTS

the Rice Thresher

11

Students go the distance in Houston Marathon Andrew Grottkau Sports Editor

courtesy ashton duke

Baker College sophomore Madison Nasteff reaches out to high-five supporters during the Houston Marathon. Nasteff finished with a time of 3 hours, 48 minutes and was randomly selected to represent Houston in the Athens Marathon this November.

While most students were relaxing over the Martin Luther King Day long weekend, some members of the Rice community were doing just the opposite. That Sunday, some Rice students competed in the 45th running of the Houston Marathon, a 26.2-mile endurance run through the streets of the city. Two of the students earned top finishes and qualified for further marathons.

According to McMurtry College sophomore Tullie St. John, who was participating in his third marathon, there was a simple reason he wanted to spend his long weekend at the marathon.

“I don’t know,” St. John said. “I like running.”

For the runners, the preparation for the marathon began long before race day. Will Rice College sophomore David Cai, who was running his first marathon, began following a strict training regimen but soon changed his plans.

“I bought a book called the Jack Daniels training plan that gives plans for training for all kinds of races,” Cai said. “The plan was to follow that beginning in the summer, but I injured myself too frequently. Eventually I just started running about 50 miles a week, then gradually ramping it up.”

Baker College sophomore Madison Nasteff said she faced similar struggles training for her first marathon.

“I didn’t train as much as I wanted,” Nasteff said. “I was running two to three times a week during the school year, then I only started training really hard when I got home for winter break.”

Despite the difficulties in training, the runners were excited for race day. On a warm, humid January day, the runners took off at 7 a.m.

According to Will Rice senior Jennifer Dawkins, who ran the half-marathon, the environment along the route made the running easy.

“I was running a lot faster than I thought I would,” Dawkins said. “There is so much energy.

Everyone is cheering, people are running with you and saying funny things. I saw a surprising amount of signs that said, ‘You run better than our government.’”

The support could only take the runners so far. After the first few miles, the runners had to rely on mental will and physical ability. St. John said the difficulty of the run set in quickly.

“The first eight to 10 miles are pretty easy, but then after that, around the halfway point, you start to realize you’re running a marathon,” St. John said. “Your body starts to hate you and things start hurting.”

Everyone is cheering, people are running with you and saying funny things.”

Jennifer Dawkins Will Rice Senior Nasteff said the most difficult part was the final stretch.

“I kicked up the pace a little bit at the end and that was tough on my body,” Nasteff said. “Then, when I could almost see the finish line, it started pouring. The finish was kind of cold after that.”

All four runners said they were satisfied with their times. Nasteff finished in 3 minutes, 48 minutes. She was selected randomly from all sub-four hour female finishers to go on an allexpenses paid trip to run the Athens Marathon in November. Cai finished in 2:54, and the subthree hour time qualified him for the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, he said he will not run due to conflicts with the end of the semester. St. John beat his personal record by 10 minutes, and Dawkins placed third in her age group in the half marathon.

St. John said reaching the finish is his favorite part of the race.

“There’s nothing like crossing the finish line of a marathon,” St. John said. “You’ve just run 26.2 miles and everyone’s there and they’re cheering, it’s a beautiful experience.”

12

BACKPAGE

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

the Rice Thresher

IN HONOR OF THE WOMAN’S MARCH JACK PAGE STUDIES A BROAD IMPORTANT ASSIFIED INFORMATION CALL (420)555-6969 IF YOU HAVE LEADS, TIPS OR NIPS

SECRET INTERVIEW 25 Jan 17

In favor of leaving the country for the next four years , the Thresher’s resident investigative journalist and part time sleuth has decided to #occupy his time by interviewing Every. Single. (self-identifying) Woman .

On the Rice campus. The goal? To raise awareness of social issues and tear down the patriarchal wall.

Below is the first edition of an extensive series of interv iews that will be published over the coming days.

And we’re starting with a boozey-doozey: an interview with the one and only Lisa Zollner at Willy’s Pub over a couple of 40’s. **The first round of Mickey’s 40’s arrive.

Jack Page (JP): Hi there Lisa, thanks so much for being here. I know you have a – Lisa Zollner (LZ): Please, call me Darth Zollner. And, am I correct in assuming you are of age? It may be a silly exercise, but can I just sneak a peek of your identification? Equipped, as I’m sure you know, with an RUPD sticker approval, of course.

JP: Oh, um. OK, yeah absolutely…. **It was at this point that I nervously rummaged through my velcro Quicksilver wallet to pull out a Pennsylvania state ID, quickly shuffling over my Texas one in a flash so fast that not even Darth’s prying eyes could pick up on it. That’s the kind of quality you can expect out of Jack Page. As she looked at my ID, it appeared she was scanning it with her radar pupils. Good thing I spent those extra 35 bucks.

JP (cont): So, Darth Zollner, as one of the most active and talked about people on campus, do you feel that your gender plays any role in your identity as a person?

DZ: Well..yes, of course it does. Don’t you think being a male has anything to do with your identity?

JP: Absolutely. I mean, you could probably smell my masculine musk as soon as I walked in the door. My girlfriend and I, we always – **Darth rips a huge burp after inhaling, in but a single titanic gulp, over half of her 40, interrupting my tale of sexual escapades.

DZ: Oh you have a girlfriend? So you must be well versed in womanhood. What’s her name?

JP: We haven’t actually...I mean...we’re still..we haven’t exactly exchanged names yet. It’s actually a really sweet story, we met in an Omegle chatroom, and I was immediately struck by her incredibly cute, silly username. “definitely_a_real_girl.” I asked her about her odd username, and she said - she’s so clever - she said, “Because I’m totally a real girl and not fake.” She’s just...I don’t know. She’s so funny...so beautiful.

DZ: So you’ve exchanged pictures, then? Good. Young love is a beautiful, well, at least in most cases, a beautiful thing. So long as it is consenting, and – JP: Yeah, she has tons and tons of my pictures. Like, really, a lot. Especially in front of uniformly colored backgrounds with no shadows, she keeps requesting those! She’s so quirky, it’s adorable. But I’m still waiting to get one from her. We still have to get to know each other a little bit better, she says. **At this point, Darth had consumed her Mickey’s to the very last drop. She glanced at me, then at my Mickey’s, then back at me.

Quickly, like a snake, she snapped my Mickey’s from in front of me and claimed it as her own. I said nothing, definitely not out of fear, but out of chivalrous respect for powerful women that can get me kicked out of school.

JP (cont.): You know how women are, Darth Zollner. She’s always telling me, “We can video chat once I have your phone number! I’ll send a picture once you send your home address! You can see my Double-D boobies once you give me your social security number!” You ladies, Darth Zollner, you always get what you want, don’t you? **An odd silence enveloped the room, making me very uncomfortable until I realized what had happened. Without even knowing it, I had entranced Darth. Her stone-faced smile and squinting eyes said it all. An average reporter may have mistook her expression for one of incredulous disgust, perhaps pity, but I’m no average reporter. What could I do? Irresistibility can’t be turned off.

But I’m a one woman man with no room for a side piece.

JP (cont.) The finer sex indeed.

ut iew. I had learned a lot abo it was time to end the interv d ide dec we I p, As l. qui wel ed as ars ehe two or unr On that final and totally th may have learned a thing ay’s world, and I think Dar tod eived a text that she in rec an th wom Dar a e, be tim to e ns sam what it mea al_girl. At the _re y_a tel ini def to e sag ck mes natural conclusion, and I closed our tabs, I sent a qui versation was brought to a con our y, ull nkf Tha ly. ate edi rt. At least, not for today. said she had to deal with imm aking yet another girl’s hea bre of n pai the h wit l dea didn’t have to

The Backpage is satire and written by Joey McGlone and Riley Robertson. This week, Simon Chan contributed. For comments or questions, please email thirsty@rice.edu.

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