The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, March 22, 2017

VOLUME 101, ISSUE NO. 22 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

Housing guide: Tips for students looking to live off campus see insert p.7 DISTRIBUTION MATTERS Humanities courses critical to STEM education

Women’s basketball rallies to reach the final four of the WBI

see A&E p. 11

see Ops p. 5

see Sports p. 14

Les Ba’get serves high-quality banh mis

CAPTURING ASBs respect is the minimum

MARCH MADNESS

VIETNAMESE FOOD REMIXED

Baker chef mourned after tragic death

From San Francisco to D.C., students spent spring break exploring various social issues within communities

In D.C., students explored gender equality and attended a protest with Elizabeth Warren.

stigma v. science

Students headed to San Francisco to understand stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.

Anna Ta

Assistant News Editor

cara a cara

breaking down barriers Students compared Colorado’s resource accessibility for individuals with disabilities to that of Houson.

Baker College Kitchen Cook II Essence Derouen passed away this past Sunday, March 9. According to ABC 13, she was an innocent bystander shot while sitting in her car, on her way home. The 21-yearold is survived by her 6-year-old son.

According to a Facebook post from Rice University Housing and Dining, the Baker College Kitchen closed on Monday, March 20 to pay tribute to her memory.

For the past two years, Derouen has worked with the Baker Kitchen team, having joined H&D as a culinary intern several years ago. According to a GoFundMe page set up to help raise funds for her funeral expenses, Derouen was pursuing a degree in the culinary arts.

“She was devoted to her work, never idle, always wanted to learn

At the Rio Grande Valley, students explored issues of immigration and education inequality that affect the area.

FOR MORE ASBs, SEE PAGE 2

Essence Derouen

clockwise from top left: courtesy keith mellnick, miranda morris, alex quam, gladys sanchez

0see DEROUEN, page 2 0

Onwenu, Ravella win SA races amid high turnout Drew Keller News Editor

Former Sid Richardson College Senator Justin Onwenu won the 2017 election for Student Association president with 38 percent of firstchoice votes. Wiess College Senator Revathi Ravella won the race for SA external vice president with 63 percent to Baker College Senator Rushi Bhalani’s 35 percent. Referenda to approve revised versions of the SA and Honor Council constitutions passed with greater than 90 percent of votes in favor.

In the presidential race, current SA EVP and former Wiess Senator Hannah Todd came in second with 32 percent of first-choice votes. Todd launched a write-in campaign for the position an hour after voting opened.

University Court member and former Will Rice College Senator Jake Nyquist came in third with 26 percent of first-choice votes.

Under the SA’s voting system, voters rank ballot candidates and write-ins for each position in order of preference. Then, several “rounds” of vote counting are carried out. In each, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated, then voters are allocated to the remaining candidate who was their next preference. In this election, the counting process took three rounds. In the first, writein candidates other than Todd were

eliminated; in the second, Nyquist was eliminated; in the third, Onwenu won with 64 percent of reallocated votes to Todd’s 36 percent. This process is distinct from the two rounds of voting which will occur for SA positions: The second round general election will take place next week for SA treasurer, internal vice president and other subsidiary organization positions.

Despite the fact that some part-time students were initially prevented from voting and the filing of a subsequent complaint against the Elections Committee by current SA President Griffin Thomas, the presidential election had more recorded votes than any past SA race, with 1,875 students voting. After a hearing, UCourt found the Elections Committee in violation of three sections of the SA constitution and decided to extend the voting period for five days for part-time students who had not yet been able to vote.

At 48 percent of the undergraduate population, the turnout rate appeared to fall just short of the 2009 SA election, which narrowly surpassed 50 percent of eligible voters in a smaller student body; however, that election had the highest participation rate since at least the early 1980s, according to Thresher reporting.

SEE PAGE 3 FOR A Q&A WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT JUSTIN ONWENU

PRESIDENT*

32% 28%

605 votes

517 votes

40%

EXTERNAL VICE PRESIDENT** Hannah Todd Jake Nyquist Justin Onwenu

Rushi Bhalani

536 votes

Revathi Ravella

63% 974 votes

753 votes

*Results from second round of vote counting

93%

35%

VOTE YES on Referendums 2&3

Referendum 2 A yes vote was to ratify the new constitution and bylaws of the RIce University Student Association. 2/3 of the vote was required for approval.

Referendum 3 A yes vote was to accept the changes to the Honor Council Constitution. These changes were intended to increase membership flexibility and allow for case limitations based on untimeliness.

**2% (32) votes were for “Other” Stats taken from sa.rice.edu/elections/results

UNCONTESTED POSITIONS SA Secretary: Deepu Karri Thresher Editors-in-Chief: Juan Saldana & Drew Keller Rally Club President: Sergio Santamaria RPC President: Stephanie Zhao UCourt Chair: Bailey Tulloch Campanile Editors-in-Chief: Kira Chen & Joanna Yang

SECOND ROUND ELECTION CANDIDATES SA Internal Vice President: - Rohan Palanki - Maurice Friedere - Sara Meadow SA Treasurer: Ameesh Shah KTRU: George Barrow RSVP: Carey Wang & Lynn Zhu infographic by christina tan

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NEWS

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

the Rice Thresher

0DEROUEN FROM PAGE 1 more, always strove for excellence,” the post said. “She was an outstanding team member and was dedicated to pursuing her education as a culinarian.”

The GoFundMe raised more than $6,800 of its $8,000 goal within a day, with more than 130 donors contributing.

According to Ashton Duke, a Baker sophomore, she was one of the most positive people at Baker.

Many of the staff took her as their sister or daughter. She was our friend and she was a treasure to Baker and to Rice.

Blessing Falade Baker College Senior “As a welcome center tour guide, I gave tours to elementary school students and one of the best memories I have of her was the first time I walked by the servery on a tour and I had the kids say, ‘Hi Essence!’” Duke said. “She gave the biggest smile I had ever seen and she gave that same smile every time I saw her in the servery.”

Baker College master Rosemary van der Werff said the college will miss Derouen greatly.

“She was a ray of sunshine and always had a cheery smile and fun conversations with us all,” van der Werff said. “She loved Baker and greatly added to the family atmosphere that we have at this college. Our sincere condolences go out to her mother and family.”

Baker senior Sammy Soyebo said they were friends outside of Derouen’s work at Rice.

“She often would talk about her family, her

son in particular, and the impact he’s had on her world,” Soyebo said. “She would go through hell and back for that child, not to mention working 10 hours at Rice, [over five] hours at another job at night. She was a Wonder Woman for her family, and set newer, higher standards for them.”

Kat Sofjan, a Baker senior, said Derouen went out of her way to look out for others.

“I have some allergies and she would always look at my plate and make sure I didn’t grab anything suspect,” Sofjan said. “I remember once she found out something had been mislabeled and she came into the commons to find me and tell me not to eat it.”

According to Sofjan, along with cooking, Derouen loved music.

“A few times I caught her writing lyrics during her down time and I got her to perform them for me,” Sofjan said. “Her freestyling skills rivaled her pastry making skills. Honestly this place just won’t be the same without her.

She was a fantastic chef, community member and friend. She was passionate, caring, creative and someone who I truly looked forward to interacting with every day.”

Jones College senior Jackson Tyler said he and Will Rice College senior Evan Yoon formed a friendship with Derouen during her time working at Baker.

“I remember one day us ‘singing’ FKA Twigs to her and us all laughing about it,” Tyler said. “We always would go find Essence and say hi and talk and laugh for a bit. She always had a smile and brought light to our days. She was definitely a special person for Evan and I. ” Blessing Falade, a Baker senior, said Derouen often joked around with the other staff and her laughter was always audible.

“When I think of Essence, her lively and radiant smile comes to mind,” Falade said. “Although I never had the pleasure of connecting with her on a deep level, our weekly exchange of pleasantries, which occasionally included discussion on our black natural hair, were a source of comfort and joy. I watched her engage with almost everyone with the same warm demeanor. I’m sure many of the staff took her as their sister or daughter. She was our friend and she was a treasure to Baker and Rice. We miss you already, Essence.”

ASBs cont.* mission: wolf

*The ASBs featured on this page are student-led initiatives unaffiliated with Rice University Center for Civic Leadership.

Students volunteered for the Mission: Wolf organization in Colorado that raises awareness for wolf conservation.

courtesy anthea liu

early education

Reading books and spending time with children is how some students engaged with two early education partners in Houston.

courtesy iris gau

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Onwenu reflects on victory Emily Abdow News Editor

Where were you when you found out you won?

I was at a restaurant called Snack 55 in Barcelona [with] the whole Global Urban Lab group. I got a call from Griffin and the Wi-Fi was absolutely awful so through the course of the conversation I hung up and redialed four times.

He told me I won, I started freaking out.

Was the election what you expected?

It was definitely exciting and definitely not what I expected but in a good, sort of surprising way because more people voted than ever before.

What is your plan for the first 50 days?

Spring is about showing a vision, communicating it to presidents and senators, and creating student advisory boards. The CUC proposal for distribution credit needs to be addressed. I want to make sure people have the SA on their mind as they go into the summer so I want to increase visibility by talking to students and going to cabinets.

When did you know you wanted to run for president?

In the fall I disappeared — I had to work 20 hours a week and I was living off campus. Spring semester I stopped the job, started going to Senate regularly, and started thinking about things I’d like to see changed with the SA and how it engages students. The DACA and the BRIDGE Act conversations were going on and I hadn’t seen people that excited about SA discussions since CTIS so I thought, how can we get students more engaged and change the SA’s reputation from being a leadership pipeline and an echo chamber?

Coming into Rice did you ever expect to see yourself as SA president?

No. I remember Ravi Sheth was the president when I was a freshman and he was really eccentric — he talked about burritos probably .9 out of every one second so I didn’t really see myself in him. I didn’t think I would be that person, and then it just sort of happened.

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NEWS

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What was your most memorable experience in the SA? During the stress of this [election], it’s easy to lose focus on the things we are talking about. I would just get messages from people I hadn’t met.

One particular person messaged me about sexual assault prevention and their personal experience with sexual assault, and how no matter who won they wanted someone to be an advocate for them.

I legit got a little teary-eyed. That was the biggest, ‘Wow this is an opportunity to do a lot of really important things.’

How would you like to be remembered as SA president?

For Jazz, it was sexual assault prevention, for Griffin it was low-income accessibility. I don’t want to tackle just one particular issue. I want to tackle all of these issues by changing how the SA engages with people. I don’t necessarily want to be remembered. I want the progress that we make this year to be institutionalized and remembered.

What’s your favorite servery meal?

If I didn’t answer this question honestly, I’d have hundreds of people coming up to me and asking, ‘Why did you lie?’ I like chicken fingers with honey mustard. I literally wrote this on my roommate form somewhere, so that’s the answer I’m sticking to. Wednesdays at Sid are my favorite day.

Onwenu’s responses have been edited for clarity and length.

Justin Onwenu

3

Administration to announce ‘masters’ title replacement Ivan Hurtado

For the Thresher

Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson said he will announce his choice of a replacement for the “masters” title by the end of the semester.

On Feb. 7, Rice President David Leebron confirmed the title will be changed, as recommended last semester by the committee of college masters. Following the request, the Student Association Senate surveyed the student body about the potential change.

Whether or not I agree with the steps they’re taking, they’re responding to the concerns that people had rather than tabling it.

Paul Onyali McMurtry College Sophomore Hutchinson said he worked with Leebron and Provost Marie Lynn Miranda to reach the decision after considering the student feedback.

“President Leebron, Provost Miranda and I were all impressed with the large number of students in the survey who felt that a change in the title was important for creating an inclusive and welcoming campus,” Hutchinson said.

WILLY WEEK 3.29.2017

According to Hutchinson, the lack of any updates since Feb. 7 is reflective of the administration’s deliberations before choosing an appropriate new title for the position.

“I think the relative slowness on which we have converged on a new title is reflective of the input we got from the student body about the meaning of the title and the importance of the title and what kind of consideration should go into identifying the title,” Hutchinson said.

Baker College master Ivo Jan van der Werff said the issue of the title change does not warrant further input from the masters.

“I think the feeling is, as this has been discussed at great length, that Hutchinson will speak for us all,” van der Werff said.

McMurtry College sophomore Paul Onyali, who authored an opinion piece last semester in the Thresher criticizing what he said was the Rice community’s fixation on a trivial issue, said he felt the administration has taken appropriate steps to address concerns from the Rice community.

“Whether or not I agree with the steps that they’re taking, they’re responding to the concerns that people had rather than tabling it,” Onyali said.

Rose Kantorcyzk, a Lovett College freshman, said she wonders whether the new title for masters will be embraced, but believes the change is needed. “[Hutchinson] should be careful about choosing a new name — I’m worried it might not catch on because ‘masters’ is so pervasive in our language on campus,” Kantorcyzk said. “It doesn’t harm anyone to change it, so if some people find it objectionable, there’s no reason not to.”

Hutchinson said the Rice community can expect the issue to be completely resolved by the end of this semester with a new title that more accurately reflects the role of college masters.

EDITION

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NEWS

the Rice Thresher

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

New crisis manager to fix safety gaps after tornado, Taub shooter Cameron Wallace Thresher Staff

Rice students may be most familiar with the university’s emergency management systems as strings of texts or emails symptomatic of heavy rains or flooding, but they encompass much more than that. Rice University’s new crisis manager Jerusha Kasch took office in February of this year and began working on plans to improve the existing systems, including the development of a new crisis center building and online disaster preparedness training programs for students.

Since taking office as the director of instutional crisis management at Rice, Kasch has been focused on assessing the effectiveness and capabilities of current emergency preparedness systems to determine where improvements need to be made.

Kasch said she will first be looking to increase interdepartmental preparedness cooperation and foster greater coordination between Rice’s emergency preparedness branches by creating a new preparedness center building within the next year.

Kasch also said she will be looking to expand and improve student training resources. This will involve universitywide drills and training exercises, improved information sharing systems and student-led videos and programs promoting safety.

“We decided one of the best things we could do would be to give some training that is push-button accessible on the Rice system,” Kasch said. “If we tell students to shelter, they can push a 30-second video that explains how. That can be done at orientation.”

Kasch said student input has been crucial to the assessment process, and will continue to be crucial for filling in gaps in security.

She received a number of letters from the presidents of residential colleges expressing the concerns of their student bodies, which prompted her to try to create a more effective plan for the future.

“We want students to participate in the planning process and give us feedback about what works and what doesn’t,” Kasch said.

“So we are actively engaging the student population in that way.”

Kasch said recent events, like the tornado emergency on Feb. 14 and reports of an active shooter at the Ben Taub Hospital a week later on Feb. 21, have exposed a lack of effective coordination between the different branches of emergency preparedness systems at Rice as well as gaps in training for students and faculty.

We decided to... give training that is pushbutton accessible. If we tell students to shetler, they can push a 30-second video that explains how.

Jerusha Kasch Institutional Crisis Management Director She said information has not been readily available to the student body during similar events in the past, making many students unaware of where they should shelter or whether they should attend classes.

During the Ben Taub incident, however, Kasch said she was able to coordinate a response with the Rice University Police Department geared towards increasing information flow and screening visitors to campus. This was the result of an already strong relationship between RUPD and the Houston Police Department, she said.

“Ben Taub was interesting in that information flow was not great,” Kasch said. “Our police chief had resources at the hospital that were giving us information directly because Ben Taub was so overwhelmed. So we had officers liaising with the Houston Police Department so that we could base our response on the most up to date information.”

Sreyas Menon, a Lovett College junior, said he had noticed the lack of information, and understood that the crisis management team had done their best under the circumstances, but he thought that there could have been more clarity on the status of classes during the emergency.

“I think they are improving,” Menon said.

“I think they handled the Ben Taub shooting pretty well, nobody really knew what was going on there. In the tornado warning, they should have made a decision about whether classes were on or not rather than giving a mixed message.”

“We will be building an emergency operations center where all of the response departments can come to create a coordinated, managed response,” Kasch said. “That’s going to take a facility, training and exercise.”

RUPD interim Police Chief Clemente Rodriguez said he plans on working closely with Kasch to increase training and information flow between emergency response departments.

“I believe [Kasch] will bring a strong set organizational skills, experience and knowledge in the field of crisis management,” Rodriguez said.

Kasch began her career in law enforcement with the Cowlitz County Sheriff ’s Department in Portland, then worked as an emergency responder and later started in emergency management in public health for the states of Washington and Oregon.

“I’m one of those people that deals really well with stressful situations,” Kasch said.

“In a crisis I can see the big picture. So when I got into crisis management, it felt like home for me.”

Jerusha Kasch Kasch said she regularly spends time volunteering on the scenes of other crises in order to gain a better sense of how her orders as a crisis manager translate to responders on the ground. This spring she helped repair damaged houses in southern Louisiana after heavy rains swept through the region.

As Rice’s crisis manager, Kasch said her primary goal was ensuring students were able to spend as much time in class as possible. She said has involved striking a balance between trying to give students enough information to keep them safe, but not so much as to waste valuable class time.

“My job is to make sure that you’re safe, that we rescue anybody whose life is in danger, and that we get you back in the classroom as fast as possible, because that is what you are paying us to do,” Kasch said.

“Then you go out and provide as a great member of society. This is an institution of learning and if we cannot get you back in the classroom and help you fulfill your goals, we are not fulfilling ours.”

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5

SA must follow the rules that guide their government Throughout this year’s tumultuous Student Association election cycle, the Thresher has been concerned by a lack of disregard for the SA constitution by our governing institutions.

The degree of constitutional oversight that led to the Elections Committee fiasco, in which part-time students were deliberately disenfranchised and the director of elections consequently resigned, is shocking. We do not believe there were any malicious or underhanded intents, and the former director of elections chalked up the mistake to a misinterpretation.

That being said, it is absurd that a freshman was appointed to oversee an election he has never participated in, and it is regrettable that a new student had such a negative experience with the SA at the start of his Rice career.

However, we are puzzled as to how not a single person on the Elections Committee — which included the SA secretary and deputy parliamentarian — realized that disenfranchising part-time students was not only unconstitutional, but completely unprecedented.

Then, when the University Court decided to plow ahead with the elections by extending voting for part-time students, we once more saw a propensity towards making a judicial choice “that would cause the least disturbance to the elections” (according to UCourt’s formal hearing abstract), as opposed to one based on the actual rules outlined in the constitution.

The constitution does not prescribe judicial decisionmaking based on expedience or convenience, and UCourt’s choice to do just that is yet another broader indication of students within our government foregoing procedure when it suits them.

We understand mistakes can happen and elections are never perfect. However, when our SA president and parliamentarian publicly and repeatedly complain about the length of the constitution throughout the year as an excuse for why they overlooked violations thereof, we are faced with a culture within our student governing bodies that undermines the importance of the rule of law. Especially in situations where sources of confusion are easily cleared through a simple CTRL+F search, a lack of knowledge of the constitutional procedures that direct our student government is not an excuse.

Ultimately, rules matter. At times they may feel pesky or cumbersome, but maintaining the procedures outlined in our constitution are essential to ensuring we have a transparent, democratic system within our student body government. We hope the revised, simplified constitution students passed in the election will bring with it a renewed culture of respecting proper procedure.

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

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 Elizabeth Rasich Asst. Editor

Letter to the Editor: Distribution learning matters Given today’s social and political climate, I find the opposition to distribution requirements and by extension, liberal arts education, highly concerning. It’s evident from current events that we desperately need a population with a deep appreciation of other cultures and religions to resist dangerous rhetoric and stereotypes. We need people who understand the realities of structural inequality to be the ones making decisions about welfare programs and the criminal justice system. We must be able to recognize valid research methods and interpret scientific data in the face of denial.

I say this while in my seventh year of bioengineering, which has included both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, work experience and my current doctoral program. I love my field and support STEM education, but have become increasingly aware that the full spectrum of liberal arts education is necessary to add critical human and social context.

When asked about the most important classes I’ve taken, I think about philosophy of religion, where I learned to formulate arguments around the ideas of goodness and omnipotence and suffering. Those concepts were more challenging than anything I encountered in thermodynamics or transport phenomena. In medical sociology I discovered food deserts close to the Rice and the Texas Medical Center area and got my first substantive breakdown of the Affordable Care Act, introducing me to the role of policy in determining health.

Now, through my social inequality class, I’m learning about the historical drivers of inequality, and more problematically,

understanding how I unknowingly benefit from the injustice.

Would I, as an undergraduate engineer trying to juggle major requirements, extracurriculars, research and more, have taken all these courses if not for distribution requirements? Probably not, or fewer of them at the least. Yet years later, the lessons I learned in these classes still influence my life in every dimension, including the way I process the news, engage with the community and approach civic responsibility.

The full spectrum of liberal arts education is necessary to add critical human and social context.

It’s a mistake to assume someone will respond with critical, nuanced thinking when confronted with charged issues like immigration reform or foreign policy just because he or she can work logically through an engineering design problem. We must train students, even those who don’t immediately see the need, to learn how to think through these different frameworks. The distribution system isn’t perfect, but it’s a start.

Melody Tan Brown College Class of 2014 Bioengineering doctoral candidate

Out of touch I write with slick keys embedded in a slim aluminum-clad machine on a laminated plywood table. What’s missing? Survey your surroundings and note the un-smooth things commonly touched.

I fondly remember my slide-phone’s teeny raised-button keypad. Now, touching my mini 2001: Space Odyssey monolith, I notice my fingers seek the bumps where its protective case exposes outlets, the speaker and camera lens. To combat its relentless smoothness I smudge the surface with oily swirls escaping from dragged fingertips. In an emergency I find the nearest braille.

Fingers can starve in this slippery world.

If the range of texture our fingers felt translated to what our mouth felt, we would eat most of our meals pureed.

Cooking delights the hands if you use few utensils, as does eating if you forgo flatware.

Sport balls are wrapped with some of the best surfaces. While walking campus my hands tend to graze brickwork, skim over the hedge-tops, high-five a tree or muss the grass. They enjoy Coffeehouse cup wrappers and coarse-knit clothes.

One of the most frustrating museum policies is Do Not Touch. Art has become

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

one of the last frontiers of texture experimentation. To see the subtle topography of paintings without touching takes great restraint.

Perhaps the visual appearance of texture satisfies most people, and they are in luck. But I want to delight my fingers with unknown or rare sensations like grabbing a fistful of spaghetti. Eyes enjoy both the simple smooth surface and texture, so why does one dominate our material culture? Smoothness belies an efficiency or aerodynamics. Perhaps we should accommodate a little inefficiency for our hands’ sake.

Mitch Mackowiak is

the Thresher Opinions Editor and a Lovett College senior

ask

&

merri webster

Easter is coming up. How do I tell my parents I’ve stopped going to church in college?

Merri: There are a lot of different shades between on the one hand lying to your parents about going to church and on the other hand spitting rejection in their faces. From your question, your relationship with your parents is important to you — but you have to juggle honesty and openness with your parents to do what’s comfortable for you, with wanting to protect them from learning something about you that might hurt them.

It’s up to you to weigh the potential consequences for when and how much you decide to tell them. For example, you could tell them you’ve stopped going to church because you’ve found better ways to have religion in your life, or because you’re too busy, or because you haven’t found one that’s right for you. There are a million ways to package your message; have a couple ready that you’d think they’d be receptive to — hopefully including a few that are true! If you’re comfortable, let them pray for you or go with them to church when you’re at home or something similar to let them know you still respect and appreciate their relationship with religion and their relationship with you.

Your parents might get upset no matter how careful you are. Sometimes that’s inevitable, but at this point most people have upset their parents at least a few times in their lives. Don’t push too hard if you think it’ll ruin your relationship, but if you’re at the point where you’ve decided you have to tell them, then your candidness will pay off more than lying to protect them.

In the end, just be honest and respectful — tell your parents what you want them to know and as much as you think they will be able to handle, and trust that they will come to terms with it eventually. Be resilient — this will likely be a conversation that you might have to have more than once. It might be hard, but if you’ve decided that’s what you need to tell them for your peace of mind, having the patience and openness to have that conversation deeply and thoughtfully will be better for everyone in the long run.

Webster: You have two options. Either lie out of your ass for the rest of your life, or break the news via cake with something snazzy written on it in icing. Something short and punchy that gets your point across but will also fit on a cake. Like “My condolences for your loss … of my faith!!!” or “Why did you raise me like this :(“ Make sure to include the frowny face, and also a lot of those tiny plastic Jesus crucifixes your parents probably gave to small children at Halloween instead of candy. Leave the cake in the kitchen for them to find in the morning. Leave before they find it. Change your name. Move to Nicaragua. Start a new life.

“Ask Merri and Webster” is an advice column authored by two Thresher editorial staff members. Readers can email their inquiries to thresher@rice.edu.

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.

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 2017

6

OP-ED

the Rice Thresher

Letter to the Editor: Everyone loses with UCourt election decision To the Editor: I was perplexed to hear Monday night that the University Court, faced with an election in which the Student Association disenfranchised a class of voters, nonetheless substantially upheld the results. The decision strikes me as the latest development in a trend toward disregard for the value of process.

I am by no means the first to compare this election to the Great Election Fiasco of 2014 — the late-breaking write-in campaign, the UCourt challenge and a new constitution on the ballot to boot. The comparison was apt.

Until now.

As someone intimately involved in 2014 — I argued the case for the SA — still familiar with the election procedures — how could I forget? — I was asked to share my thoughts on the 2017 election. (It just so happens I also went part-time my final semester while continuing to hold office and vote.)

I hesitate to weigh in out of respect for my former colleagues on UCourt and my firm view that student government is for students.

But someone has to speak up for process.

Barely three years ago, UCourt required that the SA rerun the entire election due to the Elections Committee’s decision to omit the joke candidate for president from the ballot and a security breach that allowed 14 alumni to vote and two students to double-vote — not nearly enough to affect the outcome of anything except the constitutional referendum.

UCourt’s reasoning indicated either issue would have been sufficient to require a rerun to preserve the integrity of the process.

UCourt explicitly rejected the concept that only violations able to change the outcome warranted rerunning the election. That interpretation was hotly debated, but it commands respect as a principled decision putting integrity and public confidence first.

The same judicial body now tells students the integrity of the process and public confidence don’t matter so much after all.

The SA improperly kicked a real, albeit withdrawn, candidate off the ballot. While voting was still underway, the SA admitted it disenfranchised voters and effectively

conceded the election needed to be rerun, tainting the process for all voters (surely one is less likely to vote in an election almost certain to be thrown out).

Yet somehow UCourt concluded the show must go on. The election results, irreparably damaged by disenfranchisement, voter confusion and ballot access issues, must stand.

UCourt’s decision damages candidates, voters and the very idea of procedural integrity.

UCourt claims its goal is to “preserve the integrity of the election” by choosing “the option that would cause the least disturbance to the elections.” But how does effectively signing off on an admittedly unconstitutional election preserve its integrity? Where in the SA constitution does UCourt see a command to take the path of least resistance at the expense of correcting a constitutional violation?

Last time, the SA lost the case. But it lost in the name of integrity. This time, everybody lost. UCourt’s decision damages candidates, voters and the very idea of procedural integrity.

Perhaps just as disturbing about UCourt’s decision is that it reaches out to disenfranchise students who have not paid the blanket tax (often because they are studying abroad). These students have long been eligible to vote.* UCourt’s substantive decision is unappealable, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to do for students who care about the integrity of their election system — and government.

Next time you think process is just about reading (or CTRL+F-ing) a long, silly document, think again. I’d have started with the table of contents link for “Voter Eligibility.” Next time you think a procedural

slip-up is too minor to matter, think again.

Getting in the habit of following procedure helps prevent mistakes that do matter.

In short, this year’s election shenanigans should be a wake-up call: Process matters.

Brian C. Baran Duncan College Class of 2015 Former University Court chair and Student Association parliamentarian *Indeed, Section XII.A.3 of the SA constitution states: “All members of the Student Association are eligible to vote in all Student Association elections. If in question, a person’s membership shall be verified by the Office of the Registrar, which shall determine whether the person in question is a currently enrolled undergraduate student at Rice University.” (emphasis added) The second sentence makes clear that the sole question is the same one Section II.A.1 makes the sole criterion of membership: whether the student is a currently enrolled undergraduate.

Indeed, to reach its conclusion, UCourt had to rewrite Section XII.A.3. Its abstract states: “If voter eligibility is in question, the Elections Committee should verify with the Office of the Registrar that the student in question is both currently enrolled as an undergraduate and pays blanket tax.”

Still unpersuaded? Look at the language prior to our 2014 amendments. In 2013, Section I.1 of the SA constitution read, “All undergraduate students of Rice University who have paid the undergraduate blanket tax shall be members of the Student Association.”

It’s hard to read the change from that to defining “currently enrolled undergraduate students” as members and requiring them to pay the blanket tax as anything but an attempt to ensure that enrolled students would not be denied membership (and thus the vote) regardless of whether they paid the blanket tax.

Indeed, we specifically wrote the definition to encompass students studying abroad at the time of an election. (They’re enrolled in AWAY credits.)

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

ASK THE STAFF What ASB would you lead?

“How To Fuck The Patriarchy And Dismantle Colonialist Constructs In One Week.”

– Yasna Haghdoost, Editor in Chief

“Warping Reality: Utilizing Dreamy Sunsets & Tan Solo Shots To Finally Perfect Your SB Insta Feed.

– Ellie Mix, A&E Designer

“Touch The Sky, Do The Impossible: Work Up The Motivation To Do Homework Over Spring Break.”

– Charlie Paul, Web Editor

“Beach Cleanup In Panama City Beach: Bringing College Students Together Through Tequila.”

– Juan Saldana, Business Manager

“Returning Home: How To Sleep 12 Hours A Day Nine Days In A Row.” – Andrew Grottkau, Sports Editor

“Going 15 Minutes Off-Campus And Learning That Indeed, There Are Underserved People In Your Community: Kudos To The Houston ASBs for Fighting the Good Fight.”

– Anita Alem, Managing Editor

“Deep Breaths: Learning to Live with Less than Perfection.”

– Emily Abdow, News Editor

“Aid To The Average: Giving Compassion To The Deprived, Underachieving Freshmen That Don’t Have Internships With Google Yet.” – Anna Ta, Assistant News Editor

“Rendezvous On Bourbon Street: Drunkenly Reuniting With The Entire Rice Undergrad Population In New Orleans.”

– Biz Rasich, Assistant News Editor

“Plague, Inc: Tracking the Proliferation of Infectious Diseases in Rice Dorms.”

– Christina Tan, Art Director

“Taking The High Road: Examining Organic Agricultural Practices In Colorado’s Recreational Plant Industry.”

– Riley Robertson, Backpage Editor

“I actually led one and I would do it again, so up all of yours.”

– Jasmine Lin, Copy Editor

“Lone Survivor: Experiencing Rice Without Friends Or Food.”

– Lenna Mendoza, A&E Editor

“Jet Lagered: Studying the Effects of International Airline Free Alcholic Refreshment Policies.”

– Drew Keller, News Editor

“Front-To-Back Or Back-To-Front: Teaching Underserved Youth Proper Bathroom Etiquette.”

– Joey Mcglone, Backpage Editor

“Does It Make A Sound?: Raising Awareness Of Illegal Logging Effects On Nicaraguan Cloud Forest Communities.” cartoon by jennifer fu and christina tan

SA write-ins.

– Mitch Mackowiak, Opinions Editor

11

From food truck to hip bungalow Lauren Heller Thresher Staff

Les Ba’get Address: 1717 Montrose Blvd.

Price Range: $ Phone number: (832) 548-1080 Hours: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays

Recommended Dishes Lemongrass Grilled Beef Banh Mi 24-hr. Sous Vide Pork Belly Banh Mi

courtesy rotten tomatoes

‘The Salesman’ explores coping with domestic pain Maddie Flavin

that feels too good to be true, one of their friends at the theater secures them a top-floor apartment in another building, the tenant of which has just moved out. But, after Rana is assaulted in the shower while home alone, Emad is driven to find and destroy the culprit, even as his traumatized wife begs him to let it

Thresher Staff

The Salesman Showing at: River Oaks Theatre Ticket Price: $10.50 Run time: 2 hours 5 minutes Genre: Drama When Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” won the Academy Award for best foreign language film at the 2017 Oscars ceremony, five years after his first win for “A Separation,” the man himself was noticeably absent. While some may have seen the Iranian Farhadi’s win as a message of political defiance in Trump-era America, the effect of the travel ban on the film’s relationship to our domestic market is impossible to ignore. Farhadi uses the universal medium of film to consider the intimate intensity of domestic life.

Emad and Rana are actors playing Willy Loman and Linda in a local production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” After a late-night near-collapse of their Tehran apartment building, the couple have to find a new place to live. Then, in a stroke of luck

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

Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti paint a quietly charged portrait of a couple creeping closer to a foundational collapse of their own. be and as he digs up unsavory secrets about the previous tenant.

In the roles of the central couple in both the film’s main story and its play-within-thestory, Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti paint a quietly charged portrait of a couple creeping closer to a foundational collapse of

BAYOU CITY ART FESTIVAL From Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,the Bayou City Art Festival will fill Memorial Park with 300 vendors, food trucks, drinks,and more. General admission tickets are $15.

Memorial Park 6501 Memorial Dr. artcolonyassociation.org

their own. Alidoosti makes Rana’s post-attack trauma achingly palpable and incredibly understandable. It hurts to see Rana suffer so much, as everything in the apartment, from the shower to the intercom, becomes a trigger to the memory of that night. Hosseini gives Emad a fascinating and gripping complexity as a man who struggles to make sense of what has happened to his partner. While he doesn’t fault Rana for what happened to her, he also feels driven to restore idealism to their marital bond, bring the culprit to justice, and make the woman he loves feel safe and protected.

There’s underlying tragedy in knowing that, whether vengeance or mercy prevails, life will still never be the same for either Emad or Rana. Just as the characters in Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” found themselves unable to stop the cracks in their lives, Emad and Rana cannot ever escape the grim reality of what has befallen them.

No matter where in the world you live, high chances are that you’ve, at some point, found yourself in an environment where fractures have formed in relationships between people or things seem to be falling apart. In the end, “The Salesman” is about ordinary people trying to keep their heads above the water as the waves of life’s cruel turbulences threaten to push them under without ever resurfacing for air.

HOUSTON LATINO FILM FESTIVAL The second annual Houston Latino Film Festival will run from March 23 to 26 at Talento Bilingue de Houston, located in the MATCH building. Short films and feature films will show.

Festival badges start at $40.

Talento Bilingue de Houston 333 S Jensen Dr. matchouston.org

Starting as a Vietnamese fusion food truck, Les Ba’get upgraded to its first permanent location in a Montrose bungalow a few years ago. Blink and you might miss it — the house is tucked in a narrow side street off Montrose Boulevard with a small parking lot out front. Its location across the street from Inversion Coffee House makes it a perfect Saturday afternoon destination for studying at Inversion and dinner at Les Ba’get.

My least favorite aspect of this place is the parking, as there are less than 10 spots in the lot and street parking is very limited, so consider yourself warned. However, the restaurant itself is cozy, with a surprising amount of seating available after ordering at the counter. Behind the counter is an expansive menu of Vietnamese dishes as well as some specials for the day.

The chefs blend these traditional menu items with unique cooking styles and ingredients to create a fusion of flavors.

The Vietnamese offerings include breakfast items, banh mi (served on baguettes or croissants), spring rolls, noodles, pho and rice dishes. The chefs blend these traditional menu items with unique cooking styles and ingredients to create a fusion of flavors. One example is the 24-hour sous vide pork belly banh mi my boyfriend ordered. For those of you 0see LES BA’GET, page 12

J. POUWELS This New Zealander-American artist explores water and its mismanagement in his exhibition “Dysfunctional Systems” which will be on display at Arts League Houston from March 24 until May 6. Opening reception is from 6-9 p.m. Friday.

Admission is free.

Art League Houston 1953 Montrose Blvd. artleaguehouston.org

REGGAE ON THE RAIL DJ Kool Emdee and live artists will celebrate reggae, roots, dub and dancehall this Sunday March 26 from 5-9 p.m. Cover is $5, and the venue is off of the red line of the METRO at the Ensemble/HCC stop.

Continental Club 3700 Main St. continentalclub.com/houston

12

A&E

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

the Rice Thresher

0Les Ba’get FROM PAGE 11

unfamiliar with sous vide, it is a cooking technique in which the ingredient is vacuumsealed in a plastic bag and then placed in a temperature-controlled water bath for hours, quite unlike the chargrilled pork you’ll find in a normal banh mi.

I ordered the lemongrass grilled beef banh mi with a fried sunny side-up egg on top.

These salty ingredients combined with the fixings of duck pate, truffle aioli, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot, scallion, cilantro and jalapeno made for a standout sandwich that wasn’t overpowered by any one flavor.

Some other banh mi fillings that caught my eye were the oak smoked brisket, coconut basil shrimp and lemongrass grilled tofu, as well as the housemade shrimp chips that can be ordered as an add-on.

Deviating from the established menu of spring rolls and egg rolls, we opted for the special basil beef spring rolls with housemade garlic fish sauce. We really enjoyed the flavors of the beef and the sauce,

but I do have one complaint. The components (meat, vermicelli and vegetables) weren’t well mixed, making it difficult to taste all of them together in one bite. That said, I would be interested in trying other rolls, like the buddha fried egg rolls that come with a combination of taro, tofu and vegetables.

Finally, Les Ba’get has a really cool variety of beverages. I tried the vanilla cream soda sweetened with agave nectar (there was old-fashioned root beer as well) that served as a nice complement to the salty and spicy sandwich. Coffee junkies can choose to order the cafe sua da, or a Vietnamese iced coffee.

The drink that intrigued me the most was pandan soy bean milk. Pandan is a leaf from a tropical tree (kind of similar to banana leaves) that supposedly has a unique, sweet taste. I’m looking forward to trying it along with some of the other interesting dishes next time.

While the prices are a few dollars higher than what you’ll find at other places like Les Givral’s (a banh mi will run you about $2-$3 more at Les Ba’get), they are well worth it for the opportunity to try generous portions of food that leans toward Vietnamese fusion rather than traditional Vietnamese. lauren heller/thresher

‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ delights Cannon Lewis Thresher Staff

As a child, it is impossible to wrap your head around any large event; from giving a presentation to your class to visiting Disney World or winning a national competition, everything seems enormous precisely because your world is so small. Your friends and family shape, participate in and interpret every moment, until you eventually realize that you are the only determinant of your life. Directed by McMurtry College senior Riley Smith, the Hanszen and Wiess Colleges’ production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” showcases this initial moment of self-actualization for six children in the context of a regional spelling bee, and in so doing manages to be both touching and genuinely entertaining. Though the advent of spell check has absolutely devastated our national interest in spelling prowess, “Putnam” nonetheless showcases enough heart, humor and talent to create delight from even this somewhat antiquated premise.

Written by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin, “Putnam” tells the story of, as its title might suggest, the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Where precisely Putnam County resides on a map is not specified, but in a way, Putnam County is every county in America, and the children in the spelling bee are representative of any number of equally ambitious and confused young people across the nation. The musical focuses on its six child protagonists and their internal struggles throughout the spelling bee, which range from puberty to parental abandonment.

In an interesting turn, “Putnam” also features several members of the audience as competitors, whose undirected struggles to spell the words they are given lend a layer of realism and hilarity to the proceedings.

At the risk of spoiling some of the surprise, “Putnam” is characterized by enough twists and turns to keep the audience guessing and make full use of its ensemble cast.

“Putnam” features a surprisingly large cast for the simplicity of its premise, and does an incredible job of differentiating its characters. The incongruity of the ex-convict Mitch Mahoney, played by Martel College sophomore Jake Reinhart, comforting losing children is matched only by the deep sadness that Olive Ostrovsky, played by Martel freshman Elizabeth Jowers, feels about her

absentee parents. These dark undercurrents, however, serve only to support the continuously clever writing, as the adult officiators Rona Lisa Peretti, played by Lovett College junior Ronnie McLaren, and Douglas Panch, played by Lovett junior Nathaniel Williams, keep up a stream of comments on the participants and joke definitions.

Williams’ deadpan delivery deserves accolade here — he displays excellent comedic timing.

Also notable for their commitment to character are the hilariously morose William Barfee, played by Brown College senior Roby Johnson, and Leaf Coneybear, played

by Wiess freshman Jacob Mattia, whose capacity to childishly make a fool of himself displays either incredible character acting or a genuine love for wearing towel capes. As an ensemble musical, the brunt of the emotional impact in “Putnam” lies in its songs, and the cast does not disappoint. “Putnam” enjoys excellent singing talent across the board, with Reinhart and Jowers displaying the greatest vocal ability.

As “Putnam” takes place entirely in one auditorium, its set design is minimal, comprising only some risers, walls and classroom decorations. This simplicity is appropriate, however, as it allows the audience to focus entirely on the character dynamics on display. Direction in “Putnam” is also relatively simple, with fantastically choreographed musical numbers breaking up the more mundane movement which focuses around the main microphone of the spelling bee. Hanszen and Wiess’ production features live music and fully mics all actors, and these production touches lend a sense of polish and clarity which more than make up for the play’s location in the Wiess commons.

Though at times the live audio production doesn’t quite keep pace with the actors, on the whole the effect is impressive.

Ultimately, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is a true pleasure. I found myself laughing out loud at several points and thoroughly engrossed throughout.

The cast handles both the comedic and tragic beats of the script quite capably, and the technical limitations of the play’s location do not detract at all from the fun. Much as with Wiess Tabletop’s last production “Hello, Hamlet!,” in “Putnam” the Rice college theater community displays tremendous ability and passion, and I am excited to see what they decide to produce next.

UPCOMING CONCERTS blink-182 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

3/23

The Tontons The Heights

3/23

Zac Brown Band Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

3/26

Panic at the Disco!

Toyota Center

4/1

Bastille Smart Financial Centre

4/6

Vince Staples Warehouse Live

4/6

Morrissey White Oak Music Hall

4/14

Whitney The Secret Group

4/27

Chamillionare & Bones Thugs N Harmony 4/27 Scout Bar

PJ Harvey Revention Music Center

4/29

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

A&E

the Rice Thresher

13

Oporto is a happy hour heaven Lauren Heller Thresher Staff

Happy hours typically call to mind halfpriced beers and cocktails at the local bar, but what should really draw everyone’s attention is the cheap eats. Several restaurants offer happy hour specials, sometimes for dishes off their regular menu, throughout the week.

For those who want to venture past the servery for Friday dinner, I enthusiastically recommend Oporto Fooding House and Wine.

This Portuguese-Indian fusion restaurant offers happy hour bites that pack a punch without pounding your wallet.

Nestled in Midtown, Oporto is also an Instagrammer’s dream with interesting decor and a cute patio with heaters and strings of lights. Its happy hour is surprisingly generous, running from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with a more extensive food menu than drinks menu. For those of age, the drinks menu has all the staples like beer, wine and sangria. My friends ordered a carafe of red sangria (equivalent to a bottle of wine)

for $25, which they said was so refreshing it could be mistaken for juice.

The dishes offered on the happy hour bites menu range from pizzettes and paos to small plates. We decided to sample the picadinho poutine, piri piri chicken wings, chorizo bhaji pao and avocado and salmon tartine. The picadinho poutine, french fries with seared beef tenderloin topped with madeira winepeppercorn sauce and raclette cheese, was my favorite. The fries were perfectly seasoned and firm enough to sop up the delicious sauce. My one complaint would be that there was not enough cheese relative to the rest of the components. The chorizo bhaji pao was a perfect example of how the restaurant melds seemingly disparate Portuguese and Indian flavors into one cohesive plate that fits the menu’s distinct flavor profile. This dish was a small bowl of curry made with smoked chorizo and potato in a red sauce served with a warm, almost briochelike Portuguese roll for dipping. Finally, it is worth noting that the avocado and salmon tartine seemed to be a deviation, as it was lighter and lacked

some of the robust flavors of the menu items previously mentioned.

When happy hour ended, we switched over to the regular menu to order the queijo de cabra, feijao con fideos and curry chicken empanadas. Think of the queijo de cabra as deconstructed mozzarella sticks with marinara dipping sauce, and then imagine it a hundred times better. Instead of mozzarella sticks, it was a baked goat cheese topped with walnuts, bathed in a rich tomato basil sauce and served with grilled bread brushed with olive oil and herbs. After trying this dish, I didn’t care about what was going to come after; I was already in heaven. That said, the next two dishes didn’t disappoint. The feijao con fideos, or thin noodles with beans, kale, oregano, feta and romesco sauce (a Spanish sauce of red pepper and almonds), tasted like comfort food that someone’s European grandma would make and was definitely a crowd pleaser. The curry chicken empanadas had flaky golden puff pastry, filling with a little bit of kick and a really tasty herb sauce.

While we thoroughly enjoyed everything

we ordered, I felt like the dishes that came with a sauce (i.e. the picadinho poutine, queijo de cabra and feijao con fideos) were the standouts that night. Of course, if you combine the happy hour menu and regular dinner menu, there are nearly endless combinations that you can order; I would strongly encourage groups of friends to go together so that you can sample as many things as possible.

The happy hour menu proved to be an excellent value, with four dishes costing $30, whereas the three dishes from the regular menu summed up to $35. Although paying $28 per person for food (after tax and tip) is not a bargain given that some dishes were from the regular menu, you could definitely order fewer dishes for a cheaper evening. Even so, Oporto isn’t your run-of-the-mill cafe. Rather, it is a great place to hang out with friends or go on a romantic date while enjoying some very high-quality food. Keeping these factors in mind, I would say that Oporto’s happy hour is one that provides some serious bang for your buck.

Oporto Fooding House and Wine Address: 125 W Gray St. Price range: $$ Phone number: (713) 528-0115 Hours: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. weekends

Recommended Dishes Picadinho Poutine Chorizo Bhaji Pao

lauren heller/thresher

ok, so my subs really aren't gourmet and we're not french either. my subs just taste a little better, that's all! I wanted to call it jimmy john's tasty sandwiches, but my mom told me to stick with gourmet.

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14

Rhoades to leave after season-ending loss in CBI Andrew Grottkau Sports Editor

sean chu/thresher

Sophomore guard Lauren Grigsby puts up a layup during Rice’s quarterfinal win over the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. Grigsby scored a career-high 24 points in the win.

Women’s basketball marches to WBI semifinals Ben Rieden

Thresher Staff

With standout performances from senior forward Jasmine Goodwine and sophomore guard Lauren Grigsby, the Rice women’s basketball team won the quarterfinal game of the Women’s Basketball Invitational on Sunday afternoon. With the 73-63 victory over the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, the Owls will advance to the tournament semifinal. Head coach Tina Langley said she was impressed by the attitude of the team in their win.

“I think these young ladies love playing together, and I think you could really see that today on the court,” Langley said.

“It’s a team that’s really found their groove this postseason and is enjoying this ride together.”

The win marks the 20th of the season

for Rice. It is the first time the Owls have reached that mark since the 2004-05 season.

One of our core values is unity and I think these ladies represent that every day.

Tina Langley Basketball Head Coach After making it to the quarterfinal of the Conference USA tournament, Rice qualified for their 11th postseason appearance in the program’s history. They now have two

WBI appearances, seven Women’s National Invitational Tournament appearances and two NCAA tournament appearances.

The Owls started slow in the quarterfinal match, falling into an early 9-0 deficit in the first quarter. According to Langley, it was energy on the defensive end that ultimately got the Owls back into the game.

“We worked really hard after the last game to pick up our defensive intensity,” Langley said. “Once we were able to do that we were able to have a little more success.”

Rice outscored UT Rio Grande Valley 2614 in the second quarter to get back into the game, and then followed up by outscoring them 26-16 in the third quarter. These two strong quarters gave the Owls a 19-point advantage, and at 62-43 heading into the final quarter, Rice successfully closed out the game with a win.

0see BASKETBALL, page 15

Rice men’s basketball had its season come to an end in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational, falling 85-79 to Utah Valley University. The Owls finished the year 23-12 and earned a postseason win, an 85-76 victory over the University of San Francisco in the first round of the CBI, for the first time in five years. After the game, however, reports from CBS Sports indicated head coach Mike Rhoades had accepted the head coaching position at Virginia Commonwealth University. Rhoades could not be reached for comment on his reported departure at the time of print.

The Owls opened the game against Utah Valley hot, racing out to a 15-7 lead. The Wolverines immediately responded with a 14-0 run to take a 21-15 lead and did not trail again until late in the second half. Rice trailed by as much as 11 early in the second but stormed back to take a 67-66 lead with 8:53 remaining in the game. Then, a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Marcus Evans gave the Owls a four-point lead. Unfortunately for the Owls, the Wolverines hit shots at the end of the game and finished on a 19-9 run to win by six.

Evans said the Owls did not play well enough to beat a talented Utah Valley team.

“They were better than us today,” Evans said. “They executed well and we weren’t able to execute down the stretch. That’s the reason we lost.”

Junior guard Egor Koulechov said Rice got complacent after its hot start in the first half.

“We got comfortable and went through a little slump,” Koulechov said. “We tried to overcome that but it takes a lot of energy to come back in a game.”

The crowd was loud all game long.

Sophomore forward Marquez Letcher-Ellis threw down a tomahawk dunk in the first half that got the crowd to its feet, and late in the close game, fans were cheering virtually nonstop. Rhoades said the packed student section meant a lot to him and his program.

“The one thing I said when I got here was we want everyone to enjoy this,” Rhoades said. “Even though it didn’t go the way we wanted it to, a lot of kids on this campus had fun tonight. That was really cool. We want to continue to do that.”

Despite the loss, Rice finished the season with the second-most wins in program history, 23. In Rhoades’ three seasons, the Owls improved by 11 wins. Barring any transfers or departures, Rice will return all but one player, senior forward Andrew Drone, from this year’s team. For those reasons, prior to the reports of Rhoades’ departure, Evans said there is a great deal of optimism heading into next season.

“Only time will tell [what the team can do next season],” Evans said. “We have a lot of talent on this team.”

For now, Rice will head to the offseason.

The first step of the summer will be finding a new head coach. Rhoades, who was an assistant with VCU before coming to Rice, will return to the Rams next season. He went 47-52 in his three seasons with the Owls and led the team to its first postseason berth in five years.

Rhoades previously interviewed for the VCU head coaching job after his first season with Rice. VCU made the NCAA tournament this season and lost in the first round before its head coach left for Louisiana State University.

Reflecting on the season, Evans said he is happy with what the team was able to accomplish.

“I couldn’t be more proud of everyone in the program,” Evans said. “What we accomplished this year is nothing to hold our heads down about. We did some things that haven’t been done here in a long time.”

Evans and his teammates will have another chance to set new records next year when the Owls open their season with nonconference play in November.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

The Final Kauntdown

0BASKETBALL from page 14

Baseball season looks lost

When the baseball season began, Rice understandably had high expectations. The Owls have reached the NCAA tournament in 22 consecutive seasons and finished one run shy of the conference title last year. A month into the season, the team is 6-16. It is nowhere near the national powerhouse we have come to expect. The reason for the decline is simple: The Owls’ pitching has failed them.

Unfortunately for Rice, nothing can derail a season quite like a breakdown in pitching.

Last Thursday night, the Owls had a solid offensive performance, scoring five runs in the first three innings and six runs overall.

The Owls, however, never led. Stanford University treated the Rice pitchers like pitching machines, scoring 15 runs in the first four innings and winning 16-6. In the fourth inning, Stanford’s fifth hitter already had four at-bats. No matter how well the offense can perform, it cannot be expected to put up double-digit runs to keep up with poor pitching performances.

Coming into the season, Rice had question marks in its rotation. The mainstays from last year, juniors Willy Amador and Ricardo Salinas, were expected to be consistent contributors. Junior Glenn Otto was supposed to pitch long innings in relief. Instead, this trio has been either injured or inconsistent throughout the early season. Amador pitched well against Sam Houston State University on Tuesday, but before that start, his ERA was 14.73. Salinas has had success in early innings, but has tended to fade as he gets deep into his outings. Otto began the season sidelined with an injury and has been used sparingly since.

The trio has not been nearly good enough to match preseason expectations.

Outside of the returning pitchers, Rice has had to rely on freshman Matt Canterino and sophomore Zach Esquivel. While these pitchers have performed well at times, they have also been inconsistent, which is to be expected of first-time college pitchers. That said, those two pitchers and junior Dane Myers each have quality ERAs of 3.04 or less.

The bullpen has been far worse than the starters. Rice is just 5-4 when ahead after six innings because its relievers have struggled to hold leads. The Owls already have more losses when leading after six than they did all of last season — last year, the Owls were 31-2 in those situations. Of the nine primary relievers who have appeared in more than two games, only three have ERAs under 6.55. Considering that a trustworthy pitcher should have an ERA of about 4.00 or less, the bullpen’s performance is alarmingly bad. No matter how well the starters perform, a bad bullpen will prevent

SPORTS

the Rice Thresher

the Owls from holding leads and winning games.

Just 22 games into the season, the Owls have given up eight or more runs seven times. Last season, behind star pitchers Jon Duplantier and Blake Fox, the Owls gave up that many runs just 12 times in 62 games.

Before the season, Wayne Graham said he cares much more about strong pitching than a strong lineup. Rice has a solid lineup, certainly better than last year. But its pitching has taken such a sharp nosedive that it barely matters.

Sure, there will be times when the lineup explodes and carries the team to victory, as it did in a 15-5 beatdown of Southeastern Louisiana University. But more often than not, the pitching will collapse and ruin a good offensive performance like in the 6-5 loss to Old Dominion University last weekend.

Of course, the team’s struggles cannot be blamed exclusively on the pitching. Rice’s pitchers fared far better this past weekend against Old Dominion, but the offense failed to score enough in 3-2 and 2-0 defeats.

Additionally, the Owls’ defense has been atrocious. Rice has allowed 34 unearned runs in 22 games. Its opponents have allowed just five. These runs have come as a product of 37 errors and an abysmal .951 fielding percentage.

Ultimately, it is difficult for a pitcher to play with confidence when he cannot trust his defense to get outs.

Regardless of the cause of Rice’s struggles, it will take an immense turnaround for the Owls to extend their streak of 22 consecutive NCAA tournaments. Rice will likely have to win the Conference USA tournament if it hopes to qualify for the postseason; right now, it has an uphill battle to even qualify for the C-USA tournament after an 0-3 start to conference play. In all likelihood, for the first time since 1994, Rice is in the midst of a season that will not end with an NCAA tournament appearance.

15

she was impressed with the team’s attitude and work ethic throughout the season.

Goodwine, who is Rice’s leading scorer for the season, recorded a double-double in the game with 23 points and 14 rebounds while shooting 9 of 16 from the field. It was the sixth double-double on the season for the All C-USA Second Team forward. In addition, Goodwine had help from Grigsby, who led the Owls in scoring and set a career high with 24 points. Grigsby said she liked the way the team bounced back after the first quarter.

“I was kind of nervous at first because we had a slow start, but I think the team really picked it up and joined together,” Grigsby said. “I think that’s what put us over the top.”

The Owls won their first round matchup against Lamar University by a score of 73-72. Once again, Goodwine boasted an impressive performance with 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field. The game moved Goodwine into 10th place on Rice’s all-time scoring list. Senior guard Maya Hawkins had 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the win, while junior guard Shani Rainey had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. The victory over Lamar gave the Owls their first postseason victory since 2006. Langley said

It’s a team that’s found their groove this postseason and is enjoying the ride together.

Tina Langley Basketball Head Coach “One of our core values is unity and I think that these ladies represent that every day no matter what their minutes are,” Langley said. “As they continue to work hard and we continue to play, they will continue to reap the benefits of all that hard work. I’m really proud for them.”

Rice will play in the WBI semifinal game on Thursday, March 23. They will look to pick up yet another victory on the season and advance to the WBI championship game for the first time in school history.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Opponent

Date

Score

Lamar

March 16

W 73-72

UTRGV

March 19

W 73-63

Idaho

March 23, 7 p.m.

Tudor Fieldhouse

TBD

The Final Kauntdown is a column written

by Andrew Grottkau. The opinions expressed in the column are solely his own.

Andrew Grottkau

THE RICHARD

is Thresher Sports Editor and a McMurtry College sophomore

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16 BACKPAGE

the Rice Thresher

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Hey there college students! As Beer Bike draws nearer, we can’t wait to see what kind of innovative jacks you come up with. Unique, clever and unconventional pranks have a long history at Rice, as we all know. However, keeping in the spirit of stifling students’ freedom and autonomy, let us remind you that all potential jacks must be approved by the appropriate regulatory authority, namely, your friends here at SJP. To streamline the regulatory cycle, we’ve prepared a list of student-proposed jacks alongside our recommendations requirements for more appropriate pranks that are in line with our community’s shared values. Take a look, get inspired and start filling out those approval forms! We can’t wait to exert our control over you.

SJP-APPROVED JACKS

student-proposed jacks People always talk about how “blackout” they were.

For this jack, make like a Rolling Stone and paint the windows of a rival college black. This way, every college can see what it’s like to live in Sid.

Mix a big bucket of warm water with ooey-gooey soapy suds, then toss it right on the windows of your rival college. Bombed! (Be sure to wipe those windows down afterwards … Any visible soap streaks could, depending on circumstances, be considered vandalism).

Switch the furniture of two college commons that are physically close and resemble each other.

Move all the tables in a rival college’s commons six inches to the left. When they wake up in the morning and see the “damage,” they’ll have no idea what hit ’em!

Cover a rival college’s quad in bird seed so that birds flock to the area and “leave their mark” all over the area.

Unleash a storm of origami cranes arranged throughout the servery in such a way to introduce a demonic feng shui that will seep into their daily decision-making processes, thus disrupting the natural balance of their seven chakras, ultimately resulting in slower chug times come Beer Bike morning. Gotcha!

Steal the dog of your rival college’s masters and dye it the color of your college.

Buy said masters a gift card to a doggy day care … but NOT the one they typically go to!

Plaster Willy’s statue with a whole mess of your college’s stickers.

Throw a real silly hat up on ol’ Willy’s noggin, maybe even a false mustache! (Make sure the adhesive of the mustache leaves NO visible marks behind once YOU remove it AND the hat no more than 30 MINUTES after said hat and mustache are applied).

Make an obstruction on the sidewalk that connects a neighboring college to the rest of campus, forcing them to take a longer route to classes.

Invite the neighboring college over for a movie night.

Tell them there will be an abundance of mid- to top-tier snacks and that you’ll be watching “Kangaroo Jack.” Then, when they arrive, put on “Kangaroo Jack 2: G’Day, U.S.A.!” and only provide low-grade snacks like those barrels of cheese puffs that you don’t really want to eat but you’ll totally eat anyways.

Hold an inter-collegiate smoke-out so large in the academic quad that RUPD can’t do anything but get a contact high while driving around in their golf carts, culminating in Interim Chief of Police Clemente Rodriguez ordering a bunch of Russo’s XXXL pizzas on RUPD’s bill.

Find a friend who has hidden hard alcohol and/or dope in their room, and report them to SJP immediately.

Throughout Willy Week, “ice” members of other colleges as they arrive for breakfast.

Drop an extra ice cube into their drink with breakfast.

This zinger both waters down their beverage, and deals a serious threat of brain freeze. Yowza!

The Backpage is edited by Joey McGlone and Riley Robertson. This week, Issac Schultz contributed. For comments or questions, please email thirsty@rice.edu.

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