VOLUME 102, ISSUE NO. 2 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2017
HIT BY
HARVEY Tearing down to build up
EMILY ABDOW NEWS EDITOR / ESA2@RICE.EDU
Over 2,000 Rice students have signed up as volunteers through the Rice Harvey Action Team, according to Doerr Institute Director Tom Kolditz. Students and staff formed R-HAT to connect those in need with volunteer demolition teams that deconstruct damaged houses, Kolditz said. “Ironically, we had to cancel Outreach Day this past weekend and now we’re doing Outreach Day every day,” Caroline Quenemoen, director of the Center for Civil Leadership, said. R-HAT is a collaboration between the Doerr Institute, CCL, Student Association and Graduate Student Association, according to Kolditz. R-HAT’s efforts have ranged from smaller teams of students carpooling to worksites to 200 students riding buses to Crosspoint Church before heading out into local communities. The majority of R-HAT’s work has been concentrated in Bellaire, Meyerland and the Third Ward as those are the closest to Rice’s campus, Kolditz said. The Doerr Institute is footing the bill for relief efforts which currently amount to a few thousand dollars. Jones College senior Grace Jenkins coordinated with a local Black Lives Matter chapter to expand the reach of Rice’s volunteers. “Although I love the way we at Rice have been taking care of each other and our community, in volunteering with BLMHTX we can also work to support those who need it most,” Jenkins said. Youssef Machkas, who volunteered as part of a demolition team with BLMHTX, said he was struck by the optimism of the people whose homes were flooded . “Their houses were basically destroyed but it seemed like they were trying to stay positive,” Machkas, a Sid Richardson College senior, said. “That’s just the vibe I got, like they won’t let it sink them.” Ranjini Nagaraj helped a sixth grader clean out her bedroom. “[Her mother] told us that she had hidden many of her daughter’s belongings that had been ruined so that she wouldn’t be upset when the time came to throw them out,” Nagraj, a Jones College junior, said. “I can’t even imagine courtesy rice public affairs and christina tan/thresher
Students formed demolition teams to deconstruct houses damaged by flood water and collected donations for flood victims through the Rice Harvey Action Team and other initiatives. Over 2,000 students have signed up to volunteer through R-HAT. SPOTLIGHT
R-HAT CONT. ON PAGE 4 how I would handle a situation like this if I were
SPOTLIGHT
H&D rides out storm Students weather Harvey together ELIZABETH RASICH SPOTLIGHT EDITOR / EAR4@RICE.EDU
“You have to, quite literally, tell your family ‘I can’t help you,’” Mark Ditman said. As Associate Vice President of Housing and Dining, he is one of 50 H&D staff members who rode out Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath on campus alongside the students they helped feed and house. Susann Glenn, H&D’s manager of communications, also stayed on campus while her family dealt with Hurricane Harvey at home. A third of the houses in her neighborhood flooded, and water crept up her driveway. “As a mom, it’s sometimes hard to take care of 4,000 students while my kids are at home,” Glenn said. “But they know what we’re doing is
important here. You all don’t have any place to go. My family could leave if they needed to.” During an emergency event like a hurricane, Housing and Dining splits into two camps: the rideout crew and the recovery crew. The rideout crew stays on or close to campus during the emergency to ensure that Rice students are cared for, and the recovery crew stays at home until the emergency is over, at which point they come back to work. Those with dependents to care for, such as small children or seniors, are on the recovery crew. Glenn and Ditman said staff typically volunteer to help in these types of situations. “I would argue that almost everybody here is not here because they are required to be, but because they chose to be
H&D CONT. ON PAGE 9
ELIZABETH RASICH SPOTLIGHT EDITOR / EAR4@RICE.EDU
Alyssa Alvis rode out Hurricane Harvey at McMurtry College. There, she saw students adapt to the storm in a variety of ways: watching “Mulan,” playing Cards Against Humanity, cheering on Rice football during the game against Stanford on Aug. 26. McMurtry students also gathered in the commons to watch the McGregor-Mayweather fight and in the college’s movie room for the “Game of Thrones” finale. At Alvis’ home college Hanszen, student government planned out a number of events for the week. Hanszen External Vice President Nikolas Liebster said the college hosted movie screenings of “The Princess Bride” and “Wonder Woman” as
well as dodgeball against Wiess College.
We had students who are doing a good job of taking care of each other, keeping themselves occupied without making any extra work for RUPD. Clemente Rodriguez RUPD Captain
“It doesn’t seem like people are sitting around on their own, but rather are coming together and fighting off boredom together, both in public and
private spaces,” Liebster said. With all of the events held at Hanszen, Liebster said that it almost felt like Willy Week. Other students also took the lead in hosting activities to stave off boredom. At Hanszen, sophomore flute performance major Megan Torti organized a spontaneous concert along with Hanszen sophomore Ben Lanners on cello and Baker sophomore Gregory Martin and Brown sophomore David Danjul playing the piano. “We traded off and played some flute and piano sonatas, cello and piano sonatas, and a few works for cello, flute and piano,” Torti said. “It was a great way to pass the time and those who were in the commons told me how much they enjoyed listening.”
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