The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, February 20, 2019

THE RICE THRESHER | VOLUME 103, ISSUE NO. 19 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Presidential hopefuls debate SA reform AMY QIN & RISHAB RAMAPRIYAN ASST NEWS EDITORS

At the annual Student Association Presidential Debate, presented by the Rice Thresher, three SA president hopefuls took the stage on Friday, Feb. 15 to discuss their platforms, including optional social justice curriculums, SA constitutional reforms and banning 8 a.m. classes. Voting will begin on Thursday, Feb. 21.

Inflatable field to occupy bike track infield ANDREW GROTTKAU EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The athletic department presented plans for an inflatable dome designed to be used by multiple varsity and club athletic teams to members of the Student Association, sparking concern among some members of the student body.

The inflatable dome would be located in the infield of the bike track behind Rice Stadium because it could not fit within the current football practice field, according to Deputy Athletics Director Rick Mello. It would cover 80,000 square feet, leaving 136 feet on either end to the inside curve of the bike track. The dome would be moved or deflated sometime before Beer Bike each year, with the time to be determined based on feedback from the student body, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman said.

Bikers could still practice on the track while the dome is inflated, according to Mello.

PLATFORMS Grace Wickerson, a Brown College junior and current SA internal vice president, said they would focus on expanding educational access and opportunity, championing student ideas and building on their previous work in areas such as wellbeing and sustainability through their past roles in the SA Senate.

“In my three years here, the role of SA Senate has taken on many forms,” Wickerson said. “It’s taken on creating a lot of temporary committees, taken on the role of having critical discussions about key issues around campus and have a role in declaring what the student body believes and represents. [SA] Senate is a voice of Rice’s commitment to shared government.

All students are welcome and should be welcome to the SA [Senate]. And if we aren’t doing a good job of doing that, then that is a challenge we have to give to ourselves.”

Bill Duong, a Baker College senior, said he would address sustainability, inclusiveness and wellbeing with his platform of bringing an end to 8 a.m. classes.

“Of course I’m gonna tackle these from an 8 a.m. perspective,” Duong said. “We have to figure out a way to reduce our carbon footprint, and a great way of doing that is to reduce the amount of time commuters have to spend in traffic.”

Freddy Cavallaro, a Will Rice College junior, said he became motivated to take the race “seriously” after current SA President Ariana Engles decided not to run.

“I decided, why sit around and complain about it when I can actually get something done?” Cavallaro said.

Although initially focused on a complete teardown of the SA, Cavallaro said his platform now focuses on amending the SA Constitution.

“I would argue that the [SA] Senate is speaking over the students, “Cavallaro said. “I feel like they have a little bit too much clout, and they have their way with pretty much anything, when it comes to proposing legislation and who can be on a committee or working group. There’s really no limit to how far or what they can do. That no limits attitude should apply to every undergraduate.”

When asked about how he would engage students to participate in student

Rice zing is an ama we want place and ure it’s to make s for all. equitable

We are owls for Pete’s sake.

Not roosters!

GRACE WICKERSON

BILL DUONG

government, Cavallaro, whose platform is largely based on constitutional reform and returning legislative power to students outside of the SA Senate, said there would be fewer working groups made under his presidency.

“Another part of my platform is to reduce the quantity of working groups and task forces created as well as redefine what exactly they are so that they better serve the student body, as opposed to just being created as a way to fill up a resume and then dissolve after a year,” Cavallaro said.

Cavallaro said he plans on resigning after improving the SA Constitution, and that someone else would be better suited to the job of creating solutions for specific issues.

The pattern of succession in the case of a president’s resignation is the IVP, followed by the external vice president. Cavallaro said during the debate that he assumed both the IVP and the EVP would turn down the job.

Simi Rahman, the uncontested candidate for IVP, said to the Thresher that she is not interested in being the SA president, which she told Cavallaro after the debate. Will Mundy, who is currently uncontested in the race for EVP, said he “would not commit to the role of the SA President at this time.”

SEE DEBATE PAGE 2

udents [The] st p on given u e v a h the who guably r a e r a to the SA decided e ’v I s t studen terest [in]. vest in

It has to be moved at some point because we need the inside of the track. It’s just more logistics.

Rebecca Artall BEER BIKE COORDINATOR The structure, which is still in the early development phase, will be used by teams during inclement weather such as rain or high heat, according to Mello.

The main users will be Rice football, the Rice rugby team and a local middle school; both the middle school and rugby team are helping to fund the structure in exchange for practice time in the dome, according to Mello. Gorman said it would also be accessible to other campus recreation groups such as intramural sports, club sports and powderpuff.

“When we looked at this project, we knew we needed to do something for inclement weather for our football program because of the number of kids involved [and] the tight schedule,” Mello said. “After that, the one thing that [Director of Athletics] Joe Karlgaard said was ‘How do we serve the Rice community as a whole?’”

The dome will cost an estimated $3 million to build and will be funded by philanthropic donations, according to Mello. He said if the athletics department raises enough money in time, the structure could be completed as early as August of this year.

According to freshman football player Prudy Calderon, the football team had to go off campus to use the Houston Texans’ practice bubble frequently last year, which forces the team to rent buses, pay a fee to the Texans and lose practice time. Calderon said the dome would be “very beneficial” to the team.

Last year, University of Maryland football player Jordan McNair died after suffering from heatstroke during an outdoor practice over the summer.

SEE FOOTBALL

BUBBLE PAGE 5

FREDDY CAVALLARO photo illustration by sydney garrett

Women’s basketball achieves first-ever top-25 ranking ERIC BARBER SENIOR WRITER

For the first time in the 41-year history of the women’s basketball program, the Owls are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. After receiving votes in each of the last three weeks, Rice makes its debut ranked at No. 25. Head coach Tina Langley said that she has many people to thank for her team’s success.

“We’re just grateful to Rice University and to our athletic administration for believing in what the program can continue to become,” Langley said. “I’m super grateful to the young women and to the coaches who have worked so hard to help us grow as a program.”

The Owls’ record currently sits at 22-3, and they are riding a program-record 15game win streak. The team completed a weekend sweep at home this past weekend against Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University. Senior forward Nicole Iademarco said that she’s honored to be ranked but that the Owls are not done yet.

“It’s nice to be recognized nationally,” Iademarco said. “We’ve put a lot of work into getting to this point, but we still have a lot of season left and a lot of goals we

want to accomplish. So we’re not going to rest or get content with that. We’re just looking forward to our next game.”

Rice’s on-court production is led by junior guard Erica Ogwumike and sophomore center Nancy Mulkey.

Ogwumike is averaging a double-double with 16.3 points per game and 11 rebounds per game and Mulkey is averaging 12.2 points per game and 3.7 blocks per game.

Ogwumike said she was excited when the news came out.

“I was in class and I started getting a bunch of notifications,” Ogwumike said. “[The ranking] was neat to see. It’s definitely something that we’ve thought about but we tried to not make it the topic of our discussion because we’re just trying to work every single day. It’s definitely cool to see that we were ranked this week.”

In its historic season, Rice has already clinched at least a share of the Conference USA regular season title and has only lost to Power Five conference teams. The Owls have been dominant on defense so far, ranking sixth in the nation in fewest points per game allowed and 19th in the nation in opposition field goal percentage. They lead C-USA in those categories, in addition to field goal percentage and blocks per game. Ogwumike said that said that this

team is leaving its mark on the school.

“Being from Houston, I’ve known about Rice and my parents have known about Rice [for academics], and it’s nice to get Rice known basketball-wise too,” Ogwumike said.

Rice has three games remaining in its regular season schedule. The Owls will play away at the University of North Texas, at home against Louisiana Tech University and then back on the road at the University of Texas, San Antonio for the regular season finale.

The Owls will then travel to Frisco, Texas for the C-USA Tournament, which takes place from March 14-16. If the team wins the tournament, they will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Given that Rice has an RPI of 36 and 64 teams make the tournament, even if Rice does not win the conference tournament, the team may have a case for an at-large bid into the bracket. A tournament berth would be the first for the team since 2005. Langley said the team can only focus on itself.

“Greatness for us is about becoming the best team we can be,” Langley said. “If each individual person works to become the best player they can be, then we’ll be the best we can be.”

THE RICE THRESHER

2 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

NEWS

Presidential candidates debate reform, role of SA DEBATE FROM PAGE 1

“The best scenario that I see as a result of this election is that I am elected, I implement these solutions, I resign, the IVP and EVP step down, we do a special election and then potentially Grace can run again and Grace becomes president,” Cavallaro said.

All three candidates responded to an audience question on how they plan to support survivors of sexual assault if they were to be elected president.

“I think something I want to see is actual bystander training during O-Week for every new student,” Wickerson said.

“Interpersonal violence is something that is often something we don’t talk about, that is stigmatized, and it’s often something that as people who might not be directly affected, we often know someone who was.”

In their platform, Wickerson said they would also propose an optional social issues seminar for incoming freshman to explore social justice early in their time at Rice.

“These classes provide a space for students of all majors, all disciplines to get together and talk about how do we actually solve these issues from multiple disciplinary perspectives,” Wickerson said. “What can an engineer bring to the table? What can a humanities major bring to the table?”

QUALIFICATIONS Wickerson has served in the SA Senate for the last three years, first as an new student representative, then as the Brown senator, and most recently as IVP in the current academic year.

“For the past three years here, I have had the chance to work with several initiatives on campus, including STI [sexually transmitted infection] testing to the experience of first generation and low-income students on campus,” Wickerson said. “I’ve also worked with the SA to include those who aren’t traditionally involved, mentor leaders who are focused on creating a community impact and build collaboration between clubs and departments.”

Neither Cavallaro nor Duong has prior experience in the SA Senate. Duong offered

a succinct answer as to why he is qualified to be president.

“I really, really, really want to not take an 8 a.m. class,” Duong said. “I don’t know what else to say after that. I will do whatever it takes to not have to get up at 7:50 a.m.”

Cavallaro said the familiarity he had gained with the SA Constitution and its bylaws by reading them thoroughly in the past week has made him a qualified candidate for president.

“I have a question for any member of [the SA] Senate: have you read the entirety of the constitution and the bylaws, and how familiar are you with them?”

Cavallaro asked. “I am beyond familiar with the constitution bylaws by virtue of me trying to find a way to destroy [the] SA [Senate] by a loophole. However, I’ve decided to take mercy on the [SA] Senate and actually fix it.”

Wickerson responded to Cavallaro by saying the role of the SA president goes beyond merely proposing amendments.

“I think the idea of bringing legislation writing back to students and allowing them to submit legislation is a great idea,” Wickerson said. “But I would like to challenge you and say that the SA president is not just there to submit bylaws or specific constitutional amendments. They actually have to see those things through. That’s the thing that I think I’m not sure yet if Freddy can do.”

THE FUTURE OF THE SA SENATE Following a student turnout of only 50 percent at the 2018 SA presidential election, the three candidates offered ideas for increasing turnout in the upcoming election.

Wickerson said they believed building personal connections between the students and the SA would strengthen student investment in the SA. “I’ve started going around to different commons and sitting down and having lunch with the students there,” Wickerson said. “I find that for me, a lot of one-on-one personal conversations make the SA feel not like the bureaucratic mess that some people are trying to make it out as.”

Cavallaro said he blamed low voter turnout on student disillusionment and the perceived apathy of the SA Senate toward their constituents.

“It’s not voter apathy, it’s that the [SA] Senate has apathy towards the students to some regard,” Cavallaro said. “[The] students who have given up on the SA [Senate] are arguably the students I’ve decided to vest interest [in through my campaign].”

After serving as the SA IVP under Engles, Wickerson said one problem they witnessed was difficulties in communication between the senators and the executive team.

“What I’ve found this year in SA [Senate] is that a lot of the relationships between ourselves as exec and ourselves as senators broke down,” Wickerson said.

“And when those relationships broke down, it led to instances where we couldn’t have constructive conversations that we wanted.”

Wickerson said they would want to change that culture next year if elected president. “[I want to set] very clear, evidence standards for what it means to be a member of the SA, as well as what does it mean to be respectful and honorable to each other in our ideas,” Wickerson said. “Because at

the end of the day, we were all elected and ran for something, and I think truly always reflecting on what that means to us and how we can improve on that is something I want to challenge every representative to do.”

Cavallaro ended by emphasizing the importance of bringing change to the SA Constitution.

“I feel like these changes should’ve been made a long time ago, and it’s scary to me that I am the first person to run on a platform of constitutional reform,” Cavallaro said.

Wickerson said they would work with the students to best represent what they want, including those who have come out in support of Duong’s and Cavallaro’s platforms.

“It’s always the small steps,” Wickerson said. “[Critical Thinking In Sexuality] would not have happened without the small steps.

Saturday night dinners would not have happened without the small steps. And in faith, I will be working every single day on what we can do to make Rice University better. And if constitutional reform is something that y’all want, I want to do that.

If 8 a.m.s are something that y’all want, I will work on that.”

Student Association presidential candidates debate reforms touching on topics such as student engagement, committee structure and curriculum changes in the McMurtry College Commons Friday night. From left to right: Grace Wickerson, Bill Duong and Freddy Cavallaro.

christina tan / thresher

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 • 3

help grace win the race

GRACE WICKERSON

v.s.

dismantle the SA

FREDDY CAVALLARO

CAMERON WALLACE SENIOR REPORTER

RISHAB RAMAPRIYAN & AMY QIN ASST NEWS EDITORS

According to Grace Wickerson, candidate for Student Association president, there is a lot of potential in the SA Senate for initiating productive dialogues and ultimately affecting large-scale changes on Rice’s campus.

“I just love working with students,” Wickerson said. “[Being internal vice president] gave me that broad view of the SA; from the SA Senate to the committees, there’s 80 people that I’ve overseen this year and I’ve had the pleasure to get to work with them.”

Wickerson said improving educational excellence and opportunity will involve advocating the creation of new, non-mandatory seminar classes focused on social issues such as gentrification or social entrepreneurship and pushing for greater support for non-tenure track faculty.

Wickerson said that they will also pursue strategies to make it easier for students to leave Rice for professional or academic experiences and to connect with local research opportunities.

Wickerson’s campaign Facebook page says that in the pursuit of student wellbeing, they will attempt to make off-campus health resources more accessible, lower the cost of STI testing and attempt to secure weekend hours for on-campus mental and physical health services.

In the interest of increasing sustainability at Rice, Wickerson said they want to focus on specific areas of campus like athletics facilities, where sustainability has not historically been a priority, support campus composting efforts and set up a sustainability round for the Initiative Fund while continuing to work to establish the Green Fund.

In an interview with the Rice Thresher, Wickerson said that access and inclusion will involve exploring ways to make the Rice experience more financially accessible, including making college funds easier to use and potentially expanding the Rice Investment to assist students with additional costs like summer program fees and graduate school application fees.

“We need to figure out what are all the things we need to fund because there are so many different ones and there are so many areas that aren’t just social,” Wickerson said. “They’re related to classes, internships and other co-curricular activities.”

Wickerson said that they would pursue three of the changes to the SA Senate proposed by opponent Freddy Cavallaro: allowing any member of the student body to sponsor legislation, attempting to clarify certain SA positions and beginning to combine similar standing committees and temporary committees.

In addition to serving as the current IVP, Wickerson has previously served as a senator and a new student representative. During their time as senator, they introduced legislation aimed at increasing the number of minors offered at Rice, creating a task force to investigate sexual health and increase the accessibility of sexual health resources at Rice and created a chief of staff position within the SA Senate.

Freddy Cavallaro’s #DismantleTheSA campaign for president is focused on significant bylaw and constitutional reform for the Student Association, with the goal of making the SA Senate more representative of the student body rather than actually dismantling it. According to Cavallaro, he would resign from the SA president role once his reforms have been implemented, if he were to be elected.

“The largest problem with the SA [Senate is that] I don’t think it’s representative of the student body,” Cavallaro, a Will Rice College junior, said in an interview with the Rice Thresher.

Cavallaro’s platform consists of five components: decentralize power from the SA Senate, hold the SA Senate accountable, promote continuity between years, promote transparency and increase diversity of thought.

“The constitution and [its] bylaws give the [SA] Senate unreasonable amounts of control about what can be done, and who has the right to do it,” Cavallaro said. “I aim to divert as much power as possible from the [SA] Senate and give it back to the people.”

Some of Cavallaro’s proposed changes include amending the constitution such that it would no longer be necessary for all legislation to be sponsored by a voting member of the SA Senate. Cavallaro said he would also change the voting system to follow a ballot system rather than roll call voting in addition to changing the bylaws such that a two-thirds majority would be required on all votes other than appointment confirmations.

“If you are last in the line to vote, and the majority has already been established, you may feel like your vote doesn’t matter and not care to dissent, even if you had planned on it,” Cavallaro said.

Cavallaro has said he would try to implement his reforms quickly so he could resign as soon as possible, ideally by the end of the year.

According to the SA Constitution, the order of succession in the case of a presidential resignation is the internal vice president, followed by the external vice president. If neither is willing or able to serve as president, a special election will be held to fill the position.

Simi Rahman, who is currently uncontested for the IVP position, told the Thresher that she has no interest in the role of SA president. Will Mundy, the uncontested candidate for the EVP position, told the Thresher he is “not committing to the role of SA president at this time.”

Cavallaro said he was running for SA president for altruistic reasons.

“I don’t want to become the enemy,” Cavallaro said. “I’m basically saying, look at all these career politicians [and] resume builders, but I’ve had someone ask me the other day, if you were elected SA president, would you add it to your resume? That’s a tricky question. I would be leaning towards no, because I don’t really think it’s super relevant. I want to be doing this as a sacrificial, ‘I want the university to be better’ type of thing, rather than trying to get as much clout as possible.”

- Educational excellence and opportunity - Student wellbeing -Sustainability - Access & inclusion - Championing your ideas

christina tan / thresher

- Decentralize power from the Senate - Hold the SA accountable - Promote continuity between years - Promote transparency - Increase diversity of thought

christina tan / thresher

NEWS

4 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Secretary candidates promise improved communication

HEARD AROUND CAMPUS: SA PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

Izzie Karohl WILL RICE FRESHMAN

There are so many motivated, caring individuals on this campus who could run for office or at least show up to participate but instead [they] didn’t.

Julia Wang BAKER SENIOR

It was kind of a hot mess. Not because of anyone in particular, but overall a collective hot mess.

Ariana Engles LOVETT JUNIOR

It was not what I had expected.

ingoraphic by sumin hwang

“Having been a student athlete at Rice, I offer a unique perspective of what being a member of the Rice undergraduate student body is like, and am extremely passionate about amplifying the voices of those underrepresented in the SA,” Wiatt said.

Pathak said issue-based and cultural clubs have similar concerns to the SA

Senate but often have less access to the administration, and he has begun speaking with club leaders.

“I feel like with everyone at Rice being paying members of the SA, they deserve the same access to the resources [to communicate with administrators] that we have in the SA [Senate],” Pathuk said.

2019 SA Secretary Candidates ON PATHA R A

K

Both candidates vying for Student Association Secretary agree that the SA’s current level of communication has left the student body uninformed but differ in approaches to close the communication gap.

Isabel Wiatt, one of the two candidates and a new student representative, said she feels communication has been “extremely poor.”

One solution Wiatt is proposing is a 10 minute presentation on the SA during O-Week.

“Overall I feel there has been little to no communication between the SA and the student body about what is happening the the SA,” Wiatt, a Sid Richardson College freshman, said. “It is hard for me to pinpoint one certain area that hasn’t been communicating well because I feel that there has been no communication at all.”

Aaron Pathak, who is running against Wiatt and is also an NSR, said the student body has been uninformed on this year’s more controversial legislation, including the Green Fund and international student legislation. Pathak said as secretary he would introduce an open comment period in the two weeks between a bill is introduced and voted on where he holds office hours at Rice Coffeehouse and encourages senators to hold face-to-face meetings with constituents.

“Currently, the only way [SA Senate] really gathers opinions is through surveys,” Pathak, a Jones College freshman, said.

“Pretty much every survey that’s been cited at [SA] Senate has like a 99 percent approval rate because I feel like the people who are answering the surveys are the people who

are part of the friend group of the senator that’s proposing it.”

Pathak also noted that internal communication issues resulted in the SA Senate’s meeting minutes not being posted on their website since October.

Wiatt said she would inform the student body through social media, including posting information and updates about the passage of bills on Facebook.

“I would like to see the activity on the Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram skyrocket,” Wiatt said. “Even simple things like ‘Come out to senate to hear about the Green Fund,’ could get people involved.”

Pathak said he was skeptical about the effectiveness of social media.

“I know very few people that will actually go through and read the legislation,” Pathak said. “And I think we’ll have that same problem on social media in that people aren’t going to click on a social media link to a bill, [...] but most people are much more willing to talk about this legislation if you talk to them face to face and feel open to their ideas.”

Wiatt said she would gather ideas from the student body through the “Pitch a Project” page on the SA website and create a forum for students to provide feedback to the SA Senate.

Pathak said he plans to expand the role of secretary to communicating with other colleges through the Texas Student Government Coalition, an organization of Texas collegiate student governments.

Wiatt said she would engage underrepresented groups through an ambassadors program that involved representatives of these groups in discussions of the issues that pertain to them.

A

EMILY ABDOW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

We need to provide avenues for other clubs to use these SA resources to help communicate.

BEL WIAT A T IS

If issues pertaining to said groups are being discussed [those] students should be encouraged to come.

Texas Policy Lab offers career opportunities ELIZABETH MYONG SENIOR REPORTER The Texas Policy Lab invited graduating Rice seniors to apply for their new full-time data scientist, data analyst and pre-doctoral fellowship positions during an event last Wednesday.

Students will have the opportunity to make a real impact in social policy while using their data background, according to Ekim Cem Muyan, executive director at the Texas Policy Lab. “We are very close to the impact that we are making, so students will be able to see what they’re working on — the impact that they’re making,” Muyan said. “There’s a very collegial environment.”

Muyan said he witnessed the impact of his work firsthand when collaborating on a project with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to improve outcomes of juvenile inmates by implementing a trauma-informed approach. With the help of economics professor Flavio Cunha, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department will partner with the Texas Policy Lab to review a new program based on a literature review presented by the lab.

Christina Triantaphyllis, the Texas Policy Lab’s director of government partnerships, said the data analyst and science positions prepare new graduates for their future careers while allowing them to contribute back to the community.

“A lot of times people go into consulting for two years so they can use some quantitative skills and then go on to get their MBA or go and work,” Triantaphyllis said. “But this is an opportunity to gain similar skills, but do it for public service purposes which is rare among opportunities for people coming right out of undergrad.”

At the event, Cem Muyan presented a predoctoral fellowship opportunity

that seeks to invest in students who are interested in policy work. In the first year, the Texas Policy Lab will pay for fellows to take two classes from their selected graduate field at Rice. In the second year, fellows can take another course of their choice and in the third year, students will apply for graduate school programs.

Martel College sophomore Connor Rothschild, a current intern for the Texas Policy Lab, said that he enjoys being part of a collaborative environment where he can apply his background in data visualization and policy analysis.

“The experience has been very fruitful because the lab is so new and we’re just getting started; it’s been a really good introduction to this entire process of how the policy lab works since day one,” Rothschild said. “I directly report to Christina and Ekim so you really learn because you’re up-close and in the decision-making process, which for me I appreciate a lot because it’s not basic Excel coding ones and zeros which is different from my other jobs.”

Rothschild, a social policy analysis major, said he became jaded in his freshman year due to his difficulties learning quantitative skills in the social sciences at Rice. He said that if he hadn’t been intentional about seeking other opportunities like a summer internship at the Baker Institute’s McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, he might not have continued pursuing his interests in quantitative policy analysis.

“Students come in with an interest in policy research or quantitative analysis and they quickly lose that interest either because the opportunities don’t present themselves or it just seems like it’s not emphasized culturally within the School of Social Sciences,” Rothschild said.

Eli Mensing, a Baker College junior, said he is interested in a summer internship and data analyst role in the future.

SEE POLICY LAB PAGE 5

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 • 5

DeSTIgma event to offer free STI tests SAMMI JOHNSON THRESHER STAFF The Student Association is hosting the university’s first Sexually Transmitted Infection testing party, which will offer free STI testing, according to Hannah Kim, the Student Health Services and Accessibility Committee co-chair.

The event, “DeStigma: destress and get that test!” will occur in the Rice Memorial Central Quad Feb. 26 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Bharathi Selvan, committee co-chair, said the Harris Health Mobile Clinic is providing the tests for free and the Student Health Services and Accessibility Committee is hoping to test about 60 students, although there is no limit to how many students can be tested. Students only need to bring their Rice ID in order to get tested.

According to Kim, the committee saw a need for the event after last year’s Sexual Healthcare

illustration by esther tang

Accessibility Task Force found that nearly 70 percent of the campus was sexually active but only 37 percent had ever been tested for an STI. They also found that financial inaccessibility was one of the primary reasons students said prevented them from getting tested.

“It’s important that people know that they can get tested and making that more accessible, because currently it’s really hard to find accessible STI testing by the Student Health Center,” Selvan said.

“In terms of the resources, we think it’s important that people know that we’re not just focusing on STI testing but also safe sex; if people have information and [exposure], then we believe that people can have more positive conversations about sex.”

The mobile clinic will collect both urine and blood samples; the tests will cover syphilis, HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia and Hepatitis C. Selvan, a junior at Hanszen College, said the clinic can perform rapid testing for some of the STIs, but for others the samples will be sent off to a lab and the students will be contacted later.

According to Kim, the

event will also feature food, games and booths sponsored by different organizations across campus.

“We’re trying to do some sort of a twist on pin the tail on the donkey, like pin the organ on the person, so just stuff like that where it’s making fun of things that are more taboo,” Eli Mensing, the Baker College senator, said. “At a lot of our meetings, some of the people have been spending a lot of time trying to find gag gifts, like penis lollipops and stuff like that, but those are just some examples of things that will be going on at the booths.”

Kim said the committee budgeted about $800 to cover food, prizes and games for the event.

“I think it decreases the stigma of getting STI tested, and I think a lot of people are afraid because they have a negative association with getting tested for a disease,” Kim, a junior at Brown College, said. “I think this puts a positive spin on it and lets people know it’s just like a general checkup, it’s just a general physical wellbeing thing, so it destigmatizes that aspect of it.”

Mensing said that because Rice students come from different states with different kinds of sexual education, some students may not be aware of all the resources available to them. He also said that this event was created to promote the idea that it is normal and responsible for students to get STI tested.

“In college, people have a lot more freedom hooking up with people, and so people definitely explore different things they normally wouldn’t,” Mensing said.

“We as a university need to encourage that yes, it is very fun to go home with someone, but there’s also the side that you need to be responsible and stay healthy too.”

POLICY LAB FROM PAGE 4 “What really interests me in the Texas Policy Lab is that they are so focused on making a real world impact,” Mensing said. “They’re not just sitting in their ivory tower doing whatever research interests them; they’re reaching out to the government and the community to find out what are the most pressing issues facing them and what they need help on. That’s the kind of office I’d like to work in.”

The experience has been very fruitful because the lab is so new and we’re just getting started; it’s been a really good introduction.

Connor Rothschild MARTEL SOPHOMORE According to Triantaphyllis, the Texas Policy Lab wants to promote the use of evidence-based research in policymaking.

“Success for us, even in the next five to ten years, is that our government partners are utilizing the evidence either that we create together or they seek out themselves to make decisions,” she said. “Whether it’s as small as shifting a line item on a budget or as large as new legislation or dramatically scaling a new program, success would be that they (government partners) are making those decisions using data and evidence.”

This year’s campuswide Beer Bike coordinators, Enoch Peng and Rebecca Mello said with increased awareness Artall, said they have concerns about the about the dangers of practicing in the heat, presence of the inflatable structure because bikers use the track to practice yearlong, not the football team is indoors more often.

“It just provides a layer of safety that we just around the time of Beer Bike.

“If the track itself is open for public use, haven’t had before,” Mello said.

Mello said the football team would likely it’s another hazard in case someone does only use the dome about eight to nine hours something crazy and runs into it,” Peng said.

Artall and Peng both said they had only per week during the fall, while the soccer team would use it in the mornings on rainy been contacted secondhand regarding the days and track could use it in some way as dome and had not been consulted on the well. Given the dome floor would be covered proposal. They said events like time trials, by artificial turf, however, Mello said the certifications and mock bikes — which soccer team would prefer not to practice in require the inside of the track — occur up to three weeks before Beer Bike. the dome because it never plays on turf.

“It has to be moved at some point because Sophomore swimmer Kelsey Evans said she understands that the dome would be we need the inside of the track,” Artall said. open to all members of the Rice community, “It’s just more logistics. This has to be moved before we can do but the fact that it is anything else, any specifically tailored to setup for the day.” men’s sports teams like S t u d e n t football is concerning.

Association “The [Brian] Patterson President Ariana [Sports Performance] Engles said Center is a sports center, undergraduates but it’s for football,” Evans have raised said. “Sometimes if I walk concerns to her in the center alone without regarding aspects my team I’ll get weird of the dome looks, like ‘Oh, there’s a including the female here.’ I don’t see gender equity how an inflatable dome of the project, would be any different. I’m Kelsey Evans safety around worried that there would SOPHOMORE SWIMMER Greenbriar lot be a disregard for female athletes or intramural or club athletes, late at night, environmental ramifications and loss of parking spots. She said she whoever wants to use it.”

Evans said she would rather see appointed McMurtry College senior Quinn more money invested in women’s sports, Mathews and Duncan College senior Ashton especially given that Mello estimates the cost Duke to chair a committee to collect student of deflating the structure every year would feedback on the proposal to submit to the be on the order of $30,000. According to the athletic department.

Mello said he has presented the proposal U.S. Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics database, Rice spent just over $21 to Gorman and the college presidents and million on men’s teams compared to just over plans to meet with college senators in the $9 million on women’s teams in the 2017-18 coming weeks.

“We felt it was really important to make school year, which is $76,611 per male athlete sure everyone was heard,” Mello said. “What compared to $47,322 per female athlete.

“Our locker room is so small we can’t we’re trying to do is make sure people No. 1 even walk into our tiny little corner, and our are aware and make sure everybody has a chance to provide some feedback.” pool heater breaks all the time,” Evans said.

FOOTBALL BUBBLE FROM PAGE 1

If I walk in the center alone [...] I’ll get weird looks, like ‘Oh, there’s a female here.’

I don’t know how an inflatable dome would be any different.

THE RICE THRESHER

6 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

#Don’tDismantle

OPINION

Four authors involved in the SA outline the reasons they’ll be voting against Freddy Cavallaro.

See more at ricethresher.org

Not so funny...

Nina Kalluri and Navya Kumar argue Cavallaro’s campaign illustrates a problem with discourse.

See more at ricethresher.org

Add your voice!

The Thresher is fast-tracking 400-800 word op-eds on the SA presidential election.

Email thresher-ops@rice.edu

Editorial board: Wickerson is the clear choice

PROS

CONS

GRACE WICKERSON

FOR STUDENT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

Extensive Student Association experience as current internal vice president

Funding is an open question for many projects; track record with failed Green Fund gives pause

Clear priorities in a variety of policy areas, including some of Cavallaro’s proposed reforms

Projects seem to be largely long-term with few measurable goals; no guarantee that successor will continue

Known to the administration, which may help them more effectively lobby administrators

Some priorities require action from administration; limited capacity to enforce

FREDDY CAVALLARO Some attractive reforms, including opening legislation authorship to non-senators

Promise to resign casts doubt on his commitment to accurately represent entire student body

Clearly dedicated to making the SA Senate better serve the student body

About-face on platform leaves less informed students to think he’s still planning to defund the SA

Has called attention to problems with student governance that should be addressed

No experience with SA Senate — never attended a SA Senate meeting

BILL DUONG A singular focus on his signature issue: eliminating 8 a.m classes

8 a.m. classes aren’t the biggest problem facing students

It is the opinion of the Thresher editorial to either complete the rest of Cavallaro’s term or board that only Brown College junior Grace decline and force a special election. It is ironic Wickerson has the experience, attitude and that a candidate whose platform is rooted in the knowledge to effectively lead the student body idea that the SA Senate isn’t representative of as next year’s Student Association president. the student body intends to carry out a plan that During Friday’s SA Debates and in an interview could leave the student body with a president with the Thresher editorial board, Wickerson, they did not elect — especially since both vice the current SA internal vice president, has presidential races are uncontested.

In our interview, Wickerson endorsed demonstrated that they are committed to moving the SA forward and building consensus. many of the reforms Cavallaro proposed and Wickerson demonstrated a mastery of the said they were willing to implement the more subject matter that her opponents simply did effective changes. Wickerson also discussed not. They spoke comfortably and specifically re-examining appointed executive positions, a point for which Cavallaro about areas in which they has advocated. They did would like to improve not endorse the strike financial accessibility — system, which they saw as especially at the college level Cavallaro has done poorly defined.

— and discussed specific important work in While we endorse ways they would like to Wickerson, we find some improve sustainability in the calling attention to of their platform points athletic department including potential weaknesses lacking in specifics, providing recycling bins in in our student deliverables and methods facilities and installing more government, but we of funding, including efficient lighting. their promise to expand Wickerson also noted don’t believe he is the health center hours and in their interview that they candidate best suited create a voluntary social have a close relationship with to carry them out. issues class. Wickerson administrators which was built during their previous SA roles. They said noted during our interview that almost their that they have laid the groundwork for their entire platform is comprised of projects that plan to improve the process of taking time off would take over a year to implement. There from the university and have a close relationship is no guarantee that these projects would be with the director of the Rice Student Health taken up by Wickerson’s successor; therefore it Services Office that may yield the expanded is likely that even with Wickerson’s best efforts, weekend hours they call for in their platform. many will never be completed. We recommend Wickerson is known to the administration and Wickerson set measurable one-year targets one critical function of the SA president is to for each element of their platform to become a stronger candidate — something that would lobby administrators in students’ interest.

Baker College senior Bill Duong proved have proven necessary to earn our endorsement entertaining as he applied his single-plank had either of their opponents not run singleplatform to the questions posed at Friday’s issue campaigns.

Another potential problem we see with a debate. However, we believe that students have bigger problems than 8 a.m. classes, and Wickerson presidency comes from their track Duong’s singular focus on that issue makes him record. Wickerson was one of the minds behind the proposed Green Fund, which the Blanket an unattractive candidate.

We find some of the constitutional reforms in Tax Committee dismissed, calling the plan Will Rice junior Freddy Cavallaro’s still-evolving “rushed.” After that, Wickerson attempted an platform enticing. For instance, we believe end-run around the committee by taking the that allowing any student to submit legislation proposal directly to the SA Senate, a move which before the SA Senate without the requirement of drew criticism. Past presidents have pushed to a Senate co-sponsor would allow more voices to implement rushed plans without the full buy-in be heard in a reputedly insular institution. But of the student body, a pitfall Wickerson must be we worry that some of his reforms, like a three- careful to avoid.

Cavallaro has done important work in calling strike system for senators, would create friction attention to weaknesses in the SA Senate, but we and prevent real business from getting done.

However, the primary factor preventing don’t believe he is the candidate best suited to us from endorsing Cavallaro is his promise to carry them out. Wickerson is capable of pushing resign upon either completing his reforms or for constitutional reforms — and perhaps deeming them impossible. That would throw eliminating 8 a.m. classes — while also serving the SA presidency into limbo. If Cavallaro were as the student body’s voice to the administration. to win and resign, each SA vice president — first We think the choice is clear: Grace Wickerson for internal, then external — would have the option Student Association president.

STAFF Emily Abdow* & Andrew Grottkau* Editors-in-Chief

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Christina Tan* Editor & Designer

NEWS Anna Ta* Editor Rishab Ramapriyan Asst. Editor Amy Qin Asst. Editor

BACKPAGE Simona Matovic Editor & Designer

SPOTLIGHT Elizabeth Rasich* Editor Ella Feldman Asst. Editor SPORTS Michael Byrnes* Editor Madison Buzzard Asst. Editor OPINIONS Eric Stone* Editor

PHOTO Charlene Pan Editor Sirui Zhou Editor COPY Vi Burgess Editor Bhavya Gopinath Editor ONLINE Ryan Green Digital Content Editor Charlie Paul Web Editor Nick McMillan Video Editor

DESIGN Sydney Garrett Director Sumin Hwang News Designer Jennifer Fu Features Designer Tina Liu Sports Designer Dalia Gulca Opinions Designer Esther Tang Illustrator BUSINESS OPERATIONS Mai Ton Social Media/Marketing Manager Isabella Gandara Distribution Manager Karoline Sun Special Projects Prad Biswas Advertising Manager

*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.

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, CMA and CMBAM. © Copyright 2019

THE RICE THRESHER

7 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

FEATURES eb ot desu engeteS tiwaldekeM ylirartibr a ema n a ”,aidekeM“ ehs ,eciR t a devirra engeteS nehW .eman tsrfi lluf reh ecnuonorp t’ndluoc ohw rehcaet netra grednik a yb dengissa .eman naipoihtE ,laer reh fo rovaf ni emankcin eht dehs -eslloC nworB a ,engeteS ”,]ti[ teg lliw uoy ,tcepser dnamed uoy fi taht si eciR ta emit ym ]gn irud[ deciton ev’I tahW“ t’nod I esuaceb ’,keM em llac ,yako‘ ,yas ot reisae hcum os s’ti esuaceB .sdradnats ruoy ot kcit s ot evah uoY“ .dias ,roin ”.nosaer a rof eman taht em evag stnerap ym wonk I tuB .thgir ti yas ot uoy teg ot gniyrt setunim net dneps annaw -droccA .asiv ytisrevid a rof yrettol eht gninniw refta dlo sraey evfi saw ehs nehw ylim af reh htiw aciremA ot e mac engeteS fo emit are na gnirud aipoihtE eva el ot yaw a gnikees saw ylimaf reh — emit tcefrep eht ta emac niw yrettol eht ,engeteS ot gni emankcin a htiwhguorht esle enoyre ve htiw ni gnittfi tnaem ,engeteS dlo-raey-evfi ot ,oihO otni gniltt es dnA .liomrut lacitilop yllaer rehto esoht fo lla dna ,seman namreG esoht lla nrael nac elpoep taht yaw ema s eTh“ ngierof sdnfi w on ehs taht naht em sserdda ton ]elpoep[ evah rehtar d’I“ .dias engeteS ”,eman naipoihtE na nrael nac yeht ,seman naeporuE detacilpmoc litnu eciR tuoba raeh t’ndid ehs dias ,r alohcs egdirbtseuQ a ,engeteS ”.evol t’nod I taht emankcin emos em ]evig[ pihsralohcs lluf s’egdirbtseuQs ’margorp eht rof noitaraperp ni segelloc gnihcraeser detrats ehs lacidem eht ot ylno ton detcartta saw engeteS ”,dem-erp erocdrah“ a yllanigirO .ssecorp hctam ehs nehw ,engeteS ot gnidroccA .erutluc euqinu s’eciR ot osla tub retnec rof ecalp thgir eht saw ti wenk ehs ,eciR ot dehctam saw t t’nsaw dem-erp tuB.eb ot reh reh derevocsid ehs taht dias engeteS .htap thgir ni yrtsimehc rof noissap

Black at Rice:

Mekedlawit

Editor’s Note: This is the Thresher’s first installment of Black at Rice, a features project intended to highlight and celebrate black voices on and off campus.

CHRISTINA TAN A&E EDITOR

Mekedlawit Setegne was formerly known as “Mekedia,” a name arbitrarily assigned by a kindergarten teacher who couldn’t pronounce her full first name. When Setegne arrived at Rice, she shed the nickname in favor of her real, Ethiopian name.

“What I’ve noticed [during] my time at Rice is that if you demand respect, you will get [it],” Setegne, a Brown College senior, said.

“You have to stick to your standards. Because it’s so much easier to say, ‘Okay, call me Mek,’ because I don’t wanna spend ten minutes trying to get you to say it right. But I know my parents gave me that name for a reason.”

Setegne came to America with her family when she was five years old after winning the lottery for a diversity visa. According to Setegne, the lottery win came at the perfect time — her family was seeking a way to leave Ethiopia during an era of political turmoil. A 7,464-mile journey landed her in Ohio, where at five years old she learned to do everything she could to fit in through a nickname.

“The same way that people can learn all those German names, and all of those other really complicated European names, they can learn an Ethiopian name,” Setegne said.

“I’d rather have [people] not address me than [give] me some nickname that I don’t love.”

Setegne, a Questbridge scholar, said she didn’t hear about Rice until she started

researching colleges in preparation for the program’s full scholarship match process.

Originally a “hardcore pre-med,” Setegne was attracted not only to the medical center but also to Rice’s unique culture. According to Setegne, when she was matched to Rice, she knew it was the right place for her to be.

While Rice was the right place, pre-med wasn’t the right path. Setegne discovered her passion for chemistry after taking honors chemistry because it explained everything to her, from wave functions to fine-tuned details about her environment. That passion, along with a not-so-satisfying pre-med program, convinced Setegne to pursue a pre-grad path.

She completed the application process in the fall and will attend graduate school for chemistry in the upcoming year, deciding between Stanford University, Harvard University, University of California, San Diego and University of California, Berkeley.

Despite Setegne’s success, she said she constantly struggles with feelings of imposter syndrome — in particular during the Ph.D. selection process.

“I really feel like I’m not supposed to be at the institutions that I’m at and not supposed to be doing the things that I’m doing,” Setegne said. “I feel like I’ve lied to everyone and that I’m one day going to get found out.

I’m also feeling that God has a plan for me, and I’m going to do the best that I can to follow that path, even though I may not feel like I deserve it.”

illustration by dalia gulca

christina tan / rice thresher

Setegne said at Rice, these feelings of imposter syndrome stem from being both a black person and a woman in a STEM field. In class, Setegne said she’s often the only black woman, if not the only black person.

“There are these stereotypes that are attached to me,” Setegne said. “If I want to say something, I have to go through my head and make sure it’s completely correct before I say it, whereas a white male counterpart will say whatever is in his head and they’re confident with being wrong. There’s nothing wrong with that. I just can’t achieve that.”

Setegne said she feels that there’s pressure to be a perfect representation of black people all the time.

“I know that as soon as I say something that’s wrong, I’m not talking for Mekedlawit.

I’m talking for black women in STEM,” Setegne said. “I think that makes me more hesitant to just do a lot of things, and feel like I don’t belong in certain spaces.”

Overcoming those feelings is a continuous process for Setegne, who said she’s had to apply the advice that she gives her friends inwardly — to love and encourage herself.

Even when Setegne struggles to keep her own confidence, she builds others’ through her role as president of Rice African Student Association, a role she assumed after serving as events coordinator. As one of the only East Africans in RASA her freshman year, Setegne was pivotal in developing the first Habesha dance act for the cultural showcase Africayé.

“My freshman year, I was so focused on trying to integrate myself into Brown, and I limited my experience with the black community overall because I felt like I had to choose,” Setegne said. “When I came back sophomore year, I said — I just want to give RASA a try, because I realized that I was missing some of my culture. So I did, and it was kind of like crack. I couldn’t get enough.”

But the most unexpected development during Setegne’s journey at Rice is the reemergence of her faith, and with it a renewed sense of confidence.

“My name is a Bible name — in English it’s Mary Magdalene,” Setegne said. “[Mekedlawit] isn’t just a random name. It has a beautiful story behind that shows love and dedication and following Jesus and his word.

If I let other people take that away from me, it’s kind of like, do I let other people take away something that I want to be?”

Setegne said she now struggles to imagine a life without the people and support system she’s developed at Rice.

“Sure, being black at Rice is not easy. Being a black woman at Rice is not easy,” Setegne said. “I’m not going to lie, there are moments where I’m like wow, it would’ve been easy to go to a HBCU. But [I’ve] realized, with the bad comes a lot of good, and I’ve decided to focus on the good. I’m grateful for Rice, and I’m very grateful for the black community, because I’ve learned so much about myself by participating.”

Bored Ike entertains ELLA FELDMAN ASST FEATURES EDITOR

On a walk down the Grove last April, Ike Arjmand began to wonder what would happen if a population of squirrels was placed on an island without trees for 20 years.

So, as any normal person would, he posed the question in his personal newsletter and sent it to his hundreds of subscribers.

Arjmand, a senior at Sid Richardson College, created the Bored Ike Newsletter in Nov. 2017. During a late night at Fondren Library, Arjmand found himself disengaged from his work, so he sent the following message to a couple GroupMe chats: “Please like this message if you would like to subscribe to the Bored Ike Newsletter.”

According to Arjmand, around 25 people gave his message a like. He sent these initial subscribers a brief stream of consciousness, which included a vivid

description of someone sitting across from him drinking three coffees and speculations about cash apps.

“What is the combined Venmo balance of every account?” Arjmand asked his friends.

“A year and a half ago there were 550k accounts, but it’s surely more now. I have $5.91 in mine; if everyone in the world is me, and Venmo hasn’t grown, that’s $3,250,500!”

The email concluded with a link to a survey, which prompted readers to share their thoughts on Taylor Swift’s album, “Reputation.”

Over the following weeks, Arjmand sent out a couple more newsletters. He posted in the Facebook group Rice Students Selling Stuff, asking people to angry react to his post if they’d like to subscribe to the newsletter.

This brought his subscriber count up to around 200. Today, it’s about 450, according to Arjmand.

IKE CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

FEATURES

8 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 IKE

PARTY PATROL:

SENSATION asst. features editor

categories: ATMOSPHERE

FOOD & DRINK

MUSIC & DANCING

ella f.

A

Big strobe light gal!

A+

Cheez-Its and cheese pizza made for a very nutritious meal.

A

Friendships are founded on jumping in circles and anticipating beat drops together <3

B

INTANGIBLES

Thought dress code was rave, turns out it was white? Fishnets > recycled Architectonica outfits.

A

OVERALL

Didn’t stand in line for an hour only to be yelled at to go home, so it’s a win in my book XD

senior writer

eric b.

B+

The strobe lighting was a nice change of pace from other publics.

C

Pizza ran out early.

C+

Lots of mosh pits and beat drops, but not great for dancing.

B-

web editor

charles p.

A

There’s nothing quite like having a couple of very friendly drunks helping you put on glowstick bracelets.

A

There was a selection of snack foods as far as the eye could see.

Admittedly that wasn’t very far in the dimly-lit party environment, but there was definitely a decent selection.

B+

Wasn’t a fan of the music, but had a good time dancing to it anyways.

B

Running out of glowsticks at a rave is not ideal.

The strobe lights were, frankly, eye-strain-inducing.

C+

A-

Duncan’s identical twin, McM, has the better public.

Everyone was wearing white instead of the proper black for some reason.

FROM PAGE 7

Arjmand said the subscriber surge inspired him to thoroughly vet his content.

“The content used to be just the very first dumb thing that would come to my head,” he said. “I would just type it out, not even really look at it and then send it out. But now I definitely give it a couple of passes, and it has much nicer formatting.”

Although the Bored Ike Newsletter issues — of which there are seven — have grown a little longer and a little more cohesive over time, their format remains similar to the first.

Arjmand writes about random things that occur to him while he is bored, asks readers to respond to a survey and analyzes the survey responses from the previous issue.

“The content is closest to the fleeting thoughts you have about something pretty dumb, the things you usually forget like 30 seconds later. I’m just trying to memorialize them,” Arjmand said. “Like, one time I was drinking from a water fountain, and it was pretty dry out, so I got an electric shock right as the water stream hit my tooth. It was the weirdest feeling because it went right up the root of my tooth. So that got a few paragraphs.”

The Bored Ike Newsletter has no schedule.

Arjmand has sent out issues as close as 11 days and as far as six months apart. Claudia Middleton, a Sid senior and one of the initial subscribers, said the randomness of the newsletter is part of its charm.

“My favorite thing about the newsletter is that it comes randomly, truly when boredom strikes Ike,” she said. “It’s just such a heartwarming thing to receive spontaneously in your inbox.”

Nasim Khalfe, a Wiess College senior, said her favorite part of the newsletters are the surveys, which she said ask “super important thought-provoking questions” and spark discussions among her friends.

For Arjmand, such conversations and subscriber engagement are the most gratifying part of writing the newsletter.

“It’s such a wonderful feeling to be walking around campus the afternoon after you’ve sent one out, and have people ask you questions about it,” he said. “The surveys are definitely a really tangible type of feedback — it’s like having a conversation.”

The group of subscribers has grown far beyond people he knows, Arjmand said. A subscription simply requires putting a name and email in a Google form, and there are a handful of subscribers who don’t attend Rice — Arjmand assumes they’ve been sent the signup form by friends. He recalled a time he was leaving the library when a group of freshmen he’d never met stopped him, asked if he was Ike and told him they were big fans of his newsletter.

“It was such a weird experience. Because the newsletters are very much not about me,” he said of the encounter. “It’s definitely not a case of anyone being fans of me, but just fans of having this fun, silly thing in their inbox.”

Arjmand will be graduating at the end of this semester and will have his Rice email account terminated shortly after. But he doesn’t see graduation as the end of the Bored Ike Newsletter.

“They’re so much fun to write, and it’s sort of a fun way to keep in touch with people,” he said. “It would be fun to do more of a downsized version going forward.

Maybe I’ll include at the top of an issue, ‘Hey, I know a lot of us are graduating. If you’d like to transfer over to your new email address, feel free to respond. If not, it was great having you.’”

Marcos De La Garza, a Wiess College senior, said he thinks the majority of subscribers will continue to seek the newsletter, regardless of when they graduate.

“It strangely enough feels like a community,” he said.

And if you were wondering, 88.6 percent of that community said they think that, if reintegrated into society after isolation from trees, squirrels’ instincts to climb them would ultimately surpass their learned experience.

difference

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FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 • 9 Crossword by Carolina Hatanpää For the Thresher

SPORTSBALL 1

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Answers will be posted on ricethresher.org and on the Thresher Facebook page.

Bolded clues correspond to the theme.

9

ACROSS 1 Similar to snooker 10 Skateboarding stunt 11 Response to an obvious statement 12 “On your mark, get set, ___” 13 Rice student government 16 Febreze target 18 Time for bed 20 ___ out a living (got by) 21 Poet ____ Eliot 22 Minot State football division 25 Value of all the goods and services produced within a country’s border 27 Houston baseball player 30 Used to beat in a barn

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 14 15 16 17 19 23 24 26 28 29

Winter olympics vehicle He in French U.S. equivalent of Ltd. Chemical symbol with atomic number 3 Bombs commonly used in Afghanistan War The __-team Like a st., or hwy.

Baseball players’ seats Cal Ripken Jr. position Japanese martial art Grad student’s pursuit Buckeyes’ school One certified in osteopathic medicine Home appliances company Millenial term of endearment To the ___ degree New best time in a race Northeast opposite Providence state

THE RICE THRESHER

10 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

How to Train Your Dragon Our writer got early access to watch the third and last installment in this animated series.

Check out his thoughts online.

See more on ricethresher.org

STUDENT ART

VAGINA MONOLOGUES TO TAKE A CRITICAL APPROACH

Brown College senior Claire Luo, Baker College junior Uma Ramesh and Duncan College junior Jennifer Fu practice for their monologue, “Lists.”

CHRISTINA TAN A&E EDITOR

“We want you to question us.” The second paragraph of this year’s Vagina Monologues program begins with this bold statement, reflecting a sentiment of critical reflection carried throughout the show.

According to directors Ishani Desai, Kaarthika Thakker and Mandy Quan, The Vagina Monologues: Rice’s Critical Approach 2019 seeks to acknowledge and discuss the shortcomings of the historic collection.

The Vagina Monologues, originally written by Eve Ensler in 1996, are a collection of monologues centered on the female experience that address the stigmas around discussing female anatomy. The show will include 16 performances with an intermission filled by student critiques of the show. “[The monologues are] important because they were radical at the time and became part of this Western feminist canon,” Thakker, a Lovett College junior, said. “I think it’s important to acknowledge that, and acknowledge why, and look at that piece and think, ‘What problems did it have?’”

The three directors had to decide whether to host the monologues in the first place, eventually deciding that they wanted to acknowledge the historical context of the monologues and their radical effect.

“I still think it’s pretty revolutionary to talk about your vagina in such an open and honest way, in front of a large group of people,” Desai, a Lovett senior, said. “Even though [the monologues are] not perfect and there are a lot of flaws, we still found value in that it was a space for us to start these

THE WEEKLY SCENE

MATTHEW BROUSSARD Comedian Matthew Broussard (Jones ‘10) will perform on Thursday from 8 - 10 p.m. Broussard has previously appeared on the The Tonight Show Staring Jimmy Fallon. Desserts and refreshments will be served, and admission is free.

Wiess College Commons

discussions and be able to talk about our Vagina Monologues help Rice students acknowledge the stigma around female vaginas openly.”

While the monologues have previously anatomy while also spurring conversations been critiqued in a Rice Thresher op-ed for about what it means to be a woman. She will not being inclusive of transgender women, perform “My Short Skirt.”

“It’s easy for people who feel proud about the directors began thinking about the flaws of the monologues during their collective their bodies, or proud to call themselves participation two years ago. In addition to feminists, to say ‘Oh yeah! Everyone at critical performances during the intermission, Rice, we’re all on the same page,’” Wilson, the directors also chose to change the a Lovett senior, said. “But I realized that we performance style of “They Beat the Girl Out all come from different backgrounds [so] we all get here with different of My Boy,” the only levels of understanding monologue about the of self, womanhood and trans experience. The gender issues.” program that viewers Even though [the Wilson said that while will receive contains a monologues are] not the RWRC provides a disclaimer about the physical space for resources show, asking viewers perfect and there are and help, it also serves to remain vigilant a lot of flaws, we still as a community for these in their evaluation found value in that it conversations. of the performance. was a space for us to “My own views have These changes are an been challenged in that attempt to compromise start these discussions. space,” Wilson said. between the historical Ishani Desai “We’re all growing in that importance of The community of feminists.”

Vagina Monologues and DIRECTOR The show itself, which has a cast and their failure to include every kind of woman.

“If [the monologues are] going to happen, crew of 28, includes a diversity of experiences then it needs to happen in a more productive and motivations. Ileana Martinez, who will manner, and it can’t happen in the way it study abroad in Japan after the monologues, always has been,” Quan, a Will Rice College said that her participation shows how she’s junior, said. “We were excited to participate in overcome her feelings of stigma.

“When I first heard about The Vagina a project where we could make the edits [that] we felt were necessary and make the feminist Monologues [my freshman year], my reaction strand within The Vagina Monologues less [was] like a lot of people’s reactions,” mainstream [and] white, and include more Martinez, a Jones College senior, said. “Like ‘Oh, vaginas, that’s something I’ve never intersectional aspects.”

Chloe Wilson, co-director of the Rice been comfortable talking about. I’ve never Women’s Resource Center, said that The been comfortable even hearing that word.’”

ARCHI-ARTS MINI-CHARRETTE

PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE

Rice Architecture invites all students to design an installation for their upcoming event, Archi-Arts Mini-Charette: The First Act. The theme is “Circus” and asks participants to combine music, art, design and dance with an emphasis on recycled materials. The prompt handout is today at 6 p.m.

Join the Rice University Theatre Program as they perform Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

The comedy revolves around an imagined dialogue between Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso. The show is 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $5 for students.

Anderson Courtyard

Hamman Hall

charlene pan / thresher

As a result, Martinez did not attend the show until her sophomore year, when she became interested in performing. She performed last year and will perform the last monologue, “My Revolution,” this year.

“I realized that, by the end of the two hours, the word ‘vagina’ came naturally to me like any other word,” Martinez said. “I feel like that’s the effect that it has on a lot of firsttime attendees.”

90 percent of all proceeds will go to the Houston Area Women’s Center, a women’s shelter dedicated to helping domestic and sexual violence survivors. Liseth PerezSanchez, who will perform the monologue “I Was There in the Room,” is currently working with HAWC for her capstone project.

“When I found out that they were going to donate 90 percent of the donations to a local organization, I was very excited and was like ‘Let me try to put [them] in the organization that I’m working with,’” Perez-Sanchez, a Martel College senior, said.

Perez-Sanchez will perform for the first time in the monologues after watching them her freshman year.

“I did find problems with it, especially when the Thresher op-ed came out,” PerezSanchez said. “I really liked how this year, they were taking a critical approach. I was so nervous to try out and I was like ‘Liseth, this is your senior year. You have to do it.’”

The Vagina Monologues will be hosted in the Sid Richardson College Basement Big Room on Feb. 21, Feb. 22 and Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be bought by Venmoing @VagMo19 or paying cash. All proceeds will be donated to HAWC and the V-Day Campaign.

COLLECTIVE PRESENCE Join DiverseWorks for their latest opening, “Collective Presence,” on Thursday from 7 - 9 p.m. According to their event page, “Collective Presence” will be a “curatorial hub for creative and cultural activity revolving around social, political and environmental issues.” Admission is free.

DiverseWorks 3100 Main St.

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 • 11

SENIOR MUSI SERIES

New Perceptions: Featuring Senior Double Bass Player, Peter Hatch

SUNNY LIU SENIOR WRITER

Peter Hatch’s passion for music feels something like fate. Hatch’s parents, who met in a music store, both sing. His mom plays piano and his dad guitar.

“There was always music in the house,” Hatch, a Lovett College senior, said. “It was a no-pressure [zone], and there [were] always instruments around to try. Once I was old enough to eventually hold a guitar, I started with that.”

Despite having started off his musical artistry with the guitar, Hatch says that by the time he was in elementary school, he knew he wanted to play the double bass.

“I started [playing the bass] right before third grade,” Hatch said. “It was at a summer program where you can try out all the instruments. I picked it because it was the only one I didn’t have to take with me to school because they had one there. As soon as I picked it up, I knew this was the one. I love[d] all the low notes and [knew] it could be such a beautiful instrument.”

Hatch is currently preparing for his upcoming recital, dedicating between three to five hours each day to practice. He is playing pieces by composers Beethoven and Franck; one of the pieces is written for an instrument quite different than the bass.

“Right now, I’m working on a violin sonata,” Hatch said. “For bass, it’s pretty uncommon to do, but the music is just so good. Luckily, it works out on the instrument so that it’s physically possible to do.”

These new approaches have helped Hatch grow and take different perspectives to situations outside of music.

“I think that you can apply a lot of things from music to life,” Hatch said. “Everything is problem-solving. I’m trying to play music that’s not written for my instrument and I have to work around it in a different way. That’s just what you have to do in any situation. You have to be creative and methodical about it.

Beyond his family, some of Hatch’s biggest inspirations have been his fellow music students at Rice, as well as his childhood music teacher.

“Growing up, my teacher played in the [Lyric Opera of Chicago] and I just wanted to be so much like him,” Hatch said. “I play on a similar instrument [to] him and I did everything I could to do exactly what he’s doing. He has a great playing job and teaches at a couple of universities. That’s what I’m trying to do with my life, too.”

I picked [the double bass] because it was the only one I didn’t have to take with me to school because they had one there.

Peter Hatch SENIOR DOUBLE BASS PLAYER When it comes to life after graduation, Hatch says he is still trying to decide between graduate school and working.

“It’s all pretty up in the air,” Hatch said.

“I’ve got three grad schools that I’m applying to and I’m taking auditions for the Dallas Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, St. Louis, Chicago and Minnesota Orchestra. I’d love to have any one of those jobs but I’m happy to stay in school and continue learning.

If I establish myself in any of those areas, hopefully a teaching job will open up.”

Hatch said that his family’s love for music translates into support for him.

“Everything I have is because of them,” Hatch said. “I’m always telling them to come down for concerts and recitals. If I do something big — if I get to play for the Houston Symphony once in a while, they try to show up.”

Lovett College senior Peter Hatch found his love for the double bass in third grade. He hopes to go to graduate school after graduation. charlene pan / thresher

FILM

Oscars 2019: Predictions for Best Picture, Best Actor and other categories MICHAEL VERMEULEN SENIOR WRITER

Known as the biggest night in showbiz, the Oscars are an important way for the film industry to celebrate the best work it has to offer. This year’s ceremony will be especially interesting to watch, as the Academy is undergoing an identity crisis regarding its balance between rewarding commercial and artistically successful cinema. Whom they decide to hand out trophies to will likely highlight the ideological direction of the ceremony going forward. Taking into account the quality and perceived notions surrounding the films, I have listed here my personal predictions (bolded) for who will win this year.

The Academy Awards will be broadcast on ABC Feb. 24.

BEST PICTURE Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Green Book, Roma, A Star Is Born, Vice Arguably the weakest selection of best picture nominees in years, this group of films has a single universally-loved entry that nearly everyone can agree upon in terms of quality: Roma. While a foreignlanguage movie has never before won best picture, this black-and-white Mexican masterpiece has an indisputable quality and artfulness that few films possess.

Furthermore, Roma has the monetary backing of Netflix, which is campaigning furiously to ensure the first-ever best picture made by a streaming service.

BEST DIRECTOR Alfonso Cuarón, Yorgos Lanthimos, Spike Lee, Adam McKay, Pawel Pawlikowski Roma is possibly the most visually ambitious drama ever made, and that is likely due to the remarkable skills of director Alfonso

Cuarón. The Mexican director fills his film with some of the most impressive complex long-takes in a filmography defined by them, showcasing an epic technical mastery that somehow seamlessly complements the intimate emotion of events on-screen. The Academy has handed out this award to a Mexican director in four out of the last five ceremonies, and this year will most likely continue that trend.

BEST ACTRESS Yalitza Aparicio, Glenn Close, Olivia Colman, Lady Gaga, Melissa McCarthy With seven nominations and zero wins to her name, Glenn Close is the mostnominated living actor without an Academy Award. Though she is paired here with other fantastic performers like Olivia Colman, who owned the screen in her star-making turn as Queen Anne of England, Close is destined to win at this ceremony; her performance in The Wife is just good enough for the Academy to convince themselves to acknowledge her outstanding career through this particular role.

BEST ACTOR Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Rami Malek, Viggo Mortensen Having previously won an Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in 2010’s The Fighter, Christian Bale pulls off another transformative performance as former Vice President Dick Cheney. Bale has been nominated for best actor once before for his role in 2014’s American Hustle. Given his proven track record with the Academy as well as his nomination being timely due to being for a negative depiction of a real life, notable 21st century Republican, Bale is the one to beat here. While Rami Malek could prove spoiler for his portrayal of the beloved Freddie Mercury, his nomination will likely have to suffice.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Amy Adams, Marina de Tavira, Regina King, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz A character actress for the majority of her career, Regina King gives a compelling rendering of a strong, caring mother in If Beale Street Could Talk. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are both remarkable in their rival roles from The Favourite, but their excellence will cancel each other out from winning. King serves as the moral, emotional center of her movie’s story, and the relative dearth of Beale Street nominations in other categories makes this high-profile one a means of recompense.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mahershala Ali, Adam Driver, Sam Elliott, Richard E. Grant, Sam Rockwell Already a winner in this same category as a result of his performance in 2016’s Moonlight, Mahershala Ali is a burgeoning superstar whose status would be solidified by adding yet another Academy Award to his collection.

While Sam Elliott and Richard E. Grant have outside shots at taking the prize as a way to honor their storied careers as character actors, Ali’s role in Green Book as an outsider artist relates far too well to Academy members for them to pass up rewarding it.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, If Beale Street Could Talk, Isle of Dogs, Mary Poppins Returns In his score for BlacKkKlansman, composer Terence Blanchard combines soulful jazz riffs with classic rock instrumentations to create a musical soundscape that is unmistakably ’70s, the era in which the film is set. Often the only sound heard on screen, the score defines the movie’s unique tone and keeps its pacing on track. While the scores from Black Panther and If Beale Street Could Talk can take the prize, Blanchard’s music stands

above in its memorability and thereby its chances of winning.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, First Man, Ready Player One, Solo: A Star Wars Story Though all impressive feats of visual effects artistry, one film certainly has an effect more noticeable in its quality than others: Avengers: Infinity War and its photorealistic rendering of the heavily CGI’d character Thanos. The infamous Mad Titan immediately snapped his way into the all-time villain canon with his appearance in the massive blockbuster, in large part due to his believability. For a giant purple alien to come across as such, great visual effects are not only desired but necessary. As such, the Infinity War team will prove as victorious as its cornerstone effect.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG “All the Stars,” “I’ll Fight,” “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” “Shallow,”“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” Great songs populate this category, but the most crowd-pleasing piece by a significant margin is “Shallow” from A Star is Born. In addition to its accessibility and high quality, this power ballad holds immense emotional significance for its respective film. This category is a no-brainer.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Mirai, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse While a Pixar or Disney Animation film has won this award in 10 of the last 11 ceremonies, it is due time for an outside studio to break the mold. With its groundbreaking animation style and progressive, hugely entertaining story, Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will be too difficult for the Academy to ignore.

THE RICE THRESHER

12 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

SPORTS RECAP

CRUZ HAS HISTORIC DAY IN OWLS’ WIN

olivia daneker / thresher

Sophomore shortstop Trei Cruz awaits a pitch at the plate during Rice’s opening weekend series against the University of Rhode Island. Cruz had a day for the ages during Sunday’s 15-3 win, hitting two home runs and two triples while driving in nine runs on the day, just one off the Rice single-game record established by his father: former Rice outfielder and 12-year MLB veteran Jose Cruz, Jr.

SPENCER MOFFAT SENIOR WRITER

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and freshman outfielder Antonio Cruz on first base, in a tie game during the Rice Owls’ home opener against the University of Rhode Island, junior second baseman Cade Edwards hit a double. This gave third-base coach Paul Janish the difficult choice of stopping Cruz at third base or sending him home for a play at the plate. When Janish waved him through, Cruz obeyed the sign and rounded the base, only to be thrown out at home by a wide margin. The Owls went on to lose the game 2-1 in the 10th inning.

Despite the result of the play, head coach Matt Bragga said he supported Janish’s decision to send Cruz home.

“At that point in time with only having six hits in the game, I think we had to take a chance and make [URI] handle the ball,” Bragga said.

The game continued to extras. In the top of the 10th inning, Rice gave up a run due to a costly error by Edwards.

The following half-inning proved unsuccessful for the Owls, and the Rams

snatched a victory to start Rice’s Bragga era with a loss.

Junior pitcher Matt Canterino was a bright spot despite the loss. The preseason Conference USA Pitcher of the Year started off the game with two consecutive strikeouts. He went on to record seven more in the game to finish 6.1 innings with a total of nine strikeouts and zero runs allowed.

In the end, Canterino received a nodecision, while senior pitcher Kendal Jefferies was handed the loss. Jeffries allowed only one earned run in 3.2 innings pitched, but he was on the mound when Edwards’ error allowed Rhode Island’s winning run to score.

Unexpectedly, senior pitcher Evan Kravetz took the mound as the starter for the second game against URI after senior pitcher Addison Moss was scratched due to soreness in his forearm, according to Bragga. Despite the surprise start, Kravetz struck out ten with zero runs allowed in five innings of work and left with Rice ahead by four.

Senior first baseman Dominic DiCaprio hit a RBI double in the fifth inning to give the Owls a 4-0 lead. However, the Rams

responded in the sixth inning with three runs to get within one.

After coming up clutch for the Owls in the previous night as a pinch-hitter, Antonio Cruz hit an RBI single to give Rice a 5-3 lead. But despite heading into the ninth inning with a lead for the second game in a row, the Owls found themselves going into extra innings again after junior pitcher Garrett Gayle blew the save opportunity, giving up two runs in his relief appearance.

Sophomore pitcher Kel Bordwine took the mound in the top of the 10th inning after the bats went cold for the Owls in the bottom of the ninth. He gave up only one run in three innings, but Rice trailed Rhode Island 6-5 heading to the bottom of the 13th.

The Owls revived their hopes of victory when sophomore Dominic Cox scored on an error following a single by sophomore shortstop Trei Cruz. Cruz would record the game-winning run in the same inning, scoring on a passed ball to walk off with the victory.

Bragga said the team approached the end of the game with a different attitude from the previous night.

“I felt like [Friday] night we died and gave up a little bit, and tonight our guys really fought and that’s why we won,” Bragga said.

Sunday’s game was far less nerveracking for Rice baseball fans than the two previous games. The Owls scored 13 unanswered runs through the first five innings, with six of the runs coming on a pair of homers by Trei Cruz. He finished the day with nine RBIs, the second-highest single-game mark in Rice baseball history. Trei Cruz had two triples and two home runs on the day and was later named the C-USA Hitter of the Week.

While the Owls’ offense highlighted the day, senior pitcher Jackson Parthasarathy also impressed as he recorded eight strikeouts with zero runs and only one hit allowed. The Owls’ 15th and final run of the game came on an RBI single by senior catcher Daniel Russell, who was a walk-on addition to this year’s team. The Owls ended with a 15-3 win, fueled by an offense that recorded 19 hits on the day.

Rice is next in action tonight against the University of Arizona. At time of print, the Rice-University of Texas, Austin game on Tuesday night is ongoing.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 • 13

RECAP

Women’s tennis on three-match winning streak SPENCER MOFFAT SENIOR WRITER

women’s tennis The Rice women’s tennis team extended its win streak to three in dual matches with a 4-0 victory against Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi on Feb. 13.

Rice secured the doubles point for the sixth time in seven matches this year as sophomores Michaela Haet and Linda Huang won their doubles match, 6-4. That win was followed by a 6-1 win by freshman Anastasia Smirnova and junior Priya Niezgoda, which clinched the doubles point for the Owls.

Singles play was much shorter than normal, as sophomore Anna Bowtell won her fifth singles match of the spring. Niezgoda won in even more convincing fashion, picking up her fifth win by allowing her opponent just one game in each of the two sets. Huang, a transfer from the University of Colorado, ended the day by winning (6-1, 6-3) to clinch a 4-0 victory for Rice.

Head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said she was proud of the team’s steadfastness in singles play.

“The team did a nice job of taking care of business, especially in singles,” Schmidt said. “We came out with good energy and good focus.”

The Owls ended their homestand by traveling to the University of Kansas to face the No. 12-ranked team in the nation, according to Oracle/International Tennis Assocation.

The Owls fell 6-3 in their first doubles match, but the pair of Smirnova and Niezgoda then secured their sixth doubles victory. This was to no avail, however, as the Jayhawks emerged with the doubles point by winning a tiebreaker on Court Three. Not only did the Owls lose the doubles point, but they also lost Haet, who was unable to play any singles matches due to injury.

Kansas stormed out to take the first set on all six singles courts and held its momentum to win on five of the courts. However, the Owls did not get shut out in singles, as Niezgoda rallied to even her match against Nina Khmelnitckaia by winning a tiebreaker in the second set. She followed that with an 11-9 win in the final set to score a point for the Owls.

The Owls look to bounce back from the 6-1 loss to the University of Kansas, returning home to face the University of Texas-Arlington Saturday at 11 a.m.

men’s tennis The Rice men’s tennis team’s weekend road trip to Tennessee resulted in two losses, to Middle Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University.

Rice started off the trip with a match against MTSU on Friday, facing a Blue Raider team that had three team wins and five losses in 2019 entering Friday’s match. The Owls dropped two of three doubles matches, with senior Daniel Warren and sophomore Jacob Eskeland earning the lone victory in doubles.

In singles, the Owls totaled three wins and three losses. Sophomore Sumit Sarkar and redshirt junior Eric Rutledge won both of their matches in straight sets. Freshman Adam Oscislawski found himself facing multiple set points, but eventually secured the victory in three sets. However, the Owls’ loss to the Blue Raiders was secured when freshman Campbell Salmon fell in a three-set contest, giving Middle Tennessee its third win against the Owls in the last two years.

On Sunday, the Owls traveled to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. The doubles pair of Eskeland and Warren was not able to repeat its doubles performance from Friday as the

duo narrowly fell after forcing a tiebreaker.

Oscislawski and Rutledge also fell in their doubles match, without winning a single game. However, sophomore Conrad Russell and Sarkar picked up the team in doubles play, securing a 6-4 victory. Eskeland secured the lone victory for the Owls in singles play by winning in straight sets. The Owls dropped all other matches in singles play, including a third-set tiebreaker loss by Sarkar.

Head coach Efe Ustundag said he was impressed with both Eskeland’s and Sarkar’s performance, even though Sarkar narrowly lost.

“Jacob took care of business but Sumit [had] a tough call go against him in his tiebreak,” Ustundag said. “It was the difference from going up 6-3 and having three set points to being 5-4.”

Ustundag said he attributed the recent losses to a lack of team-wide consistency.

“We’ve yet to have a match where we’ve had it going on all six courts,” Ustundag said.

“But when it does, I think we have a chance to be a special team.”

The Owls will look to improve their consistency across all six courts as they head to Montgomery, Alabama on Feb. 22 and 23 to play in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic.

Women’s sports flourishing as two teams near postseason

Track and field claims four titles at indoor conference meet

MADISON BUZZARD

said. “But instead, I was in the lead from the beginning, waiting for someone to try and take it from me. I just stayed in front Three Owls came away from last maintaining a smooth rhythm ... I saw on weekend’s Conference USA Indoor Track the screen that with about 250 meters to Championships with individual titles, go a blue jersey was getting close to me so and the men’s team added a relay title as I picked up the pace a bit. Then with 150 well. Overall, the women’s team finished meters to go, I [sprinted] and won.”

Freshman pole vaulter Natan Rivera fourth out of 13 teams, while the men picked up Rice’s final individual first-place placed fifth of 10.

Junior jumper Michelle Fokam finish with a mark of 5.18 meters. Though highlighted Rice’s competition on the the second-place finisher also cleared the women’s side. She finished first in the long same mark, Rivera won because he cleared jump and placed second in the triple jump all three heights (4.88, 5.03 and 5.18 meters) with an indoor school-record mark of 13.31 on his first try. It was the highest mark Rivera meters. Fokam’s long jump title was her had ever cleared on his first vault. Rivera third in the past two seasons, after she won then had three tries at clearing 5.28 meters, the event in both the indoor and outdoor which would have been a personal best. He conference championship meets last year. said that although he didn’t clear the bar, his preparation and Her triple jump mark coaching are to credit also places her No. 8 for his success at the in the country among conference meet. all NCAA qualifiers.

“I was really close Fokam said that this in my last attempt, but year’s award was All of my conference unfortunately did not particularly special championships mean a clear the bar,” Rivera to her. lot to me but this year said. “[But] I think my “All of my c o n f e r e n c e has truly meant the most coaches did a great job to prepare the pole championships mean because of all I’ve done vault team for this a lot to me but this year this semester. meet. I think being a has truly meant the freshman makes [the most because of all I’ve Michelle Fokam win] important but done this semester,” JUNIOR JUMPER for me, I don’t care Fokam said. “I have about that. I was more had to balance my position in the student athlete advisory [focused] on getting the win no matter the committee, being a director of the athlete circumstances.

Junior sprinter Hannah Jackson just PAA program, handling all my classes and I was even out for a month with an injury I missed out on repeating as the 200-meter was nursing. I’ve been a part of so much and conference indoor champion, getting dealt with some injuries but even with all the edged out at the finish line by 0.02 seconds. things I had going on I was still able to stay Nonetheless, her 23.44-second time was her personal record for the 2019 indoor consistent and keep my streak alive.”

On the men’s team, senior runner Reagan season. According to Jackson, though Olguin was the star of the show, winning she was having some injury troubles, the an individual title in the 800-meter race race gave her confidence heading into the with a time of 1:51.66 and also running the outdoor season.

“Before the race my hamstrings were 1200-meter leg of Rice’s first-place distance medley relay. The 800-meter win was the giving me some trouble, so honestly I am first individual conference title of Olguin’s glad I was able to race at all, and even Rice career. According to Olguin, the race happier that I was able to PR for this indoor didn’t pan out exactly as he had expected, season,” Jackson said. “The race was a big but he still managed to keep his composure. motivator for outdoor. I feel this outdoor “I was thinking that I would stay in [season] is going to be a good one, and as second or third for the majority of the race long as I can keep my body injury-free, I and then win with a big kick,” Olguin hope to have a huge PR.”

ASST SPORTS EDITOR

This year, women’s sports at Rice have accumulated a .725 winning percentage and a 30-6-1 record against ConferenceUSA foes, while Rice men’s sports have more losses than wins.

According to women’s tennis head coach Elizabeth Schmidt, each team is accountable to fostering a winning culture at Rice.

“It’s really inspiring and encouraging to look around and see the other sports at Rice doing so well,” Schmidt said.

“Those other programs are pushing us to be successful, and we are pushing them to be successful. The more we have swagger, the better for the athletic department.”

Rice basketball senior guard Nicole Iademarco said she enjoys witnessing the prosperity of women’s sports at Rice.

“It’s great to have other great female athletes on campus with us,” Iademarco said. “We really want to represent Rice and play our best.”

Title IX requires federally-funded universities to provide equal resources to women and men in sports; in particular, it bestows an obligation upon each school to meet the needs and responsibilities of women’s athletics.

According to women’s basketball head coach Tina Langley, she coaches at a school which invests in all sports.

“The reason I came to Rice was the university itself,” Langley said. “Rice celebrates so many different things, from high education to diversity to excellence on all levels. We want to be a [basketball] program which represents the values of the university.”

Rice supports seven teams for both men and women. Three women’s teams — soccer, volleyball and cross country — have already completed their schedules.

In the fall, soccer labored to a 7-9-1 finish and seized a winning record against C-USA opponents but capitulated in the opening round of the C-USA tournament, missing its chance to qualify for a fifth postseason appearance. Many Owls still received year-end honors, including junior Lianne Mananquil, who was crowned C-USA Midfielder of the Year, and senior Annie Walker, who earned

her place on the C-USA All-Conference Second Team.

Cross country placed fifth overall in its year-end NCAA South Regional Championship Race, falling short of team qualification to the NCAA Championship. However, sophomore Lourdes Vivas de Lorenzi finished 10th in the Regional’s six-kilometer race, and became the 14th Owl to earn an individual bid to the postseason.

During its fall season, volleyball raised the bar of excellence. Head coach Genny Volpe, who boasts the most wins in program history, propelled her squad to an historic 14-game win streak, a C-USA regular season title and an NCAA Championship appearance — Rice’s fourth during Volpe’s career.

According to Volpe, volleyball’s year was unprecedented.

“The confidence in our women’s sports teams right now is probably at an all-time high,” Volpe said. “I hope all the success continues and carries over again into next season.”

Each of the other women’s sports teams at Rice — track & field, swimming, basketball and tennis — are currently competing in season.

According to Langley, outshining the success of volleyball is irrelevant, even though her squad is in the midst of a 15game win streak and is undefeated in C-USA with 22-3 overall record.

“We don’t really compare ourselves to anybody,” Langley said. “I think a great team knows what they need to be better at and what they need to improve upon.”

Women’s basketball leads C-USA in four statistics: blocked shots, field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense and scoring defense. Two of the team’s losses occurred against opponents ranked in the top-25 during the first two games of the season. According to Schmidt, women’s basketball has taken the correct approach in regards to scheduling matchups.

“Scheduling a tough regular season is important because it prepares you for the postseason and you know each postseason game is going to be a battle,” Schmidt said.

Langley said her players can relate to players on the men’s basketball team.

SEE WOMEN’S

SPORTS PAGE 14

MICHAEL BYRNES

SPORTS EDITOR

SPORTS

14 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Women’s basketball shuts down Florida foes

Women’s Sports Dominate

DERRICK KAGWANJA FOR THE THRESHER

Rice women’s basketball outscored its two weekend opponents in the first half by a combined 86-25 on the way to a weekend sweep to move to 13-0 in conference play.

The Owls claimed a 76-44 win over Florida International University on Thursday and a 63-35 win over Florida Atlantic University on Saturday that increased Rice’s winning streak to a school-record 15 games. On Monday, Rice was named the No. 25 team in the country by the Associated Press, marking the first ever national ranking for the program.

FIU was unable to get any easy points against the Owls; the Rice defense held them to 17 points in the first half on just 24.1 percent field goal shooting. Strong defense throughout the game coupled with constant ball movement proved to be the key to success for Rice.

Senior forward Nicole Iademarco had the hot hand throughout the first half, scoring 13 points and sinking three 3-pointers. She ended the night with 15 points, as did freshman guard Haylee Swayze, who was three for five from the 3-point line. Junior guard Erica Ogwumike rounded out the night by posting an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double.

[The team hasn’t] overlooked anybody we were playing and deservedly so, because everybody in Conference USA can beat you.

Tina Langley WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH Saturday’s game proved to be almost record-breaking, as Rice held FAU to only 8 points at halftime. That mark was the second-lowest opponent halftime score in program history. Rice’s defense held FAU to just a 2-for-26 mark on field goals in the first half, including 0-for-9 from 3-point range.

Though FAU managed to break through Rice’s defense in the second half, outscoring the home team 2724, Rice’s strong first half ensured a blowout 28-point victory. Senior forward Shani Rainey was a bright spot for the Owls, scoring a season-high 12 points in only 17 minutes of play.

Rice now has just three games left in the regular season before it enters the Conference USA tournament in March.

The Owls will face the University of North Texas, Louisiana Tech University and the University of Texas, San Antonio, all teams that Rice has previously beaten this season.

Though Rice maintains a perfect 13-0 conference record, head coach Tina Langley said the Owls aren’t taking anything for granted.

“One of the things we’ve spent a lot of time talking about this year is the opponent that’s in front of us,” Langley said. “I really give a lot of credit to our team and the way we prepared this week and this season. They haven’t overlooked anybody we were playing and deservedly so, because everybody in Conference USA can beat you.”

cloris cai / thresher

Senior guard Lauren Grigsby rises for a shot at the top of the key during Rice’s 63-35 victory over Florida Atlantic University on Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse. Grigsby totaled five points, seven rebounds and two assists in the Owls’ win. Sophomore Nancy Mulkey added three blocks during the contest to add to her 64 blocks on the season; Mulkey would lead the country with 3.76 blocks per game if she had played enough games to qualify.

FROM PAGE 13

WOMEN’S SPORTS

“It is good [for us] to have camaraderie with the men’s basketball team and know they are facing the same daily challenges, with the workload of the classroom and basketball,” Langley said. “We are both hardworking teams.”

According to swimming head coach Seth Huston, the women’s basketball team is redefining success for sports teams at Rice.

“I think the women’s basketball team is proving right now that at Rice University, an athletic team can be among the best programs in the country despite academics rigors and mid-major conference affiliation,” Huston said.

In ten dual meets, swimming is 5-5.

With only one regular season meet left, Huston’s team is nearing its opportunity to compete in the C-USA Championships, where it can earn a chance to qualify for the postseason.

According to senior swimmer Hanna Huston, overcoming injuries and frustration is part of the journey as a student-athlete.

“One way I’ve grown in the past four years is by having a new perspective on things,” Huston said. “I had these things some would call ‘athletic setbacks,’ but now I look at my struggles as opportunities to learn, trust, develop and mature.”

Women’s track & field thrived recently during the C-USA Indoor Championships.

As a team, Rice finished fourth; as solo performers, Owls earned all-conference honors in five events.

Women’s tennis is also putting together a solid season. Schmidt’s team is undefeated at home in five matches, and the trio of freshman Victoria Smirnova, sophomore Anna Bowtell and junior Priya Niezgoda have won 40 of 59 singles matches.

Schmidt said every female athlete at Rice is worth admiring for their accomplishments both on and off of their athletic teams.

“I am fortunate to work with great student-athletes,” Schmidt said. “Rice attracts a special person: one who is driven, not only on the field, on the court or in the pool but also in the classroom.”

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BACKPAGE

16 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019

THE BACKPAGE PRESENTS:

BACKUP

CANDIDATES

With the upcoming SA presidential election, there have been a lot of hot takes on the current candidates’ platforms and what it means to be a “joke” candidate. Good thing the Backpage is here to provide serious content in a world full of satire, with alternate candidates with equally bold visions for the future of the SA.

G

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R AL

MANAG

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EHOUSE FFE

If former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz can run for U.S. president, why not have Chief Executive KOC run for SA president? Here’s her platform: • Instead of getting rid of 8 a.m. classes, add 6 a.m. classes and expand Coffeehouse’s hours. Add midnight classes, too. As long as Coffeehouse is open, there’s no reason your eyes shouldn’t be. While some may argue that your Tetra balance buys your success with this model, drip-coffee-trickledown economics predicts that those at the caffeinated top of the class would probably share their study guide.

• Freedom of espress-ion.

MA H ES

N

AF

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Living in Hanszen is a real rags-to-rags story sure to inspire any member of the student body. Unlike their dorms’ infrastructure, Hanszenites are so strong. Just because a Hanszenite will lack experience with functional plumbing doesn’t meant they can’t streamline the processes to implement their plans. Those plans?

• Dismantle Hanszen.

• Please. Dismantle. Hanszen.

Our current president was elected as a sophomore, so why not just go for a freshman to follow Ariana? The ultimate “thank u, next class.” A freshman is probably already running for every position they can within their residential college. Sure, their advisor application was rejected. But, they’re ready to prove that they know what a real year-long commitment is with: • Abolishing the SA. • Canceling all 8 a.m. classes.

Okay, maybe a freshman isn’t mature enough to come up with a sustainable platform.

The Backpage is satire, written and designed by Simona Matovic, who is launching her own write-in campaign for SA president. Feel free to write in JamesJoyceLovesFarts@rice.edu

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