The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, September 4, 2019

VOLUME 104, ISSUE NO. 2 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 FEATURES

MCPLUNKETT:

the college that never was IVANKA PEREZ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Rice approves new VADA building CHRISTINA TAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

A building dedicated to visual and dramatic arts at Rice has been approved by the university administration, according to an email sent by Dean of the School of Humanities Kathleen Canning.

“I am thrilled to announce that we have successfully made the case that the student arts at Rice need and deserve a new modern facility,” Canning said. “We are excited that a new building has been approved which will bring together the visual and dramatic arts in the near future.”

In her email, Canning said that details about the location and layout of the new building would be available after the predesign process for the building is complete. Canning also said that fundraising for the building is critical, which Kirby confirmed.

“We hope to go into design later this year,” Kirby said. “However, substantial funds need to be raised before construction can begin. We do not have a detailed timeline yet.”

Canning said that the new building will increase visibility of the humanities both within Rice and throughout the broader Houston community.

“This investment in the arts will help us implement the vision and recommendations made by the VADA external review last fall and will bring us in line with our peer schools,” Canning said. “The building will significantly resituate the arts within the humanities at Rice.”

The announcement follows news that the Rice Media Center will be removed by the end of 2020, according to Vice President for Administration Kevin Kirby. In April, VADA professors in the Media Center were told to move out of the building by the end of the spring 2019 semester, according to photography professor Geoff Winningham.

Despite this announcement, the faculty and staff offices have remained for fall 2019 with three courses — History & Aesthetics of Film, Documentary Production and Handmade Film — currently held in the center. Kirby said in an update that the Media Center will remain at least until the end of the current academic year.

Canning, who arrived at Rice in January 2018, worked with VADA chair John Sparagana and the Humanities Advisory Board to propose the building.

In the April 2019 Thresher article about the Media Center’s removal, Sparagana said he hoped the administration would consider constructing a dedicated VADA building on the Media Center’s land that would accommodate film, photography, studio and theater.

“We have great leadership in Dean Canning, terrific momentum in the arts at Rice, recognition of the consistent vitality and productivity of VADA and cognizance of student desire for a student arts building,” Sparagana said in April. “I am optimistic about the possibility of a VADA student arts building as never before.”

gets call sign back JAMES KARROUM THRESHER STAFF

Rice University’s student-run radio station, KTRU, has reacquired its former call sign of KTRU after campus administration sold the letters in 2011.

The change is the result of months of discussion between the most recent owners of the call sign and KTRU operations director Harrison Lorenzen, who spearheaded the recent buyback.

Lorenzen said the letters cost $10,000 to acquire, a sum covered in full by an anonymous donor.

From 2011 until Aug. 21, KTRU had been referred to as “ktru” because its iconic name didn’t match the letters used to identify the station on the air.

“The differing call letters did confuse many listeners when we would announce our legal ID every hour by saying ‘This is ktru on 96.1 KBLT-LP Houston,’” Lorenzen said. “Many people that were unfamiliar with the sale of the station by President [David] Leebron and the Rice administration did not know that KTRU was not legally KTRU on air.”

The KTRU call sign had been used since 2011 by Grace Public Radio, a Christian radio station in Iola, Kansas.

According to Lorenzen, they were unwilling to negotiate with Rice radio on a sale of the letters, but sold them to another entity last year.

“The new owners of KTRU were willing to accept an offer to buy the low power designation of KTRU,” Lorenzen said. “I spent about four months talking with various members of the board of KTRU in Kansas before they agreed with our purchase price. The Rice General Council assisted with the legal negotiations to finalize the deal.”

When KTRU first upgraded from an AM to FM transmission in 1969, the station was required to change its call sign from KOWL to KTRU due to Federal Communications Commission guidelines, according to a timeline provided by radio station manager Kaarthika Thakker.

SEE KTRU PAGE 8

FEATURES EDITOR

For the last 10 years, Rice University has had 11 residential colleges. Enter McPlunkett College, Rice’s imaginary 12th college, founded in 2019 by the matriculating class. What started as an inside joke blew up to massive proportions, receiving shoutouts from Rice Housing and Dining, the Marching Owl Band and an official Rice University Instagram story. But the otherwise wholesome idea that brought new students together actually came to one of them in the form of a nightmare.

In the weeks before receiving her college assignment, Jones College freshman Sarah Preston said she was worried — especially about the possibility of having communal bathrooms. When she fell asleep one night, her brain turned her worst fears into a nightmare, she said.

“I had a dream that we got our residential college assignments and I was placed in a college called McPlunkett,” Preston said. “[It was] really, really old, had no traditions [and] no culture.”

I had a dream that we got our residential college assignments and I was placed in a college called McPlunkett.

Sarah Preston JONES COLLEGE FRESHMAN When Preston woke up, she said she did the first thing she could think of — texting the Rice class of 2023 meme GroupMe chat. Martel College freshman Stephanie Pecaut said that she and the other active members of the group chat instantly jumped on the idea, and it became a running joke within the chat, much to Preston’s surprise.

“I didn’t think it was going to blow up,” Preston said. “I thought it would be dead by 6 the same morning.”

Then, one week before the new students were slated to receive their college assignments, the news was leaked on Esther. Preston said she and the other students rushed to check where they had been placed before eagerly posting the results in the GroupMe. After being placed in Jones, Preston said she waited to see if any of her friends from the GroupMe were also in Jones — but no one was.

“I was also a little bit worried about all these friendships I’d made,” Preston said. “[I thought I was] going to be separated from them because we’re in different colleges.”

SEE MCPLUNKETT PAGE 6

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TINA LIU

illustration COURTESY OF abby hollmann

THE RICE THRESHER

2 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

NEWS Some Types of Qualifying Leaders:

CLUB/ORGANIZATION LEADERS COLLEGE GOVERNMENT LEADERS SA LEADERS

Up to

$5000

in stipends for unpaid student leaders on campus

Deadlines this year: September November February Future deadlines: November February INFOGRAPHIC BY TINA LIU

Doerr Institute to offer stipends for unpaid student leaders SAMMI JOHNSON SENIOR WRITER

The Doerr Institute for New Leaders is now granting stipends of up to $5,000 every semester to financially support undergraduate and graduate students in leadership positions. Sarah Sullivan, department coordinator at the Doerr Institute, said the first round of applications are due on Sept. 15, and they hope to announce recipients of stipends this semester by the end of September.

According to McKinzie Chambers, Sid Richardson College president, the idea for the stipend originated from thencollege presidents Akin Bruce (Lovett ’19) and Eliza Martin (Baker College ’19), who contacted the Doerr Institute to begin the project. Bruce connected Chambers and Baker College President James Warner with Sullivan to work together to create a short and simple application.

“A couple of students ... very thoughtfully brought this problem to us,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of students on campus who are very interested in having these leadership positions, but because of their financial situation, they really need to have a job where they can

earn money, and so taking an unpaid leadership position just isn’t as accessible to them.”

While the idea for the stipend came from college presidents, Sullivan said the stipend is available to any student that holds a position at a residential college, the Student Association, the Graduate Student Association or any club or activity on campus that is officially registered through the university. The application requests information on the student, their financial situation and the complexity of their leadership role, and requires a completed leadership development plan.

“We want to assess how much thought and effort students put into their development as leaders at Rice, what they’ve been engaged in and then what they would like to do,” Sullivan said. “They think through some specific questions about what kind of leader they want to be, what steps they need to take to get there, what challenges or obstacles might be in their way and what support they need.”

Besides working with Chambers and Warner to gain a student perspective on the stipend, Sullivan said the Doerr

Institute also collaborated with the Office of Financial Aid to make sure the stipend would not interfere with any students’ financial aid packages and to verify the financial aid information students provide on their application. Students whose family income is less than $60,000 are prioritized, but the stipend is available to anyone from any income bracket.

“We certainly hope that it’s going to remove some of the emotional and psychological burden of always having to worry about whether taking a leadership position is going to keep you from earning money you need to pay for books, supplies or the other expenses you have as a student that aren’t covered either by scholarships or your family or whatever other means you have,” Sullivan said.

According to Sullivan, a subset of the Doerr Institute team will blind review the applications, which will take a few weeks depending on how many applications they receive. Since this is the first year for the program, the Doerr Institute has no set quota for the number of stipends they plan to give out, and it will depend on budget constraints. The money for the stipends will come internally from the Doerr Institute.

Channing Wang/ THRESHER

A large pile of bikes stands unsecured outside the Rice Bikes workshop. The Rice University Police Department and Rice Bikes conducted two “sweeps” over the summer to tag and cut bikes that appeared abandoned or in disrepair.

Bikes cut, left unlocked during summer AMY QIN NEWS EDITOR

A large pile of abandoned or unclaimed bikes has been left in an unsecured pile outside the Rice Bikes workshop.

Rice Bikes took charge of the process of storing and repurposing bikes deemed abandoned over the summer as well as contacting the owners of bikes registered to the Rice University Police Department, according to Rice Bikes General Manager Luke Howe-Kerr.

Howe-Kerr said that Rice Bikes did not secure the bikes because they did not have sufficient space to store them.

“It’s mainly a fact that we don’t have the space for it, and RUPD doesn’t want to use their [bicycle storage] cages,” Howe-Kerr, a Lovett College senior, said. “We’re looking into expanding — we have that back courtyard.”

Tiffany Bauman, a Will Rice College senior, said her bike, which was registered, went missing after she left it on campus over the summer and was told by Housing and Dining that all bikes left on campus over the summer needed

to have a summer sticker. The RUPD website does not mention a summer sticker, and Rice Bikes Projects Manager William Miles said he had never heard of the sticker.

“I left my bike outside of Will Rice Old Dorm with a U-lock on it,” Bauman said. “I came back for [Orientation] Week and my bike was no longer there.”

Bauman said that she contacted RUPD, H&D and Rice Bikes, and said she was told by Rice Bikes that her bike was not on the list of registered bikes obtained during the “sweeps” during the summer. She said she noticed a pile of bicycles outside the Rice Bikes workshop and was worried by the fact that they were unsecured.

“I said something along the lines of ‘Wait, can’t anyone just come out here and take a bike since they aren’t locked?’ and they said that no one is supposed to,” Bauman said.

“But I mean, there are like a hundred bikes outside the office that anyone could easily take.”

Bauman said that although RUPD and Rice Bikes were both helpful, she worries that her bicycle may have been stolen from the unsecured pile outside the Rice Bikes shop.

“We’re in the trial phase right now,” Chambers said. “I want the program to expand as much as possible and capture as many people as possible, so we’re all working together from different angles.

I think when we see the results of this, hopefully we’ll see more people running.”

In upcoming years, the Doerr Institute will offer two application deadlines: one in November and one in February.

Sullivan said this is intended to cover positions that hold elections or appoint leaders at different times, but since they missed out on last spring, they added a September deadline this year to make sure they captured this semester’s worth of students.

“I think it will help a tremendous amount, especially with the February rollout date, because that one is intended to capture students intending to run [for student government positions],” Chambers said. “I think what we’re going to find is that we’re going to have the most qualified, capable group of leaders.

We already have a great group, but we’re going to be able to expand for people who really, really care and are going to be able to get that financial accessibility barrier knocked out.”

“It’s just really frustrating that my lock was cut off and probably taken during a sweep because I didn’t have a summer sticker on it, and then just left outside for anyone to take,” Bauman said. “It’s a nice bike, so if it was just left out unlocked, someone would definitely take it.”

Miles said two “sweeps” for abandoned bikes occurred during the summer. Rice Bikes employees worked alongside RUPD to tag bikes on campus that looked abandoned or in disrepair, and if the tag was still in place a month later, Rice Bikes and RUPD would cut the bike from the rack and take it to Rice Bikes, according to Miles. Miles also said he had never heard of the summer sticker.

Howe-Kerr said that prior to this summer RUPD had been in sole charge of cutting and managing abandoned bikes and had kept them stored in cages. If the bikes were left unclaimed for a period of time, Rice Bikes would come to the RUPD cages and take the ones they wanted to sell or scrap for parts, according to Howe-Kerr.

“The main issue with that was that RUPD was putting in a lot of effort to manage all the bikes [and] store them and [were not] really getting much benefit out of it,” Howe-Kerr said. “And so they wanted a way to cover the hours that they were putting into it.”

Rice Bikes also took over the process of contacting bike owners, according to Howe-Kerr. Rice Bikes received a list of bike registration numbers and sent emails to the owners of registered bikes, informing them that their bikes had been cut and providing them with options: to pick up the bike within a week or donate it to Rice Bikes, according to Miles.

If the owner did not respond, the bicycle was considered donated to Rice Bikes.

Howe-Kerr said he estimates that fewer than half of bikes obtained on sweeps were registered. According to Miles, after being tagged for a month and cut, unregistered bicycles will be scrapped for parts or refurbished and sold.

Miles said that the purpose of conducting these sweeps is to meet a student demand for affordable bicycles.

“It’s not like we’re maliciously looking for bikes, like ‘we want this’ or ‘we want that,’” Miles said. “It’s just that [we are trying] to expand the shop and grow what we can offer. Every shift last year, at least one person would come in asking to buy a bike. We don’t have a lot on offer. People want cheap bikes, which is what we sell [these bikes] for.”

RUPD did not respond in time for comment.

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 • 3

Orientation Week SAFE talk prompts discussion, concern SAVANNAH KUCHAR ASST NEWS EDITOR

Some students expressed concern regarding Project SAFE (Sexual Assault Free Environment), a campuswide presentation during Orientation Week that addresses consent and interpersonal violence.

Mason Reece, who advised this past O-Week, said that at times it seemed like the atmosphere of the talk did not match the subject material being discussed.

“I think some aspects of the talk were maybe a little lighthearted in what is a very serious topic,” Reece, a Hanszen College sophomore, said. “I think I and other students understood that it was a latenight talk after a long day, but still trying to maintain a level of professionalism and seriousness around something as important as this is still essential.”

Helena Leal, an advisor and liaison for Students Transforming Rice Into a ViolenceFree Environment at Baker College, said that she thinks the lighter tone was part of an attempt to make the environment more comfortable for students, but she recognized the possible consequences of this.

“Topics are definitely still heavy, but this lightheartedness demonstrates that it’s okay and important to talk about and engage in these conversations,” Leal, a sophomore, said. “If any student is a victim of any of the situations discussed during the SAFE presentation it may feel bad to hear people being so lighthearted about it.”

According to Leal, another concern during this year’s presentation was the signin form passed around at the beginning, which asked attendants to give their name, gender identity and email address.

“I think asking for gender identity is unnecessary and could make some

directors for O-Week this year, said that individuals feel uncomfortable,” Leal said.

According to Saralyn McMorris, the she too had issues with the content shown associate director of wellbeing programs during the 2016 O-Week SAFE presentation.

“As a New Student, I remember being and education, the form was for the Houston Area Women’s Center and was a requirement a bit unimpressed with the presentation,” Falcon, a Martel College senior, said. “They for one of their grantors.

Reece said that he spoke to presenters had the ‘Consent: It’s Simple as Tea’ video from both the SAFE Office and the Houston which I found to be a bit too casual and too Area Women’s Center after the presentation humorous for such a serious topic.”

Qi said that although the content has and was informed about the reasoning for the forms. However, he said that he was still improved with time, she is still concerned concerned about the lack of privacy afforded with the delivery of the presentations.

“Project SAFE is one by the form. of those talks where “I certainly it’s about a serious understood their topic and the tone and reasons, they talked to us about needing it for I think there’s a different the delivery of that grants to get federal time and place for joking talk really matters,” Qi said. “I think there’s a money for their and having fun. different time and place program,” Reece said. for joking and having “But I think there was Karen Qi fun.” a concern on my part McMorris, one of the at least about it being HANSZEN COLLEGE STRIVE LIAISON presenters this year, a public sheet being passed around that you could write down said that students concerned about the tone your gender identity, whatever that might should give this feedback to the SAFE office be, and then the person next to you has the and others involved.

“Anybody who’s concerned about the opportunity to look at that and how that presentation should share that concern with might be concerning for some students.”

Karen Qi, an advisor and former the SAFE Office or any of the presenters,” O-Week coordinator for Hanszen, said McMorris said. “In the six years that I’ve that there have been problems in the past been at Rice, we’ve regularly changed with the presentation’s content being too the presentation based on concerns and ideas from students as well as current lighthearted and problematic. “[For several years] there was a video research and advancements in the field of comparing getting consent in relationships interpersonal violence.”

McMorris said she thought that the or hookups with drinking tea,” Qi, a senior, said. “I guess it’s meant to shed light on how presentation was a success.

“They were answering questions and consent is used in everyday interactions, but I think comparing it to drinking tea and the asking questions of their own,” McMorris jokes made in that video was minimizing said. “Throughout the presentation, I noticed that many of the students were what it meant to get consent.”

Gabrielle Falcon, one of two student nodding their heads as though they [agreed]

with what they were hearing.”

McMorris said that the SAFE Office is receptive to feedback about the presentation and that it is improved each year based on this feedback.

“The SAFE Office spent some time over the summer talking with the O-Week [coordinators] about this presentation,” McMorris said. “The coordinators and the advisors see the presentation before the New Students and they’re encouraged to offer the SAFE Office feedback.”

During her year as an O-Week coordinator, Qi said that the coordinators had little say over the Project SAFE presentation.

“The [coordinators] have this wellbeing committee and I think that’s probably the most relevant committee for the Project SAFE talk,” Qi said. “But when I was on the wellbeing committee, it mostly was about what would the alcohol talk look like or what would the healthy relationships talk look like. We focused mostly on those two things and Project SAFE was mostly organized by the Title IX office.”

Qi and Falcon both matriculated in 2016 as part of the last matriculating class not required to take Critical Thinking in Sexuality workshop during the first five weeks of school. According to Qi, who has been a teaching assistant for CTIS for the past two years, these classes are better able to facilitate discussions than the one-hour Project SAFE presentation.

“I noticed that a lot of the conversations went more in-depth and so Project SAFE didn’t have to be all those details crammed into a presentation where people who are attending the presentation were already really tired from O-Week,” Qi said. “I think that CTIS kind of shapes the tone better than the stand-alone Project SAFE talk.”

NEWS

4 •WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

BEFORE

AFTER

LOGO COURTESY HAWKEYE

Brand(ing) New: Rice Updates Logo RYND MORGAN ASST NEWS EDITOR

This past summer, Rice worked with the Houston-based design firm Hawkeye to update the Rice logo, which had been in place for at least 12 years.

According to the Hawkeye website, the firm was tasked with updating the logo as well as standardizing branding

for different departments across the university. The new logo features a matte, dark blue for the shield as well as a new font, Galaxie Copernicus, for the academic schools.

“Hawkeye designed the new owl to retain the most memorable aspects of the original design, specifically the eyes and feathers around them, the engaged pose and prominent wing,” the Hawkeye

Tetra increases to $100

website said.

The change to the Rice University logo comes two years after a change to the Rice University Athletics logo made in partnership with Torch Creative, a design studio based in Dallas specializing in sports team logos.

The Hawkeye website described Rice University as “an environment built around the freedom of individuals to

SA introduces bill for alumni liaison position RISHAB RAMAPRIYAN NEWS EDITOR

Channing Wang / THRESHER

On-campus meal plans now come with $100 in starting Tetra balance every semester.

SAVANNAH KUCHAR ASST NEWS EDITOR

On-campus meal plans will now provide students with $100 in Tetra per semester rather than $50. According to David McDonald, senior business director for Housing and Dining, the additional Tetra will be allocated to students with meal plan A, B or C. McDonald said that the increased amount is included in the cost of the meal plan but that the overall cost of the meal plan has increased by less than $50.

“The cost of the meal plan has increased $20 this semester from the previous semester,” McDonald said. “This is a complex calculation that takes into consideration numerous factors and not just Tetras.”

According to McDonald, the increase in Tetra is part of an effort to increase the accessibility of non-servery food options on

campus. Further reasons for the increase are the additional options for Tetra use this year and general price inflation.

“We have recently added Tetra at the [BioScience Research Collaborative] and will be adding readers to [the] Moody [Center for The Arts] and select athletics concessions later this fall,” McDonald said. “With price inflation over the last 15 years, we have determined that Tetra amounts will likely not ‘stretch’ far enough combined with multiple new venues in the near future.”

Morgan Seay, a Hanszen College sophomore, said that she is in favor of the change but understands some people may have concerns about the additional money.

“I really like it,” Seay said. “But I don’t know how other students feel about it because it’s like free money, but you still pay for it. So other people are more opinionated on it, but since I’m on scholarship, I don’t really have to think about that.”

pursue their passion without the burden of outside influence.”

In the description of the project, Hawkeye said that one of their main goals was to create brand unity across the university.

“In the corporate arena, branding is ruthlessly enforced,” the design firm wrote in their description of the project. “In academia, there is no such enforcement, only independence and organizational silos [of isolation within different departments].”

According to Christine Church, director of marketing in the Office of Public Affairs, the changes include broadening the official color palette and introducing new typefaces, rolling out a flat version of the Rice shield and minor refinements to the Athenian owl that will make these symbols easier to use online, in print and with promotional items.

Rice University branding is Hawkeye’s most recent project. On their website, Hawkeye lists clients in education, energy and technology. In the past, they have worked with clients such as Houston Methodist and George Strait Reserve.

According to Church, the new logo is part of a larger refresh to the overall brand that was launched in July.

“We are also proud to say that the owl no longer has ‘turkey’ legs, and now has a consistent line width. While maintaining the feel of the original Athenian owl, the new Rice owl presents a stronger feel of strength and pride,” Church said.

The Student Association Senate introduced a bill to create a new undergraduate position, Association of Rice Alumni liaison, to advance opportunities for collaboration with the Office of Alumni Relations and the Association of Rice Alumni. The bill was introduced at the Aug. 26 SA Senate meeting.

SA President Grace Wickerson said they created the position because they wanted the SA Senate to assist in improving student-alumni engagement.

“I chose to create the position to provide a connection between current students and alumni as well as provide channels of communication between the [SA and] the ARA board of directors,” Wickerson, a Brown College senior, said. “We hope the impact is improving student-alumni engagement as well as providing points

of collaboration with the ARA board of directors to amplify shared priorities.”

According to the bill, the ARA liaison reports directly to the SA president.

Duties of the position include sharing updates on SA programming and initiatives with the ARA and the Office of Alumni Relations. The liaison will also be responsible for disseminating information about alumni programming to the student body and gathering student feedback and ideas regarding alumni initiatives and collaboration.

According to Wickerson, the SA Senate previously had a Future Alumni Standing Committee, but it was removed from the bylaws several years ago due to a lack of efficacy and interest.

The SA Senate will vote on the bill on Sept. 9. Applications for the position are open and will close on Sept. 4. Wickerson said the position will only be filled if the bill passes.

Dynamic and Energetic Teachers wanted. Pay rate is $24 to $38 per hour.

We provide all training. Email your resume to rice-jobs@testmasters.com

sirui zhou / THRESHER

THE RICE THRESHER

5 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

OPINION OPINION

Alopecia Awareness Month: Support those affected September. To many people this month marks the beginning of a new semester, but for me it is Alopecia Awareness Month.

This month should be one of learning, empowering, celebrating and destigmatizing what comes with being different.

I have alopecia universalis.

When people ask me what this is, I tell them that it is an autoimmune disease in which my own immune system attacks my hair follicles. What I don’t tell them is this: My alopecia comes with rheumatoid arthritis, fatigue and sudden and prolonged illnesses. My alopecia comes with questions. It comes with embarrassment. It comes with shame.

September. This is the month to tell my story.

This piece has been a work in progress my whole life. I have always wanted to write something about this particular part of myself, but my fears have always stopped me from publicly addressing something so personal.

When I was 2 years old, the hair on my head began to fall out. Then I lost my eyebrows and my eyelashes. By 5, all my hair was gone. I was devastated. Everywhere I looked, I realized I was different; even SpongeBob SquarePants had eyelashes. To me, beauty was everything that I did not have. It was long, curly hair, like Beyonce’s. It was long, curled eyelashes and perfectly shaped eyebrows.

In elementary school I would wear my disconnected from my Blackness. I wore wig to school on weekdays and wear my mainly straight-haired wigs my whole favorite pink Nike bucket hat or Adidas life, but I saw my brother’s curly hair baseball cap on the weekends. I was a and wished I could just have my natural little girl, unashamed and unaware of the hair back. In my mind, the one part of cruel world around me. I didn’t know that my Blackness that would be visible to the people would treat me differently because world — my textured hair — didn’t exist anymore. of my baldness.

Every day is a battle against society’s Throughout my childhood, people often confused me for a cancer patient or a little perception of what is beautiful, and there boy. On numerous occasions, I was asked, are some days that are especially difficult; however, I work on “How is chemo loving myself a little going?” I didn’t bit more every single know how to process day. Today I am ready this, and I felt badly The only way to combat to own who I am, about it. Why did the stigma around alopecia and all. I am the woman at the grocery store call me women’s baldness is to ready to change my narrative, own the word “mijito,” when I was redefine femininity. “bald” and embrace my a little girl dressed reality. We must end in all pink? I grew up feeling the need to compensate for my the stigma around baldness, and the only baldness and I did this by wearing mostly way to combat the stigma around women’s pink and always wearing earrings. There baldness is to redefine femininity. I want were times when I hated myself for not people to understand that alopecia is so having hair. I hated myself for not feeling much more than just hair loss. There is not one day that goes by for which I am able to girly enough. I hated myself for being bald.

Bald. I used to hate this word. It just forget about it. Every time I look in the reminded me of who I, for so long, tried mirror, I see it. Every time people talk about to hide. I have been bullied, ridiculed and their hair, I remember the lack of mine. It humiliated for this part of my identity. looms over every situation in my life. It isn’t On top of struggling with my biracial something that just goes away and there is identity, losing my hair made me feel more no explanation for why or how it happens.

VADA building important for campus resources fairly and is equally supportive of all its departments, not just its most popular.

This is a major step for student art on campus, which suffered significantly in past years. Previously, VADA programs have been divided between Hamman Hall, the upper floors of Sewall Hall and the Rice Media Center. Additionally, the 2020 expiration date for the Rice Media Center threatened to reduce the already limited space for VADA, compounding the overall lack of student exhibition space on campus.

A new building can serve as a hub for students, faculty and alumni of different artistic disciplines to interact, collaborate and support each other.

However, without significant funding, this building may never materialize.

Potential donors should realize the value that the arts have on campus — without them, Rice’s education lacks the liberal arts well-roundedness that has been so critical to its students’ success. While we at the Thresher are more than happy to finally write a positive editorial surrounding Rice’s treatment of the arts, we’ll hold our applause until the end (of construction.)

EMANI BROWN

JONES COLLEGE JUNIOR

read more online:

STAFF EDITORIAL

For years, students on campus and the Thresher editorial board have been petitioning for more visual and dramatic arts support — in space, funding and recognition. With Tuesday’s announcement of a new, dedicated VADA building in the near future, there is finally hope that all three of these requests will be fulfilled.

The Thresher editorial board applauds the efforts of Dean of the School of Humanities Kathleen Canning, VADA chair John Sparagana and the Humanities Advisory Board as well as the countless student voices that have been petitioning for increased VADA attention for years. The editorial board also applauds the administration for its openness to the idea and commitment to fundraise for the project.

Rice is most widely recognized for its reputable and expansive STEM academic programs. As a result, humanistic disciplines such as VADA tend to fall into the background despite their active role in campus life. A new building will not only better accommodate current VADA students but will also indicate to prospective students and their families that Rice dedicates its

Anybody can be affected by alopecia; it is not genetic, and the cause is unknown. No cure exists and there is very little research.

There are treatments; however, they often come with low success rates and high risks.

When I was first diagnosed, my mom tried every treatment available — corticosteroid shots, retinoid cream, emu oil and so many others. Nothing led to sustained hair growth for me. The reason for Alopecia Awareness Month is that there are so many people affected by this incurable disease.

Happy Alopecia Awareness Month!

Education is the key to destigmatizing.

Although I have found strength in writing this piece, the fight doesn’t end here.

My alopecia has been one of the most challenging things in my life, but it has also shown me the beauty of being different.

Remember that those of us with alopecia don’t want your sympathy. We just want you to love us for who we are — with or without hair.

The Hoot’s Chick-fil-A ban: Food for thought “As Rice students who share a campus, we should ask ourselves a simple question: Should we only patronize businesses that we agree with politically? I submit that the answer should be a resounding ‘no,’ regardless of your political beliefs.”

TOMAS JONSSON

WILL RICE COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

Trump’s toxic rhetoric is taking its toll

Correction The article “Arts 101: Guide to exhibitions on and off campus” was written by staff writer Lily Wulfemeyer, not A&E Editor Katelyn Landry.

“The impact of Trump’s racist rhetoric goes far beyond the posters we recently saw on campus, though they should serve as a signal to our community that it is well past time to take action against the president’s hate speech.”

­LILA GREINER

WILL RICE COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

LUKE CANTU

BAKER COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

want to write your own opinion? we take submissions through email at thresher@rice.edu!

STAFF Christina Tan* Editor-in-Chief Anna Ta* Managing Editor NEWS Rishab Ramapriyan* Editor Amy Qin* Editor Rynd Morgan Asst. Editor Savannah Kuchar Asst. Editor FEATURES Ivanka Perez* Editor ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Katelyn Landry* Editor OPINION Elizabeth Hergert* Editor

SPORTS Michael Byrnes Editor Madison Buzzard* Editor Eric Barber Asst. Editor BACKPAGE Simona Matovic Editor & Designer PHOTO Channing Wang Editor COPY Vi Burgess Editor Bhavya Gopinath Editor Phillip Jaffe Senior Editor

ONLINE Ryan Green Web Editor Priyansh Lunia Video Editor DESIGN Tina Liu* Director Dalia Gulca Designer BUSINESS OPERATIONS Mai Ton Social Media/Marketing Manager Jackson Stiles Distribution Manager Karoline Sun Business Manager

*Editorial Board member

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THE RICE THRESHER

6 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

FEATURES Returning home: Former Wiess magisters return to Lovett

Professor of Biosciences Michael Gustin and pharmaceutical professional Denise Klein served as Wiess magisters from 2006 to 2011.

PHOTO COURTESY michael gustin

ANNA TA

the same capacity at Wiess College roughly eight years ago. For their second term, they recognize that plenty has changed — including the title of the job to “magister” from “master” — and they’re more than willing to experiment.

“You know, this is not Wiess,” Gustin, a professor of biosciences, said. “This is a very different culture, so we’re also looking for ideas from students, what kind of events they would like to have.”

But the two also said they want to reignite some of their past traditions. Klein, a pharmaceutical professional, said that she’s looking forward to bringing back the tea parties they held while at Wiess. She said having the students over for tea or small groups dinners allows her to get to know them better.

MANAGING EDITOR

Lovett College saw plenty of new faces this school year, but not all the new kids on the block were students. August marked the beginning of Michael Gustin and Denise Klein's first school year as Lovett magisters, after being associates at the college for 18 years. They live with their shy black labrador Walter and enliven the new house by hosting Lovetteers for summer barbecues and "Bachelor in Paradise" watch events.

“We’ve always felt like the downstairs of the magisters’ house is an extension of the college, so we like to have students over as much as we can," Klein said.

Being a magister is an exciting but not entirely new experience, as they served in

Some of the New Students began to take the joke even further, imagining that McPlunkett was a real college. They created traditions like Plunksmas and pumpkin

MCPLUNKETT FROM PAGE 1 When Preston expressed her disappointment in the group chat, another New Student, Ashley Duong, comforted her, saying, “Don’t worry, Sarah. We’re all in McPlunkett.” Feeling inspired, Preston changed her name in the group chat from “Sarah Preston Jones ’23” to “Sarah Preston McPlunkett ’23” and a few other students did the same.

Soon, the meme took off. Other students began catching on and changed their names to say “McPlunkett” in the meme group chat, and some began to change their names in other group chats as well.

Duong went as far as to screenshot her college assignment on Esther and edit it to say “McPlunkett” instead of “Brown.”

“It kind of exploded,” Pecaut said.

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“It takes me a little longer to know the students than it does [Gustin], because he memorizes names before they come,” Klein said. “But I have to talk to them, find out where they’re from, what their interests are, and that’s how I do it.”

Gustin said that a couple students have already approached him with passion pitches; his own ideas vary from inclusivity to a new bowling alley in the basement.

“We’re trying to represent what the administration wants and what the students want,” Gustin said. “We’re trying to empower students to experiment and try things and have their own agency.”

Gustin said that engagement occurs at every level, including in response to his pitch for a new bowling alley. Gustin said that he came up with the idea while Lovett President Chloe Oani was showing him around the basement, and it snowballed from there. According to Gustin, Beth Leaver, operations director from Housing and Dining, told him she overheard students in the Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center talking about the potential Lovett bowling alley.

“In my own sort of creative process, I try to come up with peak experiences, slightly out of the ordinary things to do,” Gustin said. “Crazy, but good crazy.”

Last year, Hanszen College and Sid Richardson College were also both looking for new magisters. According to Klein, they felt a connection to Lovett after being associates there prior to their tenure at Wiess.

Gustin said he feels that Lovett is one of the most engaged colleges at Rice.

“A residential college [is] actually not exactly the best fit for everyone,” Gustin said. “There are some people who think, ‘It's a little too fishbowl-like to me. I don’t want people to know my business so much,’ or whatever. But having said that, as an overall average, there is a very high level of engagement with how the college works [here at Lovett].”

Klein and Gustin said that they believe that the president acts as the head of the college, not the magisters.

"We have a really strong president in Chloe Oani,” Gustin said. “To have such great leadership in college and to come into a situation where you’re warmly welcomed, you can’t ask for more.”

Klein said that she believes the high level of engagement among students is partly because of how the college government is structured.

“What we’re finding is that they have a committee for everything,” Klein said. “Which is great, because everyone's involved.”

Those committees range from social event coordinators to a committee dedicated to maintaining a pile of bananas in their commons. Gustin said that while the magisters are available to help advise and support students, it is the students themselves that drive the emergent culture.

“When you come in as a magister, there's no game plan, there's no manual,” Klein said.

“You're experimenting. And when we got that concept down, we could figure out exactly how we could better support the college.

Editor-in-Chief Christina Tan contributed to this article.

Plunkett. Some began to flesh out the college’s social media presence, creating an Instagram page, website and Minecraft server.

Inspired by upcoming Orientation Week, the students imagined McPlunkett’s version of the tradition. Under the theme NO-Week, which Preston suggested because McPlunkett doesn’t actually exist, one student made a McPlunkett O-Week book filled with memes. Using fan art that some of the students had drawn, Pecaut made a McPlunkett NO-Week shirt, which 50 students have already bought.

“It was a creative output for all of us,” Pecaut said. “We were super excited about coming to Rice, but we were just sitting at home, so we put all of our energy into [creating] McPlunkett.”

Although McPlunkett started off as a

joke, some people took it more seriously.

On a Rice confessions Instagram post that was quickly taken down, a Hanszen College freshman said that some people confessed to feeling excluded by the joke. Others thought the idea of McPlunkett disrespected the work that the O-Week coordinators had done to make the new students feel welcome in their real residential colleges.

However, for the students involved in McPlunkett’s creation, the imaginary college has become a way of making friends with freshmen across campus.

Pecaut said that while other New Students were worried about making friends outside of their residential college, she didn’t have that concern because of McPlunkett.

“It was a way for us to connect even though we weren’t in the same residential college,” Pecaut said.

BURNT ENDS ACROSS 1) Neglect diversity 9) Christian of high fashion 10) Adjust the fit of some jeans 11) A mint may freshen it 13) FedEx alternative 14) Londoner’s last letter 15) Part of a Q&A session 17) Gives comfort to 20) Drinks oft served in copper mugs 23) “___ My Ride” 24) Cuba, por ejemplo 25) ___ mate, South American beverage 26) Ben Hur e.g.

27) Variables in Einstein’s famous equation 28) German sounding potato chip brand 29) Cry from a cheerleader 30) Surgery sites: Abbr.

Crossword by Sam Rossum Thresher Staff

DOWN 1) Narc’s accessory 2) Did some digging 3) “Parks and Rec” DJ Crazy __ 4) Prefix with graphy and centrism 5) Loc. for Spokane 6) Controversial “Simpsons” storekeeper 7) Earth, Wind & Fire hit 8) Many mins.

9) Popular anime, for short 12) Historic New Mexico town 16) Honoree for a Vatican basilica 17) Kind of party 18) Resume reviewers 19) Boxing practices 20) Stand-up comic’s need 21) “My Boo” R&B singer 22) Peruvian pack animal 25) Start of a pirate shanty

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

Bolded clues and colored squares correspond to the theme.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 • 7

THE RICE THRESHER

8 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Lana Del Rey’s ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’: Album Review NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL Genre: Alternative / Indie Top Track: ‘THE GREATEST’

KATELYN LANDRY A&E EDITOR

“Hot girl summer” has been eclipsed by sad girl autumn thanks to “Norman Fucking Rockwell,” the sixth studio album by singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. With this project, the New York native composes an ode to the West Coast by not only alluding to locales like Venice and Malibu beaches, but also by adopting elements of surf and folk genres to capture a nostalgic Californian psych-rock sound.

At an hour and seven minutes runtime, “Norman Fucking Rockwell” paints a rose-colored portrait of contemporary Americana with especially poignant reflections on love, loneliness and youth.

Come all you foolish lovers and carefree beach bums, muses and artists alike — Lana Del Rey welcomes you home.

Norman Rockwell, huh? What was it exactly about the prolific American painter that caught Del Rey’s attention and cast Rockwell into the spotlight of her latest project? In an interview with Beats 1

cOURTESY polydor and interscope records

DJ Zane Lowe last year, Del Rey explained, “It’s kind of about this guy who is such a genius artist but he thinks he’s the shit and he knows it and he like won’t shut up talking about it,” Del Rey said. “So often I ended up with these creative types or whatever, and you know, they just go on and on about themselves, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ But there’s a little bit of merit to it also. They are so good.”

As both the title and opening track, “Norman Fucking Rockwell” perfectly captures this blend of exasperation and admiration for pretentious artists. In the first of many lofty chorales, Del Rey sings about the exasperation of dealing with a man who is too absorbed in his own voice to appreciate others’. Del Rey turns the tables with “Mariners Apartment Complex,” one of four singles released last year, and asserts her own validity as an artist and her ability to influence people around her. Rather than look to another, she boldly states, “I’m your man.”

On her third single “Venice Bitch,” Del Rey proclaims that she’s “fresh out of

fucks, forever” and proves it with a nearly 10-minute symphony of psychedelic synths and buzzing electric guitar, making it her longest song to date. The metamorphosis from tender, barely-there melodies to soaring ballads is a prominent stylistic pattern throughout the album and puts Del Rey’s vocal range front and center. Tracks “Cinnamon Girl” and “The Next Best American Record” follow suit, each with their own ethereal harmonies.

This album wouldn’t have Del Rey’s stamp of approval without a few words for the hopeless romantics out there.

Tracks “Love Song” and “Happiness Is a Butterfly” capitalize on romance in a way that Lana Del Rey has utterly mastered over the years. The emotions brought out by this song emerge pure, simple and painful. In layman’s terms, I almost cried on public transportation twice while listening to these songs that so intimately prod at the vulnerability of love and the devastation of yearning. How does one just ask someone to be their “once in a lifetime?” No one but Del Rey may ever know.

Rest assured, not every song on “Norman Fucking Rockwell” is a forlorn love ballad. Despite its title, “Fuck It I Love You” is about Del Rey’s move to California in search of a new perspective on life. “Doin’ Time” also exalts the carefree Californian summertime lifestyle.

The single is Del Rey’s dreamy rendition of punk outfit Sublime’s 1997 track of the same name, which also borrows from a 1935 George and Ira Gershwin show tune “Summertime.” All of the songs share the same opening line — “Summertime and the livin’s easy” — but none convince us of that fact like Del Rey’s. Paired with its music video, which depicts a 50-foot-tall Del Rey stomping around Los Angeles and getting revenge on a cheating boyfriend, this song conjures the quintessential end-of-summer fantasy. On an album full of melancholic crooning, this sunny summertime bop is much needed and appreciated.

The album loses a bit of its charm on “Bartender” and “California.” Their respective choruses lack a certain refinement that would better distinguish them from the rest of the songs on the album. The lyricism is not as poetic and more blunt, signaled by Del Rey’s monotone whispering in place of her usual vocals. While still enjoyable, these songs are a little too bland and homogenous with the rest of the album, making them ultimately forgettable.

With this project, Lana Del Rey asks all the right questions: “Do you want me or do you not? Why wait for the best when I could have you? Is it safe to just be who we are?” The 14 tracks on “Norman Fucking Rockwell” each tread the fine line between hopeless devotion and tenacious independence and collectively emerge as a masterpiece — a golden relfection of modern American musings on love, power and growing up. Rockwell would approve.

KTRU FROM PAGE 1 The station slowly upgraded its antenna over the years, and in 1991 a neighboring station boosted KTRU’s broadcasting power from 650 watts to 50,000 and moved KTRU’s antenna to Humble, Texas. In 2010, Rice administration unexpectedly announced their plans to sell the station’s transmission tower, FM frequency and broadcast license, including call sign, to the University of Houston for $9.5 million.

The sale was closed in May 2011, making Rice radio an internet-only station until October 2015 when KTRU returned to FM under the call sign KBLT-LP. The decision to sell the tower and license was unilateral, with Leebron saying that it was an exception and kept under wraps due to the confidentiality of business dealings. The money from the deal went on to fund Rice Emergency Medical Services initiatives, intramural field lighting and the construction of Seibel Servery.

Many Houston natives have told me that KTRU was what they grew up listening to.

Kaarthika Thakker STATION MANAGER “[KTRU] had no say in the sale and were not able to work with Rice to try to keep our broadcast license with our call letters,” Lorenzen said.

Thakker said that KTRU and its antenna was a central part of the Houston community. In 2000 and 2006, the station was selected by the Houston Press as Houston’s best radio station and had an estimated 24,000-25,000 weekly listeners, according to former station manager Kelsey Yule (Hanszen College ’11). The station’s antenna currently sits atop Rice Stadium and reaches only a five-mile radius — a stark contrast to the extensive broadcast range enjoyed by the station in the ’90s and early 2000s.

“KTRU used to be a bigger deal for the Houston community when we had our old antenna,” Thakker said. “Many Houston natives have told me that KTRU was what they grew up listening to. After the station was sold, they weren’t sure how to continue to listen to KTRU, and — when KTRU came back on air — didn’t know about the new station numbers and call letters.”

After nearly a decade, the station’s historic name finally matches its legal designation once again. Thakker said the change is especially significant for KTRU alumni who were students at the time of the sale nearly 10 years ago.

“We’re hoping to host an alumni event and campus-wide concert later this semester to honor our reacquired call letters later this fall,” Lorenzen said.

THE WEEKLY SCENE

ZINE FEST HOUSTON 2019: ZINE CUISINE

ART LEAGUE HOUSTON EXHIBIT OPENINGS

Get inspired at Houston’s annual Zine Fest, an event dedicated to exposing local creators of zines, comics, other forms of small press and alternative media. In addition to tabling by local artists, the festival will offer food trucks, interactive crafting sessions and artist discussions about the intersection of food and art.

The festival is free and open to the public from 12 - 6 p.m. this Saturday.

SWEET TASTE OF VICTORY: BOOK EVENT

This Saturday, local non-profit gallery Art League Houston is holding opening receptions for three new exhibits: “Maintenance” by local artist Charis Ammon, “Entangled” by Houston-based artist Preetika Rajgariah, and “What Art Can Do: The Collaborative Act of Making” by 2019 Texas Artist of the Year Margarita Cabrera. All receptions are free and open to the public from 6 - 9 p.m.

Rice associate professor of history W. Caleb McDaniel will be reading his new book “Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America” at Brazos Bookstore this Friday. The book tells the story of Henrietta Wood, a woman who escaped slavery and obtained her freedom twice, winning the largest slavery restitution ever awarded by an American court. The book reading is free and open to the public starting at 6:30 p.m.

Lawndale Art Center 4912 Main St.

Art League Houston 1953 Montrose Blvd.

Brazos Bookstore 2421 Bissonnet St.

YOYO’S X BAE For one month only, Yoyo’s Hot Dogs will operate a pop-up shop inside Bae, a novelty ice cream shop in the Bellaire neighborhood. A beloved staple of Rice Village, Yoyo’s serves up hot dogs with a Houston twist that are famous for their crunchy fried onions, sriracha mayonnaise, curry ketchup and more. This promotion is exclusive to Bae’s Houston location and will end on Sept. 24.

Bae 9798 Bellaire Blvd.

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 • 9

HOUSTON-BASED ARTISTS YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO Christina Tan, Editor-in-Chief Out-of-state students, listen up. It’s time to drop the pretensions about New York, halt the nostalgia about Los Angeles and fully embrace your new home — the one and only Houston.

(Dallas kids, there’s no debate here.

Face the truth, Houston is better.)

Large in both population and size, Houston is home to great food, a free sweaty workout in the 100 degree weather and most importantly, talented artists across all musical genres.

See some of my picks below, but know that Houston’s talent pool only continues to grow. (And who does Dallas have again? Demi Lovato. That’s it.)

This article has been condensed for print. For the full version, see online at ricethresher.org.

SONGS ABOUT HOUSTON “I put it down for the 713, and we still got love for the streets” “713” by The Carters “A little vacation, Houstonfornication” “HOUSTONFORNICATION” by Travis Scott “Went to school in the Woodlands, and that made ****** wanna fight me” “TOKYO” by BROCKHAMPTON

Beyonce Knowles-Carter Does she need an introduction? Beyonce — 23time Grammy Award winner and one of the bestselling musical artists of all time — was originally part of Houston-based girl-group Destiny’s Child.

She attended the High School for Performing and Visual Arts before launching her diverse 22-yearlong (and running) musical career, which has spanned genres from pop to R&B to hip-hop. Known for her powerful vocal range and sound coupled with seemingly effortless dance routines, Beyonce remains a powerhouse in the music industry. Her latest work, “The Lion King: A Gift” brings Africabased artists to the forefront of the mainstream music industry.

Megan Thee Stallion Born-and-raised Houstonian Megan Thee Stallion became one of three women on XXL Magazine’s “Freshman List,” an annual list that identifies rising talent in the hip-hop industry. Megan is known for her lascivious lyrics — unafraid to talk about her sexual experiences and desires, Megan has successfully broken into a male-dominated industry with her signature sound and upbeat tracks. She was also the artist who coined the term “hot girl summer,” a phrase that spread throughout Twitter and beyond and inspired her most recent collaboration with fellow rapper Nicki Minaj. Megan is currently studying health administration at Texas Southern University.

Solange Knowles Solange might be known as Beyonce’s little sister, but her musical style has earned her a seat at the table (also the title of her third, critically acclaimed album). Solange’s lilting, dreamy sound contrasts with the pop-heavy influences of her sister and offers appeal to indie and R&B lovers alike. Solange’s latest album, “When I Get Home,” references Houston artists and major streets.

Maxo Kream Maxo Kream, an Alief-Houston native, gained recognition for his 2018 debut album, “Punken,” which established Maxo’s storytelling rap style. His fame has continued to grow with his most recent album, “Brandon Banks,” which scored a “Best New Music” highlight from music critic website Pitchfork. “Brandon Banks” features collaborations from aforementioned Houston artists like Megan Thee Stallion and delves into Maxo’s complicated relationship with his father.

DJ Screw The creator of the iconic “chopped and screwed” style, the late DJ Screw was a hip-hop DJ based in Houston. “Chopped and screwed” music features slowed-down tempos coupled with choppy beats and record scratches. Screw’s influence is pervasive among Houston rappers, such as Travis Scott.

In addition to his music, Screw left an indelible mark on H-Town by opening neighborhood record store Screwed Up Records and Tapes in 1998, now famously known as the Screw Shop.

THE RICE THRESHER

10 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

SPORTS

LETTENBERGER TRAVELS TO WORLD PARA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS Courtesy Brandon martin / rice athletics

Freshman swimmer Ahalya Lettenberger extends her freestyle stroke in the Rice competitive pool. Lettenberger is currently in London to prepare for competition in the World Para Swimming Championships, where she will compete in five different events: the 400 freestyle, the 100 backstroke, the 200 individual medley, the 100 breaststroke and the 100 freestyle.

MADISON BUZZARD SPORTS EDITOR

Earlier this week, freshman swimmer Ahalya Lettenberger traveled to London to prepare for the World Para Swimming Championships, an international competition designed for athletes with disabilities, during which she will compete in five separate events.

“I am so excited to be going and to be representing my country,” Lettenberger said. “There’s really no feeling like it. I’m just living my dream.”

After competing for seven days in London, Lettenberger said she will shift her focus toward qualifying for the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.

Lettenberger is a veteran with regard to international para swimming competitions.

She has already participated in four such contests, including the 2015 Pan-American Para Swimming Championships (where she won a gold medal) and the 2016 Rio Paralympic Swimming Trials.

Lettenberger said her experience in the

But Lettenberger said once a family Pan-American Games was incredible.

“There is no feeling like that, sitting friend advised her to try swimming, her on top of the podium, feeling that you just love affair with the sport grew instantly.

“The first time I jumped in the water won gold for your country,” Lettenberger I just knew I belonged,” Lettenberger said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Born with a musculoskeletal disorder said. “In the water, I feel free. I’m free of my braces, free of my known as arthrogryposis wheelchair.

There’s multiplex congenita, no one staring at me Lettenberger said she for the way I walk. It’s began swimming when In the water, I feel me and the pool. open-field sports became free ... There’s no one just It’s my home.” too challenging.

Alongside her “[The disorder] staring at me for the athletic success, affects me from my hips way I walk. It’s just Lettenberger has down,” Lettenberger me and the pool. It’s demonstrated said. “It causes muscle my home. academic excellence. weakness and joint She was one of only 20 restrictions, so my hips Ahalya Lettenberger are dislocated, my knees MCMURTRY COLLEGE FRESHMAN students nationwide to earn the 2018only bend to about 90 degrees and my ankles don’t move at all.” 2019 Foot Locker Scholar Athlete Award “When I was younger, I used to play for demonstrating excellence in the soccer and softball. But eventually the classroom, in sports and in the community. fields got too big and the people I was Lettenberger said she credits her friends for playing with got too fast, so I realized I enabling her to feel comfortable in school.

“Even though I do look different couldn’t keep up anymore and I had to than everybody else, or I walk a little bit find a different sport.”

differently, I had a really good group of friends growing up that supported me and treated me like everybody else,” Lettenberger said.

According to Lettenberger, she considered several universities. But Lettenberger said a high school friend — junior swimmer Lindsay Mathys — inspired her to become an Owl. “I first came across Rice because my friend Lindsay, who used to swim on the same club team as me back in Chicago, was going to Rice,” Lettenberger said.

“Then I came to visit Rice and I just loved it from the moment I stepped on campus.

I love how there’s such a great balance of athletics and academics.

Lettenberger said she hopes to continue competing in para swimming.

“When I go to paralympic swim meets, I get to be surrounded by other people with physical limitations, who have gone through similar experiences to what I’ve experienced,” Lettenberger said. “I’ve met some of my best friends at these meets, just because we connect on a different level.”

After Army loss, football prepares for Wake Forest ERIC BARBER ASST SPORTS EDITOR

Fresh off their first loss of the season, the football team is looking to rebound for their first win of the season as they face Wake Forest University on Friday night at Rice Stadium. In their first game of the season, the Owls fell to Army West Point by a score of 14-7. The two teams were tied up for a majority of the game, until the Black Knights scored late in the fourth quarter.

Rice had a chance to tie up the contest, but turned the ball over on downs with under two minutes left.

The Owls can take many positives away from the first game. They limited Army West Point to 284 total yards, which is far below Rice’s average yards allowed per game from a season ago, which stood at 446. One of the few negatives on the defensive end of the ball was Army West Point’s ability to put together and score on long drives. Both scoring drives were over 90 yards and 15 plays.

Where Rice struggled was on offense and special teams. While the Owls gained 181 yards on the ground, they struggled through the air with freshman Wiley Green only throwing for 62 yards passing. Despite this disparity in rushing and passing yards, on a critical fourth down and one yard to go toward the end of the game, Rice chose to pass instead of run, ending their hopes of winning the game. Additionally, kicker Will Harrison missed two field goals over the course of the game, one of which would have given the Owls the lead at the time. Bloomgren said he was pleased with graduate student punter Adam Nunez, who placed four punts inside Army’s 20-yard line, but Harrison will need to improve.

“The negative side of special teams [against Army West Point] was the two kicks that we missed,” Bloomgren said.

“They were very costly. One was a chipshot field goal and one was a bit deeper as the result of a successful two-minute drive to end the half. We have to make those.”

Rice and Wake Forest battled last

year with the Owls getting beat solidly by 32 points. Wake Forest comes into the matchup coming off of a win, narrowly defeating Utah State University in their season opener. The Demon Deacons, who play out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finished last season with a record of seven wins and six losses, capping their season off with a win in the Birmingham Bowl against the University of Memphis.

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson signed an eight-year extension this past offseason to stay at the university for the foreseeable future. Clawson’s team is more productive on offense than it is on defense.

Last week against Utah State, Wake Forest put up 596 yards of total offense, but at the same time they allowed Utah State to rack up 579 total yards. According to Bloomgren, Rice’s defense will have to stop Wake Forest’s offense from gaining momentum to slow down the Demon Deacon’s versatile passing and rushing attack.

“It’s an adjustment [compared to Army West Point], when you talk about the fact

[Wake Forest] had 107 snaps [on offense] against Utah State,” Bloomgren said. “It’s the fifth time in the last two years they’ve had over 100 snaps in a game. It will be a challenge for our guys.”

In Rice injury news over the weekend, Bloomgren announced that last season’s breakout running back Juma Otoviano would likely miss the first half of the season.

During the game against Army West Point, graduate student Aston Walter and senior Nahshon Ellerbe handled the vast majority of the carries for the Owls. Ellerbe, who spent most of last season out due to various injuries, finished this past week with 103 yards including a 54-yard touchdown.

Similarly to last week, Rice enters the game as an underdog; according to Bovada, an online sports betting website, Wake Forest is favored by 18. To overcome the odds against a Power Five conference opponent, the Owls will need to improve upon their offensive and special teams efforts. The action kicks off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Rice Stadium.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 • 11

courtesy jon lambert / Rice Athletics

Senior defensive lineman Myles Adams shifts his momentum to tackle Army West Point quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. during Rice’s 7-14 loss at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. Adams recorded four combined tackles and three solo tackles in his debut as Rice’s defensive captain, for which he was selected by his teammates. Adams was the only senior to play defense for Rice against Army.

Leading by example: Adams energizes Owls’ defense DERRICK KAGWANJA THRESHER STAFF

As the summer wanes and the unrelenting Houston sun glares on, Rice football returned to their early season grind during Sunday’s practice. Players ran through various drills and game situation simulations and at the heart of it all was senior defensive lineman Myles Adams. Adams and the team were running situation simulations to improve upon the team’s most recent 14-7 loss to Army West Point.

Following practice, Adams was eager to motivate his team’s continual improvement.

Adams is the captain of the defense and is known by his teammates and coaching staff as a high-energy contributor to the team. Adams said he enjoys enlivening his teammates prior to games in a practice called “Mental Monday,” during which the team makes a game plan.

“We want to read our keys, plan what we are going to do against the offense schemewise,” Adams said. “[Our] offense is doing the same thing, getting their schemes ready.”

Adams said he is confident in his team, and wholeheartedly subscribes to the team’s motto of intellectual brutality. He said that he wants to establish a winning identity and has taken steps both as an individual and as a team player to help the Owls reach their goals. The efforts made by both Adams himself and the team have evidently paid off — from the 2018-2019 season to the 20192020 season, Rice football has moved up nine spots in total team defensive rating among Division I Football Bowl Subivision schools.

“As a player, I know this is my senior season, so I want to be able to show a little more leadership and personal accountability to lead by example,” Adams said. “I [want] people to look at me and say, ‘That’s the standard we want to hold ourselves to and that everybody can buy

STAFF COLUMN

KEEP GREEN AS QB

Rice football fell to Army West Point 14-7 last Friday, but that shouldn’t be a reason for head coach Mike Bloomgren to make a change to the starting quarterback position.

After leaving the status of the position up in the air for nearly the entire offseason, and even stating that he would be willing to open the season playing multiple quarterbacks, Bloomgren named redshirt freshman Wiley Green the opening day starter at last Tuesday’s news conference.

The Bloomgren era is just over a year old, but already quarterback uncertainty has become a staple of his tenure. In Bloomgren’s first season at the helm, he played five different quarterbacks.

Shawn Stankavage, a graduate transfer from Vanderbilt University, opened the 2018 season as the presumed starter. But during the second game of the season, Bloomgren opted to provide then-redshirt junior Jackson Tyner an opportunity to play instead. Although Bloomgren quickly reverted back to Stankavage as the full-time starter, when three blowout losses ensued, Bloomgren put then-redshirt freshman Evan Marshman under center to start against Florida International University — and the team lost 36-17. By week eight of the season, two freshman quarterbacks, Marshman and Wiley Green, rotated starting duties — Marshman started once while Green took the field first in the other three contests.

The quarterback carousel should end this year. While some level of in-team competition is necessary and healthy, especially following a coaching change, playing five quarterbacks in a season should be an anomaly, rather than a pattern. The Owls’ offense needs time to acclimate to a single passer. Green needs to be allowed to have good games, mediocre games and yes, even bad games, without the threat of his swift removal in favor of Marshman, or this year’s resident graduate transfer, Tom Stewart. Green’s

first game this season against Army West Point wasn’t spectacular; he went 7-14 for 62 yards. But he had a nice 38-yard pass to junior Austin Trammell in the second quarter. Was it amazing? No, but was it worthy of an immediate quarterback change? In my opinion, also no. The game was low-scoring and run-dominated; Army West Point had 53 passing yards in comparison to Rice’s 62, while both teams had more than 150 rushing yards, giving some context to Green’s performance.

The nature of the Army West Point game did not allow for a decisive determination on Green’s play, and he has already demonstrated his passing prowess during his three starts last season, throwing for 313 yards against the University of Texas, El Paso, going 21-37 against the University of North Texas and leading the Owls to a win against Old Dominion University. He just needs time to meld with this iteration of the Owls’ offense, creating a cohesive unit. A quarterback is the head of an offense, and if Bloomgren keeps rotating out the head, it will only create chaos, as the Owls struggle to adjust to a new hybrid combination of head and body each week.

And reps on a practice field won’t suffice.

Game experience is necessary for this offense to unify.

Switching out quarterbacks after a poor performance is an easy fix, but a poor one. Development is hard but much more sustainable. Barring a sustained series of awful performances, Bloomgren should show full confidence in his starting quarterback. It will pay dividends in the end.

JOSHUA ANIL THRESHER STAFF BAKER COLLEGE JUNIOR

into that same standard. We need to make sure that we are accountable to ourselves and our brothers [by] focusing on unity and diligence and everything we do.”

Adams had a standout game against Army West Point with three solo tackles and four assisted tackles. In his time at Rice, Adams has shown nothing but improvement. Since his freshman year, he has improved in multiple statistical categories: tackles for loss, assisted tackles and sacks. Adams’ pursuit of personal greatness was demonstrated in his junior season, when he logged 19 total solo tackles.

He is well on pace to surpass that total , as he recorded three tackles in just the first game of the season.

Adams’ presence does not only extend to the opponents he overpowers; it is also felt by his teammates. With each tackle or command he makes on the field, he acts as a summoning beacon for his squad, urging them on to make plays and contribute to the

team unit.

“You know, everyone brings their own juice, each position group is different; we’re all dynamic, but we come together for the whole defensive purpose,” Adams said.

According to head coach Mike Bloomgren, Adams was the driving force behind Rice’s defensive effort against Army West Point.

“His play and his leadership [against Army West Point] was outstanding,” Bloomgren said. “I don’t think he was going to allow anybody to not keep their gloves up and keep swinging.”

Adams said his leadership style is centered more on action than vocalism.

“I’m not really the most rah-rah guy,” Adams said. “When it’s time to talk and it’s time to listen, you know what the role is. We need to make sure that we are focused during the game week and during our preparation so that we make sure that we can prepare to the best of our ability.”

BACKPAGE

12 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

Dear U.S. Department of Agriculture, We highly appreciate the $100,000 grant that the USDA Forest Service gave Rice to replace Hanszen’s “new” wing, built ever so recently in 1957. It’s very exciting that campus will have its first mass timber construction, but with just a little more money, there’s so much we could do. How much wood money would a woodchuck request if a woodchuck could request wood money? Here’s our proposal:

A big treehouse to replace Sid Rich — Tree Million Dollars Ever since the treehouse in the engineering quad was torn down last year, there has been a gap in Rice’s campus. Sid Rich likes to be tall, so why not elevate it even more by putting it on stilts and wrapping it around the tallest tree on campus? Hot water and air conditioning are difficult to build into treehouses, nor can you really add a reliable elevator. But, these amenities don’t always work at Sid Rich either, so it won’t be a problem.

Another opera house, but wooden — One Hundred and Tree Million Dollars When the opera house is finally finished, what will students make small talk about when they walk to and from West Lot? Rice students are far from experts in casual conversation, but at least they get to guess construction timelines and discuss the whopping eight-figure price tag of the project to fill the long, awkward silence they face when accessing the most popular parking lot on campus. Some options to fix this would be to improve the average social skills of the student body, and another might be to have more affordable parking spots closer to dorms, but the most feasible solution by far is to just build a second opera house when this one is done. Sure, no one would really want it, but who’s all that enthusiastic about the first one regardless?

An orchard of lime, black cherry and mango trees — Fifty-Tree Thousand Dollars College kids love to consume spiked seltzers. Rice is already a designated arboretum, so it makes perfect sense to expand our tree-filled campus with an orchard to grow the fruit central to the top three White Claw flavors. While some students may push for grapefruit trees or raspberry bushes, they will not be rewarded for their poor taste, as these are definitively worse flavors.

A wooden dome to go over the inflatable dome – Tree Hundred Thousand Dollars (plus $150,000 a year for “deflating” and “inflating” the structure) Many students aren’t fans of Rice Athletics’ impending inflatable dome in the middle of the bike track. A sleek wooden dome cover for the inflatable dome won’t resolve most — or any — complaints, but it’ll be more aesthetically pleasing than the currently planned multi-million dollar tribute to the Michelin Man. Of course, we need the bike track for Beer Bike and practices. So, just as the dome is deflated, the wooden dome will be torn down and rebuilt every year. The high annual cost associated with this is largely due to a mandatory concert by Ke$ha and Pitbull in which they repeatedly perform their hit “Tinder” to gain student support for the entire process, since garnering student support based on athletics alone is unlikely.

Wooden window replacements for Jones College — Tree Hundred Dollars This past weekend Jones College broke a window for the second time in less than two weeks, so they’ve lost window privileges. All their windows will be replaced with wooden slabs that have a dual function.

They can also serve as the only surfaces that students may touch during Baker 13, since the watered-down current version of Baker 13 rules will surely kill the tradition.

The Backpage is satire, written by Simona “no laws when drinking Claws” Matovic and designed by Simona “no rulies when drinking Trulies” Matovic. For comments or questions, please email JamesJoyce LovesFarts@rice.edu.

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