The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, September 11, 2019

VOLUME 104, ISSUE NO. 3 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Channing Wang / THRESHER

Faculty, students reflect on Texas shootings RYND MORGAN ASST NEWS EDITOR

Exactly one month after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, and three days after the shooting in the Midland-Odessa community in West Texas, members of the Rice community met in the Grand Hall of the Rice Memorial Center for a panel discussion and vigil in an event called “Reflections on El Paso: A Time for Unity.”

During the panel discussion, Emani Brown, a student from El Paso, said that she could remember the exact moment when she first heard that there was an active shooter, while she was at her internship in Connecticut.

“I remember feeling so much fear, I called my mom immediately. My mom’s cousin was inside that Walmart an hour before the shooting. My aunt and her grandson were on lockdown at the dentist’s office,” Brown, a Jones College junior, said.

Jenifer Bratter, associate professor of sociology, said that one of the most

humbling aspects of the shooting in Indigenous scholars to discuss the El Paso was that it, like many recent issues, the symptoms, the causes and the shootings, took place in a space typically effects of the logic of white supremacy. deemed safe. She “Being with this also said that she community in this felt a connection to particular moment the victims. is what stopped “When this When this shooting me from breaking shooting occurred, down right then occurred, I pored over I pored over the and there,” biographies of the biographies of the Martinez said. the victims and I victims and I saw people Brown said that saw people that I that I knew even though the shooting in El knew even though Paso affected her I didn’t know them.

I didn’t know differently than them,” Bratter said. Jenifer Bratter other shootings “We need to see because it ourselves in every ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY happened in her victim.” hometown.

Sophia Martinez, a graduate student “I guess I didn’t realize what it would in the English department from El Paso, be like when it hit so close to home,” said that when she found out about Brown said. “And I can tell you that it’s the shooting, she was participating in been mentally draining, every single a workshop hosted by Jose Aranda, day. The energy that it has sucked out of an associate professor of Chicanx and me has been incredible, and I’m trying American literature, working with a to heal.” community of Chicanx, Latinx and Professor Luis Duno-Gottberg of the

Owls’ moonshot: Beat UT JOSHUA ANIL THRESHER STAFF

In 1962, during his famous “We choose to go to the moon” speech at Rice Stadium, President John F. Kennedy posed a question to the audience.

“Why does Rice play Texas?”

Kennedy said.

At the time, Rice football had beaten the University of Texas, Austin on five occasions in the previous 10 years. But when the Owls gear up to face UT on Saturday night at NRG Stadium, they will be attempting to dramatically reverse the two teams’ recent competitive history.

The last time Rice football beat Texas, most of the Rice undergraduate

population was not yet alive. In 1994, the Owls pulled out a 19-17 win, their first against UT since 1965. Since that 1994 game, the Owls and Longhorns have faced off 13 times, with the Longhorns winning all 13 contests.

But this losing trend is not a recent phenomenon. Rice and UT have been playing each other for over a century, with the first game coming in 1914 — a 41-0 shutout victory for the Longhorns.

Since then, the two teams have played 94 times, with Texas leading the series 72-21-1. The two teams will match up again Saturday, as Rice tries to avoid starting its season 0-3 after having already lost to Army West Point and Wake Forest University.

SEE UT

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Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies department said that Rice, as a university environment, could play a role in activism and prevention.

“Universities are places that are devoted to the production of knowledge and to research,” Duno-Gottberg said. “I think we have to teach more, we have to research more and we have to think also about our teaching and research mission beyond the classroom and branch out into the public sphere.”

Bratter also said that the university environment nurtures critical thought, but often remains in the abstract.

“We are very fortunate to be in one of the most diverse cities in the country,” Bratter said. “I think one of the ways we get to know each other is to get to know more than each other, which is to branch out into the community that is literally across the street, and down the block, and on the light rail, and in the north side, and in Fifth Ward, and in Third Ward and all over — because those are our people too.”

SEE EL PASO PAGE 2

Black at Rice: Drew Carter IVANKA PEREZ FEATURES EDITOR

Until Senior Night for his high school’s varsity soccer team, Drew Carter didn’t know whether he was going to college.

He’d just been given a yellow card from the referee and was sent to the sidelines, furious, when he checked his phone. His screen displayed an email from Questbridge with the message: “Congratulations! You’re a national college match finalist.”

When Carter saw the message, he burst into tears. He was surrounded by his loved ones, his grandparents were there with him, his team was cheering for him and he’d called his mom before the game even finished.

“To share that moment with them meant a lot to me,” Carter, a Jones College sophomore, said.

Carter credits his family for shaping him into the person he is today.

“So many of the profound lessons I’ve learned, some of the things we call each other intellectuals for, are things my mother was already passing on to me,” Carter said.

Carter’s grandparents also had a profound impact on his life. When he was a kid, Carter used to tag along on his grandfather’s jobs installing carpet in some of the most important buildings in Washington D.C. — the Capitol, the Pentagon and the White House. When he wasn’t accompanying SEE BLACK

AT RICE PAGE 6

THE RICE THRESHER

2 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

NEWS

Fencing blocks students from South Lot, Seibel Servery

SAMMI JOHNSON SENIOR WRITER

A chain-link fence was placed around the construction site for new Sid Richardson College on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 3, blocking off direct student access to large portions of South Colleges Residents Lot. Students were not informed about the installation of the fence, leading to student complaints about access to Seibel Servery and to the Will Rice College magisters’ house. According to Juliette Richert, Will Rice president, student leadership was aware there would be fencing, but students

ILLUSTRATION BY GUANGYU XU

were not informed when the fence would be up.

“We knew there would be some sort of fencing [put up to keep] the construction in, we just didn’t know when,” Richert, a senior, said. “We didn’t realize the extent of how much that would impact students trying to access the South Lot and the [magisters’ house].”

Kathy Jones, associate vice president for facilities engineering and planning, said fencing will remain in place until October or November 2020, when the construction of the new Sid Rich building is completed.

Jones said about 100 parking spaces, including two designated handicapped

The Hoot adjusts menu, expands hours

Channing Wang / THRESHER

The Hoot has started to serve Smashburger chicken sandwiches instead of Chick-fil-A.

RYND MORGAN ASST NEWS EDITOR

The Hoot has undergone two major changes this semester, expanding their operating hours to Fridays and Saturdays and adding a chicken sandwich from Smashburger to their menu. The addition came after The Hoot announced last semester that they would be discontinuing the sale of menu items from Chick-fil-A. The Smashburger chicken sandwich, priced at $4.50 compared to the regular Chick-fil-a sandwich priced at $4 (the spicy chicken sandwich was $4.50), is the only menu item from Smashburger currently offered. Other vendors, such as Domino’s Pizza and Whataburger, have remained the same. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is now available on weeknights as well as Sundays.

In previous years, The Hoot served regular chicken sandwiches, spicy chicken sandwiches and chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A, along with their accompanying sauces, according to their website, which has not yet been updated to reflect the menu changes. The chicken sandwich is the first menu item offered from Smashburger.

According to a Facebook post The Hoot

made in April announcing the change, the business said that the change was based on a disagreement between The Hoot’s values and those expressed by Chick-fil-A. “We will work to have many replacements to ensure that The Hoot still has a variety of options,” The Hoot’s Facebook post said.

General manager Janani Velchamy told the Thresher in April that The Hoot would replace its Chick-fil-A offerings with more diverse options, including fresh and healthy food.

Lucas Lemonholm, a Hanszen College sophomore, said that he supported the changes to the menu.

“As someone affected by anti-LBGTQ+ organizations, I always felt awkward going to The Hoot when they served Chick-fil-A,” Lemonholm said. “I hope The Hoot keeps that energy for the less iconic but similarly bigoted and damaging businesses they patronize like Cane’s and Domino’s.”

The Hoot, which reopened on Sept.

3, is now also open seven days a week, according to the business’s Facebook page.

The Hoot is now open on Fridays from 7:30 - 9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Previously, it had been open only from Sunday - Thursday, according to The Hoot’s website.

parking spots, in South Lot were fenced off because they were either in the area of the construction site or they were located in spaces where construction vehicles need to drive.

Rice Emergency Medical Services and the Rice University Police Department were aware of the fence prior to its being set up, according to Clemente Rodriguez, RUPD captain, and Lisa Basgall, REMS director.

While the fencing interferes with parking behind Seibel Servery, Rodriguez said that RUPD does not anticipate any significant impact on emergency vehicle response times.

“It really depends on the nature of the call and what part of the college they are responding to, but officers responding in emergency vehicles have the discretion to park as close to the building as necessary,” Rodriguez said. “They will use the roadways and parking areas remaining around both colleges as they see fit.”

According to Basgall, REMS was informed by FE&P project managers of the construction and was provided with maps of the road closure. Basgall said the REMS team planned alternative routes to respond and park.

Richert said students were not provided with a detailed map of the barrier and had to walk around Sid Rich to access the Will Rice magisters’ house. After Richert contacted FE&P to request easier access to the magisters’ house, a grove-side entrance to the magisters’ house was created. The new Will Rice magisters’ house remains under construction and upon completion, the current house will be demolished.

Richert said that before the groveside entrance was created, it would EL PASO FROM PAGE 1 Duno-Gottberg said that he would like to urge people to interpret the frequency of mass shootings both along the lines of a public health emergency and as a cultural crisis.

“Let’s denounce hatred when we see it and let’s vote as if our life depended on it,” Duno-Gottberg said.

Martinez said that it is important to provide financial support for organizations that prevent violence and provide resources. She also said that the causes of mass shootings are complex and deeply rooted.

“It doesn’t stop at just mental illness or gun control. It’s much deeper and older and scarier than that,” Martinez said.

Richard Tapia, a professor in the department of computational and applied mathematics, said that President Donald Trump’s words encourage other people to act on their racism and said that the second amendment is “totally outdated.”

“Trump has a dark spot in his heart, for [Latinx people] in general, and for Mexicans in particular,” Tapia said. “He must be judged by his acts of cruelty, hatred and inhumanity to our people.”

Dena Marks, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that hate speech should be reported.

“If you see something that is hateful, if you see something that bothers you, that portends violence, that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, report it to law enforcement, and report it to ADL,” Marks said.

Regarding the anti-immigrant posters that were recently found on campus, Bratter said that although Rice is typically an inclusive environment, threats need to be taken seriously.

“I feel very fortunate to work in a place where I see that culture [of inclusion] spread throughout. When we see those posters we see that it’s such an extreme

take students five or 10 minutes to walk to the magisters’ house as opposed to approximately two minutes.

“We hold our Diet, [which are] our student government meetings, there every other week and they have other events,” Richert said. “It’s just a nuisance and a bigger issue of students needing easy access to the magisters for an emergency.”

The structure of the fence keeps changing so I don’t know where I can go and which parts are blocked off.

Charlotte Hirsch SID RICH COLLEGE SOPHOMORE According to Jones, the fencing will require normal pedestrian traffic to adjust but will keep students and others safe during the construction occurring over the next 14 months.

Sid Rich sophomore Charlotte Hirsch said the fencing has been very inconvenient and cumbersome.

“The structure of the fence keeps changing so I don’t know where I can go and which parts are blocked off,” Hirsch said. “Now, the entire right side is blocked off, so I had to go all the way around to get to the other entrance [of Seibel Servery], and I hate the inconvenience.”

Jones said that while construction is disruptive in the short-term, she believes the construction will benefit both Sidizens and Rice students overall in the long term. exception, we say that ‘Well, this isn’t Rice, this isn’t here,’ but we need to take it seriously,” Bratter said.

Brown said that the increase in mass shootings has nothing to do with immigrants, and has everything to do with nationalism, xenophobia and guns.

“As you reflect on the tragedy that occured in my hometown, you must be cognizant that this is a nationwide issue,” Brown said. “We cannot continue in the direction we are headed in as a nation.”

After the panel discussion, a moment of silence was held, and Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice Co-President Laura Vargas Infante read out the names of the victims of the El Paso shooting. Then, Black Student Association President Drew Carter, a Jones College sophomore, read out the names of the victims of the shootings in Dayton and Odessa-Midland.

Houston Poet Laureate Leslie Contreras Schwartz (Hanszen College ’02) read a poem that she wrote specifically for the vigil, incorporating lyrics from the song “Paloma Negra” into the poem. The event concluded with a performance by Mariachi Luna Llena, Rice’s own mariachi band.

Brown said she thought that most people at Rice take the time to make others feel comfortable and included, and that she was grateful for the turnout at the event.

“Seeing all these faces means the world to me, I don’t think I can even put it [into] words,” Brown said. “We just need to keep going in the direction we’re going.”

Tapia said that while Rice students have improved their engagement and activism since the 1970s, it is important to continue that engagement.

“You have to say, ‘In my heart, I care about these things, and I’m gonna demonstrate it,’” Tapia said. “You can’t use the excuse, ‘I’m too busy, I’m too busy.’”

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 • 3

Rice falls to No. 17 in 2020 US News rankings Rice’s U.S. News Ranking 14

rank

15 16 17 18

2016

2017 2018 ranking year

2019

2020 INFOGRAPHIC BY TINA LIU

RISHAB RAMAPRIYAN NEWS EDITOR

Rice dropped a place in the recently released 2020 U.S. News & World Report National Universities rankings, tying with Cornell University at No. 17. Last year, Rice was tied with Cornell at No. 16 and the previous year Rice was in a four-way tie for No. 14.

According to the Office of Public Affairs, Rice has placed in the top 20 national universities since 1988, when it first appeared on the list. Rice ranked No. 8 this year for “Best Undergraduate Teaching,” keeping consistent with last year’s ranking when Rice had dropped from No. 3 in this category. Rice also placed No. 6 for least debt after graduation.

President David Leebron said that changes in the U.S. News rankings methodology and ranking factors may have impacted Rice’s placement.

“Rice’s rankings over the past 10 years have varied between 14 and 19; small changes are common, especially when there is a change in methodology,” Leebron said. “We were pleased to go up in some categories, including reputation.”

According to an article released by U.S. News’s data analysts, the 2020 rankings place a larger focus on outcome metrics such as graduation rates, retention rates and social mobility indicators. For example, U.S. News added the proportion of students who are first-generation college students to the graduate rate performance calculations.

“In effect, this [gives] schools more credit for their graduation rates when accomplished

with higher proportions of [first-generation] students,” the U.S. News analysts wrote.

“Economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college, even when controlling for other characteristics.”

Rice ranked No. 204 nationwide for Top Performers in Social Mobility. The U.S. News analysts said that while the social mobility rank’s underlying data, such as the six-year graduation rate for students awarded Pell Grants, affects Rice’s national ranking, the social mobility rank itself does not directly factor into overall rankings.

“We do know that this year’s rankings had some significant changes in the methodology that were adverse to Rice,” Leebron said. “We don’t know about such methodology changes until after the rankings have been released, so we can’t anticipate them.”

Last year, U.S. News also eliminated the acceptance rate as a factor in ranking, focusing instead on the academic statistics of the entering class. Additional changes included the removal of high school counselor opinions and changes to calculation of graduation and retention rates and faculty compensation.

This year’s matriculating class is the most selective in Rice’s history, and last year Leebron rolled out an expanded financial aid program, the Rice Investment. However, Leebron said these changes were not yet acknowledged in this year’s rankings.

“The increased selectivity and the financial aid program would not be factored into this year’s rankings, to the extent they are relevant to the U.S. News rankings and it’s not clear they are,” Leebron said.

New Hanszen College dorm will begin construction in 2021 AMY QIN NEWS EDITOR

Construction of a new five-story Hanszen College dormitory made out of mass timber will begin in 2021, according to Mark Ditman, the associate vice president of Housing and Dining, and Anzie Gilmore, the assistant director for project management and engineering.

Early in August, according to the Houston Chronicle, Rice won a $100,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture to construct a building out of mass timber, a type of wooden construction material more environmentally friendly than traditional concrete or steel.

Ditman said the $100,000 grant from the USDA will only cover a “minimal” portion of the construction costs. According to the USDA website about the grant program, one of the goals of the grant is to help offset barriers unique to a mass timber construction project.

“It’s covered soft costs and the educational component,” Gilmore said. “It’s going to support things that maybe we wouldn’t necessarily have in a project budget, like educating our maintenance staff on taking care of [the building].”

The new building will replace Hanszen’s current New Section dorm. According to Ditman, the mass timber project was originally meant to be the new Sid Richardson College building, but the height of such a building would exceed current building codes for mass timber projects.

“The replacement for Hanszen would be a maximum of five stories, [which] fits within building code,” Ditman said. “We love both Sid and Hanszen. Hanszen just got lucky, I guess you can say.”

Gilmore said the construction of the dorm is projected to begin in 2021 but depends on the timeline of the Sid Rich construction.

Once the new Sid Rich building is completed, residents of Hanszen New Section will live temporarily in the old Sid Richardson building. Although the design period for the mass timber building will be longer than traditional construction projects, the construction process should be shorter, according to Gilmore.

Hanszen has faced a slew of maintenance and quality concerns in past years, and last year 17 beds remained open after the spring room draw.

“Hanszen has been quite vocal about the disparities in housing across campus for a

long time now, so it is quite exciting to be on the road to getting a new building,” Landon Mabe, Hanszen president, said.

Mabe said a committee of Hanszenites has regularly met with H&D to discuss their visions for a building that would be compatible with Hanszen’s culture. “[It should be] accessible, because Hanszen now does not have an elevator in either dorm building and we do not want anyone to not placed at Hanszen because they are unable to use stairs,” Mabe, a senior, said. “[It should be] attractive to upperclassmen because we have had a pattern the past couple years of a significant number of people going [off campus]. Finally, we want people to make use of our great commons and to interact with one another and not just their roommates.”

PHOTO COURTESY RICE NEWS

Vasallo (left), Pope (right) and their architecture students constructed a model of a mass timber structure for Detroit’s Corktown district.

Hanszen has been quite vocal about the disparities in housing ... it is quite exciting to be on the road to getting a new building.

Landon Mabe HANSZEN COLLEGE PRESIDENT Ditman said the cost per square foot of the new Hanszen dorm is projected to be similar to the cost per square foot of the new Sid Rich building, although the exact figure has not yet been determined.

Ditman said that mass timber construction offers a range of environmental, economic and practical benefits.

“If you believe in the effects of atmospheric carbon, [this building] is a carbon sink,” Ditman said. “If you’re capitalist and you want to encourage employment and industry, the timber industry in East Texas and Louisiana stands to benefit from this sort of construction ... And if there’s a building that’s going up next to you, the building technique is quicker and quieter than traditional construction.”

Susann Glenn, director of communications for the administration, said the innovative design of the new building will benefit the wellbeing of its student inhabitants.

“We learned while we were writing this grant that people spend 95 percent of their time indoors,” Glenn said. “And so we [want

to create] spaces that make people feel better inside, that allow natural light to permeate the space [and] that take into consideration local, natural, native materials that aren’t contributing to allergen issues that people may have.”

Jesus Vassallo, a professor in the School of Architecture and a longtime expert on mass timber construction, will serve as a consultant on the Hanszen project along with Albert Pope, another professor in the School of Architecture. He said mass timber usually creates a superior internal structure and environment.

“The first projects that were built in mass timber were completely [covered on the inside] with drywall, because developers were afraid that people would not want to be in a wood building [and] be scared that it would catch fire,” Vassallo said.

“The actuality was that people love to leave as much of the wood exposed. As a construction material, it has an impact on the environmental quality of spaces.”

Vassallo said the architecture community is broadly supportive of mass timber buildings, which he said have the ability to absorb and expel humidity.

“It poses a series of environmental and economic advantages, and it also poses the possibility [of increasing] construction quality as a whole,” Vassallo said. “No one in architecture is against mass timber construction. It seems to be a no-brainer.”

Along with Vassallo and Pope, others with expertise in mass timber construction,

specifically a Berlin-based design architect and the project contractor, will advise the process of designing the building, according to Gilmore.

“It’s not their first rodeo,” Gilmore said. “They have ... reached out to the manufacturers and fabricators who build [mass timber] in other places to come up with a budget for the project. It will be educational for all of us.”

Once completed, the new Hanszen building will also serve as a teaching tool about mass timber construction, still a relatively new realm of architecture, according to Ditman.

Vassallo said he hopes the construction of the new Hanszen dormitory will spur an increased regional interest in other mass timber projects, especially because Houston is a major city strategically located near a large yellow pine forest in Louisiana and eastern Texas.

“I think the building would be a catalyst for a wave of mass timber projects that will happen very quickly, immediately after,” Vassallo said. “If you trace the history of the expansion of mass timber, [it always starts in] places with a very strong forestry business.”

According to Ditman, Rice owns 70,000 acres of lumber properties in Louisiana as part of its endowment, a fact that Vassallo said could bode well for future university construction projects.

“It could actually be poetically quite beautiful if the university could grow its own buildings,” Vassallo said.

NEWS

4 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

N THE RADAR

James A. Baker III Hall

RICE CHORALE, IN MEMORIAM: 9/11/2001 The Rice Chorale is commemorating Sept. 11 with a free concert at the Alice Pratt Brown Hall. The concert is open to the public and features Schubert “Mass in G Major, D. 167” and Schubert Lieder including “Frühlingsglaube,” “Du bist die Ruh,” “Litanei,” “Seligkeit” and more.

Wednesday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m. // Stude Concert Hall

A CONVERSATION WITH ANDREW PEEK Baker Institute Student Forum is hosting a conversation with Andrew Peek, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq, Iran and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Peek’s writing has been published in Foreign Affairs and The Wall Street Journal, among other outlets, and he has appeared regularly to discuss foreign policy issues on television. RSVP to the event to secure your seat.

Monday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m. // Baker Institute Third Floor Conference Room

“THE LEGACY OF JFK AND THE APOLLO PROGRAM” History professor Douglas Brinkley will lead a discussion on the legacy of John F. Kennedy’s vision, hosted by the Rice Space Institute. In this 50th anniversary year of the first moon landing and on the 57th anniversary of JFK’s speech at Rice, the discussion will examine the impact of the Apollo program and look to the future with some modern day Moonshots.

Thursday, Sept. 12, 5 - 9:30 p.m. // James A. Baker III Hall

SCREW YER ROOMMATE The annual Rice tradition has come again. Set your roommate up for a blind date, decide on a couples’ costume and find your other half in the quad before heading to dinner. In the event of rain, the location will be moved from the Academic Quad.

Friday, Sept. 13, 5 p.m. // Academic Quad

Leebron shares slavery task force progress at Senate

HAIMING Wang / THRESHER

Leebron answers questions regarding the task force on slavery, segregation and racial injustice at the Student Association Senate meeting.

SAVANNAH KUCHAR ASST NEWS EDITOR

In an email sent out to the Rice community, President David Leebron and Interim Provost Seiichi Matsuda gave an update on the task force on slavery, segregation and racial injustice, including the expected budget, timline and the new co-chairs, professors Alexander X. Byrd and Caleb McDaniel.

“Both Professor Byrd and Professor McDaniel are historians and recognized experts on African American history and the history of American slavery,” Leebron and Matsuda wrote. “Professors Byrd and McDaniel will be working with us to appoint the membership of the task force within the next five or six weeks.”

Following this news, Leebron spoke to

students at the Student Association Senate this past Monday, where he elaborated on the information in the email, then took audience and anonymous questions.

During the SA Senate meeting, Leebron said that the main purposes of the task force are historical analysis, creating conversation on campus and informing the university on the next steps.

“What’s important is the work initially is focused on the historical aspect,” Leebron said. “Once that work is complete, it’s up to the task force to organize it and to make suggestions about how we might move forward.”

Drew Carter, Jones College SA senator, said that he is concerned with ensuring the task force is effective and addresses current campus issues.

“I think the most important thing is ultimately we can reflect on our past and it’s really important that we bring to light some of the things that have been suppressed about Rice’s history,” Carter, a sophomore, said. “But there are a lot of students that need change now, there are a lot of Black students that really could use an outreaching arm, and I think this task force has the potential to do that. I’m more so challenging to make sure it does do that.”

In the recent email, Leebron and Matsuda wrote that the task force would release a preliminary report after two years. During the SA Senate meeting, students asked about the reasoning behind this timeline, and in response, Leebron said that the two-year time period will give the task force enough time to perform research into Rice’s past.

“This is a historical examination,” Leebron said. “It takes time to get started, it takes time to go to the archives.”

Leebron said at the SA Senate meeting that the co-chairs were directly appointed by him, but that he consulted different people across campus and looked at the structure of task forces at other universities.

According to Leebron, Byrd and McDaniel will largely decide the structure of the task force. Leebron said he expects that the Rice community will be made aware of the composition of the task force, including which students were selected to be a part of it, in about a month.

“Once the task force has been appointed, we will make an announcement of its membership to the Rice community,” Leebron and Matsuda wrote. “The task force will function independently under the leadership of the co-chairs.”

In the email, Leebron and Matsuda wrote that they had already received feedback following the initial email announcing the creation of the task force. At the meeting, Leebron said they kept all of this feedback and will make sure that Byrd and McDaniel receive all of it.

According to Grace Wickerson, SA president, Leebron reached out to them about speaking at the meeting in order to engage with the students there. Wickerson said they think the task force is a good step for the university to take following the discovery of racist images in the Campanile last semester.

“I personally feel like the goals are basically to spend a lot of time doing historical research, and I think that’s necessary because I know that there’s bits and pieces of racism in Rice’s history that we understand, but we don’t understand the full story or aren’t as open about the whole story,” Wickerson said.

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THE RICE THRESHER

5 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

OPINION LETTER TO THE EDITOR

There’s more to Rice than its admission rate It’s not news that Rice admitted its most selective class to date. It’s not news because a) everyone knows it by now and b) it literally is not newsworthy material.

The front page of the first Thresher issue published this academic year rehashed the news with “The 8.7%” printed in huge type above the fold.

Meanwhile, cut off from the front page, the article pays lip service to increased socioeconomic diversity and accessibility. This is a dangerous rhetorical move. By headlining “The 8.7%” this article presents the rate itself as Rice’s big accomplishment. In other words, the article suggested Rice should be proud not because it admitted talented students, but because it rejected more people than ever before.

As admission to Rice becomes more competitive, it’s tempting to revel in our selectivity. After all, if we made

it in, we must be special. We must be better than the people who got rejected, right? But this mindset makes “success”

If we encourage Rice students to think of success only as a comparison, it won’t be long until Rice students no longer support each other and instead see everyone else as a threat. contingent on the failure of others. It encourages constant comparison and perpetuates elitism, both of which harm the cooperative culture at Rice. We

STAFF EDITORIAL

Take rankings with grain of salt

already have problems with imposter syndrome and poor mental health on campus. If we encourage Rice students to think of success only as a comparison, it won’t be long until Rice students no longer support each other and instead see everyone else as a threat.

Emphasizing the 8.7 percent only furthers the toxic numbers game that dominates the college application process. It tells our incoming students that their value comes from being somehow better than the nearly 25,000 students not admitted. Touting the 8.7 percent contributes to the idea that being rejected from a college is personal.

Yet, in reality, being admitted to Rice doesn’t make one better than another who got rejected. At a certain point, college admissions decisions become arbitrary — for every student accepted to Rice, there were likely two deserving

candidates who weren’t. Admission just means you were particularly lucky.

Rice is not a quality institution simply for having a single-digit acceptance rate.

It’s a quality institution for its diversity, innovation and community values. It’s up to the current students to support and celebrate each other; that starts with how we welcome our incoming class. Our student media has a responsibility to dismantle toxic mindsets, not participate in them. I encourage the Thresher and administration to facilitate a healthier way to view success; selectivity has nothing to do with it.

GENNIFER GEER

MCMURTRY COLLEGE SENIOR

EDITORIAL CARTOON

With the recent precipitous drops solely on them to tell us what we need in acceptance rates at Rice, students, to improve upon. For example, Rice including ourselves, began to wonder ranks No. 1 in the Princeton Review’s — how will this affect our rankings? As Race/Class Interaction, but No. 204 in much as we claim to not care about how U.S. News for Top Performers in Social we’re ranked, it doesn’t stop us from Mobility, highlighting a weak area for sharing the latest Niche or Princeton the school amid Rice’s many initiatives Review ranking (especially if it makes toward accessibility and inclusivity.

While rankings can’t tell us the us look good).

The Thresher has been more than whole story, student experiences and the statistics guilty of analyzing that impact Rice’s rankings; the those everyday recent U.S. News and experiences can.

World Report ranking There’s always room We often praise of Rice as No. 17 in Best for improvement – but ourselves for National Universities diversity due to is no exception. While we already knew that the lack of a clear we aim to provide without being told by racial majority in thorough and critical an outside ranking that our undergraduate analyses of what population, but these rankings mean paints an incomplete Black students or don’t mean to the picture based on trivial make up only 7 campus, even we factors. percent of our often fall in the trap student body. of overstating their And although the University of Texas, importance.

While these reactions are typical, Austin might rank higher than Rice in we want to warn the Rice community U.S. News’s Best Engineering Programs, and especially the administration of that doesn’t mean we need to panic overvaluing the impact of rankings. A and dump millions into reforming our drop in the U.S. News rankings could be computer science program. Rather than due to a vast number of possible factors, focus improvement initiatives on ways to some of which are out of our control raise our rankings, we need to talk about or tied to archaic standards that do improving what our students care about.

There’s always room for improvement not best reflect the quality of a school.

For example, 5 percent of the ranking — but we already knew that without system is attributed to alumni gifts — the being told by an outside ranking that average percentage of living alumni with paints an incomplete picture based on bachelor’s degrees who gave to their trivial factors. Rather than listening to U.S. News, we can learn by focusing on school over the past two years.

Rankings can be useful to indicate us, our values and the statistics that we problem areas, even if we can’t rely want to matter.

ILLUSTRATION BY YIFEI ZHANG

STAFF Emily Christina Abdow* Tan* &Editor-in-Chief Andrew Grottkau* Editors-in-Chief Anna Ta* Managing Editor NEWS NEWS Anna Rishab Ta* Ramapriyan* Editor Editor Rishab Amy Qin* Ramapriyan Editor Asst. Editor Amy RyndQin Morgan Asst. Asst.

EditorEditor Savannah Kuchar Asst. Editor SPOTLIGHT Ella FEATURES Feldman* Editor Ivanka Ivanka Perez Perez*Asst.

Editor Editor SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Michael Katelyn Byrnes* Landry* Editor Editor Madison Buzzard Asst. Editor OPINION OPINIONS Elizabeth Hergert* Editor Eric Stone* Editor

ARTS SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT Christina Michael Byrnes Tan* Editor Editor& Designer Katelyn MadisonLandry Buzzard* Asst.

Editor Editor Eric Barber Asst. Editor BACKPAGE Simona BACKPAGE Matovic Editor & Designer Simona Matovic Editor & Designer PHOTO Charlene PHOTO Pan Editor Sirui Channing Zhou Wang EditorEditor COPY COPY Vi Vi Burgess Burgess Editor Editor Bhavya Bhavya Gopinath Gopinath Editor Editor Phillip Jaffe Senior Editor ONLINE Ryan Green Digital Content Editor Charlie Paul Web Editor Nick McMillan Video Editor

ONLINE DESIGN Ryan Green Web Editor Sydney Garrett Director Priyansh Lunia Video Editor Sumin Hwang News Designer Jennifer Fu Features Designer DESIGN Tina Liu Sports Designer Tina Liu* Director Dalia Gulca Opinions Designer Dalia Gulca Esther Tang Designer Illustrator BUSINESS OPERATIONS OPERATIONS BUSINESS Karoline Sun Business Manager Manager Mai Ton Social Media/Marketing Lindsay Gandara Josephs Ads ManagerManager Isabella Distribution Mai Ton Social Media/Marketing Karoline Sun Business Manager Manager Jackson Stiles Distribution Manager Prad Biswas Advertising Manager Dylan Morgan Office Manager *Editorial Board Board member member *Editorial

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THE RICE THRESHER

6 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

FEATURES

CHANNING WANG / THRESHER

BLACK AT RICE FROM PAGE 1 his grandfather on jobs, he was solving puzzles and playing Scrabble with his grandmother.

“I have one of the closest families [of anyone] I’ve ever met,” Carter said. “My cousins are like siblings. My aunts are like second mothers.”

Although growing up in a lowincome household forced him to take on responsibilities that others didn’t have to, Carter said he learned to appreciate the lessons it taught him. Being a Black, firstgeneration, low-income student continued to pose challenges when Carter began

applying to college.

“In certain microcosms of the Black community, [there are] stigmas when it comes to education,” Carter said. “An education is sometimes looked [at] as something reserved for White people.”

But the challenges didn’t stop once Carter got into college. When he arrived at Rice, he began to feel lost in the community.

“It was a huge culture shock,” Carter said. “I had every intention to transfer.”

Carter said his culture shock stemmed from three main causes: being Black at Rice, being low-income at Rice and transitioning from the environment of his

Black, low-income high school to Rice.

Additionally, back home, Carter lost 10 people in the span of a year — all of whom were family, friends and mentors. “[I was] dealing with that immense loss while feeling lost myself,” Carter said. “I was reaching for support, I was reaching for a community and it really felt like it wasn’t there.”

However, the transfer process wasn’t what he’d hoped it would be. After starting transfer applications, he soon discovered the cost of transferring. Low-income students, Carter realized, faced a number of potential repercussions, such as the loss of financial aid and loss of scholarships.

“It [was] a bit of a slap in the face,” Carter said. “It almost [felt] like I [was] being asked to be complacent in my discomfort for the sake of the socioeconomic benefits.”

For socioeconomic reasons, Carter decided not to transfer. The decision prompted him to reconsider his motives for wanting to transfer. He soon discovered that his desire to transfer wasn’t a matter of wanting to attend a different school, but of how daunting it was to be a Rice student.

“I’m happy to say that I no longer want to [transfer],” Carter said. “I’m extremely happy to be at Rice, and I have managed to forge my path here.”

After deciding to stay, Carter dove headfirst into Rice, involving himself in Civic Duty Rice and Rice’s pre-law society while doing research with Texas Southern University’s Center for Justice Research.

This year, he is president of the Black Student Association, as well as the Student Association senator for Jones. “[I’m a] first-gen low-income student — many of us don’t make it here,” Carter said. “If I’m going to be here, I’m going to go all out.”

Carter said there are ups and downs to being a first-generation, low-income student at Rice. According to Carter, questions that seem normal for other students — “Do you want to eat out tonight?” or “Are you traveling anywhere for spring break?” — often point out socioeconomic differences to those who can’t afford to do so. Transitioning from a household with limited food options to

North Colleges Servery with its stations of food was also jarring for Carter.

“I would say the one thing we have to continue to work on as a broader community is ensuring that we’re asking the right questions,” Carter said. “It’s one thing to offer support to first-gen lowincome students, [but] it’s another to make sure it’s [accessible].”

However, Carter recognizes Araceli Lopez and the team at the Office of Student Success Initiatives for their unconditional support of low-income students. “[Lopez] does so much for first-gen lowincome students,” Carter said. “She does any and everything possible to make sure that we’re supported.”

I’m a first-gen college student. I’m going to get all the degrees that my family wasn’t allowed to get.

Drew Carter JONES COLLEGE SOPHOMORE Last summer, Carter returned to the Capitol as an intern for Congressman and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. The experience reminded him of his family, and how much his grandfather impacted him.

“It was funny for me [to walk] into the Capitol in a suit to do my internship,” Carter said. “I remember [my grandfather] used to [come] in ripped jeans and a T-shirt.”

No matter what he chooses to pursue in the future — whether he goes to law school, gets a doctorate in sociology, or both — Carter said he will keep his family in mind.

“I’m a first-gen college student,” Carter said. “I’m going to get all the degrees that my family wasn’t allowed to get.”

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

In ancient civilizations, we see the present SHIYU MIAO FOR THE THRESHER

McMurtry College junior Jackson Richard White came into college wanting to study astrophysics, but he said he found an affinity for classical studies after his first-year writingintensive seminar, “Propaganda in the Roman Empire.”

“It just sounded like a really cool FWIS,” White said. “As I got into it, I just found it more and more interesting.”

His FWIS class sparked an interest in the Roman Empire, which led him to attend an archaeology program in Rome. Soon after, he declared a major in classical studies.

Christian Emden, chair of the classical and European studies department, defines the major as the study of classical cultures and civilizations. The focus used to be on the Roman Empire and ancient Greece, but has since widened to include virtually all of the Mediterranean, especially the Eastern Mediterranean.

Students of this major read ancient languages, explore foreign civilizations and analyze cultural artifacts.

The major is unique for its small class sizes, which help foster class discussion. Emden said his smallest class has four students and very few in the department have more than 20.

Classical studies major Nico Aliaga (Wiess College ’19) said students reap the benefits of studying in departments with fewer students.

“Each of [the classical studies professors] knows me well and wants to help me succeed,” Aliaga said.

Emden said students have a broad range of career choices to pick from.

Emden’s students have gone on to pursue graduate school for German history, jobs in civil service and a managerial position at a classical music company.

White and Aliaga appear to be continuing the trend. White is considering applying to an astrophysics graduate program after Rice. Aliaga hopes to join the Peace Corps one day.

Emden said that although the classical studies major does not include formal job training,

students acquire a number of useful skills for the workforce.

“Most of our students learn critical abilities and cultural literacy, knowledge about other cultures and [how to] consciously deal with other cultures and languages,” he said.

“They learn to think critically and go through a large amount of information very fast.”

In addition to these skills, classical studies majors learn some Greek or Latin and study Platonian thought and Greek mythology. According to White, Aliaga and Emden, looking back in time is valuable.

“You cannot study the present without understanding the past,” Emden said.

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in Obscure Majors, a features project that explores unique and lesser-known departments at Rice.

photo illustration by tina liu

FEATURES 1

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 • 7 2

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WINE ‘N’ DINE

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ACROSS 1) Like a Zinfandel 4) “When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine that’s ___” 7) With week, inappropriate orientation theme 8) Musical silence 9) Sure mixed-a-lot

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ACROSS 1) Rice Bikes e.g.

4) Swanky Montrose sushi joint 5) Mope about 6) It can be a steak or a mistake 7) An American good boy, perhaps

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Crossword by Sam Rossum Thresher Staff

DOWN 1) Knock on a door 2) Arabic nobles 3) Spinning kebab 5) A 1-across, but whiter 6) Famous last words

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DOWN 1) Ice cream parlor or newspaper offering 2) Famous wine r(h)egion 3) Fixture that accompanies une toilette 4) Rome, the _______ aeterna 5) Key figure for gas stoves

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

Bolded clues and colored squares correspond to the theme.

THE RICE THRESHER

8 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Katelyn Landry, A&E Editor

A GUIDE TO

REFRESQUERIAS

This weekend, celebrate the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month and escape the Houston heat by grabbing an icy treat from these local refresquerias dishing out popular Mexican snacks and desserts.

1506

Passionate about mangos?

Gessner Look no further for a refresDr. queria to satisfy your needs.

House of Mango offers a wide selection of traditional Mexican snacks and treats, including mangonadas, aguas frescas, raspas and more.

For an icy treat made with real fruit juice, try a mangonada, pina colada or rusa from their menu of raspas natural.

House of Mango also serves up classic snow cones and licuados.

Goodbye avocado toast, hello avocado paletas. Tarascos Ice Cream boasts over 50 flavors of handcrafted paletas as well as mangonadas with up to 3 layers of flavor. In addition to its sweet treats, Tarascos also satisfies savory cravings with chicharrones, which are fried pork skins usually topped with lettuce, Mexican cream, cotija cheese, hot sauce and avocado.

13932 Westheimer Rd.

This Northside refresqueria specializes in towering raspas, Mexican-style snow cones. They also offer smoothie-like drinks known as licuados and aguas frescas, light and refreshing fruit-flavored water. Feeling heroic? Try the mysterious, superhero-themed “fun flavors” and enlighten me as to what a Godzilla flavored raspa tastes like.

6404 Airline Dr.

A Houston favorite, don’t be surprised to find long lines outside this refresqueria. Tampico serves up the works: chamoyadas and raspas as well as savory snacks like nachos and elote, Mexican style corn topped with mayo, cheese, lime juice and spicy chile powder. NOTE: This restaurant has multiple locations.

4520 North Main St.

Owners Francisco and Sonia Campos bring an authentic taste of Mexico to Houston with their eastside dessert shop, Treats of Mexico.

According to Houston Press, the dessert shop sources its authentic Mexican style ice cream from an artisan ice cream maker from Michoacan, Mexico. Less sweet and creamier than American ice cream, Campos' soft serve most frequently tops their famous concha ice cream sandwich, which earned the restaurant recognition on Buzzfeed’s 2017 roundup of the best ice cream sandwiches in America.

Staying true to its name, Treats of Mexico offers not just ice cream but a variety of 724 Mexican candy, snacks Telephone and toys.

Rd.

INFOGRAPHIC BY DALIA GULCA

THE WEEKLY SCENE

HOUSTON AFRIFEST This Saturday, join local non-profit Nigerian-American Multicultural Council for their seventh annual festival for African arts, culture and entertainment. Enjoy a wide variety of cuisines, shop authentic African crafts and fashion from merchant vendors and watch performances from both international and local artists.

The festival is open to the public and free for students who present their university ID. Houston Baptist University 7502 Fondren Road

OPENING RECEPTION: HUE AND SATURATE This Friday, the Houston Center for Photography is hosting an opening reception for “Hue and Saturate,” an exhibition of work by New York-based artist Daniel Gordon. Gordon’s work has been compared to that of French postimpressionists Henri Matisse and Paul Cezanne due to his deconstruction of still life into shapes and patterns. “Hue and Saturate” will be on view until Nov. 10.

Houston Center for Photography 1441 W Alabama St

MEXICO EN EL CORAZON Ending their North American tour, the North American Institute for Mexican Advancement presents “Mexico en el Corazon” in Houston this Friday. Ballet Folklorico Guadalajara will perform traditional Mexican dances beginning at 7 p.m. Prior to the showcase, local ballet folklorico group Nueva Luna will perform as well as mariachi groups from the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. This event is free and open to the public.

Discovery Green 1500 McKinney St.

VOICES LINGER: WOMEN ARTISTS IN TEXAS Join Foltz Fine Art this Saturday at 6 p.m. as they unveil their fall programming, “Voices Linger: Women Artists in Texas.”

The exhibit will feature over 60 works by 20 women artists who were primarily active in Texas between the 1920s and 1950s. “Voices Linger” is free and open to the public during gallery hours and will be on view until Oct. 26.

Foltz Fine Art 2143 Westheimer Rd

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 • 9

Moody Center Hires New Associate Curators LILY WULFEMEYER THRESHER STAFF

Last month, the Moody Center for The Arts hired two new associate curators: Ylinka Barotto and Frauke Josenhans.

Alison Weaver, executive director of the Moody Center, expressed hopes that the new appointments will further reinforce the Moody Center’s mission. “[We] have the opportunity to broaden the conversation across fields of research and to engage diverse communities, both on and off campus,” Weaver said.

Barotto shares an enthusiasm for these initiatives.

“Together with the rest of the Moody [Center] team, I look forward to collaborating with the student body, bringing exhibitions that stimulate conversation and supporting programming that fosters a new way of experiencing art,” Barotto said.

Before accepting the position at the Moody Center, Barotto worked as an assistant curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, where she assisted in curating multiple exhibitions and proposed acquisitions for the museum’s permanent collection.

“As for my curatorial practice, I truly enjoy art historical research,” Barotto said.

“However, I can say that my real passion rests in working with living artists and raising questions, enriching dialogue and exploring narratives through their work.”

Barotto, who was born in Italy, holds a Master of Arts in curatorial studies from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, and has worked toward a Master of Arts thesis on Italian feminism at Hunter College in New York.

In addition to joining the Moody Center team, Josenhans is also donning the hat of art history lecturer. During her career as curator, Josenhans said she worked on topics from the 19th century to contemporary art, with a

focus on global modern and contemporary university institution.

“What attracted me to the Moody [Center] art. “Exile and Art, 1900-present,” the course she is teaching this fall, is open to graduate is the great potential of this relatively young students and advanced undergraduates who institution that proposes new ways to interact and collaborate around the visual arts,” she want to learn more about curatorial work.

“What I would like to do during my course said. “It really offers a unique platform to is ... encourage critical thinking about the engage in important topics such as how art connection between sociopolitical events and galleries can remain relevant in a fastthat can trigger exile, and the visual arts,” changing society.”

For both Barotto and Josenhans, the Josenhans said. “Again, it is an opportunity to emphasize how art is relevant and not Moody Center’s placement in Houston is particularly compelling. disconnected from its time and context.”

“What attracts me to Houston is its In addition to her extensive professional experience, Josenhans has completed diversity, the vibrant art community and its degrees at Sorbonne University, the Ecole du important historical legacy,” Barotto said.

“Houston is a vibrant Louvre and most recently city that is growing earned a doctorate at and changing every Aix-Marseilles University day, which makes it an where she studied The art world can be exciting place for art and German painters active in an intimidating place, the discussions around Southern France. the questions art raises.”

“I hope that my but it shouldn’t be. international profile and Ylinka Barotto RICE STUDENTS AND THE experience will help to MOODY CENTER further a more global ASSOCIATE CURATOR In the past, the dialogue, but I am also Moody Center has faced eager to connect with the local arts scene here in Houston,” Josenhans criticism from the Thresher editorial board, said. “And I will certainly try to use all the as students questioned the choice to build the wonderful resources that Rice has to offer for Moody Center before much-needed classroom facilities; most recently, the Moody Center has my work at the Moody [Center].” been critiqued for its “inaccessibility” to Rice student artists.

WHY THE MOODY CENTER? Josenhans is no stranger to working with “[The Moody Center is] an experimental platform for creating and presenting works students and said she hopes to improve in all disciplines,” Barotto said. “What really Moody’s collaboration with the student body excites me is the opportunity to continue in future endeavors.

“I had undergraduate and graduate generating relevant projects and exhibitions and encouraging dialogue among artists, students assist me with various projects, from research and exhibitions to publications,” students and audiences.”

For Josenhans, who is leaving her position Josenhans said. “ I look forward to [working] as the associate curator of modern and with Rice students and see[ing] how their contemporary art at the Yale University Art ideas and experience will help shape Gallery, the Rice environment might feel projects.”

Although it is Barotto’s first time working familiar. Josenhans said she was immediately drawn to the opportunity to join another for a college or university, she said she is

also looking forward to learning from Rice students and curating relevant content for them. Additionally, Barotto and Josenhans shared words of advice for students exploring careers in the arts.

“The art world can be an intimidating place, but it shouldn’t be,” Barotto said.

“It needs people who are creative and who are not afraid of critical thinking and experimentation. My advice is to never stop learning — through reading, seeing exhibitions and performances, attending talks, meeting with artists and peers, doing internships and getting hands-on experience with multiple projects.”

UPCOMING PROJECTS Josenhans is already beginning work on “Symposium: Sol LeWitt Today,” the Moody’s 2020 summer exhibition, and an “international project” corresponding with the Rothko Chapel’s 50th anniversary in 2021.

Barotto is also making plans for her tenure. In particular, she sees modern art as a powerful tool to encourage dialogue and forward the goals of the Moody Center.

“My interest in contemporary art has always focused on an interdisciplinary approach in terms of media, but also on the empowering way that it encourages debate,” Barotto said. “Broad representation of people and ideas — a multiplicity of voices — is the key.”

Both associate curators envision a fruitful future of collaborations across the campus and the city.

“I worked at different institutions [in the past], ranging from private, civic, to university museums, and I must say that working at a university gallery is truly a great pleasure that provides a unique creative and intellectual stimulus,” Josenhans said. “Rice has amazing resources and is located in close proximity to various other cultural institutions in Houston — I look [forward] to collaborating with many of our neighbors.”

CATCH UP ON SUMMER SCREAMS

INFOGRAPHIC BY DALIA GULCA

THIS FRIDAY THE 13TH

Katelyn Landry, A&E Editor

There hasn’t been a Friday the 13th since July 2018, and with Halloween rapidly approaching, there’s no better time to get your spook on than this weekend. Curl up under the covers and catch up on the biggest horror flicks you missed over the summer.

Annabelle Comes Home Although I’ll admit that the haunted doll trope is getting old, I’m a sucker for the “Conjuring” universe and its rotating cast of merciless, demonic parasites.

In this third installment of the Annabelle prequel series, the possessed porcelain doll retaliates against paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren by tormenting their young daughter Judy and her friends.

I mean, what sleepover is complete without manicures, face masks and a good, old-fashioned exorcism? This movie packs a cacophony of jump scares into a short time span; just because the scares are cheap doesn’t mean they’re not fun.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark* When “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” was announced, social media exploded with nostalgia and excitement from those who spent their childhood immersed in the infamous short story collections. The book series, written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell, made its way into elementary schools — and children’s nightmares — nationwide, earning the books a spot on the American Library Association’s top ten list of banned or challenged books every year from 2000 to 2009. The hallmark of this movie adaptation is undoubtedly the makeup, costuming and effects that bring Gammell’s disturbing illustrations to life.

As far as the story goes, this movie certainly won’t be winning any Oscars, but it’s still a fun watch for horror enthusiasts and novices alike. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is now playing in select local theaters.

Midsommar* Don’t let the sunlight and flowers fool you. This summer, “Hereditary” director Ari Aster delivered yet another terrifying, slow-burning fever dream with “Midsommar.” The film follows Dani (Florence Pugh), whose overwhelming family tragedy is eclipsed by an impromptu trip with her boyfriend and his bros to a mysterious Swedish village in the midst of midsummer festivities. The community’s eclectic traditions steadily escalate into gory sacrificial rites and disturbing occult rituals. The most terrifying parts? Perpetual daylight and toxic masculinity. “Midsommar” is now playing in select local theaters and available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Movie theaters nationwide were lurched back into the 90’s this past June when a “Toy Story” sequel, a“Men in Black” sequel and the remake of cult classic “Child’s Play” all assembled on marquee boards. Originally released in 1988, “Child’s Play” chronicles the bloody murder spree of Chucky, who needs no introduction at this point. “Child’s Play” is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.music industry.

DJ Screw

IT Chapter Two The sequel to director Andres Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King’s “IT” is one of the most highly anticipated movies this year after “IT” saw raging success in 2017. We meet Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) again after his 27-year slumber, ready to wreak even more havoc and feast on the residents of Derry, Maine. The affectionately dubbed “Losers Club” reunites as adults to face their childhood traumas and defeat Pennywise once and for all. “IT Chapter Two” is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Child’s Play Originally released in 1988, “Child’s Play” chronicles the bloody murder spree of Chucky, who needs no introduction at this point. With Mark Hamill (“Star Wars”) and Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) at its helm, this movie gives the psychotic doll saga a modern makeover. “Child’s Play” is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. *Includes my opinion because I’ve seen it

THE RICE THRESHER

10 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

SPORTS Lee seeks national success for Rice soccer

courtesy rice athletics

Soccer head coach Brian Lee talks with his players in a huddle during Rice’s 1-1 draw against Texas Christian University in an exhibition match at Holloway Field on Aug, 13. Lee is in his first season as Rice’s head coach, following 14 years as the head coach at Louisiana State University. So far this season, the Owls are 3-2, defeating Cleveland State University 2-0 in their most recent game, on Sept. 8.

MADISON BUZZARD SPORTS EDITOR Brian Lee, first-year head coach of Rice soccer, grew up in Scotland. According to Lee, growing up in a country widely known for its youth and professional soccer leagues led to his indoctrination in the sport.

“If you’re a young boy in England or Scotland, there’s only one sport, literally,” Lee said. “We went to school, and then we went and played soccer and we played on our school teams. That’s all we knew and that’s all we did dawn to dusk, really.”

When Lee was an adolescent, his father retired from the Scottish military and his family moved to Florida. There, Lee said his experience playing in European youth soccer leagues gave him an advantage over the other American players and eventually led him to play collegiate soccer at Furman University.

Two years after his graduation from Furman, the university created its women’s soccer program and Lee became its first head coach.

“As I graduated, the Title IX explosion hit, [which] increased [women’s] softball and soccer exponentially,” Lee said. “So FROM PAGE 1

UT PREVIEW According to head coach Mike Bloomgren, playing UT offers many challenges for Rice to overcome. “[The Longhorns are] a talented, talented group,” Bloomgren said. “The offensive and defensive lines are going to be outstanding challenges for our group … We don’t have anybody in the program that looks like that.”

The Owls lost to Wake Forest 41-21 during last Friday’s game at Rice Stadium.

Near the end of the first quarter, Rice’s starting quarterback, redshirt freshman Wiley Green, was injured on a hit to the head near the goal line and had to be carted off the field on a stretcher. Graduate transfer Tom Stewart filled in for Green during the remainder of the game.

According to Bloomgren, while post-

there were opportunities for jobs right during the offseason epitomizes the program’s recruiting appeal. out of college.” “[Roelfsema] is a great example of Following his 11 years as a coach at Furman, Lee transitioned to become the it,” Lee said. “I’m sure LSU sent her head coach of soccer at Louisiana State something when she turned up on the University. At LSU, Lee’s teams qualified [transfer] portal as well. But the schools for six NCAA tournaments. But once the she wanted to look at are elite academic head coaching position opened at Rice, schools, so we were able to get her to come to Rice.”

Lee said he saw an Lee said Rice’s opportunity with decision not to more potential. support a men’s “From a soccer varsity soccer team perspective, I From a soccer offers more benefits think the high end perspective, I think the disadvantages of what Rice can high end of what Rice can than for his program accomplish is above because the the likelihood of that accomplish is above the women’s team does kind of achievement likelihood of that kind of not have to compete at LSU,” Lee said. achievement at LSU. for field space or “Of the teams that conflicting game have won national Brian Lee times. championships and SOCCER HEAD COACH “We miss not have been to Final having a men’s team Fours, the huge majority of them are elite academic private to interact with and watch play, so there’s schools. From a recruiting standpoint, Rice a little bit of that soccer side of it that’s a gives us the opportunity to really recruit negative,” Lee said. “But, in the big picture, it is awesome to be the only soccer program the elite American athletes in our sport.”

Lee said the transfer of junior defender on campus to try and generate all of the Mijke Roelfsema from Boston College soccer interest straight toward us.”

Lee said his short-term goals include instilling his desired style of play and developing a positive team culture.

Regarding his preferred game strategy, Lee said his team’s tactics should shift over the course of 90 minutes.

“Formation-wise, we are what you would call a malleable 4-4-2, where we’ve got some movement in our midfield gameto-game where we can do some different things depending on the opponent,” Lee said. “Basically what we try to do is press when it is an appropriate time to press, and other than that, drop in a little bit and press and trap in certain areas of the field, almost like a basketball team would.”

According to Lee, he preaches four core tenets: compare, compete, act professionally and dare greatly. However, Lee said he prefers a hands-off approach toward his players’ personal lives.

“For me, it’s … starting with letting [student-athletes] be as normal a student as they can possibly be, so they get organic friendships that also create interest in the program,” Lee said. “At best, we can integrate our kids as much as possible in their college life; we’re hoping that’s the core piece of it, to get students involved.”

loss to Louisiana State University. Despite the loss, UT showcased an offensive attack which demonstrated an ability to move the ball up the field.

UT’s offense put up 530 yards against the No. 6-ranked Tigers, while the Owls gave up 513 yards to unranked Wake Forest. Longhorn junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns against LSU, while the Owls gave up 312 passing yards to Wake Forest.

However, the Owls were missing redshirt sophomore cornerback Tyrae Thornton for most of the game due to his firstquarter ejection for targeting. Thornton will return for the game against UT. Among Rice’s defensive statistical leaders this season include its linebacker core of redshirt junior Anthony Ekpe, sophomore Antonio Montero and sophomore Treshawn Chamberlain, who are the Owls’ top three defenders in total tackles with 17, 15 and 15 tackles,

respectively. Bloomgren said Rice’s defense needs to concentrate on limiting large gains from scrimmage.

“We just have to find a way to quit allowing big plays to happen to us on defense,” Bloomgren said. “A few plays in particular stood out in that game: There was a [59-yard touchdown] pass [and] the 96-yard run.”

So, why does Rice play Texas, even when the Longhorns are ranked in the top 25? According to Kennedy, some obstacles are worth facing.

“We choose to [do certain things] … not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” Kennedy said. “Because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one which we intend to win.”

Rice faces Texas at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14 at NRG Stadium. Tickets are $20 for Rice students, and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

injury testing on Green was negative, he is still being monitored with no definitive timetable for his return to the field. In the case Green is unable to play, Stewart will likely step in as Rice’s starting quarterback, with redshirt sophomore Evan Marshman handling the backup quarterback role. “[Green’s] been evaluated by our doctors and all imaging and testing has come back negative,” Bloomgren said. “Besides the soreness in his neck, he’s doing much better. We’re going to continue to evaluate him and we look forward to getting him back sooner rather than later.”

Stewart scored a touchdown and threw for 185 yards in relief of Green, but the Owls’ passing attack was outdone by the Demon Deacons, who accumulated 312 passing yards — nearly equaling Rice’s 321 yards of total offense.

The Longhorns are coming off a 45-38

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 • 11

Volleyball extends historic stretch to start season

Helen pu / THRESHER

Senior setter Adria Martinez sets up a shot for a teammate during one of Rice’s victories last weekend at the Rice Adidas Invitational. Martinez led the team with 67 assists over the weekend.

SPENCER MOFFAT SENIOR WRITER The Rice volleyball team completed a three-game sweep of two opponents last weekend during the Rice Adidas Invitational at Tudor Fieldhouse with two 3-1 victories over Loyola Marymount University on Friday and Saturday, capping the invitational with a 3-0 victory over Abilene Christian University.

On Tuesday evening, the Owls continued their hot streak by defeating Houston Baptist University 3-0. Rice improved to 7-0 on the season and is off to the

program’s best start since 1998.

The Owls opened the invitational with their first match against LMU. After losing the first set to the Lions by four points, Rice held their opponents to just 13 points in the second set before finishing off LMU with victories in the last two sets. Five different Owls totaled at least three blocks, led by a matchhigh five rejections from senior middle blocker Grace Morgan.

Head coach Genny Volpe said the balanced attack was a key point of emphasis for the team.

“We’re showing that we have a lot of

balance and a lot of options,” Volpe said.

“I’m loving the progress of our offense.”

Rice’s second match against LMU on Saturday afternoon had a similar storyline. The Owls dropped the first set and then went on to win two sets in a row. Rice came within one point of securing the win in the fourth set after holding LMU to 19 points, but then the Lions made four consecutive kills. In response, sophomore middle blocker Anota Adekunle made her career-high 18th kill to give the Owls the win.

Volpe said she was confident even during LMU’s comeback.

“As a coach you have to prepare for any situation, but we were definitely intent on taking care of business in four [sets],” Volpe said. “I can’t say enough about how each player on the team is committed to being prepared.”

On Saturday night, Rice faced off against ACU in its third and final weekend match. After winning the first two sets, the Owls and Wildcats found themselves knotted at 23 points apiece in the third set. But the Owls promptly finished off Abilene Christian with two consecutive, hard-hitting kills from junior outside hitter Nicole Lennon to finish the weekend with their fourth straight-set victory of the year.

In the process of working to help her team win against ACU, Lennon left a permanent mark in the Rice history books, becoming the 17th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills. According to Lennon, her teammates should receive some of the credit for the achievement.

“I don’t think I could have done it without them,” Lennon said. “Our setters do a good job of spreading out our offense so I don’t have too much on

my back.”

On Monday, Lennon was also named the Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, her second such award in the last two weeks. Volpe said Lennon’s willingness to confront challenges has allowed her to maintain a high level of play, even with increased attention.

“People are starting to key in on [Lennon] and she is really responding to every challenge that is put in front of her,” Volpe said.

Though Lennon stole the headlines with her career milestone, two other players from Rice also made the Adidas Invitational All-Tournament Team, with Adekunle earning tournament MVP honors. According to Volpe, Adekunle has demonstrated improvement from last season. “[Adekunle] is a special player,” Volpe said. “Her transition game has gotten a lot better.”

Lennon and senior libero Lee Ann Cunningham, who totaled 55 digs in the tournament, were the other two Owls selected to the All-Tournament Team.

Tuesday’s game against Houston Baptist University was never close. Rice took the first two sets (25-12, 25-14) before putting the hammer down in the third set with a blowout 25-7 victory — the lowest point total in a set the Owls have allowed to an opponent this year.

Rice will look to continue its hot pace before the team begins conference play. The Owls open C-USA action at Tudor Fieldhouse on Sept. 27 against the University of Texas, El Paso. In the meantime, the Owls will prepare for several challenging non-conference opponents, including the University of Texas, Austin and Texas Christian University, in the coming weeks.

BACKPAGE

12 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Screw-Yer-Compatibility Test It’s Screw-Yer-Roommate, the magical time of year when Rice students actually go on dates. Screw success stories truly do happen, but romance is hard for the average Rice student. How are we supposed to gauge whether the date is going well? Are we expected to somehow read a social situation? Impossible!

To see if you and your date are cut out to level up from screw thangs to boo thangs, simply grab two Threshers and take this test with them — plus, testing is much more likely to be your forte than dating. No peeking at their answers, the honor code applies to this exam.

1. Which rice-based food best describes you?

A. Rice pudding because I’m actually very sweet and mushy.

B. Rice cakes because I will support you at your most fragile with my styrofoam-like quality.

C. Rice noodles because I’m all about the noods.

2. You’re thirsty. Your date is a snack. At which student-run business would y’all grab a drink or snack?

A. Coffeehouse. A couple of Nutty Bees and things could get nutty.

B. The Hoot. I want to have a passionate discussion about replacing Chick-fil-A with Smashburger, even if my date doesn’t feel like it.

C. Pub. In fact, my date and I are dressed as Corona and Lime because they are being served at Pub Night this week.

3. Where would you go for dinner on a second date?

A. Any servery. I just want to use a guest swipe to pack unlimited food in Tupperware — I am very much OC. B. The empty shell of Mi Luna to cry in front of its shuttered doors. Rest in peace, sweet, sweet suspiciously strong margs.

C. Hopdoddy Happy Hour in Rice Village on a Friday.

There, we can see the rest of the Rice student body and pretend we’re in the servery for a bonus residential college whose only tradition is $5 burgers — the new “five fucking times” (sorry, Will Rice).

4. The date doesn’t have to stop on Friday afternoon — what else are your plans for this weekend?

A. The Hanszen public. Even if the tradition of the stripper pole at their spring public isn’t continued, that doesn’t mean I won’t go get indecent in their commons.

B. The Rice vs. UT game. I love getting pummeled.

C. Studying. This date was my social hour for the week.

5. Your date may give you butterflies, but how would you describe the feeling in your stomach when you saw Rice’s U.S. News & World Report ranking drop?

A. I felt nothing, I really don’t care about rankings …

I cried because of something completely different, I swear.

B. I’ve started my transfer paperwork to Notre Dame because it was ranked higher this year.

C. I was very upset. I may have been one of the most upset people on this campus other than Leebs.

Your answers: 1. __ 2. __ 3. __ 4. __ 5. __ Your date’s answers: 1. __ 2. __ 3. __ 4. __ 5. __ Each question that you got the same answer for is worth two points, but feel free to award partial credit at your own discretion — you don’t even need to argue with a TA over awarding yourself half-points.

0 to 2 points … If you’re both feeling it, go ahead, screw. But it’s doubtful you’ll date.

3 to 5 points … Honestly, if you’re both either at South colleges or North colleges and are physically attracted to each other, you still have a pretty good shot at making it out of convenience. Standards are not very high at Rice.

6 to 9 ;) points … What you lack in compatibility points you can make up for in purity points lost together, it’s the commutative property. So run from the police and hold hands with a non-family member: Get wild.

10 points … You’ve found the one. Your children will have to choose which residential college they legacy into. The image they drop into the Rice Box in 30 years will be the two of you dressed up as tree and squirrel — you’ll have to explain what a squirrel was before climate change wiped them out, though.

The Backpage is satire, written and designed by Simona Matovic. On her honor, she did not give or receive unauthorized aid on this Backpage. For comments or questions, email JamesJoyceLovesFarts@rice.edu.

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