The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, March 31, 2021

VOLUME 105, ISSUE NO. 22 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

9.3%

Rice releases regular decision results, accepts record number of applicants

admit rate

2,749

20 %

admits

29, 523

% of admits who did not submit SAT or ACT scores

total applications received

50

states represented

SAVANNAH KUCHAR NEWS EDITOR

At 5:00 p.m. today, the Rice University Office of Admission released regular decision results. This year, Rice gave a record number of admission offers to 2,749 applicants from all 50 states and 68 countries, according to Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva.

Romero da Silva said that this record admitted student cohort, which includes the 478 students admitted last December through Early Decision admission and the QuestBridge National College Match program, was a result of the recently announced expansion of the undergraduate student body. 2,346 total students were admitted last year, including 440 early decision applicants.

“This meant we could invite more talented students from all over the world to study at Rice,” Romero da Silva said. “We admitted more Texans, more U.S. students outside of Texas and more international students and look forward to the diverse voices and perspectives arriving on campus this fall.”

Despite the increase in the number of students admitted, the acceptance rate this year was 9.3 percent, slightly higher than the record low 8.7 percent set in 2019. The offers released today represented just nine percent of the 29,523 applications received by the admissions office, a 26 percent increase in applications compared to last year’s 23,443.

Romero da Silva said she attributes the increase in applications in part to Rice’s test-optional policy. Of the students accepted in this round of admission, 20 percent did not submit SAT or ACT scores with their applications.

“We read each student’s Rice supplement essays and really value when students can convey the elements of Rice that are special — the community, our culture of care and

20%

68

application increase over 2020

countries of citizenship engaged students and faculty,” Romero da Silva said. “Many students picked up on these aspects of Rice and concluded that Rice really feels like home. We want students in our community who value being a part of our community.”

According to Romero da Silva, Rice was among its peer institutions in seeing this rise in applications.

“Rice, like many other highly selective institutions, saw a significant increase in applications this year,” Romero da Silva said. “We also completely revamped our web pages and marketing campaigns which really helped illuminate the parts of Rice and the Rice community that make it so unique.”

Aditi Buch, from Plano Senior High School, said she was nervous waiting for the results this afternoon.

“When that confetti came … oh my god, it was like I could let my breath out for the first time in a week,” Buch said. “I’m so thrilled to be a part of the Rice Class of 25 and I can’t wait to meet all the incredible people joining me this fall.”

Amanda Saving from Richardson, Texas said she was also very excited to get her acceptance today.

“Rice has been one of my top schools throughout this past year, and I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to join the community next fall,” Saving said. “I’m so grateful to have the chance to meet such an inclusive and diverse group of students, and I can’t wait to get to know everyone if I attend.”

Romero da Silva said she believes the incoming class of 2025 will also be happy to matriculate into a “largely normal fall semester,” based on the email sent out by President David Leebron to the Rice community today.

“We envision most classes being delivered in person, most university housing being fully occupied, and a relaxation of our COVID-19 policies such as gathering size and perhaps even the mask requirement (subject to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” Leebron wrote. “While we must prepare for different circumstances and adapt if the environment changes, I am optimistic that we can deliver the robust high quality in-person educational experience that our faculty and students enjoyed prior to the pandemic actions we began taking just over a year ago.”

Rice fight never dies: Owls take home the NIT title DERRICK KAGWANJA THRESHER STAFF

Following an 18-4 regular season, the Rice women’s basketball team made history in the postseason by becoming the first-ever Conference USA team to win the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. The Owls qualified for the WNIT, which consists of 32 teams who narrowly missed out on the NCAA tournament, after their last-second loss in the C-USA title game cost them a spot in March Madness.. The Owls fought past their opponents in bracket play, winning every game by double-digits, before defeating the University of Mississippi in Sunday’s final by a score of 71-58..

A string of dominant performances in the

tournament landed the Owls’ sophomore forward Lauren Schwartz and senior center Nancy Mulkey on the All-Tournament Team.

Schwartz’ play stood out in the tournament, as she scored 20 or more in three of Rice’s five games, s including a team-high 25 points in the semifinal against the University of Delaware. Mulkey continued to be a pillar for the team throughout the tournament, and earned the tournament MVP award after putting together a superb stat line of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocks in the Owls’ final game against Ole Miss.

When asked about the duo’s contributions throughout the WNIT, head coach Tina Langley responded with nothing but praise.

“They have been so tremendous

throughout the tournament and the season,” Langley said “What I think makes an exceptional player is consistency and that describes them both perfectly. Both of these women show up in big moments and tough times no matter what gets thrown at them.”

While the stellar individual performances of Mulkey and Schwartz were necessary for the Owls’ success in the tournament, each win was a team effort. Sophomore guard Katelyn Crosswaith shone in the Owls’ matchup against Delaware by scoring 20 points and pulling down five rebounds.

Senior guard Sydne Wiggins showed poise and leadership in the team’s matchup against Ole Miss by grabbing eight rebounds and finding her teammates with six assists.

In the second-round matchup against

Fresno State, junior guard Jasmine Smith was steadfast and reliable as she contributed 15 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists to the team’s 87-73 win.

According to Langley, each player on the roster contributed in key moments of each game; pushing one another through adversity toward their ultimate goal.

“I’m just proud of this team,” Langley said. “I’m proud [of] their resiliency and their character, and the way they stay together.

They’re so selfless. I just love them, they’re an incredible group of young women.”

After capping their season with a tournament win, the Owls and their fans can now look forward to the possibility of filling the bleachers of Autry once more in the near future.

THE RICE THRESHER

2 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

NEWS

Colleges change Willy Week name due to event restrictions, conversations about Willy’s Statue

ILLUSTRATED BY CHLOE XU

RYND MORGAN NEWS EDITOR

Several colleges have changed the name of Willy Week this year due to the different structure of the week compared to past years, including the restrictions on the types and frequency of events that can be held due to the pandemic, and because of the ongoing conversation regarding Willy’s statue.

Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman said that she is open to having conversations with students about changing the name of Willy Week in future years. This year’s name change was motivated by the fact that the events and the nature of Beer Bike events this year will be different due to COVID restrictions, according to Gorman.

“Early on when I was talking with the students about this, one of the things I said was, I don’t even want to call this Willy Week [because] I don’t want people to associate the typical activities with it,” Gorman said.

“I know that there are growing concerns around the statue among the students … if the students feel that we need to change the terminology around that, I’m very happy to have that conversation with them.”

Lovett College has renamed their week of activities before Beer Bike “Lovett Week” this year, according to Lovett College Beer Bike coordinator Kasia Kiela. The change at Lovett College comes among a movement backed by several students across the university to have

the statue of William Marsh Rice removed from the Academic Quad and for his likeness to be removed from marketing and PR materials, because he enslaved several people and excluded non-white students from his original charter for the univeristy.

“This might change to something more catchy and original in future years, but for now our intent is to show respect and give full acknowledgement to the fact that Willy Week was named after someone who did not have the equality of all students in mind,” Kiela, a junior, said. “There is no room for animosity or frustration for something so easily changed, especially when referring to what has been, and what should continue to be, one of Rice students’ favorite weeks of the year.”

Other colleges have also changed the names of the week of activities before Beer Bike to reflect a person or topic specific to their college. Jones College’s week has been renamed to JIBA Week, after the Jones College slogan “Jones Is Bad Ass,” according to Jones College Beer Bike coordinator Georgia Nevin.

“We felt that it was important to make this change in light of the discourse surrounding the university’s namesake and racism associated with it,” Nevin, a sophomore, said. “JIBA Week better represents the week’s purpose, which is to celebrate Jones College, its traditions and most importantly our Jonesians.”

Brown College’s Willy Week has been renamed to Maggie Week, after the college’s

namesake Margarett Root Brown, according to Audrey Paetzel, Brown College Beer Bike coordinator.

“We made the decision pretty early on to change it — and if the university decides to change it later, awesome — but we want to make this change now, just for Brown College, so we can have a week that’s named after someone we respect more,” Paetzel, a senior, said. “[Brown] was a huge feminist [in] her day, a massive philanthropist, so we made the decision of, we’ll see what the university does and what other colleges do, but we just want to make this decision now for Brown.”

McMurtry’s Willy Week has been renamed to “Ratabrewie Week” this year after their Beer Bike theme for this year, according to Josh Holder, McMurtry College Beer Bike coordinator. Holder said that in the future, McMurtry might come up with another name for the week which remains constant between years.

Will Rice College Beer Bike coordinator Michael Katona said that campuswide Beer Bike coordinators instructed college Beer Bike coordinators to refer to the week as “Beer Bike Week” to reflect the changed nature of the activities due to COVID restrictions. Prior to this guidance, Will Rice had no plans to change the name of Willy Week neither this year nor in future years, according to Katona.

“Our primary concern this year is taking the necessary precautions to safely celebrate

Beer Bike in the midst of the pandemic,” Katona, a junior, said.

Despite the restrictions, colleges have still planned activities throughout the week to celebrate college pride while still following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and COVID guidelines set by the university. Kiela said that Lovett has plans to host college specific activities throughout the week.

“There are still a lot of safe options for people to socialize and have fun,” Kiela said.

“My hope is that everyone finds a little respite from working on homework and worrying about staying safe by attending our COVIDconscious events.”

Restrictions for college Beer Bike coordinators for hosting events include only having one four-hour event per day and one event with alcohol per week. Only three colleges can have their event with alcohol on the same day. Katona said that college Beer Bike coordinators received these guidelines from administration on March 19.

“Because of these restrictions, we’ve been scrambling to figure out which events to keep, and which to skip this year,” Katona said.

“We understand that these are reasonable precautions, but we feel that the planning time frame is too rushed and communication from Rice administration has been lacking.

We’ll likely have a [Fun in the Quad] on the Friday of Beer Bike Week and intend to make the most of the remaining four events. We’re also planning festivities on the day of our race to discourage students from behaving irresponsibly off campus.”

Nevin said that the Jones Beer Bike coordinators’ goal is to make the Beer Bike experience as fun and as authentic as possible while keeping students safe and complying with the university’s COVID guidelines.

“We are taking events we traditionally do at Jones during the week before Beer Bike and adapting them to fit guidelines. We are also getting creative and developing new events that incorporate aspects of normal Beer Bike traditions (i.e., water balloons), while still complying with the new guidelines,” Nevin said.

Brown College Beer Bike coordinator Anu Ayeni said as much as the coordinators would like to emulate traditional Beer Bike activities, they are also creating something special within the COVID restrictions.

“I am excited for people to see what we have planned, and we hope people can still enjoy it,” Ayeni, a senior, said. “Considering the first year and sophomores have not seen Beer Bike, this is something that everybody can still enjoy.”

Rice announces twelfth residential college, student body expansion approved IVANKA PEREZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Rice announced on Monday that it will open a twelfth residential college to account for the plan to expand the student body by 20 percent, which Rice’s Board of Trustees has just approved.

The undergraduate class is expected to grow to 4,800 by 2025 from its current enrollment of 4,052 students (fall 2020), according to the press release.

As a result of the new residential college, the number of students living on campus will increase to 3,525. To maintain the current student-faculty ratio of six to one, close to 50 additional full-time instructional faculty members are expected to be hired.

“The Board of Trustees strongly supports the expansion of the student body as a strategic imperative,” Robert Ladd, chair of the Rice Board of Trustees,

said. “Welcoming more students to the Rice campus today will have an impact on the university for generations to come.”

According to the press release, the number of student applicants has increased by 75 percent in the last four years, and was seemingly boosted by the announcement of the Rice Investment.

Between 2004 and 2020, Rice went from receiving 11 applications per student opening to approximately 28. Rice received nearly 30,000 applications for the class of 2025, compared to the 23,443 applications for the class of 2024.

“Rice’s extraordinary applicant pool has grown dramatically despite the challenges posed by the pandemic,” President David Leebron said in the press release. “We must undertake this expansion carefully in order to assure that we retain the best aspects of Rice culture, student experience and sense of community.”

Although this decision’s impacts on graduate student enrollment are currently unclear, Rice’s total enrollment of undergraduate and graduate students is expected to increase to about 9,000 by fall 2025. In the fall of 2020, Rice’s total enrollment was 7,536.

The 20 percent increase will be supported by additional campus construction, according to the press release, including previous plans for a larger student center, new engineering building and new visual and dramatic arts building, in addition to the new residential college. The press release confirmed plans to begin breaking ground on the new student center in the first quarter of 2022.

Rice previously expanded the size of the student body by 35 percent between

ILLUSTRATED BY NDID NWOSU

the fall of 2005 and 2013, during which Duncan and McMurtry Colleges were built to account for the student body increase.

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 • 3

Rice receives 4,000 doses of vaccine to distribute, Fall semester expected to be ‘largely normal’ RISHAB RAMAPRIYAN AND RYND MORGAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & NEWS EDITOR

Rice University announced yesterday that the state of Texas will give the university 4,000 first doses of Pfizer vaccine for distribution on campus. The first clinic will be Thursday, April 1 in Tudor Fieldhouse, according to Vice President of Administration Kevin Kirby.

The Texas Department of State Health Services announced last Tuesday that all adults over the age of 16 would be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas starting Monday. Following this announcement, Rice placed an order for 4,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Kirby said that Pfizer was chosen because of the shorter time period between the first dose and second dose, compared to the Moderna vaccine.

“What we want to do is be able to get the vaccine distributed to students and then be able to have them get their second dose here on campus before you leave at the end of the semester or graduation,” Kirby said.

While Rice announced that they received approval to order, store and distribute vaccines on March 8, Kirby said there was no guarantee that the state would fill Rice’s request until the announcement on March 30. Rice had previously ordered 1,000 doses to inoculate every person in the Rice community between the ages of 50 and 64 when the eligibility had initially expanded to individuals aged 50+ on March 15, but this order was not filled.

“There’s a panel of people who make those decisions,” Kirby said. “It’s a bit of a mystery exactly how they make those decisions.”

Kirby said the university hopes these 4,000 doses will cover a large majority of the

Rice community who are still unvaccinated.

However, the university plans to place more orders until every Rice community member who wants a vaccine is inoculated.

The details of vaccine administration, such as who will be administering vaccines, are still being finalized. At the Grand Hall vaccine clinic last week, a combination of Rice Emergency Medical Service members, Student Health Services staff and outside contractors administered second doses of the Moderna vaccine to those who had received the first dose during the snowstorm.

1,250 vaccine slots are available for Thursday, April 1. Rice community members who sign up to receive a dose on April 1 are guaranteed a second dose 21 days later, on April 22. The appointment for the second dose will be assigned for the same time of day as the first dose and it cannot be rescheduled or canceled. Individuals must have a Rice email address to sign up to receive a dose from this allotment. Kirby said there will be appointments for additional days next week.

In a separate email, President David Leebron announced that the fall semester is anticipated to be “largely normal.” According to the email, all classes are expected to be taught in-person and dorms are expected to be fully occupied. Additionally, it states that based on Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, the gathering size and mask guidelines may be relaxed.

“I’m pleased to announce today that given our ability to operate safely, the high probability that everyone in our community who wants a vaccine will be able to get one before August, and the continuing improvement of the COVID-19 environment in the Houston area, we anticipate a largely normal fall semester and are planning

APPLE LI / THRESHER

The Baylor St. Luke vaccine clinic has moved from Rice Stadium to the BRC.

accordingly,” Leebron wrote.

Leebron also said that Rice will evaluate whether different metrics such as campus population vaccination percentage, COVID positive testing rates on campus and in the surrounding metropolitan area warrant relaxing any campus policies regarding COVID-19. Kirby also said that he expects there to be no significant changes in COVID-19 safety restrictions this semester.

Last night, residential college presidents sent emails, which were obtained by the Thresher, to their colleges stating that oncampus students could now freely move between floors and enter any rooms within their colleges, and off-campus students could enter their residential college’s dorms.

Students must still wear masks, physically distance and adhere to room capacity limits.

Students are also not allowed to visit dorm rooms at other residential colleges.

Kirby also said that Rice is exploring the possibilities of allowing guests at the graduation ceremonies, and a decision will be announced by April 12.

In addition to the Rice vaccine distribution, many Rice community members were able to sign up for vaccine appointments at the Baylor St. Luke’s vaccine clinic at Rice, which opened on March 15 at Rice Stadium.

Following a wind-related incident, the clinic was permanently moved to the Biosciences Research Collaborative building and began operating there on March 24, according to Kirby.

“We had a big windstorm and even though their clinic in the stadium is protected, the wind came through and knocked over a lot of tables and partitions and things like that,” Kirby said. “So we previously offered them the BRC’s event space. So they said, ‘yeah, I think we probably want to change.’”

On Friday, Rice community members were notified by Crisis Management that the St. Luke’s clinic had opened vaccine appointments to Rice community members.

Kirby said that the appointments filled up quickly after they sent the alert, but the Rice administration does not have the number of how many Rice community members were able to sign up.

“Due to the state’s opening up of vaccine opportunities, Baylor St. Luke’s also opened up their scheduling to include individuals 16 and up. This created additional opportunities for the Rice community to schedule appointments,” Susann Glenn, director of communications for administration, said.

“As these are individual appointments through an external scheduler we do not have numbers to share of how many individuals were able to schedule.”

Glenn said that the Rice administration will send out a survey on Monday, April 5 encouraging Rice individuals to update their vaccine status with the university.

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4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

THE RICE THRESHER

OPINION

EDITORIAL

The twelfth residential college is a clean slate

Earlier this week, Rice’s Board of Trustees announced that they had approved a measure that, by 2025, will expand the undergraduate student body by 20 percent and add another residential college to Rice’s campus, giving us an even dozen. It is the latter announcement that struck us as particularly noteworthy, as the addition of a residential college is not all that common. Rice has added residential colleges twice in the last 20 years: Martel College in 2002 and McMurtry and Duncan Colleges in 2009. If you’re thinking that’s not all that long ago, keep in mind that 2009 was the first year Silly Bandz were sold in stores.

With the addition of a twelfth college, we thought it pertinent to point out that a lot can change in 12 years, be it culturally or socially, and that Rice has the opportunity to capitalize on the blank slate that is this soon-to-benamed college.

One of Rice’s most notable characteristics, both to those that call this campus home and to the rest of the world, is the residential college system. Because of this, the names of these institutions matter. They matter not only to how the rest of the world sees us, but how we view ourselves and the values our campus holds. These are things to keep in mind when the powers-that-be decide upon a name for number 12.

We understand that Rice does not have full control over the naming process. Individuals give this school a lot of money, they would

like to be honored for their contributions, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. But we would be remiss if we didn’t bring up that currently, nine of the 11 colleges are named after white men. The only ones named after women, Brown and Jones, were originally all-women’s colleges. To not take this fact into account when naming the next residential college would project that this school has not grown nearly as much as we’d like to think it has over the last 12 years.

To the donors looking to sponsor the next residential college — you don’t have to name it after yourself. George R. Brown and his wife Alice Pratt Brown — names you’ll find on other Rice buildings — donated $1 million to establish Brown College and named it after their sister-in-law; Jesse H. Jones did the same in naming Jones College after his wife. These donors may have only considered their relatives, but they made great strides in honoring women with residential college names. You too have large influence over the naming process of this new residential college, and you should consider honoring a woman or person of color who is particularly influential and deserving of such recognition, such as one of the first Black students or professors at Rice.

Beyond the name, establishing the traditions of the new college sets a precedent for the direction we want Rice to go in.

This editorial has been condensed for print.

ONLINE OPINION

online at

The statue is only a starting point It is, in fact, the Black men and women whose blood and sweat made that money that we really owe for the university we love.

And we owe them ... penitence and recompense.

Laura Berwick BAKER COLLEGE ‘00

Have an opinion? Submit your draft to thresher@rice.edu.

Corrections In “Beer Bike races will follow revised format to ensure COVID-19 safety,” there will be four races between three teams instead of six heats of two, five bikers and chuggers instead of six and no cool-down lap.

OPINION

Student Association committees deserve more from students

Rice students don’t pay attention to the Student Association. This is clear from recent Thresher coverage on the low voter turnout during the SA election and students’ inability to identify the people they “elected” to the executive team. If it weren’t for current SA President Kendall Vining’s encouragement to apply for Academics Committee chair last year, I would have fallen into that category too. I learned that although the SA is designed to represent and empower all student voices regardless of whether they hold a formal SA position in order to better our campus and broader Houston community, it struggles with apathy (or worse, alienation) and a lack of participation. This has adversely impacted its capacity to be a force for change and to create a shared space for pursuing fulfilling work and building community around student-driven goals. This organization wants and needs broader campus engagement to effectively advocate for students’ needs.

One particularly accessible yet historically underutilized means for doing so is the Standing Committees.

Committees are an opportunity for students who might not have chosen to run for an elected position to still engage in collective student advocacy. There are nine, each focused on a distinct area of the Rice student experience: academics, athletics, beyond the hedges, diversity & inclusion, environmental, student health services, student life, students with disabilities council and wellbeing. Committees work on projects, meet with administrators and students,

STAFF

* Editorial Board member Ivanka Perez* Editor-in-Chief Rishab Ramapriyan* Editor-in-Chief Amy Qin* Managing Editor NEWS Savannah Kuchar* Editor Rynd Morgan* Editor Talha Arif Asst. Editor Brian Lin Asst. Editor

conduct research, host events and produce until well into the fall semester, and often legislation. Some notable past initiatives directionless due to unclear leadership.

From my perspective, the tradition include advocating for composting in the serveries, lowering costs for on-campus STI of the co-chair leadership structure of testing, increasing access to research committees compounds the issue, and can opportunities and creating International lead to unequal sharing of responsibilities.

Absent well-defined Night. leadership or projects, As much work some committees as committees legitimately have pursued in Committees need accomplish very little, the past, based on justifying perceptions my experience, intentional and dedicated of unproductivity committees are leaders that will support in a self-fulfilling fraught with their committee members p r o p h e c y , problems that overshadowing the extend past the in pursuing projects that work of the most difficulties of make a tangible impact active committees Zoom University. on campus and increase and keeping all of Committees are committee visibility. them stuck in the relatively hidden.

Even from those familiar with the SA, I have cycle of invisibility. This year there will be been told committees are often a mystery. some changes to the committee leadership Historically, members of the SA Senate only structure, from co-chairs, to distinct positions hear about committees during beginning- of chair and vice chair. The differentiation and end-of-term Senate presentations, and of responsibilities will make it easier for there is a reputation that nothing happens students who have not engaged with the SA in between. This means that when students before to become involved, but creating the bring ideas to their college representatives opportunity won’t lead to change if no one (or representatives have project ideas applies for the role or takes steps to become themselves), committees are far from top of more engaged. To break the cycle, committees mind, and representatives pursue the projects need intentional and dedicated leaders that on their own or encourage interested students will support their committee members in to turn to other areas of the organization pursuing projects that make a tangible impact for support. Additionally, internal vice on campus and increase committee visibility.

I feel strongly about the potential presidents have struggled for years to recruit chairs; some committees remain leaderless committees have to be spaces for productive

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communication and collaboration, and I hope our reach expands to students who haven’t previously connected with the SA. Although committees need intentional and dedicated leaders, this can also look like pursuing projects as a committee member, partnering with the committee and/or sharing ideas with committee chairs, or simply being active about staying updated on SA communications. When students engage with them, committees become spaces where any student can leverage the SA’s relationships and resources in pursuit of their proposals, whether you are a formal committee member or not. Committees become places to brainstorm and connect with similarly passionate people in other pockets of campus, who become a support system in both long-term research and shortterm action-oriented steps to enact your ideas.

As conduits, committees possess the potential to link students with SA experience to those who do not, and empower all students to turn their ideas into reality. When students across Rice participate, committees become idea generators, wielding SA resources to tangibly impact the lives of their peers, their colleges and their campus.

Madison Bunting

MARTEL COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper of Rice University since 1916, is published each Wednesday during the school year, except during examination periods and holidays, by the students of Rice University.

Letters to the Editor must be received by 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication and must be signed, including college and year if the writer is a Rice student. The Thresher reserves the rights to edit letters for content and length and to place letters on its website.

Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor of the Ley Student Center: 6100 Main St., MS-524 Houston, TX 77005-1892 Phone: (713) 348 - 4801 Email: thresher@rice.edu Website: www.ricethresher.org The Thresher is a member of the ACP, TIPA, CMA, and CMBAM. © Copyright 2021

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 • 5

THE RICE THRESHER

FEATURES

State of Research A year into the pandemic, research goes on — but not without some big changes.

See more at ricethresher.org

Study Breaks From window swaps to chihuahas, The Thresher presents 21 ways to spice up your study breaks.

See more at ricethresher.org

From farming to designing vaccines, alum Barney Graham solves problems RISHAB RAMAPRIYAN

found out that I had been accepted to Rice.”

After graduating, Graham served as an alumni interviewer, which he said helped him understand why he had been accepted in the first place.

“There are a lot of smart people out there.

And there’s a lot of people who have a lot of ideas. But there are not that many people who know how to finish things, or how to finish projects,” Graham said. “I, at a young age, could figure out how to organize and design a barn or fence and get those projects finished … They saw something in that idea that you could design and finish a project that superseded just being smart.”

Graham found his first semester at Rice quite challenging, having not been used to the level of competition or work. He said his pumpkin grades were subpar, but they provided him the motivation to work harder in his new environment and apply the problemsolving skills he had gained on the farm.

Graham started out as a mathematics major at Rice, but he took a topology class in his junior year and found the discipline too abstract and theoretical for his liking. He turned to biology in search of a less theoretical discipline, yet topology found a way to come back into his life eventually.

“I just couldn’t take [topology] anymore.

And I said, ‘I’m never going to be able to apply this in my life,’” Graham said. “But the interesting thing is that because of all our work on structure based vaccine design and protein engineering, and trying to understand how antibodies recognize proteins to make vaccines, a lot of my current life involves understanding surface contours and the topology of proteins. So I use topology concepts all the time.”

After Rice, Graham received his doctorate of medicine from University of Kansas School of Medicine, a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and completed his residency and infectious diseases fellowship at Vanderbilt. In 2000, Graham was recruited as a founding investigator for the Vaccine Research Center at NIAID. Graham’s work on the COVID-19 vaccine stemmed from his expertise in understanding the structure of proteins responsible for viral entry into cells, specifically the respiratory syncytial virus. His lab had started working

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Last week, hundreds of Rice community members received the second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine following the spontaneous vaccine clinic during the February winter storm. Few may have known that a Rice alumnus, Barney Graham (Will Rice College ’75), was the mastermind behind the vaccine’s messenger RNA sequence entering their cells.

Graham serves as deputy director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’s Vaccine Research Center.

Graham’s viral pathogenesis lab designed the first mRNA vaccine candidate that would express a stabilized form of the SARSCoV-2 spike protein, and then partnered with Moderna to rapidly manufacture the vaccine for clinical trials. The spike protein is used by the virus to gain entry into a host cell, and generating neutralizing antibodies against this spike protein is the ultimate goal of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

Graham’s journey into science began on a farm in Paola, Kansas. His father, a dentist, purchased a farm when Graham was 12 years old. Graham and his brother raised quarter horses, cattle and hogs, which was a challenging assignment that allowed Graham to sharpen his problemsolving skills.

“There’s always a problem on the farm,” Graham said. “With that many animals and that much equipment, there’s always something breaking or in trouble. I learned a lot that way.”

Graham applied early decision to Rice, and right after being interviewed for admission, he fully expected to be rejected.

When his interviewer asked how many books he had read that summer, Graham replied that he had read none. Rather, he had been working on his family farm, where he built a barn and put up miles of fencing.

“He said, ‘You didn’t read any books?

Well, I have students in here every day, who have told me they read two or three hundred books over the summer,’ and I said, ‘Well, that was not me,’” Graham recalled. “I was really incredibly surprised later when I

RISHAB RAMAPRIYAN / THRESHER

Graham shows The Thresher a model of the coronavirus spike protein, which he was already studying prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. His work on stabilizing this protein and designing a vaccine allowed his lab to quickly finalize mRNA sequence for the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein in January 2020.

on coronaviruses because of the 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak, during which they developed a technique to induce stabilizing mutations into the spike protein sequence for vaccine design. By producing a mRNA sequence that could express a stable structure of the spike protein, Graham and his team had already solved the biggest challenge in making a COVID-19 vaccine for the spike protein.

“We knew how to make a good vaccine antigen, and because of all the other epidemics that we’ve been responding to that decade we wanted to do something in a more proactive way to be ready for the next pandemic,” Graham said.

When Graham and his team learned on Jan. 6, 2020 that the new outbreak in Wuhan, China was a coronavirus, they got to work immediately. They flipped an ongoing project with Moderna for another mRNA vaccine to make a prototype for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“On Jan. 7, we talked to the CEO of Moderna, and he said as soon as you send us the sequence and what to make, they’ll start manufacturing,” Graham said. “[Moderna] had rapid manufacturing technology so we were combining precision with rapid speed.”

Graham and his team received the sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on Jan. 10, and completed the vaccine design and finalized the mRNA vaccine

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sequence in the span of a few days to allow manufacturing to begin on Jan. 14.

Following three phases of clinical trials, the Food and Drug Administration approved the Moderna vaccine under an Emergency Use Authorization in November. The U.S. government has ordered 300 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to date.

Graham said he believes that the lessons learned from designing the COVID-19 vaccine will allow researchers like him to design a future vaccine candidate even faster than the COVID-19 vaccine’s record time. Graham and his team are still busy working on monoclonal antibody treatments and vaccine design for COVID-19 variants. “[The vaccine’s success] hasn’t really quite sunk in for me yet,” Graham said. “It’s very gratifying to see people getting immunized.

It’s a wonderful thing to see the relief.”

Graham said his success in scientific research has taken a lot of persistence — something he first learned on his family’s farm in Kansas.

“Careers in science are a long time horizon. You have to often have delayed gratification to really do this and enjoy this.

It’s a lifetime investment and it’s not a big one-hit idea,” Graham said. “You need to realize that a lot of these learnings come in layers, and layers build up and often take you to places that you don’t expect.”

1 Hashtag for a daily history fact 2 Like caviar, but cheaper 3 End of a dead end 29-across 4 Quintessential sans serif font 5 ___ Spiegel 6 The Dragon of the West, in “Avatar: The Last Airbender” 7 Dogg who briefly became a Lion 8 End of a 47-down 9 Work of Faith Ringgold and Kara Walker 10 AUS state with capital Sydney 11 God, in Latin 17 Clean the floor 19 Sweet 16 team _____ Roberts 20 Den, for un oso 21 “___ death do us part” 23 End of spring 24 Korean-Mexican fusion medium 25 Chances 28 Zilch 31 End of a sentence 33 1960s war, colloquially 36 May contain air or tears?

38 Fuller of Vanderbilt 40 Thick book 42 Visual communication, in the US 43 Golden ratio symbol 44 Weasley with broken wand 45 Scottish crime novelist Josephine TEY 47 Toyota or Tata CAR 48 Counterpart of flow EBB

ACROSS 1 Killer whale 5 Demobilize 12 Bikers may take one of France 13 Triage pro 14 Meat market 15 House a couple 16 Beaver abode 18 Jump 19 Small American wild cat 22 Green pasta topping 26 Father of Talia al Ghul 27 Red marker on a map 29 Traversed by many 47-downs 30 Without delay, abbr.

32 Maya who designed memorial of 33-down 34 OLED alternative 35 Tied, for shoes 37 Tools of the Wild West 39 Same old routine 41 Wrestling surface 42 Small yellow stone fruit 46 Comes in jasmine or basmati varieties 49 Maya Angelou quote “You may _____ __ with your words” 50 Anti-police brutality acronym 51 Violinist Stirling 52 Rosemary or sage

THE RICE THRESHER

6 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Rice Design reflects on its inaugural year and lays out its legacy

MAINAVI REDDY

as you. It’s never good to feel like you are struggling alone. That mental roadblock Launching a new club during a virtual is discouraging. Rice Design prevents semester requires creativity, dedication that.”

Despite the decentralized nature and attention to detail. Luckily for Rice Design, their founders, board and of remote club and career fairs, Rice members embody these very traits. Design was able to lay the foundation Rice Design has a mission to connect, by recruiting new members through educate and celebrate digital designers social media, according to the club’s vice on campus. In its inaugural year, the club president, Elena Margolin.

“Recruiting new students virtually has managed to recruit new members, host design contests, facilitate panels was tough, but we were met with such an unexpected amount of interest in our club and launch its own merch.

As an aspiring product designer and in design in general,” said Margolin, a McMurtry College currently majoring junior.

“They all in cognitive sciences said the same thing: and minoring in ‘Finally, a design club business, Cindy at Rice!’”

Sheng says she We were met with such Still, the club encountered a an unexpected amount of founders faced several lack of support interest in our club and in unique challenges, such for Design at Rice. as maintaining member Sheng founded design in general. [New engagement and officer Rice Design in members] all said the communication in the August 2020 with same thing: ‘Finally, a midst of Zoom fatigue, the purpose of design club at Rice!’” incompatible time zones providing a platform and hectic schedules. and network for The officers thus placed aspiring designers Elena Margolin an emphasis on team like herself.

RICE DESIGN VICE PRESIDENT bonding activities such “Rice doesn’t as Rice Design eats, which really support our type of career path as much as traditional provides subsidized meals for members to STEM research-oriented careers,” said remotely eat together. Additionally, Rice Sheng, a McMurtry College sophomore. Design plans to begin hosting more in-person “So, if you want to make design a events this semester.

“I’m super excited for Rice Design to go potential career path, it’s nice to meet other people who have the same passions in person. It might be a slow transition, but

COURTESY RICE DESIGN

THRESHER STAFF

some of the officers have already started to meet each other in person for the first time, which has been a blast. We’ve been guessing each others’ heights on Discord for those who haven’t met yet,” Margolin said.

In addition to laying the groundwork for a tight-knit club community, the club hosted 14 virtual events last semester including guest lectures from professional designers, workshops on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, student panels and competitions to teach and promote design at Rice. According

to club officers, having a high volume of events was important for getting their name out to the student body. Now that the club has gained a foothold on campus, they say they are moving in a different direction. Whatever the future direction of the club, the strong foundation of their inaugural semester has laid the foundation for Rice Design in the coming years.

This article has been condensed for print. Read the full story online at ricethresher.org.

Chemtrails and Controversy: Lana Del Rey’s newest album fails to impress fails to live up to its predecessor and doesn’t quite have that same social context to hit the cultural impact that Swift’s work had. And that isn’t even considering the mess of controversies Del Rey has entangled herself in since “NFR!” While Del Rey’s seventh studio album “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” satisfies fans of the singer’s more stripped down sound, the project doesn’t hold a candle to its Grammy - nominated predecessor and unfortunately can’t escape the shadow of Del Rey’s recent controversies.

Now, Del Rey has emphasized that she wishes critics would focus on just COURTESY POLYDOR RECORDS her music and not her personal life.

However, when discussing Del Rey’s music, it would be irresponsible to ignore the missteps she has made recently.

CALEB DUKES The social context of this album’s release is FOR THE THRESHER One would imagine that it would be extremely important and does affect the art hard to release a record that could top itself, no matter how much Del Rey would like the monumental critical success of Lana to believe it doesn’t. If she actually read this Del Rey’s last album “Norman Fucking article, it would probably infuriate her, which Rockwell!” They would be right. Her latest is part of the problem.

In May 2020, the songstress posted an project, while a valiant effort to return to Del Rey’s roots and explore storytelling à open letter on Instagram titled “Question la Taylor Swift’s “folklore” or “evermore,” for the culture,” in which she lamented her

WEEKLY SCENES AND SCREENS

treatment by the media as a glamourizer of domestic abuse, among other things. The now infamous crown jewel of the letter was a list of other women singers who she implied sang about sexually explicit or socially taboo topics just as much or more than she does but are treated better by the media and fans.

CHEMTRAILS OVER THE COUNTRY CLUB Genre: Alternative / Indie Top Track: “Dark but Just a Game”

Most of the singers Del Rey listed in her letter were Black women who have certainly experienced plenty of racist and sexist criticism and harassment from the media throughout their careers, though the singer denies intentionally choosing those particular artists based on race. After Del Rey refused to apologize for her willful ignorance and continued to dig herself further into a hole by posting more letters and comments that bordered on racial color blindness and extreme internalized misogyny, it seemed

like her career was spiraling downwards very quickly. Since then, Del Rey has gotten herself caught up in many more controversies, namely by getting defensive about accusations of cultural appropriation, a huge shift from her former persona as the liberal witch who hexed Donald Trump to fail on his inauguration day.

Putting her reputation in context, we get “Chemtrails Over the Country Club,” a soft collection of crooning ballads and memories.

I sit on my bedroom floor, taking it in through the speakers of a record player, the true Del Rey listening experience. It opens with the album’s latest single, “White Dress,” a beautiful song that hears Del Rey straining to hit high notes in the best way possible. The lyrics, however, tie back into her controversies in a very tone deaf way. Reminiscing on how she “felt seen” as a young performer at the “men in music business conference” harkens back to one of Del Rey’s earliest criticisms: romanticizing a reliance on men in order for women to succeed. It is a small part of the chorus that gets no elaboration, but it stands out just enough that it is impossible to go into the rest of the album without cringing.

This article has been condensed for print.

Read the full story online at ricethresher.org.

ACAPELLOOZA

DIY AT CAMH

UH MFA THESIS EXHIBITION

ROLLING AT DISCOVERY GREEN

Treatyour earsto the smooth sounds of Rice’s many a capella groups at Acapellooza, a collaborative online showcase streaming this Friday, April 2 at 8 p.m. The show’s link will be released on the Facebook event page later this week. For a communal viewing experience, sign up for a watch party at Brown or Lovett Colleges.

Drop by the Contemporary Art Museum Houston to pick up a free art kit as part of the museum’s Open Studio event “Temporary Structures” this Saturday, April 3 from 2-4 p.m. The art kit will include supplies to create temporary paper sculptures inspired by the CAMH exhibition “Wild Life.” A limited supply of art kits is available.

See bodies of work from 12 Master of Fine Arts degree candidates from the University of Houston School of Art at the 43rd Annual MFA Thesis Exhibition, on view from March 27 to April 11 at the Blaffer Art Museum.

Each candidate developed their pieces over the three-year proram, making the exhibit a rich display of diverse rising artists.

The outdoor roller rink at Discovery Green closes next Sunday, April 11.

Don’t miss your chance to skate under the Houston skyline! Tickets are $12 including skate rental and must be purchased in advance.

Masks are required.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 • 7

THE RICE THRESHER

SPORTS

Volleyball rides hot streak into conference tournament REED MYERS

FOR THE THRESHER

After having their season delayed five months, the Owls set off on a journey that ended with an undefeated conference season, an overall record of 14-4 and a momentous win against No. 2 University of Texas, Austin.

Ranked No. 24 in the latest national poll, the Owls will look to build off of their success in the Conference USA tournament, which starts this Thursday.

The beginning of their season was not smooth sailing for the Owls, as they dropped three of their first four matches: one loss to the University of Houston and two at the hands of Southern Methodist University. Despite the losses, head coach Genny Volpe credits the competition for preparing the Owls for games later on in the season.

“It took us a few matches for us to settle into our roles and execute at a more consistent level,” Volpe said. “All four of those matches were played against quality competition and inevitably we really benefited from them.”

After their difficult start, the Owls opened conference play by making quick work of Louisiana Tech University at Tudor Fieldhouse, taking the opening two matches in straight sets. The Owls built upon this momentum, taking their next two matches against the University of Southern Mississippi, and then another two against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, all in straight sets, giving them a streak of 18 consecutive sets to open conference play.

While that streak came to a close in their following game, the Owls continued their strong performances, winning their next six matches to close out conference play.

Volpe said that the final two matches of their conference schedule, on the road at the University of Texas, El Paso, proved to be statement wins in the Owls’ season.

“When we went on the road at UTEP and came up with two solid wins, that stood out to me as a defining moment,” Volpe said.

“It’s tough to win there not only once but twice, and we did it with a strong sense of determination.”

With the sweep of UTEP, the Owls made history as the first team in Rice’s history to complete a conference season undefeated, earning the Owls the first seed in the West Division. According to Volpe, the undefeated

conference season is a testament to the team’s focus and preparation.

“We were very consistent in our approach and fought out of tough situations,” Volpe said. “We had to fight for every win, and although we have had great seasons in the past with maybe one or two losses, having an undefeated season is something very special and says a lot about this team’s focus on the process, not the result.”

However, the Owls’ regular season was not yet complete. They still had to host No. 6 Baylor University, before going on the road to take on No. 2 UT. The Owls got out to a 2-1 lead against the Bears, but were unable to close out the win, losing in five sets.

The Owls ended their regular season on the road against the undefeated No. 2 Longhorns. After dropping the first set, the Owls fought back to take a 2-1 lead. Texas managed to force a fifth set, but the Owls pulled off their second upset of UT in as many years by taking the final set 15-10. According to junior setter Carly Graham, the Texas win was a true team effort.

Our goal is to win the conference tournament. We have worked so hard this season, and would not be satisfied with anything less.

Nicole Lennon Senior outside hitter “We went into that game knowing how great of an opportunity it was to play the second-ranked team in the country,” Graham said. “Everyone on the team was locked in; [we] gave each other energy to win that match.”

On a team of mostly underclassmen, senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon led the charge for the Owls. The only senior on the team, Lennon was the guiding force of the Owl offense night after night. On the season, she led the team with 334 points and 282 kills, while also ranking No. 23 nationally in total kills and No. 3 in C-USA’s conference play in kills per set with 4.12. According to Volpe, it

PHOTO COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS

Junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle celebrates a Rice win. Adekunle and the Owls will enter the Conference USA tournament this week after an undefeated record in conference play.

is not just Lennon’s performance on the court that stands out, but also her leadership and energy that are infectious amongst the team.

“Nicole Lennon has been a big staple of our program for the past four years,” said Volpe. “Her ability to perform day in and day out on a consistent level has really allowed her to shine as one of the best players in the entire country. She leads with her work ethic and her positive energy which is contagious.”

Volpe also credited Graham with being the “quarterback” of the team, due to her ability to facilitate the offense. Graham led the team with 681 assists, which earned her the 27th spot nationally in total assists, and also was second in C-USA in assists per set with 10.66.

“Graham has been orchestrating our offense all season at a very high level,” Volpe said. “She is a player that can take over a match, and that the opponent has to worry about. She has willed the team to victory with her passion for the game as well as her infectious competitive spirit.”

Junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle contributed 141 kills on her team-high .461 hitting percentage.

Adekunle’s hitting percentage was the fifth-highest in the country, and her conference hitting percentage of .454 gave her a share of the highest hitting percentage in the conference.

Volpe emphasizes the importance of Adekunle’s ability to impact the game on both sides of the ball.

“Adekunle is another player that we rely on for offense as well as defense at the net,”

Volpe said. “She continues to elevate her play daily and is one of the most fun players to watch attack the ball.”

After their success in conference play, the Owls will enter the C-USA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West division.

If they are able to avoid being upset in the first two rounds, the Owls will advance to the finals, where they will face the winner of the other half of the bracket. The No. 1 seed in that half is Western Kentucky University, who are currently ranked No. 19 in the country. While they haven’t played the Owls this season, the Hilltoppers have been a thorn in the Owls’ side in recent years. Last season, the Owls’ only C-USA loss came against the Hilltoppers in five sets. The two teams met again in the C-USA championship game, which WKU once again won in five sets.

As the age-old saying goes: A smooth sea never makes for a skilled sailor. The Owls will look to use the experiences and lessons from their previous matches against formidable foes like Texas and Baylor as they enter the conference tournament with their sights set on a C-USA championship.

“Our team goal is to win the conference tournament and get the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament,” Lennon said. “We have worked so hard this season and would not be satisfied with anything less.”

The Owls will take on the East division’s No. 4 seed, Middle Tennessee State University, on April 1 in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

COLUMN

Snubbed: Women’s basketball deserved a tourney bid BEN BAKER-KATZ SPORTS EDITOR

The Rice women’s basketball team, in an impressive showing, cruised to their program’s first WNIT Championship this past weekend. Despite their imminent victory, the question on my mind as the final seconds of the championship game against the University of Mississippi ticked off the clock was less than celebratory: Should the Owls have even been in the tournament in the first place?

The easy answer to that question is no, they shouldn’t have. They should have been invited to the big dance, NCAA’s March Madness, because they are one of the top 64 women’s basketball teams in the county this year. Evidence abounds in support of this claim — starting with the results of the tournament themselves.

The Owls won five straight games throughout the course of the WNIT, and none of them were particularly close. Their closest contest was the semi-final match against the University of Delaware, and even then the Owls beat the Blue Hens by an even 10 points. The Owls won their games by a combined total of 73 points, averaging out to 14.6 points per game. Those are blowouts.

In their final game of the tournament,

the Owls held Ole Miss to an abysmal 30 percent shooting percentage from the floor.

Rice, meanwhile, went about their business; they finished shooting 50 percent from the field, senior center Nancy Mulkey recorded seven blocks, and the Owls walked out of My Town Movers Fieldhouse (a high school gym, by the way, but that’s a discussion for a different time) victorious.

The Owls’ success in the WNIT shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. Entering the tournament, the Owls had a record of 18-4. The Owls’ record doesn’t even tell the whole story, as one of their four losses came in the final seconds against now No. 4-ranked Texas A&M University, and another was their three-point loss in the C-USA championship game. Meanwhile, four teams with double-digit losses received at-large bids to the NCAA tournament over Rice. The logic there was likely that those teams had tougher schedules than the Owls, but between holding their own against A&M, and a 19-point victory over Texas Tech University, who finished in seventh place in a top-tier conference, Rice proved themselves against tough competition all season.

If the Owls waltzing through the WNIT championship game wasn’t enough to convince you of the grave injustice committed by the NCAA selection committee,

PHOTO COURTESY CONFERENCE USA

Senior guard Sydne Wiggins during the Conference USA tournament. Despite their credentials, the Owls were denied a bid to the NCAA tournament, but won the WNIT in dominant fashion.

other metrics almost certainly will.

Every week, rankings are released naming the top-25 women’s basketball teams in the country. For the final six weeks of the season, Rice, along with a handful of other schools, received votes in these rankings.

Even if they were not a top-25 team, they were consistently in the conversation. That alone should qualify them for the tournament. But instead, after falling in the Conference USA Championship game, the Owls were passed up for the tournament because no one, least of all the selection committee, holds C-USA in high esteem.

At the end of the season, the NCAA released their NET rankings of every program in the country. This year, Rice was No. 65.

If NET rankings are gospel, then the Owls were the best team not selected for the tournament of the top 64. And because they

were the best team not selected, of course they won the WNIT. But the NCAA works in mysterious ways.

Nine teams ranked ahead of the Owls also missed the big dance, and were placed in the WNIT. The Owls never met the highestranked of those teams, the University of Missouri (No. 38), after they lost in the first round. The Owls beat the second highestranked of those teams, Ole Miss (No. 41), in the championship.

This season is now officially over, and who knows what the future has in store for Rice women’s basketball. But if Tina Langley and Co. can put together a similar regular season in 2022, with or without a conference championship, it would behoove the selection committee to remember that no team in the WNIT could come within 10 points of these Owls.

BACKPAGE

8 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

THE TRASHER EVE ISSUE

he Backpage Guide to April Fools’ Pranks Pretend there’s a sprinkle day tomorrow: Has a friend of yours really been getting on your nerves? Ask them to go out on the sprinkle day tomorrow.

No one cares about sprinkle days enough to know when they are anyway, so you can give them a small bit of false hope that they might not be suffering for a day. Complete the prank by waking them up boot camp style for their 8 a.m. with none of their assignments done.

Show up randomly in rooms: Many colleges have been relaxing their COVID rules a bit and allowing students to visit their friends on other floors within their college. Why not take advantage of this rule change tomorrow? So, go ahead and ruin any feeling of security for friends living close by. Prank your friends by breaking any type of boundary with them.

Try hiding under their bed, or maybe even sneaking in their closet. Better yet, just Don’t hide under their covers and make show up to class them find out the hard way that the or do any assignments: lump under their sheets is a person.

It’s important to be inclusive to everyone, even with your April Fools’ Day pranks, so how would it be fair to leave your professors out of the fun?

We suggest pranking your professors by not doing anything for the rest of the week. That’s it. April Fools!

Your grades? April Fools! This semester? April Fools!

Honor Council your friend: Tired of that one person who complains about how hard virtual college is when in reality he’s been cheating for the last 10 months? Want to finally be free of ungodly amounts of curve inflation? We here at the Backpage know that feeling well. To teach these people a lesson and have some fun in the process, it would be a great prank to email their professor a secret video of them being “inspired” by Chegg.

Everyone can laugh about it once your friend stops crying.

Contract and spread COVID (just kidding!): This prank is pretty self-explanatory, but the Backpage cannot officially condone biological warfare in a global pandemic. So, we would like to clarify that this is entirely a joke. Furthermore, we cannot condone pretending to have COVID as a prank and forcing your roommates into quarantine — but, that sounds a lot less messed up than the first suggestion, right?

The Backpage is satire, written this week by Edward Wong and Timmy Mansfield, edited by Simonapril Matovic and designed by Simona Matofools. To prank us, email JamesJoyceLovesFarts@rice.edu.

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