The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, March 2, 2022

VOLUME 106, ISSUE NO. 21 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Kelley Lash, student media advisor and advocate, remembered by friends, family TALHA ARIF

NEWS EDITOR

Director of Student Media Kelley Lash passed away on Feb. 21. She was 46 years old.

After graduating from Georgia Southern University with a double major in English and Journalism, Lash worked as director of student media at Methodist College in North Carolina. She later moved back to Georgia, and after holding multiple positions there, Lash joined Rice as director of student publications in 2010.

According to Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman, Lash had a vision for a department united to support all modes of student media, so in 2015 Rice integrated KTRU with the Thresher and Campanile and appointed Lash director of student media. She then oversaw all student media platforms.

Fenton McGonnell, Lash’s father, said Lash was a deeply passionate person, whether for the journalism students she oversaw or for the Texans football team.

“We have four daughters who are four of the most amazing women I know,” McGonnell wrote in an email to the Thresher. “Their mother and I tried to instill in them the attitude [that] they could anything they wanted to be. And they have made us proud.”

Andrew Lash, her husband, said whenever anyone was down, Lash had the superpower to bring them right back up.

“Kelley was fierce, enduring, lasting, caring, creative,” Andrew Lash, customer relations assistant at the Gibbs Recreation Center, wrote in an email to the Thresher.

“She was always creating delicious cupcakes or [baking] to ensure the kids had a sweet treat to get them through the week. The best way to describe it was from her latest favorite show. She was a real life Ted Lasso — sweet, caring, positive and always there for anyone who has ever met her, especially her babies (students).”

KTRU station manager Chloe Liebenthal said Lash gave her a “believe” sticker from Ted Lasso that she immediately put up in her room.

“Over the past week, whenever I’ve been feeling really awful, I’ve just kind of looked at that sticker where I put it up on my whiteboard and just thought about how much she cared about trying to inspire us and make us believe in ourselves,” Liebenthal, a McMurtry College junior, said.

Susann Glenn, director of communications for administration, said one thing she loved about Lash was that she would always stop whatever she was doing if someone needed her.

“She could have been dealing with a zillion other things, and she usually always was dealing with a zillion other things, but she would stop everything and listen to me,” Glenn said. “She always knew the right words to say, and if she didn’t have the words

to say she had a shoulder that you could lean on.”

Associate Dean of Undergraduates Catherine Clack said Lash was a ray of sunshine, even on her worst days. Clack said her first memories that always come to mind involve Lash’s love of books and their shared love of the Backstreet Boys.

“We argued on the way to one of their concerts about

always such a warm and caring presence and did so much to support all of us. It feels like she gave us all such a beautiful gift.”

Lash was also heavily involved with the College Media Association, serving as president from 2015 to 2017. Last year, she received CMA’s Ron Spielberger Award.

Current CMA President Chris Whitley said that Lash was a one-woman cheerleader for the CMA. “She got involved in everything,” Whitley said. “She loved sharing stories with friends, but she was just as likely to introduce herself to the new adviser awkwardly standing in the corner who didn’t know anyone … Her loss is felt beyond Houston. Advisers all around North America knew Kelley and are grieving right now.”

Chappell also said anyone who knew Lash knew she loved tacos.

He said one memory about Lash that always comes to mind stems from a CMA summer convention in Minneapolis.

“We had just finished a day of sessions, and somebody at the

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM COURTESY JUAN SALDAÑA, ANASTASIA BOLSHAKOV, TINA NAZERIAN, ANNA WILDE

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM COURTESY CAMPANILE, RYAN ALMON, ZOE ZALTA, KELLEY LASH, ANDREW TA Fifty Shades of Grey (the books),” Clack wrote in an email to the Thresher. “I found it easy to set aside my feminist sensibilities for smutty summer reads, but Kelley was just appalled. It was a lively, fun and heated debate, and one that I cherish. Of course, once we hit the concert, it was over and done and we were able to share a love of their music with glee and ease.”

Liebenthal said Lash always prioritized friendship and caring for and supporting each other, even when times were tough. “[She was] a true friend,” Liebenthal said.

“Somebody I could always go to for support, for friendship, and for advice, who was

conference said, ‘Hey, there’s a tequila bar down the street that has buy one get one free tacos,’ and Kelley sat straight up and said, ‘Buy one get one free tacos?

I think we need to go there,’” Chappell said. “Most of us went because, tequila, but she went because, tacos. And I think she ordered one of every style taco that was on the menu just to ensure she got to taste something, and shared them with the whole table … and Kelley’s just sitting there tasting taco after taco and having the time of her life.”

Bradley Wilson, managing editor of College Media Review, said he has taken thousands of pictures in his nearly-twenty years with the CMA, but couldn’t find a single one of Lash.

“It’s just a sign of how Kelley worked hard behind the scenes and didn’t need or want to be out front,” Wilson said. “She wasn’t hung up on getting credit. She was hung up on getting things done right.”

Rachele Kanigel, the CMA president preceding Lash, said Lash was the embodiment of all things CMA — friendly, supportive and a champion of student press rights.

“Now, when I’m unsure what to do or how to act in a situation, I often find myself asking, ‘What would Kelley do?,’” Kaniegel said.

“When I do that, I know I’ll come up with the right answer. I hope to be able to channel my inner Kelley for the rest of my life.”

Lash was also an active McMurtry College associate. Brad Blunt, a fellow associate at McMurtry, said he would best describe Lash as unapologetically nerdy, generous and someone who thought the greatest reason for celebration was the success of others rather than her own.

“She knew the birthday of every student in an O-Week group and what their favorite flavors were, and when one of those students was celebrating a birthday, Kelley would make special cupcakes from scratch featuring the student’s favorites,” Blunt said.

Glenn said Lash was a fierce advocate for her students, friends and family. Wilson also said Lash was one of the most vocal advocates for student journalists he knew, and said that’s how she would want to be remembered.

“A lot of college media advisers find themselves at some point fighting for the First Amendment,” Wilson said. “I’d say Kelley did that almost every day.”

In her most recent Tweet, Lash voiced her support for The Battalion after the A&M administration demanded the student newspaper cease printing.

Several Rice student media alumni shared messages and remembrances of Kelley as a tribute to her impact.

KTRU will be dedicating their outdoor show on March 5 to Lash’s memory and all proceeds will go to Lash’s family. KTRU has been talking with Lash’s family to determine the best way to honor her moving forward, according to Liebenthal.

Multiple colleagues and friends of Lash, including Whitley, Gorman and Glenn, said they will always remember her smile.

“My first impression of her was her smile,” Glenn said. “I mean, she always had a smile on … her aura was all about, ‘How can I welcome you, how can I make you feel comfortable?’”

Whitley said Lash loved Rice and loved her students in college media.

“She led her students to numerous national awards, and she was a beaming mother to all of them when they did,” Whitley said. “Rice will miss her. We all will.”

Lash is survived by her husband and her daughter, Riley Callaway. A memorial service for her will be held March 5 at 1 p.m. at Pittman Park United Methodist Church in Statesboro, Georgia.

This article has been condensed for print.

Read the full article at ricethresher.org.

2 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

THE RICE THRESHER

Baker Institute hosts panel on Russia-Ukraine Conflict LINDSEY RAN

FOR THE THRESHER The Russian invasion of Ukraine is to show that Putin’s sphere of influence is greater and the 21st century is not going to be like the post-Cold War period, Zachary Zwald, international security expert, said during a Baker Institute Student Forum panel. BISF hosted the panel of experts to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Feb. 24, with an estimated 115 students in attendance, according to BISF Vice President Thomas Kovac.

The day before the panel, by 6 a.m.

Eastern European Time on Feb. 24, Putin announced the start of a military operation in Ukraine, and Russia launched a series of missile attacks that began the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the New York Times.

Three professors from the University of Houston’s Russian Studies and Political Science Departments were present at the BISF panel, featuring Zwald, David Rainbow, a modern Europe and Russia CHANNING WANG / THRESHER historian and Alexey Golubev, Russian The Baker Institute Student Forum hosted history scholar. an experts panel discussion about the Andrew Wan, president of BISF, said Russia-Ukraine conflict on Feb. 24. that when they first planned this event, they thought the Russia-Ukraine conflict would be an interesting topic. However, since the Russian invasion, the scope for domestic consumption,” Zwald said of this event greatly increased, and this during the panel discussion. “This isn’t event provided the historic and cultural what’s motivating the strategic calculations ... But now tonight, I am reassessing that background for Russia’s actions.

“When we were initially planning completely.”

Rainbow broke down the years of this event … we obviously didn’t know the invasion would happen, we were historical defeats that Putin was attempting trying to give more ... than just the news to negate with his Ukrainian invasion. “[Putin] is sort of undoing not only the and the minutiae of the troops and everything, but what the panelists talked collapse of the Soviet Union, not only the about, [which were] the historical and collapse of the Russian empire, but he’s cultural motivations that are underlying [also] undoing with this move the invasion this situation,” Wan, a senior from Jones of the Mongols in 1223 and getting back to the way [he thinks] it ought to have been,” College, said.

Rainbow began the panel discussion Rainbow said.

Golubev said that Ukraine’s application by breaking down the common origins of Russian and Ukrainian culture, which for NATO membership ultimately made went back to the 9th century with the no difference in influencing the Russian invasion, and it’s important for Americans founding of Kievan Rus. “When Kievan Rus formed, this was the to understand the significant differences most powerful Slavic principality based between the American way of thought and in Kyiv,” Rainbow said. “[But] when the the Russian way of thought.

“The people who became patriots of Mongols invaded into eastern Europe in the 13th century after Kievan Rus had become this Russian year, they draw their ideas of Christianized and became a regional political rationality not from nice classrooms power … the political powers had moved like this one, not from communication, but north ... and Moscow had become the most from the front line where they fight against the Ukrainian army,” Golubev said. “When powerful of the Slavic principalities.” [the Russians] refer G o l u b e v to [the Ukrainians] said that, until as nationalists the Bolshevik and fascists and Revolution in 1917, The best thing is to be Nazis, we keep the idea of Ukraine on discarding and Russia as one informed, to post on social the Russian people prevailed, media … talk about this government’s an idea that Putin is event [and] fundraise argument … greatly influenced and donate money to the [Instead], we should by. treat it as a sensor “In the 19th soldiers and civilians. showing us what’s century, the Yuliia Suprun going on in the dominant imperial heads of the people ideology was that MCMURTRY COLLEGE JUNIOR who are making [pre-Slavic people] are the same people,” Golubev said. “That up Russian political discussion right now. changes with the Bolshevik Revolution, In their heads, they do fight against Nazis but I think that’s the key thing about Putin because they do operate very differently.”

Previous actions by Russia did belie … [he] thinks in imperialist terms, and many of the catchphrases that he is using this intent to act on Ukraine, according to in his foreign political rationale, they go Rainbow.

“The Russian annexation of Crimea back to the pre-1917 Russian ideology.”

Zwald said that the previous in 2014 was, in my opinion, a Rubicon assumptions of the strategic community moment,” Rainbow said.

Rainbow said that one of the reasons for are changing due to the Ukrainian Russia’s invasion is Ukraine’s important invasion.

“Until last night, the general consensus geographic location.

“Russia starts sending troops around point in policy making in strategic community thinking was this is rhetoric Crimea which is a peninsula in the Black

Sea on the southern edge of Ukraine,” Rainbow said. “Because Russia has military bases … this is Russia’s access to the Black Sea, and it is a major, major strategic position, so Russia is not going to lose control of this naval asset. There’s just no way.”

Rainbow said that Russia’s invasion sets a problematic and dangerous precedent, exposing Ukraine as a vulnerable and isolated target.

“So when [Ukraine] lost its territorial sovereignty in Crimea, and nobody lifted a finger, it immediately meant that no one is ever going to give up nuclear weapons again,” Rainbow said. “From Putin’s perspective, it was proof, it was a test that Ukraine was on its own, so he had a huge vote of confidence from the international committee that if he wants to push more on Ukraine that they’re not going to do anything.”

Yuliia Suprun, a Ukrainian foreign exchange student, said that the Russian invasion has forced her family into shelters.

Suprun grew up in the city of Sumy, which is about 30 miles from the border.

“As soon as Putin declared the special operations, which is basically the declaration of war, [the Russians] started to bomb all the major cities of Ukraine,” Suprun, a McMurtry College junior, said.

“The same day [Russia] invaded Ukraine, and you could see tanks moving from the window of my home. There are a lot of people who just live [in the bomb shelters] with suitcases … but my parents … still live at our apartment, and when they heard the air raid warnings, they ran [to the shelters].”

Suprun said that there is a misleading influence of Russian propaganda from the perspective of eastern Ukraine.

“The eastern part [of Ukraine] speaks Russian and the western part speaks Ukrainian. I live in the eastern part, and in my daily life, I speak Russian,” Suprun said. “Even though I speak Russian, I still support Ukraine. [Putin] says most Ukrainians want to join Russia because they speak Russian and like Russian culture. That’s why [Russians] need to invade [Ukraine] and give [Ukrainians] this choice. [Russia] wants to liberate Ukraine from this bad government of neo-Nazis, and wants to give them the democratic choice of joining them … It is ridiculous.”

Suprun said that there should be more awareness overall among the Rice students.

“I think it is very important to show a clear stand … and that we should condemn these actions because staying silent is compliance,” Suprun said. “The best thing is to be informed, to post on social media … talk about this event [and] fundraise and donate money to the soldiers and civilians.”

Kovac said that BISF tries to put on many events like this about pressing issues, whether it be domestic affairs or international relations.

“Lots of students, and people in general, know domestic policy a lot more than foreign policy,” Kovac, a junior from Wiess College, said. “So we try to put on events foreign policy-related so this is one of the goals to just talk about a major event happening so it worked out.”

Rodrigo Gonzales-Rojas, a senior at Duncan College, said that he came to this panel to gain contextualization after realizing that world politics would be undergoing significant changes soon.

“I think that right now the U.S. is in a place in the world where our relationship with the global community, whether that is economic or militaristic, is going to be in flux,” Gonzalez-Rojas said. “Over the past several years we’ve had many of our expectations of what stability looks like and what our world looks like shattered, so I came to this because I wanted to know the history of this, and more importantly, what should we do — what are the consequences of our actions from a decade’s perspective.”

Trey Weltens, a sophomore at Duncan College, said that he gained a more comprehensive understanding of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict after the panel.

“I think I gained an understanding of how Ukraine has historically understood itself as a culturally distinct group, [and] just an understanding of how complex this case is,” Weltens said.

Golubev said that students should strive to be knowledgeable of world events and resist tunneling into just one event.

“Just as there is a war going on in Ukraine, there have been humanitarian disasters in Yemen [and] Bolivia for years.

This world is a conflict-driven world, and we should be aware of that,” Golubev said.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022 • 3

NEWS

Primary election voting takes place at Sewell

HAJERA NAVEED & TALHA ARIF

ASST NEWS EDITOR & NEWS EDITOR The welcome center at Sewall Hall served as an on-campus polling location for the Texas primary election, polls for which opened Tuesday March 1, following the early voting that ended Feb. 25.

Texas holds an open primary, meaning voters can decide which party’s ballot to vote for regardless of registration. Texas voters this primary election will decide nominees for governor, different statewide positions and 38 House seats.

Mason Reece, the Democratic primary presiding judge, said he was motivated to take this position because of some issues in the polling location in 2018.

“Some voters, particularly students, were not serviced properly so I made it sort of a goal to service people appropriately in the 2020 election and I have just continued that,” Reece, a Hanszen College senior, said. “This is a great way for students to empower each other and empower our community. It’s a great way to motivate democracy and motivate engagement.”

Reece said there were a few technical difficulties with the machines at the Sewell Hall location but they haven’t had problems with any voters.

Ethan Perryman, a Baker College junior who voted in the Democratic ballot on March 1, said he thinks it is important to vote in the primaries because it can lead to nominating a candidate who can actually win against a Republican candidate in the state election. Perryman said he used Ballotpedia to learn about the races.

“I didn’t have time to educate myself on all the county judges and stuff like that, but I at least had time to look at the bigger state elections, which I think is better than nothing,” Perryman said.

Vivian Zheng, a volunteer at the Sewall polling station, said she thinks there was pretty good turnout for the primary at their location so far early in the day. There was no on-campus polling location for the 2020 primaries, and the presidential election polling location was at the football stadium.

“I think because the polling location is now in Sewall, which is so much

Former Rice football player sentenced to twelve years for death of teammate VIOLA HSIA

SENIOR WRITER Former Rice football player Stuart Mouchantaf has been sentenced to 144 months in federal prison for his role in the death of his former teammate, Blain Padgett. His ruling states that Mouchantaf must serve three months of supervised release at the end of his sentence.

Mouchantaf (Hanszen College ’16), who originally pleaded guilty on Feb. 20, 2020, gave Padgett the drug carfentanil, which resulted in Padgett dying from an accidental overdose.

According to a KPRC article, Padgett bought the pills from Mouchantaf thinking the pills contained hydrocodone.

However, the pills were counterfeit, and actually had carfentanil.

Following Mouchantaf’s guilty plea, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman said in a Thresher article published in 2018 that the Rice community will

continue to remember Padgett during this tragic situation.

“Blain’s friends and everyone else who knew him well here at Rice still miss him terribly,” Gorman said. “We wish peace and comfort for his family, who remain foremost in our thoughts.”

Padgett, a 21 year old Lovett College junior at the time, and Mouchantaf were defensive linemen on Rice’s football team.

Padgett was found dead in his apartment in March 2018, following the exchange of drugs.

Mouchantaf appeared in court last week before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake.

In his address to the court, he said his heart ached for the pain the Padgett family has to live with, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“I’m consumed with remorse for the loss of your son,” Mouchantaf said.

Mouchantaf, 27, is currently in custody, pending his transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

CHANNING WANG / THRESHER Former Rice football player Stuart Mouchantaf has been sentenced for the death of his former teammate, Blain Padgett, after Padgett accidentally overdosed from carfentanil.

closer than the stadium … it’s so easy for students and faculty and other staff to come vote and so I think the turnout has been pretty good,” Zheng, a Baker sophomore, said. “And I hope that it continues to grow throughout the day.”

The 18 to 24 age range historically has low voter turnout, according to Zheng.

“I think it’s really important that students voice their opinions,” Zheng said. “And it’s also important that they get educated on who they are voting for, not just showing up and voting for random people, because even though a lot of students don’t actually live in Harris County, the legislative effects … can have an impact on the communities we live in, and the things that we do here in Houston.”

Hanszen junior Vinay Tummarakota said he was motivated to vote because his data visualization professor allotted the last fifteen minutes of class for voting.

“I wasn’t previously considering voting but because he said we would have that extra time, there was not a great reason not to,” Tummarakota said.

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER The welcome center at Sewall Hall served as an on campus polling location for the Texas primary election, polls for which opened Tuesday March 1.

4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

NEWS

Hanszen dryer vandalized with racial slur and graphic image

ANDREA GOMEZ / THRESHER

BONNIE ZHAO

ASST NEWS EDITOR One of the dryers in the Hanszen College laundry room was found vandalized with a graphic image followed by a crossed-out phrase that appeared to be a racial slur, as well as the acronym “WRWS” on the morning of Feb. 21, according to an email by Jayaker Kolli, the Will Rice College President, and Izzy Williams, the Will Rice College Chief Justice.

The acronym “WRWS” seemingly refers to the Will Rice slogan “Will Rice will sweep.”

Morgan Seay, Hanszen president, said that the leadership teams at Hanszen have taken actions to address the community.

“Myself and Hanszen’s diversity committee have issued a statement to our college,” Seay wrote in an email to the Thresher. “Hanszen government is continuing to have conversations with our H-team and the rest of our community on how we can be a more inclusive and supportive community.”

Seay said that this incident is not a reflection of Hanszen’s values.

“We are committed to fostering a community that is inclusive and supportive of students and their backgrounds,” Seay wrote in an email to the Thresher.

The email sent to Will Rice by Kolli and Williams denounced the incident as unacceptable even if the dryer was not vandalized by a Will Ricer.

“Racial slurs are unacceptable in every context, and any vandalism that [Housing and Dining] will have to remove is inconsiderate,” Kolli and Williams wrote in the email. “We need to hold ourselves and everyone else to a higher standard. Be better. If you are the vandal, we encourage you to come forward and apologize.”

According to Kolli, the person who committed the act has not yet been identified.

“As far as I know, the person has not come forward, but [the Rice University Police Department] has been made aware,” Kolli wrote in an email to the Thresher.

Kolli said that he’s working with the Will Rice core team, diversity facilitators and other student leaders to address the incident.

Soha Rizvi, a diversity coordinator serving at Will Rice, said that she thinks the incident is absolutely disgusting.

“I think it’s an unfortunate and disgusting reflection of how much privilege students at Rice have to be able to feel like they can use those kinds of words as a joke,” Rizvi, a Hanszen senior, said. “I hope that anyone who might have been harmed by hearing about it and seeing it is getting the kind of support that they need. And as a DF, me and the Will Rice DFs and the H Team and President are trying to provide that support and come up with a plan surrounding the actual Black students who would be affected by this.”

Rizvi said that events meant to address this incident are currently being planned.

“We want to avoid the situation where you host a town hall and the people who need to be there and hear the message aren’t the ones who are coming,” Rizvi said. “And so that’s why we’re really trying to think more about how we can support Black students. So yeah, we’re still deciding right now.”

According to Rizvi, there are a lot of people at Rice who need to learn more about how to make the university the inclusive space that it needs to be.

“I think Rice, like any place, is an imperfect place when it comes to racism

and issues with equity and inclusion,” Rizvi said. “Part of that comes from the administrative level … Such a small percentage of the student body is Black, a very large percentage of the student body comes from a very high income bracket …

That is a huge structural problem.”

Rizvi said that the small population of Black students and marginalized identities creates situations and an environment where some people don’t really care about the impact of their actions.

“The people who did it, I don’t know what their friend group is like, but there’s a very good chance that they don’t interact with Black students on campus and, you know, they don’t care.”

Rizvi said she hopes everyone realizes that incidents like this don’t happen in isolation.

“There’s environmental and contextual reasons, and we all play a part in kind of permitting these things, so I hope that people really go beyond and above to … do the work of taking classes that educate them on Black issues and read books and listen to Black students on campus instead of having such a distant sort of feeling,” Rizvi said.

According to Rizvi, general microaggressions exist on campus and in the residential colleges.

“Many marginalized identities don’t feel very comfortable in their residential colleges or don’t feel connected to their residential colleges, and I think that’s something that comes partly from [Orientation Week] where maybe advisors [that are picked] are problematic … that just perpetuates a cycle where freshmen don’t feel comfortable in their college, which then makes the college a more segregated space,” Rizvi said.

According to an email sent to Hanszen by the Hanszen diversity committee heads, Seay, Sarah Eunsu Kim, Chloe Hur and Marc Armena, the culture at Hanszen celebrates diversity, promotes inclusion and not only encourages but expects antiracism.

“While we believe that this message was written by a student outside of the Hanszen Community, we want to establish that neither racial slurs nor vandalism will be tolerated at Hanszen or the larger Rice community,” Seay, Kim, Hur and Armena wrote in the email. “We condemn this behavior which goes directly against Hanszen values of equality and inclusivity … We recognize that seeing and hearing about this image was upsetting and extend our support to Hanszenites who were affected by it.”

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022 • 5

THE RICE THRESHER

EDITORIAL

GUEST OPINION

Thank you, Kelley. We love you. Students shouldn’t be exempted from minimum wage policy Last Monday, we received word that chosen, Kelley liked to joke that she was our beloved advisor, Kelley Lash, had particularly excited to lock our current passed away. In what was a busy week managing editor in the vault that will filled with Student Association election be in our temporary office. That was the coverage, grappling with indescribable kind of person Kelley was: constantly grief then didn’t feel possible. We joking and having fun, but quick to decided to carry on with our coverage reassure you that she did not, in fact, and endorsements as planned — we want to lock anyone in a vault (even if believed Kelley would have been they were dumb for rooting against the disappointed if we hadn’t — but we feel Astros).

For years, Kelley worked so hard ready now to express just how much she behind the scenes to keep student meant, and still means, to all of us. media going. She Words cannot defended us from fully describe the critics, gave us pain and loss we sage advice and felt and continue was never afraid to face, and we Words cannot fully to tell us when we want to take this describe the pain and were in the wrong. opportunity to say loss we felt and continue Our staff knew something many to face, and we want to her best from her of us never got regular critiques, the chance to say: take this opportunity to say something many of us where most of us goodbye. learned to write.

Walking up never got the chance to The outpouring to our offices say: goodbye. of support we on the second have received from floor of the Rice Memorial Center, we can still see the around the country in the last week sign in Kelley’s window overlooking the has been nothing short of remarkable. stairs telling us “You are perfect.” That Sometimes, in our Rice bubble, it was sign now serves as a reminder that she easy to forget just how many people’s continues to watch over and support lives she touched. The messages we’ve us. This is especially comforting as we received from her family, former students move into a new space and towards an and student media advisors around the country speak to how amazing Kelley uncertain future.

We had spent the year discussing was and how much she will be missed with her our potential offices for next in a world that just will not be the same year, and once a location had been without her.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Transgressions go beyond the founder After reading the Thresher Editorial Board’s “Alumni: If the statue news upset you, think about why” from Feb. 1, 2022, I came to the realization that the discussion of Rice’s history and the history of its benefactors should by no means end there. While the focus has primarily been on the university’s origins, we also need to recognize and confront our past with more recent events instead of brush through them.

For example, the university benefited from the largest corporate scandals in a generation with Enron and Arthur Andersen.

Yet, alumni ignore or willfully forget its role in helping build the university despite its name still being seen in prominent buildings such as the Baker Institute while students remain painfully left in the dark of Enron-related crimes. Meanwhile, the name gracing as well as the funding for the newly completed opera house

may also prove problematic. The legal process remains pending for Robert Brockman in the largest tax evasion case in American history. These issues, of course, pale in comparison due to the darkness of slavery associated with the university’s namesake, but no matter how many individuals have benefitted from the rewards of illicit activity, it does not justify the pain endured by those affected. The impact of these cases are still felt, especially in Houston.

This conversation can be even more uncomfortable as a good number of active alumni regretfully spent parts of their careers with corrupt organizations.

History can be inconvenient, and ignoring it as we have been represents tacit approval.

Leonard Chan

LOVETT COLLEGE ’07

CORRECTIONS Director of the Doerr Institute Tom Kolditz is departing from Rice, not retiring.

EDITORIAL STAFF * Indicates Editorial Board member

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Morgan Gage* Editor Michelle Gachelin Asst. Editor

Savannah Kuchar* Editor-in-Chief Ben Baker-Katz* Managing Editor

SPORTS Daniel Schrager* Editor

NEWS Talha Arif* Editor Hajera Naveed Asst. Editor Bonnie Zhao Asst. Editor

BACKPAGE Timmy Mansfield Editor

OPINION Nayeli Shad* Editor FEATURES Nicole Lhuillier Editor Nithya Shenoy Asst. Editor

COPY Bhavya Gopinath Editor Jonathan Cheng Editor PHOTO, VIDEO, & WEB Channing Wang Photo Editor Katherine Hui Asst. Photo Editor Jasmine Liou Video Editor Brandon Chen* Web Editor

A successful organization is far more requires some level of skill and a certification. than just a sum of its parts. As a leading Along with my colleagues, I’m paid $9.25 an institution, Rice likes to prides itself on its hour. Over the past eight months the Rec has diverse and integrated community. Keeping struggled to attract new lifeguards. Just the with Rice’s future-paving spirit, faculty, staff other week my manager couldn’t get a shift and students all ought to be compensated filled – even with possible double pay. A sensibly. Rice University’s recent minimum shortage of workers prompted my manager wage hike is a step in the right direction for to give out giant, candy-filled gift baskets to some employees, but falls short in securing lifeguards that refer a new employee to the Rec. Other student workplaces have had reasonable pay for student workers.

President David Leebron announced similar difficulty attracting new workers.

As Rice pats itself on the back for its new that Rice will implement a $15 minimum wage at the start of the 2023 fiscal year, and 15 dollar minimum wage, many student I wholeheartedly support that decision. workers are left feeling demoralized and It’s well timed and helps elevate Rice as an put off by on-campus work. It seems that institutional leader. Food, gas and housing because of COVID-related budget challenges, have become considerably more expensive Rice postponed plans to give raises to student in the past couple of years. Labor shortages workers – leaving most at $9.25 an hour.

How an organization pays its workers says have forced many employers in Houston to raise their starting pay to attract new workers. a lot about how it values their employees and By raising minimum pay from $11.50, Rice the work they do. In general, current pay is is a more competitive employer that will be simply uncompetitive and student workers able to fill vacancies quicker and attract more will find better work opportunities beyond the hedges. Though qualified applicants.

I enjoy lifeguarding In reality though, at the Rec, I myself the minimum wage have reluctantly increase is effectively How can Rice really tout jumped to an offa symbolic gesture. a minimum wage that campus job that It helps reinforce pays more.

Rice’s forward- doesn’t apply to the entire Freezing raises thinking image, but Rice community? and ignoring it only raises pay for a very small subset of Rice workers. Because student pay is not sustainable. It isn’t in line of annual seniority raises, most already make with Rice’s spirit. Rice prides itself on its more than 15 dollars per hour. New hourly great community. Our faculty are passionate, Housing and Dining and groundskeeping our administration is accessible, our staff are employees may benefit from the raise, but exceptional and our students are involved. most on-campus workers making under 15 If we want to stick with our institutional values, Rice will put its money where its dollars per hour will be students.

Counterintuitively, neither the current mouth is and develop a coherent plan for $11.50 or new $15 minimum apply to student pay. There are a lot of roads Rice can student workers. I understand that there is take to prove itself as progressive institution a lot of nuance with student employment: of higher learning, but fair student worker there are students working at student-run compensation is essential. Rice could phase businesses, blanket tax organizations, in a $15 student minimum wage, award academic departments, university facilities, productivity bonuses or offer a seniority the admission office, etc. Implementing raise. Put simply – Rice needs to signal its a student minimum wage hike would be commitment to everyone who works on logistically challenging and likely cost campus, including students. prohibitive. Going from $9.50 — the starting pay at Rice Coffeehouse and many studentrun businesses, to $15 per hour for hundreds Andrew Cormack of student workers could impact already MARTEL COLLEGE exorbitant tuition costs. But how can Rice SOPHOMORE really tout a minimum wage that doesn’t apply to the entire Rice community?

I’m a lifeguard at the Rec Center – a job that

Read more at

ricethresher.org

Letter to the Editor: An invite to our new President to sit with us

DESIGN Robert Heeter Art Director Anna Chung News Siddhi Narayan Opinion Katherine Chui Features Ivana Hsyung Arts & Entertainment Andi Rubero Sports Lauren Yu Backpage ILLUSTRATION Chloe Xu Illustrator Ndidi Nwosu Illustrator Andrea Gomez Illustrator BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Edelawit Negash Business Manager Deema Beram Social Media Amanda Mae Ashley Distribution

We are hopeful that our new President is willing to create a constructive and inclusive dialogue with us in person [regarding the statue relocation].

Gautam Nayer, KeShawn Ivory, Shifa Abdul-Rahman

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. on the Friday prior to publication and must be signed, including college and year if the writer is a Rice student. The Thresher reserves the right 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 2022

6 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

THE RICE THRESHER

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JAYAKER KOLLI AND NIKHAZ OMAR

CROSSWORD WRITERS

1 ___-cone 4 Rice social issue office located in the RMC 7 Sierra ____ 11 Slow cooked dish 12 Religion centered in Haifa 14 “__ __, Brute?”

15 Ghost settlement?

16 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris 17 Path 18 Soothing succulent, shortly 19 “Shoot!”

20 23 to 20, in Super Bowl LVI 21 Willy Wonka candy 25 NBC show featuring comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy 26 “Hidden Figures” actress Spencer 28 Rival of UF and Miami 31 Sound rebound 33 Measure with legal limit of .08, abbreviated 34 Oft-boosted aspect of music 35 Bird with large, colorful tail feathers 38 Situated 40 Warm-hearted 41 Young goat 43 Christian observance preceded by Mardi Gras 44 Billboards and commercials 45 Went back on a promise 47 Aircraft carrier letters 50 Wisconsin’s state animal 51 Put up, as a building 53 Warning sound 56 Tax pros, in short 58 Insurance co. for military families 59 The capital of Peru, or a bean 60 Implicit 61 Indian rice cake 62 Begged 63 Emoji which often accompanies “I forgot” 64 Indian flatbread 65 Company which makes PlayStations and other electronics 66 Dog or rock, perhaps 67 Neighbor of Lebanon, for short

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1 Burgled 2 City whose French Quarter is home to Mardi Gras walking parades 3 Possessed 4 Where one may conduct titrations 5 Mardi Gras festive season 6 On fire 7 Leniency 8 Langston Hughes poem 9 Alpha Centauri C or the Sun 10 Sass, colloquially 11 Devoted fans, slangily 12 Where Goldilocks was found by Baby Bear 13 Antivirus software 20 Reggae relative 22 Manhattan neighborhood, to locals 24 Scherzinger who was lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls 27 Ready to fire 28 Mardi Gras, en anglais 29 Opposite of NNW 30 American currency, for short 32 Looped in on an email, for short 34 Forbid 35 Measurement of acid strength, for short 36 Islamic holiday 37 Dessert often eaten during Mardi Gras 39 Give land away 42 Wound which may need stitches 45 Super Bowl LVI champion 46 Last Supper chalice 48 Vector counterpart 49 Focus of many a dry cleaner?

50 “Whose Line is it Anyway?” regular Wayne 52 Remains to be seen?

53 Mountains of Switzerland 54 Stitch’s best friend 55 Prayer ending 57 Cardinals or Blues, on a scoreboard 60 Recipe meas.

Volunteer opportunities within and beyond the hedges ZOE KATZ

SENIOR WRITER Community service can look different for everyone – on campus vs. off, remote vs. inperson, weekly vs. a one-time commitment – and something great about Houston is that it has many opportunities that Rice students can partake in. From delivering meals to donating blood, volunteering is an enriching way to fill our time, step away from studying and get involved in the communities around us.

Voters, for example, hosts phone banking opportunities throughout the year to inform people about voter registration, local candidates and other topics. The Center for Common Ground focuses on voting efforts among underrepresented communities around Texas. The Center will host a short training session at an upcoming virtual event from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 17, so first-time phone bankers are especially welcome.

The Betty and Jacob Friedman Holistic Garden If hands-on work appeals to you, a convenient and meaningful way to get involved on campus is to volunteer at Rice’s Holistic Garden, located next to Reckling Park. Some of the plants that you would work with will go back to the Rice community — produce from the Holistic Garden has been served at South servery.

Garden volunteers have to be affiliated with Rice and can attend the sessions from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. No previous gardening experience is required; a short orientation is held at the beginning of your first volunteer session.

Rice student organizations Several campus organizations mobilize Rice students to do continual service at Rice and beyond.

Rice Student Volunteer Program organizes opportunities for Rice students to venture off campus and help out at various non-profit organizations. In a similar vein, the Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees connects Rice students to refugee youth in afterschool meetings throughout the semester. Best Buddies, another student organization, matches Rice students to adults with intellectual disabilities for oneon-one support, friendship and outreach.

Phone banking Looking for a remote option? Phone banking is a great way to spread information about upcoming elections and voting literacy, all from the comfort of your own dorm room. Phone banking entails calling numbers of Texas community members and offering voting assistance on various topics, which are usually determined by the organization. The League of Women

Meals on Wheels 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX 77096-3907 Students with cars can deliver meals to homebound senior citizens and disabled adults through Meals on Wheels, an organization hosted locally by the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, which is a 15-minute drive from campus.

Drivers pick up meals from the ERJCC and deliver them to 10-15 seniors in the area

KATHERINE CHUI / THRESHER during 1-2 hour shifts. Mask wearing and a health screening form are required prior to arrival. On their SignUpGenius, there are open slots available until April.

Blood donation At the Texas Medical Center, blood is always in demand. Blood donations can be made at numerous locations, all within quick walking distance from

campus. Houston Methodist is open for appointments only from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. According to their website, one donation can save up to three lives. MD Anderson’s Holly Hall Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both weekdays and weekends, by appointment only. It is a short drive from campus, and parking is free.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022 • 7

FEATURES GAZI FUAD / THRESHER Duncan College junior Karen Murambadoro said that she has become more confident in her capabilities and identity while at Rice.

Black at Rice: Karen Murambadoro finds empowerment on campus

really connect with that part of my background.”

According to Murambadoro, her family is planning a trip to Zimbabwe, and her TOMÁS RUSSO self-consciousness about her Zimbabwean SENIOR WRITER identity makes her anxious about the visit.

“I really do want to go back home and Where Karen Murambadoro’s family is from, people don’t really talk about see cousins and aunts and uncles and neurodegenerative disorders. According things like that but I’m also a little nervous to the Duncan College junior, her own because I don’t know the language. I haven’t family’s history of these disorders has been there in forever,” Murambadoro said. propelled her to learn more about them by “I know my family loves me and would definitely want me to be there, but how majoring in neuroscience.

“I’m one of the few people who actually would I fit into that space?”

Murambadoro said that she has also really enjoys their major,” Murambadoro said. “[My family has] a history of struggled with her identity as an African in neurodegenerative disorders. I’m from America.

“I feel like there are a lot of racial things Zimbabwe, so neurodegenerative disorders are taboo. No one really talks about it. that are here [in the United States] that I faced that I feel That motivated me to like my family go into neuroscience didn’t really and [study] entirely face neurodegener ative Students are carrying a when they were disorders.” lot of the organizations in Zimbabwe,” According to Murambadoro Murambadoro, people that exist on campus ... At said. in rural communities times it can be daunting.

According to abroad may struggle Sometimes it can be very Mur ambadoro, to relate with Western tiring. But I think being who grew up in physicians due to Overland Park, language barriers and put in those roles where Kansas, her race incongruent beliefs. you have to make the “People [are] just decisions, you have to have was most salient in high school. trying to connect “There [were] with physicians on the conversations in order definitely a some level, reaching to make your vision come lot of spaces and trying to find to life. [that were] a connection they predominantly can use to advocate Karen Murambadoro w h i t e , ” for themselves and DUNCAN COLLEGE JUNIOR Murambadoro receive the best care said. “I was the only Black student in a lot that they can,” Murambadoro said.

Murambadoro said she aims for a career of my AP classes. It definitely was a little in international rural medicine because of disheartening to me to see that it was only her family’s experience immigrating from me in those sectors.”

But Murambadoro’s experiences in Zimbabwe.

“There is a lot of disconnect in those spaces with few other Black students differences with holistic medicine and motivated her to work hard and inspire Western medicine – just looking at my others, like her younger siblings and parents and how they interact with cousins. She said she wants to be able to [American physicians], looking at my show the younger people who look up to grandparents and how they interact with her that they are capable of achieving and European physicians in Zimbabwe,” belonging in those spaces.

“A few months ago I heard that one of Murambadoro said. “One of my goals is to my cousins applied to college just because remedy that gap.”

Both of Murambadoro’s parents were I did,” Murambadoro said. “I just want to born in Zimbabwe. Her mom was from the be in a space where people can look and capital city of Harare, while her dad was say, ‘She did it so I’m going to do it too,’ from a more rural area. Murambadoro said because there is no reason why I should be that her family immigrated to the United the only one in these spaces.”

According to Murambadoro, she has States in the early 2000s.

“I think because [I immigrated when found community within Rice’s Black I was 5 years old], I’ve never felt super student population. Murambadoro is connected to my Zimbabwean identity,” involved with both the Black Student Muramadoro said. “For the sake of really Association and the Rice African Student trying to make it in America, I didn’t get to Association.

“For me, [Rice’s Black community is] a lot more than I saw growing up,” Murambadoro said. “It’s very inspiring to me to see faces that look like me across campus, even if it’s smaller than you would want it to be. I feel like Rice has been a place where my race doesn’t play too much of a negative role in the way that it did when I was in high school.”

Murambadoro said that she likes to see the excitement and love for cultural shows like Soul Night and Africayé, but she feels that support for the Black community should be more consistent. While she appreciates the efforts in the Critical Dialogues on Diversity course, she thinks more attention should be paid to Black voices on campus.

“When things happen on the news to the Black community, I wish there was more of an effort to rally for those things altogether in the way we rally to celebrate Soul Night and Africayé where everyone shows up,” Murambadoro said.

“I think that of late, it has been hard to cultivate those spaces and encourage conversations like that.”

Murambadoro said seeing Black student leaders at Rice inspired her to get involved in her residential college’s student government. She was an Orientation Week coordinator herself at Duncan last year.

“I was able to come in [during O-Week] and see a lot of representation,” Murambadoro said. “The president of Duncan was Black. We had a Black O-week coordinator. I felt very motivated to get involved with student government

because I saw those faces [in leadership positions] that I had not seen ever.”

Murambadoro, who is a class representative at Duncan as well as a Rice cheerleader, said that she is grateful for the community she has found at her residential college.

“The fact that there are so many talented people here in your colleges and you can see them making a difference almost every day – that inspires me to [go] after the things that I am super passionate about and be really intentional with my time here,” Murambadoro said.

Murambadoro said that despite struggling with imposter syndrome and questioning her pre-med path in her freshman year, she thinks that Rice and the structure of student organizations have made her more confident. “[Rice is] very, very student-centered.

Students are carrying a lot of the organizations that exist on campus,” Murambadoro said. “At times it can be daunting. Sometimes it can be very tiring.

But I think being put in those roles where you have to make the decisions, you have to have the conversations in order to make your vision come to life. Being in those scenarios has definitely empowered me.”

Murambadoro said that she has become more confident about her capabilities and identity as a student at Rice.

“I think that before I didn’t have that confidence because I just felt like, as a woman – as a Black woman – that people were automatically going to look at me and already have a judgment,” Murambadoro said. “Having those experiences where I have to make the calls has definitely empowered me to be able to do anything.”

8 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

THE RICE THRESHER

Rice Music Collective fine tunes their sound

NDIDI NWOSU / THRESHER

MICHELLE GACHELIN

ASST A&E EDITOR

Last semester, the Rice Music Collective created the Tiny Nest Concert, compiling the talents of 25 student artists under soft purple lighting in an intimately staged apartment off-campus. A play on NPR’s Tiny Desk, the video series of 22 musical performances was released over a period of six weeks.

Since then, the club has continued to attract attention from musicians and non-musicians alike as they arrange events to showcase student talent. This week, the Thresher caught up with some former Tiny Nest performers to hear about how they became involved with music, their experiences in the club and the projects they’re currently working on.

Shannon Cui, who performed a cover song for Tiny Nest, said that the club has rapidly evolved over the past two years. Cui helped lead its rebrand as Co-Vice President before graduating from Rice in 2021, and cites Tiny Nest as her favorite thing she’s done at Rice. The project was the club’s largest event to date and helped to draw in new members.

Jacob Lu, a McMurtry College senior, first joined RMUC through Tiny Nest but has been creating his own music since high school.

“Before I started making [music] myself, I was always kind of like, ‘I don’t want to be bad at it,’” Lu said. “But then in my senior year of high school, a couple of my best friends started making a mixtape, and it was bad. I [figured], if they can do it and make bad stuff and have fun, then I can do it too.

[My music] is better now but still has room to go.”

Lu is involved in every step of the creative process, from songwriting and performing his songs to mixing and mastering the audio.

He said that singing an original song at Tiny Nest helped him to refine and release it to the public. “[Tiny Nest] was fun for me because I performed an early draft of a song and I got to see if it had bones. People liked it there,

so I finished it and released it about a month later,” Lu said.

In addition to solidifying students’ artistic abilities, RMUC’s supportive environment encourages the inexperienced to become involved with music.

“It’s really easy to get involved,” Derek Jenkins, a RMUC member, said. “All you have to do is show up to a meeting. We take on anyone.”

Jenkins, a Brown College senior who plays guitar and produces music, said that RMUC’s Produce-A-Thon was an example of the club’s reach among students from all ability levels.

“We had two weeks to make a track with randomly assigned people, and we had a showcase [at the end] to show what we had made,” Jenkins said. “We had people showing up to support that weren’t even

The Rice Music Collective [isn’t pretentious]. It’s just people who are trying to have fun and make good music. If it’s two chords ... and it’s good, then it’s good.

Roscoe Bussell HANSZEN COLLEGE JUNIOR

involved with the projects, so I’d definitely say the culture of the club is very nurturing and open.”

Roscoe Bussell, a composition major at the Shepherd School of Music, echoed Jenkins’ praise.

“The Rice Music Collective [isn’t pretentious]. It’s just people who are trying to have fun and make good music. If it’s two chords for the whole song and it’s good, then it’s good,” Bussell, a Hanszen College junior, said. “A composition professor would

never let you get away with that … It’s fun to have a low pressure, high creativity, high collaboration environment.”

Sometimes, this unconditional support leads to unconventional creations. Noah Ortega, a Martel College senior, creates instruments with electronic devices he finds at thrift stores by taking them apart and rewiring their circuits. The process, called circuit bending, produces uncanny higher frequency sounds that Ortega uses for his music. The gadgets he repurposes range from white noise machines to a decades-old toy keyboard that he drilled an audio jack into.

“I just love going to Goodwill every week and seeing what they have, and sometimes they’ll have something that kind of catches my eye,” Ortega, an Electrical Engineering major, said. “I found a Peppa the Pig guitar.

You can really take anything and make it into an instrument. It can sound really glitchy and cool.”

Ortega showcased his unique sound at Tiny Nest, where he also helped produce and mix other performances. Of course, his indeterminate creative process can go awry; he said that he sometimes accidentally fries the circuit boards.

According to Bussell, the trial and error involved in composition is a natural part of producing something worthwhile. “[Making music] is a really rewarding experience, even though you do have to kind of scrape through the mud a lot to find ideas that are worth expressing. If I’m ever feeling any type of way I’ll go sit at the piano and make stuff up and see what happens,” Bussell said. “On a visceral level, it’s just nice to be able to sit and make your own music [from] whatever you’re feeling. That’s the best privilege I know.”

Jasmine Lee, a Brown senior, draws from her experience at an arts high school to put her own spin on covers of pop songs. Lee, who also plays bass, guitar and piano, uses vocal stacking to add airy harmonies to the track.

“Most of the covers I’ve made are pop songs. So taking pop and making it a little more funky and jazzy,” said Lee. “I did vocal jazz in high school, so that’s where a lot of my musical inspiration comes from.”

Lee’s experience singing with the Rice Nocturnals acapella group also inspires her in her solo music endeavors.

“I try to make it more of an ensemble feel because I add so many vocals to layer on top of each other, because that’s something I have a lot of experience with through singing with a lot of other people,” Lee said.

The Collective hopes to carry on their momentum into this semester, with the possibility of a second Tiny Nest, multiple jam sessions and pop-up performances around campus. Bussell encourages interested students to join.

“People should join the Rice Music Collective because there are cool people, and creative work is always fun and rewarding and good for the world,” Bussell said.

“There’s nothing bad about art.”

More Online:

Visit our website to read staff reviews of newly released album and films at ricethresher.org.

Crawfish eateries to visit SARA DAVIDSON

THRESHER STAFF

Crawfish, crawdaddies, mudbugs, rock lobsters — whatever you call it, ‘tis the season for fresh seafood in Texas.

Most commonly called crawfish, these crustaceans can come from swamps, farms or freshwater ponds, and are most fresh in January through July. Many restaurants serving them are just a short walk from campus, and famous “crawfish boils” often happen all throughout Houston. To dive into this southern classic, here are some of the best places to eat crawfish this season.

COURTESY DTA RECORDS

Review: ‘Love Sux’ HADLEY MEDOCK

THRESHER STAFF

Listen up, everyone, because the princess of pop-punk has done it again.

Avril Lavigne released her seventh studio album, “Love Sux,” and it’s everything I wanted and needed. ... Even at 37, Lavigne’s vocals are as strong as ever and feel like they were plucked from the 2000s.

A far cry from the slower ballads in her often forgotten 2019 album, “Head Above Water,” which even I only listened to in the midst of writing this review, Lavigne’s “Love Sux” experiences a delightful return to her pop-punk form.

While I still don’t think anything can top Lavigne’s song “My Happy Ending,” this album definitely gave it a noble try.

The flow of the album is stellar, each song leading into the next seamlessly. and also gives a good balance of singing about both hating men and begging for love. While the album didn’t necessarily give us anything new stylistically from Lavigne, they say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” “Love Sux” is a delightfully nostalgic throwback to Lavigne’s golden era of Y2K, which I think we all need a little of right now. And she’s so right, love does suck.

WEEKLY SCENES AND SCREENS WARHOL WEDNESDAY

SHEPHERD SHOW

Join Rice Cinema for their weekly screening of Andy Warhol films each Join the Shepherd School of Music Chamber Wednesday. This upcoming Wednesday, Players on Friday, March 4 from 7:30 to March 2 at 8:15 p.m., Rice Cinema will 9:30 p.m. in Stude Concert Hall. Online preregistration for free tickets is required. show “My Hustler” and “Outer and Inner Space” for free and open to the public.

KTRU OUTDOOR SHOW KTRU will present their annual Outdoor Show on Saturday, March 5 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the central quad. The event features several artists including headliner Lomelda, food trucks and art on display. The event is free to attend.

MOODY 5TH BIRTHDAY Celebrate five years of the Moody Center with Austin-based band Sir Woman on Saturday, March 6 from 8 to 10 p.m. Join the Moody for music, cocktails and cake. The current exhibition “Soundwaves” will also be available for viewing. The event is free and open to the public.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022 • 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Black Art at Rice: Mignote Tadesse discusses motivation and art

COURTESY MIGNOTE TADESSE

SHREYA CHALLA

FOR THE THRESHER Mignote Tadesse, a Lovett College junior, aims to incorporate more life and human experiences into her art, primarily working with oil paint on landscape images.

Throughout her creative process, she draws inspiration from a wide range of sources, from Monet to her family portraits, and reflects on balancing art with her classes and schedule as a pre-med student.

Rice Thresher: How would you say your major, cognitive science, has influenced your art?

Mignote Tadesse: I’m taking a history of sensation class [this semester] where we learn about different representations throughout history of the senses and perception. We worked a lot with art and different artwork. I did a lot of art in that class and I picked up new techniques on how to represent an image and things like that.

RT: What would you say about the art classes at Rice and your experience with them?

MT: I took an art class last semester, which was a life drawing class. That was my first art class I took at Rice, so I really didn’t know what to expect. We had models come in every day and we would draw them in like different positions, with different contexts and lighting. We did the same thing every day, and that was really cool because we refined a lot of our skills and changed our drawing styles really quickly.

One thing I was worried about was it being a high stress environment, but it was very supportive and had a lot of good critique and feedback from the students and the professor.

It was a really nice place to make art. I think because I’m on the pre-med track, it’s hard to fit art classes in my schedule at this time, but if I do get a chance, I definitely want to take a painting class.

MT: Oh gosh, I was really young, but I RT: What, or who, would you say are your was in middle school and I was working on a biggest artistic influences?

MT: Monet is one of the artists that I really mural for my school. And it was just this huge enjoy, and I have a lot of paintings by Monet hallway in the staircase of our school. Me and in my room. I just love the style and it has this my friend, we were working on it for weeks sort of relaxing and homey sense. I like the and [the school was] just like, ‘Here’s some brushwork in a lot of Monet’s artwork. Other paint, draw on the wall.’ They just gave us full than that, I really like a lot of paintings and control. That was so funny because we had no landscape images, lots of color, so another idea what we were doing, but in the end it was artist that I really enjoy goes by Leonid really nice.

RT: What advice would you give to other Afremov. His paintings are basically a lot of thick brush strokes, really pigmented and students, specifically those at Rice, who are interested in art, whether they’re art majors dark colors but also a lot of vibrant colors.

RT: Are there any projects you’ve recently or not?

MT: I think my advice honestly, and it’s been working on?

MT: Actually, I have been going through a something that I’m trying to do, is to just go out and have lot of my family photos more artistic and I really like the type experiences on of portrait-style photos There’s that my parents and Just go out and have more campus. so many events grandparents take — it and things that was really interesting. artistic experiences on are happening on It’s a lot of similar poses, campus. There’s so many campus involving but they’re very elegant events and things that are art and different and almost regal in a happening. artists from way. I’ve been recreating campus or outside them and putting my Mignote Tadesse of campus. It’s a own spin on them. One LOVETT COLLEGE JUNIOR great way to meet of the most recent ones I’ve done is an old picture of my dad. That was people with your interests and you don’t even have to be an art major, obviously. It’s for really fun to do.

RT: What has your journey as an artist everyone. I think it’s really important to go out to these events and meet all these people. been like? What challenges have you faced?

RT: What is your perspective on Black MT: I think the biggest challenge, honestly, has been finding the time to just do art or even representation in art?

MT: I think Black representation in art is be motivated to do art. It’s been hard to get back into it and really develop my skills more definitely something that we need to have and rapidly, which is why I took the class to begin it’s something that we are seeing a lot more with — to allocate time. It’s been putting me of, which is good. But I hope that it continues back in the habit because I feel like the more because there’s just a whole lot that’s in Black art you do, it just develops your skills much art, there’s a lot of experience and stories that we can really share with everyone that is quicker.

RT: What was your favorite artistic impactful. I think it’s important to have it be represented. experience?

Devereaux talks ‘Hamilton’

Review: Dave’s Hot Chicken

CHANNING WANG / THRESHER Dave’s Hot Chicken opened in Rice Village adjacent to Velvet Taco this past weekend.

TALHA ARIF & CHANNING WANG

NEWS EDITOR & PHOTO EDITOR

Dave’s Hot Chicken opened in Rice Village this past weekend, and alongside free shot glasses and temporary tattoos, they delivered some fiery sliders and tenders. The location is adjacent to Velvet Taco at 2525 Rice Boulevard and has plenty of Rice decor on their walls to appease their majority customer base.

As self-proclaimed hot chicken connoisseurs, we came into the restaurant with high expectations. Past Houston hot chicken hits, including Yummy’s and Howdy Hot Chicken, already set our bar exceedingly high.

Dave’s didn’t disappoint; with their high-quality ingredients and generous portions, Dave’s has easily become one of our top Houston hot chicken spots.

After a surprisingly short four minute wait, we received our order: two sliders and two tenders on white bread. We ordered the hot spice level, and the spice coating was visible from a few feet away.

The sliders hit all the essential categories. The chicken was crunchy yet juicy, the slaw was fresh and the signature Dave’s sauce added just the right kick. The sliders also appeared to come in a potato bun, a unique choice we haven’t seen elsewhere. However, Dave’s Hot Chicken incorporates another unique, optional addition to their sliders: honey.

We added some honey to the top of our sliders, and it was a game-changer.

Although we aren’t sweet-and-savorycombo fans, the honey added a tangy aftertaste to the chicken that balanced some of the intense spice felt at the hot level. For spice enthusiasts like ourselves, the hot level tingled our collective taste buds.

The tenders tasted similar to the sliders, but were slightly smaller in size.

We recommend getting the two slider meal (the Dave’s #2) for $12.99 for the most value. One meal is enough to satiate you and still have some leftovers.

The interior is similar to that of other popular hot chicken joints, such as the urban design of Howdy Hot Chicken. As you walk in, you are cheerfully greeted by several employees with a “Welcome to Dave’s!” While we ate, employees regularly checked in to make sure everything was to our liking. Compared to their other two locations, one in Midtown and one further out on Westheimer, the hot chicken served here seemed to be fresher and their spice had more kick.

Dave’s is a part of a slew of restaurants opening this year in Rice Village, alongside Ike’s Love & Sandwiches, Pokeworks and soon-to-open Share Tea. With their short wait time and flexible hours — they’re open until midnight on the weekends — Dave’s Hot Chicken is a convenient spot for students, especially when the Yoyo’s line gets too long.

COURTESY JOHN DEVEREAUX

MORGAN GAGE

A&E EDITOR

Houstonian John Devereaux is taking the stage at the Hobby Center as a member of the ensemble and a swing for the production of “Hamilton.” Running at the Hobby Center through March 20, the show has brought Devereaux back to his home city and the theater where his interest in theatre was sparked.

Rice Thresher: Can you talk about the experience and unique challenges of working as ensemble in “Hamilton?”

John Devereaux: What I love about the ensemble of the show is that the ensemble is the physical manifestation of the innermost thoughts and desires of the characters.

Ensembles really are the meat of the show. If you have an ensemble, it’s to provide support. It’s to put things in context. There’s this kind of belittling of ensemble members, because they’re not the leads, or because they don’t have a feature or speaking lines. It took me being in the ensemble for a show in college to understand how much work and how much dedication and focus it takes to be in the ensemble. Because you’re playing multiple characters, you’re providing multiple worlds in different locations, and you’re providing context for which the leads can move through and through which the story can be better told. I have such a respect for ensemble members, and I wish

there was more respect for them outside of those people who know the industry.

RT: What do you think about “Hamilton” resonates for audiences and for those working on it, including yourself?

JD: The message of the legacy and how we perceive a story and who’s telling the story, and the context that the stories and all of that matters, like seeing Black and Brown and people of color in in lead roles on stage, telling the story of these founding fathers — it’s the way that it’s told that is so pertinent. There’s a whole prologue, [and] you get to see who’s going to be telling the story and how they’re going to tell it. Then, at the end and throughout the show, it’s a repeated thing: “you can’t control who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” You can only control what you do and how you live your life. Others may paint you a different way because of what you’ve done or said. I think it’s kind of meta in a way that we’re doing this show about how telling a story matters, and we’re telling it in a way that that matters.

Secondly, the way that the historical facts in the show [has] been kind of mashed up with hip-hop, with actual hip-hop references and other musical references. It just feels like a way to reach more audiences, but it’s such an interesting way, again, to tell this story.

This article has been condensed for print.

Read the full article online at ricethresher.org.

10 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

THE RICE THRESHER

Hayon breaks meet record as swimming takes 2nd at C-USAs PAVITHR GOLI

SENIOR WRITER

The Rice women’s swimming team took second place at the Conference USA championships last week behind Florida International University. In addition to the No. 2 finish, the Owls had several top performances throughout the competition, as their seven gold medals beat the previous program record of six from 2014. After the meet, head coach Seth Huston said he was proud of his team’s performance and their preparation for the event.

“The C-USA championships is where we try to bring everything we have been working on to fruition,” Huston said. “Our team atmosphere is incredible; our team really values and appreciates each other.

In addition, this team has learned how to focus on being in the moment. They did a great job of minimizing distractions that debilitate performance. With six individual

“I have not stopped smiling since [breaking the record] and it makes me even hungrer for more to come.

Arielle Hayon

FRESHMAN SWIMMER

champions, I think it illustrates how competitive we were and how our swimmers were capitalizing on opportunities that were presented.”

Six individual Owls won gold, breaking the previous school record of four. The winners included juniors Shannon

Campbell, Madison Howe, and Zoe Spitz along with freshmen Arielle Hayon and Amelia Kane and senior Marta CanoMinarro. To cap off the record-breaking weekend in Lynchburg, the Owls set a school program record in the 400-yard freestyle relay, finishing the event in 3:18.95, on their way to a silver medal in the event. According

week during her first time participating in the C-USA championship. Hayon not only won gold twice but also broke a C-USA meet and Owls’ program record in the 100-butterfly with a time of 51.82 seconds. Hayon said she was very happy with her performance and that it only further motivated her to continue to perform well.

COURTESY CONFERENCE USA Freshman swimmer Arielle Hayon celebrates after breaking the meet record at the C-USA championships. Hayon and the Owls took second place overall at the meet.

to Hayon, the team executed their race strategies exactly as they had planned.

“The team was very encouraging and came into the meet super excited for every single race,” Hayon said. “We did a great job of sticking to our own race strategies and staying in our own lanes. Collectively, the team did not let the competition change our game plan. That was seen by the way we finished races.”

Hayon, who won gold in both the 100-butterfly and 200-butterfly, had a historic

“I have not stopped smiling since and it makes me even hungrier for more to come,” Hayon said. “It was a really emotional win for me because I have so frequently let my nerves get the best of me and I finally felt like I had put on a performance that I was really excited about and happy to race.”

According to Hayon, the coaching staff has helped her make significant strides in her performance and her experience last week helped her become mentally confident for bigger races in the future.

“I have learned so much this year and Seth, [assistant coach] Jessica [Rodriguez], and [assistant coach] Hanna [Huston] have really helped me make huge improvements,” Hayon said. “This experience has taught me how to better mentally prepare for big competitions and it’s something I hope to do again through the end of the season.

I’m really excited for what these next three seasons will bring and I’m excited to bring my freestyle up to par with my butterfly.”

Next up for the team is the CSCAA National Invitational from March 10 to March 12 in Indiana. The invitational tournament is the last for Rice before whoever qualifies will compete at the NCAA Championships from March 16 to March 19 in Atlanta.

According to Huston, the team’s next goals lie in their post-season tournament performance. He hopes to have a group that is ready to compete and make the necessary improvements from the conference championship.

“We compete at the National Invitational championships and Arielle will swim at NCAA Championships,” Huston said. “Competing in the postseason is an opportunity to see who is best prepared and who is willing to step up and compete. I think we will have [the] group very ready to go.

Hayon, who will be competing at the national championships, is aiming to improve her execution of technique and does not want the level of competition to affect her racing abilities.

“I want to continue to execute my races and fine-tune the details, despite the setting,” Hayon said. “As the competition grows towards the end of the season, a goal of mine is to stay focused on me and not let stiffer competition change my confidence or race plan. I do not like to be time or resultsfocused but rather focused on the plan.”

Women’s tennis beats UTSA in C-USA opener, falls to No. 7 A&M CADAN HANSON

played indoors this season and the team did a nice job adjusting to that change.”

On Sunday, the Owls traveled up Fresh off of a 4-0 sweep of Louisiana to College Station to take on the No. 7 State University, the Rice women’s tennis Aggies. The Owls started off the match team entered their first conference where they left off Friday afternoon, with match of the season on Friday against Budin and senior Diae El Jardi defeating the University of Texas, San Antonio. the No. 3 doubles team in the country in The Owls, who recently ranked No. 57 by a tiebreak. The Owls secured a second the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, doubles win with Orav and senior Victoria split their weekend matches, defeating Smirnova, giving them an early 1-0 lead. the Roadrunners 5-0 and falling short After the match, Schmidt was happy with the performance of the doubles matches, against No. 7 Texas A&M University 1-4.

The Owls started the weekend on especially against the strong competition. “[I] was pleased Friday against we were able to UTSA in the get the doubles Boniuk Family point,” Schmidt Tennis Center, I thought we had good said. “Improving our forced inside energy on the courts doubles has been a because of the cold point of emphasis t e m p e r a t u r e s . throughout the match. for us this season However, the cold That will be important and it was good to didn’t stop the as we continue into the see it come together Owls from getting second half of the season against a top 10 in out to a hot start, the country team. securing their fifth and postseason.

And, Maria and Diae straight doubles Elizabeth Schmidt defeating the [No. 3] point with a pair HEAD COACH doubles team in the of 6-2 victories. In the singles matches, freshman Allison country was excellent. They really played Zipoli, the reigning C-USA Women’s disciplined aggressive doubles from start Tennis Athlete of the Week, secured a to finish.”

The Owls were not able to hold the early point, winning 6-2, 6-1. Meanwhile junior Maria Budin and freshman Saara Orav lead and fell to the Aggies after a tough completed the team sweep with a pair of singles portion in which A&M quickly won 6-1, 6-1 victories. After the match, head four matches to clinch a 4-1 win. According coach Elizabeth Schmidt was very happy to Schmidt, the effort the Owls displayed in with how the team adjusted to the last the match was positive, regardless of the outcome. minute location change.

“Both [Smirnova] and [Orav] did a “I thought we played a solid match,” Schmidt said. “It is our [first] match we nice job getting those hard-fought [first] THRESHER STAFF

sets in singles,” Schmidt said. “[It was a] tough day for us in singles … but [I] definitely think there is a lot to build on from what we saw.”

The pair of matches over the weekend, brought the Owls to 6-2 on the season.

The team had entered the weekend on a four match winning streak, having won every game since a 2-4 loss to Southern Methodist University in January. Prior to the SMU loss, the Owls had beaten Lamar University 6-1 in their first match following the tournament-only portion of their season in the fall. Going forward, the team has 12 more matches scheduled

COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS The Rice women’s tennis team split their two games this past weekend. On Friday, the Owls defeated UTSA 5-0, before falling to No. 7 Texas A&M 4-1 on Sunday.

before the conference championships in late April. Schmidt said that she hopes the Owls can continue to bring the energy that they’ve had recently as they head into the heart of their season.

“I thought we had good energy on all the courts throughout the match,” Schmidt said. “That will be important as we continue into the second half of the season and postseason. Our overall goal is always to continue to grow and improve with each match we play.”

The Owls return home to take the courts Wednesday against No. 17 Baylor University at 1 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022 • 11

SPORTS

FEATURE

High-flying freshman Josie Taylor is already breaking records REED MYERS

SENIOR WRITER Freshman high jumper Josie Taylor might be the new kid on the block for the Rice women’s track and field team, but she’s already breaking Conference USA meet records. Taylor, who is from Cambridge, Waikato, New Zealand, is finding herself right at home in her first year, which may be surprising considering Taylor had never been to the United States before she moved to Houston this past fall.

“It was actually my first time in the U.S. coming here last semester because I could never come in for a visit because of COVID,” Taylor said. “So I relied lots on Zoom calls with professors and coaches and video tours of campus. But something about Rice is special.”

Taylor’s athletic journey started back in New Zealand where she took part in many sports growing up. According to Taylor, one sport in particular, gymnastics, really helped give her a solid base for her athletic career.

“Growing up I played so many sports – gymnastics, lacrosse, netball and swimming,” Taylor said. “But I’m really glad I did competitive gymnastics because I feel like it gave me a good strength and flexibility base.”

As Taylor began to narrow down her sports, she honed in on track and field events.

According to Taylor, there was one specific coach who started an athletics group at her school which allowed her to dive deeper into the sport of high jumping.

“I started athletics around four years ago and was encouraged to a large range of events; my favorite being 80m hurdles, javelin and high jump,” Taylor said. “Mike Guest, my old coach, is amazing and he [had] just relocated to the area and contacted my school about starting an athletics group. They contacted me and asked if I wanted to join, and of course I did. It just went from there

really and I just really enjoyed high jumping and we had a really cool training group so it was always a fun time. From there I started more seriously training for high jump around the end of 2019.”

While Mike and his wife Jo Guest were the ones who introduced Taylor to her eventual main event of high jumping, they would soon leave New Zealand which led to her having a familiar face as her new coach. “[Mike and Jo Guest] had so much experience in the sport and their enthusiasm was contagious,” Taylor said. “They left back to the UK a couple of years ago so my dad actually took up coaching me and my twin, so we sort of learnt together but it worked really well.”

[After breaking the record] it felt really good to know that training was paying off and the results were coming.

Josie Taylor

FRESHMAN JUMPER

As Taylor began to make a name for herself in the high jump by achieving the feat of clearing 1.85 meters at the age of 18, it became time to make a decision on her life’s next chapter. According to Taylor, Rice presented the ideal combination of athletics and academics, and she has enjoyed her new team’s dynamic.

“I chose Rice because of the amazing academics and athletics which came hand in hand,” Taylor said. “I’ve discovered that the team vibe is very special, especially here at Rice, and it makes it feel not so much like an individual sport.”

Aside from her academics, Taylor has raised her own high jumping bar as she

COURTESY CONFERENCE USA Freshman jumper Josie Taylor reacts after breaking the C-USA meet record in the high jump. In just her first season, Taylor ranks eighth in the country with her mark of 1.86m.

has recently set a new personal best and Conference USA meet record in the high jump with 1.86 meters, the eighth best mark in the NCAA this season. According to Taylor, she was pleased with her results, but has already started planning new goals for upcoming competitions.

“It felt really good to know that training was paying off and the results were coming,” Taylor said. “Now my goals are set on Commonwealth Games qualifier [which is] 1.92m and nationals in three weeks. My long term goal is definitely the Olympics.”

While Taylor has thrived in her early days as a collegiate athlete, it can be difficult to remember that she is only just a freshman with a few months of living in the United States under her belt. According to Taylor, a big difference between the U.S. and New Zealand is how they conduct their competitions.

“My first conference was a very cool experience, I loved traveling with the team

and watching everyone compete,” Taylor said.

“The main difference in competing here vs New Zealand is that the US has a much larger pool of athletes to compete against which is really cool and the collegiate sporting system here is insane. New Zealand does not have this at all.”

As just a freshman, Taylor still has three more years ahead of her to pursue her academic and athletic goals. But for now, according to Taylor, she is still getting used to living in her new home of Houston and is excited for the opportunities of exploration in her new city.

“Houston is a pretty cool place although it did take me a while to get used to the weather,” Taylor said. “Fun fact, it was winter in New Zealand when I flew here in August so I went from very cold to very hot. I want to try to explore Houston more.”

This story has been condensed for print.

Read more at ricethresher.org.

Baseball drops 2 of 3 to MBB celebrates Senior Day Lamar in first home series with OT win over Southern Miss at-bats together and played good [defense].

[Lamar] is a very fundamentally sound team, very well coached … We just got a pitch, and Rice baseball lost their first home series a hit, at the right time.”

The bats were alive all weekend for the of the season last weekend, with Lamar University coming into town and taking the Owls, as they put up 20 runs on 30 hits over first two games of the series, before the Owls the three games. Sophomore outfielder Guy avoided the sweep on Sunday afternoon to Garibay Jr. continued to impress with his claim their first home victory of 2022. Their first and second home runs of the season, and freshman infielder Aaron Smigelski put record now sits at 2-5 on the season.

The Cardinals took game one from the together six RBIs on five hits, including his Owls by a score of 12-6 on Friday night. first career home run. According to Cruz, Rice forced extra innings on Saturday but hitting becomes contagious after one guy in the lineup starts to ultimately lost find his groove. that game 8-6 in “Once one guy 11 innings. The breaks through, Owls were down to then another guy their final five outs Our team is starting to breaks through, all on Sunday before come together in many of a sudden we have senior infielder ways, but we still have a multiple guys getting Austin Bulman hit ways to go. big hits,” Cruz a grandslam over said.

“Smigelski the 400 foot marker Jose Cruz Jr. was amazing all in right-center field HEAD COACH weekend, as was that gave the Owls the lead en-route to an 8-6 victory. According Garibay, as was Bulman.”

Despite the offensive successes, the Owls to Bulman, the team had been in position to have struggled in the field, both defensively capitalize on base runners all weekend.

“We were piecing together base runners and on the mound. The team has 11 errors [all game], we just needed that big hit,” through seven games, and have given up at Bullman said. “We just need to get that least six runs in every game except for one. runner across here and there, it’s been [that Their team ERA sits at 8.27 and they are allowing nearly two baserunners per inning. way] all weekend.”

The sentiment that Rice was close to According to Cruz, though there are some taking the series was common at Reckling defensive fundamentals that need fixing, Park on Sunday afternoon. According to he is satisfied with how the pitchers have head coach Jose Cruz Jr., had a few plays performed thus far.

“Our team is starting to come together in gone the other way, the Owls might have many ways, but we still have a ways to go,” emerged with two victories instead of one.

“We were close to winning the series, Cruz said.

This story has been condensed for print. in my eyes,” Cruz said. “Both teams were getting after it [on Sunday], they put good Read more at ricethresher.org.

BEN BAKER-KATZ

MANAGING EDITOR

the final minutes of the half helped the Golden Eagles go into the locker room with a four point lead.

The Owls struggled to close the gap as For once, the Rice men’s basketball team can count themselves lucky to not be ranked the second half got under way. But down among the top teams in the country. On eight with 12 minutes remaining, Rice Saturday, when each of the top-six ranked scored 11 in the span of two minutes, teams lost on the same day for the first time behind three three pointers from ever, the Owls pulled ahead of the University sophomore guard Travis Evee, to take a of Southern Mississippi in overtime for a 51-49 lead. After being held scoreless in 77-72 Senior Day win. After the game, head the first half, Evee, who was left out of coach Scott Pera said that he was happy with the starting lineup for the first time all how the team fought to get the win for the year, woke up and scored 14 points in the second period. seniors.

Four more lead “[I’m] really changes ensued, proud of our and neither team seniors,” Pera said. built a lead of more “I’m glad to send [I’m] really proud of our than four points those guys out with seniors. I’m glad to send a win. “ those guys out with a win. for the rest of the half. Another Evee The win snapped three with two a four game losing Scott Pera minutes remaining streak for the Owls, HEAD COACH gave the Owls their as well as a five game losing streak against conference opponents. biggest lead of the half, but USM guard The losing skid coincided with the loss of Wayln Napper made a layup while being sophomore guard Quincy Olivari to injury. fouled, and hit the ensuing free throw to After the game, Pera said that while it’s taken close the gap to one. The teams traded time, the team has finally figured out how to misses, and down by one with 21 seconds left, USM was forced to foul. Junior guard without their third leading scorer.

“We desperately needed this, because Chris Mullins hit one of his two free they’ve been battling so hard,” Pera said. throws, but Napper found forward Isaih “We [lost] by two to [Florida International Moore running the baseline for an alleyUniversity], we [lost] by four to [Louisiana oop to tie the game with ten seconds left.

Tech University]. Our kids had just been Evee missed a three at the buzzer, and battling, they hadn’t seen that success since the game went to overtime.

After a quiet start to overtime, with we lost Quincy. And tonight they did, so now 1:30 remaining, Mullins finally broke the they know what that looks like.”

Rice saw their early lead vanish behind silence, hitting a three to give the Owls a a 10-0 Southern Miss run just over nine five point lead.

This story has been condensed for print. minutes into the game. The Owls fought back to even the game, but an 11-0 run in Read more at ricethresher.org.

DANIEL SCHRAGER

SPORTS EDITOR

12 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

BACKPAGE

THE ON-CAMPUS HOUSING SHOP Build your ideal housing with 8 points:

5

points

3

points

1

point

Commons

Roommate

Feels like you’ve walked into a Google office; GroupMe announcements for free food every night

Does your laundry and lets you eat from their snack stash OR

Servery

Seibel if you’re vegetarian

Bathroom

Location

Perks

Personal

South Colleges

Furnished movie room and free boba because your college is rich

Sunroof/balcony access; functional pool cues

“College culture”

Suite

Some activity but people are always sleeping on the couches

Passively exists in the same space

Baker Kitchen

Communal

North Colleges

Freezing cold; could be the setting of a ghost-hunting show

Texts you “hey are you in the room” at 11pm on a Tuesday

Seibel if you’re not vegetarian

You can only use the Rice Stadium bathrooms

Brown College

Lightning Points: +1 point +1 point +0.5 points +0.1 points +0 points -0.5 point -1 point -2 points -3 points

for each lap of the TMC/BRC shuttle route jogged for every $1,000 donated to Be Bold: The Campaign for Rice for each Rice sports game attended (bonus +0.5 points if you cheer) for each tour group smiled at for every service hour completed for every hour laundry left in machine for each furniture scooch after quiet hours for every shaving cream butt print left on another college for every seesaw abducted

Add 10 points if you’re a housing coordinator and 22 points if you run @dr.gao_4_ever on Instagram, and add up your points to get your total!

Eligibility for on-campus housing is not guaranteed to all Rice undergraduate students. Odds of eligibility are approximately 1 in 974.6 students. Special oncampus accommodations may be made for students in extreme circumstances; housing options include Old Sid/Hanszen, the Lovett basement H&D closet, a random office in Duncan Hall, or a tent in IM Field 3.

The Backpage is the satire section of the Thresher, written this week by Ndidi Nwosu, Andrew Kim, and Timmy Mansfield and designed by Lauren Yu. For questions or comments, please email dilfhunter69@rice.edu.