VOLUME 106, ISSUE NO. 25 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 COURTESY SANDY WU
Beer Bike returns in-person, crash raises safety concerns VIOLA HSIA
SENIOR WRITER This past Saturday, Rice University celebrated the first Beer Bike to resemble pre-COVID celebrations in two years. The festivities began with college-specific events early Saturday morning, followed by a campus-wide Martel public, a color festival in the central quadrangle, a water balloon fight and a float parade, culminating in the races at the track. Beer Bike last year was held in limited capacity, while the year before that was completely canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Official 2022 race results have yet to be released from the Rice Program Council. During the women’s race, three bikers crashed during the second lap, severely injuring one Sid Richardson College sophomore Lauren Hurt, who was taken to the hospital during the race. According to Ezra Smith, one of Sid’s Beer Bike Captains, the crash started when a biker fell from clipping the wheel of another bike. This then caused the biker behind her to fall as well, creating a domino-like effect, by which Hurt, the third biker, was most affected. “She was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time,” Smith, a junior, said. Sarah Mozden, the other Beer Bike captain at Sid, said the first two bikers managed to walk away with road rash and minor injuries, while Hurt suffered a concussion, and facial trauma to her jaw, nose, mouth and forehead. “My co-bike captain Ezra Smith and I are exceedingly thankful that despite multiple surgeries and a hospital stay, [Hurt] did not suffer any life threatening injuries,” Mozden said. Smith said Hurt’s injury brings up safety concerns about the track. According to Smith, these concerns include the placement of the fences along the track, the paving of the track itself and general visibility, often hindered by structures such as Rice’s Athletic Bubble. “It’s terrible to say this, but I hope that Lauren’s accident puts pressure on the [administration] to actually make some of the changes that we’ve been requesting as bike captains for a few years,” Smith said. Mozden said that these concerns are planned to be brought up to the administration by Beer Bike captains. “I know the bike captains plan to reach out to the [administration] later discussing some issues we saw with the physical setup of the track and the races, and I hope they listen to student voices and take our feedback seriously for future years,” Mozden said. Mozden also said that at a meeting earlier this week, the Beer Bike captains agreed that the safety measures and certifications for Beer Bike felt rushed. “I hope that next year there is more time for bikers, pit crew and all other members who will be working inside the track to receive proper certifications in an organized manner,” Mozden said. Since the crash, Mozden and Smith have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Hurt’s medical expenses, which has raised over $21,000 at the time of publication. “Lauren and Lauren’s family, Sarah and I are incredibly grateful for the race community and the support that they’ve shown [us] with the GoFundMe,” Smith said. “I’m really, really grateful and blown away by the amount of money that has been raised through that.”
COURTESY HELEN PU
COURTESY HELEN PU
OTHER IMAGES: BRANDON CHEN, CHANNING WANG / THRESHER
2 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022
THE RICE THRESHER
University Court rules in favor of SA president Gabby Franklin NISHANKA KUTHURU
THRESHER STAFF
The University Court verdict regarding the Student Association presidential election unanimously found Gabby Franklin not in violation of any campaign bylaws, UCourt Secretary Shivani Kulkarni announced at the April 4 Senate meeting. “Based on the evidence and our standard of more likely than not, the court decided that there was no evidence to conclude that there was a campaign violation. So our decision is unanimously to find Gabby not in violation of section [8E or 8G of article six] of the bylaws,” Kulkarni, a Lovett College sophomore, said. The Court found it unreasonable to disqualify a candidate who was unaware of, did not ask for or aid in a student organization’s endorsement. The Court agreed that the intent of section 68E was primarily to prevent candidates and their campaign teams from sending mass emails, according to Kulkarni. In response to this, William Tsai, who brought the original complaint to UCourt, said that although he was disappointed by the final verdict, he was glad that a decision has been achieved so that the SA can move forward with its agenda. Tsai also said that he did not find the decision to rule in favor of Gabby surprising because of events that occurred during the hearing, and that he was disappointed in the Court’s disregard for impartiality in the way it conduct hearings. “From the UCourt Vice Chair Paige Russell’s line of questioning, it was clear that a decision had been made before deliberations even took place,” Tsai said. “Her first question asked why I waited until after the results were released to submit my Moses Glickman, Rice PRIDE cocontestation. I responded, under oath, that I did not see Rice PRIDE’s emails until March president, said during the hearing that 2, the day I submitted the contestation. Her the Rice PRIDE executive board internally second question asked who I supported in decided to endorse Franklin. “We were impressed with her outreach the election, and her third question asked if I campaigned for the candidate I supported. to our organization. To promulgate our This line of questioning was meant to attack endorsement, we decided to send it out via my credibility and was completely irrelevant Groupme, Facebook, Instagram and our Listserv,” Glickman said during the hearing. to the alleged bylaw violation.” According to SA constitution SA 7D1, Despite the verdict not being in his favor, Tsai said he was happy to see some progress if the Elections Committee found that a has been made with the lack of clarity in the candidate has violated the regulations, they will be removed from the ballot and become regulations. “However, I am glad to see that they ineligible to hold any elected office during strongly recommended revisions to the the year. If they have already been elected, they will be removed existing elections from their position. bylaws. During Franklin denied the hearing, I cited any knowledge the dysfunctional If this was the intention of of Rice PRIDE’s rules as a reason the regulation in question, endorsement nor for my contestation their intentions to and advocated for as I believe it was, it is send out a mass changes to prevent clear that applying it to email. issues in future SA this case would take it “Rice PRIDE was elections,” Tsai far beyond its intended not involved with said. my campaign. They The ruling reading. In fact, applying were not aware of followed University it to this case would set a bylaws and I Court’s public precedent that would allow the was not aware of hearing last the endorsement,” Thursday regarding outside groups to mandate Franklin said the legitimacy of the disqualification or during her opening Student Association sanctioning candidates at statement at the president Gabby will. hearing. Franklin. Tsai said that Will Rice Moses Glickman even though he sophomore and RICE PRIDE CO-PRESIDENT initially filed the former SA senator Willian Tsai originally brought the complaint complaint, his concern was not personal. “According to the UCourt bylaws, any to UCourt, contesting the presidential election due to an email endorsement sent student in my place could have done the by Rice PRIDE to their Listserv endorsing same thing if they believed the rules had Franklin for president. Under subsection been violated,” Tsai said during his opening SA68G of the SA bylaws, candidates are statement. “I’d like to stress that the contest prohibited from campaigning through mass is not about me ... It is about the simple fact that the rules were broken, and if the rules emails.
CHLOE XU / THRESHER
are not enforced by the judicial bodies, then what exactly is the point in having them?” Tsai believes that the obscurity of the campaign process is dangerous because of the lack of clarity for what qualifies as a violation to the regulations. “First of all, there is nowhere in the bylaws that state that ignorance renders compliance. That claim is simply false,” Tsai said. “Secondly, if their argument is upheld by the court, it would mean that any group or individual can violate campaign bylaws so long as there is no evidence of collaboration with the candidate.” The bulk of the discussion during the hearing hinged on the definition of the phrase “on behalf of” from the SA election bylaws subsection SA68G. When asked what ‘on behalf of’ meant to him, Tsai said that the phrase meant anything that benefits the candidate. “So if you are doing something on behalf of someone, you are helping them,” Tsai said. Spencer Powers, Gabby’s campaign manager, said he disagreed with Tsai’s interpretation of the definition. “I think the words ‘on behalf of’ are better interpreted, not as just doing something for the benefit of someone, but instead interpreted as working directly with, in collaboration, or as representative of officially,” Powers, a Brown College sophomore, said. Powers referred to the Oxford dictionary definition to support his point during the hearing. “Oxford [dictionary] at least defines on behalf of as on the part of another, in the name of, as the agent or representative of,” Powers said. “Specifically it denotes official agency which means that this subsection would only apply to violations in which Gabby Franklin or the Gabby Franklin campaign team has messaged someone on Rice PRIDE’s Executive Board and told them
‘Hey we’d like this email to occur, please,’ which it didn’t happen.” During his witness testimony, Glickman said he defined the phrase as indicating somebody acting in place of someone with their implied consent, such as picking up a package on behalf of someone. “If this was the intention of the regulation in question, as I believe it was, it is clear that applying it to this case would take it far beyond its intended reading,” Glickman said. “In fact, applying it to this case would set a precedent that would allow outside groups to mandate the disqualification or sanctioning candidates at will.” Glickman said he assumed all responsibility for the actions that led to this hearing on Rice PRIDE’s behalf. “Rice PRIDE sincerely regrets taking action that kicked all of this off,” Glickman said during the hearing. “We had no idea about the relevant regulations. we will certainly not make this mistake again, that said, the mistake is our own.” Tsai said that by ruling that if the court ruled in favor of Franklin and Rice PRIDE Executive Board, he believed the court would effectively nullify the SA election bylaws. “In simple terms, any external group or individual could violate any of the rules if they claim that the candidate was not aware,” Tsai said. “This includes, but it is not limited to, rules on campaign expenditure, time period, and online presence.” Glickman said he believed that the court ruling in favor of Franklin would allow the court to provide the least harmful option. “I believe that by ruling in favor of Gabby, UCourt has an option here to interpret the regulation in a way that is internally consistent, avoids nonsensical implications, and in a way that would seem to correlate with what a reasonable author of this regulation would have intended,” Glickman said.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 • 3
NEWS
APPLE LI / THRESHER Aramco recently joined Rice’s Carbon Hub research initiative, a program focused on developing sustainable use of hydrocarbons to further the energy transition.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co. joins Rice Carbon Hub research initiative MARIA MORKAS
THRESHER STAFF
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, also known as Aramco, recently joined Rice University’s Carbon Hub research initiative, a program that focuses on the development of sustainable uses of hydrocarbons to further the energy transition. First launched in 2019, the program supports a zero-emission future in which hydrogen energy and advanced carbon materials are produced together from hydrocarbons in a sustainable and efficient manner. Aramco has joined this initiative with a fiveyear sponsorship commitment and brings $10 million worth of funding for it.
Carbon Hub Director Matteo Pasquali said that there are various benefits of having Aramco join the program. “These are initiatives where we’re trying to get academia and industry to work together and also have government help and support,” Pasquali, a material scientist and chemical engineer, said. “And so it’s important to have as many companies involved as possible so that whatever we can do on the academic side, to spur the growth of this field, gets translated and has an impact quickly, and vice versa; we also get feedback into academia from industry on [things like] what the bottlenecks [are], what needs to be worked on, and [how] to get this field to grow faster.”
NESB construction remains on schedule amid other delays LINDSEY RAN
FOR THE THRESHER
ZEISHA BENNETT / THRESHER Construction on the New Engineering and Science Building, pictured below, remains on schedule despite the recent disruption of numerous construction projects at Rice, estimated to be completed by summer 2023.
According to a Rice News article, the products of the Carbon Hub research initiative have applications in food, mobility, textile and construction industries, among many others. Using these technologies reduces carbon dioxide production, assisting in the decarbonization of the industrial sector as a whole, expanding manufacturing jobs, and promoting economic growth. Subsequently, the program provides funding for a variety of academic research sectors, including policy, engineering and basic science research. The article reports that Aramco’s initiatives on nonmetallic materials and hydrogen align with the primary focuses of Carbon Hub’s research. Along with its Saudi Basic Industries Corporation partner, Aramco and
Carbon Hub members hope to replace emission-intensive materials in industry sectors, including steel, concrete, and soil enhancers, to name a few. Pasquali said that they could produce an inexpensive, synthetic grade of carbon, which may potentially replace more expensive materials like biochar. “[Biochar is] fine for gardening, or small plots of land. But, it’s not fine for very large-scale use- especially, as you go to regions with lower economic development and perhaps marginal soil in terms of agriculture,” Pasquali said. “So if we took our grades of carbon that are significantly cheaper than what we can make now and have similar characteristics to biochar, we could reduce the use of fertilizers.”
The New Engineering and Science Building construction remains on schedule despite the recent disruption of multiple construction projects at Rice caused by pandemic-induced supply chain and inflation issues. According to Associate Vice President for Facilities Engineering and Planning Kathy Jones, the initial interior buildout of the new building is targeted for completion by the summer of 2023. “The Abercrombie Building, which is also currently known as the New Engineering and Science Building, is being constructed in phases,” Jones wrote in an email to the Thresher. “Subsequent construction will occur to complete the interior buildout of additional research labs. The NESB does not have any mass structural timber as part of the building design, therefore the schedule has not been impacted due to timber shortages.” However, Jones said that COVID has impacted other aspects in the construction of the NESB, especially through the inflated cost of materials. “The team anticipated COVID-related cost increases from the beginning of the project,” Jones wrote. “Most of the increases have been related to construction material escalation, which was driven by supply chain issues. Overall, we have been able to counter that by separating the project into multiple design packages in order to buy material like steel and concrete and mechanical and electrical equipment early before further cost escalation.” Provost Reginald DesRoches said that the demolition of the old Abercrombie Building and construction of the NESB were necessary due to the outdated nature of the Abercrombie Building. “Abercrombie Laboratory had reached the end of its useful life,” DesRoches wrote in an email to the Thresher. “Many features of the building were not up to the current code and the labs in the building could not support state-of-the-art research. Past renovations of the building to meet contemporary research needs were expensive because the building did not have the necessary infrastructure to support today’s research programs and endeavors.” Jones said that the engineering departments that were previously housed
in the Abercrombie Building have been transported to temporary locations across campus. “Former occupants of the Abercrombie Laboratories Building have been relocated to various other buildings on campus according to their programmatic needs and where space was available,” Jones wrote. “All of these moves, with the exception of a few, are considered temporary.” The NESB building has essentially finished its vertical construction, according to Department Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Michael Wong. “They’re going to do a top-off event this week or next week, where they define the top-off as the highest the building will go,” Wong said. “If you define finishing as how high it goes, it will be finished already now. Of course, it’s not ready to move in yet … [but] the building will have its first occupants one year from now.” Move-in has been divided into multiple waves. The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering will be among the first to re-enter the building, according to Wong. “The first stage is several research laboratories, myself included, and maybe two or three other ones from engineering and from natural sciences,” Wong said. “I’m guessing that by the middle of spring we will be able to move some of our equipment in, and to have everyone fully move in maybe at the beginning of summer.” Tony Yu, a Wiess College junior majoring in electrical engineering, said that he is looking forward to the new building. “The old building isn’t aesthetically pleasing compared to the rest of campus,” Yu said. “I also think we can have more lab space since most of our labs were in Brockman.” Wong said that he is excited for the new building to help revive the sense of community within his own department. “I’m in the [Space Science and Technology Building], and my faculty and staff are literally in seven other buildings,” Wong said. “It’s kind of hard to have a good vibe when we’re all separate on campus. Even though the campus is cozy, it’s still nice to be in the same building instead of setting up a zoom meeting over email.”
4 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022
NEWS
Rice announces Google Storage reduction by Dec. 17 “In a poll sent out to our residential colleges, 86.4 percent of students use Google Drive as their primary space for Rice University Google Workspace storing files and 42.4 percent of students student accounts’ storage will reduce to use greater than 10 GB of storage space,” 10 GB, while faculty’s account storage Godsil wrote in the email to OIT. “In terms will reduce to 50 GB by Dec. 17 of this of student organizations, 40 percent of year. Associate Vice President of IT students report that their organization Infrastructure and Operations Marc uses more than 10 GB of storage space. Cougle announced the change in an Furthermore, 80.3 percent of students email to Rice students and faculty on report that the limit to 10 GB of storage space will limit their ability to use Google March 7. Cougle said that this decision was a Drive for storing files.” Cougle said that the future changes result of Google’s policy change. “Google announced changes to their in the Google Drive Storage would be pricing model for educational institutions addressed by Google. “Questions about the reasons behind which eliminated the unlimited storage the decision entitlements.” and any future Cougle wrote in plans for Google an email to the Drive and other Thresher. “Rice Personally, I don’t think I modified our would have an issue with it Google Workspace services need to allotted storage be addressed to quotas based because I don’t see myself Google,” Cougle on our updated using up all 10GB, but for wrote. “And if c o n t r a c t u a l some students who have students have any obligations for loads of projects on their opinions on this both Google and subject, we would Box (OneDrive Drive that take up a ton encourage them to remained the of space, the unlimited same).” space is necessary for their share their thoughts with Google.” Ally Godsil, grades. After meeting the Will Rice with OIT on March College senator Michelle Fox 30 concerning the who is working HANSZEN COLLEGE FRESHMAN Google Storage with Rice Office of Information Technology on the Google policy, Godsil said that there could Drive space change, collected student be changes in the long term and that responses about the change, which students’ opinions still matter. “OIT is looking to get more information showed that most students use Google Drive as their primary source for storage, from students to see what a more and this 10 GB limitation would influence reasonable storage capacity is.” Godsil their use of Google Drive to store files. The said. “OIT says that in the long term, they could change the storage to allow survey includes 66 students’ responses.
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for more, like what they did in the Box storage [where] they changed the original contract to allow for more storage this past year. However, unless Google makes a complete switch in policy, I don’t think we are going to get unlimited data back.” Godsil said that this change will not happen until the end of the next fall semester. “People will not lose their files now.” Godsil said. “And when this change in storage to 10 GB does happen, the files that people already have would not be deleted, but you cannot add anymore.” For students whose Google Drive files exceed 100 GB, Godsil said that OIT would directly reach out to those students and provide them with assistance to migrate their files to other storage locations. “Additionally, OIT can allow students to have 50GB if they have [reached] up to 90 percent of 10 GB, but they cannot allow everyone to have 50 GB because
it’s too much, [and] not everybody uses that,” Godsil said. Michelle Fox, a freshman from Hanszen College, said she is personally neutral on the Google Storage policy change, but understands students who are upset by the announcement. “Personally, I don’t think I would have an issue with it because I don’t see myself using up all 10GB, but for some students who have loads of projects on their Drive that take up a ton of space, the unlimited space is necessary for their grades,” Fox said. “I just hope Rice can ensure students won’t run out of space when using Google Drive for school and projects.” Wendy Yao, a sophomore from Martel College, said that she would use Box as the alternative after this policy occurs. “I would not be hugely bothered by this change since I still have the Box as the choice for me to use as my storage,” Yao said.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 • 5
THE RICE THRESHER
EDITORIAL
Beer Bike Coordinators – Thank you for Beer Bike
WE ARE HIRING!
After three years and much an event that is such a core part of Rice anticipation, we finally had a normal culture without having seen it firsthand. To the rest of the student body, last Beer Bike. None of the past week’s events could have been possible without the Saturday and its aftermath reminded all hard work of every Beer Bike coordinator, of us why we love the Rice community so much. We bike captain, chug a p p r e c i a t e captain and every everyone looking student, staff and out for each alumni who played We hope that next year’s other’s safety on a role in making race day, and the Beer Bike 2022 the Beer Bike will address outpouring of spectacular event some of the issues that support for Lauren it was. arose this year, but in the Hurt, who was To the senior meantime, we appreciate injured during Beer Bike coords — the race, has been we appreciate you everything that went into nothing short of not only bringing making Beer Bike 2022. remarkable. back what Beer This is not to say that there were Bike used to be, but improving upon that and passing on your vision to the next no issues. There were track closures generation of Owls. We know that you early in the week that prevented teams wanted Beer Bike traditions back in full from practicing and night bikes from more than anyone, and we are grateful happening. There were reports of for your diligent work to make that altercations at the Martel public and some obvious visibility issues on race happen for all of us. For the coords who experienced Beer day. We hope that next year’s Beer Bike Bike for the first time, thank you for will address some of the issues that putting in the work to revive this Rice arose this year, but in the meantime, tradition. We understand the immense we appreciate everything that went into pressure placed on people trying to plan making Beer Bike 2022.
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COPY EDITOR DEADLINE: APRIL 8, MIDNIGHT
EDITORIAL CARTOON
NDIDI NWOSU / THRESHER
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
DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION Robert Heeter Art & Design Director Anna Chung News Siddhi Narayan Opinion Katherine Chui Features Ivana Hsyung Arts & Entertainment Andi Rubero Sports Lauren Yu Backpage Chloe Xu Illustrator Ndidi Nwosu Illustrator Andrea Gomez Illustrator BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Edelawit Negash Business Manager Deema Beram Social Media Amanda Mae Ashley Distribution
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, APRIL 6, 2022
THE RICE THRESHER
COURTESY THE CAMPANILE Brownies piled up the furniture in Martel commons.
Looking at jacks from Beer Bikes past 2008 BLOCKED MARTEL COMMONS
Jacks, or pranks pulled by residential colleges on each other, are time-honored traditions especially popular during the week of Beer Bike. The Thresher looked through the archives to rediscover past Beer Bike jacks, which have included everything from stealing Hanszen College’s swing to tie-dying the Will Rice College commons.
2006
COURTESY THE CAMPANILE The laundry room at Wiess was filled with newspapers.
A residential college’s commons is a place for the students to gather — except when the entrance is obstructed by furniture. In 2008, a group of students from Brown College jacked Martel College in the week leading up to Beer Bike by blocking the entrance to their commons with Martel’s own furniture. COURTESY THE CAMPANILE Hanszen left a banner and tree in Duncan commons.
2013 A TREE FROM HARRY HANSZEN
NEWSPAPER IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM Nearly all Rice students have been in a situation where they were unable to use the laundry room due to clothes left in the washers or dryers. But one time, the entire room was filled with something else. In 2006, students Bobby MacGregor, Patrick Doody and Evan Miller stuffed the Wiess College laundry room with newspapers. Safe to say, no one at Wiess was able to do laundry that day.
NITHYA SHENOY
ASST FEATURES EDITOR
Hanszenites often demonstrate their college pride by writing “HFH,” a nod to their founder, Harry Hanszen. In 2013, Hanszen students left a sign with their signature in the Duncan College commons, next to the trunk of a tree they had chopped down and brought inside.
2013
FROM MARTEL TO A PARKING LOT
Over the years, other residential colleges have dubbed Martel a “parking lot” and not a college since it was built on what was once a parking lot in the early 2000s. Playing off of this joke in 2013, Jonesians measured the Martel Commons as if they were about to start construction for a parking lot. Bakerites also created an online petition, which gained 253 signatures, to “condemn” Martel’s dormitory and replace it with something more “useful.” Addressed to the U.S. government, the petition requested that “If the government is so inclined, we could remove this eyesore, and replace it with something far more useful, such as a parking garage or a petting zoo.”
Rice Children’s Campus: a home for young Owls ELIZA JASANI
THRESHER STAFF Every weekday at 7 a.m., the youngest Rice students wake up and head to school. Rice has many programs of study, but this one is not quite as well known as the others. The Rice Children’s Campus, sitting just west of campus between Rice Village and Rice Stadium, serves as a daycare and early learning center for the children of Rice faculty, staff and students. While Rice University owns the building and the land, RCC is operated by the Center for Early Childhood Education. It can accommodate approximately 110 students from six weeks to five years of age. Currently, 85 students are enrolled in RCC, according to the Director of School Operations Karen Gatten. Brown College Resident Associate Jaime Mize, whose husband is a radiation safety officer at Rice, said that RCC’s location was very convenient for her family. Her daughters, Mae and Eleanor, both attended RCC from infancy through elementary school. “We loved every minute of Rice daycare,” Mize said. “Although it is on the more expensive side of daycares, we loved having a resource [near] campus that we felt safe sending our kids to and was in close proximity.” Duncan College Magister Winston Liaw said his daughter Margot attended RCC from 2017 to 2021. According to Liaw, the daycare’s location allowed him to feel closer to his daughter.
“It’s incredible. We love having the daycare so close to campus,” Liaw said. “It means that we spend less time commuting and more time with our children. Margot had kind and talented teachers. We feel she thrived there.” Mize also said that the daycare’s unique affiliation with Rice University cultivated connections between students, parents and staff. “Normally, I wouldn’t stop to talk to other parents when I’m rushing my kids to the car, but because we all have a common interest in Rice and see each other on campus frequently, it made it feel like more of a community,” Mize said. “Our kids’ closest friendships are with other on-campus kids [whom] they grew up with at Rice daycare.” Gatten said that like the rest of the Rice community, the daycare’s operations were negatively affected by the pandemic. “In March of 2020, we had 102 children enrolled, [but] we re-opened in June of 2020 with 46 children returning and have slowly been building enrollment,” Gatten said. “[There were] no changes to instruction [after reopening]. We [previously] limited access to only teachers and children, but that has ended.” Mack Joyner, assistant teaching professor of computer science and director of the professional master’s of computer science program at Rice, said that he appreciated the efficiency of RCC’s operations throughout the pandemic.
“They were closed for about three months,” Joyner said. “From my perspective they opened up as quickly as they could, which was really nice.” According to Joyner, a teacher at RCC offered to come to his home once a week for one-on-one sessions with his sons while the daycare was closed. “Since I had work to get done and I had all three of the kids at home, it was nice that [the RCC teacher] was there. She would do lessons and read to them,” Joyner said. “It was just a huge benefit for them, and it gave me time to do work or just time to take a break.” Mize also said she appreciated RCC teachers’ efforts during the pandemic. “[The teachers] made our kids feel safe when the rest of the world didn’t. One teacher specifically, Emily Moreno-Perez, was basically family by the time our kids left,” Mize said.“She made her classroom an accepting environment, letting the kids be exactly who they were without judgment.”
ZEISHA BENNETT / THRESHER Located between Rice Village and the university’s west end, the Rice Children’s Campus is a daycare and early learning facility exclusively serving the children of Rice faculty, staff and students. Mae Mize, age seven, and Eleanor Mize, age six, said that they have learned a lot from RCC and love the teachers. “[RCC] has great teachers,” Mae Mize said. “It’s the best school in the world.”
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 • 7
FEATURES
Senior Spotlight: Johnny Wang embraces life at Rice
CHANNING WANG / THRESHER Lovett College senior Johnny Wang has taken advantage of the diverse opportunities at Rice on his way to a career in medicine.
medicine, and two, that he had heard Rice was a great place for pre-meds. “I always knew that I wanted to do medicine, and I had heard a lot of great things [about Rice],” Wang said. “One of my family friends at the time was a college counselor, so she gave us a lot of information and pointed out how Rice is a great place for pre-meds with a lot of opportunities to get involved in research and working in hospitals.” Wang said that since arriving on campus, he has found opportunities to integrate his extracurricular interests with skills that are helpful for a future career in medicine. He is currently the Head Rice Health Advisor at Lovett. “It’s been cool to work with the Wellbeing Center and work with RHAs at other colleges and try to make a difference,” Wang said. “Being an RHA has shown me different things about leadership and what it takes to lead a team and build connections with the right people to get stuff done.” Wang has also been involved in Design For America, where he used
ALLISON HE
FOR THE THRESHER Johnny Wang did not know much about Rice when he applied Early Decision. According to the Lovett College senior, he didn’t visit campus or speak with any current or former students before applying. What he did know were two things: one, that he wanted to pursue
design thinking to solve problems for nonprofit organizations in Houston. According to Wang, stepping outside the Rice community and tackling real-world issues provided him with skills that apply to his interest in medical research. “[Design consulting] is really valuable particularly when it comes to innovating and finding new techniques or developing new technologies within medicine,” Wang said. “Having that kind of mindset of collaboration and thinking outside the box has been valuable for me.” Wang said that outside his pre-med activities, he values a work-life balance that gives him time for his personal life and diverse hobbies. “I’m someone who really values that balance, which is interesting because I want to do medicine and I want to do surgery, [and that’s] not completely conducive to having a personal life,” Wang said. Wang said he has always enjoyed reading and writing. He came into Rice as a Biochemistry and English double major but switched to Biosciences with a Cell Biology and Genetics concentration, dropping the English major. “I took a few English classes at Rice, and I realized it wasn’t super sustainable for me,” Wang said. “I didn’t feel like it could fit in with my other goals, particularly with being pre-med, with having to take those pre-med classes and wanting to be involved with research and other obligations.” Though he has focused on his pre-med activities, Wang said he has always been very interested in art in different forms. “I’m a big movie fan [and] TV fan. I try to go to different showings at museums whenever I can,” Wang said.
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JAYAKER KOLLI, GAZI FUAD & ARJUN SETHI-OLOWIN
CROSSWORD WRITER, FOR THE THRESHER
Wang’s other hobbies include playing basketball in the rec four to five times per week and cooking Korean food for his girlfriend. Despite the stress of his premed career, he said he has found joy in the little things in everyday life. “Recently, I’ve been enjoying [the small things] more, like walking by Brochstein or just sitting in Brochstein and reading a book … or walking by Skyspace and thinking, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool,’” Wang said. Wang is deciding between the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis for medical school. He said it is not so much getting into these schools that has made him proud, but his perseverance through a process with a stigma that makes some pre-meds lose faith in their efforts. “You hear people constantly tell you, ‘Oh, it’s so hard. I know people who are so, so smart, and they get rejected everywhere and end up being a nurse.’ Not that there’s anything wrong with being a nurse. There’s just this stigma,” Wang said. “Still believing in myself and believing in that process even though it wasn’t ever guaranteed and there was so much uncertainty at certain points, still having that faith … was really important to me,” Wang said. According to Wang, Rice is ultimately a place full of opportunities that can be maximized so long as people take advantage of everything it has to offer. “Rice presents a lot of opportunities that at first might not seem entirely available or open to you, but I would say it’s important to trust the process and embrace it,” Wang said. “Embrace the school, embrace your teachers, mentors … friends … the people all around you, and believe that good things will come from that.”
1 A half-_____ effort 6 Crank (up) 9 “Oye Mi Amor” band 13 Start of the start? 14 Repeated musical section 15 Portent 16 Composer Maazel 17 Geographical relic 18 Thick Japanese noodle 19 NCAAW round where Creighton upset Iowa State 22 Legendary killer of Cleopatra 23 Long shot? 24 Bring down 28 “Chandelier” artist 29 Attention-grabbing sound 31 “__ _ creek without a paddle” 32 Team like St Peter’s 36 Foam footwear 37 Writer Kingsley 38 Language of Vientiane 39 Speed of sound scale 40 List that may include specials 41 NCAAB Round where Villanova beat Houston 44 Basketball coach Summitt 45 Pesky flying pest 46 Pot counterpart 47 Available 49 Curses, for short 50 Blockage of the small intestine, in the ER 53 Last second basket 57 “Brandenburg Concertos” composer 60 Like acne-prone skin 61 C3PO or R2D2 62 ____ gobi 63 Glasses holder? 64 Utilization 65 Bear sound 66 180 from WSW 67 Wendy’s friend from Neverland
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1 Chang of NPR’s “All Things Considered” 2 Precipitates fractals 3 _____ throat 4 Lake that borders Cleveland 5 “Be honest” 6 Soup thickener 7 Tab next to File, on a Mac 8 Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s daughter 9 Pitcher’s place 10 Intel rival 11 New prefix 12 ___ Arbor, Michigan 14 Home, slangily 20 Fly high 21 Consume a samosa 25 Wave protector 26 Geologic time period 27 Night, in Germany 28 College in SoCal 29 Braid 30 Space for a car or coin 32 South American countryside 33 Clarifying words 34 Martel, compared to Will Rice’s second 35 “____ Enchanted” starring Anne Hathaway 36 Relative key of Eb Maj 41 Touchdown location 42 Ebook file type 43 Let off the gas 45 Wildebeest 48 Loathe 49 NBA player Channing 50 Ferret relative 51 Boring color 52 _____ of the Phoenix 54 National park in Utah 55 If counterpart, in code 56 British butt 57 A line, to Drake 58 _ __ carte 59 With bell, a musical instrument
8 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022
THE RICE THRESHER
Notes from Music’s Biggest Night: Best and Worst moments of the Grammys Best Dressed: Doja Cat While Rachel Zegler, St. Vincent and SZA all stunned in floor-length dresses, Doja Cat’s icy off-shoulder Versace gown was breathtaking — complete with glittering diamonds, Y2K-inspired spiky platinum hair and an audio-themed glass Coperni bag filled with gold candy. Doja Cat and SZA later won their first Grammy (finally) for best Pop Duo/ Group Performance in “Kiss Me More.”
COURTESY THE RECORDING ACADEMY
MICHELLE GACHELIN
ASST A&E EDITOR
With over-the-top live music performances, fashion and drama packed into its three-and-a-half hour runtime, the 64th Grammy Awards offered viewers plenty of entertainment. Held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time after being postponed in January, this year’s show tried to broaden its audience and boost its pandemic numbers — the worst of all time. Returning host Trevor Noah carefully toed the line with light, safe quips, likely in an attempt to avoid another slap like last weekend’s Oscars. For those still recovering from Saturday’s Beer Bike and Sunday’s midnight deadlines, the Thresher condensed the night’s events into its most memorable moments. Best Win: Jon Batiste Multi-hyphenate artist Jon Batiste was the biggest winner — and nominee — of the night. He took home five Grammy Awards out of his eleven nominations, and is the first Black artist to win Album of the Year in fourteen years. “I believe this to my core: there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor,” Batiste said in his speech.
“The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most.” Best Stage Set: BTS The global K-pop superstars delivered a spy-themed performance with their usual immaculate choreography, which had them dodging lasers, tying their jackets together and operating a surveillance computer. Their performance also benefited from a formation of backup dancers with Men in Black-type costumes and BTS’ V seemingly flirting with Olivia Rodrigo in the crowd, which quickly circulated through memes and “caption this” challenges online. Besides J-Hope’s stumble early in the set and a slight case of lip syncing, the performance was nearly flawless, one-upping even Billie Eilish’s wacky upside-down house setup. Worst lip syncing: Lil Nas X While we’re on the topic, Lil Nas X did a less subtle job of lip syncing throughout his entire performance. Although intricate costumes, well-rehearsed choreography and a stunning, otherworldly sci-fi theme gave BTS a run for their money, Lil Nas X pretending to sing his own songs for minutes on end was difficult to ignore on top of Jack Harlow’s equally mediocre part.
Worst Dressed: Olivia Rodrigo Rodrigo’s emotional performance of “Driver’s License” was almost as good as her outfit was bad. The singer-songwriter opted for a custom Vivienne Westwood Couture dress with chokers and black gloves in a cool ’90s nod, but the dress’s metallic pink details broke away from the sleek look. Kelsea Ballerini also should have foregone the large white bow on her own black dress for a simpler, more classic style. Best Tribute: Special Segment for Ukraine Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a pre-recorded speech comparing the horrors of war to the unifying power of music. “The music will break through anyway — we defend our freedom to live, to love, to sound … Fill the silence with your music,” urged Zelensky. His speech was followed by John Legend’s piano performance of his new song “Free,” somewhat saved by the touching contributions of Ukrainian artists: poet Lyuba Yakimchuk, singer Mika Newton and bandura player Siuzanna Iglidan. Worst Snub: Miley Cyrus The Recording Academy neglected Miley Cyrus’ “Plastic Hearts”, which didn’t receive any nominations despite debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock Albums chart. Cyrus tweeted about the snub last November, saying that she was in good company among other artists who haven’t won Grammys.
Review: Machine Gun Kelly, are you okay?
COURTESY INTERSCOPE RECORDS
MORGAN GAGE & SAVANAH KUCHAR
A&E EDITOR, EDITOR IN CHEIF
Since rapper turned self proclaimed “new face” of pop-punk Machine Gun Kelly released “Tickets to my Downfall” in 2020 and broke into the pop-punk scene, Kelly has been the subject of public vitriol, and his recently released album “mainstream sellout” revolves around this, lamenting his perceived outcast status, pop-punk gatekeepers shunning his music and his own struggles with mental health. The 2022 release is, unfortunately, an album that feels forgettable in its sameness between songs and as if it borders on parody of the genre with none of the humor of satire. The album shines its best during its collaborations, including “make up sex” featuring blackbear and “emo girl” featuring WILLOW. This article has been cut off for print. Read more online at ricethresher.org.
Review: ‘I Know NIGO!’ is a project rooted in collaboration JACOB PELLEGRINO
FOR THE THRESHER If you’re like me, you were probably surprised that Japanese fashion designer Nigo was releasing an album and even more surprised to see the star-studded feature list: A$AP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator, Pusha T, Clipse, Pharrell, Gunna, Kid Cudi, Teriyaki Boyz, A$AP Ferg, Pop Smoke and Lil Uzi Vert. For those of you who don’t know, Nigo is the creator of BAPE and HUMAN MADE. In late 2021, he was appointed artistic director of the French luxury house KENZO. BAPE’s brand has long been associated with American hip hop, and Nigo himself has also been involved in various music projects, including the creation of an experimental album in 2000 and DJ-ing for Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz. The seeds for “I Know NIGO!” were first planted when Nigo was approached by his friend, record executive Steven Victor, who proposed the idea of the multi-hyphenate making music again. “I Know NIGO!” is an album that lives up to its name, conceptually rooted in the personal relationships that inspired its creation. Once the features with Pharrell and Clipse were solidified, the project expanded from its original two track length as Victor
Top Track: “Lost and Found Freestyle 2019” and Nigo continued to brainstorm potential collaborators. More artists soon volunteered to be involved with the process, but anyone who didn’t personally know Nigo was turned down. The album begins with A$AP Rocky and Tyler, the Creator on “Lost and Found Freestyle 2019,” a kinetic opener. Both Rocky and Tyler deliver great verses that compliment the diverse instrumentation. The beat switch
COURTESY VICTOR VICTOR WORLDWIDE
between the two verses keeps listeners engaged and provides a satisfying switch between the two rappers. The intriguing shift between Rocky’s celebratory instrumental and Tyler’s darker, brass-based beat makes the track worth repeated listening. “Hear Me Clearly” features Pusha T delivering a classic rap, a strategic amusebouche of the style fans can expect on his next full-length offering expected later
this year. Pusha contrasts his success with that of superficial rappers and models who haven’t faced challenges in the music industry and drug dealing like he has. His boastful verse compliments the strippeddown instrumental and contains all of the hallmarks of Push’s best work. The final track, “Come On, Let’s Go” sounds as if it could have been on “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST,” Tyler’s last full-length album and the Grammy’s Best Rap Album winner. In the track, Tyler bemoans the time it takes a girl to get ready to go out with him. A standout verse from Tyler and exemplary production from Pharrell makes the track feel vibrant and full. However, it’s hard to find Nigo’s contribution on this song, as Pharrell produced it and it sounds like a solo Tyler track. With “I Know NIGO!,” the KENZO director has created a project built on personal connection and a clear enjoyment of being in the company of like-minded collaborators. The album features a range of styles and artists that provide a nice variety but lead to inconsistent tracks, with some lagging behind in quality. “I Know NIGO!” is a multidimensional tapestry of friendships nurtured throughout the years that showcases some lasting gems to make it worth the listen.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 • 9
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Black Art at Rice: Preston Branton draws inspiration from cartoons
COURTESY PRESTON BRANTON Preston Branton uses digital methods among other mediums to create art.
SHREYA CHALLA
FOR THE THRESHER Preston Branton, a Jones College senior majoring in architecture, uses digital methods, charcoal and pencil to create art inspired by the human experience and his love for cartoons. He reflects on his artistic journey, the art he aims to create and the feelings he hopes it will evoke in viewers, as well as the intersectionality of his Black and queer identities. Rice Thresher: What first drew you to art? Preston Branton: My dad’s an artist. I feel like that’s probably a major influence. I feel like I’ve been drawing for forever. When I was a kid, I used to sell drawings of Pokémon. I had this Pokémon book with all the Pokémon that ever existed, from the beginning until the time the book existed. And I would just recreate the drawings and sell them for, like, a dollar when I was in fourth grade so I could buy candy.
RT: What inspires your art? PB: Literally cartoons — American cartoons and also anime. I’m honestly really inspired to create an established style as well. I recently [drew] the most complicated thing I’ve ever drawn before. There are four people with individual expressions, but I got really frustrated because I can’t draw everyone in the same universe. It’s so hard to maintain a certain stylistic image. I think that’s a lot of what I draw from cartoons. I want to make my art convincing, but I’m not really drawn or tied to realism at all … It’s all about iconic form and figure. Anime really provides the gore, the crazy, really intense narratives. I think that’s what I really want to make. RT: What or who would you say are your biggest artistic influences? PB: Adventure Time. The cartoon is literally my favorite thing to ever exist. It’s [influenced] the way that I think about the world and see the world, but also the way I want to render the world and analyze real
Catch live music at these venues
COURTESY WHITE OAK MUSIC HALL
SARA DAVIDSON
THRESHER STAFF
Houston is home to a host of talented musicians, comedians, poets and more, including some right here at Rice. They showcase their artistry at various venues around the city, each with their own unique flair and personality. Here are some of the worthwhile spots, including many with open mic nights for anyone — i.e. Rice students — to try out their art on stage and wow the crowd. Darwin’s Pub Located right next to Buffalo Bayou, this pub offers multiple nights of entertainment in a lowkey environment. In a nod to Charles Darwin, their mascot is a chimp plastered across the wall, and the pubs offers a fun time for anyone interested. No covers are needed for any of the events, which include “Magic Mic Monday Karaoke,” Wednesday’s “Survival of the Fittest Comedy Open Mic,” Thursday’s general open mic night for music, Friday’s free music night and Saturday’s “Life’s a Dragshow Houston Burlesque Revue.” Some events, as implied by their name, fit a raunchier crowd, while others can be enjoyed by everyone. Rudyards This pub calls itself “The living room of Montrose”, and has weekly open
mic comedy night on Mondays. With both newcomers and stand-up comedy veterans in rotation, the free event is great for a night of laughter. Additionally, karaoke is hosted every Wednesday starting at 9 p.m. The pub also has a comedy club, called “The Riot Comedy Show” which features some of the best comedians that have even been featured on Netflix, Comedy Central and more. Tickets for that have to be purchased beforehand, but they have weekly shows on Thursday through Sunday nights. Rotations of local Houstonians and touring comedians come for shows, roasts and more in the space. NOTSUOH This art bar in downtown Houston offers poetry reading and regular live music performances. Labeled a work of living art as a bohemian venue, this is certainly a place to check out for a more out of the box artistic and performance experience. Many artists have made debut performances there, and the space always has something going on even if their calendar is not fully updated. Nontraditional from darts or pool, this bar also offers chess for patrons looking for entertainment. To both be surrounded by art and watch it performed, NOTSUOH is the place to go. This story has been cut off for print. Read the rest online at ricethresher.org.
stuff. I feel like Adventure Time was very happens in [your] brain when you’re alone fantastical, but at the same time, [it has] in your room sitting in the dark —what real themes [that are] integral to what the parts of yourself do you show only when you’re alone? What are the things you want human experience is. There’s an artist that I’ve been thinking to hide? … That’s something I really enjoy about a lot recently: Kara Walker. She does thinking about. RT: What Black representation in art some amazing, amazing stuff. It’s all these silhouettes, and she draws from fairy tales mean to you? PB: I consider every person that I draw to but also the Black experience. I think that this also really recreates the same idea I’m be Black, whether that is clear or not. I think talking about — rendering something in it’s important for Black artists to represent simple terms, but making it read in a way Black people. It’s a form of communication, that pushes your agenda [or] idea. I like a form of relaying our experiences to an audience who may or may not know what Black radical art and unapologetic art. RT: How would you describe your art that is. I think there’s a lot of great people representing the Black experience, but and artistic style? PB: Honestly, I think I want my art to that never limits the possibilities. There’s upset people. I just don’t think I’ve ever always something unique about the way achieved that, but that’s ideally what people experience Blackness. I feel like a I want. I want lot of the ways something that which I experience really stirs people, Blackness and really makes them I think my art is very, very internalize Blackness u n c o m f o r t a b l e , human ... I’m not aiming is also through the makes them sad. intersection of my But overall it’s for perfection. I’m not queer identity, [which really a reflection aiming for realism. is] totally different of me. I can hardly Preston Branton from how other draw a person people may express or freehand without JONES COLLEGE SENIOR experience Blackness. it just ending up RT: What advice would you give other looking like me … I honestly don’t know if I can stop recreating myself or imprinting Black artists and students interested in myself in my work. So it’s very much a art? PB: Watch cartoons. But also, evaluate collection or reflection of me, but also, I think my art is very, very human. I don’t yourself as a Black artist and as a Black really believe in there being a right answer person. See yourself for all the internalized ever. I’m not aiming for perfection. I’m not anti-Blackness, all the internalized homophobia. Work through those things aiming for realism. RT: Which themes does your art and really get to know you as a person and as an artist. explore? I think Black people have a very PB: Morality is a big one. I think that also aids my motivation — making particular skill in presenting themselves things very human. I never want to draw differently in different spaces [and] anything that’s perfect. I never portray accommodating the conditions that are a person that’s perfect, unless it’s very there. It’s very important for someone to strategic. People [may] know you, but what think through that.
10 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022
THE RICE THRESHER
Baseball falls victim to cannibalism, feasted on by Owls of FAU CADAN HANSON
THRESHER STAFF
Over the weekend, the Rice baseball team was swept by conference rival and fellow Owls, Florida Atlantic University at Reckling Park. The hosts were unable to steal a game from the No. 3 ranked team in Conference USA, losing 9-4 on Friday, 6-5 on Saturday, and 7-1 on Sunday, bringing their overall season record to 8-21. Following the series, head coach Jose Cruz Jr. said he was disappointed with the outcome against a strong opponent. “They are a very good baseball club,” Cruz said. “One of the better offensive teams we’ve faced so far this year. They are well coached, they create pressure, they don’t beat themselves, they don’t make that many mistakes. They know who they are and they have their own identity. I think we make too many mistakes at times and they took advantage of that against us.”
We’re trying to figure out who is who on the team right now. We’re hoping that someone takes control of some positions so that we can have one lineup but right now, we’re not sure what that lineup looks like. Jose Cruz Jr. HEAD COACH
In the series opener, after trading runs in the first inning, FAU took a three-run lead in the top of the second. After a few scoreless innings, Rice shrunk the lead to one with a two-run home run from sophomore outfielder Guy Garibay Jr., but FAU surged back ahead with five runs across the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Sophomore infielder Nathan Becker added an RBI single in the eighth but it wasn’t enough to get the home Owls back into the game.
NDIDI NWOSU / THRESHER
On Saturday, FAU stormed out to an early three run lead which was erased in the fourth inning with a three run home run by senior infielder Austin Bulman. Over the course of the game, six Owls recorded hits highlighted by a solo home run by sophomore infielder Pierce Gallo late in the seventh inning that tied the game at five. However, FAU responded with their own home run the next inning, and they struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to put the game away. According to Cruz, the game could have gone either way and Rice was just a play away from getting the win. “The second game was really close,” Cruz said. “I thought we had a really good shot at winning it but we were one bad hop away from winning that game.” On Sunday, Rice changed the weekend narrative and jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a double from Bulman scoring sophomore infielder Jack Riedel. However, the Owls failed to score the rest of the game and fell prey to an onslaught of runs in the fourth and sixth innings courtesy of FAU. Regardless of the score, Cruz said that the Owls played well overall in the series finale with the exception of the sixth inning. “For the most part, we played well today [Sunday],” Cruz said. “We had a rough inning and the game slipped away but overall we played good [baseball].” Following the series, the Owls fell to 3-6 in the conference and are now on a five game losing streak. The young team is still figuring out its rotation, according to Cruz. With over two-thirds of the roster being underclassmen, Cruz said he hopes that the Owls can solidify a reliable rotation as they get closer to postseason play. “We’re trying to figure out who is who on the team right now,” Cruz said. “We’re hoping that someone takes control of some positions so that we can have one lineup but right now, we’re not sure what that lineup looks like.” The Owls will look to turn their fortunes around this weekend when they travel to Ruston, LA for a three game series against Louisiana Tech University.
COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS Sophomore infielder Pierce Gallo swings during Saturday’s game against FAU. Gallo and the Owls were swept by the visiting Owls to bring their conference record to 3-6.
Rice’s student managers discuss their work behind the scenes REED MYERS
SENIOR WRITER Division I coaches and athletes are often household names, rising to national prominence in their given sports. But many other integral members of athletic teams can get overlooked, including student managers, who work behind the scenes to make sure everything is running smoothly. Student managers can join an athletics team for various reasons ranging from wanting to be a part of a team to gaining experience in the sport. According to volleyball manager Luke Stancil, he wanted to become a manager to be around the sport that he played in high school. “Coming out of high school, I was a fairly good volleyball player, and I really wanted to stay connected to the sport that I loved,” Stancil said. “I thought being a manager would ultimately be the best way to do that. So, way back in April of 2020, I sent an email to the Rice volleyball coaching staff explaining my playing experience, my interests, and ultimately what I could bring to the team.” After joining a team, student managers, depending on their experience and availability, are relied upon by their respective team to help out wherever they can. According to women’s basketball manager Princess Bernard-Oti, her responsibilities range from helping to run practices to organizational tasks. “I participate in limited on-court activities and perform administrative and managerial duties during practices and games,” Bernard-Oti said. “In addition, I aid in the arrangement of laundry, hydration, and game day equipment. I also assist our director of operations with any additional organizational tasks available. Lastly, I work closely with the team’s video coordinator to record practice drills and games.” Because of the vast responsibilities that student managers have, their days can be long. They often have to be there before, during and after practices and games, all while balancing their academic schedules. According to men’s basketball manager Jackson Jeffcoat, his day goes beyond just the practice time itself. “After classes, I will head to the facility and set up practice,” Jeffcoat said. “If there are players warming up, I will rebound for them, but if not, I will work on an administrative task. Once practice or workouts begin, I lead the other managers through running the practices. After that
is over, I will talk with the other managers with any updates, clean up from practice, and rebound if anyone wants to shoot. If a player needs to workout outside of the normal time, they will often set up a time with me to shoot.” As members of their respective athletic team, student managers also reap the highs and lows of an athletic season. According to Bernard-Oti, the women’s basketball achievements in recent seasons have been her favorite moments as a manager. “As a manager, I’ve been given the opportunity to experience many successes with the team,” Bernard-Oti said. “[These] range from being two-time regular-season Conference USA champions, winning the Conference USA postseason championship in 2019, and attending the 2019 NCAA tournament.” According to Stancil, another benefit of the job is that he enjoys spending time around the team. “My favorite part is being able to be a part of a fantastic team that is full of some of the greatest people,” Stancil said. “I have nothing but the highest respect for the coaching staff. The women on this team are all amazing, and I love that I’ve been able to get to know all of them and learn from them.” Like collegiate athletes, student managers’ time on the team will also end upon graduation. According to Stancil, being a student manager has helped him prepare for a career in or out of sports. “When I started this position, I would’ve told you that I wasn’t trying to get anywhere in volleyball because of this,” Stancil said. “However, I’ve loved this experience, and I’m looking a little bit into whether I want to look for a graduate assistant position. I think that the amount of work and travel as a manager does really prepare you for a life after school, so those experiences [have] definitely [been] important.” While their contributions can go unrecognized, for some managers, having their impact felt during and after their time with the team matters most to them. According to Jeffcoat, he hopes to have established a culture within the managers that continues after he leaves. “My long-term goal is to establish a culture within our basketball managers that continues after I have left,” Jeffcoat said. “If I can benefit this program by leaving a legacy of hard work and continued improvement, I have done my job.” Editor’s Note: Reed Myers is a member of the Rice men’s basketball team.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 • 11
SPORTS
Rice Stadium gets a bath for the upcoming season
CHARLIE WELLS / THRESHER Rice Stadium is set to undergo a round of renovations this offseason. Among the additions will be a new scoreboard, new chairbacks and a brick wall surrounding the field.
DANIEL SCHRAGER
SPORTS EDITOR
Rice Stadium will be getting an update next season, as the Rice athletic department announced the first phase of a new renovation project for the 72-year-old stadium. The renovations will include a new wall around the field, a new scoreboard, upgraded premium seating options and a thorough cleaning. According to Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Events Dan McGarry, the upgrades should provide a significant improvement for fans on gameday. “I think that when you look at the needs of fans coming into stadiums, having a modernization helps you to always drive fans in if there’s a comfort level in the seats that you’re sitting in, if the stadium looks better, all that stuff [helps],” McGarry said. One of the most noticeable pieces of the renovations will be a new brick wall bordering the field, which itself was just redone last season. The stadium will also get a new scoreboard above the south endzone. According to McGarry, the current scoreboard was overdue for a replacement. “I believe that scoreboard was at one point given to us as a used board that we’ve had for however many years,” McGarry said. “We’re going to take that one down, use the framing that’s there, and put a brand new board on.”
The AAC move [and the stadium renovation] worked together. Our willingness to invest in the stadium helped us with our move to the AAC, but at the same time the AAC move helped us with the investment into the stadium. Dan McGarry
ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR FOR FACILITIES AND EVENTS
The stands will also see upgrades. In the stands behind the home sideline, the chair-back seats that occupy a handful of rows at the top of the lower bowl will be replaced by more modern chair-backs. Behind the visitor’s sideline, the chairback seats will be replaced by premium seats that McGarry said will resemble outdoor boxes. However, according to McGarry, the benches that take up the majority of the seats in the stadium will remain in place
since the current construction of the lower bowl doesn’t allow for chair-backs. “The tread depth in our seating area does not allow us to put an entire chairback section unless we completely redo the concrete,” McGarry said. “Most of the stadium will stay benches and the student section will stay benches as well.” This means that the student section will also not be getting seat-backs this season. According to McGarry, the athletic department is considering improvements to the student section and has put together a focus group of students, but as of now, no improvements are planned. “As of right now, [the student section] will be staying on the visitor sideline as is,” McGarry said. “I don’t anticipate us changing it for this next year, but we’re always having conversations about how we can make things better for our students.” The concourses will also see new flooring and lights, and the entire stadium will be washed, which, according to McGarry, is long overdue. “One of the really really big pieces to it is pressure washing everything,” McGarry said. “It’s a 72-year-old stadium, and it’s been this thing that’s built over time. Every time we have work going on on campus and it rains, you get dust and dirt flying around and it starts to look bad and show its age. We’re going to pressure wash everything from the top of the building all the way down. [It will] make it look clean, make it look good, make it look nice.” According to McGarry, the athletic department anticipates that the renovations will improve attendance. Last season, the Owls averaged just over 18,600 fans at their home games, despite the stadium’s capacity of 47,000. According to Duncan College senior John Fu, while he is excited to attend games in the improved stadium, he can’t imagine that the renovations will draw his friends who don’t normally attend games into the seats. “Rice Stadium does look pretty old so giving it a more modern look with the scoreboard, brick walls, and seats surely will improve the in-game experience for the fans,” Fu said. “With that being said, I’m not sure these renovations would convince someone who does not traditionally go to Rice football games to suddenly want to attend them on Saturdays.” The improvements are scheduled to be done by the start of the upcoming season, and will precede Rice’s move to the American Athletic Conference, which is expected to take place in 2023. According to McGarry, the move to the
AAC played a role in prompting the renovations but Rice’s desire to renovate also played a key role in getting the move to happen. “The AAC move [and the stadium renovation] worked with each other,” McGarry said. “Our willingness to invest in the stadium helped us with our move to the AAC, but at the same time the AAC move helped us with the investment into the stadium.” In the next few years, the athletic department expects more improvements, but no plans are currently in place. According to McGarry, the first step
was to cut the maintenance costs of the stadium, and now they can begin to look at other potential improvements. “I think we’re calling it phase one because we’re still in a fact finding area of additional phases,” McGarry said. “The stadium is one of the largest buildings on campus in terms of deferred maintenance needs. What this phase one is doing is really addressing those deferred maintenance needs while also modernizing the building as much as we possibly can. [For] phase two and everything beyond, we [still] need to figure out what else we can do.”
REDEFINE POSSIBILITIES
CLASS OF 2023 APPLY BY
April 8th Questions: krystal.jacobs@teachforamerica.org
12 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022
BACKPAGE
New fines introduced for Beer Bike 2023 water balloon fight ANDREW KIM
BACKPAGE WRITER Anarchy reigned over last Saturday’s Beer Bike 2022 following mass misinformation over the celebration’s cancellation. Regarding student belligerence over the rumor, one college chief justice described Beer Bike day conduct as “whatever level is worse than crimes against humanity.” Indeed, the perilous behavior went far beyond the fines outlined by Rice Program Council. Most notably, students took to Founder’s Court to unleash their frustrations on the helpless student security volunteers supervising the water balloon fight. “Do we ask that much of you?” Rice administration began their announcement of the new Beer Bike rules. “We finally do something nice and you go and ruin it by taking a baby onto the field and running around holding it in front of you so nobody throws water balloons at you.” An anonymous fine collector recounted the violence: “I saw someone from Wiess throw a water balloon from outside the bounds, so I noted down a violation on my clipboard. But then he saw, got angry, and threw a water balloon at me!
So I noted down another violation on my clipboard. But then he saw, got angry, and threw another water balloon at me! So…” (Note: The Trasher attempted to obtain the student’s identity, but they were taken away for their hourly water draining.) Effective next Beer Bike, students will be subject to a revamped list of water balloon fight rules. The new list of rules reflects the deliberations of a committee of chief justices, Beer Bike security volunteers, and one baby: Additional fines will include: a) Hurling water balloon garbage bins at other students b) Charging the field with one of those waterjet wood cutters c) Rerouting the TMC’s water supply into a fire hydrant next to Founder’s Court d) Throwing water balloons that are actually cakes that looks like water balloons e) Making one giant water balloon and flooding the city of Houston after throwing it f) Threatening a student volunteer with a fistful of mud, demanding they hop into a water balloon bin, and asking “Why are you dunking yourself? Why are you dunking yourself?”
Student takes post-Beer Bike nap, travels different dimension TIMMY MANSFIELD
BACKPAGE EDITOR
At approximately 2:00 pm this Saturday, Benedict Cucumber, a sophomore from Baker College, embarked on a journey. After coming first or whatever and staying up the whole previous night, Cucumber reported being “a little tired” the afternoon of Beer Bike. While he was only asleep for six hours, Cucumber woke up completely flabbergasted. “The whole left side of my body had marks from my bed, there was a giant sweat mark where I slept, and I didn’t know what day it was. I had the craziest dream, man.” After meeting with dream consultant Colette Nicolaou, Cucumber realized he had actually traveled to a different dimension. On his journey, he detailed his communication with aliens, a 2001: A Space Odyssey stargate-esque adventure through a McDonald’s PlayPlace, and a one-on-one candlelit dinner with President Leebron. “At one point, I was working with a strange green man on something” Cucumber said on the matter. “He was about to tell me the Krabby Patty secret formula, but the next thing I knew, I was floating through McDonalds.”
“Jones” ““wins”” Beer Bike “““again”””
Pppbbbtbbtbbttt.” (Cross then blew a raspberry that he insisted we transcribe unless we were “fake news”.) “Jones? What college is that? Is that the one with the skeleton in it?” Kitty Katz, a McMurtry College sophomore, told us. “No? I live off-campus, I dunno. Is it the new 12th one?”
Since this event, Cucumber has noted a new ability to read minds as well as a sudden craving for West Servery salisbury steaks, a possible side effect from coming in close contact with extraterrestrial beings. “At the very end, I found myself looking deeply into Leebron’s eyes. It was completely silent until he told me, ‘Go back home, your people need you.’ It was at that moment that I woke up.”
He was about to tell me the Krabby Patty secret formula, but the next thing I knew, I was floating through McDonalds. Benedict Cucumber
INTERDIMENSIONAL TRAVELER
Cucumber will be undergoing neural scans over the next few weeks as researchers look into his experience. President Leebron declined to comment on this event or his possible connections to Area 51.
Jones is lame and tell them I said they’re smelly poopy butts. Pppbbbtbbtbbttt. Chris Cross
NDIDI NWOSU
BACKPAGE WRITER Rice University students are still reeling from an eventful Beer Bike weekend, in which Jones College was declared to have won both the women’s and men’s races. But many are still questioning the validity of the results. “Jones only thinks they swept,” Chris Cross, Will Rice College senior, said. “Everyone knows a sweep only counts if you win the Alumni race. And if you’re sub-8 minutes. And if all your throwers do a little dance and pray to Sammy the Owl before they throw. And if you’re Will Rice. So, ha. Jones is lame and tell them I said they’re smelly poopy butts.
WILL RICE COLLEGE SENIOR
Some students have even called for the removal of Jones altogether, on the grounds that they “shouldn’t even be real”. “What even is a Jone anyway?” said May Day, freshman at Brown College. “It’s the only college that’s plural! What’s with that? That’s not natural! I’m a premed, I’d know.” Admin has not commented, but RPC has told us that regardless of the results, all Rice colleges should just “grow up and stop pretending that Beer Bike actually matters in the real world”.
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.
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