VOLUME 107, ISSUE NO. 11 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2022
Sewall voting location sees hour-plus wait times Rice’s Sewall Hall served as an Election Day voting location for around 900 voters on Tuesday. According to Vivian Zheng, the presiding election judge, people waited in line for one to two hours before casting their ballots, though wait times dropped off significatly as it got closer to 7 p.m. Zheng, a Baker College junior, said that she knew there would be lines but wasn’t sure how long they would be. “I feel like it’s kind of hard to expect how it will be [in different elections],” Zheng said.“I knew the lines would be crazy … but definitely not to this extent. But we haven’t had any major issues, like no technical issues, which is so good. That’s the most we can ask for.” According to Zheng, the lines were exacerbated by the length of Harris County’s ballot — one of the longest in the country — and the lack of voting equipment at the location.
COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS
“People are taking their time to vote, which is very understandable,” Zheng said. “But because of the length of the ballot, it just takes longer for each person to do everything, and then also we don’t have enough equipment. That’s just the reality of it.” Of the people that took advantage of the voting in Sewall, most chose to do so because of its location. Eliot Solomon, a McMurtry College senior, said he appreciated the location’s proximity to his classes. “I feel like the location is good, and the wait is a little longer, but seems pretty standard [in comparison to my previous voting experiences],” Solomon said. “It’s really nice to be able to walk out of class and come vote.” The lines at Sewall held more than just members of the Rice community. Nathan Drake, who lives near campus, said he chose to vote at Sewall because of its proximity
KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER
BEN BAKER-KATZ
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
to his house. Others, like Tung Shu, a physician who works in the Medical Center, said that all things considered, the experience could have been worse. “[The Sewall location] is very convenient. My office is literally across the street,” Shu said. “[I] expected some line, but it’s not bad … Also it’s inside, it’s got AC. [I] can’t complain.” According to Zheng, the long lines were an encouraging sign for democracy, but she and the other judges did try to urge people to seek out other voting locations to keep the lines as short as possible. “The lines are good, because it’s showing that people are coming out to vote,” Zheng said. “We have been encouraging people to try to find other polling locations that are closer to campus … and I do think people [took that] advice.” One of those people was Elysia Wu, a
Lovett College senior, who intended to vote at Sewall but heard about the long lines and decided to vote at Congregation Emanu El, a voting location across the street from campus on Sunset Boulevard. “I was actually planning to vote on campus, but I bumped into a friend who told me about a shorter wait time [at a different location] so we both went offcampus together,” Wu said. “All in all, it probably cut my wait time in half, even with the 10 minute walk.” In all, the attitudes of most voters at Sewall were summed up by Emily Searles, a graduate student in the Chemistry department. “Who has the time [to early vote]?” Searles said. “I need to vote … and I’ve already [been] in line for like 36 minutes, I’ve committed.” Maria Morkas and Bonnie Zhao contributed to this reporting. This article has been condensed for print. Read the full article at ricethresher.org.
Volleyball heads to No. 22 Western Kentucky for rivalry’s potential final chapter DANIEL SCHRAGER
SPORTS EDITOR
The last time Rice volleyball lost a conference regular season game, back in 2019, it took Western Kentucky University two match points to knock off the Owls in a five-set battle that ultimately decided the regular season conference title. The two teams would meet again that year, this time in the conference championship game, but the result was the same: a five-set Hilltopper victory. Only three players from that Owls team are still with the program, but according to fifthyear setter Carly Graham, the losses still haven’t faded from memory. “Yeah. We remember that,” Graham said. “[It was] on our home court,” fifth-year middle blocker Anota Adekunle added. Each year since then, the Owls and Hilltoppers have met in the Conference USA title game, and each time, the Hilltoppers have come out on top. In
that span, the Owls are 53-0 against all other conference opponents, but 0-4 against Western Kentucky. They’ve beaten perennial national championship contenders the University of Texas at Austin twice in that time, but haven’t been able to get past the Hilltoppers. According to head coach Genny Volpe, when the Owls head to Bowling Green this Thursday, it will mean more than just any other game. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” Volpe said. Going into the game, the two teams are separated by only one spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, with Rice ranked No. 21 and WKU at No. 22, and tied atop C-USA going into the final week of conference play. According to Volpe, the matchup has turned into an unlikely rivalry simply as a product of both programs’ success. “When we first moved into Conference USA, I would have never thought that Western Kentucky was going to be our rival,” Volpe said. “It’s not anywhere close to us. But [their] consistent success and the fact that we would keep meeting up in the conference championship game … the rivalry has definitely built up over time.” Despite their recent results, Graham said the Owls still look forward to the challenge of playing the Hilltoppers, who
this year are led by reigning conference player of the year Lauren Matthews. “I think it’s definitely a rivalry game,” Graham said. “It’s typically two top-25 programs so it’s usually a really good matchup, super competitive and some good volleyball.” Under head coach Travis Hudson, the Hilltoppers have won the conference every year since 2014, with the exception of the Owls’ title in 2018. Volpe said that the most impressive part of WKU’s success all these years has been their consistency. “Western is very consistent,” Volpe said. “They run a particular style of offense that is really successful. They have the same pieces [as in previous years].” This will be the last time the Owls face the Hilltoppers in the regular season before they leave C-USA for the American Athletic Conference. While Volpe said she’s discussed scheduling WKU for non-conference play going forward, she knows this is the Owls’ last shot to take the conference title from their rival. “This one’s going to be extra special just because it’s our last time in the league and so we want to leave on a positive note,” Volpe said. “It’s time for us to change the narrative. It’s definitely time.”