The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Beer Bike to divide races amid safety concerns

Beer Bike races will be held in two heats this year, instead of the traditional singular race, according to Anne Wang, a campus-wide Beer Bike coordinator. The change is in light of last year’s crash during the women’s race, which injured three bikers and sent one to the hospital.

Associate Director of Campus Events Petre Herbert said that the decision to hold the races as two separate heats was collectively made by administration and students.

“[Bikers and pit crew] have a higher risk for physical injury during the actual race, as they are in the lanes … Two heats reduce the amount of people on the track at once, which allows bikers to navigate around [fewer] people while riding,” Herbert wrote in an email to the Thresher. “We were also looking to the future as a twelfth college would be joining us.”

According to Wang, safety precautions are imposed by administration, risk management and other entities, and not the Rice Program Council.

Wiess College

Beer Bike Coordinator Matthew Sheets said that administration considered breathalyzing chuggers, but ultimately decided against it.

Wang also said RPC is seeking to move the breath alcohol screening to later in the day, compared to previous years. Wang said the exact blood alcohol percentage cutoffs are yet to be determined.

“We’re working on giving the bikers [and] pit crew a better check-in process so that they can breathalyze closer to when they enter the track,” Wang said. “But that won’t be finalized until we meet with campus partners, Beer Bike Coords and others this upcoming Wednesday.”

Sheets also said that the race winners will be determined once race times and penalties are finalized, as they have been in the past, and there will still be one winner for the men’s race and one for the women’s. He also said that the heats makes the reveal more exciting.

“[The results reveal] was always a part of the Beer Bike experience, but I think that it will seem like it’s a bigger part now that you don’t have any direct comparison,” Sheets said.

Sid Richardson College Beer Bike Coordinator Akshay Sethi said an additional safety measure included repairing the bike track over spring break.

“There were a lot of bumps [so] the track was not safe up until last week,” Sethi, a sophomore, said. “In the next week or so there will be [biking] time trials, and we’ll have that last test for track safety.”

As one of the individuals leading campuswide biker certifications, Suraj Chandramouli said the process is not very intensive.

“We have official rider certifications where we check the skills of [bikers], but it’s very rudimentary.” Chandramouli, a sophomore on the Hanzen bike team, said. “It’s just making sure that [bikers] can ride a road bike, get on and off, clip in and out and [bikers] can ride around the track safely.”

Chandramouli said he is concerned about the placement of the track barricades.

“I’m not a fan of the metal barriers being placed so close to the track, especially because [for] a lot of people, Beer Bike is the only time they race,” Chandramouli said. “If they get nervous or if they lose control, [they] don’t get a lot of runoff area to stop before going into a metal barrier.”

Chandramouli also said he is concerned by the relative inexperience of many bikers.

“A lot of people don’t have experience riding in groups, especially because it’s hard to get group experience at Rice,” Chandramouli said. “It’s definitely a skill that needs to be practiced, so that people’s first experience riding in close proximity with each other isn’t Beer Bike.”

In the future, Chandramouli said he hopes to increase biker training prior to Beer Bike, potentially by introducing simulated races.

According to Wang, RPC is considering further changes to future Beer Bikes for safety.

“While not being implemented in time for this year’s Beer Bike, conversations have begun [adjusting our insurance coverage], as well as gathering funding to do major track renovations for the safety of the bikers, as opposed to the annual patchwork [repairs] the track has gotten since its creation,” Wang said.

The first Student Association senate was held for the 2024 fiscal year after leadership changeover occurred prior to spring break. SA President Solomon Ni led the meeting, highlighting some changes he wanted to see in the organization moving forward.

“I’m going to be honest with you, the previous year kind of sucked,” Ni, a Jones College sophomore, said at Senate.

Ni listed his “expectations” for the SA this year, including transparency and inclusivity, creating a platform for the “most relevant” voices to be heard and having a “low tolerance” for offensive behavior.

SA Treasurer Yuv Sachdeva introduced the new budget for the 2024 fiscal year, including the elimination of the budget for international night, which has not been used for years, increasing the general projects fund and implementing a senate per diem.

Ni proposed a resolution to compensate college presidents, senators and executive committee members for the time they are

required to be at senate meetings. Ultimately, the resolution was tabled indefinitely due to near unanimous backlash.

“College senators, college presidents, the president, internal vice president, external vice president, treasurer, secretary and the parliamentarian are entitled to a per diem of $8 for each meeting of [the] senate,” Ni wrote in the resolution. “The amount is capped at $200 for a legislative session for each officer receiving a per diem.”

McMurtry Senator Lauren Verthein said that they were elected with the expectation from their peers that they would work for free.

I think this money would be better served as an outreach for informing people about what specifically the SA [does].

Evan Jasica

DUNCAN COLLEGE PRESIDENT

‘The previous year kind of sucked’: Ni debuts at first senate

MARIA MORKAS ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Two heats reduce the amount of people on the track at once, which allows bikers to navigate around [fewer] people while riding.

Petre Herbert ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS EVENTS

SPRING CHENJP THRESHER STAFF

BEER BIKE 2023

BRANDON CHEN, CHANNING WANG / THRESHER COURTESY SANDY WU

Administration affirms commitment to diversity

KELTON KECK / THRESHER

President Reginald DesRoches announced Rice’s commitment to diversity ahead of anticipated Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action cases in a campuswide email sent on March 3, cosigned by Provost Amy Dittmar and Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alexander Byrd.

“Diversity at Rice is not just tolerated, it is celebrated as a strength of this great institution,” DesRoches wrote in his email, recounting his investiture speech.

The announcement preemptively responds to upcoming Supreme Court rulings on cases challenging race-conscious admissions in higher education. Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina allege that considering race as a factor in admissions violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 14th Amendment.

DesRoches wrote that the rulings will not significantly impact diversity, equity and inclusion on campus in an email to the Thresher.

“Because of our holistic approach to admissions and faculty hiring, not a lot will change for us here at Rice,” DesRoches said.

Dittmar said holistic review establishes diversity among Rice students.

“The [admissions] process ensures that each application is reviewed in the context of a student’s academic background, as well as their personal life experience,” Dittmar said. “It has helped to create a student body that is diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender, geography, culture, education and other perspectives.”

According to DesRoches’ announcement, holistic review continues to influence Rice student demographics, citing that the percentage of students from underrepresented minority groups is up 3% from last year.

Duncan College junior Briana Gellineau said that she still sees barriers to equity and inclusion within residential college communities.

“I’ve seen a lot of friends have issues with Resident Associates at their colleges, like seeing them use stereotypes and microaggressions,” Gellineau said.

Gellineau also said that not all spaces on campus welcome marginalized populations.

“I don’t personally identify [as LGBTQ], but a lot of friends in the community have come to me saying, ‘I don’t feel safe in these situations and environments,’” Gellineau said.

of Black professors in the past five years and increased the number of female faculty hires, recruiting a diverse faculty class.

“Recruiting, developing and retaining a more diverse faculty and attracting excellent graduate students from diverse backgrounds to work with them isn’t about numbers,” Dittmar said. “It creates critical teaching and community advantages, informs complex problem-solving and offers diverse perspectives and mentors for all students.”

Byrd said that Rice endeavors to promote ongoing conversations that are crucial for nurturing equity on campus.

Reginal

Beyond admissions and enrollment, DesRoches’ email listed a range of new and ongoing initiatives designed to uphold a “diverse, equitable and inclusive” environment at Rice, including financial aid through the Rice Investment, support for first generation students, the Analyzing Diversity undergraduate general education requirement and graduate student programs.

Byrd said that departments and offices across Rice work to address the structural factors that influence the needs of students.

“Investments — material, social, and intellectual — in maintaining and further enriching a diverse, inclusive campus environment are evident throughout the university,” Byrd wrote in an email to the Thresher.

Outside of the undergraduate class, Dittmar said Rice has doubled the number

“The university … is very often at its best when it creates spaces for productive discussion and debate on what a diverse, inclusive, equitable society might look like,” Byrd said. “The upcoming Heather McGhee lecture event — made possible through the collaboration of several entities across campus — is one such example.”

Looking ahead to the Supreme Court decision, Dittmar said that Rice’s commitment to diversity remains strong.

“Regardless of the outcome, diversity, equity inclusion and excellence are foundational values of the university,” Dittmar said. “We will do all that we can within the bounds of the law to recruit and retain a diverse student body and faculty.”

Muslim students and H&D prepare for Ramadan

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins this week, falling between March 22 to April 20 this year, overlapping with events such as Beer Bike and the end of the semester. Observers fast from dawn until dusk, which is approximately 13 hours in Houston, to practice spiritual devotedness.

Housing & Dining will continue accommodations that debuted last year, which include providing extended servery hours for students needing to break their fast and halal options, according to H&D. Summer Shabana, co-president of the Muslim Student Association, said the ongoing conversations between H&D and the MSA allowed these accommodations to continue to expand.

Since many students expressed interest in opting out of the meal plan because they were fasting, there was an interest for both H&D and MSA to create accommodations with extended hours, Shabana said. This year, iftar, the meal to break fast, will be available at West Servery from 7:45 to 8:30 p.m., and suhoor, eaten at dawn, will be available for pick up as well.

“Chef Kyle was especially interested in providing food for us that was representative of our cultures, so it was really nice because people felt at home,” Shabana said.

For many first year students, like Ayaan Riaz, a freshman at Will Rice, this Ramadan will be the first away from home. Riaz said he is happy to see Rice accommodating the needs of the few hundred students who observe Ramadan.

“There’s a lot of anxiety around it now because I’m so far away from home,” Riaz said. “I don’t have my mom’s cooking, the schedule is so much more busy, so it’s like there’s a lot of new variables I have to take into account.”

While last year’s take-home suhoor options were limited, this year’s menu includes expanded protein options, according to Shabana.

Will Rice President Gazi Fuad said access to food options throughout the night is something he is trying to budget for. Other colleges also plan to stock communal kitchens with food for those fasting.

The MSA also presented to the Student Association and Faculty Senate about what the observance of Ramadan would mean for Muslim students, including possible accommodations faculty could make for students. Bridget Gorman, dean of undergraduates, said the presentation was received well at Faculty Senate, and that most instructors try to support students observing religious holidays.

“During my time at Rice, I’ve noticed more conversations about accommodations in general, including for religious reasons,” Gorman said. “I think there’s increased recognition that the circumstances students manage as it relates to their ability to successfully navigate and complete their academic obligations can vary for a lot of reasons.”

While administration has made significant strides in accommodating religious celebrations, Ambreen Younas, co-president of the MSA, still feels like there is work to be done.

“I think year after year, [seeking accommodations] keeps falling on us,” Younas said. “And then the response we get is, ‘Oh, we can’t really do anything now, but maybe in the future,’ but then no one really takes initiative in the future to remember us or keep us in mind. And always, I feel like a lot of … Muslim student needs come as an afterthought in a lot of areas of the Rice experience.”

As the student population has grown, the MSA continues to grow with it. The association is hosting many events throughout the month, including a Ramadan Gala, MSA x BSA x HACER H&D Appreciation Day, Ask a Muslim and a Fast-a-thon which Shabana and Younas encourage everyone to attend as they aim to foster a community for Muslim students at Rice.

BRANDON CHEN WEB EDITOR

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER The Muslim Student Association will host events throughout Ramadan for the Muslim community and campus as a whole.

Diversity at Rice is not just tolerated, it is celebrated as a strength of this great institution.

DesRoches RICE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

HANNAH SON THRESHER STAFF

Proposed Quad redesign decenters controversial history

MICHELLE GACHELIN & NAYELI SHAD A&E EDITOR & OPINIONS EDITOR

The architect firm Nelson Byrd Woltz unveiled their proposed plans for the Academic Quadrangle redesign to the public on March 9. The changes included relocating Willy’s statue to the corner of Lovett Hall and the Welcome Center, adding community gathering spaces by Fondren Library and paving a curved, tree-lined path stretching diagonally from Rayzor Hall to Herzstein Hall.

Thomas Woltz, the owner and principal landscape architect of NBW, said that the firm’s goal was to reimagine the quad and recontextualize Willy’s statue within it.

“We’re trying to bring life and energy into the quad so that it becomes a hub of student life rather than only for the ceremonial moments,” Woltz said.

Ian Brennick, a designer at NBW, said that the firm always tries to layer multiple uses into every space they design. He said that a professor approached him about creating a small amphitheater for campus acapella groups.

“It could be a gathering for acapella, it could be a classroom, it could be a space for yoga class or office hours,” Brennick said. “All of [that] feedback or input that you have is stuff that is creating a much richer, more diverse layer [to a] space that is really in service to university students and alumni.”

The new design proposes relocating William Marsh Rice’s statue by Sewall Hall, placing it directly on the ground. Woltz said that this will allow visitors to contextualize Willy’s statue within the university’s history while also reflecting Rice’s current values of inclusivity and community.

“The idea is to bring William Marsh Rice to the ground amongst us,” Woltz said. “You can stand with him … he’s no longer on a plinth looking down on the students, he’s eye-to-eye with the students.”

Additionally, NBW proposes moving the plinth atop which the statue sits off-center and back, facing the Cambridge Office Building. Woltz said that the plinth will be a platform for student activism, debates and performances to uplift many voices.

During the event, NBW provided QR codes leading to a survey open until March 23. President Reginald DesRoches encouraged all to provide their opinions.

“We intend to host future walkthroughs and community events in addition to collecting feedback via online surveys so that Rice and NBW can socialize the design concept while also keeping the best interests and desires of the Rice family at the top of mind,” DesRoches said in an email to the Thresher.”

Visitors were also provided Post-it Notes to add their opinions about the proposed plan to the poster boards. Some notes included messages such as, “I want swings,” “a lazy river [with] tubes” and “remove the proposed connection.”

Sohani Sandhu, a McMurtry College freshman, said that she likes the new path as long as the design doesn’t stand out too much from the rest of the quad’s features.

“I definitely do think [the path]’s a good idea … I just want to make sure that it fits in with the rest of the paths that are being made and make sure that it’s not taking up too big of a space on the quad,” Sandhu said.

However, Justin So said that the curved path cutting across the quad was too asymmetrical.

“I’m not really sure about the proposed connection, like this curved path, because I feel like with the current design as it is, it makes it kind of look ugly,” So, a Baker College junior, said.

Woltz clarified that the path was chosen based on previous “desire” lines created by past foot traffic and that the curved design was selected to disrupt the angles and symmetry of the quad.

When envisioning the new space, McKinnon said the firm tries to balance both architectural significance and architectural capacity within their designs.

“We don’t know what it’s going to look like just yet,” McKinnon said. “[With] a quad with this much land in it, there’s [a] real opportunity here to make an amazing space for the students and the faculty and the next generation of students on campus.”

“Because of that expectation from many of our colleges, I would be worried that with the inclusion of this, it would cause the student body to lose faith in us, because we are volunteers from our colleges who are volunteering our time to come here and represent,” Verthein said.

Brown College

President Jae Kim said there needs to be a greater discussion in the university about making leadership positions more accessible via compensation. However, he said he thinks this seems like a misguided step to solve that issue.

Several other senate members echoed these sentiments and proposed using that money to increase engagement with the student body in different ways.

Duncan College President Evan Jasica said that an issue is that a lot of students don’t know much about the SA, don’t care about it or don’t know why they should care.

“I think this money would be better served as an outreach for informing people about what specifically the SA [does],” Jasica, a junior, said. “What it actually has control over, different blanket tax organizations — the money that Rice students give, where does that go? And how is that decided?”

Discussions about the purpose and efficacy of the SA, marketing ideas and lack of committee involvement followed. The amended budget passed with $3000 moved from per diem to general projects; $2600 will be equally spent among the fall and spring kick off events.

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER

HEATHER MCGHEE

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

Despite its position as one of the world’s most advanced economies, America has, time and time again, created policies that routinely fail its people — from the 2008 financial crisis, to crippling student debt, to the continued lack of universal health care. But there exists a common thread that links all of these problems, says public policy expert Heather McGhee: racism. Structural racism is the driver of inequality — not just for people of color, but for everyone.

In her new book “The Sum of Us,” McGhee takes readers on a journey across the country, where she explores, with compassion, intelligence and great care, what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm — the idea that progress for some must come at the expense of others.

“Now more than ever, racial division is a tool wielded by those who are the most wealthy, the most powerful and the most self-interested,” explains McGhee. What would actually improve our lives, and everything we share in common — from our infrastructure to our education system to democracy itself — would be to come together across racial divides.

This talk, based on McGhee’s extraordinarily powerful book, pulls back the curtain on how racism divides and devastates us, but it also offers a path forward — into the achievable changes we need to make to create a just and equitable future for all.

Over her career in public policy, including nearly two decades with the non-partisan “think and do” tank Demos, Heather McGhee has become an influential voice in the media, crafted legislation, testified before Congress and helped shape presidential campaign platforms. She currently serves as a visiting lecturer in urban studies at the City University of New York and has also held visiting positions at Yale and the University of Chicago. Additionally, McGhee is the chair of the board of Color Of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, and serves on several other boards. She holds a bachelor’s from Yale and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law as well as honorary degrees from three other institutions.

The event is sponsored by Office of the President, Office of DEI, Will Rice College, Center for African and African American Studies, Center for Civic Leadership, Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning, and the School of Social Sciences.

Wednesday, March 29, 3:30 p.m. McMurtry Auditorium (Duncan Hall)

EDITORIAL STAFF

Start by paying the students who need it most

Student Association president Solomon Ni presented a motion during the March 20 senate to pay voting members of the SA essentially $8 every senate in session, which they are required to attend. Our new cohort of SA representatives near-unanimously shot the motion down.

While we applaud Ni’s effort to compensate student leaders and aren’t opposed to paying leaders when possible, we have to acknowledge that current resources are limited and ultimately should be best spent to lower the barriers to access opportunities for low income students. A pay capped at $200 for an entire academic year for all voting members of the SA makes little difference in students’ lives compared to redirecting this fund towards needbased allocation for SA members.

Divvying up limited resources equally between students doesn’t result in equal impact. First-generation low-income students are frequently at a disadvantage when it comes to their ability to offer up unpaid labor compared to their peers. Offering stipends for low-income students when

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK

possible increases the opportunities for them to be involved on campus, as well as promotes inclusivity and brings more diverse voices to the table in our student organizations.

FGLI students, financial accessibility is a barrier to participating in student leadership positions in the SA and beyond. By concentrating resources, we can remove those barriers and ensure everyone’s voice can be heard on campus.

There is also something to say about the nature of the SA being a studentelected, voluntary government body. At a time when the student body is vocally questioning the efficacy of the SA and the downright purpose of its existence, we caution the SA against risking

increasing dissent for a slim chance of increasing internal engagement. The point of volunteer positions is to give back to the Rice community for that reason. This holds true for organizations outside of the SA as well. We hope we don’t lose sight of the value of volunteering for our community.

As a general rule, organizations should direct their resources to the areas they will do the most good. Just looking at the statistics, the majority of Rice students do not need financial incentive to give back to our community. However, for FGLI students, financial accessibility is a barrier to participating in student leadership positions in the SA and beyond. By concentrating resources, we can remove those barriers and ensure everyone’s voice can be heard on campus.

We need to think more critically and realistically about how we compensate student leaders. Working with what we have, we should dedicate resources to making student leadership positions accessible to students who might otherwise be financially unable to devote their time.

Mourning the slow deaths of campus traditions

Several changes were introduced to Beer Bike this year, largely at the urging of administrators, in hopes of a smoother, safer race. While we don’t strongly disagree with any of the changes that were implemented, the process illustrates a broader push to strip away the traditions that make Rice Rice

A few weeks ago, members of pit crews across campus were asked to sign a contract stating they acknowledge Rice Program Council’s right to remove them from the track should they blow an 0.02 BAC on a race-day breathalyzer test, never mind the fact that it is legal to operate a 4000 pound motor vehicle with a BAC four times higher. Though the final BAC limit for pit crew has yet to be finalized, administrators also considered, but did not implement, requiring chuggers to be breathalyzed alongside bikers and pit crew.

Necessary safety precautions are just that, but overzealous precautions endanger campus traditions. Continuing to discourage students with any level of alcohol in their system from participating in events will simply lead to those events’ decay. Forcing all students, not just bikers, to choose between the Beer Bike races and the Beer Bike experience is a waste of time and energy that comes at the expense of campus traditions.

While we embrace students shedding the traditions that no longer suit the campus community and forging new ones in their place, that is different than admin-imposed

restrictions which lead to the slow dulling of traditions’ shine and their eventual deaths. Will we even hear Beer Bike croak in 20 years?

As long as there will never be a perfectly safe Beer Bike, which there never will be, campus is forced to make tradeoffs between safety and tradition. Recently, we think campus has leaned too hard toward performative percautions at the expense of preserving those traditions.

Not to lecture about it again, but the very idea of public parties being public has withered. Since public parties returned after a COVID-19 hiatus, students compete for a spot in the line of a Google form — instead of having truly public parties with natural capacity limits — since ticketing and wristband requirements have been imposed. With no remaining COVID restrictions on campus, the impetus for selling wristbands

has disappeared. Now all we have is 18-yearolds reselling free wristbands for a profit. These traditions were all reduced from their former glory in service of an administrative desire for “safety.” We don’t mean to minimize safety concerns. We’ve called for increased responsibility when drinking from our editors’ desk before. But decades of Rice students have made it through drinking, biking and college parties relatively fine, and when something goes wrong? We’re adults. That’s on us. But Beer Bike, with or without alcohol, is an inherently unsafe event. Bikers whipping around the track at high speeds is a recipe for disaster every year. The waivers all students on the track are required to sign is acknowledgment of that. Though less severe, the same holds true for public parties and a host of other college traditions, at Rice and beyond.

As long as there will never be a perfectly safe Beer Bike, which there never will be, campus is forced to make trade-offs between safety and tradition. Recently, we think campus has leaned too hard toward performative percautions at the expense of preserving those traditions.

Ben Baker-Katz & Morgan Gage EDITORS IN CHIEF

* Indicates Editorial Board member

Ben Baker-Katz* Editor-in-Chief

Morgan Gage* Editor-in-Chief

Bonnie Zhao* Managing Editor

NEWS

Hajera Naveed* Editor

Maria Morkas Asst. Editor

OPINION

Nayeli Shad* Editor

FEATURES

Riya Misra* Editor

Sarah Knowlton Asst. Editor

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Michelle Gachelin* Editor

Hadley Medlock Asst. Editor

SPORTS

Daniel Schrager* Editor

Pavithr Goli Asst. Editor

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Prayag Gordy* Editor

BACKPAGE

Timmy Mansfield Editor

Ndidi Nwosu Editor Andrew Kim Editor

COPY

Jonathan Cheng Editor

Annika Bhananker Editor

PHOTO, VIDEO, & WEB

Katherine Hui Photo Editor

Cali Liu Asst. Photo Editor

Camille Kao Video Editor

Eli Johns-Krull Asst. Video Editor

Brandon Chen* Web Editor

DESIGN

Robert Heeter Art & Design Director

Anna Chung News

Siddhi Narayan Opinion

Alice Sun Features

Ivana Hsyung Arts & Entertainment

Chloe Chan Sports

Lauren Yu Backpage

BUSINESS

Edelawit Negash Business Manager

Anna Rajagopal Social Media

Vanessa Chuang Distribution

ABOUT

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 2023 ricethresher.org

For

ASB groups ditch the beach, connect with community

“I’ve always wanted to adopt personally, and then I realized I really wanted to learn more about the system just because … people don’t know the nitty gritty of what’s happening,” Ibrahim, a Wiess College sophomore, said. “This [was] a great opportunity to learn more about it for me and I know [other] people will be passionate about it too.”

Another group, led by Michelle Martinez and Denise Maldonado, was focused on exploring the current healthcare resources for recent immigrants in the U.S. They said they wanted their group to learn about public policy surrounding immigrant healthcare, and all the current barriers that exist legally, economically and systemically for immigrants.

According to just about every college stereotype ever, spring break is associated with partying and hanging out on the beach. However, some Rice students spent their recent breaks a little differently. Some wrote policy briefs on mental health in migrant communities. Others volunteered at clinics for Vietnamese refugees or visited local arts organizations. These students all have one thing in common: they were a part of Rice’s Alternative Spring Break Program, which aims to work with community partners on a range of social issues.

“I really appreciate the idea behind Alternative Spring Break, providing the means for exploring community activism,”

Anisha Abraham, a Jones College sophomore who participated in ASB this year, said.

The trips take students to cities near Rice to engage with various social issues. This year, eight ASB groups explored areas including Austin, San Antonio and New Orleans.

Although the program takes place during spring break, planning for ASB begins as early as the previous spring. Last spring semester, pairs of site leaders pitched ideas that they were passionate about and, once approved, started designing these programs.

“When I was developing the curriculum for the ASB, it was really important to me that what we were learning was applicable to any Rice student,” Bria Weisz, a recent ASB site leader, said.

Weisz, a Brown College senior has always had interest in both visual and dramatic arts, specifically in equity within art spaces. She proposed the topic as an ASB, later titling the program “The Big Picture: Equity and Accessibility in Art.”

Months later, Weisz’s group traveled to San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth to engage with organizations working on increasing equity in the arts. Among other community partners, the group met with a public art administrator about how spaces dedicated to art can uplift communities and later visited a public art venue in San Antonio.

“It was really to give the participants a deeper understanding of their approach to art, rather than just going into it as a viewer,” Weisz said. “The next time that they view art, they are going to know all of the different layers that go into making that piece.”

Barakat Ibrahim, another site leader, said her group’s trip focused on the foster care system in Houston and Louisiana. Her group of nine students volunteered at donation centers, learned from community partners and even talked to a mother trying to regain custody of her kids after being arrested.

“We chose [to go to] New Orleans due to its unique status as a sanctuary city within the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals,” Maldonado, a Lovett College senior, said. “The fifth circuit — comprised of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi — is notorious for its anti-immigration rulings.”

While in Louisiana, Martinez and Maldonado’s group volunteered with Catholic charities to help newly migrated people get accustomed to everyday life.

“The family that I personally worked with was a Honduran family that just arrived in the U.S. 10 days ago. We taught them how to use Google Maps, we downloaded Google Translate on their phone, we walked them through Target and showed them how to use self-checkout,” Martinez, a Hanszen College senior, said. “I thought that was really helpful for them but also really eye opening for all of us, understanding the experience of a migrant — it’s a whole different system for them.”

Martinez said that several members of their group, including herself, said their ASB trip strengthened their pre-existing connections or interests in migration work.

“Whenever we were having our final reflection, the participants who were prelaw said that this made them more sure that they want to study immigration law in the future,” Maldonado said. “It [solidified] those ideas that they had of going to law school.”

Do it yourself: Students talk designing area majors

Any prospective student flipping through Rice’s major offerings would miss Computer Science and the Arts — probably because it’s not listed. This specific program is an area major, a type of unique student-designed major made by students looking to forge their own curriculum. Bria Weisz said she created the Computer Science and the Arts major upon finding out that the curricula lacked adequate flexibility for her intended double majors, computer science and visual and dramatic arts.

“I wanted the flexibility to take different classes and branch out,” Weisz, a Brown College senior, said. “I decided I wanted to make [Rice] work for me.”

One of the main benefits of an area major, Weisz said, is the flexibility it affords students. In her case, it allowed

her to combine two very disparate majors into one more streamlined program, focusing on the aspects which interest her most.

Alison Maniace, an area major studying Bioethics and Biotechnology, echoed this sentiment, saying that her area major allowed her academic career to make space for her developing interests.

“What I appreciate about my area major most is that it accommodated [the way that] my interests solidified in the later portion of my time at Rice and let me adapt my education to that,” Maniace, a Martel College senior, said.

In order to pursue an area major, minor or certificate, Weisz said a student must gather tenured faculty advisors and then make a proposal to the Committee on the Undergraduate Curriculum.

Jeffrey Fleisher, the chair of the CUC, said he typically meets with four or five prospective area majors a year, although generally only one or two students actually complete the area major proposal process.

“What I tend to do with students who are thinking about an area major is ask them a lot of questions,” Fleisher said. “What are the things that interest them at Rice and why don’t those majors work?”

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

Wacky, crazy and terrifying. These words might evoke pictures of daredevils or precarious adventures but for Emily Houlik-Ritchey, an English professor at Rice, they point to something entirely different: medieval literature.

The next time that they view art, they are going to know all of the different layers that go into making that piece.

Bria Weisz ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK SITE LEADER

JONAH SPOSITO FOR THE

THRESHER

Agnes Ho has two loves: sushi restaurants and genuine connections. The latter is one that she’s spent the past decade cultivating at Rice as director of the Wellbeing and Counseling Center.

JENNIFER LIU / THRESHER

COURTESY AGNES HO

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER

COURTESY RICE UNIVERSITY

NWOSU / THRESHER

What’s Up?

HOANG NGUYEN CROSSWORD WRITER

Food processor?

Greenhouse gas concerns

What’s “Up”?

NASA’s field center where Neil and Buzz took off

Foot part

Sean of “Lord of the Rings”

Aware

Weather phenomenon El

Summoning charm at Hogwarts

Gastro disorder

Ripening agent

“Yay!”

Insert, as a file or video

Cocky Gardner and Max

“The Loneliest Time” singer

Carly ___ Jepsen

Pulitzer Prize-winning novel

“The Good _____”

Large lecture hall ____100

Circus performer

Protestant work _____

Apiece

General on a menu

“What’s up?”

Janitor Gusto

Tehran’s country

Lazy

Spook

Nasal muscus

The Beatles’ “All You ____

Is Love”

Soda-fountain drinks

Top story?

Prehistoric predator Hamlet’s faithful friend

Appeared

Military wear, for short Tel ____

Debated term for South Asians

Movie FX

One who doesn’t experience romantic attraction, for short

Trash receptacle

Exceeds one’s Rx

Red or Black

“Anchorman: The Legend of ___ Burgundy”

Answer angrily

Striped big cat or type of lily

Stationary

What’s up?

“Nobody” singer

Dietary component

Purple yam from the Philippines

Psychedelic drug, abbr. What’s up?

Desire

First class alternative

“I’m in my flop ___”

Apple variety

Sensation from listening to a bop

Weighed in Wager Comic Margaret

Like some waves

Sniffles season: A Pisces moon’s guide to crying on campus

Even the happiest students in the country need to cry sometimes. If crying in your room is starting to feel overdone, fear not: as your resident Pisces moon and experienced campus crier, I’ve compiled a list of on-campus alternatives where you can let those tears flow.

Sewall Hall Basement: for a Subterranean Cry

There’s something magical about crying underground, and there’s nowhere more underground than first-floor Sewall. Freezing cold and consistently devoid of human life, empty Sewall basement classrooms are prime crying real estate. After you’re done, the dull, beige maze of Sewall’s identical hallways will lull you back into peaceful complacency before you ascend to the surface and continue with your day.

Shepherd Practice Rooms: for a Fortissimo Cry

Did you know non-MUSIs can sign up for music lessons through Shepherd? Did you know they will give you a key to a soundproof practice room that hardly anyone ever goes into? Finally, did you know that the crying experience is greatly enhanced when it is done flanked by two concert grand pedal harps? I have cried multiple times in the harp practice room and only one of them has been in front of my harp teacher. Shepherd practice rooms are a great choice for wailers, claustrophiliacs and those with discerning tastes in their cry-room aesthetics.

The Couch Cubes on Kraft Hall Fourth Floor: for an In-Utero Cry

You know those weird couch cubicles on Kraft fourth? Blue, soft, private and enveloping, they’re a perfect choice if you’re craving a fetal-position cry that transports you back to the peace of the womb, before you were thrust into the horrors of human existence and chemistry homework. The fourth floor is usually pretty empty, but

it is home to the economics department, so don’t be surprised if an ECON/BUSI double major swings by to inform you that spending time crying fails to maximize the efficiency of your human capital.

The Rec Showers: for a Full-Body Cry Crying in the shower is iconic for many reasons: the privacy, the soundmasking and the drama. If your roommate has informed you that they can hear you sniveling through the walls of your bathroom, consider a migration to the

showers at the Rec. They’re conveniently located right next to Wellbeing in case you want a post-cry debrief with a mental health professional, and they come with built-in cry-fodder: Rice’s cost of attendance is $74,000 a year (including a $109 Rec Center fee) and our Rec showers are still this grotsky.

Outdoors During Passing Periods: for an On-The-Go Cry

This one may come as a surprise. Crying? Outside? During the busiest time

of the day? For those who have mastered the art of silent crying, passing periods present the perfect opportunity to slot in a sob between back-to-back classes. If you keep your head down, your phone out, and follow the flow of traffic, you’ll be swallowed up by the crowd and look like just another student hustling across campus. Remember, the key to this method is silence — unless you happen to pass a tour group, in which case you should let loose a few sniffles to give them a taste of the real Rice experience.

FELICITY PHELAN STAFF WRITER

LILY REMINGTON / THRESHER

Rice’s newest statue founds a ‘Blank Slate’ for conversation

the Center for African and African American Studies, worked to bring the monument to Rice and is part of projects that analyze how slavery is globally interpreted and memorialized in different places. He said that the statue travels to spaces where there have been debates about Confederate monuments to create conversation.

“There’s a lot of discussion around the William Marsh Rice statue, and so I think it’s a really timely and interesting moment for us to kind of think about our own histories of segregation, and the problems that surround monumentality,” Fleisher said.

The monument includes a screen where people can display a message. According to Fleisher, the monument didn’t have a screen originally. He said that the interactive feature of the monument taps into its free speech aspect and how the public can use the presence of the monument to create conversations. Fleisher often visits the monument and has talked to faculty and staff about it.

Morgan said that she has seen posts about the Slave Voyages website on the monument, recognizing names of people who have appeared in research about Texas ports that were part of the trafficking of enslaved people. Some of this research is done at Rice.

“I thought that was a really powerful use of the monument,” Morgan said. “I think that a lot of the events that are coming up might provide more opportunity for engagement and for learning through the sculpture.”

Events supporting the Blank Slate monument include a lunchtime picnic at the monument on March 22, a talk by historian Gerald Horne later that evening and a panel discussion and departure party on March 30. Students have also created a StoryMap tracing the tour of the statue through the U.S., researching racial justice movements and the significance of the statue in these different places.

Fleisher said that he is excited for the events and for students to visit and engage with the monument.

There’s a new statue on campus, and it’s intentionally provocative. This is the first time that “A Blank Slate: Hope for a New America,” an interactive sculpture on a national tour, is being exhibited on a university campus. The monument, created by Ghanaian artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo to disrupt Confederate and segregated spaces, was first unveiled in Ghana in 2019 and has since been exhibited in numerous

American cities, including Chicago, New York and Washington D.C. Rice University is its penultimate stop before Galveston, where it will be for Juneteenth. The monument was unveiled on March 4 and is currently located in front of the Provisional Campus Facilities tents on College Way. The exhibit has been sponsored by Rice’s Center for African and African American Studies, the School of Social Sciences, the School of Humanities and Hanszen College.

Jeffrey Fleisher, professor and department chair of anthropology and interim director of

“I think they’re pleased that this is offering an opportunity to think about difficult subjects,” Fleisher said. “I don’t think we have a lot of public opportunities on campus to do that … and I think this allows us to have those conversations in a different kind of way.”

Molly Morgan, lecturer in the anthropology department, said that she thinks the Blank Slate monument is a beautiful reflection of African American history at different points in time.

“Each one of the figures is so evocative of emotion and of reflection, but then having the blank tablet at the top for people to engage with is such a piece of hope, I think, that lends itself to be open to all kinds of different futures,” Morgan said.

“We have a lot of public art on campus, but I think a lot of that art tends to be more abstract. I think, for some of the students, it’s harder for them to connect to it. This is a very visually arresting event. It creates a moment for students to really reflect on,” Fleisher said. “It’s a short visit, but … I’m hoping it has an effect.”

Morgan said that she hopes that, as Rice is reflecting on its own history and the remaking of public spaces, all members of the Rice community will be thoughtful and intentional about what kinds of symbols and spaces they want to create at Rice.

“I think that is what the Blank Slate monument is all about,” Morgan said. “Getting us to think about not only our past and where we have been, but also what kind of future we want to create.”

Five of Houston’s indie theatre productions to watch

‘The Best of Everything’ at Main Street Theater

Located right next to Rice University is the Main Street Theater, a smaller, intimate venue that has been run out of Rice Village since 1981. Main Street Theater strives to enrich Houston’s art scene by introducing new plays to the region, which is exactly what they plan to do with their next MainStage production, “The Best of Everything.” Running from May 20 to June 18, the play is focused on three aspiring secretaries in New York trying to balance their dreams, careers and responsibilities. This production will be the regional premiere of Julie Kramer’s adaptation of the novel, and previews begin on May 14.

‘Cleansed’ at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center

Just down Main Street from Rice is MATCH, a theater that highlights smaller art organizations. From March 31 to April 22, MATCH will host the Catastrophic Theater’s production of “Cleansed,” a story of a university operating to remove society of its “undesirables.” The play examines the brutality inflicted by societal

institutions through a more surrealistic lens. This specific production will be the regional premiere of Sarah Kane’s script and will be hosted on the Matchbox 3 stage at MATCH.

‘The Greatest Hits Album: Side A’ at the Music Box Theater

Since 2011, the Music Box theater has been a venue focused on sketch comedy, cabaret, and popular music performances.

Unlike the other shows mentioned, “The Greatest Hits Album” is a compilation by the performers at the Music Box showcasing various songs and sketches that the Music Box theater has been known for. The setlist features songs across all decades that have been rearranged by the performers. This show has been running since February 18 and will continue until April 8. This show will be the group’s final production in their space on Colquitt St.

‘Plaza Suite’ at Playhouse 1960

Further outside Houston’s downtown theater scene is Playhouse 1960, a volunteer-based community theater that has been run since 1973. The theater’s main stage production will be “Plaza Suite,” a Neil Simon-written comedy revolving around three different couples who occupy

a suite at a Plaza hotel. The production will run from March 31 to April 16 and is a great opportunity to see a production outside of the theater-district scene.

‘Clyde’s’ at The Ensemble Theatre

The Ensemble Theatre is a smaller group in downtown Houston formed in 1976 with the intention to preserve African American

art, a goal that it maintains through its various productions. The theater’s next production will be the regional premiere of Lynn Nottage’s “Clyde’s,” a comedy about a truck stop and the formerly incarcerated employees that work there. The play follows these employees and the redemption they find by working together. The play will run from March 23 to April 16.

JAY COLLURA THRESHER STAFF

GENESIS HAHN / THRESHER

This is offering an opportunity to think about difficult subjects. I don’t think we have a lot of public opportunities on campus to do that ... and I think this allows us to have those conversations.

Jeffrey Fleisher RICE ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT CHAIR

SHREYA CHALLA THRESHER STAFF

KELTON KECK / THRESHER

The newest statue on campus is an interactive sculpture visiting Rice on its national tour. The exhibit was created to start conversations about how slavery is memorialized.

The environment meets multimedia

theatrical performances in EcoStudio

Review: ‘UGLY’ is a post-punk rebirth

Top Track: ‘Yum’

ARMAN SAXENA FOR THE THRESHER

When I put on Slowthai’s newest project on a cozy Friday morning, I was not expecting to be met with a propulsive, anxious and fervidly aggressive electro-industrial track. Slowthai’s last album “Tyron” was a departure from the UK rapper’s grime and punk roots, alternating between boastful trap anthems and R&B-influenced introspection. With “UGLY,” the Northampton-born rapper has reinvented himself once again.

“Yum” is a phenomenal opener, introducing the listener to the raw and angry contemplation that Slowthai has displayed in spurts but lets completely loose on this project. Hurried breathing, explicit sex noises and pulsating synths conjoined with Slowthai’s impassioned illustration of his self-hatred and anxiety culminate in a feverish climax — and that’s just the album’s first four minutes.

yourself because you can’t rely on the world for it.

The album’s penultimate track is another highlight. While “Tourniquet” may initially seem like a quiet reprieve from the anger of the previous track “Wotz Funny,” it is as, if not more, powerful. Produced by ingenues Ethan B. Flynn and Taylor Skye, the song is a devastating and soul-baring alternative rock piece that sees Slowthai at the end of his rope, screaming lyrics like “I’ll play the wound / You play the salt.” After “Yum,” this is Slowthai at his most emotionally naked, the song’s growing freneticism representing the final stage of his self-destruction. The track ends with 30 seconds of instrumental post-rock; in context, it sounds almost funereal.

Inside the Shepherd School’s Wortham Theater, environmental issues are regularly brought to life in the form of multimedia works. Wortham Theater is the stage for ENST 422: EcoStudio, a space transformed into a multimedia classroom by Kurt D. Stallmann, Director of the Rice Electroacoustic Music Labs. Stallmann and his co-instructor Joseph A. Campana, Rice English professor and poet, spent months discussing how to get students to collaborate and engage with environmental issues. The idea for the course was born from these discussions.

“People can interface with really hard environmental questions and conversations more easily through the arts often than directly through science or policy,” Campana said. “The idea [is] that every expertise on campus provides an archive for artists to learn [from] everything.”

Much of the discussion centered on how artists can bring multiple disciplines together. Inspired by their own collaborative work, Stallmann and Campana want to present themselves in the classroom as fellow artists generating responses to the world around them. Their current project, “The Work and the Fruit,” is a collaborative performance piece, with an excerpt that will be presented at the Moody Center for the Arts for the public, “Thinking with Bees.”

“This particular creature, the honeybee, has inspired and confounded and fascinated humans for literally a millennia,” Campana said. “That’s become an occasion for creating things, so poetry and text in my case, and in conversation with Kurt’s work which is electroacoustic composition. And thinking through sensation and sound worlds, putting the two together, that’s been part of our method.”

For each instructional unit, Campana and Stallmann will lead a discussion and present multimedia works from an environmental theme, ranging from insect sensory abilities to the treatment of toxicity and pollution

in the environment. Then, the student groups have one week to collaborate on creative, multimedia responses and perform their works on stage at the next class session.

“The idea [for] that turnaround is, first of all, to immediately get into the action of thinking of creating. So that really is a response, that’s how we think about these [unit projects],” Stallmann said. “But then [it is] also to familiarize yourself with everybody in the room and what they bring to the table.”

EcoStudio presents a smorgasbord of multimedia art forms as responses to environmental themes. To bridge the gaps between fields, Campana and Stallmann invited a wide array of guest speakers. Scott Solomon, Rice professor of biosciences, presented ongoing research to model insects and how they sense and perceive the world.

Rice History professor Lisa Balabanillar showcased the long history of automated mobile gardens from the Ottoman and Mughal empires. From the arts, they invited Aaron Ambroso, an art historian who cofounded the Houston Climate Justice Museum, and Theodore Bale, a dance critic and reporter who presented the Butoh dance form.

“A class should include all the perspectives [Rice] has to offer,” Stallmann said. “It seems like here’s an opportunity to bring together all these perspectives, and focus them on these different topics and come up with responses that are performative or related to art in that way.”

Campana and Stallman’s hope is for EcoStudio’s course format to be guided by each future instructor’s interdisciplinary background and expertise. They said that this structure can break down barriers that prevent multidisciplinary work from happening.

“We want [the course] to broaden over time. Different people will be teaching it, so [sometimes] it will be angled towards a more particular subject,” Campana said. “Each set of instructors will figure out how they want to model this kind of work and to also encourage students to generate their work.”

While many albums don’t live up to the expectations set by their phenomenal openers, there are no songs following “Yum” that feel ineffective in Slowthai’s exploration of his deepest thoughts and emotions. This is Slowthai at his most experimental. There are many interesting musical choices utilized to great effect: the breakbeat-influenced production on “Never Again,” the shoegaze-y noise of “Falling” and “UGLY” and the psychedelic post-rock on “Tourniquet” are some of the most memorable.

Similarly to “Yum,” Slowthai is clearly pouring his heart out on the title track. While still introspective, “UGLY” positions Slowthai as a cultural commentator with the lyrics, “When pigment’s a depiction of class / When your body has to be a wine glass / You drop your guard, you realize it’s hard, it’s ugly.” According to Slowthai, the letters UGLY stand for “U Gotta Love Yourself,” and with this song he seems to tell listeners that in the midst of racism, classism and violence, you have to remember to love

Unlike his previous two projects, Slowthai fully leans into the post-punk genre with “UGLY.” His musical choices, from the guitar work from Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. to the Radiohead-influenced production on “Tourniquet,” make this one of the most quintessentially British albums in recent years.

At only 28 years old, Slowthai has released the best project of his career thus far, and it will be incredibly exciting to see how he continues to reinvent himself. He clearly has a passion for experimentation and subverting expectations with each new project, and his next one is sure to be worth the wait.

People can interface with really hard environmental questions and conversations more easily through the arts often than directly through science or policy. The idea [is] that every expertise on campus provides an archive for artists to learn [from] everything.

Joseph Campana

RICE ENGLISH PROFESSOR, ECOSTUDIO CO-INSTRUCTOR

IVY LI THRESHER STAFF

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER Honeybee metaphors, environmental policy and multimedia theatrical performances collide in EcoStudio, a new Environmental Studies course offered this semester.

WBB bounced from NIT by Oregon in second round

DANIEL SCHRAGER

SPORTS EDITOR

The Rice women’s basketball team couldn’t replicate their 2021 Women’s National Invitational Tournament title run this time around, falling in the second round to the University of Oregon. The Owls kicked off their tournament with a 71-67 win over Brigham Young University on Friday and looked to be on their way towards a second straight road victory on Monday before a relentless thirdquarter push by the Ducks gave the hosts a comfortable 78-53 win. Despite the loss, head coach Lindsay Edmonds said she was proud of her team for holding their own in the second most important postseason tournament in the sport.

“There weren’t many teams still playing tonight and for us to be one of them, I am extremely proud,” Edmonds said.

Oregon started the game on an 11-3 run, but a late Owl push closed the gap to one by the start of the second quarter. Less than 30 seconds into the quarter, a midrange shot from sophomore forward Malia Fisher gave Rice their first lead of the night. Just over two minutes later, a Fisher three and a basket by senior guard Katelyn Crosthwait extended that lead to four, the largest it would be all

night. After the game, Edmonds said that she was impressed with how her team responded to Oregon’s early run.

“We were tough and we had an answer for everything,” Edmonds said. “They made a run, we went on one. They hit a shot, we hit one right back. We never hung our heads in the first half.”

From there, the Owls’ offense went cold. Rice didn’t score for nearly five minutes, while two quick Oregon threes gave the Ducks the lead. Rice’s offense

reappeared in the closing minutes of the half, and five late points limited the damage, but the Owls still went into the half down by three. According to Edmonds, the Owls had to do nearly everything right to hang with such a good team in such a difficult road environment.

“When you go into a game like this and face an opponent as good as Oregon is, on their court, in front of their fans, your margin of error is really small,” Edmonds said. “We played an amazing 20 minutes of basketball in the first half despite them starting the game with an impressive run.”

After a scoreless first minute, the Ducks scored six points in a 42-second span to take a commanding lead. Rice closed the gap to three but a 16-2 Oregon run ended the quarter and effectively

ended the Owls’ season as well. According to Edmonds, when the Ducks started to press, it changed the course of the game.

“They turned up their pressure, they started pressing us, they turned up their physicality on the defensive end and they were switching a lot on our screens,” Edmonds said. “We unfortunately struggled with the pressure and physicality, and we just weren’t getting as good of looks on the offensive end.”

The loss comes three days after the Owls topped BYU in Provo, UT to open the tournament. Coming off of an earlierthan-expected loss in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament, the Owls jumped out to an early lead before fighting off a late Cougar push to earn Edmonds the first WNIT win of her career.

With the season over, Edmonds will now turn her attention to the 2023-24 campaign, Rice’s first in the American Athletic Conference. As of now, the team expects to lose five seniors, including their first and third leading scorers in forwards Ashlee Austin and India Bellamy, with guard Destiny Jackson, the team’s leader in assists, being the only senior expected to return. Edmonds, who went 23-9 in her second season at the helm, said that she hopes the WNIT loss fuels a postseason push next year.

“I’m proud of our season and of what we were able to accomplish together,” Edmonds said. “I hope that our returners take note of how this feels and [make] it our driving force every day in the offseason, summer and preseason so that next season we are playing even longer.”

Gunnarsdottir takes her shot at shot put glory

which she reflects on in light of her recent accomplishments at the NCAAs. Early in her career, Gunnarsdottir didn’t feel prepared for the pressure of competition. Her success in the five years since then, she said, can largely be chalked up to a change in her mentality.

“I was [in a] completely different mental state for my first competition,” Gunnarsdottir said. “I was just way more nervous, not as emotionally ready. Comparing that to now is just such a drastic difference, because now I’m a lot more confident. I feel [more] capable of doing well in competition than I was my freshman year.”

was [at a recent meet], even though they weren’t competing, just cheering each other on.”

Nearly 4,000 miles away from home, Gunnarsdottir has also still managed to remain close with her family, none of which live in the U.S. With family trips to the conference championships and younger brothers following in her footsteps, Gunnarsdottir’s athletic career has almost become a source of bonding for her family, she said.

Hailing from a small town outside of Reykjavik, Iceland, Erna Gunnarsdottir was a young girl when she was first exposed to shot put. Now, over a decade later, Gunnarsdottir competes on Rice’s track and field team, recently earning seventh place for shot put in the NCAA Championships.

“I started shot put when I was about nine years old. I started pretty early and did shotput throughout high school,” Gunnarsdottir, a graduate student and fifth-year athlete, said. “I decided to go to the U.S. because there’s better competition and facilities [here] other than small, small Iceland.”

The leap from “small, small Iceland” to Houston was indeed a large step for Gunnarsdottir. Beside leaving her hometown and relatively small local universities, Gunnarsdottir said she had to ease into life as an athlete while balancing changes in language and culture.

“There was definitely a culture shock, going from such a small place … to Houston,” Gunnarsdottir, who is now getting her master’s degree in global affairs, said. “It was pretty difficult at first getting used to just speaking the language more often than I’ve done before, and then obviously getting used to the academics was pretty difficult, but I have some really good memories from my first year.”

One of those significant memories was Gunnarsdottir’s first competition,

Placing seventh at the NCAAs earned Gunnarsdottir firstteam all-American honors, which she said was a careerlong goal of hers. But she said her accomplishments are more a result of consistency than rising to the occasion at big meets.

Erna Gunnarsdottir GRADUATE THROWER

“My family went to the outdoor conference [meet] last year … They keep up, try to follow along,” Gunnarsdottir said. “My parents did high school sports but weren’t really athletes, per se. But my two younger brothers both do handball … My younger brother is 15 and I want him to do shot put just like me.”

“That’s been an achievement that I wanted to get for a long time … I’ve had such a good season. For me, it was just being consistent, doing what I’ve been doing the entire season,” Gunnarsdottir said.

Throughout her time competing at Rice, Gunnarsdottir said that her team has remained a constant pillar of support.

“We uplift each other,” Gunnarsdottir said. “All of us cheer each other on when we have competitions. [We] make sure we’re doing our best and just encourage people to do better … Every single thrower

Although her time at Rice is wrapping up, Gunnarsdottir said she doesn’t anticipate an end to her shot put career any time soon.

“I don’t think my throwing career is going to be done after college. My goal is to go to the Olympics next year, my goal is to go to the World Championships this year,” Gunnarsdottir said. “That’s always sort of been in the back of my mind throughout these five years. I love the sport. I wanted to do really well in college but I also wanted to continue being that next-level athlete, and that’s really helped motivate me for five years.”

COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS Guard Katelyn Crosthwait takes on an Oregon defender. Crosthwait and the Owls saw their season come to an end Monday when they lost to the Ducks in the second round of the WNIT.

We unfortunately struggled with the pressure and physicality, and we just weren’t getting as good of looks on the offensive end.

Lindsay Edmonds HEAD COACH

There was definitely a culture shock, going from such a small place … to Houston. It was pretty difficult at first ... but I have some really good memories from my first year.

RIYA MISRA FEATURES EDITOR

COURTESY CONFERENCE USA

Erna Gunnarsdottir attempts a throw in the shot put at the Conference USA championships. Gunnarsdottir recently took seventh in her event at the NCAAs.

‘Like a dead fish’: Hayon fights through illness at NCAAs

CADAN HANSON SENIOR WRITER

For the second year in a row, Arielle Hayon competed at the NCAA Swimming Championship Meet, this time placing No. 39 in the 100 yard butterfly and No. 50 in the 200. But unlike last year, the sophomore from Agoura Hills, California competed in both races battling a sinus infection.

“Sinus infections and swimming, they’re not a good combo,” Hayon said. “Every single time you go under water your head feels like it’s gonna explode because of the pressure.”

On Wednesday, even before boarding the plane, Hayon started to feel under the weather and as the weekend progressed, her symptoms got worse. Despite the obstacles, Hayon tried to stay focused on the competition.

“The day that I left for NC[AA]s, I woke up with the worst sinus pressure and headache,” Hayon said. “The plane made it worse … I was so exhausted and feverish and my head just hurt so bad but I was really trying to mentally collect myself.”

Hayon’s first race was the 100 fly prelims on Friday. Going into the weekend, she was

seeded No. 30 with a 52.01 seed time. In the prelims, she placed No. 39 with a time of 52.57, falling short of her 36th-place performance from last year. Despite swimming with a 100plus fever and not placing where she wanted, Hayon saw positives in the performance.

“Technically, I executed a really great race,” Hayon said. “But I didn’t have the power in me to really sprint and get up and race and be competitive. My mind couldn’t help but think, if I can go 52.5 with a fever, who knows what I would have got if I felt good.”

After the race on Friday, Hayon’s symptoms worsened and she took a trip to the urgent care. Despite the diagnosis, Hayon was still determined to get back in the pool on Saturday.

“They ran a couple tests and said, ‘you have a sinus infection,’” Hayon said. “But basically, they stuck a steroid shot in my ass and gave me some antibiotics. And [Coach and I] were like, ‘let’s try again tomorrow.’”

On Saturday, Hayon dove back in the water for the 200 fly and swam a 1:59.38, en route to a 50th-place finish. Despite starting out strong, Hayon said that as the race went on, the fatigue from fighting the infection set in.

“I tried to get it together and fake it in the morning before the 200 fly, but I honestly just felt like a dead fish,” Hayon said. “I went out the way I usually kind of go out in [the first half] of a turn fly, but that last 50, the sinus infection hit me like a bus. Then I got out of the water and threw up in three different trash cans. It was not a good time.”

Despite not performing to her expectations, Hayon said looking back on the meet, there were still positives to take from the weekend and offered a new perspective on competition and fighting through obstacles and setbacks.

“I definitely feel like I learned a lot [this weekend],” Hayon said. “I wanted to give up after the 100 fly and scratch out of the 200 but I’m glad I didn’t let myself give up because that, I think, would have been letting

people down. I didn’t meet all my goals, but I definitely learned a lot and I gained more experience. Also, it definitely made me cherish the opportunity that I have because nothing is ever guaranteed.”

The NCAA championships capped off a successful sophomore tour for Hayon, who added two more conference individual titles to her resume. Additionally, Hayon said she is set to compete this summer at the Israeli nationals for a chance to make the Israeli national team and compete at the World Championships.

“As much as [NCAA’s] and my college season didn’t end the way that I wanted it to, it kind of just makes me that much hungrier and that much more excited for the summer,” Hayon said.

Baseball breaks out brooms in Birmingham

BEN BAKER-KATZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Rice baseball swept the University of Alabama at Birmingham last weekend, the first time they’ve opened Conference USA play with a sweep since 2015. It was a chilly weekend in Birmingham — game time temperatures were around 35 degrees on Sunday — but according to head coach Jose Cruz Jr., the Owls were able to grind out a few wins despite the cold.

“It’s definitely satisfying to start [conference] on the right foot,” Cruz said. “The conditions were difficult, it was cold and windy — it was uncomfortable out there. But both teams play in the same conditions, so we tried to tough it out as best as possible and … we were able to pull it out.”

The first game of the series on Friday night was the only one that wasn’t particularly close. Junior outfielder Connor Walsh opened the scoring for the Owls with a three-run home run in the third inning, and after ceding a lone run in the fifth, they tacked on five over the last two innings for an 8-1 victory.

On Saturday, the game was tied at one heading into the 7th inning before a single

from graduate infielder Drew Holderbach gave them the 2-1 lead that they held onto for the win. Sunday saw another game knotted at one, this time into the 10th inning, before a single from sophomore catcher Manny Garza gave the Owls’ the lead. After tacking on another run, the graduate pitcher Krishna Raj closed the door in the bottom of the 10th, securing his third save on the year and a 3-1 victory. Cruz said that Raj, who recorded his second save just the day before, is the kind of person who loves to pitch under pressure.

“Raj seems to relish that late-in-thegame situation,” Cruz said. “He’s the most unassuming guy, [a] very quiet guy, then you put them in on the mound and he becomes a maniac.”

The story of the weekend, however, was the Owl pitching staff as a whole, as 11 pitchers combined to cover 28 innings. No pitcher threw more than 4.1 innings, and though 38 Dragons reached base, only three managed to score. According to Cruz, the Owls bullpen kept them in the fight all weekend.

“The pitching was really good, the bullpen was outstanding, it was almost a pass-thebaton type thing,” Cruz said. “All the guys brought in great energy [and] they executed.”

Cruz said that he intends to continue pitching by committee, and that he’s not worried about defining roles on the pitching staff for now.

“It’s just trying to create the best matchups for our guys that we can,” Cruz said. “We have guys that throw from all kinds of slots, so there are better matchups for certain guys and not so good for other guys … It doesn’t necessarily matter if we have a starter or an opener, whatever, as long as we pitch nine innings.”

The Owls now head into the heart of their conference season, after playing a number of highly ranked teams early in the year, including a series against then-No. 2

Stanford University, multiple games against then-No. 15 Texas A&M University and a win against now-No. 14 Texas Tech University. According to Cruz, that early exposure to some of the best college baseball in the country prepared the Owls well for their upcoming schedule.

“In many ways it’s like, we’ve seen it, right?” Cruz said. “We’ve seen really good hitting, we’ve seen a lot of the better pitchers in the nation. Now here we go to conference, we’re a little more battle tested, we’re a little more confident in what we can do.”

The Owls will host the University of Texas at San Antonio this weekend at Reckling Park. First pitch on Friday is at 3 p.m.

Basically, they stuck a steroid shot in my ass and gave me some antibiotics. And [Coach and I] were like, ‘let’s try again tomorrow.’

Arielle Hayon SOPHOMORE SWIMMER

COURTESY ANDREW HANCOCK - AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Arielle Hayon competes at a recent meet. Hayon was the only Owl to compete at last week’s NCAA championships where she swam two races despite a sinus infection.

told him he should’ve made it, ‘why does Fairleigh Dickinson play Purdue?’!!!”

LIN TSAI / THRESHER

The owners (father and son), are both Rice Graduates. They want to give to everyone who is and has been a part of the Rice University community a special discount. This Rice discount applies to each and every member of your family. This special promotion is 50% discount on any

QUAD REDESIGN BLUEPRINT V2

You asked. We listened. Two weeks ago, we sent out a survey to students and trustees to collect feedback on the exciting Academic Quadrangle redesign. Based on your feedback, we’re proud to present our revised blueprint for the renovation. We hope that this is a design that caters to the wide-ranging and diverse interests of the Rice community!

LEGEND

A. Willy statue at every corner of the Quad with “time out corner” sign

B. Fuck you all the paths are Snakes and Ladders now, the asymmetrical path was a good idea

C. More angle statues (22.5°, 270°, 340°)

D. Heated rainwater pit with jacuzzi jets that becomes a hot tub every time it rains

E. BNOC Wall of Fame

F. Chuck E. Cheese’s ticket blaster

G. Sword in the stone (whoever pulls it out gets first dibs at the ticket blaster, ordained by the Lord above)

H. Swap out all grass for gorgeous, millennial-chic, gray laminate imitation hardwood flooring

I. Quinceñera/wedding photo backdrop of old Quad

J. Donation jar that inexplicably only fits high-denomination eBay gift cards

K. Sky projector cycling between Subway Surfers gameplay and Minecraft parkour footage above Fondy to maximize engagement with the scenery

L. Honorary Hurdling Hedge

M. 2 x 2 square meter box designated for that protest thing you guys do

CLASSIFIEDS

TUTORS WANTED

Rice Alum hiring well-qualified tutors for all levels of STEM, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Reliable transportation highly preferred. Pay $30/hr+ based on experience. Email resume to sri. iyengar@sriacademicservices.com. Visit our website www.sriacademicservices. com to learn more!

ADVERTISING

The Thresher accepts display and classified advertisements and reserves the right to refuse any advertising for any reason. Additionally, the Thresher does not take responsibility for the factual content of any advertisement. Printing an advertisement does not consititute an endorsement by the Thresher.

Display advertisements must be received by 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication; see ricethresher.org for pricing. Classified advertisements must be received with cash, check or credit card payment by 12 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication; see ricethresher.org for pricing.

thresher-ads@rice.edu

P.O. Box 1892 Houston, TX 77005-1892

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.