The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, November 29, 2023

VOLUME 108, ISSUE NO. 13 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023

‘READ THE ROOM, WILLY’ STUDENTS, ALUMNI RETRACE THE DOWN WITH WILLY MOVEMENT RIYA MISRA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 6 to 7 p.m. It was one hour a day, nearly every day, rain or shine, that Shifa Rahman ’22 spent camped outside the Founder’s Memorial statue, often with signs and fellow protestors in tow. “Read the room, Willy,” one sign read.

Rahman began their sit-ins on Aug. 31, 2020, after a summer that had seen massive increases in attention towards racial justice — both on a national level, as George Floyd’s murder sparked a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and at Rice.

“As much as we all are in the cause of collective struggle, I realized I can only control what I can control,” Rahman said.

“So if I can control being at the statue for an hour a day … I will be able to do that. I have to do that.”

Now, three years later, Willy’s Statue has been removed from its pedestal.

It currently sits in storage as the academic quad is closed for construction; the final redesign plan will place Willy on the ground, adjacent to Sewall Hall.

The removal comes after several years of discourse around the statue, including sitins, Student Association legislation and reports from the Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice.

Though the construction will shut the academic quad through at least April 2024, Rahman said students should consider the bigger picture — and the larger symbolism of Willy’s statue.

“This temporary inconvenience doesn’t compare to the damn near permanent inconvenience of feeling the impacts of systemic racism reflected in the physical art [of campus] daily,” Rahman said. “A measure taken against that should be seen as an ultimate good, rather than just an annoying inconvenience.”

“If you’re concerned about not being able to use the quad because it’s closed off to you, the whole school used to be closed off for Black students,” Milkessa Gaga ’22 added. “We know that this institution wasn’t made with us in mind.”

2016: The presidential election Today’s Rice is a far cry from the school that students knew seven years ago, some alumni say. The 2016 presidential election was a radicalizing spark for much of the student body, said Summar McGee ’20, who had

Student Association from 2018 to 2019, said. “This was a whole different university, the university I matriculated into.”

“It wasn’t a bad place … It wasn’t overtly hostile. But it was so microaggressive that it was a hostile environment,” McGee added. “They were spray painting swastikas on campus when I matriculated, and this was commonplace.

This was considered Friday behavior … Alum

NDIDI NWOSU / THRESHER

If you’re concerned about not being able to use the quad because it’s closed off to you, the whole school used to be closed off for Black students. We know that this institution wasn’t made with us in mind.

Milkessa Gaga RICE UNIVERSITY ‘22

matriculated shortly before the election.

“Rice used to be considered the most politically apathetic campus,” McGee, who co-founded Rice for Black Life and served as the president of the Rice Black

wo u l d w a l k up to you and ask how the women’s basketball team was going, or just assume [that] because you were Black and because you were tall, the only way you could be at Rice was because you played basketball.”

Gabrielle Falcon ’20 said Black students were often forced to champion themselves due to a lack of external support.

“When I was [at Rice], I think Black students felt very isolated and felt very much like they were fighting their own battles,” Falcon said. “I was an [Orientation Week] coordinator and student director, I was a [Chief Justice], I was treasurer of my college. I was very involved in every turn. I felt like I was advocating for Black students. White students don’t have to do that.”

Falcon said that Donald Trump’s victory

SEE WILLY PAGE 7

Rice community responds to DesRoches’ messaging on Israel and Gaza MARIA MORKAS

ASST. NEWS EDITOR Multiple Rice faculty members released a “statement of solidarity” with Palestinians Oct. 27 later signed by members of the Rice community. The statement was written in response to President Reggie DesRoches’ “message of support” to the community Oct. 11, sent two days after an initial email about the “conflict in Israel and Gaza.”

In the faculty statement, the authors disagreed with the university’s “uneven response to the ongoing violence in Israel/Palestine.”

The faculty statement asks the Rice administration to release a statement “denouncing violence and violations of international law against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, The West Bank and Israel,” support students “who feel unsafe and who are unsafe, especially without the support of Rice leadership” and defend “academic freedom, especially for those who express support for Palestinian liberation.”

It also asked for facilitated access to affordable counseling resources with trained professionals who can “provide care that addresses the impact of domestic and international forms of structural violence.”

A resolution titled “Affirming Support for the Faculty Statement of Solidarity with Palestine” was introduced and discussed at the Student Association meeting Nov. 27. Voting members chose to continue discussing this resolution at the Senate meeting Dec. 4.

The authors of the faculty statement declined to provide further comments and directed the Thresher to the statement.

In response to concerns raised by the faculty statement, Provost Amy Dittmar said she met with faculty members who organized the petition. She added that Rice leadership is meeting with student groups to “understand and address their needs.”

In a subsequent message to campus Nov. 4, DesRoches wrote about “ongoing safety and support” for the community.

In response to DesRoches, Rice Students for Justice in Palestine released a statement via Instagram Nov. 5. Rice SJP reiterated their demands in another Instagram statement Nov. 26, the day after three Palestinian college students were shot in Vermont in what is being investigated as a hate crime.

In the Nov. 5 message, Rice SJP wrote that it understands the “enhanced security posture” mentioned in DesRoches’ message to mean “monitor[ing] of colonized community members” and as “one rooted in islamophobia and xenophobia.”

DesRoches said one of his priorities is creating a supportive space for gatherings while ensuring everyone’s safety on campus.

“This includes working with outside law enforcement agencies, which is standard protocol for our campus police department and does not include any special surveillance or detection activities,” DesRoches wrote in an email

SEE RICE RESPONSE PAGE 2

Going bowling: Rice extends season with hard-fought win over FAU ANDERSEN PICKARD

THRESHER STAFF

Rice Football head coach Mike Bloomgren found himself covered in Gatorade, sweat and champagne within a matter of minutes following Saturday’s 2421 win over the Florida Atlantic University Owls. The victory secured a second consecutive year of bowl eligibility for Rice, whose players, coaches and fans celebrated accordingly.

“I’m wet from getting doused with the Gatorade bucket,” Bloomgren said. “I’m stinky from hugging all those players and people throwing champagne at me on the second floor of [the Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center].”

The Gatorade shower was courtesy of graduate transfer defensive end Coleman Coco, who has emerged as a leader in his first season with the team after transferring from Colgate University over the offseason.

Two weeks ago, when Rice needed to win the rest of its games in order to achieve bowl eligibility, he wrote “So what, now what?” on a whiteboard in the Patterson Center. He hoped this would remind the team to ignore previous highs and lows and focus on winning day by day, not just during games but also throughout the practice week.

Coco maintained a similar forwardfocused mentality after Rice surrendered a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage Saturday.

“It’s tough to give a touchdown up on the

I’m wet from getting doused with the Gatorade bucket. I’m stinky from hugging all those players and people throwing champagne at me on the second floor of [the Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center].

Mike Bloomgren FOOTBALL HEAD COACH

first play of the game, but you just pretend like it didn’t happen and go play football,” Coco said. “Line the ball up. We’re going to play. We’ve got a tough defense and throw whatever you want at us.”

The defense’s resilience was on display as they held FAU scoreless for the rest of the first half, allowing the Rice offense to pull ahead 10-7 on a touchdown and field goal.

For the third consecutive week, freshman quarterback AJ Padgett led the unit, with graduate transfer JT Daniels still sidelined due to a concussion that he suffered in the Owls’ home loss to Southern Methodist University.

FAU struck for seven points to open the third quarter, but Rice quickly answered with a seven-yard touchdown from junior wide receiver Luke McCaffrey. With this score, Rice took the lead and never looked back.

A candidate to declare for the NFL

SEE FOOTBALL PAGE 11

2 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023

THE RICE THRESHER

FROM FRONT PAGE

RICE RESPONSE

to the Thresher.

Chief of Rice University Police Department Clemente Rodriguez said RUPD takes all reports of hate crimes seriously by investigating any complaints being made and working with local and federal law enforcement partners to track any threats to the community.

“In addition to investigating all complaints, RUPD has increased our visibility on campus as a security and deterrent to anyone who could disrupt events held by [the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association], SJP and Jewish student groups,” Rodriguez wrote.

Rice SJP also wrote that the resources provided by the university to students are inaccessible and ineffective.

“The cited ‘specific, culturally sensitive resources’ are off-campus and are not aimed at the demographics impacted,” Rice SJP wrote. “ … We demand on-campus resources specific to Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and proPalestine students be made available.”

DesRoches said Rice has launched a collaboration with An-Nisa Hope Center, a non-profit that provides support, mental health care and educational programs, among other services, according to its website.

“An-Nisa has agreed to host a support group for our students at Rice, and the organization will have a trained advocate to provide immediate safety planning and referrals to An-Nisa’s Mental Health Department and the SAFE Office at Rice,” DesRoches wrote.

Assistant Director of Wellbeing Programs and Education Elisa Moralez said that the An-Nisa Hope Center and Houston Hillel have led several discussions around campus and have provided specialized clinical training to on-campus therapists and case managers in the Wellbeing and Counseling Center and the SAFE Office.

Rice SJP declined further comment and directed the Thresher to the organization’s statements.

Alums for Campus Fairness, an alumni organization whose stated mission is to “counter antisemitism,” also issued a statement and petition asking the university and DesRoches to “end university funding for all Riceaffiliated organizations that engage in, support or promote any antisemitic speech or conduct.”

In response, DesRoches said the safety and wellbeing of community members is a priority of his, and campus leadership has been “unequivocal in [their] denouncement of hate speech of any kind.”

“To ensure we are properly addressing these concerns and offering support to promote dialogue, the provost and I are planning to meet with a group of faculty who have expertise in the Middle East and religious studies to discuss how we can have a campuswide discussion about the conflict, its history and the complexities as the region seeks a path forward,” DesRoches wrote.

Executive Director of Houston Hillel Kenny Weiss said there has been an increase in antisemitic rhetoric on campus which has made Jewish students feel uncomfortable at the university.

“I think that the most important thing that Rice University can do at this time is to adopt a definition of antisemitism,” Weiss said. “Without a definition of antisemitism, it is very challenging, if not impossible, to evaluate rhetoric and hate speech with regard to its antisemitic content.”

In conclusion, DesRoches said that the Rice administration is committed to doing the difficult work and will “keep the doors of responsible conversation open.”

“We will engage with the empathy and kindness for which we are known.

And we will continue to navigate this unsettling time — together,” DesRoches wrote.

‘Radio silent’: STRIVE becomes inactive ALYSSA HU

leaders not launching,” Guerrero wrote in an email to the Thresher.

According to Nwosu, STRIVE’s Students Transforming Rice into a efficacy varied among colleges.

“I personally really love what the Violence-Free Environment, a student organization addressing sexual and STRIVE program was doing at Will Rice. domestic violence, is no longer active We would host a lot of events,” Nwosu this semester. Ndidi Nwosu, who had said. “But it seemed like that wasn’t the been a STRIVE liaison for two years case at every college … There have been and reapplied last semester, said the reports of some colleges where liaisons aren’t as involved, [and so] they said organization has gone “radio silent.”

“I still haven’t heard back … about the they were scaling down.”

Tamaz Young, a former Wiess College status of STRIVE right now, so effectively, there aren’t really any official STRIVE liaison for the 2022-23 academic year, liaisons,” Nwosu, a Will Rice College said he did not feel there was a large demand for STRIVE from students. senior, said.

Audrey Kim, a junior from Wiess According to him, there is redundancy College who was a STRIVE liaison in the topics that liaisons educate about, like interpersonal last year, said v i o l e n c e STRIVE was and healthy having difficulty relationships, in renewing its as the Critical club status due I personally really love Thinking in to administrative what the STRIVE program Sexuality course issues. was doing at Will Rice ... and college chief “I know there But it seemed like that justices discuss was some difficulty similar subjects. [like] latency with wasn’t the case at every “ Throughout renewing [STRIVE college … There have been the year, no as a student reports of some colleges students contacted organization],” me regarding any Kim said. “The where liaisons aren’t as incidents, [and] [STRIVE] mentor involved, [and so] they the other Wiess that was part of the said they were scaling liaisons and I SAFE Office is on down. only planned one sabbatical.” prevention activity A s s o c i a t e Ndidi Nwosu in the first semester director of the WILL RICE COLLEGE SENIOR which did not have SAFE Office Janie Guerrero said there hasn’t been activity a huge turnout,” Young said. “I would in the club this year, so, instead, the say [its influence] has declined since office has been working with other my awareness of the program during my programs to boost referral sources and freshman year.”

Co-director of the Rice Women’s messages.

“Participation in the club has declined Resource Center Jenny Liu said she over the past two years, perhaps due hoped STRIVE’s disappearance was to the pandemic and the changeover of temporary.

FOR THE THRESHER

“Since STRIVE is no longer a presence on campus, the RWRC works very closely with the SAFE Office, the Rice Health Advisors and other organizations to try to fill in [STRIVE’s] responsibility from previous years, including the [Night of Decadence] breathing room and the STD testing walk,” Liu, a Sid Richardson College junior, said. “It is definitely one of the main [organizations] that [was] trying to hold it together here. We really miss having STRIVE.” Guerrero said the SAFE Office is interested in continuing to sponsor STRIVE in future years, and encouraged interested students to reach out to them.

Editor’s Note: Ndidi Nwosu is a Backpage editor for the Thresher.

KIRTHI CHANDRA / THRESHER

Bernard Banks new director of Doerr Institute RICHIE SU

THRESHER STAFF Bernard Banks will join Rice’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders as director Jan. 1, 2024. He currently serves as the associate dean for leadership development and a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

After graduating from West Point Academy with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Banks went on to pursue master’s degrees at Northwestern University, Harvard Business School, Central Michigan University and United States Army War College, as well as a Ph.D. at Columbia University. Banks was also a brigadier general in the U.S. Army before retiring in 2016.

According to Banks, he plans to build a strong leadership network across the campus with the Doerr Institute for New Leaders.

“My initial plan is to collaborate with the wonderful Doerr Institute team and leaders throughout the university,” Banks said.

Founded in 2015 by Rice graduate students John and Ann Doerr, the Doerr Institute aims to develop the leadership capacity of Rice students by providing professional-quality leader development at no cost, according to Provost Amy Dittmar.

“The training [at the Doerr Institute] is driven by evidence-based approaches,” Dittmar wrote in an email to the Thresher.

“In doing so, it assists students in harnessing their expertise and passions to have a great impact on society.”

Dittmar said she was grateful and excited for Banks’ appointment.

“If you think about the mission and impact of the Doerr Institute’s work, it cuts across all disciplines,” Dittmar said.

“Dr. Banks’ breadth of experience and expertise will be invaluable in developing Rice students into global leaders.”

Anna Xia, a Jones College freshman, said she attended the Doerr Institute’s leader excursion with executives at Southwest Airlines on Oct. 9.

“We listened to a speech given by two outstanding leaders at Southwest Airlines,” Xia said. “We learned how the company is coordinated, as well as some key qualities of being a good leader. It was an eye-opening experience.”

“Leadership is all about influence.

Rice is committed to ensuring it amplifies every community member’s ability to influence the world around them. I am deeply humbled by the opportunity to join the amazing Rice community,” Banks said.

McMurtry College President Jackson Hughes said though he has not experienced Doerr Institute programming, he has undergone leadership training through the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership and developed leadership skills through other experiences.

“Leadership training is a core pillar in being both a good leader, but also a great follower,” Hughes, a senior, wrote.

“I think that the best followers are those with leadership experience, as they can think like a leader and support whoever is leading their team in the best way possible. I also think that a core tenant of leadership is lifelong learning, which has been a driver in my academic and extracurricular success.”

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023 • 3

NEWS

Immigration law program hosted for DACA, undocumented students BELINDA ZHU

THRESHER STAFF Editor’s Note: Students interviewed were given the option of remaining anonymous in the interest of keeping their citizenship status private. The anonymous students were given false names, which have been marked with an asterisk on first mention.

Rice’s Office of General Counsel hosted an Immigration Law Program for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Undocumented Students in Anderson Hall Nov. 8 in response to DACA being ruled unlawful earlier in September. Partners from the immigration and employment law firm Monty & Ramirez LLP, Carolina Ortuzar-Diaz and Maricela Alvarado, presented at the event and offered free legal consultations for DACA and undocumented students.

Sam*, an undocumented student who came to the U.S. on a visa, was drawn to the event because of the free legal services offered.

“Consultations are expensive and the fact that these lawyers are willing to talk to us personally for free was very nice,” Sam, a junior, said. “I’m happy that I have a lawyer who I can go to now. The lawyer I spoke with was nice and informative. It went pretty much as I expected. There’s not a lot lawyers can do because this is a federal issue. It was a little disheartening to hear that I won’t be able to become a citizen unless I marry [a U.S. citizen] or the Supreme Court rules in favor of DACA.” Quinn*, another undocumented student

who attended the event, said they were interested in the free legal services and appreciated the information provided free of charge.

“The event was the perfect opportunity for me to access resources that I otherwise couldn’t due to financial and resource barriers,” Quinn, a sophomore, said. “It was also the perfect place for me to ask questions to attorneys and become more informed about my status and what I can do about my situation … I am actually still in contact with [the lawyer I spoke to] right now about my [situation] and where to go next.”

The presentation focused on how to move from DACA to permanent residency.

Ortuzar-Diaz said it is crucial to understand DACA and its limitations in order to move forward.

“DACA [itself] is not a path to anything other than a very limited protection,” Ortuzar-Diaz said at the presentation. “It doesn’t allow you to become a permanent resident even if you’ve had DACA for years.

However, if you have DACA, you probably have some tools to become a permanent resident and are eligible to apply for a green card, which you wouldn’t have without [DACA].”

During the session, the speakers discussed two main processes for acquiring a green card: the employment-based process and the family-based process.

In the employment-based process, an employer petitions to hire immigrants to work for their company, which allows them to move forward with the green card

BELINDA ZHU / THRESHER

process. Similarly, in the family-based I couldn’t be formally hired, and asked if process, a direct family member who is a there was any way I could get a stipend U.S. citizen or permanent resident petitions or fellowship so I could still work there,” Sam said. “They said they didn’t know and for a prospective immigrant.

Ortuzar-Diaz said rules regarding which asked me to ask around. I emailed the Office of International Students and a bunch of family members can petition are very strict. other offices, and “They only they were very allow for very direct unhelpful and kept family members [to referring me to petition], including They said they didn’t different offices. I your [siblings] know and asked me to had to figure it out over the age of 18 myself which was if they are a U.S. ask around. I emailed the very frustrating.” citizen, father or Office of International S a m mother if they Students and a bunch of emphasized the are a U.S. citizen need for a full-time or permanent other offices, and they worker at Rice to resident, a spouse were very unhelpful support DACA and if they are a and kept referring me to undocumented U.S. citizen or different offices. I had to students. permanent resident “There is or your children if figure it out myself which no single point they are over the was very frustrating. of contact for age of 21 and a U.S. undocumented citizen,” Ortuzar- Sam students,” Sam Diaz said. “That’s ANONYMOUS STUDENT said. “They refer it.”

When applying for a green card, there me to the office for international students, are two processes: adjustment of status and but we’re not international. We’re here in the consular process. According to Ortuzar-Diaz, U.S. We were raised here.”

Marjorie Cerejo, OISS interim program the adjustment of status process allows for DACA recipients and undocumented director for undergraduates and key advisor students to become permanent residents for DACA/undocumented students, said without leaving the U.S., while the consular OISS reaches out to students who selfprocess requires recipients to leave the U.S. identify as needing resources.

“OISS offers these students support, and apply for an immigrant visa before including, if they wish, meetings with an returning as a permanent resident.

Quinn said the event was a step in advisor to discuss immigration matters and the right direction for Rice’s support for the experience of being new to Rice,” Cerejo wrote in an email to the Thresher. “OISS undocumented students.

“Last year definitely didn’t feel like there also invites students for orientations, tax was much support for us,” Quinn said. “It workshops, and other information sessions wasn’t until this year that I saw things like throughout the semester.”

Cerejo said OISS has planned future the undocumented task force and groups that were here to support us. There should events for undocumented/DACA students, definitely be more events like this. There such as the 2024 SUCCESS Convening in should also be someone on campus just for March.

“This is a national event sponsored undocumented and DACA students so we by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher can have someone to talk to.”

Sam said Rice’s support for Education and Immigration,” Cerejo wrote. undocumented students could be better. “It will bring together scholars, advocates, They said most of the programs they’ve and students to focus on supporting the seen — such as the undocumented task educational and career equity outcomes force — are student-led and require more for undocumented students, including non-employment-based experiential institutional support.

“Over the summer, I had a paid learning models, pathways to graduate internship on campus. I told them that I and professional programs, and career was an undocumented student and that development for undocumented students.”

Cultural organizations host inaugural Pangea Potluck PRASI DESAI

potluck being a new event. However, attendance records showed that approximately 250 individuals attended.

Nine student cultural organizations Vy Luu, the internal vice president of hosted the first Pangea Potluck at the Rice VSA, said she created advertisement flyers Memorial Center Nov. 15. Clubs shared food, and designed the passport activity and organized activities and participated in a the associated prize. According to Luu, the passport program where students could event was unique as it brought together collect a stamp from each organization different cultural clubs. in exchange for a prize in the Grand Hall.

“There have been a lot of free food events, Participating but these events groups included didn’t include the Hispanic different clubs from Association for It’s a big deal for Rice different cultural Cultural Enrichment backgrounds,” Luu, and our student culture at Rice, the a Hanszen College Vietnamese Student to have events like this junior, said.

Organization and where we can interact I s a b e l l a the Black Student with each other and share Bourtin, president Association, among of the recently cultural food. others. revived Rice Native Vice president Jaden Hernandez-Romious American Student of HACER Pamela VICE PRESIDENT, BLACK STUDENT Association, said Duarte organized the event was an ASSOCIATION the event over the opportunity for last month. Duarte said she created the students to experience cultures outside of potluck because she believes food is the best their own. way to connect different cultures.

“Doing this shows us united together as “I thought it would be really cool to do different cultures trying to raise awareness a cross-cultural event,” Duarte, a junior at about every single one of us,” Bourtin, a Will Rice College, said. sophomore at McMurtry College, said.

Duarte said she initially had low Bourtin also said the event offered new expectations for attendance due to the clubs like RNASA an opportunity to gain THRESHER STAFF

publicity and attract new members.

Vice president of BSA Jaden HernandezRomious helped coordinate the BSA booth and secure funding for the potluck. She said the event was a great way for students to share their culture and hopes that even more clubs will be included in coming years.

“It’s a big deal for Rice and our student culture to have events like this where we can interact with each other and share cultural food,” HernandezRomious, a McMurtry junior, said.

Mariam Khan, a Wiess College sophomore who attended the event, said the event was unique and allowed students to simultaneously feel at home and explore other cultures through food. She also said the event was a good way for smaller clubs to gain publicity and for students to discover different opportunities.

“It’s an ingenious way to have an enormous amount of the Rice population come together,” Khan said.

In the future, Khan said she hopes more student organizations will be present such as the South Asian Society or the Rice Middle Eastern and North African Student Association.

FAITH ZHANG / THERSHER

Duarte said she hopes the potluck grows further in coming years and evolves into a cultural showcase with more activities.

“I really do hope it gets bigger and better,” Duarte said.

4 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023

Over 4,400 students register for spring courses

NEWS

Tecnológico de Monterrey partnership highlights emerging international opportunities

HAI-VAN HOANG / THRESHER COURTESY RICE UNIVERSITY

ARMAN SAXENA

THRESHER STAFF

4,407 undergraduate students participated in the course request process for the Spring 2024 semester, according to the Office of the Registrar.

This number is an increase from the Spring 2022 and 2023 semesters, when 4,269 and 4,103 students registered, respectively.

With 1,127 freshmen matriculating in the fall, Rice student enrollment has grown, and as a result, a greater number of students are now involved in the course registration and add/drop process.

“We were confident that the current process works well enough at scale to handle Rice’s current population, and the results [from this course registration period] confirmed that,” deputy registrar Justin Schilke wrote in an email to the Thresher.

According to the office of the registrar, after the initial course requests were processed, students received, on average, 12.89 credit hours. Almost 71% of students were enrolled in 12 or more credit hours after the course requests were processed, and for those with less than 12 credit hours, almost 20% had 9-11 credit hours. “[This data] is on par with previous years,” Schilke wrote. “Given the increase in students participating, departments increased offerings and available seats to meet the initial demand.”

Additionally, for Spring 2024, over 28% of first-year students received all of their requested courses. This number is up from Spring 2022 and 2023, where 22% and 23% received them, respectively. Current first-year students averaged 13.08 credit hours, and 72% of them were at 12 or more credit hours after the course requests were processed. Currently, over 98% of first-year students are registered for 12 or more credit hours.

Shivani Kulkarni, who has been a peer academic advisor since the spring semester of her freshman year, said that she believes there have been changes to class sizes over time.

“There have been some restrictions put on certain classes, like you have to be a declared major or a declared minor to take a specific class and I’ve seen more of those over the years,” Kulkarni, a Lovett College senior, said.

For McMurtry senior Clara Ursic, changes in the course registration process have been minimal.

“It hasn’t really changed since I was a freshman. The interface is identical, add/drop is identical, the special registration process is identical,” Ursic said.

While many freshmen received the majority of the courses they requested, Will Rice College freshman Desiree Duron said that the morning of add/ drop is still a source of anxiety.

“Most of the freshmen I know were in the same predicament as myself: not getting into a few courses we wanted or needed,” Duron said. “I would prefer for add/drop to be at a later time in the day.”

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

ALYSSA HU

FOR THE THRESHER Rice has partnered with Tecnológico de Monterrey to offer concurrent doctoral degrees and dual master’s programs alongside joint efforts in continuing and professional education. Additionally, the agreement allows Tecnológico de Monterrey undergraduates to engage in research at Rice, providing more opportunities for Rice students in research to collaborate with international peers.

Vice president for global strategy Caroline Levander said the partnership between Rice University and Tecnológico de Monterrey represents a strategic alignment of high-quality institutions with complementary strengths.

“Tecnológico de Monterrey, like Rice, is committed to unsurpassed education and research with an emphasis on the technology field,” Levander said.

“The historic strength of Rice and of [Tecnológico de Monterrey] make us really nice partners.”

According to Provost Amy Dittmar, this collaboration simultaneously expands the “breadth and flexibility” of binational scholarship and brings the two countries closer together.

“Collaboration between two great opportunities … I don’t think [this kind universities in these cities will strengthen of] opportunity can be overvalued,” collaboration between the U.S. and Hutchison, a Will Rice College freshman, Mexico,” Dittmar wrote in an email to the said. “It’s challenging but doable [as a STEM student].”

Thresher.

Haoyang Pang, an exchange student Levander said this partnership represents a crucial step in Rice’s strategy from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said studying at Rice this to enhance its international impact.

“Much of the research and teaching semester allowed him to appreciate that we focus on are global problems, so cultural nuances and explore postwhat we want is to make sure that [Rice] graduation ambitions.

“Every student should have the chance is interconnected around the world,” to experience study abroad, as it is Levander said.

Rice’s other international collaborations fundamentally transformative,” Pang said.

Studying abroad can also prepare include those with Anáhuac University in Mexico City and the Indian Institute of students for a future career, according to Technology Kanpur, and alliances with Levander and Dittmar. “[Study abroad programs] will make universities in Argentina, Brazil and Costa you a better-rounded person and more Rica.

In addition, Rice recently opened a valuable to potential employers or graduate programs,” Dittmar new campus in wrote. “Talk with Paris. The campus your academic hosts students for advisor about summer courses making the most of and faculty One factor in picking the [study abroad] c o n f e r e n c e s a school for me was activities that are featuring highthe amount of study available to you profile research. at Rice and don’t “[The Paris abroad opportunities … hesitate to take campus] is a way to I don’t think [this kind advantage of them.” raise the visibility of] opportunity can be Ap p l i c a t i o n s of our research overvalued. are now open for and of our teaching Rice undergraduate and education Breanna Hutchison students to apply to to international WILL RICE FRESHMAN the Rice Global Paris audiences,” Summer Program. For students enrolled Levander said.

Summer 2024 courses offered at the in Session 5 of the Paris summer courses, Paris campus range from art history to there are opportunities to attend 2024 chemistry, allowing students in various Paris Olympic games.

“We have secured Olympic tickets for majors opportunities to study abroad.

Bioengineering major Breanna students to attend Beach Volleyball at Hutchison said she has planned her the Eiffel Tower Stadium on Tuesday, July 30th, from 3:00-6:00 PM,” Irene Mendez, semesters to study abroad in the future.

“One factor in picking a school for a Global Programs Specialist, wrote in an me was the amount of study abroad email to the Thresher.

RISE expands programs to sophomores and juniors BELINDA ZHU

THRESHER STAFF Rice’s Responsibility, Inclusion and Student Empowerment program, which was founded in 2021, will now serve sophomores and juniors. The program was previously exclusively for incoming freshmen who also attended a RISE pre-orientation seminar program in the summer.

Incoming freshmen in RISE participated in a two-week summer class covering social justice topics alongside opportunities to explore Houston. In addition, freshmen received ongoing support during the school year, including academic and social advising and invitations to RISE events.

Previously, sophomores and juniors who participated in the RISE program during their freshman year could continue their involvement as “Risers,” mentors to the new freshman cohort. Now, sophomores and juniors can be RISE program mentees.

RISE held the first RISENext retreat serving sophomores and juniors at the Moody Center Oct. 14.

COURTESY JASON NGUYEN

“You are given a lot of support with Anthony Wei, who attended the RISE program as an incoming freshman and orientation [during freshman year]. Junior the RISENext retreat as a sophomore, said and senior year you are preparing for the retreat was a great opportunity to learn graduation, and sophomore year is such a pivotal time where you are thinking about more and connect with fellow Risers.

“The RISE retreat was great,” Wei, a declaring your major,” Robertson said.

Sid Richardson College sophomore, said. “Sophomore year is sometimes viewed as a year where you “The lawyer they are lost and you brought in [spoke] don’t have a central about overcoming focus.” struggles and that My goal is to make RISE Robertson says really resonated she hopes through with me. I was feel like a community and the RISE program also really grateful not just the front end of expansion, to reconnect with their experience at Rice, students are able everyone.” to learn about all Avalon Hogans, but rather throughout available resources another RISE their time at Rice and even and navigate their program attendee, when they graduate. college careers. said the retreat “I want to refresh helped her plan Brittany Robertson [sophomores’ and her schedule and ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, juniors’] memories be mindful of her EQUITY AND INCLUSION because you hear a wellbeing.

“One lesson that was super useful to lot of information [during RISE and O-Week], me was the lesson where we handwrote but you forget,” Robertson said. “My goal is a realistic schedule,” Hogans, a Sid to make RISE feel like a community and not Richardson sophomore said. “Usually just the front end of their experience at Rice, I use Google Calendar, and it can be but rather throughout their time at Rice and overwhelming looking at all these even when they graduate.”

Hogans said the RISE program used to blocks of things I can do. It was really useful for me to handwrite because I be too exclusive and she is glad she can realized, ‘Oh wow, maybe I can’t do now bring her friends to events with her.

“I’m really happy that we are able to this and that,’ because when am I open up these resources to other students,” going to relax or eat?”

Brittany Robertson, the Hogans said. “I think it is very important associate director of diversity, equity that as many students as possible are able and inclusion for undergraduate to access resources related to DEI and social programs and designer of the justice. I’m really excited to be able to bring RISENext Retreat, said she hopes to my friends, including my STEM major reconnect with and offer support to friends who previously weren’t invited to sophomores as they are at a pivotal time RISE, to events and share these experiences and resources with them.” in their academic journeys.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023 • 5

THE RICE THRESHER

EDITORIAL

We should educate ourselves on Rice’s history

Rice’s 111-year history is marked by lots of positive impact — and plenty of harmful actions. William Marsh Rice, the university’s founder and namesake, was a slave owner, and from the school’s establishment as a free institution for only white students to Ku Klux Klan meetings occurring on Rice property, the connections to segregation and racial injustice cannot be denied.

In 2020, the Down With Willy movement kicked off in the wake of racial justice protests around the country, calling on Rice to remove the statue of William Marsh Rice from the academic quad. The Founder’s Memorial statue has now been lifted off its pedestal, but the majority of current students had not yet matriculated when Rice made that decision in January 2022. Further, the removal of the statue is not the end to addressing the legacy of slavery at this university. As members of the Rice community, knowing the context behind this is crucial for the fight to make the university a more equitable place for underserved groups.

Rice culture has shifted dramatically in just the few years since the Down With Willy movement started. The majority of current students have only known “Beer

Bike Week” and “The Pub at Rice,” not “Willy Week” and “Willy’s Pub.” The statue that used to sit high in the center of the academic quad will now be in a flower bed by the Welcome Center, next to information about William Marsh Rice’s role as a slave owner.

Regardless of how much the founder’s image is removed from the university, there is value in continuing to research and acknowledge the history of our institution and using it to move forward.

The legacy of slavery and segregation cannot be separated from the founding and development of the university, so we all must continue to reckon with it as the institution grows in its second century.

The Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice, commissioned in 2019, recently released their final report which details in-depth research on Rice’s establishment as a white-only institution and its journey to integration, as well as Black students’ experiences throughout.

The report also discusses how Rice’s actions impacted Houston, making the university’s history all the more important to understanding racial injustice in Texas as a whole. Archives of the Thresher relay what was happening within the Rice community,

from its early years to integration to the Down With Willy movement.

Black students had more demands in 2020 than just removing the statue, such as admitting more Black students and creating a space akin to the Multicultural Center for Black students to congregate. The Task Force issued similar recommendations in their final report, including having 80 tenure or tenure-track Black faculty within 10 years. Through learning about the history of Black community members’ activism and listening to their experiences, we can support future changes that address the mistreatment of Black students, staff and faculty throughout the university’s history.

Though Rice continues to improve, we cannot become complacent and stop learning about our history. To be active in the Rice community and work to improve it, we need to understand the long legacy that continues to be felt today. Only then can we make the university more equitable and better suited to the needs of all current and future students.

Editor’s Note: Editor-in-chief Riya Misra recused herself from this editorial due to reporting on the corresponding story in our features section.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Pro-autonomy after Roe: what the life debate ignores When “Pro-Life After Roe” was published in the Thresher, we were in the midst of finalizing a semester-long report on the state of reproductive rights in Texas. We had spent the day compiling firsthand accounts of the panic, pain and trauma produced by abortion bans. It felt necessary to address the guest opinion and confront the harms of abortion restrictions.

We first want to establish that the debate over when “life” begins acts as a detached, moralistic distraction from the real consequences of abortion restrictions.

How to weigh the “life” of a fetus against that of the pregnant person and what makes “life” worth protecting are longdisputed philosophical questions. We should be discussing the realities of abortion bans and the harm inflicted on communities when healthcare is policed and politicized. We believe that the inflammatory rhetoric of the “life” debate paralyzes open conversation around abortion. When one side denounces the other as supporting murder, it becomes impossible to engage in constructive dialogue.

At its core, abortion is about autonomy.

Since the Dobbs decision, over a dozen states have implemented near-total abortion bans. In Texas, abortion provision is a felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The majority of Americans and the majority of Texans support abortion rights, yet their intimate reproductive decisions are constrained and scrutinized by an anti-abortion minority.

“Pro-Life After Roe” claims to champion “the forgotten in society,” but people of color, low-income individuals, immigrants, minors and other marginalized populations face disproportionate health and financial consequences when abortion is limited.

One study found that over 72% of people who were denied abortions ended up living in poverty. In Texas, Black women suffer the highest risk for poor birth outcomes.

Texas law includes vague exceptions

for “life-saving” abortions that thrust physicians into murky legal territory and threaten pregnant people’s lives. The opinion sidesteps the issue of medically necessary abortions by claiming that certain life-saving procedures are not abortions because they do not intend to terminate the fetus. This ignores myriad circumstances in which intentional abortion procedures are absolutely medically necessary. Over 20 accounts from the ongoing Zurawski v. the State of Texas case attest to the horrors of denying necessary abortion care. Many of the plaintiffs sought abortions because their fetuses displayed fatal abnormalities like anencephaly that would — and often did — endanger the plaintiffs’ lives if carried to term. Why should someone be brought to the brink of death before being allowed a medically necessary procedure?

Abortion restrictions exacerbate the extraordinary dangers of being pregnant in Texas. Texas already has the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation. Over 46% of Texas counties are designated “maternity care deserts,” with some residents traveling up to 70 miles to reach the nearest birthing hospital. The criminalization of abortion providers has further resulted in an outflux of medical professionals who provide essential pregnancy and gynecological care. Texas laws both demand that people carry their pregnancies to term and make it remarkably unsafe to do so.

“Pro-Life After Roe” argues that religious organizations supplement prenatal support, but the link provided by the author directs readers to a chain of self-admitted crisis pregnancy centers.

Often faith-based, CPCs are anti-abortion organizations that masquerade as licensed healthcare facilities. They target uninsured, low-income populations by offering free ultrasounds, then do everything in their power to deter people from seeking abortions. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, at least 71% of CPCs spread

damaging misinformation, including claims that abortion carries cancer and infertility risks, and lie to people about how far along they are in their pregnancies.

Worst of all, they are often state-funded.

Crisis pregnancy centers intentionally deceive people in order to propagate religious, anti-abortion agendas. Where is the “truth, mercy and love” in that?

The Rice bubble does not protect us from the fallout of abortion restrictions.

One in four women will have an abortion in their lifetime, the majority of whom are young adults. These are our peers, friends and loved ones, and we must center their realities. On both sides of the abortion debate, circular theorizing about “life” has produced an ideological stalemate.

But we can no longer afford to ignore the real harms of abortion restrictions by discussing this issue in a moralistic vacuum. We owe each other honest, pragmatic conversations that challenge preconceived notions, misinformation and stigma. As “Pro-Life After Roe” stated, every person has immutable dignity.

Under any circumstance, forcing a person to remain pregnant plainly violates that dignity.

We are responsible for shifting the language on our campus — for recognizing abortion, not as a philosophical question but as an essential right. Abortion is a personal decision. Abortion is healthcare.

Imogen Brown DUNCAN COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

EDITORIAL STAFF * Indicates Editorial Board member Prayag Gordy* Editor-in-Chief Riya Misra* Editor-in-Chief Nayeli Shad* Managing Editor NEWS Brandon Chen* Editor Spring Chenjp Asst. Editor Maria Morkas Asst. Editor OPINION Sammy Baek* Editor FEATURES Sarah Knowlton* Editor ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Hadley Medlock* Editor SPORTS Pavithr Goli* Editor Diego Palos Rodriguez Asst. Editor BACKPAGE Timmy Mansfield Editor Ndidi Nwosu Editor Andrew Kim Editor COPY Jonathan Cheng Editor Annika Bhananker Editor PHOTO, VIDEO, & WEB Cali Liu Photo Editor Francesca Nemati Asst. Photo Editor Camille Kao Video Editor Ayaan Riaz Web Editor DESIGN Alice Sun Art & Design Director Chloe Chan News Siddhi Narayan Opinion Jessica Xu Features Ivana Hsyung Arts & Entertainment Kirstie Qian Sports Lauren Yu Backpage SOCIAL MEDIA Priya Armour Asst. Manager Cassidy Chhay Asst. Manager BUSINESS Edelawit Negash Business Manager Korinna Ruiz Advertisement 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

Georgia Jensen BROWN COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

ricethresher.org

6 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023

THE RICE THRESHER

HART’s Roman holiday

Live your best dead days life

HOPE YANG

AMELIA DAVIS

FOR THE THRESHER Ten undergraduate Owls have flown back from a summer in Italy, unveiling their study abroad experience in the HART in the World: Rome exhibition. Located on the first floor of Herring Hall, the student-organized exhibition features a line-up of photographs, sketches and research projects on display until the fall of 2025.

Led by a professor and a doctoral student, the HART in the World program sends students abroad every other year.

This year, Sophie Crawford-Brown, an assistant professor of art history and the director of ancient Mediterranean civilizations program, took students to Rome.

“It is a particularly interesting program because it changes city and faculty leader every time it’s offered,” Crawford-Brown said. “It is designed so that students can be exposed to a long history of art and culture from a major cultural capital in the world, led by a faculty member who does research in that place. I work on Roman archaeology, so I offered to take the students to Rome.”

Student participants intended for the HART in the World exhibition to appear as an old, reworked document according to business and art history double major Will Marsden, who went on the trip and helped create the exhibition.

“We just really wanted to focus on Rome being sort of a palimpsest, something that is added to and kind of erased, but you can still see remnants of what might be left behind,” Marsden, a McMurtry College sophomore, said. “That’s pretty much how Rome is like through art and architecture.”

FOR THE THRESHER

RICHARD LI / THRESHER T h e exhibition reflects discussions about Rome in the HART in the World class, Crawford-Brown said. “[The palimpsest is] sort of the metaphor we use for talking about Rome, because it’s been built on all these layers, one on top of another, but you can still see all of these layers of history,” Crawford-Brown said.

“That’s sort of the overarching principle they had for the exhibit, with them going in rough chronological order through time as well. But in the exhibit, too, you can see how things are going back and forth.”

Students take a seminar in the spring to gain historical background before spending three weeks abroad in the summer. The following fall, they design and organize the exhibit.

According to Eilis Livia Coughlin, the teaching assistant of the program, students also exhibited individual research projects that they worked on over the course of the class. Students started the project in the spring class, then gathered research materials on the ground in Rome, she said.

Editor’s Note: This article has been cut off for print. Read the full article at ricethresher. org.

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Final exams begin Dec. 6 for many students. The Monday and Tuesday of that week are study days where no classes are held, christened the “Dead Days” because campus is devoid of much life outside of frantic revision.

Here is a list of study breaks where you can regain a balance of emotional and mental health before diving into exams … not to mention the long winter break with family.

The Rice Programs Council Traditions Committee is hosting a “Sleigh Your Finals” study break Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. in the Grand Hall. Food and fun activities will be provided. In addition to this, the RPC’s Passport to Houston committee is giving out subsidized tickets for multiple showings of “A Christmas Carol” at the Alley Theatre in early December.

Sid is holding Sid Skates Dec. 5 from 9:15 to 10:45 p.m. During this time, Sid will have exclusive access to the Galleria ice skating rink. If you are a Sidizen, brush up on your skating skills and prepare to show up to your first exam bruised but relaxed!

The day before, Hanszen College will rent out Houston Galleria’s indoor skating rink for Hanszen on Ice. Hanszen is also holding Bubbles and Panettone on Dec. 5, a magister-held holiday-themed study break that is a once-a-year event that you should be sure not to miss.

If that is not enough skating for you, or you are not a resident of either

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college, R-Ice Skating is holding a holiday skate Dec. 2 from 9:15-11:15 p.m. at the Galleria for $10 per person, with skate rentals and snacks included.

Duncan College, among hosting other study breaks such as open origami and crochet lessons, movie nights in the quad and picnics in the Duncan garden, will have one last big event: Roobilation, a play on the word jubilation and their mascot, the kangaroo. A potluck-style celebration on Dec. 3, Duncan’s entire core team of resident associates and magisters open up their homes and kitchens for students to cook in. Come to decorate Duncan commons, stay for food and fellowship with the entire college.

McMurtry College is holding a senior class wedding on Dec. 2, a holiday party on Dec. 5 and other assorted college study breaks.

Editor’s Note: This article has been cut off for print. Read the full article at ricethresher.org.

1 One of Caesar’s assassins 6 Backyard cookouts, for short 10 Stuck-up 14 “It’s ___ __ nothing!”

15 Opera solo 16 German article 17 Bears and Lions, e.g.

18 Performed in Acappellooza, perhaps 19 Make revisions to 20 Over 22 Letters on some price tags 23 Alias introducer 24 In addition 25 Funnel-shaped flower 28 Research room 30 “Boys Over _______” (Classic K-Drama series) 31 In a foul mood 34 Opening 36 Some Wattpad fanfiction 37 Chicago alt.

38 Over 41 Busy month for the IRS 42 Poker payment 44 Slippery swimmers 45 Japanese box lunch 47 “Over the _______” (Classic Judy Garland track) 49 Spanish aunt 50 War in Greek mythology 51 Word in many boba shops’ names 53 2022 SZA album 56 Headline-making Rice public, for short 57 Over 60 ____ Thai (combat sport) 62 Nevada city 63 Carne _____ (Mexican dish) 64 Qualified 65 “Dear ____ Hansen” 66 Vomited 67 Lawn invader 68 ____ shui 69 Eggs on

JENNIFER LIU/ THRESHER

DOWN 1 Actress Blanchett 2 Amazon assistant 3 Popular app for chatting with your colleagues 4 “Come one, ____ ___!”

5 Seat in British Parliament?

6 Washbowl 7 Fashionista’s concern 8 Last dynasty of China 9 Hang loosely 10 Playground fixtures 11 Intermediary 12 Verse starter?

13 “___ Into It (Yuh)” 21 Once trendy gesture featuring a bent elbow 22 “Orange Is the New Black” actress Aduba 25 Choir member 26 Spew lava 27 Houston baseballer 29 “Bottoms” actress Edebiri 30 Dapper dudes 31 Quick on the uptake 32 Type of nerve 33 Justification for an action 34 Hearty dish 35 “haha” 39 Gas light?

40 “___ open up!”

43 Took pleasure in 46 Subsides 48 Malevolent 49 What some Rice students can now do with their IDs 51 TV host O’Brien 52 Southeast Asian ethnic group 54 Anime fan, perhaps 55 Jewish feast 57 Rice engineering dept.

58 Track units 59 Terrible pun makers, perhaps 60 Mouth 61 Filipino purple yam 62 Penalty caller, for short

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023 • 7

FEATURES FROM FRONT PAGE

WILLY

in the 2016 election was the motivation many students needed to jumpstart activist movements.

According to her, Black students at Rice became increasingly vocal about issues with diversity and isolation on campus.

“I think when you have a president [who] is marginalizing certain populations in a city that has a plethora of different types of people — and Rice also being a university that is, compared to its peers, relatively diverse — people become more vocal,” Falcon said. “Whenever students at Rice realize that they create the culture around them, they’re unstoppable.”

2019: Task force forms One year before the Down With Willy movement was born, then-President David Leebron commissioned the Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice to examine Rice’s roots in slavery. The task force was catalyzed by a number of racial reckonings happening at universities across the country, including Rice, at the time.

“Perusing past yearbooks, Rice student Charlie Paul found photos of students performing in blackface, a photo of an African American student captioned as the N-word and a photo from 1922 of ‘the Ku Klux Klan of Rice Institute’ that showed about 20 people, faces hidden, in white robes and hoods,” the Chronicle wrote. “Most of the offensive images were published prior to Rice’s admission of the first black students [in 1964], and the university’s KKK chapter was gone the next year, according to Rice historian Melissa Kean.”

The task force was launched in part to understand and reconcile with this past.

In a June 2021 report, it unanimously called for a radical redesign of the academic quad, including the placement of the Founder’s Memorial. In October 2023, it released its final report, a 260-page document examining Rice’s entanglement with slavery and recommending a method

of desegregation.

“The way of taking the history of the university most seriously is being open to its consequence in the present,” Alexander Byrd, the vice provost for diversity, equity and inclusion and cochair of the task force, told the Thresher on Oct. 17, 2023.

that, at the time, incorrectly identified Vining as the president of BSA. The list of demands was a “social statement” affiliated with neither the BSA nor the “Down With Willy” social media campaign that began circulating around the same time, Gaga and Vining told the Thresher in June 2020.

That same month, Falcon launched an online petition explicitly calling for Willy’s removal. Falcon said that amid the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, Rice was also learning how to grapple with complex legacies.

“The statue is a great example of a founder of a university. That can’t change.

That’s not a reality that does change … but how we interact with him, it could be different,” Falcon said.

Summer 2020: Black students fundraise, list demands In May 2020, Kendall Vining ‘22 cofounded an organization called Rice for Black Life in the wake of Floyd’s murder.

In early June, Rice for Black Life set out to raise $2,500, which they would donate to local advocacy groups. Within 24 hours, they raised just shy of $100,000.

Building on that momentum, Vining and Gaga co-published Tangible Ways to Improve the Black Experience in June Fall 2020: Statue sit-ins commence On Aug. 31, 2020, Rahman went to the 2020. The list of demands included several Founder’s Memorial. action items for They had just Rice to “address the started to organize systemic policies the statue sit-ins, … that negatively If I can control being at and it was the first of impact Black what would amount students in order the statue for an hour a to some 300 days of to move towards day … I will be able to do action.

Black liberation.” that. I have to do that.

Rahman said These included the shockwaves better lighting for Shifa Rahman of the COVID-19 ID p h o t o s , DOWN WITH WILLY ORGANIZER pandemic, coupled increased diversity training for student leaders, a centralized with the murders of Floyd, Ahmaud cultural space for Black students and Arbery and Breonna Taylor, made the summer of 2020 a “very poignant” time removing Willy’s statue.

Gaga said he started the list as a for Black students to raise their voices.

At the time, the nation was beginning personal process. When he observed something he wanted changed, he made to turn an increasingly critical eye note of it. After talking with other students towards statues. In Rahman’s hometown and spurred on, in part, by Floyd’s murder of Greenville, N.C., a Confederate statue and political attitudes toward racial was removed from outside a courtside a justice in 2020, he and Vining said they few months prior. Even closer to campus, decided to make something more out of it. a monument of Confederate commander “We weren’t going to label it ‘Black Dick Dowling was removed from Hermann students request’ or ‘Black students Park shortly before Juneteenth.

“That also kind of led me to kind of humbly ask.’ We wanted to use an action verb that was going to spark a mobilize,” Rahman said. “They could conversation and be a headliner,” Vining do this in this part of the South, why [couldn’t] they do it at my university?” said.

“I think that [Rahman] really set Fox News picked up Gaga and Vining’s list of demands, publishing an article an amazing example of keeping the

momentum,” Falcon said. “I’m not an activist, I will not take that title. Real activism is what [Rahman] did, which is putting yourself in person, in the line of fire, showing your face.”

Rahman said the student body was largely supportive of the protests, though they sometimes received pushback from passersby and older, predominantly white alumni.

By October, the sit-ins had expanded to include projections, including messages saying “Willy Rice was racist”, onto Lovett Hall and at certain residential colleges such as Lovett College and Will Rice College. An anonymous student who helped organize the projections told the Thresher in October 2020 that they hoped the projections would “[turn] the volume up on the protest.”

Rice University Police Department shut down the projections on Oct. 5, 2020, RUPD Chief Clemente Rodriguez told the Thresher in October 2020. University approval, Bilal Rehman ‘20 said, was always a question organizers grappled with. Rehman was involved in the Down With Willy movement, and also helped organized silent protests for sexual assault advocacy in 2019.

“On the one hand, we were sometimes afraid of the prospect of being punished for organizing urgent and necessary actions on campus, but we also recognized that seeking university approval for a demonstration often slowed us and watered things down,” Rehman wrote to the Thresher.

That same month, the protests began to gain media traction. On Oct. 8, 2020, The Houston Chronicle published a story on Rahman and the sit-ins. On Jan. 25, 2021, The Texas Tribune reported on Texas universities’ hesitancy to part with their Confederate relics.

“The attention was important, we just wanted to continue making the attention for the cause,” Rahman said. “Not just yelling as loud as we can outside the infrastructure, but also within.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been cut off for print. Read the full article at ricethresher.org.

Information Sessions Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF)

In-Person - November 30th at 5pm (Multicultural Center) Virtual - December 3rd at 7 pm MMUF is “the centerpiece of the Mellon foundation’s initiatives to increase diversity in the faculty ranks at institutions of higher learning.” The program aims to support students interested in pursuing PhDs in selected humanistic and social scientific fields of study.

Sign Up!

hhps://bit.ly/3R5FuyS

Mentoring relationship with Rice faculty Academic support Academic stipend $4,000/year Summer research stipend $4,500/summer Limited loan repayment For more informaiton contact: Ceola Curley, Associate Director at ceola@rice.edu

8 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023

THE RICE THRESHER

Houston holiday events to get you through the finals frenzy that include small businesses selling recycled/ repurposed and handmade goods. You’ll likely come across plenty of new bags and accessories to add to your closet, as well as charming decor for the barren walls of your suite or off-campus home.

Address: 1500 McKinney St, Houston, TX 77010

JENNIFER LIU / THRESHER

AMY CAO / THRESHER

ASHLEY WANG

FOR THE THRESHER December may seem like a dreary time of year on campus, but there are plenty of events happening in Houston to lift your spirits. If you’re hoping to get your mind off your mounting pile of exams to study for and essays to write (or procrastinate on), then look no further.

Houston Zoo Lights You won’t want to miss the Houston Zoo’s annual magnificent light display, complete with light tunnels, glittering rows of trees and towering LED animals. This holiday season, the Houston Zoo Lights are open for viewing any day from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., with final entry at 9:30 p.m., until Jan. 7. Ticket prices vary slightly by day but are typically around $28.

Address: 6200 Hermann Park Dr, Houston, TX 77030

Holiday Market at the Houston Toy Museum If you’re feeling nostalgic for your favorite childhood toys and TV shows, you’re in luck.

The Houston Toy Museum is hosting its first ever Holiday Market Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The market will feature local vendors and artists selling a range of pop culture-themed items, from handmade action figures to Tamagotchi keychains to Care Bear mugs with sarcastic captions. Tickets are available for $10 on Eventbrite and include admission into the museum, which offers whimsical exhibits of vintage toys and their histories.

Address: 321 W 19th St Suite C, Houston, TX 77008 Flea by Night at Discovery Green Flea by Night is a great option if you’re looking for a free-entry outdoor market to explore with your friends. On Dec. 2, 9 and 16 from 6 to 10 p.m., you can visit Discovery Green for food trucks, live music and vendors

“The Nutcracker” at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts On Dec. 12, the Houston Symphony is offering the perfect musical getaway with performances of selections from Tchaikovsky’s classical ballet “The Nutcracker.” If this sounds boring to you, just wait — these will be followed by the Jazz Houston Orchestra performing legendary pianist and jazz composer Duke Ellington’s rendition of “The Nutcracker,” which is sure to have you snapping your fingers and bouncing in your seat. The lowest-priced tickets are currently $38 apiece but are likely to sell out, so make sure to buy them quickly.

Address: 615 Louisiana St #102, Houston, TX 77002 Spurs vs. Rockets Game at Toyota Center Although not explicitly holiday-themed, the Houston Rockets’ performance this season is certainly something to celebrate. After an underwhelming season of tanking last year, the Rockets are now climbing the ranks of the NBA’s Western Conference and have even defeated the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. The Spurs-Rockets game on Dec. 11 will be a treat for all kinds of viewers — whether you’re a fan of Texas sports rivalries, want to root for the Rockets’ young stars Alperen Şengün and Jalen Green or are itching to see the Spurs’ rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama in person. If you’re willing to sit in the rafters, tickets at Toyota Center are currently going for under $30.

Address: 1510 Polk St, Houston, TX 77002

Meet the ACL Artist: Becky Hill HADLEY MEDLOCK

A&E EDITOR

When I met Becky Hill at Weekend One of Austin City Limits, the first thing I noticed was her outfit. Wearing a denim mini skirt, bedazzled corset and white cowgirl boots, Hill looked right at home in Texas. Hailing from Worcestershire, England, though, Hill was a long way from her hometown.

A singer-songwriter mainly creating dance music, Hill rose to prominence after appearing on The Voice UK when she was 17 years old. Hill said she’s been playing music for much longer though, as she first started learning to play the guitar when she was 10.

“I started singing when I was 11, and then I started writing music when I was roughly 15 or 16 [and] got into a little band that toured locally,” Hill said.

“Somebody that I used to do open mics with suggested I apply for The Voice. I got to the semifinals and then I joined the industry.”

Shortly after moving to London alone to start her music career, Hill said she got her first record deal. At 19, she went on to make her first number one track titled “Overdrive,” but was unexpectedly dropped from her label. So, she took matters into her own hands.

“Six months later, I went independent.

I started my own label called Echo Records [and] put all the money I got from my first record deal into this label and released an EP,” Hill said. “That got me

my second record deal with Polydor Universal, and they’ve been my record label ever since — we have a very happy relationship.”

Hill’s career hasn’t been without other struggles, though, and she said it’s been difficult to break out in a genre of music typically dominated by men.

“I love what I do, I think dance music has always been a passion of mine. [But] it’s been very male-heavy,” Hill said. “I’ve enjoyed being a woman in dance music. Obviously you have to work 10 times harder, but I’ve enjoyed proving myself and seeing people go, ‘Oh, she can sing and she can write music.’”

Hill took over T-Mobile stage on Oct. 8 in a different, but equally fun and flashy, outfit, ready to dance with her fans under the Austin sun. As an artist from the U.K. who had never been to Texas, Hill said she feared she would have few people to perform in front of.

“I was worried that nobody would turn up … I was so stressed and nervous.

But I got out onstage, and I felt like I had something to prove,” she said. “I had a nice crowd and over the next five minutes of my set it doubled in size. You could tell there were people who didn’t quite know who I was … [and] I wanted to make sure I sang really well and put on a great show.”

A fear of failure, though, is one of the things that Hill said continues to

COURTESY CHUFF MEDIA/SIMON EMMETT ignite her fervor for creating music and performing — despite having 16.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify, she still feels like she has something to prove.

“It feels like I have a personal vendetta against the world and that I need to show them who I am and what I do,” Hill said.

“People ask me, ‘What do you want out of your career?’ and it’s always world domination … I want to be a global artist, and I want to sell records.”

At the end of the day, though, Hill said she continues making music simply because of her passion for it and the ability to make connections with thousands of fans while on stage.

“I think it’s such a beautiful thing to do. I love my job. I feel very grateful [and] very lucky,” Hill said. “ I would love to have this for the rest of my life.”

Houston Cinema Roundup JAY COLLURA

THRESHER STAFF The 15th annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival took place Nov. 9 to Nov. 19, showcasing films from diverse perspectives.

Both fiction and nonfiction films from around the globe were showcased across Houston, enriching the city’s greater film community. Here are some of the best films showcased at the festival this year.

“Art College 1994” Of the films screened at the festival, “Art College 1994” is likely to be the most resonant with those studying at Rice itself. The film follows a group of students at the Chinese Southern Academy of Arts as they are slowly confronted with adulthood, attempting to solidify both their artistic styles and own understandings of themselves.

The film takes a relaxed approach and consists of many slice-of-life vignettes in which the characters make cliched observations about art and their relationship to it.

“In Our Day” Acclaimed South Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s 30th feature film “In Our Day” was one of the most directly obtuse, experimental and intriguing films that played at the festival. The story switches between two perspectives with common elements: One storyline features an aging actress living with her friend who is visited by an aspiring actress, and the other features an aging poet being filmed by a documentarian who is visited by an aspiring actor.

“Mami Wata” Nigeria’s submission for the Oscars International Film award this year is “Mami Wata,” a film set in the oceanside West African village of Iyi. The film takes on the structure of a folktale, as the movie depicts an outsider entering the community and directly challenging the village’s religious matriarch.

This premise lends itself very directly to an exploration of colonialism in Africa, and the conflict between ideologies within the village itself. As the outsider slowly corrupts the anti-religious members of the village, it becomes clear that any desire of the village to introduce new medicine or technology has been manipulated and misconstrued.

“Mr. Jimmy” The Houston Cinema Arts Festival places a strong emphasis on documentary filmmaking, showing films that elevate artists and their creative processes. “Mr. Jimmy” takes an interesting approach to this subject matter by depicting an imitator, rather than an original creator. The film follows Aiko Sakurai, a Japanese guitarist who has dedicated his life to replicating Jimmy Page’s guitarplaying style.

Editor’s Note: This story has been cut off for print. Read the full article online at ricethresher.org

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023 • 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Review: ‘Thanksgiving’ will not leave you hungry for more worse from there. The breathtaking work of Academy Award winning THRESHER STAFF & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF makeup artist Adrien Morot is apparent.

Eli Roth’s new holiday slasher At one point, Riya’s hands were glued “Thanksgiving” boasts a most to her face in horror. Hamza, obviously appropriate tagline: “This year, there the more lionhearted of the two, chose will be no leftovers.” And even if there to hide behind his notebook (to take were, after sitting through the movie, notes, obviously).

“Do you think she’s dead?” Riya you probably will not have the appetite asked during a scene in which a victim for them.

The film was born from a 2007 is bisected at the waist.

“The pre-med in me wants to faux horror movie trailer, created for say yes,” Hamza Quentin Tarantino and responded.

Robert Rodriguez’s Roth did make “Grindhouse,” a true several questionable tribute to exploitation Rating: 4/5 stars creative decisions film. The 2023 fullwhile adapting the length rendition is faux trailer premise an homage to the same gory, sleazy slasher aesthetics of into a full-length film. In a recent decades past, replicating some truly interview, Roth told The New York disturbing scenes with trampolines, Times that the best part of directing a decapitated turkeys and cranberry fake trailer is that, “You get to do the best parts of the movie and nothing has sauce-glazed toes. Yeah, it gets weird.

“Thanksgiving” centers around the to make sense.” Although Roth tries to brutal actions of a serial killer that infuse some threads of a logical plot seeks to gain revenge on the town of in the adapted version, this sentiment Plymouth, Mass., as the holiday season holds true — it’s a little half-baked.

The good news is that no one watches approaches. The killer dresses up as John Carver, a Mayflower Pilgrim and horror movies for the plot — or at least the first governor of Plymouth County, we hope not, because, yikes, there is not much here. The killer’s motivations and gets to, well, carving people.

Let’s talk about the fright factor are ludicrous (although, props to Riya first. Simply put, it gobbled. The movie for correctly guessing them in the first opens with a Black Friday rush at a few minutes of the film) and seemingly local retailer, resulting in the brutal important characters go forgotten. massacre of several townsfolk caught At one point we speculated that in a human stampede as they fight for “Thanksgiving” was an elaborate social the limited supply of discounted waffle commentary on mass consumerism and irons. Gore-wise, it really only gets ethical consumption under capitalism.

HAMZA SAEED & RIYA MISRA

We soon realized that’s probably giving the film too much credit.

The beauty of the slasher genre, though, is that it doesn’t require spectacular acting or sophisticated plot development. All it needs is some good old fashioned blood and guts, and Roth won’t leave you disappointed there.

Sure enough, the acting probably won’t be Oscar-contending anytime soon. Sheriff Newton, played by Sexiest Man Alive Patrick “McDreamy” Dempsey, got us McSteamy, but the teen actors, featuring TikTok star Addison Rae, deliver a performance that is on the razor’s edge of parody. As harsh as it may sound, their characters would fit right into a Scooby Doo movie,

dialogue, voice and all.

Roth, a Newton, Mass., native, pens a true love letter to Massholes: stonyfaced teenagers, wicked bad Boston accents, name drops of towns like Methuen, muted chilly gray palettes, and truly uncanny obsessions with Pilgrims. Frankly, if someone were to ever get murdered at a Black Friday sale over a waffle iron, it would probably happen in Massachusetts.

The outlandishness of this film cannot be understated. At one point, we were half expecting the serial killer to just be an actual turkey seeking revenge for his fallen brothers and sisters.

Overall, this film most certainly brought joy to our holiday season.

COURTESY SONY PICTURES

Review: ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ reinvigorates the ‘Hunger Games’ franchise MUNA NNAMANI

FOR THE THRESHER

Set 64 years before beloved heroine Katniss Everdeen entered the arena, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” employs a young President Snow as its protagonist. As it turns out, long before he was orchestrating the Hunger Games seen in Suzanne Collins’ original trilogy, Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) was poor as dirt. Between his father’s death and the Snow family’s sudden loss of wealth, Snow, his grandmother and his cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer) must fend for themselves.

The film opens at the beginning of the tenth Hunger Games, with Snow and each of classmates assigned a District tribute to his mentor. Tired of hiding his poverty

COURTESY MURRAY CLOSE

Just like any film revival, the from his peers, Snow finds himself with two goals. First, he aims to win the Plinth announcement of this movie was met Prize — a full-ride scholarship given to with skepticism. Between the unmatched the top of his class and now, the most quality of the original film trilogy and notable Hunger Games mentor. Next, the success of Suzanne Collins’ written at the request of Head Gamemaker Dr. prequel of the same name, “Songbirds” Volumnia Gaul, he wants to boost the had high standards to reach — but it Games’ ratings by adding a little glamor to easily does.

Every scene in this the process. As it turns movie is dazzling. From out, nobody wants to Snow and Lucy Gray’s watch malnourished hikes across flowing children fight to the Rating: 5/5 stars plains to the early game death in a dusty arena. arena’s steampunk To do this, he must look, the sets convey ensure the survival of his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel a Panem that is futuristic but has a Zegler), a shanty-belting singer from charming, old-timey feel. The original District Twelve. She’s a natural performer movies established that the Capitol but not a fighter, so Snow fights her was evil, but never fully represented its elegance and magic. For the first time, battles from outside the arena.

this magic is on full display. The outfits are gorgeous and Capitol citizens are written as real people who we can root for.

The entire cast also shines. Hunter Schafer gives one of the best performances, bringing remarkable humility to Tigris’ character, and Viola Davis’ portrayal of Dr. Gaul was effortlessly twisted. While Katniss Everdeen is irreplaceable as the series’ female protagonist, Zegler’s Lucy Gray is a brightly dressed breath of fresh air. Seeing the Games through her eyes helps viewers understand them differently. In Zegler’s own words during a “Time” interview, “Lucy Gray is a performer forced to fight, and Katniss is a fighter forced to perform.”

However, the center of “Songbirds” is Tom Blyth’s ability to transform a poor boy into Panem’s president.

Snow’s progression into the tyrannical ruler we all know is entirely believable.

Like all good villains, he doesn’t purposely become one. Instead, he takes step after step in the wrong direction, believing fully that he can turn back around once he’s reached his goal. Coriolanus Snow is a character whose growth we are invested in.

Characters who we can root for are an essential part of the “Hunger Games” franchise, so it is no wonder why being invested in Snow’s story feels nostalgic.

It takes us back to middle school days spent saving up for the books and debating about whether Katniss should have ended up with Peeta or Gale. In fact, “A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is full of nostalgia. Several references to Katniss are made, and even its trailer is punctuated with Rue’s four-note whistle.

But of course, this movie is not about Katniss. It’s about the dictator who tried to kill her.

When Coriolanus’ transformation into President Snow is complete, viewers are left heartbroken. But that only means that “Songbirds” did exactly what it set out to do: humanize a tyrant.

10 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023

THE RICE THRESHER

Will Rice denies Wiess of Powderpuff championship repeat KATHLEEN ORTIZ

THRESHER STAFF

The Intramural Powderpuff tournament came to an exciting end Nov. 18 as Will Rice College defeated Wiess College 7-0, scoring with barely a minute left in the championship game.

Will Rice’s powderpuff team, 3-2 going into the final, was the clear underdog against a 5-0 Wiess team attempting to repeat their 2022 championship.

This year, though, the Phoenixes were determined to beat the team that knocked them out in the semifinal round last year.

“Coming into the season Wiess was definitely on our radar as the other team to look out for,” Kaitlyn Keyes, a Will Rice junior and powderpuff co-captain, said. “We always knew that if we did make it to the championship there was a good chance that they would be here or another team of their caliber, so having that good ‘enemy’ really helped our motivation.”

The sidelines were full of spectators, coaches and players for the entire 40-minute game. Fans came to the intramural championship equipped with cymbals, horns, the Will Rice flag and posters to cheer on their peers. While the intensity was high, both the Will Rice and Wiess defense were on lockdown as they went into halftime tied.

“It’s stressful whenever you see your team going back and forth in a tightly contested game, but the girls are fantastic,” Tom Nitao, a Will Rice junior and powderpuff coach, said. “They’ve

played for each other all year and we’ve had a lot of faith. We’ve been down before and I’ve seen my girls fight out of a lot of tough situations, so coming out of the half we were confident.”

Nitao said that, by halftime, the team knew what Wiess was doing on defense and adjusted to combat it. The teams remained in a stalemate for most of the second half but as time was winding down, Will Rice went on an offensive run led by senior co-captain and quarterback Chloe Kinnebrew that put them in a golden opportunity to score. “[Kinnebrew] has been the engine of our offense and the heart and soul of this team,” Nitao said. “She gets everybody together and it showed, because we were tied at half. To see her keep a composure, come out there and play a spectacular half, I couldn’t be prouder of her, couldn’t be prouder of the team.”

Kinnebrew connected with Will Rice freshman Adah Spain right outside the endzone. From around the one yard line, Kinnebrew secured the touchdown with a throw to Keyes, who also received the extra point pass with less than a minute and a half remaining in the game.

“We just really wanted to win and we wanted to play well,” Kinnebrew said.

“It sucks when you don’t play your best game at the end of the year. We really wanted to just play hard today and Wiess played really hard. It was so hard to score on them, but all it takes is one touchdown.”

After the Will Rice touchdown, Wiess quickly attempted to counter with

another touchdown in hopes of sending the game into overtime. Their last play started with three seconds on the clock, but with an incomplete pass into the e n d z o n e clinched the victory for the Ph o e n i xe s.

Will Rice had won t h e i r rematch, and Wiess had lost their seasonlong attempt for a repeat championship and an undefeated season. “[Watching Kinnebrew win] was honestly the best part because we’ve come so close the last two years,” Keyes said. “We kept losing in the semifinals, so being able to see [Kinnebrew] get the victory in her senior year was really just the cherry on top and just my favorite part about winning.”

As for Kinnebrew, this game was a build-up of all her time at Rice. As the only senior of Will Rice’s powderpuff team, she watched the team go from no season during her freshman year due to COVID-19 to two semifinal

KATHLEEN ORTIZ / THRESHER Wiess College sophomore wide reciever Dori Olson runs with the ball in the Powderpuff championship game Nov. 18. Will Rice College narrowly defeated Wiess 7-0, preventing Wiess from winning their second straight championship. appearances and now to a championship.

“Will Rice used to be a place where powderpuff was at,” Nitao said. “It was before I was here, but I used to hear like 30, 40, 50 girls would come out per year.

We were hoping to claim that part of our culture back. Of course, Wiess is a great team, lots of respect to them, but we’re very excited to be here in this spot, and we’re ready to get back there next year.”

Rice Rugby’s intellectual brutality results in dominance LANDRY WOOD

THRESHER STAFF

Rugby is a particularly underrepresented sport in the United States. Only four Division 1 universities field varsity rugby teams, and the sport’s organization for American professional play, Major League Rugby, had its inaugural season just five years ago. It is not surprising, then, that many students at Rice are unaware that the university’s club rugby team is one of the best in the nation.

According to junior lock Hubert King, the sport has managed to attract a corps of students who missed playing another contact sport under the Friday night lights.

“Rugby has the physicality of football that I missed after high school,” King said. “I think that’s why a lot of people play.”

The outfit competes in the Lone Star Conference at the highest level of American College Rugby, D1-AA. They are currently ranked fifth nationally and undefeated midway through the season, having overcome in-state foes such as the University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas A&M University.

“It was an issue in years past where we would just go screw around,” King said. “We only practice two times a week, so leading up to games the way we were preparing just didn’t really help us that much. It’s definitely been more serious this year because we like getting better … it’s been more fun, actually, to take it more seriously. We started winning more and thought, ‘this is nice.’”

According to King and Eli Ginsburg, the club president and a senior lock, this committed practice in refining the craft of rugby is the most essential contributor to the team’s winning, especially when considering the comfortable play and camaraderie that such focused training fosters in the club’s players.

“A lot of teams in Texas have big dudes who probably played football before,” King said. “So there’s a lot of emphasis on just being physical and running straight through people.

Obviously, we’re not as big as other teams … so we have to make up for that.

The way we do that is skills, by being good at kicking, timing and structure.

Stuff that goes beyond the physical.”

“I think this is the first year I’ve been here where the majority, if not all, of the starting players have had a year of experience playing,” Ginsburg said.

“They know how their teammates play, which is probably the biggest part in influencing a rugby team.”

According to Ginsburg, one way the club facilitates this learned style of play is by sending two players to Mount Maunganui, New Zealand each summer to practice, attend camps and bring back their experience for the whole team’s benefit. Ginsburg himself took the trip in 2022.

“It’s just a great experience to meet people who are all as interested in rugby as you are,” Ginsburg said. “I personally came back seeing the sport in a whole new way. Then I was able to apply that to the field and, hopefully, I’ve offloaded some of that information to some of the other guys.”

Another means through which Rice

CALI LIU / THRESHER Senior scrum half Ethan Kao throws the rugby ball during practice Tuesday afternoon.

Kao, the team captain, has helped his team to a top-five ranking in the nation.

Rugby trains its players in the art of the sport is by hiring coaches with histories of professional play. “[The team’s success] starts at having world-class coaches,” Ginsburg said.

“The three years I’ve been here we’ve had professional players from South Africa who want to play for the U.S. National Team, and so they really want not only to teach us the basics, which is necessary, but also get us to that higher level of being able to see the entire field and … utilize our skills.”

Not every club sports team at Rice has the funds available to hire professionals to coach or to send players abroad for over a month to study the game. Rice Rugby has the benefit of close relationships with alumni, many of whom return for a yearly alumni

game and networking event in the fall.

According to Ginsburg, these lasting ties are vital to the club’s ability to sustain its success and benefit its members.

“We have an extremely strong alumni presence,” Ginsburg said. “[Meeting the alumni] is an amazing opportunity, and them being so connected and wanting to help the players is what helps build this funding. If you reach out to them with a question about job connections or anything like that, they will try their absolute hardest to get you in the position that you want to be in, which is incredible.”

Following the winter break, the team’s season will resume on Jan. 20 with a game against the University of Texas at Austin on Rice campus, Intramural Field 4.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023 • 11

SPORTS

FROM FRONT PAGE

FOOTBALL

Draft, McCaffrey finished the regular season with 822 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. He helped his stock by adding 172 all-purpose yards on Saturday alone, drawing Bloomgren’s praise once again.

“We talk about Luke McCaffrey so much, and we [still] don’t talk about him enough,” Bloomgren said. “I feel so blessed to have been able to work with him.”

Other offensive standouts Saturday included junior tight end Boden Groen, who had his first career multi-touchdown game, and running backs Dean Connors and Juma Otoviano, who combined for 157 yards from scrimmage. Steady production from the running game allowed Rice to drain the clock while continuing to score points.

“It got to a point in the game where I kept telling [Bloomgren] to keep running the ball,” Otoviano said. “Let me and [Connors] eat.”

Connors finished the year with 1,068 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, both representing career highs.

At a quick glance, one might think that the Owls embodied mediocrity this season.

They were 6-6 overall (4-4 AAC), ranking sixth out of 14 teams in the conference.

However, digging deeper reveals several reasons for Rice football to be proud of their performance.

Beyond defying expectations during their first season in the AAC, Rice burst onto the national spotlight, snapping their losing streak against the University of Houston and remaining competitive against two ranked programs. They also

outscored their opponents 363-320 and made improvements on defense and offense. From 2022 to 2023, the defense saw its Pro Football Focus grade jump from 68.3 to 78.5. Meanwhile, the offense improved from a grade of 66.6 to 72.3. The Owls will look to build on this momentum when several major starters return in 2024.

Coco explained why Rice is such an appealing landing spot for recruits going forward.

“If you like a world-class education and [being] part of a football team on the up-and-up, it’s the place to be,” Coco said.

“In the beginning of the year, [projections] had us second-to-last in the conference, but that didn’t matter to any of us. We knew we had a talented ballclub, and we know we’re going to be even better next year.”

Before Rice football turns the page to next season, they will prepare for the extra game they earned in 2023. Bowl-eligible for the second consecutive year, the Owls will take the field one last time in late December. Rice hopes to earn their first bowl victory since the 2014 Hawaii Bowl when they defeated Fresno State 30-6. The official date and venue for their bowl game will be announced Dec. 3.

This major achievement is particularly special for Bloomgren as he’s only the third head coach in Rice football’s 110year history to lead the program to backto-back bowl games.

“There were a lot of people in the national media and coaches that told me not to take this job because they could never go to a bowl again,” Bloomgren said. “But I’ve got a good group of kids that really wants to fight and here we are.”

And here they are, indeed. For the second year in a row, Rice is going bowling.

COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS Redshirt junior Luke McCaffrey catches the ball on Saturday. The Owls defeated FAU 24-21, winning their sixth game of the season and qualifying for their second straight bowl game.

THE SAMMY AWARDS

After the end of the season, the Rice Thresher celebrates outstanding individual and team sports achievements.

Most Valuable Player: Luke McCaffrey, WR Offensive Player of the Year: Dean Connors, RB Defensive Player of the Year: Gabriel Taylor, SAF Freshman of the Year: Tyson Flowers, SAF (redshirt) Best Game of the Year: 42-10 W vs. Tulsa Best Play of the Year: Luke McCaffrey One-Handed TD Catch against UH

HONG LIN TSAI / THRESHER

12 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023

BACKPAGE

Rice Wrapped F23 Rice Wrapped F23 Rice Wrapped Rice Wrapped F23 Rice WrappedF23 F23

Top Classes, R anked by Distress Class Name

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6

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How the credit hours stacked… #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6

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You were braver than ______% of Rice students.

We got five glorious publics this semester … but not all were held equal:

Don’t Mess With T exas Woodstock

Sid 80 ’s

Attended REMSed Stayed >1 hour

[ ] [ ] [ ]

The prof can make or break a class—here were your favorites:

Cried?

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Professor

# 1 _________

_____ Unused Meal Swipes

Defining Moment ______________

# 2 _________

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# 3 _________

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# 4 _________

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# 5 _________

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# 6 _________

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We see you, social butterfly!

This semester, you hooked up with …

First & Last Name

Class

College

Recommend to a friend?

Overall Rank

#1

___________ ______ ______

[ ]

______

# 2 ___________ ______ ______

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# 3 ___________ ______ ______

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# 4 ___________ ______ ______

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Architectronica

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NOD

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_______ Solomon Ni Sightings in Public Your most liked GroupMe message: ___________________ ______ Likes

The fall semester was truly one-of-a-kind!

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_____ (multiply by $7.07/meal)

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My favorite item to steal from the servery This semester, I was… (circle one)

THE OVERINVOLVED

Your GCal looks like a vibrant mosaic, your friends don’t know how you’re surviving, and you still aren’t doing enough to get a good internship!

THE WORLD TRAVELER

It’s not your fault or anything but sometimes when you buy brand new clothes all the time it reminds your friends that you’re wealthier than them!

THE NPC

We can’t all be the main character, and that’s okay!

The sight of the back of your head is an important part of someone’s biweekly classroom experience.

This semester, I was in the top 0. 01% of Rice students for _______.

The vibes of this semester in three words… _____ , _____, and _____.

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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