The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, January 31, 2024

VOLUME 108, ISSUE NO. 17 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024

Hitting the wall:

Solomon Ni on burnout, mental health and ‘kicking back’ one of the biggest ones is losing connections with other people.

FEATURES EDITOR “I felt like I was running 100 miles per When the highlight of Solomon Ni’s week hour. When you’re going that fast, you became leading the Student Association’s can’t really stop until you hit a wall,” Ni continued. “When you hit that wall, you meetings, he knew he needed to quit.

“There were points where the only social realize that you realize everything that you interaction I would have was with the college left behind you.”

During the 2023 SA election cycle, every presidents’ cohort in our weekly meetings, or in our Senate meetings that happen every candidate — including Ni — ran uncontested week,” Ni, a Jones College junior, said. “I for their position. Ni’s race saw a slight upset with 22% of votes didn’t have any room going to the Thresher to go to other people.

Backpage’s satirical It’s unfortunate write-in candidate, whenever you’re like, You don’t want to let down Hunter. Voter ‘Oh my God, I’m so the community that chose Dilf turnout was just excited to go to this 15.02%, a historic meeting because I’ll you to lead them. low which Student finally be able to talk Solomon Ni Association director to people.’”

FORMER SA PRESIDENT of elections Jocelyn Ni announced their resignation at one such Senate meeting Wang attributed to the lack of competition on Jan. 22, citing the mental health issues for the position.

Ni said that the scant participation they were diagnosed with in fall of 2023.

Ni said that he was prescribed medication contributed to student perception of the SA for depression and anxiety, but that he still as ineffective and reduced confidence in the experienced what he now recognizes as organization.

“I really was coming into a Student burnout. At the time, however, they said they were unable to identify the growing Association where there wasn’t a lot of faith problem because of a lack of information on put into it, for very good reason,” Ni said.

“We weren’t really doing the job that we what burnout can look like.

“No one’s seeing the cases where someone were entrusted to do, and that’s something does burn out. No one is emphasizing that. that I really wanted to change.”

When he began his term, Ni found In my case, I guess I did,” Ni said. “My hope is that, at least in my example, people know what signs to look for. In particular, I think SEE NI RESIGNATION PAGE 7

SARAH KNOWLTON

FRANCESCA NEMATI / THRESHER Former SA president Solomon Ni poses for a portrait on Jan. 29. He announced his resignation last week, citing mental health concerns.

Rice in talks to settle financial aid ‘cartel’ lawsuit for $33 million Qiu steps into BRANDON CHEN

NEWS EDITOR

Rice has set aside $33.75 million to settle a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed against 17 elite universities, according to Rice’s financial statement for last year. The settlement amount would be the highest so far in the case, which the plaintiffs colloquially call the “568 Cartel Lawsuit.”

The plaintiffs allege that shared financial aid methodologies among the 17 universities resulted in price-fixing and unfairly limited aid to students, breaking federal antitrust laws. All schools have denied the allegations.

Rice’s financial statement calls the $33.75 million an “agreed upon settlement amount,” though it is unclear if the final settlement will reflect this value. Rice has yet to file for

preliminary court approval of the settlement.

A spokesperson for Rice declined to comment.

Seven other universities have reached preliminary settlements, according to court filings. The University of Chicago was the first to begin settlement discussions in April, signing an agreement for $13.5 million in August. Last week, Brown University, Columbia University, Duke University, Emory University and Yale University moved for preliminary approval of settlements totalling $104.5 million after four months of negotiations.

According to publicly available filings, Vanderbilt has also reached an agreement in principle to settle, but the amount has yet to be disclosed publicly.

As universities began to settle in the last

Settlement amounts by university (in millions USD) University

Settlement amount

Filing date

UChicago

$13.5m

Aug. 14, 2023

Emory

$18.5m

Jan. 23, 2024

Yale

$18.5m

Jan. 23, 2024

Brown

$19.5m

Jan. 23, 2024

Columbia

$24m

Jan. 23, 2024

Duke

$24m

Jan. 23, 2024

Rice

$33.75m*

*in progress

few months, the plaintiffs began increasing the settlement amounts with each successive agreement or set of agreements to “put pressure on the non-settling Defendants to settle imminently or risk having to pay significantly more by waiting,” according to court documents. This could explain why Rice’s $33.75 million exceeds Duke and Columbia’s $24 million payments.

The complaint centers around the “568 Presidents Group,” a coalition of universities that collaborated on aid formulas and was dissolved in November 2022, ten months after the case was filed. This collaboration is legal under federal law: Section 568 of the Improving America’s Schools Act allows universities to collaborate on their financial aid formulas, but only if all schools involved are “need-blind.” The plaintiffs allege that at least nine of the schools failed to conduct need-blind admissions.

The remaining universities, including Rice, “knew or should have known that the other Defendants were not following needblind admissions policies,” the plaintiffs wrote in court filings. Thus, plaintiffs allege that Rice conspired to reduce financial aid and increase the price of attendance, breaking the antitrust exemption in Section 568.

The proceeds from the settlements

SEE LAWSUIT PAGE 2 ALICE SUN / THRESHER Rice has set aside $33.75 million to settle a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed against 17 elite universities, according to Rice’s financial statement for last year. It is unclear if the final agreement will reflect this value.

SA presidency NAYELI SHAD

MANAGING EDITOR Alison Qiu, the outgoing Student Association internal vice president, assumed the role of SA President Jan. 29 following former president Solomon Ni’s resignation. Qiu, a Hanszen College junior, will remain in the role until March, when a newly elected president will take office after the February SA elections.

Going into the role, Qiu said the added responsibility did not scare her, but she knew she had to plan out her work more.

“I know that I need to evaluate my priorities because I know that this is sort of going to be a lot,” Qiu said.

“There’s just going to be a lot more responsibility that I’m taking on, on top of the ordinary IVP responsibilities because as of now, [the] IVP position is vacant, although I’m still doing part of the work.”

To better manage her new presidential responsibilities, Qiu said she has shifted some of the IVP work onto those interested in taking over the role.

One of Qiu’s projects for her term is to compile a report of what the SA has accomplished during the 2023-2024

SEE QIU PRESIDENCY PAGE 2

2 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024

FROM FRONT PAGE

QIU PRESIDENCY

term and email it to the student body, last done in 2021. Qiu said this will allow all students to understand what the SA is doing and strengthen the SA’s relationship with students.

Qiu also said she plans to finish implementing the resolutions that Ni passed — Senate Resolution 14, affirming support for the Faculty Statement of Solidarity with Palestinians, and Senate Resolution 17, requiring the SA president to meet with an academic advisor.

Qiu said that criticisms of the SA tend to fall on the president, which can be stressful as she transitions into the role.

“Once someone’s in the position as the SA president, there’s going to be more people holding you accountable because now what you do or what you say holds more impact or value than when you were originally just an IVP,” Qiu said. “I just hope that whatever I do will make [the SA] better instead of drawing more criticism onto [the] Student Association.”

Ni, a Jones College junior, said they have confidence in the executive committee’s ability to be effective without them.

“I’m very hopeful about what they’re able to continue doing,” Ni said. “I think that the people that are in the executive committee are very well-qualified people that I know are able to get the job done. I selected a lot of them to run.”

SA External Vice President Crystal Unegbu agreed that the executive committee can continue to be successful

THE RICE THRESHER

under Qiu’s presidency.

“I think [Ni] did a really good job and he sculpted a nice executive committee, and I think we had a nice [executive] dynamic with him as president.

I think [Qiu]’s going to follow up in his footsteps and do just as good a job,” Unegbu, a Hanszen junior, said.

Treasurer Yuv Sachdeva said he hopes that now people will understand the demands of being president.

“I hope the Senate continues to treat [Qiu] with a lot of respect. I mean, taking on the role is not easy,” Sachveda, a Jones junior, said. “I hope that people come to recognize how important this role is and how much it means for someone to take it on.”

Qiu’s advice to future SA leaders is to ensure they have a strong drive for improving student life in order to prevent burnout.

“There will be a lot of additional responsibility, work trouble or criticism that you might not have expected at the beginning that can make you lose your motivation,” Qiu said. “I think it’s really crucial to think upfront whether the motivation for the role is good enough and strong enough to overcome those challenging times.”

Though her term is short, Qiu

FROM FRONT PAGE RICHARD LI / THRESHER Alison Qiu leads her first Senate as president Jan. 29.

said she encourages students to reach out with feedback and changes they want to see her and other SA members make.

It’s easy to criticize the SA about its shortcomings, Qiu said, but she wants the student body to keep in mind that the members are doing all they can to improve.

“We’re all students and we’re trying to figure out ways to make it better.

That’s not to say that we can change things immediately,” Qiu said. “I just hope that students can have more patience and compassion for whoever is in office or runs for office and to know that, in general, people who are in the Student Association all have a goal of making the student life so much better, and we’re doing our best to make it happen.”

LAWSUIT

will be pooled to provide payouts to the entire “settlement class” of affected undergraduates. Currently, the proposed settlement class for Rice includes anyone who was enrolled as a full-time undergraduate since Fall 2003 and received need-based financial aid covering some but not all tuition, fees, room or board.

The claimant administrator, Angeion Group, will calculate each claimant’s share. Each claimant would receive a share of the net settlement fund, proportional to an estimate of the net price charged per school for up to four years, lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in court filings for their allocation plan.

Last March, Rice saw the largest increase in undergraduate tuition in recent years, which became effective this academic year. Increasing by 5.7%, the total cost of attendance is now $74,028.

Rice spent over $249 million on financial aid last year. According to the financial aid website, 57% of undergraduates receive some kind of aid.

“It is past time for the presidents and governing bodies of the remaining defendants to stand up and do the right thing for their students and alumni, and resolve the overcharges to middle class and working class students that stemmed from the twenty years of collusion on financial aid by elite universities,” Robert D. Gilbert, a partner of Gilbert Litigators & Counselors, said in a Jan. 23 press release.

Editor-in-Chief Prayag Gordy contributed reporting.

S.RES 17 passes, SA president to consider academic workload

RICHARD LI / THRESHER

VIOLA HSIA

SENIOR WRITER A resolution calling for Student Association presidents to meet with an academic advisor and the SA advisor to discuss workload with presidential duties was passed unanimously Jan. 29. Solomon Ni, outgoing SA president, originally introduced the resolution Jan. 22 with limiting the credit hours an SA president can enroll in, but an amendment Jan. 29 removed that clause.

Ni said the resolution was drafted to help SA presidents balance the leadership role with being a student.

“This role is a lot,” Ni, a Jones College junior, said. “We were talking about what we can do in the future to make sure that the people that are taking on this position are pacing themselves and making sure that they take into account themselves first.”

Heather-Reneé Gooch, associate director of student engagement, said that the resolution was proposed with hopes of improving transparency for the SA presidential time commitment. “[Students] don’t always realize how

many hours you have to spend going to meetings,” Gooch said.

“There are benefits to it by bringing the academic advisor in, and they have more intimate knowledge of what that student’s academic career looks like … We also want [students] to be a student first and support [their] academics.”

Lovett College President Mehek Jain said that this resolution is important in the discussion on mental health among student leaders.

“I think it’s a fantastic step in the right direction,” Jain, a senior, said. “Student leadership at Rice is very difficult. There’s a lot of pressure put on us as student leaders. I think it’s a really great first step in encouraging students as well as the administration to pay more attention to mental health on this campus, in particular for students who are assuming a lot of really intensive responsibilities.”

Jones President Taya Lasota said the resolution would have helped her think about her workload when initially taking on her current leadership role.

“I can’t be sure that meeting with an advisor would have convinced me not to register for those 18 hours, but I think it would have at least let me consider it as an option before it was too late,” Lasota, a senior, said. “Resolution 17 isn’t the final solution to this issue of student leaders being overworked and undercompensated, but I hope that it marks the beginning of these discussions on a larger platform.”

According to Gooch, this resolution

won’t affect current candidates running appointed positions to carry the load, etc. for the presidency position. Jae Kim, the Support looks different for everyone, so Brown College president, said that while that’s why it’s hard to solve with a standard the policy is a good idea, there are still approach.”

SA Parliamentarian Kam’Ren Walls said many steps that the SA needs to take.

“Lots of student leaders have burnout, that while he agrees that mental health mental health problems because it is such within the SA is an important discussion, he [an emotional] and burdensome position worries that the resolution is overstepping as a president,” Kim, a junior, said. “I SA boundaries with the student body.

“Obviously, we need to provide the think it’s a good idea, if anything. In the back of my mind, it also does not feel like resources for people in student leadership positions, especially a solution. I don’t the SA president, think it’s meant [internal vice to be a solution. president] and But I still think we [external vice do need systemic Resolution 17 isn’t the president] because change on how final solution to this have such student leaders are issue of student leaders they hefty schedules compensated [and] and demanding how the university being overworked and tasks,” Walls, a ensures that their undercompensated, Wiess College junior, positions aren’t but I hope that it marks said. “But I felt [the too emotionally or the beginning of these resolution itself] physically toxic to discussions on a larger was inappropriate them.” on our part, because Brown Senator platform. students are able and Megan Enriquez also can make decisions said that while this Taya Lasota for themselves.” resolution is a good JONES COLLEGE PRESIDENT Current SA first step, it cannot be the only solution to an overall bigger president Alison Qiu — who previously served as IVP and took over the presidency problem.

“I still think it’s important and following Ni’s resignation — also said she sometimes necessary to pass [and] discuss believed credit hours weren’t the only serious resolutions, don’t get me wrong, measurement of a student’s ability to but in general, I hope we can do more to commit to the SA. However, she said that make the leadership role less draining, the resolution was important in ensuring so it doesn’t impact personal wellness,” that the SA president doesn’t overburden Enriquez, a sophomore, wrote in an email themselves.

“I really don’t want this to stop anyone to the Thresher. “Encouraging fewer credit hours is beneficial, removing some of from running,” Qiu, a Hanszen College the weight, but to successfully hold up a junior, said. “I hope that this will make university, it needs more support. I’m not sure that the president can actually have exactly sure what that support looks like; it enough time and energy to do more and, at could be less meetings, more retreats, more the same time, not get burned out.”

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024 • 3

NEWS

Rice Owls Away Program pilot introduced following student advocacy MARIA MORKAS

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

MARIA MORKAS / THRESHER Editor’s Note: Students interviewed were given the option of remaining anonymous in the interest of keeping their experiences private. The anonymous student was given false names, which have been marked with an asterisk on first mention.

Students Matti Haacke and Leela Sydow presented “A Critical Look into Mental Health Time Away at Rice” Jan. 22. They discussed students’ experiences with mental health crises, hospitalization, time away and return, and suggested improvements for the university system.

Allison Vogt, a panelist and associate dean of students, shared during the presentation that the university is launching the Rice Owls Away Program, a pilot initiative dedicated to helping students during their time away and return.

After Haacke and Sydow’s presentation, Vogt and Kimberly Blackshear, the director of the time away office at Duke University, shared insights from their experiences in the field.

Haacke and Sydow said their research included conversations with eight undergraduate students who had experienced mental health crises at Rice.

According to them, students said there was a lack of communication about the policy for return after time away.

“It made it more emotionally [distressing] when [students] were already having really horrible mental health time, [and they were] being blindsided by things that they should have known from the beginning,” Sydow, a Jones College sophomore, said in an interview with the Thresher. “Directly misleading somebody saying, ‘Oh, you’re only going to be in here for seven days, no payments, full confidentiality’ — it’s so much more distressing when that turns out not to be true.”

As someone with ADHD, executive functioning issues and experiencing isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic,

Liu and Mounajjed launch Bonfire KENZIE LANGHORNE

FOR THE THRESHER

Bonfire, a new startup platform for sharing on-campus social events, launched Jan. 17. The student founders Michael Mounajjed and Ben Liu say Bonfire aims to unite students. The founders say there are currently 770 users on the platform, equivalent to one in every six Rice undergraduates using the app.

Mounajjed, a Hanszen College freshman, said Bonfire was inspired by issues he saw with OwlNest, such as it being hard to filter, and Rice students using GroupMe groups and flyers around campus to find events.

“It’s really difficult to find what you’re passionate about when you don’t really know what is going on,” Mounajjed said. “After a long night of searching through OwlNest and going through all the GroupMes, posters and all the really complicated stuff, I realized … it’s too hard to find what I really like. So we decided to build Bonfire [as] a way to see everything happening at campus all in one [location].”

Liu, a McMurtry College sophomore, said the founders focused on the shortcomings of OwlNest to address why club leaders do not post and why students do not look for events on OwlNest.

“Pretty much every Rice student uses Google Calendar,” Liu said. “What if they were able to explore all the events that were posted on to Bonfire through their personal Google Calendar, so it would be side by side with their current schedule?”

Mounajjed said Bonfire currently does not have a process to verify events being posted, but the platform is moderated and warnings are given out for posting fake events.

“Anybody can post, and that’s really an egalitarian way that we can make sure that all Rice students have a voice,” Mounajjed said.

“We monitor the platform constantly … While you can make a post on the platform, if you decide to put something on there that would be negative, we do give out warnings and are ready to remove a user from the platform that is not responding well.”

According to Liu, competitors of Bonfire

are virtually nonexistent. For instance, he said Bonfire has a different purpose than Fizz, an anonymous discussion app. Liu acknowledges that clubs will continue to use social media, but Bonfire aids students who do not follow specific clubs or are not on email lists.

Mounajjed said Bonfire is not a social media platform, and its mission is to bring people together physically through its virtual platform.

“We are not trying to create a space where students can interact digitally by chatting with each other, and we have noticed that [social media has] become increasingly negative,” Mounajjed said.

Julia Hanson, a Hanszen socials committee head, said that event advertising can get buried in Instagram feeds, so she thinks Bonfire is a useful tool.

“I think a lot of our advertising in the past has gotten lost through other content, when we post Instagram posts and it kind of falls into everyone else’s feed,” Hanson, a junior, said. “So a whole lot of people don’t see them, or if we send out an email it gets jumbled in with a lot of people’s spam sometimes.” ‘ Tess Mansfield, a Bonfire user, said that it is a great app for planning what to do with her weekends.

“I am a huge planner, and I felt one of my main issues was I would always be trying to figure out my weekend plans the day of or two hours before,” Mansfield, a Hanszen freshman, said. “It’s helpful to have one place where I can scroll through and figure out what to do.”

Duncan College senior Sam* had a depressive episode during their freshman year that escalated into their sophomore fall.

“I decided to talk to my counselor at the counseling center,” Sam said. “I was at a breaking point, and I knew that I needed some sort of break … We discussed what hospitalization would look like, and I was assured that it wouldn’t necessarily be covered by Rice, but that it would be under my insurance … It wouldn’t be some giant expense.”

When they got to the emergency room, Sam said they were held for 24 hours in a blank room because Methodist did not have a bed and room available for them.

Additionally, they were held for six days, when they originally thought it would have been two to three days.

“It cost my family around $5,000-6,000, which was a lot, and we definitely could not afford it,” Sam said. “When I came back, [Rice] told me, ‘There’s no choice where you’re allowed to come back full time; you can maybe come back part-time if we decide that you can. But we very, very, very strongly recommend that you withdraw for the semester.’”

Rice rejected Sam’s readmission paperwork, citing that they needed to see six months of stability first, something that Sam said was not initially communicated

WRC commons roof undergoes repairs JAMES CANCELARICH

FOR THE THRESHER

Roofing repairs are currently underway for the old Will Rice College commons.

According to senior facilities engineer and project manager Matthew Hoffman, 7,250 square feet of roofing is being replaced, and the project is expected to be completed in four weeks.

“All campus roofs are audited/ evaluated on an annual basis,” Hoffman wrote in an email to the Thresher. “This type of roof has an average life expectancy of 20 years. The pre-existing roof was 25 years old; therefore, it was scheduled for replacement this year.”

Boyuan Zhang, the facilities committee head at Will Rice, said that the project was entirely under Housing and Dining’s discretion, and Will Rice does not have much involvement with the repairs.

“It’s a fairly simple situation. The roof is old … and the [private dining room] is experiencing minor leaking,” Zhang said.

However, he noted that the construction has been distracting for students.

“During lunch, … they were hammering down asphalt … and one of the cages around the sprinkler … fell down,” Zhang said.

Zhang said he also heard of students complaining about the smell of the asphalt being heated.

“It’s Valero’s commercial solution, so it’s not bad for you. It just smells weird,” Zhang said.

Shreeya Madhavanur and Brett Barron, both Will Rice freshmen, described some disturbances from the roofing work.

“We were studying in the [private dining room] and the machine noises were so loud it felt like the roof was going to fall down,” Barron said. “I don’t mind it. I think we all just get used to it.”

AMELIA DAVIS / THRESHER Workers are pictured on top of the Will Rice College commons roof completing repairs.

CATHERINE ZHOU / THRESHER

with them when they decided to withdraw.

They weren’t allowed to come back until the following semester.

“My therapist described it as the equivalent of writing a legal, psychological assessment that would guarantee that I wouldn’t at [any] point ever be severely depressed again,” Sam said.“They [wanted a] guarantee that there wouldn’t be any sort of liability issue for them ever again … I eventually came back; they met with me once, and my well-being advisor didn’t show up [for the second meeting].”

Haacke, a Sid Richardson College junior, said that they noticed there was a lack of respect and agency for students who chose to take time off for their mental health. Students often didn’t feel a part of their own treatment plan, he said.

“Especially if they were hospitalized … the students feel like they’re kind of just put into the system and given steps of things they need to do, and don’t really have a choice on their own process of care,” Haacke told the Thresher. “[Similarly], students [don’t feel like] they have any autonomy, respect or that they’re being listened to when they express any concerns with the process about their own perceptions of their mental health.”

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

“We decided to leave when some paint from the ceiling started falling on us,” Madhavanur added.

Will Rice senior Annie Xu said she noticed a strange sound coming from outside the commons one morning which they described as high pitched, while also containing a deep rumbling.

“Somehow it is just so loud, and when I put in earplugs, it still was tough,” Xu said.

They described changing their work routine in the mornings to avoid the distraction.

“I might just have to sleep earlier and wake up earlier,” Xu said.

Xu also said she did not receive any notifications or warnings about the repair project.

“My college coordinator didn’t know what was going on, my [chief justice] didn’t know what was going on. No one knows why they’re repairing the roof,” Xu said.

Will Rice College Coordinator Sheren Brunson said that in the fall semester, an email was sent out to students about roofing repair work in the Will Rice area, but no specifics of the buildings being repaired or the timeline of repairs were included.

Hoffman wrote that a notice was issued to impacted students from H&D concerning the roofing repairs.

Xu said there was smoke emanating from a heater that she compared to a car exhaust without a catalytic converter. “[The construction worker was] sticking his face in it. I felt so bad,” she said. “The whole situation … makes me question if we have good, safe practices here.”

Xu expressed their concerns regarding the construction site with Richard Johnson, Rice’s senior executive director for sustainability. Johnson wrote in an email to the Thresher that he forwarded Xu’s email to Facilities and H&D leadership.

Hoffman wrote that an asphalt fumes complaint was registered from a student at Baker College and subsequently the asphalt kettle was moved from the north end of Old Will Rice Commons to the south end. Hoffman also wrote that the asphalt kettle is only expected to be in use for the next two weeks.

“If there are improvements that have happened, I think it’s important to note that some of it has come from student pressure,” Xu said.

4 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024

Molecular Jackhammers present novel method of eradicating cancer said.

Ayala-Orozco’s graduate study involved FOR THE THRESHER investigating gold nanoparticles that Rice, MD Anderson and Texas A&M oscillate rapidly upon near-IR activation. researchers have developed a novel method During his post-doc, he wanted to move of eradicating cancer with a nanoparticle away from larger, inorganic nanoparticles that shakes so hard, it can break apart a cell. that macrophages easily sequestered. He These molecules have been coined eventually joined the Tour group, which “molecular jackhammers,” and researchers studies small, organic molecules that have hope to use them to target difficult-to-treat the propensity to mechanically damage cells. cancers such as pancreatic cancer. Since the These molecules, however, are activated molecular jackhammers only target cancer by visible or phototoxic UV light, which cells and require specific light activation to can only penetrate the body by a couple of vibrate, they are relatively safe to use and millimeters.

“At some point, I connected the dots,” are expected to reach human clinical trials Ayala-Orozco said. within five to seven years.

The study took one year of work before “It’s a completely new type of therapy,” Thomas Killian, dean of the Wiess School of submission, and one year of revision before publication.

Natural Sciences, said.

According to Killian, an interesting aspect This nanoparticle is biocompatible, selectively binds to the membranes of cancer of the study is that it applies the fundamental cells and has a vibronic mode that can connection between electronic motion and be activated by near-infrared light. Upon molecular vibrations to a health problem.

“I always like seeing these applications or activation, the nanoparticles vibrate at 40 trillion oscillations per second, introducing discoveries that emphasize how important a mechanical force that rips apart the tumor the fundamental discoveries are for making cell membrane, destroying cells within new advances,” Killian said.

Tour agrees that minutes. it was important to A paper describing validate the details of the study was the study. published in Nature You spend years in “There’s a lot of Chemistry late physical chemistry December.

Ciceron the wilderness, and [needed] to figure out Ayala-Orozco was then all of a sudden what’s going on here,” the lead author of the something works.

Tour said. publication and is a The next steps to researcher with the James Tour this project include chemistry department PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY testing the tiny in the Tour group. The researchers observed a complete eradication jackhammer’s efficacy on pancreatic cancer. of melanoma, a type of skin cancer, in petri According to Tour, pancreatic cancer poses a dishes and a 50% efficacy in mice with number of problems that make it difficult to both diagnose and treat. Tumors tend to form melanoma.

“The tumors never came back,” said a stroma, or a hard shell, around it, making James Tour, a chemistry professor and the drug delivery difficult. A major artery also study’s senior investigator. “We knew we runs through the pancreas, complicating surgery. The duodenum, an organ located were really on to something.”

Previous attempts at similar mechanisms behind the pancreas, would be destroyed used visible or ultraviolet light, neither of with the amount of radiation necessary to which could penetrate the body farther knock out the cancer.

“The average lifetime from the time of than a couple of millimeters. Near-IR can diagnosis is about a year,” Tour said. “The penetrate up to 10 centimeters deep.

“This could allow you to get a much more hope is that these molecular jackhammers will pound their way right through the deep-seated tumor,” Tour said.

The molecular jackhammers belong stroma and right on into the tumors.”

The team is already in a partnership with to a class of molecules called cyanines, which are commonly used as dyes for a company working on gaining FDA approval molecular imaging. Some cyanines are and licensing.

“It could be within five, seven years that already approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Ayala-Orozco said, which the first clinical trials in humans start,” should accelerate the jackhammer’s track to Ayala-Orozco said.

Ayala-Orozco published another paper clinical usage.

Ayala-Orozco explained that there are detailing how to build these molecular already three intrinsic safety measures in the jackhammers early this January. According molecular jackhammers. First, the molecules to Tour, yet another paper has since been have an affinity to bind to tumors over other submitted and a fourth is on the way.

“You spend years in the wilderness, cells. Second, the effective concentration of molecular jackhammers needed to eradicate and then all of a sudden something works. a tumor is very low and non-toxic. Finally, When you find something that works, you the vibronic mode is only activated upon get a massive number of publications very quickly, because everything is just turning direct light.

“We can safely destroy the tumor,” Ayala- over,” Tour said. “[Ayala-Orozco] is in this Orozco said. “It’s a localized treatment, and rapid-fire publication mode.”

According to Killian, the discovery is we have some level of selectivity towards the exciting for the Chemistry department as one tumor and not healthy tissue.”

According to Ayala-Orozco, the of many steps to expand research into health nanoparticle is small enough to bypass applications, especially with the Texas macrophages, cells in the immune system Medical Center so close.

For students looking to solve big problems that eat and destroy substances foreign to the body. Killian adds that the molecular like cancer, Killian points to elucidating the jackhammer’s mechanism makes it unlikely fundamentals.

“We still need breakthroughs in our for cells to develop drug resistance to it.

“For a whole host of reasons, it really basic scientific understanding of how cells, looks very exciting. It opens up a whole new molecular chemistry and physical chemistry scheme for attacking cancer cells,” Killian work,” Killian said. “The horizons are wide open to make a great impact, if you pick an important problem, dig deep into it and look for creative ways to do things that no one’s ever thought of.”

Ayala-Orozco agrees, encouraging young scientists to think outside the box.

“Don’t be discouraged if the strategy or approach you are proposing goes against known literature at the moment,” AyalaMARK MUNYI / THRESHER Orozco said. “We as scientists should not follow or repeat everyone else.”

IVANA HSYUNG

NEWS

CCD to hold spring career expo BELINDA ZHU & MARIA MORKAS

SENIOR WRITER & ASST. NEWS EDITOR The Center for Career Development will host the Spring 2024 Career & Internship Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 2. The expo will include more than 70 employers, representing industries from aerospace, consulting, engineering, medical devices, education and financial services, among others, according to Camille Elmore, the associate director of employer engagement and data management for the CCD. Elmore said the CCD hosts two career expos in the fall, one virtually and one inperson, and an additional in-person expo in the spring.

“We facilitate these large-scale recruiting events due to the nature of varying hiring timelines and recruiting needs from the employer perspective, and also for students to get the opportunity to directly network with employers interested in hiring them,” Elmore wrote in an email to the Thresher. “The timing of our recruiting events allows students to connect with recruiters who can predict their future internship and full-time hiring needs (as opposed to ‘just in time’ hiring when spots open up at an organization).”

According to Elmore, fewer energy organizations will be present at the spring expo compared to the fall expo, since most STEM roles were filled in the fall.

Companies present will include ARCO, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Innovex, Partners for Justice and Medpace.

CJ Cao, a sports analytics major, said he is excited about the new firms present at the expo.

“A lot of new firms are coming this year with new exciting opportunities, and I already have a list of companies that I would love to talk to,” Cao, a Lovett College sophomore, said. “For students like me who are late in the summer

COURTESY CENTER FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT internship recruiting process, this career fair [will] be immensely helpful.”

Joshua Kang, an area major — a program that allows students to craft their own curricula — studying neuroengineering, said he doesn’t plan on attending this year’s career fair because the one he attended last year didn’t have any companies relevant to his field of study.

Chris Shen, who’s double majoring in computer science and business, said the organization at the career fair needs to be improved.

“The lines at the career fair are always so long, and the entire event is very crowded,” Shen, a McMurtry College junior, said.

“They make an effort to give us a map of all the booths, but maybe they [should] just do it for different sectors, like having one dedicated to tech.”

The CCD hosted two “Skip the Line” events on Jan. 23 and 30 to address the long lines for expo check-in.

“Students who arrive at the Expo wearing their CCD-provided name tags from Skip the Line events can bypass the outdoor check-in process and proceed to the Expo to connect with employers,” Elmore said. “We will begin checking in students at 9:45 a.m., so students who arrive early can enter the Expo immediately when the doors open at 10 a.m.”

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While the technologies and circumstances may have changed, some questions remain perennial: What does scientific research, technological development, and public interest and governance look like in these brave new worlds — and who decides? During the two-day conference, we will explore these themes through a series of lively interventions and debates by scientists, scholars and artists.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024 • 5

THE RICE THRESHER

EDITORIAL

Reevaluate the costs of student leadership

Solomon Ni announced their resignation from the Student Association presidency Jan. 22, citing mental health concerns and burnout. Ni’s resignation resurfaces conversations about the responsibilities and benefits of student leadership.

A perennial topic in our news sections, student leaders like Ni work long, solitary hours in the shadows of the Rice administration. Much of the SA presidency consists of tedious work behind the scenes, yet ordinary students hardly go a day without seeing the results of such labor — munch, for instance, was an SA initiative.

During Orientation Week, student leaders are far more visible than Rice’s administration. The 33 O-Week coordinators provide an essential and highly marketable service to the university, organizing the welcoming committee for more than 1,000 new students annually.

They review new student forms, pair roommates and set O-Week groups. The coordinators are the first Rice leaders many new students encounter.

Yet the university is struggling to attract and retain its next generation of leaders.

Ni — and every other candidate alongside him — ran unopposed, and now he has resigned. At Martel College, just one of the three 2024 O-Week coordinators is a Martelian.

There is no easy fix. Some may say that students do not care, that they just want to secure a degree and leave. We strongly disagree. Rice students do value this university and do strive to improve it. There are students who are motivated to pursue leadership. It is not an issue of interested students — it is a consequence of a series of deterrents.

One such obstacle is money. Ni was not paid. O-Week coordinators receive a stipend that many say amounts to less than $1 per hour, in addition to room and board for the summer. Clearly, students who need to work to survive cannot easily serve as leaders. Beyond that, many students see a system rife for abuse, where the university can write a laundry list of responsibilities and avoid fairly valuing the results.

Unfortunately, it is not as simple as throwing money at the problem. For instance, who should pay the SA president?

The SA’s role is to fight for the students,

often against the administration. If Rice paid them directly, it could create a conflict of interest. (It is far easier to increase O-Week coordinator stipends since their work is always in the university’s best interest.)

More broadly, we as a student body must figure out where we stand. There are a series of legitimate, difficult questions about student leadership to address.

Beyond the source of the money, we must ask which positions need compensation and which should remain voluntary; we must also reevaluate the responsibilities student leaders hold.

While this is not the first time we’ve found ourselves having this conversation, we hope Ni’s resignation will reinvigorate these essential discussions and spur some sort of action when it comes to valuing our student leaders.

Editor’s Note: Opinion Editor Sammy Baek recused himself from this editorial due to his position as a 2024 O-Week coordinator for Jones College.

Features Editor Sarah Knowlton recused herself from this editorial due to her reporting on former SA president Solomon Ni’s resignation in our features section.

GUEST OPINION

The burden of tradition: NOD 2023 was the fault of systemic issues, not the students Editor’s Note: This is a guest opinion that has been submitted by a member of the Rice community. The views expressed in this opinion are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of the Thresher or its editorial board.

All guest opinions are fact-checked to the best of our ability and edited for clarity and conciseness by Thresher editors.

Student discourse in the aftermath of Night of Decadence has frequently taken a defeatist character. A muted “I guess that’s what we get” has risen in response to the cancellation of publics, without any form of organized protest. This passivity in the face of blatant paternalism ignores a major systemic issue: the loss of student autonomy in maintaining traditions.

NOD is not new, and neither are the problems that led to last year’s iteration being shut down. At NOD 2012, or “NODgate,” there were 32 students cared for by Rice EMS and 10 alcohol-related transports by ambulance to local hospitals, eclipsing the over two dozen sent to REMS and seven transported at this past year’s iteration.

The 2012 story gained traction in local media, but those outlets failed to account for the fact that the transports “occurred nearly universally out of an abundance of caution,” evidenced in part by the fact that all 10 who were hospitalized were released early in the morning. While I am not certain if that abundance of caution was the case at this year’s iteration, the reason given in Dean Bridget Gorman’s message to undergraduates implies a similar strain on caregiving resources caused by the quantity of intoxicated students, not the severity of individual cases.

“NOD-gate” in 2012 sparked the imposition of a new round of alcohol restrictions the following spring, but of a much less drastic nature than those

imposed this year with the cancelation of several publics. A key reason for this was then-Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson’s focus on treating Rice students like adults, emphasizing individual responsibility.

Such reasoning appears dead today.

Further, with every imposition upon students and residential colleges by administration, I fear that Rice will lose a piece of its unique culture.

As is required by Texas law, the Undergraduate Alcohol Policy bans the consumption of alcohol for any student under the age of 21. This simple fact lies at the heart of why the residential college system has been so important to Rice’s unique culture. Any sphere which Rice University Police Department or the administration touch must enforce this rule. Publics such as NOD which used to be run entirely by students are now forced to spend massive chunks of their budget on security, the very presence of which ironically has an adverse effect on student safety. The presence of RUPD at, inside and around publics means that there cannot be any drinking on the premises, giving students the option to either not drink or to pre-game. It is this context that places publics today in such a precarious situation.

Perhaps I am ignorant, but I have yet to hear of REMS being stretched thin as a result of any private party or residential college-wide party, even those explicitly centered around alcohol. The difference lies in leadership; those events often have no on-site oversight from RUPD or administration, making pre-gaming a nonissue. Yes, there is occasional overdrinking by individuals, but that is where personal accountability and the culture of care come into play. Such isolated incidents are

an entirely different issue from the mass transports at NOD — it would be foolish to conflate the two. Excessive intoxication from pre-gaming is the main reason for admin’s worries with publics of late, but in taking action we should look at the root cause. Events which are truly student-run face no such issues, so does the fault for the decay of publics really lie in the hands of students, or is it a systemic issue with how publics are operated?

This is a narrow criticism, but falls within a broader trend of power being taken away from residential colleges in the name of safety. Wherever admin or RUPD assumes responsibility, stricter regulations and a loss of student government autonomy follow. In the case of NOD (or any public recently), if RUPD decides who can get in, when the party shuts down, what the baggage/ container policy is, when capacity is hit and how many officers need to draw from the budget to be there, then who has the real power? I am by no means criticizing RUPD’s conduct, but this issue necessarily results from them taking responsibility for student safety at publics.

A huge part of Rice’s appeal is its unique culture created by the residential colleges as opposed to fraternities and sororities.

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

Nathan Horton MARTEL COLLEGE JUNIOR

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 Shruti Patankar Asst. Editor ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Hadley Medlock* Editor Juliana Lightsey Asst. Editor Arman Saxena Asst. Editor SPORTS Pavithr Goli* Editor Diego Palos Rodriguez Asst. Editor Andersen Pickard 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 Steven Burgess Asst. 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 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 2024

CORRECTIONS In “Tomás Morín’s ‘Where Are You From: Letters to My Son’ explores Brown identity in America,” Tomás Morín is an associate, not an assistant, professor of creative writing.

ricethresher.org

6 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024

THE RICE THRESHER

Moshe Vardi stands up and shouts

COURTESY MOSHE VARDI

FELICITY PHELAN

THRESHER STAFF

Moshe Vardi started his computer science career over 7,000 miles away, never planning to end up in the U.S. “I finished my doctorate in Israel, and then I came to the United States just to do a post-doctorate at Stanford University,” Vardi said. “My plan was to go back to Israel, but cherchez la femme [look for the woman] — I met my wife in Palo Alto, and the rest is history.”

Vardi’s 30-year career at Rice includes appointments as a University Professor and Distinguished Service Professor, seven honorary doctorates and a slew of science and technology awards including three IBM Outstanding Innovation Awards.

Even after 40 years in the U.S., Vardi said his personality still reflects the culture of his home country.

“Israelis tend to be much more outspoken and blunt than Americans,” Vardi said. “I don’t know if this is my strength or weakness, but I’m very direct, and not everybody’s comfortable with my directness.”

One outlet for Vardi’s directness is writing. During the Fall 2020 semester, he authored several Thresher opinion pieces critical of Rice’s decision to return to campus despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Another opinion, published in September 2022, discussed the purpose universities should serve in society.

“If you look at Rice’s mission statement, it’s about education and research and betterment of the world,” Vardi said. “We talk a lot about education … [and] we want to be a research university. We talk very little about betterment of the world. It’s there in the mission statement, but where are we talking about it? In classes, in where? It’s just not there.”

Vardi said he feels Rice students should focus on more than just academic and financial success. “[To] the students, yes, go have a great career. But you have a responsibility for the common good,” Vardi said. “Nobody’s asking you to necessarily become Mother Teresa and go and spend your life in Calcutta feeding the poor, okay? But if everybody just thinks of themselves, we have a society that looks like the society we have.”

In his support for the common good, Vardi is passionate about the interaction between technology and society. He’s been leading Rice’s Technology, Culture and Society Initiative since its founding in 2018 and was heavily involved in the recent change to make Rice’s computer science curriculum more ethics-focused.

In 2018, Vardi began teaching COMP 301: Ethics and Accountability in Computer Science. In Spring 2023, the computer science department voted to make it a

weeks of publication, far exceeding required undergraduate course.

“The students really like the class his expectations. The essay was also because it talks about what computing is republished in the Houston Chronicle doing to society and social responsibility,” and The Times of Israel.

Though Vardi said the response to Vardi said. “There is no final exam in the class; it’s not a theoretical class. We ask his essay was overwhelmingly positive, them to write an essay about their own he did receive backlash. About a week personal social responsibilities. And after the essay’s publication, Vardi said these essays to me are very, very moving.” an unknown person outside of the Rice community mailed R o d r i g o him a note that Ferreira, one read, “Americans of Vardi’s are sick of Jews colleagues in the I don’t know if this is my whining [about] computer science how discriminated d e p a r t m e n t strength or weakness, but against they are. and the current I’m very direct, and not Most Jews are professor of everybody’s comfortable obnoxious [and] COMP 301, says he greedy. Look at admires Vardi’s with my directness. yourself.

Jews commitment to Moshe Vardi bring on most pushing his values UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR of their own forward.

“I think [Vardi] stands out in that he problems.”

Vardi says this hatred, though uses his position as a kind of springboard to talk about the social and ethical issues uncomfortable, informs his identity.

“I may look white. I don’t consider that matter to him,” Ferreira said. “He always finds time … to push forward this myself white. I open my mouth; initiative and this set of values that he immediately people see I’m not from believes are important and that I, too, here,” Vardi said. “[They ask] ‘Where believe are essential for the future of are you from?’ I say I’m from Israel, so it takes about 30 seconds for people to computer science and the world.”

Vardi has also been outspoken about realize that I’m Jewish, and then I stand his experiences as a Jewish person on aside. The people who hate Black people campus. On Dec. 6, 2023, he published also hate me.”

Negative or positive, Vardi says the an essay on Medium titled “A Moral Rot at Rice University,” which he wrote in potential response didn’t factor into his response to what he calls a pattern of decision to write and publish the Medium antisemitism on Rice’s campus, pointing article.

“I wasn’t thinking about what kind of to the passing of Student Association response I’m going to get,” Vardi said. “I Senate Resolution 14.

Vardi said his original Medium just have to say, this is not acceptable. I essay received 30,000 views within two have to stand up and shout.”

Campus arborist Dawn Roth-Ehlinger talks trees quad,” Roth-Ehlinger said. “It’s grown out down into the quad and has this SENIOR WRITER big, beautiful umbrella.”

The arboretum has faced numerous Bearing witness to late-night anxious walks, romantic strolls and inebriated challenges recently as a result of shenanigans, the trees at Rice are a climate change and extreme weather, Roth-Ehlinger said. The severe freeze backdrop to the campus experience.

Dawn Roth-Ehlinger serves as Rice’s that affected Texas in 2021 killed all of head arborist, working with her team the bottlebrush trees on campus — and of arborists and groundskeepers to tough weather conditions haven’t let tend to the more than 4,000 trees that up.

“Either it’s [a] make up the drought or it’s Lynn R. Lowrey extreme heat or Arboretum that it’s extreme cold, covers 300 acres but those events of Rice campus. Either it’s [a] drought, or are coming Rice is celebrated it’s extreme heat or it’s more and more for its treeextreme cold, but those f r e q u e n t l y, ” lined campus, Roth-Ehlinger which has events are coming more said. “That’s just won numerous and more frequently. now part of the awards and That’s just now part of the process of how requires constant process of how we think we think about care. our landscape “ W h e n about our landscape and and budgeting.” you work in budgeting.

The arborists commercial must consider tree care and Dawn Roth-Ehlinger long time-spans, you work on a HEAD ARBORIST as many of these [client’s] tree, you aren’t going to see that tree for trees can live for far longer than the another three years, if ever,’’ Roth- students on campus.

“Here, every decision that I make is Ehlinger said.

Working at Rice, however, has going to be impacting campus for 20, allowed her to tend to the same trees 50, 100, 250 years,” Roth-Ehlinger said.

“That was the project I wanted to be a over the years.

“My favorite tree on campus part of.”

Roth-Ehlinger also said that climate changes, but right now it is definitely the oak tree in the Martel [College] change has altered the way that certain

HUGO GERBICH PAIS

tree species survive and thrive. As Houston’s native flora and fauna evolve, plants that once couldn’t survive now can — and vice versa.

Beyond the changes in climate, the campus’ built environment has also changed, presenting both challenges and opportunities.

RothEhlinger was involved in the academic quad redesign, helping to select the trees that would be planted.

“I love the way they have reimagined using that whole space, and the trees are going to be a huge part of that,” Roth-Ehlinger said.

Beyond caring for the trees, RothEhlinger also spends time educating students, which was one of the factors that drew her to Rice. Among the most popular educational experiences is her famous “tree walk” for students, tour groups and camps hosted on campus.

“I knew that [education] was going to be part of the role … it’s a part of the job I enjoy,” Roth-Ehlinger said. “We had an environmental and social justice workshop here. Journalists came from all over the country and I did a big tree walk, where I walk them all through campus and talked about our species and what we’re trying to do here.”

Diego Garcia, a Wiess College freshman, said that the trees on campus provide a much–needed respite from

AMELIA DAVIS / THRESHER Dawn Roth-Ehlinger stands outside the oak tree in Martel College’s quad ­— her current favorite, she says. college stress and city living.

“I love going for walks with my headphones on and being able to look up at the trees. It definitely relaxes me and reduces my stress,” Garcia said. “The trees are so nice, especially because Houston is such a concrete jungle and [campus] is such a break from that.”

For Angela Cai, the trees are an integral part of Rice’s culture and campus.

“The trees are pretty, it’s like a fairytale forest,” Cai, a Jones College sophomore, said. “I feel like Rice wouldn’t be Rice without the trees.”

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024 • 7

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SHRUTI PATANKAR

With Lunar New Year approaching on Feb. 10, there are plenty of events happening both on and off campus. The 15 days following the new moon will be filled with delicious food, intricate lion dances, firework shows and gift-giving in auspicious red envelopes. Get ready to welcome the Year of the Dragon in style.

CSA x VSA Lunar New Year Rice’s Chinese Student Association and Vietnamese Student Association are hosting a joint showcase in the Rice Memorial Center’s Grand Hall Feb. 3 starting at 5 p.m. The $15 ticket price for Rice students and staff covers a bento box and boba, and the event includes dance, music, fashion and art from both Chinese and Vietnamese cultures.

College committee events Check your college’s calendar for information about what’s in store. For example, Duncan College’s Cultural VIRGINIA LIU / THRESHER

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and Inclusion Committee is planning a get-together for Duncaroos and their friends to celebrate. The event includes dumpling making and a performance from Rice Lions, the official lion dance performance team.

Caffeinate to celebrate at Coffeehouse Starting Jan. 28, you can enjoy Vietnamese iced coffee at Chaus while supplies last. They also have sesame balls and egg tarts for sale until Feb. 9.

Try a new treat Located inside the Galleria, luxury chocolatier Cacao & Cardamom has Lunar New Year themed chocolates with flavors ranging from matcha and black sesame to ginger and citrus almond.

Sample one of their boxes with some friends.

Pop up at a pop-up POST Houston is holding a free event in collaboration with Jack Daniel’s whiskey Feb. 4. From noon to 9 p.m., the venue will host an Asian pop-up market with diverse foods, activity booths and two Lion Dance performances. Despite the collaboration, the event is open to all ages.

Support Houston businesses When ordering in after a long evening at Fondy, consider a local Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant. Some amazing picks include FuFu’s Cafe, Hu’s Cooking, Kau Ba and Roostar. Make sure to get the “whole shebang” on your banh mi.

Editor’s Note: This article has been condensed for print. To read more, visit ricethresher.org.

1 Child of cooking 6 Pennies, briefly 9 Sex ed topic 13 Change the Constitution 14 m, as in y = mx +b 16 Let him “____” 17 Went out with 18 LeBron James, for one 19 Wrath 21 Atlanta university 22 Sports venue 23 Dorm diet staple 24 Force 25 Over there, archaically 26 Tired tires?

27 Adjust a camera lens 32 Sticky stuff 35 British fellow 39 Sacred hymn 40 Onion All Star 42 Art supporter?

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46 Discord subscription 47 It precedes math or dinner 48 It may be dominant or recessive 49 Bow buddy 50 Bibliography abbr.

51 “Science Guy” Bill 52 Luke Skywalker, to Darth Vader 53 “Attack on Titan” Yeager 57 Biblical prophet 61 Racetrack shape 65 Honeydew, e.g.

67 Rapper Kendrick 69 Texas landmark 70 _____ curiae (friends of the court) 71 Pong producer 72 Some makeup removers 73 Settlement-building board game 74 Stylish 75 Baking needs 76 Famous frog 77 John Green’s brother 78 Was in charge of

FROM FRONT PAGE

NI RESIGNATION

himself surprised by the amount of work falling into his lap. Campaigning, Ni said, or even serving on the executive committee — Ni was previously the SA treasurer — did not adequately prepare him for the pressures of the job.

This problem wasn’t contained to the SA presidency, Ni said. Other student leaders were experiencing the same thing.

“I think this even goes beyond just student government [or] college government. I will go to a lecture class and literally half the students around me are working on something for their club or for their extracurricular,” Ni said. “I don’t know of one student leader where I have talked to them and they’re like, ‘Yeah, I feel like I don’t have enough work or I feel like I’m at a good amount of work.’”

Student leadership positions have not always been so arduous, Ni said. From previous presidents and student leaders, they learned that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the amount of work that student leaders were expected to take on.

“I think that that tipping point was definitely COVID,” Ni said. “I know that at least anecdotally, … [student leaders] were in a unique situation, and there were a lot of responsibilities that were placed upon them by the administration [and] by the dean of undergraduates.”

Ni said that Rice administration added to the obligations that were expected of him.

“Sometimes whenever it comes to being elected as a student leader, you are called upon to be like an unpaid focus group for the administration,” Ni added. “In that way, maybe it would be better to just have them focus-group people for some of the initiatives and proposals that they want.”

The financial compensation — or lack thereof — for student government

HOANG NGUYEN

CROSSWORD EDITOR

DOWN 1 World-weary 2 Taste often enhanced by MSG 3 Give away a secret 4 Nonreactive 5 GPS input, slangily 6 Of course, in Spanish 7 Top hat or thimble 8 Use a credit card 9 Winter neckwear 10 Pertaining to pitch 11 Set of beliefs 12 Clay-target shooting sport 14 Mother, perhaps 15 Time period 20 Some ER workers 27 Video display rate, briefly 28 Great Plains Nation 29 “Pipe down!”

30 Violet prefix 31 Microscopic 32 Side issue?

33 Assortment 34 Fix, as laces 35 “Bing Chilling” celebrity 36 Bristles 37 Houston athlete 38 Eva of Argentina 40 ACT alternative 41 Kit ___ 43 Melancholic 53 Early 2000s Apple product 54 Update, as an atlas 55 Cream of the crop 56 “for real” 57 _ __ carte 58 Fire starter 59 Nebraska city 60 Deadly gas used in the 1995 Tokyo subway attack 61 Salad ingredient 62 Used an e-cigarette 63 Prayer ending 64 I II II I_ 66 Number of muses 68 Scientist who turned himself into a pickle 69 Military no-show, for short

members was another significant issue for Ni. Given the amount of effort required to hold such a position, the SA’s lack of remuneration felt dismissive of the students’ labor, he said.

“Student government is like a job. It’s something that people invest their time in, not because it’s fun or because it’s a resume builder,” Ni said. “What is the value of my work if I’m not being paid for it? What is the value of anyone’s work if they’re not being compensated for it?

“There were definitely some moments where I [thought], ‘Is this even worth my time to do? Is this a lost cause?’ At those points, I was like, ‘Maybe I should just resign and let it burn,’” Ni said. “But I had this unnerving obligation to just see it through because I was the only one that stood up to do [the job].”

Before their resignation, Ni made a few changes to try to alleviate the risk of burnout for future student leaders. One of his final acts as president was the passing of Senate Resolution 17, which requires presidents to meet with both the SA advisor and an academic advisor during their term to assist in academic planning and stress management.

Through the trials and tribulations of their term, Ni said that they hoped to represent the student body regardless of the circumstances.

“You don’t want to let down the community that chose you to lead them,” Ni said.“I don’t know if Dilf Hunter would have done better, but we’ll never know, I guess.”

Going forward, Ni said that he plans to enjoy his newfound free time and rebuild his support system.

“I will be chilling. I will be kicking back and relaxing. I will be taking time for myself and reaching out to the people that I haven’t talked to in a while,” Ni said. “I hope that everyone else is able to do that as well.”

8 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024

THE RICE THRESHER

‘Overwhelming joy’: ¡Ritmo! celebrates community, resiliency

MARK MUNYI / THRESHER

KRISTAL HANSON

FOR THE THRESHER

Rice’s Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment hosted its annual cultural extravaganza, ¡Ritmo! on Saturday, Jan. 27.

The event, themed “Lo Que No Me Mata, Me Alimenta,” translating to “What Doesn’t Kill Me, Nourishes Me,” aimed to celebrate the resilience of the Latine community.

The theme of resilience rang true as HACER’s Cultural Events Committee, in charge of organizing Ritmo, grappled with a $6,000 budget cut. Melissa Mar, a member of the Cultural Events Committee, expressed disappointment in the reduced financial support from the university, sponsors and Rice figures.

“Throughout the committee all of us kind of agreed that we felt a little bit under supported and we felt that maybe Rice didn’t place as much value on the event as we had hoped,” Mar, a Duncan College junior, said.

Committee head Camila DeAlba also

noted President Reggie DesRoches’ absence from the donor list. She said this was a change from the regular, annual support HACER has received in the past from both DesRoches and David Leebron, DesRoches’ predecessor.

“One of the biggest things for us has been that President DesRoches hasn’t responded to us this year,” DeAlba, a Jones College junior, said.

Kimberly Vetter, the Director of Presidential Communications, said in a statement to the Thresher that this lack of funding was an administrative oversight.

“The president has consistently supported HACER since he has been president,” Vetter wrote in an email to the Thresher. “This recent request was an administrative oversight, and we plan to reimburse HACER for their expenses and look forward to supporting their next event.”

At the time of publication, DeAlba said that information about reimbursement had not yet been communicated to HACER.

While the budget for Ritmo has already said. “There was a mariachi band, and I been finalized, she added, HACER is was tearing up … I was like, ‘Oh my god always open to donations for future events, that’s me right there’ … so to me, this is like and she hopes to see DesRiches at future home.”

Mar said that this sort of emotion — cultural showcases.

This year’s decreased budget was a feeling connected to home and cultural roots — is one of Ritmo’s biggest goals. curveball for the committee, she added.

“Every year it kind of brings me to tears, “We’ve been running around trying to figure out where to cut budgets and who and I’ve talked to people where they’re like, ‘I was in tears too,’” Mar said. “And else to ask for help,” DeAlba said.

The decrease in sponsors limited food I’m like, ‘That was the goal. I wanted you servings, in turn capping the number of guys to feel overwhelming joy and a sense at-the-door tickets available. In past years, of community.’”

Aside from music, Ritmo featured a HACER has been able to sell over 100 atthe-door tickets. This year, at-the-doors variety of unique acts. These included tickets were capped at 20, forcing students an Argentine Tango performed by Indre and Rodrigo and a to sign on to a samba performance lengthy wait list in by Sambabom hopes of attending DanceHouston that Ritmo. was complete with D e s p i t e I wanted you guys to feel large headgear, financial hurdles, overwhelming joy and a bejeweled unitards Ritmo dazzled sense of community. and sparkly heels. with musical The night ended by p e r f o r m a n c e s . Melissa Mar offering attendees Students Elmo HACER CULTURAL EVENTS an array of Latin Garza and Teddy COMMITTEE MEMBER food including Hubbard performed musical renditions that had the whole pupusas, tacos, empanadas and conchas, crowd singing along. Rice’s student band all from Latine owned businesses.

Many attendees, like Naidely De La Los Búhos del Norte got the audience on Cruz, said they felt that Ritmo was a beacon their feet and dancing.

Attendees said the music also served as of cultural pride, echoing sentiments of an opportunity for students to strengthen belonging and empowerment.

“I feel like Hispanics don’t really have ties with their culture. Arianna Porras, a Sid Richardson College sophomore, said Ritmo much representation here at Rice, and helped her reconnect with her heritage as [Ritmo is] that one night where we can just show off to everyone our culture,” De La a freshman and continues to do so today.

“My freshman year I spent a lot of time Cruz, a Brown College junior, said.

“Ritmo is like a voice for me,” Porras not being connected to my roots and I was really sad about it. My first Ritmo show added.

Hadley Medlock contributed to reporting.

I remember being so emotional,” Porras

Review: Disney’s ‘Percy Jackson’ is the adaption fans deserve Percy journeys to the Underworld to confront Hades and prevent a celestial THRESHER STAFF war. Complex gods, glistening Olympus Before 2023, being a Percy Jackson fan and true heroes make this adaptation an instant classic. was hard.

Perhaps the best part, though, is how Readers’ obsession began with “The Lightning Thief,” the first well the actors bring the novel’s characters installment in author Rick Riordan’s series to life – it’s like Rick Riordan shook a copy about Greek gods and their demigod of “The Lightning Thief” and they fell out. children, which was released in 2005. Jeffries delivers each line with Annabeth’s self-assurance.

Simhadri Over the decades, Riordan expanded the signature series to include Roman mythology, then bursting into song in episode three would Egyptian, then Norse. The “Riordanverse” have made his book counterpart proud, and Scobell is Percy reincarnated. While grew immensely with its fans.

But unlike our “Harry Potter” fan Logan Lerman did his best in the 2010 counterparts, we never got a good film adaptation, Scobell’s personality is so adaptation. Two movies were released, much like Percy’s that you can tell he infamously unsupported by Riordan doesn’t have to act too hard.

With a significantly larger budget than for starring actors visibly older than the the original films, the original heroes and series just does more lacking the books’ to immerse viewers magic. For 18 years, into Percy’s world fans defended the Where to watch: Disney+ than the original books in the face of the film. Camp Half lackluster movies.

Blood’s scenes are In May 2020, though, Riordan announced that he filmed in British Columbia’s Minaty Bay, would oversee a new series adaptation the scenic enclosure that is everything with a handpicked cast. Disney’s “Percy readers imagined when we were Percy’s Jackson and the Olympians” premiered age. The bustling campers in signature in December 2023 and released a new orange Camp Half Blood t-shirts, wide cast episode every Tuesday night, concluding of urban monsters and expertly animated crossovers between the fantastical and the first season on Jan. 30.

Like the books, the series follows Percy real worlds are guaranteed to create new Jackson (Walker Scobell), the 12-year-old fans.

The score is also gorgeous and gives son of Poseidon, as he realizes his divine heritage and embarks on his first quest fans an iconic theme song, just like “Harry as a demigod. With Annabeth (Leah Sava Potter” fans had in the early 2000’s. Also, Jeffries), the daughter of Athena, and his Percabeth is in full swing. Watching Percy satyr friend Grover (Aryan Simhadri), and Annabeth’s enemies-to-friends-to-

MUNA NNAMANI

lovers journey over the episodes is intensely gratifying after having to wait five books for them to confess their feelings for each other.

A common critique from older fans is that the jokes and dialogue are more childish than they expected.

However, it must be remembered that the books were written for a middle schooler audience, and the main characters are 12 years old. Also, while the humor is more targeted towards the children, “PJO” still contains all the angst from the books.

Most jarring is the heroes’ broken relationships with their godly parents.

Percy resents Poseidon for abandoning him, and Annabeth knows that Athena’s love for her is strictly conditional. We watch over and over again as demigod children are abandoned, used as pawns in celestial spats and encouraged to make sacrifices to their parents just to catch their attention. The Greek gods’ neglect of their own children becomes the true cause of the series’ conflict.

What really roped in the original “Percy Jackson” fans, though, wasn’t the

COURTESY DISNEY parental angst (we were in fifth grade) ­­ — it was the magical world that the series portrays.

Here, the mythology lore is presented in such twisted, layered glory that old fans are inspired to pick up their childhood “D’aulaire’s Greek Myths” again. The minotaur in episode one can skewer Percy like a shish kebab, but Lin Manuel Miranda also plays Hermes. Medusa’s lair is littered with victims made of stone, but the god Dionysus is a washed up camp counselor. Just like the books, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” brilliantly takes on the classics.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024 • 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Review: ‘The Zone of Interest’ is a chilling portrait of evil MAX SCHOLL

gossip sessions with her friends. Rudolf (Christian Friedel), Hedwig’s husband and the commandant of Auschwitz, spends most Films about the Holocaust face an of his time tending to bureaucratic matters, impossible question: How are we meant signing off orders orchestrating genocide to render such an atrocity? Countless with “et cetera.” In his free time, he enjoys filmmakers since the end of World War II swimming and horseback riding with his have tried to answer this question, some – children in the wilderness surrounding the like Steven Spielberg in “Schindler’s List” camp. Meanwhile, gunshots, screams and – answering that we must try to voice its cries from the camp make up the ambience individual stories as much as possible, and alongside birds singing and the Höss others – like Claude Lanzmann in his 9 ½ children laughing. The atrocities not even hour documentary, “Shoah” – answering twenty meters away have just become mere background noise. that it is ultimately impossible.

Glazer doesn’t try to dramatize or Director Jonathan Glazer offers a sensationalize different approach to Auschwitz. The film’s this question. With cinematography “The Zone of Interest,” is cold, bleak and he replies that we Director: Jonathan Glazer distant; cameras must stare evil right in are either seated on its face. In doing so, tripods or bolted to Glazer crafts one of the most powerful cinematic statements on walls, voyeuristically watching the Höss’ the Holocaust, making his film a necessary routines. Glazer does not show any graphic violence or gore, but rather implies it watch.

1943, Auschwitz. The idyllic Höss family through sound, smoke and shadows. The home lies just outside of the camp. Hedwig interior of the camp is never shown, only Höss (Sandra Hüller) spends her days amplifying the film’s looming sense of terror tending to its large garden of flowers and – the camera assumes the Höss’ ignorance, taking care of her children. She tries on fur showing how mundane they treat their coats stolen from prisoners and has tea-time lives in the presence of pure evil as the FOR THE THRESHER

Review: ‘Wall Of Eyes’ cements The

Smile as more than just a side project JACOB PELLEGRINO

THRESHER STAFF

COURTESY XL RECORDINGS The Smile is a group composed of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, and Tom Skinner of jazz group Sons of Kemet. More than just a side project, The Smile has been a venue for some of Yorke and Greenwood’s most vital music in years, filling in the gaps since Radiohead’s most recent album was released in 2016. The band originally formed during COVID-19, allowing the musicians to continue recording new music and utilizing Greenwood’s fresh dimensionality ideas, even when the other members of sense of their band were unavailable. “Wall of in the track, and the album as a whole, Eyes” is The Smile’s sophomore album, with a full, layered sound that leaves following the acclaim of their debut and more to hear and notice on repeat listens. solidifying the group as a musical entity The song’s main image of a “wall of eyes” evokes the idea of caving to public — not just a one-off.

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, perception, becoming “hollow” and made famous by The Beatles, The Smile losing personality as the subject of the does not cave to external influences on song “change[s] to black and white.”

“Read The Room” is another highlight their album, creating something singular.

When asked about his lyrical process in from the album, which consists of a faster an interview with New Musical Express, alternating instrumental that seems to Yorke likened himself to “a really bad loop around the listener. Paired with sculptor who doesn’t really know what more aggressive and jagged vocals in the they’re doing.” Much of what the band verses, the track locks into a tense groove, does is crafted and honed in the studio, broken by a sudden change into a smooth, melding together the trio’s creative almost ballroom-like vocal chorus over sparse instrumentation. The switches influences.

“I turn up with a bunch of phone between tension and release create an recordings; doodles that are not engaging listen, with a nice instrumental even edited or formed and are fairly interlude thrown in for good measure.

Right after “Read shapeless,” Yorke told The Room,” The Smile NME. “We put them into emphasizes their range shape then this thing with a funk groove on appears that has this Top Track: ‘Wall of Eyes’ “Under Our Pillows.” momentum.”

Another great example The album begins of the loose, associative with the title track, “Wall Of Eyes,” an otherworldly song lyricism throughout the album, this track with loose lyrics that leave room for focuses on dreams and giving in to sleep. listener interpretation. “Wall Of Eyes” With an incredibly satisfying breakdown, opens with a simple, upbeat guitar the song itself seems to drift away, part and low percussion that carries on mirroring its lyrical themes as Yorke’s throughout the whole track, giving it a vocals become more psychedelic and the sense of momentum. Yorke’s dreamlike song moves on without him, eventually vocals put the music into another realm becoming subsumed by digital noise.

Editor’s Note: This article has been and are contrasted by a lower voice counting “One, two, three, four, five” cut for print. Read the full story online at for much of the track. There’s a heavy ricethresher.org

concentration camp’s presence still lurks in every scene.

The film draws from the concept of “the banality of evil” coined by political theorist Hannah Arendt in her reportage of the Nuremberg Trials. She argued that evil is not always monstrous or irrational but often the result of ordinary people following orders, routines and norms without questioning their morality or consequences. Glazer shows us how the Hösses have integrated atrocity into their everyday lives and how they have dismissed it from their “zone of interest.”

Glazer’s film functions as a reminder of the Holocaust and what allowed it to happen in the first place: the transformation of evil into something banal. With a stroke of great self-awareness, Glazer argues that we’ve turned the banality of evil into just another banality and another concept to be poked and prodded at with sterile intellectualizing and abstract philosophizing. In this sense, atrocity has been dismissed from the ‘zone of interest,’ just like what the Hösses have done with the evil that lies just over their garden wall.

Critically, Glazer’s film has not gone unrecognized – “The Zone of Interest” won the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and has been nominated

COURTESY A24

for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. However, it’s important to see the film beyond its technical prowess or mastery of craft, and to see it for what it really is – a deeply alarming statement about recognizing evil. There is a profound, nauseating darkness to “The Zone of

Review: ‘Les Misérables’ is powerful, enthralling and not miserable overall they added more to the show than they took away. In particular, the use of THRESHER STAFF the projections on the cyclorama was an “Les Misérables,” a show centered ingenious way to demonstrate the scenes around the 1832 June Rebellion in France under the streets of Paris in the sewers.

The show also had an excellent use of that follows one man’s path from rags to riches and saving those along the way, both stage combat and stunts, with many arrived at Houston’s Hobby Center Jan. 24. characters falling off of various high points The French club at Rice took full advantage and into the battle wreckage or rivers of the visit, arranging guest lecturers to below. Gasps from the audience were come speak about the French Revolution, regularly heard as one character or another as well as arranging a lunch with cast fell to their end, and those that fell in view of the audience displayed admirable members for all students to attend. commitment to their Many students parts as they landed on tried to get tickets top of what must have through the student been uncomfortable discount the club Performed at: Hobby Center hard wood. The show offered, with several also used several live hopefuls waitlisted gunshots to add to the for a ticket before the show. Regular-priced tickets also flew intensity of the scenes, a striking auditory off the website for the show, and press choice in contrast to the continuation of tickets came with the caveat that you had the battle soundtrack sequence that was to RSVP at least three times to ensure your being played.

“Les Misérables” is one of the most attendance to the show. Needless to say, the show was raved about before the first successful shows Broadway has ever seen, and this tour serves as a reminder curtain even rose.

Overall, the performance of “Les as to why. The show is dramatic, features Misérables” proved to be one of the most beautiful songs and dances and taps into spectacular shows the Hobby Center the French Revolution, a part of history has seen in a while. The singers were that people remain fascinated with to this amazing, complementing each other day. The cast of the production delivered a while still proving to be individual vocal fantastic performance, and they definitely powerhouses. From start to finish, they swept the city of Houston into the songs of captivated the audience, even the large revolution. percent who snuck in after the opening number with their phone flashlights glaring for the world to see. Each number proved to be a dramatic affair, and the show received a standing ovation at the end.

The show’s set featured a cyclorama backdrop, which is the very last backdrop that a show has on stage. “Les Misérables” exhibited remarkably good usage of the cyclorama by mixing the solid colors with projections. Shows at the Hobby Center have tried to go for this effect before (such as Legally Blonde last spring) with limited success. Usually, putting projections on the cyclorama looks tacky, as if the production didn’t have a big enough budget to spring for building anything.

In the case of “Les Misérables,” however, the projections perfectly complemented the COURTESY MATTHEW MURPHY & scenes that they hung above. Though some EVAN ZIMMERMAN of the projections went overboard in the obviousness of what they were displaying,

SARA DAVIDSON

10 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024

THE RICE THRESHER

Rice’s McCaffrey showcasing talents at Senior Bowl ANDERSEN PICKARD

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

As the 2024 NFL Draft inches closer, junior wide receiver Luke McCaffrey has earned an opportunity to showcase

himself on one of the biggest stages.

Last Sunday, the Rice football star arrived in Mobile, Ala., for the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl. The event gives draft prospects a chance to showcase their skills in front of NFL scouts and general

COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS Redshirt junior wide receiver Luke McCaffrey runs after catching a pass against Florida Atlantic University. McCaffrey led the Owls in receiving yards this year with 992 yards, more than double the second place player.

managers through a series of events, including meetings, practices and a game.

“Pretty much every [general manager] in the National Football League will be there,” head coach Mike Bloomgren told the Thresher. “All these scouts will be there. It’ll be a chance for him to go against literally the best [defensive backs] because this is the top All-Star Game in America.”

Very few Rice prospects have earned the opportunity to participate in the Senior Bowl. McCaffrey is the first Owl to attend since kicker Chris Boswell in 2014 and the program’s first wide receiver since Bert Emanuel in 1994.

McCaffrey has been placed on the National Team and will be coached by Callie Brownson, the Cleveland Browns’ wide receivers coach. Brownson was the first full-time female NCAA Division I football coach and the first woman to coach an NFL position group in a regularseason game.

McCaffrey will catch passes from a pair of potential first-round quarterbacks in the University of Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington University’s Michael Penix Jr., as well as Sam Hartman from the University of Notre Dame.

Senior Bowl practices began on Tuesday, Jan. 30, and will continue through Thursday, Feb. 1. Players will then participate in a variety of activities, including the Mardi Gras Player Parade

and the Path to the Draft Team Walk, before the game kicks off on Saturday afternoon.

There will be plenty of pressure and fanfare, but McCaffrey hopes to ignore the noise and be present.

“It’s a long week, you have a lot of meetings, a lot of practice,” McCaffrey said. “The biggest thing is just enjoy the moment. So much happens that it’s easy to get hurried up or get rushed.”

McCaffrey originally transferred to Rice in 2021 following two seasons at the University of Nebraska. He credits Rice for allowing him to learn more about himself, especially off the field.

“When I first got here, I was looking for my identity and who I was that I could be confident in, what I could be proud [of],” McCaffrey said. “The Rice community and the atmosphere surrounding campus kind of allowed me to figure that out to an extent, just from a level of freedom and a level of patience.”

After his first season with the Owls, McCaffrey changed from quarterback to wide receiver. He caught 68 passes for 963 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023, helping Rice reach the First Responder Bowl. He believes his experience under center has allowed him to excel at wide receiver.

Editor’s Note: This article has been cut off for print. To read more, visit ricethresher. org.

New culture: Baseball gears up for 2024 season ANA RIVERA

FOR THE THRESHER As Rice Baseball prepares for its spring season, the echoes of last year’s triumphs and challenges still resonate.

After finishing 21-37 overall and 9-21 against conference opponents last year, junior catcher Manny Garza believes that this year will prove different.

“I can’t wait for these coming series that we have here at home, especially. I feel like it’s going to be a really special year to be a Rice Owl, so I’m really excited,” Garza said.

According to Garza, the team has bolstered its lineup in the offseason, pushing a different mentality heading into the season.

“I feel like we have a lot of older guys coming in,” Garza said. “I feel like as a team we have a lot of depth. We have a lot of versatility on the offensive side and the defensive side, and I feel like as a whole team we’re ready, for sure.”

Their entry into the American Athletic Conference marks a significant milestone for the Owls, introducing a higher level of competition and new opportunities for growth. Their pre-season lineup is challenging, featuring teams like the University of Notre Dame, reigning College World Series champions No. 4 Louisiana State University and Stanford University — a team that has made College World Series appearances in three consecutive seasons. Tough conference battles await, too, against teams like No. 11 East Carolina University, the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of Houston.

Cruz said the team is motivated for the season ahead.

“The beauty of what we have right now with our team is that there’s a lot of guys [who] have a lot of ‘why’s,’” Cruz said. “They have a purpose, they have a

mission of why they are here. We got a lot of guys from a lot of different schools [who] have transferred in. It’s simply because of our touch that we have when it comes to being hands on, with trying to help them reach their goals, and so they bought in.”

The team’s focus on unity and shared goals extends beyond the diamond, players say. Junior pitcher Parker Smith notes that he’s seen a change in culture throughout the offseason, something that will help the Owls in the course of the season.

“Compared to teams in the past, we definitely have a better locker room culture and culture overall,” junior pitcher Parker Smith said, “Because at the end of the day, that’s what you fall back on when things get tough: the bonds that you have with your teammates. Being able to have a strong bond and knowing that your team is going to back you up is huge.”

According to Smith, despite the challenges the team will face this season, it’s this culture and reliance on teammates that will be imperative to a successful season, “especially when it’s a game [of] failure.”

“Baseball is a game of failure,” Smith said. “You’re bound to fail at one point in time. You’re going to have to rely on your teammates to back you up and pick you up.”

Regardless of the difficulties and expectations for the upcoming season, Cruz believes that the team has a strong shared mentality instrumental for a breakout season.

“The guys have decided that this is something very important to them. They want to be successful, and they want to win,” Cruz said.

The Owls will open their season against the University of Notre Dame at Reckling Park on Friday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. quam.

COURTESY LIZA DECAPRIO – RICE BASEBALL The Rice baseball team high fives each other after an intrasquad preseason game last week.

The Owls will kick off their season against the University of Notre Dame on Friday, Feb 16.

EDITORIAL CARTOON

“Owl-American”

HONG LIN TSAI / THRESHER “Can’t wait to watch the next season of Rice baseball!”

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024 • 11

SPORTS

Rice Swim celebrates seniors Prior to their meet against the University of Miami on Jan. 27, the swim team celebrated their seniors. The senior class includes Lauren Brantley, Mimi Filkin, Briana Gellineau, Lauren Hurt, Imogen Meers, Elizabeth Myers and Hunter Smith.

PHOTOS BY KATHLEEN ORTIZ / THRESHER

KATHLEEN ORTIZ

THRESHER STAFF

Lauren Hurt College: Sid Richardson Pre-meet meal: Spaghetti and meatballs. I’ve been eating that meal the night before every meet since I was like 12 years old.

Fake event: If I had to make up any event, I would make the 4x200 medley relay because I think medley relays are so fun to watch, and that’s the next distance up that doesn’t already exist. Good luck to the people swimming it, though. Couldn’t be me, y’all stay safe out there.

Favorite memory: My favorite Rice Swim memory is when [head coach] Seth [Huston] found [a] kid’s underwear on the pool deck and put it on the stick of a pool net and was trying to touch us with them while we were swimming. It reminded me that I’m so grateful to have such a fun coach and be a part of an amazing program that I feel like genuinely makes my life better.

Hunter Smith College: Duncan Pre-meet meal: Sausage egg and cheese biscuit, Mott’s applesauce squeeze and water Pump up music: Anything Hip Hop or even House Music. I like to listen to fast beats which get me pumped up. My top meet songs is Big Sean’s “I Don’t Fuck With You,” Kanye’s “Black Skinhead” and T.I.’s “Bring Em Out.” Favorite memory on the team: My favorite memory was the open water swim we did as a team on training trip 2023. You can ask anyone. I was terrified of the jellyfish and just completing the swim overall. I went through the five stages of grief. My assistant coach Jess was about to swim along with me. When it was my turn to go, my group said we would stay together. I hopped in with no one around me at first, but I remember mid-swim being surrounded by others and screaming across the ocean because we were all lost for a moment. My team cheering me on helped, and we ended the day body surfing waves until sunset. This is my favorite memory because there were some people who were a little cautious or scared to complete the swim. Still, the team cheered them up and helped them along the way by being a swim partner, and that shows our compassion for one another and the ability to push each other forward.

Mimi Filkin College: Hanszen Pre-meet meal: For the morning before a race, if we’re at home I love making a smoothie bowl. Good for hydration and some energy.

Pump up music: Honestly, I listen to anything before a meet. Just songs that I love will always get me hype even if they’re really sad. Before my best race of the season I listened to “illicit affairs” by Taylor Swift, so a very sad song but it worked.

What will be missed most about Rice swimming: I​​ will definitely miss the community the most. The swim team is the best group of my favorite people. I will definitely still have that community after leaving, but I will miss seeing them everyday and goofing around at practices and meets with them so so much. I’ll even miss being grumpy at 5 a.m. with them. It’s all gone by way too quickly. I wish I could slow down time and make these last few months last forever.

Rice reintroduces diving team after more than 30 years KATHLEEN ORTIZ

THRESHER STAFF

The temperature was hovering around the low 50s Tuesday morning when President Reggie DesRoches and Athletic Director Tommy McClelland jumped into Rice’s outdoor competition swimming pool alongside the entire swim team.

McClelland and DesRoches, dressed in their Rice pullovers and khakis, hopped into the water to celebrate their announcement that the swim program would add a dive team in the coming season.

“I thought our coach was joking after the announcement when he said President DesRoches and Mr. McClelland should jump in with us,” junior Morgan Bartley said. “When they actually jumped in with us, I was so shocked. I have no idea if they knew they would be asked to do that but they’re great team sports for doing so, especially in a full outfit.”

The dive team announcement comes less than a year after the swim team outscored their opponents in the American Athletic Conference championship in swimming points but placed fourth overall when diving points were factored into the final score.

“Year after year, our swimmers have produced championship-caliber results and countless event champions, but the lack of diving points has prevented them from standing at the top of the podium as

a team,” McClelland said in a press release Jan. 30. “We are committed to winning our conference in every sport, and the return of the diving team is a vital step forward.”

Rice previously had a dive team from 1975 through 1991 before the team was discontinued “due to constraints related to changes in NCAA specifications for pool facilities.” Head coach Seth Huston said that they are starting the search for a dive coach and recruiting between two and three freshmen and transfer divers for the upcoming season.

“Even having a couple of divers would help us alleviate this [point] gap and finally show just how great and competitive the Rice swimming — and now diving — program is,” Bartley said.

Excitement over the announcement began Monday, Jan. 29 when the Rice swimming Instagram account posted a graphic with Tuesday’s date and the words “COMING SOON.” The caption read, “Stay tuned.” The swimmers weren’t initially told what it meant, but a dive team was on their minds.

“Honestly, I guessed it was going to be diving related,” sophomore Mia Nagle said. “The athletic department has never baited us with a coming soon post before, so I knew it had to be something big. With where we want to be in the conference and what we lack [centering] around needing a diving program, I just had a funny feeling that’s what we were going to get, and I’m happy that we did.”

KATHLEEN ORTIZ / THRESHER President Reggie DesRoches, far left, Athletic Director Tommy McClelland, second to left, and the swim team celebrate Tuesday morning’s news by hopping into Rice’s swimming pool.

Despite the team pestering their coaches to give them the surprise early, they held off until Tuesday. As they were warming down before heading to lift weights, the team started to notice cameras, a drone and members of the Rice administration making their way into the pool area.

“The team was ecstatic that we are not just getting a dive team, but we will have one next year,” Bartley said. “A few other teammates and I assumed the announcement would be about a dive team … [but] we thought (it) might be something that started after my grade, juniors, were long gone.”

The Rice Competition Pool already houses several one-meter and three-meter diving boards, but, according to Rice Athletics, the team will add a hot tub, video equipment and heat lamps for dive training specifically. The athletic department is also working on a 10-meter training and diving dry room with tumbling, dry board and trampoline equipment.

While Rice will go without a dive team to this year’s conference championship in Dallas on Feb. 22, it’ll be for the last time.

“I definitely want to sincerely thank President DesRoches and our vice president and director of athletics, Mr. McClelland,” Bartley said. “[I want to thank them] for seeing the potential in our program and giving us the ability to show not only what we are capable of, but also giving us a fighting chance at a conference title.”

12 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024

BACKPAGE

BACKUP POSITIONS FOR THE ASPIRING CAB POLITICIAN With elections beginning this week, many of you may have found yourself on the wrong side of the ballot. Fret not, for there are still some attractive open positions left in your college government that you can use to bolster that resume.

SUPREME COMPOSTER This new elected position will help the college’s Eco Reps by sifting through the compost bins to remove non-compostable waste and consuming the leftovers to outsource waste processing from Moonshot Compost to more traditional methods.

Sustainability!

COLLEGE EXTERMINATOR Become a local hero as the lone soul brave enough to take care of your college’s roaches, rats, bats, squirrels, vengeanceseeking spirits, spiders, etc. (Raid Spray/swatters/traps/heavy shoes expended will be billed to your Payment Suite account)

MATERNAL VICE PRESIDENT

If Internal and External didn’t work out, the new MVP role will take on a traditional motherly role over the college. Tasks include telling bedtime stories, helping students put on their boots, and breastfeeding the Beer Bike bike team to maximum strength.

COLLEGE JESTER Why be the CJ when you could be the CJ? Tasks include learning several silly little dances and slapstick routines to entertain the President, Vice Presidents, and A-Team. Privileges include allowance into presidential feasts and exemption from beheading sentences by the College Court.

RHA DELIVERY REPRESENTATIVE

Clutch up by dead dropping condoms under room doors in emergencies or for students who are scared to go grab them.

PRIME MINISTER We are not sure what they do.

SERVERY FOOD CRITIC

No more taking chances on the Plant-Based Ground Taco Meat! The college SFC writes detailed culinary reviews before every meal. Sure, they’ll have to wake up for breakfast every day, but it’s an honor to serve.

RUPD STAKEOUT LIAISON Monitors college lot for illegally parked vehicles and alerts both Rice Parking Enforcement and vehicle owners at the same time.

STREAMING SORCERER

Logs into commons TV with parents’ streaming logins for the college to mooch off of.

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.