The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Rice settles financial aid lawsuit for $33.75 million

PRAYAG GORDY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Rice reached a $33.75 million settlement in the financial aid “cartel” lawsuit, according to Friday court filings. Rice denied wrongdoing in the settlement.

The class action lawsuit, filed in 2022, accuses Rice and 16 other elite universities of illegal price-fixing that decreased aid to students. Ten universities have now settled for a cumulative $284 million.

The 17 universities collaborated on “principles” for calculating financial need, which was permitted under Section 568 of the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 for need-blind universities. However, the plaintiffs allege that some of the 17 defendant

universities were not truly need-blind, and others — like Rice — should have known that their peers did not qualify for inclusion into the eponymous 568 Presidents Group.

In a statement to the Thresher, Rice denied unfairly limiting need-based financial aid.

“Rice is committed to transforming the lives of students and supporting Owls of all socioeconomic backgrounds through its generous, loan-free financial aid programs and need-blind admissions,” Jeff Falk, the assistant vice president for strategic communications, wrote. “The university never conspired to decrease aid for its students.

“The Rice Investment, our signature program to meet the needs and potential of all students, will continue to provide scholarship and grant

opportunities to deserving students,” Falk added.

Rice students who enrolled after Fall 2003 can qualify for the settlement class if they are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who received need-based financial aid covering some — but not all — tuition, fees and room and board. The average claimant will receive $2,000, according to the Angeion Group, which will administer the settlement. The Angeion Group estimates that some 200,000 students and alumni across the 17 universities may be eligible for the settlement.

Omar Syed, Rice’s general counsel, told the Thresher that Rice settled before trial — like some 95 percent of civil lawsuits, Syed added — to avoid

SEE FIN AID LAWSUIT PAGE

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Construction begins on two new residential colleges

scale of campus, stepping down towards [the 4-floor] Wiess College and outdoor recreational spaces.”

renderings. Both college commons will feature floor-to-ceiling glass windows that open into the colleges’ lawns and terraces.

Zeisha Bennett sees the world through her camera lens

NOAH BERZ THRESHER STAFF

Zeisha Bennett was shocked when her Myers–Briggs personality test labeled her an extrovert. She had always considered herself an introvert, but something had to change for her to go from bedroom self-portraiture to fashion shoots in Prague.

“I realized that I had to talk to people to get things that I wanted,” Bennett, a Baker College junior, said. “If I see random people [and] I’m like, ‘Hey, I really like your outfit, can I take your photo?’ I have to say that. I have to fake it till I make it. So that ‘fake-it-till-I-makeit’ became real.”

From Rice Magazine to the Moody Center for the Arts to the Czech Republic, Bennett’s fashion photography has been shown all around campus and the world. But according to art professor Geoff Winningham, her recent work is leaps and bounds above the assignments of hers that he once graded.

I realized that I had to talk to people to get things that I wanted.

Zeisha Bennett BAKER COLLEGE JUNIOR

Winningham was Bennett’s first photography teacher at Rice. As a freshman in Winningham’s introductory photography class, Bennett already knew she wanted to be a Visual and Dramatic Arts major with a concentration in film and photography, and Winningham says her enthusiasm was obvious to everyone in the class.

“I remember going to the Museum of Fine Arts on a field trip with our class, and I remember she asked more questions and seemed more involved than anybody,” Winningham said. “She was all there.”

Bennett had a penchant for clothing long before she held her first camera. Her obsession began in second grade, when she set her eyes on a fashion stencil book at her school’s annual book fair. Her passion for fashion reached new heights when she got to high school. Forced to wear a uniform to school every day, Bennett took every chance she got to dress up and get creative. These days, Bennett favors pantsuits, neckties and knit vests, and she said her personal style is inspired by ’90s sitcoms.

After the demolition of the old Sid Richardson College building finished last semester, construction of the two new colleges will begin soon.

The colleges will each have the capacity of over 300 beds, President Reggie DesRoches announced May 19, 2023 — similar to McMurtry, Duncan and Sid Richardson Colleges, which each have a current capacity of exceeding 300. The other eight colleges have between 232 and 291 beds, the Thresher previously reported.

Henning Larsen | Kirksey Architecture renderings obtained by the Thresher show that colleges 12 and 13 — which will have maximum heights of 11 and 10 floors, respectively — will “mediate between the larger [12-floor] scale of New Sid Richardson College, the Medical District and the lower

College 12 and the new servery, which both buildings will share, will be directly aligned with the John and Anne Grove. Both colleges will have two-tiered common spaces that open into an “elevated quad” belonging to college 12. The second-floor quad will hover among the treetops, featuring “multiple and diverse stairs, ramps, and lifts [that] offer ample connection up,” text on the renderings says.

Both colleges echo the architecture of New Sid Richardson, featuring a smaller and larger tower, the latter roughly double the height of the former, offering residential housing. Typical residential floor commons in either tower will include acoustic walls, concrete ceilings with exposed lighting systems, built-in wall seating and direct access to dorm rooms, according to the

The decision to build Rice’s newest two residential colleges comes from an increase in undergraduate enrollment, which will grow from 4,494 students in Fall 2023 to a projected 4,800 by Fall 2024. Rice aims to house 80% of its undergraduate population on campus, DesRoches wrote, which is an increase from the current 70% on campus. The new colleges would bring Rice’s oncampus capacity to over 3,500 students.

Vice President for Finance and Administration Kelly Fox said that the construction is being funded through a bond issuance, and Rice is actively fundraising for the buildings. The development of the new colleges are supposed to enable the university to further support students,

KENZIE LANGHORNE THRESHER STAFF

WILLIAM LIU / THRESHER

KELTON KECK / THRESHER

FROM FRONT PAGE

NEW COLLEGES

according to Fox.

“Colleges 12 and 13 are the first colleges that have been added since the university began increasing the size of the undergraduate class,” Fox wrote in an email to the Thresher. “These additions will enable us to better support students and continue the tradition of undergraduate excellence through the college system.”

Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman said the architecture team designing the new buildings is taking inspiration from

The architect team working on the new building designs have a great concept around creating a neighborhood in the south colleges area to build community.

Bridget Gorman DEAN OF UNDERGRADUATES

the surrounding architecture and nature while creating unique spaces.

“The architect team working on the new building designs have a great concept around creating a neighborhood in the south colleges area to build community,” Gorman wrote in an email to the Thresher.

RENDERINGS BY HENNING LARSEN |

KIRKSEY

ARCHITECTURE / OBTAINED BY THE THRESHER Colleges 12 and 13 will be located between New Sid Richardson College and Wiess College.

FROM FRONT PAGE FIN AID LAWSUIT

“escalating costs of defending itself in court.” In the filing detailing Rice’s portion of the settlement agreement, the plaintiffs and Rice agreed that the settlement would not be an admission of wrongdoing.

Deremy Leon, a junior at Sid Richardson, said he does not have a strong opinion regarding the new residential colleges, but thinks it is great that the Rice administration wants to expand.

“There are some things that Rice should do with the current colleges before they build new colleges. For example, redo [existing] colleges,” Leon said. “A lot of colleges have a big disparity in living quarters.”

Hanszen College freshman Makenna Mack said she thinks the new residential colleges will be an interesting addition to the Rice community.

“A lot of my consideration for Rice in the beginning when I was choosing where to go to school was actually its size and how small the undergraduate student population was,” Mack said. “I think adding two new residential colleges is only going to increase the undergraduate population. I just hope Rice can maintain its community and culture where we all know each other.”

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

Inaugural State of Black Event brings together students and administration

VIOLA HSIA ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Rice’s Black Student Association held the first annual State of Black event Feb. 16. According to event coordinator Sean Nyangeri, Black students attended the event to share their experiences of being Black at Rice with administrators.

According to Nyangeri, a McMurtry College sophomore, President Reggie DesRoches, Provost Amy Dittmar and several members of the Center for Civic Leadership attended the event.

“The ‘State of Black Life at Rice’ event was not only insightful but also thoughtprovoking and impactful, offering a platform for meaningful dialogue and reflection,” DesRoches wrote in an email to the Thresher. “The Black Student Association created an environment where students felt empowered to share their experiences and perspectives. As someone who believes in the power of dialogue and community engagement, I am truly inspired by the association’s work to create spaces for meaningful discourse and reflection.”

Alexander Byrd, the vice provost for diversity, equity and inclusion, also attended the event. He said he was pleased with how the event went.

“I am grateful for all of the work that members of the BSA put into organizing this year’s State of Black [at] Rice,” Byrd wrote in an email to the Thresher. “That the work took place in February, in the midst of so many related examinations and celebrations of Black life at Rice and beyond, was especially inspiring. As always there is good, hard work ahead

and there are people ready to find ways forward.”

Nyangeri said he was pleased with the participation from students and faculty.

“It went pretty well,” Nyangeri said. “Black students were able to get their concerns and voices heard [and] their questions asked. In terms of responses from administration, I thought overall they were very receptive.”

According to attendee Shungu Zimbwa, a sophomore from Lovett College, one of the topics discussed at length was experiencing Orientation Week as a Black student.

“Overall, we don’t have a lot of Black students, and they split you up [into groups during O-Week]. It’s just a lot of things that make it harder to show and be represented as a Black student during O-Week,” Zimbwa said. “[During O-Week] they want you to really love your college and things like that. But it’s just going to be hard, right? That’s something that did get translated a little bit [at the] State of Black.”

Zimbwa said another thing he was looking forward to discussing at the event was Rice’s outreach to Black communities in Houston.

“A lot of people were talking about [how] we’re [a] very small community, and then we’re split amongst the 11 colleges,” Harvey, a Sid Richardson sophomore, said. “It’s hard to find our community, especially within residential colleges.”

Harvey also said the event covered topics such as resources for firstgeneration low-income Black students, as well as protecting Black faculty at Rice.

Zimbwa said he hoped that there would be a more concrete set of goals in future events that Black students wish the faculty and admin to act on.

“I think we should have come together and had more specific action items we would want [the administration] to do,” Zimbwa said. “We could work from actual action items that we would do as a collective.”

Overall, we don’t have a lot of Black students, and they split you up [into groups during O-Week]. It’s just a lot of things make it harder to show and be represented as a Black student.

Shungu Zimbwa

LOVETT COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

“You see high schools that are predominantly Black, predominantly low income, and they’re very close to our school, but they’re very different from our school in the ways that they don’t have the certain resources that we have,” Zimbwa said. “I want Rice to do more to reach out to those communities, like talk to them and provide resources to establish connections.”

Imaje Harvey, one of the co-moderators, also said Black students feel isolated at Rice.

Harvey also said she hopes that the event will have a more concrete list of items Black students wish to get out of the discussion next year. “It was a great open conversation, but maybe [we should create] goals of what we want from this conversation,” Harvey said. “I think having it as an organic conversation was a great way to pilot it, but [we want] to be able to have everyone’s input on what exactly they want from this going forward. It’s just being able to see how these issues are being communicated to everyone and making sure that they’re actually being taken seriously and being worked on.”

Nyangeri said he was proud of establishing a dialogue between Black students and the administration at this event.

“I’m really proud of initiating and moderating [that dialogue],” Nyangeri said. “I thought it was really powerful.”

“Importantly, Rice never conspired with anybody to decrease aid for its students,” Syed wrote in an email. “But as the lawsuit went on, it became clear that remaining part of the collective of universities (the defendants in the lawsuit) was not in Rice’s best interests.”

Syed wrote that Rice has insurance for “certain larger liabilities,” and the settlement allows Rice to pay the $33.75 million over two years.

“Rice is also taking other careful steps to make sure this settlement does not impact our students or programs,” Syed wrote.

Syed did not answer a question asking if Rice’s financial aid practices will change.

Ten universities have now settled in the case, styled Henry v. Brown University. The University of Chicago settled first in August 2023 for $13.5 million. Yale, Emory, Brown, Columbia and Duke universities then settled in January for a collective $104.5 million, ranging from $18.5 million to $24 million per school.

Together with Rice’s $33.75 million — which was initially set aside in an October 2023 financial statement — Dartmouth, Northwestern and Vanderbilt universities announced settlements of $33.75 million, $43.5 million and $55 million, respectively.

In all, the 10 universities have paid $284 million — and seven other defendant universities remain.

In a Friday filing, the plaintiffs wrote that they aimed to increase settlement amounts with each successive agreement to “put pressure on the non-settling Defendants to settle imminently or risk having to pay significantly more by waiting.” Syed said Rice agreed to settle the case before Northwestern and Vanderbilt, which is why those universities will pay higher amounts.

The class action lawsuit was filed Jan. 9, 2022, the Section 568 exemption ended Sept. 30, 2022 and the 568 Presidents Group was dissolved Nov. 4, 2022.

Under Section 568, antitrust restrictions were waived for fully needblind universities so they could “use common principles of analysis” in determining need-based aid. However, some universities were need-aware in certain cases, such as waitlist admissions, so the plaintiffs claimed that any 568 Presidents Group agreement broke the exemption.

In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed in April 2022, the defendant universities argued that “need-blind schools retain Section 568’s protection where, as here, they are not plausibly alleged to have actual knowledge that other member schools are not need-blind.”

However, in a July 2022 “statement of interest” in the case the U.S. Department of Justice wrote that agreements between need-blind and need-aware universities are not exempt under Section 568, even if the fully need-blind universities like Rice lack “actual knowledge” that their collaborators are need-aware.

“As Defendants acknowledge, the 568 Exemption covers certain ‘agreements,’ not certain defendants,” the DOJ wrote. “An agreement either qualifies for the exemption or it does not.”

Faculty, students host vigil for scholars in Gaza

MARIA MORKAS ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Community members gathered in Ray’s Courtyard Feb. 26 for an event titled “Scholasticide is Genocide, a Vigil for our Colleagues in Gaza.”

Hosted by Scholars Against the War on Palestine and Rice Students for Justice in Palestine, the vigil honored “educators, scholars, medical professionals, researchers and students who have been killed in Israel’s genocidal campaign on Gaza,” according to an Instagram post from the two organizations.

Israel declared war on Hamas after approximately 1,200 people were killed in the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack. Nearly 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s military operations, and over 390 Gazan schools and universities have been destroyed, according to NPR.

Erica Augenstein, a graduate student in the history department, opened the vigil by asking gathered members to observe a moment of silence and to hold a candle throughout the event.

“We must begin by recognizing [that] our books, our papers and our articles now contain missing references, that our conferences now contain missing persons and that there are worlds of knowledge that we will never recover,” Augenstein said.

Scholars and university administrators represent higher education in America, Augenstein added, and “are under an obligation to broadcast truth to the world.”

“The attack on educational systems in Gaza is a deliberate program which aims to stifle the regenerative power that education and knowledge production lends to the social fabric,” Augenstein said. “The effect of knowledge strikes at all facets of human community.

“We ask what happens to a political, social and cultural entity, when those who know how to repair a human heart, whether they be a cardiologist or the heart surgeon, are gone?” Augenstein continued. “What happens to a society when it loses all its colleagues?”

Multiple faculty members and graduate and undergraduate students spoke at the event, sharing their own perspectives from their topics of study.

According to Abdel Razzaq Takriti, an associate professor of history and the ArabAmerican educational foundation chair in Arab studies who spoke at the vigil, scholasticide is “the systematic destruction of the educational life of an ethnic, national or religious group.”

“Scholars have identified at least 18 different features of scholasticide,” Takriti said in an interview with the Thresher after

the event. “They include egregious acts like the killing of scholars, or the infliction of serious injury upon scholars or students. But they also include the destruction of facilities, their usage as military barracks, the prevention of access to education, the invasion of campuses, the looting of campuses. There’s many different aspects to it.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing all of them in Gaza today; all of the universities of Gaza have been destroyed. Hundreds of faculty members were killed, thousands of students were killed,” Takriti continued.

Augenstein said that there’s no separation between scholasticide and genocide.

“Think about all the education that brings someone from childhood into being a cardiologist or being an engineer or being a historian,” Augenstein told the Thresher after the vigil. “It’s decades and decades of training, it’s dozens and dozens of people. That network is being dismantled via the genocide … You degrade the medical training, degrade the people that know how to build buildings that don’t fall over, and all of those little things that we take for granted in a functioning society fall apart.”

Augenstein said in an interview that, as of now, faculty at Rice and other institutions across North America have “not been empowered to denounce the genocide” and “have not been particularly well-organized amongst themselves.” This vigil was meant to bring faculty together and make it easier for them to speak, according to Augenstein.

Takriti said in an interview that there is a “systematic assault on Palestinian faculty” in the U.S. and an attempt to “silence Palestinian voices, with a strong anti-Palestinian sentiment expressed in the hallways of power.”

“Most students in this country are committed to the principles of justice, freedom and equality. That’s been at least my experience at Rice,” Takriti said. “However, unfortunately, the political class in this country does not share the same values as the young people that live in it.”

This article has been cut off for print. Read more online at ricethresher.org.

BCycle reopens on campus after hiatus

KENZIE LANGHORNE THRESHER STAFF

Rentable bike share stations reopened across campus the week of Feb. 12 after a temporary suspension in December 2022. The stations were reopened through a partnership between Rice’s Campus Services and Sustainability division and Houston Bike Share.

Houston BCycle, run by the nonprofit Houston Bike Share, is reopening closed stations after Houston city officials approved $500,000 to keep the network operational. The station suspensions came from a decision to cut costs to keep the network running.

“The return of BCycle stations furthers the Office of Sustainability’s goals of providing convenient, sustainable transportation options that allow individuals to navigate and enjoy campus and Houston,” Kristianna Bowles, the sustainability program coordinator, said in a statement to Rice News.

The nonprofit was struggling to stay afloat, with revenue not keeping up with costs, according to James Llamas ’12, the vice-chair of the BCycle board and volunteer director on the board of Houston Bike Share. The program’s goal is to make bikes widely available for people to use for transportation, recreation and health.

Llamas said the monthly membership increased from $13 to $19 per month for students to help cover the costs of running the program. However, with the memberships subsidized through Rice, anyone with a Rice email can get $5 off. With this price, people can access the entire operating network of 75 stations, including eight on-campus stations, to make unlimited trips of up to 60 minutes.

“If you go over an hour it’s an extra 10 cents per minute until you return the bike, since it is a bike share and not a bike rental,” Llamas said. “The other change that was made last week was for walkup users: If you have not signed up for a membership and want a bike to make a quick trip somewhere, it will cost you $1.25 to start and then 10 cents a minute.

Llamas said some students might not have the interest or skills to maintain their bikes, so bikeshares offer a way to take advantage of the accessibility.

“As a Rice alum, I’m envious of the transportation options that students have nowadays, both with the improved transit service and the new bus network that was implemented in 2015,” Llamas said. “A lot of students have bikes or scooters on campus because they’re very useful for getting to some of the farther reaches of

campus or locations nearby if people are living or going places off campus. Also, it’s fun [that] people love the program because it gives them a way to get out to Houston in a new way. Rice has some beautiful neighborhoods, great parks and lots of places to explore.”

Hanszen College Eco-Rep Tiana Johnson said bikeshares are a great use of sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation, and she is planning on using the bikes to take a trip with some of her friends.

“I think people should resort to using bikes instead of cars, which emit a lot of CO2 gasses to travel shorter distances,” Johnson, a sophomore, said. “There are many options for people to travel, so they can go to Hermann Brown [Park] or just across campus and not have to worry about parking. I think the bikes will become a more valued option.”

Although he has his own bike, Adarsh Gadepalli, a McMurtry College sophomore, said having shared bikes available to students makes accessing anywhere on campus convenient.

“It’s a great idea. Many people do not have a bike so it makes going around campus harder,” Gadepalli said. “People miss class because they do not want to walk all the way across campus. Even if you have a car, it’s not really super convenient because you have to park in one of the parking lots and walk from the parking lot to wherever you want to go.”

Sam Byrd, an internal communications writer for the Office of Public Affairs, said in an email to the Thresher that Rice needed to find a way to provide bicycle access without the demands of ownership, and the solution they chose is a partnership with BCycle.

“Rice is committed to helping create a fiscally viable model for the Houston BCycle system.” Byrd wrote. “That’s what drove us to continue working with BCycle through the station closures. We wanted Rice to be the laboratory for testing solutions for economically sustainable bicycle sharing in Houston.”

S.RES 22 passes, NSR to become college-elected position

BELINDA ZHU ASST. NEWS EDITOR

The Student Association passed a resolution to include an election for new students to select their new student representatives. Prior notice was waived, and the resolution passed Feb. 26.

According to Brown College

NSR Zain Rahman, this resolution aims to make NSRs feel like valuable and heard members of the Senate, hopefully inspiring them to be more active in the SA through their time at Rice.

It adds so much more enrichment to the NSR experience and generates a lot of interest in the SA.

“If NSRs [are] elected, they will feel even more incentive to help their colleges, and SA in general, as well as allow them to be more representative of their new community and new students across colleges,” Rahman told the Thresher after the resolution passed. “Furthermore, generally, the population of colleges will understand, ‘Hey, these NSRs are representing us. We voted for them,’ which will all help create more interest in the SA itself.”

Zain Rahman BROWN COLLEGE NSR

Rahman, who introduced the resolution, said there has been dwindling interest in the SA and hopes this bill will help to create more enthusiasm.

Baker College

NSR Asianna Junge said elections will help people to better understand what NSRs do.

“If NSRs were an elected position, I think that they’d have more information about what the position does because people have to know what they’re voting

for,” Junge said when the resolution was introduced. “I think this [bill] would also be a good step in a direction of informing more students at colleges of why [NSRs are] important.

Baker president Jonah Wagner said he was on the fence about the bill until he heard what Junge said.

“What Junge said yesterday got me thinking about how the process of being elected makes a lot of students more interested in running for NSR,” Wagner, a senior, said to the Thresher. “It will help to elevate the position of NSRs within colleges and encourage more students to pursue involvement in the SA”

Rahman said he proposed the resolution in part because S.RES 06, which aimed to give NSRs voting powers, wasn’t passed in September. He said this was primarily because voting members felt that since NSRs weren’t elected, they weren’t representative of the student body.

SA experience is having an idea of bills, working on them and voting,” Rahman said in an interview.

“As an NSR, I feel like the core of the

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

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‘He wasn’t one for slowing down’: Ron Sass remembered

PRASI DESAI SENIOR

WRITER

Ron Sass, a Rice professor for over 60 years, passed away Jan. 9. Sass was a renowned educator, winning the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence in Teaching, among many others. He retired in 2005 as Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and as a global climate change fellow at the Baker Institute.

Notably, Sass was recognized internationally for his research on methane emissions from rice fields in Texas and China, an endeavor spanning 25 years.

Sass frequently changed research focuses, moving to new areas every decade or so. Starting as a physical chemist, he eventually pivoted towards biology before becoming a climate scientist. Kathleen Matthews, a Stewart memorial professor

emeritus in BioSciences, described Sass as adventurous.

“He was interested in almost everything,” Matthews said.

Evan Siemann, Harry C. & Olga K. Wiess Professor of BioSciences, knew Sass since joining the faculty in 1998. Outside Sass’ academic pursuits, Seimann said he was an avid tennis player and played the guitar. Siemann said he often looked to Sass for advice as a newer faculty member, describing him as a kind person with an “impish smile.”

“He played a really important role in my life as a young father, husband and professor,” Siemann said.

According to Siemann, who now holds the same position that Sass once did, said he hopes to emulate the approachability that Sass showed him.

“He was an almost daily presence in my life from when I arrived at Rice, always calm and reassuring,” Siemann said. “I walked into his office without a meeting probably four or five times a week just to go and talk to him about whatever was on my mind … He always put down what he was doing.”

Thomas Killian, the dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, said Sass embodies Rice’s commitments to education and excellence.

“His fingerprint is very much on the departments he was in, the natural sciences and Rice University as a whole,” Killian said.

In a 2012 issue of the Rice Magazine, Sass emphasized his long-standing relationship with the university.

“Rice and I have been traveling together for more than half a century now … The relationship has been great, and I am thankful for it. I hope Rice is too,” Sass wrote.

In the same issue, Sass stated his best time at Rice was as magister of Hanszen College. In a May 1967 issue of the Thresher, then-Hanszen sophomore Warren Skaaren described Sass as “someone eager to uncover the newness of ideas.” As magister, Sass encouraged students developing Hanszen’s coffee house and radio station at the time.

Years later, after Skaaren’s graduation in 1969, he wrote a letter advocating for Sass’s nomination for the E. Harris Harbison Award for excellence in teaching. In the letter published in the Rice History Corner, Skaaren emphasized Sass’s talents in diplomacy.

Rice in the 1960s, according to Kean. In his 2012 Rice Magazine article, Sass recounted how he was once told by the Ku-Klux Klan to “get out of town or die” after a speech supporting integration.

“He, like many of the faculty at Rice, was eager to see that change come,” Kean said.

Summer Nijjer ’01 took classes from Sass while obtaining her doctorate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice, recounting how she’ll never forget him teaching the water cycle.

He was such a personable human being. You wanted to know him, to get to know him, and you enjoyed that you got to know him.

Summer Nijjer

RICE UNIVERSITY ’01

“When someone was needed to ‘bridge’ gaps, whether they were political, professional or generational, Dr. Sass was the first to be chosen by students and faculty,” Skaaren wrote. “Dr. Ronald Sass merits more than any I have met or read of.”

Melissa Kean, the former centennial historian of Rice University, came to Rice in 1991 as a Ph.D. student in the history department. Kean relied on Sass’s experience for her dissertation, and the two became friends.

“He was a massive source for me as a historian for context,” Kean said. “He told me to ignore what I was being told to do, and to do what he already knew I was good at.”

Sass was an advocate for desegregation and integration while a faculty member at

“He just brought stuff from the pages to life, making it both relevant and engaging,” Nijjer said. “[He had] that capability of … conveying concepts to different types of audiences and making them clear.”

Nijjer said Sass engaged often with undergraduate and graduate students alike.

“He was such a personable human being,” Nijjer said. “You wanted to know him, to get to know him, and you enjoyed that you got to know him.”

According to Kean, when interacting with Sass, she knew he felt at home when at Rice.

“You walked across campus with Ron Sass, and it was like he was in his own yard,” Kean said. “He loved life and all the stuff that you could get out of it.”

According to Killian, Sass continued teaching after retirement at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.

“He wasn’t one for slowing down,” Killian said.

New environmental engineering B.S. introduced beginning 2024

JAMES CANCELARICH SENIOR WRITER

A new environmental engineering bachelor of science degree is set to begin in Fall 2024, according to an email sent out to civil engineering students. Currently, environmental engineering is included under the civil engineering program, but the launch of the new program will formally separate the two programs into different degrees.

Kalil Erazo, an assistant teaching professor in civil and environmental engineering, said that he led the development of the new degree.

“Environmental engineers, in general, try to come up with solutions for pressing environmental challenges and problems,” Erazo said.

According to Erazo, most of Rice’s peer institutions have well-established environmental engineering programs because of the high amount of research being done in the field.

already strong environmental engineering resources.

“Our environmental faculty is very strong. Our graduate program is ranked 12th in the country by the U.S. News ranking … The coursework that we offer is very strong,” Erazo said. “We are at a point where we do not need new faculty or new courses for the breadth that is required for the program.”

Daniel Cohan, an associate professor of civil engineering, was also a part of the planning committee for the new degree. He said the program was designed to mirror the civil engineering B.S.

Environmental engineering is also one of the top-ten in demand for engineering disciplines … and it is in the top-ten for high-paying engineering jobs in industry.

Erazo also said that environmental engineers are in high demand for industry jobs and that he noticed a demand for the programs from undergraduates.

“The degrees are set up to provide fundamental math and science courses — core courses within our department — and then ensuring that students are taking a breadth of courses across four focus areas and specializing in one of those areas,” Cohan said. “Area one focuses on water quality, area two on air, climate, energy and sustainability, area three on infrastructure and disasters and area four on environmental management.”

Kalil Erazo ASST. CEVE TEACHING PROFESSOR

“We think that there is a big demand from the student side, and we hope to be able to fill that gap,” Erazo said. “Environmental engineering is also one of the top-ten in demand for engineering disciplines … and it is in the top-ten for high-paying engineering jobs in industry.”

Erazo said that Rice is well suited to launch the program because of its

Erazo said that civil and environmental engineering are often grouped together because of civil engineering’s history of attending to pollution and environmental damage.

“Most of the waste generated at the beginning when society is starting to develop came from civil infrastructure, [like] buildings and industries,” Erazo said.

A B.A. program for civil and environmental engineering is also offered, which Erazo said is a program for students

interested in environmental engineering but not planning to pursue engineering careers.

The new environmental engineering program will not be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology during the first few years of its implementation. Erazo says that ABET accreditation will take at least five years for the process to begin. According to ABET, graduating from an accredited program is almost universally required for an engineer to pursue licensure, which allows them to work on projects that offer a service to the public. However, Erazo says that licensure is not as important for environmental engineers as it is for other engineering disciplines.

“Although we have a long-term objective of getting accredited, initially it is not that big of a deal … because most of the graduates for the environmental track do not work on developing new designs that could put public safety in danger,” Erazo said. Erazo said that most of the work is in consulting, where a license is not required.

Wiess College senior Carrie Hashimoto said that she pursued a B.S. in civil engineering because of her interest in environmental engineering and is supportive of the new program.

“I think it’s really exciting that Rice has decided to add an environmental engineering major,” Hashimoto said. “I definitely wish it had been earlier because then I would have been able to have that major.”

Jenny Karsner, a Wiess freshman, said that she also chose to pursue a B.S. in civil engineering because of the environmental angle, but that she has mixed feelings about the changes.

Karsner said that based on her experience in civil engineering, many of the women in the program were drawn to the environmental aspect, and that a split in the major may lead to a gendered divide

ASHLEY ZHANG / THRESHER

between the two majors.

“Civil [engineering] is a very femaledominated engineering [program] … I think that is because of the environmental aspect tied into civil [engineering],” Karsner said. “I think when they split it up [there may be] a very prominent divide between women in environmental engineering … and in civil engineering.”

Cohan said that while the possible gender distribution of the majors was not considered during the creation of the major, he does not think that it will lead to any larger divide within the engineering department.

“This is a new degree offering within our civil and environmental engineering department. Many of the courses are the same … [and] students will be a part of all departmental activities and student clubs,” Cohan said.

COURTESY RICE UNIVERSITY

EDITORIAL

Students in need are blinded by financial aid process

Rice reached a $33.75 million settlement on Feb. 23 in the financial aid “cartel” lawsuit that alleged Rice, as well as 16 other peer institutions, unfairly limited aid for students at need-blind universities. Nine other universities have also settled in the case.

Rice maintains that it has provided the necessary financial aid for students and did not collude to decrease aid. But with tuition set to increase by 4.5% for continuing students and 9.9% for matriculating students, simply providing aid may not be enough. Rice must be more transparent about exactly how financial aid is calculated so that students can better advocate for their needs.

In recent years, Rice has endeavored to expand its financial aid policies with varied results. The Rice Investment, launched for the 2019-2020 school year, granted an additional $7 million in aid, Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva told the Thresher at the time. However, international students are not eligible to apply and information about inflation increase over time is not given on the Rice Investment website. For eligible students, the program has been deemed a success, but not all students are eligible and the amount of aid they may receive can be unclear.

75% of Rice graduates are debtfree, with an average federal student loan debt of $13,460, according to The Rice Investment’s 2021 Impact Report. Rice touts itself as meeting 100% of demonstrated need. Despite this, Thresher reporting last semester showed that some low-income students struggle to receive the money they were promised, demonstrating a greater

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

need for transparency in not only how financial aid packages are disbursed, but also how they adequately address socioeconomic gaps. As wages across the country remain stagnant while inflation rises, it’s critical that Rice shares the extent to which the The Rice Investment has actually increased in response to inflation and pledges to match increases in tuition accordingly.

Beyond increased transparency, there are other ways that Rice can expand the financial aid that it provides. Although Rice is considered a needblind university, this policy does not

Need-blind aid policies as they are currently applied seem to be more blind to students than they are to administrators, particularly at elite private colleges.

apply to the majority of international students, who make up 13% of the class of 2027. Brown University announced in January that it would extend its needblind admissions policy to international students. Other universities such as Dartmouth and Yale are also need-blind for international students. By following their lead, Rice could increase global diversity and make enrollment more accessible to students who may not be able to afford a total cost of attendance that now exceeds $80,000.

Whether or not these universities

have actually limited aid to deserving students, need-blind aid policies as they are currently applied seem to be more blind to students than they are to administrators, particularly at elite private colleges like those included in the lawsuit. 57% of Rice undergraduates receive financial aid, so the majority of students are reliant on receiving some or all of their tuition from the university with little recourse if something goes wrong. As with last semester, students feel that they are still being left in the dark by an unresponsive, secretive institution while their concerns for theirs and their family’s finances steadily loom.

Like our peers at the Brown Daily Herald and the Emory Wheel, we encourage the Rice administration to do more to make higher education accessible and to be transparent about financial aid. Tuition continues to rise disproportionately compared to inflation and thus to the aid given by The Rice Investment. International students, undocumented students and many others are too easily left behind by the current system of financial aid distribution. Students deserve to know why they are granted the money that they get and receive adjustments if they feel that it is insufficient to cover the costs of a highly selective university like Rice. Continuing to disburse financial aid in a closed-off and out-of-touch manner will only serve to limit opportunities for students and diminish their trust in Rice’s institutions.

Editor’s Note: Editor-in-chief Prayag Gordy recused himself from this editorial due to corresponding reporting in the news section.

Beyond Fondy 24/7: advocating for fairness

Editor’s Note: This is a letter to the editor 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. Letters to the editor are fact-checked to the best of our ability and edited for grammar and spelling by Thresher editors.

The author of this letter to the editor was granted anonymity because of the risk of employment-related disciplinary action.

An editorial “24/7 Fondy presents more cons than pros” published Jan. 16 raised valid concerns about the potential drawbacks of Fondren Library operating 24/7. However, this argument barely scratches the surface, overlooking a critical aspect — the well-being of the dedicated staff who operate the library.

It is imperative to consider that these individuals are not just employees but people with lives, families and aspirations. To give you a tiny glimpse of what it is like, from working prepandemic to now, keeping up with my outside life is challenging. Trying to ensure you can pay your bills and care for your family makes it exhausting to want to make plans. Some days after my shift, I head straight to bed, barely making conversation. While there is a never-ending pile of work to be done, the little things here at Rice make things manageable. Whether it is the peaceful walk to one of the coffeehouses, the occasional bakery good or the small conversations with staff from other departments, those little things make

some work days better — but the little things are only temporary and can only do so much.

I have learned that even though I have worked in this field for almost a decade and have a bachelor’s degree,

While education is undeniably

essential, the

constant demands on Fondren Library

often result

in misplaced blame on the institution itself. The university’s priorities, evident in allocations toward areas like the Academic Quad redesign instead of the library, need reevaluation.

Anonymous FONDREN LIBRARY STAFF MEMBER

the pay will still be low and the raises even lower. The current starting pay for library staff is a mere $15 per hour, a rate that, for some, barely allows them to make ends meet. Many workers possess college degrees and boast years of valuable library experience. This issue is exacerbated by the appalling pay received by our student workers, starting at just $9 per hour. If we genuinely advocate for a 24/7 library, it is only fair and just that we demand

better compensation for the staff who make it possible.

Adding insult to injury, specific library departments are not recognized as essential workers during disasters, denying them the compensation and recognition accorded to essential workers. Despite these challenges, library staff have demonstrated unwavering commitment, risking their safety to keep the library open during crises. Winter storms, the ongoing pandemic — we workers have gone above and beyond, ensuring accessibility to resources even in the face of adversity.

It’s disheartening to witness a focus on initiatives like “Fondy 24/7!” and associated petitions without a parallel emphasis on addressing the plight of the underappreciated library workers. While education is undeniably essential, the constant demands on Fondren Library often result in misplaced blame on the institution itself. The university’s priorities, evident in allocations toward areas like the Academic Quad redesign instead of the library, need reevaluation.

The call for extended library hours is valid but should not overshadow the pressing need to improve the conditions of the dedicated staff who facilitate this service. If we champion “Fondy 24/7,” we must equally champion fair wages and better working conditions for the individuals who make it possible. This frustration stems from a genuine concern for the well-being of Fondren Library’s invaluable workforce, who deserve recognition, respect and improved compensation for their unwavering dedication.

Korinna

The

Editorial

Phone:

Email:

The

©

Colleges go green recycling O-Week themes for 2024

FOR

Preparation for next year’s Orientation Week has already begun. Advisors have been selected and co-advisors have applied. Themes have been announced and, in one case, re-announced. Argue with your friends over which are fantastic and which shouldn’t have made it past the drawing board (or out of the recycling bin).

Brown College: DiscO-Week

This theme is straightforward and groovy, so it’s no wonder that “DiscOWeek” was already used by Martel College in 2018 and Jones College in 2003. It is clear what Brown must do to outshine past DiscO-Weeks: get a massive disco ball. Once the disco ball has been acquired, Brown can dive into the theme’s potential for electric beats, classic dance moves and questionable fashion.

Hanszen College: LegO-Week

This theme capitalizes on people’s love for Lego and is perhaps the greenest of the 11, having been borrowed from Martel in 2020, Jones in 2007, Duncan in 2015 and Hanszen itself in 2005. Group names can delve into the multiverse of Ninjago, UniKitty and the Lego Movie, which brings about the question: Is there such a thing as too many Legos?

Jones College: EncantO-Week

Unlike Hanszen and Brown, Jones’s

theme brings something new to O-Week 2024. Jones references the 2021 Disney movie Encanto that had little kids screamsinging “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” Similar to “LegO-Week,” “EncantO-Week” has a world of characters to draw on. There is flexibility that comes with “encanto” translating to “magic,” allowing Jones to branch out beyond the Disney film.

McMurtry College: AstrO-Week

McMurty announced their theme as “PharaOh-Week” on Jan. 31, but, on Feb. 10, changed it to “AstrO-Week,” a theme connecting to the cosmos. The new theme gives McMurtry a universe full of references for group names such as zodiac signs, constellations and aliens.

Duncan College: LimO-Week

Roll out the red carpet for “LimO-Week” which hopes to make new students into VIPs and give them a glamorous entrance into university life. This theme could inspire group names related to elegant events such as the Met Gala, the Grammys and black tie parties. Much like “DiscO-Week” demands a disco from Brown, this week is begging for Duncan to invest in limos.

Lovett College: NintendO-Week

Lovett sustains the playfulness of its prior O-Week, “UNO-Week,” with this gaming theme. This theme also marks the third confirmed repeat this year as “NintendO-Week” was used in 2017 by McMurtry, in 2014 by Duncan and in 2007

Ruth Simmons stays

true to herself

of the city. I want to do everything possible to really help the university fulfill its mission as a Houston and a Texas institution.”

Because of this, she accepted Reggie DesRoches’ offer to take on the more involved advising role at Rice. Simmons assists the board of trustees and the president across a broad range of issues, including technological and scientific leadership through the Ion and links to the medical center, she said.

by Jones. It is clear why this theme was recycled; it has a lot of well-known material to work with. Iconic Nintendo characters and games and the more recent “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will allow Lovetteers a wealth of topical group names.

Martel Meowtel College: CalicO-Week

The most jarring part of “CalicO-Week” is that Martel refers to itself as “Meowtel,” a unique move that sets Martel apart from other themes this year as the only college to rename itself. “CalicO-Week” is one of this year’s more polarizing themes, with people either thinking it’s adorable or associating the theme with furries.

Will Rice College: WILLO-Week

“WILLO-Week” says in its mission statement it is all about “planting new roots.” The use of the “w” in week to make the word “willow” is stand-out. This theme has strong ties to the natural world, similar to “AstrO-Week,” hopefully resulting in funky group name combinations of nature and pop culture.

Baker College: Dynamic DuO-Week

In a world filled with the harsh realities of Duo Mobile’s two-factor authentication, Baker College swoops in to try and save the reputation of “duo” with “Dynamic DuOWeek,” a theme used in 2007 by Hanszen. Why settle for a regular duo when you can have a dynamic one? This theme opens the floodgates to many iconic pop culture pairings that include the likes of Bert and

Ernie, Beavis and Butt-Head or Shrek and Donkey.

Sid Richardson College: iHeartRadiOWeek

A radio-related theme is fitting for Sid, a college that blasts music from the rooftop every Friday in the tradition of Radio Free Sid. “iHeartRadiO-Week” is one of the more creative themes with lots of potential for music-related group names.

Wiess College: Team Family Wiess

Unlike other colleges, Wiess sticks with the tried and true theme “Team Family Wiess,” a tradition that led the 1998 Campanile to address Wiess as “O-Week rebels without a theme.” Expect Wiesscentric puns relating to things like war pigs and the color goldenrod.

VADA explores Bay Area art

HONGTAO HU THRESHER STAFF

While many Rice students spent their midterm recesses studying, visiting family or lazing about, juniors majoring in Visual and Dramatic Arts — now simply Art — had an excursion to California’s Bay Area, exploring their prospective futures in the visual world.

“[The trip] gives [the] department of art majors the opportunity to not only travel to another city, but to experience firsthand its vibrant artistic ecosystem anchored by visits to artists’ studios, galleries, museums and other spaces vital to supporting artists and their communities,” Kenneth Tam, an assistant professor in the department of art, wrote in an email to the Thresher.

on the museum side, how they choose their artists, what types of things we need to do to make ourselves marketable.”

For Jenny Liu, a pre-med student double majoring in biosciences and art, the Headlands Center for the Arts widened her perspective on artist fellowships.

“[Visiting Headlands] was just a really cool experience overall because everyone there has very different disciplines in the arts, but they’re doing very different things, they’re able to grow with each other and do critiques with each other,” Liu, a Sid Richardson College junior, said. “It kind of shows the side of what it will look like if you were to do an artist fellowship.”

Ruth Simmons’ career has taken her all across the country — from Houston’s Third Ward to Smith College in Massachusetts to Brown University where she became the first Black female president of an Ivy League School and back to Houston again.

In her second attempt at semiretirement, Simmons told the Thresher she wanted to get involved in the community. Though she had served on the Rice board of trustees before she came out of retirement in 2017 to serve as Prairie View A&M University’s president, she was surprised when she was asked to be the Rice president’s distinguished fellow in 2023.

“I hadn’t thought that I would do anything else [in my career], but the more I thought about it, the opportunity to be involved at this really important time in Rice’s history would be a great privilege,” Simmons said. “I have come to love the university through serving on the board and getting to know many people here, and also because I’m a Houstonian and I know that Rice’s future is tied very closely to the future

Serving her community and being an influence for equality and opportunity in education has been Simmons’ foremost priority throughout her career. As a child, she was encouraged by her teachers to aspire beyond what she believed was possible for her, to attend college and to be an educator herself.

“The experiences that I have been able to have as a consequence of education are incredibly vast and satisfying to me. I feel just fortunate, frankly, that at some point an educator stepped onto my path and said, you could do this,” Simmons said. ”Without that, I realized that I would not have had the wonderful experience that I’ve had as a leader in higher education.

“That’s really the most important thing to me, because with that comes the success of the country, the ability to take those young people and to utilize their passion and their talent and their intelligence fully. That’s what creates the magic of this democratic way of life, is that you have all of these people who can contribute,” Simmons continued.

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

In preparation for this trip, students are required to take ARTS 387, a junior seminar focused on discussing artworks and artists in an academic setting. They then practice art criticism with the pieces they see in museums and galleries in San Francisco, including the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

For Camille Neal-Harris, the trip was a way for her to see artists in their natural environment.

“As kids, a lot of people tell us about what the art world looks like, and we have these artists that we look up to like Renaissance artists and such,” Neal-Harris, a Will Rice College junior, said. “But we never actually know what goes into their practice, how they make their works, how they gain these connections — and then

After she graduates, Liu said that she wants to take a gap year before entering medical school. The class trip, she said, presented the possibility of spending that year in an artists’ fellowship program.

“[This trip] really [showed] the option and the flexibility of … [continuing] doing art in academia, which is something that I hadn’t thought about previously,” Liu said.

More than 20 students went on this trip and were divided into smaller groups. For both Neal-Harris and Liu, this familiarity, paired with daily discussions about art, helped them grow closer to their classmates.

“I didn’t know who else was in our class because we all take the courses at different times,” Neal-Harris said. “It’s unlike [computer science] or [bioengineering majors] where we grow up together, meaning we know each other from the beginning [of college] and can watch each other progress.”

Student groups are currently creating an art piece inspired by works they saw on the trip.

Neal-Harris’ group is creating a clay sculpture in response to Gabriel Chail’s towering anthropomorphized works of ceramic.

“It’s really cool because I focus in sculpture, and then there’’s film students, painters, drawers, collage people, all different mediums are in this class,” Neal-Harris said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to make something larger than me.”

AMELIA DAVIS THRESHER STAFF

KRISTAL

BRYAN MENDOZA / THRESHER

JENNIFER LIU / THRESHER

Go to Jail

SAMUEL BARTON FOR THE THRESHER

ACROSS DOWN

Words with Innocence or Aquarius

School hotshot, for short Famous vamp

Rapper Rhymes

“Rubáiyát” rhyme scheme

“Othello” villain

2-player Hasbro product

Ratatouille, e.g.

Connector with red, yellow, and white plugs

Young woman

Dangly graduation ornament

Had on

Post-workout pain

A senior’s search, often

Finger attire

Shoe part endorsed by Phineas and Ferb

Sheep sound

Disney CEO Bob

Location of the Prancing Pony

Things “Hamilton” characters don’t throw

away Indian flatbread

Phoenix Suns player Bradley

Gossip, slangily

Highway exits

Baseball Hall of Famer Richie

Most tidy

Greek God recently played by Adam Copeland

“Crazy? I was crazy ____”

City that is sent a letter in Revelation

Attempt to convince

“Spy Kids” group, abbr. Tie up, as a boat

Blood removers

Latin word on the back of a dollar

Canadian gas brand

Take, as advice

Chew (on)

Singer Chappell

Oxidizes

Vivian Phillips

takes center stage

politics,” Phillips said. “My dad, he’s in his 70s, he was a hippie in the ’60s hippie movement. He was protesting [during] Vietnam.”

But Phillips doesn’t only report on the world in print — she shares her opinions through comedy. Since her junior year, she’s performed at open mics in the Houston area. After participating in theater in high school, she said that comedy allowed her to find her own voice.

Vivian Phillips is polyphonic — whether writing a story, performing at the Riot Comedy Club or competing at the Miss Bayou City pageant, she knows just what to say. She first found her passion for English at Vassar College, a liberal arts college in upstate New York, before transferring to Rice her sophomore year.

“I made the decision to be an English major while I was at Vassar taking a class called ‘The Essay Form’ under my instructor, Professor Amitava Kumar,” Phillips, a Wiess College senior, said. “I felt so privileged to be working under him and learn from him. It really inspired me [to learn] about writing, how to write a persuasive argument and how to tell a story.”

After transferring to Rice so she could be closer to her hometown of San Antonio, Phillips has since been a nonfiction editor for R2, winning the George G. Williams prize in creative nonfiction, along with writing for Paper City, a Houston-based fashion magazine, and for San Antonio Magazine during the summer of her freshman year.

“In being a journalist, I think it’s also good to have some level of expertise on a subject that you’re passionate about. The [Politics, Law and Social Thought] minor for me was a way of really acquainting myself and educating myself about a subject matter that I would love to write about in the future more extensively on,” Phillips said.

Phillips’ biggest push toward her interest in politics was found in the everyday moments of her childhood, especially around the dinner table.

“I grew up in a household that really always was having conversations about

“My dad, he always wanted me to be a classical Shakespearean actress, and I was always like: ‘No Dad, I want to do comedy!’ … I loved performing and making people laugh,” Phillips said. “I think stand-up was just a natural progression from there.”

To Lucy Bozinov, a Wiess junior and Phillips’ friend, Phillips’ humor brought them together when times were tough.

“We were roommates last year and lived in this really interesting home that just had a lot of problems. We would find out like there was black mold and she’d say ‘so it goes,’ you know, ‘c’est la vie!’ We would always laugh about just how bad the living situation was,” Bozinov said. “I don’t think you could ever have a truly bad day with Vivian.”

Phillips also performs in the world of pageantry, winning the Miss Bayou City title at the Miss Space City competition in December 2023.

“I thought that [Miss Space City] was a good combination of all of my interests,” Phillips said. “I love public speaking. I love performance. I think it was a cool way to challenge myself to grow throughout the year to try and improve my craft and improve my speaking skills.”

Phillips also uses her works, both on the stage and off, to entrench her identity. Her senior thesis is a collection of humorous essays drawing on her life experiences, and her R2 piece, “Crafted by the Hands of God,” won the George G. Williams Prize in Nonfiction.

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

“There’s always certain particular characters that I really gravitate towards,” Bennett said. “Like Hilary Banks from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” I love her style. It’s really preppy and really put together and elegant.”

Bennett’s interest in photography began on a visit to her home town of Tempe, Ariz., after having moved to Maryland for high school. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she took advantage of isolation to experiment more with her camera. Taking photos of herself and her sister helped Bennett hone her skills and brought fashion photography to the forefront of her interests.

Bennett now serves as president of Rice RAW Photography, works for Rice Magazine’s art department, is a photographer for the Thresher and shoots for 6100Main, Rice’s premiere fashion club.

“[Bennett] just approaches everything with a lot of joy, a lot of curiosity and optimism, and I just feel like I can always count on her,” Alese Pickering, the director of creative services, said. “She’s a great communicator, and I think she’s an exceptional person.”

Bennett started working with Pickering in Rice Magazine’s art department in the spring of 2023. As the department’s firstever intern, Bennett helps with research and shadows Pickering in her work, and recent issues of the magazine have featured some of her own work as well. For the fall 2023 issue, she photographed students around the Inner Loop with eclectic personal styles. Photos she took in collaboration with BIOS 386 can be found in the most recent issue.

Bennett has also had the opportunity to photograph events at the Moody Center for the Arts, including “New Art/New Music,” a collaboration between featured artists and students from the Shepherd School of Music. According to assistant curator Molly Everett, Bennett’s talents extend beyond the studio.

“When [Bennett’s] doing event photography, she’s really great at working the crowd,” Everett said. “She’s in the room, talking with people but also taking photographs, both candid and also

E.g., e.g. Green dip, for short Spanish pronoun

Slugger Mel

Bethesda series

Type of hound

Casual denials

Ani’s Jedi master

Annoying tests where one-eighth of a traffic light apparently matters Spread, as information

Remy’s family members

“A Death in the Family” author

Ominous hood

Gain through hard work

Tuna type

Yard vehicle

Star Wars walker

Han Solo’s employer

Fairy tale meanies

“Gross!”

Not one’s best effort

Avoids a puddle, perhaps

Dadaist Max

Snake that likes to hug

Twitch user

Coop group

Palindromic transport

Crematee resting place

Computer-protecting company

Course code that includes the infamous 120

Urban haze

Precedes Minor and Major in 2

9-digit

Bear,

asking people to come together … I think her photographs really do a good job of reflecting the spirit of an event.”

During shoots, Bennett said she makes sure her subjects feel comfortable in front of the camera by chatting them up and playing bossa nova in the background to ward off awkward silences. According to friend and collaborator Avalon Hogans, Bennett’s shoots are always a blast.

“I really love working with Zeisha,” Hogans, a Sid Richardson College sophomore, said. “She’s very encouraging, very empowering, and she always makes sure that me or anyone else in the shot feels comfortable and that we’re having a good time.”

Despite her busy photography career, Bennett still makes time for her family and her faith.

“My biggest supporter and guide has been my wonderfully amazing and loving Lord God,” Bennett said in an email to the Thresher. “It’s one of the most important relationships that I have that’s helped me develop into who I am today.”

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

HONGTAO HU THRESHER STAFF

AMELIA DAVIS / THRESHER

FROM FRONT PAGE BENNETT

COURTESY ZEISHA BENNETT

Zeisha Bennett’s portfolio highlights her work at the intersection of fashion and photography.

Chaus launches new art gallery

years, according to Leung and Hilton. They wanted to revive the practice this year after it lapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

students are able to form a community and find satisfaction in art, she said.

“It was such a cool feeling to … soak in the atmosphere that we had created … and watch people go up to the art,” Leung said. “Witnessing the fruits of our labor was so rewarding.”

Angelina Puente-Perez, a Hanszen College junior, said she took inspiration from an anime called “Vinland Saga” to create a color painting, which was displayed in Chaus’ gallery.

“I just wanted to showcase that [art piece]. I think I did it really well … I’m most proud of that piece,” Puente-Perez, a Hanszen College junior, said.

Review: ‘The Taste of Things’ explores the culinary world

JAY COLLURA FILM COLUMNIST

Coffeehouse unveiled new art lining the walls of their cafe space on Feb. 18, featuring student artists and photographers. The project is helmed by keepers of coffee Caroline Leung and Kate Hilton, who lead a committee called “Espresso Yourself” that aims to highlight student creativity and art.

Espresso Yourself began accepting submissions from artists during winter break. After selecting which art pieces to showcase, Leung, a Lovett College senior, and Hilton, a McMurtry College junior, revamped the space at Chaus, constructing their display on the left side above the booth seating. According to Leung and Hilton, Chaus is a conducive place for giving artists recognition and honor.

“We really wanted to choose a place with high traffic and visibility, because we are very understanding and cognizant of the fact that a lot of artists on Rice’s campus don’t have a place to publicly display their art,” Hilton said. “We wanted to give them a voice and a place to do so.”

However, art galleries are not a new concept at Chaus. Having artwork displayed at Chaus has been a tradition for several

Liliana Abramson, a Jones College senior, said she has always appreciated seeing art displayed at Chaus. According to Abramson, when she first toured campus, the lively artistic community at Coffeehouse encouraged her to come to Rice. After learning through social media that the gallery was accepting submissions this year, she quickly submitted some of her pieces.

“It’ll be fun to leave a little piece of my work behind for other people to see and hopefully help bring people that same kind of joy of seeing artwork around by other students that I had when I first visited,” Abramson said.

Another student, Alara Seeborg, showcased artwork, such as an oil pastel drawing of a meal she had in Turkey, that highlights her cultural background and artistic identity. Though nervous to present her art to an audience, Seeborg said she was eager to display her work.

“It allowed me to look at artwork that I created in the past in different contexts,” Seeborg, a Brown College freshman, said. “Having it be in a different space was a new experience for me.”

A lot of artists on Rice's campus don't have a place to publicly display their art ... We wanted to give them a voice and a place to do so.

Caroline Leung

ESPRESSO YOURSELF COMMITTEE HEAD

According to Leung, this event and gallery was successful due to student input and artistic voices. Through artwork,

Leung said she hopes to reestablish the art gallery as the tradition it once was, accepting new submissions every semester. Espresso Yourself is also striving to work with other organizations to help bring awareness to the art community and, in the future, host events such as open mic nights and poetry readings, according to Leung. “Espresso Yourself would love to collaborate with other on-campus groups that would want to highlight or showcase any aspects of their own community,” Leung said.

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ stumbles to a satisfying finish

SARAH MOTTELER FOR THE THRESHER

Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” premiered Feb. 22 and is the latest attempt to bring the hit Nickelodeon cartoon to live action.

The eight episodes of this season roughly cover the plotline of Book One of the animation, although many episodes are condensed or skipped entirely. The series suffers greatly from this limited runtime, especially in the first half, leading to an underdeveloped Team Avatar that is more “acquired acquaintances” than “found family.” Starting with the fifth episode, though, the rest of the season finds its focus and manages to pull together an

enjoyable viewing experience, although not one that can be wholeheartedly recommended.

Live-action anime adaptations already have a spotted reputation: Transitioning from frame to flesh has results ranging from surprisingly well-made and faithful to the original’s tone (Netflix’s “One Piece”) to, more frequently, hot garbage churned out in the hopes for a quick buck (“Dragonball Evolution”).

“ATLA”’s previous live-action adaptation ranks among the worst of these: Director M. Night Shyamalan’s

2010 attempt has a 5% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is almost universally panned for its poor performances, horrific adaptation of the original plot and lack of any of the joy that the animated series had. Considering the departure of the cartoon’s original creators and concerning comments by the cast and creators, the 2024 live action adaptation seemed doomed from the start to become yet another soulless reincarnation, unable to capture the original’s magic.

The beginning of the series certainly seemed poised to do so. For the first four episodes, the show is a slog to get through, too focused on establishing CGI spectacles and a gritty tone to follow the humor and characters that made the cartoon so beloved. Several changes made to the original plotline fall flat, including a depiction of the Airbender massacre by the Firebenders, awkward early appearances by Azula and her lackeys and crimes to King Bumi’s characterization that could fill its own article.

Despite the creators’ espoused target audience being “Game of Thrones” fans, the live action’s presentation is arguably more childish than the source material.

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

Director: Trân Anh Hùng

In recent years, food has become increasingly commodified and diminished, at least in on-screen depictions. The allure of perfectly curated dishes on TikTok and other social media apps has desensitized us to the simple pleasures of good food — when everything looks picture perfect, nothing feels particularly special.

However, whenever I return home, there’s an immediate warmth present in the process of cooking and eating that can’t be found anywhere else. “The Taste of Things” is an ode to this warmth, nostalgia and the oft-overlooked language of cooking, as Trân Anh Hùng’s latest film envelopes the viewer in a stirring romance rife with the spice of life.

The film, set in 1889, follows the “Napoleon of Gastronomy” Dodin (Benoît Magimel) and his personal cook Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) as they work together in a manor on the French countryside. Together, the two prepare a variety of meals for a group of old-timey foodies and discuss both their life and work. As this slice of life unfolds, the relationship between Dodin and Eugénie is explored and the two reflect on the romance that has simmered between them since they met.

On paper, this premise sounds uneventful and intimidating, especially to those who dislike period dramas. The film escapes this worry by focusing on the cooking, presenting it in an invigorating, effortless manner.

Each section of the film is defined by extended sequences of Dodin and Eugénie preparing, baking and serving a dazzling variety of dishes, and the audience follows the process every step of the way. The camera dances between different chefs doing their prep work, infusing the film with dynamism alien to your average Food Network TV show.

Never does the viewer feel that what is being presented is in any way cheated. It feels like an authentic depiction of cooking, yet is simultaneously incredibly intentional in its presentation. This magic trick is completed as the audience is presented with the finished dishes alongside those eating them, creating mouthwatering payoffs that manage to play upon anticipation and excitement in a thriller-esque fashion.

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

COURTESY NETFLIX

CHIARA MORETTI THRESHER STAFF

KELTON KECK / THRESHER Coffeehouse hosted a spring art gallery opening Feb. 18 to celebrate the new student art lining the walls of their cafe space.

FastWarp hosts Owlcon, brings tabletop games to campus

HUGO GERBICH PAIS SENIOR WRITER

Board games, card games and even some live-action role playing pervaded campus Feb. 23-35 during the 41st annual Owlcon. The convention is hosted by FastWarp, Rice's student-run board and card game club.

Owlcon provides a space for tabletopgame enjoyers of all kinds to gather and play — from experienced professionals who are developing new games to beginners, according to Chloe Liebenthal, a former FastWarp club president who graduated last semester.

“Owlcon is a whole weekend where the Grand Hall and a bunch of other spaces across campus are all full of people playing all sorts of games … There’s board games, there’s card games, there’s mini-figure type games, war games, tabletop gaming, such as Dungeons and Dragons and there’s even live action role playing,” Liebenthal said. There were also numerous exhibitors at Owlcon selling games, merchandise and crafts.

“We’ve built up a reputation for the convention,” Yarnell said. “Anytime someone hears about [table game convention] in Houston, the first thing that pops into their heads [is us], so our success has spread beyond Houston.”

The organizing team not only has to organize the games, attendees and vendors, but also bring in special guests who are leaders in the table-top game industry. This year’s guests included Thurston Hillman and Adam Daigle, both directors at roleplaying game publishing company Paizo Inc., and writer-artist Jeremy Corff who has done work for Immersion Studios, Enworld and Wayfinder, among others.

Just in general, board games and card games, they’re just so fun … they build such a tight knit community.

Tolu Asupoto BROWN COLLEGE JUNIOR

While Owlcon is a comparatively small convention compared to the likes of Comicpalooza, it has developed a reputation as an intimate and rewarding event, Jason Yarnell, the Owlcon special guests coordinator, said.

“It’s a planning process that lasts months and months. It’s very involved and it takes a lot of hard work. There’s usually a lot of people who attend our [convention], so as you can imagine, there’s just a lot that goes into making sure everything goes smoothly,” Liebenthal said. While FastWarp members lead the planning and organizing process, they rely heavily on support from community members, many of whom have been going to Owlcon for many years.

Club treasurer Tolu Asupoto said she discovered a strong community at FastWarp.

“I personally didn’t really know how

to play niche or specific games. But all of FastWarp have been very welcoming towards beginners. It’s easy to just get involved and learn everything really quickly,” Asupoto, a Brown College junior, said. “Just in general, board games and card games, they’re just so fun … they build such a tight knit community.”

Ian Mauzy ’14, the Owlcon gaming coordinator, said he first got involved with Owlcon as a sophomore in 2012.

“The next year, I offered to help the gaming coordinator, and then I stuck around for a while and inherited it,” Mauzy

HAI-VAN HOANG / THRESHER

said. “It's an opportunity to do things that I don’t get to do much for the rest of the year, with people I also may not get to see very often.”

Asuputo and the organizers of Owlcon 41 said they hope that the event has something for everyone and continues the convention's long history.

“Rice [alumni who] graduated 10 years ago, 20 years ago, they still come back every year for our [convention],” Asuputo said. “It just speaks to the strength of our [convention] and speaks to the strength of board and card games in general.”

With ‘Practices of Attention,’ Rice students explore capitalist ruins

ARMAN SAXENA ASST. A&E EDITOR

Anyone who has walked through Sewall Hall in the past couple months has inevitably seen the words “ARTS 477: Practices of Attention in Capitalist Ruins” written in big, bold lettering on flyers displayed throughout the building. The class is part of a larger project associated with the Moody Project Wall piece “Practices of Attention” envisioned by Angela Chen, a lecturer of art in Rice’s Department of Art.

Launched in 2021, the Moody Project Wall series brings together Houston-based artists and Rice students for collaborative art pieces. Molly Everett, an assistant curator at the Moody Center for the Arts,

says that collaboration with students is at the heart of these projects.

Uniquely, this latest work in the Moody Project Wall series is being incorporated into a class taught by Angela Chen, a Rice lecturer who specializes in photography. Everett explained how Chen’s class is focused on encouraging students to pay attention to their environment, both within Rice and beyond.

“I think one of the really interesting things about Angela’s project is also that it’s very much engaged in the landscape around Rice but also with the community more broadly, so [the class is] doing a lot of field trips as part of this project,” Everett said.

The starting point of the project is Angela Chen’s own work “Practices of

Attention,” a piece currently on display in the Moody Flex Space. “Practices of Attention” is a large-scale, photo-textile collage that consists of images of the Buffalo Bayou as its surroundings become more industrial as it moves west to east.

“[The piece] will sort of work as an anchor then for the students … and they’ll use that almost as a sort of jumping off point and then the rest of the wall is for them to contribute their work,” Angela Chen said.

According to Angela Chen, she wanted her work to illustrate the disparities that exist around the Buffalo Bayou’s banks and call attention to the environmental damage and health risks that are occurring in its vicinity.

“As you go from West to East the pollution becomes way worse because the eastern portion of Buffalo Bayou is all refineries, there’s petrochemical industry, there’s fertilizer plants, gypsum plants, the air quality is way worse,” Angela Chen said. “Amnesty International just declared the Houston ship channel a ‘sacrifice zone’ this past month in January because it’s just so polluted there.”

ARTS 477, said the class emphasizes experiencing the environment firsthand and, in it, he’s personally visualized the way capitalism influences ecology.

“It’s very hands-on, it’s very experiential … We had one class where we worked with found clay behind the Moody, we went to the Baytown Nature Preserve last week to kind of see firsthand the presence of a nature preserve right next to these major oil refineries and what that means and the interaction between [them],” Kevin Chen, a Sid Richardson College senior, said.

Kevin Chen said that he eventually hopes his own project proposal will allow him to be a “practitioner of attention.”

“I’m focusing on the drainage system pipes in Houston … I work in photography so I’m planning to go to different sites in Houston and use imagery to depict those places with pipes and kind of depict the type of people there or the objects or the things in the environment,” Kevin Chen said.

While the class is offered by the Department of Art, it brings together a diverse group of students with varying backgrounds.

How do we slow down and really appreciate where we are, learn how to see and care for our environment through paying attention?

Angela Chen LECTURER OF ART

Her work represents the central goal of the class: encouraging her students to focus on and ask questions about the environment around them with the purpose of highlighting ecological issues facing the world today.

“How do we slow down and really appreciate where we are, learn how to see and care for our environment through paying attention?” Angela Chen said. “The prompt for these project proposals was basically, ‘What do you want to pay attention to?’ and ‘What are the environmental stakes of this question, and how is paying attention going to help us address issues around climate crisis?’”

Kevin Chen, one of the students in

“It’s a very multidisciplinary class, a lot of the students in the class are art majors like me but … there’s just a variety of different disciplines that people are interested, and we’re all kind of tied together by our common interest in the capitalistic influences that can result changes in our society with regards to the climate, with regards to ecological change,” Kevin Chen said.

Their work is set to be finished by April 19, when the finished piece, complete with projects from each of the seven students in the class, will be displayed at an exhibition from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Moody Center for the Arts.

HADLEY MEDLOCK / THRESHER

Angela Chen’s photo-textile collage titled “Practices of Attention” is currently on display at the Moody Center for the Arts’ Project Wall.

Owls finish third at AAC Swim Championships

CADAN HANSON SENIOR WRITER

Rice Swim competed in the American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Dallas last weekend. Out of the seven teams competing, Rice finished third overall, scoring a total of 593 points and improving on their fourthplace performance from last year.

“This was the best conference meet for the Owls in years,” head coach Seth Huston said. “We did more with less this season, and this team grew an awful lot to finish like we did.”

Over the course of the weekend, the Owls tallied up five gold medals, 15 podium appearances and four school records. Leading the Owls’ charge was senior Imogen Meers, who won gold in the 50-yard freestyle, the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard freestyle, swimming a 48:80 which also secured a school record in the process.

“This season, I had definitely let myself think there was a possibility to go 3-for-3 at conference but I’m not actually sure I thought it would come true,” Meers said. “I wanted to win those races for myself, but definitely more for the team and for the girls that I race every single day in training. Even though swimming

is an individual sport, it was a huge team effort.”

Following the triple crown performance, Huston expressed his pride in Meers’ performance and Rice career.

“Coaching [Meers] has been an honor,” Huston said. “I hope our freshmen, sophomores and juniors understand that [Meers] showed us all season long how a champion prepares, competes and ultimately wins through the discipline of staying engaged in the process from start to finish.”

This weekend, the distance squad (D-group) made sure to clean up the competition, dominating the longdistance swimming events.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Rice swept the podium with junior Amelia Kane winning gold with a time of 4:43:70, sophomore Ella Dyson coming in second and fifth-year senior Shannon Cambell in third.

On Sunday, the Owls repeated the sweep in the 1,650-yard freestyle. This time around, Dyson claimed gold with a time of 16:21:98, with Kane coming in second and Campbell coming in third. After the meet, Kane, who also secured second in the 400-yard IM, was pleased with how the D-group’s hard work paid off with hardware and personal bests.

“The distance squad had a great meet, with everyone dropping personal bests and sweeping the podium in both the 500 and mile,” Kane said. “It’s exciting to win, but what’s more exciting is seeing my teammates swim so well.”

Junior Arielle Hayon, who is no stranger to the podium as the reigning champion in the 100 and 200-yard fly and a NCAA National Championship qualifier, also had a successful meet securing three medals and two school records.

In the 200-yard Individual Medley relay, Hayon won silver with a time of 1:58:55, a school record. In the 100yard butterfly, Hayon made it to the top of the podium, winning gold, resetting her school record and setting the meet record with a time of 51:38. To end her weekend, Hayon secured silver in the 200-yard butterfly.

The Owls made the podium in three of the relays, despite being disqualified in two others due to quick reaction times. In the 800-yard freestyle relay, Kane,

Campbell, senior Elizabeth Myers and sophomore Lily Cramer placed second. In the 400-yard medley relay, senior Mimi Filkin, freshman Siiri Einio, Hayon and Meers claimed silver. In the final race of the competition, Meers, Filkin, Myers and Cramer finished third in the 400 hard freestyle relay.

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

Owls struggle to fly: Women’s basketball drops third straight game

ANDERSEN PICKARD ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

The Rice women’s basketball team, which spent much of this season soaring near the top of the American Athletic Conference standings, extended their losing streak to a season-high three games on Sunday afternoon. In a battle of the Owls, Rice fell to Temple University, 75-66.

When the game tipped off at Rice’s Tudor Fieldhouse, Temple flexed its muscles immediately. They stormed out to a quick 6-0 lead, and although Rice briefly evened play, Temple took a 13-0 run into the second quarter.

In response, junior forward Malia Fisher scored 12 points in the second quarter alone, pulling Rice within 10 points by halftime.

Rice outscored Temple in just one quarter — the fourth, 17-12. This late surge was not enough as Temple left Tudor Fieldhouse with

a nine-point victory.

Temple controlled the entire game, jumping out to a 17-point lead at one point early in the fourth quarter. Rice found itself tied or trailing for all 40 minutes of Sunday’s conference battle. They never held a lead.

Three-point shooting proved to be the difference maker as Temple sank 10 shots from beyond the arc, shooting 58.8%. On the other hand, Rice converted just four threepointers at 22.2%.

Fisher provided the bulk of Rice’s production down the stretch, grabbing eight boards while tallying a career-high 24 points. She went 0-for-3 from three but enjoyed steady production from the freethrow line, sinking 10 of 12 foul shots. The junior attributed much of her success to her aggressive playing style and a strong supporting cast.

“Being able to get to the free throw line

was a big factor. That in itself was 10 points,” Fisher said. “Also, having the confidence to go out and keep shooting regardless of makes or misses. It also helps knowing that my team has confidence in me to make plays.”

Fifth-year guard Destiny Jackson also made a significant impact, tallying 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Five of her six assists and 11 of her 13 points came in the second half, keeping the score close even though Rice was unable to ultimately come back.

“To see that even at halftime my team still believed we could fight back, that encouraged me even more to come out swinging in the second half,” Jackson said.

The Owls’ skid comes at an inopportune time as the AAC regular season winds down. Rice, which was tied for first place in the

conference on Jan. 23, now finds itself at 15-12 overall and 9-7 in conference play. They rank sixth in the conference standings and are just two games ahead of the 11th-place team, the University of Memphis.

Seeding is crucial as the top four seeds in the conference receive double byes in the conference tournament, allowing them to skip the first two rounds unabated. Teams seeded five through 10 receive just one bye, and Nos. 11 through 14 would have to win all five games to secure the conference title.

If the season were to end today, Rice’s sixth seed would earn them one bye, advancing them to the second round on Sunday, March 10. However, there is still time for the Owls to move up or down within the standings.

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

“The Owls block Rice’s conference tournament chances.”

COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS

Junior Amelia Kane, sophomore Ella Dyson and fifth-year senior Shannon Campbell placed first, second and third, respectively, in the 500-yard freestyle. The Owls placed third overall at the AAC Swim Championship.

COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS

Fifth-year senior guard Destiny Jackson attempts a layup in last weekend’s loss to Temple University, which extended Rice’s slide to three.

HONG LIN TSAI / THRESHER

Women second at indoor T&F conference, men lag behind

DIEGO PALOS RODRIGUEZ ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams competed in the 2024 American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala. last weekend. The women’s team was just two points short of first place behind the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, while the men finished in sixth place.

On the track, the women were led by senior Taigen Hunter-Galvan who scored 22 points overall while placing first in the 800 meters and the mile and seventh in the 4x400 meter relay. In the process, Hunter-Galvan broke the school and AAC meet record in the 800m with a time of 2:04.17, which even surprised her.

“I had an identity crisis as a half-miler this season not being able to reach my goals, but breaking the 800m school record and AAC record when I least expected to was so rewarding,” Hunter-Galvan said.

While clinching her first and second individual conference titles ever, HunterGalvan was followed closely in the mile by sophomore Amelie Attenborough who placed second, giving the Owls a combined 18 points from the mile alone.

“With a couple of minutes to spare before lacing up our spikes, [Attenborough] and I had a meditation session,” Hunter-Galvan said. “We sat legs crossed, closed our eyes, focused on our breathing and envisioned how we wanted the race to play out. I think speaking our strategy into existence and setting up the race to be a 300m sprint to the finish made it doable for [Attenborough] and I to go 1-2 in the mile.”

Senior Eliza Kraule also came in big for the Owls in the pentathlon. Finishing fifth or higher in every event and breaking the pentathlon long jump meet record, she placed first overall by more than 200 points with 4,335 and broke both the school and the meet record, a feat that wasn’t too far away from her reach going into the meet.

“Going into the meet I knew I had scored just one point off of the record just a few weeks ago, so we were quite confident that breaking the meet record is possible as long as I show up and perform at my best,” Kraule said. “More specifically I knew [I was] going to get it after the fourth pentathlon event — long jump — where I improved my personal best and all I had left was to run the 800.”

Other notable performers for the Owls included sisters Josie and Alice Taylor, a

junior and sophomore, placing second and third in the high jump, respectively, senior Ginnie Okafor placing first in the triple jump and senior Tara Simpson-Sullivan placing first in the weight throw.

The women finished second out of 14 schools with 105 points, just two points behind Charlotte, missing out on their first indoor conference title since 2020.

“Even though we were beating all odds, it was a heartbreaking end to the day,” Hunter-Galvan said. “Now knowing how capable we are, the Owls will be coming back for [Outdoors] with vengeance. It was a bittersweet ending to my indoor career, but damn am I proud of my team’s resilience.”

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

Baseball takes series against Ragin’ Cajuns, falls short of sweep

ANA RIVERA FOR THE THRESHER

Over the weekend, Rice Baseball secured a series win on the road against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, capturing

victories on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24 with scores of 2-1 and 6-1, respectively. However, their quest for a sweep fell short as they suffered a 3-0 loss on Sunday afternoon.

ALUMNI RICE

The team’s weekend series in Lafayette moves the Owls to an overall 3-4 record.

Head coach Jose Cruz Jr. said he was proud of his team’s effort against a strong opponent.

“This first game was very intense from start to finish,” Cruz Jr. said. “We are playing a really good team that is well-coached and competes at the regional caliber every year. Throwing their best guy at us, we competed against him very well..”

Junior starting pitcher Parker Smith set the tone early on in the first game of the series as he allowed just one hit and struck

out five batters through the first five innings of the game. Smith capped his performance by conceding one run across seven innings, reducing his ERA to 1.64 across his first two starts. The Owls’ offense provided Smith with run support early in the game as junior catcher Manny Garza drove home the Owls’ two runs, one in the first inning and another in the third.

With a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, Cruz Jr. called on transfer sophomore pitcher Davion Hickson to relieve Smith and secure a seriesopening victory. However, Hickson almost immediately found himself into a difficult position after hitting a Ragin’ Cajun batter and allowing a single, putting runners on first and second base with just one out. Needing to protect the Owls’ one-run lead, Hickson forced two ground-outs to end the eighth and closed out the game with a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth to secure his first career save.

Following the game, Smith said he was happy with his performance on Friday night and said he hopes to continue this level of

play throughout the rest of the season.

“Competing at a high-caliber program like Rice, you aim for moments like these,” Smith said. “These regional settings are exactly where we strive to be, and we anticipate facing similar challenges throughout the year.”

On Saturday, junior starting pitcher J.D. McCracken pitched a complete game, the first for the Owls since 2019. He allowed six hits and issued a single walk, setting a personal best with 11 strikeouts, including striking out the side in both the seventh and ninth innings. McCracken said after the game that he was proud of his effort in helping lead his squad to a series victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns.

“I know that college baseball is a threegame series, “ McCracken said. “I know that one game doesn’t mean anything. You have to scrap your way to win a series, and I knew that I would have a big role in that. I knew I’d give us a chance today and I ended up being better than I imagined, for sure.”

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

COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS

Junior starting pitcher J.D. McCracken pitches during his dominant shutout on Saturday afternoon. The Owls won two of three games against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS

Senior Eliza Kraule competes in the high jump at this weekend’s conference championship meet. The women’s track and field team was just two points from first place, while the men’s team placed sixth.

Houston Zoo The Terrarium

Something big is coming to Hermann Park…

Something big is coming to Hermann Park… Something big is coming to Hermann Park…

In partnership with the Houston Zoo, GMH Student Living is excited to announce the Terrarium, a new, experimental green housing option for students at Rice University! Completion of construction is scheduled to coincide with the Hermann Park expansion in Spring 2024.

LUXURY ENCLOSURES

• Reclaimed enclosures - Graze as you please in units with unbeatable square footage.

• Advanced Security - Best in-class security camera system, accessible online 24/7 at houstonzoo.org/explore/ webcams.

• Fully Furnished - All units come fully furnished with boulders, big branches, and sensory toys to create a home away from your busy student life.

• Efficient Utilities - Save on utilities with natural lighting and zookeepers that come in twice a day to hose down and remove waste from the enclosure.

Endorsed by the SA Environmental Commission

COMMUNITY AMENITIES

• Daily enrichment activities led by zookeepers

• Friendly neighbors

• Fitness center with live animal encounters

• Discounted parking at Houston Zoo lots

• Otter pool

BENEFITS

• Unbeatable location adjacent to Rice University campus

• Complimentary Houston Zoo tickets (does not include Zoo Lights)

• Enclosuremate matching system

• Custom door plaques to share facts about yourself and your endangerment level with other residents

• Pet-friendly

FLOOR PLANS

The terrarium offers a variety of biomes to suit your lifestyle needs! ($20/month surcharge for enclosures with less zoo guest traffic)

Houston Zoo The Terrarium

The Backpage is the satire section of the Thresher, written this week by Ndidi Nwosu, Andrew Kim, and Timmy Mansfield and designed by Lauren Yu. For questions or comments, please email dilfhunter69@rice.edu.

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