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Letters The Real Kelly Niemann In the write-up on Jeff Niemann in the summer issue, the woman pictured with Jeff may indeed be his biggest fan, but she is not his mother. She is his cousin, Sherry Darby, whose husband, Glenn, ran track at Rice in the 1960s. Our apologies to the Niemanns. Here is Jeff, with his parents, Kelly and Steve.
Will the Real Beer Bike Winners Please Stand Up? Sallyport is the magazine of Rice University. How could you be so careless as to report incorrectly who won 2003 Beer Run? Martel College had its very first major victory on campus, and you have robbed us of it. The least you can do is have a feature article on Martel’s victory in your next issue. Not happy at Martel. Joan Few
Master, Martel College
It’s not fair reporting that Will Rice won Beer Bike, even though it was Beer Run. We still won fair and square. Fix it. James Walker
Houston, Texas
As the editor-in-chief of a fellow Rice University publication, the Campanile yearbook, I am horrified by the lack of journalistic responsibility exhibited in the most recent issue of Sallyport. The Beer Bike results, though they may seem trivial to some, are very important to Rice students and alumni. These results are not difficult facts to find. Martel won the men’s race at Beer Bike—plain and simple. My photograph was also used in this issue, and I do not wish to compromise my own journalistic integrity by having my likeness appear alongside a faulty article. Please send an apology to Martel College and all the recipients of your magazine. Heidi Sherman
Martel College
It has come to my attention that Sallyport reported that Will Rice won Beer Bike/Run. This is clearly
On the inside back cover of the summer Sallyport it is stated that “Will Rice was the first across the finish line” at Beer Bike. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Martel was the clear winner and by a large margin. All of the students in the above photo are Martel College students. Arthur Few
Master, Martel College false—ask anyone who was there, or the Thresher staff, or everyone at Martel who was cheering when they won. Will Rice did, however, decide to have another race the following week which they titled the Will Rice Invitational Beer Bike. Everyone else at Rice just called it Fake Beer Bike because that’s what it really is. That, and you can’t just have another race because you didn’t win the first one. That’s just stupid. Whether or not Will Rice won the race they planned for themselves is completely insignificant—not to mention the fact that only two other colleges showed up to their Waste of Everyone’s Freaking Time Invitational. So just because some people at Will Rice who were dropped on their heads as babies decided to have another race doesn’t make it valid. Recognize the winners of Actual Real Beer Bike: Martel. Will Thompson
Martel College
Our apologies to Martel College and our readers. The error resulted from a too-hurried reading of the results posted at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/ ~program/beerbike/results.html, which listed the winners of the alumni race first and the men’s race last. —Editor
The Others I enjoyed your article about Tony Elam and his games. Unfortunately, you got the name of one of his favorite games wrong. It is Cosmic Encounter, not Cosmic Encounters. My housemates (one of whom coincidentally used to work with Tony at IBM and game with him at CLAG) call it Cosmic Encounters to annoy me. John S. Adair ’89
Austin, Texas
past. Please be aware, however, that students have been doing this for a long time. My daughter, Jill, surprised us on her Christmas visit home in 2001 with a very new, very short cut. Locks of Love was delighted, as red hair is hard to come by. A good friend of hers, Stephanie Moat, also donated at the same time. These women made the donation with no fanfare and would probably be embarrassed if any fuss were made. A well balanced article, however, might include further research into the frequency that donations to Locks of Love are made by all Rice students. Rice students make other simple, but meaningful contributions to the Houston community. I doubt if very many Rice students are content to just study. Most go to Rice precisely because they want challenges and new experiences. I believe you might find many more interesting ways Rice students contribute to the community if you seek them out. Louise Bergman
Just a note: Lynn Elsenhans is currently on the Jones Graduate School Board of Overseers, and your writeup makes it sound like she no longer is. Vicki Bretthaur is also on the JGS Council of Overseers. Obviously, we’re proud of having them on our council.
Long Grove, Illinois Thank you for the summer issue. I do not remember an issue with more interesting articles, better graphics, and more information. It is the best yet. Judy Wingo
Richardson, Texas
Debra Thomas
Director of Public Relations Jones Graduate School of Management
I appreciate the articles on students, especially the various ways that they volunteer themselves and their time for others. The summer 2003 issue, which I just received, has an article on the donation of hair to Locks of Love. You have featured other students in the
I just read the summer issue of the Sallyport. It’s terrific—both layout and content. Cheers to the staff. Susan Lieberman
Director, Leadership Rice
Fall ’03
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