The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, September 14, 2022

VOLUME 107, ISSUE NO. 4 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

Space City: The Rice-NASA relationship through the years JENNIFER LIU / THRESHER

MADISON BARENDSE

FOR THE THRESHER

Anyone who has been on campus is bound to have heard the name “John F. Kennedy” repeated tens of times recently. Indeed, Rice hosted a number of events this past weekend to commemorate the 60th anniversary of JFK’s “We choose to go to the Moon” speech at Rice stadium.

Many of these events featured collaborations with NASA astronauts and administrators, marking just another result of the decadeslong partnership between Rice and NASA. For much of the Rice-NASA relationship, the collaboration between the two entities was largely unofficial. Their relationship was formalized in 2012 with the signing of the Space Act Agreement, a contract designed to further the research collaboration between Rice and NASA. Professor of computer science Lydia Kavraki said this agreement, which was renewed late last month, is vital.

“The Rice Space Act Agreement is essential for Rice,” Kavraki said. “It is a prerequisite for work [related to space] to be done. We’re very excited that this has been renewed.”

The cooperation between Rice and NASA takes many forms. The Rice Space Institute, which formed in 2000 when the former Physics and Space Physics and Astronomy Departments merged, aims to strengthen research connections with NASA and promote space-related activities on campus and within Houston.

Rafe Neathery, a Will Rice College junior who recently completed an internship at Boeing, said the RSI’s support for student projects prepared him for entry into the aerospace industry. Neathery then said that he is optimistic about the future of the Rice-NASA relationship.

“I came here hoping I might find something with NASA and a lot of other students do as well,” Neathery said.

“It’s really cool that Rice is putting a new emphasis on opening that path for students, and NASA’s also willing to branch out and allow us to do some of that research for them.”

Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, stressed the importance of collaboration in the aerospace industry, saying that mentorship was critical in advancing her own career.

“I was really fortunate, in both [NASA and the FDA], to have mentors. And they were men that were willing to share and teach me everything that they knew,” Wyche said.

When looking towards the future of NASA, Wyche said she hopes to pass on this legacy of mentorship and collaboration across communities; and in doing so, promote STEM careers and increase representation in engineering fields.

“I will say we do have a need to increase the number of women and minorities, especially in engineering. And so that’s one of the things that I do … I try to give back and mentor others,” Wyche said. “I always want people to [not] have a fear of working with somebody that’s different. We have a common goal of wanting to [explore space].”

Another hub of space research is the Center for Space Medicine, located near campus in the Bioscience Research Collaborative.

The CSM was the first department of space medicine ever established in a university or medical school, and is now a collaborative effort between Rice, NASA, Baylor College of Medicine, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and other Texas Medical Center institutions.

Space-related research also takes place in individual laboratories, like the Kavraki Lab. In 2016, the lab began collaborating with NASA to develop a motion planning framework for the Robonaut 2, a robot meant to assist astronauts with a variety of tasks onboard the International Space Station. Zak Kingston, a postdoctoral research associate at the Kavraki Lab who participated in the Robonaut 2 project as a graduate student, said collaborations like this are beneficial for both Rice and NASA. “We could bring in our expertise and they could bring us their problems, and we both had a very nice collaboration,” Kingston said. “I think that’s probably true all throughout the things that NASA’s doing right now.”

SEE RICE & NASA PAGE 7

Campus reacts to student loan forgiveness proposal ANDREW CORMACK

FOR THE THRESHER

Last month, President Joe Biden’s administration announced a major federal student loan forgiveness plan expected to provide loan relief to 43 million people. It will also be one of the costliest new federal programs of the administration.

The proposal comes as university tuition skyrockets, and Americans become increasingly indebted after graduating college. Since 1980, the average annual cost to attend a four-year college has increased ninefold. Over the past year, Rice increased tuition and fees 3.5% to $69,963.

As part of the proposal, the U.S. Department of Education will cancel up to $20,000 of debt for Americans with Pell Grants and up to $10,000 of federal student debt for non-Pell recipients. To have their loans forgiven, borrowers must annually earn less than $125,000 ($250,000 if married). It is not necessary to have earned a degree to be eligible. In addition to forgiving debt, the proposal also extends the pandemic pause on loan payments through December 2022.

According to the 2023 U.S. News and World Report, the median federal loan debt from Rice borrowers after graduation for their undergraduate degree is $12,000, and 4% of students take out private loans.

Current Rice undergraduate, graduate and alumni with federal student loans could be eligible under the program for forgiveness. Rice alumna Sierra Beckstrom (McMurtry ‘20) will see the remainder of their $10,851 in student

loan debt forgiven in the plan, they said.

Beckstrom is now working as a high school English teacher, who said that while Biden’s plan isn’t as robust as they would have hoped, they are happy to see that something is being done.

“I earned about $250,000 in scholarships and financial aid during my four years at Rice, but, of course, that was not quite enough to cover everything,” Beckstrom said. “As a [first generation, low income] graduate, I am so entirely grateful that I am eligible for student loan forgiveness.”

Some students and graduates celebrate the plan as a step to decrease the burdens of paying for college. However, in recent weeks a small but growing group has expressed concern for the ramifications of the sweeping proposal.

It comes at a time when total student loan debt has surpassed $1.7 trillion, and the Biden administration has already canceled $32 billion in federal student loans. The recent proposal is significantly larger – and costlier – than previous forgiveness programs. Some doubt debt forgiveness’s effectiveness and question the impact on the federal deficit and the long-run economic consequences.

Zach Bethune, a professor of economics at Rice, is concerned about the potential unintended consequences of the forgiveness plan and believes that it would have been more efficient to improve one of the Department of Education’s current policies.

“It makes more sense to work within existing programs and improve than onetime debt forgiveness,” Bethune said.

SEE LOAN FORGIVENESS PAGE 3

2 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

THE RICE THRESHER

Rice celebrates 60th anniversary of JFK moon speech, begins search for mankind’s next steps VIOLA HSIA

SENIOR WRITER Rice and NASA celebrated the official 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s moon speech on Sept. 12.

Students from both Rice and the Houston independent school district, faculty, NASA officials and federal, state and local officials attended the ceremony.

The event was organized by the Director of Rice’s Space Institute, David Alexander.

Leading up to the event, Alexander said he was excited for the ceremony and that he believes the celebration was still important decades after Kennedy’s speech.

“Most of our modern life is based around space in some way,” Alexander said, “We’re using satellites for everything, whether for social media, communications, navigation, control[or] farming. We can now go regularly and routinely to space. [JFK’s speech] really accelerated it all. And that happened here at Rice University, at Rice stadium, and we should be celebrating our 60th anniversary.”

The ceremony began with a welcome video and opening remarks from Alexander, followed by a few videos focusing on President Kennedy. During a video focused on the JFK library, a HISD student at the event ran onto the stage and yelled a salutation into the microphone. He promptly ran off, police close behind.

Despite this, the ceremony continued, with a speech from President Reginald DesRoches, which reflected on the legacy of Kennedy’s words. DesRoches said, prior to the event, that JFK’s speech had inspired Americans to believe in their country’s ability to achieve anything.

“Up to that time, throughout all of human history, people looked up in the sky and saw the moon as something that was beyond their reach,” DesRoches said.

“President Kennedy came to Rice that day to declare that this nation was going to make what seemed impossible into a reality.”

DesRoches’ speech was followed by the director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Vanessa Wyche. In her speech, Wyche recognized the newest generation of astronauts, who are part of NASA’s new Artemis mission. The first mission, which will be unmanned, is currently set to be launched on Sept. 27.

“Together we will inspire the next generation, the Artemis generation,” Wyche said, “Giant leaps start here.”

Prior to the event, Wyche said that future Artemis missions would put the first woman and the first person of color on the moon.

“In the 60s, only men had been to the surface of the moon.” Wyche said in an interview with the Thresher. “Now we have a more diverse astronaut corps. This is an opportunity for us to have women and

minorities.”

Several government representatives and NASA representatives also spoke, including former senator, astronaut and current NASA administrator, Bill Nelson. Nelson spoke to the Thresher about the future of NASA, beyond the Artemis missions, to destinations farther than the moon.

“We’re going back to the moon, but this time for a very different reason,” Nelson said. “We’re going back to learn to live and to work, and to prepare and to create new technologies in order to send humans further out into the universe. And the first step is Mars.”

Other keynote speakers at the event include Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Representative Brian Babin, Representative Al Green, Representative Sylvia Garcia, Representative Lizzie Fletcher and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. There were also video speeches from Senators John Cornyn, Ted Cruz and Representative Randy Weber. Former astronauts Jean LoupChretien and Shannon Walker (Brown ‘87, M.S. ‘92, Ph.D. ‘93) also spoke.

COURTESY BRIANNA BUKOWSKI A group of people (below) line up in the shape of the number 60 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of JFK’s speech at Rice.

The event closed with a speech delivered

by NASA’s associate administrator, Bob Cabana, followed by a poem from Avalon Hogans, Houston’s Youth Poet Laureate and a freshman at Rice.

In reflecting on the larger implications of space exploration on society, Nelson said he saw one unified planet Earth from orbit when he went to space for the first time.

“I looked out as we orbited the Earth every hour and a half, and I did not see racial division. I didn’t see religious division.

I didn’t see political division,” Nelson said.

“What I saw was [that] we were all citizens of the planet Earth.”

U.S. News ranks Rice at No. 15 Ion, Methodist announce partnership VIOLA HSIA

SENIOR WRITER

APPLE LI / THRESHER

HAJERA NAVEED

NEWS EDITOR

Rice University ranks No. 15 in the Best National University category by U.S. News and World Report’s 2022-2023 ranking released this week, up from No. 17 in 2021. Rice also ranked No. 3 in Best Undergraduate Teaching and No. 6 in Best Value Schools.

Rice retained its ranking as the No. 1 university in Texas and tied with Washington University in St. Louis for its No. 15 overall rank.

President Reginald DesRoches said the increase in ranking is a testament to the outstanding education provided by Rice faculty and the value of the student experience.

“It’s noteworthy that what’s known as our ‘peer assessment’ rose slightly, which indicates Rice’s reputation is growing among leaders of other universities,” DesRoches said. “Our goal is to always excel at delivering a highquality educational experience for our students on all fronts.”

Notably, Columbia University, which historically surpassed Rice’s

ranking, dropped from No. 2 to No. 18 between 2021 and 2022, after a Columbia math professor questioned the data submitted by the university for the ranking. Provost of Columbia Mary Boyce admitted to inaccuracies in the data submitted to U.S. News, in a statement made last Friday.

“We deeply regret the deficiencies in our prior reporting and are committed to doing better,” Boyce said in her statement.

In late August, Rice was also ranked

by Niche.com as No. 6 in the nation’s best universities. Niche also ranked Rice No.1 for students majoring in architecture, sports management, kinesiology and physical therapy.

Yvonne Romero da Silva, vice president of enrollment, said that interest in Rice has been on a steady increase since announcements of Rice Investment, the new business major, and the school’s overall expansion.

“I imagine the new rankings from U.S. News and Niche.com will continue to grow prospective students’ interest in [Rice],” Romero da Silva said.

Last month, the Ion announced its first health care-centric partnership with Houston Methodist, with the goal of developing new technologies for digital health. The Ion is the flagship building of Rice’s Innovation District in Houston’s Third Ward.

President Reginald DesRoches said that building new partnerships and sharing resources will allow for the expansion of digital innovation in health care.

“Rice is thrilled to play its part, and we celebrate our shared commitment with Houston Methodist to meaningful community engagement,” DesRoches said.

DesRoches said this is not the first partnership between the two entities. The new Houston Methodist-Rice University Center for Human Performance is currently under construction inside Tudor Fieldhouse.

Rice and Methodist are also collaborating with the Center for Neural Prosthetics and Interfaces to expand work in neurorobotics.

“With exciting, forward-thinking partnerships like this, we always hope that solutions to some of our country’s and the world’s major challenges are discovered and implemented in ways that impact the greater good,” DesRoches said.

Jan Odegard, the executive director of the Ion, said that while the Methodist’s partnership with Rice is primarily research based, the partnership with the Ion will focus on creating a space where the ideas can directly be engaged with leading health

care providers.

“The Ion partnership will be translational and entrepreneurial, offering a place to move from research and ideas into opportunities to engage directly with a leading health care provider without the overhead of getting inside the hospital on day one,” Odegard said. “We’re also excited to have Houston Methodist’s people participating in the Ion community, connecting with startups and other innovators involved in our programming.”

Michelle Stansbury, vice president of innovation and information at Houston Methodist, said the partnership would allow both Rice and Methodist to tap into and foster talent in the biotechnology world.

“We’re pretty excited because we do believe that [the partnership] will be able to open up and generate new ideas from individuals who are coming into [the Ion] to help us really transform health care, which is what Houston Methodist has been trying to do at least in the digital space for the last four years,” Stansbury said.

Odegard said he hopes the project will focus on certain communities in Houston, including Third Ward.

“We are always interested in finding ways to develop programming and partnerships that are inclusive of all communities, including the Third Ward,” Odegard said. “We also want to provide access to opportunities in Houston industries that have the greatest potential to create good jobs and strong prospects for growth: energy, technology and health care.”

KELTON KECK / THRESHER

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 • 3

NEWS

Pakistan floods inspire student efforts

COURTESY IBRAHIM ELSHARKAWY Rice MSA, PSA and SAS combined efforts to host a fundraiser for Pakistan flood relief.

NISHANKA KUTHURU

THRESHER STAFF

Rice University’s Pakistani Student Association, Muslim Student Association and South Asian Society collaborated to raise money for Pakistanis affected by disastrous flooding. Flood waters now cover roughly one third of the entire country, according to The New York Times.

According to UNICEF, around 33 million people, including approximately 16 million children, have been affected by this year’s heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan, which have brought devastating floods and landslides. As of Sept. 9, more than 664,000 people were sheltering in displacement camps, with many lacking adequate shelter and access to adequate food, clean water and sanitation.

Alizay Azeem, a Wiess College senior, got the idea to start a fundraiser for Pakistan, where some of her family lives, from her mom.

“My mom called me a couple of weeks ago, asking me if any Rice organizations were planning any fundraising initiatives,” Azeem said. “After talking with her, I decided to reach out to the [MSA] to see if we could put together some sort of fundraising initiative. From there, the MSA and PSA took the lead on the boba fundraiser that happened last week.”

Summer Shabana, Rice MSA copresident, said that MSA collaborated with cultural organizations on campus to ensure affected communities were represented.

“With charity being a large aspect of our faith and the floods in Pakistan being

generally unaddressed in the media and in the Rice community, it was important to the Rice MSA to educate students on campus while raising funds to help the people [in Pakistan],’’ Shabana, a Baker College senior, said.

The three organizations collectively raised $1,000 through their Launchgood fundraiser and $500 through selling Boba and Gulab Jamum, a traditional Pakistani dessert, according to Shabana.

Kashif Liaqat, a graduate student, was in Pakistan two weeks ago when the flooding reached high intensity.

“People died, many people lost their homes, some had to move,” Liaqat said.

“There was a week or so when we did not have any electricity, gas supply or internet. There was no communication. It was just like a total blackout.”

In the midst of peak flooding, Liaqat’s city, Quetta, was completely filled with water, even in places he did not expect.

“Where I live, there is a sort of housing colony and … [a] whole wall just vanished due to the flooding,” Liaqat said. “I was driving and more than half of my car was in the water. It’s really bad.”

Azeem said the flooding disproportionately affected lower income individuals in Pakistan.

“The floods have especially devastated interior Sindh and rural areas,” Azeem said. “Millions of people are internally displaced, infrastructure is destroyed and health systems are overwhelmed as the flooding has disrupted healthcare and facilitated the spread of disease.”

Huzaifa Ali, a Brown College junior, said that, in addition to the millions of people displaced, the flooding in Central

Pakistan has caused major disruptions in food supply.

“Most importantly, those are also the regions where many of our crops are grown and many farmers’ livelihoods depend on those which are now just wasted for this year,” Ali wrote. “The sad part is that Pakistan has to bear the brunt of this climate change even though it contributes less than 1 [percent] to global warming.”

Liaqat said that she believes individual fundraisers are more helpful than government fundraisers because the former uses donations to purchase food and other items of need for the Pakistani people and distribute them directly to the people impacted.

“The MSA thought of a great initiative to raise funds to do whatever we can to help those who were displaced by helping them get relief packages,” Ali wrote. “Many people and organizations in Pakistan are doing the same by going to the affected areas with trucks of mosquito repellent tents, non perishable foods, hygiene kits to save from waterborne diseases, et cetera.”

Azeem said that people interested in contributing to relief efforts should donate to local, grassroot Pakistani organizations, which provide direct aid to those affected.

“Sometimes it is difficult to assess whether money donated to big-name charities will actually reach the people who need it the most,” Azeem said. “My family in Pakistan has recommended donating to Indus Hospital & Health Network … I would definitely recommend donating to these organizations over charities like the Red Cross.”

FROM FRONT PAGE

LOAN FORGIVENESS This most recent forgiveness proposal is not entirely novel; the Department of Education currently administers an existing debt forgiveness program through Income Driven Repayment. However, the IDR is widely viewed as a policy failure and has been mismanaged according to a March Government Accountability Office report.

According to Bethune, it is still too early to determine whether the policies are effective.

“The bigger concern is that the current debt forgiveness policy does not seem to correct the inefficiencies associated with government subsidized student loans,” Bethune said. “More work has to be done for anyone to claim that the current plan is a net positive or negative.”

Grace Kneidel, a Brown College senior, said that while loan forgiveness doesn’t encourage responsible repayment, she appreciates that the proposal provides the most help to lower-income people.

“I understand the argument that people who make a certain amount of money, say, more than $80k, should be more responsible in paying off their debt and therefore the government shouldn’t forgive their loans,” Kneidel said. “That said, I also think we should just be happy that the majority of people with their debt canceled by this proposal make under $80k.”

Other students are more concerned about the long term economic implications of the proposal. Joseph Barbour, a McMurtry College senior, believes that the proposal will lead to more tuition increases in the future.

“I am against student loan forgiveness,” Barbour said. “[Because] it signals that any tuition increase will be covered by forgiveness and will cause universities to raise their rates to even more insane degrees, making university less accessible.”

Ben Murdoch, a Lovett College senior, sees the already excessive costs of higher education as a reason to forgive loans right now.

“I think student loan forgiveness is a great idea given that the cost of higher education is so high right now and acts as a barrier to many working and middle class families,” Murdoch said. “The upper income cutoff for loan forgiveness of $125,000 a year per individual may be a bit high, but overall I think that loan forgiveness is a good idea and will benefit a lot of people who could use the help.”

The Office of Financial Aid could not be reached for comment.

This article has been condensed for print.

Read the full article at ricethresher.org.

Student Association’s Initiative Fund opens with $40,000 RENLY LIU

FOR THE THRESHER This year, Rice Student Association’s initiative fund will have a budget of $40,000, a significant increase from the typical $20,000 budget of the past few years. SA Treasurer Solomon Ni said that the increase comes from unused blanket tax funds from the previous pandemic years.

The initiative fund is a reserve of money to be distributed by the SA blanket tax committee to help fund club projects in service of the Rice community. Ni said that over the last two years, the pandemic significantly impacted the amount of money clubs were able to spend, resulting in this year’s increased budget.

“This is one of the first years where we’re able to actually promote [the fund],” Ni said. I’m in a place of privilege to say that I get to administer the initiative fund this year, because I get to do a lot more than previous treasurers have.”

One club participating in the greater fund increase is Rice MusicMDs, an outreach program of students volunteering their musical experience and holding performances for local

NDIDI NWOSU / THRESHER

health institutions.

MusicMDs President Serena Kim said that the funding will hopefully allow for the expansion of the club.

“We are applying for a keyboard or two, so [the volunteers] can transport that and play it at Ben Taub, and [to]

provide snacks and drinks for our volunteers at Ben Taub,” Kim, a Brown College senior, said. “Also [we are] working with … three different hospices … as well as Texas Children’s and, with those, we would need help with transportation.”

The Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice is another club planning to apply for funding this year. Its Socials Committee Chair Maria Antonia Bustillo said that this year will mark the return of events that were unfeasible under previous pandemic restrictions, one of which is the Latin Pub Night.

“Now that things are slowly picking up, HACER hopes to be able to plan [the Latin Pub Night] and use the Initiative Fund to help cover expenses and make the event larger and more accessible to more members of the Rice community,” Bustillo said.

Ni said that with this year’s revival of student-accessible funding and the potential growth of the Blanket Tax Committee, he expects a lot more opportunities to be available to student organizations on campus.

“I’m expecting that students are able to pursue what they want to do, and what they want to see on campus. The main thing about the initiative fund is that it’s like a good place to experiment with what you want to see,” Ni said.

In order to receive money through the initiative fund, student organizations must submit their applications by Friday, Sept. 16.

4 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

NEWS

STaRT@Rice is...

October 7 - 11, 2022

Registration Now Open!

REGISTER TODAY! riceconnect.rice.edu/events/2022/ss-events/start-rice-2022

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 16

an innovative program that provides research training and professionalization opportunities.

Participants increase expertise via exposure in applied workshops and learn how to ask better questions about the research process. Workshop topics cover a broad range of content, moving from introductory to intermediate to advanced. Thus, participants can choose workshops matching their skill sets and background.

Program Features Open to undergraduate and graduate students Two 3-hour blocks of workshops daily $10 non-refundable registration fee $150 participation fee Competitive scholarships available Meals included Parking covered SPACES ARE LIMITED. RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!

Contact: start@rice.edu https://start.rice.edu

THE RICE THRESHER

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 • 5

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL STAFF

Re-evaluate priorities of college committees

Residential college life is often considered the cornerstone of the “Rice experience.” Just look at any Rice admission materials or listen to the chants at Beer Bike. College governments, then, play an integral role in representing and serving the students within their residential colleges. From Brown to Wiess, residential colleges host a plethora of committees, including the standard committees across campus and ones that stand out in their singularity like with Hanszen’s cheese committee.

College governments and their committees should, in theory, reflect the priorities of the students they represent. While we are not denying the value of current committees — they play large roles in facilitating connection and tradition within their colleges, something we appreciate — we ask college governments and the campus community they represent to reexamine how they prioritize their time and resources.

This can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. For example, some residential colleges have organized committees whose purpose is to facilitate community service outings into the greater Houston

area. Students joke about the “Rice bubble,” but these committees aim to pop it by facilitating connections between Rice and the broader Houston community.

Colleges can revisit their financial accessibility efforts by subsidizing or covering the cost of merch or certain

We ask college governments and the campus community they represent to re-examine how they prioritize their time and resources. events with associated fees. While some colleges’ merch come with high price tags, putting more funds towards subsidizing or paying for college merch would make them more accessible for low-income students without the hassle of requesting funding through their college magister funds. Lowering or eliminating funds associated with some events that colleges host would allow more students to participate where

they can forge meaningful links to their college.

More attention and funds could be given to college-specific affinity groups, cultural and diversity committees. This would allow for more community events and opportunities for connection within affinity groups.

Prioritizing promoting cultural events in the colleges or subsidizing tickets to campus-wide cultural events would signal a commitment to supporting the organizers on their college cultural or diversity committees while presenting a way for the college to come together and bond during the events.

These are just some of the many ways college committees could consider reallocating their resources. And again, we are not asking colleges to do away with all of their “fun” committees.

Rather, we implore governments across campus to take a more holistic view of which committees they promote the most and whom those committees represent.

College committees should serve and bring together their college communities — all of their college communities. Let’s see just how unconventionally wise we really are.

GUEST OPINION

Don’t skip the 2022 midterm elections With no presidential election at stake in 2022, do this year’s midterm elections even matter that much? I wasn’t sure until I saw the complete list of offices up for election in Texas this November.

Most notably, the midterm election will determine the next Texas Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, both chambers of the Texas Legislature and all 38 U.S. Representatives.

The race for Governor will be particularly contentious: it pits Republican incumbent Greg Abbott against former U.S. House member Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

Their platforms and campaign promises clash on nearly every issue, from climate change to marijuana legalization. To skeptics who argue that all politicians are essentially carbon copies of each other, this is certainly not the case in the Texas gubernatorial race.

Down-ballot races will be just as consequential. The volatile political backdrop in which these midterms are being held will allow Texas to shift significantly towards the political left or right over the next two years. In the wake of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that left 21 dead, gun control and police presence in schools will be a focal point.

Additionally, abortion rights hang in jeopardy in Texas due to the abortion ban that took effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

Another pressing issue for Texas voters is the state’s power grid. Various extreme weather events have exposed its flaws,

but this November’s candidates back widely differing solutions.

Although these issues may seem abstract or distant, they’re bound to impact the Rice community intimately.

Rice is not insulated from legislation governing Texas or the United States. As a concrete example, on-campus students were asked in a Sept. 8 email from Rice

To live in a democracy is to be implicated in the wellbeing of the collective — and as such, it’s our responsibility to be civically engaged.

Facilities Engineering & Planning to reduce their daily energy use due to vulnerabilities in Texas’ power grid. More generally, the chances that members of the Rice community will need to seek reproductive health services or will know someone affected by gun violence are high. Our collective quality of life is undeniably dependent on the future of the climate. To live in a democracy is to be implicated in the wellbeing of the collective — and as such, it’s our responsibility to be civically engaged.

If you’re registered to vote in a state other than Texas, your ballot will likely feature candidates with starkly contrasting views on inflation, Russia’s war on Ukraine, reproductive rights and

Read more at

ricethresher.org

Start your service on the ground

other issues. Further, many of your home jurisdiction’s local policies may hang in the balance too. Since voting by mail requires you to send in your ballot early, it’s advisable to look into your state’s procedure as soon as you can.

If you’re convinced that this year’s midterm elections matter immensely, it’s time to make a voting plan. The deadline to register to vote in Harris County is Oct. 11. All you need to do is fill out the application online or in print from your College Coordinator’s office and mail it in.

It takes less than ten minutes – but please don’t leave it until the last day.

You’ve got options for when to cast your vote: Early Voting is open from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4, with the nearest polling location in the Medical Center at 6550 Bertner Ave. On Election Day, which is Nov. 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., you’ll need to look no further than the Cohen House right here on campus to cast your ballot.

Pick a time and slot it in your calendar so it doesn’t slip through the cracks. Make sure to bring a valid ID and check out your sample ballot beforehand.

The 2022 midterm elections are too consequential to be left up to everyone else. If you needed a sign not to skip the midterm elections, this is it. Happy voting!

Alexa Thomases LOVETT COLLEGE SENIOR

Ben Baker-Katz* Editor-in-Chief Morgan Gage* Editor-in-Chief Bonnie Zhao* Managing Editor NEWS Hajera Naveed* Editor Maria Morkas Asst. Editor Keegan Leibrock Asst. Editor OPINION Nayeli Shad* Editor FEATURES Riya Misra* Editor ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Michelle Gachelin* Editor SPORTS Daniel Schrager* Editor Pavithr Goli Asst. Editor SPECIAL PROJECTS Prayag Gordy* Editor BACKPAGE Timmy Mansfield Editor Ndidi Nwosu Editor Andrew Kim Editor COPY Jonathan Cheng Editor Annika Bhananker Editor PHOTO, VIDEO, & WEB Katherine Hui Photo Editor Cali Liu Asst. Photo Editor Jasmine Liou Video Editor Camille Kao Asst. Video Editor Eli Johns-Krull Asst. Video Editor Brandon Chen* Web Editor DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION Robert Heeter Art & Design Director Anna Chung News Siddhi Narayan Opinion Robert Heeter Features Ivana Hsyung Arts & Entertainment Olivia Robson Sports Lauren Yu Backpage BUSINESS Edelawit Negash Business Manager Ariana Moshiri Social Media Jazmine Castillo Distribution

ABOUT The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper of Rice University since 1916, is published each Wednesday during the school year, except during examination periods and holidays, by the students of Rice University.

Letters to the Editor must be received by 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication and must be signed, including college and year if the writer is a Rice student. The Thresher reserves the right to edit letters for content and length and to place letters on its website.

Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor of the Ley Student Center: 6100 Main St., MS-524 Houston, TX 77005-1892 Phone: (713) 348 - 4801 Email: thresher@rice.edu Website: www.ricethresher.org

Sophia Peng To truly make an impact, students need to identify community needs and find service opportunities that act with, and not on, the community.

* Indicates Editorial Board member

MCMURTRY COLLEGE JUNIOR

The Thresher is a member of the ACP, TIPA, CMA, and CMBAM. © Copyright 2022

Denise Maldonado

LOVETT COLLEGE JUNIOR

Sejal Gupta

LOVETT COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

ricethresher.org

6 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

THE RICE THRESHER

Knitting communities together: Explore Rice’s wackiest committees PARKER BLUMENTRITT

FOR THE THRESHER

From cheese fondue to crocheted cows, residential college committees have their own ways of upholding their college’s special culture. The Thresher talked to a few unique committees across campus that showcase the full range of possibilities for college governments.

KATHERINE CHUI / THRESHER

Senior Spotlight: Tiffany Cuaresma finds harmony at Rice ARIANA MOSHIRI

THRESHER STAFF

Few current Rice students can say they’ve walked red carpets. For Tiffany Cuaresma, though, red carpets are just another day in her life as a music composer.

Cuaresma, a Baker College senior, said she has always been naturally geared towards music. Cuaresma said she grew up playing piano and taking part in her school’s choir, band and orchestra — she even started working as a film score composer in high school. As a competitive figure skater, she said she became familiar with different types of music and choreography. According to Cuaresma, this inspired her to combine her two passions and explore choreographing music, leading her towards music composition, which she now studies at the Shepherd School of Music.

“I was working primarily as a film score composer and only focused on classical stuff,” Cuaresma said. “I did pop vocals for some friends when I was matriculating, but I got so busy with school that I [decided to] just work on classical [composition]. But then I went to my first electronic music festival and it was really life changing for me. I knew from then that I wanted to explore new sound worlds and creative worlds.”

From that point, Cuaresma delved into the electronic dance music industry as a vocalist, singer/songwriter and music producer, while still continuing her work as a film score composer and concert composer.

“Now I feel like my day job is a film score composer and my night job is like a DJ/ EDM [artist],” Cuaresma said. “I have like two different personas, I’d say — things I use for my classical stuff and things I use more for my pop artist stuff.”

Cuaresma said she has scored an indie film for the Burbank International Film Festival, which she says launched her career.

“That was my first time seeing one of the films I scored in an actual AMC theater,” Cuaresma said. “And I was bawling my eyes out because it was just a dream come true.”

Cuaresma said that walking a red carpet and seeing her role as a composer credited on a big screen was a core moment in her life. But the highlight of working on that particular project was collaborating with

the rest of the film crew, who she became close friends with.

“What I really found inspiring was [that] we were all from different backgrounds and different races, ethnicities, religions …and we all came together to form this one masterpiece. It just really goes to show how art transcends these boundaries,” Cuaresma said. “That is my greatest moment of life — creating art that helps resonate with others and brings people together.”

A San Diego local, Cuaresma said she plans on moving back to California where she has music projects lined up. She said she has a commission with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra next year, upcoming film projects, labels she’s pitching to and many other productions she’s busy working on.

While she will be working on music full-time in Los Angeles and San Diego, Cuaresma said she does eventually want to attain a master’s degree.

“I want to see where my music career takes me right now. Hopefully later, if I do a master’s, it’ll be in business,” Cuaresma said. “I want to transition into working for a talent agency or working in the entertainment music industry.”

Now, in her final semester at Rice, Cuaresma, who said she is graduating early this December, reflects on her time here.

While she is sad that the pandemic wiped out almost half of her college education, she said she feels blessed to have met lifelong friends here. “[Being a senior] is really surreal to me because I took a gap semester last year to focus on mental health and [now] I’m graduating early, so it’s been really speedy,” Cuaresma said. “I really only had one real semester on this campus, but my freshman year was a transformative one and I met a lot of people, so I’m [grateful].”

Cuaresma offered up some advice to her peers at Rice.

“Know that it’s okay to take breaks,” Cuaresma said.

“Prioritize your health, especially your mental health. I know it feels scary sometimes, and we all have imposter syndrome, but you’re doing great. And the fact that you’re at this school and there’s a place, a purpose and a plan for you is enough. Don’t give up.”

Hanszen Cheese Committee Cheese connoisseur Brian Lee, a Hanszen College junior, was nominated by his friends to bring back Hanszen College’s Cheese Committee after its hiatus in 2020. According to Lee, the cheese committee previously held one to two cheese related events a year.

Lee brought in Emery Engling, a current sophomore at Hanszen, as his fellow Cheese Master to bring the committee back to Hanszen College. They said they host events approximately once a month featuring cheese in all of its various forms (fondue, mozzarella sticks, you name it).

The Cheese Committee, according to Engling, also pairs with other Hanszen Committees to put on a variety of events including cheese times trivia and a cheese times cider event with Hanszen’s Brewing Committee. Even with the frequency of their events, the cheese supply often runs out within half an hour, according to Lee. “We have never once had more food than people,” Lee said.

Lee’s favorite part of the committee is the array of people he interacts with.

“The best part for me is getting to meet a lot of people,” Lee said. “I’ve met a decent amount of underclassmen, a couple upperclassmen, just through helping set up cheese events and also just trying out different kinds of cheeses. There’s always a really cool experience.”

Engling, on the other hand, said the cheese is his favorite part.

Sid Knits into a committee.

“A lot of [people] are busy all the time and [Sid Knits] was a place for them to gather and meet people,” Chiu said. “I really liked that environment, so I just wanted to continue that.”

Santra said that after learning to crochet through Sid Knits, crocheting became an important coping mechanism for navigating their freshmen year.

“Crochet made me feel more independent, and it made me feel like I could be by myself without feeling lonely,” Santra said. “I wanted to keep the infrastructure for [Sid Knits] in place and also hopefully give that to somebody else.”

According to Chiu, Sid Knits meets weekly, offering a space for those with experience to hone their craft and for beginners to learn.

Jones Ambiance Committee Yuv Sachdeva, a Jones College sophomore, said he is one of Jones’s two Ambiance Coordinators, along with Lauren Yu, a position dedicated to improving the spaces and overall physical environment at Jones. (Editor’s note: Lauren Yu is the Thresher’s backpage designer). According to Sachdeva, the position was not very active in the past, their only project was getting new speakers for the college, even though the committee has been around for several years.

Additionally, he said there was no committee in the past, just the two coordinators.

According to Sachdeva, the committee wants to especially focus on requests from Jones students in their projects this year.

“A lot of Jonesians [would] love to see fairy lights in the Commons or would love to see their [floor] lobbies improved.”

Sachdeva said the position is especially important to him because of how one’s physical environment impacts their wellbeing.

“We all live in Jones throughout the whole year, so if the space is not appealing, [it] doesn’t feel like a homely environment, then that can actually really affect your wellbeing,” Sachdeva said. “Also, we think that [the ambiance committee] is a way that we can … give everyone a chance to have some say in what would make them feel better at Jones.”

Hanszen Skeleton Committee Thanks to Hanszen College’s Skeleton Committee, it’s Halloween all year long in the Hanszen Commons. The Skeleton Committee started last year when Harry Femur, a 12-foot-tall skeleton, found his home in Hanszen College after a year-long acquisition process due to stock shortages across Houston. The current chair, Christina Wong, a Hanszen sophomore, says that the skeleton committee’s main responsibility is taking care of the skeleton.

“We put together the skeleton and … we dress it up,” Wong said.

This year, Wong said the Skeleton Committee plans to do some extra costumes throughout the year, including various famous Harrys, such as Harry Styles and Harry Potter. For Halloween, Wong said the costume is selected via popular vote in the Hanszen GroupMe. After a choice is made, the committee and anyone who wants to join works on crafting the costume.

“When we do get together with a bunch of people to craft these costumes … it’s a really good bonding experience for everyone involved,” Wong COURTESY said. “I remember last year TIFFANY [the skeleton committee] offered CUARESMA service points for helping out Tiffany Cuaresma with the costume, but there were on the Comic-Con swarms of freshmen, all helping red carpet earlier out, all contributing.” this year.

Sid Knits Two Sid Richardson College sophomores, Evelyn Chiu and Anuska Santra, are crafting a community with Sid Knits, Sid’s own knitting and crocheting committee. Sid Knit’s was started last year by Sid’s previous magister, Melanie Achard, according to Chiu. However, when it was announced that the Achards were leaving Sid, Chiu said she decided to continue the tradition and make

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 • 7

FEATURES

Moonshot 1

1

12

13

1

1

4

1

16 19 22

2

1

1

1

1

33

34

35

3

JAYAKER KOLLI

CROSSWORD WRITER

23

1

8

14

1

15

1

17

1

18

1

20

24

28

38

1

39

42

1

43

46

1

49

50

1

1

61

62

5

7

1

1

1

1

29

30

31

1

36

40

47

55

6

1

1

1

56

57

58

1

44

1

48

10

11

21

1

1

25

26

27

1 1

37

1

41

9

1 4 8 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 25 28 29 32 33

32

36 37 38 39 41 42 43 44 46 47 48 49 51 52 55

45

51

1 1

59

1

63

1

64

65

1

66

1

67

68

1

69

1

70

1

1

1

52

53

54

60

59 1

61 63

1

Owls dive into the startup world JAHNAVI MAHAJAN

FOR THE THRESHER

Pressed to picture where the big companies in Silicon Valley started, one could imagine a badly-lit dorm room with a copious number of monitors and red, green and blue LED lights. And they may not be wrong. For many Rice alumni and graduate students involved in the startup world, their entrepreneurial careers began at Rice.

Samuel Spitz (Rice ‘21), co-founder and CEO of Gently, a resale clothing company, said one of the biggest stories of his career was securing his first investor in the midst of graduating from Rice. Spitz said he had his cap and gown on, just about to get to the field, when he received an email from Jason Calacanis, a notable angel investor, saying he would invest six figures in Gently.

“As I am getting out to see my co-founder for the first time in person after working together for several months, and on the day of graduation, we found out that arguably the highest profile angel investor in the world was going to invest six figures into the company we had started eight weeks before.

That was insane,” Spitz said.

Spitz said he was formally introduced to the world of entrepreneurship in his second semester freshman year when took a class called “Design Thinking” with Hesam Panahi, a Rice lecturer and the Strategic Initiatives and Programs director for Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

“I didn’t think I could be a founder. I was smart enough to get into Rice but I wasn’t a savant,” Spitz said. “But taking the class with [Panahi], I saw pretty quickly … that I was good at figuring out the problems that people are having in the world and [creating] a solution we could bring to them.”

Panahi, who said he continues to teach the same design thinking class, stresses the importance of networking among Rice alumni and entrepreneurs. “[Lilie Lab is] helping orchestrate these connections that happen inside and outside of the classrooms — and a lot of that happens with Rice alums,” Panahi said. “Knowing that there is this massive Rice network of founders, investors and others in the community that are doing great things that if you send them an email or message, there is a high probability that they’ll respond and be willing to take a call.”

Rosa Selenia Guerra Resendez, founder of QuetzalBio, is a fifth year Ph.D. student at the department of Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology. According to Resendez, QuetzalBio is working to develop new gene control tools. “[QuetzalBio is] developing new molecular tools for genetic and epigenetic control of genes that are linked to cancer or to other malignancies of T-cells,” Resendez said.

Resendez said that her motivation to work in startups ever since starting her Ph.D. was to help bridge the gap between what is done at the bench and at the bedside — that is, formulate treatments for patients.

“We are coming to an era where the academics are thinking ‘we cannot leave this [discovery] in paper. We have to get it to the general population,’” Resendez said.

Bo Wang, founder of Aqualight Materials, a company creating patents to decontaminate water systems, is another fifth year Ph.D. candidate at the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

Wang said that being a part of the first cohort of the Rice Innovation fellows that opened to graduate students helped a lot.

“We are graduate students in the engineering and science departments. We spend a lot of time in the lab and we don’t necessarily know how to do business,” Wang said. “But with the Rice Innovation Fellows and Lilie Lab, we got a platform to learn and collaborate and partner with founders in Houston and outside in the US.” Kyle Judah, executive director of Lilie said that entrepreneurship provides a chance for students, who are often directed by their professors or bosses, to finally have full agency over a task.

“The generation of students that we’re seeing at Rice now — they’re excited, they’re fired up, and more importantly they want to make an impact. There’s absolutely no better time than now and no better place than here to get started on that journey,” Judah said.

64 65 66 67 68

ACROSS Street cred Actor Driver who portrays 70-across Continent home to Bhutan and Pakistan Prefix meaning vinegary Sitarist Shanker State home to Zion National Park Canoe alternative Small bills Scully of “The X-Files” Singer of “Rolling in the Deep” Project that saw John Glenn orbit the Earth The S in GPS, abbr.

Grad. degree in writing or painting Unkempt Haha, to a texter Whitman’s “barbaric” yell Definite article First spaceflight project to use Houston as its command center Lawyers’ org.

Course code for many a pre-med Snowman in “Frozen” Connection center, much like this entry Clique Small scalp parasites Bears, on a scoreboard First program to land humans on the Moon IAH posting Sounds of shushing Some college degs.

KTRU, Thresher, etc.

Atmosphere Rice religious pancake-providing org.

Recent program aimed at returning humans to the Moon Dharmic concept of “what goes around comes around” “Rent” character Org. that oversaw 20-across, 33-across, 44-across, and 55-across Root vegetable with many layers Colored part of the eye Thrilled Eel, at a sushi spot “10 Things I Hate About You” artist Kate 69 State with famous butter cow 70 Kylo ___, of “Star Wars”

CHARLOTTE HEELEY / THRESHER The Lilie Lab (above) facilitates educational and networking opportunites for potential Rice entrepreneurs.

FROM FRONT PAGE

RICE & NASA

Outside of laboratories and institutes, the impact of Rice and NASA’s partnership can be seen in student organizations like the Rice Eclipse Rocketry Team and Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.

Founded in 2014, Rice Eclipse has worked with several labs on campus to develop rockets, engines, avionics hardware and software, and is currently designing a rocket to compete in the Spaceport America Cup this summer.

Rice Eclipse gives its members handson design and engineering experience, preparing them for entry into the space industry and other STEM fields.

With regard to current Rice Eclipse Projects, Neathery said he and the rest of the propulsion team are excited to test Titan II, a rocket engine Eclipse has been working on for several years. “[Testing the engine] is something that everyone’s been looking forward to for a very long time,” Neathery said.

“It’s going to be a very big event for us, and it’s going to be a milestone for the club as a whole to demonstrate our

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 33 34 35 37 40 45 47 50 51 52 53 54 56 57 58 60 61 62

DOWN Spanish kings Scientific article etc.

Turtwig or Bulbasaur Smell of sautéing Scooby-Doo, a Great ____ Swear the truth Catchall category, abbr.

“Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” Lorde “Don’t move” Bond author Fleming “Eureka!”

Aliases, for short Lindsay Lohan’s character in “Mean Girls” Ref relative Recoil Coastal feature Simple kind of question The Game of ____ Vertical line on a graph Aladdin’s monkey friend Horseradish condiment Humanoid of Jewish folklore Top of the top Nut often paired with white chocolate in cookies Due to, for a texter Hesitant “Meh” Hardcore _______ ACT alternative From Dublin or Cork Carne _____ “Monty Python’s Life of _____” Urban haze Pedi counterpart, at a spa Common course code for MECHs or CEVEs Opposite of bueno “_ ___ Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” Actress Hathaway $1,000,000, slangily Anger

ability to pull off a complex long-term engineering project.”

Considering the organization’s focus on space, one might assume the partnership between Rice and NASA has deeply influenced Eclipse. According to Jake Sperry, acting president of Rice Eclipse, this impact is not equally felt by all Rice students.

“A lot of what NASA has helped Rice with has been more on the graduate side of things, and as we are an undergraduate-heavy club there haven’t been as many direct influences that we’ve had from NASA,” Sperry, a Jones College junior, said. “I’m hoping if the collaboration between NASA and Rice continues that we’ll see more of the undergraduate side of things.”

Rice’s SEDS chapter is an international student organization that supports space exploration. A notable SEDS project is OwlSat CubeSat, a cubic satellite designed by SEDS members and funded by NASA and the RSI to study extreme ultraviolet radiation in low earth orbit. SEDS hopes to launch this satellite next year. Neathery, a structural lead on the OwlSat project, said it provides an excellent opportunity for students hoping to gain hands-on experience.

“It represents a chance for us to learn how to build a satellite, which obviously isn’t easy,” Neathery said. “It’s been a huge learning curve for us to develop that.”

Brianna Bukowski, a Sid Richardson College sophomore and acting vice president of SEDS, said she thinks there is room for expansion in Rice’s relationship with NASA, specifically with undergraduate students.

“I feel like Rice really pushes this NASA connection which I don’t think is there, and especially is not accessible for undergraduate students,” Bukowski said. “I’m interested to see what direction they go in.”

Riya Misra contributed to this reporting.

8 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

THE RICE THRESHER

Moody’s new exhibit deconstructs the built environment Discover these local

CAMILLE KAO / THRESHER The Moody’s Urban Impressions exhibit opens Friday, Sept. 16, and challenges viewers to consciously consider their role in cities.

HUGO GERBICH PAIS

THRESHER STAFF

Inspired by our built environment and the diverse way that cities are portrayed in art, the Moody Center for the Arts fall exhibition “Urban Impressions: Experiencing the Global Contemporary Metropolis” challenges its audience to reflect on how they move through cities.

The opening reception for the exhibition will take place on Friday, Sept. 16 with a student reception on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The exhibit will run until Saturday, Dec. 17.

Frauke V. Josenhans, who curated the exhibition, wanted to ensure that the exhibition conveyed more than just the visual elements of the city.

“We wanted to do an exhibition that really engages with the topic of the city — not only the visual aspect — because we really experience the city with so many senses,” Josenhans said.

This goal is reflected in the diversity of pieces selected for display. The exhibition features photographs, paintings and multimedia pieces with sound and light components.

“There is one fantastic work by the Nigerian artist Emeka Ogboh, which is a lightbox work but it also has an audio element,” Josenhans said. “So it’s visual, but you are also immersed in sound.”

Ogboh also created a stout-based beer, called Japa, in collaboration with local brewery Astral Brewing for the exhibition to reflect the flavors of the Nigerian Houston community. The flavor of the beer is based on a collation of interviews with members of the community who were asked to describe what tastes they associated with Houston. The beer has strong spice and smokey notes.

“I would really like people to understand that there are so many different layers to the city,” Josenhans said.

The exhibition also features a work by renowned American artist Mary Flanagan: “Metaphysical Reclamations: The Metropolis Project,” which was commissioned by the Moody. The work envisions what our cities of the future might look like as technology develops and society faces the ever-increasing threat of climate change.

The multimedia work uses projectors to display renderings created by artificial intelligence and machine learning depicting what the anthropocene of our future could look like. These are accompanied by oil paintings of some of the renderings.

“I wanted to ask what could be monumental and organic right among us in our cities,” Flanagan said, who focused in particular on what the relationship between trees and buildings might look like.

Flanagan trained the AI using images of women-identifying artists and architects to create a feminist AI. “Can we use a playful AI, thinking about broadly feminist and environmental issues, to reshape what is possible?” Flanagan said. “Can we use AI to reimagine our future cities better than we can?”

Flanagan’s work also allows students to participate in imagining our future cities.

Students submit their own images rendered

by AI and machine learning, which will then be projected alongside the images she has created.

By encouraging students to actively participate in reimagining Houston, Moody’s “Urban Impressions” challenges how cities are often overlooked and reduced to mere geographic areas. Instead, viewers are confronted with the city portrayed as a rich sensory experience and vessel for artistic expression, and invited to question their role in its future.

“I hope people leave the exhibition with a dual vision of the city. There are many problems affecting cities, but as a community there are solutions we can work on,” Josenhans said.

Celebrated essayist Kiese Laymon reconciles with grief in new release COURTESY BRANDON MARTIN Kiese Laymon hosted a reading of his new book, “Good God,” last Thursday, Sept. 8 at Kraft Hall.

JULIA LI

SENIOR WRITER Last Thursday, Sept. 8, Rice professor Kiese Laymon, a critically acclaimed essayist, hosted a book reading at Kraft Hall that featured an excerpt from his highly-anticipated upcoming release, “Good God,” which centers on themes of forgiveness and intimacy.

Hailing from Jackson, Mississippi, Laymon is the award-winning author of the essay collection “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America,” which was named as a New York Times notable book.

Laymon’s bestselling memoir, “Heavy: An American Memoir,” received recognition from the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, among a myriad of other awards. The audiobook, which was also read by Laymon, was named the Audible Audiobook of the Year in 2018.

The event featured his reading of a short excerpt, which was followed by refreshments and hors d’oeuvres.

“I hope folks started daydreaming about the stories they need or want to tell,” Laymon wrote in an email to the Thresher when prompted about what he hoped his readers would take away from the event. “I hope they listened to the brilliant folks in that room asking questions.”

On the topic of his upcoming release, “Good God,” Laymon shared what he hoped his readers would be receptive towards.

“I just want readers to be open to something really different structurally,” Laymon said. “It’s a long poem and a novel and a memoir anchored in the building of three essays during the pandemic. The most challenging part [of writing ‘Good God’] was publicly grieving immediate and inevitable death.”

Laymon said that one of his essays details the passing of his grandmother, who loved coloring even as her health began to deteriorate during the height of the pandemic.

“My grandmother had four months to live … But that was also a time in Jackson where there were no emergency rooms, and there were no hospital bedrooms for anyone.

And there were no doctors for people who needed them. So I had to wait outside the emergency room while my grandmother sat in the hallway, crying,” Laymon said. “And I just kept wanting to give her a coloring book because I thought that would help.”

Laymon highlighted the change in structure compared to his past works.

He wrote one essay in crayon to honor his grandmother’s love for coloring and another with his grandmother’s typewriter.

“I’ve actually changed styles a lot since the pandemic started,” Laymon said. “The easiest part was really just trying to make this book feel good. Once I accepted that feeling good was actively going to be part of the process, it just made every day better.”

Laymon joined the Rice English department as the Libby Shearn Moody Professor of Creative Writing and English in January and has also been involved with Rice’s Center for African and African American Studies.

“The reputation of the students and faculty drew me to Rice. I feel like I’ve been headed to Houston my entire career, though I didn’t know it,” Laymon said.

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

Latine artists

GENESIS HAHN / THRESHER

JACKIE HUANG

FOR THE THRESHER This Thursday marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which recognizes the achievements and influence of Latine communities and individuals around the U.S. To celebrate, here are five Houston-based Latine artists to check out and support this month and beyond. More amazing local artists can be found through the Houston Latino Artists Registry from the Inter-University Program for Latino Research.

Adriana Corral Born in El Paso, TX, artist Adriana Corral draws on her experiences as a native Texan to create works that touch on issues of immigration, human rights violations and often-erased historical narratives. Her research-based artistic practice leads her to seek out primary documents and collaborate with historians, anthropologists, human rights attorneys and victims’ families to create her work. Corral’s art challenges history and injustice through visually minimal but thought-provoking conceptual pieces.

She invites the viewer to question the collective memory of history and what has been forgotten or intentionally erased.

Gabriel Martinez Gabriel Martinez is an artist, writer and performer working in Houston. After graduating from Columbia University with a Master of Fine Arts, he attended the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program in New York. Martinez uses a variety of mediums including fabric collages, photography, musical performances and more. Key themes he explores in his work include the social dynamics of public space, often repurposing found objects to create public art outside of gallery spaces.

Martinez also founded Alabama Song, a space for experimental work to be shared across cultural disciplines.

Vincent Valdez For those who prefer more representational work, Vincent Valdez is known for using tight brushwork and mastery of lighting as a vehicle to bring forgotten histories to light. Much of Valdez’s work deals with provocative subject matter to address the state of contemporary society. Through his monumental oil paintings, Valdez creates distinctly contemporary works that comment on the pervasiveness of racism, forcing the viewer to consider how white supremacy thrives in modern society.

One of Valdez’s paintings from the series “The Strangest Fruit” is currently on display at the Museum of Fine Art Houston’s Nancy and Rich Kinder Building as part of the third floor’s Border/Mapping/Witness gallery.

This article has been cut off for print.

Read the full article at ricethresher.org.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 • 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration of home away from home

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER

CECILIA NGUYEN

FOR THE THRESHER

Sept. 10 marked the celebration of one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture — the Mid-Autumn Festival. Every year, the festival is a vibrant and beautiful tradition centered around giving thanks to the harvest, worshipping the moon and reuniting with family around a full table.

Kexin Shen, the president of the Rice Chinese Students and Scholars Association, said that she hoped to alleviate her homesickness by honoring this holiday during the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala hosted by the RCSSA at the Rice Memorial Center Grand Hall this past Saturday.

“Our mission is to create a family-like environment for the Chinese international students to feel a sense of belonging,”

Review: ‘age/sex/location’ is an album we wouldn’t miss

It is important that we address mediocrity when we encounter it, especially when the source of mediocrity is something you see greater potential for. My criticisms of “age/sex/location” all come from a place of disappointment resulting from my belief in Ari Lennox’s potential as an artist and musician.

The album opens with “POF,” where Lennox immediately lays out where she is in life for the listener: “Young Black woman approachin’ 30 / With no lover in my bed.” Within the track’s first few seconds, Lennox introduces the atmosphere of “age/sex/location” with the accompaniment, which uses multiple reverbs to set the scene. The song’s vocals stop 35 seconds before the end of the song, creating a somewhat nostalgic R&B feeling.

POH is followed by “Hoodie.” While singers within a similar genre as Lennox, such as Summer Walker or Jhené Aiko, are characterized by a floaty, high range and delicate vocal quality, Lennox manages to belong to the same Neo Soul genre as these singers while diverting from this vocal trope. This song is both very forgettable and a concise summary of what defines Lennox’s sound: a lofi drum beat paired with a strong bass line and a synthesized version of what will later be revealed as the chorus melody.

Now we’ve arrived at the album’s halfway mark and interlude, “A/S/L.” This is my least favorite part of the album. If there is an interesting idea here, it is not effectively communicated, leading the listener to think they simply aren’t profound enough to understand the underlying message, when in reality the fault lies with Lennox for producing

Review: ‘Pinocchio’ continues Disney’s live-action cold streak THRESHER STAFF

COURTESY DREAMVILLE / INTERSCOPE RECORDS

FOR THE THRESHER

Mid-Autumn Festival is supposed to be a festival where all families come together and eat moon cakes and enjoy the time of reunion,” Wang said.

Arjun Surya, who attended the event with friends, said that he enjoyed the many booths that the festival had to offer.

“I thought the lantern painting was fun,” Surya, a Sid Richardson College freshman, said. “It’s something I’d never done before and it was a new experience for me, and it was cool to do it with other people too.”

According to Surya, the gala felt welcoming to newcomers like them.

“I’d never attended an event about the Mid-Autumn Festival before,” Surya said.

“When I went yesterday, I thought it was really interesting and welcoming to a lot of people who aren’t from that specific culture. I learned a lot and it was a cool experience overall — I had a lot of fun.”

Wang said that the gala was a great place to learn about a new culture and relax with friends for the weekend.

“It’s a really good opportunity to have exposure to other cultures and traditions and it is a great way to have the perspective of students from another country,” Wang said. “Despite the Mid-Autumn Festival, a lot of people just came to have fun and make friends.”

JAY COLLURA

Top Track: ‘Outside’

FRANCESCA BLISS

Shen, a Brown College junior, said. “That’s why we are hosting an event during this festival — so that all Chinese students can celebrate it together.”

Shen said she believes that it is important for those not directly connected to Chinese heritage to celebrate the festival as well.

“It’s not necessary for every nonChinese student to understand the entirety of the festival — that can be really hard,” Shen said. “I think our gala would be worth hosting if people there have fun. If they can know even just a little bit about this festival, and if they can understand a little bit about how this is something important for Chinese culture, I think that’s good enough.”

Yuki Wang, one of the event organizers and an international student from China, echoed similar sentiments as she detailed how she became involved in RCSSA and organized the gala, which offered lantern and fan painting, Chinese calligraphy, performances, paper flower cutting and more. According to Wang, everyone in the RCSSA had the chance to work as an organizer and express their own talents, and Wang herself was the event’s videographer.

“I personally really like to record videos and watch everyone say ‘Hi!’ to the camera. I really enjoyed the process of making the video for the event,” Wang, a Will Rice College freshman, said. “The

an interlude that only she seems to find meaning in. This is a form of artistic narcissism; the goal doesn’t seem to be to give the listener something to think about or feel enlightened about, but instead only provides an incidental glimpse into a conversation we have no context for.

Finally, we arrive at “Outside,” a breath of fresh air after having heard the same song in different fonts for the last three tracks. Unlike “Waste My Time,” this track accomplishes its goal of being a bop. This is the top track of the album, with “Pressure” as a close second. While the whole of the song is relatively strong, the section that makes it stand out from any other tracks on the album is a four measure hook. This hook shows the listener a new side of Lennox’s voice and finally breaks away from the same vocal tones and melodic patterns we’ve been overexposed to throughout the entire album. This song woke me up when my ears were falling asleep after the eight previous tracks. This is a confidence song, a song to strut to class to.

Reaching the end of “age/sex/ location” left me feeling exerted — after the “A/S/L” interlude, listening became more like trudging. The biggest flaw of this album is the subpar quality consistent across nearly all tracks, which end up resembling each other to the point of being interchangeable.

While Lennox’s goal has never seemed to be creating something remarkable, this album is hardly even notable. This album brings the listener on a journey so forgettable and predictable that upon arriving at the destination, they not only can’t remember how they got there, but also feel as though the destination is so inconsequential that there was no point in going on the journey to begin with.

COURTESY DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC. It seems that Disney has officially become inescapable, especially in the world of film. From Star Wars to Marvel to Pixar, Disney has their stamp on movies of every genre, seemingly designed to appeal to every person. Yet despite this rapid expansion, Disney has recently been unable to capture the magic found in the works that put them on the map in the first place. Released on Disney+ last Thursday, “Pinocchio” epitomizes the lack of creativity seen in recent Disney productions, remaking the original film without any of the style or substance that gave the original its staying power.

The primary issue that “Pinocchio” suffers from is the lack of a consistent visual style. Disney has continued to press on with the concept of merging animation and liveaction, but in doing so has eliminated the best of both mediums. The animation feels uncannily realistic — the anthropomorphic animals have human proportions contrasting their non-human characteristics.

Pinocchio himself looks fairly interesting, with the wooden joints moving in a visually complex way, but he always looks layered on top of the frame, clearly added after everything was said and done. The actual animals suffer the same issue — whenever Tom Hanks turns to address his cat, it is very clear that he is looking at a blank box that was animated later.

The overreliance on CGI and green screen creates scenes that feel fake, as if no two humans were ever on set together. This eliminates any potential chemistry that could have existed and made the performances feel stitched together rather than natural.

This makes the movie impossible to engage with because each time I wanted to truly give my attention to the film, I was immediately put off by its shoddy construction of the visuals and aesthetics.

Now, while the technical elements are an issue, these criticisms would be moot if the film were a competent children’s movie.

For me, a good family movie has both solid humor and a strong message, both of which “Pinocchio” vaguely achieves.

Beginning with the humor, “Pinocchio” primarily attempts two types of jokes: referential humor and cartoon slapstick.

The references feel cynical at worst, as they redirect the audience to other Disney properties, and tacky at best, referencing real-world phrases and people in very obvious ways. On the other hand, the cartoon slapstick never fully lands because of the aforementioned disconnect between the animation and the live-action. Seeing a cartoon character being hit by a comically large hammer is much different than seeing a three-dimensional human-esque character meet the same fate.

Similarly, the messaging of the movie is a mixed bag. The movie’s fast pace prevented it from being outright boring, but it also deprived the titular character of the time to stop and reflect on his mistakes. Notions of trust and familial love are good messages for younger audiences, but they are worthless if the film fails to break them down and explain them in a meaningful way.

While I have had little positive to say about this movie, that is not to discredit the work that was clearly put into this film, particularly by its animators. However, the film ultimately fell short. Any brief flashes of inventiveness were snuffed out by the general lack of creativity at the core of a “Pinocchio” remake. If Disney takes notes on the negative reception to this film and properly uses the unlimited resources they have, they could produce higher-quality work. “Pinocchio,” though, proves that they are certainly not there yet.

10 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

THE RICE THRESHER

Volleyball takes down undefeated Texas Tech, improves to 8-1

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER Fifth-year senior middle blocker Anota Adekunle attempts a block over the weekend.

Adekunle’s block against Texas Tech on Sunday secured a comeback win for the Owls.

DANIEL SCHRAGER

SPORTS EDITOR

Up 13-12 in the fifth set against a thenundefeated Texas Tech University team, fifthyear senior middle blocker Anota Adekunle took the game into her own hands. First, the three time first-team all conference selection put an end to a long rally that saw Texas Tech threatening to tie with an emphatic kill to bring match point. Then, she rose above the net to stop a Tech attack in its tracks and seal the comeback win for the Owls. According to Adekunle, she knew that if she stayed at the net, she would find herself in the right place at the right time.

“I knew the score was really close,” Adekunle said. “I was just trying to be up on defense on every play and fight for my team. I just knew if I would be up, something would happen.”

The win capped off a 3-0 weekend for the Owls, who hosted Brown University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in addition to the Red Raiders in the first of their two Adidas Invitational events this season.

The Owls swept Brown on Friday, winning each set by six or more points. Saturday’s game against Corpus Christi was closer, with the Islanders twice reaching 20 points in a set, but the Owls still secured their sixth sweep of the year. According to head coach Genny Volpe, she was impressed with how her offense, which hit .377 through the first two games, performed over the weekend.

“Our offensive efficiency has been really good,” Volpe said. “I’m most pleased that there’s not one person that’s doing all the work and getting all the points, we’ve got a nice balance of players contributing.

Sunday’s game was the main event, when the undefeated Red Raiders, who

had also swept their other two opponents on the weekend, took the court at Tudor.

Tech stormed out to a quick lead against the Owls, taking six of the first seven points. Rice rallied from a 20-10 deficit but still lost the set 25-17. According to Adekunle, the team was caught off guard by Tech’s fast start.

“I think it definitely was a shock,” Adekunle said. “We talked about staying engaged in the game and playing Rice volleyball. I know on the other side of the court they get really hyped and they play their own game, but just sticking together fighting for each other and playing Rice volleyball really helped us bounce back.”

Volpe made an important change in between the first two sets as well, bringing in sophomore outside hitter/right side Lola Foord to free up freshman setter Darby Harris and allow her to help fifth-year senior setter Carly Graham run the offense. According to

Volpe, this change gave the Owls offense the exact spark it needed.

“We started out pretty flat,” Volpe said. “I was a little surprised by it. We did make an adjustment and went to a different offense, so I brought in another attacker to get more offense going. Darby ended up setting as well as Carly, instead of Carly setting the whole time. Lola Foord came in and she added a nice spark. And I think that kind of changed the momentum for the entire match.”

The switch didn’t pay off right away, as Tech got out to a 9-4 lead in the second, but Rice scored the next five points to even the set. The teams traded points and Tech took a 21-20 lead, before Rice went on another fivepoint rally to win the set and tie the match.

The teams started out the third set evenly as well, before four kills from senior outside hitter Ellie Bichelmeyer, who earned conference offensive player of the week honors for her effort, propelled a 9-0 Rice run and the Owls ran away with the set 25-15. The Red Raiders wouldn’t go away that easily though, and they rode an 11-5 run of their own to a 25-18 fourth set victory.

With the game on the line, Volpe said she told her team to treat the decisive fifth set like any other.

“I told them, ‘hey, this is just like practice, there’s just more people watching,’” Volpe said. “I could tell they were getting really amped. They wanted it so bad that I was just trying to say, ‘hey, we know who we are, let’s just run our plays and find a way to win the game.’”

A 4-0 run halfway through the set helped the Owls get out to a two-point lead, but the Red Raiders stopped the damage before slowly closing the gap to one point at 13-12.

Then Adekunle came through with her late game heroics and the Owls sent the Red Raiders back to Lubbock with their first loss of the year.

Now 8-1, the Owls host the second part of the Adidas Invitational next weekend when they take on Kansas State University and No. 17 Creighton University.

Not because it’s hard: Football beats McNeese on JFK speech anniversary PAVITHR GOLI

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Rice football recorded their first win of the season last weekend when they defeated McNeese State University 52-10 in their home opener. The Owls are now 1-1 on the season, with Saturday’s win being a part of the festivities commemorating the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s speech at Rice Stadium. According to head coach Mike Bloomgren, the Owls played well against the Cowboys but are not close to their full potential.

“We are a talented football team, and there is no doubt about that, “ Bloomgren said. “[But] as good as this was in all three phases, it is nowhere near our best. Again, there is a lot to improve on this week, but this was a real step forward for our program.”

The Owls, who debuted space-themed uniforms featuring excerpts from Kennedy’s speech, controlled the game early on and maintained their advantage over the Cowboys throughout the rest of the game. The Owls’ offense was led by junior quarterback TJ McMahon, who made his first career start in place of redshirt junior Wiley Green, who injured his arm in the Owls’ first game of the year. McMahon had a career-high 274 yards and 4 touchdowns, while redshirt senior wide receiver Bradley

Rozner led all receivers with 101 receiving yards on three receptions and two receiving touchdowns. Bloomgren said that he enjoyed watching McMahon extend plays and is excited to watch him improve.

“When TJ was able to get it going the way he did and keep plays alive with his arm and his feet, it was a lot of fun,” Bloomgren said.

“There were a couple of throws that I think he wishes that he could have back and I know that he will hit those going forward, and that’s what I can’t wait for.”

The Owls got off to a slow start after receiving the opening kickoff as their first drive was stymied by the Cowboys, forcing the Owls to punt. However, after the first drive, the Owls’ offense woke up, scoring on the following four possessions with three touchdowns and one field goal. In addition to the offense, the defense shut out the Cowboys in the first half, and sophomore Gabe Taylor returned an interception 91 yards for a touchdown. The Owls’ 31-0 halftime lead was their largest since 2016.

The Cowboys got to work quickly at the start of the second half, as running back Deonta McMahon split the defense for a touchdown 29 seconds into the half, making the score 31-7. However, McMahon responded immediately with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Rozner on the very next play

from scrimmage, restoring the 31-point lead.

From that point forward, the Owls scored two more touchdowns while only allowing a field goal.

The Owls’ defense ended the day with five takeaways — two interceptions and three fumble recoveries — and recorded five sacks.

According to Bloomgren, the defense did a very good job at thwarting the Cowboys’ offense but has room for improvement.

“The takeaways were amazing and they ended up being 1-10 on third downs,” Bloomgren said. “Those are numbers that statistically you should win with. I think it was pretty good and pretty dominant.

Still, there was a lot to improve on.”

This article has been cut off for print.

Read the full article at ricethresher.org.

CALI LIU / THRESHER Redshirt junior running back Ari Broussard (center) celebrates with teammates during Rice’s win over McNeese State. The Owls beat the Cowboys 52-10 for their first win of the year.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 • 11

SPORTS

After off-court obstacles, volleyball’s Graham is set for success REED MYERS

SENIOR WRITER Carly Graham, the Owls’ fifth year setter, is no stranger to the spotlight. She is a two-time C-USA Setter of the Year and was named to the U.S. Women’s Collegiate National Team last spring. With such an accomplished career, it’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, on the eve of her sophomore season, Graham was in the Intensive Care Unit in the Texas Medical Center receiving a life-altering diagnosis.

“The day before my sophomore year, I ended up in the ICU for a few days with a Type I diabetes diagnosis,” Graham said. “The whole summer, I had been getting weaker and weaker and sick, and I didn’t know what was going on. I ended up in the ICU with what’s called diabetic ketoacidosis, which comes from prolonged un-diagnosis of Type I diabetes.”

Type I diabetes occurs when the pancreas produces little to no insulin, and those diagnosed have to rely on insulin shots or a pump to produce insulin. According

to Graham, who was gearing up for her sophomore season after a productive freshman year, she noticed changes with her body over the summer.

“I lost a significant amount of muscle mass, I lost a ton of weight over the summer, and so I was just extremely weak and fatigued from that,” Graham said. “Once I got that insulin back, your body is like ‘oh, thank god,’ and starts working and getting back to where you were before.”

Graham, the youngest of four kids, was determined to get back onto the court following her diagnosis. According to Graham, her recovery time was quick following her time in the ICU. “Once I left the hospital, I jumped right back into practice the next day,” Graham said.

“Obviously, I was weaker and had to build back up my strength, but it never stopped me from playing volleyball, except for when I was in the ICU.” After a scary start to her year, Graham was back to playing the sport she loved. However,

KATHERINE HUI / THRESHER Fifth-year setter Carly Graham serves during a recent game. Since a stint in the ICU and a type-I diabetes diagnosis, Graham has led the Owls offense to new heights.

Graham wasn’t immediately sold on volleyball when she first heard about it growing up.

“I was really into softball and basketball growing up, and then one of my softball teammates asked me to go to a camp with her for volleyball, and I remember thinking, ‘oh, that’s really lame; why would I want to do that?’ Graham said. “I ended up going, and I instantly was full in, and all I wanted to do was play volleyball.”

Graham has been all-in for the Owls during a career that has seen her quarterback the Owls offense to the tune of ranking fifth in Division I volleyball in kills per set last season. According to Graham, she is making good on the feeling she first had when she toured campus as a high school student.

“I came on my visit and instantly just felt at home almost,” Graham said. “I had taken a few other visits, [but] I had a gut instant feeling that I belonged here; so I went with that, and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Graham said that the feeling of belonging at Rice was fully apparent following her

diagnosis as teammates, coaches and the Rice community were there to help.

“I had a great support network between my family, my teammates, coaches, athletic trainers and Rice really really helped me,” Graham said. “That’s another reason why I’m like ‘gosh, I really was meant to be at this place’ because we were right across the street from the best medical center in the world.”

Graham would go on to play in 105 sets, rack up 522 assists and be a part of the first team in school history to win a match in the NCAA tournament, when the Owls swept the University of Oklahoma during her sophomore season. According to Graham, her career highlights include beating No. 2 University of Texas on the road in her junior year and winning in the NCAA tournament during her sophomore and senior seasons.

“You completely blackout, and then when the game is over, it’s just like, ‘oh my gosh,’ look at what we just did,” Graham said. “Those are the coolest moments ever because everybody is just in this like pure joy and sense of … look what we did to get here and we freaking did it.”

Since Graham was a student-athlete during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was given the option of taking a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA. According to Graham, the question about using her fifth year came up during her end-of-the-year meeting with head coach Genny Volpe.

“I have the rest of my life to either work or do whatever I’m going to do and only this short time in my life where I can play Division I volleyball at my favorite place,” Graham said. “I didn’t really think about it, and at the moment, I was like ‘yes, of course,’ so it was just an easy decision for me because I love volleyball, Rice and the program.”

Graham is now back at the helm of the Owls’ offense and is coming off a senior year that included 1021 assists in only 92 sets played. According to Graham, while she is still learning about living with Type I diabetes, she has made large strides since the initial diagnosis.

“It was a huge learning curve, and I’m still learning, and every day is different,” Graham said. “In the beginning, it was extremely scary, and everything felt like a whirlwind, but now I’m kind of settled in and feel confident.”

Soccer blown out by NCAA champs FSU to close non-conference LUPITA FRIAS / THRESHER Graduate forward Grace Collins (9) attempts a header against Florida State.

The Owls fell to the reigning NCAA champs 5-0 to close non-conference play.

DIEGO PALOS RODRIGUEZ

THRESHER STAFF

The Rice soccer team ended nonconference play with a bang. That is, they were blown away by last season’s national champions, Florida State University, in a firm 5-0 loss in front of the home crowd. The game marked the end of the team’s non-conference matches, which saw them finish with a 2-6 record and a three game losing streak. Head coach Brian Lee, however, emphasized that their expectations have not changed from the beginning of the season. “[Our expectations are] kind of what they were prior to the season,” Lee said. “It’s a

strange year where we’re just getting our full team in order, so it really feels like it’s the first game of the season. It’s easier for us because we’re still kind of shaping the team.”

Coming out on Sunday against a Seminole lineup that includes Jamaican and Nigerian international team players, Lee introduced a formation not seen before this season. While keeping the three defenders in the back, he added two defensive midfielders and dropped a striker to create a line of four midfielders above them, leaving senior forward Madison Kent as the lone woman up top. Gaps in the formation, however, were quickly exploited by an aggressive FSU team. The Seminole’s relentless attack rarely gave the ball over

to the Owls, who played on their side of the field for the majority of the half. FSU’s first goal finally came in the twentieth minute after an attacking build-up play left a gap in the Owls defense.

A quick pass to the Seminole forward led to a close shot that bounced off the right post and into the goal.

While attacking chances stalled for some of the first half, the Seminoles continued to pick apart the Owls’ midfield and edge closer to their second goal. After a short water break, the Owls were able to get two shots on goal. One coming from a far free-kick taken by goalkeeper Bella Killgore and another coming from graduate forward Grace Collins, who, after a mistake by the Seminole’s defense, was left alone in front of goal for a close shot, but her attempt was caught by the FSU keeper who started a quick counter attack. After getting the ball near the Owls corner and taking advantage of a defensive mistake, the Seminole winger passed it back to the middle of the box and their midfielder blasted the ball to the top right corner of goal, putting FSU up 2-0. According to junior defender Jaden Roberts, the Owls’ halftime deficit was

more a result of mistakes than tactics.

“I thought the first half, tactically, we had it all set up,” Roberts said. “[We] just got unlucky with some silly mistakes in the back.”

However the first half was viewed, the second half proved even worse for the Owls.

While the Seminoles couldn’t find the net for the first part of the half, they controlled possession and ran circles around a Rice team that struggled to retain the ball. After almost 20 minutes of skill moves and build-ups, FSU set the ball down for a free kick just outside of the Owls’ box. Two Seminoles set up behind the ball and after the first one faked a shot, the second fired it left of the diving Killgore, whose outstretched gloves grazed the ball but were not enough to keep it out of the net.

Less than a minute later, FSU took a shot that was deflected off of Killgore and back into the middle of the box. A stunned Killgore couldn’t react quickly enough to stop a lone Seminole from tapping the ball into the net, giving them their fourth goal. Their final chance came in the seventieth minute after a quick turn by the FSU striker put her past the Owls backline, giving her the space to put FSU up by five.

After the game, Kent said she thought the offense had gotten good shots off throughout non-conference but hasn’t gotten the results.

“I think we’ve created some good chances, [but] I think we’ve been a little unlucky,” Kent said. “Unfortunately, we’ve hit the crossbar and post on multiple occasions, but we’ve created some really great chances so hopefully that luck turns around and we’re able to use that in conference and make some really good offensive plays.”

The Owls start conference play against the University of Texas, San Antonio on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.

This article has been condensed for print.

Read the full article at ricethresher.org.

12 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

BACKPAGE

Ask Arnold

Q.

Dear Arnold, I’m a big fan of your column! I really resonated with your advice last week to sell dietary supplements for the funny man in my spam folder. Anyways, Screw-Yer-Roommate is coming up this Friday, and my roommate told me he set me up with a total babe! The problem is, I’ve only been on one date before, and she ghosted me right afterwards. I was wondering if you had any tips to make sure my date goes perfect. Toodles!

Sincerely, Kid Named Stick

A. Thanks for your message, Stick! Lucky for you, I’m an eight-time veteran of Screw. Yep, you read that right, I enjoyed it so much during undergrad that I’ve returned to campus every year for the last four years in a lab coat and pretended to be someone’s date! Hope we see each other (are you a freshman?)!

Ha. Anywho, I have five great tips for you (call those Finger Tips) to guarantee your date runs as smooth as syrup down the gullet.

Friendly - You want your date to know that you’re a real down-to-earth dude.

For me, my love language is physical touch, so I always start out my date asking, “Where’s my hug?” Seem a little forward? Show them you’re still a humble guy by telling them something along the lines of “I know… I’m ugly. I wouldn’t date me either.” Trust me, it works every year.

Foreshadowing - If you successfully secure a hug, then congratulations my friend, you’re in! This opens up the door to suggesting hopping in the shower together later on the date. Whatever your endgame is, while working up to the big ask, dropping subtle hints is essential to maintain the romantic tension. The cleverer, the better: • “You are such a cutie, I just want to shower you with affection!”

• “Hey, have you ever heard of the nursery rhyme ‘Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Three Men in a Tub?’” • “Man, it is hot outside! We should probably shower together!”

Free - If you’re going on dates every night like me, then the costs start to add up. There are always ways to find affordable substitutes for any potential date expenditure. Who needs a bouquet of flowers when you can bring her the prettiest mascara from your dumpster diving haul? With food prices rising with no end in sight, kill two birds with one stone and save the planet by cooking up a ragout with exciting mystery ingredients found in your residential college’s compost bin. And sure, dinner

and a movie is a classic, but I say a surprise visit from the tickle monster is just as fun—and free!

Fear - My buddies often tell me that I have an intimidating, alpha energy.

While this works great against the kids in my Taekwondo class, it could be a potential red flag to your date. Instead of scaring her, use your testosterone to your advantage by establishing a protective presence. Often what I like to do is offer to escort my date to the bathroom and guard her drink. When we’re walking down the streets at night, I’ll remind my date that I carry nunchucks at all times to fend off evildoers.

Fone number - At the end of your date, don’t forget to finish strong and get their fone number! I’ve learned from experience that Screw dates like to play hard to get—half of the numbers in my contacts are (123) 456-7890—so it might take a little coaxing. A foolproof trick I like to use is faking cardiac arrest and getting my REMS EMT friend to come stretcher me away after taking her emergency contact information.

That’s it! With these principles in mind, I have all the faith in the world that you’ll swoop your date off their feet (don’t try this literally, I have gotten pepper sprayed before). I wish you the best of luck, and if you want to hang out, show up this Friday in a Hogwarts robe. It’ll be a real bubble bath!

- Arnold

About the Author Arnold “The Thing” “Big Dog” “The Beast” Smankley is a Rice alumnus who graduated four years ago from Martel College. Author of New York Times bestseller The Wolf of the Inner Loop, Humphrey is a prominent rizz expert who makes a living coaching men to be as attractive and intelligent as he is. During his time as an undergraduate, he taught COLL 169: Women before it got suspended by Rice after two weeks.

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.