The Rice Thresher | Wednesday, November 13, 2024

VOLUME 109, ISSUE NO. 11 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Artsy courses offered this spring semester CHI PHAM

FOR THE THRESHER Another course registration period has come upon us, but no wories: To help you consider your options, the Thresher has compiled a list of new, unique courses offered this spring semester.

‘No ballot, no vote’

Students struggle with mail-in ballots during 2024 election BRYAN MENDOZA / THRESHER

SARAH KNOWLTON

NEWS EDITOR

Brad Joiner has requested three mailin ballots from his home state of Georgia — one for the 2022 midterm elections, another for a runoff that same year and one for the 2024 presidential election.

“The first time around, I got it seamlessly. No problem, my vote was counted,” said Joiner, a Sid Richardson College junior. “But the second time around, with the runoff, they took too long to send it to me. I got it the day before [it was] supposed to be counted … I thought that was frustrating, so I made sure to request [a mail-in ballot] very early on for this cycle, but they basically just never sent it.”

Ricardo De Quevedo, a resident of Laredo, Texas, said that he was registered to vote in his home county and wanted to receive a mail-in ballot.

“I’m not registered in Harris County.

I’m registered in Webb County,” said De Quevedo, a Lovett College freshman.

“I had already registered there before coming here, so I just didn’t want to go through that whole process of reregistering.”

Although he sent his application for a mail-in ballot on time, he didn’t receive a ballot until Election Day, De Quevedo said.

“I mailed my application … on Oct. 15, and they said that within a week I should have received the mail-in ballot,” De Quevedo said. “It did not come within a week. It took until the day of the election that I received it.”

Meanwhile, Baker College sophomore Francesca Robert said she had issues claiming a mail-in ballot from her parish in her home state of Louisiana.

“I called my parish voter’s office, and the lady I spoke with told me I was not eligible, even though the website said that I was. She then asks around and ... gives me an email address to send the [mail-in ballot] form to,” Robert wrote in an email to the Thresher.

“Ten days later, I still had not received my mail-in ballot, so I decided to call them again,” Robert continued.

“This time I spoke to a different lady [who] said the email address I sent my

[In 2022], with the runoff, they took too long to send it to me … I thought that was frustrating, so I made sure to request [a mail-in ballot] very early on for this cycle, but they basically just never sent it.

Brad Joiner SID RICHARDSON COLLEGE JUNIOR

form to was invalid. I resent my form to the new email address she provided, and it took another week for my ballot to arrive.”

Ben Leebron, a Pennsylvania resident, said he faced a problem with his address when he tried to request his ballot, a full month before Election Day.

SEE MAIL-IN PAGE 2

Post election, students react with unease, hope JAMES CANCELARICH

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

On the evening of Election Day, hundreds of students gathered in the Sid Richardson College commons, sitting chair-to-chair. They cheered when Rep. Colin Allred amassed votes, and again when Massachusetts went blue.

This is an empathy problem, but this is also a problem of speak[ing] for other people and assum[ing], instead of listening, especially to those who are the most marginalized.

Lucia Fernandez LOVETT COLLEGE SENIOR

Then the tides shifted. Ted Cruz pulled ahead, winning re-election to the Senate. North Carolina, the first battleground state to be called, went red.

The mood sombered.

COLL 157: Explicable Fanomena: An Examination of Fandom with Sarah Motteler From The Beatles to Genshin Impact, COLL 157 raises the question, “How does analyzing fandom enhance one’s engagement with these communities?” Students will explore the emerging field of fandom studies and examine how fan communities can be both positive and inflammatory. The course will culminate in producing a fan work informed by discussions of “fanomena,” or fandom phenomena.

COLL 157 will be offered from 8 to 8:50 p.m. on Thursdays.

ARTS 238; 002: Poetics of Science with Ella Rosenblatt ARTS 238; 002 is an interdisciplinary course that places the seemingly disparate fields of art and science in direct conversation. Students will explore how creative practices can be informed by science, through creative writing, language art, digital media and beyond.

ARTS 238 002 fulfills a Science and Technology Studies minor credit and will be offered from 4 to 5:15 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.

AAAS/HIST 349: Black Life Behind the Iron Curtain with Nana Osei-Opare For centuries, Black people have been a part of Central and Eastern European societies, with figures like Alexander Pushkin — widely regarded as Russia’s greatest poet — tracing their roots to African ancestry. AAAS/HIST 349 examines the lives and experiences of Black communities behind the “Iron Curtain,” exploring why they migrated to this region, their contributions within these societies and the challenges they faced.

AAAS/HIST 349 will be offered from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

JAPA 238: Japanese Voices on the Margins: Japanese Language in Community, Media, and Art with Mamiko Suzuki Who belongs and who does not? Language often holds an answer. JAPA 238 examines how practices of inclusion and exclusion are shaped by the Japanese language. Students will explore how language reflects and reshapes social boundaries, creating in-groups and out-groups.

JAPA 238 will be offered from 4 to 5:15 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.

ASIA/MDHM 216: Quacks and Wonder Drugs: A History of Medicine in China with Chang Xu From herbal remedies and acupuncture to quackery and ritual healing, ASIA/MDHM 216 examines how diverse healing practices have shaped China’s medical landscape throughout history. Students will learn to think outside the pill bottle as they reconsider “medicine.”

ASIA/MDHM 216 fulfills a Distribution I and Medical Humanities minor credit and will be offered from 1 to 1:50 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

By 10 p.m., students started to trickle out. By midnight, after another battleground state was called for president-elect Donald Trump, swaths of tables were empty. Only a few dozen students were left when Trump declared victory at 2:30 a.m.

Now, campus is grappling with last week’s decisive — and unexpected, some say — Republican victory. Amid town

BELA JOTWANI / THRESHER Students sit in the Multicultural Center during a Nov. 8 election “processing event.” Around 25 people attended, expressing concerns for the future ahead. halls and discussion forums, students express both optimism and worry for the future ahead.

SEE POST-ELECTION PAGE 2

ANTH 350: Bad Language and Semiotic Crimes with Ilana Gershon Words can offend, break laws and even lead to war — why? In ANTH 350, students will explore why certain ways of speaking are considered “bad language,” from insults to obscenities to slang. Through a crosscultural lens, students will examine the ways in which these “semiotic crimes” emerge and are policed.

ANTH 350 fulfills a Distribution II credit and will be offered from 10:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

2 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024

THE RICE THRESHER

FROM FRONT PAGE

POST-ELECTION

Campus events The Diversity Council held a “processing space” Nov. 8, where about 25 students and faculty gathered in the Multicultural Center to discuss the election’s results.

There, attendees expressed their concerns about the next four years, and reckoned with half of America voting for a man they said is “dangerous” and “bigoted.”

Lucia Fernandez, who attended the Diversity Council event, said that while she was upset by the results of the election, she was not particularly surprised.

“I wasn’t particularly hopeful that Kamala Harris was going to win the election,” Fernandez, a Lovett College senior, said. “We have not been able to get a woman in office … multiply that by multiple marginalized identities that Harris inhabits.”

However, Fernandez also said she rejects categorical assumptions about Trump voters. “[People] are saying that you hate all people of color if you vote for Trump … This is an empathy problem, but this is also a problem of speak[ing] for other people and assum[ing], instead of listening, especially to those who are the most marginalized,” Fernandez said.

Omar Syed, vice president and general counsel for Rice, later fielded legal questions from students, faculty and staff at the MCC Nov. 11.

Topics discussed included immigrant rights, especially for undocumented immigrants, LGBTQ+ rights, financial aid, diversity and the potential dissolution of the Department of Education.

The audience often asked about Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals released by the Heritage Foundation.

Syed said Project 2025, alongside much of Trump’s campaign rhetoric, is unlikely to have sweeping effects.

Still, many audience members expressed concern about the next four years. Some asked, anonymously, if transgender students would be able to receive gender-affirming healthcare.

Others asked if the U.S. Immigration and threat to democracy.

“When [President Joe] Biden was still Customs Enforcement would be allowed to apprehend people on campus, or if the running, all [Democrats] were talking about was [Trump’s] university would threat to democracy. have to disclose It was just not information about working,” Szekeres, undocumented I think it is a horrendous a Jones College immigrants. junior, said. “People Student support take, a very bad and did not care. You measures Rice hurtful take … that you were like, ‘How does may consider cannot be friends with this affect me?’” include bringing Szekeres said he immigration lawyers someone who voted was drawn to the to campus more against you.

Republican Party often, or highlighting Kyle Szekeres because of his emergency funds for RICE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE dissatisfaction with students, Syed said.

REPUBLICANS PRESIDENT the culture of the left. In particular, Student reactions Kyle Szekeres, president of Rice Szekeres said he was disappointed seeing University College Republicans, said his peers’ social media posts in the wake he was pleased with the results of the of Trump’s victory.

“I think it is a horrendous take, a very election. He attributed Trump’s victory to his messaging about the economy and bad and hurtful take … that you cannot be illegal immigration, and tied Harris’ failure friends with someone who voted against to larger issues with the Democratic Party you,” Szekeres said.

Elsewhere on campus, the Rice Young — including an inability to connect with voters and insistence that Trump posed a Democrats mobilized Nov. 9 for a ballot

JAMES CANCELARICH / THRESHER General counsel Omar Syed speaks at a Nov. 11 Q-and-A panel unpacking higher education in a post-election legal landscape.

curing event in an attempt to eke out final votes for Arizona’s Democratic senate contender, Ruben Gallego, in his race against Republican Kari Lake. Late Monday night, the Associated Press called the race in Gallego’s favor. About 50 students participated in the event.

Ballot curing allows voters to correct minor mistakes on mail-in ballots for their votes to count. Members of Rice Young Democrats called voters in Arizona with rejected ballots and if the voter said they voted for Gallego, helped them cure their ballots.

Will Howley and Anna Lee, both Brown College sophomores who attended the ballot curing event, said they found mixed success.

“I’ve called about two dozen people and nobody’s picked up,” Howley said.

Editor’s Note: Will Howley is a Thresher Backpage senior writer.

However, both remained motivated and said the ballot curing was a way for them to turn their unease about Trump’s re-election into action.

“These past few days, I’ve been feeling pretty angry,” Howley said. “I wanted to channel that into something more productive than [anger and dismay] about the future of our country,” Howley said.

Sammi Frey and Benjamin Kagan, the co-presidents of Rice Young Democrats, said they were empowered to organize the event due to the president-elect’s seeming disregard for democratic norms.

“This is a really scary time. Someone who does not care about democracy, and actually wants to attack it and dismantle it, is now in one of the biggest positions of power in the world,” Frey, a Hanszen College sophomore, said.

Kagan, a Baker College freshman, said although the election did not turn out in Democrats’ favor, he was still pleased by the strong civic presence on campus.

“It feels, to us, [like] there are a lot of students who are willing to go out and vote.” Kagan said. “We want to get students encouraged to — in addition to voting — go out and make these calls, go out and make an impact for crucial races.”

FROM FRONT PAGE

MAIL-IN

“On Oct. 4, I requested a mail-in ballot to Duncan College,” Leebron, a Duncan senior, said. “I was checking the mail room every day. I checked my [delivery] status. It said out for mail, but nothing had happened. I called the Pennsylvania board of elections a few days before the deadline to request a mail-in ballot.

“They told me it should have been sent to my mom’s house in Pennsylvania, which was weird, because I gave them my Duncan address,” Leebron said. “So then I called my mom, and there was no ballot there.”

Leebron said that because of the mistake with his address, he was not able to vote.

“I requested a second ballot, and then a few days after I requested the second ballot, my party sent me a reminder to mail in my ballot … which means the board of elections had my address at Duncan, and then I never got a ballot,” Leebron said. “I called the board of elections the day of the election, asking, ‘Is there anything to do?’

They were like, ‘No ballot, no vote.’”

Joiner said that he tried to find his ballot, with no luck.

“I emailed [the board of elections].

They said it was on the way, but it just never came,” Joiner said. “They gave me a tracking number that didn’t work.”

Joiner and Leebron’s home states of Georgia and Pennsylvania respectively were considered swing states this election.

Still hoping to cast his ballot, De Quevedo said he looked for a way to vote in Harris County.

“My sister sent me an article from the ACLU that [said] if your mail-in ballot didn’t arrive, you could go to a polling station and you could explain to them, and they’ll give you a [presidential] ballot,” De Quevedo said. “I went to Sewall Hall to ask for one, but they said they didn’t have one, and I had to go downtown.”

Karyn Fu, the Sewall Hall polling place election judge, said she encountered several voters like De Quevedo who did not receive their ballots and sent them downtown.

“I had a number of voters come to me saying they requested mail-in ballots and never received them,” Fu, a Martel College sophomore, wrote in an email to the Thresher. “Many were registered in other counties in Texas, so on election day, they were eligible to vote with a presidential ballot (only for president and vice president). Presidential ballots were only available at one polling location, which was in downtown Houston.”

However, when De Quevedo went to that polling location, he said that he was told that no presidential ballots were available.

“I talked to the county clerk, and she said they didn’t have any more,” De Quevedo said. “She told me, ‘We don’t have it here, but you can go check in this other polling station in another building across the street.’ So I went, and they told me I

had no options. They told me, ‘We don’t to someone else who says I can, and then sends me the forms and information to fax have that.’”

De Quevedo said that once he found it. I faxed my vote, but I have no idea if it his ballot in the Lovett mailroom, he took was accounted for or not.”

“I realize that if I hadn’t known my it to the post office and mailed it, but rights as a voter, I does not know if it might have accepted arrived on time. the incorrect Joiner said information I was that he looked for another way to vote, If I hadn’t known my rights initially given and missed my chance to but wasn’t able to as a voter, I might have vote,” Robert wrote. find one. accepted the incorrect said “I didn’t think information I was initially thatDeheQuevedo experienced there’s anything I similar confusion. could do, because given and missed my “Every single I wasn’t able to get chance to vote. online resource back to Georgia Francesca Robert tells me something for Election Day. I LOUISIANA MAIL-IN VOTER different, every emailed [the board of elections], I asked for any other way single person I talked to told me something for it to be counted. They said I could vote different,” De Quevedo said. “It’s just in person, and that just wasn’t really an really frustrating.”

Joiner said that his experience with option,” Joiner said. “That’s the whole mail-in ballots this election cycle made reason for requesting an absentee ballot.”

Robert said that because her ballot him reconsider where he registered.

“I guess I don’t really trust the mailarrived later than anticipated, she sent it to Louisiana via fax, but is unsure if it in-ballot system anymore, and I don’t think I’m gonna go that direction again,” went through.

“When I called the parish office to Joiner said. “If it came down to it, and I confirm the fax process and request wasn’t able to go back to Georgia, I would additional forms, the original woman I probably anticipate that and try to register spoke with answered again and told me I in Texas instead, because I feel like even wasn’t allowed to fax it. I told her I knew in a state like Texas where it’s pretty I could since it stated it on the paperwork one-sided, at least having a voice to say I received with my ballot,” Robert wrote in something is better than just not being an email to the Thresher. “She then talks able to vote at all.”

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024 • 3

NEWS

Jewish Network provides nonreligious community, discussion

Gun violence advocacy group Team ENOUGH starts chapter work with a lot of other groups who really want to mobilize around this 89th THRESHER STAFF [Texas legislative session] in February.”

Rahman said he believes that gun Students walking between the Rice Memorial Center and McNair Hall violence is especially prevalent in may notice a collection of t-shirts on Texas, so prevention initiatives are poles, labeled with names and phone impactful.

“We have a lot of history with numbers. The shirts were placed by a new Rice chapter of the national Uvalde, El Paso, lots of big mass organization Team ENOUGH, a gun shootings that have happened here,” violence advocacy group started by Rahman said.

Team ENOUGH tabled at the Election Jasir Rahman and Abigail Zimmerman.

According to Rahman, the chapter Day Block Party to introduce itself as a co-lead and a Texas youth advocacy club and interact with students.

“I think folks are really interested in coordinator with Team ENOUGH’s parent organization, the club aims to the idea of advocating for themselves. combat gun violence through activism And obviously, this gun violence affects lots of young people. [It’s the] number and advocacy in legislation.

“We like to do a lot of community one killer of young people,” Rahman grassroots where [we] most focus on said. “Maybe there’s hope for change, education of young folks,” Rahman, a and we can elevate our voices because McMurtry College senior, said. “They they’re really disenfranchised.”

On Friday, Team ENOUGH and don’t know that most gun violence is suicide; they don’t know about the First Generation Legal Collective safe storage practices that are best partnered with Texas Impact to host the for ensuring that people are able to event vidas robadas, which translates safely have firearms stored away from to stolen lives. Students staked t-shirts children, because eight kids and teens into the ground to represent local are shot every single day in the United victims of gun violence.

“Each of the white shirts represents States. [There’s also] room for local a victim of suicide by gun violence, and advocacy and state level advocacy.”

Zimmerman said Team ENOUGH’s each of the colored shirts represents mission matters at local and state a victim of homicide,” Zimmerman said. “Each of the colored shirts have levels. the name and “We had the the age of the death of Andrea victim, and then [Rodriguez Avila] the date they this year, and There’s a lot of work were killed. And gun violence to be done with safety then each of the affects everyone, and gun control and white shirts has i n c l u d i n g just ‘otra vida us here,” keeping preventable robada,’ another Zimmerman, a deaths preventable, life stolen, and Sid Richardson and hopefully we can the suicide College junior encourage other people to then lifeline.” said. “So at Rice, J e s s a l y in the greater get involved.

Chavez, the coHouston area Abigail Zimmerman vice president of and in Texas, TEAM ENOUGH CO-FOUNDER FGLC, said Team there’s a lot of work to be done with safety and ENOUGH and FGLC collaborated due to gun control and keeping preventable shared gun legislation goals.

“I think that there’s a really deep deaths preventable, and hopefully we can encourage other people to get intersection between law and public policy, and I think that gun prevention involved.”

Rahman and Zimmerman were both has a lot to do with public policy, active in gun violence advocacy in especially in the legal sector,” Chavez high school before starting the Team said. “So that’s essentially what ENOUGH chapter at Rice. Rahman we’re trying to do, shed light on that previously served on the executive intersection.”

The T-shirts will eventually be council of Team ENOUGH and worked on national advocacy after incidents displayed at the state capitol in Austin. in his high school inspired him to take Team ENOUGH plans to bus students for a rally during the Texas Majority action.

“Three weeks after Parkland, a to Prevent Gun Violence Advocacy Day gun made its way to my high school’s Feb. 27.

“There’s such a big barrier to entry campus, and people were really scared.

No shots were fired, but the school was to state and federal level change, but evacuated, [and] lots of people skipped if we teach folks that they can make school the next couple of days,” change in their communities and Rahman said. “[Then] I applied to be on save lives, I think that can help build the Team ENOUGH executive council. a grassroots movement,” Rahman I had no prior advocacy experience, said. “[It can] make it feel a little bit and then, for whatever reason, they less difficult, a little bit less hopeless, which I know is the ethos of our let me be on … We have a lot of generation.” momentum because I’ve been able to

ABIGAIL CHIU

NDIDI NWOSU / THRESHER

EILEEN CHEN

Hillel and Chabad — besides primarily serving students rather than faculty Faculty and staff established the or staff — connect people through Rice Jewish Network this semester. religious affiliations, said Kolomeisky.

“In Judaism, there is Reform Judaism, Moshe Vardi, Lisa Geda, Anatoly Kolomeisky, Rebeca Kalontarov, Lisa there is Conservative, there is Orthodox Birenbaum and Yael Hochberg were and all things reflected,” Kolomeisky all involved in the creation of the said. “Jewish Network is not either Jews organization, which aims to create a or not Jews, it’s for everyone. There is support system for Jewish people on nothing to do with religion. It has this only goal of supporting people who are campus, according to Vardi. suffering.”

Vardi, a The Jewish professor in Network met computational for the first e n g i n e e r i n g , This resonates with the Oct. 31. A said the influx good feelings of the people time group of about of antisemitism 20 people came around the world that are trying to help and and on campus those who need it. Educate together shared what they after Oct. 7 people, exchange ideas. hoped to gain prompted the from this new creation of this Just discussion is better than any war. Even if we support system, support network. according to “The past don’t agree, discussion is Vardi. year has been better than fighting.

Kolomeisky challenging to said Jewish those, on the Rice Anatoly Kolomeisky N e t w o r k’ s campus and on RICE JEWISH NETWORK COmain focus this many campuses FOUNDER semester will be as well,” Vardi said. “Protest movements have taken to educate people to exchange accurate information. the nature of being anti-Israeli.”

“The main problem is education,” Vardi said that the Jewish Network aims to focus on socializing and Kolomeisky said. “I believe there is a education rather than politics, hoping huge amount of misinformation, fake that people at Rice can converse news and, unfortunately, many people peacefully and find comfort “with that are not well-educated in history.”

Kolomeisky and Vardi said they people who understand their points of view” in an otherwise unstable foresee inviting guest lecturers and organizing food or international political scene.

Kolomeisky, a professor of events.

Kenny Weiss, executive director of chemistry, said he was in Israel on Oct. 7 and that the rise of antisemitic Houston Hillel and the Rice Hillel rabbi, movements after the fact reminded him said he would be open to working with Jewish Network. of the Holocaust.

“Certainly Hillel and I would “I was a visiting professor at Weizmann Institute when the Israel- welcome working with this group, as Palestine war started. I spent a lot of we do with similar groups on all the nights in the shelter and was barely campuses that we have a presence on,” able to escape Israel eventually,” Weiss said.

Kolomeisky said he is excited that Kolomeiskey said. “It hit me. It really hit me. It hit my relatives. My many people expressed their wish to grandparents and other relatives were join the Jewish Network that are not killed by Nazis during the Holocaust. Jewish or Israeli.

“It means that this resonates with The Holocaust was a consequence of all this anti-Jewish propaganda, which many people’s thinking. This resonates with the good feelings of the people I see, and I don’t want to do it again.”

Jewish Network is the first Jewish that are trying to help those who need community on campus that unites it,” Kolomeisky said. “Educate people, faculty and staff with students, exchange ideas. Just discussion is according to Geda, a math department better than any war. Even if we don’t agree, discussion is better than operations administrator.

Other Rice Jewish clubs such as fighting.”

FOR THE THRESHER

PHOEBE SCHOCKET / THRESHER Students write on t-shirts to memorialize victims of gun violence. Outside the student center, dozens of these shirts display the names of homicide victims and the number of the national suicide hotline.

4 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024

NEWS

Awareness club screens Houstonians for lung cancer BELINDA ZHU

ASST. NEWS EDITOR With the beginning of National Lung Cancer Awareness Month in November, the Rice University American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative leadership said they are striving to bring attention to this disease.

Rice ALCSI is one of 53 university chapters of the national organization, according to Priyanka Senthil ‘24, founder of the Rice chapter and executive director of the national organization.

Rice ALCSI co-president Pranav Mandyam said the club strives to raise awareness about lung cancer screening, in the Rice community and the broader Houston area with upcoming initiatives like the “Breathe Deep Together Lung Cancer Awareness Walk” and screening events. Mandyam emphasized that raising awareness is particularly crucial in Texas.

“The national screening rate is below 5% for high-risk individuals,” Mandyam, a McMurtry College senior, said. “In Texas, it’s even lower, around 1.2% of high-risk individuals getting screened, making it one of the lowest in the country. So, we thought it’s really important to try to raise awareness every year in Texas, and here in Houston specifically.”

Senthil said she was drawn t o

KATHERINE CITINO / THRESHER

the organization upon learning that lung out in the community and identify someone cancer is the deadliest cancer among both who is eligible and wants to get screened, men and women in the U.S. and the world. we can work with screening centers near Rice to help them “When we think schedule a scan about some of the and guide them common cancers, through the entire … I think a lot of process,” Senthil us think about When we’re out in said. “We’re really breast cancer or the community and excited about colon cancer, and identify someone who is this because it lung cancer has eligible and wants to get means we’re really been kind now translating of hidden from screened, we can work our community the public view,” with screening centers outreach into Senthil said. “Right near Rice to help them real, tangible now, less than 5% results — helping of people who are schedule a scan and people actually get at high risk for guide them through the screened.” lung cancer are entire process. We’re Senthil said getting screened, now translating our that all ALCSI when compared to chapters host over 70% of people community outreach into weekly community getting screened real, tangible results — outreach events for breast cancer.” helping people actually and table at places Mandyam said get screened. including health their biggest goal fairs, farmers is the upcoming Priyanka Senthil markets, churches, awareness walk.

RICE ALCSI FOUNDER and festivals where “We reached out to over 100 different students, different they assess if individuals are eligible for organizations in the Houston area, their lung cancer screening.

“Anyone who is 50-80 years old, who community centers, resource fairs, high schools, other industry partners has a 20 pack-year smoking history or and everything,” Mandyam more, and who currently smokes or has said. “We’re trying to raise quit within the past 15 years is considered as much awareness high risk for lung cancer and should be as possible within screened annually,” Senthil said. “At our the Houston outreach events, we talk to community members one-on-one to collect their age community.”

Senthil said and smoking history to determine if they that Rice ALCSI qualify for lung cancer screening.”

Senthil emphasized the importance goes beyond simply raising of educating students about lung awareness by cancer screening, even if they are not helping people eligible themselves.

“We have found that many students s c h e d u l e screenings. Their know parents, grandparents, relatives or c o m m u n i t y other individuals in their network who may partners include be eligible for lung cancer screening and H o u s t o n oftentimes are willing to share information Methodist and MD about screening with that individual,” Anderson Cancer Senthil said. “In fact, at one of our tabling Center, who events on campus last semester, we were help subsidize able to help get the father of a Rice student screened for lung cancer who had never screenings.

“When we’re heard about lung cancer screening prior.”

SA referenda scheduled for December vote VIOLA HSIA

ASST. NEWS EDITOR Campaigning for the four Student Association referenda, targeting divestment and investment transparency, will begin Nov. 20. The voting period will begin Dec. 4 and end Dec. 11 at noon, with the results published Dec. 12.

According to SA Faculty Advisor Heather-Reneé Gooch, the timeline was determined by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness’ schedule, which will oversee the election as an impartial third party. Gooch said the office will return from vacation on Dec. 2.

“This was something that students had felt very passionate about,” Gooch said. “There [was] a discussion about having a special election, expediting it due to the gravity of what would be voted on.”

Arman Saxena, author of the referenda, said that although he is worried about voter turnout when the vote will happen during ‘dead days’ — designated study days for students — he is happy that the vote is happening.

“During this campaign period, [Students for Justice in Palestine] will be working to spread as much education and information on these referenda as possible,” Saxena, a Lovett College junior, wrote to the Thresher.

Editor’s Note: Arman Saxena is one of the Thresher’s Arts and Entertainment Editors.

SA President Jae Kim said he hopes that the election will set a precedent for future referenda.

“This election will allow us to get every student’s opinion, which I think would be helpful for us in advocating with university administration,” Kim said. “I also want to set a precedent that SA does referenda on questions like this, so when future executive boards want to do direct democracy ... they have a precedent that they can follow.”

Anthropology reports highest major satisfaction in survey PRASI DESAI

Hanszen College junior, said.

Prendergast said anthropology faculty are trained to be good listeners and Anthropology students are the most observers as a byproduct of their position satisfied with their major according to last as anthropologists.

“These skills make us highly attuned year’s senior exit survey results, Mary Prendergast, director of undergraduate to students’ needs, their sources of stress and joy,” Prendergast wrote in an email studies for anthropology, said.

The senior exit survey is a mandatory to the Thresher. “We try to create an survey given to all graduating seniors by atmosphere inside and outside of the the Office of Institutional Effectiveness classroom that is inclusive, and students regarding their experience at Rice. Last have told me that they appreciate the ways year, eight students graduated with an in which we are approachable, flexible anthropology major, though Prendergast and accommodating.”

For anthropology and medieval and said that the major size each year typically early modern studies major Bri Janson, varies from eight to 14 students.

According to anthropology and English the diversity and small size of the major is a large double major contributor to the Isabella Campos, student experience. anthropology “It’s a really p r o f e s s o r s You’re dealing with small major, so you are attentive community issues and to interact with to students’ you’re seeing what matters get people and hear needs and their opinions on a accommodating to people. daily basis,” Janson, towards student Bri Janson a McMurtry College schedules — ANTHROPOLOGY MAJOR senior, said. “It’s especially as really a privilege to Campos’ role as Hanszen College president sometimes study what you like to study and people requires her to attend meetings and events in the major understand that. It’s a good environment with good people.” during afternoon classes.

According to Abby Antinossi, an “All my professors have been really great about meeting me where I am,” Campos, a anthropology and history double major, SENIOR WRITER

the conversations between students and professors bolster student happiness.

These connections with her professors also helped her join an archeological expedition in Belize over the summer.

“I find joy in the amount of care and attention that each student receives from each professor,” Antinossi, a Sid Richardson College senior, said. “You can tell that each professor is engaged and interested in what they do.”

The opportunity for handson anthropology classes stood out for Campos, she said. Next semester, she plans to take an archeological field techniques class which allows students to work at an archaeological dig site.

Janson also said she believed the work done in archaeology is fulfilling, contributing to long-term satisfaction.

“You’re dealing with community issues and you’re seeing what matters to people, which just feels like really fulfilling work,” Janson said.

Antinossi, Campos and Janson initially took introduction to archaeology, ANTH 205, intending to fulfill distribution requirements, but quickly became more interested in the subject and continued with the major.

SASHA MILLER / THRESHER Anthropology students have the opportunity to participate in archaeological field work.

“[ANTH 205] was like a gateway drug to anthropology at Rice,” Antinossi said.

According to Cymene Howe, chair of the anthropology department, students pursue a wide variety of careers upon graduating. “[Students] seek out careers in medicine, government and law and take up leadership positions in non-profit organizations, education and social service agencies,” Howe wrote in an email to the Thresher. “They are special because they have a shared sense of caring about the world — of wanting to make it a better place and they are supportive of each other too.”

THE RICE THRESHER

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024 • 5

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL STAFF

LPAP courses need wide-ranging change

Picture this: You’re a senior. After four years of churning out every major requirement and elective known to man, you’re ready to graduate. You eagerly submit your spring semester courses in Esther (who asked for a redesign, by the way?), only to be stopped in your tracks by the last, looming task on your plate: the LPAP. And, of course, every other senior has run into the same issue as you.

Popular lifetime physical activity program classes, like yoga, pilates and scuba diving, often see over 50 seniors register, but can only hold 20 each.

Although classes like tai chi and mental training have merit, the relative course demands speak for themselves, with a paltry 8 and 14 seniors respectively.

“Lifetime” physical activity programs should teach skills that are applicable and accessible throughout people’s lives — even beyond Rice.

We need to offer more LPAP courses that cater to the interests of students: Offering two sections of pilates is a great start, but needs to be extended to other areas, as well. We would like to see course offerings on biking or rock climbing, or bring back the Outdoor

Education LPAP offered fall 2022.

LPAPs are also exclusively taught by professional instructors. Students have experiences that extend far beyond academics, especially at this university,

It seems like a wasted opportunity for our peers to not host classes that showcase their talents through LPAP classes, similar to how they do with college courses. whether it be a decade of professional dance training, nationally recognized golf records or professional meditation-yoga certifications. Student-led ROPE courses show that students are trusted to educate and keep their peers safe.

It seems like a wasted opportunity for our peers to not host classes that showcase their talents through LPAP courses, similar to how they do with college courses. Allowing peer-

led LPAP courses would not only increase availability, but also further foster a sense of community and leadership among students without increasing recreation center costs.

Furthermore, the grading systems in many LPAP courses feel unnecessarily harsh. While attendance should be encouraged, many LPAPs are overly strict with their requirements, without exceptions for illness or other academic commitments.

Additionally, some of these classes, which should be easy As with regular attendance, contain final exams graded by incredibly particular instructors who dock points for (literally) a toe being out of line — we’re writing from personal experience, if you can tell.

Among the countless grades that we deal with, we certainly do not need to further burden ourselves with an ‘A’ grade in an LPAP course. Surely, a satisfactory/unsatisfactory system would suffice in this case, with a focus on participation and effort.

As registration continues for the spring semester, LPAP courses that work for and are actively worked on by students would leave them gaining far more from this part of their Rice journey.

GUEST OPINION

Why the Democratic Party keeps failing us and what we can do Editor’s Note: This is a guest opinion that has been submitted by a member of the Rice community. The views expressed in this opinion are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of the Thresher or its editorial board.

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

In the wake of the 2024 general election, many of us are grappling with frustration, disappointment and even anger toward the Democratic Party — and that’s okay.

This isn’t about campaign strategy or a single election loss; it’s about the party’s choice to take a once-promising, potentially transformative nominee and reduce her to a hollow vessel for corporate donors and backers.

These feelings reflect a widening disconnect between party leadership and the working people who depend on their promises of real change. And the consequences go beyond disillusionment — when the party fails to deliver, communities like students, people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community that need support the most are left with little to show for their votes.

Even at the heels of his resignation, you saw the chair of the Texas Democratic Party choose to denigrate transgender people for losing the 2024 election, rather than confront the party’s own shortcomings.

The Democratic Party won’t fight for transformative change and it’s time for us to create it ourselves. This means organizing for direct action – here and right now – and building solidarity to demand the change our communities deserve.

Since I was 13, I have organized, canvassed and made calls for this party — dedicating eight years to causes I believed would create real change. I staffed a competitive congressional race in the heart of Arkansas that raised over $3.5 million. I served as vice president of the Rice Democrats.

I write this not out of sheer frustration with the Democratic Party, but from deep

disappointment and dismay — especially because in states like Arkansas, my home, the Democratic Party has often been my only channel for mobilization and advocacy.

The party’s repeated unwillingness to boldly tackle fundamental issues of affordable housing, healthcare, climate action and workers’ rights has disillusioned countless supporters. In every election cycle, promises are made, and hope is reignited, only for meaningful reforms to be softened or abandoned.

At this moment, more than ever, we need to come together to protect our community and make a “Culture of Care” a reality.

In 2024, we watched as the Democratic presidential nominee campaigned for the very border wall she once condemned as “a complete waste of taxpayer money and a policy that “won’t make us any safer.”

It’s time to take matters into our own hands. Direct action allows us to create real, immediate pressure where politicians have failed. We can join in solidarity with groups dedicated year-round to making a difference — from labor unions to climate justice groups, tenants’ rights groups and movements on our campus.

Solidarity starts by finding your communities and recognizing the needs of those around you. Channel your energy beyond the hedges — while a second Trump administration would deepen struggles for many, there are people right now, both on campus and across Houston, who need our support – share resources, volunteer, attend community meetings or support campus initiatives — small steps add up to real change.

We can build a “Campus for All” by advocating for the well-being of every student, regardless of race, gender or class, and pushing back against the

monopolistic practices that punish all students, especially working-class ones.

At this moment, more than ever, we need to come together to protect our community and make a “Culture of Care” a reality. Creating a “Culture of Care” on campus means fighting for a community that actively prioritizes mutual support.

It means defending freedom of expression and academic freedom, so every voice is heard without fear of retaliation. It means hearing our classmates out when they say the faculty doesn’t represent all of us. It means showing up for each other, standing together in solidarity and creating a campus where everyone feels supported and valued.

We must organize to protect Title IX from a second Trump administration, continue to advocate for comprehensive disability support services across all campus facilities and push for the university to take a principled stance on global issues, such as Palestinian solidarity. By coming together to protect our rights and the rights of others, we build a community that stands in solidarity against all forms of injustice, showing that our campus can be a force for meaningful change.

Solidarity and taking action are deeply embedded in the spirit of Rice students — our history is filled with moments where we stood together and will continue to.

Even recently, students have continued to come together for environmental sustainability and racial justice. We need to unite to protect our rights and those of others. We honor this legacy of collective strength by building a community that stands together and firmly against all forms of injustice.

* Indicates Editorial Board member Riya Misra* Editor-in-Chief Maria Morkas* Managing Editor Spring Chenjp* Managing Editor NEWS Sarah Knowlton* Editor James Cancelarich Asst. Editor Viola Hsia Asst. Editor Belinda Zhu Asst. Editor OPINION Sammy Baek* Editor FEATURES Shruti Patankar* Editor ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Juliana Lightsey* Editor Arman Saxena* Editor SPORTS Kathleen Ortiz* Editor Diego Palos Rodriguez Asst. Editor Andersen Pickard Asst. Editor BACKPAGE Andrew Kim Editor Charlie Maxson Senior Writer Max Scholl Senior Writer Will Howley Senior Writer COPY Annika Bhananker Editor Jaden Kolenbrander Editor PHOTO, VIDEO, & WEB Cali Liu Photo Editor Francesca Nemati Photo Editor Steven Burgess Video Editor Ayaan Riaz Web Editor DESIGN Alice Sun Art & Design Director Chloe Chan News Siddhi Narayan Opinion Jessica Xu Features Alexa Bu Arts & Entertainment Kirstie Qian Sports Lauren Yu Backpage BUSINESS Emma McLean Business Manager Alina Zhong Advertisement Rahul Santhanam Advertisement Audrey Witherspoon Distribution Madison Fuhr Distribution

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

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

Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor of the Ley Student Center: 6100 Main St., MS-524 Houston, TX 77005-1892 Phone: (713) 348 - 4801 Email: thresher@rice.edu Website: www.ricethresher.org The Thresher is a member of the ACP, TIPA, CMA and CMBAM. © Copyright 2024

Solomon Ni

JONES COLLEGE SENIOR ricethresher.org

6 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024

THE RICE THRESHER

The post on compost: The latest of composting at Rice the serveries are top composting spots.

Smaller contributors like Sammy’s and THRESHER STAFF the Rice Graduate and Village Apartments Heavier than a commercial plane: Rice only contribute a few percentage points has composted one million pounds of each to Rice’s efforts. However, these food waste in total in May 2024 through results vary month to month — in a recent the Moonshot Compost program. More Instagram post from Housing and Dining, bins were added due to demand at the South Servery claimed the top spot with beginning of the 2024-25 school year, 12,536 lbs composted in September 2024 according to sustainability coordinator — 4,075 lbs more than the runner-up, West Servery.

Kristianna Bowles.

According to Bowles, the Moonshot From the 1990s to the early 2000s, a composting partnership with a device operation has been growing steadily over called the Earth Tub was pursued, said the years of its implementation.

“Due to this consistent scaling of Richard Johnson, senior executive director for sustainability in a Rice News article. the program, the amount of food waste Using the device was more trouble than it we’ve been able to save from the landfill was worth, and this effort was scrapped. has gone up between 10 and 15% each However, interest in alternatives semester,” Bowles wrote.

Isabelle Chang, an intern in the continued, and in 2019, a search for a replacement composting system began, Office of Sustainability, says the office and other student Johnson said. organizations Bowles said involved in that the Office the Moonshot of Sustainability The amount of food waste program have selected Moonshot as we’ve been able to save plans to expand a better composting from the landfill has gone the composting solution. program.

“We partnered up between 10 and 15% Chang, a with Moonshot each semester.

McMurtry College Compost, a senior, has been the H o u s t o n - b a s e d Kristianna Bowles main liaison for the start-up, and SUSTAINABILITY COORDINATOR Moonshot program debuted the program in November 2020 at the West since the end of her freshman year. Chang Servery,” Bowles wrote in an email to the said one of the initiatives she has planned Thresher. “The program expanded to all is redesigning the Moonshot signage to serveries and additional collection points prevent sign fatigue, a psychological across campus, including the Rice Village phenomenon where people stop paying close attention to signs seen on a daily and Graduate Apartments.”

North Servery has composted the basis. The signage above composting bins most in total, making up 18.48% of Rice’s has been the same since the introduction total composting efforts, with honorable of the program.

Chang said the job does come with mentions to 16.75% to Seibel Servery and 16.59% to West Servery. As shown some perks — besides exposure to through the Moonshot compost tracker, future careers, as she is studying civil

AMELIA DAVIS

ACROSS

1 Obvious 8 Munich is its capital 15 Pensioner, often 16 Aang and Korra 17 It’s dark-colored and flaky 18 Cattle farms 19 25.2 to 26.2, perhaps 21 Wooden cylindrical peg 24 Island where Macbeth is buried 25 British mother 28 Eco-friendly org.

29 It’s an attractive iron ore 32 Superman’s foe Luthor 33 “Damn straight!!”

35 Rectangular opening in a battlement 36 Riddle 38 Damn straight? abbr.

39 Cravat fastener 40 Alkaloidal endings 42 Free 43 It’s sometimes cut as a gemstone 45 Whichever 46 52d’s superior in rank, for short 47 “_ ___ pronounce you...”

48 Gymnast Simone 50 Clown Ronald 52 Reindeer 56 It’s found in bones and Martian meteorites 60 Hero’s Journey, for instance 61 Bombay talkie?

62 Ponderer’s utterance 63 Mournful musical tributes

DOWN

1 “I’ll return soon,” for a texter 2 Flower garland 3 From _ __ B 4 Moniker 5 Popular typeface 6 Fishermen’s tools 7 Golf appointment?

8 Displaying, as one’s teeth 9 Hazard in the Rockies 10 Wind direction indicator 11 Flight coord.

12 Rousing cry 13 Fury 14 Behind 20 Zombie’s cry 21 Removes 22 Opportunity 23 Like the most clogged ear 25 17a, 29a, 43a, or 56a 26 Of the womb 27 French psych-rock band ______’_ Echo Chamber 30 “You are” in Cuba 31 Vietnamese New Year 33 “__ _ _ man or __ _ _ Muppet?”

34 Mostly feline creature from Persian mythology 37 Chat ___ 40 Langston Hughes poem published in 1925 41 Post-marital obtainment, sometimes 44 Bring about 48 Horn sound 49 Badge on Fido’s collar 50 Jones Sch. degrees 51 A foe’s antonym 52 See 46a 53 Pub drink 54 Spoil 55 Possessive pronoun, for example 57 “That’s __. _ quit!”

58 Chamomile or Earl Grey, in Français 59 Cool crystals in Köln

AMY CAO / THRESHER

environmental engineering and social policy analysis — such as a visit to Moonshot’s headquarters to see behind the scenes on Rice’s contribution to the operation. Two hundred pounds of compost, sorted to remove non-plant matter, is provided to the Rice gardens each year, she said.

“Moonshot is an industrial plant, so they can take a bunch of non-plant matter — but the [Rice] garden only does plant matter. So it’s just interesting to compare those two,” Chang said. “[Moonshot picks] up the compost — and they don’t just do campuses, they also do businesses and residential buildings, and then they have a composting facility out in Conroe.”

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After Chang graduates, the cycle of leadership will continue — Will Howley, a Brown College sophomore, is her protegé, she said. The composting program at Rice has changed and grown over the years, and will continue as long as there are technological improvements and cycles of change to be followed — and as long as the cycle of composting can be sustained.

“I’m basically taking him through the things that I do on a regular basis, and I’m obviously still working for them, but just showing him what I do and what my process is, so hopefully this transition will be a little smoother than when I came on — because I basically had to figure everything out,” Chang said.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024 • 7

FEATURES

From gardening to global music: 5 must-take courses AISHA KHEMANI

THRESHER STAFF

Crafting your schedule for next semester requires balancing your curiosity and graduation requirements. Do you want to pique your interest while adding value to your academic journey? Take a look at the list below.

BIOS 207: Garden Science Looking for a fun way to check off that D3 requirement while bringing some green into your life? Taught by Joseph Novak, this class is perfect for non-STEM majors who want hands-on garden time. It meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Topics covered vary from plant development to soil management to uses of garden crops.

PHIL 269: Markets & Morality Whether it’s buying your first car or accessing healthcare, you’ll find yourself buying goods and services from a market.

But should everything go through a market? What are the moral limits? If you’ve ever done a deep introspective dive about this and want to fulfill that D1 requirement, this class is for you. This course also meets Tuesdays and Thursdays with Thimo Heisenberg from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

POLI 310: The Biology of Politics Do you want to understand how our brains are politically wired? From genes to brain chemistry, this is your chance to explore how biology impacts politics from civil engagement to ideology.

Taught by Professor John Alford, who is the author of Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives and the Biology of Political Differences, this course is thought-provoking, accessible and infinitely interesting whether you’re a political science major or not. It meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

JESLYN CHO

history, psychology and sociology, you’ll also get the opportunity to create your own environmental media project for the final assignment, and earn D1 credit to boot. The course meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. with Matthew SchneiderMayerson.

MUSI 226: Music in Global Perspective Knock out that D1 requirement while exploring the diversity of global music. From African drumming to K-pop, this course explores how music influences and reflects history, identity and culture. You’ll enhance your listening skills, analyze music in its social context and uncover the stories behind traditional and modern genres. It’s a global journey for your ear with no passport needed.

If your Tuesdays and Thursdays are busy, this course meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. with Erik Broess.

Robots do the brewing at CERĒS coffee shop with her friends, as she was previously unaware of CERĒS. “I didn’t know we had this at Rice ... I It’s 8:45 a.m., and you walk into had to take a picture to show my Dad. It Rice Coffeehouse to find the line looks so futuristic,” Perrin said.

The menu offers 20 different drinks wrapped around the hallway of the student center. Begrudgingly, you skip and customization options such as out on your morning coffee and start toppings and syrup. There are classic estimating the perfect time to return drinks such as a vanilla latte and when they might not be as busy. As you americano. Specialty drinks include leave Chaus empty-handed, you realize the CORA, an iced dragon fruit oat milk you could go to Dandelion Cafe if you latte, and the signature CERĒS drink, a really wanted a morning drink. But that salted caramel cinnamon toffee latte.

While the line at CERĒS can get long would mean going into debt.

However, a new coffee spot during busy hours, each drink is crafted opened at the Jones Graduate School in 60 seconds or less, minimizing the of Business on Sept. 9: CERĒS Robo wait time.

I tried two different drinks: the iced Coffee Shop. According to the CERĒS caramel latte website, CERĒS and the chai tea Robot Coffee latte. Both drinks Barista is a JESLYN CHO / THRESHER exceeded my vending machine expectations. The that uses artificial iced caramel latte intelligence was a great balance to make their of rich coffee flavor, drinks, instead milkiness and of employing sweet caramel. The baristas. Despite taste of warm spice the initial was apparent in skepticism one the chai tea latte, might have about which made it the a robot making perfect drink for your morning the fall season. coffee, the While CERĒS does accessibility and not accept Tetra, luxurious-tasting both drinks were drinks offered at CERĒS make it a good alternative to reasonably priced at $4.25.

Unlike Dandelion Cafe or Chaus, Chaus and Dandelion Cafe.

The CERĒS Robo Coffee Shop is the CERĒS Robo Coffee Shop doesn’t on the first floor, near the entrance to provide a cozy sit-down experience McNair Hall. Upon first glance, it looks with friends. However, for students more like a gigantic vending machine who are looking for convenience and illuminated by blue lights than a delicious coffee, the CERĒS Robo Coffee coffee shop. Students can place their Shop provides quality drinks without a order through the built-in kiosk and lengthy wait time.

Naomi Bagal said she would watch through the glass as a robot arm definitely consider CERĒS in her regular prepares their coffee.

Brown College freshman Anna coffee rotation.

“I will be a returning customer,” said Perrin said that she was excited when she stopped by the Robo coffee shop Bagal, a Brown freshman.

FOR THE THRESHER

ENST 207: Environmental Storytelling Calling all climate enthusiasts and storytellers — this course unleashes the power of storytelling in shaping public opinion on the climate crisis. You’ll explore the use of fictional storytelling across various mediums and learn how they’re used for climate advocacy.

Drawing from research i n

JENNIFER LIU / THRESHER

8 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024

THE RICE THRESHER

Just ‘phil’ the music: a cappella group releases new album “The whole group had a discussion about what was going to be on [the FOR THE THRESHER album],” Ajit, a Lovett College senior, said.

Step one: Say hi to PHIL, the jolly stick “Usually, it’s up to the people who make figure on the cover of the Philharmonics’ the arrangements because [they] make these [songs] come to life. But I still feel like newest album: “still phil.”

Step two: Click the play button for there was a group-wide consensus about arrangements of songs by artists like Joji, all the songs.”

After finalizing the arrangements, Conan Gray and Taylor Swift.

Step three: Listen. Did you notice yet? recording began. While most students There are no musical instrumentals, only may remember Fondren Library as a study hub, Ajit remembers its basement voices.

Rice Philharmonics, the oldest a — which houses the digital media cappella group on campus — nicknamed commons — differently.

“Fondren was just the place I went to “The Phils” — released their album “still phil” on Spotify Aug. 16, marking study,” Ajit said. “And then it [became] the the end of a project started in 2022. The place where we’re producing this whole album boasts a nine-song tracklist, album that will eventually be on Spotify.”

Unlike other each an a cappella voice parts with arrangement sheet music, of mainstream Paik, the group’s songs like “People Having [the album] be beatboxer, said Watching” by would have Conan Gray called ‘still phil,’ reminds it been difficult or “Every all those other people transcribe Summertime” by who’ve worked on it, that to beatboxing the NIKI. same way.

For “still phil” to they’re also still Phil.

“The thing is, come to life, the Phils Rita Ajit you can’t really put made a cappella LOVETT SENIOR beatbox in [sheet arrangements of songs they wanted to record. Some of these music],” Paik said. “I thought about how songs had already been performed at the the drums work in this song. How can I try International Championship of Collegiate to improve the rhythm of this? The kind of A Cappella in 2022, including “Same Old mood that is brought about by this beat?”

Record. Not satisfied? Repeat. The Blues” and “Diamonds,” both of which are mashups of songs from artists like Rihanna, Phils would spend hours recording in Fondren’s basement, according to Dhilani Sam Smith and more.

According to Josh Paik, Phils’ music Premaratne, the Phils’ publicity manager.

“We would try to take each song fully director, members could also suggest songs from the beginning to the end without to be arranged.

“Phils is unique in the way we arrange all cutting too much … that was the ideal of our own music,” Paik, a Duncan College take,” Premaratne, a Jones College junior, said. “That [isn’t] common amongst junior, said.

According to Premaratne, the experience a lot of collegiate a cappella groups.”.

Rita Ajit, now Phils’ president and first- of recording songs in a studio was new to year member at the time of recording, said the a cappella group.

“I didn’t have experience with she appreciated the amount of input every [recording]. I think most of us didn’t,” member had in choosing the setlist.

HANNAH LEE

COURTESY RICE PHILHARMONICS

Premaratne said. “We listened to our music director and recording manager give us input to make sure that we felt comfortable in the studio environment.”

According to Paik, finalizing the album took a long time because of the Phils’ threeyear cycle of competing at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, going on tour and producing an album.

Now, after nearly three years, “still phil” is available on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

While it’s a celebratory moment for the Phils, according to Ajit, it’s also bittersweet, because many voices and artistic touches of the album belong to members who have since graduated. Ajit said that ‘PHIL’, the hand-drawn stickman that serves as the album’s cover art, was drawn by a Phils’ alumni.

“Our old music director, Audrey Ma designed this little guy. She graduated last year,” Ajit said.

But despite the time that passes, some

Phils traditions keep the former and current members connected, according to Ajit.

“For our last song at our homecoming concert, we always sing ‘Africa’ by Toto. It’s just a Phils tradition,” Ajit said. “For that song, we always ask if there are any Phil’s alumni in the audience [to] come back up and sing with us. This year, there were four alumni [who] came back on stage. It just felt more complete.”

While the name “still phil” is a clever pun on the album’s title track, “Still Feel,” it takes on a deeper meaning for all generations of the Phils, Ajit said.

“Phils is something that continues after you graduate … Phils is so much more than what we do in rehearsals and concerts,” Ajit said. “It’s also [the] friendship that you take with you … preserving those memories that you made together, and, remembering that that part of you is forever there. Having [the album] be called ‘still phil’, reminds all those other people who’ve worked on it, that they’re also still Phil.”

Festival season: These fall film picks bring drama, intimacy ARMAN SAXENA

A&E EDITOR

JENNIFER LIU / THRESHER

With the Houston Cinema Arts Festival right around the corner, we’re in the midst of fall film festival season.

Many of the biggest film festivals in the world — such as Venice and New York — have already happened, and some of their most acclaimed selections are being released in the next couple of months.

Check out these movies, which are some

of the best of the fall festival season.

“All We Imagine as Light” An intimate drama from Payal Kapadia, the director of “A Night of Knowing Nothing,” “All We Imagine as Light” was the first Indian film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years before making the rounds at the three biggest North American fall festivals — Telluride, Toronto and New York — earlier this season. This poetic film follows two young women looking for freedom, togetherness and joy in the city of Mumbai. “All We Imagine as Light” is only Kapadia’s second feature film and cements her as a filmmaker to watch for years to come.

“Anora” This year’s Oscar Best Picture winner?

We’ll see what happens in March, but Sean Baker’s “Anora” is already a frontrunner in conversations about the best movie of 2024. With the cityspanning dramedy-romance “Anora,” Baker, the director of small-scale, location-specific films like “The Florida Project” and “Tangerine,” has made his biggest movie yet. However, “Anora” doesn’t lose the character-focused humanity of Baker’s previous work, with

much credit going to Mikey Madison’s likely-Oscar-nominated starring performance as the titular character.

“The Brutalist” A three-hour-long epic about an immigrant architect in post-World War II America, Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” is ambitious and monumental. With stunning long-take sequences, opulent production design and an ensemble of colorful characters, expect an aweinspiring and audacious experience.

Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones all turn in memorable performances that will have you thinking about this future Best Picture nominee even after the credits roll.

“Emilia Pérez” A comedy-crime-thriller-musical about a Mexican cartel boss, Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” doesn’t sound like a real film. But it is — and it’s a wild ride. Starring Karla Sofía Gascón as a transgender cartel boss, Zoe Saldana as a lawyer who helps her navigate escaping her life of crime, and a soundtrack that will have you dancing in your seat, “Emilia Pérez” is a genre-defying spectacle. Audiard blends humor, suspense and musical numbers to create

a film that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.

“Hard Truths” Mike Leigh has been making films since 1971, and at 81 years old, he shows no signs of stopping. Like with all his best films, “Hard Truths” is a character-driven exploration of the human condition. He ruminates on relationships, triumphs, hardships, all of the things that make up the everyday. The film is brought to a different echelon by Marianne JeanBaptiste, a British actress who previously worked with Leigh on one of his mostacclaimed films “Secrets & Lies.”

“Nickel Boys” Adapted from the Pulitzer Prizewining novel by Colson Whitehead, “Nickel Boys” follows the story of two young black men at an abusive reform school in Florida. Directed by Oscarnominated documentarian RaMell Ross, “Nickel Boys” is a deeply human tale of devastation and perseverance, shot beautifully by “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” cinematographer Jomo Fray. The film is anchored by an ensemble of acclaimed performances, especially Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as the teenage protagonist Elwood’s grandmother Hattie.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024 • 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Altered Origins architecture festival breaks boundaries

GUILLIAN PAGUILA / THRESHER

HUGO GERBICH PAIS

SENIOR WRITER

A one-of-a-kind festival was hosted by Rice’s School of Architecture Oct. 22 to 26, in collaboration with the department of anthropology, Houston Climate Justice Museum and Moody Center for the Arts. The festival, titled “Altered Origins: Emergencies, Experiments and Environment,” included workshops, conversations and performances challenging the norms of architecture.

“We were pushing for work that was transdisciplinary, that works in the outskirts or limits of the disciplines,” said Tania Tovar Torres, the festival’s organizer and a School of Architecture Wortham Fellow.

The transdisciplinary nature of the festival was reflected in its geographies, Tovar Torres said.

Workshops,

conversations and performances were held across campus: from Cannady Hall’s fabrication workshop to the archaeology lab in Sewell’s basement and the Moody Center for the Arts.

The festival featured 14 presenters, who Tovar Torres met through her curatorial work in Mexico City. These guests hosted workshops and gave lectures on various topics throughout the event.

“I would call them all spatial practitioners because they all work in a very spatial manner but on different scales — from the body to the territory or the objects in between,” Tovar Torres said. “Some were trained as artists, sound artists, performance artists or anthropologists”.

Like the participants themselves, programming was varied, with topics ranging from collaborative 3D scanning

of artifacts to a workshop where Their investigative work is then developed participants explored “the continuity and finalized in a spring studio.

The Watkins sequence that Tovar between our bones and the rocks that compose the foundations of the earth,” Torres taught last year was also titled Altered Origins. according to the festival’s website.

“Students started by researching and Alice Bian, a senior architecture student at Brown College, said the “Digital interviewing practitioners in Mexico Clay” workshop she attended had an who were working at the intersection of intimate and experimental atmosphere. architecture, the humanities, the sciences The workshop used 3D printers to create and the arts,” Tovar Torres said.

Tovar Torres said she was motivated clay models.

“It was a one-to-one learning by a desire to show students how tools experience and everyone was very and methodologies from other fields comfortable,” Bian said. “3D printing is could be incorporated into architectural a high-tech method using clay, but using practice.

“Our students are very versed in digital the machine to print was very manual.” production and The decision model making, and to call it a festival I wanted to show was deliberate, them how those said Torres.

We wanted to create skills can also be “[Symposium applied in different or conference] felt something that was open contexts and to so static and a bit to everyone and that had answer different too trapped in the a kind of joyful and festive questions,” Tovar academic setting,” Torres said.

Tovar Torres said. condition to it.

For Neha “We wanted to Tania Tovar Torres Nayar, a fifthcreate something FESTIVAL ORGANIZER year architecture that was open to everyone and that had a kind of joyful student, the “Altered Origins” Watkins sequence was unlike any other and festive condition to it.”

The festival was unique, according to architecture seminar or studio.

“It was super detached from the typical Bian.

“The whole workshop idea was a design process, instead encouraging us pioneering experience,” Bian said. “It to look for unconventional, designable was built around creating a hands-on ‘spaces’ beyond obvious forms of learning experience, instead of just architecture,” Nayar said. “It was also a listening to a lecturer and asking some great opportunity for creative expression questions, which is something that we outside the architectural discipline.”

Tovar Torres said she hoped that get a lot of at the architecture school.”

The festival was the culmination of festival participants would expand a Watkins seminar sequence that Tovar their horizons on what architecture and Torres led in the 2023-24 academic year. architectural research could look like.

“There are so many different avenues in The Watkin sequence begins with a special topics seminar where fourth-year which one can practice, and architecture architecture students develop research is so much more than just design and projects on contemporary challenges. edification,” Tovar Torres said.

Review: ‘Anora’ marries comedy, class consciousness ARMAN SAXENA

A&E EDITOR

“Anora” isn’t a traditional romantic comedy, though parts of it may play like one: its protagonist is an erotic dancer, its meet-cute is in a strip club, and the central couple’s romance takes them on a whirlwind of sex, money and drugs. Still, the scenes of the couple dancing in the neon-lit streets of Vegas are some of the most romantic of the year thus far.

These romantic scenes aren’t the only thing Sean Baker’s newest feature does well. “Anora” blends dark screwball comedy, crime drama and class conscious thematics with aplomb.

It’s a mash of genre and tone that never feels false due to the tandem of Sean Baker’s ultra-specific writing and Mikey Madison’s phenomenal work in the titular role.

“Anora” is achingly human, laugh-outloud funny and rife with food for thought to the perceptive viewer.

The film grabs the audience from its very first scene — a neon-lit strip club sequence soundtracked to Robin Schulz’s electro-pop rework of Take That’s “Greatest Day.” This is where we meet Anora, the protagonist and the heart and mind of the film. Anora is a go-getter: She goes the extra mile to get more out of her client’s pockets, and the film’s opening scenes follow her as she moves through her night.

The quick editing used here emphasizes that all of this is part of a normal day for Anora. However, Anora’s world becomes as far from normal as possible when Ivan, the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, walks

into the club and requests a dancer that can speak Russian. Anora, coincidentally, is of Russian descent and their meeting begins the central plot of this roller coaster ride of a film.

“Anora” delves deeply into the grit of sex, drugs and money, but its heart beats with a thoughtful critique of class and the American Dream. While Anora’s life might seem thrilling at first glance, the film doesn’t shy away from showing the limitations imposed by her circumstances. She works without health insurance, bound to a rigid schedule, and her “freedom” is, in reality, carefully restricted — something the film implies is a direct product of her lowerclass status.

Mikey Madison’s performance as Anora is a revelation, cementing her as an undeniable Oscar contender.

Madison breathes life into a character who is tough, resourceful and relentlessly defiant. Her scenes talking back to those who seek to exploit her are some of the best of the film.

Her defiance also contributes to some of the film’s hilarious screwball comedy sequences. Director Sean Baker, renowned for his breakout film “Tangerine,” brings a similar energy here, blending screwball and black comedy to emphasize both the absurdity and the darkness of Anora’s world. Like Tangerine, Anora is soundtracked by an electric, pulsing score that keeps the momentum high, while fast-paced editing ensures that the film never drags.

Anora’s romance with Ivan, the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, offers a sharp, unsparing look at class dynamics. Ivan

FILMNATION ENTERTAINMENT

embodies the promise of the American Dream for Anora, an escape from her current life and a step into the world of wealth and privilege. But this dream proves illusory: Ivan’s family forbids him from marrying “a prostitute,” leaving Anora locked out of the life he dangles seductively before her.

The film starkly illustrates the lie behind the American Dream — while society may glamorize freedom and upward mobility, strict class barriers persist.

Blending screwball comedy, sex and social critique, Anora is both hilarious

and thought-provoking, a dazzlingly original addition to Sean Baker’s filmography. With strong direction, electric editing and cinematography and Madison’s unforgettable performance, “Anora” stands as one of the best films of the year.

The film is a sharp reminder of the limits imposed by class, even in a society that touts itself as the “land of opportunity,” Don’t be surprised if this film ends up at the top of this year’s Oscar Best Picture race come March.

10 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024

THE RICE THRESHER

Meet the Powderpuff playoff contenders EVIE VU

THRESHER STAFF

As the Powderpuff regular season comes to a close, six colleges vie for the coveted championship scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23. With the most players of any intramural sport, Powderpuff is not taken lightly. Each team practices weekly, coached by members of the Rice community, to prepare for weekend games.

Representatives from each team shared their regular season highlights and memories in preparation for the postseason. * Asterisks indicate quoted members.

Wiess Powderpuff

Regular season record: 5-0-0

Captains: Kayla Bierman ’25* Coaches: Savan Patel ’26, Mason Howell ’25, Matthew Edelstein ’25

dedication our players have. We’re very blessed to have very athletic people at Wiess as well.

Stand-out players: KB: Something unique about Wiess Powderpuff is we don’t just have one player who carries the whole team.

Our team is strong all around. We are very confident that with any seven on the field, we’ll be able to pull out a great game.

Fondest Powderpuff memory: KB: Before every game, we have a pregame meeting. The coaches will put on football clips, and we’ll bond and get into a headspace. That’s always a highlight of our week because it creates a team dynamic that’s beyond just playing together. [We’re] friends first and then teammates.

Team description: KB: We have a lot of passion. We’re very dedicated. People like to say Wiess tries really hard but it just shows the

Siddy Girls Captains: Jess Dooley ’25*, Sienna Tu ’25, Diya Vettical ’27 Coaches: Dylan Council ’26, Giulio Valfre Zaydenman ’26 Stand-out players: JD: Sopheena Toovey ’25 always pumps up team spirit by cheering everyone on and playing music while we walk to and from practice. She also always has the cutest outfits and game-day sunnies.

Tyra Helper ’28 plays two [flag football] games in the scorching midday heat, – freshmen flag and then powderpuff – and has the best attitude. Cecilia Visco ’25 and Harriet Shapiro ’28 have such consistent attendance for practice and games even though they have busy schedules.

Duncan College Captains: Chloe Singer ’25*, Ameenat Adisa ’27 Coaches: Winston Liaw (magister), Colin Buechler-Neimeyer ’26, Ian Kleppinger ’26, Ian Oliver ’25, Sean Weiss ’27, Griffin Arndt ’27 Stand-out players: CS: Ameenat is kind of our do-it-all person. She’s so quick, so fast. Jocelyn, a transfer student, has been a huge impact player for our team as wide receiver. We have a lot of great freshmen that joined our team.

Warning for their opponents: KB: Wiess wants it.

Regular season record: 3-1-0 Team description: JD: High-energy, encouraging and competitive. We make a point to cheer everyone on during practice and in games and value everyone’s contributions. We also ensure everyone plays about an equal amount because we know all of our players have what it takes to beat our opponents.

Fondest Powderpuff memory: JD: When we walk to and from practice.

Soph is always playing music, we chat about how our weeks have been, and reflect on the funny things that have happened during games. Our team supports each other on and off the field.

Warning for their opponents: JD: Our players want opponents to know to watch out. We are coming ready to win.

Regular season record: 3-1-0 Team description: CS: Determined, energetic, talented.

Fondest Powderpuff memory: CS: Our Lovett game was our stand-out game. We mercied Lovett 39-0, and you don’t get moments like that very often in Powderpuff. We just played such a complete game from start to finish, and every single person contributed in making that happen.

Warning for their opponents: CS: Watch out. When our team is playing at our best, we can beat anyone.

CAYDEN CHEN / THRESHER Wiess College Powderpuff players huddle during practice Sunday, Nov. 10. Wiess is the only undefeated team in the playoffs this year.

Hanszen Women Kick Ass Captains: Whitney Ball ’25, Victoria Albanese ’25 Coaches: Elena Schwegman ’25*, Jonah Lubin ’25, Ben Montag ’25, Sebastian Molina ’25 Stand-out players: ES: We were able to recruit a lot of freshmen, and even some sophomores who hadn’t played before, to join the team this year. Their participation and eagerness to learn and play has been the biggest standout. We have had a big, athletic team of girls who really love to play and give full effort all the time.

Team description: ES: Hardworking, quick-learners, highenergy and fun.

Baker Powderpuff Captains: Piper Winn ’25*, Olivia Robson ’25, Alice Owens ’25 Coaches: Nick Harrison ’25, Sutter Armistead ’26, Malcolm Wigder ’26 Stand-out players: PW: We had some freshmen join the team this year who have brought a lot of new skill and energy. Our quarterbacks Ana Rivera ’26 and Alice Owens ’25 are also very strong, talented players.

Team description: PW: We like to win and have fun doing it.

Martel Moms Captains: Priya Bapna ’25*, Lili Nikolova ’25 Coaches: Marco Stine ’25, Ethan Nguyen ’25, Seth Davidson ’25 Stand-out players: PB: Everyone on our team has shown incredible skill and commitment this season. Abby Thomson ’27 and Jenny In ’28 have been amazing quarterbacks and Claire Callaway ’26 is one of the fastest runners I’ve seen.

Team description: PB: We started out this season with zero plays, barely 7 players and no idea what the rules were. Lili and I started the team because we wanted to bring some team spirit back into Martel, especially during our last year at Rice.

We had no idea the team would make it to the playoffs .. The girls have been working so hard to win each game.

Regular season record: 3-1-1 Fondest Powderpuff memory: ES: One of the fondest memories I have happened at the beginning of the season for our team this year. We have a tradition for our team called Gin Bucket, a big team-bonding gathering that we do before our first game every year. We had a huge turnout for it this year and it really helped us get closer, especially since we do have a young team with a lot of new girls.

We had everyone do a karaoke song of their choice to break the ice at Gin Bucket, which was absolutely hilarious.

Warning for their opponents: ES: Hanszen Women Kick Ass!

Regular season record: 2-1-1 Fondest Powderpuff memory: PW: My fondest Powderpuff memory was a game we played my freshman year. We played a really great game as a team and had a lot of Bakerites come watch and support. The vibes were really high and it brought us closer together as a team, which is one of my favorite aspects of Powderpuff.

Warning for their opponents: CS: Our opponents should know to watch out for us in the playoffs, we’re coming for you, Hanszen.

Regular season record: 2-2-1 We’ve built a strong dynamic and connection over time within our team, and I think that coupled with our sheer determination is what has enabled us to make it this far. I think that’s the best way to characterize it: scrappy but fierce.

Fondest Powderpuff memory: PB: Winning the Jones game because a lot of our friends showed up, and it was very exciting because everyone was cheering and screaming. It was our first win. Also, when we found out we were going to the playoffs, confirmed by the Wiess-Jones game. We were super happy, and Wiess was celebrating too.”

Warning for their opponents: PB: Don’t underestimate us. Martel is not known as the most competitive or athletic of the colleges, but we are ready to bring it on for playoffs. No one thought we’d win a game and here we are. We want our opponents to know that we’re going in strong, and we plan to win.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024 • 11

SPORTS

Intellectual brutality renewed: How Rice can still achieve bowl eligibility ANDERSEN PICKARD

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Rice football lost another American Athletic Conference matchup last Friday, falling to the University of Memphis on the road, 27-20. The Owls’ defeat dropped them to 3-7 on the year, and with two games left, the best they can finish is 5-7.

While the cutoff for bowl eligibility is six wins, there’s still a path for Rice to make a bowl game. The NCAA sets a number of bowl games, and sometimes they can’t fill every game solely with teams boasting six or more wins. As a result, they pull from the pool of 5-7 teams to fill the bowl slots.

This season, the top 82 programs will qualify to play at least one game beyond the regular season: 12 teams in the College Football Playoff and 70 teams in non-playoff bowl games.

Fortunately for Rice, the NCAA prioritizes issuing slots to 5-7 teams based on academic merit. The 5-7 programs with the highest Academic Progress Rates are allowed to choose a bowl game slot after other qualified schools have picked their slot. If there is one open slot, only the 5-7 team with the best APR gets a bowl game.

If there are five slots, the top five APR 5-7 teams advance, with first dibs given to the program with the highest APR. Implemented in 2003, APR measures academic success and is viewed by the NCAA as more accurate than graduation rates.

The APR system “includes rewards for superior academic performance and penalties for teams that do not achieve certain academic benchmarks,” according to the NCAA. Each studentathlete receiving athletically related financial aid earns one point for staying in school and one point for maintaining

academic eligibility. Then, the sum of the school’s points is divided by the total points possible and multiplied by 1,000 to determine their APR. Given Rice’s academic standing, there’s a very strong chance they could have the best APR among 5-7 programs.

Among 133 FBS programs, Rice finished the last reported cycle (2022-23) with an APR of 988, ranking 14th overall. While prominent, this was a significant decline from the 2020-21 cycle in which they ranked sixth with a 994 APR. This year’s placement of 5-7 teams is based on APR from the 2022-23 cycle.

The seven teams eligible for an APRbased slot that rank ahead of Rice are Northwestern University (4-5), the University of North Carolina (54), the University of Cincinnati (5-4), the University of Michigan (5-5), the University of Wisconsin (5-4), the United States Air Force Academy (2-7) and Wake Forest University (4-5).

While seven teams ahead of Rice might seem like a lot, APR only comes into play if a team finishes 5-7. If all of those seven programs were to finish more than five wins, and Rice won its final two games, the Owls would be the first 5-7 team offered a bowl game slot.

Rice has made a bowl game in each of its last two seasons. In 2022, they finished 5-7 but qualified for the LendingTree Bowl based on APR. Thus, precedent exists for Rice to play a 13th game based on academic merit.

The bowl path for the Owls now depends on academics and games against two AAC rivals. Rice travels to the University of Alabama Birmingham (2-7, 1-4 in AAC) Nov. 23 before finishing the regular season at home against the University of South Florida (4-5, 2-3 in AAC) Nov. 30.

HONG LIN TSAI / THRESHER “Coach says if we study hard, we can still get into a bowl game.”

Scores & what’s next ANDERSEN PICKARD

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Scores from Nov. 6 to 12

Women’s Soccer at University of Memphis (AAC Semifinal) Nov. 7 - Rice 1, Memphis 3

Women’s Basketball vs. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Nov. 7 - Rice 61, North Carolina A&T 60

Swimming & Diving at University of North Texas Nov. 8 - Rice 112, UNT 131

Women’s Tennis at Rice Invitational

Nov. 8-10 - 3-3 in doubles, 9-8 in singles

Baseball vs. McLennan Community College (Exhibition) Women’s Volleyball vs. Wichita State University Nov. 8 - Rice 3, Wichita State 2

EVIE VU

Football at University of Memphis

THRESHER STAFF

2

“Owl-American”

Nov. 8 - Rice 9, McLennan 4

Sports Mini #5 1

EDITORIAL CARTOON

Nov. 8 - Rice 20, Memphis 27

Swimming & Diving at Southern Methodist University

3

Nov. 9 - Rice 121, SMU 178

Men’s Basketball vs. Florida State University Nov. 9 - Rice 65, FSU 73 4

Women’s Volleyball vs. University of Alabama Birmingham

5

Nov. 10 - Rice 3, UAB 0

Women’s Basketball vs. University of South Alabama 6

7

Nov. 11 - Rice 76, USA 58

What’s next from Nov. 13 to 19

Women’s Basketball vs. University of Houston Nov. 14, 7 p.m. - Home on ESPN+

Men’s Cross Country at NCAA South Central Regional

8

Nov. 15 - Away in College Station, Texas

Women’s Cross Country at NCAA South Central Regional Nov. 15 - Away in College Station, Texas

Women’s Volleyball vs. University of Memphis

9

Nov. 15, 6 p.m. - Home on ESPN+

Men’s Basketball vs. Northwestern State University Nov. 16, 2 p.m. - Home on ESPN+ ACROSS

1 Exclamation during an injury 4 Like refs, when you disagree with them 6 Every college’s beer bike dream 8 Right away 9 Weighted batting avg.

Women’s Volleyball at University of North Texas DOWN

1 Rivals, slangily 2 East Coast convenience store chain 3 Only currently undefeated Powderpuff team 5 Poker action 7 Basketball scoring stat.

Nov. 17, 1 p.m. - Away on ESPN+

Women’s Basketball vs. Sam Houston State University Nov. 17, 2 p.m. - Home on ESPN+

Men’s Basketball at University of Louisiana at Lafayette Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m. - Away on ESPN+

Men’s Tennis at NCAA Individual Championships Nov. 19-24 - Away in Waco, Texas

Women’s Tennis at NCAA Individual Championships Nov. 19-24 - Away in Waco, Texas

12 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024

BACKPAGE

THE BACKPAGE Hanszen College Night finds itself in students’ bad books

This Friday, Hanszenites will hit the stacks to celebrate their Fall 2024 College Night. Hanszen Socials announced their theme, “Fondrunk Li-beer-y: Bar-row a Book!”, in a triumphant email two weeks ago to mixed reviews.

“We didn’t hold a theme vote this year because we felt we needed to intervene directly in the college’s culture around alcohol,” said Hanszen Social Gordon Chang.

“This theme will proactively address healthy drinking habits as well as our declining literacy rate.”

According to the Hanszen Socials, the day will start with drinks in the Digital Media Commons (affectionately dubbed the “Digital Mimosa Commons”) at 7 a.m. In between classes, Hanszenites will be invited to the library to work and peruse the stacks. Hanszen Socials have already submitted dozens of interlibrary loan and offsite material requests for age-

appropriate books in preparation for the big day (and the librarians exploded with joy).

“Once the sun goes down, we’ll get lit crazy novel,” quipped Carissa Nguyen, another Hanszen Social. The college plans to pack the Kyle Morrow Room and exceed maximum capacity, violating the fire code. In addition, Hanszenites will participate in a floor crawl of the library, beginning with peeping naughty microforms in the Kelley Center and culminating in a silent disco on the sixth floor (bring your own headphones).

Librarians emphasize that no sounds are allowed, so partygoers will be relegated to gentle, inhibited swaying.

“Rice is so lame bruh. I swear everyone here is so horny for Fondren, of course we have to make our one fun night a semester about an effing library. I just wanna drink and not think about my Orgo exam coming up next next next Thursday,” said Rahul Gupta,

a pre-med freshman Hanszenite in response to the theme.

“I am transferring to Louisiana State University,” said Hanszen junior Brandon Thompson.

Other Hanszenites had complaints about the inconvenience of holding College Night largely in Fondren. “They won’t let me hotbox study room 420, they won’t let me black out and push over the stacks. Rice culture isn’t dying. It’s already dead,” said Hanszen junior Tessa Hernandez. “Administration is literally 1984.”

Conversely, some students have expressed support for the academic nature of the day.

Hanszen sophomore Daria Sun commented, “I really appreciate this theme because it maximizes utility – I can enjoy the benefits of attending a social function (for my personal wellbeing) while completing a p-set [sic] at the same time.”

Rice culture isn’t dying. It’s already dead.

Tessa Hernandez HANSZEN COLLEGE JUNIOR Amid the controversy, Hanszen College Socials have continued to raise the hype for Friday. As of Wednesday, the Hanszen GroupMe was reportedly inundated with messages from Socials, including “My day is absolutely BOOKED with crazy parties!” and “Friday finna be a storybook.” Regardless of how, Hanszenites agree that this College Night will be one for the books.

The Backpage is the satire section of the Thresher, written this week by Andrew Kim, Will Howley, Charlie Maxson, and Max Scholl and designed by Lauren Yu. For questions or comments, please email pookiebear@rice.edu.

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