SA convenes for changeover
HOPE YANG ASST. NEWS EDITOR
The Student Association gathered for leadership changeover March 10 following the results of the 2025 election. The SA welcomed new elected officials, approved the Spring 2025 Initiative Fund for new clubs and announced open applications for SA appointed positions, which include parliamentarian and director of elections.
Outgoing SA President Jae Kim summarized the SA’s achievements in the past year, including a record 30,000 meal swipes donated through the guest meal swipe program, expanding dining services to 9 p.m. and bringing back breakfast service in all serveries.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
set by this year’s SA, including passing its first referendum, and increasing the number of town halls and social media engagement.
“We boosted engagement with the student body by hosting five town halls, and we grew the SA Instagram by 900 followers, and we ran the first campuswide political referendum in recent history,” Kim said.
I feel like SA has power over everything and nothing, so we can advocate and speak on anything, but we don’t have executive power over anything that goes on in [Rice]. I really feel like we tried our best this year to leverage the resources that we have, both financial and nonfinancial.
Jae Kim FORMER SA PRESIDENT
Kim also highlighted more recent developments such as increasing the minimum wage for undergraduate students to $10 an hour, creating a fund for community service initiatives beginning next year and obtaining a 10% discount on monthly items in the campus bookstore for undergraduates.
Kim also discussed new precedents
Several initiatives are still in the works, including a proposition to have an undergraduate student take part in the Board of Trustees.
Kim said the new SA will also advocate for the new residential college to be named after a person of color and for a revision of the restrictions on protest and poster display.
“I feel like SA has power over everything and nothing, so we can advocate and speak on anything, but we don’t have executive power over anything that goes on in [Rice],” Kim said. “I really feel like we tried our best this year to leverage the resources that we have, both financial and nonfinancial.”
Amid West Texas measles outbreak, Rice to host vaccination clinic
Rice will hold a clinic to give the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination March 20 in the Cambridge Office Building.
The decision comes after over 233 cases, 29 hospitalizations and two deaths were reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services, as of March 11. The cases are mostly confined to rural West Texas and New Mexico, with the majority affecting unvaccinated individuals.
In late January, two cases of measles were confirmed in Houston, the city’s first since 2023. Both were linked to international travel.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, measles is a highly contagious airborne virus that spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. Unvaccinated people and young children are at the highest risk of contracting and dying from the virus. The disease was considered eradicated in the United States in 2000, but is common in other parts of the world.
The vaccination clinic will be held over spring break, when many students will be away from campus. Chris Stipes, a university spokesperson, said that the clinic is largely targeted towards faculty and staff who have not received the most effective two-dose MMR vaccine.
SA announces election results after ballot errors
the student body — I am excited to serve you all,” Sandhu wrote in an email to the Thresher.
One day after results were set to be released, Trevor Tobey was elected as the next Student Association president. He received 74.7% of first-place votes against write-in candidate Callum Flemister, who received 17.4% of votes.
A Hanzen College junior and former SA Parliamentarian, Tobey ran on a platform of increasing initiative fund money, supporting cultural clubs and providing $10 printing credits to students.
“First and foremost, I give all glory to Jesus Christ — without Him, I wouldn’t be here,” Tobey wrote in an email to the Thresher. “I am also deeply grateful to my family, friends, campaign team, Jae, the student leaders who supported me, and, most importantly, the students of Rice.”
A Duncan College junior, Flemister ran on a platform of accessible study spots, engaging the student body and improving communication between administration and students.
1,375 students voted in the election for a voter turnout of 29.02%, a sharp decrease from last year’s turnout of 42.09%.
Sohani Sandhu secured the internal vice president position in a race against Ananya A. Nair. Sandhu, a McMurtry College junior, took 52.9% of first-place votes, while Nair, a McMurtry freshman, claimed 42%.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to put my plans into action and for the support I have received thus far from
FROM FRONT PAGE MEASLES
One dose of the MMR vaccine is 93% effective at preventing the virus and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC. The two-dose vaccine began to be recommended in 1989.
“Adults born between 1957 and 1989 — many of whom are faculty and staff — may have only received a single dose of the vaccine, leaving them more vulnerable to measles,” Stipes wrote in an email to the Thresher.
Mahtab Dastur will serve as the next external vice president after Lajward Zahra dropped out of the race, and Jackson Darr will serve as the next treasurer. Both ran uncontested races, with Darr being added after the treasurer application was extended and amidst ballot confusions.
As the Secretary ballot had no candidate, the position will move to a special election by the SA.
The ballot also included five constitutional amendments, none of which passed due to their voter turnouts ranging from 15.9% to 19.02%. A minimum of 20% voter turnout for constitutional amendments is required by Article VIII, Section 2.2 of the SA constitution.
The author of amendments 1-4, Tobey attributed low turnout to the ballot issues during the election process.
“I am confident that, had the election gone smoothly, these amendments would have easily met the 20% turnout threshold,” Tobey wrote. “Moving forward, I am committed to ensuring these reforms are placed on the next special election ballot so that students have the opportunity to make their voices heard on these important issues.
Amendment #1 received 92.78% of votes in favor. The amendment would have changed the SA constitution to improve grammar, remove typos and clarify jargon.
Amendment #2 received 76.43% of votes in favor. The amendment would have enhanced the SA president’s power by implementing veto power over Senate bills, resolutions and amendments. It also would have given the SA “ultimate authority” over their own budget, the Blanket Tax and Blanket Tax Organizations.
Amendment #3 received 75.63% of votes
in favor. The amendment aimed to increase financial transparency by removing two officers of blanket tax organizations from the blanket tax committee, replacing them with three SA senators. The amendment would have also raised the threshold for an organization to be added as a blanket tax organization from a majority to a two-thirds vote by the Senate.
Amendment #4 received 86.72% of votes in favor. The amendment clarified rules on campus elections and campus referenda. It removed the provision allowing the removal of elected officials outside of impeachment procedures, ensuring that candidates are removed according to formal impeachment policy. The amendment also standardized the process for initiatives and referendums.
Amendment #5 received 74.79% of votes in favor. The amendment would have raised the Blanket Tax from $85 to $90.
Students write in alternate candidates across ballot
The MMR vaccination rate is 99.99% for full-time, on-campus students, according to Jessica McKelvey, the director of Student Health Services. The MMR vaccine is required for full-time, on-campus students, unless they submit a waiver through the state of Texas.
Stipes said the Rice Emergency Management is continuing to monitor the measles outbreak in coordination with state and federal agencies. RIYA MISRA /
DATA FROM THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES
A total of 223 measles cases have been identified in the state.
An additional four cases have been reported in east Texas counties — including two in Harris — that are not connected with the state’s outbreak.
HONGTAO HU ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Students, faculty join rally
for Stand Up For Science
and inform the Rice community about how federal funding decisions impact undergraduates as well.
Around 200 Rice students and faculty expressed their support for the national Stand Up for Science movement in the graduate student commons March 7. The event coincided with SUFS rallies nationwide, including one in Washington, D.C.
SUFS is a response to the Trump administration cutting and pausing science funding, impacting researchers nationwide. Policy changes have also led to layoffs, hiring freezes and decreased enrollment in graduate programs.
Austin Moser, a fifth-year chemistry graduate student, said his postdoctoral study offer was rescinded due to lack of funding and he was told that he might have a better chance in Europe.
“Five weeks from now, I’ll be defending my thesis and be a doctor,” Moser said. “Now, I have nothing after graduation.”
Jeffrey Hartgerink, a professor of chemistry, connected Rice to the nationwide movement. Hartgerink said he reached out to the Chemistry Graduate Student Association to help plan out the rally. In addition, the rally was supported by other student groups including the Student Association, the Fun With Chemistry science outreach organization and OwlChemy.
Hartgerink said he encouraged students to get politically involved and advocate against funding cuts.
“[Students] can make noise by talking to their congress, calling their senators, talking to their parents, talking to their friends, making sure that people understand that this is extremely important to the wellbeing of the country,” Hartgerink said.
Hartgerink said he aimed to draw attention to the importance of science
“I want undergraduates to recognize that this isn’t some kind of abstract thing,” Hartgerink said. “The number of undergraduates that I’m taking in my lab this summer is going to be less than it would be if these events weren’t happening.”
Thomas Killian, dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, said the uncertainty around funding is cause for concern in the scientific community, especially regarding inclusivity.
Five weeks from now, I’ll be defending my thesis and be a doctor. Now, I have nothing after graduation.
Austin Moser CHEMISTRY PH.D. CANDIDATE
“I also worry about the attacks on programs that are designed to increase access to education and to participation in science,” Killian said.
Killian said that Rice will continue to do its best to support its students in this time of uncertainty.
However, Killian also said he was confident that Rice’s programs would adapt in the case of cuts or changes to funding.
“The community is strong, and Rice University is strong,” Killian said. “We will persevere, and we will continue in our mission to educate and to make discoveries and advances. We will find a way through.”
New financial literacy program funded by $3 million donation
financial literacy.
The Stinebaugh Family Financial Literacy program was recently announced, following a $3 million donation. The program will consist of a 1-credit hour course taught by financial advisor Mackenzie Kemp, in addition to workshops and mentorship opportunities.
Nicole Van Den Heuvel, the executive director of the Center for Career Development, said that although there are some financial literacy resources already available through the Student Success Initiatives, the course would be more detailed and offer hands-on guidance.
“This is going to be a very comprehensive course to help build a nuts and bolts personal financial plan,” Van Den Heuvel said. “Over the course
When I got out of medical school, I knew nothing about personal financial planning and made every mistake known to man during my career.
Bobby Stinebaugh DONOR
of a whole semester, [students] will be building and learning building blocks to build on those financial concepts.”
The course will cover financial topics, including investing, tax management, budgeting, retirement planning, insurance and disaster planning. Kemp said she is emphasizing both the knowledge and practical application of
“I don’t want to just get up at the front of the class and say, ‘Here’s what a stock is’ and ‘Here’s what a bond is,’” Kemp said. “We will talk about that because it’s critical for people to know but we will take it multiple steps further. How do they work together? How do they work in conjunction to create a healthy portfolio? And what is the definition of a healthy portfolio for someone in ‘X’ situation?”
Bobby Stinebaugh said he funded the creation of the program due to his own financial literacy struggles after graduation.
“When I got out of medical school, I knew nothing about personal financial planning and made every mistake known to man during my career,” Stinebaugh said.
Stinebaugh said he hopes the program will educate other students to avoid making the same mistakes he did.
Kemp said the program plans to address typical economic pitfalls experienced by young adults.
“I’ve heard that my whole life, ‘It’s easy for people to start early,’” Kemp said. “What does that really mean? What does that look like? Do I need to save five dollars every day? Does that mean that I need to stop going to Starbucks? There’s all those analogies.”
Kemp, who said she is more of a “practice person” than a “theory person,” plans to use her Wall Street background and skills from being a financial planner to create unique, practicable plans for each student.
“By the end of the course, students will take away a living, breathing and deliverable financial plan that can help them make different decisions as their life’s circumstances change,” Kemp said.
Sunrise Rice protests greenwashing at Houston energy conference
HONGTAO HU ASST. NEWS EDITOR
In Houston’s Discovery Green park, the Rice chapter of the Sunrise Movement joined protests against oil and gas executives attending the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference March 10.
Raising banners with slogans such as “There’s no Planet B,” students gathered to demonstrate opposition against the greenwashing of energy companies. The conference is an event for leaders in the energy sector to discuss the industry’s future, according to the CERAWeek website.
Dyllan Lozano-Lomeli, a Sunrise Rice founding committee member, said companies at the conference were being dishonest about their commitment to sustainability.
“They’re greenwashing their initiatives, so that people think that they are part of green energy, but they’re pouring money into fossil fuels and prioritizing their own profit over the
health of our planet,” said Lozano-Lomeli, a Jones College sophomore.
Caroline Pollan, a Sunrise Rice member, said the energy of the protest came as a surprise to conference attendees.
“There were all these people in suits with name badges who were just completely caught off guard,” said Pollan, a Duncan College sophomore. “Suddenly a group of folks with banners and all kinds of flags, someone dressed up as a globe, people in their protest attire walking down the street, with a whole bunch of policemen on horses watching and a whole-ass marching band. It was cathartic. It was joyful.”
José Cicerchia, a lecturer at Rice’s Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures also attended the protest as an interested party.
“Earlier this year in our SPAN 368 Latin American Short Fiction course, we read ‘Es que somos muy pobres’ by Mexican author Juan Rulfo. A story about how forces of nature plus
the social system negatively affect characters mired in poverty,” Cicerchia wrote in an email to the Thresher. “I was looking to find out from those exercising their right to protest how they felt about the poor contending with climate change in a way that those who aren’t don’t have to in the same way.”
Anna Stravato, another member of the founding committee, said one goal of the protest was to raise awareness among the public rather than the conference attendees.
“Speaking realistically, I don’t expect that us going and protesting [will cause] a lot of these
people to stop these oil and gas companies from holding their conference,” said Stravato, a Jones sophomore. “But I do think it’s important to raise awareness to the fact that students are very involved in this, and that they care a lot about this issue.”
DEVAN SANKA FOR THE THRESHER
HONG LIN TSAI / THRESHER
RAMYA MOTATI FOR THE THRESHER
COURTESY CAROLINE POLLAN
From left: lecturer José Cicerchia, Duncan College sophomore Caroline Pollan, Hanszen College sophomore Calla Doh and Houston Community College student Priya Hayes painted signs to protest the CERAWeek energy event.
HONG LIN TSAI / THRESHER
Expanded meal swipe, Tetra donations open mid-semester
HOPE YANG ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Following record donations last month, students will be able to donate meal swipes and Tetra until March 14, according to an Instagram post by the Student Association in collaboration with Student Success Initiatives, the Student Association and Housing and Dining.
We have noticed an increase in donations every year, which is phenomenal. That also means there’s an increase in requests.
Taylor Breshears
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SUCCESS INITIATIVES
The new program allows students with the on-campus 20 meal-per-week plan to donate any amount of meal swipes as long as their balance remains above 120. The form also allows Tetra donations in increments of 10 to support students with food insecurity.
The mid-semester program was developed after seeing that students still have many meal swipes left over after the first round of donations, said Taylor Breshears, associate director of SSI.
“In the past year, we realized a lot of
students … were ending the semester with so many meal swipes, so then we proposed our current solution,” Breshears said.
Jae Kim, the 2024-25 SA president, said mid-semester donations would meet students’ continuous needs.
“Even with these swipes during the first round, [students are] not given enough to sustain them through the entire semester, and also if you miss the request deadline, you won’t have any,” said Kim, a Brown College senior. “We want to do something in the middle of the semester that’s another chance for students to get more swipes.”
Kim said H&D should implement an oncampus meal plan with fewer meal swipes. Currently, on-campus students are required to purchase Meal Plan A, which includes 375 swipes.
“It feels like solving a problem with a problem, making it so that on-campus students have to buy a meal plan with unreasonable numbers of swipes, and then distributing that to students with food insecurity,” Kim said.
Brown College junior Hong Lin Tsai said he has many leftover meal swipes after the first round of donations, and is happy to have the chance to donate again.
“Most of us still have dozens and even hundreds of meal swipes we wanted to give, but we weren’t able to,” Tsai said. “It’s really nice being able to address food insecurity and also … [look] out for our [off-campus] friends.”
The program also introduced Tetra donations for students living on campus over the summer, Kim said.
“During the summertime, a lot of
students stay on campus to do research on a stipend, but it’s not enough to cover all living expenses,” Kim said. “We were thinking that we could collect the Tetra donations from people who are graduating and have a lot left over and distribute it to students on a needs-based basis. Over the semester, Tetra is used for coffee and snacks, so that’s why we decided to [use] disbursements [for students to get meals] over the summer.”
In the first disbursement, Breshears said there were 473 requests for swipes and all 16,000 swipes donated were distributed.
“We have noticed an increase in donations every year, which is phenomenal. That also means there’s an increase in request,” Breshears said. “In the very first round that we did this year … we had more requests than we ever received … even with a record amount
of donations, it’s hard to meet all the need.” Tsai, who is a member of the Rice Coalition on Hunger and Homelessness, said the program is important in meeting student needs.
“I come from a first [generation], lowincome background, and I understand the needs of people to get necessary resources,” Tsai said. “I still push and strive for advocacy of ensuring people get the proper and right amount of food … [the program] is a really big and important thing.”
Tsai said he would like to see the program expanded in the future to include donations to faculty and associates.
“It’s not only just food insecurity, but also for people who want to have a sense of belonging at our college,” Tsai said. “Food as a service is a way for us to connect.”
Online directory goes password protected, citing phishing risks
JAMES CANCELARICH ASST. NEWS EDITOR
The Rice online directory was changed to be only accessible through a password protected site March 10. The directory contains names and contact information for faculty, staff, alumni and students, with the exception of students who have requested to have their information removed.
In an email announcing the change sent
by the Office of Information Technology and the Information Security Office, the changes are attributed to enhancing security and reducing phishing scams.
Marc Scarborough, the campus chief information security officer, said that the public display of emails and, in some cases, phone numbers, as well as department and major makes phishing scams easier.
“For example, an attacker could use the online directory to target a student
studying in humanities, offering a parttime job purporting to be a faculty member in a related area in order to scam money from them,” Scarborough wrote in an email to the Thresher.
The emails of staff and faculty are still available on the People of Rice page.
“Some at Rice want or need their contact information to be visible to those outside of Rice for inquiries and collaboration, and sites like People of Rice allow for faculty and staff to have that information made
available,” Scarborough wrote. Non-Rice visitors can still access the “search” function of the directory, which runs a Google search of Rice websites for keywords or names. The specific information of students, under the “people” search, is password protected. Scarborough said that the decision came from university leadership to address the risk of phishing, but did not disclose if the changes come from any specific incident.
Fondren Library celebrates religious diversity with Zoroastrian Day
VIOLA HSIA ASST. NEWS EDITOR
An event spreading awareness of Zoroastrianism was held in Fondren Library March 6, including speakers from organizations both at and outside Rice, an exhibition in the Brown Fine Arts Gallery and a movie showing.
Event organizer Mahtab Dastur, who is part of the advocacy team of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America, said she was inspired to hold the event after reading about a Zoroastrian Day that was held at Rice 11 years ago by alumnus Bahrom Firozgary ’14.
“The advocacy team and I organized an advocacy day in Austin [on March 5th]. I wanted to do something like that at Rice again,” said Dastur, who just won her uncontested election for the position of Student Association External Vice
President.
Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions and was founded over 3,500 years ago by the prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran. Debra Kolah, head of Fondren’s User Experience Office, said she wanted to do an exhibit on Zoroastrianism in response to a current exhibit in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.
“The theme of [the Houston Museum of Fine Arts exhibition] was Zoroastrians and Parsis in Houston, but it was all these historic objects,” Kolah said. “There was a little thing in my brain that said, ‘You know, I really wish this was contemporary, that really is not like these beautiful old textiles or beautiful vessels, but something of the now, of what we’re experiencing.’”
The Parsis are a Zoroastrian community living primarily in the Indian subcontinent.
Ervad Kayomar Sidhwa, the president of FEZANA and one of the event’s speakers, said Firozgary’s event took
Although we are small, our kind of impact is pretty significant in the community.
Ervad Kayomar Sidhwa PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION OF ZOROASTRIAN ASSOCIATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA
place during a basketball game in Tudor Fieldhouse, as Firozgary was a basketball player for Rice. Sidhwa said the Rice event, featuring an exhibit on Zoroastrianism outside the basketball court, was one of several Zoroastrian visibility events FEZANA has been planning across the country.
“If I go back 3,500 years, Zoroastrianism was everywhere, and then with persecution and migration and all those kinds of things, there were a lot of people who left Zoroastrianism,” Sidhwa said. “The reason to do these Zoroastrian Days is to make people aware that we also exist. Although we are small, our kind of impact is pretty significant in the community.”
Jonathan Alvarenga, a district staffer in State Representative Ann Johnson’s office who attended the event, said he
was honored to be present.
“The event was thoughtfully organized, and the people behind it did an incredible job bringing together such a vibrant and meaningful experience,” Alvarenga wrote in an email to the Thresher. “I feel very fortunate to have been a small part of this great event and am already looking forward to hopefully being back next year!”
K. Sarah Ostrach, the art and architecture librarian at Fondren, said the event emphasized the importance of recognizing a variety of identities at Rice.
“We’re a really beautiful, diverse campus here, and we have an opportunity to celebrate all that we are, and that’s something that, unfortunately, many campuses and many folks in different walks of life don’t have at the moment,” Ostrach said. “It’s a great opportunity to highlight another important kind of member of our Rice community, being the students or the faculty or the members of our public that are Zoroastrian and sharing more about them.”
Dastur said the event was important for cultural and religious exchange.
“Rice is an extremely diverse campus, and if we don’t advocate for the differences that make us who we are, then we box ourselves into a cage where we don’t allow this sharing of ideas and beliefs and values,” Dastur said. “I think that’s very, very important, especially at a higher [education] institution like Rice — that’s where you get these new discoveries.”
COURTESY DEBRA KOLAH As part of Zoroastrian Day, attendees spoke via Zoom with Bahrom Firozgary ’14. Firozgary hosted a similar event at Rice in 2013.
JAMES CANCELARICH / THRESHER
What we want to see from the new
Student Association
After an election marked by lastminute changes and ballot errors, Trevor Tobey has been elected Student Association president and will soon settle into his post alongside the rest of the new executive board.
Candidates campaigned across the board for greater accessibility and reform, and we hope that Tobey will foster discussions within the SA to bring it closer to the student body. Here are a few changes that we would like to see this new cohort tackle in the upcoming year.
Increase student engagement and voter turnout
Voter turnout in this year’s elections dropped to 29%, down from 42% last year — which itself was the highest since 2018. And although a last-minute entry by Lovett College freshman Jackson Darr filled the treasurer position, the secretary post will still proceed to a special election.
To make tangible progress on his agenda, Tobey will need to recognize the importance of making students feel heard. Simply, students will engage if they feel the SA is actively working for them. We applaud the work that went into revising the entire constitution — and believe many of those changes should appear again on a future ballot — but believe the incoming SA should take lessons about the amendments’ failures to meet turnout thresholds.
Support the VP Passion Fund
By funding activities students are passionate about but lack club support to
host, the SA can directly impact students and improve goodwill. The new SA should not only support EVP Mahtab Dastur in setting up the Passion Fund, but also work to formalize guidelines for it so that events actually benefit the student body.
The SA should always prioritize campus issues over national politics — but sometimes we can’t deny that the two overlap. While the SA needn’t be political, we also don’t encourage it to remain strictly apolitical.
Protect public parties
We’ve written in the past about the damage overly strict restrictions on public parties can do to long-standing traditions. Our position remains the same, especially in light of the end to Wiess College’s Night of Decadence over the summer.
We’re sure that neither the new SA nor administration will disagree with us on the need for prioritizing safety — but there are ways to create safe environments for public parties without harming the self-governance and traditions of our residential colleges.
We’re hopeful that the new SA will
work with administrators to protect the traditions that make our university unique, without making publics as empty as your high school’s lamest dance with the dress code to boot.
Advocate for more student discounts
For college students who typically don’t have a lot of disposable income, the prices offered by businesses around the Rice community can dissuade them from venturing ‘outside the hedges.’
In fact, reasons to venture into Rice Village decrease linearly with the number of sensually-named high-end furniture stores, “elevated dining” experiences and $300 cowboy boots sold. Increasing and publicizing student discounts should be a high priority for the new SA.
Stand up for free speech and diversity on campus
Amid a turbulent political climate, upholding discussions forums of political dialogue on campus is more important now than ever. The new SA should create opportunities for political and cultural clubs to hold productive conversations on difficult issues.
The SA should always prioritize campus issues over national politics — but sometimes we can’t deny that the two overlap. While the SA needn’t be political, we also don’t encourage it to remain strictly apolitical. The new SA should strive to keep open lines of dialogue and know when students are affected — not to simply reject the political while striving for neutrality.
ABOUT
“Students react to Sarofim,” the third quote was said by Artie Throop. The ninth quote was said by Caroline Pollan.
‘He makes me want to learn more math’: Frank Jones reflects on retirement
Some things happen for a reason — math professor Frank Jones’ life is perhaps a testament to that very idea. Born in Amarillo, Texas, Jones came from a family of dentists and transferred to Rice in his sophomore year to study chemical engineering.
He said he was always partial to math but didn’t feel confident in his abilities until former Rice math professor Jim Douglas Jr. encouraged him to pursue it during his senior year.
“I owe [Douglas] so much,” said Jones, the Noah Harding Professor of Mathematics. “It was a godsend, really. He changed my life.”
Jones returned as a professor in 1962 after finishing his Ph.D. at Rice, and he hasn’t left since. Retiring at the end of this year,
Origami
Jones has left a mark on countless students, from prize-winning mathematicians to students who majored in something else entirely.
Will Rice College freshman Aolun Wanyan said he intended to major in astrophysics when he matriculated.
An international student from China, Aolun said his high school teachers and curriculum discouraged him from pursuing math, but that changed when he took Jones’ multivariable calculus class this past fall.
“He’s currently my favorite professor at Rice because he’s just so supportive,” Wanyan said. “He makes me want to learn more math, and he makes me more confident when I see a problem.”
With Jones, Aolun said he’s just as comfortable discussing family as he is talking math — and he’s not the only one who feels this way. Martel College senior Emily Reeves also said she admires his dedication to each of his students as well as his regard for their lives beyond the classroom.
“Sometimes there’s questions that I could work through myself, but it’d be more interesting, more effective, more efficient to talk through with Frank,” Reeves said. (Jones prefers his students address him by his first name). “We have a good balance of talking about math and also engaging on a personal level.”
Reeves spent the summer after her junior year in an independent study with Jones to supplement credits that didn’t transfer from
her studies abroad. Despite having never taken a class with him, she said he was eager to offer her help.
Jones has won the alumni-voted George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching six times — so many times, he’s no longer eligible.
Jones has also won two student-selected Nicholas Salgo Distinguished Teacher Awards and in 2007 was named Texas Professor of
What I learned from Frank about teaching was how much you have to care about your students to
Dennis Huston
the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Lifelong colleague and racquetball partner Dennis Huston said Jones’ many accolades came as no surprise to him. As a former magister at Hanszen College, Huston said he encouraged students to take Jones’ math classes, including some of his English students. Huston said he learned a lot from Jones, though they taught different subjects.
“What I learned from Frank about teaching was how much you have to care about your students to get them to do their best work,” said Huston, the Gladys Louise Fox Professor Emeritus of English. “I had students who absolutely loved him.”
For years, Jones and Huston joined professors emeritae Allen Matusow and
Six-pack muscles
Neither masc. nor fem.
Routine checkup doctors, abbr. Escape
“The Wire” actor Idris Katy Perry hit song
Deborah Harter on the Rice Recreation Center’s racquetball courts every week to play doubles. Huston said he admired Jones’ cool on the courts.
“I tried really hard not to swear when I played with Frank because he was so wonderfully controlled,” Huston said. “He never seemed to be bothered by something that happened on the court, which sometimes bothered me.”
Jones said he still remembers the first time he played with Harter. They’ve stayed close ever since.
“We entered an intramural tournament, [Harter] and I, for mixed doubles … and we won it,” Jones said. “We’re still good friends, but neither of us plays racquetball anymore.”
Harter said she values Jones as a close friend and role model, passionate and dedicated to all that he does.
“His love of teaching is infectious,” said Harter, an associate professor emerita in French Studies. “If you are not spending time on your teaching, you’re going to want to.”
In addition to his tenure as a Rice professor, Jones is a Bible teacher at Bethel Church of Houston. He said he doesn’t consider himself religious but still feels a strong connection to his faith.
“Religion gives you ideas of how you can improve and be accepted to God,” Jones said. “The Bible is the other way around, and God takes the initiative to search for us.
“The more I read and study the Bible, the more I feel like I’m in love with Jesus,” Jones continued.
Jones cites a passage from Matthew 10:25 suggesting students to “be like their teachers” for why he writes his own textbooks and hosts extensive office hours.
Editor’s Note: This article has been cut off for print. To read more, please viist ricethresher.org.
Wilson of the Beach Boys or May of Queen Prayer ender
No-frills grocery chain based in Germany
“Dining dollars” at Rice
How Dorothy got to Oz
Process of ensuring a website is easily
Google-able, abbr.
Covers with Charmin, for short
Has a liking for Pro
“Make a right,” perhaps Recent wireless innovation, abbr.
The _________ B.I.G. Out of the way
Ketone- ____ tautomerization
Stubborn plow pullers
Cry loudly One of India’s official languages
Frequent fliers ___ G. Biv ____ flops
Actor McKellen
Risky
Energy carrying molecule
Pro number cruncher
“Taste it!”
Doomed
Bowl berry
Makeup YouTuber Westbrook
Shamu’s kin
Lets out, as a grievance
She let it go
Students who help with course selection
Birthday dessert
Singer Chappell ___-mo
Uncertain Portable computers
Piece of mail
Come to light
Awareness-raising TV ads @@@@@
Your post-midterm guide to a Houston spring break
EMILY NGUYEN FOR THE THRESHER
Now that midterms are finally over, and you have a whole free week ahead, start planning your staycation. Get out of bed and leave your laptop behind.
Houston Rodeo
Unless you’ve been living under a rock — or holed up studying in Fondy — you’ve probably heard of the Rodeo, a quintessential Houston event complete with livestock shows, carnival food and exciting rides. I recommend The Joker and the Ferris Wheel, especially at night. If you’re a Post Malone fan, be sure to mark your calendar for his concert on March 18.
The Great Gatsby Ballet
If you’re in the mood for something artsy, don’t miss The Great Gatsby Ballet, coming to the Cullen Theater, Wortham Center on March 14 and 15. Tickets start at $45. Performed by the World Ballet Company, pirouette back into the roaring ’20s with this Houston staging of an American classic.
Shop til you drop
For all the thrifting fans out there, the Montrose Market offers dozens of vintage pop-ups every Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Don’t forget to stop by signature stores like Leopard Lounge, Pavement and Fallen Angel to refresh your wardrobe for the rest of the semester.
Houston Rockets
Are you a sports fan but couldn’t catch the game during midterms? Now’s your chance — head to the Toyota Center to cheer on the Houston Rockets this spring break as they face off against the Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets at home.
Rice Village crawl
You can still have fun in Houston without a car. Grab a friend and make your way to Rice Village. Start your day with some delicious crepes at Sweet Paris, or take your pick from the many coffee shops and boba spots in the area. Personal recommendations: Bluestone Lane and Sharetea.
Five years later: tracing COVID-19
JOSH STALLINGS FOR THE THRESHER
Five years ago, high schools and universities across the country went on spring break a few weeks early. Then, spring break never ended.
On Feb. 5, 2020, the then-novel SARSCoV-2 made front-page news at the Thresher: “Concerning the coronavirus; Rice suspends sponsored travel to China.”
“Rice Crisis Management suspended all university sponsored-travel to China,” the article reads. “There were more than 24,000 confirmed cases of the virus worldwide … 99.1 percent of the cases have been identified in Mainland China; 11 cases have been confirmed in the United States.”
Six members of the Rice community had recently traveled to China at the time of the article. Although they displayed no symptoms, they began self-isolating upon their return.
On March 11, 2020, the Thresher released its last print publication of the school year amidst the cancellation of university events, classes and closure of student-run businesses.
“For the first time in its 64-year history, Beer Bike is canceled with no current plans to reschedule,” headlined the March 11 issue.
The following semester began with two positive Covid-19 tests as the old Sid
Rice Rally fights for school spirit
If Rice students show up for sports games, they’ll love them — the trick is to keep them coming back. This is something Hannah Wixom and Morgan Toran, two of the three co-presidents of Rice Rally, agree on.
“Rice is a very academic school, which is awesome,” said Wixom, a Sid Richardson College junior. “But maybe one thing that we can all commit to is also trying to support athletics a little bit more, getting out there and just seeing what it has to offer.”
Rice Rally’s mission is to bring the Rice community together through sports, whether through supporting student athletes or meeting new people at athletic events, Wixom said.
Richardson College building was converted into isolation housing. Incoming Sid Richardson freshmen were displaced across other residential colleges into socalled “Sid Blocks,” the Thresher reported on Aug. 26, 2020.
Anthony Nguyen ’21 said his Orientation Week 2020 co-advising experience took place across campus.
“For O-Week groups we were assigned certain breakout rooms that were throughout the [Rice Memorial Center], Duncan Hall, Keck [Hall] … in total, usually we were half split between the [RMC] Grand Hall and the tent by Hanszen,” Nguyen said.
According to a Sept. 2, 2020 article, campus life during a pandemic meant a strict culture of care: every student was expected to abide by an agreement to mitigate the spread of the COVID.
Students breaking this agreement, with infractions ranging from unmasking to prohibited gatherings in dorms, could face referral to Student Judicial Programs or the COVID Community Court, with penalties varying by case.
“The COVID Community Court, in partnership with Student Judicial Programs, is a new court composed of 11 student representatives from each residential college … Infractions can be reported by any student through the SJP website,” the article read.
Editor’s Note: This article has been cut off for print. To read more, visit ricethresher.org.
Rice Rally also works with Rice Athletics’ marketing team, ranging from collaborative Instagram posts to coordinated giveaways, Toran said.
Athletics’ marketing team has a new initiative aimed at increasing game attendance by hosting residential college tailgates — in a collaboration between the two branches, Athletics provides the food while Rice Rally brings the students.
We’ve given out flat-screen TVs, we’ve given out Ninja CREAMis, we’ve given out headphones, all sorts of fun stuff.
Hong Lin Tsai RICE RALLY MERCHANDISE DESIGNER
The three junior co-presidents were all recently re-elected in the Student Association election. Priya Armour, the third co-president, did not respond to requests for an interview.
Growing up, Toran said sports were a key part of her childhood, uniting neighborhoods and communities. She’s approaching her Rice Rally term with a similar vision, she said.
“Our mission is to bring that same feeling to other Rice students,” Toran, a Hanszen College junior, wrote in an email to the Thresher, “so that when they leave Rice, they’ve created lasting memories.”
Hong Lin Tsai is a merchandise designer for Rice Rally who creates limited edition T-shirts and stickers given out by Rice Rally at games.
He said Rice Rally is unique among college spirit clubs because of the unique bond Rice Rally fosters between students and their athlete peers.
“A lot of people think that we’re just a regular spirit club,” said Tsai, a Brown College junior. “What Rally does [is] foster that family relationship where it brings students closer together, and also fosters that family relationship between each other, between students, the athletes, and us as Rally members.”
“We provide volunteers and organize the logistics of the tailgate setup and getting in contact with the college president,” Toran said. “Connecting the residential colleges is super important to all of us because at the end of the day, athlete or not, we all have our residential colleges in common, and that is a connecting factor. We have definitely seen an improvement in attendance and engagement this season.”
To entice students to attend games, Rice Rally often gives away prizes including Rice and Sammy-themed merchandise, food, technology and kitchen appliances.
“We have a really, really big budget,” Tsai said. “We’ve given out flat-screen TVs, we’ve given out Ninja CREAMis, we’ve given out headphones, all sorts of fun stuff.”
Jennifer Greene, director of marketing for Rice Athletics, said her favorite recent giveaway was Sammy basketball stickers designed by Tsai, and detailed her favorite game-time tradition.
Editor’s Note: This article has been cut off for print. To read more, visit ricethresher.org.
VIVIAN LANG / THRESHER
ABIGAIL CHIU SENIOR WRITER
AMY CAO / THRESHER
HAI-VAN HOANG / THRESHER
‘The Revolutionists’ tackle comédie, égalité et sororité
In “The Revolutionists,” Rice Arts discusses the value of drama to make sense of, and guide our response to, turbulent worlds. The play offers a speculative history of the French Revolution, following four women and their fictionalized friendship.
Throughout the play, the women grapple with the role of art and storytelling during revolution, as they discuss how they should write their literal final lines.
“[The show is about] the work of four different women in the French Revolution, who get in a room and bitch together about whatever the hell is going on in the world,” said Viola Hsia, a Brown College senior who played Charlotte Corday. “They show the work that needs to be done to create change.”
Editor’s Note: Viola Hsia is one of the Thresher’s assistant news editors.
Three of the play’s women — Marie Antoinette, Charlotte Corday and Olympe de Gouges — are real figures, though they are portrayed fictitiously according to CJ Friend, a Jones College sophomore.
Marianne Angelle is a fictional character meant to represent the Haitian women fighting for independence at the time.
Friend played Olympe De Gouges, a playwright and social reformer who was executed by guillotine by leader of the French Revolution Maximilien Robespierre.
The three other characters visit Olympe de Gouges’ home, hoping that she could help them tell their stories.
Charlotte wants to find the perfect words to say just before she kills politician Jean-Paul Marat.
Marie Antoinette is concerned with who she will be remembered and hopes that a play could protect her legacy.
And Marianne Angelle wants help to write pamphlets pointing out the hypocrisy of the French Revolutionaries, who have failed to advocate for the slaves of Haiti.
“To me, Olympe De Gouges is very analogous to people who are in the arts [today] and engage with art but don’t necessarily extend that to their political activism,” Friend said. “But by the end, she has this transformation and becomes more outspoken.”
De Gouges’ character arc is the opposite of Charlotte Corday’s in the play, forcing the audiences to engage with themes of art and action, said Hsia.
“There’s a moment at the end of Act 1 where [Corday] reckons with the fact that just because she killed Jean-Paul Marat, the world isn’t suddenly changed,” Hsia said. “She has to come to terms with the fact that there’s more than one way to make an impact.”
For Chioma Modilim, a junior at Will Rice College who plays Marianne Angelle, her character learns the importance of telling her own story, rather than relying on others to represent it.
“You have the power to tell people what happened to you and your experience, and if you want that message spread right and correctly, then you have to stand up and take it on yourself,”
Modilim said.
Despite the show’s heavier political messages, the show is still a comedy, said Liz Cox, the show’s sound board operator.
“It’s really funny to see Olympe De Gouge freak out and be a drama queen, and Marie Antoinette be the dumb blonde airhead pretty girl,” Cox, a sophomore at Brown College, said.
While the set itself was pared back with a chaise lounge, desk and balcony, impactful lighting provides visual stimulation.
It also helps develop the plot by creating moments of introspection and abstraction, said Nick Harrison, one of the show’s lighting designers.
“The play occurs in the protagonist’s mind, so our design needed to be able to uproot the play from reality when needed,” wrote Harrison, a Baker College senior.
A glowing red guillotine, made from embedded rope lights, is the glue to Harrison’s concept, he said.
“[It gave] our design a ‘Stranger Things’-esque horror aesthetic,” Harrison wrote.
The play’s costume design – featuring dramatic wigs, bold corsets, vivid colors and even a fan – made the characters come alive, said Katie Maurano, who plays Marie Antoinette.
“When they put me in that hot pink costume, makeup and wig, I was like oh, I know who Marie Antoinette is,” said Maurano, a Jones College junior.
The costumes also balance out the more intense moments of the play, when these women face their mortality, she said. At the beginning of the play, Olympe De Gouges tells the audience that it will start off as a comedy and become a tragedy. She doesn’t mention that along the way, you’ll be inspired to reflect on your own life.
“I think going to the show, and seeing how each of these poor women have their own take on what to do when you’re in the middle of a mess like this, is good to see,” Modilim said. “Hopefully, you ask yourself what you’re doing about it.”
Spring break on a budget with these fun spots
Though it might not feel that way for those with midterms and essays due this week, spring break is approaching quicker than you may think. If your bank account tells you you’d rather stay home, check out these affordable spring break options.
Austin, Texas
Austin is a classic spot for a reason: great food, great music and only a 3-hour drive from Rice. Take a couple of days
to swim at Barton Springs, the natural spring right near downtown, try a few food trucks and get up early for some excellent barbeque. Austin has great public parks, hotels and Airbnbs for a wide range of prices. No matter your budget, you’re sure to have a fun time.
San Antonio, Texas
A less common spring break option, San Antonio has excellent food, sights and a great culture that anyone would enjoy visiting. If you’re not a Texas native, why
not see the Alamo and find out why it’s such a fixture in Texas history or visit the only UNESCO world heritage site in Texas, the San Antonio Missions? Enjoy a vibrant nightlife and excellent restaurant scene, and maybe stop by Six Flags Fiesta Texas for some theme park fun.
South Padre Island, Texas
A more classic spring break experience awaits — South Padre Island is everything you wish Galveston could be. A great party scene with pretty beaches, South Padre Island offers the Cancun spring break experience without convincing your parents to let you travel internationally. It’s a bit of a longer drive, but split a house with your friends, and you’ll have the time of your life for half the price of most other destinations.
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a great city to explore if you want great food, culture and nightlife. Take your friends down to Louisiana and have a crawfish boil, some beignets and gumbo. Then, go and explore the French Quarter, walk down Bourbon Street and listen to some blues in its city of origin. If you’re looking for a more adventurous spring break and are up to driving a bit farther, New Orleans is an affordable but unique spring break experience.
Houston
The best place for spring break is one with no hotel payment necessary. Houston is full of new things to explore year-round, and why not take advantage of our home city’s more touristy spots when there’s no school to worry about? The Houston Rodeo is in town from March 4 to 23, and for only $21, you can have a great time without breaking the bank.
Another new attraction is MeowWolf Houston, which has a unique concept and Instagram-worthy backdrops. Take some time to explore the museum district and visit Houston’s eclectic mix of art and history museums. Finally, try some cute cafes, jazz bars and clubs in downtown Houston. Houston might not be your first idea of a good time, but spring break is the perfect time to explore the great city just outside the hedges.
Alabama beaches
Another classic spot with white sand beaches and lakes, Alabama has some less well-known spring break spots. Enjoy some great beaches like Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, which might not be as crowded as more famous counterparts in Florida. It’s a bit of a longer drive, so make sure to choose your road trip buddies wisely, but overall, it is an option that’s not too expensive, with some beautiful beaches and, depending on what coast you choose, the city of Mobile or Gulf Shores just a few miles away.
HUGO GERBICH PAIS SENIOR WRITER
EMELIA GAUCH THRESHER STAFF
COURTESY ALI RAZA SIAL
ASHLEY ZHANG / THRESHER
Review: ‘Hamilton’ is nonstop
a desk hovering through the air as an ensemble member dances it off-stage in slow motion.
Anwuli Chukwumah chases indigo
“Hamilton,” the musical narrative of one of America’s founding fathers, is currently on its third touring run at the Hobby Center in Houston.
Over the past ten years, “Hamilton” has managed to become one of the most highly revered musicals on Broadway, with a seemingly never-ending tour schedule that has only grown its mass appeal. There has always been at least one tour running in North America from 2017 until now, with many also running simultaneously around the world.
Tickets have been distributed at Rice through both the Rice Program Council giveaway and the Rice Ticket Resale GroupMe (for everyone looking for trades, I wish you luck).
The show will run in Houston until March 23, so even if you are currently down for the count in securing a ticket, you still have time to try upon returning from spring break.
As for the performance itself, this cast and crew definitely showed why, 10 years after its debut, this show still attracts a crowd.
The hip-hop musical performances fill the entire 2.5 hour runtime, and are catchy and energetic.
Every move is perfectly calculated and timed, from the hands-on-hips of the Schuyler sisters singing their way through downtown New York to the invisible bullet that an ensemble member moves across the stage as battles and duels are waged.
The set of the show is minimalistic but robust, including a second story balcony for pivotal moments in the show and a rotating stage that adds further drama to both the acting and the choreography.
Furniture pieces are seamlessly moved on and off in between numbers, integrated smoothly into the performance rather than feeling like distractions.
Necessary technical elements are blended with stage action, such as
However, the actors’ microphones felt like they required a bit more fine-tuning. In the beginning, the microphones were often cued in seconds after the respective actor had begun saying their line.
In a show such as “Hamilton,” where every aspect is blocked down to the minute, this meant consistently missing the first few words of what the characters were saying, which quickly got old. Luckily, this technical issue was fixed during the first act.
The volume of the microphones, however, was a struggle throughout the performance, with the music sometimes feeling like it was competing against the actors’ voices.
With the fast-paced rap nature of many songs, the details of what actors were saying was lost in the loud orchestra and often-too-faint mic. For die-hard fans who know all of the words, this might not be an issue, but any new fan will find themselves needing to listen extra carefully to what is being said.
The show portrays the founding fathers in a more realistic, less than perfect image as they navigate the challenges that come with forming a democracy. Alexander Hamilton, the show’s namesake, faces the additional burden of being a founding father with an immigrant background.
He often faces discrimination in the form of xenophobia from the other founders, especially with his strong personality and plethora of ideas he attempts to push through the early years of the nation.
Whether you went through a huge Hamilton phase in 2015 or you are just discovering the musical today, the show and its message will resonate.
This company does a fantastic job of portraying all the various nuances imagined by Lin Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator, and I highly recommend watching it while it is still in Houston.
incorporating symbols and tools that she’s used in her past work at Rice, such as cast cowrie shells.
Anwuli Chukwumah says her creative process is like scratching an itch. A double major in studio art and architecture, the Martel College senior creates with a wide variety of materials, including found objects, ceramics and drawings, often tied together by a distinctive shade of indigo blue.
Although born in the U.S., Chukwumah spent most of her childhood in Lagos, Nigeria: “Back home, there is this fabric we have called adire, a traditional Yoruba fabric. It’s this lovely, very rich, deep shade of blue that I’ve loved since I was around 15,” Chukwumah said. “I am obsessed with it. It’s everywhere.”
Chukwumah said she came to Rice with the intention of solely studying architecture, only picking up the art major after one of her professors recommended it. As she reflected on how her academics have shaped her art, Chukwumah said her knowledge of architecture informs how she creates.
“I used them in this memorial piece for the Biafran War, [which] occurred in Nigeria between the years 1967 and 1970. I’d cast them in indigo blue and strung them up from a tree as a sort of memorial artwork,” Chukwumah said. “Somebody, over the course of interacting with it, had mentioned that it was evocative of strange fruit, which was honestly such a brilliant reading of it … So I’m now producing cowrie shells that have bite marks in them.”
Showcase preparation has also encouraged Chukwumah to reflect on what she wants people to take away from her art, she said. Her past and current work has grappled with social and racial justice.
Especially in my installation work, I’m very concerned with the occupation of space and how people interact with space.
Anwuli Chukwumah
MARTEL COLLEGE SENIOR
“Especially in my installation work, I’m very concerned with the occupation of space and how people interact with space,” Chukwumah said.
As Chukwumah nears the end of her senior year, she is working towards end-ofsemester projects for both architecture and her final studio art showcase.
As she brings together her final showcase, Chukwumah said she’s
“Right now, I’m working on a project that’s documenting social movements. We’ll see predominantly anti-Black social movements through the lens of social media using architectural forensic methods,” Chukwumah said.
Reflecting on her interactions with the art community at Rice, Chukwumah said she would like more students, even outside the art department, to connect with Rice’s art scene.
“I deeply encourage people to tap into the art department as a resource. The faculty is absolutely amazing and such a great resource. The amount of art-related things that happen at Rice’s campus that most people don’t know about is crazy to me,” Chukwumah said. “I would encourage people to tap into that sphere more.”
SARA DAVIDSON THRESHER STAFF
ANGELICA HERNANDEZ THRESHER STAFF
COURTESY JOAN MARCUS
DAVIS COL / THRESHER
Mo’ money, ‘Moh’ Bility: AT&T’s
Boasting one of the most unique names in college football, Mohammed “Moh” Bility, a redshirt junior cornerback, has been featured on sports programs such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN College Gameday, Golf Digest, Barstool Sports and more.
The play on words was not intentional, Bility said. He was born outside of the U.S. and was named after the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, but it wasn’t until high school that others started making the connection with his name.
“Nobody started calling me ‘Moh Bility’ until the tenth grade, and they didn’t even call me that, it was just a [football] sign,” Bility said. “Rice was the first school that, I think they put it on their graphic, ‘Coming to South Main: Moh Bility.’ And that’s when it blew up.”
Bility’s name landed on South Main at the time of new Name, Image, and Likeness policies allowing college athletes to enter sponsorship deals. Last month, Bility announced on Instagram that he had signed an NIL deal with AT&T, one of the largest telecommunication companies in the U.S.
“The process started off with our former head coach [Mike Bloomgren] sending me a text saying I’ll be getting a text from Ben Westcott, who is kind of the head of the NIL [collective],” Bility said. “When I first got the email [about the deal], I was like, ‘Nah, this isn’t real, does that say AT&T?’ I was so stunned.”
Westcott is a managing member of the South Main Collective, which is an organization independent from Rice that facilitates NIL deals with student-athletes. Westcott, who is president of The Brotherhood, the football branch of the collective, found and negotiated the deal with AT&T, a process that took more than seven months in total.
“I talked to a lot of sports agents, and it actually came to me from a sports agent who knew the advertising representative for AT&T,” Westcott said. “[That] was before the start of the football season last year, so July or August of 2024.”
Westcott said that negotiating a talent contract with companies as big as AT&T can be difficult, as they have more leverage in the process, but the company handled Bility’s deal in a professional and proactive manner.
“They made an offer, we made a counteroffer, and I think they made another offer, and then it was done,” Westcott said. “It was pretty quick. They came to us, [and] I think they had a value in mind before they ever started.”
Although there was an agreement early
on, a bulk of the negotiation focused on Bility’s status as a full-time student and football player whose priorities during the football season were going to class and practice, Westcott said.
After signing the contract, Bility discussed content ideas with the AT&T team and recorded promotional videos during the football team’s bye week in November, but he didn’t release any of them until the spring semester.
The videos are part of a campaign where Bility enters the NIL process, calls out brands and eventually signs with AT&T. So far, Bility has posted videos receiving care packages and a room remodeling from AT&T, which have featured items such as an AT&T chain, customized jerseys, gaming chairs and pillows and blankets with his face and name on them.
“It was one of the funnest experiences I’ve had, for sure,” Bility said. “A lot of great people on both sides, like AT&T and [the advertising agency] BBDO. Everybody had fun. And my teammates were amazing, too, because one of the videos shot was in their dorms; of course, in return, I let them keep some of the stuff in the video shoots.”
Bility said Rice was helpful in the process of filming, and has gained the praise of companies like AT&T and BBDO.
“Rice was amazing because they were very open to it,” Bility said. “They didn’t make the process difficult. I feel like one thing that AT&T and BBDO said is that they love doing things with a school like Rice because of the culture that Rice has. They were extremely supportive with everything.”
Rice alumni and donors have made extended efforts over the last few years to support student-athletes in the NIL era, namely with the creation of the South Main Collective.
According to Westcott, Bility’s deal with AT&T serves as a way to demonstrate to other companies the benefits of sponsoring Rice student-athletes, which can help grow NIL opportunities at Rice.
“Companies want to know that the athletes that they do business with are reliable and dependable, and we can also demonstrate that the [South Main Collective] is sophisticated and reliable and dependable,” Westcott said.
Rice Athletics and alumni like Westcott have also been involved in teaching student-athletes how to market themselves and strategies on how to acquire NIL deals.
“I got sent to an NIL summit last year in July, and it allowed me to see how people
get NIL [deals] and how people build brands to be able to reach out and receive NIL [deals],”
Bility said. “I appreciate Ben [Westcott] so much, especially with the contract, handling my contract, telling them what I can do, because I don’t have nobody that can help me with that type of stuff.”
This era of NIL in the NCAA has ultimately allowed studentathletes like Bility to engage in business opportunities and receive compensation for the work that they put into their sports. Student-athletes, however, are still learning about different ways to take advantage of these policies.
“Don’t do what I did in terms of sitting around and hoping something comes to you,” Bility said. “You want to reach out to brands. You want to create your image and your brand before you start pursuing deals. You don’t necessarily need a big following; you have to be yourself. Companies and brands, they want people that genuinely like their products, so just be authentic.”
Bility acknowledged the luck he had in
being named “Moh” Bility, but that hasn’t stopped him from learning more about NIL deals and ways to capitalize on NIL policies. Ultimately, shout-outs from sports programs and being crowned “best name in college football” by Keegan-Michael Key help Bility continue to grow his brand.
“I’m always laughing, just like, ‘Here [they] go again.’ And it’s real funny,” Bility said. “But if it helps get my name out there, helps with brands and things like that, that’s great for me, and I appreciate them being amused by it.”
COURTESY MOHAMMED BILITY
Redshirt junior cornerback Mohammed “Moh” Bility runs with the ball during a football game this season.
Freshman Daniel Zou named AAC Golfer of the Week
EVIE VU THRESHER STAFF
Following a top 10 individual finish at the Cabo Collegiate tournament, freshman Daniel Zou received the American Athletic Conference’s Golfer of the Week honor.
His performance helped the team place 10th in the tournament, besting No. 1 Ole Miss and falling just behind No. 13 Vanderbilt.
After three days of play, Zou finished in 10th place, two under par, while defeating the No. 1- and No. 3-ranked players in the country.
Zou’s game improved steadily over the three rounds. On the first day, he carded a 74, three over par, then shed four strokes for a 70 on Day 2. On Day 3, Zou shot a 67, the best score of the day out of the entire field and his secondbest round of the year.
ball well.
“I only missed a couple of greens every day and three fairways all week,” Zou said. “That worked to my advantage at this course because if you miss the green or fairway in Cabo, you’ve either lost your ball or would have to take an unplayable. Keeping it in the fairway and in play was the most important thing last week.”
Anything that happens on the course doesn’t affect me too much mentally anymore. I accept it for what it is. What has helped in the last few tournaments is that care-free attitude instead of overanalyzing every shot and feeling like it’s life or death when I play.
Daniel Zou
FRESHMAN GOLFER
Zou credited the drop in his scores to his growing familiarity with the course.
“Going there, I wasn’t used to that kind of style of golf, so the first two days were adjustment days,” Zou said. “Then, [on] the last day, I finally felt comfortable on that course and playing my own game.”
Rice played the Cabo Collegiate at the Twin Dolphin Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The course, Zou said, boasts narrow fairways with numerous hazards, making it imperative that he strike the
In golf, the unplayable ball rule is a relief that can be taken by the ballstriker if they do not think they can hit their shot. Because of the one-stroke penalty given, an unplayable is typically only taken when the ball is in a very difficult position.
Going into Cabo, Zou paid extra attention to his game on the putting green. He said his putting held him back in the fall because it packed on unnecessary strokes to his scores that he said he could easily shed.
Despite his high finish at the tournament, Zou said he still needs to work on his short game, the part of golf played in and around the green. Specifically, he said in Cabo he messed up easy chips — short shots where the ball leaves the ground — and struggled to adjust to how quickly the ball traveled over the green.
He slightly changed his putting method after the first two days of the
tournament. In his final round, given the quicker green speeds, he adopted the method where he putted the ball past the hole instead of playing from behind and hitting the ball short.
In a game that is difficult mentally, Zou said he embraces an “it is what it is” mentality.
“Anything that happens on the course doesn’t affect me too much mentally anymore,” Zou said. “I accept it for what it is. What has helped in the last few tournaments is that care-free attitude
instead of over-analyzing every shot and feeling like it’s life or death when I play.”
Following his success in Cabo, Zou broke into the top-150 Scoreboard rankings at No. 141 in the nation.
The team played in the Louisiana Classics from March 10-11 in Lafayette, La. Planning to celebrate its 40th year, the event is one of the longest-standing tournaments in the country. 75th-ranked Rice hopes to use the tournament to improve their ranking before the postseason.
COURTESY DANIEL ZOU
Freshman golfer Daniel Zou hits a ball in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico during the Cabo Collegiate tournament March 2.
EMERGENCY THRESHER INSTRUCTIONS
AT THE BEACH
Towel, fake reading to look learned and erudite, cutting out fun shapes and laying them on your skin to get a unique suntan.
IN THE BATHROOM STALL OF A FANCY RESTAURANT
Crumple each time you have to push to mask the noise of your shit and preserve aura.
AT THE BAR
Write “My opinion: You are adorable!” in the Opinions section, fold up into a paper airplane, and send to the cutie on the other side of the bar.
AT YOUR LONG DISTANCE S.O.’S DORM
Absorbent rag.
ON AN ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK
How to resourcefully use your Rice Thresher in any situation you could find yourself this Spring Break.
BORED ON A ROAD TRIP
Roll up and repeatedly hit the back of the driver’s head while asking, “Are we there yet?”
WHEN IT’S DAY 4 OF THE TRIP AND THE GROUP CHAT IS GETTING TENSE
Roll up into a comically large joint to restore the good vibes.
AT THE AIPORT
Prove your American citizenship using Trevor “America’s Sweetheart” Tobey’s beautiful, patriotic face as a photo ID because you forgot your passport.
RUNNING FROM THE COPS IN MIAMI
Make a bindle (sack on a stick seen in cartoons) and leave while playing a sad little tune on the harmonica. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Gently dab at your tears after hearing about marginalized peoples and then use later that night to wipe up the beer you spilled all over your shirt while getting crunk (in honor of the systemically disregarded people, of course).
Roll it up, turn around, and smack the shit out of them with drunk superhuman rage.