Will Rice closes events to other residential colleges due to misbehavior at Perch parties
HOPE YANG ASST. NEWS EDITOR
From private parties to Keg in the Quad, Will Rice College events are closed to students from other colleges for the rest of the semester.
The decision followed a slew of incidents involving overcrowding, intoxication-related transports, objects thrown o Perch — the balcony of a private room where parties are o en hosted — stealing and other issues, said Emmie Casey, the Will Rice Chief Justice.
“This is helping reel Will Rice back in and helping us understand problematic points and also protect ourselves from further problems,” Casey said.
Students were informed of the decision in an email sent to every residential college by Casey Nov. 5. In her email, Casey said the decision to ban other students was not made by Will Rice leadership.
“The Dean’s O ce, RUPD and SJP are on our backs,” Casey wrote in the email. “This sucks but was not our decision and was passed down from on high.”
Kamran Riaz, the director of Student Judicial Programs, wrote in an email to the Thresher that he was not aware that Will Rice had closed its events to other colleges. Clemente Rodriguez, the Rice University Police Department chief, echoed Riaz’s sentiment.
“RUPD is not aware, nor have we requested, that Will Rice events be closed to students from other colleges,” Rodriguez wrote in an email to the Thresher.
Will Rice President Mary Margaret Speed said the decision was made a er talks with Rice administration about party and drinking culture at Will Rice.
“I support and appreciate student
leaders and the proactive steps they take to promote a healthy culture at their college,”
Bridget Gorman, dean of undergraduates, wrote in an email to the Thresher.
There were cases of people just taking glass drinks and then chucking them off the balcony.
Nick True RESIDENT OF PERCH
Casey said IDs will be checked for privates and publics hosted by Will Rice a liates in the space and non-Will Rice students attending will be asked to leave.
In the case of aggressive resistance, RUPD will be called, which may result in a minor
in possession citation or trespassing charges, Casey said.
“When we saw another uptick in these incidents, admin expressed their concern and looked to us to nd a solution in order to correct these,” Speed said. “We are taking ownership of the situation in order to nd a solution that best preserves everyone’s health and safety.”
Nick True, who lives and hosts parties at Perch at Will Rice, said most of the behavior at issue involved students from other colleges.
The most recent party at Perch, which occurred during Halloween weekend, saw at least five transports, four of which were students from North colleges, True said. Speed and Casey confirmed that at least four of the transports were not Will Rice students.
True said students have participated in unsafe behavior at Perch throughout the
semester. While no one has been hurt, True said there were close calls.
“There were cases of people just taking glass drinks and then chucking them o the balcony,” True said. “I witnessed one of my tra c cones getting tossed over the balcony … I had two of my decorations just stolen.”
True said the sanction was inevitable given the behavior at Perch. However, he also said that closing Will Rice spaces may create more overcrowding for other parties.
“Essentially eliminating Will Rice in general takes out the kitchen, takes out the Piano Room, takes out the New Dorm balcony, and that’s going to cluster more people to other places and that’s going to cause more REMS activities,” True said.
Soccer falls short in American Conference championship game
PATRICK SHUKIS THRESHER STAFF
A er two nail-biting matches on Thursday and Sunday, Rice soccer fell just short of winning the American Conference championship, nishing second in the tournament.
The Owls entered the conference tournament coming o an end-of-season skid that saw only one win for Rice in their last seven regular-season games.
A er their national ranking fell from No. 25 to No. 78, winning the conference tournament became the only opportunity for Rice to make the NCAA tournament.
Sixth-seeded Rice’s 1-0 win over the third-seeded University of Tulsa in the quarter nals launched the Owls into a semi nal match Thursday that pitted them
against the seventh-seeded University of South Florida.
“USF is really talented,” head coach Brian Lee said. “They have two seniors who have been two of the best ve players in the conference since we’ve been in the league.” Rice had its share of o ensive struggles throughout the match, as the Owls couldn’t nd the back of the net in regulation.
“We had plenty of opportunities, we just didn’t do well with them,” Lee said. “I think we had 17 shots and only three on goal. It’s something we’ve struggled with the whole year.”
However, Rice limited USF’s attacking pressure, holding the Bulls scoreless through all 90 minutes of regulation and both 10-minute overtime periods.
COURTESY AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Goalkeeper Kirsten Ruf kicks a ball during the American Conference tournament. Rice played in back-toback overtime games, ultimately losing to the University of Texas at San Antonio in the nal.
FRANCESCA NEMATI / THRESHER
Perch, the balcony of a private room at Will Rice College, sits empty Nov. 10. Will Rice barred students from other colleges from their events through the end of the semester.
West side of campus redesigned with path to Rice Village and renewed Rice Stadium
CARLOS MENDOZA FOR THE THRESHER
Last Thursday, Rice administration announced the Gateway Project. The initiative will connect campus to Rice Village through a pedestrian- and ecofriendly corridor. Additionally, the historic Rice Stadium will undergo signi cant renovations.
With an estimated cost of $120 million, the project is expected to be completed in 2028. This e ort is part of Rice’s 30year Campus Land Use Plan, which prioritizes Rice’s architectural legacy while optimizing space usage and committing to sustainability.
The new walkway will extend Amherst Street two blocks east from Morningside Drive through Chaucer Drive, ending with a new entrance on Greenbriar Drive, which borders the West side of campus. It will feature trees, lighting and green space alongside modern drainage and sewer systems, according to the news release.
The initiative is also designed to attract mixed-use developments, including retail, multifamily housing, restaurants and a grocery store.
“By connecting our campus directly to the Village, we are strengthening our ties to Houston, while enriching the
By connecting our campus durectly to the Village, we are strengthening our ties to Houston, while enriching the student experience, advancing our growth, and reinforcing Rice’s commitment to innovation and community.
Reggie DesRoches PRESIDENT
student experience, advancing on growth, and reinforcing Rice’s commitment to innovation and community,” President Reggie DesRoches said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
The Gateway Project will cut through the Greenbriar Lot, where the in atable practice facility and the bike track are housed.
It is unclear if the bike track will be moved or where Beer Bike will now take place.
“We’re evaluating options to ensure the event remains a great experience in light of the new construction. We’ll share updates as plans are nalized,” wrote Chris Stipes, executive director of news and media relations, in an email to the Thresher.
Populous, a global design company, will lead the renovation project with Nations Group, a management rm specializing in athletic facilities, to transform Rice Stadium into a community-focused complex.
A new three-level west concourse building with private suites, a multipurpose room and operational spaces will replace the existing press box. Additional upgrades include a 360-degree concourse for easy circulation and two 4,000-square-foot restrooms and concession buildings.
Since debuting in 1950, Rice Stadium has hosted John F. Kennedy’s momentous “We choose to go to the Moon” speech, Super Bowl VIII and musical venues for Pink Floyd and Elton John.
“Now, we’re writing the next chapter of that story,” said Tommy McClelland, Rice’s vice president and director of athletics.
The capacity of Rice Stadium will be reduced from 47,000 to just over 30,000 seats. The removal of two-thirds of the east upper deck will create an intimate game day environment, according to the news release.
Following national trends, said McClelland, a right-sided stadium will allow for greater exibility to host nonfootball programming, such as concerts and community events.
Additionally, a new indoor practice pavilion will be added adjacent to the Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center, providing Rice student athletes with access
to top-tier training regardless of weather conditions, according to the news release.
“This project represents a tangible and public declaration of our university’s
I’m just hoping that they complete it by the time I graduate.
Porter Gregg Hanszen College sophomore
That part of campus is de nitely not used by anyone at all. So I think it’s a good idea. They’re putting it to good use.
Alberto Figueroa Duncan College senior
Where’s the Beer Bike track? Why is it in West Lot? I don’t mind it being moved, I just want it to be somewhere.
Tony Martinez Duncan College junior
commitment to the future of athletics,” McClelland said. “We are investing in a future where our programs can and will compete at the highest levels, athletically and academically.”
JESSICA XU / THRESHER
The new design has an entrance o of Greenbriar Drive that will connect to the green space.
COURTESY RICE PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Student Association shuts down resolution condemning Sudan civil war
TOBY CHOU & JAMES CANCELARICH THRESHER STAFF & NEWS EDITOR
A resolution titled “Condemning the Genocide in Sudan and Calling for Institutional and U.S. Action” was submitted for the Senate agenda on Monday, but Student Association President Trevor Tobey le the resolution o the agenda in accordance with his proposed resolution restricting the SA’s ability to make political statements.
“It sets the precedent that anybody can bring any geopolitical issue that they care about to the Senate and we’ll put it on the agenda and discuss it,” Tobey said during the meeting. “That is not part of our mission and it takes away from the things that we do that are directly impacting students’ quality of life.”
The resolution, written by Hanszen College Senator Dorian Echasseriau, Lovett College senior Arman Saxena and Lovett freshman Zaid Rashid, calls for the SA, Rice and the U.S. Government to release a statement condemning genocide in Sudan. In addition, the resolution calls for solidarity with Sudanese, African and Muslim students a ected by the violence.
“I don’t think it’s the role of the Student Association to take positions on evil things going on in the world, even if they are evil,
because we cannot be consistent on this issue,” Tobey said.
Tobey said that it would not be consistent for the SA to comment on the con ict in Sudan without addressing a number of other issues, such as alleged genocides in Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the war in Ukraine and the killings of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
This is not a political issue. This is not a partisan issue. This is a human rights issue.
Dorian Echasseriau HANSZEN COLLEGE SENATOR
“I wouldn’t feel right for the Student Association speaking on this issue specifically, even though I fully agree with the statement that was presented,” Tobey said.
In response, Saxena said if the mission of the SA is to represent the student body, guaranteeing the wellbeing of students a ected by the violence in Sudan is part of that mission.
Editor’s Note: Arman Saxena is the Arts
and Entertainment editor of the Thresher.
“Sudanese, African, Muslim and other students of conscience at Rice have spoken about how this genocide impacts them, their families and their sense of belonging on campus,” Saxena said during the meeting. “Supporting those students is absolutely within the SA’s mission of representation and community care.”
Sudan was plunged into a civil war in 2023, with a con ict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. According to United Nations gures, over 12 million people, half of whom are children, have been forcibly displaced. 25 million people are experiencing acute hunger, with 9 million experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger. In 2025, the U.S. Department of State released a statement describing the RSF’s actions as genocide.
The con ict has been marked by widespread violence against civilians, according to the U.N. The civil war has also led to widespread sexual and genderbased violence.
The resolution describes the violence perpetrated by the RSF as a genocide. In addition, the resolution calls out the United Arab Emirates, which is accused of funding and providing military assistance and weapons to the RSF, an accusation that the UAE denies.
The resolution then condemns the United States’ continuing “complicity” by maintaining diplomatic ties to the UAE.
The resolution also alleges that Rice is betraying its commitment to ethical leadership by not condemning the violence in Sudan.
“Sudanese, African, and Muslim students at Rice have expressed grief, fear, and frustration at the lack of institutional recognition or solidarity regarding the atrocities in Sudan,” the resolution reads.
In response to Tobey’s argument on the lack of consistency in SA’s response to global issues, Rashid said people would be willing to put in work to make sure that the SA condemns genocides around the world.
“We’re happy to come with a di erent resolution every week about another genocide and condemning it,” Rashid said. “It won’t take any of you to do anything other than talk about these things in SA debates.”
Echasseriau also pushed back against the idea that addressing the violence in Sudan would be a political statement.
“I don’t think this is in opposition to what we’ve been speaking about; we’ve been speaking about making sure that statements do not re ect political lines,” Echasseriau said. “This is not a political issue. This is not a partisan issue. This is a human rights issue.”
Senators propose new resolution in fourth week of debate over political statements
TOBY CHOU THRESHER STAFF
This week marked the fourth week of the Student Association’s discussion of restricting political statements. Unable to reach an agreement, Senate tabled discussion again.
Wiess College Senator Eli Risinger and Brown College Senator Max Menchaca introduced a new resolution titled “The Senators’ Resolution on Political Neutrality.”
This new resolution di ers from Resolution 3 by only prohibiting political statements in o cial communications done by the SA, including emails, yers and Instagram posts while excluding resolutions. This prohibition could be overturned in the Senate by a twothirds vote.
Risinger said this new resolution is meant to inherit the original spirit behind Resolution 3, titled “To Adopt an Institutional Neutrality Policy,” which was intended to restrict the ability of the executive committee to make political statements.
Risinger said the weeks of discussing
AISHA KHEMANI SENIOR WRITER
Rice is stepping into graduate creative writing with a new Master of Fine Arts program shaped by Houston’s culture, its Gulf Coast roots and a commitment to communitycentered learning.
When the rst cohort of four students arrives in fall 2026, they will join a fully funded three-year program that covers tuition, o ers a $36,000 stipend and gives opportunities for work with local organizations and teach undergraduate students.
Lacy Johnson, an associate professor of creative writing who helped develop the program and will also teach in the MFA, said early conversations with Humanities Dean Kathleen Canning made it clear that Rice had a chance to build something new.
Chizi Okolie, a Hanszen College freshman who attended parties at Will Rice, said the sanction was not a big deal in his view, since parties can be held at other locations.
“I mean, people are throwing stuff, so
Resolution 3 had focused more on exceptions to the policy, and the new resolution aimed to refocus the discussion back to statements made by the SA.
Menchaca focused on the statement the SA President Trevor Tobey made on conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s death on the SA Instagram.
“We wrote this bill thinking of Charlie Kirk and the statements that were made, just because that was something that not everyone [in Senate] agreed with,” Menchaca said. “There was no procedure for formally releasing a statement like that, and this outlines a procedure for us.”
Mahtab Dastur, the external vice president, spoke against the resolution, saying that it was just a weaker version of Resolution 3.
“I think that it is important that [the executive committee] and Senate cannot make any political statements, that’s the point of institutional neutrality,” Dastur said. “I would like to emphasize that this is not institutional neutrality. If by a two-
“We were growing a critical mass of faculty who would be a draw for a program like this. It’s a once-in-a-generation grouping of really amazing, talented individuals,” Johnson said. “We were asking what kind of program we would have wanted to attend if we could go back as the writers we are now and start again, and this was the result of those conversations.”
That momentum helped assemble a faculty roster Johnson described as unusually strong for a new program. The MFA will be taught by Strega Prize winner Andrea Bajani, acclaimed poet and ction writer Phillip B. Williams and celebrated Gulf Coast writers Kiese Laymon and Tomás Morín. Johnson said the faculty’s shared ties to Houston and the Gulf South shaped the program’s design.
“We have a place-based curriculum that emphasizes the cultural and geographic
I think we should harp more on the issue of people throwing stuff, because we can change it to anywhere else and still throw stuff off the roof,” Okolie said.
True said closing Will Rice events to other colleges would be excessive if it extends beyond the rest of the semester. Last year, True said he considered leaving Rice due to the party scene.
“You can’t prepare for people going
thirds vote, we can overrule the idea of making a political statement, then it is not institutionally neutral.”
Dorian Echasseriau, the Hanszen College Senator, said SA does not have to be politically neutral, seeing that Rice University itself is not politically neutral.
If by a two-thirds vote, we can overrule the idea of making a political statement, then it is not institutionally neutral.
Mahtab Dastur EXTERNAL VICE PRESIDENT
“Just last week, Rice was endorsing Prop 14 in the Texas Election,” Echasseriau said.
“Rice is constantly lobbying people from Washington. Faculty Senate is releasing
speci city of living here in Houston, on the Gulf Coast, at the forefront of climate change,” Johnson said. “Very few programs focus on place at all and our professional development program is unlike any other program that we’re aware of.”
The MFA follows a three-year progression that places students directly in Houston’s literary world. In their rst year, students work as writers in residence with local arts and community groups. Their second year shi s into the classroom as teaching assistants for creative writing courses while developing a community-based writing project. By their third year, they serve as instructors and lead an undergraduate course of their own.
She added that the program is designed not only to train writers but to highlight the literary work already happening across Houston.
above and beyond to kill the fun for everyone,” True said. “Because, to be honest, there’s a ton of people that I know last year, and this year, who have thought about transferring due to the lack of party scene.”
Will Rice leadership is in talks with students and administration as to what use of spaces like Perch will look like in the long term, Speed said.
statements that are politically charged.”
Taylor Schultz, the Duncan College president, said almost all of the conversation has surrounded how the Senate can get around institutional neutrality, not whether the SA thinks institutional neutrality is important.
“I feel like we have discussed the idea of institutional neutrality for a few weeks at this point, and we keep discussing di erent amendments that we could make so that we don’t have to be neutral,” Schultz said. “I want to think about the ethos behind this resolution and the other resolution.”
“A lot of universities are adopting institutional neutrality policies so that the university as a whole is not taking one homogenous stance and the student body feels empowered to explore issues and come up with their own personal stances on those topics,” Schultz continued. “If the ethos behind this resolution is that you don’t want the president to be able to put out certain politically charged statements, that’s a completely di erent ethos.”
“I think it o ers a great opportunity for Rice to continue to attract talent to the Houston literary community,” Isabella Campos, a Hanszen College senior studying English and creative writing, wrote in a message to the Thresher. “We have a strong but unrecognized artistic hub here and I hope an in ux of MFA students and faculty will bring that community to the forefront. I’m also excited to see how the MFA interacts with the undergrad creative community,” Johnson said the MFA re ects Rice’s broader belief in the power of creative work.
“I see creative writing as an art form, it’s valuable, it’s how we tell the stories of ourselves, of our communities, of our time and history, but it’s also a connective discipline, and it allows us to sort of communicate what’s important to us to broader audiences,” Johnson said.
“We had some concerns about coadvisors from other colleges. Our general policy and what we’ve been communicating to the people of our community is that you’re responsible for whoever you bring into the space,” Speed said. “[We’re] really looking at the people we’re allowing into this space in terms of Will Rice is taking on the liability of allowing people here.”
FROM FRONT PAGE WILL RICE
New club leaders take on growth, challenge and student involvement
THE THRESHER
Club registration closed just under a month ago, so new groups are beginning to organize and hold events across campus. Encompassing artistic ventures, pre-professional avenues and sports, students are getting involved across campus.
Considering the many a cappella groups already on campus, Sofija Jiotis said her organization, the Rice Madrigals, is carving out its niche by being the first classical choir club.
“There’s, I think, five or six a cappella groups, which they primarily sing pop, sometimes swing music, but there wasn’t a club group that was performing classical music,” said Jiotis, a Wiess College sophomore. “We saw that there was an opening in the market for that.”
The 13-member club plans to hold its rst concert on Dec. 4. Admission will be free.
“Sometimes with classical music, people see it as this fancy thing that there’s a high cost to going,” Jiotis said. “But we want to show that classical music is for everyone and that anyone can engage with it.”
Jiotis knows what she is up against. Other groups like the Rice Philharmonics are more established than the Madrigals, she said, having produced albums on Spotify.
“It’s hard to get people to even consider either coming to your concert or considering coming to the auditions,” Jiotis said. “We’ll be able to balance out that, but it’s definitely a big marketing
push that we need to do.”
Alvina Thara is also staking out a niche on campus. She said her club, Rice Corporate Law Society, was created to present pathways into the profession.
“One thing that we want to do is show corporate law as a career path, but then also the role in business finance and society because they’re pretty interconnected,” said Thara, a Hanszen College freshman.
To explore the field of corporate law, Thara wants to provide not just resources, but also opportunities.
“My vision going into this was that even if you’re not sure of wanting to do specifically corporate law, even if you’re just interested in law or business or policy or two or all three of those things, it was to give students the resources, the experiences and connections necessary so that they’re in the position to explore careers within all three of those fields and also at the intersection of them,” Thara said.
The club currently has about 100 people in the GroupMe. Sustaining student engagement, however, is a major challenge this year, Thara said.
“A fear is that we started at like great momentum, but then it’ll decline or slow down,” Thara said. “So I think that’s definitely a challenge I anticipate, keeping up consistent engagement.”
To connect student volunteers and different shelters, Nayounghee Tuetkin, a Lovett College junior, established Rice Bridge the Gap.
“The aim of this club is to partner those students with those organizations
and trying to help bring down those barriers,” Tuetkin said. “It’s easier for students and volunteers and it’s easier for the shelters and the agencies to work with student volunteers.”
Rice Bridge the Gap works with Houston organizations like Asians Against Domestic Abuse and the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, along with programs focusing on populations experiencing domestic violence, immigration, trafficking and reintegration from incarceration.
We brought students together with these recently reintegrated men to kind of shine a light on their experiences for students who want to learn more and get involved in the system and help to make it a better system in general.
Nayounghee Tuetkin RICE BRIDGE THE GAP FOUNDER
One recent event was a “pitch-athon,” which brought students together with men who were formally incarcerated and recently reintegrated into society to help them start their own business.
“We brought students together with these recently reintegrated men to kind
of shine a light on their experiences for students who want to learn more and get involved in the system and help to make it a better system in general,” Tuetkin said.
Ananya Nair, who also helped organize this “pitch-a-thon,” said that people from the Prison Entrepreneurship Program and students had interactions like taking pictures and exchanging phone numbers with each other.
“There’s always this stigma of incarcerated individuals as ‘dangerous,’” said Nair, a McMurtry College sophomore. “But we were able to see that everyone shares the same aspirations and core values and it was just nice to see how similar we all really are.”
However, federal policies have prevented students from being recognized for their work. Rice Bridge The Gap partnered with the President’s Volunteer Service Awards, a program that, through the government, awards volunteers for committing to a certain number of volunteer hours. Tuetkin said that as the program was put on pause, the club’s ability to incentivize students has been hindered.
Despite these challenges, Tuetkin said she aims to increase the club’s name recognition.
“We’re hoping that just by growing and expanding from these little small volunteer opportunities, we hope to get our name out a little bit more just so that if we can bring up our awareness … students might be more inclined to take that one hour or two hours a day to help volunteer,” Tuetkin said.
With advocacy from Rice, Texas votes to approve brain research proposition
involved this past year, with faculty and administrators advising lawmakers at Texas’ 2025 legislative session.
Texas voted to approve Proposition 14 on Election Day, a constitutional amendment that allocates $3 billion towards brain health research and the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. For Rice, the vote marks a victory in a policy they had been supporting for over half a decade and the start of a new research era.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement that he created DPRIT so that Texas would become a leader in dementia research and Texans would have access to dementia care.
Brain health is a looming societal crisis — on the scale of trillions of dollars per year — and we need to be looking for serious solutions to address this crisis.
Simon Fischer-Baum ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES
DPRIT will award grants to organizations and institutions to research dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other brain disorders.
Rice played an active role in advocating for DPRIT from its early stages, according to the Office of Public Affairs. The university “directly supported Senate Bill 5 (the legislation establishing DPRIT) and the related state constitutional ballot initiative, Proposition 14,” wrote Joel Resendez, the director of state government relations, in an email to the Thresher.
Rice has continuously shown its support for this initiative since 2019, according to the Office of Public Affairs.
The university was especially
“Rice experts, like Dr. Harris Eyre from the Baker Institute, advised the Lieutenant Governor’s policy team on the scope of the bill, and President Reginald DesRoches advocated for DPRIT at the Capitol in Austin during ‘Rice Day at the Capitol,’” Resendez wrote.
Ahead of Election Day, Rice helped raise public awareness through “coordinated communications — including a series of Rice brain health research stories — and partnerships with statewide advocacy groups like the Alzheimer’s Association,” the email continued.
Now that DPRIT has passed, Rice is preparing its next steps.
“Peer review and advisory committees will be set up as part of the DPRIT initiative,” Resendez wrote.
President Reggie DesRoches will be able to appoint a representative to the higher education advisory committee.
Furthermore, the university expects to compete for major DPRIT-funded research grants and awards, particularly through the new Rice Brain Institute, which “aims to accelerate discoveries in brain science and health” and “is strategically positioned to be competitive for these new research funds,” according to Resendez.
Christopher Johns-Krull, interim vice president for research, said the university is already convening researchers to plan how to best secure DPRIT funding, which may include new internal funding opportunities for faculty to better position themselves for DPRIT research awards.
“The Rice Brain Institute will provide structure and organization for Rice brain related research across natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences to provide the best coordination of our research across all these areas to make the greatest impact we can in improving brain health,” wrote Johns-Krull in an email to the Thresher.
Jacob Robinson, co-director of the Rice Neuroengineering Initiative and professor of electrical and computer
engineering and bioengineering, said he expects Proposition 14 to strengthen Rice’s work at the intersection of engineering and neuroscience. This will be done through new materials, more biocompatible devices and new technologies with artificial intelligence that will allow researchers to measure and regulate brain activity.
“We have built this foundation of talented and collaborative engineers and scientists who have excellent relationships with world-class clinicians at the medical schools and hospitals across the street [at Texas Medical Center],” Robinson wrote. “Now we have the chance to fuel that machine to improve and preserve the thing that makes us who we are: our brains.”
Simon Fischer-Baum, co-director of Rice’s Brain and Society Initiative and associate professor in psychological sciences, said the DPRIT vote reflects
people’s recognition of the fact that brain health is not only a scientific issue but also a societal one.
“Brain health is a looming societal crisis — on the scale of trillions of dollars per year — and we need to be looking for serious solutions to address this crisis,” Fischer-Baum wrote in an email to the Thresher.
He said some solutions will come from new clinical approaches, but others will require interventions in workplaces, schools and the built environment that allow for prevention and mitigation in more equitable and cost-effective ways.
“The fact that DPRIT passed through the Texas Legislature with strong bipartisan support and voters in the state of Texas voted overwhelmingly for billions of dollars in research spending indicates that there is agreement that brain health is a problem that needs to be solved,” Fischer-Baum wrote.
ALVINA THARA FOR THE THRESHER
JIAQI XU FOR
MARTIN XIE / THRESHER
Students celebrate Mamdani victory REMS holds interactive events
Supporters of New York City mayoral candidate, now mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani gathered in the Will Rice College private dining room on Tuesday, tuning into the election coverage.
Conner Schultz, co-president of Rice Young Democratic Socialists of America, said the organization hosted the watch party because the race carried national signi cance beyond New York’s borders.
“This election means so much,” said Schultz, a Will Rice sophomore. “It’s a direct ght against Trump and fascism in this country.”
The watch party drew visitors from multiple universities, including students from the University of Houston’s YDSA chapter and other democratic socialist organizations. Schultz said he was impressed with the turnout.
Dai Harris, a visiting student from Arizona State University, described the atmosphere as enthusiastic.
“It was just very loud in there, a lot of people were talking, conversing,” Harris said. “There was a big cheer when Zohran won.”
Schultz said attendees felt con dent about a Mamdani victory since the start of election night.
“When Mamdani wins, it’s going to mean a complete shi in the foundations of the Democratic Party and how it operates,” Schultz said.
Sam Brenner, a UH senior and co-chair of his university’s YDSA, said his chapter attended to support the Rice event.
“We saw that they were having a sort of watch party, and we just gured, hey, why don’t we get together and just hang out as
a kind of sister orgs,” Brenner said.
Cody Szell, membership secretary of YDSA at UH, said despite his optimism surrounding the New York race, he felt discouraged by the Texas election results that night.
“I’m a little disheartened as somebody who does live in Texas. All the propositions passed, both good and bad,” Szell said.
It’s a direct fight against Trump and fascism in this country.
Conner Schultz WILL RICE SOPHOMORE
Texas voters approved all 17 propositions on the ballot Tuesday, including a measure denying bail to those accused of murder, tax reforms that could reduce revenue in some communities and infrastructure spending related to water systems. The propositions passed across the board.
As results came in showing Mamdani’s victory and other democratic wins in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, Schultz re ected on the night’s broader implications.
“This is a massive win for progressives all across the country,” Schultz said.
Harris said while he believes Mamdani represents the people, he should still be held accountable for his actions in o ce.
“Let’s not idolize him. You know, he’s supposed to be representative of the people. So if he’s not representing you, then you need to call that out,” Harris said.
Rice Emergency Medical Services kicked o its annual Collegiate EMS Week on Monday, spotlighting the student EMTs who provide health support across campus. REMS Director Lisa Basgall said the week gives students a chance to interact with the team behind the uniforms.
“Collegiate EMS Week is a nice way to bring some life-saving skills to the community and to raise awareness of the resources available to them,” Basgall said.
The events include REMS trivia on Wednesday and a collaboration with Rice Zine Fest on Thursday. The program is part of a greater outreach e ort that REMS is putting forward.
“[The events are] all di erent, and we tailor them and to try and reach di erent groups,” Basgall said. “Like the grad students or the people that walk by or the people that are interested in getting involved with REMS, each group and each event has a di erent location and a focus.”
The week’s schedule includes several interactive events designed to educate students while giving them a glimpse into the work of REMS volunteers. Monday featured “Guess Your Blood Pressure,” and Tuesday’s “BLS Bag Race” challenged students to carry nearly 40-pound EMS equipment bags across campus.
“Part of it’s like a public awareness campaign,” Basgall said. “But it’s fun too, to let other people try out what it’s like to carry all this stu around and load and unload it out of golf carts.”
The events are also meant to show the approachable side of REMS, said Arnav
Murthy, the special events lieutenant.
“It’s kind of nding a balance and being educational, but also attaching a face to people that we see in uniform, in the carts or in the truck, and try to integrate ourselves, really into the community, so people feel comfortable calling us for their emergencies,” said Murthy, a Martel College senior.
For volunteers like Suhani Koppolu, Collegiate EMS Week highlights both the challenges and rewards of campus EMS work.
“You need somebody there who can tell you what you should do when you’re injured,” said Koppolu, a Brown College junior. “You don’t know what to do, especially when you’re a million miles away from home.”
Koppolu also pointed to the week’s creative activities as a way for students to interact with REMS in a lighter, engaging way.
“It’s super fun, especially like medicalthemed collages,” Koppolu said. “I think it’s really interesting how the week helps us integrate with the REMS community outside of actual medical emergencies.”
REMS Captain Nancy Johnson said that she hopes the events will not only bring awareness but also interest to the REMS program.
“I hope this can spark conversations for someone without CPR certi cation or don’t know a lot about rst aid. This would be a great time to kind of learn more about that,” said Johnson, a Duncan College senior. “In the same way, a big part of who we are as an organization is giving back to the Rice community and being like a pillar of support.”
Faculty union hosts National Day of Action amid nding cuts, speech recommendations
NOAH BERZ FEATURES EDITOR
Students, faculty and sta called out Trump’s cuts to government food assistance and attempts to in uence speech at universities outside Brochstein Pavilion Friday for a National Day of Action for Higher Education.
Rice was one of over 100 U.S. universities that held gatherings led by the American Association of University Professors and American Federation of Teachers, a professors’ union that advocates for academic freedom.
In light of the Trump administration’s ongoing refusal to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program bene ts during the government shutdown, event organizers also promoted a mutual aid drive for the Houston Food Bank.
Anna Stravato, the founder of the Rice chapter of the grassroots climate advocacy group Sunrise, said she was there to get more students engaged in both issues.
“We share similar beliefs [with AAUPAFT] on these topics about academic freedom and … the SNAP bene ts,” said Stravato, a Jones College junior. “I’m glad [they’re] getting started and mobilizing
people on that.”
Zhenzhen Zhao, assistant director of Student Success Initiatives, spoke to attendees about food insecurity on campus.
She said several students whose parents were red or furloughed in the government shutdown reached out to her through the SSI Access and Opportunity Portal seeking food aid. Trump’s hostility towards international and low-income students has also made helping more di cult, Zhao said.
Policy changes that make make us feel vulnerable, just as vulnerable as our students — they’re really limiting things we can do.
Zhenzhen Zhao ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SUCCESS INITIATIVES
“We are trying our best to help students do good, both academically, socially and personally,” Zhao said. “Policy changes that make us feel vulnerable, just as vulnerable as our students — they’re really limiting
things we can do.”
Rohan Dharia and Mehul Menon, two Student Association senators who coauthored a proposition to open food pantries in each residential college, attended the event to garner support for the idea. Dharia said they were inspired by a 24-hour snack pantry at Lovett College more than the SNAP cuts.
“In general, it’s a late-night food, late-night snack option,” said Dharia, a McMurtry College sophomore. “But I think that will also help in some ways to address food insecurity as well.”
Dharia also said Rice Housing and Dining has expressed interest in funding the idea, but only if he and Menon can get every residential college on board.
In October, Trump o ered nine universities increased funding for making changes to academic standards; diversity, equity, and inclusion practices; and international student enrollment suggestions outlined in a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” Rice AAUP-AFT posted a statement on their website before the event that expressed solidarity with the seven institutions that said no to the compact.
Last week, Rice administration made changes to align cultural club descriptions
with suggestions from a July 29 Attorney General’s memorandum. Rice AAUP-AFT chapter President Niki Kasumi Clements said she and her colleagues hope the administration includes faculty in future decisions regarding Trump’s guidelines.
“The primary point of pressure that we need to apply is that no unilateral changes are made by central administration without collaboration and consultation, especially when it comes to student life organizations,” said Clements, a professor of philosophy. “We want to stress, along with national AAUP, our rejection of anticipatory obedience.”
In light of the compact and other attempts by Trump to in uence speech at universities, Clements said she and her colleagues remain critical of the restrictions Rice administration placed on campus demonstrations in fall 2024.
A spokesperson for Rice declined to comment.
“We hope that [Rice administration] reconsider some of the policies that have been put in place around organizing and expressions of free speech, and we hope that they take very seriously the need for us to have our own academic autonomy,” Clements said.
CHARLIE CRUZ / THRESHER
Students gather for a watch party of New York City’s mayoral election in the Will Rice College Parlor on Nov. 4. Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won the race.
CHARLIE CRUZ THRESHER STAFF
SUNNY YU / THRESHER
A Rice Emergency Medical Services EMT takes the blood pressure of a student during a “Guess Your Blood Pressure” event. This week is Collegiate EMS Week, and REMS is hosting outreach events.
LINA KANG THRESHER STAFF
EDITORIAL
Gateway Project should prioritize students over profit
For years, Rice administration has proudly touted its location in the heart of Houston, despite campus feeling just a little too sealed o from it. But with the new Gateway Project, a planned pedestrian corridor connecting campus to Rice Village, we have the opportunity to reshape what it actually means to go “beyond the hedges.”
The vision is an ambitious one. The current plan includes a tree-lined promenade, mixeduse developments and a new entrance to Rice Village on Greenbriar. If done right, it’s not just another addition to the seemingly neverending cycle of campus construction projects — it’s a real step to making Rice Village relevant to students again.
COLUMN
The Gateway Project can bridge the gap between campus and beyond, but only if students are invited to cross it.
Rice Village, which is owned in large part by Rice Real Estate Company, has long struggled to feel like a completely student-friendly place. It’s heavy on the upscale boutiques and light on a ordable food or hangout spots. But it wasn’t always like this. In years past, Rice Village was home to more casual,
a ordable options, like a Papa John’s on Kirby. They weren’t fancy, but they were accessible, lling a need that today’s Village largely ignores.
Right now, if you want a late-night slice or a cheap snack that isn’t from the servery, you’re likely driving to CVS or waiting 50 minutes for your Uber Eats to nd you in the maze that is Rice campus. A well-executed pedestrian corridor could help encourage businesses that actually cater to student life and maybe even a long-lost dollar slice.
One of the most promising aspects of the Gateway Project is the proposed addition of a grocery store near the new Greenbriar entrance.
A walkable grocery store, integrated directly into the pedestrian corridor, could o er consistent access to fresh food. It wouldn’t just be convenient, it could be a step toward addressing food insecurity on campus by o ering students a closer, more a ordable place to shop for essentials.
If we’re pouring $120 million into a project that cuts through beloved student spaces like the bike track, students deserve a say in what comes next. That means transparency and making sure the Village doesn’t just become more of a luxury mall.
The Gateway Project can bridge the gap between campus and beyond, but only if students are invited to cross it.
The hungry owl: Servery pizza — to eat or not to eat?
ANDREW RYNSBURGER THRESHER STAFF
I’ve eaten a lot of pizza in my life — from scratch, frozen boxes, wood- red ovens and pizzerias — but today I’m focused on the servery pizza.
The veggie slice from West Servery arrived smeared with marinara and decorated with green peppers, red onion and mushrooms. The thick cheese oozed over the sides of the slice and onto the at crust. It looked more like cheese bread than pizza.
While the underside was robustly brown and somewhat crisp, the pizza was thick. The sweet tomato sauce thinly covered the slab of bread. The cheese, barely melted, clung to the half-raw toppings as if they were trying to escape. While the bread was
fresh, it was underbaked to the point of being mushy in its center.
I was not ready to give up so quickly, though. Next, I considered the other pizzas from the same servery: classic cheese and pepperoni.
The cheese slice was marginally more cooked than the veggie. While the cheese was almost completely melted, the crust remained so
The pepperoni slice was similar to the cheese. Fortunately, the salt and oil from the pepperoni cut through the bland quality of the dough. While the pepperoni was imsy and cold, this slice was slightly better than the other two.
To ensure I made a fair evaluation of servery pizza, I visited South Servery to compare.
The cheese and pepperoni pizzas looked quite sad, as if they had been languishing in their metal pans for a while. I did not waste my time tasting them.
But what I did try was the “tru ed mushroom” pizza. While there was no tru e on the pizza, the appearance was hopeful — the crust was pu y and blistered with pockets of air.
This slice was the strongest yet. The cheese was melted. Crispy, dark brown circles splotched the underside of the crust. The so mushrooms wilted on its surface, a sign of being appropriately cooked.
However, its white sauce was lackluster. The mild ranch let the mushroom flavor shine, but it left me wanting more. The cheese was, like the others, sludgy. The center smushed under
the pressure of my fork, contrasting with the almost-burnt crust.
Overall, while the wood- red ovens on campus start the pizzas strong, some aws are hard to ignore. The pizzas are very thick and need more salt. Most slices are undercooked. Even when the underside is crispy, the rest remains limp.
Let me be clear — these pizzas had redeeming qualities, but were no better than your average cafeteria pizza: bready, mushy and forgettable.
Some fresh ingredients, like fragrant basil, oregano or mozzarella pearls would elevate the avor. But unfortunately, mediocrity was the best that I could nd.
When it comes to the pizza question, “to eat or not to eat?” I lean firmly towards the latter.
Andrew Rynsburger is a Duncan College freshman majoring in political science. Hailing from Michigan, he brings a breadth of experience from cooking, recipe creation and his passion for culinary literature. When he’s not writing, you can find him reading in Fondren Library, playing the piano or on his bike.
An urbanist’s guide to Houston: Rental prices around Rice are soaring
JACOB JORDAN & NICOLAS COOKER THRESHER STAFF
As the o -campus housing search begins for many Rice students, this year is likely to be harder for renters than any in recent memory. Across the Houston metropolitan area, the median gross rent surged from $1,055 to $1,378 between the 2014-2018 and 20192023 tabulation periods, and this momentum shows no signs of slowing.
This trend is re ected in apartments catering to Rice students. Since 2021, monthly rents have risen from $884 to $995 at The Terraces on Brompton, $1,267 to $1,517 at The Belmont and $1,862 to $2,578 at Modera Flats.
Houston must follow the trend and take steps toward a less restrictive future where the city can stay affordable for years to come.
At Life Tower, built in 2022, rents have already jumped from $1,004 to $1,199. If I renewed my Nest on Sunset lease, a er a new construction o er they signed earlier this year, my rent would surge from $1,077 to about $1,590. How did we get here? The simple answer is
Jacob Jordan
that Houston isn’t building enough housing, which likely sounds odd to readers familiar with our city’s lack of a formal zoning code and accelerated permitting process.
Locally, however, more restrictive minimum lot size and setback requirements can be established according to the standard met by 70% of existing neighborhood structures. These deed restrictions are especially common near Rice, particularly in Boulevard Oaks, Southgate and Montrose.
Additionally, the historic preservation zones that are common in the I-610 Loop West Houston can establish oor area ratio requirements, limiting the ratio of livable oor space to lot area to 40 to 48% depending on lot size.
Most troublesome, however, are the parking minimums that apply citywide outside of Downtown, East Downtown and Midtown, which require apartment complexes to build expensive garages that are o en larger than necessary. These are especially egregious in student housing developments, where many students don’t own personal vehicles.
Still, not all of these codes should be wiped from the books. In both a moral and practical sense, we need to work with local communities to move forward with accelerating development.
To this point, consider the Ashby Street high-rise a few minutes north of Rice, which just emerged from a decades-long battle with residents of the surrounding neighborhood. Lawn signs depicted the building as a menace
Rent prices in 2021 vs. 2025 at o -campus housing complexes. Prices from Rice University O -Campus Housing Website.
to the neighborhood, and public pressure morphed into costly litigation.
During this struggle, numerous townhouse and mid-rise developments emerged across the neighborhood without major resistance, demonstrating the willingness of Southampton residents to compromise on housing.
So what would an ideal solution look like? In order to keep up with housing demand and address scarcity, it should be easier to build higher-density units without cumbersome regulation.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean massive high-rises next to single family
homes. In fact, incremental upzoning and mid-density developments like those in Southampton have been shown to improve a ordability more e ectively than large highrise projects. Small changes to Houston’s municipal building codes can go a long way in increasing dwelling units and creating a more dense, a ordable city.
A ordable housing reform is already happening in Austin and throughout Texas, demonstrating the feasibility of such changes in Houston. Clearly, Houston must follow the trend and take steps toward a less restrictive future where the city can stay a ordable for years to come.
is a Baker College junior studying civil engineering with a minor in environmental studies. Nicolas Cooker is a Martel College sophomore studying computer science with a minor in environmental studies. They believe every Rice student should be well-informed about their built environment and have the knowledge necessary to advocate for their interests in and beyond Houston.
SYDNEY CHANG / THRESHER
Mamdani’s win is a win for us all
Over the course of the year, millions of young people watched as democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani made his way into the limelight, shaking the very foundation of American electoral politics.
Even 1,600 miles away from New York City, Rice students watched closely in anticipation of Mamdani’s victory. For many, Mamdani’s election represented something greater, a necessary glimmer of hope in the Trump era, that shook the very foundations of the Democratic Party.
To us, this election shows that the U.S. is fed up with the lack of resistance to Trump’s fascist policies and wants candidates who ght for us all.
We want progressives, not just Democrats.
So what does this mean for Rice, Houston and Texas?
Houston shares many problems with New York City. Like New York City, our communities are under attack by the Trump administration. 24% of all ICE arrests since Trump’s inauguration have happened in Texas.
Like New York City, people can barely a ord to live in this city. Houston has the highest percentage of people in poverty out of the top 25 cities in the U.S.
Like New York City, our public transit system is under attack. Mayor Whitmire has removed numerous bus and bike lanes and attempted to end signal priority for the Red Line.
And above all, like New York City, our current mayor lacks any sort of spine to face
GUEST OPINION
o against the rise of fascism in the United States. Just a few weeks ago, Whitmire removed the Montrose rainbow crosswalk a er the state threatened to remove funding — even though other cities like San Antonio are ghting back.
The U.S. doesn’t look up to Mamdani because he is a socialist. They look up to him because he promises a future that is time and time again called impossible. As fascism runs rampant in our state and federal governments, we nally get a glimpse of hope through progressivism.
Mamdani’s victory came with signi cant resistance from the Democratic Party. Throughout his campaign, typically blue billionaires spent millions of dollars to try to stop him, even a er he won the Democratic primary.
The day before Election Day, Trump endorsed Mamdani’s opponent, Andrew Cuomo, yet these donors didn’t pull their endorsements. These events highlight the fundamental problem preventing progress in this country: billionaires who only support issues and candidates that do not threaten their chokehold over workingclass Americans.
The Democratic Party has let its longstanding connection with the working class decay over the last decade.
People are tired of politicians who preach that a ordable healthcare, access to public transit and a nation that prioritizes people over pro t are not possible. They don’t want candidates who put interest groups before their constituents; they want people who will ght for a future for all.
This campaign and all of its promises
provide a template for progress for anyone willing to challenge corrupt or spineless politicians. As college students, this campaign shows that hard work from young people can drive change in this nation. We are not powerless to ght what is happening to this country; the only thing we need to do is act.
As Mamdani said in his victory speech last week, “We will leave mediocrity in our past. No longer will we have to open a history book for proof that Democrats can dare to be great.”
Let us all dare to be great.
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 re ect the views of the Thresher or its editorial board. All guest opinions are factchecked to the best of our ability and edited for clarity and conciseness by Thresher editors.
Rice should know better than unshaded areas
ABIGAIL CHIU
MARTEL COLLEGE SOPHOMORE
Here’s a fact about Houston: It’s hot. It’s really, really hot. And intensely, brutally sunny.
The sun is compounded by the heat and usual humidity, until standing outside for more than a few minutes has everyone holding up one hand to block the incessant sunlight and the other to fan their face in a futile attempt to not melt into a puddle of sweat.
Rice already has this problem in certain parts of campus. The areas around Tudor Fieldhouse, the Moody Center for the Arts and Alice Pratt Brown Hall are lacking in shade, missing the beautiful and practical arching tree canopies that line the rest of the Inner Loop. Since they are a relatively long walk from most of the residential colleges, that nal stretch exposed to the sun is a lovely way to sweat through your shirt by the time you nally get to class.
This issue is made worse by Rice’s newfound a nity for blindingly white sidewalks. The redesigned Academic Quad
is an o -mentioned o ender. Commutes through the middle of a glori ed white concrete patio with trees that are too young to actually provide useful shade is a daily exercise in torture for the eyes.
Those red aps hanging from the verandas outside of Fondren Library aren’t fooling anyone; they provide absolutely zero refuge from the sun and don’t even pretend to help you cool o
Commutes through the middle of a glorified white concrete patio with trees that are too young to actually provide useful shade is a daily exercise in torture for the eyes.
There is a reason the Jones Business School is always renting covered tents with air conditioning units for the
fountain plaza between James A. Baker III Hall and McNair Hall — it doesn’t want its fancy guest speakers to roast in the open area.
Before Rice drops millions on its next design project, it should consider one practical reality: For most of the academic year, everyone just wants some shade.
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 re ect 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.
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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.
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CONNER SCHULTZ & BECKETT CO-CHAIRS, RICE YOUNG DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA
Students trade books for baggage in experiential travel courses
than food and incidentals, are covered. Enrollment can be selective, requiring an application or specific prerequisites.
The department of earth, environmental and planetary sciences offers a hands-on field course that takes students to a new destination each year.
The latest trip, led by professors Erik Scott and Tim Diedesch, brought students to Nova Scotia, Canada for eight days of on-site geological study.
“Traveling for geoscience instruction is expensive and hard to come by,” Scott said. “It’s great that Rice supports this kind of field-based learning. It broadens students as scientists and as people.”
It doesn’t matter how much you read about the country. When you have boots on the ground and you are meeting people and you have social interactions with locals, that’s when you really understand [the culture].
Hossam Elsherbiny
DIRECTOR OF LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN STUDIES
During the trip, students studied coastal formations, glacial deposits and sedimentary layers. The experience was made possible, Diedesch said, by the depth and breadth of geological features in the province.
Taofeekat Lamina didn’t originally plan to study abroad at Rice. However, when the opportunity arose for her to visit Paris and Rotterdam for credit her freshman summer, she took the chance.
“It was really di erent for me because I’ve traveled before, but I’ve never been to Europe, and their whole format is just so drastically di erent,” said Lamina, a Brown College junior. “I learned a lot about being able to navigate a new space.”
While some Rice students choose formal study abroad programs run independently of the university but approved for credit, an increasing number are opting for faculty-led programs sponsored and hosted by Rice itself.
One such program is Rice in Country, a faculty-led study abroad program in which students take a six-week course and earn six credits. It is run by the Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication and hosted in several countries, including Brazil, Jordan, France and Korea.
The program is exclusive to intermediate and advanced speakers of the language and focuses on students’ cultural competency. Josh Stallings went to Jordan to improve his pro ciency in Arabic.
“At the beginning, I remember thinking what I had gotten myself into and wondering how I would manage the next six weeks when we were driven from our airport to our host homes,” Stallings, a Duncan College senior, wrote in an email to the Thresher. “At the end, I was sad; I had gotten used to life there and felt like my language proficiency was to the point I could begin independently doing things.”
Hossam Elsherbiny, director of language instruction in the transnational Asian studies department and a lecturer in Arabic, accompanied Stallings and seven other students to Jordan last summer. He said these trips are not only an opportunity to learn more about the language they study, but a chance to immerse themselves in a completely different culture.
“It doesn’t matter how much you read about the country,” Elsherbiny said.
“When you have boots on the ground and you are meeting people and you have social interactions with locals, that’s when you really understand [the culture].”
Traveling for geoscience instruction is expensive and hard to come by. It’s great that Rice supports this kind of field-based learning. It broadens students as scientists and as people.
Erik Scott EARTH, ENVIRONMENT AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
LECTURER
International Summer Experience in Engineering Design, the faculty-led study abroad program that Lamina did, is offered through the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen.
Unlike Rice in Country, the OEDK courses are between four and five weeks. The lessons and interactions are entirely in English, and while students do collaborate with local field experts, they are also proficient in English, said Ricardo Zednik, who taught class this
past summer in Japan.
According to the program’s website, iSEED is meant to teach students realworld problem solving skills and help them make an impact in a foreign community.
It also pushes them to see beyond their scope, Zednik said.
“Due to the history of Japan being a relatively small country with relatively few resources and engineers, along with Japan being isolated over the last 2,000 years, the engineers in Japan have a different mindset of how to solve engineering problems,” Zednik said.
Lamina said she also felt that her international travel introduced her to new perspectives.
“In Amsterdam, students can study design and engineering by working on real projects with companies instead of just doing intense coursework,” Lamina said. “I got to talk to people that came from a lot of different schools of study and they were doing similar work to what I wanted to do. That’s what pushed me to go the engineering route.”
While abroad, the students also must create a prototype attempting to solve a problem that locals are facing.
“One big problem that Japan is facing is a rapidly aging population … one student designed a self-emptying trash can to alleviate the necessity to carry heavy trash,” Zenik said.
However, some faculty are concerned about declining enrollment.
“[The class] was a hard sell for students because summer tuition has drastically increased,” said Elsherbiny. “We were very concerned because it’s very important that our language learners can study abroad.”
Rice also offers shorter international field trips embedded within semesterlong courses where most expenses, other
“We have a saying in geology: ‘He who sees the most rocks is the better geologist,’” Scott said. “The more examples you see and the more you understand, the better your interpretations.”
HART in the World, a semester-long art history course offered every two years, brings students on a two-week field trip to cultural centers like Paris, Rome and, most recently, Uzbekistan after spring semester ends. Students apply to the course a year in advance, and the professors teaching the course also vary depending on the trip’s location.
Art history professors Lida Oukaderova and Farshid Emami led a 16-day eld trip to Uzbekistan in May a er a semester-long seminar on Soviet and Islamic art and culture. Despite having a population of under 40 million, Oukaderova said Uzbekistan plays a signi cant role in art history.
“Uzbekistan was always at a crossroads,” Oukaderova said. “It was always a mixture of all kinds of cultures and languages, and from that perspective, it’s a really interesting historical manifestation.”
Erin Kang went on the trip and said that at first, she hadn’t been especially interested in the country itself.
“I didn’t have that much interest in [Uzbekistan] specifically,” said Kang, a McMurtry College senior. “But then whenever I went, I realized that there’s this whole other side of the world that I don’t even know about.”
Kang’s sentiment changed over the course of the class; she said a er writing a paper about the Aral Sea desiccation, an ecological disaster in Uzbekistan, seeing it in person was that much more impactful.
“It was really interesting to see how all that history still a ects people there,” Kang said. “When we visited Nukus, you could tell how passionate everyone was about xing the damage le from the Soviet era. Seeing how that past still shapes their lives today was really powerful.”
LYNA KAMGANG FOR THE THRESHER
COURTESY LINDA FRIES
Erik Scott and Tim Diedesch, leccturers in the department of earth, environment and planetary sciences, brought students to Nova Scotia last fall for eight days of geological study.
Vanishing Act
Cycling and triathlon club members race to world nish lines
In the early hours of the morning, while most students are still asleep, Rice University Cycling and Triathlon club members begin their training routines. With morning swims, community runs and evening bike rides, members of RUCT work to beat their best time or prepare for their next race while giving each other encouragement and accountability.
“RUCT provides a way for these people to connect and work out together,” said Ananya Rao, a Jones College senior. “I think that’s created a
really strong community, and that’s what keeps people coming back.”
As co-presidents, Rao and Gwen FitzSimmons plan club workouts, host social events and acquire sponsors for the club. RUCT, an o cial club sport, gets funding from Rice that allows the club to reimburse entry fees for students competing in o cial races.
“There’s a lot of paperwork with club sports and making sure we’re staying in good standing,” said FitzSimmons, a Brown College senior. “We also get some of our budget from club sports, so we have to make sure we’re staying on top of everything.”
FitzSimmons said the club has grown
since her freshman year, when it was mostly made up of graduate students. Now, she said undergraduate members are just as involved.
“In the past year, we’ve really seen a big increase in membership in biking and in triathlons, and now it’s a pretty active community,” FitzSimmons said. “It’s been super fun to see that change.”
Kelly Dahlin, RUCT’s cycling vice president, went with treasurer John Israel to Indianapolis in September to compete in the USA Cycling Collegiate National Championships. Dahlin, a Wiess College senior, also competed in the championship her sophomore year when Rice placed h.
This year, Dahlin said she was surprised to nd Rice doing better than some schools with bigger teams, placing rst in the club teams division on the second day.
“I was surprised about that because we only had two people,” Dahlin said. “So then at that point, I was wanting to win.”
Last spring, Duncan College junior Radhiya Bharmal competed in a full IRONMAN — a triathlon consisting of a 26.2-mile run, a 112-mile bike ride and a 2.4-mile swim — along with three other RUCT members.
If you’re with other people, I think it makes a huge difference. Going to the track, knowing I’m gonna see at least some friends there no matter what time I go is really inspiring.
Radhiya Bharmal DUNCAN COLLEGE JUNIOR
Bharmal said being surrounded by her RUCT peers at the bike track and the
Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center helped with her training. A er months of preparation, Bharmal completed the race despite experiencing a at tire, a jammed chain and urges to quit.
“If you’re with other people, I think it makes a huge di erence,” Bharmal said. “Going to the track, knowing I’m gonna see at least some friends there no matter what time I go is really inspiring.”
Annika Porteous, a Sid Richardson College senior, nished third in her age group at the October IRONMAN 70.3 — half the mileage of a full IRONMAN race — in Waco, Texas, qualifying her for the upcoming IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship race in Nice, France. She was one of 12 RUCT members to compete in Waco.
Porteous said it was her rst time completing a 70.3 IRONMAN. Between now and the championship, which will take place in September 2026, she said she plans to complete shorter triathlons and another 70.3 IRONMAN. She said she’s also looking forward to competing alongside professionals and athletes she knows from TV like Kat Matthews and Lucy Charles-Barclay.
“Getting to even be in the same setting as them, and watch them race and race alongside them, is an incredible opportunity,” Porteous said. “I’m beyond excited for that.”
RUCT racers choose to train for and participate in these competitions for a variety of reasons, like self improvement, community building or love of the race itself. Israel said the excitement of the races keeps him returning to the bike track for morning training and competitions.
“There’s just a thrill,” said Israel, a Hanszen College senior. “It’s the thrill of riding bikes.”
Rao said the club has shown her that things that seem daunting are possible and to always challenge yourself.
“All these things seem literally impossible,” Rao said. “But the club has shown me that you can do hard things.”
COURTESY KELLY DAHLIN
Kelly Dahlin (le ) and John Israel (right) won USA Cycling’s Collegiate National Championships for club teams in September.
ROCCO COLDITZ FOR THE THRESHER
‘More energy than before’: Biology professor nears 30 years at Rice
LUCY LI / THRESHER
Biosciences professor Michael Gustin started COLL classes as a Wiess College Magister in 2006.
GAO THRESHER STAFF
At 73, Michael Gustin has spent almost 30 years teaching at Rice.
The professor of biosciences has le his mark on the university over his three decades, from his creation of the studenttaught COLL courses to the students who say his support has impacted them personally.
Gustin joined Rice as an assistant professor in 1988 a er completing a bachelor’s degree in biology from Johns Hopkins University, a doctorate in cell biology from Yale University and a postdoctoral fellowship in biochemistry and genetics at the University of WisconsinMadison.
“I really like a lot of things about Rice,” Gustin said. “The biosciences department is an incredibly supportive environment. This is a good place, and also for biosciences research.”
Gustin said he has found it ful lling to engage with Rice students both in and out of the classroom. He has been a magister twice: at Wiess College from 2006 to 2011 and at Lovett College from 2019 to 2024.
“Why do we have a professor serving as a magister?” Gustin said. “Maybe I should help strengthen the academic culture at
the college.”
In 2006, Gustin said he was inspired by a conversation with his daughter, who was then a student at the University of Virginia, to create COLL courses.
“I went to ask my daughter what she had at her college, Brown College, the only residential college at the University of Virginia,” Gustin said. “She said, ‘We had many traditions, cultures and studenttaught courses.’”
Gustin met with Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman and students at Wiess College, who all expressed support for the initiative. In 2006, the COLL course successfully became part of the Rice curriculum. Many more COLL courses started and have been o ered continuously since 2007. Gustin said this is one of his proudest achievements.
Gustin’s teaching philosophy centers on empathy and understanding for every student at Rice. He said he wants to be there for students, not just academically but personally, especially during pivotal moments in their college journey.
“I feel like there are a lot of students who are interested in going into medical school a er graduation. They care about learning, and they care about grades,” Gustin said. “It’s such an amazing feeling to have people
who are at a turning point in their life, and you can be supportive. It’s such a positive thing about my job.”
Beatriz Lee Fernandes, a Sid Richardson College freshman and international student who is currently taking BIOS 201: Introductory Biology I, recently had to return to Brazil for a month to maintain her visa status. She said she was grateful for Gustin’s consideration during her absence.
“For discussion groups [in BIOS 201], I will not lose points because of my absence,” Fernandes said. “But for other classes, I’m mostly losing points in lab … Dr. Gustin is so caring, understanding and accessible.”
Fernandes said Gustin’s teaching style keeps students engaged and makes complex topics easier to understand.
“He is really good at breaking down complicated information and making it digestible for us,” Fernandes said. “He is so passionate about all the things he brought to class.”
Having taught introductory biology for over 20 years, Gustin said he has continually experimented with his teaching methods and exam formats. One of his teaching experiments is replacing traditional nal exams with 30-minute podcasts, in which students work in pairs to explain biological research published within the past ve years.
He said he takes issue with some traditional teaching methods, including some biology textbooks that Rice courses o en require.
“I wanted people, when they were done with intro bio, even now, to have a very good sense of modern biology,” Gustin said. “Sometimes the textbooks emphasize things that are very old. It’s horrible stu .”
Vijay Arora, a current teaching assistant for BIOS 201, said his experience in the course last fall prepared him for the challenges ahead, like conducting research in labs as a pre-med student.
“Dr. Gustin is smart, creative and caring,” said Arora, a Martel College sophomore. “You learn how to approach future classes in his class, which I think is one of the most important things.”
Gustin said another key part of his teaching philosophy is encouraging students to collaborate and foster cooperation. Students this semester are asked to provide positive feedback to their classmates’ podcasts as part of their final project.
“I just want students to know that the strongest reviews come from their peers,” Gustin said. “Maybe if I make a more uni ed statement of how I think about education, I’d say the most important thing is peer-topeer interactions in learning.”
On Friday mornings, many students, including those not enrolled in BIOS 201, enjoy dressing up and attending the class for College Night, when residents in each college spend the day celebrating their college family. Despite many students showing up in humorous or unconventional costumes, Gustin said his class stays orderly.
“I tell the visitors, ‘okay, the people here register in this class, and you must respect them,’” Gustin said. “I’m asking them to respect their peers. Not to respect me, but to respect their peers.”
While teaching BIOS 368: Monster, Gustin aims to broaden students’ perspectives by introducing materials that connect biology to wider questions about science and society. He showed a bag of books he had recently borrowed from Fondren Library as an example of the wide range of material he explores.
“Sometimes we have a student who’s a philosophy major, another one who’s a political science major or a mechanical engineering major … I started reading lots of short stories two years ago when I rst started teaching BIOS 368 and found so many amazing stories, like how our brain creates reality and all kinds of worlds, which was depicted in Esther Yi’s ‘Moon.”
Gustin also said he visits each residential college about twice a month to have “bio lunches” with students in his BIOS 110: Introduction to Research course. Brannon Chapman, a Sid Rich freshman, said the lunches allow him to talk more casually with Gustin than in class.
“Talking with Big Mike in a less formal setting was great,” Chapman said. “We talked a little about bio. Actually, we … branched out, and talked about Paris and Dr. Gustin being a magister.”
Gustin said the age di erence between him and his students does not deter him from bringing energy to his classroom and interacting closely with students.
“Some people are really old when they are 50, and some people are really young when they’re 90,” Gustin said. “I’ve always had a lot of energy, and now I have more energy than before. ”
Students work with CCD resources as job opportunities decline
LILY NGUYEN FOR THE THRESHER
For Lovett College freshman Paul Eakin, the pressure of career searching has already set in.
“I feel that pressure to network or to go to parties to make connections even though I don’t really want to,” Eakin said. “I have a fear of falling behind in the business eld when I hear of people getting internships just in their freshman year.”
According to the 2025 Internships Index by Handshake, a job application platform, internship listings have fallen by an average of 15% in all industries within the last two years.
For prospective finance majors like Eakin, applications in the finance industry have doubled in the last year, while listings have decreased by 18%.
Rice’s Center for Career Development offers advising sessions and career events such as the Career and Internship Expo every semester. This fall, the CCD expanded the expo from a one-day to a two-day event to allow students to have more time and access to companies.
Bess Glenn, a Lovett junior, said meeting with CCD counselors helped her clarify career goals and find an internship in chemical engineering.
“I did an internship last summer with Burns & McDonnell in their food and beverage division,” Glenn said. “The CCD was very crucial in helping me find it and how to handle the interview.”
Indrani Maitra, a Sid Richardson College senior, said she finds the CCD to be more helpful for certain career paths than others. A civil engineering major, Maitra said she found most of her internship opportunities on LinkedIn.
According to a 2020 poll, 17% of students who use LinkedIn for job searches say it’s the most helpful resource among websites such as Indeed, Handshake and Glassdoor.
“I went on LinkedIn and applied to probably 100 internships with all sorts of
rms, and I only heard back from ve,” Maitra said. “I think that’s probably the result of me not networking a lot, but it could also be the general state of the job market.”
The CCD hosted a “Careers in the Energy Transition” event in September with the department of civil and environmental engineering in an effort to expand resources for more majors, said CCD Director Ivette Mekdessi.
“The CCD is committed to serving every Rice student through both tailored and cross-disciplinary resources,” Mekdessi
wrote in an email to the Thresher. “We recognize that each industry has its own unique recruiting timelines and expectations, and we actively collaborate with departments and campus partners to ensure that our advising, employer engagement, and programming reflect these nuances.”
Glenn said the CCD taught her valuable knowledge about the internship interview process.
“I met with a career counselor when I was prepping for all my interviews,” Glenn said. “It was so helpful, because I otherwise would have just gone in and answered however I felt like.”
Eakin said he has also benefitted from CCD resources, but consultations and career fairs did little to lower the stress of finding an internship.
“I thought the expo was a solid event, and I wanted to explore the companies that were there, but there was a pressure to network and go out of my comfort zone because that’s how you get those internships,” Eakin said.
Glenn said she expected to feel stressed when looking for career opportunities. Knowing that motivated her to reach out to the CCD for resources in preparation.
“I think in terms of finding an internship, you do have to play a fairly active role and take initiative,” Glenn said. “There is going to be some stress that comes with that because you can’t expect things to fall into your lap.”
RUBY
SIENA DAMIANI / THRESHER
The Rice Philharmonics blend tradition and new talent
creatively through this process.
Music, laughter and applause lled the Rice Memorial Chapel on Sunday as the Rice Philharmonics held their rst concert of the academic year. A diverse set list featured a variety of modern songs, as well as a few Phils classics: a song about Baker 13 and “Africa” by TOTO.
The concert marks the first for five new members after auditions took place earlier this fall.
“It felt really nice to be with all of our new Phils and the new group, singing together and having this community experience was so fun, I felt energized by the crowd,” said Ella Martinez, Phils treasurer and Lovett College sophomore.
The Phils arranged their own music for this show, as they do for most of their performances. Music director Josh Paik said he enjoys expressing himself
“The arrangements are really the heart and soul of what we perform. I was looking over every person’s arrangement, making sure that it was complex but possible,” said Paik, a
We’re trying to strike this balance, and it creates a really cool dynamic where you get to have this creative outlet, discuss with other people, come up with ideas and put them on stage.
Josh Paik PHILS MUSIC DIRECTOR
Duncan College senior. “We’re trying to strike this balance, and it creates a really cool dynamic where you get to have this creative outlet, discuss with other people, come up with ideas and put them on stage.”
Lovett junior Dylan Wall said he enjoyed seeing his friends perform live and experiencing Phils traditions, like a mid-show improv session.
“It was really cool to see them take a song from the audience with no preparation and turn it into something really beautiful and in just less than ve minutes,” Wall said.
Phils alumnus Humberto Gilmer ’14 was the chosen soloist from the crowd for the improv section. He sang “Galileo” by the Indigo Girls with the current students in the group. Gilmer said he enjoyed coming back and seeing the Phils continue to create good music. He also participated in the alumni feature, “Africa.”
It’s weird because I know nobody, everybody’s graduated … but ‘Africa’ was still the same, the choreography was still the same, they still did Baker 13,” Gilmer said. “Everything that’s old is new again in some ways. Humberto Gilmer
RICE ALUMNUS ’14
“It’s weird because I know nobody, everybody’s graduated … but ‘Africa’ was still the same, the choreography was still the same, they still did Baker 13,” Gilmer said. “Everything that’s old is new again in some ways.”
ANGELICA HERNANDEZ THRESHER STAFF
COURTESY DORIAN ECHASSERIAU
The Rice Philharmonics perform at their fall 2025 concert in the Rice Memorial Chapel. The concert featured appearances by current students and alumni visiting for homecoming.
Five manga that belong on your bookshelf, from ght scenes to friendships
CHARLIE CRUZ THRESHER STAFF
Over the last decade, manga has become a global phenomenon in entertainment. Yet some stories remain overlooked, dismissed as “just manga” or lacking an anime adaptation to legitimize them. That’s a mistake. These five works aren’t just good manga; they’re literature that happens to be told through sequential art. They will break you, challenge how you see the world or leave you with a profound appreciation for what storytelling can achieve. Read them not because they’re manga but because they’re some of the best stories ever told.
Takehiko Inoue, “Vagabond,” 9/10, 327 chapters, on hiatus
“Vagabond” transforms the historical tale of legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi into manga’s greatest meditation on self-improvement and spiritual growth. Inoue doesn’t just draw beautiful fight scenes, though his artwork does reach heights that blur the line between illustration and fine art. He also uses Musashi’s violent journey to explore fundamental questions: What does it mean to be strong? What is our purpose? How do we grow beyond our worst impulses?
The manga traces Musashi’s evolution from a beast-like killer obsessed with becoming “invincible under the heavens” to a man who understands that true strength lies in connection, kindness and living in harmony with the world.
Every arc challenges both Musashi and the reader to reconsider what mastery actually means. The unfinished status stings, but what exists stands as proof that manga can achieve the philosophical depth of any literary novel.
In this thriller, Dr. Kenzo Tenma saves a child’s life then watches that child grow into a serial killer who leaves destruction across Europe. Tenma’s hunt to stop the monster he created becomes an unflinching examination of human nature, morality and the systems that shape us.
Urasawa’s genius lies in his character work: Every person, no matter how briefly they appear, feels fully realized. The narrative sprawls across 162 chapters without wasting a single page, building a world where evil isn’t supernatural but disturbingly human.
The final revelation of who Johan truly is and what created him delivers answers that feel both inevitable and shocking. Unlike most thrillers that promise big and deliver small, “Monster” earns every moment of its buildup. This is what genre fiction looks like when executed with literary ambition and flawless craft.
Miaki Sugaru, “Three Days of Happiness,” 10/10, 18 chapters, completed
A broke 20-year-old sells 30 years of his life for 300,000 yen, learning he only has three months to live. In just 18 chapters, Sugaru crafts a romance that doubles as a philosophical inquiry: What gives life value? The story examines wasted potential, false hope and the quiet ways we sabotage ourselves with brutal honesty.
The romance between Kusunoki and Miyagi, the woman assigned to observe his final months, develops with devastating inevitability. Sugaru understands that love stories gain power not from grand gestures but from small moments of recognition between two
Rice wins big at the GRAMMYs
ARMAN SAXENA A&E EDITOR
The 2026 GRAMMY nominations dropped last week, and three Rice names made the list: Blanton Alspaugh ’87, Nicholas Newton ’19 and Karim Sulayman ’01. Their nods continue a long line of alumni recognized by The Recording Academy for reshaping the soundscape from opera stages to Disney scores.
Here are some Rice-connected artists who’ve taken home, or come close to taking home, a golden gramophone.
Germaine Franco (’84 and Master of Music ’87)
A composer, conductor and Rice trailblazer, Franco made history as the rst woman to score a Disney animated feature with “Encanto.” Her soundtrack brought Latin percussion and folkloric instrumentation into the Disney canon, earning her a GRAMMY win for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and an Oscar nomination. Franco continues to champion representation in lm scoring, blending orchestral precision with the vibrancy of her Mexican-American roots.
Caroline Shaw (’04)
At 30, Shaw became the youngest-ever winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition “Partita for 8 Voices.” The Shepherd School alumna has since racked up ve GRAMMY awards, including Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for her experimental work with the vocal group Roomful of Teeth. Shaw’s genre-bending collaborations, from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to Kanye West, showcase her ability to make classical music feel entirely new.
Blanton Alspaugh (Master of Music ’87)
A veteran producer with Soundmirror, Alspaugh has quietly become one of the most decorated names in classical
people who see each other clearly.
The brevity is essential. At this length, every page carries weight. It’s a story about learning to value what you have before it’s gone, told with precision that longer works rarely achieve.
Ai Yazawa, “NANA,” 9/10, 84 chapters, on hiatus
A bible of human relationships. Two women named Nana meet on a train to Tokyo and become roommates, then best friends, then the center of each other’s entire world. What Yazawa gets right is something most manga misses entirely: what it actually feels like to be a woman.
This isn’t some male writer’s idea of female friendship. Yazawa knows these patterns from the inside, knows exactly why women get trapped in them and knows how fashion becomes a language for saying things you can’t speak out loud. The manga’s been on hiatus since 2009, which sucks because major plotlines never resolve. But what’s there captures messy, real relationships better than almost anything else in the medium.
A man cursed with regeneration burns alive for years, then seeks revenge. From that premise, Fujimoto builds a postapocalyptic epic that’s equal parts action, philosophy and meta-commentary on violence in media. “Fire Punch” refuses to be just one thing. It’s a revenge story that questions revenge. It’s also a dystopian tale that explores how people find meaning in seemingly meaningless circumstances and meditation on identity that asks whether we can ever escape the roles others force us to play.
Fujimoto throws taboos at the reader: incest, religious extremism, gender identity and cannibalism, not for shock value but to explore how desperation warps morality. The manga’s willingness to break every storytelling convention means it occasionally loses focus, but that messiness feels essential to what Fujimoto is doing. This is a work about people trying to create coherent narratives in a world that refuses coherence. By the end, you’ll understand why Fujimoto became one of manga’s most distinctive voices. “Fire Punch” proves that genre fiction can be experimental, challenging and still devastatingly emotional.
production. With 11 GRAMMY wins, he’s been behind some of the genre’s most acclaimed orchestral and choral recordings. Alspaugh’s work combines technical mastery with deep musical empathy, earning him nominations nearly every year and solidifying his legacy as a cornerstone of modern classical sound.
Karim Sulayman (Master of Music ’01)
Sulayman’s expressive tenor and theatrical presence have made him a standout on international stages. His 2019 GRAMMY win for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album recognized his classical solo vocal album “Songs of Orpheus,” a collection of baroque arias that balance virtuosity with vulnerability. His latest nomination continues a career rooted in storytelling, empathy and political consciousness.
Douglas Brinkley (faculty)
Brinkley, a Rice history professor, has found an unexpected GRAMMY niche, writing liner notes. Brinkley has previously been nominated for Best Album Notes for his detailed essays accompanying archival music releases, bridging academic insight with cultural commentary. Outside of penning album notes, he’s won GRAMMY awards for the production of jazz ensemble and latin jazz albums.
Nicholas Newton (Master of Music ’19)
A rising bass-baritone and 2019 Shepherd School of Music graduate, Newton earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Opera Recording for his performance in Jake Heggie’s “Intelligence,” which premiered at the Houston Grand Opera. The work, produced by fellow alumnus Blanton Alspaugh, tells the story of two women who risk their lives as spies during the Civil War. Newton’s nomination, alongside Alspaugh and tenor Sulayman, highlights the Shepherd School’s growing presence on the international stage and its deep ties to Houston’s musical community.
COURTESY VIZ MEDIA
On ‘Getting Killed,’ Geese revives the rock genre Sudan Archives’ rhythm never dies with ‘THE BPM’
ARMAN SAXENA A&E EDITOR
With Geese, it’s hard to believe the hype. The group has been called “Gen Z’s first Great American rock band” by GQ, and at just 23, frontman Cameron Winter has already been given the genius label, further cemented by his 2024 solo album, “Heavy Metal,” deemed by the legendary Nick Cave to be “a racked and wondrous thing.”
Does “Getting Killed” live up to this enormous hype? Somehow, yes.
Geese’s third record is sprawling and unhinged, fusing sounds from across the rock canon — Tom Waits; Steely Dan; Black Country, New Road; Animal Collective; CAN — while managing to sound like none of them.
The band’s genius lies not in mimicry, but in synthesis. They make chaos sound planned, cra ing an album that feels like it could fall apart at any second yet never goes o the rails.
The opener, “Trinidad,” sets that precedent immediately. Its rst seconds evoke a classic blues rock jam, but the illusion shatters when featured rapper JPEGMAFIA bursts in, screaming “There’s a bomb in my car!”
It’s a thrilling, deranged statement of intent — proof that Geese refuses to let listeners settle. The panned drums, distorted guitars and sharp, stuttering rhythms create a sense of vertigo. It’s the kind of sonic mess that feels alive.
“Cobra” ips that intensity into something tender, shimmering with restraint. The band proves they can do subtle as well as manic, layering fuzzedout bass and sparkling guitar around Winter’s falsetto. Winter’s writing has always irted with the surreal, but here it feels newly grounded.
“Husbands” threads together Biblical imagery and absurdist humor, its tribal percussion giving way to one of the album’s most gorgeous choruses.
“Half Real” and “Au Pays du Cocaine” dive even deeper into melancholy, peeling away the band’s raucous edges to reveal something tender and bruised. “And tell ‘em get rid of the bad times / And get rid of the good times too,” Winter sighs, a line that hits harder for how casually it’s delivered.
For all of Winter’s magnetic presence, “Getting Killed” is far from a one-man show. Drummer Max Bassin remains a revelation. His work is kinetic, creative and borderline unhinged, and the rhythmic backbone he builds keeps the band’s genre-hopping cohesive.
Dominic DiGesu’s basslines pulse like a nervous system, and Emily Green’s guitar work threads everything together, alternating between intricate texture and blistering lead. Together, they sound less like a backing band and more like a single organism.
ARMAN SAXENA A&E EDITOR
“The BPM is the power.” Brittney Parks, best known under the name Sudan Archives, repeats this line like a mantra, and in a sense, that’s what her third studio album, “THE BPM,” becomes: a mantra for vitality.
Across 15 tracks, Parks builds a world where rhythm isn’t just something to dance to; it’s something to live through. The beat becomes an act of survival and perseverance in the modern world. Following 2019’s “Athena” and 2022’s “Natural Brown Prom Queen,” this newest album nds Parks at her most explosive and her most vulnerable.
Her blend of R&B, house, pop and her signature violin doesn’t just blur genres, it reframes them as extensions of the body.
Each track vibrates with motion, bending and breaking its own ground through layered production and unpredictable form. It’s easy to hear traces of FKA twigs, PinkPantheress and Kelela in her sound palette, but no one fuses these genres like Parks.
The opening track “DEAD” sets the tone, or rather, the pulse. Chamber strings utter above a pounding intelligent dance music beat before the song dissolves into drum-andbass intensity. “Where my old self at? / Where my new self at?” she asks, her voice ickering between registers like a system rebooting.
glittering house anthem that radiates self-con dence and self-possession. The latter, featuring James McCall IV, channels religious imagery into a kinetic duet: “Apparently we are Adam and Eve / We killed all our idols.”
What “THE BPM” understands, and what most “empowerment pop” forgets, is that joy is most powerful when it’s hard won. “SHE”S GOT PAIN,” “DAVID & GOLIATH” and “A COMPUTER LOVE” all nd transcendence in contradiction: sensuality and grief, faith and rebellion and the digital and the divine.
Then comes the title track, “THE BPM.” It’s less a song than a thesis statement: “The BPM is the power.”
Over a fast, glowing house beat, Parks transforms the club into a communal engine. The lyrics evoke a collective body, strangers in rhythm and nding freedom in synchronization.
Even “MS. PAC MAN,” the album’s lone mis re, ts the ethos. It’s brash and cheeky, a comic interlude where the skit overstays its welcome, but it still captures the chaos that Parks courts so fearlessly.
The title track is the record’s thesis: unpredictable but full of purpose. Winter howls over the chaos, “I’m getting killed by a pretty good life,” a lyric that distills the record’s existential humor. It’s a line worthy of David Byrne or Alex Turner at their best, walking the line between irony and sincerity.
Beneath that humor lies something darker: A confrontation with mortality, mundanity and the paradox of being young but already nostalgic for your youth. The band’s ability to translate those contradictions into sound is staggering.
“Islands of Men” evolves like a fever dream, its shifting guitar riffs and new sonic textures emerging every few bars. Around the 3:40 mark, a new riff slides in, and suddenly the track feels infinite, like the band could jam for hours and still find consistently interesting sonic directions to explore.
“100 Horses” might be Winter’s sharpest piece of writing yet. It’s mythic and funny and devastating all at once, full of lines that sound like ancient proverbs rewritten for the internet age. “General Adams told me / ‘Son, you were born to die scared,’” he sings, his voice quivering over a rhythm that’s both haunting and inviting.
Even when the band dials back the chaos, they never lose that sense of propulsion. “Bow Down” and “Taxes” both build slowly, layering shakers, synths and harmonized guitars into an unstoppable groove.
“Long Island City Here I Come” ends the album as it began — with glorious, feverish noise — but now the chaos feels earned. It’s triumphant, like the band has survived its own self-destruction.
If “3D Country” was Geese’s great leap forward, “Getting Killed” is the band’s moment of arrival. It’s the rare album that captures both youth’s disorientation and defiance — the feeling of being wide-eyed and terrified, but charging ahead anyway.
“DEAD” sees body and machine meeting halfway, rhythm stitching them together. This fusion de nes “THE BPM.” Parks, who co-produced much of the record, arranges each track like a living organism, her violin moving through the circuitry of synths and breakbeats and her voice carrying the weight of memory.
And yet, beneath all that electronic polish, “THE BPM” never feels synthetic. There’s something startlingly natural about it. Parks’s violin isn’t just an instrument here — it’s her body rendered audible.
This rebellion is clearest on “A BUG’S LIFE,” a swaggering club track that reads like a self-portrait in motion. “‘Cause she never looks back / And she can’t go home,” she sings, straddling con dence and melancholy. It’s both a ex and a lament — a song about moving forward when the past no longer ts.
“MY TYPE” and “THE NATURE OF POWER” continue that narrative arc. The former bursts with braggadocio, a
When the album regains momentum with “LOS CINCI,” it’s clear she’s steering her chaos with intention. That track, a re ection on change and memory, folds nostalgia into motion: “Like the trees I’m feeling grounded, and I got my peace.”
“HEAVEN KNOWS,” the album’s closer, ends not in explosion but in reprieve. Its piano chords and echoing refrains bring the pulse down gently, as though returning the listener to the body a er an out-of-body experience.
Parks once described her alter ego “Gadget Girl” as “self-made and selfcontained and utilizing the things and tools around you to be the best version of yourself.” That’s exactly what “THE BPM” achieves. It’s a record about recomposing the self, not in spite of the machine, but through it.
The piano, the violin, the synths, the kicks: they’re all organs in the same evolving body. We live in an age obsessed with perfection and escape — an age that hides from the messy beauty of being alive. “THE BPM” rejects that entirely. It’s chaotic, vulnerable and de antly human.
The beat, like the body, never stops. And as long as it keeps going, there’s power in every pulse.
COURTESY PARTISAN RECORDS
COURTESY STONES THROW RECORDS
Top Track: “Taxes”
Top Track: “A BUG’S LIFE”
Football wins again amid quest for bowl eligibility
ANDERSEN PICKARD SPORTS EDITOR
Owls past and present were in attendance Saturday as Rice football defeated the University of Alabama at Birmingham on homecoming weekend. Backed by a strong defensive showing in the second half, head coach Scott Abell’s team held o the Blazers 24-17 at Rice Stadium.
An early mistake cost Rice the opportunity to score rst. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Chase Jenkins fumbled near the line of scrimmage and UAB capitalized on the turnover with a 26yard touchdown pass.
Rice answered with a 10-play scoring drive that featured eight consecutive rush attempts. The Owls tied the game as Jenkins found redshirt senior receiver Tyson Thompson for a 23-yard
touchdown pass.
“That’s complementary o ense,” Jenkins said. “The running backs went hard, and Tyson gets open down the sideline. Touchdown.”
Jenkins nished the game 11-for15 passing with 41 passing yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He has thrown for a touchdown in seven consecutive games, excluding an Oct. 11 loss in which he exited due to injury. The game Saturday was the rst of his career with multiple touchdown passes. He also rushed for 56 yards in the victory.
Rice’s defense forced UAB to stall, aided by a sack from redshirt senior linebacker Andrew Awe. He nished the game with a team-leading seven tackles and two sacks. Awe was recently nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, which honors the most outstanding walk-on player in the Football
Bowl Subdivision.
The Owls regained possession in plus territory a er redshirt senior safety Peyton Stevenson got his hand on the punt. Despite starting 48 yards from the end zone, Rice put together a methodical nine-minute, 19-play drive, culminating in a one-yard touchdown rush from freshman running back D’Andre Hardeman Jr.
“It was very workman-like today,” Abell said. “I haven’t seen many 19-play drives. We drove the eld, put points on the board, converted on fourth down really well.”
The Owls’ lead was short-lived as UAB scored a eld goal and a touchdown on its next two drives. Despite some early momentum, Rice took a 17-14 de cit into the locker room at hal ime.
The third quarter belonged to Rice, which scored 10 points on a three-yard touchdown catch from graduate receiver Aaron Turner and a 38-yard eld goal from redshirt junior kicker Enock Gota.
“The third quarter was one of the best quarters we’ve played all year on both sides of the football,” Abell said.
A blend of momentum on o ense and defense allowed Rice to possess the ball for more than two-thirds of the quarter.
“We really controlled the football with time of possession,” Abell said. “I thought that was huge. We did a lot of good things, really controlled the tempo, put 10 on the board in the third quarter [and] took control.”
UAB committed six penalties in the third quarter alone, making it di cult for their o ense or defense to nd momentum.
Rice took a 24-17 lead into the fourth quarter and accrued just two yards over the next 15 minutes. However, the Owls’ defense bailed out the o ense, holding the Blazers scoreless to nish out the second half. The two teams punted six times in the
fourth quarter and were a combined 1-for-10 on third down.
“When it’s a critical moment like that, I want it in our hands,” said graduate defensive lineman Tony Anyanwu. “We love for a chance to step up to the challenge like that. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The victory propelled Rice to 5-5 (2-4 in the American Conference) with two games le . One more win would automatically clinch bowl eligibility for the Owls, but it won’t come easy. Rice’s two remaining opponents — the University of North Texas and the University of South Florida — are tied for second place in the American.
The third quarter was one of the best quarters we’ve played all year on both sides of the football.
Scott Abell FOOTBALL HEAD COACH
“I said at the beginning of the year, if we’re not competing for an opportunity to go to the bowl in late November, I’d be disappointed,” Abell said. “And here we are. Next time we step on the eld, it’ll be late November and we’re competing for an opportunity to get win six.”
The Owls could still make a bowl game if they lose out. If there are more bowl game openings than bowl-eligible teams, the remaining spots will be lled by vewin programs with the highest Academic Progress Rate. Rice ranked No. 18 among 136 schools in the 2025 APR ranking.
The Owls will have a bye week before hosting UNT for their nal home game of the season Nov. 22.
Strong second half propels Duncan to powderpu title
game before hal ime.
At 11 a.m. on a chilly Sunday morning, Field 2 was packed with fans watching as Duncan College and Wiess College faced o in the intramural powderpu championship.
A strong second half propelled Duncan to a 12-6 victory and their second consecutive powderpu title.
Wiess broke Duncan’s defense multiple times, leading 6-0 for most of the rst half. Eventually, Duncan caught up, tying the
The championship was back and forth, with both Duncan and Wiess having a couple of interceptions right at the end zone, ruining the other team’s chance of a lead.
Towards the end of the game, Duncan was able to slip through Wiess’s defense and get a touchdown, pulling ahead 12-6. Wiess had very little time to catch up, and Duncan held on for the victory.
“It was incredible,” said Mahtab Dastur, a Duncan sophomore. “This was my rst
year playing. They were previously coming o of a championship, and now we have another championship. I think that speaks for itself.”
Wiess senior and coach Savan Patel said he was impressed with how the team implemented strategy and found competitive success offensively and defensively.
“I’m really proud of the team,” Patel said. “I don’t think I would have changed anything. They played super hard.”
Patel has coached many of the same
players for four years, and he said he was very happy to embark on this journey with them, watching them grow as players.
“This was more of a team o the eld than it was on,” Patel said. “I think we care more than anyone else.”
Duncan had a losing record two years ago but quickly reversed course and became back-to-back champions.
“We practiced weekly,” Dastur said. “It was a lot of practice, a lot of joking, a lot of coaches yelling for us to get serious and a lot of injuries, but we still made it.”
ZAID RASHID FOR THE THRESHER
CAYDEN CHEN / THRESHER
A Duncan College powderpu player runs with the football during Sunday’s 12-6 victory against Wiess. Duncan has won the powderpu championship in back-to-back seasons.
KAIRI MANO / THRESHER
Graduate receiver Aaron Turner lunges toward the end zone during Saturday’s 24-17 victory over the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Rice is now 5-5 and one game away from clinching bowl eligibility.
The defense was anchored by an 11save performance from junior goalkeeper Kirsten Ruf, who kept USF off the scoreboard, as well as strong outings by defenders Lily Reuscher and Carsyn Martz, who both played the full 110 minutes.
The match remained scoreless after overtime and went to a penalty shootout, giving the Owls a chance to capitalize on a specialty that they’ve practiced all season.
“Everybody on the team has probably taken 25 [shots] since August,” Lee said. “I think our strategy is very sound, and the kids who go take them for us are very confident in their ability to score under pressure.”
The shootout went to seven frames, ultimately ending in a 6-5 Rice victory
on a missed USF shot over the crossbar, sending Rice through to the final.
“I dove the wrong way on the PK, so I thought it was in,” Ruf said. “It took me a second to realize we’d just won the thing. It was honestly probably the best moment in my soccer career so far.”
It took me a second to realize we’d just won the thing. It was honestly probably the best moment in my soccer career so far.
Kirsten
Ruf JUNIOR GOALKEEPER
After the fifth-seeded University of Texas at San Antonio upset top-seeded University of Memphis later that evening,
the championship matchup was set for the Owls, as well as their chance for an NCAA tournament bid.
The match on Sunday looked all too similar to Rice’s contest with USF, as the offense struggled against UTSA, producing only five shots on goal to the Roadrunners’ 10.
Ruf’s command in goal shone again as she racked up nine saves and held UTSA scoreless through the first 90 minutes.
“I think during the regular season we only had three shutouts,” Lee said, “Getting to overtime without being scored on was a really big deal. Kirsten Ruf was fantastic in goal, and that made a big difference.”
Graduate forward Olivia Duvall gave the Owls a chance with two scoring opportunities late in the first overtime period, but they were stopped by the UTSA defense.
“Their kid made a great sliding tackle on her right at the end,” Lee said. “That’s the one I thought was gonna be her moment. She did everything she could. I just thought the UTSA kid made a great play.”
Just a few minutes later, UTSA broke through Rice’s defense and scored the game-winning goal that ultimately ended the Owls’ season.
“UTSA got their chance, they put it away, and that’s just the way it goes sometimes,” Lee said.
As the players look ahead to next year, Ruf said she’s confident that the Owls will be back for another shot at the conference title.
“I’m confident in our ability to go and win a final next year,” Ruf said. “I think that just knowing we can compete in this conference and knowing we can compete for a championship will fire us up a lot for next season.”
Volleyball sweeps last two home games, claims regular season title
KEYA PATEL THRESHER STAFF
Rice volleyball closed out its home schedule with back-to-back sweeps over the University of North Texas and Florida Atlantic University last weekend at Tudor Fieldhouse, clinching the American Conference regular season title and extending its win streak to 13 matches.
The Owls (17-8, 13-1 American) entered the weekend needing two wins to secure the conference crown and delivered without losing a set at home.
Rice defeated North Texas 3-0 (2523, 25-14, 25-22) on Friday, holding the Mean Green to a .087 hitting percentage. Junior opposite hitter Kellen Dorotik led the Owls with 14 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while senior outside hitter Taylor Preston contributed 10 kills.
I’m just so happy for the team. They’ve worked so hard, and they’re just such a good group. This group of seniors deserves it. They’re loyal, they’re committed, they’re beautiful humans. I’m the proudest coach ever.
Genny Volpe VOLLEYBALL HEAD COACH
Senior setter Kaia Mateo guided the offense with 33 assists, and senior defensive specialist Darby Harris recorded her 1,000th career assist in the win. Defensively, senior libero Gaby Mansfield led all players with 20 digs, while junior middle blocker Arissa Smith added five blocks at the net.
Head coach Genny Volpe said her team’s composure and adaptability won the match.
“That was a tough match and a gritty
win for our team,” Volpe said. “North Texas put up a strong defense and made us uncomfortable. It took us a while to find our offensive rhythm, but I’m really proud of Kellen for stepping up offensively and being a go-to hitter for us.”
The Owls returned to the court two days later for their Senior Day matchup against FAU, closing out their home schedule with a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-19, 26-24).
The first set saw a tight exchange of rallies before Rice capitalized on a series of FAU serving errors to pull ahead late.
The Owls went on a 9-0 scoring run in the second set behind consecutive blocks from freshman outside hitter Aaliyah Smith and Preston to build a comfortable lead. Dorotik and Smith each added kills to hold off a brief FAU run.
The third set proved to be the most competitive, with Rice coming back from a 22-20 deficit to close out the match. Preston and Dorotik combined for several late kills, and back-to-back FAU errors sealed the 26-24 victory.
With the win, Rice finished its conference schedule with a 13-1 record.
The Owls have not lost a match since Sept. 26 against Temple University and have swept 10 of their last 13 opponents.
Mateo and Mansfield both earned American Conference weekly honors last week. The award marks Mateo’s third consecutive week achieving the honor after leading the conference with 11.67 assists per set. Mansfield adds this week’s honor to her previous Defensive Player of the Week award.
Following the victory on Sunday, Volpe spoke highly of the senior class.
“I’m just so happy for the team. They’ve worked so hard, and they’re just such a good group,” Volpe said. “This group of seniors deserves it. They’re loyal, they’re committed, they’re beautiful humans. I’m the proudest coach ever.”
The Owls now turn their attention to the American Conference tournament later this month, entering postseason play as the league’s top seed.
Upcoming volleyball schedule
CAYDEN CHEN / THRESHER Middle blocker Lademi Ogunlana and outside hitter Kellen Dorotik raise their hands while attempting to block a shot from a Florida Atlantic University volleyball player on Sunday at Tudor Fieldhouse.
KAIRI MANO / THRESHER
Rice volleyball players celebrate during a match against the University of North Texas on Friday at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls are 13-1 in the American Conference, clinching the regular season title.
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The Backpage is the satire section of the Thresher, written this week by Charlie Maxson, Rykelle Sandidge and Max Scholl, and designed by Brandon Nguyen. For questions
