One by one, Rice students — numbering about 30 — filed through the shaded shrubbery and into the sunlight in front of Houston City Hall, joining the 13,500 to 15,000 No Kings protesters. Then, in the sweltering heat, and all at once, they raised their cardboard signs.
“This is what democracy looks like,” they chanted Saturday. The crowd was diverse — populated with frog suits, Statues of Liberty and hot dog vendors, — but had a shared purpose: protesting President Donald Trump and his administration.
They rallied behind signs such as “dump your fascist boyfriend,” “immigrants make America great,” and “elect a clown, expect a circus.”
The protests mark the second iteration of the protests since Trump took o ce in January, occurring as the U.S. government nears the third week of its shutdown.
Protests also occurred in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and New York City.
While any organized attendance of the protest was not done on behalf of Rice Young Democrats, Rice Young Democrats organizers held a No Kings picnic the day before, a sign making event and distributed No Kings pins along with face masks.
For some of the students, the protest was a way of engaging with a wider community.
“As a Rice student, you kind of find yourself in a sphere of just hearing about Rice,” said Osvaldo Salgado, a Hanszen College senior. “I think that Rice students should engage with more national and international conflicts.”
During the protests, students cheered on speakers condemning Trump’s actions,
from the U.S. sending of military aid to Israel to the deployment of the National Guard to Chicago.
Abigail Zimmerman, a Sid Richardson College senior, said recent immigration policies such as Trump’s major deportation efforts motivated her to attend the protest. Zimmerman is no stranger to protesting, she said.
“Right now, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to immigration policy and ICE,” Zimmerman said. “I think it’s important to make our voices heard, especially in a large show of force.”
The reason that I’m going to this protest is not because I hate this country. It’s because I think we should do whatever we can in our power to make it the best country possible.
AJ Jacobs
DUNCAN COLLEGE SENIOR
Familiar Seibel face to retire after 20
years
During her two decades working at Rice, Janice Robinson — or Ms. Janice, as she is better known — has been a constant presence, greeting students, giving them a compliment or asking them about exams. As she prepares to retire in December, the community must prepare to lose her.
Robinson has left an impression on most who frequent Seibel Servery from daily interactions in the servery.
Kumaren Anand, a Sid Richardson College junior, said this sentiment is common to most regular diners at the South Colleges.
“Ms. Janice has always been very, very sweet and kind, even in the early morning or late at night,” Anand said. “She’s always a great person to see when you’re having a bad day, and she makes the whole dining experience much, much happier than it could be.”
A Houston native, Robinson worked at the Williams Tower near the Galleria for 27 years before retiring in 2004 and coming to Rice in 2006.
JOCELYN CHEN / THRESHER
Janice Robinson, a ectionately known as Ms. Janice, swipes a student into the servery.
While Democrats praised the No Kings protests, some Republicans have reacted with derision.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said in an ABC interview that the protests across the country this weekend were “hate America” rallies. Duncan College senior Aj Jacobs said he disagreed with that sentiment.
“The reason that I’m going to this protest is not because I hate this country,” Jacobs said. “It’s because I think we should do whatever we can in our power to make it the best country possible.”
Volleyball extends win streak to seven
Nearly 800 spectators gathered in Tudor Fieldhouse on Sunday to watch a volleyball showdown between conference opponents Rice and Wichita State University. Rice’s victory in the match marked their seventh in a row, as the Owls’ record improved to 11-8 on the season and 7-1 in conference.
Rice’s most recent match coming into this contest was their 3-0 victory against Tulane University Oct. 15 in New Orleans, bringing their conference record to 6-1. This meant that the Owls were coming o a short rest for their match against Wichita State, who came into the match at 13-6 and 5-2 in conference.
“I’ve been in management all my life — that’s probably why I know how to talk,” Robinson said. “I retired, but I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to go back to work.’”
Student press freedom is a necessity, not a luxury
Robinson’s first job at Rice was on a contract with 13th Street Entertainment, a hospitality group, working in the Student Center. When the contract
ended, Robinson stayed at Rice and put the experience with communication she gained in management to work. She began in retail at Sammy’s, and then moved to the Whoo Deli at South Servery.
SEE MS. JANICE PAGE 9
The art of crafting the perfect party playlist OPINIONS PAGE 7
Queer community, allies celebrate National Coming Out Day SPORTS PAGE 14 Hockey club defeated by UH in rst game since 1941 A&E
“We had a mid-week game on the road, and I think some of that stu just catches up to you physically and mentally,” head coach Genny Volpe said. “It challenges the team to get through it, ght through it. That’s what championship teams do.”
Wichita State jumped ahead in the rst set, as a defensive e ort by Rice and a few early digs by senior libero Gaby Mans eld were not enough to keep the Shockers from storming out to an early 10-5 lead.
Coming out of an early timeout, senior outside hitter Taylor Preston put on the o ensive pressure with three kills in a 10-point span.
BENJAMIN SADOWSKI / THRESHER
Rice students gathered in front of Houston City Hall this Saturday as part of nationwide protests against the Trump administration.
AMELIA DAVIS THRESHER STAFF
PATRICK SHUKIS THRESHER STAFF
HONGTAO HU ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Admin announce sweeping disability and accessibility changes
JAMES CANCELARICH NEWS EDITOR
A er conducting a review on disability, Provost Amy Dittmar and Kelly Fox, executive vice president for operations, nance and support, announced in a campuswide email on Oct. 16 a series of expansive changes to accessibility and disability services.
The changes include more digital accessibility, a reorganization of disability services and policy updates.
“This initiative follows a thorough assessment conducted in collaboration with the Association on Higher Education and Disability and incorporates valuable feedback from our students and employees, who have expressed a desire for more robust services and increased engagement,” the email reads.
Digital Accessibility
The announcement launched the Digital Accessibility Campus Initiative, which features changes to digital content, websites and so ware applications. According to the announcement, the changes are to ensure that these resources are accessible and comply with federal regulations.
For students, one of the most immediate changes they might see is on Canvas pages.
“Anthology Ally” was launched on Canvas on Tuesday. The service provides automated feedback to professors on the accessibility of their course pages.
Angela Rabuck, the director of student lifecycle and academic technologies at the O ce of Information Technology, said one of the most common accessibility issues concerns PDFs where the text cannot be read by an auto reader.
Rabuck said professors now receive a score on their page with suggestions on how to improve accessibility. With a PDF, the program would identify that the text could not be read outside of the PDF.
“It’ll take what’s scanned in and converted into text that can then be searched and viewed di erently,” Rabuck said.
The program would also encourage professors to write descriptions of images and address contrast issues.
For students, the program will allow them to convert PDFs to other forms of text that might be easier to read or could be read by a screen reader. In addition, the Rice Canvas page now features settings for high contrast and dyslexia friendly text.
Rabuck said the OIT is holding a number of educational opportunities to get faculty and students up to date on the new technologies.
Restructuring
As part of the change, the Disability Resource Center has been reorganized into the Student Disability Resource Center, which will primarily focus on students, and Human Resources, which will support faculty and staff.
With the expansion of student admissions, we needed to restructure and add resources in order to better serve all of these important groups on campus.
Amy Dittmar HOWARD H. HUGHES PROVOST
“We recognized that the needs of our students are very different than the needs of our faculty and staff, and with the expansion of student admissions, we needed to restructure and add resources in order to better serve all of these important groups on campus,” Dittmar wrote in an email to the Thresher. “This is especially important as Rice continues
on its growth trajectory.”
According to the campuswide email, services will include case management, support to enhance learning experiences and referrals to external providers.
Rice also announced that Richard Baker would be assuming the role of Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 coordinator, a new role created to ensure compliance with federal law regarding accessibility.
“As Rice’s ADA and Section 504 coordinator, I’m dedicated to ensuring everyone has equitable access to our programs, services and facilities — from shaping accessibility policies to coordinating accommodations and appeals — as we continue building a more inclusive and welcoming campus for all,” Baker wrote in an email to the Thresher.
Policy Changes
An updated version of the disability policy, Policy 402, was expanded to provide more detailed guidance on how to provide accommodations. The new policy more clearly defines how disability accommodation requests work.
In addition, the policy more clearly defines the regulation around service animals and includes digital accessibility as part of university policy.
Alumnus runs for House seat in Texas 18th district special election
AISHA KHEMANI
SENIOR WRITER
When Stephen Huey ’03 graduated from Rice during the dot-com bust, computer science was one of the smallest majors on campus. Now, as a tech entrepreneur, he’s running as a Democrat in Texas’ 18th Congressional District special election.
The special election will be held on Nov. 4 to ll the seat le vacant by Sylvester Turner’s death.
“If you’d asked me in January, I never would have seen this coming,” Huey said. “I’ve never been part of the political establishment here.”
However, a er the initial race, Huey said he noticed that most of the candidates were seasoned attorneys well-established in the districts. This inspired Huey to enter the race himself.
“I thought maybe it was time for someone outside that world to step up, someone who’s spent their career solving real problems in business and in the community,” Huey said.
Huey moved to the district, which includes downtown Houston and is mostly urban, more than 20 years ago, shortly a er graduating from Rice. He has lived and worked there since and is now raising four children there with his wife, who is also a Rice alum.
It didn’t used to be so much vitriol and painting the other side as just evil.
Steven Huey
CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE
Born in Texas, he spent part of his childhood in Nigeria, where his parents worked as missionaries, before returning to the U.S. to study at Rice.
“You really appreciate what we have here when you’ve lived somewhere that’s had instability or corruption,” Huey said.
A er returning to the U.S., Huey said he began to notice some of the same
patterns of inequity and in uence he had seen abroad.
“Me and my Nigerian friends can talk all day long about corruption in Nigeria,” Huey said. “When I came back, I thought the United States is not like that at all. But it is.”
I thought maybe it was time for someone outside that world to step up, someone who’s spent their career solving real problems in business and in the community.
Steven Huey
CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE
That realization, he said, drives his call to reform money in politics.
“I’m severely limited in how much I can legally take in a donation,” Huey said. “Super PACs can come in unlimited millions, undisclosed donors. It’s not fair.”
Huey said he hopes to lead by focusing on dialogue over division and working across party lines.
“It didn’t used to be so much vitriol and painting the other side as just evil,” Huey said. “More Democrats need to be willing to go to unfamiliar spaces and show they’re listening and communicate more clearly how their policies can benefit people.”
Another major concern for him is education, Huey said. He attributed the concern to political turmoil in the Houston Independent School District.
“I have a lot of teacher friends,” Huey said. “At one point, I got to volunteer to teach Junior Achievement at [Jack Yates Senior High School], and recently I met with the principal to see how it’s going because I’ve heard a lot of stories from HISD.”
He said he has also stayed in touch with parents and teachers at other Houston schools, including Durham and Lantrip Elementary Schools, where concerns about instability have grown.
“At the end of the day, we all want the same things: safety, opportunity, and a fair shot,” Huey said. “I think we can get there if we start listening again.”
PHOEBE SCHOCKET / THRESHER
Stephen Huey ’03 is running for a House seat in the Texas 18th special election race. The seat was left vacant following Sylvester Turner’s death.
Conference critically engages with higher education and injustice
ABIGAIL CHIU & HONGTAO HU
SENIOR WRITER & ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Hundreds of academics, students and guest speakers gathered for the Second Foundings Conference from Oct. 10 to 13, hosted by Rice University.
In collaboration with the Universities Studying Slavery Consortium, Rice’s Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice considered how the legacies of slavery and segregation have shaped schools.
This marks the rst time the USS has met west of the Mississippi River at an institution that opened in the 20th century. The threeday conference saw 335 con rmed attendees hailing from 21 states.
At the conference, students and faculty presented on topics ranging from segregation scholarships to the e ects of Rice’s task force on the Academic Quadrangle.
Caleb McDaniel, a professor in the history department, was the main organizer of the conference and one of the co-chairs of the Rice task force, which ran from 2019 until 2023.
For McDaniel, the conference was a way to think through the legacies of slavery in the university system.
“How is the university that was founded a er the abolition of slavery still tied to the history of slavery?” McDaniel said. “Rice opened in 1912, but its ties are more extended through the fact that William Marsh Rice’s fortune made before the Civil War was
inextricable from the history of slavery.”
The conference was organized by the Texas chapter of the USS, which also includes Trinity University, Austin College, Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern University and Sam Houston State University.
The conference brought together academics from di erent departments and disciplines. Students, alumni and Houston community members were also in attendance. According to McDaniel, Saturday’s keynote lecture by Ruth J. Simmons, former president of Prairie View A&M University and Brown University, drew in a particularly large audience.
Simmons discussed critically reevaluating universities’ histories without erasing them in order to move forward with the advancements of equity in education. She also mentioned the current attacks on higher education, such as the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Harvard University.
Each day of the conference featured sessions, roundtable discussions and a keynote lecture. On Sunday, attendees took shuttles to the TSU University Museum.
Rice has been developing a partnership with TSU as part of its e orts to strengthen connections with HBCUs. One of the major themes of the task force’s nal recommendations was to build and invest in collaborations with institutions in the region, McDaniel said.
TSU faculty gave tours of displayed student murals in Mack H. Hannah Hall, which
LUCY LI / THRESHER
Ruth J. Simmons delivers a keynote address at the Second Foundings Conference, which critically engaed with histories of slavery and segregation. The conference was held by Rice University and Texas Southern University.
captures student perspectives on campus and social issues from the 1950s to 2010.
The mural program was begun by Dr. John T. Biggers, who allowed his senior art majors to paint the walls of Hannah Hall. One of these is Samabe Shabaks’ 1970 mural.
“The Shabaks mural is one of four explicitly political murals from the 1960s and 1970s in the North Hallway of the 2nd oor,” Benjamin Schachter, the digital humanities program manager, wrote in an email to the Thresher.
The mural depicts a Black community ghting police violence: in the foreground, two o cers are beating a Black woman.
“The o cers’ stance is eerily similar to Derek Chauvin’s murder of George Floyd and the re extinguisher underscores the scene’s violence,” Schachter wrote.
In the background, three uniformed members of the Black Panther Party re ri es at the o cers, one of which appears to be shot in the neck.
“The building in the background is covered in various pro-Black slogans and gra ti, including ‘‘Free Lee Otis Now!’ a reference to the treatment of Lee Otis Johnson,” Schachter wrote.
Johnson was one of the TSU Five, one of a small group of students indicted on charges of riot, assault, and murder resulting from
the TSU Riot.
The nal day concluded with a panel discussion of the academic quadrangle redesign, which stirred up controversy in the 2020 “Down with Willy” movement among students, alumni and community members about the placement and prominence of the William Marsh Rice statue which previously occupied the center of the quad.
Rice’s statue was relocated as part of the academic quadrangle redesign last semester. The statue is currently located in a corner owerbed by the welcome center with a plaque describing his history as a slaveowner. The task force formally concluded in 2023, but McDaniel said the impact of their work is still unfolding.
“Right now, there are, frankly, a lot of attacks being made on the study of the history of slavery and segregation and racial injustice,” McDaniel said. “That makes it all the more important for leading research institutions like Rice to lead the way, to continue to seek out the truth about these subjects.”
“That’s also something that Rice is in a position to do, not only because of the expertise we have on our faculty in these areas, which was really represented at the conference, but also because of the resources that we have as a university,” McDaniel said.
Educational escape rooms, games launched for cybersecurity awareness
From an in-person escape room to a Jeopardy-style game night, interactive activities are a part of the Information Security O ce and the O ce of Information Technology’s promotion of this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
The new e orts are part of an attempt to better engage the Rice community, said Christopher Freeman, ISO security awareness program manager.
“We want to break the mold and really step outside the norms,” Freeman said.
The national initiative of Cybersecurity Awareness Month stresses online safety, such as creating strong passwords, avoiding common phishing scams and reporting cyberrelated incidents.
However, Freeman said sending this information to the Rice community doesn’t guarantee that it will be received.
“You’re busy,” said Freeman. “If I ask you to always read an email, you might skim through it quickly. But what are you really pulling from that?”
In response, ISO is hosting the weekly “Save Sammy the Owl” escape room at the Miner Lounge every Tuesday of this October from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A portion of the puzzle requires players to organize information into three categories: general, sensitive and con dential. Another portion involves analyzing a set of emails and determining which ones are scams.
“They had to go through the learning process during the escape room,” said Freeman. “It really stuck with them.”
Carolina Balboa, the co-communications o cer for Rice Escape, an escape roombuilding club led by undergraduates, said she was impressed.
“That room was actually really fun,” said Balboa, a Baker College sophomore. “I appreciated that they were o ering this thing to students.”
Similarly, ISO held Cybersecurity Game Night at the Student Resource Center on Oct. 10. Drinks, food and merchandise were provided. Jones College junior Claire Friend said the highlight of the event was the cybersecurity-themed Jeopardy.
“It wasn’t like hitting everyone over the head with it, but it was still related to the event while also being fun,” said Friend.
ISO has developed several virtual games, including a paranormal escape room and a narrative-driven story about AI, to challenge a user’s cybersecurity knowledge. Freeman said the virtual games were created to accommodate students, faculty and sta who may not be able to attend an in-person event.
The e ort goes beyond the hedges. In partnership with EDUCAUSE, a nonpro t organization that advances higher education through information technology, a live game show will take place on Oct. 24. Universities across the country will participate, Freeman said.
“Every score that we capture during
AKUL MITTAL / THRESHER
A student participates in the cyber security escape room. The game was designed to teach students about staying safe online and coincides with Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
the event goes to our total score,” Freeman said. “Then, as a university, we get national bragging rights.”
Although Cybersecurity Awareness Month ends on Oct. 31, ISO will continue with newsletters about real-world cyberattacks, alongside travel and holiday tips.
More national cybersecurity events, including Data Security Week, National Password Day and Cybersecurity World Day, are around the corner.
“The cybersecurity awareness program is going to grow,” Freeman said. “It’s going to become better. We’re going to try to reach more people.”
COURTESY BENJAMIN SCHACHTER
A untitled mural on the walls of Texas Southern University, creator unknown but signed Samabe Shabaks, which depicts symbols associated with Civil Rights era Black radicalism.
CARLOS MENDOZA FOR THE THERSHER
Students weigh AI and CS majors
TEO KAKABADZE FOR THE THRESHER
McMurtry Auditorium buzzed with chatter as new students squeezed into rows for an Orientation Week information session on the arti cial intelligence major.
Some ipped through advising booklets, tracing course lists with their ngers; others leaned close, whispering comparisons with computer science.
The launch of Rice’s new AI major this fall has prompted students to rethink their plans and weigh computer science’s breadth against AI’s depth in machine learning, deep learning and robotics.
Some people think if they take the AI major, they’ll just learn how to use AI at work. But it’s really about understanding how AI works — it’s more theoretical and mathematical.
Vismay Ravikumar WILL RICE COLLEGE SOPHOMORE
Tim Zhang was admitted to Rice as an economics major, but knew he wanted to switch to something related to computer science. He said he didn’t hesitate when he heard the news — he immediately changed his intended major to AI.
“I chose AI instead of computer science because of the specialization,” said Zhang, a McMurtry College freshman. “The interdisciplinary nature and growing relevance of AI will be useful for the future.”
Meanwhile, Will Rice College sophomore Vismay Ravikumar said he spent months debating whether to switch before deciding to stay with computer science. He said the AI program looked interesting but too specialized for his goals.
“I looked at the classes — they’re interesting, but mathy,” Ravikumar said. “Starting later as a sophomore would mean taking extra credits, and I wanted a lighter load to explore other things.”
Ravikumar said the AI major seems geared toward students who want to do research or focus deeply on the technical side of machine learning.
“Some people think if they take the AI major, they’ll just learn how to use AI at work,” he said. “But it’s really about understanding how AI works — it’s more theoretical and mathematical.”
Ravikumar also added that some students are cautious about declaring the AI major so early in its development. Most AI courses have no reviews, so students can’t see feedback for professors or workloads.
“People don’t want to be the guinea pigs for the major,” Ravikumar said.
Ravikumar added that he values a broad foundation before specializing.
“If I ever want to focus on AI later, I can,” he said. “But I don’t want to limit myself now.”
Ravikumar also said he thinks employers care more about experience than degree titles.
“Most companies don’t care if your degree says AI or CS,” he said. “They care about what you’ve built.”
In 2018, Carnegie Mellon University became the rst U.S. school to o er an undergraduate AI degree.
“Specialists in arti cial intelligence have never been more important, in shorter supply or in greater demand by employers,” said Andrew Moore, then dean of CMU’s School of Computer Science, in a statement to CNET.
Rice has joined several peer institutions in o ering the AI major, including CMU, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania.
“We’ve built a strong base of faculty in AI who teach and do extensive research,” said John Greiner, director of the AI program. “AI has grown from a narrow subtopic of computer science to a broad eld of its own.”
He said the new major will attract students eager to work at the cutting edge of AI and machine learning, while computer science still provides a broader academic foundation.
The Center for Career Development has already seen signs of shi ing demand.
“For the Class of 2025’s job outcomes, we observed an increase in ‘machine learning’ job titles compared to previous years,” Camille Elmore, associate director of the CCD, wrote in an email.
We’ve built a strong base of faculty in AI who teach and do extensive reserach. AI has grown from a narrow subtopic of computer science to a broad feild of its own.
John Greiner DIRECTOR OF
AI PROGRAM
Whether students choose to specialize early or keep their options broad, the AI major is a new consideration for students looking to work in computer science industries.
“One piece of advice in making that decision is you’re going to be okay either way,” Greiner said. “I’d encourage students to explore AI through classes, research talks and independent learning to gure out where their interests lie.”
SA introduces free speech resolution
TOBY CHOU STAFF WRITER
This week, the Student Association discussed one resolution and two bills, mostly addressing concerns from the Spring 2025 Survey of All Students data.
Wiess College Senator Eli Risinger and Brown College Senator Max Menchaca introduced Senate Resolution No. 3, asking the SA to adopt an institutional neutrality policy.
Primarily, this resolution prohibits the SA from making any statements that support or oppose political parties, public o ce candidates, legislation and ballots external to the SA. This would include social and political controversies and gures.
Resolution No. 3 follows the SAS results, stating that only 31.5% of students believe that “students can openly share their views and there are plenty of opportunities for meaningful discussions” on campus.
This restriction applies to all o cial SA communications, including but not limited to its social media, website and any statements made in an o cial capacity by SA o cers, committees or representatives.
This does not prohibit any SA o cers from making political statements as individuals. Rather, this resolution seeks to prohibit SA itself from making any political statements.
The only exceptions to this resolution are when a matter “threatens or pertains to” a student’s right to free expression, the function of the SA itself or the “educational mission” of Rice. The Parliamentarian can interpret this de nition, and the Executive Committee will ensure compliance.
However, some SA members objected to the language and the interpretation decided by the Parliamentarian and the Executive Committee, including Sid Richardson College President Arjun Surya.
“Some of the language is very vague or too restrictive,” Surya said during Senate on Monday. “With the current situation with undocumented students, if the Senate needed to release some statement saying ‘we support these students,’ somebody could theoretically make the argument that that is a political statement.”
SA President Trevor Tobey responded, saying that the example would be covered under the current exception clause, which covers issues that directly threaten or pertain to Rice students, but also that he encourages discussion of the amendment.
This resolution will be voted on in two weeks.
Chief of Staff David Lee introduced Senate Bill No. 4 to establish a commission on free speech. Under Internal Vice President Sohani Sandhu, this commission would be created with the goal to review, evaluate and
recommend improvements to university policies and student initiatives to encourage free speech.
The commission would work with administration, student leaders and faculty to address concerns regarding free speech on campus. In addition, the commission would develop and support initiatives and events that promote free speech, civic engagement and viewpoint diversity among students.
They would also issue an annual report to the SA to summarize ndings, recommendations and accomplishments.
“Last year’s Senate passed Resolution
Some of the langauge is very vague or too restrictive. With the current situtation with undocumented students, if the Senate needed to release some statement saying ‘we support these students,’ somebody could theoretically make the argument that that is a political statement.
Arjun Surya SID RICHARDSON COLLEGE PRESIDENT
2 on Protest and Poster Policy, which was focused on two policies that were immediately rolled out without any student input at all,” Tobey said. “We want this commission to be looking into those things and doing a holistic approach to how Rice administration and policies are in place that a ect academic freedom and free speech.”
Because SA motioned to waive prior notice — the period of time required for bills to be in discussion before they can be voted on — for the bill unanimously, Senate Bill No. 4 was voted on and passed unanimously.
Finally, Tobey introduced Senate Bill No. 5 to establish the traditions and publics commission. Survey data showed a large displeasure with the current administrative state of publics, with around two-thirds of the student population believing that current party regulations are overly strict.
In response, the main goal of this commission would be to create a report on the state of publics and traditions at Rice and recommend improvements for publics and traditions, especially as Rice continues to grow.
While SA motioned unanimously to waive prior notice, this bill will be voted on next week due to time constraints at Monday’s meeting.
Elevated lead levels found in three restrooms, risk low
Routine water sampling found elevated lead levels at the Ley Student Center and the Anderson Biological Laboratories. More than 10% of the samples exceeded the action level for lead in October, according to a notice distributed by Facilities and Capital Planning. If the lead levels exceed a standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency,
the system must take action, according to the notice. Action includes public education or lead service line replacement. The action level is 0.015 milligrams per liter.
Elmer Whitehead, the assistant vice president of facilities, engineering and operations, said that in two of the Anderson Biological Laboratories restrooms there are lead concentrations of 0.0201 and 0.0426 milligrams per liter.
In the Ley Student Center restroom, the
level was 0.0314 milligrams per liter — more than double the action level.
Lead is a toxic metal and can cause a host of health e ects if ingested, according to the World Health Organization. It has been linked to decreases in IQ and attention, especially in children. In adults, excessive lead levels have been connected to increased risks of cardiovascular issues, high blood pressure and kidney damage.
Whitehead said the a ected areas
do not have water fountains and it is unusual for people to drink from the sinks. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, lead is not absorbed through the skin when in water, and Whitehead said there was no elevated risk from hand-washing.
“The water from drinking fountains in these buildings is safe to consume,” Whitehead wrote in an email to the Thresher. Whitehead said lead most commonly seeps into potable water through old pipes and xtures.
“We will conduct our own independent non-compliance test in the coming days to con rm the results and help guide corrective action,” Whitehead wrote. “Our facilities team is also evaluating and preparing to replace plumbing pipes, xtures and any other components as necessary to ensure the issue is fully resolved before the next compliance test.”
JAMES CANCELARICH NEWS EDITOR
JESSICA XU / THRESHER
Data courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency website and Elmer Whitehead, assistant vice president of facilities, engineering and operations.
Late night dining changes location to West Servery
HOPE YANG ASST. NEWS EDITOR
For the night owl in search of an a erhours meal, late night dining has moved from Baker College Kitchen to West Servery.
Dining hours still run from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, according to a campuswide Housing and Dining email.
If you were in the back of the line at Baker, I would just get fries at that point. I’m not standing in it.
Kaniyah Boston Kaba
JONES COLLEGE FRESHMAN
The relocation follows an increase in student demand. While Baker Kitchen operations support around 300 diners per day, late night dining has seen more than 500 diners, Assistant Director of Residential Dining Joe Stayshich wrote in an email to the Thresher.
Kaniyah Boston Kaba, a Jones College freshman who opts for late night dining every day, said the lines are easier to navigate at West.
“If you were in the back of the line at Baker, I would just get fries at that point,” Kaba said. “I’m not standing in it. There’s more space here.”
Connected to two colleges, West has larger facilities than Baker Kitchen. Duncan College freshman Eddy Zhang said he was happy about this change.
“A lot of students are trying to get late night dining, and [Baker Kitchen] isn’t as big,” Zhang said. “Also, I just felt like there wasn’t as much. I really wanted
something lighter.”
In addition to the usual grill picks — chicken tenders, fries, burgers and nachos — H&D launched a “Late Night Bowl” option where students create their own Chipotle-style bowls with grains, proteins and vegetables.
Chef Maribel Baker runs late night dining. Stayshich said Baker has introduced other
bowl ideas incorporating “international avors,” which students will see in the future.
For Zhang, the new bowl option is especially exciting.
“They should add this to the regular menu, just because of how comprehensive it is and how it’s so accessible and easy to make something that caters to your taste,” Zhang said.
Stayshich said late night dining is in its beta phase. “We are still working toward a unique model that reflects not only our operational needs but more importantly the students desires for Late Night Noshes,” Stayshich said.
FRANCESCA NEMATI / THRESHER
Students wait in line at West Servery. Recently, Housing and Dining changed the location of the late night dining option from Baker College Kitchen to West Servery and will o er new options for late night meals.
An urbanist’s guide to Houston: How Rice can rethink its scooter policy
JACOB JORDAN & NICOLAS COOKER FOR THE THRESHER
In a recent Thresher social media survey, 65.6% of respondents indicated that they agree with Rice’s existing ban on e-scooters on sidewalks, no matter the location. This policy, issued two years ago, restricts all forms of motorized micro-transportation to roadways and parking lots, but is sparsely enforced, making e-scooters a common sight on footpaths across campus.
This echoes the ongoing debate on amending the City of Houston’s Code of Ordinances to prohibit e-scooters in a proposed “scooter-free zone” in Downtown, Midtown and East Downtown following three deaths and dozens of accidents involving scooters in the past four years.
Given that many students seem broadly dissatisfied with the current
e-scooter situation on campus, it’s time to reinvigorate this policy debate at Rice as well.
There’s merit to claims that e-scooters are a dangerous form of transportation. A study in Germany found that among users injured in e-scooter accidents, 50% sustained some sort of trauma to the head or face. In Houston, e-scooter users have an injury rate seven times that of cyclists, and over 50 times that of pedestrians.
Scooters allow the rider to accelerate very quickly, and their compact, lightweight bodies make riders more willing to ride them in pedestrian spaces. A survey in Virginia found that 56% of respondents felt “unsafe” or “very unsafe” around e-scooter riders, compared to just 29% for e-bikes and 11% for regular bikes. This explains why, despite the prevalence of bicycles on campus for decades, micromobility has only recently become a hot issue.
The hungry owl: Something’s shy in the servery
ANDREW RYNSBURGER FOR THE THRESHER
I arrive at Seibel Servery at 5:30 p.m. My early appearance is to ensure I nd the tilapia hot. It tends to sweat away dolefully in its metal pan since, anecdotally, it is not a popular option.
I’ve never really liked seared tilapia. The lean, insipid variety of sh hails primarily from foreign aquacultures, own in from half a world away on blocks of ice. Upon tasting, the frozenness reveals itself. Frozen sh retains excess water, so when seared, the weeping liquid steams the sh’s body, leaving it pallid and limp.
Seibel’s tilapia re ects this improper technique — pliant as a damp fold of newspaper, somewhat rm but tearable. Its lightly bronzed edges suggest a sear, but the pale body of the sh disagrees. It could have been baked — or even worse, boiled — from all I could tell.
To my dismay, the delicate, subtly sweet avor of the tilapia was lost. Its esh tasted of a distant, muddied lake. The taste’s ensuing body was no better: viciously bland yet unpleasantly lingering.
To the credit of the chefs, the sauce saved
the dish. The bold and garlicky toum fattened the scrawny sh, and the lemon squeezed upon the let added much-needed acidity. It distracted me from the fact that I was eating tilapia, which I appreciated, though that should not be the purpose of a sauce.
Let’s take a look at another tilapia dish — the tandoori tilapia tikka from West Servery. It su ered a similar fate to Seibel’s, perhaps worse. The sh was painfully overcooked, falling apart like a pot roast. It was more like a sh curry stew than a “tandoori tilapia tikka” as its name promised — which is really just a jumble of Indian cooking buzzwords, certainly not an accurate description. When it came to the spices, they similarly masked the tilapia’s blandness. In this case, though, the warm and biting turmeric, cumin and garam masala were rashly unbalanced by any acidity or sweetness. I would have loved coriander, sweet paprika or fresh ginger, but I found none of those.
Albeit a cheap, mass-produced variety of sh, tilapia can still be tasty if cooked well. Think lightly-breaded lets in sh tacos, panseared in hot oil to preserve the aky esh in a crispy exterior. This, however, I haven’t seen at the servery. And until then, I won’t be getting the tilapia, and neither should you.
Additionally, e-scooters are not as environmentally friendly as they might seem. On Rice’s campus, e-scooter trips typically replace trips that would have been made by walking or biking, both nearly emission-free forms of transportation. E-scooters, on the other hand, emit about 45 grams of carbon dioxide per passenger kilometer.
There is undoubtedly a strong case against e-scooters from those who share the road with them, but we shouldn’t leave scooter riders out of the conversation.
While more dangerous than other forms of micromobility, scooters are nonetheless a quick and reliable way to get from one side of campus to the other. And with an everexpanding university, including buildings further from the main hub of campus like Saro m Hall, the need for micromobility will continue to grow.
If you don’t want to exert energy pedaling a bike, an e-scooter is the perfect micromobility choice — much cheaper than an e-bike but with little loss of convenience. An outright campus ban, like the one proposed by the city of Houston downtown,
would likely then be met with public outcry. So what should Rice do about it?
In Copenhagen, where e-scooters were once banned, they were reintroduced under strict rules: one person per scooter, mandated helmet use, and a maximum speed of 12 miles per hour. Similar rules at Rice would provide appropriate guidance to safe scooter use on campus.
Alternatively, if Rice does not want to establish the guidelines necessary to make e-scooters a viable and safe alternative to other forms of transportation on campus, it’s still possible to push an outright ban through the backlash. Toronto’s micromobility strategy, which is highly favorable towards cyclists, has included a complete ban on e-scooters since 2019.
Regardless of the speci cs, it’s clear that an adjustment to Rice’s approach to scooters on campus is essential if we want students to use micromobility appropriately. While the long-term solution must address the physical infrastructure that incentivizes e-scooter riders to overrun the sidewalks, Rice should update and enforce the existing policy now.
Jacob Jordan is a junior from Baker College studying Civil and Environmental Engineering with a minor in Environmental Studies. Nicolas Cooker is a sophomore from Martel College studying Computer Science with a minor in Environmental Studies. They believe that 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.
COLUMN
COLUMN
Andrew Rynsburger is a freshman at Duncan College 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.
SUNNY YU / THRESHER
Student rides an e-scooter on the sidewalk between Baker College and Cambridge O ce Building.
Student
Last week, Indiana University red its student media director and abruptly cut print publication for the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), just hours before the paper’s next edition was set to go to press. The university’s The Media School had demanded that only pre-approved “special edition” themes be printed — no news, no politics.
When IDS pushed back, calling it what it was, censorship, they lost their adviser and their print platform.
The IDS had recently published critical reporting on the university’s administration, including coverage of budget cuts and faculty departures. The Media School framed their demand as part
of a broader e ort to modernize student media and shi toward a digital- rst model — a justi cation as imsy as it is dangerous.
From political pressures on campus newspapers to the targeting of international student journalists, as in the Stanford Daily lawsuit defending visa-holding reporters against deportation threats, we are witnessing a nationwide chilling of student free expression.
The Thresher stands rmly with our peers at the IDS, the Stanford Daily and all student journalists resisting institutional attempts to silence dissent. We have signed Stanford’s amicus curiae brief in support of their mission. As a student-run publication, we know how fragile editorial
independence can be, and how essential it is to maintain it. Once administrators start framing news content as “bad for business,” no newsroom is safe.
This is not just a First Amendment issue, nor is it just a journalism issue. It’s a matter of preserving truth, accountability and the power of student voices.
When a university punishes student journalists for covering student protests or criticizing administrative overreach, it teaches future reporters that challenging power comes with a price.
We reject that lesson. Solidarity among student media matters now more than ever. Free student press is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. And it’s under attack.
We need to demand action on Rice’s commitment to carbon neutrality
In 2022, Rice announced a plan to become carbon neutral by 2030, a noble if lo y ambition. The announcement laid out a multifaceted approach: sustainable investment of the endowment, green infrastructure on campus and targeted research funding. Ye t these bold words mean little without genuine tracking of the plan’s progress.
Take the investment strategy rst. The Rice Management Company, which manages the University’s endowment, makes no mention of the carbon neutral plan on its homepage, although it does highlight its “portfolio of oil and gas royalties.”
In fact, the plan is only directly mentioned in the 2022 Endowment Stewardship Update. I’m no asset manager, but to reach a carbon neutral investment portfolio less than ve years from now, Rice would probably want to keep track of its progress. If there were progress, I would also assume that it would be mentioned in a yearly report.
The record on campus isn’t much better. I was excited to nd a report of our campus’s carbon footprint, published by the O ce of
Sustainability. The report indicated a trend of decreasing Scope 1 and 2 emissions, representing direct emissions from Riceowned sources and indirect emissions from purchased electricity, respectively. However, the report was published in 2022 with the claim that Scope 3 emissions data, capturing indirect emissions from upstream and downstream sources such as purchased goods, waste and investments and assets — everything not captured by Scope 1 or 2 — would be reported “later in 2022” and that in 2023 a “guide detailing calculations, assumptions, and emissions factors” would be available. Neither of these is readily accessible, if they exist, and a er I reached out to the O ce of Sustainability, the site was updated to remove the discussion of Scope 3 emissions.
Neither of these is readily accessible, if they exist, and after I reached out to the Office of Sustainability, the site was updated to remove the discussion of Scope 3 emissions.
The carbon footprint report is not the only case of an outburst of enthusiasm for sustainability followed by apparent inaction. Many aspects of Rice’s sustainability policy are clearly never updated: A Water Year in Review Report has not been published since 2022, the sustainability newsletter has not been updated since 2019 and Rice’s thirdparty sustainability rating expired in 2021.
Encouragingly, Rice has maintained its commitment to getting new buildings Gold certi ed or better in Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design, a rating on a building’s “greenness.” Yet it’s not clear what, if any, progress has been made towards renovating old buildings to be more energy and environmentally conscious.
Announcing big goals with little followup is also apparent in Rice’s research. The initial carbon neutral announcement highlighted the Sustainable Futures Fund, which was created “to support interdisciplinary research on the broad range of environmental challenges” through an “annual funding opportunity for at least the next ve years.” But based on the available submission form and the funded awards I can nd, the fund was only used for research grants in 2021.
The student body, on the other hand, has taken meaningful steps towards sustainability. The success of the residential college composting program was initiated and continued by students. Student organizations such as Sunrise Rice enable impact beyond campus through organized policy discussions and pressure on local o cials and industries. The Graduate Student Loan Closet helps minimize waste by enabling appliance reuse. Undergraduate EcoReps help realize sustainable lifestyles at residential colleges.
Why stop at neutrality? Clearly the student body cares about climate action and a green future, so we should demand more from our institution. Call for transparency in the form of accurate and timely reporting, and real action a er announcements.
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.
Last Week’s Online Poll Results
Did you go out of town for midterm recess?
Total number of responses: 496
Next week’s question:
should late night dining be located?
Follow @ricethresher on Instagram to answer weekly polls.
CORRECTIONS
In “Senate scoop: Closed door
* Indicates Editorial Board member
Kathleen Ortiz* Editor-in-Chief
Sarah Knowlton* Editor-in-Chief
Juliana Lightsey* Managing Editor
NEWS
James Cancelarich* Editor
Belinda Zhu Asst. Editor
Hongtao Hu Asst. Editor
Hope Yang Asst. Editor
OPINION
Jenna Perrone* Editor
FEATURES
Noa Berz* Editor
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Arman Saxena* Editor Chi Pham Asst. Editor
SPORTS Andersen Pickard* Editor Evie Vu* Editor
BACKPAGE
Charlie Maxson Editor
Max Scholl Editor
Will Howley Editor
Rykelle Sandidge Senior Writer
COPY
Shruti Patankar Editor Julianne Ma Editor
PHOTO, VIDEO, & WEB
Ayaan Riaz Director of Digital Media
Francesca Nemati Photo Editor
Konstantin Savvon Asst. Photo Editor
Steven Burgess Video Editor Fiona Guo Social Media Manager
DESIGN
Jessica Xu Art & Design Director Magnolia Hickey-Zamora News Sydney Chang Opinion
BUSINESS
Soren Freund Business Manager Alina Zhong Advertisement Rahul Santhanam Advertisement
ABOUT
The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper of Rice University since 1916, is published each Wednesday during the school year, except during examination periods and holidays, by the students of Rice University.
Letters to the Editor must be received by 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication and must be signed, including college and year if the writer is a Rice student. The Thresher reserves the right to edit letters for content and length and to place letters on its website.
Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor of the Ley Student Center: 6100 Main St., MS-524 Houston, TX 77005-1892
Phone: (713) 348 - 4801
Email: thresher@rice.edu
Website: www.ricethresher.org
The Thresher is a member of the ACP, TIPA, CMA and CMBAM.
ALEX RATERINK SYSTEMS, SYNTHETIC AND PHYSICAL BIOLOGY PHD STUDENT
Queer community, allies celebrate National Coming Out Day
RUBY GAO THRESHER STAFF
Rice PRIDE invited students and faculty to celebrate National Coming Out Day over games of chess and homemade baked goods on Oct. 10. To raise funds for future events, Rice PRIDE sold cookies and cupcakes for $1, but most treats were given out free of charge.
It was the rst time Lucy Li, a Baker College freshman, had attended a coming out event. Li said the event o ered the kind of inclusive, celebratory space she had long hoped to experience.
“In my high school, because it was a pretty small community, I didn’t have access to a lot of events like this,” Li said. “I’ve always known about pride events or pride parades, and I wanted to attend them, but most of the time they are just too far away, or I don’t have someone to go with me.”
Li said she struggled to embrace her bisexual identity for many years, and events like NCOD o er support for students facing similar challenges.
“For a few years in high school, I did not come out to anyone, and I spent a lot of time absorbing negative feelings inward,” Li said. “We shared thoughts in a very equal and intimate way in this event … It made me feel like I’m in a very safe space.”
The NCOD event was also open to students who wanted to support their queer friends but did not identify as queer themselves. Li said coming out to her friends brought positive changes to her life and boosted her con dence.
“I feel like most of the time, people around me would assume I am straight … I don’t know how to tell them in a very natural way that they’re making the wrong assumption,” Li said. “A er I came out to
JENNIFER LIU / THRESHER
I put that out in the court of public opinion for somebody to tell me that I’m dangerous? But it is a real gi to be vulnerable and share our true selves.”
Riedel said the NCOD event was also intended for individuals who were not aware of PRIDE and other communities welcoming LGBTQ+ individuals. He said support systems like these are essential to the process of coming out.
“There are people who do not yet know that there is a community waiting to hold them and keep them safe, and having a public event lets even the people who are not yet ready [to come out] come to them,” Riedel said.
my friends, I feel more con dent when they ask me about my type. I don’t have to come up with a very vague answer.”
Alex*, an international graduate student who requested anonymity to protect them from persecution in their home country, said they appreciated how the event promoted awareness of LGBTQ+ policy and visibility of the queer community.
Editor’s note: Students interviewed were given the option of remaining anonymous in the interest of safety and privacy. Anonymous students who are referenced multiple times were given false names, which have been marked with an asterisk on rst reference.
“It would be great to have even more events like this and also events to educate about current legislation changes, like shi s that pertain to trans people,” Alex said. “Any vulnerable group, any
institution that supports them or claims to should always be looking for ways to make them feel comfortable, welcomed and safe.”
Having never o cially come out to their friends or family, Alex said they encounter fear of exposure in trying to accept themselves.
“I feel like I was always targeted because it’s di cult for me to pass as straight or cis, but I do feel a little bit more in danger just visually, as I like to dress more comfortably and express myself more comfortably,” Alex said.
Brian Riedel, associate director of the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, delivered a talk during the event, talking about the struggle to express personal identity — especially for the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s an intensely personal thing, my identity,” Riedel said in his talk. “Why should
Gi tag word
It’s an intensely personal thing, my identity ... it is a real gift to be vulnerable and share our true selves.
Brian Riedel
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF WOMEN, GENDER AND SEXUALITY
At the end of his talk, Riedel said it is important to look out for one another in the queer community and at Rice as a whole, encouraging students to support each other beyond the event.
“Sometimes coming out can be an act of protecting other people,” Riedel said. “And I suggest that y’all creating this event and coming to it is the same kind of thing. You’re creating community for each other. You are creating a safe space for each other … You have the skill and the power to do that wherever you go.”
Women-run market empowers local artists, entrepreneurs
balancing full-time studies or jobs alongside their small businesses.
on display in the center, which was a huge honor. I wanted to be part of this market to sell some of my artwork and be present in women’s spaces.”
The inaugural event quickly surpassed the expectations of cocoordinators Cheryl Lee, a Baker College senior, and Chloé Serna, a Sid Richardson College senior. While they initially anticipated a crowd of around 100 attendees, they said more than 565 people passed through the Grand Hall over the course of the evening.
For much of human history, the concept of women owning anything, let alone whole enterprises and businesses, has been unheard of ... we really wanted this to be an opportunity for local women entrepreneurs to get their name out there.
didn’t take a cut of pro ts — we really wanted this to be an opportunity for local women entrepreneurs to get their name out there.”
Lee said she was inspired to host the market in part by her grandmother, who immigrated to the U.S. in the ’90s and started a small clothing business with little help. The business has since closed down, but Lee said her grandmother’s story reminds her not to shy away from challenging or risky pursuits.
“When my grandmother immigrated here to the U.S., it was so di cult for her to get her business o the ground and keep it a oat,” Lee said. “Without community support, it can be challenging to reach a target audience, so being able to help support other women and create a space to highlight their businesses is really meaningful.”
Noemi Torres-Zazueta, a Brown College freshman, said the event was a refreshing change of pace from typical campus markets.
“Being in women-led spaces really feels more supportive than other events,” Torres-Zazueta said. “It makes me feel like I’m with people who understand me and my experiences.”
The Rice Memorial Center’s Grand Hall buzzed with music, laughter and the scent of matcha on Oct. 7. Rice students and Houston community members lled the space for something new — the very rst Rice Women’s Resource Center Market.
Tables lined the hall, displaying handmade jewelry, baked goods, thri ed clothing and original artwork. Attendees stopped to chat with vendors about their work — many of whom were
FROM FRONT PAGE MS. JANICE
Eventually, Whoo Deli moved locations, and Robinson took on her post in Seibel, for which she is most well known. During her 5 years at her Seibel station, Robinson has looked after many students far from home.
[Robinson is] always a great person to see when you’re having a bad day, and she makes the whole dining experience much, much happier than it could be.
Kumaren Anand SID RICHARDSON COLLEGE JUNIOR
“I learned these kids are smart,” Robinson said. “Their parents will tell me when they come in, ‘My daughter and my son talk about you all the time.’ They need me, and I need them. That’s the way I feel.”
Despite her attachment to the job, Robinson said she has a few things to look forward to when she retires a second time.
“My husband says to travel — I don’t even like traveling,” Robinson said. “I like cruises, though, so maybe I’ll just go see the world on a boat.”
Robinson has six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren she is looking forward to spending time with as well. Luckily, since her entire family lives in the Houston area, Robinson said these plans will still allow her to come and visit Rice every so o en.
When she leaves, the students won’t be the only ones who will miss her presence. Geoff Hively, the executive chef at Seibel Servery, said he relies on Robinson for more than just swiping students in during mealtimes. Robinson makes sure the servery is stocked with Nutella packets and ice cream sandwiches, items she knows students can’t live without.
Stella Shrinsky-de Armas, a McMurtry College sophomore, chatted with attendees passing by about the prints, stickers and t-shirts she had made. As an RWRC volunteer, she said the market was a full-circle moment.
“I’ve been involved with the RWRC since my freshman year as a volunteer and have really been loving all the events since then,” Shrinsky-de Armas said. “During a separate event last year, one of the RWRC heads reached out to me and had one of my artworks
“She always makes sure [the students] have what [they] need,” Hively said. “She’s very vigilant about going, ‘Oh, we don’t have this over here.’”
In addition to the students she has befriended by administering meal swipes, Robinson has made close friends with several of her Rice colleagues.
She met Micaela Avitia, who now works as banquet captain in Cohen House, when they worked together at the Whoo Deli and Sammy’s.
“She’s very sweet,” Avitia said. “I am a little bit shy. She always helped me to try to feel comfortable. To me, she’s really a nice person. I love her.”
Avitia goes by the nickname Micky at work — a nickname Robinson gave her, taking inspiration from what Avitia’s mother used to call her. Now, even her new colleagues at Cohen House know her by Micky. Now that Robinson and Avitia no longer work together, they only get to see each other at all-hands sta meetings, but they remain close to this day.
“She’s always in my heart,” Avitia said. “I have her phone number, so we can talk.”
As Robinson heads into her second — and she hopes final — retirement, it is the connections she’s made at Rice that she will miss most, especially the students. For her, they were the best part of the job.
Their parents will tell me when they come in, ‘My daughter and my son talk about you all the time.’ [The students] need me, and I need them. That’s the way I feel.
Janice Robinson SEIBEL SERVERY CASHIER
“I’m going to miss all of them,” Robinson said. “When they come in, I’m grinning from ear to ear. It’s them that keep bringing me back.”
Cheryl Lee & Chloe Serna RWRC CO - DIRECTORS
Lee and Serna said the market was designed to upli women entrepreneurs.
“For much of human history, the concept of women owning anything, let alone whole enterprises and businesses, has been unheard of,” Lee and Serna wrote in a statement to the Thresher. “We didn’t charge [vendor] fees and we
While the RWRC is widely known for providing resources like menstrual products, emergency contraception and other health supplies, the two codirectors said they hope events like the market show students that the center is also a place for community and creativity.
“Given student interest and given that many vendors asked us when we’d be hosting another market, we’d love to make this happen at least once a year,” Lee and Serna wrote.
MARTIN XIE / THRESHER
HANNAH GUO FOR THE THRESHER
Encore worthy: Highlights from Austin City Limits
Across three packed days, Austin City Limits festival veterans and newcomers alike proved why ACL remains one of the country’s most dynamic festivals. From gospel-fueled headliners to chaotic pop duos, every stage o ered its own moment of magic, reminding festivalgoers that live music still thrives in the Texas capital.
Car Seat Headrest
Lead singer Will Toledo transformed a late-a ernoon slot into something far more ambitious: a sprawling, slow-burn rock opera that rewarded patience and attention. The band’s commitment to atmosphere over instant grati cation paid o with a cathartic crowd-wide singalong during “Drunk Drivers/ Killer Whales,” a moment that felt both earned and explosive. It was messy, immersive and deeply personal — exactly what longtime fans have come to expect from one of indie rock’s most consistently evolving acts.
Con dence Man
Con dence Man’s set was pure chaos, but the kind that’s clearly been planned to the millisecond. Janet Planet and Sugar Bones stormed the stage in futuristic out ts, dancing, posing and ipping costumes mid-show as if they were headlining a high-concept fashion rave. Behind them, pounding beats and explosive visuals turned Zilker Park into a massive party. Janet Planet, even on crutches, never lost an ounce of charisma, proving herself a true performer. Every moment was ridiculous in the best way possible — absurd, sweaty, joyful and impossible to look away from.
Doechii
Doechii came out ready to have fun. Playing everything from her greatest hits and old favorites, she quickly won over the crowd. Her DJ and swamp-themed set contributed to a great show that had the audience dancing and rapping along.
Hozier
Hozier didn’t just perform, he preached.
His velvety baritone and gospel-backed arrangements turned the American Express stage into something close to a spiritual experience. “Angel of Small Death & The Codeine Scene,” “Would That I” and “Too Sweet” rolled through the humid night air with precision, while “Nina Cried Power” transformed into an impassioned plea for social justice. Between songs, he spoke candidly about Palestine, civil rights and solidarity, grounding his soaring sound in moral conviction. By the time “Take Me to Church” closed the set under a burst of reworks, it felt less like a festival and more like a moment of collective transcendence.
Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective
Students who had more stage presence than most of the professional performers, the Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective took Sunday by storm at Zilker Park with the power of good vibes, incredible cra and loads of charisma. The group did justice to tracks from Kali Uchis’ “A er the Storm” to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” not one note from the live band’s brass, piano or guitar was out of line.
John Summit
Stacking tech-house heaters into a perfectly paced arc, John Summit rode the crowd’s energy with precision, building tension and dropping releases with impeccable timing. The result was a seamless, euphoric journey that felt both spontaneous and tightly controlled. His ability to read and shape the crowd’s mood made for one of the most immersive dance sets of the weekend.
julie
Los Angeles trio julie turned their a ernoon slot into a haze of feedback and atmosphere. Bathed in blinding sunlight but sounding straight out of a dim basement, the band blended shoegaze textures with grunge undertones that shook the ground beneath the audience. Alexandria Elizabeth’s voice oated above layers of distortion on songs like “feminine adornments,” building from delicate murmurs to seismic explosions of sound. The set’s brevity only heightened its power.
By the end, the crowd stood suspended between stillness and noise, hypnotized by the band’s dark, cinematic pull.
Magdalena Bay
One of the most creative sets of the festival, Magdalena Bay featured a litany of costume changes, surreal design choices and striking pastels. Lead singer Mica Tenenbaum was the heart and soul of the set, channeling her inner theatre kid with ease and charisma. Their show was an exciting display of imagination that even those unfamiliar with their sound could likely enjoy.
MARINA
MARINA’s set was a kaleidoscope of sound and emotion, spanning her entire career with ease. From glittering electropop anthems to tender piano ballads, she moved through genres and eras with theatrical
air and a knowing wink. Dressed in bold, glamorous out ts and commanding the stage with the poise of a seasoned performer, she reminded fans why her music has remained beloved. The setlist balanced nostalgia with evolution, giving diehards their favorites while o ering newcomers a perfect introduction.
Olivia Dean
Backed by a full brass section, Olivia Dean’s voice, warm, rich and e ortlessly controlled, carried across the park with a con dence that didn’t need theatrics to make an impact. Tracks like “Carmen” were given deeper resonance by personal anecdotes about her family, and the crowd responded with hushed attention before erupting into cheers. Dean’s set was a masterclass in understated power. It was about pure musical cra , soulful delivery and a connection with the audience that made every note feel like a heart-to-heart.
Pierce The Veil
Pierce The Veil’s set was an emotional rollercoaster, swinging between tender vulnerability and explosive catharsis. Songs like “Emergency Contact” hit with aching sincerity, while “King For A Day” ignited a full-scale eruption in the crowd. The band’s post-hiatus form was razor sharp. Precision ri ng, soaring choruses and deeply felt lyrics reminded everyone why they’re still one of the genre’s de ning acts.
Sabrina Carpenter Sabrina Carpenter pulled out all the stops for her last weekend in Austin. The latenight TV theme kept the show connected, and pulling out The Chicks t right into her latest album’s southern in uences. The biggest wow of the night was when she stood on a camera crane and ew over the audience’s heads.
The Strokes
A dream came true for anyone who grew up as a guitar-playing indie kid (read: Arman), The Strokes rolled through their greatest hits spanning two decades’ worth of rock classics. While lead singer Julian Casablancas admitted he was intoxicated, his vocals were barely a ected, adding humorous asides to the proceedings in between tracks. Even as some band members enter their 40s, their performance remained incredibly tight, with the guitar, drum and bass run a-blazing in symphony with each other.
COURTESY SARAH ZENG
Sabrina Carpenter performed on a camera crane during her headlining concert on Oct. 11 at Zilker Park during Austin City Limits.
COURTESY SARAH ZENG
Thousands
Shallowater finds beauty in the West Texas dust
ARMAN SAXENA A&E EDITOR
Under a bright early-a ernoon sun, Shallowater took the T-Mobile stage at Austin City Limits Oct. 11 without spectacle. No pyrotechnics or ashy lighting accompanied the three musicians — just their instruments and a looping video of horses running behind them.
It was an understated setup that mirrored the band’s unvarnished sound: spare, slowbuilding songs that stretched into roaring waves of distortion. They barely paused between tracks, letting the music unfurl in long arcs that held the crowd in a dusty, cinematic trance.
Perseverance and hope in a sad situation is kind of what we want to do [with our songs].
Tristan Kelly SHALLOWATER BASS GUITARIST
“It was the most daunting thing I may have ever done in my entire life,” bassist Tristan Kelly said a er the set. “But it was incredible. I’m so glad that we did it.”
The performance — their rst at ACL — pulled from 2024’s “There is a Well” and 2025’s “God’s Gonna Give You a Million Dollars,” including “Angels,” “Snap, “Ativan,” “Sadie” and “Highway.” For lead singer and guitarist Blake Skipper, the show marked a milestone in the band’s trajectory.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking … the biggest thing we’ve done to date,” Skipper said. “But
it went well, and now it’s time to relax.”
Kelly says Shallowater’s music is inseparable from Lubbock, where they were formed. The band described the West Texas landscape as both brutal and beautiful.
“It’s a very desolate area that I don’t think very many people really experience,” Kelly said. “It’s just brown grass, and then these black mesquite trees that just shoot out of the dirt. It looks like a hellscape.”
That unforgiving environment seeps into their songwriting, giving rise to music steeped in melancholy but anchored in resilience.
“A lot of the songs sound like it’s just sadness, and that’s part of it,” Skipper said. “But it’s also beautiful.”
Kelly said there’s hope in their songs as well.
“Perseverance and hope in a sad situation is kind of what we want to do,” Kelly said.
Their approach also pushes against the mythic nostalgia that has long de ned country and Americana.
“Growing up in Texas, you see all these paintings of cowboys and horses looking all strong,” Kelly said. “But I think what we want to do with music is give a more honest perception of it. We want to use the same symbols of country music but undercut it and make it this dark thing that we understand.”
Onstage, that philosophy comes alive in their signature dynamic: delicate, slowburning buildups that erupt into distortion.
“I want that [distortion] that lights the air on re, but I want that in the middle of the sweetest little country song,” Kelly said.
Their creative process re ects that tension. None of them are classically trained, which they say has helped them nd their voice.
“We’re not coming at it in any traditional way,” Skipper said. “We have our in uences for sure, but we’re de nitely just doing
what we can. Those limitations lead you in a new direction.”
Their most recent album, “God’s Gonna Give You a Million Dollars,” was produced by Alex Farrar, known for his work with MJ Lenderman and Indigo De Souza. The collaboration began with a long-shot email.
“We wanted to go with him,” Kelly said. “He was the number one guy.”
Ryan Faulkenberry, the band’s drummer, said the partnership delivered on their hopes.
“We got exactly what we wanted,” Faulkenberry said.
They recorded in Asheville, North Carolina, just a er a hurricane swept through the area — a surreal backdrop that le its mark on the music.
“Everybody there had just gone through something,” Kelly said. “It felt odd to pull up and just make an album. But I think that
de nitely bled into the tracks.”
One track, though, remains their anchor: “Snap.” All three cited it as their favorite because it marked a shi from casual collaboration to real artistic cohesion. The song is from their rst album, “There is a Well.”
“‘Snap’ was the rst song where I felt like we weren’t just messing around,” Kelly said. “It kind of gave us a base layer to connect everything else to.”
In the end, the band hopes their music o ers listeners something, whether that’s a sonic landscape to inhabit or a place on their Spotify.
“I hope we make something that feels like you can live in,” Kelly said. “I’m just glad it’s nding anybody, and if it helps anybody do anything, or if it’s just something cool you add to a playlist, I’m happy.”
The art of crafting the perfect party playlist
As night settles over Will Rice College’s New Dorm balcony on a Friday evening, freshman Wyatt Rutter ddles with the knobs on his soundboard, tasked with a familiar challenge: selecting the playlist that will set the mood for an upcoming party.
For Rutter and other student DJs at Rice, curating party playlists is more than just pressing shu e; rather, it’s a delicate art that involves a mixture of organization, observation and spontaneity in combination with each DJ’s unique style and preferences.
Scrolling through an extensive lineup of playlists that read “2010s classics,” “Remixes PopHouse” and “Club Mix 2024,” Rutter, who performs under the moniker WytOut, said every set starts with the theme of the party.
I feel like some of the old classics that you couldn’t go wrong with are kind of starting to be phased out. I’m looking for [something] new, monumental — like you can’t go wrong with this song.
Maher Tharakan
DJ T
“It de nitely is a sort of improv, and I choose what songs I play on the y, but I also know the rough genres and music,” Rutter said. “I know where it’s going to end up by the end of the party, it’s more where I start o and how I get there.”
Jason Chen and Maher Tharakan, both Will Rice seniors, said their own style of DJing is also uid rather than formulaic.
“We both have a master list of all the songs,” said Chen, who performs as Pocketjiggs. “I try not to have a speci c order when I play, because it depends on what the crowd wants.”
In addition to drawing from a prepared pool of songs, the DJ also accepts — or rejects — audience requests at their discretion.
“For me, it’s a 50-50 split where 50% is planned and 50% is just in the moment, what people are vibing with or what people want to hear,” said Tharakan, who goes by the stage name DJ T. “Something I thought about was guring out how to decline people’s requests when they’re objectively not good. There’s always at least one person per public that wants a very niche Chief Keef song for some reason.”
A er years of playing sets together at Pub at Rice, public parties and private events, Tharakan said collaboration with Chen elevates the DJing experience.
“He tends to play more of the rap and some pop, while I try to do more pop and white girl music, so I feel like we complement each other well,” Tharakan said.
Chen said engaging with the crowd is another part of the pair’s signature style.
“We try to experiment with getting on the mic and just hyping people up,” Chen said. “We [also] do a lot of wordplay transitions; that’s kind of our thing.”
The ability to follow the natural rhythm and trajectory of the party is key to a perfect DJ set, said Jorge Albores, who goes by the stage name DJ Lov.
“I try to keep certain songs sort of sacred,” said Albores, a Lovett College sophomore. “I keep them for the peak part of the party, but there does have to be a rhythm. There’s DJs that just keep it cranked 100% the whole time, and then people start dying out because they’re tired.”
Albores played his rst set at DisOrientation during his freshman year and has mainly played at private parties and Pub since then. While he primarily plays hip-hop and pop, Albores’ specialty is Latin music — a nod to his Mexican heritage —
and he is currently looking to branch out into new genres.
“Right now, I really like house music, but obviously you have to ease people into it,” Albores said.
Like Albores, Rutter said he is also experimenting with new varieties of music to add more air to his sets.
“Recently I’ve been nding remixes of popular songs,” Rutter said. “They usually have bigger beat drops, they’re a little more hype, they have things here and there which kind of make them dynamic.”
Of course, each DJ has their go-to
“Rihanna always goes well, the OG Pitbull songs always go well,” said Albores. For Rutter, “No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame and “California Gurls” by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg do the trick, and Chen said he dabbles in Bruno Mars. Tharakan, however, said he has revived his search for the perfect party song.
“I feel like some of the old classics that you couldn’t go wrong with are kind of starting to be phased out,” said Tharakan. “I’m looking for [something] new, monumental — like you can’t go wrong with this song.”
ARMAN SAXENA / THRESHER
Shallowater played their rst-ever set at Austin City Limits on Oct.11 at Zilker Park.
playlist staples.
YILIAN JIANG THRESHER STAFF
COURTESY MAHER THARAKAN
DJs Maher Tharakan, Chris Han and Jason Chen set up their equipment before a show.
Volleyball tries out new concussion prevention tool
KATHLEEN ORTIZ EDITOR IN CHIEF
A er an anomaly of a 2024 season where volleyball head coach Genny Volpe said her team su ered more than ve concussions, players were encouraged to try two separate protective devices in games and practice this season.
“Look, if there’s anything we can do to help prevent a player from being sidelined, or just prevent it from happening again, I want to explore it,” Volpe said she told the athletic training sta
While not every Rice volleyball player has had a concussion, those who su ered one within the last year were encouraged to wear a protective neck collar during games and a protective headband during practice.
The Q-Collar, which has been approved by the FDA since February 2021, applies light pressure to the neck, increasing blood volume inside the head to reduce the brain’s movement upon impact, according to its website. The collar wraps around the back of the neck to form a C shape.
The headband, called an Unequal Halo, is worn like any other headband, but is a bit thicker. According to their website, it helps absorb and disperse the impact of a hit to the head. While no Unequal head protection devices have been evaluated by the FDA, they are recommended for soccer players by Virginia Tech’s helmet ratings.
The decision to suggest both protective devices came from Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Medicine Dean Miller, Assistant Athletic Trainer Kelsie Osato and Volpe.
“For practices, our athletes also wear headbands as a preventative as well, but our coach and the athletes kind of have stated that they don’t like the way that looks,” Osato said. “They may be embarrassed during games to wear that, which is fair and understandable.”
The Q-Collar, which Osato described as slimmer and more discreet, was deemed the better option for games. Volpe said the Q-Collar was also less disruptive, as sometimes the Unequal Halo would slip or pop off during a play.
Since I played, and the way that volleyball is being played now, it’s just so physical, and people are strong and fast, and sometimes it’s hard to react fast enough to protect yourself. It happens more than people think.
Genny Volpe VOLLEYBALL HEAD
COACH
Although volleyball is a limited-contact sport, concussions made up 7.3% of injuries in NCAA women’s volleyball from 2014 to 2019, the second most common speci c diagnosis during that time, according to researchers at the Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and
Prevention and the University of Georgia. Osato said she’s seen concussions increase in volleyball over the last 10 to 15 years, a result of athletes being better, stronger and able to jump higher. Getting hit in the face by a ball was the most common cause of concussions in volleyball, Volpe and Osato said.
“Since I played, and the way that volleyball is being played now, it’s just so physical, and people are strong and fast, and sometimes it’s hard to react fast enough to protect yourself,” Volpe said. “It happens more than people think.”
Senior defensive specialist and libero Gaby Mans eld has been listed in Q-Collar’s weekly blog multiple times this season alongside volleyball players from Southern Methodist University and Texas A&M University. The blog, which highlights both professional and collegiate athletes who wear the product, boasts players from 10 NFL teams and ve NCAA football teams.
A request to interview Mans eld was denied by Rice Athletics.
While Osato said it can be di cult to si through the many di erent products advertised to prevent concussions, she said using resources from Rice’s Methodist partnership and asking around the athletic training community has been helpful in nding what is both accurate and believable.
“It’s obviously not the thing that is going to save concussions everywhere,” Osato said. “People will still get concussions, and it’s not going to completely take
them out. But if there is a way that we can assist our athletes in staying on the court and allowing them to make it through a full season and help them feel protected … then we’ll do whatever that is to make them feel better.”
New faces, new team: Baseball looks forward to the spring
CALEB CARROLL FOR THE THRESHER
After a losing 17-40 finish to the 2025 season, head coach David Pierce’s new coaching staff, alongside a 45-man roster consisting of over 20 new players, is looking to revitalize Rice baseball for the upcoming season.
Pierce, who came in midway through
last season, is in his second stint coaching for Rice baseball, as he was previously an assistant coach under the late Wayne Graham from 2003 to 2011.
Pierce said he views this season as a clean slate for the team.
“There’s really nothing in comparison from a year ago to where we are now,” Pierce said. “This is a completely different coaching staff, a completely
different roster.”
He also said it is detrimental for the players to dwell on the disappointments of seasons past, since focusing on the low points can damage team morale.
“The more we dwell on last year, the more we’re comparing ourselves to a belowaverage team,” Pierce said. “We’d like to look past that. We’d like to look forward.”
However, junior catcher Landon West said he doesn’t view last season as a complete negative.
“There were glimpses of really good stuff happening,” West said.
West said the team can build off the momentum of Pierce’s midseason arrival, with Pierce now having more time to reshape the team’s culture.
“Having him for a whole fall and a whole spring before our season is going to go a long way,” West said.
While integrating a new coaching staff and managing an overhauled roster could be seen as a potential hurdle for this season, Pierce said he views it as an opportunity to foster a competitive environment within the clubhouse.
“The team didn’t do very well last year, so when you look at the lineup, every position is wide open and the new players created that competition,” Pierce said.
Creating aggressive ball players has been one of the main goals for Pierce during fall scrimmages.
“I think our practices have been a little bit more intense,” West said. “We’ve had more baseball-related activities that involve competition and I think that’s really good.”
The competitive spirit within the squad has the Owls eager to face other schools in real matches.
“It’s been fun watching these new guys come in here and compete because I know they’re super talented and we’re
ready to lace it up against another team,” West said.
West said Pierce’s successful track record and intense practices are already rubbing off on the players.
“[We’re] ready to run through a brick wall [for him],” West said. “He’s been super successful everywhere he’s been, so we know he has the formula to win baseball games.”
The more we dwell on last year, the more we’re comparing ourselves to a below-average team. We’d like to look past that. We’d like to look forward.
David Pierce BASEBALL HEAD COACH
Though it has been important for the team to instill a culture of drive and competition, Pierce said it is equally important to build team camaraderie with all of the new faces.
“With such a turnover this year, the challenge is to get guys to know each other,” Pierce said.
West said he believes fans should be excited about the upcoming season.
“We’ve got a lot of talented players,” West said. “We’re working really hard to put that talent to use.”
Baseball opened this fall’s exhibition scrimmages with a two-game sweep over the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Oct. 11. Next, they will scrimmage McLennan Community College Oct. 26 at Reckling Park, their last scheduled exhibition game before the season begins in February.
CAYDEN CHEN / THRESHER Senior defensive specialist and libero Gaby Mans eld wears a Q-Collar during a Sept. 3 game against the University of Texas. The equipment aims to prevent concussions.
KAIRI MANO / THRESHER Junior catcher Landon West prepares to swing at a pitch during a baseball scrimmage at Reckling Park. The Owls are getting ready for their rst full season under head coach David Pierce.
Preston added a service ace a few points later, leading Rice on an 8-1 scoring run, putting them ahead 16-15.
Rice kept the score close to the end of the set, but the Shockers’ attack ultimately prevailed, as the Owls would go on to lose the rst set 25-23.
“We weren’t really defending very strongly,” Volpe said. “I think Wichita State’s hitters had really fast arms, and we were trying to catch up to it in the beginning. Then we nally found our rhythm.”
Wichita State continued their momentum in the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but Rice quickly responded with another o ensive surge. On a kill and service ace by Preston, two kills by junior outside hitter Kellen Dorotik and a block by freshman outside hitter Aaliyah Smith, the Owls took their largest lead of the game at 16-12.
Rice maintained its lead through the rest of the set, winning 25-22 and tying the match at one set apiece.
In a tight third set, it was Preston again who broke the deadlock late in the action as she delivered back-to-back kills at 20-20 to give Rice momentum going into the end of the set. Preston recorded yet another kill toward her 25 total in the match to make it
25-22, and Rice went on to close out the set and take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
“Taylor Preston just kind of took over the match and showed why she’s an elite outside hitter in our league,” Volpe said.
The fourth set swung back and forth, ultimately culminating in a ve-point scoring run by Wichita, extending their lead from 18-17 to 23-17. The Owls were unable to come back from the de cit, nishing 20-25, and the game was forced into a deciding h set.
Rice had an extended discussion in the huddle with the game on the line, as they needed a strong h-set performance to take home the win.
“I think honestly they had their own talk, and I don’t know what was said, but that’s leadership,” Volpe said. “I think that there was some motivation coming from the coaching sta on discipline as well, to just ght and be more disciplined.”
In the h set, junior setter Kaia Mateo stepped up on both sides of the ball.
Mateo had an early-set block to give Rice a 2-1 lead and followed it up with two direct sets up the middle for kills by senior middle blocker Lademi Ogunlana. These two assists would go towards Mateo’s 57 total of the team’s 63 in the match.
Following a 9-9 tie, senior defensive specialist Darby Harris sparked the Owls’ four-point service run that gave Rice a
13-9 lead. Ultimately, it was Preston who delivered the deciding blow with a service ace to give the Owls a 15-10 win in the fifth set and a 3-2 win in the match.
After the game, the players attributed their success not only to their individual contributions but also to their chemistry and teamwork.
“I think we just stayed together as a team and faced adversity together,” Mansfield said. “It was a really good team win. This is a great team we played and I think this really boosts our confidence for the rest of conference [play].”
The individual praise came as well, following their 2-0 week in league play with four Owls earning weekly American Conference honors. Preston was named Offensive Player of the Week and Smith earned Freshman of the Week honors. Mateo and Mansfield each received honorable mention recognition.
With eight games to go in conference play, Rice looks to extend its streak against the University of Texas at San Antonio at 6 p.m. Friday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Following Sunday’s performance, Volpe said she has no doubts that this team can continue to win.
“The wins build confidence, and I think even in the preseason with the extremely tough schedule that we played, wins didn’t necessarily come, but
they were mature enough to see that we were still getting better,” Volpe said. “All of those challenges that we faced in the preseason are building up to now, and I see us continuing to rise to the occasion in matches like this.”
Hockey club defeated by Houston in rst game since 1941
ANDERSEN PICKARD SPORTS EDITOR
The sound of skates slicing through ice and pucks slamming into the boards echoed in Rink B at the Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
For the rst time since 1941, these noises were coming from Rice students.
Rice Hockey Club returned to the ice after an 84-year absence, kicking off its season with an away game against the University of Houston. The Owls fell to the Cougars 12-1, but team co-founder Oliver Finlayson said he was still proud of the experience.
“When I rst stepped on the ice, I was like, ‘Wow, we actually did it,’” said Finlayson, a Martel College junior. “We all got to play hockey together. It felt special that we put something together for Rice and it came to fruition.”
In the a ermath of the puck drop, Rice spent most of the opening minute in the o ensive zone. They preserved a scoreless tie for nearly eight minutes.
“We were keeping up with [Houston] in pace and physicality,” Finlayson said. “As the season goes on and we’re more conditioned and we have a few more people, we’ll be set to compete against better teams.”
The Cougars’ program is nearly as young as Rice’s, only in its third season, but their roster outnumbered the Owls 17-10. Houston consistently had 12 subs, while Rice only had four subs and no backup goalie.
Fatigue started to sink in for the Owls as Houston netted its rst goal with 12:13 le in the rst period, taking advantage of a 5-on-4 following a Rice penalty. The Cougars proceeded to score three more goals in the period, taking a 4-0 lead into the locker room.
It felt special that we put something together for Rice and it came to fruition.
Oliver Finlayson
MARTEL COLLEGE JUNIOR
Goalie David Mcmillan, who is a Lone Star College student but was eligible to play for Rice under the team’s first-year roster exemption, was peppered during the opening period, saving 23 of 27 shots. He went on to finish the game with a total of 44 saves.
“If we didn’t have him in net, that easily could have been, like, 20-1,” team cofounder David Nyari said. “He’s a big, solid dude who can move well. We’re really happy with how he played.”
The 20-minute intermission gave Rice a chance to rest and regroup, which paid o with four minutes of scoreless hockey to open the second period. Houston eventually found the back of the net with 15:48 on the clock, kicking o a stretch of three goals in ve minutes.
Rice’s rst power play opportunity came midway through the second period, but they weren’t able to capitalize on the man advantage. Houston survived the penalty kill and added two more goals before the horn sounded.
The two sides agreed to play the third period with a running clock, eliminating any stoppages over the 20-minute frame. Houston scored in the seventh and 11th minutes of the third period, pulling ahead 11-0.
Houston then committed a penalty, putting the Owls on another power play. Nyari capitalized on the man advantage, nding the back of the net o an assist from Duncan College freshman Reece Liu with 5:43 le to play.
“It’s really cool that I scored, but it’s a team sport, so [regardless of who] got it, I don’t really care,” said Nyari, a Wiess College sophomore. “I’m just glad we did score in our first game. I did not want to get shut out in our first game, and
thankfully, we didn’t.”
A er getting just four shots on net during the rst 20 minutes, Rice tallied 17 shots on goal over the nal two periods, not willing to go down without a ght.
“Even if we’re outnumbered, even if we’re tired, even if we’re 11 goals deep in the hole, we can still get out there and compete,” Finlayson said.
Houston added one more goal shortly before time expired, sealing the Cougars’ 12-1 win.
Rice will move on to prepare for next month’s home opener. The Owls host the University of Texas at San Antonio for a pair of games Nov. 14 and 15 at Bellerive Ice Center.
“Having a deeper bench will help us a lot,” Nyari said. “Our skill level is comparable to all these teams. We just need to have the numbers so we can compete at that level. Recruiting, getting in shape, reviewing our systems — all the boring nuances — we just need to continue to work on it.”
Men’s tennis falls short at ITA Texas Regionals
All three of Rice’s doubles pairs claimed rst-round wins in tight matches before being eliminated Sunday.
Rice men’s tennis battled through the weekend at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Texas Regional Championships held at Texas A&M University. Facing Texas schools such as Baylor University, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech University and Texas A&M, the Owls dominated doubles play early before bowing out against tough opponents later on.
“It was a great rst day,” head coach Efe Üstündağ said regarding the doubles matches. “We’re gonna continue doing our thing in doubles, and it’s been working for us.”
Freshman Noey Do emerged as a key standout for the Owls early in the qualifying singles draw. Do started strong, securing his rst victory against a University of Texas at San Antonio opponent in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.
He then clinched his spot in Saturday’s main draw by defeating a Lamar University singles player 6-4, 7-5. Do’s success continued in the main draw Round of 64, where he defeated a freshman Baylor opponent 6-2, 6-4. His weekend came to an end in the Round of 32, falling 6-1, 6-1 against a Texas A&M opponent.
Sophomore Gabriel Porras also competed deep into the weekend. Porras began his singles play with a three-set thriller against an opponent from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He carried his momentum into the Round of 16, where he lost 6-2, 6-2.
Adding to the singles victories was junior Petro Kuzmenok, who opened his main draw run by winning 6-3, 6-2. Kuzmenok advanced to the Round of 32, where he battled a Baylor opponent before ultimately falling.
The team had several other competitors in the singles competition, including sophomore Joshua Mandelbaum and senior Yair Sarouk, who competed in the qualifying draw. Mandelbaum fell
6-3, 0-6, 4-6, while Sarouk dropped a close match to a UTSA opponent in three sets. Junior Tommy Czaplinski secured a victory in the consolation bracket.
Although the Owls did not advance into the tournament’s deepest rounds, the overall performance against regional rivals signaled strong potential for the program, Üstündağ said.
“Encouraging signs would be some of the younger guys’ potential,” Üstündağ said. “I would’ve loved to see some of our top players from last year come to a little bit better competitive outcome.”
Moving forward, Rice will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the American Conference individual championships Oct. 23 to 26.
KAIRI MANO / THRESHER Volleyball players celebrate following a point during a Sept. 19 game against Cornell University at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls have now won seven in a row and are 7-1 in conference play.
ANDERSEN PICKARD / THRESHER
Rice and University of Houston club hockey players wait for the puck to drop during a faceo Oct. 18.
The Owls played in their rst game since 1941 and lost 12-1.
ANJALI MENEZES FOR THE THRESHER
Evaluating Rice football as bowl eligibility looms large
ANDERSEN PICKARD SPORTS EDITOR
Rice football’s once-favorable bowl game outlook has shi ed in the a ermath of a three-game losing streak. The timing of the bye week o ers an opportunity for the Owls to reset.
Head coach Scott Abell’s program sits at 3-4 overall (1-3 in the American Conference) and needs to win three of its next ve games to qualify for a bowl game.
A er starting the year 3-1, Abell said complacency may have set in, forcing the Owls into a downward spiral ahead of their bye week.
“As we got o to a hot start, everyone started thinking a little too much out in front of themselves, out in front of what the whole year could look like,” Abell said. “In Year 1, you just have to focus on the day in front of you.”
The rst seven games of the 2025 season have brought a new era of football to South Main. In his rst year, Abell has implemented the gun triple option o ense, which centers around giving the quarterback three choices on every play: run the ball himself, hand the ball o to the running back or pitch the ball to a receiver.
One of the main benefactors of this new o ensive scheme, redshirt junior running back Quinton Jackson, said he likes what he has seen so far.
“We show teams we can be very versatile, running the ball, throwing the ball,” Jackson said.
Injuries have plagued the Owls’ o ense over the last few weeks, making it more di cult for the unit to operate as intended. Abell said when inexperienced depth players are forced to enter the game, speci cally on the o ensive line or at quarterback, it limits the number of plays that he can call.
“For any o ensive scheme, it becomes really di cult when you’re constantly moving linemen in and out or around,” Abell said. “Early on, when it was just one o ensive lineman we were replacing, we really adapted well. But as you get two or three of them injured, and then on top of that our quarterback room … it’s been tough.”
Abell said he is “optimistic” some injured players will return Oct. 25 against the University of Connecticut, but the o ensive line and quarterback room won’t be fully healthy in time for kicko
Injury questions continue to surround redshirt sophomore quarterback Chase Jenkins, who Abell said avoided a seasonending injury Oct. 11 against the University of Texas at San Antonio. Jenkins will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. His availability will be a major factor in Rice’s quest for a bowl game, as he has shown signi cant improvement in his rst year as the starting quarterback.
Prior to getting injured, Jenkins had one passing touchdown and zero interceptions in four consecutive games. Abell said the Katy native has impressed the coaching sta with
his improved arm.
“Everyone saw him grow before he was injured,” Abell said. “His ability to make plays with his arm, his ability to make plays with his feet, I’m really proud of that. It certainly has made our o ense more dynamic and given us the ability to grow.”
Redshirt freshman o ensive lineman Luke Miller has been a stable presence in the trenches, staying healthy enough to appear in all seven games this year. He has allowed zero sacks this season and registered a 70.7 pass-blocking grade at UTSA, his highest against a conference opponent.
“He’s playing in his rst full year, he’s started every game, played about every snap for us up front,” Abell said. “He continues to get better every week.”
Amid the injuries, Abell sees a high ceiling for his o ense. The vision mirrors what we saw from Abell during his previous stint at Davidson College, whose o ense led the Football Championship Subdivision in rushing yards per game last year.
“We’re just scratching the surface,” Abell said. “I believe this [o ensive scheme] is a perfect t for Rice and what we’re going to be doing in recruiting and developing our roster. I just know we’re nowhere close to what I think we’re capable of.”
The Owls’ leading rushers this year are Jackson and redshirt sophomore running back Daelen Alexander, who form a one-two punch out of the back eld.
“We call our little duo ‘Smash and Dash,’” Jackson said. “People had been asking for [a nickname], so we came up with one.”
Jackson, in his rst year as the Owls’ primary running back, has 487 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He said he knew earning the starting job could take a physical toll on his body, but feels great heading into the back half of the season.
Alexander, who had a promising freshman year in 2023 before missing time due to injury, has 370 rushing yards and three scores of his own.
“Daelen has been working hard all year, and I’m happy for him,” Jackson said. “He’s like a brother. We help each other out, see what we can do to help the team go as far as possible. We want to see each other succeed.”
Like his head coach, Jackson is sold on the o ense’s upside.
“I think we have a very high ceiling,” Jackson said. “It’s about being consistent and executing the plays. Coach Abell calls a great game plan and puts us in the right position to succeed. It’s just about going out there, executing our game plan and doing our job. If we do that, we’ll be a very explosive and good o ense.”
Switching gears to the other side of the ball, Abell spoke highly of the defense.
“When we’re healthy — and we were decimated in our back half for three weeks — we’re as good as anybody in the conference,” Abell said. “The defense has lived up to the expectations that we set in
front of them to start the year.”
Although a fully healthy Rice defense meets Abell’s expectations, he said there are still areas for growth. He wants the unit to improve on third down, ending drives quicker and getting o the eld so the o ense can operate. The unit will be almost fully healthy coming out of the bye week, which should contribute to increased third-down e ciency, Abell said.
Abell highlighted safety Peyton Stevenson as a speci c defender who has impressed him. The redshirt senior has 31 tackles, 2.5 sacks and one interception, all of which are career-highs.
“Peyton’s had a great year for the program,” Abell said. “He’s asked to do a lot of things, and he jumps out at me. Phenomenal
leader in our back half with a young group.”
The schedule makers gave Rice four consecutive home games, leaving them to play four of their nal ve contests at Rice Stadium. Abell said he recognizes the rarity of such a long home stretch, as well as the pressure to capitalize on home- eld advantage.
“Three of our ve [remaining] games are against the toughest teams in our conference, but the fact that we have them at home is really advantageous for us,” Abell said.
Rice football returns to action Oct. 25 against UConn at Rice Stadium. Kicko is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+. According to Dra Kings Sportsbook, the Owls are 10.5-point underdogs against the Huskies, who pulled o an upset win at Boston College last weekend.
KAIRI MANO / THRESHER
Head coach Scott Abell observes his team from the sideline during an Oct. 4 game against Florida Atlantic University. The Owls are now 3-4 overall, including 1-3 in conference play.
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 or comments, please email realricethreshero cial@rice.edu.
CLASSIFIEDS
Rice Alum hiring well-quali ed tutors for all levels of STEM, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Reliable transportation required. Pay $35/hr+. Email resume to sri.iyengar@sriacademicservices.com
ADVERTISING
The Thresher accepts display and classified advertisements and reserves the right to refuse any advertising for any reason. Additionally, the Thresher does not take responsibility for the factual content of any advertisement. Printing an advertisement does not consititute an endorsement by the Thresher.
Display advertisements must be received by 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication; see ricethresher.org for pricing. Classified advertisements must be received with cash, check or credit card payment by 12 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication; see ricethresher.org for pricing.
