The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 18, 1965 Page: 3 of 8
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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
Pitzer States Appeal Channels I 'Godot1 still waitina
Dear Mr. Timme:—I am writing to you in reply to your S I wl If f WW I f I
Dear Mr. Timme:—I am writing to you in reply to your
letter of March 14 on behalf of the Student Association
and trust that this letter will also serve as a reply to the
many students who signed petitions related to the same
subject.
It is understandable that you should be cqjocerned
about the suddenness of the action of Dean Higginbotham
in placing Mr. Hugh Rice Kelly on disciplinary probation
with the consequences of that probation.
However, both the statement of the Student Associa-
tion and that of the petitions contain serious errors with
respect to the procedures which were open to Mr. Kelly
had he chosen to avail himself of them.
Thus, while I am always receptive to proposals for
the improvement of policies at Rice University and will
be glad to meet with student representatives either in
the Student Affairs Committee or elsewhere, I must also
ask that the discussion begin with a correct understand-
ing of the present situation. The following comments may
help to explain present procedures; I am sure Dean Hig-
ginbotham or the College Masters can supply further
information as it may be needed.
You state, . . it is regrettable that the entire
authority of the University should rest on the shoulders
of one man . . but this is not true.
APPEAL TO PRESIDENT IS POSSIBLE
An appeal to the President from a penalty by the
Dean or other University official has been and is possible,
and I have, on at least one occasion, formed an ad hoc
review panel to consider modification of a penalty.
Also, all of the more severe penalties involving sus-
pension or dismissal from the University come to me
before being put into effect. Of course, most penalties
are recommended by a student committee, i.e., the Honor
Council or a College Court, and the student recommenda-
tions have been followed in almost all cases.
You state, "there was no opportunity for the editor
to express his views . . The Dean Mas ready to listen;
it was Mr. Kelly who was refusing to express his views.
I was and still am prepared to listen to Mr. Kelly but
not before he has talked with the Dean.
In the case at hand, Dean Higginbotham was in pos-
session of all the essential facts through his direct knowl-
edge; hence, there was no need to delay for investigation
or for a committee judgment of conflicting testimony.
The offense was no mere discourtesy but a clear
contempt of the University. Unless the Dean were to
invoke a special and arbitrary penalty, his choice was
limited to one of the following: disciplinary probation,
suspension for a fixed period, or dismissal.
If he had chosen either of the more severe penalties,
the case would have come to me for final deicsion after
an inherent delay. The Dean chose the least severe of
the three types of penalties and the consequncs of dis-
ciplinary probation followed from the published statement
in the catalog.
STUDENTS MUST ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY
This decision allows Mr. Kelly to continue his aca-
demic program and to graduate with no blemish on his
permanent transcript. Mr. Kelly should consider himself
fortunate that a more severe penalty was not invoked
and remember that he is now on probation.
I shall welcome, as always, proposals for the im-
provement of policies with respect to stifdent discipline
or other aspects of student life and will be pleased to
have discussions in the Student Affairs Committee or to
receive suggestions from the Student Senate.
I have pointed out, however, that present procedures
do allow for "due process" and review steps which were
available to Mr. Kelly but were not invoked by him. Fu-
ture. discussions should be based upon a correct under-
standing of the present procedures.
I should also emphasize that there has been and will
be no censorship of the Thresher; I am deeply committed
to this principle. The editor, however, must accept his
responsibilities as a student and will not be excused from
a proper penalty merely because he is an editor.
As I understand it, the Student Senate has named
a new Editor and publication of the Thresher will con-
tinue uninterrupted and uncensored.
K. S. PITZER
SOUTH TEXAS
VENDORS
4529 Harrisburg
"Serving the Rice Campus with
Automatic Vending Machines"
i§
BY STEVE THORPE
Thresher Amusements Editor
Lawson Taitte's Baker Thea-
tre-in-the-round produced Sam-
uel Beckett's "Waiting For Go-
dot" Saturday night.
At the outset it must be said
that the play itself has never
been a favorite of mine, and
certainly not the best thing
Beckett has produced. Perhaps
its major fault can be said to
lie in an over-sophisticated
statement of a basically simple
existentialist theme —and this,
more than anything else, hin-
dered the Taitte production.
Exhibit Limitation
Dealing with the production,
however, and for the moment
disregarding the subject matter,
Taitte and his cast must be
congratulated for a generally
sound performance. Dennis
Kear as Pozzo was given a hard
run for the top honors by Bob
Lowenstein's surprisingly good
Estragon and the exchanges be-
tween the two represented the
glittering high points of the
production.
Unfortunately, the play also
hinged on the character of
Vladamir (John Harris), and as
a result the performance seemed
to exhibit more imitative form
than anything else.
Harris was hindered by his
role, to begin with, and by his
director's natural propensity
for subtly, but even so, it was
inescapably clear at points that
he was as unsure of his lines
as he was of his character and
the end result was not the im-
pression of boredom, the es-
sence of waiting, that Beckett
strives for, but rather more ac-
tual boredom and futile waiting
on the part of the audience.
Good Theater
The net results of this facul-
ty character was a slowness in
pacing which, had Pozzo not
entered, would have made the
first act unbearable. The sec-
ond act, on the other hand,
picked up markedly, proving
once again that good theater
can be produced in the colleges.
From the technical aspect,
Taitte and his crew deserve
well-earned congratulations, for
while one might quarrel with
the pacing, none could quibble
with technique in "Waiting for
Godot." In tackling a show like
Harold's
Oarage
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this, Taitte had taken on a def-
inite challenge for arena stag-
ing and had done as well as his
play and his actors would per-
mit.
"If only—" seems like a hol-
low phrase in any case, but here
it seems unavoidable, for had
Harris shown a bit of the ener-
gy we have seen him display,
if he had enjoyed his role as
much as some of the others he'd
portrayed, "Godot" could easily
have been the best thing seen
on campus this year.
As it was, this lack of confi-
dence and slow pacing was still
not enough to hide the basic
theatrical soundness that good
direction and excellence from
other sources provided f o r
"Waiting For Godot."
All candidates for office
in the April 5 General
Election must turn in ex-
pense accounts and peti-
tions to a member of the
Election Committee. Ex-
pense accounts are due by
12:50 pm the last school
day preceding the elec-
tion.
Petitions are due on
March 20. They must be
accompanied by a 50c fil-
ing fee. Campaigning may
begin on March 29.
ELECTIONS-
(Continued from Page 1)
ran defeated Joe Simmons for
the office of second vice presi-
dent.
Cabinet Representatives
David Anderson and Sandy
Mueller are the new sophomore
resident representatives to the
cabinet. Mike Journeay is the
non-resident representative.
Junior representatives are
Jeff Corbin and Rick Olson on-
campus and Ron Ross off-cam-
pus. Jim Campbell and Johnny
Somers are the senior resident
representatives and Lawson
Taitte the non-resident repre-
sentative. Jack Morrava will
represent the graduate students.
Jim Scott is the new sopho-
more-junior senator. Hank Grae-
ber will serve as chief justice.
Susan Bonner ran unopposed
for next year's executive vice-
president of Jones. Brenda Bar-
ry defeated Alyce McDermott
for the office of social vice-
president. Susan Baker was
elected over Barbara Manroe
for Jones' secretary and Nancy
Tips defeated Jane Starling for
treasurer. Nancy Robinson was
elected over Eileen Doyle for
Senator.
Representing the seniors to
the cabinet are Jean Charles
and Linda Roseberry. Karen
Johnson and LeAtme Schroifwr
are the junior representatives.
Sophomore representatives are
Judy Bellows and Becky Rosen-
berg.
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THE RICE THRESHER, MARCH 1 8, 196 5—P AGE 3
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Durham, John. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 18, 1965, newspaper, March 18, 1965; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth244941/m1/3/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.