The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, February 12, 1999 Page: 1 of 20
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the Rice Thresher
Vol. LXXXVI, Issue No. 16
SINCE 1916
Friday, February 12, 1999
Conference focuses on gender
by Mrudula Penta
THRKSHKR STAFF
Tlie 1999 Rice Woman's Confer-
ence drew over 150st«fclents, faculty
and staff membeof; and alumni to
campus for a we(?kend dedicated to
the discussion of gender issues.
The presentation of the 1999 Rice
Women's Resource Center Impact
Awards kicked off the conference at
a reception Friday, which also
marked the third anniversary of the
center. Nineteen faculty and staff
members, graduate students, and
undergraduate students were hon-
ored for their activism in women's
issues and promotion of gender
equality.
"I was personally exited to see
so many students, both women and
men, attend the conference this
weekend," Psychology Professor
and award recipient Mikki Hebl said.
The conference covered a spec-
trum of topics, including politics,
finances, science, spirituality and the
environment. "I was energized by
the thought-provoking discussion at
the wrap-up session," Connie Burke,
a member of the steering committee
and a Lovett college master, said.
'"Feminism, in an International
Perspective' gave me a lot to think
about, as did Christine Gorman's
talk on the differences in health is-
sues between men and women,"
Burke said.
The conference was an educa-
tional experience for many. "I
learned from all the young women
attending the conference who acted
as strong role models," Lovett Col-
lege senior Dana McGrath said.
McGrath, a student on the
conference's steering committee,
organized a performing arts pro-
gram, featuring music, dance and
drama performed by Rice women.
Conference attendees were also
encouraged to participate in the Rice
Women's Mentoring Program, a
Leadership Rice initiative organized
by Julie Roach, a Will Rice College
senior.
"After purposefully sitting down
at a table where I knew no one, I
discovered that many older Rice
alumna are struggling to find their
identities in this woman-friendly so-
ciety," Sid Richardson College Mas-
ter and Rice alumna Penny Bennett
said.
Hebl talked about the dual na-
ture of the discussions. "While [the
talks] revealed that women continue
to face some of the same old battles,
like body image issues, discrimina-
tion and work-family choices, [they]
also revealed that women are enter-
ing the new millennium with in-
creased experience, success and
opportunity," she said.
The conference brought together
both undergraduates, alumni and
professors in a shared cause. "I re-
ally enjoyed the opportunity to meet
with so many successful women from
so many different age groups," Jones
College senior Marisa Jennings said.
See CONFERENCE, Page 7
Students, university react to NOD letter
by Julie Hollar
THKFSHFKSTAFF
Students, masters and the admin-
istration responded to the letter writ-
ten by Will Rice College Masters
Dale and Elise„Sawyer and signed
by eight other college masters ques-
tioning Wiess College's Night of
Decadence party. The letter was sent
to Wiess President Ethan Schultz
and Wiess Masters John and Paula
Hutchinson.
At Wiess, some students put up
fliers protesting attacks on NOD,
while the administration is taking
steps to decide what, if anything,
should be done in response to the
concerns raised about the party's
safety and propriety.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Zenaido Camacho formed an ad hoc
advisory committee to investigate
the annual party and to make recom-
mendations to the administration by
March 5.
In his official charge to the com-
mittee, Camacho "urged the com-
mittee to consider the perspective
of all interested constituencies,
both inside and outside of Wiess
College."
"My feeling was that the letter
was of great seriousness, and it needs
a serious inquiry and response,"
Camacho said.
In protest of the letter, some
Wiess members posted fliers that
say "I dislike Dale Sawyer" and other
messages on the doors and windows
of their rooms.
Wiess freshman Andrew Ripley,
one of the students who made and
posted pro-NOD signs, said the origi-
nal idea for the signs actually came
from a Will Rice student. The idea
took off and branched out into mul-
tiple sign designs at Wiess, he said.
"It's not like a protest — it's not
like we can take action against any-
thing," Ripley said. "It seems like
UTCH
; PAULA
ABI COHEN/THRESHER
A flier on the door of Wiess Room
227 mentions the Wiess masters.
this is going completely over our
heads. What I'm hoping is that some
■masters will see what students are
saying and start to disagree [with
the letter] and cause some ripples in
the foundation Dale Sawyer has cre-
ated."
At Will ^ice, the Sawyers called a
college meeting to discuss the alco-
hol policy, their view on the letter
and NOD itself. Will Rice President
Michelle Glassman said,the masters
said their hope was for the letter to
spark comment and a decision to
reform NOD, not to terminate it.
Still, she said their manner of doing
so was "inappropriate."
"I think the masters have every
right to express a concern, but by
using the title of master they invoke
a sense of authority and consensus
of the college." Glassman said. "The
end result is a prescription of behav-
ior, which is not their role in the
college."
The college presidents discussed
the letter at their weekly meeting.
Brown College President Roger
Chen said most do not support the
letter. "We just don't agree with the
approach," Chen said. "Three col-
leges' masters weren't even asked
to sign the letter."
Chen 'said the letter brought up
some serious issues, including
sexual harassment and irresponsible
drinking. But, he said, "NOD itself is
really a Wiess issue and should be
about whether the people at Wiess
are comfortable holding it."
Many students disagreed with the
idea that the party should be looked
into by the administration or the
masters.
"Students have choices. NOD is
one of them. It is unfair to expect
Rice students to behave as adults in
the classroom and treat us as chil-
dren outside of the classroom," Sid
Richardson College junior Elizabeth
Oehler said.
Jones College junior Keesha
Wallace agreed. '"Hie assumption
that adults can't handle that environ-
ment is somewhat degrading," she"
said.
ffetr
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ABI COHEN/THRESHER
Wiess Room 228 sports fliers referring to Will Rice Master Dale Sawyer.
ABI COHEN/THRESHER
A flier outside Wiess Room 213 offers
a reward for Will Rice Master Dale
Sawyer "Dead or Alive or Ubangeed."
Hanszen College senior Eitan
Altman said he was worried that
administrative decisions about NOD
would violate the implicit trust be-
tween the university and the stu-
dents.
Altman pointed to the alcohol
policy as an example of the
university's general policy of letting
students be responsible for them-
selves. "I think everyone who goes
to NOD goes knowing what they're
going to see and what happens
there," he said.
Altman said that he believes the
masters are "scapegoating NOD be-
cause it's the most public display" of
activities like drinking, nudity and
sexual behavior. But, he said, "The
things that happen at NOD are go-
ing to happen whether you abolish
NOD or not."
COHEN 'THRESHE
Bonding with your friends
Sid Richardson College sophomore Esther Sung looks anguished in
Lovett College's The Vagina Monologues, playing this weekend.
See Review, Page 9.
Late 'Campanile' to arrive
in May, editor Clark says
by Laura Derr
THKKSHKRSTAFF
If there are no further complica-
tions, the 1998 Campanile, already
four and a half months past due, will
be finished by the end of February
and released in early May, accord-
ing to 1998 Campanile Editor Sarah
Clark.
This is exceptionally late, student
media adviser Jen Cooper said.
If the Campanile is not completed
this month, its print date may be
pushed back. Clark has submitted
65 percent of the yearbook pages to
date, Cooper said.
• The Campanile is supposed to be
distributed in September, but it has
been late for the past four years. The
1995 Campanile came out in Octo-
ber 1996, only two months before
the 1996 book.
The past few years, the incoming
editor has had to finish up the previ-
ous year's book before beginning
the new one.
"People don't realize that the
Campanile has gotten into a pattern
of holding over into the next year,"
Clark said. This cycle of finishing
books late "puts a lot of strain on
editors and makes it hard to have a
clean start," she said.
The 1997 yearbook was left 85
percent complete in September 1997
and was finished by Clark in January
1998, when she began on her own
book.
Cooper said when Clark gradu-
ated last May and left for a job in
Austin, they had decided that she
would take the book with her and
finish it on her own. Clark started
the book a semester late. Cooper
See YEARBOOK, Page 8
INSIDE
General elections
begin Feb. 19
Rice students will be able to
vote on-line for the 42 elected
positions, from Student Asso-
ciation president, to Campanile
editor, to Thresher editor.
The SA will approve the bal-
lot at its meeting Monday. The
candidates for SA president will
debate Tuesday in Farnsworth
Pavilion.
Look for election blurbs in
next week's Thresher. Vote on-
line by clicking on the link from
the Rice home page: http://
www.rice, edu
OPINION Page 4
Rice responds to NOD
NEWS Page 6
How the campus works
A&E Page 10
The 'Thresher'gets personal
Weekend Weather
Friday
Sunny, 35-57 degrees. Sunny and
cool is what Houston does best.
Saturday
Sunny, 39-63 degrees. Go
outside, it's a beautiful weekend.
Sunday
Partly cloudy, 39-70 degrees. Like
the NOD affair, things are heating
up. Wear shorts.
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Stoler, Brian. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, February 12, 1999, newspaper, February 12, 1999; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246639/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.