The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 26, 2010 Page: 1 of 20
twenty pages : ill. ; page 19 x 15 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
OP-ED P. 3
Health care pros and cons
Martel College senior Rodrigo Flores weighs the implications
of the recently passed health care bill.
A&E P. 12
Fly Uke an eagle
The Thresher interviews Office Party, winner of KTRU's Battle
of the Bands.
SPORTS P. 15
Decathlete conquers competition
Philip Adam has career-best performance to win the Shirley
Crowe Decathlon.
the Rice
VOLUME XCVII, ISSUE NO. 24
STUDENT-RUN
SINCE 1916
FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010
Master
plan
survey
results
revealed
by jocelyn wright
Thresher Editorial Staff
The Master Plan Working Group
presented the results of its survey on
the Campus Master Flan, the univer-
sity's 50 year plan for development,
at the Student Association meeting
Monday. The survey, which was open
January and February, attempted to
gauge students' reactions to the vari-
ous ideas presented in a draft of Uni-
versity Architect David Rodd's master
plan of campus Nov. 9.
The Master Plan Working Group
was chaired by SA President Patrick
McAnaney and consisted of eleven
other undergraduates and graduate
students ranging from college presi-
dents to new student representatives.
McAnaney, a Brown College senior,
said getting student input about the
master plan was one of his big cam-
paign issues last spring.
"Something I heard pretty con-
stantly during my three years was
construction, construction, construc-
tion," McAnaney said. "A lot of it is
pretty overwhelming and students
felt they hadn't really got to partici-
pate in the process of planning."
Since the master plan, which is
revised every five years, was up for
revisions this year, McAnaney said
he saw an opportunity to get students
more involved.
"I thought, if we want to get input
on construction and be involved, this
is a great opportunity to try and do
it," McAnaney said.
After he was elected last spring,
McAnaney met with President David
Leebron, Associate Vice President for
Facilities, Engineering and Planning
Barbara White Bryson and Rodd to
discuss the idea. Rodd presented the
current version of the master plan
at the SA meeting so that students
would have the background neces-
sary to answer the questions, which
the working group then developed.
More than 640 students respond-
ed to the survey, which focused on
six key issues: green space, campus
social dynamic, parking and trans-
portation, undergraduate growth,
recreation and athletics and campus
aesthetics.
McAnaney said these catego-
ries were chosen from FE&P's list
of key issues.
"Those were the areas we identi-
fied as most interesting and relevant
to students from our perspective,"
McAnaney said. "We added campus
aesthetics as an element we'd like to
O see MASTER, page 9
Jones wins again, at
least with silly string...
Jones College sophomore Ellie Grebowski takes part in Jones' jack last Thursday in which
Houston mayor Annise Parker's (Jones '78) visit to campus ended with Jones students from the
crowd and nearby buildings spraying the other attendees with silly string. See story, page 8.
Despite rain, Will Rice dashes to victory
Beer Bike rescheduled for Sunday
by Seth Brown
Thresher Editorial Staff
Thanks to last Saturday's inclem-
ent weather, most students partici-
pating in this year's Beer Bike parade
were soaked even before balloons
started flying. Although all of the
student races were rescheduled for
this Sunday (see adjacent story), the
alumni participated in a beer run,
which Will Rice College won.
Will Rice finished just seconds ahead
of Brown College, whose penalties put
them behind 16 seconds.
Sid Richardson College was disqual
ified because its chug team did not bring
chugging equipment and beverages, re-
quirements for the race.
The parade proceeded as planned
despite the rain, though Emergency
Medical Services Director Lisa Bas-
gall said the rain resulted in an in-
creased number of twisted ankles
and lacerations than she otherwise
would have expected.
EMS received 20 calls, of which
Basgall said four to five resulted in
hospital trips. She said although
EMS investigated a rumor of a wom-
an giving birth in the Jesse H. Jones
Graduate School of Business parking
garage, EMS was unable to locate the
individual in question.
Campus-wide Beer Bike Coor-
dinator Brian Henderson said be-
cause of the rain, some Beer Bike
staff were unable to properly record
fines, and the fines assessed to each
college during the parade were thus
uneven. Each college will instead
be assessed a $600 parade fee, or
$150 for McMurtry College and Dun
can College because of their smaller
student population. The $600 fine
by Seth Brown
Thresher Editorial Staff
The biggest player at this year's
Beer Bike was not a college, rider,
or even one of the coordinators
— rather, nature dominated this
year's parade and races. Thanks
to the cold and wet last Saturday,
all of the races but the alumni
race have been rescheduled for
2 p.m. Sunday.
Campus-wide Beer Bike Coor-
dinator Brian Henderson said the
decision to postpone the student
races was made because of con-
cerns about safety and the event's
enjoyability.
"At the first Beer Run, Emer-
gency Medical Services treated
people for hypothermia, and it
wasn't fun for the teams or the
spectators," Henderson, a Jones
College senior, said. "We had no
real good reason for trying to hold
the races [Saturday]."
Although April 10 was the origi-
nal contingency date for the races,
is $30 fewer than was assessed to
the college with the least fines last
year, and Henderson said he has
not received any objections to this
plan from any college.
Assistant Dean of Students Boyd
Beckwith said several incidents
raised concerns about the parade
that will necessitate changes for
next year. These incidents included
the use of underfilled balloons, the
Henderson said that there were too
many conflicts on this date among
the various bike and chug teams.
This Sunday will feature reduced
team sizes, with four to five bik-
ers and chuggers per team instead
of the usual 10, again because of
team conflicts.
"Teams were having problems
fielding full teams, and every
weekend after this gets worse,"
Campus-wide Beer Bike Coordina-
tor Nazish Malik said.
Sunday's races will still in-
clude an exhibition race between
Duncan and McMurtry, and the
races between the other colleges
may have to be divided into two
separate heats, depending on the
number of judges who volunteer.
The colleges in each heat are still
undecided, and the overall rank-
ing will depend only on the final
times for each college, not on their
ranking within their heat.
Wiess College junior Hari Ath-
reya said although he thinks post-
poning the race should make the
use of balloons on police and police
vehicles, an incidence of public uri-
nation and the unauthorized use of
Shepherd School of Music and Bar-
bara and David Gibbs Recreation
and Wellness Center facilities by
large numbers of students immedi-
ately after the parade ended.
"We can't continue with the cur-
rent level of dangerous behavior,"
Beckwith said. "Shepherd had little
event more enjoyable for specta-
tors, he hopes that heats aren't
necessary.
"Heats would take away from
some of the excitement of it," Ath-
reya said.
Henderson and Malik ask for
any faculty, staff or associates in-
terested in judging to contact them
at beerbike@rice.edu.
Because of budget restrictions,
it is unlikely that there will be
food provided Sunday, though the
coordinators said they intend to
contact their sponsors. Saturday's
events cost $28,000, but Beer Bike
receives only $16,500 a year from
blanket taxes. The Beer Bike Com-
mittee assessed $5,700 this year
in fines, down from $7,000 col-
lected last year. Colleges have until
April 9 to pay these fines.
Assistant Dean of Students
Boyd Beckwith said expenses due
to Sunday's races, such as rent-
ing an ambulance and having Wee
University Police Department of-
ficers present, will mean that Beer
O see BEER, page 6
kids inside when a mass of wet,
combative students came through."
Hanszen College sophomore
Bruna Costa said despite the cold,
she enjoyed the parade.
"I woke up and my jaw was sore
because I was smiling," Costa said.
"I was already soaking. I didn't need
to get hit by water balloons. I was
just voluntarily letting myself get
sick, but it was totally worth it."
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Sorry, wrong language; the Shepherd School
Opera will be performing on Stephen Sond
heim's A Little Night Music, a musical about
romantic couples written in waltz time, today
and Monday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2
p.m. in the Wortham Opera Theater.
Inspired by Japan?
Sid Schoolgirls is 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. tomorrow.
There will be stripper poles, as well as DJs Alex
Marks and Tristan Clement, free alcohol for
those of age and free food. Did we mention
stripper poles? Stripper poles!
No Thresher next week
Due to spring recess, it will be two weeks until the
next issue. Please don't be excessively newsworthy
in the next few weeks, or the first April edition will
have to be really long. Please?
INDEX
Opinion 3
News 4
Arts & Entertainment 12
Sports 15
Calendar 19
Backpage 20
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Wilde, Anna. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 26, 2010, newspaper, March 26, 2010; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398518/m1/1/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.