The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 10, 1974 Page: 2 of 12
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the rice thresher
"l\m SCHOOL Buses A«aS COHUHeflHS SCHOOL fkXtfABf aaHMGr! *
editorial
There's something more than just a bit
screwy in the basic arguments used by Howard
Laidlaw in his letter printed below.
He asserts that both jocks and weanies
come to Rice to "achieve their respective
goals: .. a way to make a living after college."
He attempts to make little of the differ-
ences between the athletes and the other stu-
dents by saying, "All that is really needed... to
resolve this senseless conflict of opinion is a
little mutual understanding and respect."
In fact, the whole point of his letter is to
assert the importance of athletics as a primary
goal for some students.
Such arguments are absurd. The first,
and only, goal of this University is education.
Rice provides an intellectual atmosphere where
students can learn — from books, from people,
from experiences. The importance here is in-
teraction among students and faculty.
threshing-it-out]
The athletes could benefit from this inter-
action — but they are prevented by the rigors
of practice schedules, and by differences in
outlook and orientation between jocks and
weanies.
This difference in outlook is important.
Here at Rice, the emphasis on education,
through academics, is vital. Were we interested
merely in "making a living after college," we
might as well make Rice a vocational high
school and all be plumbers.
Of course, there are exceptions to these
generalizations — many athletes benefit from
the Rice environment, and many weanies get
nothing out of the place by hiding in a shell
for four years.
To suggest that athletics should be a pri-
mary goal of students here is a slap in the face
to the fundamental principles upon which Rice
University was founded.
Scholarship athletes have a rightful place at Rice
To the editor:
In the October 3 Thresher,
there was an article by Paul
Hammon about the low stan-
dards of academic achievement
exhibited by scholarship ath-
letes. Mr. Hammon, for the most
part, wrote an excellent article.
However, in the last paragraph,
he expressed the opinion that
college athletics is an 'outside'
activity. In other words, he be-
lieves that scholarship athletes
have no place in the university. I
am strongly opposed to this
viewpoint.
There appears to be wide-
spread consensus here at Rice
that academic achievement is the
only goal towards which stu-
dents should endeavor. Academ-
ic achievement, to be sure, is the
underlying purpose of the uni-
versity. However, within the ini-
versity, there is a great degree of
flexibility with regard to the em-
phasis each student places
upon his varied activities. In oth-
er words, each student is allowed
to make a decision concerning
how he will best utilize college
to. achieve his personal goals. I
submit that both jocks and
weanies (I hope no one will be
offended by my use of these
terms) have basic differences be-
tween their goals and that these
differences are the result of both
choice and necessity. Before
moving on, I would like to say
that I realize that there are few,
if any, 'pure' jocks or weanies. I
believe that most students are
aware of the advantages of strik-
ing some sort of balance be-
tween academics and extracur-
ricular activities, athletic or
otherwise. Nevertheless, it will
be necessary to generalize a great
deal to present my point. Please
realize that I am doing this when
I refer to jocks and/or weanies.
The Rice weanie has had a
good academic preparation for
college; as a result, his SAT
scores are good. He may be re-
ceiving financial aid based on
needj plus additional aid in the
form of scholarships. The scho-
larship may have conditions,
such as a minimum GPA, which
must be met in order to keep the
scholarship. The weanie has a
choice about what amount of his
time he will spend participating
GARY BREWTON
Editor
IMCg DALE PAYTON-ENGLE
inrOSnOr Business Manager
Nancy Taubenslag • • • Associate Editor
Kevin Campbell Advertising Manager
Jo Simpson ^ Production Manager
Kathy Egan Assistant Business Manager
Mike MeClure Graphics Editor
Forest Davenport Back Page Editor
Dana Blankenhorn Circulation and Sports
Emily Coffperson Unpaid (Suggestions?)
Staff: Danna Bledsoe Ron Miller, Wiley Sanders, Debbie
Davies, Connie Dressner Beth Quarles, Philip Parker, Doug
Peck, Lee Sowers, Shannon Vale, Vaughan Johnson, Linda
Eichblatt, Elaine Bonilla, Hannes Vogel, Manu Hinduja,
John Edwards, Jim Carls, Bonnie Gershon, Ruthie Melton,
Carolena Houze, Barbara Morris, Leslie Lauderdale, Brian
Watson, Ann Leaveslev. Andrew Blakeney, Susan
Goodson, Thomas Zimmerman, Susie Davis, Claude Sisson,
Dennis Abbe, Michael Thannisch, Adelaide Moorman,
Carter Davis, Randy Kelley, Carol McKinney, Debbie
Osterman, Glen Radcliffe, H. David Danglo, Paul Alley,
Deby Wyatt, Gary Preuss, Ted Andrews, Mark Linimon,
John Anderson, Gary Vyas, Rosine Wilson, Cynthia
Hudson, Carla McFarland, Brad Fuller, Sandy Perkins, H.
Michael Hindman.
The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper of Rice University
since 1916, is published weekly, on Thursdays during the school year
except during examination periods and holidays by the students of Rice
University, Houston, Texas, 77001, telephone 528-4141 ext. 221. Adver-
tising rates available on request. Subscription price $15 per year, mailed
out first class. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of
anyone except the writers. Obviously.
in extracurricular activities. Con-
sequently, he can spend almost
all of his time engaged in his
studies, if he so desires.
The Rice jock, on the other
hand, has relatively poor SAT
scores because of a poor academ-
ic preparation for college as evi-
denced by the fact that jocks
meet fewer of the recommended
admission requirements than the
rest of the student body; there
are, unfortunately, also a few
cases where the poor SAT scores
are directly attributable to IQ.
Jocks receive full financial aid
with the understanding that aid
will be terminated should the
athlete willfully terminate his
athletic participation. This parti-
cipation requires a great amount
of time for practice, recupera-
tion from physical exhaustion
and/or injury, and actual inter-
collegiate competition. The jock,
except in special cases or during
the off-season, has no choice in
his degree of involvement in ath-
letics.
The jock, when he accepts an
athletic scholarship, makes a de-
cision that he will spend as much
time and effort as is deemed nec-
essary by the coaching staff to
maximize the development of
his athletic skills. He also accepts
the fact that his involvement in
athletics along with his compar-
atively inadequate preparation
for college may seriously hinder
the achievement of the maxi-
ik >
UH Women's Advocate
offers aid to Rice feminists
To the Editor:
I am writing in appreciation
of Barbara L. Williams' concern
for the lack of a Women's Advo-
cate at Rice University. If she, or
any other concerned Rice stu-
dents wish to enlist my aid in
the establishment of such a pos-
ition, they should please feel
free to call me at 749-3388
(afternoons).
For full humanism,
Debra L. Danburg
University of Houston
Women's Advocate
mum he is capable of academic-
ally. In the jock's mind (he does
have one, you know) is the be-
lief that these sacrifices will be
'worth it' should he manage to
obtain a professional contract in
athletics after he graduates from
college.
Weanies may argue that jocks
should utilize some other means
than college to achieve this goal,
the acquisition of a professional
contract. However, the fact is
that college is, at this time, the
only realistic alternative jocks
have. Respective jocks may 'put
all their eggs in one basket', or
they may strike a balance be-
tween academics and athletics;
however, this is, again, a perso-
nal decision.
The point is that both wean-
ies and jocks should be given
equal opportunities to achieve
their respective goals. Both goals
are equally important in that
they provide a way to make a
living after college and the op-
portunity to do whatever the
respective student finds person-
ally rewarding (contrary to pop-
ular belief, jocks as well as wean-
ies are students). I strongly be-
lieve that all that is really needed
between jocks and weanies to re-
solve this senseless conflict of
opinion is a little mutual under-
standing and respect. After all,
the university does provide the
best means for both these groups
to achieve their respective goals.
It would be very wrong for one
group to deny the other group
access to these opportunities.
Howard Laidlaw
opinion
Minicon VIII set for Nov. 23
Fans and devotees of the
STAR TREK television series
and comic books will be holding
a one day "mini-convention"
Saturday, November 23, at the
Executive Red Carpet Inn (4020
Southwest Freeway), here in
Houston.
On the agenda for the con-
vention (dubbed Minicon VIII)
will be screenings which will
include several of the Star Trek
TV programs, the hilarious Star
Trek blooper reels (which con-
tain outtakes and mistakes from
the show), the classic science-
fiction film The Day The Earth
Stood Still and one of the
"Flash Gordon" films, Mars
Attacks The World starring the
one and only Buster Crabbe.
Area fans will also have dis-
play booths and will be buying,
trading and selling such nostalgic
artifacts as old comic books
from the 1940's (some worth up
to $1,000.00), movie memora-
billia (including posters from the
'30s, '40s and '50s), old dime
pulps, films, and, of course, a
wealth of material pertaining to
the Star Trek TV series.
The most recent Minicon,
held this past September 21,
drew over 750 people, and a
similar turnout is expected for
Minicon VIII.
Proceeds from Minicon VIII
go to the financing of Houston-
con '75/ Star Trek '75, a five
day national convention to be
held in Houston June 25-29 at
the Royal Coach Inn.
Admission to the minicon is
only $1.50 per person, and tick-
ets may be purchased at the
door. Dealer's tables must be
reserved in advance, and are
$6.00 each.
Persons wishing further infor-
mation on Minicon VIII or to
reserve dealer's space may call:
Earl Blair at 692-0205.
the rice thresher, october 10, 1974 — page 2
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Brewton, Gary. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 10, 1974, newspaper, October 10, 1974; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245204/m1/2/?q=%22Education+-+Colleges+and+Universities+-+Rice+University%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.