The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 9, 1978 Page: 2 of 16
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editorial
"University of Texas students to vote on proposal to
modify their Student Association or abolish it
altogether." — news item, Daily Texan, Feb. 6, 1978.
It's comforting to know some other university is
wondering about the proper place of its student
government, if only because of the natural affinity of the
miserable. However, the plebiscite at Texas is a
recognition that student government has lost its
effectiveness. Here it dissolves itself by default as over
two thirds of the SA positions go unopposed or unfiled for.
Rice politics has always been the amusement of only a
small minority. This year the number of people seeking to
serve the student body and/or their transcripts has fallen
to a new low. It won't be surprising if no one bothers to
vote in the four races in which more than one person
bothered to run.
Blame the apathy on the attitude that extracurricular
activities harm your GPA and jeopardize your chances in
a tight job market. Maybe the cause is a lack of a war or
some other "great" national issue that directly impinges
on college students. Local issues may be nothing more
than midterms and the rising price of beer at the Pub.
Even so, a Rice student government can have concerns
that can be expressed—and not something abstract like
expressing solidarity with oppressed students of the
world. The SA could lobby for a student representative on
the Rice board of governors. It's an old suggestion—the
stuff of numerous campaign promises but a valid one if
the students believe that the board should have other
means of communication with students besides the
President. Maybe the idea is not possible or maybe it was
not pushed as vigorously as it should have been in the
past.
The library could be another priority. While presently a
good undergraduate facility, the effective reduction in the
acquisition budget caused by inflation will eventually
weaken the core collection. The SA could show a
sensitivity for the needs of future classes and help make
the changes when they will be of the most use.
Closer to home, the SA Senate could in/estigate the
maintenance of the university's buildings, especially the
colleges. The campus departments responsible for this
follow their own bureaucratic logic—while Lovett College
goes without air conditioning and Sid Rich's elevators
refuse to run. If the seventies have had any major
movement, it has been consumerism. It is not
unreasonable to expect a fair return on your room and
board dollar. A unified student body would obviously be
more effective than the individual colleges.
Besides these more apparent items, there are other
tasks a senate can undertake. The only limit is that of
imagination. A student government does not have to fade
away.
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Non-Texan protests in-state quotas
To the editor:
"Rice admits students of
any race, color and national or
ethnic origin." The above
phrase is used by university
officials to encourage all
students to apply to this
institution, all students, that
is, that live within the Texas
border.
The remark made to the
Thresher by Mr. Stabell
about how, if he could, he
would create an all Texan
student body, has made many
of us from out-of-state feel like
the welcome mat has betn
jerked out from beneath oa.
feet. Of course, we realize that
his intentions were in the best
interest of preserving the
precious Texan heritage that
Rice possesses and maintain-
ing a mysterious quota that
was established by a charter
written 60 years ago.
The diversity of the student
body is essential to the
education of all of us here at
Rice. If the student population
becomes limited (or even
preferred) to those with "pure
Texan blood," then the whole
concept of a true college
by Jeff Kerr
education will be destroyed.
Naturally, someone will try to
rationalize discrimination.
Prior to integration, many
townsfolk would point to town
charters and the requirement
that white children receive top
priority, before they would
allow blacks to be educated.
Today, we laugh at this type of
reasoning, but I wonder if we
aren't faced with a similar
situation by admitting a
Texas resident in the place of a
more qualified out-of-state
applicant (even though this is
a non-state supported school).
I worry how future genera-
tions will view our attitude.
I'm not asking for a mass
overthrow of the administra-
tion, or for students to burn
down the physics' labs
(despite any personal urges). I
am asking the Admissions
Office to begin changing its
longterm goals on admitting
students and attempt to obtain
as diverse a student popula-
tion as possible. It is all up to
the students, faculty, and
administration of Rice,
whether they want our beloved
institution to become just
another Texas college, or a
university with an inter-
national reputation for
excellence.
Robert M. Moore, Jr.
Lovett '81
The following is the Thresher's policy for editorial page material.
Letters to the Editor should be no longer than 350 words (unless discussed in
person with the editor), typewritten, signed, and with current phone number
provided. No unsigned letters will be printed.
Guest Editorials may be submitted on any topic of current interest. There are
no length limitations on editorials; all other requirements as with letters stand.
Unsigned Editorials represent a consensus of staff opinion.
Signed Editorials represent only that particular staff member's opinion and
should not be construed as more than a privately held opinion.
The Rica
Thrasher
PHILIP PARKER
Editor
STEVE SETSER
Business Manager
Becky Bonar
Advertising Manager
n A JUNIOR ELECTRICAL^
ENGINEERING MAJOR AT
RICE UNIVERSITY...
I D LIKE TO APPLY
FOR A SUMMER JOB.
FINE...EVER HANDLE
ONE OF THESE BABIES
HAT- I WANT IS A JDB IN WHICH
CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING TO MY EMPLOYER
AT THE 5AME TIME. LEARN SOMETHING
MY FIELD OF STUDY.
Steve Sullivan Associate Editor
Mark Linimon Back Page Editor
Jim Fowler Contributing Editor
David Butler Assistant Editor
Walter Underwood Photography Editor
Greg LeRoy Fine Arts Editor
Gary Vyas Sports Editor
Bill Studabaker Production Manager
Editorial Staff Matt Muller, Georgians Young, Chip Bledsoe,
Jim Beall, Martha Ramos, Raslyn Ruffin,
Michelle Smith, Mark Linimon
Sports Staff Larry Nettles, Pete Schwab,
Marty Hood, Russell Henderson
Art Staff Dale Charletta, Jeff Kerr, Randy Furlong
Photography Staff TW Cook, Wiley Sanders, Mark Catlett,
Charles Jenkins, Tom Neal, Bruce Kessler
Fine Arts Staff Amy Grossman, Stan Barber, Ted Andrews*
Production Staff Steve Sullivan, R.dale Baker, Debbie Gronke,
Karen Barrett, Cathy Egan, David Gutierrez, rbep, g, leb
Circulation Department Bill Barron, Martha Espinosa
The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper at 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, phone 527-
4801 or 527-4802. Advertising information available on request; phone 524-0311
and/or 527-4079. Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor of the
wonderful Rice Memorial Center, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77001. Mail
subscription rate, $10 per year. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily
those of anyone except the writer.
Obviously.
^Copyright 1978, The Rice Thresher. All rights reserved.
". . . butthole. butthole. butthole. butthole. butthole. .."
the rice thresher, february 9, 1978—page 2
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Parker, Philip. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 9, 1978, newspaper, February 9, 1978; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245360/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.