The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 22, 1979 Page: 3 of 16
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The Rice Thresher, March 22, 1979, Page 3
letters to the editor
To the Editor:
Professional-quality cheer-
leaders! I think that idea is the
best thing since Tommy
Kramer for good PR for the
Rice University Athletic
Department. If we look at
highschool squads with good
reputations which had won
prizes on a state and/or
national level, Rice could
probably recruit even better
cheerleaders than what can be
chosen from among the regular
student body. If we can't have a
professional-quality football
team or basketball team, we
really do need to pick up the
slack somewhere. And, maybe
scholarship cheerleaders
would attract better scholar-
ship athletes, you never know.
We all know what better
athletes attract—$$$$$.
Maybe an even better idea
would be to put the scholarship
cheerleaders over where the
money is to start with. Why not
put the cheerleaders in front of
the alums and visitors, since
they are the ones we need to
impress; maybe we could do
without the middle step of the
athletes. It's already *?>een
determined that the students
don't know what a good
cheerleader is; why leave the
squad with them?
I support the Rice teams just
as all my friends do; but we go
for the sports, not for the rah-
rah's. The Athletic Department
should look at a good
indication of how the students
feel about all of this cheering
business—the Rice Owls'
Slogan Contest.
Liz Heitman
T o the. Rice community
The Committee on Exami-
nations and Standings has
recently ruled that because
seniors in the Business School's
3-2 program are classified as
graduate students they are
ineligible to hold office in the
undergraduate student
government. However, the
Constitution and By-Laws of
the Student Association state
that "The candidate or office
holder shall meet the following
qualifications...He or she must
be a member of the Student
Association..." and "All
students of Rice University
who have paid the student
blanket tax shall be members of
the Student Association." No
distinction is made between
graduate and undergraduate
students in the constitution.
Although graduate students
are not required to pay blanket
tax, if they do they are
considered members of the
Student Association.
In recent years there have
been a number of students,
either fifth-year engineering or
3-2 seniors, who have held
major undergraduate offices.
Among these are Kevin
McKenna, President of Sid
Rich '78-79; Chuck Newell,
President of Wiess '78-'79; Bob
Herlin, Vice-chairman of the
Honor Council'77-'78. For the
coming year Rice students have
elected at least two people,
John Cockerham for S.A.
President and Sara Hill for
Senior Honor Council Rep and
Chief Justice of Jones, who
have applied for the 3-2
program.
Therefore, because its
decision contradicts the S.A.
Constitution and the past and
continuing expressed desires of
the voting student body, we the
undersigned request that the
Committee on Examinations
and Standings reconsider and
reverse the aforementioned
ruling.
William Wade et. ai.
To the Editor:
I would like to express my
most intense displeasure
concerning the policy of
locking the University chapel at
night, especially on Sunday
evenings. I was informed of this
practice by an upperclassman
and when I went to see for
myself 1 found it, to my dismay,
to be true.
I can see no rational reason
for this action. The University
authorities could arrange for
the campus police to patrol the
area if they are that concerned
with the security of the chapel. I
present no argument for or
against any religion, but when
the administration of this
University can lock the doors
on what many consider a house
of worship, something is
appallingly wrong. Thank you.
Gerald William Garcia
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Calling for student action
David Dow
We frequently recognize the
advantages offered by a
program or policy without ever
getting around to campaigning
for its adoption. John Silber's
Tuition Advance Fund (TAF)
provides students with an
excellent reason for over-
coming that lethargy. This
one's for us.
By attending Rice we all
acknowledge the worth or
necessity of a higher education.
This benefit, however, remains
inaccessible to many. And even
those wealthy enough to
remain unaffected by
increasing college costs
certainly know someone not so
fortunate. The toll of the
already high and continually
increasing expenses is apparent
to all.
The merits of capitalism and
self-made men aside, not
everyone gets the same
opportunities. That's ana-
thema to our system which
purports to guarantee equality
of opportunity. Since some
cannot garner the benefits from
that attractive ideal, several
proposals to broaden the
.
A
Jan. 1978
Jan. 1979
Fall 1978
Fall '78
Objectives student considers essential
Chronicle
Chronicle
Rice poll
Rice poll
or very important
Fresh, poll
Fresh, poll
priority
first
priority
priority
choice
priority
choice
choice
(percent)
(percent)
(percent)
(percent)
Creating an artistic work
15.7
14.1
9
2
Being successful in one's own business
47.1
47.9
42
10
Helping clean up the environment
29.4
27.5
25
5
Developing a philosophy of life
59.0
56.5
56
38
Participating in community action
29.4
33.8
9
Promoting racial understanding
35.8
33.8
9
Keeping up with political affairs
39.9
36.6
19
V
availability of higher education
have been offered. Dr. Silber's
plan is an excellent one which
embodies fundamental
American ideals and deserves
our support.
Since the student benefits
from an education, Silber's
TAF calls upon the student to
pay for the opportunity to
receive the education. Hence, a
surcharge of 50%. Given the
higher lifetime earnings of
college grads over high school
graduates, however, that aspect
of the plan seems quite
justified. Importantly, each
student would have an equal
opportunity to pay for and
therefore receive a higher
education. The TAF does not
try to establish free education
which would tend to invite
insincere dabblers; instead, it
seeks to offer the seriously
interested student a means to
afford the high cost of learning.
At the same time, Silber's use of
the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) as a collection agency
averts the perennial problem of
student defaults on loans—-a
problem which threatens the
very existence of a ny
government loan program.
We can't hope that some
other group pushes this bill
through Congress. Nor can
students rely upon the
Congress to recognize a good
bill when it finally has a chance
to pass one. The responsibility
lies with us. Write letters;
recruit supporters; exert some
pressure. A concerted, strong
effort is'required to steer a
deserving proposal through the
Congressional maze. And the
nation's students must generate
the momentum. Silber's
creation is too good an idea to
let pass without a fight.
Poll outlines student goals
The Thresher would like to Brown's guest editorial last in the Chronicle and Rice poll
correct a layout error in Dean week. The correct percentages are as follows:
The Rice Thresher
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 250
.words and are subject to being cut to that
length or less if longer. The editorial staff
reserves the right to edit such letters and does
not guarantee to publish any letter. Each
letter must be signed, show the address of the
writer and list a telephone number for
verification.
Address correspondence to Letters to the
Editor, The Rice Thresher. Box 1892,
Houston, Texas 7 7001.
Guest, editorials are welcome and are
encouraged.
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request. Phone 527-4801 or -4802.
Rights of reproduction of all
matter herein are reserved.
Published since 1916 by the
students of Rice Universitv
IQ78-79 Thresher Staff
Editor Michelle Leigh Heard
Business Manager. . . . Jay Oliphant
Managing Editor .... lamie Strauss
Photo Editor Wayne Derrick
Advertising Dale Charletta
Copy Editor AI Hirshberg
Sports Editor Greg Holloway
Back Page Editor . . John Szalkowski
Photographers Buster Brown.
Steve Home
Humor Michael Cruzcosa
Editor-elect Matt Muller
Staff Writers F. Brotzen, Bert
Baker, Paul Check, David Dow,
Richard Dees, Thom Glidden, Russ
Henderson, Tom Peck, Tom
Samuels, Steve Sailer, Margaret;
Schauerte, Wendy Kilpatrick
Typesetters Vikki Kaplan,
Debra Davies Huffman, Wendy
Kilpatrick.
Production Matt Dore, Maia Phan
Richard Dees, Wendy Kilpatrick
Circulation Manager . . Tim Haney
Copyright ® 79 b The Rue Thresher
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Heard, Michelle Leigh. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 22, 1979, newspaper, March 22, 1979; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245400/m1/3/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.