The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, April 22, 1983 Page: 2 of 24
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Learned my lesson, g'bye
1 had planned an eloquent requiem for my tenure as editor,
but in true poetic — or should I say journalistic — irony, I must
write this farewell in fatigue and haste. You see, a fuse blew in
the typesetter this morning (Thursday) and then the off-line
terminal wouldn't program... Yes, this is the same sob story
you've heard all semester: mechanical failure, please won't you
help?
Well, you have. This August the Thresher receives its dream,
its due, its manna and its soma: a new typesetter and processor.
Once again, thanks for the support. Unfortunately, it's too late
to stop one mechanical failure — mine.
Many people have asked me, some with a great deal of
surprise in their voices, why am I not going to be editor next
year? Either these people wish me dead, or it is not clear to the
public what working on the Thresher involves. If this seems like
a whiner's spree is coming up, remember this issue marks the
last time I will have these complaints. Please read on.
I care about Rice, but I must now care about myself. Even
when I try to take it easy, my job involves at least thirty-two
hours for a small paper with no problems. Of course, there are
always problems. The typesetter breaks, a reporter fails to turn
a story in, a section editor falls ill: I know they are not
occurences unique to my organization, but they are still
hindrances.
My greatest failure is not that I could not force from my staff
the perfection that I craved, but that I did not have the patience
to accept their human limitations before now. I have driven
them as hard as I have driven myself, and in retrospect I think it
sad.
Retrospect: 1 still wonder if anyone understands what I mean
when I say I did not want to be editor this semester. I thought I
should be editor for the paper's well-being, and for mine, too. I
used to enjoy working with the staff, and I did not want to give
it up. I thought by knowing Tom Morgan's mistakes I could
avoid any of my own. I said I could get a paper out, and I have.
So why this weary harangue? Because I failed. I failed to keep
up with my studies, I failed to keep my health and personal life
unaffected, I failed to keep caring. I'm not a professional
journalist, I'm a student. I have learned, though, that the
professors who deny extensions due to Thresher fatigue
demand the most that their lectures, appointments, etc. be
publicized. They and many students rebut all laments with:
"Being editor is a personal choice. Studies should always come
first."
I see the merits of this argument, but its inflexibility shows no
compassion and not much sense. There have been four editors
within two years. I know them all, and we all have respected the
academic life. The choice to neglect studying for sleep has never
been pleasant or easily made, but rather forced by
circumstances.
Ah, but who chose the circumstances? You win. That's why I
did not run for editor next year. The Thresher is a service to the
community, but individuals do not need to immolate
themselves for a community that rebukes them even as they
burn. Let's face it: no credit, little money, much grief. It just
isn't worth it. End of whining.
Yet, there's always the experience one gains. And the friends,
too, if I haven't lost them now. Thanks to my predecessors,
Richard, Bruce, Tom and Jay; my mentor Steve; my
roommates and employees Debbie and Gwen; my nemesis
Kelvin; my "offspring" Patty and Paul; my bodyguards-
Lorraine, the competent business staff of Sandy, Susan and the
ad men, thanks even to the incompetent males (I admit, I was
hard on you) and to everyone else ofi the campus rag. Thanks,
parents and neighbors (Farrs in particular). Thanks as well to
Lovett College. Goodbye, reading public (at least from this
forum). Good luck, Chris and the new staff.
—Jeanne Cooper
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The Rice Thresher, April 22, 1983, page 2
So, that was Rice University.
Four years, about 30 thousand
dollars later, a new person
emerges. It could have been worse.
These farewell columns are
usually pretty depressing and
negative about Rice. That's
probably because they're always
written at the last minute in
between bouts with the massive
quantities of work which
materialize this late in the
semester. It also has to do with the
fact that, in a lot of ways, this place
sucks.
Much of it stems from the large
egos it attracts, and the largely
homogenous elitist bodies they •
come in. There is a distinct lack of
real caring among many, but by no
means all, Rice students; by caring,
I mean something beyond using
other people to get what one
wants.
Then of course, there's the fact
that Rice throws people into a
complicated and problem-ridden
world without removing their
apathy. Often it teaches them the
means not to cure or eliminate
problems like mass starvation and
war. Rather, students learn to
exploit the situation in order to get
the holy buck. And of course,
while we learn to study, we hardly
learn how to have fun, besides
drinking and sitting around
insulting each other. So it goes.
But, hey, enough ragging! There
are some good points, it made me
what I am today, so it can't be all
bad. I've learned a lot here, most of
it outside of classes. Spiritually, I
went through periods of doubting
my doubt, but humanism and
rationality prevailed. Medically, I
had the requisite mononucleosis,
measles vaccination — Rice must
own the company which makes the
vaccine and, of course, I've pointed
at people with herpes. Politically,
I've become "aware," most
important of all, I perfected my
ability not to take anything
seriously and still survive. In the
sense that Rice helped accomplish
that, I owe it (and all of you) my
deepest thanks. But not anymore
money; Rice has ridiculously more
of that than it will ever need.
The greatest thing about Rice is
the freedom; they do treat us like
adults, though they feed us like
pigs. Through the Honor Code,
the college system and the lack of
anv rules beyond those imposed by
the state, not to mention the free
expression offered by the
Thresher, we achieve some control
over our lives. That's a valuable
lesson. So, along with pretty trees,
a small student body and big
sheepskin diplomas, freedom
makes Rice a worthwhile place.
Anyway, I have mixed feelings
about leaving here — it's
somewhere between gleeful
satisfaction and immense joy. In
general, I'm happy that I came to
spend four years muddling
through Rice; if I can survive, and
in just one week I will know if I
have, then I'll know that my brain,
my psyche and my heart can
withstand a great deal more. It's
been nice living with you, and since
most of you will never hear of me
again, and probably don't care, let
me say good-bye. Good-bve.
Now that I've said it, I can get on
with the work of starting my
future. Have a hell of a life.
TRESHER
Jeanne Cooper
Editor
Sandra Wasson
Business Manager
Patty Cleary News Editor
Deborah Knaff Fine Arts Editor
Mark Mitchell Sports Editor
John Krueger Back Page Editor
Jay Grob Senior Editor
Todd Cornett Advertising Manager
Lorraine Farrell Managing Editor
Conrad Reining Photography Editor
Kelley Tucker Copy Editor
Ruth Hillhouse Head Typesetter
Contributini Staff
Assistant Editors Paul Havlak (News), Stephen Beirf (Fine Arts)
Alan Mathiowetz (Sports), Chip Clay (Photography),
Sarah Jordan (Production), David Koralek (Advertising)
Contributing Editors Michele Gillespie, Chris Ekren, David Curcio,
Harry Wade, Mike Gladu, Ian Hersey, Alan Eynon
Graphics Lynn Lytton, Martin Zillman, Steve Woodward
News Staff Bob Terry, Mark Rome, Todd Giorgio,
Derek Smith, Dagmar Aalund, Anil Diwan,
Sian Min The, Scott Flukinger, Larry Lesser, Ian Davidson
Fine Arts Staff Chris Boyer, Geoffrey Wejtergaard, Andrew Tullis,
Barry Watkins, Ray Isle, Gwen Richard, Hal Kohlman,
Paige Pool, Reeta Achari, Geoffe Spradley,
Richard Hunt, Aniko Kiraly, Karin Murphy,
Michael Grant, Loren Fefer, Alison Kennamer
Sports Staff Steve Bailey, Steve Mollenkamp, Anne MacMaster,
Ed Swartz, Art Rabeau, Carolyn Burr, Tony Soltero,
Ed Brittingham, Jack Bieler, Joseph Halcyon
Production Staff Alysha Webb, Susan Sheridan, Karin Murphy
Photography Staff Ray Isle, Tom Cassidy, John Gibson, David Dean
Business Staff
Assistant Business Manager Susan Brown
Circulation Matt Petersen
Subscriptions David Steffens
Staff Kay Gratke
The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper at Rice University since 1916, is published
each Friday during the school year, except during examination periods and holidays, by the
students of Rice University. Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor of the
Rice Memorial Center, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251. Telephone (713) 527-4801 or
527-4802. Advertising information available upon request. Mail subscription rate: $20.00
domestic, $40.00 international, (via first class mail). The opinions expressed herein are not
necessarily those of anyone except the writer. Obviously.
rI983. The Rice Thresher. All rights reserved.
Dux femina facti.
<^ADC3|ffifficOUNCIL.> ® 74
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Cooper, Jeanne. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, April 22, 1983, newspaper, April 22, 1983; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245531/m1/2/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.