The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 10, 1989 Page: 5 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1989 5
Stebbings, Moniaci decide not to punish Sammy the Owl
by Rodney Gibbs
Administration and Athletic De-
partment officials have decided that
no disciplinary action will be taken
against Lisa Thompson, one of the
two Rice mascots, for her actions
during the Rice-Texas A&M
halftime show two weeks ago. The
halftime program was disrupted
when Thompson, performing as
Sammy the Owl, entered the field
during the Texas A&M halftime per-
formance. She was quickly removed
from the field by the Aggie Yell Lead-
ers. In retaliation, A&M fans, under
the direction of the Yell Leaders,
drowned out much of the MOB's
halftime show.
Thompson ran onto the field in an
attempt to elevate the spirits of the
Rice fans, she said. She did not in-
tend to disrupt the Corps' perform-
ance, but only wanted to alleviate the
sense of gloom caused by Rice losing
its homecoming game.
The no ice caused by Aggie fans
greatly disrupted the MOB's show,
but the band was able to finish its
performance. Steve Moniaci, Assis-
tant Athletic Director, claimed that
the Aggies' response was not solely
in retaliation to Thompson's action.
According to Aggies which Moniaci
had contacted, Sammy the Owl, the
"Faggies" mocking the Aggie Yell
Leaders, the "EAT ME" sign (de-
rived by adding an "E" to each end of
the Aggies' "ATM" logo), and ob-
scenities directed toward the Corps
from the "Faggies" all "displeased"
the A&M crowd and administration.
In response, the Athletic Depart-
ment and Administration are cur-
rently forming a "code of conduct" to
be followed by everyone on the field,
including the mascot and the "Fag-
gies," in order to prevent any future
conflict "If an entity is going to be on
the sidelines, then they're going to
have to know just how far they can
go," Moniaci said. "And if they over-
step that line, then measures will be
taken."
Moniaci says he does not blame
Thompson personally, but rather the
mascot itself, which has been a prob-
lem for years. According to Moniaci,
Ken Dye, the MOB director, has
complained several times to him
about past mascots disrupting the
MOB's own show.
"It's regrettable that it [Th-
ompson's running on the field and
the "Faggies" taunting the Aggies]
did happen. And we're going to try to
see that it doesnt happen again,"
said Moniaci.
Nonetheless, Thompson says,
given the opportunity, she would
enter the field again at Rice Stadium.
It is the frivolous and fun activities—
such as the "Faggies" mocking the
Yell Leaders, the MOB's taunting of
other universities, and Sammy's
running onto the field, that originally
attracted her to Rice. She feels such
hijinks make Rice unique in her per-
ception.
"I want to continue to be a sponta-
neous mascot, but I feel that if I'm not
permitted to do what a mascot
should do, then why the hell does
Rice have a mascot'" she said.
If restrictions of conduct such as
the ones about to be imposed on
Sammy continue, then Rice is des-
tined for mediocrity, Thompson
said.
"If Rice wants to be a boring, show
university, then take away the mas-
cot the MOB, and the college sys-
tem. Take away all that Rice stands
for, because that's what they're
doing," stated Thompson. She feels
"fun and dynamic students," which
are now attracted to Rice's flamboy-
ant attitudes, will go elsewhere if the
reins are tightened on Rice.
Carolyn Mata, Associate Director
of Alumni Affairs, could offer no offi-
cial response of alumni who wit-
nessed Thompson's actions. How-
ever, Mata said the alumni around
her at the game were "offended by
the Aggies' behavior," and seemed
to view Thompson's actions as amus-
ing.
Mary Beth Gracy, the MOB
Drum Major, said Thompson's en-
tering the field "was not wise at this
game in particular, considering the
history between the Aggie halftime
and the MOB halftime."
In 1974, the MOB was rescued
from Rice Stadium by concession
trucks after performing a show about
the Aggies then recently deceased
and always highly respected mascot,
Reville. Gracy said the MOB tries to
"compensate" for the university's
conflicts of the past by "not using
whistles and not pointedly making
our show very belligerent toward
[the Aggies] because... they can ruin
our halftime."
Gracy believed Thompson made
a "bad judgment call," but she was
glad that the MOB was able to finish
their show, despite the Aggie at-
tempts to disrupt it
Currently, Sammy the Owl is
autonomous, responsible to no indi-
vidual group of the university. In
SA awaits approval for Meal-a-Month
by Shelley Fuld
The Student Association Senate
discussed the progress of commit-
tees studying the food policy, the
weight room and appropriations at
their meeting Monday night at Jones
College.
Food Committee
Will Rice College Senator
Spencer Yu, chairman of the Ad Hoc
Committee on the Food Policy, said
the committee is examining the pro-
gram of Penn State University, sug-
gested by Director of Central
Kitchen Bill Boorom Yu said some
of the problems they are targeting
are the base cost and missed meal
factor.
Yu said Boorom wants to lower
base cost, add several more meal
plan options to accommodate differ-
ent eating patterns, and discontinue
rebates.
The meal plan will be finalized in
January, and Yu said the committee
will finalize its proposal to Food and
Housing in December.
Weight Room
Lovett College Senator Sean
O'Connell, Chairman of an ad hoc
committee to improve the weight
room facilities, said he met with John
Powell, facilities supervisor for the
weight room, about possible im-
provements.
"John [Powell] offered us 100
percent assistance. He gave me
some of the details of the politics
behind getting anything done. He
has been trying for three years,"
O'Connell said.
O'Connell said a university com-
mittee is also looking at facilities, and
suggested solutions include a com-
pletely new building.
"It's all contingent on how the
university wants to work it If they
build a new facility two to three years
down the line, they will be less likely
to look at the short-term problem,"
he said.
Airport Shuttle
Treasurer Jenni Rausch is in
charge of the airport shuttle service
for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The shuttle will run on a reservation
system this year. SA senators will
have more details later.
Meal-a-Month
Pending approval from Director
of Food and Housing Marion Hicks,
the Senate will continue the Meal-a-
Month program started last year.
Students will have the option to
choose as many as seven charities to
donate $3 each, and contributions
will be deducted from the meal plans
in January.
The charities that have tenta-
tively been selected are Big Broth-
ers/Big Sisters, the American Can-
cer Society, Victims Assistance,
Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Hous-
ton Chapter of the AIDS Foundation,
Hunger Project and one of two liter-
acy projects.
Hunger Project was selected
because it was one of the charities
with which the late congressman
Mickey Leland worked.
Last year, students donated over
$10,000 to nine charities through the
Medl-a-Month program
Appropriations Committee
Yu and Baker College Senator
Larry Gelbaugh are co-chairing a
committee to formulate a policy cov-
ering appropriation requests by stu-
dent organizations.
Gelbaugh said the committee
discussed possible criteria for a club
to request money. The club has have
some form of its own internal fund-
ing, it must be chartered by the SA or
some other appropriate organiza-
tion, and it must provide the SA ade-
quate notice.
New Clubs
Four new clubs were approved:
Rice Pro-Life Movement, Rice Psy-
chology Association, Marcus Aure-
lius Latin and English Society
(M.ALE.S.), and Rice for Access.
The next SA Senate meeting is
Monday, November 20, at 10 p.m at
Lovett College.
Meal plan
FROM f*GEl
know that they are being repre-
sented ."
The committee consists of SA
Internal Vice President Mary Elliot
and at least one representative from
each college. They are currently
reviewing Penn State's meal plan. Of
all the universities with declining
balance meal plans, Penn State had
the one which seemed most suited to
Rice, according to Boorom; both
schools have college systems with
several smaller dining halls instead
of large, centralized ones.
Yu said Elliot created the commit-
tee earlier this year to increase stu-
dent input in proposals of meal plans,
but also to improve communication
between the students and Boorom.
"The committee was probably
formed because many students were
rattled at the beginning of this year
by the price increases," Boorom
said.
He said he was pleased that the
committee formed because the
members can now see what the
expenses of the food service are, and
that the system is not cost-efficient
He said he was also happy with the
increased communication because
last year, "I felt like the Maytag re-
pairman always waiting for a call."
Boorom acted as the liaison between
the committee and Hicks for most of
this semester. The committee will
have its first meeting with Hicks
Tuesday, November 14.
Hicks said tie will not create a full
proposal of his own, but will work
with the committee on theirs. He
said, "The plan that I will bring to the
committee will be a base cost We
have to have that"
Hicks said he is currently consid-
ering including three or four dinners
per week in the base cost to encour-
age on campus participation in col-
lege meals. His final decision, he
said, will be based upon the opinions
of the masters, the administration,
the students, and himself. "I want a
compromise to get the best plan for
students, the Rice community and all
the rest involved," he said.
Hicks also plans to distribute a
survey later this semester to the
whole student body to acquire more
input about what changes or im-
provements students wish to see.
"We are interested in knowing what
students want I am worried that
students may come up with some-
thing I can't deliver, but if I can't I will
deliver a full explanation."
addition to creating guidelines for
acceptable sideline conduct, the
Administration and the Athletic
Department will find an organization
or department to supervise Sammy.
The Athletic Department, Rice Pro-
gram Council, and the MOB are
under consideration to serve as
Sammy's supervisor.
As of now, Thompson has been
spoken to by Dean Stebbings, Moni-
aci, Dye and Gracy. All agree that no
disciplinary action will be taken
against Thompson.
Thompson will continue to serve
as mascot but voluntarily will not
attend Rice versus Texas A&M bas-
ketball games as Sammy the Owl.
Supported by all the college presi-
dents and several of her professors,
Thompson said she is writing her ac-
count of the halftime events and her
reasons for running onto the field.
The letter will be submitted to the
Thresher in the near future.
Sammy the owl leads the student body at the Rice homecoming game.
Esperanza ticket sales
exceed expectations
by Lorie List
The Rice Program Council met
on Monday, November 6, to discuss
the success of Esperanza and several
musical events that will occur in the
next few weeks.
The Formals Committee an-
nounced that ticket sales for Esper-
anza had exceeded expectations and
therefore not as much of the RPC
budget was needed to fund the for-
mal as was expected.
Discussion at the meeting cen-
tered around a free outdoor concert
that the Social Committee will spon-
sor this Saturday, featuring Sprawl,
with special guests Fleshmop and
Toho Ehio. The bands will play from
1 to 4 p.m. this Saturday in a concert
that will be set up in the field between
the Rice Memorial Center courtyard
and Herring Hall.
RPC will provide free beer, chips
and cokes, and Blimpie's sand-
wiches will be sold for $1.00. Infinite
Records will supply free records and
posters. The RPC hoped students
would be interested in hearing a va-
riety of good bands that don't often
play at Rice.
The Social Committee also an-
nounced that Paul Defatta and
Danny Christian son, who feature a
mixture of folk rock, will be playing
at the Pub on Wednesday, Novem-
ber 15.
The RPC is holding a TG the fol-
lowing Friday, November 17, which
will be located in the pit between
Lovett Hall and Sewall Hall It will
feature music from Continuum, a
percussion group from the Shep-
herd School.
Ongoing projects discussed by
RPC members included Safe Rides,
which will be available next semes-
ter, attracting speakers; seasonal
sports tickets; and a ski trip for
spring break.
The RPC is also forming a Beer-
Bike Rules Ad Hoc Committee to
discuss changes that need to made
regarding Beer-Bike. They are look-
ing for people with experience in
past Beer-Bike races to serve on the
committee
Directory Update
The University Directories, scheduled for delivery Tues-
day, had not been delivered as of Wednesday afternoon by the
production company, DataNational.The original contract stipu-
lated that the directories would be delivered thirty days after
receipt of the magnetic tapes with the directory listings. After
contract problems, the deadline was extended to Tuesday,
November 7, to allow DataNational extra time to sell advertis-
ing. Depending on the delivery date and contract negotiations,
DataNational may be forced to pay a penalty to the Student As-
sociation.
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Kahn, Greg & Leedy, Sarah J. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 10, 1989, newspaper, November 10, 1989; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245734/m1/5/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.