The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 31, 1995 Page: 5 of 20
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NEWS
THE RICE THRESHER FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 1995 5
Senate re-examining election
code to eliminate confusion
by Chris Bachers
The SA Senate is looking into
ways of preventing future confusion
in ballot counting, after last month's
incident in the race for Honor Coun-
cil senior representative.
The race, between Will Rice Col-
lege junior Heather Morschauser
and Wiess College junior Floyd
Walker, ended in two recounts, each
yielding a diffeffent result.
In the original count, Mor-
schauser lost by seven votes. But in
the first recount, she won by two and
finally lost by one vote in the most
recent count.
Student Association Senate Sec-
retary Laura Moodey said that she
has been receiving complaints about
the vote.
"We've been getting a lot of calls
from people who are upset, not just
about this election, but about the
Election Code in general. Some
people aren't happy about the way
things are being run," Moodey said.
Director of Student Activities
Sarah Nelson Crawford said, "I
thought that two recounts was a little
unusual." Crawford and then-SA sec-
retary Marissa Weitzner decided to
allow each candidate one recount.
"It was just so close. Some people
circle the candidates, some check
them, some put smiley faces beside
them. In the final re-count, we made
sure that everyone was counting the
same thing," Weitzner said.
Confusion in ballot counting has
sparked support for the use of
Scantron™ machines in the elections
process.
"We have [Scantron] machines
on campus, and this could really cut
Debate wins 3rd place
at national tourney
by George E. Hatoun
Rice's George R. Brown Forensic
Society took third place overall in
the National Parliamentary Debate
Championships in Salem, Oregon
last weekend.
The tournament, held at
Willamette University, is the con-
cluding tournament of the year for
the team.
"This is the first year Rice has
really tried to develop a parliamen-
tary debate squad, and we're really
excited about the future," said Scott
Ruthfield, a Lovett College sopho-
more and member of the team.
Seventy teams representing
twenty-five schools around the coun-
try attended the annual tournament.
Three teams composed of two
students each went on to the elimi-
nation rounds:
• Lovett College sophomore Scott
Ruthfield and Will Rice College
sophomore Ryan Levy —
Quarterfinals
• WRC freshman Kurtis
McCathern and Brown College
freshman Lauren McGarity —
Octofinals
• Jones College sophomore Darien
Lynx and Jones freshman Ravi
Krishnan — Double-Octofinals
In addition, McGarity was
thel4th-place speaker in the tourna-
ment, and Lynx was 18th. In the
cumulative award for performance
in debate tournaments throughout
the year, Rice placed fourth.
This award is based on the top
four debate tournaments that a
school attends. Rice only attended a
total of four tournaments.
Rice will host next year's National
Parliamentary Debate Champion-
ships, which should be the largest
ever.
"We had a great showing and
made it clear that we'll be competi-
tive for years to come," Ruthfield
said. "The best part is that all of our
debaters have two or three years
left, something no other team can
say. With the tournament at Rice
next year, things can only get bet-
ter," he said.
News in brief
Alcohol approves change
The Alcohol Beverage Policy
Advisory Committee voted March
24 to allow out-of-state students and
visitors to be served alcohol at cam-
pus parties.
Committee Chair Dennis Shirley
said the proposed change would re-
quire out-of-state students to go to
the Campus Police and receive a
validation sticker for their driver's
license to get alcohol.
Out-of-state visitors will also be
able to receive temporary validation
stickers.
With the current alcohol policy,
those who do not have Texas IDs
cannot be served alcohol at Rice
because bartenders are not trained
to spot fake out-of-state IDs.
Shirley said the policy change
will probably go into effect in the fall.
Since this change would require
everyone who is over 21 to have a
wristband, the committee decided
not to make it a violation to pass
alcohol between people. "We were
better off enforcing the policy we
have than making 20 contingency
policies," he said.
The committee is not taking any
action on another proposed change,
Shirley said. He said Rice's legal
counsel turned down the third pro-
posal, which would allow colleges to
designate public spaces for private
parties.
He said landlord/tenant laws ap-
plied to individual rooms and that
Rice, as the landlord, had to respect
the privacy of the tenant. But these
laws could not be applied to such
places as the private dining rooms
and the TV rooms.
SA Business
The Student Association Senate met Monday. The following were
discussed:
• Applications for university standing committees are due today at
the Student Organizations office. «
• Applications for SA committees are due today at the SA office.
• The SA discussed problems with the election code.
• The Green Lights Energy Efficiency Committee is looking for
endorsements from colleges.
Next meeting: Monday at 10 p.m. in the Kelley Lounge at the
Student Center
down in the problem of human error
in counting," Moodey said.
At the first meeting of the 1995-
96 SA Senate last week, Moodey and
SA Parliamentarian Scott Ruthfield
requested college presidents and
senators to ask students for sugges-
tions regarding the Elections Code.
SA President Maryana Iskander
appointed Moodey and Ruthfield co-
chairs of a committee to propose
both elections reforms and constitu-
tional changes.
"The Code needs to be revised,
not because there is anything inher-
ently wrong with it, but because it is
incredibly, incredibly vague and in-
complete," Moodey said.
"Before we do anything, we want
to make sure that we've considered
all of our options. We don't want to
leave anything open to doubt,"
Moodey said.
RSVP Opportunties
• March Of Dimes WalkAmerica Challenge starts Sunday at 8 a.m.
Pre-walk service starts at Shepherd School at 7 a.m. Call Meg at
630-8555 for more details. There will be an RSVP fiesta in
Sammy's Monday at 9 p.m. thanking the walkers. This is open
to everyone.
• Jackie Preston with the Women's Health Initiative needs
volunteers to help with data entry and support staff to help with
study on women over 40. Call Jackie at 798-3310.
• RSVP needs representatives for next year. Each college should
solidify their list by the April 10 meeting.
• There is a paid ESL position available in the RSVP office. Call
Jennie King or Seanna at 527-4970.
• Trees for Houston is hosting a planting in Humble tomorrow from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Rides with local scouts available. Call Amy at
840-8733.
• Kid Fish is an Urban Fishing Program that creates ponds for
communities in the inner city. Call Ian Cline at Texas Parks and
Recreation, (409) 696-3399. They need help tomorrow in Houston.
• Help plan a CPR/first-aid course before the end of the year for
those Rice people who might need such skills this summer. Call
Jennie @ 527-4970.
• Call Jasmin at the Health Education Office if you want to lead
small-group discussions after the 0-Week presentation of
"Scruples." Sixteen people are needed.
For more information about these and other volunteer opportunities,
call the Rice Student Volunteer Program office at 527-4970.
HEALTHY MEN
NEEDED AS SPERM
DONORS. AGES 18 TO 35
EXCELLENT COMPENSATION
CONFIDENTIAL PROGRAM
INTERESTED?
The 1994-1995 President's Lecture Series
Derek Walcott
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
"Poetry and Painting"
Tuesday, April 4, 1995
8:00 p.m., RMC Grand Hall
For more than forty years, Derek Walcott has
produced poetry that evokes the cultural
richness and diversity of the Caribbean islands
where he has spent much of his life. His
sensitive works, notable for their melody and
cadence and for their blend of classic literature,
folklore and history, earned him the 1992
Nobel Prize in literature. In making the award,
the Swedish Academy of Letters praised
Walcott "for a poetic oeuvre of great
luminosity, sustained by an historical vision,
the outcome of a multicultural committment."
Admission: No charge.
Sponsored by Rice University as part of the 1994-95 President's Lecture Series.
Rice students with tickets will be admitted beginning at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available from your RPC or
department representative. No seating will be guaranteed for students after 7:30 p.m., at which time seating
will be opened to the general public. Seating is limited for the general public on a first-come first-served
basis. No photos during the lecture, please.
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Hale, David. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 31, 1995, newspaper, March 31, 1995; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246509/m1/5/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.