The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, March 14, 2008 Page: 1 of 24
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T 1 S
resher
Vol. XCIVII, Issue No. 23
S/M7£ 1916
Friday, March 14, 2008
SA, RUPD create
lost-and-found site
by Jocelyn Wright
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
In response to Rice University
Police Department's anti-theft pol-
icy implemented at the beginning
of last semester, Brown College
senator Patrick McAnaney, Lovett
College senator Fiona Adams, and
Student Association Director of
Technology J.D. Leonard worked
with Police Sergeant Jesse Salazar
and Police Captain Phillip Hassell
to create a searchable database of
all the items RUPD has taken as
well as any other items that are
lost or found.
McAnaney, a sophomore, first
thought of the idea when a friend
had his backpack confiscated by
RUPD and spent time looking for
it at many lost-and-found boxes
within separate buildings before
finding out that RUPD had it.
Adams, a sophomore, said the
database would eliminate those
unnecessary steps by listing the
lost and found items in one central
location.
"It's a more efficient than hav-
ing your friend suggest that maybe
RUPD took it after you've been look-
ing for it for weeks," Adams said..
The database, which McAnaney
said should be available to all stu-
dents in a couple of weeks on the
SA website at sa.rice.edu, will al-
low students to search for missing
items, including laptops, bicycles
or backpacks. The database will
contain a description of the item,
the location from which it was taken,
when it was taken and where it can
be retrieved.
McAnaney said the SA will
appoint someone to ensure the
database is functioning properly
and being used by students. Since
it is still in trial mode as they work
out any problems that arise, the da-
tabase is currently only accessible
to students approved by Leonard,
a Jones College junior.
Adams said the database should
make it easier for students to locate
lost property.
"I know that I've lost several really
see LOST, page 4
DAVID BROWN/THRESHER
Bike-o-saurus rex
Jones College freshman Ryan Le and Jones junior Daniel Hodges-Copple push Jones junior Daniel Antworth off to
the races during Mock Beer-Bike Wednesday night. The event was one of many events leading up to Beer-Bike
on Saturday.
%
Senior testing included in new
national accreditation measures
by Sarah Rudedge
THRESHER EDfTORIAl. STAFF
Seniors who dreamed that their
last semester of college would be
filled with constant parties, easy
classes and the occasional contem-
plation of their future may have to
adjust that fantasy this year due to
accreditation assessments, which
began last week.
Though Rice was reaffirmed for
accreditation in 2006 — all colleges
and universities are evaluated every
ten years for the title — due to new
measures by die federal government,
universities across the country are
undergoing an examination process
to test what seniors have learned in
their time at college.
Associate Vice President for Insti-
tutional Effectiveness John Cornwell
said accreditation of a college or
university indicates a government
seal of approval on that institution.
If a school is not accredited, it can-
not receive government funds in
the form of loans or grants, and a
student's degree will not be recog-
nized by other universities.
The accrediting bodies are
grouped by region. Rice is part of
the Southern Association, which
consists of about 800 institutions
in the southwest part of the United
States. Each region's accreditation
agency acts as a self-policing entity,
as it is composed of representatives
from all the schools in the region.
In the past, accreditation was a
two-step process. Teams of six to
seven representatives from other uni-
versities in the accreditation agency
reviewed a school to make sure
it meets certain principles, which
include a firm mission statement,
advertisement of standard and ad-
mission practices and effectiveness
of institutional policies. An on-site
committee composed of six people
visited the university to ask follow-
up questions before the university
can be accredited. Accreditation
methods are identical regardless
of whether an institution is public
or private.
Cornwell said stricter measures
from the federal government to
track university spending have
resulted in the need for college
assessments. The assessments
will impact students at universities
nationwide. Accredidation agencies
will continue to evaluate universities
this way but starting this year, a few
exiting seniors will participate in
these assessments.
The students, who are randomly
selected, are asked to take a total of
about four-and-a-half hours of tests
in two sessions, Cornwell said. Test-
ing is not mandatory and will not
affect students' grades, but they
will receive $150 for participating.
Cornwell said he ideally would like
100 seniors taking each of the four
tests, so assignment to the tests
will be random, and students will
end up taking more than one. Since
some tests are longer than others,
students could take two or three
exams, depending on their total
test time. However, students will not
take all four. The CIA, a take-home
exam, is composed of two 90-minute
sections which provide students
with scenarios to judge their critical
decision-making skills. Selected stu-
dents will just take one section of the
CIA If a student is selected to take
the CIA writing section, his or her
results will be compared to his or her
freshman composition exam score.
Other tests include an iSkills exam, a
45-minute online test which assesses
students' knowledge of information
technology, and thepaper-and-pencil
multiple choice California Critical
Thinking test.
Cornwell said the idea for testing
seniors has been around for a year.
Rice also had to declare its goals for
undergraduate education last year
due to increased pressure from the
see TESTS, page 6
INSIDE BOX
Willy Week jacks reach
outside of the box
by Sarah Rutledge
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Although spring break may have
allowed students a relaxing respite
from school, Willy Week, which
began Monday, more than made
up for the previous week's lack of
activity. Mock Beer-Bike, the Beer
Debates and Willy's Picnic may have
enhanced the Willy Week experi-
ence, but colleges were the real stars
of Willy Week with the many jacks
they executed across campus.
Late Sunday night, members of
Martel College sprayed WD-40 in
trashcans filled with water balloons at
Brown College to pop the balloons.
Brown President John Land said
he was surprised that Martel was so
quick with their jack.
"It was pretty clever, actually, be-
cause it was midnight on [Monday 1
morning," Land, a Brown junior, said.
"They put us on the defensive."
Monday night, Martel students
walked through the Jones College
hallways late at night every hour,
a tradition Martel does every
other year.
"We were waking up people on
the hour, every hour," Martel Jacks
Coordinator Matt Drwenski said.
"We would march, a line of people
with pots and pans, shouting, '1
o'clock, and all is well,' "2 o'clock,
Declare your major today! J'aime les films!
Today is die last day for sophomores to
declare their major. Students must get a depart-
mental advisor to sign their form and turn it in
by 5 p.m. to die Office of the Registrar.
Beer-Bike!!!
Tomorrow is the day we've been waiting all
week, all mondi, all year for Beer-Bike! Have fun
but be safe, too. Drink in moderation. Don't do
anything too stupid. And if you do, tell us first
so we can get a picture of you.
The French Studies deptirtment is sponsor-
ing theTournees French Film Festival, and they
are showing Chats Perches (The Grinning Cat)
today at the Rice Media Center from 7 p.m. to
10 p.m. Admission is $5 with a Rice II).
Math: The Musical?
The Rice Players are performing CALCU-
LUS: The Musical!tonight at the Rice Memorial
Center at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $2 for students and
senior citizens and $3 for everyone else.
OPINION Page 3
Milk gives you cancer
A&E Page 11
Hello Hamlet.': a must see
SPORTS Page 14
Baseball struggles against Texas
Quote of the Week
"We outlined our muscles in Sharpies so we looked
like Spartans. We took as mudt) food as we could,
ate [all of Lovett's] cookies and quoted lines from the
movie, like, 'Tonight, we dine in hell,' meaning Lovett."
— Martel Jacks Coordinator Matt Drwenski on a jack
at Lovett. See story, page 1.
and all is well,' and we stopped at
3 o'clock."
Consequently, a Jones student
called Rice University Police Depart-
ment for a noise complaint, and the
police told the Martel group to stop
the jack.
Drwenski said the noise com-
plaint was unreasonable given that
it was Willy Week.
"On Willy Week, you have to ex-
pect to get woken up in the middle
of the night," Drwenski said. "Don't
call the police. Wear earplugs. If you
call the police on people, then the
jacks will b£ over."
Hanszen College's first jack
was not against another college,
but was on the grove fence facing
Hanszen. Hanszen Jacks Coordina-
tor Evan Miller said Hanszenites
inspired by their Beer-Bike theme,
"Dr. Brews: Slammed I Am," spray-
painted the fence with slogans,
pictures and poetry. However, he
said the artwork was short-lived,
because someone was offended by
the graffiti and it had to be taken
down Tuesday morning.
On Monday night, Hanszen hung
PVC pipes that spelled out HFH
from the roof of the Wiess College
commons in its first jack on another
college.
That night. Will Rice College
see JACKS, page 9
Scoreboard
Men's Baseball
Rice 7, TAMU-CC 3
Women's Tennis
Rice 5, UCF 2
Men's Basketball
Southern Miss. 59, Rice 50
Weekend Weather
Friday
Pt. Sunny, 62-71 degrees
Saturday
Cloudy, 63-82 degrees
Sunday
Pt. Sunny, 56-82 degrees
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Chun, Lily & Farmer, Dylan. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, March 14, 2008, newspaper, March 14, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443017/m1/1/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.