The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, September 22, 2006 Page: 2 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22,2006
the Rice Thresher
Welcome back RTV5;
show us what you've got
We may be biased, but we think student media is one of Rice's
most necessary and influential institutions. That is why, when
channel surfing, we tend to pause somewhere between the
televangelists and C-SPAN 3 to check out Rice's own television
network — RTV5. For nearly 10 years, Rice's television has
aired student rants, campus films, news coverage of the KTRU
shutdown and other excellent shows. So, we are thrilled to see
RTV back in action and implementing a programming schedule
that will include new shows (see story, page 1). We applaud
the organization's revamping efforts, and we hope to see fresh,
relevant and regular programming soon.
As a blanket tax organization that collects $4 from every under-
grad annually, RTV should consistently provide its viewers with new
and regular programming. Students should be able to hold RTV to
a reasonable programming standard — after all, it operates on their
money. As the RTV Web site states, the more than $10,000 it collects
from undergraduates annually is intended to "provide campus with
a variety of new programming."
There should have been no need to resuscitate the station
from a catatonic state. The station's past leadership should have
ensured continuity from year to year, which would have precluded
the flux between glorious reigns and dark ages. Now, as the
station rises out of a coma, we hope RTV's current leadership
will take it upon themselves to draw up such plans. A few core
programs that do not rely on actors or scripts could be continued
year after year, regardless of changes in leadership. Interview,
sports and news shows are all in the works, and making a solid
anchor will ensure a base audience for when RTV creates more
labor-intensive shows. Even low-budget, low-manpower coverage
of campus happenings such as Willy's Pub trivia nights, Baker
Institute events, public parties and Student Association meetings
would drastically improve RTV's usefulness on campus.
Furthermore, the changes may spur interest in RTV as a student
organization, helping to recruit the manpower necessary to create
a fully effective station. Campus interest in video communication
is already on the rise, and the Film Club's recent activity could
mesh well with RTV's new production agenda. We have no doubt
that this campus is capable of producing new programming to
a reasonable standard with the resources RTV has to offer, but
student interest will make or break the cause.
We wish RTV the best of luck in renovating its image and improv-
ing its programming schedule, and we hope students will step up
to support their television station with more than just their blanket
tax dollars.
Rice should provide mass
transit when needed
Last week's University of Texas-Rice football game at Reliant
Stadium saw Rice students frustrated even before the Owls took
the field. Transportation to the game was a mess. Students taking
the METRORail to Reliant before the grime were lucky to make it
in under an hour.
The trains were running normal weekend schedules and
stopping by campus once every 18 minutes, passengers bliss-
fully unaware of the throngs awaiting them at the Hermann
Park/Rice University and Memorial Hermann Hospital/Houston
Zoo stations. Some students waited more than half an hour for
an open car.
In general, students should rely on public transportation,
especially when it is provided without a charge, and free use of the
METRORail is a wonderful thing — we hope students continue to
take advantage of it. But e\pecting more than 1,000 students and
their families to squeeze onto the light rail for a football game is
absurd. It taxed Rice fans' spirits and the city's resources unneces-
sarily, and it could have been remedied with a simple shuttle service
from campus to Reliant, as the Athletic Department provided for the
UT-Rice game in 2003.
Rice's small size prevents the need for regular mass tranit — but
should make it easier to obtain when necessary Select sporting
events, 100 Days parties and other campus-uniting outings deserve
better than long lines and cramped METRORail cars. The Athletic
Department and other university event planners should recognize
the huge difference this small service can make.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher
editorial staff.
An
Adventure in
Weekend
Morality
presented by
Dan Derozier
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Failed Backpage
sparks conversation
To the editor:
In pursuing its goals of humor
and satire, the Backpage of the
Thresher often flirts playfully with the
boundaries of good taste, and, in the
eyes of some beholders, occasionally
crosses into the territory of the inap-
propriate. However, the Backpage
on Sept. 15 was something different
and very troubling. No subject is
beyond the reach of satire, but to be
effective, or even just funny, satire
requires imagination and insight,
which were absent from this effort.
The result reinforced some very
hurtful stereotypes. Diversity — in
all its forms and in all segments of our
population — lies at the very heart
of our aspirations as a university
and as a community, and we proudly
promote this aspect of our vision.
Some who have come to Rice to join
the pursuit of that vision have found
that we have a measure to go before
fully realizing it. For many members
of the Rice community who have
worked so hard to make Rice a more
welcoming and supportive home for
all, that Backpage seemed like a taunt
and felt like a body blow.
This episode serves as a stark
reminder that there is still much
work to do in creating a campus in
which everyone feels fully valued.
To be successful, this effort must
rest on a foundation of mutual
understanding that can only result
from free and open communication.
The editors responsible for this
Backpage quickly recognized their
error in judgment and apologized
to the Rice community. It is unfor-
tunate, but perhaps inevitable, that
productive conversations often occur
most easily following moments that
seem to many like setbacks, but I am
optimistic, based on the experiences
of the last few days, that we will be
able to create from this moment
significant progress towards one of
our most cherished goals.
Robin Forman
Dean of Undergyaduates
Ranking merits pride,
but look to improve
To th" editor:
I imagine that the 7hresher will
(as it should) receive a great deal
of mail about last week's misguided
Backpage, but I wanted instead to
address myself to Stephanie Jen-
nings' very thoughtful piece on
Rice's diversity ranking ("Diversity
rank deserves closer look," Sept. 15).
While I don't agree with everything
she says, 1 completely share her
conclusion that significant issues
continue to surround diversity at Rice.
We can take pride in the ranking by
the Princeton Review regarding race
and class interaction and note that
some things supporting our diversity
work extremely well here, while also
acknowledging that there remain real
and important issues to be addressed
now and in the coming years.
Although perhaps not widely
noted, last year we added for the
first time to Rice's mission state-
ment our aspiration to cultivate "a
diverse community." Succeeding
at that will require hard work and,
most of all, a commitment and
willingness to discuss the issues
even apart from any specific event
that arouses our passions.
1 look forward to working with
Stephanie, other students and the
many constituents in our commu-
nity to assure that the necessary
conversations and improvements
take place. It's great to be ranked
number one, but sometimes that
just isn't good enough.
David Leebron
President, Rice University
Apology not enough
for insulted students
To the editor:
I am ashamed that a paper
purportedly representative of this
student body and Rice University
would print a Backpage so blatantly
offensive. While members of the
Thresher staff have sent written
apologies to Rice students, the apol-
ogy — or an apology by itself — is
insufficient and does little to atone
for the damage the Backpage has
caused the Rice community.
The Backpage went much farther
than "undercut [ ting] serious efforts to
make Rice a welcoming and support-
ive community for everyone" — the
Thresher made a mockery of recent
hurtful and divisive issues on campus,
such as racial profiling by RUPD, the
Jones College O-Week theme and the
deplorable behavior of Sid Richardson
College advisers during this year's
O-Week Diversity workshop. ITiese
are instances in recent memory that
have made many students, especially
those in a minority, feel as if they have
no place at this institution. 1 want you
to know that many Rice students co[X'
with and fight against the stereotypes
presented in the Backpage on a regular
basis and that it has been a degrading
experience seeing their peers laughing
along with these stereotypes because
they believe them to be true.
If the 77/ resheris truly "committed
to involvement" in a "dialogue about
tolerance and diversity at Rice," I
expect the Thresher staff to partici-
pate in a face-to-face open forum in
which they explain their intentions
behind printing the Backpage and
hear directly from the students they
have insulted.
Jacqueline Dan
Martel senior
Vice-Chair, Asian Pacific
Americans for Social Action
(APASA)
Hackneyed jokes
not a problem
To the editor:
Last week's Backpage saw a
bit of backlash. Apparently, some
people don't appreciate making light
of racial stereotypes, especially on
Families Weekend. I understand the
reasons behind the reactions, but I
don't feel the same way. It seems the
article's equal (if subtler) mocking
of the people giving answers to
the questions got lost. The people
holding this mini-symposium on the
Backpage come off as dense idiots.
That doesn't lend itself to honest
perpetuation of stereotypes — it
makes people who actually think
this way sound stupid.
I also don't see why any subject
should be off-limits, so long as the
humor isn't mean-spirited. Nearly
every joke plays off of some pre-
conception, from blonde jokes to a
script from "The Boondocks" (my
favorite IV show) or "South Park,"
which caught a lot of flak over the
same issue. What exactly is fair
game? Where is the line drawn?
"South Park" touched on this in its
Cartoon Wars episodes — either
everything is OK to make fun of,
or nothing is. Given the racial and
socioeconomic issues, I can see
how the humor pushed the lines of
acceptability. I just don't see why
mature, intelligent people can be
seriously offended by a series of
hackneyed jokes.
The one indisputable criticism is
that Families Weekend wasn't the best
time to run this. But then we have
to ask when the Thresher has ever
been meant for anyone other than
the student body. My parents have
had a subscription to the Thresher tor
the past two years. Should we censor
anything in our student-run newspa-
per because our families might see it?
I'd rather offer insight into how Rice
operates while they're gone.
I suppose my main point is, if you
want to get angry about last week's
400-odd words on the Backpage,
you'd better be saying something
about "Chappelle's Show," "South
Park," "The Boondocks," "Family
Guy" and any other mass media
or person that uses humor based
on any stereotype. My biggest
problem with that Backpage is that
it didn't include any jokes about
Hispanics — my friends and family
back home would've loved it.
Adam Guerra
Jones junior
Attacks on religion
merit resignations
To the editor:
I am writing as a member of the
Rice University staff and as a former
Rice graduate student in religious
studies to express my disappointment
in the Backpage's lame attempts at
humor at the expense of diversity.
From beginning to end the item was
tasteless, humorless and offensive.
I am particularly appalled at
the attack on the "Painting for
Sec LETTERS, page 1
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, September 22, 2006, newspaper, September 22, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443079/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.